In the North Suburb of Wen City, inside the basement of a custom-built villa.
This basement, approximately thirty square meters, had been specially modified.
The walls, ceiling, and floor all gleamed with a cold, metallic luster, much like a bank vault used to store massive amounts of cash.
Even more bizarrely, interlocking steel cables, each as thick as a baby's forearm, were fixed to the metal walls, all extending toward the center of the room.
The place looked like a cage, built to restrain some terrifying creature or massive beast.
Yet, at this very moment, the one bound by the steel cables in the center of the basement was not a tiger, a lion, or a great bear—but a man.
A tall frame, broad shoulders, and powerful muscles that seemed carved from stone.
The man was young, with features as if chiseled by a blade. His eyebrows were messy and grew backwards, shaped like a broken saber. His nose was sharply ridged, and a deep vertical line creased his forehead. At first glance, he seemed unremarkable, but upon closer inspection, one would find him extraordinarily fierce, radiating a palpable Evil Qi.
However, this fierce visage was tempered by his eyes.
Half-closed, his eyes were perpetually downcast, like a Bodhisattva lowering his gaze, unable to bear witness to the world's myriad desires and sufferings. His pupils were clear and bright, like a true mirror reflecting the heart within.
As the saying goes: "A face like a Celestial Demon, born to bring chaos; eyes like a Bodhi tree, subduing all evil."
"Twenty years of Cultivation... whether I succeed or fail all comes down to today."
Yi Beidou muttered to himself, then extended two fingers and pressed hard on a point on his body.
PSST!
With the pressure, a bloodstained Silver Needle pierced through his flesh and emerged between his fingers. Yi Beidou deftly pinched the needle and slowly pulled it from his body.
Then came the second, the third, the fourth...
Seven holes, seven Silver Needles in total.
The Demon-Suppressing Seven-Star Needle!
This was a Dharma Gate from the Taoist School for subduing demons. The Silver Needles, when inserted into an opponent's body, would seal major acupoints, suppressing the functions of their nerves, Qi and blood, muscles, and internal organs.
An ordinary person struck by these seven needles would be instantly immobilized. Even a Martial Arts master capable of splitting stone tablets would have their strength completely scattered, leaving them helpless.
And Yi Beidou had lived with these seven Silver Needles in his body for twenty whole years.
CLINK! CLINK!
One by one, the Silver Needles fell to the floor, making a crisp sound.
HUFF!! HUFF!!
As he pulled out the needles, Yi Beidou's breathing grew heavier and heavier. The calm in his eyes vanished, replaced by crimson veins that spread across the whites, making his eyes seem to glow with a bloody light.
Red veins piercing the pupils—the mark of a killer!
The Qi and blood in his body surged wildly. As his organs churned, his body's various hormone levels rose exponentially, soaring past the limits of normal human physiology.
At such hormone levels, even a saint would become a devil ruled by instinct and desire.
Every person is born different; all of creation has a hundred faces.
Some are born foolish, some are born wise. Some are extraordinarily gifted, while others are hopelessly mediocre.
Yi Beidou was born a demon.
As he grew, the various hormone levels in his body gradually reached a point far beyond that of an ordinary person. This naturally made his physical strength abnormal and his temperament increasingly vicious and cruel.
Then, when he was seven, a slaughter fully awakened his demonic thoughts.
Originally, he was fated to gradually lose himself to these demonic thoughts, fall completely into depravity, and ultimately be brought to justice, dying at the end of a gun while resisting arrest.
This was his fate.
But he was lucky. He met his master, Hong Datong, who taught him the "Free Heart Technique."
From then on, he painstakingly cultivated this method for twenty years. This technique did not train power or skill, only the mind. Once initiated, brain functions would be activated, giving rise to endless illusions and constant Demon Tribulations. There was never a moment of peace.
If he could overcome them, he would gain control over his body, completely suppress his innate Demon Nature, and attain freedom. If he failed, he would descend into madness, or even suffer brain death.
To attain freedom, one must first pass through a hundred calamities.
His situation was even more perilous than that of others who cultivated the Free Heart Technique. Because his own Demon Nature was so profound, the illusions and Demon Tribulations it triggered were all the more terrifying. For this reason, Hong Datong had placed the Demon-Suppressing Seven-Star Needle in his body to suppress his Demon Nature and aid his Cultivation.
If, one day, the stars shifted and the seven needles were all removed, and he could still remain self-possessed and calm as ever, that would be the moment he attained freedom.
For twenty years, he had lived day and night as if walking on thin ice. He kept his eyes downcast, not daring to look upon the world's myriad desires, sealed away in his own world. He became an oddball in the eyes of others. Whether he could finally attain that freedom would be decided today.
ROAR!!
With the Seven Stars gone, Yi Beidou let out an inhuman roar. Without their suppression, his Demon Nature erupted completely. Spurred on by the Demon Tribulations of the Free Heart Technique itself, his nature became even more intense.
In the ancient legends, Yi Beidou at this moment was like a Demon Lord descended from the heavens!
CLANG! CLANG!
He struggled violently like a wild beast, trying to break free of his shackles. The thick steel cables pulled taut, and under the strain of his immense strength, the steel plates where the cables were anchored to the wall began to deform and bulge.
It looked as though he was about to lose control completely.
"My fate is my own! Today, I will be free!!"
Yi Beidou suddenly chanted in a low voice, like the whisper of a Buddha attaining enlightenment under the Bodhi tree.
Twenty years of painstaking Cultivation, a life more agonizing than any ascetic's, had long since forged his will into steel.
He was sustained by a single belief.
He refused to accept his fate. He would be his own master!!
The bloodshot veins in his eyes gradually faded, and his gaze once again became clear. He brought his raging body under control and sat down cross-legged, able to clearly perceive every detail within himself.
The flow of his Qi and blood, his heartbeat, the workings of his organs, the transmissions of his nerves...
Once the Free Heart Technique was mastered, the brain's latent potential would be unlocked, allowing for more complete control over the body.
At this moment, the raging Demon Nature within him had instead become his greatest asset.
CRACK! CRACK!
The sound of popping bones and sinews echoed from within him. The flesh all over his body trembled violently, and as his pores opened and closed, a thick, dark red blood seeped out, quickly piling up and coagulating into a crust on his skin.
He sat like that for seven whole days.
By now, a thick layer of blood scabs had built up on Yi Beidou's body. From a distance, he no longer looked human, but rather like a blackish-red rock.
CRACK!!
The crust of blood cracked open. Like the stone monkey emerging from the spirit rock, Yi Beidou broke free of the scabs and stood up once more.
His skin had become fine and smooth. His powerful body had slimmed down considerably, even appearing somewhat lean.
But Yi Beidou knew his life was now completely different.
Buddhist scriptures say that a Free Celestial Demon is equal to a Buddha.
He had subdued his Demon Nature and his body was transformed.
"For twenty years, I kept my head bowed and my nature restrained. Today, I can finally raise my eyes to see the world and truly be myself."
Yi Beidou murmured to himself and looked at the steel shackles on his wrists and ankles. With a slight tremor of his limbs...
CRACK!!
...the lock cores vibrated and the shackles simply fell off, just like the bonds that had confined him for twenty years.
Yi Beidou walked to a corner of the basement, picked up his backpack, and climbed the vertical iron ladder. Just as he reached out to turn the air valve for the basement entrance, his movement paused for a fraction of a second.
But the next moment, he continued turning the valve as if nothing had happened.
The valve opened, and in the instant his head emerged from the floor...
SWOOSH!!
Two cold glints of light cut through the darkness of the room, rapidly growing larger in Yi Beidou's eyes.