Chapter 920: Shen Jianjia’s Shock! Immersed in the Illusion!

“Alright, Yiren, don’t resist.”

Lu Changsheng looked at the beauty before him with a smile and began to circulate the Six Desire Heart Demon Technique.

His gentle eyes deepened, like a black hole and a demon abyss, as if they could draw in her spirit-soul.

Shen Yiren did not resist and met Lu Changsheng’s gaze.

Her sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch faded one by one.

It felt as if she was suspended in a void, influenced and guided by Lu Changsheng.

“Six Desire Heart Demon Technique, the seven emotions and six desires at my command. Heart Demon Seal, begin!”

Seeing her five senses fall under his control, he tugged at her seven emotions and six desires, formed hand seals, and carried out the final step.

The tiny golden figure in his sea of consciousness at his brow cast a Heart Demon Seal, overturning Shen Yiren’s spirit and drawing her into a Heart Demon Illusion.

“This is… a Late-Stage Nascent Soul spirit-soul!”

Shen Jianjia’s spirit trembled. Shock flashed through her beautiful eyes as she stared at Lu Changsheng.

From that Heart Demon Seal she could tell Lu Changsheng’s spirit-soul had surpassed her own and reached Late-Stage Nascent Soul.

That was astonishing.

Between mid-Nascent Soul and late stage lay a vast gulf.

By a stroke of fortune, her spirit-soul had long since reached the peak of the sixth layer of Nascent Soul.

Yet all these years she couldn’t shake the bottleneck from mid to late stage.

The Lu Changsheng before her, the Xuamu Daoist, actually possessed a Late-Stage Nascent Soul spirit-soul.

Even if he was a reincarnated high cultivator, it was still unbelievable.

Or rather, what kind of existence had he been in his past life to advance to Nascent Soul and already hold a late-stage spirit-soul?

A Nascent Soul Grand True Lord? Or a Spirit Transformation True Venerable?

Under Lu Changsheng’s Late-Stage Nascent Soul spirit-soul and Six Desire Heart Demon Technique, Shen Yiren’s sea of consciousness roared.

The world spun. In a daze, she stepped into Lu Changsheng’s Heart Demon Illusion.

Lu moved at once, caught the swaying Shen Yiren, sat cross-legged, and began to guide and control the illusion.

Even though Lu had already been intimate with her little sister,

and as long as he helped Little Mei untie her heart knot and break through to Nascent Soul she would agree to the marriage,

watching him hold her obedient, pure sister still stirred anger and rejection in Shen Jianjia. She almost slapped him away.

But since he was using a heart-demon secret art to help her experience the illusion, Shen Jianjia forced herself to tamp down her emotions.

Then, like a mother-in-law, she scrutinized Lu Changsheng, weighing if he was fit for her sister.

As the saying goes, the eldest sister is like a mother.

There was a large age gap between Shen Yiren and her.

Now that marriage was on the table, as the elder sister she had to keep a close watch.

In looks, features, figure, and temperament, Lu Changsheng had no flaws.

Even with her picky eye as the number one Divine Maiden of the Starry Sea, his appearance could be called exceptional.

If she had to nitpick, his looks were too handsome, lacking edge and authority—like a flawless piece of jade that might not bear the weight.

But since he was a reincarnated high cultivator who had only just advanced yet already had a late-stage spirit-soul, perhaps his soul and memories were dominated by his past life.

An old monster who had lived who knew how long must be sly and cunning. Appearances meant little.

Because of that, Shen Jianjia was unwilling to marry her sister to him.

She preferred a cultivator with good talent and steady character, someone devoted to her sister so they could support each other.

Lu Changsheng didn’t know what Shen Jianjia was thinking. He was wholly focused on controlling the heart-demon illusion.

Even with a late-stage spirit-soul, creating such an illusion was extremely difficult.

On one hand, Shen Yiren’s spirit-soul had already reached the Nascent Soul level.

On the other, if the illusion was too fabricated and overcontrolled, out of step with her inner flaws and life’s logic, its power would plummet and she’d wake from it easily.

Time slipped by.

Time in the illusion ran completely differently from reality.

A single breath in reality could be years, decades, even a century in the illusion.

During that, expressions kept flickering across Shen Yiren’s clear, breathtaking face.

Joy, grief, anger, sorrow, happiness, regret…

Watching her little sister’s shifting expression, Shen Jianjia grew solemn.

The stronger the emotional fluctuations, the more dangerous the ordeal.

Xuamu Daoist had merely formed an illusion with a secret art, yet her sister was already this lost with her emotions stirred.

If she faced a true heart demon tribulation, the odds were grim—nine deaths for one life.

“Even with a top-tier heart tribulation spirit item like the Peach Blossom Gu, her chance of crossing it is under fifty percent.”

Through the Six Desire Heart Demon Technique, Lu Changsheng kept stirring Shen Yiren’s emotions and heart-demon thoughts.

He knew he himself, their son Shen Yuanming, along with Shen Jianjia, Shen Baishuang, and the Divine Maiden Palace were all Shen Yiren’s weak points.

If he tugged those heart-demon thoughts and used the White Dew Palace incident as the weak spot, Shen Yiren would lose control and her consciousness would spiral.

Lu Changsheng didn’t keep using the White Dew Palace incident to provoke her heart demons and emotions.

That matter was already a fracture deep in her heart. If he hammered it nonstop, it might worsen her obsession and backfire.

It needed time, letting her slowly let go and see through it.

Besides, he was using the technique and crafting the illusion mainly to pull the two of them closer.

Through the illusion, they could close the distance and come to know each other better.

“Husband!”

Just then Shen Yiren cried out in grief and woke from Lu Changsheng’s illusion. Her eyes were red and tears streamed down.

She opened her eyes and stared at Lu Changsheng’s handsome, refined face, still dazed, her mood not yet clear of the illusion.

Her gaze brimmed with longing, joy, pain, and grievance as she clutched him tight.

“Husband, you’re still alive…”

Like a startled fawn, Shen Yiren murmured, soft and aggrieved.

Lu Changsheng felt a pang of pity. He knew what she’d gone through inside the illusion.

He held her slender, soft, fragrant body and gently patted her back. “It’s okay. It’s over.”

“Little sister, are you alright?” Shen Jianjia saw the illusion had shaken her and she hadn’t fully broken free, and spoke at once.

“Buzz!”

Shen Yiren’s body stiffened as she clung to Lu Changsheng and murmured in his arms.

In an instant she snapped out of the illusion’s emotions, realizing everything she’d seen was born of heart demons.

Her face turned crimson, her ears flushed like a blaze of sunset. She wished she could crawl into a hole.

She had actually lost control like that under Fellow Daoist Xu’s heart-demon illusion…

“Sister, I’m fine.”

Shen Yiren quickly pulled out of Lu Changsheng’s embrace and spoke softly. Her body felt limp and tingling, and she was mortified.

“Yiren, you have a knot in your heart. Trying to break through to Nascent Soul like this is extremely dangerous. You need to temper yourself, see through it, then break through.”

Lu Changsheng spoke with a solemn, earnest air.

Shen Yiren’s heart burned with embarrassment. She didn’t dare meet Lu Changsheng’s eyes.

Earlier she’d claimed she had no heart tribulation or inner demons and planned to go into seclusion these days to break through to Nascent Soul.

She hadn’t expected to lose her mental defenses and lose control of her emotions under his secret art.

In that state, even with a heart tribulation spirit item, the odds were bleak.

But in the face of Lu Changsheng’s concern, she still swallowed her shyness and whispered, “Thank you, True Lord Lu.”

“Between you and me, there’s no need to be so formal.”

Lu Changsheng smiled. Graceful and at ease, he was easy to like.

Looking at him, Shen Yiren drifted back to the scenes from the illusion.

She felt the Lu Changsheng before her and the husband in those scenes were one and the same.

“True Lord Lu, in the heart-demon illusion, were those scenes influenced by you or born from my own mind?” Shen Yiren asked.

She had experienced many things in that illusion.

The White Dew Palace incident had replayed. He was badly injured under her sister’s hand, then swept into void turbulent currents, gravely wounded, and his path to Nascent Soul cut off.

Her sister Shen Jianjia had hidden it from her and sent people to take action against Xuamu Daoist.

Beyond those scenes that left her guilty, there were also the two of them marrying as Dao partners, living in harmony and growing old together.

In short, every illusion centered on Lu Changsheng.

In the last one, their shared experiences cut the deepest.

He was gravely injured by her eldest sister, survived, then after breaking through to Nascent Soul returned to the Divine Maiden Palace for revenge but retreated after losing.

Soon after, the Six Paths Demon Lord emerged, advanced to Late-Stage Nascent Soul, and sought to unify the Starry Sea. He led the Six Paths Palace to break Penglai Island. Shen Jianjia died, and Shen Yiren was badly wounded and about to be captured.

At that moment, Lu Changsheng appeared, rescued her, and fled to the Southern Desolation.

Because of old matters, they were cold to each other at first, but over long years their relationship deepened.

Yet when the Divine Maiden Palace fell back then, her essence was damaged. She couldn’t break through to Nascent Soul and had little life left.

Lu Changsheng couldn’t bear to lose her. He sealed her in ice and began defying heaven, trying to help her break through and extend her life.

In that process, she saw Lu Changsheng return to the Starry Sea, find their son Shen Yuanming who had been lost outside, avenge her, and slay the Six Paths Demon Lord.

Then he helped their son found the Star Palace, become lord of the Starry Sea, and continued defying heaven to extend her life.

Thinking back on it even now felt bitter and exhausting.

As her lifespan withered within the ice, Lu Changsheng protected her life soul, found the Heaven-Avoiding Divine Coffin, and kept her body from decay.

For her sake, he was willing to give up everything, even die without regret.

Because of all that, when she woke from the illusion, Shen Yiren lost control in front of Lu Changsheng.

After all, any woman would be deeply moved seeing a Dao partner spend a lifetime cultivating for her alone and defy all costs to bring her back.

“It’s both. In an illusion formed by this secret art, I can’t interfere too much. Overdoing it would blunt its power and break the logic.”

“So what appears is driven mainly by your thoughts, though some of mine seep in along the way.”

Lu Changsheng smiled, his gaze warm and open.

He had tweaked that illusion.

But by and large it was built around Shen Yiren’s heart-weaknesses, her temperament, and the logic of reality.

“I see. Thank you for the trouble, True Lord Lu.”

Shen Yiren didn’t doubt him.

Much of what happened in the illusion made sense.

For instance, their son Shen Yuanming—Lu Changsheng probably didn’t know about him.

Yet he appeared, showing it came from her subconscious.

Thinking of Shen Yuanming, Shen Yiren paused, unsure what to do.

First, cultivators live long lives and many dislike bloodline ties.

Back then she’d gotten pregnant without Lu Changsheng’s permission and had the child, which might cause him trouble.

Second, with the White Dew Palace incident and being pregnant out of wedlock, the reputation fallout would be bad if it spread.

For the Divine Maiden Palace’s name, and because Shen Yuanming was growing and asking about his father, Shen Baishuang helped her come up with a solution.

They publicly claimed Shen Yuanming was conceived after she dreamed of a star falling and was moved by it, and she told her son the same.

Her son believed it completely, thinking himself a heaven-sent child.

Now that Lu Changsheng, the child’s father, had appeared, how was she supposed to explain?

Shen Yiren felt a headache coming on.

At heart she was a traditional woman and hoped her son could acknowledge his father.

“Yiren, given your state, you can temper your mind more with this heart-demon secret art.”

Although Lu Changsheng had used the illusion mainly to draw closer to her,

he realized the illusion he constructed could help cultivators temper themselves and offered some resistance against the heart demon tribulation.

With Shen Yiren’s qualifications, as long as she untied her knot and saw through that barrier, breaking through to Nascent Soul wouldn’t be a big problem.

“Mm.” Faced with Lu Changsheng’s warmth and enthusiasm, Shen Yiren still wasn’t used to it.

“You just came out of the illusion and your mind is tired. I won’t bother you. I’ll catch up with you in a few days.”

Seeing her a bit stiff and unnatural, Lu Changsheng didn’t press and spoke gently.

Given her personality and the fresh emotions from the illusion, he could press his advantage now to push the relationship forward.

But haste makes waste.

Besides, her sister Shen Jianjia was right there, watching him closely.

If he pushed now, he’d likely earn the Divine Maiden Great Palace Master’s dislike and resistance, which would backfire.

“True Lord Lu, you’ve worked hard with the secret art. Yiren will visit you in a few days.”

Shen Yiren sighed in relief when she heard that.

She wanted time to sort out her feelings and how to face Lu Changsheng.

“Thank you for your efforts, True Lord Lu.” Shen Jianjia nodded, summoned the Divine Maiden Palace’s steward, and had Lu Changsheng taken to rest.

“Little sister, rest well.”

Shen Jianjia wanted to ask her sister how she felt about Lu Changsheng, the Xuamu Daoist.

But seeing her in poor shape, she decided to wait a few days.

Then she returned to the Divine Maiden Palace and summoned her disciple Qin Yuning.

She asked what news she had unearthed in the Jiang Kingdom about Lu Changsheng, the Immortal City of Damengze, and Jiang.

“It seems resolving this relationship won’t be easy.”

Under the steward’s arrangements, Lu Changsheng went to the courtyard where the Turtle Immortal Patriarch and Lu Lingjing were resting, mulling things over.

He and Shen Yiren had been together and even had a son, but their feelings were still a step away.

Even if he had ways to push things, Shen Jianjia stood between them.

She was full of vigilance and guarded against him.

In that case, moving things forward with Shen Yiren would be much harder.

And Lu Changsheng hadn’t forgotten the second sister, Shen Baishuang.

If that brainless woman showed up while he was working things out with Shen Yiren, all his plans would be a mess.

“But at this stage, Shen Jianjia probably won’t let that woman appear, right?”

Lu Changsheng felt that advancing his relationship with Shen Yiren should start with their son Shen Yuanming.

Using their father-and-son bloodline, he pinched his fingers to divine and looked toward Divine Maiden Peak.

He could sense that Shen Yuanming was on Divine Maiden Peak.

But the Divine Maiden Palace’s formations and restrictions were far beyond those of the Yin Ghost Sect.

If he probed Divine Maiden Peak with his divine sense, he’d likely alert Shen Jianjia, the palace master.

After a brief thought, Lu Changsheng returned to his cave residence and closed his eyes to rest.

Using the Six Desire Heart Demon Technique to guide and control Shen Yiren’s illusion had consumed quite a bit of his mind.