Rumble…
With the roar of that Demon Race member, vast quantities of madly churning Demonic Qi pressed down toward Ye Yunfei.
This Demonic Qi was infused with boundless wrath, resentment, yin energy, and malicious aura… All sorts of sinister and cold energies gathered together, transforming into a terrifying demonic force that seemed capable of destroying heaven and earth. It swept toward Ye Yunfei like a rolling torrent of cosmic might.
“This Demonic Qi feels strange. It’s not pure demonic energy; it seems mixed with various kinds of shadowy energies…” Ye Yunfei felt the Demonic Qi surging toward him and couldn’t help but frown slightly.
“That’s odd. Why do I suddenly feel a bit restless and agitated, as if my mental state has become unstable?” Ye Yunfei wondered inwardly.
“Within this Demonic Qi, besides various shadowy energies, there are also many energies born from negative emotions, such as terror, fear, despair, sorrow, and more. Could it be that this demon belongs to the legendary Heart-Devouring Demon?” Hun Lao suddenly spoke up.
“Heart-Devouring Demon? Hun Lao, is this a special kind of Demon Race?” Hearing Hun Lao’s words, Ye Yunfei was momentarily taken aback.
“Yes. Back when I followed Gu Huang the Great Emperor on his travels, I recall hearing that within the Demon Realm exists a very special race known as the Heart Devourer Race. The Heart Devourer Race delights in feeding on the various negative emotions of living beings. Especially when a being’s mental state becomes unstable or agitated during cultivation, various mental barriers—heart demons—can arise. The heart demons born during a being’s cultivation are the Heart Devourer Race’s favorite source of energy. Furthermore, when a being attempts a breakthrough, they are also prone to produce intense emotional fluctuations and give birth to heart demons. Therefore, the Heart Devourer Race loves to search everywhere for beings who are in the midst of cultivation or undergoing breakthroughs, seizing the chance to disrupt their cultivation or advancement, induce heart demons, and then devour them.” Hun Lao explained.
“So that’s how it is. To think such a variety of Demon Race exists in the world!” Ye Yunfei couldn’t help but exclaim.
“When the Heart Devourer Race engages in combat, their most adept method is to subtly disturb their opponent’s emotions, then seize control of those emotions, causing the opponent to fall into confusion. Some powerful Heart Devourers can even instantly provoke all the negative emotions within an opponent, devour them, and then kill the listless foe. Be careful.” Hun Lao cautioned.
“Alright, I’ll be cautious.” Ye Yunfei nodded.
Rumble… The majestic Demonic Qi nearly drowned the heavens and earth in this area. Ye Yunfei felt endless cold, sinister auras wrapping around him from all directions. These chilling auras contained emotional energies of all kinds—anger, terror, fear, loneliness, despair, helplessness… All negative emotions enveloped him on all sides, seeking to seep into his sea of consciousness and affect his Soul Body.
Surrounded by so many negative emotions, Ye Yunfei felt extremely uncomfortable overall. His mental state began to grow agitated, his mood plummeted to extreme lows, and a faint sense of despair even emerged within his heart, tempting him to abandon resistance and leave his fate to heaven.
“Impressive. Heart Devourers truly can disrupt one’s emotions!” Ye Yunfei became instantly vigilant.
“The Mental Force I cultivate belongs to the category of spiritual, willpower-based energies. I wonder if it’ll be effective against these negative emotions,” Ye Yunfei thought as he sensed the rolling Demonic Qi engulfing his surroundings.
Rumble… With a flicker of his will, Ye Yunfei immediately unleashed his Mental Force, striking out against the Demonic Qi from all sides.
“It works!” The next moment, Ye Yunfei’s face lit up with delight as he discovered that the negative emotions constantly affecting him were being forced back by his Mental Force.
“Mental Force truly is effective against Heart Devourers!” Ye Yunfei’s spirits were immediately lifted.
“Ji ji… Little human, give up your resistance!” At that moment, the Heart-Devouring Demon let out a series of strange, grating laughter. His voice was so unpleasant it made one want to cover their ears. He assumed that Ye Yunfei had already been thrown into emotional chaos by his secret technique.
He had used this secret art many times before to disturb his opponents’ emotions and mental states, plunging them into confusion and frenzy. This would provoke heart demons, which he could then devour before seizing the chance to slay his target. This was an inherited secret technique of the Heart Devourer Race!
Ye Yunfei stood motionless within the roiling Demonic Qi.
“It seems this puny human has already given birth to heart demons and fallen into a frenzied state! It’s time to kill him now! But before killing him, I’ll devour his heart demon and his heart first!” Seeing this, the Heart-Devouring Demon grew quite pleased with himself.
Whoosh! He moved, dashing toward Ye Yunfei with astonishing speed. In an instant, he appeared right before Ye Yunfei. Opening his mouth, he generated a powerful suction force that wrapped around Ye Yunfei, seeking to devour his heart demons. Simultaneously, he thrust out a sharp demonic claw aimed directly at the location of Ye Yunfei’s heart.
Clang! Just as that demonic claw was about to reach Ye Yunfei’s chest, a dazzling streak of sword light flashed past, cleanly severing the claw at the arm.
Rumble… Mighty waves of Mental Force attacked, flooding into the Heart-Devouring Demon’s body and causing him to roar in agony.
Boom! Ye Yunfei’s fist punched forward, augmented by his fearsome physical strength, causing the space ahead to instantly cave in.
“Damn it! It’s Mental Force! Mental Force can counter our race’s secret techniques! Retreat!” Panicked, the Heart-Devouring Demon turned and attempted to flee.
“Where do you think you’re escaping to!” Ye Yunfei directly activated his Time Reversal technique. A deluge of time energy and temporal laws pressed down upon the Heart-Devouring Demon. Hun Lao also performed a spatial secret art, instantly sealing off the space where the demon stood.
Boom! Ye Yunfei punched the Heart-Devouring Demon’s physical form, blasting it apart on the spot into a mist of blood.
“Fourth Elder, you’ve finally successfully broken through!”
While Ye Yunfei was battling the Heart-Devouring Demon, the Celestial Gold Race Fourth Elder had successfully passed his Lightning Tribulation and broken through to the Heavenly Emperor Realm.
“What’s the situation? Is Young Master Ye still fighting that Demon Race member? He should be able to defeat that demon, right?” The Fourth Elder’s gaze shifted to the direction where Ye Yunfei was fighting the Heart-Devouring Demon, concern evident in his voice.
The location of their battle was already shrouded by vast amounts of Demonic Qi. Even using Soul Power, it was difficult to clearly capture the specific details of their clash.
“With Young Master Ye’s strength, he will certainly defeat that Demon Race member,” the Great Elder stated.
In truth, the Great Elder wasn’t certain either. He could only barely catch some blurry glimpses of the fight using his Soul Power and couldn’t tell who held the advantage at all.
“Brat! You seek death!” The Heart-Devouring Demon, its physical form shattered by Ye Yunfei’s fist, immediately re-condensed in the next moment and let out a roar of fury.
However, this Heart-Devouring Demon now realized Ye Yunfei was proficient in Mental Force. With his fighting spirit broken, he only wanted to quickly put distance between himself and Ye Yunfei.
“It seems Young Master Ye has gained the upper hand!” Hearing the infuriated, flustered roar of the Heart-Devouring Demon, all three Celestial Gold Race elders sighed with simultaneous relief.
Rumble… The Heart-Devouring Demon’s figure flickered as he attempted to dash into the distance. Yet, a powerful surge of Mental Force came rolling toward him, invading his body and causing his form to sink.
There was no helping it. With his current strength, he was powerless to resist Ye Yunfei’s Mental Force.
Then, Ye Yunfei used his temporal secret art while Hun Lao employed a spatial technique. Working together, they once again immobilized the Heart-Devouring Demon, preventing his escape.
Puff! Ye Yunfei’s fist punched through, again blasting the Heart-Devouring Demon into a mist of blood. Yet, the vitality of this Heart-Devouring Demon was astonishingly tenacious, and he successfully re-condensed once more.
Puff, puff… From then on, Ye Yunfei continuously swung his fists—one punch after another, time after time, repeatedly blasting apart the Heart-Devouring Demon’s physical form.
At the same time, Ye Yunfei continuously unleashed his Mental Force to attack the Heart-Devouring Demon. Using Mental Force was the most effective method against this creature!
Thus, not long after, the Heart-Devouring Demon was utterly terrified and panic-stricken. He had already sensed the aura of death!
“Ah! Young human, don’t kill me! Let me go!” The Heart-Devouring Demon screamed in panic.
But Ye Yunfei would hardly let him off so easily. He continued punching, again and again, relentlessly shattering the demon’s form while simultaneously attacking with his Mental Force.
“Youngster, young hero, don’t kill me! Whatever you want, I’ll give you! I’ve hoarded many treasures, all of which I can offer to you!”
“Young man, stop! If this continues, I’ll die!”
“Young hero, please be merciful, spare me!”
“Young hero, spare my life! I can serve as your slave!”
In his terror, the Heart-Devouring Demon cried out desperately.
“You can become my slave?” Ye Yunfei abruptly stopped and asked.
At the same time, Ye Yunfei had to admire the demon’s tenacity; having his form shattered so many times, he still hadn’t perished.
“Yes, as long as you don’t kill me, I can become your slave…” Though unwilling at heart, the Heart-Devouring Demon knew that if his answer displeased Ye Yunfei, his end would be certain death. So, steeling himself, he replied.
“How exactly would you serve as a slave? Merely words are empty promises. Just by your claim, I cannot trust you. Speak, how will you become my slave? If your method does not satisfy me, I will strike you dead.” Ye Yunfei waved his fist menacingly toward the Heart-Devouring Demon.
“I can form a Heart-Oath with you. I can swear to become your slave. If I violate the oath, I will suffer backlash, my body destroyed and my Dao erased. The Heart-Oath is a secret technique of my race.” Sensing Ye Yunfei’s killing intent, the Heart-Devouring Demon had no choice but to explain.
“Is it feasible?” Ye Yunfei asked.
“It is,” the Heart-Devouring Demon nodded.
“Alright then. We can give it a try, consider it an opportunity granted to you. However, you’d better not deceive me, and don’t try any tricks. Otherwise, I will definitely kill you.” After pondering for a moment, Ye Yunfei nodded and said.