Chapter Seventy-Six: Tempering the Heart

"Chiyan, do you really have to eat me?" Seeing there was nowhere left to run, Ji Mo stared rather boldly at the banyan flame demon before her.

"Eat you? Of course I will. A delicacy like you is a rare find—how could I possibly let you go? But there’s no rush. I’m quite interested in that whip of yours. Let me study it first," Chiyan replied, casting Ji Mo a glance. For the moment, it ignored her, and with a mere thought, the White Jade Flood Dragon Whip was swept into its grasp.

As for Ji Mo, she was left lying at the base of the tree, unattended. Clearly, Chiyan feared no escape; within its three-thousand-li domain, not even a fly could elude its senses. Ji Mo’s hope of fleeing was nothing but a fool’s dream.

When Ji Mo saw the tree demon attempting to subdue the White Jade Flood Dragon Whip, she was first taken aback, then could barely suppress a wild laugh. Well now, if you weren't so curious, I might not have escaped with my life today. But as for subduing the White Jade Flood Dragon Whip? Heh...

Sure enough, as Chiyan took hold of the whip, it was initially cautious, releasing only a sliver of its divine sense to probe the weapon, trying to ascertain its true nature. Yet, no matter how it inspected the whip, it found nothing extraordinary. Impossible! That girl is but a mere Qi Refiner, yet wielded such power—how could this be just an ordinary whip?

Hmm? Or could it be that the girl had refined you? With this thought, Chiyan thrust its divine sense deep into the White Jade Flood Dragon Whip. Suddenly, before it could make another move, a sharp pain pierced its sea of consciousness, and it let out a wretched scream.

Chiyan, caught off guard, fell into the trap. But this tree was no ordinary entity; having grown in such a unique environment for countless millennia, and being of the fire-attribute banyan variety, it had, over the ages, refined its soul into true blazing flames. At the first clash with the whip’s spirit, it was gravely wounded, but immediately incinerated the trace of foreign soul energy invading its own mind, and flung the White Jade Flood Dragon Whip away.

As for the dragon spirit within the whip, after rescuing Ji Mo from drowning last time, it had fallen into a deep slumber. Now, when someone forcibly invaded, it retaliated purely by instinct. Once Chiyan severed the connection between them, the weakened dragon spirit instantly lapsed back into sleep, incapable of pursuit.

Yet Chiyan now gazed at the whip with fear. Still, it soon realized something was amiss: if the whip’s spirit was so powerful, why didn’t it press the attack? Perhaps it was already injured and unable to act offensively? Eyes flashing, Chiyan hesitated to try again, having suffered a loss at the hands of the dragon spirit.

If it couldn’t get anywhere with the whip, then perhaps the girl herself? Chiyan’s thoughts turned, its gaze settling on Ji Mo. This human was destined to become its nourishment anyway—why not explore her sea of consciousness, and discover what secrets she held, that could make such a wondrous whip recognize a mere Qi Refiner as its master?

No sooner had the thought formed than its soul force bore down on Ji Mo. One might think, having just suffered a setback, Chiyan would act with more caution, but seeing Ji Mo as merely a weak human, it didn’t believe it could fail to subdue her.

Ah! But so many things in this world defy one’s assumptions. Bursting with confidence, Chiyan invaded Ji Mo’s mind, only to scream in agony and seek to escape, but if entering was easy, leaving was another matter entirely.

Heavens, what had it seen? For within Ji Mo’s sea of consciousness, aside from her own soul, there was a strange spirit and a book. The aura emanating from that book was irresistibly enticing, yet the will contained within filled it with such terror that even its soul trembled. Worse still, that peculiar spirit, far stronger than itself, watched it with predatory malice.

"A banyan demon of the Nascent Soul stage? You’ve come, and still think you can leave?" Peony Immortal, who had been stifled under Ao Feng’s suppression for some time, and nearly perished with Ji Mo months ago when her body exploded, had long harbored resentment. Now, seeing a Nascent Soul stage tree demon trespassing and vying for territory, how could she allow it to depart?

Without so much as a gesture, she seized the retreating banyan flame demon’s soul force. Chiyan struggled desperately, but how could a Nascent Soul tree demon’s soul contend with that of a peony flower who’d been an immortal for countless years? Though much diminished in strength, Peony Immortal was still far beyond Chiyan’s reach.

Ah! Ah! The constant screams echoing through Ji Mo’s sea of consciousness were nerve-wracking. She was about to sever her connection with her mind, when she heard Chiyan’s cries gradually fade away. Soon, all was silent. The Peony Immortal, sounding satisfied, addressed Ji Mo, "Since you’ve brought me a tree demon whose power can fortify my soul, I’ll grant you a small boon."

With those words, Ji Mo felt a surge in her mind—a searing flame rushed through her body, igniting her very blood wherever it passed. Without waiting for further instructions, she immediately sat cross-legged and began circulating her dual thunder-flame cultivation technique, absorbing the fire with all her might. In the blink of an eye, seven days and nights had passed.

After seven days, Ji Mo opened her eyes to find she had advanced at one stroke to the fourth stage of Qi Refinement. She had absorbed not just ordinary flame, but true blazing flame, so her advancement should have been limited to her thunder and fire elements. Yet, she had lingered at the third stage for over a year, and her other elements were near their peaks. Spurred by the true flame, all five elements advanced to the fourth stage simultaneously.

Ji Mo was delighted. Cultivating all five elements together made each breakthrough exponentially harder, so to rise from third to fourth stage in such a short time was already a great satisfaction. Not only that, but having just reconstructed her body, and now tempered it with true flame, her Demonic Body Tempering Technique also rose a minor tier.

With both her spiritual and physical bodies advancing, she finally had some measure of self-defense in this perilous place. Happy with her narrow escape, she grew alert once more—this unfamiliar land was not only blisteringly hot, but fraught with hidden dangers.

Take, for instance, the banyan flame tree demon she’d just defeated. If it hadn’t been so reckless and greedy, if it had simply devoured her flesh and blood upon capture instead of probing her and the whip’s sea of consciousness, she’d surely be dead by now.

After finishing her cultivation, Ji Mo took two filling pills. As she chewed the bland, tasteless medicine, she found herself longing for the roast meat she’d eaten in the City of Forsaken Heaven. That flavor was leagues beyond these hunger pills, and just as nourishing. If only she could encounter a beast she could handle—at least she could satisfy her appetite a little.

Though she craved beast meat, she didn’t forget herself; she knew that with her current abilities, most beasts she met would spell her doom.

Muttering to herself, she continued her journey. The only tree demon she’d met had been a carnivorous fiend, and though she’d learned the place was called the Flame Domain, knowing the name was useless without a way out. So Ji Mo continued her arduous trek—a full seven days passed, and aside from feeling the rising heat of the scarlet desert, she saw not a single living soul.

"Peony Immortal, what kind of place is this? I can’t even find a ghost, let alone a person. If I’d known, I wouldn’t have killed that tree demon so quickly—it could have shown me the way," Ji Mo complained, bored, to the immortal in her sea of consciousness.

"How should I know where this is? There’s something I must tell you—from now on, unless someone or some demon attacks your soul directly, I will not interfere. Everything else is up to you. If you harbor any hope that my presence means you’ll be safe, you’re mistaken. Even if you’re beaten to death or devoured alive, I won’t lift a finger," Peony Immortal replied harshly.

Ji Mo bristled at her words, ready to retort, but as she opened her mouth, the words caught in her throat. Though the immortal’s language was unpleasant, wasn’t there truth in it? When, five months ago, she was unable to draw in spiritual energy, the first person she thought of was Peony Immortal. After she was struck into Blue Moon Lake, though she hadn’t said it aloud, she’d secretly resented the immortal.

Since being forced to accept the inheritance trial, she’d more than once wished that, had Peony Immortal intervened just a little, she wouldn’t be in such a passive predicament. Ji Mo abhorred trouble, and with so much of it in her life already, she dreaded taking on the hot potato that was the Blue Moon Divine Palace.

But whether reluctant or not, she had no choice, for she lacked the power to resist. Yet, what did any of this have to do with Peony Immortal? What right did she have to blame or depend on her? Ji Mo remembered clearly her resentment toward this uninvited, overbearing guest. She hated the thought of someone freeloading in her own home, yet still wanted to take advantage of them—what shamelessness!

As she pondered this, a cold sweat broke out on her back. She loved freedom and dreaded trouble—there was nothing wrong with that. If she could carve out a free life by her own efforts, so much the better. But to pin all her hopes on others—how contemptible! Especially when her actions and words were at odds.

Ji Mo never considered herself noble, but she couldn’t accept becoming a hypocrite. Closing her eyes, she quietly reflected on every step of her fourteen years, and on the road she should walk in the future.

Time slipped by. She sat there for ten days. When at last she opened her eyes, her body, not yet at the fasting stage, was weak from ten days without food, but her spirit was more vigorous than ever. Her eyes shone bright as stars, filled with a determination she had never before possessed. (To be continued...)