Afterward, Yuan Jie found an excuse to temporarily leave the group with Han Ying'er to have a private conversation.
"What's the matter? Why call me out alone?"
"Ying'er, don't you like Qin San?"
Han Ying'er thought for a moment and replied uncertainly, "Probably... I don't like him."
"What do you mean, 'probably'? Either you like him or you don't."
"I don't know how to explain it. The more I get to know Qin San, the more I feel something is off. He's so hard to figure out, and I just can't bring myself to feel anything for him."
"That's your reason?!" Yuan Jie's voice rose slightly.
"What's wrong?" Han Ying'er was startled. They were supposed to be whispering, so why was Yuan Jie raising her voice?
Yuan Jie lowered her voice again, "What kind of reason is that? Don't you know how well Qin San has treated you all this time?"
"Yes, I know, but you can't force these things. You wouldn't understand."
"I wouldn't understand? Hah, I wouldn't understand!" Yuan Jie's voice rose again, this time with more agitation.
"Are you okay?" Han Ying'er was a bit frightened by Yuan Jie's sudden outburst.
"Sorry, it's nothing."
......
On the third day of their flight, while riding their flying mounts, the four of them appeared to be chatting and laughing, but there was an underlying tension in the air.
Even Lin Xuan, who had previously chimed in with a few words, was now quietly observing the situation.
Li Siyi whispered to Su Luo, "Why does the atmosphere feel so strange lately?"
"Ah, the mysteries of love," Su Luo replied cryptically.
"What are you talking about?"
"It's better if you don't understand."
"Don't leave me hanging like that."
But Su Luo did just that, leaving the rest of his thoughts to be written in his diary.
Of course, he only wrote when no one was around to disturb him. Although no one could see his diary, writing still required focus.
[It's been three days of flying, and we're almost at the secret realm. Let's talk about the plot inside the secret realm.]
[This secret realm was indeed left behind by an ancient powerhouse, and there are still some treasures inside. Qin San had already discovered them, but he didn't take them.]
[He waited until now to bring Han Ying'er and the others here to retrieve them, all to show off his good luck in front of Han Ying'er and use these treasures to win her favor.]
[He even went so far as to add some of his own precious treasures to the mix.]
[He's really something, I almost feel bad for him.]
[Of course, that's not his only goal. Another purpose is to sacrifice Zhuo Mingyuan and Yuan Jie to break the seal in the secret realm.]
[According to the records, this secret realm seals a Heart Demon Emperor.]
[As the name suggests, the Heart Demon Emperor is related to heart demons. He excels at provoking the heart demons of cultivators.]
[As everyone knows, heart demons are hidden within a cultivator's body, a part of themselves, but they are the embodiment of negative emotions, born from regrets, anger, or obsessions.]
[If left unchecked, the heart demon can grow and eventually take over, causing the cultivator to lose themselves to it.]
[Thus, at a certain point, one must conquer their heart demon to advance further.]
[The timing and impact of the heart demon vary from person to person.]
[The Heart Demon Emperor can manipulate these heart demons, causing others to fight against themselves before any real battle begins.]
[Under the right conditions, he can even control others through their heart demons.]
[In the lore, what makes him an emperor is his unique ability to materialize heart demons.]
[Normally, heart demons remain within the body, but the Heart Demon Emperor can manifest them into physical forms, indistinguishable from the real person.]
[A materialized heart demon is no weaker than the original, often even stronger. Its power is calculated as: the cultivator's own strength + negative emotional energy + soul power.]
[While a normal heart demon has everything the original does, the "dark side" is often stronger, and the heart demon's madness gives it an edge in combat.]
[However, the materialized heart demon, being a creation of the soul, has its limits.]
[The stronger the soul, the longer the materialized heart demon's "health bar." It can regenerate until its health is depleted, but it can't regenerate indefinitely.]
[For most people, the soul's strength is fixed at birth, so the heart demon's health is roughly equal to the original's, preventing it from becoming too overpowered.]
[Still, the materialized heart demon has its advantages. As long as its health isn't depleted, it can regenerate. Try cutting a person in half and see if they can do that!]
[So, is the Heart Demon Emperor a tough opponent?]
[Not really. He never broke free from the seal and simply faded away as the secret realm collapsed.]
[The reason is that Qin San didn't know how to break the seal. The only clue he had was the word "sacrifice" in the secret realm's records.]
[At the same time, the Heavenly Demon Sect had tasked him with eliminating some outstanding disciples of the righteous sects to prepare for their upcoming plans.]
[That's right, the Heavenly Demon Sect is planning to launch the fourth great sect war—or maybe not the fourth, but they're planning to take on ten major sects. Ambitious, to say the least.]
[So Qin San planned to kill Zhuo Mingyuan and Yuan Jie here, completing his undercover mission while also trying to break the Heart Demon Emperor's seal, killing two birds with one stone.]
[No, more than that. By eliminating Zhuo Mingyuan and Yuan Jie, he wouldn't have to share the treasures, and the ones he added would return to him.]
[With the group reduced from four to two, Han Ying'er would have no one else to rely on but him.]
[He could also pin their deaths on the secret realm, leaving himself completely unscathed.]
[What a genius plan.]
[Unfortunately, bringing Lin Xuan along threw a wrench in everything.]
[First, while discovering treasures was exciting, Lin Xuan soon found a large hidden chamber that even Qin San had missed.]
[Inside were eight rooms, each containing profound formations that greatly accelerated cultivation speed.]
[If two people cultivated together, the speed increased twentyfold.]
[But with three people, the formation would stop working.]
[Yes, these were dual cultivation formations.]
[However, unlike the more... intimate versions, these formations only required the two cultivators to hold hands to activate, with no additional actions needed.]
[With such formations, who cared about treasures? Cultivation came first.]
[Lin Xuan's luck truly knew no bounds.]
[This, of course, made Qin San resent Lin Xuan even more for stealing the spotlight.]
[As Lin Xuan and Han Ying'er grew closer during their cultivation sessions, the tension between Lin Xuan and Qin San escalated.]
[Finally, Qin San couldn't take it anymore and revealed his true colors.]
[In a sneak attack, he severed Zhuo Mingyuan's right hand and stabbed Yuan Jie.]
[They were too trusting of Qin San, and their disbelief at being betrayed made them easy targets.]
[As for Han Ying'er, Qin San crippled her cultivation. While his love for her was genuine, everything else about his time in the Seven Stars Sword Sect was a lie. Unable to kill her, he chose to strip her of her power, forcing her to stay by his side.]
[But what good did it do? In the end, he was just a clown. When he turned his attention to Lin Xuan, the "substitute fighter" appeared.]
[Elder Yan unleashed a "Three Thousand Flames Strike" and obliterated Qin San.]
[It's almost laughable how Qin San thought he could humiliate Lin Xuan. He clearly didn't know the meaning of death.]
[However, after this, Elder Yan fell into a deep slumber once more, leaving Lin Xuan temporarily without one of his trump cards.]
[With the overuse of the dual cultivation formations, the secret realm's energy was depleted, causing it to collapse.]
[The Seven Stars Sword Sect suffered heavy losses: one of the four prodigies dead, one crippled, one severely injured, and one lightly injured. What a tragedy.]