More than thirty gifted cultivators—including Ling Qingzhu, Ying Huanhuan, Lin Langtian, and Mu Qianqian—followed Lin Zhentian toward Ye Feng's secluded villa.
A thick, silvery-white fog veiled the surroundings. It hovered quietly, obscuring all sight within. No one could see what lay beyond it.
"What's inside this fog?" Wang Yan asked, peering into the mist.
Lin Zhentian only smiled and gave no answer.
"If you're that curious," Ying Huanhuan said boldly, "go in and see for yourself."
Fearless as always, she took the lead and stepped directly into the fog.
"Well, we're already here. No point turning back now." Lin Langtian followed closely, walking calmly into the mist.
The moment Lin Langtian's body was engulfed by the fog, his consciousness detached from his body and drifted into a different space.
Ahead of him stood a familiar figure.
"Lin Xiao?"
Lin Langtian blinked in surprise. The figure walking toward him was none other than Lin Xiao—someone he had once defeated.
"Lin Langtian," Lin Xiao's voice was filled with suppressed pain, "You've brought me so much suffering."
"I already admitted my mistake," Lin Langtian replied, his expression calm.
"Is that enough? Do you know how I lived after you destroyed me? I was mocked. They called me trash. A failure."
"I never meant to humiliate you."
"You broke me! You can't just say 'sorry' and move on!"
"Lin Xiao, you're from the branch family," Lin Langtian said firmly. "But being from the branch family doesn't mean you're lesser. Our Lin Family in Qingyang Town is now the main branch. But even so, a clan must have both main and branch families to remain strong—like pillars that support one structure. Without both, we'd collapse under pressure like any third-rate force."
He paused.
"I admit I crushed you once. If given the same choice, I'd do it again. Not out of cruelty—but because it was necessary."
Lin Xiao's face wavered, and his figure dissolved into smoke.
A new figure emerged.
"Erniu?"
Lin Langtian immediately recognized him—his first kill.
"You forced a commoner girl into marriage and caused disaster. You committed unforgivable acts. I don't regret killing you."
Erniu vanished.
Then came others.
Men. Women. Cultivators. Strangers. People Lin Langtian had slain not out of righteousness, but for opportunity, for gain, or for survival.
They surrounded him. Accusing. Staring. Silent.
"This world… is one where the strong devour the weak," Lin Langtian said coldly. "Even if you weren't evil, I killed you for my path. And I don't regret it. If given the chance, I would do it again."
The images assaulted him one by one. Faces of the past. Guilt. Pain. Doubt. Each carving into his spirit.
But he held firm.
One by one, he shattered his inner demons.
---
Outside the Fog – Ye Feng's Villa
Lin Qingtan stood beside Ye Feng, watching the figures enveloped by fog. Though the fog covered only a small space—barely two meters wide—those who entered remained motionless, eyes dull, as if time had stopped.
"What's happening to them?" Lin Qingtan asked curiously.
Ye Feng stood with his hands behind his back. His gaze remained calm.
"They're facing their inner demons."
"Inner demons?" she echoed, brows furrowing.
"A true cultivator must possess not only strength but a heart that can withstand chaos," Ye Feng explained. "This mist is no ordinary fog. It magnifies every hidden shadow in one's heart. They must relive the things they most regret… the things they fear."
"Can we see what they're experiencing?" Lin Qingtan asked, intrigued.
"Who do you want to observe?"
"Ling Qingzhu," she answered after a pause. "Aside from Lin Langtian, she's the only one among them who has real ties to us."
Ye Feng nodded slightly.
He formed a seal with one hand, and a beam of light shot into Ling Qingzhu's mind.
Moments later, an image began to project from her consciousness, casting a scene into the air.
"That's… the Ancient Tomb Mansion?" Lin Qingtan gasped.
Inside the image, a stone hall appeared. Within it lay an ancient sarcophagus, its surface engraved with runes and surrounded by murals of a powerful cultivator's life.
Ling Qingzhu stepped into the tomb. Ignoring the intricate designs, she scanned the hall, checked for traps, and approached the sarcophagus. As she opened it, Ye Feng, Lin Qingtan, and Lin Dong appeared in the vision, entering the tomb from the other side.
Wang Yan, Qin Shi, Lin Langtian, and others followed, emerging from the sea of fire and stepping into the main chamber.
"That's me?" Lin Qingtan's eyes widened in shock. She hadn't expected to be part of Ling Qingzhu's mental vision.
In the image, Ling Qingzhu quickly reached into the sarcophagus and swallowed the Nirvana Heart without hesitation, a flicker of panic in her eyes.
Then came a vivid, intense scene—one that made Lin Qingtan's cheeks turn scarlet and Ye Feng's eyes twitch.
"Ah!" Lin Qingtan screamed and then shouted, flustered. "Master Ye! Why is her mind filled with this kind of imagery?!"
Ye Feng blinked, equally stunned. "That's something you'll have to ask her."
He hadn't expected it either.
The core of Ling Qingzhu's inner demon wasn't guilt, or bloodshed, or hatred. It was regret.
She didn't regret any killings, any betrayal, or even cultivating through forbidden means.
What she regretted most… was not taking the chance to become his woman back in that tomb.
That moment replayed in her mind again and again, infinitely magnified by the fog's power. Her suppressed desires and longing, the what-ifs she never voiced—everything had become her heart's obsession.
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