The First Demon of the Chan Sect

（PS: Today's first update!）

...

The so-called Trapped Immortal Refining Heart Array is actually a trial space established by Li Qingming, modeled after the Nine Netherworld.

The Time Law here operates independently of the outside world.

That is to say, the Eighteen Layers of Hell where Yang Jian currently is are based on his own Primordial Spirit Sea. Even if he spends thousands of earthly years here, in the outside world, it is merely a fleeting moment.

Therefore, even if Yang Jian dies in the Eighteen Layers of Hell, at most, his Primordial Spirit will be injured and it would not take long to recover.

However, Yang Jian, who is within the Heart Refining Array, naturally doesn't know this. At this moment, he is still falling, all his heart and mind relaxed. Since full vigilance would not prevent the fall, it's better to conserve energy and be clear-headed.

Just like this, he floated and swayed down for about an hour when suddenly, a glimmer of light appeared below.

Yang Jian's heart trembled at the sight, knowing that the Tongue-pulling Hell was drawing near. He couldn't help tightening up, focusing his spirit. At the same time, his heart was filled with trepidation—what exactly was waiting for him in the Tongue-pulling Hell?

"Swoosh!"

When he hit the ground, it unexpectedly splashed up high like water. At this moment, Yang Jian understood the reason behind this.

"This, this is actually a marsh!" Yang Jian looked around, astonished.

Just as Yang Jian was secretly marveling, a cold, mechanical voice came from not far away: "You, go capture him!"

"Patter, patter…"

With a series of synchronized footsteps, two oddly-shaped ghost soldiers came over and fished Yang Jian out of the marsh.

It is more fitting to call these two ghost soldiers little demons.

They were only six feet tall, their bodies were green, and their long tongues, about three feet long, dangled outside of their mouths, creating a chilling sight.

As they approached the shore, the ghost soldier who had spoken before also gradually became clear in front of Yang Jian.

This ghost soldier looked quite similar to those outside of Hell, but the terrifying difference was its height, nearly ten feet.

Casually grabbing Yang Jian, the ghost soldier took him to a vast square. Using the soaring flames in the square for light, Yang Jian clearly observed the surroundings of the square.

This square was extremely wide, beyond the range of Yang Jian's vision. Through the bonfires lit on the square, one could faintly see streaks of blood-red lightning moving back and forth in the sealed space, high above in the Cangqiong.

And on the square were wooden stakes everywhere, each stake binding a soul.

The little demons with long tongues proficiently used a pair of gleaming pliers to pry open the mouths of the souls, a twist and a pull, tongues about three inches long were pulled to stretch to three feet.

"Ah!"

The series of harrowing screams suddenly pierced the heavens.

"You, come here! Tie him to that stake and, after he has been punished a hundred thousand times, I will come and send him to the Scissors Hell." Casually tossing Yang Jian to a little demon with a long tongue, the ten-foot tall ghost soldier turned and walked away.

The little demon, expressionless, nodded and, after securing Yang Jian to the stake, began the task of pulling the tongue.

"Hiss!"

The iron pliers entered the mouth, and a drilling pain spread, causing Yang Jian's head to go blank, nearly fainting from the agony. Seeing his own tongue being pulled out bit by bit, Yang Jian, who had never suffered such pain, felt a chill in his heart.

However, as a Taiyin Golden Immortal with considerable Cultivation, such pain was not enough to shake Yang Jian's Dao Heart.

Li Qingming, who had escaped from Yang Jian's Primordial Spirit Sea, tilted his head and observed Hao Tian for a moment, saying, "Hao Tian, have you ever been to the Eighteen Layers of Hell?"

"Never!" Hao Tian was startled, not understanding why Li Qingming would ask this, he shook his head and said, "Why does Daoist Brother ask this?"

"Just now you said it doesn't pain your heart, so I shall let you see Yang Jian's current situation!" Li Qingming shook his head lightly, lifted his hand effortlessly and a colorful, vibrant mirror suddenly rose into the sky. The surface of the mirror began to ripple, displaying the scene of Yang Jian having his tongue pulled.

"This…" Although Hao Tian had long heard about the gruesome tortures of the Eighteen Layers of Hell, how terrifying and cruel they were, he had never witnessed them with his own eyes. At this moment, seeing his own nephew undergoing such punishment, Hao Tian suddenly stood up, his face full of shock.

"How about it, Hao Tian?" Li Qingming looked indifferently at the scene in the mirror, saying, "Have you changed your mind? Actually, you just lack a reason. As long as the reason is sufficient, releasing Yaoji is not a problem at all!"

Hao Tian sat back down on the throne with a plop, pinching the bridge of his nose with one hand.

After a long pause, Hao Tian said, "It is certain that she must be released! But jade must be carved to become a vessel, since we previously agreed upon the Trapped Immortal Refining Heart Array, it must not be changed! He must continue to walk through the Eighteen Layers of Hell!"

"Hahaha, good!" Li Qingming laughed heartily.

...

Days went by, and Yang Jian endured the agony of having his tongue pulled out.

Finally, one day, Yang Jian's hundred thousand rounds of tongue-pulling punishment came to an end, and he became haggard.

It was at this moment when he stepped off the stake and set his feet on the ground that he suddenly felt a warm current surging from within his limbs and bones. It quickly circulated throughout his body, eradicating his weakness completely and utterly.

This familiar wave of energy drove Yang Jian into ecstatic madness. However, before he could even recover his senses to channel them, the Yuqing True Essence vanished into thin air.

"Dammit, what's happening?" Yang Jian pondered, unable to comprehend.

"Come with me!" Just then, the towering ghost soldier who had previously brought him to the square approached and, without a word, grabbed Yang Jian and started running toward the northeast direction.

There was no time to contemplate the reasons. Using the surrounding flames for illumination, Yang Jian could faintly see a pentagon-shaped altar in the northeast corner.

The altar rose three feet three inches and three parts above the ground, emitting five-colored light. On its smooth pentagon sides were encased numerous transparent and clear Jade Stone Plates. Complicated and chaotic Tao Runes were etched on the plates, squirming like tadpoles, emitting a faint golden light.

"What is this?" Clasped under the ghost soldier's armpit, Yang Jian's eyes shone as he stared at the altar, vaguely understanding its purpose.

"Plop!"

The ghost soldier leaped atop the altar, lightly stepping on the yellow light circle at the center, infusing his Yin Pole Power into the altar.

Instantly, a blaze of golden Immortal Light surged on the altar, formed by the confluence of the Tao Runes. Those runes, merging with the Space Law, pierced through the Void, connecting to the next world.

"Buzz!"

In just a moment, both the ghost soldier and Yang Jian completely disappeared from the altar.

Inside the back hall of the Palace of the Polestar, Li Qingming pointed at the image in the mirror and said to Hao Tian, "Hao Tian, are you satisfied with your good-for-nothing nephew?"

Hao Tian's face lit up with a brilliant smile, and he laughed, "Hahaha, satisfied, very satisfied! Such a cultivator with firm resolve is perfect for the role of Judicial God in my Heavenly Court!"

Li Qingming was taken aback for a moment, then laughed, thinking to himself, "After two hundred years, when the Path to Heaven opens. As long as Erlang can return alive, he will have infinite Merit, and after achieving the status of a Saint, would he even care about a mere Judicial God in your puny Heavenly Court?"

With a wave of his hand, the scene in the mirror shifted, showing the towering ghost soldier already bringing Yang Jian to Scissors Hell.

Just recovering from the golden light, before he had time to adjust to the light around him, a stabbing Blood Radiance shot into Yang Jian's eyes.

"Scissors Hell!" Yang Jian muttered under his breath. Next, there was a drop under his feet, and his body plummeted rapidly.

Then came the endless fall, and after landing, a swamp... Almost the same setup as Hell of Tongue Pulling, the same ordeal, which made Yang Jian all the more intensely dejected.

Different from "Tongue-pulling Hell" were the innumerable small squares, not with cross-shaped stakes beside the bonfires but instead with murky black stone chairs.

After binding the souls to the stone chairs, little devils took large, sharp scissors firmly grasping the souls' hands and snipped off their fingers one by one, then watched as the fingers regrew only to be cut off again. This cycle repeated endlessly, never ceasing.

One must understand, as the ten fingers are connected to the heart, this pain simply cannot be compared to tongue-pulling. The anguished screams piercing through the Void and straight to the soul were enough to make one's skin crawl and fill the heart with boundless dread.

It was the same towering ghost soldier who flung Yang Jian in front of a little devil and coldly declared, "Lock him to the stone chair, after ten thousand times of this punishment, I will come to take him to Iron Tree Hell."

Yang Jian also finally experienced the anguish of having all his fingers broken.

After this, day by day of Scissors Hell torture followed, then Iron Tree Hell, Mirror Hell... and so on. Passing through the eighteen layers of Hell took a total of five thousand years for Yang Jian.

During this period, he thought of seeking death, but remembering the hopeful glances in his father and siblings' eyes, recalling the warmth when he was coddled in his mother's arms as a child, he forcefully persevered.

Not only that, as he ascended through each layer of Hell, in addition to the deep-rooted pain, Yang Jian's Primordial Spirit Cultivation also made astonishing leaps and bounds. In just five thousand years, he broke through to the Quasi-Saint Realm. The speed of his cultivation was so rapid it was nearly unfathomable.

Meanwhile, up in the Heavenly Court, Li Qingming and Hao Tian who were constantly monitoring Yang Jian's progress, finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Daoist brother, your Trapped Immortal Refining Heart Array is truly formidable. Not only does it simulate the eighteen layers of Hell as if real, but on the path of refining the heart, it has also been quite effective!" Hao Tian, watching Yang Jian in the Water Mirror about to complete the Saw Hell punishment, was full of emotion.

"Hao Tian, although the Trapped Immortal Refining Heart Array is known for refining the heart, it's not just for that!" Li Qingming said with a mysterious smile.

Hao Tian was stunned and asked, "Why do you say that, Daoist brother? Could it be that this Trapped Immortal Refining Heart Array has other effects?"

"Boom!"

Just as they were speaking, a deafening explosion suddenly resounded from within the mirror.

"What's happened now?" Hao Tian sprang up, his face showing shock as he turned toward the floating mirror.(To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendation tickets, monthly tickets at Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read at m.qidian.com.)