Chapter 486: I Want You to Help Me Cultivate, Flying into a Rage, Six Desires Heart Demon's Inheritance

“I’ll never let you get away with this, but you’d never let me go, either,” Tantai Qing said coldly.

“Don’t assume everyone is as malicious as you are. I’ve always been magnanimous. If you behave and apologize, what’s stopping me from letting you go?”

Jiang Lan watched her with great interest, the pressure from his hand easing considerably.

Tantai Qing’s expression flickered, her eyes fixed on him coldly. After a moment, she took a deep breath and said in a low voice, “Young Master Jiang, I was in the wrong just now. I apologize. I hope you can be the bigger person and not hold this against me. Please forgive me this once.”

‘She was certain Jiang Lan couldn’t do anything to me here on Immortal Ascension Island. An apology is just a few words. It’s no real loss.’

“I can forgive you, but I have one condition.” Jiang Lan had fully expected her to be so pragmatic.

“What condition? Feel free to state it, Young Master Jiang. As long as it’s within my power, I will consider it,” Tantai Qing said.

“It’s simple. I want you to aid my cultivation. Be my Tripod Furnace,” Jiang Lan said with a faint smile.

Hearing this, Tantai Qing froze, then stared at him, consumed by fury.

‘I’m the favored daughter of a Saint’s Noble Family, with a seventy percent chance of reaching the Saint Realm in the future, and he wants me to be his Tripod Furnace?’

This was not only an insult to her but an insult to the entire Tantai Family.

If the Elders of the Tantai Family found out, they would fight him to the death, even if he was the son of the Prime Minister. Saints cannot be dishonored, and neither can their Noble Families.

“Jiang Lan…”

“I don’t want to fight you to the death, but don’t push me.” Tantai Qing’s dark hair began to drift and dance as if in a nonexistent wind. Her eyes seemed to deepen into pools of pitch-black ink, and a strange, terrifying aura began to surge around her.

“It seems you don’t like the term ‘Tripod Furnace.’ I can call it something else. In fact, this arrangement holds no disadvantages for you.”

“Though you’ve obtained the inheritance of the Six Desires Heart Demon, you still haven’t fully assimilated it. On the contrary, you might even be manipulated by a backdoor it left behind. It could usurp your body, seize your consciousness, and destroy your sense of self, turning you into a mere puppet…” Jiang Lan, having anticipated Tantai Qing’s reaction, continued to speak with a calm, unhurried smile.

At his words, the turbulent aura around Tantai Qing subsided. Her expression returned to normal, but her cold stare remained fixed on him.

‘Obtaining the inheritance of the Six Desires Heart Demon has always been my greatest secret.’

‘How does Jiang Lan know? When he mentioned the Ten Transformations of the Heart Demon earlier, I just assumed he had happened to see the skill somewhere and didn’t think much of it.’

‘But now… maybe it’s just as he said. Maybe he knows all my secrets.’

“How do you know all this?” Tantai Qing asked.

“You don’t need to know how. You only need to know that none of your secrets are hidden from me. Besides practicing the Six Desires Demon Skill, you’ve also been propping up a nation of ten million people on a remote island to provide you with the resources you need for your cultivation…”

The Six Desires Demon Skill requires the Seven Emotions and Six Desires of the mortal world as fuel for cultivation. It was difficult for Tantai Qing to gather these on Immortal Ascension Island, so she often used the pretext of exploring the seas to go out and harvest them on a massive scale.

A single Six Desires Pearl was worth more resources than she could harvest in countless years.

“Just who in the world are you?” Tantai Qing stared intently at Jiang Lan, a chill creeping up her spine.

“Who I am isn’t important.” Jiang Lan released her.

Tantai Qing had lost all will to resist. ‘This man is terrifying. It’s not just his strength and methods, but this suffocating, oppressive sense of him knowing and controlling everything. I can hardly breathe.’

‘If none of my secrets are hidden from him, how can I possibly fight him?’

“There’s always a higher mountain to climb, a bigger world beyond the horizon. I finally understand that today. But don’t you dare think you can use this to make me submit to you, to let you drain me for your cultivation.”

Tantai Qing rubbed her sore neck, her eyes turning as cold and emotionless as ice.

“‘Drain you’? Such an ugly term. But if you’re unwilling, I won’t force you. Because you’ll soon come to your senses and seek me out yourself.” Jiang Lan’s gaze fell on her devastatingly beautiful face, and he smiled meaningfully.

Those who practice the Six Desires Demon Skill condense the Qi of the Six Desires and the Qi of the Seven Emotions within their bodies. When these two types of qi are fused, they give birth to Red Dust Qi.

Red Dust Qi is the very essence of mortal life, and the Heaven and Earth Dharma Aspect that Jiang Lan wished to form required the essence of all living beings as its foundation.

Beyond that, Red Dust Qi had all sorts of wondrous applications. Within the Blood Immortal Inheritance, there was a Secret Skill known as the Banished Immortal Hand.

This Secret Skill required Red Dust Qi as its foundation. At the stage of Great Success, it was said that even a True Immortal could be cast down from grace, losing their Dao Fruit.

Of course, Jiang Lan didn’t know if the Blood Immortal who created the Blood Immortal Inheritance had ever actually reached the True Immortal realm, but the skill itself was undeniably powerful—so much so that even Saints were wary of it.

Once entangled in the Red Dust, all senses become muddled. Even the Immortal Gods of Ancient Times would distance themselves from the mortal world after attaining the Dao, fearing it would corrupt their Dao Fruit.

Hearing this, Tantai Qing didn’t immediately retort. Jiang Lan’s expression of absolute certainty made her begin to doubt herself.

It was just as Jiang Lan had said: though she had obtained the inheritance of the Six Desires Heart Demon, she had not fully assimilated it. It was even possible that she would suffer a backlash in the future due to one of its hidden traps.

The Demon Race was known for its cunning, especially a being like the Six Desires Heart Demon. Even in death, it would scheme for a way to be resurrected and return to the world. Why would it leave behind its inheritance with no strings attached?

‘But I can’t completely trust Jiang Lan’s words, either.’

“Jiang Lan, what are you implying?” Tantai Qing demanded coldly.

“All this food has gone cold. What a shame.” Jiang Lan didn’t answer her, instead looking at the fine food and wine on the table and shaking his head gently.

Tantai Qing watched him, her slender hands clenching into fists.

“If it’s cold, I can have someone prepare a fresh spread,” she said faintly.

“No need. The wine is fine.”

Jiang Lan waved his hand. “Though the Tantai Family is a Saint’s Noble Family, I doubt they would permit a member to practice the inheritance of the Demon Race. You abandoned your family’s Cultivation Technique and fell to the Demon Dao. If your clan’s Elders were to find out, would they still have a place for you?”

“And another thing—do you really think Helian Wen doesn’t have a powerful backer?”

Tantai Qing’s expression shifted. She had already violated her ancestors’ precepts. If this were to be exposed, the consequences would be dire.

“Who is Helian Wen’s backer?” she asked.

Jiang Lan merely smiled without answering, instead motioning with his eyes toward his wine cup.

Tantai Qing’s expression shifted once more. After shooting him a cold glare, she reluctantly walked over, picked up the wine jug, and filled his cup to the brim.

“The wine is potent, and so is the woman…”

“But that’s what makes it interesting.” Jiang Lan took a sip, sighing in appreciation.

Tantai Qing knew he was alluding to her, and her hands clenched into fists again. If anyone else had dared to speak to her like that, she would have long since slapped their head from their shoulders and reduced it to a mist of blood.

“Who is Helian Wen’s backer? You can tell me now, can’t you?” she asked coldly.

Jiang Lan shook his head and gestured for her to come sit with him.

Tantai Qing erupted in fury. “Jiang Lan, don’t push your luck!”

“You were willing to swallow your pride and apologize a moment ago. Why so coy now?” Jiang Lan watched her with amusement.

“You’d better hope you can always keep me down. Otherwise, I’ll make you pay for all of this.”

Tantai Qing gritted her teeth, staring at him with a bone-chillingly cold gaze. She walked over to him, closed her eyes, and sat on his lap.

“Definitely potent.”

Jiang Lan felt her body, stiff and trembling slightly. He smiled and wrapped an arm around her, his palm seemingly able to feel the delicate softness of her skin through her light dress.