Chapter 218 - 78: Heart Demon Curse, Deceiving into the Bamboo Joints

The bald demon cultivator arrived at the forefront of Perch Eagle Land, gazing across the lake towards Bamboo Island. Though the waters before him were crystal clear and the silhouette of Heng Peak stood distinct under the pale moonlight, in his demon eyes, a gentle radiance spiraled above, shrouding the entire island in its glow.

Glancing at the twenty-four unconscious Mingcang Sect disciples sprawled on the ground, he gave a cold, sinister smile, sat cross-legged, and seemed to mutter something under his breath. His eyes fixated on the face of one disciple, and then a green light flashed and penetrated the disciple’s forehead.

Long ago, he had learned a Soul Control Technique from a fragment of a Demon Manual, a skill adept at manipulating the heart and plundering the divine soul. This disciple was utterly defenseless and could do nothing to resist his actions.

As the thought entered, it roamed through the disciple’s Sea of Consciousness, forcibly extracting memories—including those deeply buried and long forgotten even by the disciple. Every detail was pried out by the bald old demon.

After working tirelessly for the duration of an incense stick’s burn, the bald old demon’s face was painted with frustration. Although he had already guessed that these ordinary disciples likely would not know the method to activate and disable the prohibitions on Bamboo Island, a sliver of hope had persisted within him. But upon testing them, he truly found no useful information.

Having had his divine soul forcibly ravaged, this disciple was left completely useless—reviving him would only render him a mindless imbecile. The bald old demon sneered and said, "No sense in wasting this."

With gnarled, claw-like hands, he grabbed the disciple, and without hesitation, began devouring him alive. He chomped and chewed so vigorously that his mouth was streaked with fresh blood, yet he reveled in the act, seeming entirely unbothered. "This old ancestor has devoured many, yet Immortal disciples are always the tastiest. Mingcang Sect disciples from such a prestigious sect—now that’s a treat above all others!"

His eerie, green-glowing eyes flickered unpredictably; though he hadn’t obtained the method for opening the island’s prohibition seals from this disciple, he had gleaned from the disciple’s memories other ways to infiltrate the island.

The island’s prohibition could be breached using two things: tokens and spells. Possessing the spell alone would give someone access themselves, but allowing others entry required a token.

On the island resided an individual who possessed a subtoken, and whose cultivation was a mere Xuan Guang First Realm. By his assessment, deceiving this person could be done with some effort—though it would require slightly troublesome means.

Turning over plans in his head for some time, he deemed his strategy sound. With several enormous bites, he shoved the last remains of the disciple into his mouth, swallowing them whole. Letting out an odd laugh, he sat cross-legged once more. His eyes, hidden beneath closed lids, moved rapidly. Before long, his expression twisted subtly, followed by a muffled groan, and from his head emerged twenty-three faint, mist-like spirit lights. Hovering momentarily in mid-air, they then floated toward the bodies of the Mingcang Sect disciples scattered on the ground, slipping into each one through the tops of their heads.

The spell he had just cast was one of three recorded in the Demon Manual—a spell known as the "Illusion Heart Spell."

By imposing a prohibition upon the primordial spirit, one could insert a Divine Thought Seed into it—a seed of wondrous power capable of creating a myriad of illusionary realms within the victim’s mind. It could alter their original memories so that truth seemed distorted. The spell didn’t necessarily force the victim to act but worked instead to amplify the smallest traces of obsession buried in their heart. At the right moment, these fragments of desire could be magnified and twisted countless times over, driving the victim into a loss of self and unwitting servitude—a puppet bound to the will of its master.

The bald old demon, having cultivated this spell for many years, had come to suspect that the Demon Manual held deeper secrets unrevealed to him. Still, the manual was incomplete, and with demon sect spells as numerous as stars in the sky, he had no means to uncover the true origins of the technique.

After completing the casting of the spell, he stood up and paced back and forth for several steps. In his heart, he thought, "Since I’ve already used this spell, it would be more prudent to employ the ’Heart Transference Spell’ as well, just in case there are any mishaps."

Once he decided, he immediately acted. Glancing around, he moved toward a large rock. With a surge of Elixir Evil energy, he opened a deep pit beneath it, and, leaping inside, the massive stone rolled back over the opening, concealing his figure entirely.

The "Heart Transference Spell" allowed one’s heart and spirit to attach to a living person without their knowledge. At the critical moment, the caster could seize their body and transform it into their own. However, using this spell rendered the caster immobile—an unwise move if interrupted, as it would jeopardize everything and even create complications. Thus, he was reluctant to use it often, and took care to first bury himself in a secure hiding place.