Chapter Ninety-Six: Inner Demon Invasion

Wang Luo, wake up, Wang Luo—

Suddenly, a voice so familiar it should have been impossible to hear again rang out beside Wang Luo’s ear. He froze, his face filled with disbelief.

“Boss, you...”

What met his eyes was a man in black with an expression of utter annoyance. Looking at that face he knew better than his own, Wang Luo could not help but pinch himself hard. It hurt. This was not a dream.

“You idiot, what are you pinching yourself for?”

“Boss!”

That familiar teasing scold filled Wang Luo with a warmth he had not felt in so long that he could not help but throw his arms around the man in black, holding him tightly.

“Damn it, Wang Luo, are you gay too? Why are you hugging me so hard?”

“Too?”

Catching the awkward implication in those words, Wang Luo froze. He drew back from the man in black, looking at him with a mixture of confusion, complexity, and astonishment, momentarily at a loss for words.

“Wang Luo!”

Seeing this, the man in black gave a soft call, then pulled the stunned Wang Luo into his arms. Before Wang Luo could even react, their lips met, and a nimble tongue slipped into his mouth.

“Mmph, Boss, you—”

With something invading his mouth, Wang Luo instantly came to his senses. He turned his head to avoid it and tried to speak, raising a hand to shove the man in black away, only to discover that his body did not possess even the slightest strength.

“Wang Luo, I’ve liked you for a long time. I liked you the very first time I saw you. I was afraid you would be repulsed by homosexuality, so I never dared tell you. Wang Luo, give me a chance, and I’ll let you taste the most unbelievable love between men in the world!”

Before he had finished speaking, a hand covered him below the waist, cutting Wang Luo’s words short. The man in black’s lips moved from his chin to his neck, descending little by little, while a low, indistinct voice entered Wang Luo’s ears.

“Boss, we—”

He opened and closed his mouth, trying to say something, but he did not know what. He had not been in contact with a man for half a year, and his body could not help but react strangely. The ferocious mushroom below was already standing tall and rigid, with beads of liquid seeping out.

“Wang Luo, I want you!”

His lips lingered at the two grapes on his chest for a moment, then slid straight down along the line of his breastbone, covering his navel. A dexterous tongue circled within, while a blurred voice, filled with limitless temptation, echoed in Wang Luo’s ear...

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The path of cultivation was rough and uneven. To grow strong, one had to seize enough resources, and naturally face endless strife. One careless mistake could mean being reduced to powder, scattering into heaven and earth.

A cultivator must not only contend with external pressures and struggles, but must also keep constant watch over himself, striving in cultivation, breaking through one bottleneck after another, reaching ever higher and stronger realms.

Everyone who cultivated would encounter bottlenecks. To break through them depended on one’s understanding and opportunities. Forcing a breakthrough would surely provoke a backlash of energy, causing grave injury and damaging one’s foundation.

Of course, there were also those who succeeded by luck. That would naturally be cause for celebration, but the one-in-ten-thousand chance clearly was not something everyone could be fortunate enough to encounter. The result was, of course, tragic.

Although a failed bottleneck breakthrough might still be attempted again, after failure everyone would inevitably feel somewhat dispirited. And that was the most dangerous time, because then the cultivator’s body had already suffered an energy backlash and was in a miserable state, while the mood was also at its lowest. It was precisely the best opportunity for inner demons to invade.

When humans are born, they are pure and simple, without negative thoughts, and thus without inner demons. But as people gradually grow and experience countless things, they more or less accumulate some negative influence, and from that inner demons are born.

Inner demons lurk deep within a person’s soul. Under normal circumstances, they do not dare act rashly. But when a person grows weak, they seize the chance to enter, disturbing the mind. Whether one can defeat them depends on whether one’s will is firm.

For ordinary people, inner demon invasion would at most amount to a bout of illness, because ordinary people have experienced fewer things and possess fewer negative thoughts. The strength of inner demons is proportional to negative thinking.

Cultivators, however, fight and kill, seize resources, and scheme against one another; naturally they harbor far more negative factors within themselves. Thus for cultivators, inner demon invasion is extremely dangerous. One misstep and they may fall into madness, be devoured by the demon within, and sink forever into becoming a monster that knows only slaughter.

Breaking through from sixth rank to seventh rank was very difficult. Usually, when making such a breakthrough, cultivators would prepare everything thoroughly and find a quiet, suitable environment before attempting it, so as to avoid outside interference.

Clearly, because no teacher had instructed him and he was not especially clear about certain matters, and because he had recently been in turmoil of mind, troubled by matters of same-sex desire, that certain someone had not prepared sufficiently. Not only did he fail to break through, he was also seized by an inner demon and plunged into a fantastical and alluring illusion...

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Inside the cave, the tusked boar was still focused on savoring the enormous mushroom, paying no heed at all to the naked figure sitting cross-legged nearby and staring at it.

If the tusked boar had carefully looked back at its master, it would have discovered that although the master sat cross-legged on the ground and stared at it, his eyes were clearly vacant, without focus.

At the cave entrance, a small black monkey was curled up in a ball, its body trembling from time to time. A faint, almost imperceptible gray light covered its surface, unstable and uncertain.

Suddenly, the small black monkey opened its eyes. A flash of red light passed through them, and its whole body became alert and spirited, its eyes bright. Clearly, its strength had improved.

Sensing the considerable increase in energy within its body, the small black monkey bared its teeth and then looked into the cave. What met its eyes was the enormous body of the azure demon serpent. Although it had already been sealed, the pressure of a high-level magical beast still startled the small black monkey, and it let out a squeak.

After discovering that there was no danger at all, the small black monkey turned its gaze to the tusked boar, its eyes full of confusion. After staring for a long time and understanding nothing, it looked toward the only human in the cave.

Squeak, squeak...

After looking for a while, the small black monkey scratched its head and ears, making puzzled squeaking sounds. It ran to Wang Luo’s side, jumping up and down repeatedly, its eyes showing a thoughtful expression.

Squeak, squeak...

Suddenly, as though it had thought of something, the small black monkey gave an anxious cry, leaped onto the azure demon serpent, and frantically urged the tusked boar.

Hmmph...

Feeling the mushroom in its mouth tremble slightly, the tusked boar immediately grew excited. It had not heard a word of what the small black monkey was squeaking about, and only worked even harder, eagerly licking and anticipating the arrival of ecstasy.

Squeak, squeak...

After calling out twice more and finding that the tusked boar still ignored it, the small black monkey jumped back to the side of the figure sitting cross-legged on the ground. It squeaked at Wang Luo, seemingly trying to awaken him, but of course it was to no avail.

Squeal—

Seeing the struggling look in Wang Luo’s eyes grow weaker and weaker, the small black monkey no longer hesitated. A faint gray light lit up all over its body. It gave Wang Luo a short, piercing cry, and then its eyes went black and it collapsed to the ground...