Chapter 1275: Obsessed

Within the ancient Demon Den at the bottom of the molten lake.At the center of the silently spreading ripples, an ancient beast-hide scroll slowly materialized.As if possessing intelligence, it flew before Jiang Wang, who sat with eyes closed and legs crossed, and slowly unfolded itself.The characters upon the beast-hide scroll were likely Daoist script, for their meaning was clear at a glance. Yet their forms were twisted, grotesque, utterly distinct from ordinary Daoist script.Perhaps, they could be called... Demonic script.The opening four characters, exceedingly malevolent, proclaimed — "Sevenfold Hate Demonic Art".This beast-hide scroll hovered and unfurled before Jiang Wang, like a banner.And Jiang Wang, his brow tightly furrowed, seemingly ensnared in some painful dilemma, unconsciously reached out his hand.He sought to grasp that "banner".As if in an ancient rite, on this day, he would confront his transformation.His sword-wielding hand, long and powerful, slowly approached the ancient parchment.But just before his fingertips made contact, it stopped.His brow was a tapestry of intense suffering. The torment of internal conflict was fully revealed.Jiang Wang's hand lingered, unwilling to descend. The ancient beast-hide scroll seemed somewhat restless, its demonic script characters drifting up one by one.The demonic script held sound.A vast yet malevolent voice, accompanying the restlessness of these characters, echoed throughout this ancient Demon Den, filling listeners with terror, dread, and enchantment!That voice chanted—Hate Heaven's heartlessness, hate Earth's lack of virtue, hate Man's severance of righteousness.Hate the inversion of black and white, hate the selfish and self-serving.Hate the absence of justice in the world,Hate my name forgotten through myriad ages!I hate the world's people as my sworn enemies; the world's people should hate me likewise.The hatred of a murdered father is but thus! The hatred of a stolen wife is but thus!There is no one in the world whom I cannot kill, and no one in the world whom I cannot be killed by!This demonic sound seemed to contain terrifying power. This ancient Demon Den, long abandoned and its rules fragmented, subtly felt a resurgence of vitality.Everything began to stir.Like a stagnant, withered pond with only putrid mud and decayed leaves, into which a spring of living water suddenly flowed.And thus, everything held new possibilities.This "Sevenfold Hate Demonic Art", from its very beginning, possessed such momentum, clearly hating Heaven and Earth, reviling all living beings, taking the entire world as its enemy!Its power was, naturally, beyond doubt.Jiang Wang's fingers, suspended above the beast-hide scroll, trembled slightly. As if an unbearable weight pressed his fingers downwards.At this moment, he still kept his eyes closed, seemingly submerged in a dream from which he would never awaken. His usually clear and clean brows and eyes were enveloped by a layer of pain and gloom.His trembling vital energy, his restless aura, the slowly recovering rules of the Demon Den, all seemed to declare—This world awaited his choice!Awaiting the young man's final decision.Limitless demonic energy, flowing from who knew where, billowed and surged within this ancient Demon Den, like subjects awaiting their king.The desolate Tomb of the Myriad Realms, awaiting the power of rebirth!In that tavern in the Zhongshan Kingdom, before Jiang Wang, who was confronting Zhao Xuanyang, a beast-hide scroll appeared.A voice roared in his heart."Cultivate my Sevenfold Hate Demonic Art, and killing Zhao Xuanyang will be like slaughtering chickens and dogs!"In the City Daoist Academy of Fenglin City in the Zhuang Kingdom, before Jiang Wang, who was walking, the ancient beast-hide scroll floated and sank in the air.The voice in his heart roared angrily: "The world's people all say I am a demon, so I shall simply become a demon for them to see! Cultivate my Sevenfold Hate Demonic Art, and I shall eventually be invincible under heaven! I shall ensure that there are no longer those in the world who oppose me, hate me, or slander me! Only those who obey, those who are subjects, those who kneel!"Reality and illusion intertwined, reality and dreams wrestled.Like a surging tide sweeping all before it, Jiang Wang's will was like a candle in the wind.His will, already shattered in the dream realm of Jade Capital Mountain, plummeted into the boundless abyss.In the ancient Demon Den beneath the molten lake, Jiang Wang reached out a hand, about to seize the Sevenfold Hate Demonic Art.But at this moment, his eyes opened.They were a pair of eyes... still holding pain, still holding confusion, still holding torment.But when these eyes looked at the "Sevenfold Hate Demonic Art" before him, which was undoubtedly a peerless cultivation method, there was no greed, no yearning, not a single trace of concern."The world's people all say I am a demon; am I then a demon?" the young cultivator asked thus.His calm voice resonated throughout the abandoned ancient Demon Den: "The world's people all deem me a demon; must I then, become a demon?"Within his body, four sources of light illuminated consecutively. The light of divine abilities illuminated his true heart.His voice grew increasingly clear, increasingly resonant—"I, Jiang Wang, a seven-chi man, look up to heaven, look down to earth, uphold my promises, seek my desires, live in this world. Is it to live according to the words in other people's mouths?!"The hand that had almost grasped the beast-hide scroll was sharply withdrawn.Chang Xiangsi emerged from its sheath with a clang, gripped in his hand. Without a shred of regret, he brought down a sword strike upon the "Sevenfold Hate Demonic Art" before him!In that tavern in the Zhongshan Kingdom, Jiang Wang held his sword, facing Zhao Xuanyang directly, and said only: "You have forty breaths of time to leave this place. After forty breaths, I will exert my full strength and fight to the death here."He spoke these words very calmly.From beginning to end, he did not spare a single glance for the beast-hide scroll beside him.This is the choice I made according to my true heart. Were I to face it a thousand times, ten thousand times again, I would still choose thus.I do not regret it.In the City Daoist Academy of Fenglin City in the Zhuang Kingdom, Jiang Wang walked alone.He already had a comprehensive plan.First, to ask the mysterious Uncle Deng, through Zhao Rucheng, to warn Jade Capital Mountain of the White Bone Dao's conspiracy.Second, through the illusory realm of Grand Void, to ask "Zhen Wudi", whose true name had not yet been revealed, for help in reporting this matter to the Palace of Three Penalties, and to request the Palace of Punishers to send someone to Zhuang!As long as one is willing to think, a solution can surely be found.Regardless, he could not stand by and watch Fenglin City be annihilated once again.He could not be like Zhuang Gaoxian, sitting idly by as so many people died, seeking only the final harvest.Perhaps they could live better, more gloriously, and achieve their goals more easily.But I, Jiang Wang, am not of their kind.There is no need to be of their kind!The beast-hide scroll, representing great power, was before him, within reach. Yet he kicked it underfoot.And strode away!The indistinguishable dreams of reality and illusion had all been stepped out of.In the lightless ancient Demon Den, Jiang Wang's sword fell.Sharp and decisive, leaving no room for maneuver.Just before the sword's edge reached it, the beast-hide scroll silently dispersed.Like a shattered bubble, like a whisper-soft sigh.Seen no more.Searching the entire cavern chamber, not a single trace of its existence could be found. As for the dark ripples that had completely subsided, Jiang Wang was naturally unaware.He merely felt a flicker of warning that, just now, some power had been eroding his will... a power related to the "Sevenfold Hate Demonic Art".At this moment, sword in hand, his eyes were completely clear, like a limpid stream.All the pain and torment had sunk to the bottom, revealing only unyielding resolve and unwavering persistence.And the demonic energy that had originally gathered around him, drawn to him, gradually withered after losing his support. But before completely dispersing, as if a final burst of spiritual light, it suddenly gathered, coalescing in mid-air into a bizarre and twisted demonic character!Subtly distorting space.The meaning of this character was—"Stubbornly Unenlightened!"ps: 仇讎 (Chóuchóu): Enemy.