The Heart Demon Gambit

"Thank you, Your Imperial Majesty." Ji Ning was in an excellent mood.

The Grand Xia Emperor nodded. "Overcoming the Heavenly Tribulation is the single greatest trial on the Immortal path, so of course you cannot be careless. And with you being entangled by Karmic Hellfire, your Heart Demon Tribulation will certainly be extraordinary."

Ji Ning nodded.

Indeed.

Heart demons…

The previous occasion when the Hellfire descended during the Threefold Tribulation had already shown him the terrifying nature of heart demons. He simply didn’t know if he would be able to withstand them this time.

"Your Majesty, I shall take my leave now," Ji Ning said.

"Go. I will determine the location for your tribulation within the next day or two," the Grand Xia Emperor said.

Ji Ning immediately departed.

This trip had been worthwhile. With the Grand Xia Emperor's guarantee, if he truly could gain the protection of a Daofather, he would have nothing to fear when facing the Heavenly Tribulation.

…

"Bad news."

On the second day after Ji Ning’s visit to the Grand Xia Emperor, the azure-robed woman, who had been sitting cross-legged on a jade bed in a state of calm, suddenly changed expression. She immediately commanded, "Summon Immortal Floating Splendor, Immortal Withered Grass, Celestial Immortal Blackcloud, Celestial Immortal Venomous Clown, Empyrean God Triyang, Empyrean God Abandoned Beast, and also invite the leaders of Ten Thousand Demons Cave and the Blood Cloud Tower."

"Yes." The attendant waiting outside responded at once.

In just a short while.

They had all assembled in the main hall.

Empyrean God Azurefox, Empyrean God Triyang, and Empyrean God Abandoned Beast were all members of the Seamless Gate. Immortal Floating Splendor and Immortal Withered Grass were Pure Yang True Immortals, while Celestial Immortal Blackcloud held a status equal to theirs. Only… Celestial Immortal Venomous Clown had the lowest status among this group. After all, Empyrean Gods and True Immortals were already considered major figures within the Three Realms. If they wished to take a master, they could generally become disciples of Daofathers. Looking across the Three Realms, which Empyrean God or True Immortal didn’t have a True God or Daofather backing them? Even if Ji Ning had a Daofather as a master, they ordinarily wouldn’t care at all. The reason they felt some wariness was simply because Ji Ning had learned the Eight-Nine Arcane Art.

"The situation has changed." With everyone assembled, the azure-robed woman spoke with a solemn expression.

"What is it?" Everyone present looked at her.

Having been summoned, they knew it must be about Ji Ning. The expressions of Celestial Immortal Blackcloud and Celestial Immortal Venomous Clown immediately changed; they were the most enthusiastic about this matter.

The azure-robed woman said gravely, "I have just received word. The location for Ji Ning’s tribulation has been decided."

"Where?" Celestial Immortal Blackcloud pressed.

"He requested the Grand Xia Emperor's protection. The Emperor, fearing no mishap, did not use his own forces. Instead, he reported up to Daofather Crimsonbright, requesting that Ji Ning undergo his tribulation at Daofather Crimsonbright’s own Dao-field. Daofather Crimsonbright agreed." The azure-robed woman said.

This information was actually very secret.

The Grand Xia Emperor hadn’t even told his own subordinates. Very few within Daofather Crimsonbright’s forces knew of it. Yet the Seamless Gate had learned of it so quickly. Their intelligence network was unparalleled across the Three Realms… reaching a truly terrifying level.

But the people present had no time to dwell on that; they had long known how formidable the Seamless Gate’s intelligence was.

"Daofather Crimsonbright?"

"At a Daofather’s Dao-field, there’s nothing we can do."

"Should we request help from a higher power?"

One by one, they grew anxious.

It didn’t matter if it was an avatar or a Primaltwin. If they dared to go to a Daofather’s Dao-field… Daofather Crimsonbright could probably annihilate them all in an instant.

"For the sake of Ji Ning, the higher-ups cannot afford to go to war with Daofather Crimsonbright." The azure-robed woman shook her head. "If we make a move, the other Daofathers and True Gods will surely intervene… it could easily trigger a massive melee amongst a group of True Gods and Daofathers. That is a price we cannot bear."

"Agreed." Everyone nodded.

If True Gods and Daofathers developed grievances and caused a major uproar, that would be one thing. But if they reported it upwards and caused a great storm that resulted in the loss of two or three Daofathers from their own side… then they, the originators of the problem, would be in deep trouble.

"Then what do we do?" Celestial Immortal Blackcloud frowned and barked.

The others were silent.

The one-horned man, who had been sitting quietly and rarely spoke, suddenly smiled. "I have an idea."

"Oh?" Everyone present immediately looked at him.

Celestial Immortal Venomous Clown smiled. "Honored Immortals, you should all be aware that when this Ji Ning was fighting against my Shaoyin clan, he was already entangled by Karmic Hellfire."

"Yes."

"That’s right."

One by one, their eyes began to light up. They all caught on instantly and vaguely understood what Celestial Immortal Venomous Clown was about to say.

"Being entangled by Karmic Hellfire, the power of the Wind Tribulation, Fire Tribulation, and Thunder Tribulation he faces during his Heavenly Tribulation will be greatly increased. But that is still a minor matter. The most crucial thing is his Heart Demon Tribulation… that is where the power increase is the most astonishing." Celestial Immortal Venomous Clown smiled. "And I have already thoroughly investigated this Ji Ning's character. This person values friendship and loyalty above all else. For the sake of his family and his beloved, he would not hesitate to sacrifice life or death. For the sake of brotherly righteousness, he would also go forward without any hesitation."

"Right."

The man in the fiery red Daoist robe nodded. "This Ji Ning once, in order to rescue his junior apprentice-brother, slaughtered his way through one of my Ten Thousand Demons Cave's strongholds, showing absolutely no fear of offending my organization."

"Being so loyal and righteous is certainly admirable. Although I, Venomous Clown, cannot achieve it myself, I still admire it." Celestial Immortal Venomous Clown smiled cheerfully. "The reason is this: for such people, their strongest trait is that their bonds of love and righteousness can make their Dao-hearts terrifyingly powerful. But by the same token, those same bonds become their weakness. Once those bonds collapse, their Dao-hearts collapse with them."

"Of course, getting Ji Ning's heart to collapse through his bonds of affection, given that he's already weathered the Karmic Hellfire, is unlikely. However, filling his heart with endless, blazing rage is entirely possible!"

"Kill everyone who is most important to him."

"To him, as beloved as a parent: that so-called Uncle White! His well-behaved spirit-beast, the Skygreen Serpent!"

"Autumn Leaf, who is like family to him!"

"His Dao-companion, Yu Wei."

"His junior apprentice-brother, Mu Northson."

"Slaughter them all! This Ji Ning will certainly be consumed by a towering rage, and he will absolutely fall into demonic madness!" Celestial Immortal Venomous Clown's smile grew even more radiant. "Although sometimes a berserk state can increase one's power, when one is enduring the Heart Demon Tribulation, falling into demonic madness is the absolute worst thing one can do. There are very, very few who can endure the Heavenly Tribulation in such a berserk, demonic state. Unless their Dao-heart is truly bright and clear, and they are truly a demon at heart. But Ji Ning's nature is not that of a demon; he cannot become a demon while maintaining a bright and clear Dao-heart."

"Excellent." The azure-robed woman nodded. "However, there is no need to kill Yu Wei."

"Not kill Yu Wei?" Celestial Immortal Venomous Clown hesitated. "Even if we kill the others, it will still make him incomparably furious. But Yu Wei is his Dao-companion. Killing her would certainly have a much greater impact on Ji Ning."

"No. Yu Wei is Lu Dongbin’s disciple. Our target for this operation is Ji Ning. I do not wish to drag Lu Dongbin into this." The azure-robed woman’s gaze swept across them. "Everyone is fully aware that once Lu Dongbin becomes involved, even our branch of the Seamless Gate might not be able to withstand the consequences."

The atmosphere instantly became solemn.

Under the Godking were three hundred branches of the Seamless Gate. Although their branch was powerful, Lu Dongbin himself was incredibly strong, and he was well-connected throughout the world. The number of True God and Daofather friends he had befriended probably exceeded ten. And those who cared for him like a son… were the most supreme leaders of the Daoist school within the Three Realms. If Lu Dongbin were to get involved… it would indeed cause a massive storm. If he casually called upon friends, inviting the Eight Immortals of the Upper Cave and a group of allies, it would be enough to annihilate this entire branch of the Seamless Gate.

"Very well, we will not touch Yu Wei."

"We will not touch her."

Everyone quickly agreed.

Celestial Immortal Venomous Clown sneered inwardly. These people were only picking on the weak. It seemed that within the Seamless Gate’s side, only the truly top-tier figures dared to provoke Lu Dongbin. At least, the Empyrean Gods and True Immortals present didn’t have the courage to face him.

"Haha, killing the others will be enough. That Uncle White, that Autumn Leaf… they are like family to Ji Ning." Celestial Immortal Venomous Clown laughed. "Gate Leader, when do we make our move?"

"There’s no time to lose. We will make some minor preparations and strike directly at dawn tomorrow, attacking Serpentwing Lake." The azure-robed woman said. "If Ji Ning happens to be at Serpentwing Lake, and we have the chance to kill him, that goal will be achieved. If we cannot kill Ji Ning, then killing the other targets will also serve our purpose."

"Yes."

Everyone nodded.

Time passed…

A day went by quickly, and the next day arrived.