Chapter 748: The Deepest Desire

Chapter 748: The Deepest Desire

Zhao Changhe had long known this move was coming.

He had always taken Kongshi as Mara, for that was his assumed enemy... What was Mara? The demon king ordained by Buddhism, seducer of the hidden evil in men's hearts—it would be strange indeed if He did not wield the art of mind.

As early as Yue Hongling's solitary journey through Kunlun, she had already tasted His tricks, and not just once or of one kind. First came an extremely realistic mirror of self-inquiry, attempting to drain her soul; when she broke free, her innermost thoughts were read, leading to multiple encounters with illusory fakes in the Kunlun secret realm, each of which she unraveled in turn.

But that was earlier, before the heroes' dragon-slaying had even begun. Mara seemed far from fully recovered, and with Kunlun's motley crowd, He feared trouble, so He dared not strike directly, only casting illusions from afar. Yue Hongling passed her trial with fright but no harm, laying a solid foundation for her later breakthrough to the Imperial realm.

Since his own debut, Zhao Changhe had never faced such mental illusion torture. That time with Yin Kui, he thought it was an illusion, but damn, it turned out to be real—Lie crawled out from the blood-fiend intent, nearly killing him. Did yesterday's encounter with Jiuyou count? Not really—it was just a perceptual distortion from overwhelming pressure and the desolate, annihilating will.

But his lack of experience didn't matter. Yue Hongling had shared all her battle experiences clearly through their dual cultivation; Zhao Changhe knew Mara's tricks as if he had lived them himself.

At the first moment, he guarded his spiritual platform with the Diamond Sutra, keeping his mind as firm as gold.

The art of mind manipulation doesn't even require you to be that strong—the difference between being prepared and unprepared is already worlds apart.

The next instant, the scene before him changed completely. Gone was Kongshi, gone the bustling street, gone the roaring fire, gone the crowd of onlookers. Before him were smooth hot springs, the tinkling of flowing water, and amidst the misty vapors, a faint vision of a lotus throne, as if in the center of the water.

A beauty draped in light gauze lay sideways on the lotus throne, her charms half-hidden, half-revealed.

—Without surprise, this reflected Zhao Changhe's own deepest longing. If he sank into that longing, his soul would become Mara's slave. Such tricks are common in all kinds of works, but common means effective.

Every human has their own seven emotions and six desires: love and parting, resentment and meeting, unattainable desires... The more unattainable, the more clinging, and thus one falls into demonhood. Besides disguise and tampering, Mara excels at this.

Zhao Changhe himself was a bit curious: what was the deepest desire hidden in his own heart? Logically, he had no special desires left—beautiful women surrounded him, power over the world was his, and aside from wanting peace in the world, it seemed all that remained was going home... But what use was tempting him with home? He knew it was impossible...

Curiously, he parted the mist and looked inside. The beauty's figure and face grew clearer.

Her jade-like toes were delicate, like pearls and fat, hazy and dreamlike in the water mist, resembling Sisi.

Looking upward, her straight long legs lay sideways, slightly bent, making them appear even more slender and graceful, yet unlike Yue Hongling's or Zhuque's vigor—they were boneless, warm as jade, making one want to caress them, feeling their elasticity and softness.

Further up, round hips and a wasp waist, full hills—at first glance, it seemed like he saw Sanniang, making him want to grope and fondle those graceful curves.

Continuing upward, a slightly pointed chin, fair and crystalline skin faintly tinged with pink, sensual lips slightly parted, seeming both pleased and pouting.

Zhao Changhe's heart skipped a beat. The lower half of the face was exactly like Jiuyou's, only Jiuyou was much colder.

Could it be that the desire hidden in his heart was actually Jiuyou? What the hell, was he that familiar with her? Just because he had kissed her hand? That couldn't be...

Looking further up, that skipped beat suddenly turned into a thunderous drumming, booming in his chest.

The beauty before him had both eyes gently closed, serene as night, with a head of neat short hair. As she lay sideways propping her cheek, a few stray strands brushed her forehead, relaxed and elegant.

It wasn't Jiuyou at all—it was Blindie!

But Blindie was always wrapped tightly in black clothes; he had never seen her in such a barely-there gauze, never even imagined her that way. Yet when he saw the full picture, Zhao Changhe felt a sense of "of course it is."

My inner desire—is it to possess her?

Yes... If the subconscious desire was her, then it wasn't surprising at all, only his heart was beating countless times faster.

In a sense, possessing her and "going home" could be considered the same thing. Once he had her, what was so hard about going home whenever he wanted?

Blindie, lying sideways on the lotus throne, smiled faintly and murmured seductively, "You're here... What would you have me do?"

He knew full well this was a fantasy based on his own desire; once he fell into it, it was over. Such things couldn't be shaken off by mere "awareness" and "willpower"—this was the power of a demon king, dragging one into eternal damnation. How could it be so easy to resist? At this moment, Zhao Changhe had almost forgotten all he knew, instinctively leaning in, gently reaching out to touch Blindie's jade-like face.

Outside, on the clouds, Blindie had just been rolling around laughing at Jiuyou. In just a few minutes, the gossip had turned on her. Watching Zhao Changhe sink into the illusion, she ground her teeth and clenched her slender hand.

You smeared my face, and now you actually want to screw me!

She slowly raised her hand, ready to slap him a big one the moment he dared to kiss her, even if it meant exposing her presence. If this idiot really kissed, he'd find it wasn't her Blindie at all, but Mara's devouring, melting his soul away.

Whether you live or die, even if this is a fake me, you're not allowed to kiss it. Go to hell!

Just as she thought this, she saw Zhao Changhe caress the woman's face and say softly, "What I want... is for you to open your eyes and let me see? After knowing you so long, never seeing your full face—maybe that's the regret that haunts me. I think, even if I go back, I might come looking for you again, just to fulfill that regret."

Blindie was stunned, her raised hand freezing in midair.

That's all...

She wondered if this statement truly reflected his inner desire. If so, it was still very dangerous—the other party just had to follow along: "Is that so? That's simple. Just do as I say, and I'll open my eyes for you. Okay?"

If he said "okay," it would be game over.

Blindie held her breath, ready to slap him awake.

But then Zhao Changhe's tenderness suddenly vanished. He stiffened his face and said, "Just to see your eyes, I have to obey you? Even the top tipper on a livestream can get a split screen to see some pussy. You think I'm some kind of sucker?"

Mara: "???"

What? How could he not understand this?

Blindie's face flushed bright red, whether from anger or something else—who did you want to see?

Zhao Changhe bared his teeth in a grin: "Mental invasion requires full concentration, doesn't it? Sorry, but you're just a whetstone for my breakthrough to the Imperial realm. I'm not here to play fair with you."

Mara's heart also skipped a beat. The next moment, Yue Hongling's sword and Zhuque's claws were already slamming into him simultaneously.

To the onlookers, of course, the soul-deep duel was invisible. All they could see was Kongshi pressing his palms together, trapping Qin Jiu's black sword. The two seemed to be locked in a contest of inner strength for a moment, then the two women, as if reading each other's minds, struck together in a sneak attack, utterly lacking in martial virtue. No one could even react, let alone stop them.

As Zhao Changhe had said, such mental assault required intense focus. Mara never expected that, after the so-called "Buddhist internal strife" and "no outsiders interfering" were so well established, these two women would suddenly strike!

His mind was entangled by Zhao Changhe, leaving him unable to attend to anything else. As the women's attacks landed, he could only flare up his Golden Bell Shield to withstand the blow. At the same time, the Star River Sword's blade light surged, driven by the Little Star River itself, and a violent, unmatched Star River sword aura broke through his hands' barrier, viciously stabbing into his front.

"Clang!"

The assault of three Imperial realm experts was no joke. Forced to withstand it with full power, he could no longer afford to hold back or disguise himself. If he kept pretending and held back even a little, he would be torn limb from limb!

In the people's eyes, the golden, radiant Golden Bell Shield suddenly turned black, losing all its former righteous traits. Even the huge Buddha Dharma image behind him twisted into a hideous, snarling face with bared fangs. The Buddhist fragrance turned foul, the air warped and eerie.

"This is a demon king!" The Buddhist faithful cultivated by Yuancheng in Chang'an recognized it at once: "A demon king disguised as Buddha—Mara!"

"Boom!" Even with full force, the now-black shield was shattered inch by inch by the trio's assault, but the powerful corrosion and recoil also sent the three flying backward.

Kongshi, who had appeared as a kind, middle-aged monk, now turned hideous and ferocious, his body emitting strange black qi as he fled at lightning speed. With his true face exposed, Chang'an was no longer safe—he could always come back in another identity...

In mid-retreat, Zhao Changhe suddenly turned his head to look at Yuxu. Logically, Yuxu shouldn't have stayed idle.

But what he saw was Yuxu's expression, more ferocious than ever, shouting in a low voice, "That's a demon king, and you still block me!"

As if receiving some response, Yuxu flew into a rage: "He is an enemy of Buddhism, so he is our friend? What kind of bullshit logic is that? How dare you call yourself a Dao Lord!"

"Boom!" A Taiji shadow exploded around him, as if some cage shattered into pieces around him.

The old Daoist, whose movements had always been slow as clouds and water, suddenly became swift as lightning, teleporting to Mara's side, who had already fled beyond Chang'an, and struck down with a palm.

Flipping Seal!

Yuxu was willing to break with the Dao Lord to slay this demon king in the world!

The sky darkened abruptly, as if plunged into endless night.

That palm struck like it was hitting the sky, sending out a violent ripple, but it ultimately failed to achieve its goal. Mara, still with some strength left, parried with a palm, coughing blood as he fled: "Yuxu, the next to die will be you."

Yuxu wanted to pursue, but the Dao Lord's pressure bore down again, immobilizing him. He turned angrily, looking toward the source of the darkness. Far away on the peak of Chang'an's great hall, Jiuyou stood quietly. Seeing his furious glare, she smiled faintly, turned, and left, not bothering to glare back at Yuxu.

But just as she left, a golden light, like a shooting star chasing the moon, caught up over the ten-odd li and struck behind Mara.

Zhao Changhe, Dragon Soul Bow!

Jiuyou halted. Mara turned back. Yuxu rejoiced and flicked his finger.

Another Taiji, this time blooming beneath Mara's feet. He tried to escape, but it was like sinking into a quagmire, unable to move an inch.

The golden light pierced through his shoulder, bringing with it a spray of black blood.

On the rooftop of Vermilion Bird Street, Zhao Changhe put away his bow and stood, muttering under his breath: "Ambushing my dear Qing'er and pretending to be blind—you're not worthy!"