The revelation about the reflection was unnerving to Lin Mu.
He had never thought that something like that was hidden within him. Not just that, but the fact that it had been nurtured by his actions too.
"Is there… a way to get rid of a Heart Devil Senior?" Lin Mu questioned after a while.
"Unfortunately, no." Xukong shook his head. "Everyone cultivator who has lived long enough will go through many battles and would have killed thousands if not millions. All this would eventually lead them to give birth to a Heart Devil." He explained.
Hearing this, Lin Mu furrowed his brows, as the birth of a Heart Devil seemed more like a inevitable fact.
"I had expected you to give birth to a Heart Devil too… just not this early." Xukong stated. "I'm afraid the ring and the altar might have been behind its early appearance. It has catalyzed its birth and given it a full form." He added.
"I see…" Lin Mu felt a bit relieved at that, but the fact that the altar was behind its birth still unnerved him.
This led him to think more about the ring and the Nine Divine Heat Sutras.
'Each sutra had a requirement that I needed to fulfill for it to be given to me. The Calming Heart Sutra had the lowest requirement, basically needing me to start cultivating. The Severing Heart Sutra needed me to take up the sword and improve my mentality.
The burning Heart Sutra needed me to experience intense rage, while the Nurturing Heart Sutra needed for me to care for beasts.
Then… the Murdering Heart Sutra's requirement was to kill people with selfish needs in mind thereby leading to the birth of a Heart Devil?' Lin Mu pondered on it deeply.
He stayed like this for a half an hour, during which Xukong did not disturb him. He could see that Lin Mu was trying to resolve the conflict in his mind, and it was important for him to come to terms on his own.
~huu~
Eventually Lin Mu let out a breath and his expression returned to being calm.
But he had not used the Calming Heart Sutra for it, he had done so on his own.
"Are you okay now?" Xukong questioned.
"Yes… I understand it now." Lin Mu replied. "What I've been given is merely a tool. It is up to me how I use it. Even if I have a heart Devil and the Sutra uses the power of devils, as I don't use it to commit outright atrocities, it should be fine, right?" he explained.
"Indeed." Xukong agreed. "That is also how many cultivators with Heart Devils resolve it. They will either do righteous acts that will neutralize the heart devil after a while, would enter seclusion for a long time and do nothing, letting the Heart Devil starve away, or even go to a Buddhist temple and repent for a few thousand years." He elaborated.
"Oh?" Lin Mu was a bit surprised. "Doesn't this mean that I can use the Calming Heart Sutra to suppress the effects of the Murdering heart Sutra?" he questioned.
Lin Mu had already had the workings of the Murdering heart sutra in his mind and knew that it was overbearing, like the Burning Heart Sutra.
In order to stop the effects of the Burning Heart Sutra, Lin Mu had to use the Calming Heart Sutra and dispel the rage in his heart. He wondered if the same would apply to the Murdering heart sutra.
"I don't think so." But much to Lin Mu's surprise, Xukong denied it. "You can of course, try it, but I don't think it will work."
"Why so senior?" Lin Mu asked.
"The Calming Heart Sutra is of the Buddhist path, which is a slow one. Its effect can work on something like anger, which can be soothed with gentleness. But the same would not apply for the Murdering Heart Sutra, which is of the Devil Path.
The Devil path is a lot more stubborn and fierce than the Demonic Path and it won't be suppressed by the Calming Heart sutra right away. The cultivators who repent in Buddhist temples do so for a long time and wear down the Heart Devil slowly.
You won't have the same luxury using the Murdering Heart Sutra. To resolve it, you need something fast and equally fierce." Xukong explained in detail, hoping that Lin Mu would get the answer.
"Of course! The Sword Path!" Lin Mu didn't disappoint Xukong and grasped it immediately. "The Severing Heart Sutra should be able to counteract the effects of the Murdering Heart Sutra." He stated.
"It should yes. The Sword Path does have a lot of righteous cultivators, and it traditionally belongs to the orthodox path. It pursues different routes, but they all lead to the ability to sever everything." Xukong spoke.
"Yes, the Severing Heart Sutra should cut off the effects of the Murdering Heart Sutra." Lin Mu nodded his head.
If the Calming Heart Sutra acting on the Burning Heart Sutra was like using water to put out a burning cloth, Severing Heart Sutra acting on the Murdering Heart Sutra was like cutting off a part of the cloth, stopping the rest from burning.
The actions taken were different, but led to the same effect ultimately.
Of course, all this was just a hypothesis and Lin Mu would still need to test it out himself.
"We should probably leave the Ring's space now. We've been here a while…" Lin Mu was actually surprised by how long he was allowed to stay here this time. "I actually feel no repulsion from the ring…" he muttered.
"You should be able to come into the ring a lot more freely now. Your cultivation base has risen high enough for that." Xukong replied.
"I see… that's good to know." Lin Mu said before taking a look around the ring. "I'll sort the remaining items back in the Sleepscape." He said before willing the ring to remove him.
