Chapter 354: Chapter 354: The Birth of a Heart Demon
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the edge of the green sea of fire.
Wei Yang stood in silence for a long time.
The green flames flickered, casting dancing reflections on his face. That pure, beautiful emerald light—normally something tranquil—now made his face seem dark and sinister, as if haunted by shadows.
And at some point, a faint murderous intent began to surface in Wei Yang’s eyes.
A trace of killing intent was quietly sprouting in his heart.
A powerful aura also gradually stirred from within his body, leaking outward and becoming harder to control.
"Xiao Yan..." Wei Yang muttered through clenched lips, a hoarse and low voice growling from his throat, cold enough to chill the air itself as it echoed through the empty void.
His ten fingers slowly curled inward, tensing into claws.
Crack. Crack...
The sound of his joints grinding together echoed eerily.
Whoosh—
Two black flames ignited in his hands, crackling with an agitated and violent energy.
Crackle!
Electric arcs flickered across his palms.
Wei Yang’s gaze darkened further. Slowly, he turned to look behind him, toward the direction he had come from.
In the distance, a spatial wormhole hovered in the air. Passing through it would lead him directly to the Magic Beast Mountain Range.
And once he crossed the range, at his current speed, it would take less than a day to reach the capital of the Jia Ma Empire.
That’s where Xiao Yan was right now!
With his current strength, Xiao Yan—who was merely at the peak of the Dou Wang level—even with Yao Lao by his side, wouldn’t be able to withstand a single full-force blow from him.
As long as he killed Xiao Yan and Yao Lao...the Heavenly Flame, the Flame Mantra—everything would be his! Just like reaching into a bag to take candy.
Xiao Yan? Yao Lao? Thinking about it now... they seemed rather insignificant in his eyes.
He could crush them with one hand.
Were they really that hard to kill?
This so-called "Child of Destiny"—in the face of overwhelming power—was nothing but a joke.
Whatever Xiao Yan could accomplish, so could he. In fact, he could do it better.
Even the Soul Heaven Emperor—with or without Xiao Yan—he, Wei Yang, could defeat!
Since that’s the case... why couldn’t he take Xiao Yan’s place?
The resources of the Dou Qi Continent were limited.
If he wanted to become an Emperor, the most straightforward path was to cultivate the Flame Mantra, gain the recognition of Tuo She Ancient God, and obtain the Emperor Origin Qi.
That’s why this was a battle for the Dao.
There was no right or wrong.
There was only one path.
So why should he yield to Xiao Yan?
Therefore...
Kill him.
Kill Xiao Yan.
At that thought, Wei Yang’s eyes grew ice-cold, and a faint black mist began to rise from his body. Just as he was about to turn around and act—his face suddenly showed a flicker of hesitation.
He stopped in place, the bitter chill in his eyes slowly receding into something softer—struggle. His voice trembled as he murmured: "...Am I really going to do this?"
"Kill Xiao Yan?"
"I..." Wei Yang frowned tightly. He lowered his head and grabbed it with both hands, gripping his temples as if in pain.
"Kill Xiao Yan?"
"No... I don’t want to kill him. I’ve always seen him as my best friend in this life—my only brother. We’ve walked this path together..."
"And he... he’s from my hometown. He’s always treated me sincerely, never betrayed me. How could I... how could I kill him..."
"Why am I hesitating? This is a fight for the Dao. There’s no right or wrong. Why should I give way? Why should I step aside for him? Just because he’s Xiao Yan?"
"If you want to achieve greatness, you can’t be soft-hearted. Kill him!"
"Take his place!"
"Kill! Kill! Kill!"
"No... I have my own path. Even without the Flame Mantra, I can still reach the top..."
"I—Wei Yang—refuse to steal from a friend just to complete myself. I have my own path, and it’s not inferior to anyone else’s..."
"Heh... Wei Yang, oh Wei Yang, aren’t you just being a hypocrite? You’re just afraid, aren’t you? Afraid of the dangers in cultivating the Flame Mantra—that’s why you won’t touch it..."
"Yeah, I’m afraid. But I also don’t want to rob my friend of what’s his."
"Xiao Yan could do it. So why can’t you? You’re way stronger than him..."
"Admit it. Every time you face Xiao Yan, deep down, there’s always been this subtle sense of superiority. You think you’re better than him, don’t you? You enjoy that feeling—of helping him, protecting him, being respected by him. Isn’t that right?"
"No! I’m not like that... I’m just helping a friend..."
"You’re stronger than him..."
By the edge of the green sea of fire Wei Yang knelt suspended in the void, his body curled forward, hands clutching his head tightly. He looked like a man possessed, muttering to himself again and again like a madman.
A faint black mist swirled around him, giving off a sinister and terrifying aura.
At this moment, he looked utterly bewitched.
Yes.
Right now, a heart demon had begun to take root in his soul.
Or perhaps more accurately—his Dao heart was starting to waver.
Back when he faced the Life Spirit Flame, the overwhelming excitement had cracked open the darker side of his heart—the side he had long buried deep within. Now, it surged forth uncontrollably... and was growing stronger by the second.
Perhaps, along this journey, he had been too lucky—his path too smooth. He had encountered little failure, few setbacks.
Like a chosen child of fate, fortune smiled on him constantly.
One Heavenly Flame after another—treasures countless others could only dream of—had all fallen into his lap.
And maybe now, faced with the irresistible lure of the fifth-ranked Life Spirit Flame, it was only natural that conflict and doubt had begun to arise in his heart.
He started to question himself—his choices, his path.
Was the road he had chosen truly the right one?
For a cultivator, encountering rare opportunities like this again and again—only to turn away each time—would inevitably sow a few dangerous thoughts deep inside.
Once or twice was manageable. But over time, the accumulated restraint festered—and now, it had all erupted at once.
And now, in such an environment...the endless darkness around him felt like a mirror—reflecting back the shadow within his soul, and amplifying it without mercy.
Light versus darkness.
A battle of mind and soul.
Time passed.
It was impossible to tell how long.
In this lonely void of darkness, where there was no sun, no moon, no sense of time—only silence—beside the green sea of fire, a single figure cloaked in black lay quietly on the ground.
Rustle, rustle...
Only the soft trickle of water could be heard from time to time.
The green glow shimmered faintly, illuminating Wei Yang’s peaceful profile.
He had fallen asleep—deeply asleep.
His expression was calm. Tranquil.
It had been a long, long time since he had slept so deeply.
And he dreamed—a long, vivid dream.
In it, there were bustling cities, crowded streets, bullet trains, towering skyscrapers, cars, airplanes... there were parents... siblings...as the dream unfolded, memories he had buried deep long ago—so long that even he had forgotten them—began to awaken.
They surged forth, one after another.
But just as Wei Yang became lost in the dream—gradually forgetting the world of Dou Qi Continent—the memories of that world began to surface as well.
Earth and Dou Qi Continent—the two worlds began to blend in his dream, taking turns playing out before his eyes.
Everything felt so real, so vividly real that he could no longer tell which world was the dream, and which was reality.
In one world, he had been just an ordinary man, unremarkable, unnoticed, living a mundane life.
In the other, he possessed the power to shatter mountains and tear open the sky with a flick of his fingers—an existence above all others, admired and revered by countless beings.
Two lives.
Two realities.
Worlds apart.
One of utter normalcy.
The other—filled with glory and power, as if he were a walking cheat code.
Wei Yang’s consciousness drifted through them, unable to tell which version of himself was the real one...
Which one... was the dream?
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