Chapter 1061 - 668: Li Qi’s Inner Demon (Part 3)
Chapter 1061: Chapter 668: Li Qi’s Inner Demon (Part 3)
This strike was swift, accurate, and ruthless.
Li Qi instinctively sidestepped to evade, his hand moving towards A hao’s neck—this was muscle memory honed by a thousand trials, his body reacting before his mind.
However, to his surprise, A hao did not dodge.
He voluntarily leaned into the glimmering blade, letting his neck graze Li Qi’s knife edge.
"Psshhh—"
Blood gushed out, instantly splattering all over Li Qi’s face. Warm blood drops speckled his face, carrying a metallic, rusty odor.
Li Qi stood dazedly, as if he had been put under a spell of immobilization.
A smile slowly emerged on A hao’s face—a smile not of relief, but of acceptance.
"A hao!"
Li Qi rushed forward, catching A hao’s faltering body in his arms, one hand pressing desperately against the wound on A hao’s neck. The blood was too much; it gushed through his fingers, unstoppable, uncontainable. His eyes turned red, uncontrollable tears mixing with the blood on his face.
"Why... why would you do this?"
A hao grasped Li Qi’s clothes, his mouth opening and closing, blood froth bubbling out, yet his face still bore a smile. His voice was intermittent, like a thread ready to snap at any moment:
"A Jun... I’m... too tired... you’re... stronger than me... live well..."
"A hao! A hao!"
Li Qi stared at his blood-stained hands—those hands that had killed his brother—his eyes red, his voice raw and barely human, like a wounded beast howling in the woods.
"Brother... live... live on..."
A hao’s mouth moved as though he wanted to say more, but the words were forever stuck in his throat. His hand fell lifelessly to the ground, the light in his eyes gradually dimming until it was completely extinguished.
"A hao!!!"
Li Qi clutched A hao’s lifeless body, releasing an anguished scream.
That sound pierced through the forest, tore through the sky, penetrated layers of mist, echoing in a void without bounds.
"Boom—"
A pair of jet-black wings suddenly unfolded from behind him, spanning several yards, with feathers black as ink and edges glowing with a dark golden hue. His eyes were blood-red, like burning flames. His face was etched with dark golden demon patterns that slithered like living creatures on his skin, emitting a suffocating aura of darkness.
He held A hao’s corpse, black demonic qi emanating from him like flames swallowing him whole.
"Shadow Division... Wen Family..."
His voice was deep and hoarse, each word squeezed from the depths of hell.
"It was your people who killed my parents... and led to A hao’s death..."
Behind him, the black wings trembled fiercely, lifting him into the air like a Demon King descending from the darkness.
"You will all die... every one of you will die!"
Before the words faded, his figure vanished like a bolt of black lightning into the dense forest.
Soon after, continuous screams erupted from the forest.
One after another, echoes of the symphony of hell.
...
In the valley.
Li Qi’s presence suddenly started to fluctuate unstably.
His body began to tremble violently, his eyes suddenly snapped open—not human black eyes, but a blood-red sea roiling within them. He let out a low roar, unconscious and mad:
"Die... all of you die!"
Demonic qi surged wildly from him, the Demon King’s Wings unfurled uncontrollably, dark golden demon patterns spread across his face and arms, entwining his body like vines.
Xiong’s face instantly changed.
Terreda’s pupils shrank abruptly.
Old Ghost’s brows knitted tightly together.
Ran Tu instinctively stepped forward but halted forcibly.
"Not good, Li Qi is trapped in the Heart Demon Tribulation!"
Terreda looked anxiously at Old Ghost: "Old Ghost, you’re a Spiritual Mind Master, can you help Li Qi regain clarity?"
Old Ghost shook his head, his expression grave: "No. The Heart Demon Tribulation is the tribulation of the Tribulation Crosser’s own inner demons. External forceful intervention not only can’t aid him, but will push him deeper. If we recklessly attack his Sea of Souls, it could result in either damaging his soul or making it scatter completely."
"Then what do we do?" Terreda was anxious.
Old Ghost grit his teeth: "Call the Military Lord here. Maybe... the Military Lord has a way."
"I’ve seen it."
A familiar voice came from behind, calm and steady like a stabilizing force.
Terreda quickly turned his head.
A black figure had somehow appeared beside Li Qi, standing amidst the swirling demonic qi but completely unaffected by it. His clothes rustled in the rush of demonic qi, yet his eyes were as calm as a placid lake, showing no turmoil.
Qin Tian gazed down at the frenzied Li Qi, his brows slightly furrowed.
He could see the chaos within Li Qi’s spiritual energy and sense the violent turmoil in his soul. The demonic qi wasn’t invading from outside, but erupting from deep within his bloodline—the Night Demon King Blood was raging, howling, taking over Li Qi’s body when his will lost control.
He hadn’t expected that Li Qi, the normally calm and composed, would harbor such a deep-seated inner demon.
The one who appeared perpetually composed and in control in front of everyone, the Minister of The Shadow Division, really had such a bottomless scar within. That scar never healed, merely covered by layers of disguise. And the Heart Demon Tribulation tore all disguises away, exposing that scar nakedly to the daylight.
Ordinary methods couldn’t help Li Qi escape the Heart Demon Tribulation.
The Heart Demon Tribulation differs from the Celestial Thunder Tribulation and the Body Burning Tribulation; it doesn’t test the flesh or spiritual energy. It tests the deepest resilience of the soul. Elixirs can’t help, treasures can’t help, external forces can’t help—it can only rely on oneself.
But now, Qin Tian didn’t want to gamble.
He quickly scanned the thousands of talents accumulated in the Talent Group, his gaze like lightning skimming through the dense list of talents. Some talents he had used, some he hadn’t focused on since activation, others he had even forgotten when he acquired them.
Soon, his gaze locked onto one talent among them.
This was it.