Chapter 16: Reentering the Trial, Tormented by Inner Demons
The cheers in the Immortal Sect Square receded like the tide. Before Yun Yao could fully savor the joy of surviving a deadly ordeal, a cold voice shattered the brief calm.
“Yun Yao, the Trial of the Heart Demon begins immediately.”
At some unknown moment, the Heart Demon Emissary appeared at the edge of the square. Clad in a black robe, his face stern and devoid of emotion, he proclaimed the announcement like a messenger from the depths of hell.
Yun Yao’s heart sank sharply. She turned toward the familiar trial ground radiating an ominous aura, her mind filled with doubt and unease.
She had just barely escaped death in the forbidden land—why must she now face the Heart Demon again?
Could this Heart Demon Trial ground be her nemesis?
Whispers erupted among the disciples nearby, buzzing like flies and gnats, only adding to her agitation.
“Another trial already? Didn’t we just have one recently?”
“Yeah, Sister Yun Yao is truly unlucky!”
“The Heart Demon Trial is perilous beyond measure. She’s bound to suffer again.”
Yun Yao took a deep breath, striving to quell the anxiety within her.
She knew avoidance was futile; only by confronting it bravely could she find the true path.
Tightening her grip on her sword, she stepped forward toward the entrance of the trial ground.
Each step felt as if she trod on cotton—soft and weak—but she forced herself to move resolutely ahead.
The moment her toes crossed into the trial ground, darkness instantly swallowed everything around her.
It was as if she had plunged into an abyss without bottom; the icy blackness enveloped her tightly, suffocating her breath.
Her sight was stripped away; her hearing amplified to an unbearable degree. Only the heavy sound of her own breathing echoed in her ears, the invisible pressure nearly choking her.
Suddenly, everything before her shifted drastically.
She found herself in a familiar scene—the office of a modern city.
The desk was heaped with towering piles of documents; the computer screen displayed dense spreadsheets.
Harsh fluorescent lights stung her eyes, while the constant clacking of keyboards and incessant ringing of phones swirled around her like a hypnotic torment.
The work she had once loathed flooded back into her mind, pressing down on her like a heavy weight.
Colleagues who had once treated her harshly drifted like ghosts among the desks.
Their eyes were cold, their movements mechanical, as if they were emotionless machines.
Yun Yao felt powerless; the fear of oppression and control welled up inside her again, as if she had returned to the days before entering this world, slogging through endless overtime.
She spun around abruptly, desperate to escape this suffocating place.
But translucent walls had appeared without warning, trapping her firmly within the office.
No matter how hard she pushed, they would not budge an inch.
Despair surged like a tide, threatening to engulf her utterly.
At that moment, the office door creaked open slowly, breaking the suffocating silence.
A tall man in a suit entered; his face slick with oil, beer belly protruding—Yun Yao’s most dreaded former boss before she transmigrated.
A disdainful smile curled on his lips, his eyes filled with contempt as he closed in on her step by step.
“Yun Yao, oh Yun Yao, look at you now. What skills do you have left? Still trapped here like a miserable bug.”
His voice hissed like a venomous snake, each word stabbing at her heart.
“Look at these reports you’ve done—utterly disastrous! Who do you think you are? Just a fresh graduate girl daring to boss others around here?”
His voice grew louder, sharper, as if to pierce her eardrums.
His fat finger jabbed at her nose, spitting saliva into her face.
Nausea churned in her stomach, but she fought to keep it down.
Rage blazed fiercely within her.
Clenching her fists tightly, her nails dug deep into her palms, sending sharp pain through her.
She yearned to strike back, to trample this man beneath her feet, to make him taste humiliation in return.
Yet fear held her back—the fear of the Heart Demon’s power, the dread of losing control again.
Her heart wavered between fury and terror, her expression shifting from rage to fright to confusion.
The space around her seemed to shrink, the walls pressing inward, suffocating her.
The man’s face loomed ever closer, filling her entire vision.
His malicious grin twisted like a nightmare, binding her tightly, stealing her breath.
Yet Yun Yao did not confront him head-on as before.
She chose silence, allowing the Heart Demon to vent.
She bowed her head, saying nothing, like a lamb waiting to be slaughtered.
The Heart Demon faltered, its attack rhythm disrupted. It stared at her in puzzlement, unable to understand her passivity.
The oppressive atmosphere eased slightly, but tension still thickened the air.
Seizing the moment, Yun Yao adjusted her mindset. She inhaled deeply, exhaled slowly, her gaze growing resolute.
She waited—for the right moment to strike back.
She knew the Heart Demon’s power was not invincible; once its weakness was found, victory could be swift.
Suddenly, a faint, barely perceptible smile curved her lips.
“Are you done talking?”
That faint smile was like a lightning flash in the dark night, illuminating the steadfast fire in her eyes.
In the next instant, she moved.
With a swing of her long sword, a sharp wave of sword energy cut through the air, striking directly at the man’s face.
This was no ordinary sword energy, but a new technique she had grasped within the Heart Demon Trial—the “Heart-Piercing Slash.”
The sword energy brimmed with potent spiritual power, like a beam of light tearing through the man’s false facade.
The man screamed miserably as his corpulent body shriveled swiftly like a deflated balloon.
The contempt and scorn vanished from his face, replaced by terror and agony.
His eyes widened in disbelief that Yun Yao dared to resist him.
He tried to dodge, but the sword energy locked him fast, leaving him unable to move.
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