53. Sea of Consciousness
Four directions of golden light shone, a boundless swirling vortex of gloomy wind.
Wails echoed endlessly. Just by approaching, her consciousness was flooded with a variety of sounds that made her head split.
However…
Gong Yiling focused, her eyes shining like a vast, starlit sky.
With her demonic art at full power, any ghost essence was quickly devoured and refined.
And the negative emotions attached to the ghost essence were gradually gathered and purified by the cleansing qi of the Heavenly Saint Technique of the Myriad Paths.
Everything was a race against time. She was now just converting all the ghost essence outside the Ghost Essence Crystal into her own true essence.
The moment her consciousness touched the Ghost Essence Crystal, she felt as if she had been hit by a heavy blow.
Originally, she could have been fully prepared, waiting until she had broken through to the Soul Origin realm before touching this extraordinary object.
And she could have used her previous method to absorb enough ghost essence to ensure this thing couldn’t pose much of a threat to her.
Cautiously, this Ghost Essence Crystal might have been nothing more than that.
But now, she could only use the most reckless method to face this thing head-on.
When she finally tore through the outer layer of the Ghost Essence Crystal with her cultivation technique, she felt as if she had been plunged into a boundless, dark sea.
The surroundings were filled with materialized ghostly figures, and in an instant, they completely engulfed her.
For a moment, she felt as if she were in countless scenes at once, witnessing the tragic deaths of innocent people.
All the ghost essence absorbed by the Ghost Essence Crystal, without exception, came from the injustice and suffering of this land.
It wasn’t just limited to the pitiful people in the Hundred Ghosts Ridge. There were also scenes of famine, of those violated and left to rot in the wilderness, of those who died with grievances, unable to seek revenge.
Hearts filled with regret, sighing at the injustice of the world.
Though their bodies were dead, their resentment lived on.
Gong Yiling felt like she was being dragged into the water by a water ghost. No matter what she did, how she struggled, the end would be the same.
—In these deep waters, gradually drowning.
But just then…
She suddenly saw a four-directional golden light shining in the darkness.
Yes, her consciousness was now within the Ghost Essence Crystal, so she could naturally see the spiritual art Yan Chuyue had set up.
The spiritual art itself seemed to be struggling in the boundless black mist, as if it could be extinguished at any moment.
But even so, the golden light was still dazzling, able to penetrate through several layers of black mist and into her eyes.
“Heh…”
This scene cheered her up a bit and made her realize something.
Until now, the Ghost Essence Crystal’s interior could only use spiritual power to resist her invasion.
In other words, this Ghost Essence Crystal had not used any means other than spiritual power.
Was this why Chuyue said she could definitely handle this thing?
Well… regardless of why Chuyue knew this, if this Ghost Essence Crystal was this kind of thing—
“I don’t care who you are.”
Gong Yiling closed her eyes and, forcing herself to be calm, said,
“I’m not a bodhisattva who saves the world, not an enlightened Daoist, not the savior you’re waiting for who can free you from fate.”
“Your regrets in life, your resentment after death, I don’t want to care, and I don’t have the ability to care.”
“I can only take this power for myself, to protect the people I want to protect, to help the people I want to help. If anything stands in my way…”
“Whether it’s a vengeful spirit or an evil ghost, they will be executed.”
With that, Gong Yiling suddenly opened her eyes.
In her state of consciousness, a heart sword suddenly appeared.
This was a materialized sword intent that only those who had reached this level of sword intent could create. And Gong Yiling’s heart sword, because it was born from the Eight Desolations Wind and Cloud Sword, was quite similar in appearance.
And the next moment, this longsword appeared in her hand.
The sharp potential of the longsword to cut through all things was hidden in its dazzling silver glow.
Half-revealed, half-hidden, it instantly repelled the lingering vengeful spirits that had been entwining around her.
“If you don’t stop me, I can leave you in the Ghost Essence Crystal. After a hundred years, you can find a new host.”
“But before that, it’s life or death.”
Gong Yiling swung her longsword, and a sword light immediately split the entire black mist.
“You choose.”
In a duel of the spiritual sea, Miss Gong wouldn’t think she would lose.
Sword intent was like a stabilizing needle in the spiritual sea. No one would be so foolish as to launch a spiritual attack on a swordsman with sword intent.
It was not only a thankless task, but it was also enough to get yourself into trouble.
And now, Gong Yiling’s sword intent shook the entire inner space of the Ghost Essence Crystal, and the previous gloom was swept away by her.
Whatever thoughts these vengeful spirits still had, in the face of the fear of a second death, they could only choose to compromise.
Soon, the black mist here receded like a tide, and after it had completely dissipated, the core of the Ghost Essence Crystal finally appeared before her.
“Is this it?”
In the sea of consciousness, it was a withered tree rooted in a mirror-like land.
Although it was a withered tree, its trunk and branches were thin and withered, but its leaves, flowers, and fruits were quite lush, a stark contrast to the riddled bottom.
Crystal clear, beautiful—this extremely enchanting posture was displayed on a precarious support, as if mocking countless glamorous façades that were nothing but empty shells.
The Heartflame Empire, the Baiyao Dynasty.
Qian Yue Academy, the Hundred Ghosts Ridge.
These places, under all their magnificent appearances, were all buried with unknown secrets.
Perhaps her innate mission was to completely shatter all hypocrisy, even if it meant that such a beautiful flower would no longer exist, to never fail the request of any kind-hearted person.
“I won’t completely turn you into my own thing today.” Gong Yiling said, “I’m just asking you to obey me, to be used by me.”
“I am indeed not very ambitious, but I will not drift with the tide. I will not let anyone who stands before me be humiliated in every possible way.”
“Although I am a member of the demonic sect, the demonic sect I understand is one that is unrestrained, arrogant, and seeks to repay kindness with kindness and hatred with hatred. If you don’t submit, then fight.”
“If you are willing, then good. If you are not, then withdraw the illusion formation and let Hua Qiyang leave Senior Feng’s body. But if you are unwilling to do anything, then I will beat you until you are willing.”
“I, Gong Yiling, keep my word.”
The girl’s words, like thunder, resounded through the clouds, and also made the originally restless tree suddenly calm down.
