The wooden fish sounded, the wooden block struck, and the bell swayed.

The three paper people transformed into the forms of a young woman, an old lady, and a middle-aged woman, sitting cross-legged around You Qin Xuan Ya, each raising their ritual instruments and chanting the Human School’s “Supreme Clarity Heart-Calming Mantra” in unison.

Under the power of the Golden Immortal realm divine force, the mantra condensed into small cyan characters, continuously rotating around You Qin Xuan Ya.

In just a moment, the look of pain on You Qin Xuan Ya’s delicate face faded significantly, and her body no longer trembled.

This was merely treating the symptoms, not addressing the root cause.

Li Changshou pointed at the entrance of her cave-dwelling, secretly sealing the place with a barrier, and then stepped forward.

He took out a rush cushion from his sleeve and sat five steps behind You Qin Xuan Ya, activating a simple spell to carefully examine her divine soul.

This examination revealed something alarming…

Her poisoned mind and sea of consciousness were in complete chaos, the heart demon having grown to an extremely serious degree.

Li Changshou couldn’t help but feel puzzled…

Back then, his assessment of You Qin Xuan Ya had been [Dao heart without obstacles, impossible to develop any heart demons in this lifetime], but now You Qin Xuan Ya was giving him a resounding slap in the face.

Indeed…

One shouldn’t make absolute statements, nor raise flags carelessly.

This should be written into the next version of the Scripture of Stability as well, as it carries profound warning significance.

How should he deal with someone else’s heart demon?

Li Changshou quickly formulated seven or eight plans, which were originally prepared for his master and junior sister but unexpectedly ended up being used for Poisonous junior sister…

Moreover, his current cultivation realm was now far above You Qin Xuan Ya’s, making this task completely effortless, without any risk.

However…

‘Better play it safe first, after all, it’s a heart demon, and must be given sufficient respect.’

There was a saying in the primordial world:

After Dao Ancestor Luohou perished, his demonic thoughts did not die out, thus condensing into great Dao obstacles, hindering cultivators’ practice.

Therefore, Li Changshou didn’t dare to be careless when facing You Qin Xuan Ya’s heart demon.

Li Changshou raised his hand and pointed at his chest seven times, using the ‘Seven Stars Demon-Dispelling Soul Protection Formation’ to protect his divine soul.

Afterward, he drew upon his merit to outfit his divine soul with undergarments, a long robe, and boots, plus a Santa hat, protective glasses, and a face mask three-piece set, fully arming himself.

Still feeling this wasn’t enough, Li Changshou’s divine soul grasped the Sea God’s divine authority treasure, with a strand of Heavenly Dao power reinforcing himself, his divine soul radiating ten thousand rays of golden light within his body!

Time to march forth!

Thus, he dispersed a strand, about one hundred-thousandth of his total divine soul power, carefully entering You Qin Xuan Ya’s currently undefended sea of consciousness, heading towards her heart demon.

Hazily, clouds, and mist arose;

Li Changshou saw a dark world.

This was manifested by You Qin Xuan Ya’s consciousness, similar to a dream; her Dao’s heart was trapped here by the heart demon.

Killing shouts and battle cries carried on the wind, the world was filled with rolling black smoke, groups of soldiers fighting chaotically everywhere.

Immortals battled in the sky while mortal soldiers killed each other on the ground;

Corpses piled like mountains and blood flowed like rivers, both sides seemed to have fallen into madness, not withdrawing despite heavy casualties…

Was this her heart demon? Something seemed off.

Li Changshou frowned as he looked around, seeing vivid scenes everywhere, but without the aura of demonic obstacles.

A brief calculation revealed that these images were merely a scene from You Qin Xuan Ya’s memories.

You Qin Xuan Ya’s Dao heart was trapped here.

Did this memory of mortal warfare trigger the heart demon?

Li Changshou wasn’t in a hurry, he was just a simple observer, walking around the battlefield looking for traces of You Qin Xuan Ya.

Before long, in a corner of the battlefield, Li Changshou found You Qin Xuan Ya’s consciousness.

She stood at the edge of a cliff, her ice-blue dress stained red with blood, behind her were two figures leaning against each other, in front were several blurry black shadows.

This was naturally a scene imagined by You Qin Xuan Ya, and the scene was… quite tragic.

The two people behind You Qin Xuan Ya, weren’t they Li Changshou and Ling’e?

Of course, they were the ‘Senior Brother Changshou’ and ‘Junior Sister Ling’e’ imagined by You Qin Xuan Ya.

‘Junior Sister Ling’e’ was still fine, her clothes neat, just with a faint trace of blood at the corner of her mouth;

That ‘Senior Brother Changshou’ however… had thousands of large and small wounds all over his body!

No, to be precise, the entire ‘Senior Brother Changshou’ was pieced together from wounds, barely maintaining a human form, pretty much dead…

What the hell?

Couldn’t she wish him something better?

Li Changshou’s forehead gained several black lines, and he almost turned around and left right then.

At the cliff’s edge, those black shadows kept attacking.

You Qin Xuan Ya, covered in wounds, brought her hands together in sword fingers, continuously controlling over ten flying swords, barely managing to repel the black shadows’ attacks.

The current ‘You Qin Xuan Ya’ was almost out of divine power, on the edge of self-collapse at any moment.

The danger of heart demons lay in the fact that You Qin Xuan Ya didn’t know all this was fake.

If her consciousness projection here collapsed or was killed by the heart demon, her consciousness would be forever imprisoned here;

At best she would go mad, at worst her soul would scatter!

Among these black shadows, Li Changshou saw the ‘Great Nice Guy’ Yuan Qing who had died at You Qin Xuan Ya’s hands years ago, saw the fierce Elder Wan Lin Yun, and the old man guarding the mountain gate… and so on.

So-called heart demons were nothing but obsessions in one’s heart;

To save You Qin Xuan Ya, Li Changshou only needed to sweep away these demonic obstacles, and then pull her out to bring her away from this place.

But doing so would waste this opportunity.

— Though heart demons were dangerous, if one conquered them, one’s Dao heart would become increasingly solid, and one’s realm would improve.

Glancing again at ‘Senior Brother Changshou’ lying in ‘Junior Sister Ling’e’s’ arms, Li Changshou’s mouth twitched slightly.

‘Tsk, Poison’s flourishing protective instinct.’

How could he help her gain this opportunity?

Just then, Li Changshou had a flash of inspiration, immediately understanding how to guide her.

This strand of consciousness secretly entered the obsession of ‘Senior Brother Changshou’.

That barely human-shaped ‘Senior Brother Changshou’s’ lips trembled slightly, transmitting an extremely weak, intermittent voice into You Qin Xuan Ya’s ears.

“Kun position charge four… cough cough, Li… Li position retreats six…

Junior Sister You Qin… there’s a fierce beast stirred up below the cliff, later when I tell you to jump… you take me and Ling’e and jump back…”

This could be called instantly getting into character, showing full mastery of line delivery!

You Qin Xuan Ya pressed her lips together and nodded secretly, amid her fierce battle with the heart demon, suddenly unleashing a wave of sharp attacks, beating back all the heart demons before her.

Suddenly, the cliff began to shake continuously, and Li Changshou turned to look down the cliff, his eyes also turning black.

He saw a qilin head hundreds of zhang wide, rapidly surging up from below, and beneath the cliff was a pool of pitch-black poisonous water!

This current situation was completely constructed from You Qin Xuan Ya’s subconscious imagination, including this qilin!

Was she poisonous?

Why make things so difficult for herself?

Li Changshou felt that if he hadn’t come today, You Qin Xuan Ya could have used her imagination to trap and kill herself!

Fortunately, Li Changshou quickly found an escape route and transmitted it to You Qin Xuan Ya;

You Qin Xuan Ya turned to embrace ‘Senior Brother Changshou’ and ‘Junior Sister Ling’e’, and at the critical moment, flew towards the sky…

Below, that huge ink qilin directly swallowed the cliff, and countless black shadows dispersed along with this qilin.

Was this the end?

Li Changshou also wished it could be so simple, but obviously, there was still a long story ahead.

He patiently watched it all unfold, discovering that this heart demon drama directed by You Qin Xuan Ya became increasingly colorful.

After escaping from the cliff, You Qin Xuan Ya took ‘Senior Brother Changshou’ and ‘Junior Sister Ling’e’ to a great mortal city, which was the capital of the You Qin Kingdom.

Welcome celebrations, singing and dancing crowds, those scheming but faceless nobles and ministers; and, sitting on a high platform surrounded by several charming beauties, the monarch…

This should be You Qin Xuan Ya’s childhood memories.

Soon, the scene began to change, ‘Senior Brother Changshou’ and ‘Junior Sister Ling’e’ married in the city, holding a lively wedding feast.

Throughout the wedding feast, You Qin Xuan Ya stood by smiling and offering blessings, then watched as ‘Senior Brother Changshou’ and ‘Junior Sister Ling’e’ entered the bridal chamber decorated with happy characters…

To be honest, Li Changshou was almost moved by You Qin Xuan Ya in this scene.

‘In Poison’s subconscious, she doesn’t have forceful thoughts towards me, this point is…’

Before Li Changshou could finish his inner monologue, the plot suddenly changed, truly a dramatic turn!

‘Senior Brother Changshou’ suddenly pushed open the bridal chamber door, running directly to You Qin Xuan Ya, firmly making a Dao companion vow;

‘Junior Sister Ling’e’ appeared at the window, wearing a relieved smile, nodding gently to You Qin Xuan Ya, her eyes full of blessing.

Thus, amid the surrounding applause, You Qin Xuan Ya and ‘Senior Brother Changshou’ became Dao companions, they left the kingdom and lived happily together, fishing and grilling fish every day, drifting on rivers and lakes, riding clouds around the sky.

Li Changshou: …

By now, Li Changshou finally understood that You Qin Xuan Ya’s greatest heart demon was him, Li Changshou.

How should he save her?

If it were other immortals who came here, they could probably only forcibly pull her away from this heart demon illusion.

But, the one who came was Li Changshou…

First, let’s see the happy life You Qin Xuan Ya imagined with ‘Senior Brother Changshou’.

Every day was repetitive and monotonous content, sightseeing and cultivating together, the two barely had any physical contact, mostly staying more than one chi apart.

Simple and elegant.

Li Changshou didn’t waste much time, after all, there were various important matters waiting for him to handle outside, so after a thorough observation, he immediately began breaking the situation.

The method was quite simple.

He once again possessed ‘Senior Brother Changshou’ with his consciousness, and while sightseeing with You Qin Xuan Ya, suddenly embraced her, very skillfully extending ‘An Lushan’s claw’ towards You Qin Xuan Ya…

“Junior Sister, there’s no one here, since we like each other, why don’t we perform the great ceremony?”

You Qin Xuan Ya froze, then instantly broke free, jumping several zhang away, frowning as she stared at ‘Senior Brother Changshou’.

“Senior Brother… what great ceremony?”

Li Changshou gave an ‘evil’ smile, raising his hand to open his robe’s collar, his whole person emanating a bad aura.

“Junior Sister, don’t speak, just let me do it.”

You Qin Xuan Ya’s beautiful face reddened, with some haziness appearing in her gaze.

Li Changshou seized the opportunity to have the three paper people speed up their chanting of the heart-calming mantra, while in the heart demon illusion, he devoted himself to giving a greasy performance!

“No, you’re not Senior Brother Changshou!”

You Qin Xuan Ya suddenly regained clarity, again breaking free from Li Changshou’s hands, jumping into the air, her whole body wrapped in immortal light, emanating rays of golden light!

She declared firmly:

“Senior Brother Changshou is gentle and courteous, he would never do such discourteous things to me! Who are you?”

“Hahahahaha!”

‘Senior Brother Changshou’ laughed several times, his form suddenly beginning to expand, transforming into a hideous black gas, revealing the heart demon’s true form.

Having accomplished this, Li Changshou promptly separated from ‘Senior Brother Changshou’, but still worriedly continued observing from the side.

You Qin Xuan Ya’s face showed determination as she decisively attacked the heart demon, the two engaged in a great battle, and naturally righteousness prevailed over evil in the end…

When You Qin Xuan Ya cut off the heart demon’s head, the entire illusion instantly shattered.

Moments later, in the cave dwelling.

You Qin Xuan Ya slowly opened her eyes, her beautiful face full of blush, and the cave-dwelling once again held only her.

As if having gone through a dream, she was still blushing from the dream’s contents, her heart fluttering, raising her hand to press against her collar.

“Senior Brother Changshou would never…”

Slap!

She suddenly gave herself a hard slap on the face, berating herself in a low voice:

“You Qin Xuan Ya, how could you be so unbearable, to still harbor such thoughts of Junior Sister Ling’e yielding to you!”

Li Changshou, hiding in the mountain wall, couldn’t help but be amused hearing these words.

Shaking his head, Li Changshou used earth traversal to quietly leave Breaking Heaven Peak, treating it as if he had never been here today.

This junior sister…

Truly lived up to her poisonous name.

Summarizing now, what defeated her heart demon wasn’t some tenacious will, nor some unyielding determination, but rather…

A maiden’s pure shyness.

However…

“Just this?”

Li Changshou was internally criticized a few times, quietly returned to the pill room, hid his true body according to ‘Old Rule Number Six’, and began quietly waiting.

Li Changshou was waiting for Dong Mu Gong to go to the Sea God Palace in Heaven, waiting for that batch of heavenly soldiers to take their positions.

He had only spent two hours with You Qin Xuan Ya; in the heart demon illusion, time flowed like in a dream.

His divine consciousness could detect that You Qin Xuan Ya sat in her cave dwelling talking to herself for a while, then again entered closed cultivation.

‘Should be fine this time, right?’

After some thought, Li Changshou still wasn’t completely at ease, so he wrapped a strand of his divine consciousness around her wrist.

This was all he could do to help.

His divine consciousness swept through the gate, finding various places in the Crossing Immortal Gate quite lively, with tribulation events occurring from time to time.

For this batch of disciples, who should stay and who should go, the gate had already decided.

In a few months, the Crossing Immortal Gate would send a batch of ‘elite talents’ to the Three Thousand Worlds and the Five Continents of the primordial world.

These Crossing Immortal Gate disciples who had completed their studies and were heading out to continue cultivation would spread the word of the Crossing Immortal Gate’s founding ceremony throughout all the regions they could reach, thus attracting more immortal seedlings to come to seek apprenticeship at the Crossing Immortal Gate.

This was the recruitment model of most immortal sects.

There was no choice, as resources within immortal sects were limited, and they couldn’t take in unlimited disciples.

Among peers, assuming there were a thousand disciples, only the most outstanding small group could choose to stay on the mountain or go out for experience according to their wishes. All other disciples had to leave the mountain and spread this inheritance of the Dao…

Li Changshou waited another four days before Dong Mu Gong finally flew on a cloud towards the Sea God Palace, having already selected ten thousand Heavenly River Naval forces waiting for Li Changshou to take command.

Though ten thousand wasn’t considered many, these were military forces directly under Li Changshou’s command, making their significance extraordinary.

And when Li Changshou followed Dong Mu Gong to arrive at the Heavenly River and saw the handsome youth leaning on a nine-toothed rake standing at the river’s edge, he couldn’t help but smile.

Dong Mu Gong smiled and said: “Sea God, look, that is the Heavenly River Naval Forces Vice Commander appointed by His Majesty, Bian Zhuang. I heard rumors in Heaven that this Bian Zhuang also has a Human School background, making him most suitable to serve under your command.”

Li Changshou: …

See, this is how rumors start.