"Why do you look so down?" Shen Jing asked.
"Well, here's the thing," Alex said. "I want Pearl to eat this fruit, but I also want to give it to my mother. So, I'm not sure what I should do."
"Your mother? Did she come to this continent too?" Shen Jing asked.
Alex nodded.
"Oh, then don't worry about here," Shen Jing said as he reached somewhere and brought out another Divine Devil fruit. "I have two."
Alex was surprised. "Where did you find two? Aren't they very rare?" he asked.
"They grow in my backyard," Shen Jing said.
"In your backyard? It must be quite amazing to grow these then," Alex said.
"Where's your mother now?" Shen Jing asked.
"In the DawnSpring city. She's a disciple in the Flowing Brush sect," Alex answered.
"Alright, I will give this to her later then," he said.
"I can give it to her," Alex said.
"Well, we both will," Shen Jing said with a smile. After they finished eating, Shen Jing took Alex and flew in the direction of DawnSpring city.
A distance of around three thousand kilometers ended up taking Alex only 6 minutes at best.
Due to his increased cultivation, it seemed Shen Jing was going faster than before now.
'Geez, just how fast can he go?' he wondered.
When they stopped, Alex pointed toward the sect and they entered. Shen Jing was practically trespassing, but not a single alarm went off for some reason.
As far as the sect running formation was concerned, he wasn't even there.
Alex quickly introduced his mother to Shen Jing and gave her a Divine Devil's fruit. Then, the two of them went to his house to talk for a bit.
"That you for telling me about the Demonic plants again," Alex said. "Those sort of information are impossible to come by."
"Yeah, well you shouldn't be searching for such information in public places. Sects and families are very conscious of what they have and what they can protect.
Alex nodded to agree with the statement when he thought of something. 'Something that can't be found in public places.'
Suddenly, a question that was plaguing his mind for 2 weeks ago came flooding back.
"Brother Shen, I… am facing a problem with my cultivation right now. I was hoping you could help me," he said.
"Oh, you're facing problems with cultivation? That's weird," Shen Jing said.
Alex nodded. "About 2 weeks ago, I sat down to cultivate, but I kept coming out of it. I think someone was talking to me, and I also remember feeling very angry and scared."
"Honestly I have no idea what happened, but I ended up going through Qi deviation and lost a bit of my cultivation due to that," Alex said.
Shen Jing's face suddenly got serious and he sensed Alex's cultivation base again.
"True Lord 9th realm," he said softly. "If what you say is accurate, then you must have been tormented by an Inner Demon."
"An Inner Demon? What's that?" Alex asked. "Does it have anything to do with the demons from the demon realm?"
"No, these are completely different. Inner Demons were named way before," Shen Jing said. "What an Inner Demon is, is the world forcing you to face your trauma and insecurities."
"The world?" Alex asked.
"Yes, the world. Or you may call it Heaven too. The same thing," Shen Jing said. "Remember what I said before? Heaven hates letting someone with an advantage grow. So, they try to stop them by putting obstacles in their way."
"Wait, wait, wait," Alex stopped him. "The Heaven is trying to stop me from advancing because I was born with my body and talent?"
"No," Shen Jing said. "That is something your parents faced, not you. Since they fought through it, you have nothing to worry about in that regard."
"Then what advantage do I have?" Alex asked.
"Dao," Shen Jing said. "You know the Dao of Explosion, right?"
"Yes," Alex said. "And Heat too."
"Another one?" Shen Jing raised an eyebrow.
"Yes," Alex said.
"When?" Shen Jing asked.
"2 years ago," Alex said.
"Wow, nice," he said. "Anyway. Since you now have 2 different Dao, you have power, or rather Authority over the world itself in that regard."
"You can force the world to do what you want. The world allows it, but they also put obstacles in your way to try and stop you."
"There are 2 types of obstacles that they put on you. Physical and mental," Shen Jing said.
"Physical obstacles usually come when you are about to break through between Major realms, like from True to Saint, or Saint to Immortal."
"Since you know 2 Daos, it is likely you will have to face it when you break through to the Saint realm," Shen Jing said.
"I will? What will I have to face? Will different beasts come to attack me?" Alex asked.
"No, you will have to fight something that comes from up above," Shen Jing said.
"From above?" Alex asked as he started thinking about what came from above. Then, he remembered the scene when Lady Ren's strength went past the Saint realm and crossed the border of the Immortal realms.
"Heavenly Judgment?" Alex asked with a face that was drained of any blood.
"Yes," Shen Jing said. "Except, this time we call it Tribulation lightning."
He saw the scared look on Alex's face and said, "Don't worry, it won't be as strong as a Heavenly Judgment's lightning. Just a realm or two above what you are trying to break through to."
"Although, in your case, it might come down stronger given how high your strength is."
Alex's face which was about to be relaxed tightened up again with fear.
"Don't worry, you'll be fine," Shen Jing said. "Besides, we are talking about Inner Demons. That's the mental obstacle the world will put in your path to stop you from breaking through a minor realm."
"From True Lord to True King, from True King to True Emperor, from True Emperor to Saint Condensation, that sort of thing," Shen Jing said.
"We will go through it even when we break through major realms?" Alex asked.
"Of course, it's not going to stop now," Shen Jing said. "Anyway, Inner Demon is simply your trauma and your insecurities taking the form of a voice to play with your mind."
"As long as you have a solid heart, you will pass through," Shen Jing said.
"So… I need to know what my Inner Demon says so I can prepare against it?" Alex asked.
"No, you do not prepare for Inner Demon," Shen Jing said. "There is no preparing for it. No matter what, there will always be something in you that your Inner Demon will focus on to torture you."
"The worst part is you don't realize it's an Inner Demon while it's tormenting you, and you don't remember what it tormented you with afterward."
"So, the best way to prepare for an Inner Demon is to face your insecurities before you try to breakthrough. That way, you give the demon not many things to use against you."
Shen Jing slapped his thigh. "Right, bring out an empty talisman," he said.
Alex nodded and brought out one.
"Okay, now write everything that is troubling you in there. One of the ways to face your insecurities is to write it down and think through it one by one," Shen Jing said.
Alex thought for a moment, nodded, and started writing. He thought about what could be troubling him so much and noted down whatever came to mind.
"Are you done?" Shen Jing asked after seeing Alex put down the Talisman.
"I don't really know much, but I think I'm done," Alex said. "Do you want to read?"
"I can't read," Shen Jing reminded him. "Say your first point out loud."
"I worry I will never get my arm back," Alex said.
"Haha, that's a stupid one," Shen Jing said. "I told you, once you reach Saint realm, it will grow back even if you don't want it. You should throw it out of your mind now. Alright, next?"
Alex nodded.
"I worry I am ruining Pearl's potential," he said.
"Ruin his potential? How?" Shen Jing gave a weird face.
"I… Pearl was supposed to go through a ritual to evolve or something, but I stopped that from happening. I am starting to believe that is not the right thing," Alex said.
"Hmm, can you bring out Pearl?" Shen Jing asked.
Alex nodded and in bright white light, Pearl came out.
"Hmm… Old man?" Pearl asked when he saw Shen Jing.
"How are you doing, little fellow? Did you miss me?" Shen Jing asked.
"No," Pearl said.
"What?" Shen Jing made a sad face. "Here I thought you would be happy to see me again."
"I am," Pearl said, "but I didn't miss you. I have a brother and mother with me. I don't miss anyone else."
"Mother?" Shen Jing gave a weird look.
"My mother," Alex said.
"Oh," Shen Jing said. "Come here, Pearl."
Pearl jumped into his embrace and Shen Jing pet him a bit. At the same time, he checked Pearl as well.
"Yeah, he's fine. There's nothing to worry about him," Shen Jing said.
"Really? But his cultivation speed has been slowing down recently," Alex said.
"That's just how beasts are. Their cultivation speed is usually slower than humans. Plants have it worse," Shen Jing said.
"So, he's fine?" Alex asked.
"He's fine," Shen Jing said. "Of course, if he can evolve, that would probably increase his speed. But strictly speaking, he doesn't need it right now."
"As long as you get him to evolve before he reaches the Immortal realm, he will be okay."
