Filthy Cultivation: I Pierced the Heavens with the Merit System

[Task Name: Mental Health Protection Program]

[Remaining time for the mission: two hours]

[Task Rewards and Penalties: Upon completion of the task, you will be rewarded with 2 attribute points lottery draws, 1 Purification Method for the Impure Pearl, +5 Soul Power attribute points, and +1000 Merit Points. Failure of the task will result in the collapse of your Sea of ​​Consciousness and transformation into an Impure Beast.]

【Mission Details: 1. Within the mission time limit, please thwart the plans of the demonic cultivators and the corrupted demons, and find and destroy the corrupted demonic core that controls the illusion.

2. Ensure that your consciousness does not become corrupted before the task is completed.

[Note: Love and courage are an eternally shining hymn to humanity!]

The system notes were as childish as ever, but Li Fuyao had no desire to complain about them at this moment.

Because the task description contains too much information.

The activation of the system firewall meant that his consciousness was being invaded by something imperceptible, and the emergence of the emergency self-rescue mission further indicated that this illusionary trial had far exceeded its original difficulty level, just as he had imagined.

Looking around, the filthy beasts were still roaring and chasing after him, and slime and black mist flew everywhere in the battle against spiritual power, emitting a stench.

Li Fuyao, with her agile skills, moved between the woods and farmhouses. She waved her Luminous Fan and released crescent-shaped spirit blades one after another. While fighting a war of attrition with the relentless beasts, she frowned with anxiety.

Although I don't know what a filthy demon is, anyone who can mix with demonic cultivators is obviously no good.

What's more, the system also asked her to destroy some filthy demon core, but she didn't even know what the demon core looked like or where it was. She was completely clueless about this inexplicable task and was utterly bewildered.

"Damn it! It's always this or that, are you trying to make me worry about this for two lifetimes?"

A surge of irritation welled up within him. Li Fuyao raised his hand and angrily cleaved a slimy tentacle that was lunging at him. Looking at the endless stream of filthy beasts behind him, he gritted his teeth and roared in fury:

"When can I finally retire?! Is it so hard to just sit back and relax?!"

Despite her grumbling, Li Fuyao had no choice but to suppress her anger and obediently try to find a solution since the mission was tied to her life.

The system had previously stated that it wouldn't let him die, so even if this mission seems absurd, there must be a glimmer of hope hidden within it.

Thinking this, Li Fuyao pulled the task list out of her mind while fighting the filthy beast. She then carefully looked at the task descriptions again, and soon her mind suddenly lit up.

The elders just said that this Bewitching Illusionary Realm generates different scenes based on the test taker's experience, personality, and state of mind, while the mission details also say that this Filthy Demon Core can control the illusionary realm.

Thinking of one of the requirements for completing the mission, which is to ensure that one's own consciousness does not fall into defilement before the mission is completed, Li Fuyao had an idea and immediately pulled up his attribute panel.

Sure enough, she saw that the extra soul power attribute bar she had gained after advancing to the Qi Refining stage was now entwined with an ominous black aura. Under the erosion of the black aura, her soul power was slowly flowing away at a steady pace.

Because it is Li Fuyao's soul that is currently in the illusion, the power she uses to release skills is not spiritual power, but the power of her soul.

Due to skill depletion and the erosion of black energy, Li Fuyao's soul power bar was now about one-third empty.

She made a rough estimate: if she couldn't find a way to remove the black aura buff within the mission's time limit, then the mission would fail just as her soul power bar would be depleted.

"No wonder I acted so ruthlessly in the first two illusions; it seems I was influenced by this strange thing as soon as I entered the illusion!"

Li Fuyao chuckled to herself, finding her current state rather amusing.

She only realized she'd lost her sanity after so long thanks to the mission prompts; she's incredibly careless. All the caution she had in her past life has been wasted in this transmigration!

"Who wants their consciousness to collapse and turn into a vile beast! Ugly and smelly, I'd rather eat shit and die than become that kind of grotesque creature!"

She looked at the group of abstract, filthy beasts with disdain, inwardly criticizing their appearance and condemning her own depravity, while concentrating on trying to pull out the black energy from her soul power bar.

Of course, it couldn't be pulled off; the black aura was so stubborn that it could practically give the little tendrils of the ivy a lesson.

But every cloud has a silver lining. After all that trouble, although Li Fuyao didn't manage to get rid of the rooted black energy, he somehow managed to unravel its source because it was connected to his soul.

Doesn't that make the location of the tainted demon core clear?

Seeing a glimmer of hope, Li Fuyao chuckled and immediately stopped his pointless fight with the phantom beast, then took off running away as fast as he could, following his instincts.

Meanwhile, outside the illusion, in the Divine Martial Plaza—

The elders of the Yanjian Sect were extremely busy. They were trying to use the Bewildering Heart Stone to enter the illusion and rescue the people themselves, but they found that the Bewildering Heart Stone had gone out of control. No cultivator who had reached the Foundation Establishment stage could enter, even if they sealed their cultivation.

But in the current situation, what use would it be for a Qi Refining stage cultivator to go in?

It's just sending a few more hostages for nothing.

The elders couldn't think of a solution for the time being, so they had to deal with the cultivators who suddenly went mad while preventing the corrupting power from spreading like a plague from the mad cultivators and infecting others.

The entire square was in chaos, filled with shouts and curses.

"This can't go on; we must find the source!"

The elder at the head of the group had a face as black as the bottom of a pot. Looking at the chaotic scene before him, he had lost all his previous composure and calmness.

If things continue to fall into chaos, the higher-ups will probably notice something's wrong!

If such a huge oversight were to occur in his hands, he could forget about retaining his position as the chief discipline elder!

He frowned, about to take a deep breath and think of a solution, when suddenly he saw a row of dazzling white teeth among the pained, wrinkled faces all over the square.

No, what are you so happy about here?

The disciplinary elder was astonished. He blankly threw away the broken beard in his hand, raised his hand to rub his eyes in disbelief, and looked again.

That's right, he wasn't mistaken!

There was indeed a little girl standing under the stone platform, laughing while everyone else was weeping!

If this little girl hadn't also had her eyes closed and black energy emanating from her forehead, like the other cultivators participating in the test, he would have thought that the mastermind behind the accident had come to demonstrate.

"Is this girl the one with all the elemental roots from that day?"

Having seen many grand occasions, the disciplinary elder quickly regained his composure. He squinted at Li Fuyao for a few moments, and as if realizing something, a hint of joy suddenly appeared on his face:

"Bring that girl here. This young lady is behaving so strangely; the key to breaking through her must be her!"