Chapter 31

*Whistle!*

The weak chirp interrupted Lichen's thoughts. He turned his head and saw a chick, about the size of a hen, with a dull gray body, lying on the ground, its beak oozing blood. It was the young eagle he had subconsciously swatted away when he woke up.

Seeing its weak and pitiful state, it was either because it had been hungry for days or because it had been injured by Lichen's palm.

"Hey, let's have a braised young eagle today to dispel the bad luck!"

Lichen rubbed his belly, smiled cruelly, and took a big step forward, grabbing the young eagle and about to throw it to the ground.

But in an instant, his body trembled slightly, a faint shadow flashed through his mind, and he gently lifted it close, "You, too, are without a father or mother, so we are in the same boat. If you can survive, let's be companions!"

As he spoke, he held it in his arms, took off the leather bag with one hand, and turned it upside down. With a crisp sound, various bottles and jars fell out, clearly due to the giant eagle's grip when he was captured.

He picked out a complete porcelain bottle, bit off the stopper with his mouth, and poured it into the young eagle's mouth, which was breathing weakly.

*Whistle!*

The young eagle subconsciously sniffed, tilted its head to look at Lichen, then opened its pale yellow beak and swallowed a few pills, fainting with a tilt of its head.

Even though it was a beast, after being hungry for days and injured by Lichen, it could not withstand the nourishment, and this situation was unavoidable.

But even knowing this, Lichen had no other choice at the moment. He could only hope that the young eagle, with its great fortune, would survive.

"Ah!"

Lichen held the young eagle and walked to the nest, placing it down. As he stood up, he suddenly paused, reaching out to grab a luminous, faintly golden orb.

His gaze shifted to the giant eagle lying by the nest, and his body stiffened as he saw the hole in the giant eagle's chest. His eyes moistened slightly, "Parents' love is boundless, why... did you abandon me? Could it be... because I am ugly?"

He muttered hoarsely, his hand subconsciously rubbing the ugly scar on his face. Although Old Lichen had never said he was adopted, he had heard too many rumors over the years in the Li family. He was no longer a child and naturally understood his origins.

But he was very filial. After asking once, Old Lichen sighed for a whole night, and he never asked again.

But... being without a father or mother has always been a pain in his heart!

"Why?"

He raised his head and roared, his eyes filled with tears, faintly emitting a blood-red light, his face covered in veins, a clear sign of the emergence of a heart demon.

In his mind, countless images of slaughter appeared, blood splattering everywhere!

For a martial artist, the most taboo thing is to be possessed by a heart demon. When possessed, the mind is controlled by the demon, and ultimately, one dies from exhaustion.

In theory, a heart demon can only appear when one reaches the True Refinement Realm and the martial soul is initially formed. But Lichen, who had been adopted by Old Lichen since childhood, despite being loved in many ways, suffered greatly as a servant and with his physical defects.

In recent times, his progress in martial arts had been too rapid, with many ups and downs, which triggered the heart demon.

When the heart demon is active, myriad thoughts arise, and the mortal world is filled with bones.

Even the most powerful martial artists, if caught off guard by the heart demon, face certain death. How much more so for Lichen, who had little martial arts experience?

Powerful martial artists, though they may not know when their heart demon will appear, as it is formless and intangible, existing only in the mind, usually prepare a few treasures to keep themselves clear, to mobilize their true essence and protect their martial soul.

*Puff!*

His chest churned with blood and qi, his inner breaths were chaotic. A bolt of lightning flashed from the demon core in his hand, clearing his mind. He bit his tongue hard, spitting out a mouthful of blood, and instantly regained clarity. Without hesitation, he sat cross-legged and began to practice the *Fusion of Yang* technique.

The demon core of the thunder eagle, which he had not let go of, emitted a tempting glow, as if a faint light was seeping into his palm.

With his extremely yang and yang technique, and the thunder attribute demon core in hand, he could naturally suppress the formless and evil heart demon. At this moment, with Lichen's resolute mind, he finally gained a bit of control.

As the inner breaths in his meridians gradually returned to their proper course, flowing into the major meridians, the faint red mist emanating from Lichen's body slowly contracted and finally disappeared into his skin.

Lichen, with his eyes tightly closed, did not notice that while he was practicing, a thin stream of demonic qi was slowly seeping into his palm from the demon core in his hand.

The dark red birthmark on his forehead, like a living thing, slightly swelled and pulsated, as if the shadow sealed within it was about to appear.

But for some reason, perhaps due to the golden talisman, or for some other reason, it did not appear.

After two hours, Lichen, with a pale face, finally slowly opened his eyes. A piercing light flashed in his eyes, indicating that his cultivation had improved, but there was no joy on his face, only a hint of loneliness.

"Forget it!"

He shook his head slightly, looking out of the cave, a ray of golden sunlight reflecting on his face, as if it were coated with a thin layer of gold.

He seemed to be lost in some beautiful scenery or a memory, and for a moment, he appeared dazed.

*Whistle!*

A crisp chirp woke Lichen. He looked down and saw that the young eagle had woken up, tilting its head and tugging at his sleeve, but it did not try to eat him as it had when it was unconscious.

"Go away, I'm in a bad mood!"

Having just experienced a heart demon, Lichen's mind was greatly drained, and he was exhausted. He had no mood to play with it and pushed it away.

*Whistle!*

But the young eagle was persistent, still pecking at his sleeve, its bright eyes filled with a hint of dependence.

"Are you hungry?"

Lichen scratched his head, annoyed by its behavior. He put down the demon core, picked it up, and said seriously, "We're both in the same boat. If you're hungry, I can't do anything about it here."

*Whistle!*

The young eagle opened its mouth and spat out a stream of saliva, which landed on Lichen's cheek. Its small head kept turning, looking at the pile of bottles and jars nearby.

"So that's what you want!"

Lichen shook his head, mustering his strength, and walked to the pile of scattered jade bottles. He found that the pill fragments had already disappeared, clearly eaten by the young eagle.

"What a big eater!"

Despite being surprised that such a young eagle could withstand the qi impact from the pills, Lichen still picked up the remaining bottles, pulled out the stoppers, and fed the pills to it.

Unexpectedly, after swallowing a few pills, the young eagle's body swayed, and it lay on the ground as if drunk. Lichen was startled but relaxed when he saw its steady breathing. He decided not to feed it too much to avoid any unforeseen circumstances.

He placed the young eagle back in the nest, took the demon core from the giant eagle's mouth, and after some thought, placed two demon cores, which martial artists considered invaluable, beside the sleeping young eagle. Then he began to assess his situation.

---

*Page Flip AD Start*

*Page Flip AD End*