Chapter 96

Chapter 96: Heart Devil Seed
Taking a thought as the seed can draw out the hidden heart devil deep inside a person, so it is called the Heart Devil Seed.

A long time ago, the Heart Devil Seed was an attack spell. After thousands of years of change, it slowly turned into a means of control.

By planting a Heart Devil Seed in a cultivator, you could gain control over them.

Yu Zhao asked coldly: “What exactly are you? Why did you plant a Heart Devil Seed in me?”

Fang Cheng Lang turned his head to the side and refused to say a word.

Yu Zhao smiled slightly.

Her hand shot out like lightning and grabbed Fang Cheng Lang’s neck. Under his terrified gaze, she gave a clean, sharp twist.

Crack!

With the sound of bones snapping, the illusory realm in front of Yu Zhao’s eyes collapsed at high speed. In the blink of an eye, she was back at the edge of the pool behind the stone door.

The eerie blue light vanished, and the singing stopped.

The blue heart sank to the bottom of the pool and did not dare to show itself.

Yu Zhao gave a soft laugh.

It thought that if it hid under the water, she would have no way to deal with it?

It was very wrong.

Yu Zhao moved the spiritual power in her body and used her divine sense as a brush to quickly draw a rune.

When she dropped the last stroke, an invisible wave of energy spread out, and the rune slowly appeared.

She pointed at the bottom of the pool and ordered: “Go!”

The rune flashed and, in an instant, passed through the water and branded itself onto the blue heart.

In that instant, fear, panic, anger… countless emotions surged into Yu Zhao’s Sea of Consciousness.

The blue heart let out a sharp cry and shot out of the water, rushing straight at Yu Zhao as if it wanted to die together with her.

Yu Zhao did not dodge. Her divine sense moved.

The blue heart that had been charging at her like a storm was suddenly struck as if by an invisible fist in midair. It instantly weakened, then stopped trembling a full zhang in front of Yu Zhao and shivered in place.

Yu Zhao lifted her eyebrow.

The Heart Devil Seed was really useful.

She could feel every emotion inside the blue heart, and she could also control its every move.

In other words, its life and death now rested on a single thought of hers.

Yu Zhao said calmly: “Now you can tell me what exactly you are.”

As soon as she finished speaking, the emotions in the blue heart, which had just calmed a little, started to surge wildly again.

A wave of world-destroying rage and grief almost threw Yu Zhao’s mind into chaos.

She hurriedly ran the cultivation technique of the Illusory Tide Art to steady her mind and then felt a burst of lingering fear.

She had thought the Heart Devil Seed was a bit too simple. This method could control a person’s heart, but she also had to guard against being bitten back by the other person’s emotions. Unless she was absolutely sure she could suppress the other side’s spiritual strength, she must never use it lightly.

The blue heart seemed to be sinking into past memories and stayed silent for a long time.

Yu Zhao hesitated for a moment, then still asked: “Are you merfolk?”

A low voice answered with a bitter laugh: “Heh, it is rare that someone can still recognize merfolk.”

The blue heart admitted it.

Its voice no longer carried any charm. It was low and tired, filled with endless age and sorrow.

For a moment, Yu Zhao did not know what to say.

Since she did not know how to address him, she simply called him merfolk in her heart.

The merfolk had tried to plant a Heart Devil Seed in her. By reason, he did not deserve any sympathy from Yu Zhao.

But when she thought of the story behind the merfolk, and when she saw that he was clinging to life with only a single heart left, Yu Zhao could not help feeling moved.

She asked softly: “Can you tell me your story?”

Perhaps because he sensed that Yu Zhao’s attitude had softened, the merfolk was a little surprised.

Then he let out a cold laugh and said: “What is there to say? You greedy human cultivators came to my Merman Sea Territory for the No-Medicine Pearls and hunted merfolk on a large scale. In only half a year, our Merfolk Race vanished from the Nanming Sea. We can thank all of you for that.”

Yu Zhao did not get angry at his heavily blaming words. She only frowned and asked: “Then why did you end up like this?”

She was not trying to rip open his wounds on purpose.

But some things had to be asked clearly so she would know what to do.

The merfolk spoke in a lifeless tone: “My body was different from my clansmen. Their tears would become No-Medicine Pearls, but I was born unable to cry. A merfolk who cannot cry has no value, so they dismembered me.

“At that time, I found out my heart still had consciousness even after leaving my body. Too many things happened after that, and I do not remember them clearly. In the end, I was locked in this stone chamber. He ordered me to plant Heart Devil Seeds in everyone who came in. Once I planted a thousand people, he would let me go.”

A heart that could stay conscious after leaving the body was equal to having two lives.

Yu Zhao could easily imagine how crazy cultivators would become after learning this secret.

The merfolk did not want to say more. There were probably many horrifying things hidden in the parts he skipped.

Yu Zhao did not plan to dig deeper either. Her focus fell on the “he” the merfolk had mentioned.

She asked: “Who is he?”

The merfolk’s heart trembled and answered: “The Hidden Master of Merfolk Pavilion.”

He clearly feared this person very much.

Yu Zhao asked again: “Why does he want you to plant Heart Devil Seeds?”

The merfolk hesitated.

Yu Zhao saw this and did not rush him.

The merfolk’s heart now carried the Heart Devil Seal she had left. He could not disobey her order.

Sure enough, after a long silence, the merfolk finally spoke again: “His lifespan is almost over, so he wants to use the Soul-Stealing Art to find a way to extend it.”

Yu Zhao thought it over for a moment before understanding his words.

To reach the fifth floor of Merfolk Pavilion, a cultivator needed to meet two conditions: they had to be rich and have free time.

Usually, these cultivators either came from large cultivation families or were disciples of big sects with fairly high positions.

They knew many cultivation secrets that normal cultivators could never touch.

The person who controlled Merfolk Pavilion used this method to screen out cultivators who fit his requirements, then performed soul searches on them to seize their memories.

After Yu Zhao figured out the key points, her scalp tingled.

She asked in a low voice: “Is he a Nascent Soul old fiend?”

Only a Nascent Soul old fiend could search other people’s souls so recklessly.

“Yes,” the merfolk answered.

Yu Zhao silently thought: this is bad.

From the moment she stepped onto the stairs to the fifth floor, she had already been targeted by that Nascent Soul old fiend.

Even if she had not been planted with a Heart Devil Seed, she would most likely have become his next target for a soul search.

[Curiosity really can kill someone!]

Yu Zhao gave the merfolk a deep look and said: “After I leave here, I will remove the Heart Devil Seed. As for you…”

She had planned to throw out a few harsh words, but when she saw that lonely heart, she felt that any harsh words were meaningless.

She took a deep breath and turned to leave.

Merfolk Pavilion had not set any obstacles in the passage. Yu Zhao passed through the corridor smoothly and went down the stairs.

The female cultivator and Little Red, who were waiting on the fourth floor, heard footsteps and looked up. They saw Yu Zhao’s face flushed red, and her steps were unsteady as she walked downstairs.

Little Red rushed forward and grabbed Yu Zhao’s arm in surprise, asking: “Senior?”

Was she drunk?

But there was no smell of wine on this senior at all.

The female cultivator was used to it. Almost every guest who came down from the fifth floor looked like this, lost and dazed. After resting for a while, they would wake up on their own.

She led Yu Zhao and Little Red to the Honored Guest Hall to rest.

Sure enough, not long after, the redness on Yu Zhao’s face faded, and her eyes became clear again.

She finished the transaction with Merfolk Pavilion as fast as she could, then took Little Red and left.

Only after they had crossed two streets in one go did Yu Zhao finally feel her wildly beating heart calm down a little.