From a loser to an immortal sage

Chapter 59 The Illusion of Inner Demons

Everything before my eyes began to distort; the familiar room transformed into unfamiliar skyscrapers, and the antique furniture became cold electronic screens. I stood there blankly, surrounded by the sounds of car horns and the clamor of crowds.

"Yaoyao, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?" Her mother's voice came from afar, tinged with worry.

I turned around abruptly and saw familiar figures walking towards me. My father, mother, and friends I hadn't seen in a long time were all wearing familiar clothes, their faces beaming with smiles I had missed.

"I...I'm back?" I murmured to myself, a surge of indescribable excitement welling up inside me.

"Silly child, what nonsense are you talking about? You've been home the whole time." Mom smiled and patted my head gently, just like when I was little.

"Yeah, Yao Yao, haven't you always wanted to study design at that university? You'd better work hard this year!" her friends teased.

Design...yes, design! My dream, the goal I strived for!

"Yaoyao, what's wrong?" My friends asked with concern when they saw that I looked unwell.

I looked at them, but a strong sense of unease suddenly welled up inside me. No, this isn't right! I've found my path; I'm no longer that ordinary girl chasing after some vague, unattainable dream!

"No, this isn't real!" I shook my head violently, trying to shake off the illusion before my eyes, but the images lingered like maggots clinging to my bones.

"Give up, wouldn't it be better to go back to your original world? There you'll find the people you love and everything you want. Why stay here and suffer?" A cold voice rang in my ear, full of seductive intent.

"No! I won't give up!" I gritted my teeth, struggling against the erosion of my inner demons. What I pursue, what I protect, is here; I will never be deceived by mere illusions!

"Really? Can you really give up everything?" The inner demon's voice grew louder and louder, and the images became more and more real, as if they were within reach.

I closed my eyes, and Wen Chen's image appeared in my mind. His smile and his words transformed into a powerful force, supporting me in resisting the temptations of my inner demons.

"Where my heart leads, that is my path! Where my will leads, that is my way! My fate is in my own hands, not in the heavens, and I will not be swayed by your mere inner demons!" I suddenly opened my eyes, a resolute light shining within them.

"You..." The inner demon seemed not to have expected me to be so resolute, and its tone was full of surprise and anger.

"What do you mean, 'I'... I..." I was about to continue my rebuttal when I suddenly felt a powerful aura coming from behind me...

"Fool, wake up!"

A sharp shout, like a morning bell and evening drum, rang in my ears. The illusion before my eyes shattered like bubbles. The tall buildings, the bustling traffic, and the concerned faces of my parents and friends all vanished in an instant, leaving only a white, empty space.

"Where am I...?" I looked around in confusion, completely unaware of where I was.

“This is the depths of your consciousness, and also the breeding ground for inner demons.” An old man with a white beard appeared in front of me at some point. He was dressed in a blue Taoist robe, holding a whisk, and had an air of otherworldly grace. Wasn’t he Elder Mo, the guardian of the Inner Demon Secret Realm?

"Elder Mo?" I quickly bowed. "This disciple just now..."

“I have seen it all,” Elder Mo stroked his beard, his expression solemn. “Your inner demons originate from the deepest obsessions within you. They conjure up the things you desire most to confuse you, tempting you to abandon your cultivation and return to the mortal world.”

“But…” I remembered the illusion I had just experienced, and a trace of reluctance still lingered in my heart. “It’s not that I’m attached to the mortal world, it’s just that…”

"You just can't let go of the attachments in your heart, is that it?" Elder Mo saw through my thoughts at a glance. "Do you think that stepping onto the path of immortality requires severing all emotions and desires and abandoning everything from the past? Wrong! True cultivation is about facing your true self, conquering your inner demons, and turning all your obsessions into the driving force for progress!"

His words were like a wake-up call, instantly enlightening me. Yes, I came to the world of cultivation to pursue greater power and to protect those I care about, not to escape!

"Elder Mo, I understand!" I took a deep breath, my eyes gradually hardening. "Please guide me on how to overcome my inner demons!"

“It’s very simple,” Elder Mo smiled slightly. “As long as you stay true to yourself and don’t let it mislead you, your inner demons will naturally crumble on their own.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the white space around me began to distort violently. Soon, those familiar illusions reappeared. This time, I saw Su Yao. She was standing in front of me with a smug and malicious smile on her face.

"Xiao Yao, do you really think you can defeat me? You're nothing but a useless piece of trash without any spiritual roots, while I am the chosen one!"

Su Yao's words pierced my eardrums like venomous snakes, stirring up the resentment and anger deep within me.

"Shut up! I'm not a piece of trash!" I roared. "I have my own path, my own way, and I will never lose to you!"

I mobilized all my spiritual power, transforming it into sharp sword energy, and slashed towards Su Yao's phantom.

"Overestimating yourself!" Su Yao sneered, easily dodging my attack.

"Don't be provoked by her words," Elder Mo's voice rang in my ears. "Remember, all of this is just an illusion. Your opponent is not her, but yourself!"

I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself down. I closed my eyes, suppressing all my anger and resentment, leaving only a clear mind.

When I opened my eyes again, Su Yao's phantom had vanished, replaced by...

"Senior Brother Lin?" I looked at the person in front of me in surprise. How could he be here?

"Yaoyao, you've finally come back to me..." Senior Brother Lin looked at me with deep affection and reached out his hand to me...

Just then, I sensed a spying gaze coming from afar, cold and sinister. This aura... could it be...?

Lin's gentle smile made me momentarily dazed, and I almost agreed to go back to the boy who had once stirred my heart. But just as my fingertips were about to touch his palm, his cold gaze was like a bucket of ice water, instantly extinguishing all the tenderness in my heart.

I abruptly withdrew my hand and looked around warily. In the empty sea of ​​consciousness, apart from the phantom of Senior Brother Lin, there was only the omnipresent feeling of being watched, which made me feel so suffocated that I could hardly breathe.

Who is it? Who exactly is lurking in the shadows?

"Yaoyao, what's wrong? Don't you want to come with me?" Senior Brother Lin asked, looking hurt, when he saw my hesitation.

I forced myself not to look at him, my mind racing. Elder Mo had said that inner demons could conjure up the things I craved most, but Senior Brother Lin's affection for me was a thing of the past. Now, his heart belonged only to Su Yao.

“This isn’t the real Senior Brother Lin,” I said coldly, regaining my composure. “Who are you? Why are you impersonating him?”

Lin Shixiong's phantom visibly paused for a moment, then revealed a strange smile: "Yaoyao, what are you talking about? Of course I'm your Lin Shixiong. I've been waiting for you here all along, waiting for you to come back to my side..."

His tone and demeanor were exactly the same as the real Senior Brother Lin. If I hadn't already seen through his true intentions, I probably would have been fooled by him.

Just then, I felt a faint fluctuation from the depths of my consciousness, as if something was calling to me. I closed my eyes, concentrated, and carefully sensed the fluctuation. Suddenly, an image appeared in my mind:

Su Yao!

I opened my eyes abruptly, and it dawned on me. It must be Su Yao! She knew I was trapped in my inner demons, so she wanted to take advantage of the situation to harm me!

With that thought in mind, I could no longer afford to entangle myself with the phantom in front of me, and turned to run into the depths of my consciousness.

"Yaoyao, where are you going? Don't leave me!" Senior Brother Lin's phantom called anxiously behind me, but I ignored it and only wanted to leave this place as soon as possible.

Outside my cultivation cave, Su Yao furtively looked around. After confirming that no one was around, she carefully took out a black wooden box from her sleeve.

The moment the box was opened, a chilling aura filled the air. Su Yao revealed a smug smile: "Xiao Yao, enjoy this 'gift'!"

She took out the contents of the wooden box—a paper crane, entirely black and radiating an eerie aura. Su Yao infused the paper crane with a wisp of spiritual energy, whispered an incantation, and the paper crane instantly came to life, flapping its wings and flying towards my cultivation cave.

Su Yao stared at the direction where the paper crane had disappeared, a sinister smile curling at the corner of her lips. She wanted to see if Xiao Yao could escape the Demon Realm alive without Elder Mo's protection!

At that moment, I was unaware of the approaching danger. I ran towards the depths of my consciousness, where... my true self resided.

I ran frantically, and the once calm lake in my mind was now turbulent. The phantom of Senior Brother Lin had vanished, replaced by countless menacing black mists, roaring and churning, trying to devour me. I guarded my mind, ignoring these terrifying sights. I knew that as long as I found my true self, I could break free from the illusion of my inner demons.

But just then, an extremely cold aura suddenly emanated from the depths of my consciousness. That aura was filled with resentment, jealousy, and madness, as if it wanted to utterly destroy me. I was startled; this aura… did not come from my inner demons!

"Who is it?!" I shouted sharply, while simultaneously channeling all my spiritual energy and looking around warily.

The black fog churned even more violently, as if responding to my questioning, but the chilling aura became even clearer. It was like a venomous snake, silently coiling around my heart, slowly eroding my reason.

I started hallucinating. Those past events I had deliberately forgotten, those painful and humiliating memories, surged into my mind like a tide. I desperately tried to grasp something, but found myself sinking deeper and deeper into despair...

"Oh no, I'm about to be controlled by this evil energy!" I was terrified. If I let this evil energy erode me, I would completely lose myself and become a monster who only knows how to kill!

Just when I was about to despair, a warm light suddenly illuminated my mind. The light was so gentle, yet full of power, completely dispelling the surrounding darkness and cold.

"Master Huixin!" I looked in surprise towards the direction from which the light came, and saw Master Huixin sitting cross-legged deep in my sea of ​​consciousness. Her eyes were slightly closed, her hands were forming a mudra, and she was chanting incantations. A powerful spiritual energy emanated from her body, protecting me firmly behind her.

"You wretched creature, show yourself at once!" Master Huixin shouted, and the chilling aura immediately shrank back, as if trying to escape, but was firmly suppressed by Master Huixin's spiritual power.

"Hmph, such a trivial skill, yet you dare to show off your meager abilities before an expert!" Abbess Huixin sneered, her hand seals changed, and a golden light shot out, completely shattering the chilling aura.

I immediately felt a sense of clarity in my mind, and those terrible hallucinations disappeared. I looked at Master Huixin gratefully and said, "Master, thank you for saving me!"

Master Huixin opened her eyes and looked at me kindly: "Silly child, we are master and disciple, why should I thank you? Just focus on breaking through your inner demons, and leave the rest to me."

I nodded, took a deep breath, and focused my attention once again into the depths of my consciousness. I knew that my inner demons had not completely disappeared, and I had to overcome them in order to truly break through the bottleneck and reach a higher level.

I closed my eyes and walked step by step into the depths of my consciousness, where there was a tightly closed stone door. I knew that if I opened that door, I could find my true self, and also find... the reason why I had transmigrated to this world...

I took a deep breath and slowly reached out my hand. Just as my fingertips were about to touch the stone door, I suddenly felt a powerful surge of spiritual energy coming from behind it...