I took a deep breath and abruptly severed the mind-link with Ye Yang.

Ye Yang stumbled back a few steps, stopping to frown at me. "What are you doing now?"

I said in a low voice, "We've stepped into a trap! These two were deliberately sent here for me to kill."

"Their deaths will ignite the inner demons of everyone else."

"We need to leave, now!"

The people who entered Taiqu Mountain each had their own purpose. No matter what they sought, there was one prerequisite: they had to be alive to obtain it.

Witnessing their companions dying at our hands would certainly ignite their inner demons, driving them to fight us to the bitter end.

No sooner had I spoken than more than a dozen figures rose from the nearby weeds, one after another, their eyes bloodshot as they stared at the four of us.

I tore a button off my clothes, tossed it into the air, and flicked it towards the ground at my feet. "Go!"

Even as my button tumbled through the air, more than a dozen demonic shadows shot towards us, instantly closing to within three feet of me.

Ye Yang and Feng Ruoxing moved to draw their swords, but I stopped them. "Don't fight, run!"

The four of us couldn't fight the inner demons. Attacking them would not only be futile, but would also be a waste of our lives.

Our only option was to run!

As the two of them blocked for me, the claws of the demonic shadows reached within half a foot of my body.

At the same moment, the button I'd flicked landed on the ground. The killing formation took shape, and the killing intent that burst upwards from the ground, though it didn't disperse the inner demons, did knock them off course. dafengxsw.com

As the dozen or so inner demons swayed, their pursuit faltered.

I tore off two more buttons, flicking them left and right. Three killing formations in a triangular pattern blocked the path. Ye Yang and I pulled back, fleeing as fast as we could.

I knew I couldn't outrun the inner demons. Setting up the killing formations was only buying me a few more minutes.

But those few minutes might be enough for a turning point.

Before I could take any further action, I heard the inner demon Li Po say, "Are you trying to get me to deal with the inner demons?"

"We're the same kind, we can definitely take them down!"

"But why should I?"

"All I want is you."

"Don't worry, I'll make sure you feel like you're already dead before the other inner demons kill your body. Then, I'll take the opportunity to devour your consciousness. That's my goal."

"I don't need to risk my life for your brothers, do I?"

I said in a low voice, "You have another purpose, or you wouldn't be wasting your breath talking to me."

The inner demon Li Po laughed. "You're right!"

"My goal is to get you to give up resisting and let me devour you. That's the only way I can completely replace you."

"How about it? Think about it? It's the only way to save the others."

"Actually, if you think about it, not much will change after I become you. The worst that can happen is that you'll become a demon."

"You didn't have much of a good reputation in the martial world to begin with. At most, your reputation will just get a little worse. It's actually a pretty good deal."

For a moment, I was indeed tempted.

After the inner demon replaced me, he would become a living person.

Inner demons can't be killed, but living people can be.

If Ye Yang and the other two joined forces, the inner demon Li Po wouldn't be able to escape. Trading one for three was indeed a good deal.

Just as I was about to agree to the inner demon's offer, Ye Yang's sword pressed against my neck. "You idiot, listen to me. Don't agree to any of the inner demon's conditions."

"Otherwise, I'll die before you do!"

As Ye Yang ran, he cursed, "Don't think I don't know what you're planning! You better drop that stupid idea."

"After the inner demon becomes you, the body will still be your own."

"If we hesitate for even a moment, we won't be able to avoid his knife."

"If you want to drag the entire Two-Realms Hall down with you, just say so!"

When the inner demon Li Po heard Ye Yang's words, he couldn't help but sneer, "So what if you see through our plan? You're still..."

Before the inner demon could finish, he cried out in alarm, "You're crazy!"

Ye Yang and the other two also stopped, looking at me in shock. They saw that I had used the dagger that Jun Jixue had given me to stab myself in the stomach. The tip of the blade protruded an inch from my back.

Lin Zhao grabbed my arm in fright, shouting, "Let go now!"

"No one save me! Otherwise, if I twist the blade, even if you have the greatest abilities, you'll have to watch me die!" I stood there, gripping the hilt of the knife, and sneered, "Li Po, if you don't help, I'll just kill myself. Let's not play anymore!"

"You, you..." The inner demon Li Po suddenly stood a few meters away from us, pointing at the pursuers. "Let's see who dares to come any closer!"

The demonic energy around the inner demon Li Po blazed like fire, suppressing the opponents so that none of them dared to move rashly.

He turned to look at me and said, "How did you do that? I see, it's the Heartless Strike!"

The Heartless Strike was a special skill passed down to me by the Sword Soul.

This strike was not meant to kill, but to settle grievances.

He had told me that in the martial world, there would always be people you couldn't bring yourself to kill, or couldn't bring yourself to kill decisively.

The Heartless Strike allowed you to strike without any conscious thought, essentially striking on instinct.

After this strike, all grievances would be settled.

Of course, the person who died might also be you.

Just now, I had used the Heartless Strike.