220: Mutation

Life in Qingyang Sect was not much different from that at Qin Family Pharmacy.

It was just as monotonous, just as mundane, and just as… Soul-crushing.

Lin Feng became an Outer Sect Disciple, and his daily work consisted of guarding the gate and sweeping the mountain entrance, occasionally listening to the deacon's lectures, and Cultivating the slow-as-a-turtle Five Elements pseudo Spiritual Root Cultivation Technique.

Time flew like a knife, and decades passed in a flash.

He transformed from a youth into a taciturn middle-aged man, his temples already touched by the frost of age.

A hundred years in the Heart Demon Tribulation thus flowed away silently.

Until that day, Lin Feng was on duty guarding the mountain gate.

The afternoon sun was a bit dazzling, and he leaned against the shadow of the mountain gate's stone pillar, staring blankly at the road leading down the mountain.

The arrival of several streaks of light broke the tranquility of the mountain gate.

The Qingyang Sect Young Master returned with a group of people, strutting arrogantly.

Behind him were two young women, bound by ropes and forcibly dragged along.

Lin Feng's gaze swept over them, and his normally placid pupils suddenly constricted.

The two young women's faces were filled with panic and tear stains, but he naturally wouldn't forget their exquisite beauty.

Yao'er, Yan Li.

Lin Feng's heart sank heavily.

The thing he least wanted to happen had still come to pass.

"Young Lord, who are these two Fairies?" a gate-guarding Disciple nearby obsequiously asked.

The Qingyang Sect Young Master's face revealed a lecherous smile as he reached out, pinched Yan Li's chin, and roughly lifted her face.

"Haha, this Young Lord was traveling outside and stumbled upon two exquisite Cauldrons!"

"And they're rare twin sisters, look at their fresh and tender appearance, tsk tsk, after I Dual Cultivate with them, my Cultivation will surely advance another level!"

The surrounding guards burst into laughter.

Yao'er and Yan Li's eyes were filled with humiliation and despair, and their bodies trembled uncontrollably.

Lin Feng lowered his gaze, his knuckles white from gripping the broom so tightly.

He knew this was the Extra-territorial Demon's trick.

It wanted to use the people he cared about most to force him, to torment him.

If he did nothing, given the Qingyang Sect Young Master's character, the fate of the two women was imaginable.

But if he were to save them…

He looked down at his hands, feeling the pitifully weak magical power of his Qi Refinement Stage within him.

With what could he save them?

With this broom?

…

In the distorted Void Realm, the Extra-territorial Demon's figure appeared. It looked at Lin Feng, who was struggling in front of the mountain gate, with great interest, a satisfied expression on its face.

This was right.

This was an interesting expression.

Hesitation, indecision, powerlessness, struggle, and finally sinking into despair.

This was how a Heart Demon Tribulation should be.

It was very much looking forward to what choice this strange young man would make.

But no matter what he chose, the final outcome was already determined.

This nearly perfect Physical Body would eventually belong to it.

…

Lin Feng ultimately did not act in front of the mountain gate.

He watched with his own eyes as Yao'er and Yan Li were led deep into the Inner Sect by the Qingyang Sect Young Master.

For the next few days, he felt uneasy.

Until a piece of news spread throughout the entire Outer Sect.

Young Lord Li Tianyou would hold a Dual Cultivation ceremony in three days to celebrate finding a good match and making great progress in his Cultivation.

Lin Feng knew he was out of time.

Late at night two days later, he changed into a night-traveling outfit and, like a phantom, sneaked into the Inner Sect.

Relying on the experience etched deep into his Soul, he avoided patrol after patrol of guards and silently made his way to the quiet room where the two women were imprisoned.

The plan went surprisingly smoothly.

He drugged the guards, pried open the lock, and successfully met the imprisoned Yao'er and Yan Li.

"You are...?"

Yao'er looked at the weathered middle-aged man before her, her eyes filled with disbelief.

Lin Feng had no time to explain, made a shushing gesture, pulled the two women, and was about to return the way they came.

They were just about to escape the Inner Sect area.

Just then, a night owl, without warning, startled from a tree and let out a sharp cry.

"Who's there!"

The patrol team nearby was instantly alerted, and several strong lights shone over.

Lin Feng's heart sank, knowing that the Extra-territorial Demon was secretly causing trouble.

He shielded the two women behind him, drew the long sword from his waist, and met them.

However, the gap between Qi Refinement Stage and Foundation Establishment Stage was an unbridgeable chasm.

Moreover, the other side had more people.

In less than ten rounds, Lin Feng was kicked to the ground, his long sword flying from his hand.

He was pinned tightly to the ground, watching helplessly as Yao'er and Yan Li were captured again, his eyes filled with even deeper despair than before.

With the matter exposed, the Qingyang Sect Young Master was furious.

A mere Outer Sect handyman dared to covet his Cauldrons.

According to sect rules, Lin Feng's Dantian was crippled, his four limbs were broken, and he was thrown onto the torture platform like a dead dog, to be exposed for three days.

Three days and three nights.

The scorching sun burned, and the cold wind chilled to the bone.

Lin Feng lay dying in the corner, without even the strength to move a finger.

His consciousness gradually blurred in the boundless pain.

A distorted demonic shadow slowly condensed before him.

"Kid, do you still think you're that awe-inspiring Nascent Soul great power?"

The Extra-territorial Demon's voice was full of schadenfreude and mockery.

"Now, you can't even protect your own women; they'll soon be ravaged in bed by other men, hahahaha!"

"How is it? Is it very painful? Very despairing?"

The Extra-territorial Demon leaned closer to him, whispering, its voice full of temptation.

"As long as you submit to me and offer me your Soul, I can grant you the power of the Soul Transformation Stage in this world immediately."

"At that time, let alone a small Qingyang Sect, the entire illusionary world will be dominated by you. You can live here forever and ever with your women."

Lin Feng's unfocused pupils finally gained a trace of clarity.

He slowly raised his head and looked at the Extra-territorial Demon.

The Extra-territorial Demon's heart rejoiced, and its tone became more eager: "How about it? Kid, have you finally understood?"

Lin Feng's throat made a gurgling sound, and he used his last bit of strength to pull at the corners of his mouth, a cold sneer appearing on his face.

"So-called… Extra-territorial Demon, is this all you're capable of?"

The joy on the Extra-territorial Demon's face instantly froze.

It looked at Lin Feng with some disbelief; this noble Nascent Soul Cultivator, after a hundred years of life at the bottom, countless times of hope and despair, could he still endure it?

Was this kid's Dao Heart made of iron?

The Extra-territorial Demon's patience was running out, and it roared in exasperated rage.

"Kid, since you like to be stubborn, I'll make you suffer even more! I'll make you watch with your own eyes how your women are…"

"You no longer have a chance."

Lin Feng interrupted it, his voice weak but imbued with an indescribable calmness.

The Extra-territorial Demon's heart suddenly jumped; the scene of its companion's split Soul being instantly killed by Lin Feng was still vivid in its memory.

It instantly retreated into mid-air, vigilantly staring at Lin Feng.

However, after a moment, nothing happened.

On the torture platform, Lin Feng remained in his half-dead state.

"Kid, you dared to trick me!"

The Extra-territorial Demon felt it had been fooled, and fury burned within it.

But it still didn't dare to get too close.

After another while, indeed, there was no movement.

The Extra-territorial Demon finally relaxed. It decided not to waste any more time on this hard bone and prepared to strike directly, tearing his Soul to shreds and throwing it into a more cruel Reincarnation.

Just as it was about to act, Lin Feng spoke again.

"You've maintained this illusion for over a hundred years; you're probably about to collapse, aren't you?"

Upon hearing this, the Extra-territorial Demon seemed to have heard a huge joke and sneered, "It's a shame you're a Nascent Soul Cultivator, yet you don't even know this basic common sense. A hundred years in the illusion is only a little over thirty years in the outside world."

"So… it's been over thirty years." Lin Feng showed a look of sudden realization.

The Extra-territorial Demon's heart suddenly leaped, and an ominous premonition surged within it.

"You dared to trick me?"

It finally realized that Lin Feng was trying to get information out of it!

It no longer hesitated, its demonic claw coalescing into form, intending to completely obliterate Lin Feng immediately, lest things drag on.

However, at the moment the demonic claw pierced Lin Feng's body.

The corner of Lin Feng's mouth, however, curved into a strange arc.

The Extra-territorial Demon didn't understand why, but in the next instant, it felt it.

A terrifying aura, originating from the depths of its Soul and making it tremble, descended without warning!

"Boom—!!!"

The sky of the entire illusionary world was instantly torn apart by a purple divine lightning that pierced through heaven and earth.

That lightning was filled with the destructive power of supreme rigidity and pure yang, precisely the bane of such dark and evil beings!

"No! How is this possible!"

The Extra-territorial Demon let out a shrill and unwilling scream. Its demonic shadow, in the lightning, melted rapidly like ice under the scorching sun, and was finally completely defeated.

…

At the same time, in the Inner Universe.

Lin Feng, sitting cross-legged with demonic patterns covering his body, suddenly opened his eyes.

The confusion and lifelessness in his eyes vanished, replaced by his usual clarity and depth.

Before him stood a stunning woman in a short skirt, with a small monkey perched on her shoulder, her expression tense.

It was Yao'er, who had followed Lin Feng's command.

If he had not completed Undergoing Tribulation after thirty years, then after his Divine Sense spread uncontrollably, she was to detonate a small Nine Heavens Thunder Pearl in his Divine Palace.

In her hand, she still held a bead that had just been activated, its light now faded.

"You've worked hard, Yao'er."