When Nie Tianren arrived at the scene, the situation had been controlled—at least that was how it appeared.

Han Tao, a Nascent Soul Cultivator of the Emperor's Extreme Split Sky Dao, was hanging weakly, his many vital points, including the Dantian, were penetrated by Forbidden Technique steel needles, and even his Nascent Soul was bound by heavy Soul Binding Locks. What was most bizarre was his abdomen—at this moment, it was more terrifying than that of a woman in labor. The robust body of a cultivator meant that there was no concern for his life.

Nie Tianren looked on with disgust at this young man he had once thought highly of. The guy was ambitious and was initially a promising talent. But now, this promising talent was in tears, weakly crying out something.

—"I don't want to eat shit…"

"What's going on? What exactly happened?"

Nie Tianren's angry roar echoed throughout the entire ruin.

Between the roars, the majesty of an Emperor emerged.

The two Nascent Soul Cultivators supporting Han Tao trembled in their hearts, responding, "We don't know either. After Junior Brother Han returned, he inexplicably started eating dirt here…"

"Eating dirt? Eating dirt?" Nie Tianren grabbed Han Tao, transformed his senses, and a Supreme Daoist Skill consisting of Emperor's Qi and Mana emanated from Emperor's Extreme Split Sky Dao's mental method, carrying the noble spirit of one "above tens of thousands and beneath the heavens," he attacked the inside of the other's body. This Mana circulated for several breaths quietly surpassing the seal and patrolling inside Han Tao.

He didn't know, at this moment on the ground, Wang Qi's eyes lit up, and he whispered with a low chuckle, "Alright, the bait is taken."

The Emperor's Qi continued to circulate inside Han Tao's body. It is said that "when an Emperor patrols, demons and ghosts evade," no matter what kind of vengeful Curse Gu, once confronting the overbearing power of the Emperor's Extreme Split Sky Dao, the word to describe it is "break." No evil techniques could raise their heads in the presence of this Supreme Qi, and all impurity would be cleansed.

However, Nie Tianren felt nothing.

The Divine Plague Curse Technique is built with mathematical measures and is similar to the principles of neural signals. It is neither a Spell nor a Heart Demon; it is inherently different from ordinary thoughts in the domain of Magic.

In Nie Tianren's examination, this disciple was neither under an Illusion Technique nor invaded by Outer Demons. His desire to eat shit was as if it was inborn.

Saying "this is impossible" was meaningless now. Heterodox paths always hold some bizarre Magic. It wouldn't be surprising whatever they did.

Yet, Nie Tianren was bothered by another issue, "Why is Han Tao's Essence depleted, and why is there only a tiny bit of Mana left?"

Everyone shook their heads: "Perhaps it was expended during combat?"

In reality, Han Tao hadn't engaged in much intense combat. His Mana wasn't much depleted. The reason for this situation was entirely because the Heart Demon Curse had stolen his strength and converted it for its own. When the Heart Demon Curse was in a state of Divine Power, it was difficult to detect.

Nie Tianren felt nothing, shook his head, and withdrew his Mana. He commanded, "Don't we still have a live one? Ask for the solution. If that doesn't work, use those two live ones as hostages to trade for a solution!"

"Yes!"

They didn't know that asking for the solution was already too late.

On the way, Han Tao had indirectly infected twenty to thirty Golden Core Cultivators. They were the weakest, readily resolved by the radiation effect of the Heart Demon Curse. Then came six Nascent Souls. Initially, one who fought with Han Tao to prevent him from eating dirt, two who restrained Han Tao and sealed his internal power, and three who attempted to treat Han Tao. These six Nascent Soul Cultivators had direct Mana exchange with Han Tao, thus also harboring strong Heart Demon Curse Power within them.

Then, Divine Separation Cultivator Nie Tianren also bore a trace of faint Heart Demon Curse Power.

This time, the gains were truly substantial.

The Heart Demon Network could steal the perceptions of others. Wang Qi was now able to know of the matters underground.

"Then, let's initiate it."

Above ground, Wang Qi smiled, his finger lightly traced in the void, like unlocking a phone screen.

The Divine Plague Curse Technique "Famine" and "Eat Shit" spread like some shameless background bundled download software, following the Heart Demon Curse into everyone's minds.

A strange atmosphere suddenly emerged among those practicing Ancient Methods. The few sane individuals suddenly found their fellow disciples displaying odd expressions. A few with weaker willpower stared directly at the ground. Even Divine Separation Stage Great Cultivator Nie Tianren's gaze flickered.

The first to spark the frenzy was a Golden Core Cultivator from the Heavenly Book Tower. Looking at the ground, he muttered, "This Senior Uncle is desperately eating dirt; could it be that the mud of this forbidden land has some effect against evil?"

"Ridiculous!" his Master immediately scolded.

But another cursed cultivator countered, "This place seals the 'World-Purifying Envoy,' perhaps the stones might have some divine effect?"

"How could that be?" one of the Unrivaled Sword Sect's Nascent Soul Cultivators countered. He was one of the two Nascent Soul Cultivators who had locked down Han Tao and had the most contact with Han Tao, deeply cursed. His eyes flickered, stretched out his hand, and scraped a piece from the relic's rock wall, "I'll show you all. This is just an ordinary broken rock, nothing miraculous… Ah, oh, still..."

It actually tastes pretty good...

Even without deliberately practicing body refinement, a Nascent Soul Cultivator's mana would strengthen the intermolecular bonds inside their body to another level. The Renewal Demon Clan's ruins, established millions of years ago, had their main functional parts deep underground, and the surface part was just ordinary rocks. To a Nascent Soul Cultivator, this thing was just a slightly harder pancake.

However, it tasted more like pine sugar.

The Nascent Soul Cultivator couldn't help but recall the days before he embarked on the path of cultivation. There was a scarcity of resources overseas, and his family often went hungry. But on his birthdays, his mother would give him sugar dew collected from the branches of trees. At that time, it was one of the rare sweet things in the Far Sea region...

Saliva continuously poured from this rugged man's mouth. Unconsciously, he swallowed that piece of rock. He involuntarily picked up another piece and said to others, "It seems to have a bit of spiritual power. But, it likely lacks the power to dispel evil or break curses."

Beneath that memory, almost forgotten, he consumed three stones.

At this point, several Core Formation Cultivators under the influence of the spell could no longer restrain themselves. They abandoned their reserve and frantically ran to the rock wall, picking at the stones. The weaker ones, who were not skilled in body refinement, crouched down and grabbed handfuls of dirt.

A Nascent Soul Cultivator, who was not cursed, curiously picked up some dirt and put it in his mouth, only to trigger a strong urge to vomit.

Amongst those cursed, Nie Tianren was the only one who realized the truth.

The more disgusting it was, the sweeter it seemed.

The more inedible it appeared, the tastier it was.

The more foul-smelling it was, the more fragrant it became.

...

No... no, no, no, no!

Nie Tianren silently recited the Heart Clarity Spell in his mind but found that he couldn't rid himself of this desire. He did not join the group of half-mad Little Golden Cores, but instead dug deeper into his own heart.

Then, he saw desires so ugly they almost shattered his inner being.

"Stop eating," he said.

The deterrence of a Divine Separation Stage was indeed substantial. As soon as he spoke, most people stopped their actions. Only one Golden Core Cultivator, too engrossed in his eating, continued to bring a piece of stone towards his mouth.

Nie Tianren pointed a finger lightly, without hesitation, he took the life of that Golden Core Cultivator. The cultivator's body, tough as refined steel, instantly crumbled to dust like weathered parchment under the casual flick. Nie Tianren spoke in a low voice, "You have been cursed! Tricked! Don't you understand? Eating these stones, this mud, you are playing right into the enemy's hands! Hold yourselves back!"

His words, which would have been truly effective without the influence of the Heart Demon Curse, didn't work. The Heart Demon Curse wasn't something one could endure through sheer willpower. The stronger one resisted, the more obsessive they became, giving rise to the Dao Heart Pure Yang Spell. Succumbing to the false sense of beauty and deluding oneself into thinking nothing was wrong would trigger the Thousand Illusion Divine Spell.

By now, everyone had a sliver of fear toward this unknown spell in their hearts. The Divine Plague Curse Technique penetrated deeply, infinitely magnifying this tiny Heart Demon.

Every person harbors a slight fear of the unknown. If it were a cultivator who could turn wisdom at will, this stray thought could be extinguished easily. However, with three Heart Demon Curses glaring fiercely, these Ancient Method Practitioners had no way to turn the tide.

After temporarily stabilizing the situation, Nie Tianren sat down cross-legged, circulating the Emperor Immortal Heart, commanding Central Palace, intimidating all stray thoughts with supreme authority. His consciousness was completely focused on his own mana, hoping to locate the source of the curse. As a Divine Separation Stage Cultivator, his thoughts could merge with his mana. Now, he was the only one who might have a chance to break free from the control of the Heart Demon Curse.

But, was Wang Qi, having made all preparations, going to give him that chance?

He might currently seem passive, but let's not forget, the essence of the "Yellow Robed King" is a divine spirit, its body is a system, and its human form is merely its human-machine interface. This interface could appear anywhere in the system.

A pleasing yet piercing flute sound arose. White curse light emerged out of nowhere, then transformed into multicolored lights, condensing a flute in mid-air. Next, tentacles wrapped into "claws" extended. The two "claws" linked to a grotesque body. However, the Ancient Method Practitioners couldn't see this because a yellow robe blocked their investigation.

Now, the Yellow Robed King, with the power of several dozen Golden Cores and six Nascent Souls, had increased its strength by more than sixfold compared to when it fought Han Tao.

"Who are you?" Nie Tianren furrowed his brows, puzzled: "A divine spirit? Why would you associate with the heterodox?"

Wang Qi, controlling the Yellow Robed King, made the air vibrate with a piercing, treacherous laugh: "Associate with the heterodox? Who could be more corrupt than I?"

Merely its voice contained the power of the Heart Demon Curse, causing the listeners to spawn numerous Heart Demons!

"Central Earth has inscriptions, eerily nameless, temporarily called the Yellow Document, read it to reach my palace," sang the Yellow Robed King in a vulgar tone, laughing loudly: "My body is located on Earth Star, among the Pleiades in the Deep Space Star Sea, summoned here by Wang Qi with the Yellow Document."

"I am the Master of the Deep Space Star Sea, whimsically reveling in the distant realm..."

"I am indescribable!" (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it at qidian.com, provide monthly tickets, and your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to continue reading.)