Chapter 46: First Battle with the Heart Demon

  As dusk settled, the dim lights of Guanhekou Town flickered in the distance, resembling a drowning person's desperate grasp for a piece of driftwood. Sanbao and her group finally reached the town's entrance, their expressions weary, yet none dared to let their guard down.

  The gruesome events of the day still weighed heavily on their minds—Zhao Qi and Zhang Wu's bodies turned to blood, the images forever imprinted in their hearts.

  This time, Tang Ping chose to rent out the entire inn for the night. The town was even smaller than Anping, and when the innkeeper heard Tang Ping's request, he couldn't stop smiling.

  Perhaps it was because Sanbao had foiled the poison trap earlier that day, the guards, who had initially seen her only as a "dy" accompanying Tang Mingli, had subtly changed their attitudes. They now regarded her with much more respect, especially Tang Ping, who, while arranging the rooms, personally inquired about Sanbao's preferences and even asked her tastes when dinner was being prepared.

  Sanbao couldn't help but chuckle inwardly at their sudden reverence, and a voice in her mind began to mock: *Hmph, you thought I was just a decoration, Tang Mingli’s woman. Now you know my worth, don’t you?*

  At this moment, Tang Ping walked up steadily, his tone now much more sincere and less formal than that of a military officer.

  "Miss Sanbao, could I trouble you for some guidance on tonight’s security arrangements?" he asked earnestly.

  Sanbao, stifling her inner amusement, put on a serious expression. "The poisoned bull trap we encountered earlier was just a warning. Whoever set it up will surely strike tonight," she said. She paused for a moment. "You should deploy some of your men around the inn, and have the others rest. I expect them to attack at midnight."

  Upon hearing this, Tang Ping’s face darkened. He immediately gathered the guards and gave strict orders, “Stay alert! Report any movements immediately and do not act recklessly!”

  With the arrangements made, Sanbao returned to her room. She gave instructions to Xiao Lan and Yu Yu, “Guard the door. No one is to approach, and don’t let anyone disturb me.”

  “Yes, Miss,” Xiao Lan and Yu Yu replied respectfully, taking their positions on either side of the door.

  After closing the door, Sanbao walked to her bed and lightly touched the Seven Treasures Bracelet on her left wrist. A soft light fshed, and she was suddenly holding a book wrapped in a yellow glow—*The Divine Illumination Sutra*.

  Sitting cross-legged on the bed, she pced the sutra on her p, her hands resting gently on the pages. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes, entering a meditative state.

  Once in meditation, her consciousness seemed to leave her body and soar toward a bright light above. As dizziness took over, she opened her eyes to find herself standing once again in the familiar crystal cavern.

  The cave was still full of mystery and tranquility, with crystal light refracting from every direction, illuminating the entire space. As she looked around, the high-dimensional humanoid figure appeared in front of her again.

  Sanbao, puzzled, spoke, “Wasn’t I practicing the *Divine Illumination Sutra*? How did I end up here?”

  The high-dimensional figure answered her question, “I know you’re facing difficulties, so I separated your consciousness and brought you here.”

  “Difficulties?” A feeling of unease surged in Sanbao’s heart. “What difficulties?”

  “You are about to face a tremendous crisis, one that could cost you your life.” The figure's tone remained calm and emotionless.

  Sanbao’s heart skipped a beat. “What crisis?”

  The figure did not directly answer her question but continued, “I have upgraded the Seven Treasures Bracelet. Now it can interact with the *Divine Illumination Sutra*. From now on, whenever you open the sutra and meditate as you just did, your consciousness will enter the space within the Seven Treasures Bracelet. There, you can continue to study the sutra and practice the techniques described within it.”

  “The flow of time inside the Seven Treasures Bracelet is the same as in this world, but different from the world you are in. A day spent here will equate to only a moment in your world.”

  Sanbao nodded, though not fully understanding.

  “Eat this Holy Spirit Great Restoration Pill, and I’ll send you back,” the high-dimensional figure added.

  “What pill?” Sanbao asked, slightly confused.

  “This Holy Spirit Great Restoration Pill will instantly elevate your current second-grade cultivation to the middle stage of the fifth grade. But you’ll need to practice in the Seven Treasures Bracelet for some time to stabilize your cultivation,” the figure expined.

  Sanbao nodded and swallowed the pill without hesitation.

  A wave of dizziness overcame her, and when she opened her eyes again, she found herself in the space within the Seven Treasures Bracelet. It resembled the cold, clear crystal cavern, but the high-dimensional figure was no longer there.

  She decided to observe her surroundings ter. For now, she needed to focus on her cultivation.

  Sanbao wasted no time. She took a deep breath, calmed her mind, and began her ascension.

  At the start of her cultivation, everything proceeded surprisingly smoothly. The spiritual energy inside her surged like a flowing spring. In an instant, she broke through the barrier to the te stage of second grade with ease.

  The power of the Holy Spirit Great Restoration Pill was astonishing.

  She could clearly feel her spiritual energy rising steadily, pushing through higher levels with ease—third-grade early stage, middle stage, and te stage, then fourth-grade early stage, middle stage… it was as though nothing could hinder her progress.

  “The power of this pill will take me directly from second-grade middle stage to fifth-grade middle stage,” she recalled the high-dimensional figure’s words, a mix of shock and joy filling her.

  Without hesitation, she took a mid-grade spirit stone she had acquired from the Bai family siblings and held it in her hand, continuing to absorb the energy from it through the *Divine Illumination Sutra*.

  The spiritual energy from the spirit stone rushed into her body, flooding her with power. One by one, she tossed aside the spirit stones that had been depleted of their energy, switching to lower-grade stones as she continued her absorption.

  As she kept changing spirit stones, the energy gathered above her head, forming a funnel of spiritual power.

  Sanbao’s power surged, reaching its peak.

  With a soft crack, like the popping of a champagne bottle, she broke through to the te stage of fourth grade. A feeling of rebirth enveloped her, as though she had reached a new level of existence.

  The transition from first to fourth grade marked her as a beginner cultivator, but fifth grade indicated she had entered the ranks of intermediate cultivators.

  From this moment on, she could wield greater cultivation abilities, learn more complex spells, and begin practicing techniques from other elemental cultivators as supplemental powers.

  No longer reliant on the five elemental resources for casting spells, she had become an intermediate cultivator. Now, she could cast spells at will, just by making the necessary hand seals.

  It was a qualitative leap. Sanbao’s heart was filled with joy, the sensation of ease and freedom overwhelming her. She almost couldn’t suppress the urge to ugh out loud.

  But just as she was about to celebrate, her surroundings suddenly changed.

  The clear crystal space was repced by a sea of fmes.

  Fmes roared, turning the world red. In the center of the inferno, shadowy figures were ruthlessly sughtering another group of people—people she recognized—her servants, guards, and household staff... members of her Xu family from Moling!

  “Ah!!!” A scream tore through the air.

  Sanbao looked toward the sound and saw her parents, covered in blood, lying among the fmes, their bodies gradually being consumed by the fire.

  “Ha ha ha ha ha!!!” The killers ughed wildly, their voices distorted and sharp, fading into the fire.

  Tears flowed freely from Sanbao’s eyes as she cried out, “Father! Mother!”

  She was about to rush toward the fmes when the scene suddenly changed again.

  This time, she found herself standing beside an empty plot of nd, surrounded by neatly arranged corpses. A girl dressed in bck was frantically uncovering the white cloths from each body, searching desperately for something.

  The girl’s eyes were filled with despair and grief, her heart-wrenching cries almost unbearable to hear.

  Sanbao froze in pce—this girl was her!

  It was then that she realized—this was her heart demon.

  Her very own heart demon.

  If she couldn’t overcome it, it would appear again every time she attempted a breakthrough, growing stronger and eventually destroying her cultivation, causing her death!

  Her chest tightened in agony, and her body burned with an intense heat, the spiritual energy in her limbs going out of control, her organs feeling as if they were being scorched by fire.

  She was on the verge of going astray.

  At the critical moment, a cat’s cry rang through space, breaking the illusion and shattering the fmes, bodies, cries, and blood into mist.

  Sanbao snapped to attention, instantly regaining her senses.

  She immediately focused her mind, following the method in the *Divine Illumination Sutra* to guide her out-of-control spiritual energy back into bance.

  The spiritual energy funnel above her head slowly dissipated, and her inner power gradually stabilized.

  Finally, her cultivation was firmly rooted at the middle stage of the fifth grade.