Chapter 344 - 304: Heart Demon Contract, Achieving the Dao Fruit

Chapter 344: Chapter 304: Heart Demon Contract, Achieving the Dao Fruit

Jiang Zuo’s Divine Sense was strengthening, and the price was the decline of Jialan’s power.

If Jiang Zuo continued, he would eventually drain Jialan of all her power, killing her.

To kill an unknown Heart Demon for a massive boost in his Divine Sense.

Any Cultivator would do so without a moment’s hesitation.

However, Jiang Zuo quickly realized something.

In this Heart Demon World, as long as he continued to dual cultivate with Jialan, she could use its rules to absorb the Cultivation of his physical body.

With her power being replenished by his Cultivation, Jialan wouldn’t die anytime soon.

If he continued to dual cultivate, Jiang Zuo’s Divine Sense would indeed grow immensely, but it would also lead to the Heart Demon absorbing too much of his physical body’s Cultivation.

In that case, he could be judged as having failed the Heart Demon Tribulation.

After a moment of consideration, Jiang Zuo broke off their dual cultivation.

Jialan felt a flicker of relief, her gaze on Jiang Zuo a mixture of shock and uncertainty.

Jiang Zuo had only stopped the dual cultivation, but he hadn’t released Jialan.

"So, you’re the Heart Demon? What does your true form look like?"

Jiang Zuo asked, looking at Jialan with great interest.

At this point, Jialan was completely certain that Jiang Zuo had recovered his senses.

However, faced with Jiang Zuo’s question, she chose silence to buy more time.

’Even though he’s seen through me, as long as I can drag this out until the time limit is reached, I won’t have failed.’

"Hmph! If you don’t answer, I’ll destroy you right now!"

Jiang Zuo’s powerful Divine Sense descended, and Jialan instantly felt as if a massive mountain were pressing down on her.

’This is insane!’

’How could I be so unlucky, running into a Tribulation Cultivator with such a powerful Divine Sense!’

"Yes, I am a Heart Demon. Our true forms are similar to humans because we originate from the human race."

Jialan answered helplessly.

’If I keep playing dumb,’ she thought, ’he’ll destroy me on the spot.’

"Very good. You now have two paths to choose from."

"One, I can destroy you by force."

"The other is this: I know you Heart Demons have a way of linking to a Tribulation Cultivator’s Divine Soul, allowing you to continuously devour it even after they fail their Tribulation."

"I require that method of you Heart Demons, but in reverse."

Jiang Zuo added with a faint smile.

’Dual cultivating with a Heart Demon is a quick way to increase my Divine Sense.’

’If the Enslavement Mark hadn’t already been used on Tantai Feixue, I could have just placed it on Jialan directly.’

’With the power of the Mysterious Stele attached, I feel like I could come and go from the Heart Demon Realm as I please in the future.’

’But right now, I can’t remove the Enslavement Mark from Tantai Feixue, so I have to find another way.’

It was rumored in the Cultivation Realm that some Cultivators, after failing their Heart Demon Tribulation, were still plagued by Heart Demons. This caused their Cultivation to stagnate, and they would slowly wither and die as a result.

The number of such Cultivators was extremely small, but because no method could cure them, it was widely believed in the Cultivation Realm to be a side effect of failing the Heart Demon Tribulation.

Now that Jiang Zuo had seen a Heart Demon with his own eyes, he knew that was likely one of the Heart Demons’ methods.

It was just that the conditions required to achieve that state were exceedingly harsh.

"A reverse Heart Demon Contract? Impossible!"

Jialan heard his words and refused, shocked and angered.

"Why is it impossible? If you don’t agree, you die right now."

"Agree, and you live."

"And what’s more, I might even be able to help you grow stronger."

Jiang Zuo said calmly.

Jialan’s expression was conflicted, but she had to consider Jiang Zuo’s proposal.

The Heart Demon Contract was a method controlled by Heart Demons.

If a Tribulation Cultivator fell completely into the Heart Demon World, the Heart Demon could use a Heart Demon Contract to build a bridge to that Cultivator.

For a long time afterward, the Heart Demon could continuously use this contract to gradually devour the Tribulation Cultivator’s Divine Soul and Cultivation, making itself more and more powerful.

A reverse Heart Demon Contract, however, was one in which the Heart Demon was in the weaker position when signing, making the human Cultivator the one in control of the contract.

Then, the human Cultivator could even control the Heart Demon’s life and death with a single thought.

In the Heart Demon Realm, legends circulated about Heart Demons who signed reverse Heart Demon Contracts with human Cultivators.

The most famous among them was of a female Heart Demon who, for reasons unknown, fell in love with a Cultivator Crossing the Tribulation.

She signed a reverse Heart Demon Contract with the Tribulation Cultivator and spared no effort in helping him grow stronger.

But in the end, the human Cultivator directly refined that Heart Demon.

’However, even for a reverse Heart Demon Contract, the Heart Demon has to be the one to present themselves. A human Cultivator can’t just take the initiative and come to the Heart Demon Realm.’

’If I don’t sign the Heart Demon Contract now, I have no future to speak of.’

’In that case, I’ll sign the Heart Demon Contract with him first. As long as I never go looking for him afterward, there’s nothing he can do to me!’

Jialan calmed down as she thought things through.

The more she thought about it, the more viable the idea seemed.

"O-Okay... fine. But the terms of the contract can’t be too excessive. If they are, you might as well just kill me now!"

Jialan said, putting on a defiant, death-before-dishonor expression.

"Let’s see the contents of the contract first," Jiang Zuo said.

The so-called Heart Demon Contract was, in reality, a Heart Demon companion contract.

However, Jiang Zuo could tell at a glance that the contract’s existence was specifically to allow Heart Demons to devour human Cultivators for the sake of their own accelerated growth.

To put it simply, the contract was a form of the Heaven and Earth Rules.

If the contract was left unmodified, the Heart Demon could seek out the human Cultivator at any time, forcing them to contribute their Cultivation and Divine Soul.

Even with a modified reverse contract, the human Cultivator could only gain dominance over the Heart Demon after the Heart Demon came looking for them.

’And if I go by what Jialan said, the conditions can’t be too harsh, which means I won’t be able to control the Heart Demon’s life and death.’