Chapter 126: Falling into the Demon Path, Spirit Binding, and Discussing Karma

"Why must you suffer so?" Fuyin Zhenren said while applying medicine for Lingxiang. "Even if he had been struck by that lightning, he likely would have survived it; yet you insisted on stepping in."

Lingxiang's leg bones were not in any great trouble, but the muscles and tendons were injured; it was not too troublesome, though it seemed she would need to rest for a few days.

"That may be true, and in the past, I certainly would not have acted on a moment's impulse, but he has already entered into a Spirit Binding with me. If I had resisted, he would surely have died under the witchcraft of Senior Brother Donghui," Lingxiang said, gasping and grimacing.

Upon hearing this, Fuyin Zhenren only let out a deep sigh.

Outside, Zhaoming Zhenren was greatly shocked and began to shout unscrupulously.

"What? Lingxiang has entered into a Spirit Binding with that demon? How could she? Has she forgotten how Master and Mistress died?"

Qianyuan Zhenren also wore a grave expression, frowning without saying a word, while Shangqing Zhenren had kept his eyes closed from beginning to end, as if he did not care at all.

Chengxin Zhenren hurriedly pulled at Zhaoming Zhenren, glancing into the room to signal him to be quieter. Zhaoming Zhenren, however, could not suppress his anger, though in the end, he said nothing more; he plopped down onto a stool and sulked, his face flushed red.

"Let us set that aside for now," Donghui Zhenren said, pinching his chin and frowning. "Just now, while dueling with him, I heard him say that he seems to have a deep friendship with the Divine Envoy Xiaotie. How could a demon be friends with a Divine Envoy of the Ancient God Path?"

Once Donghui Zhenren said this, all the True Persons fell silent; they also could not fathom why this was the case.

Although they were careful, Lingxiang inside the room heard it clearly—it was only a door separating them, and she was hardly deaf.

"Fifth Senior Brother is indeed upright in character; he must be angry with me now," Lingxiang said with a bitter smile.

Fuyin Zhenren just continued to wipe the medicine on Lingxiang without speaking, truly because he could not understand why Lingxiang would do such a thing.

Lingxiang seemed to see through Fuyin Zhenren's thoughts and just smiled, saying, "Sixth Senior Brother, I originally thought I understood you just as you understood me. It seems it was just my own wishful thinking."

Fuyin Zhenren looked up at Lingxiang upon hearing this, his eyes full of questions—what did this little junior sister mean by saying something so nonsensical?

Lingxiang did not offer much explanation and only sighed.

"That is enough. Please invite the other senior brothers in, Sixth Senior Brother. I will explain it to you all together, so you don't have to ask me one by one."

Outside the hall, Long Qi sat on the stone steps with a face like cold frost; Xinyi and Rendong stood with their arms crossed, leaning against the pillars, while Xiaobai and Ajin stood before the steps. The five of them had different expressions, yet all were silent.

Xinyi was naturally a man of few words, and Ajin was even less eloquent; the two had always been this way. Even Rendong was usually very quiet, but for Long Qi and Xiaobai to be like this was somewhat out of character.

After a long while, Long Qi suddenly stood up and walked to Xiaobai's side. Seeing this, Xinyi and Rendong thought he was going to vent his anger on Xiaobai and hurriedly stepped forward to stop him, but Long Qi only asked:

"Did you enter into a Spirit Binding with Lingxiang?"

On one hand, the group felt relieved, but on the other, they were suspicious—what exactly was this Spirit Binding?

Xiaobai was also confused; what did he mean by asking this?

"Yes, so what?"

Upon hearing this, Long Qi immediately flew into a rage and threw a punch at Xiaobai's face, but it was merely a simple punch with no internal energy mixed in, as if he were just venting.

Xiaobai was stunned at first, then he actually fought back against Long Qi, and he also replied with nothing but his fists.

The two seemed to have forgotten that they possessed cultivation; Ajin watched coldly from the side, while Xinyi and Rendong did not react for a moment. It was only when the two rolled onto the ground that they realized what was happening and hurriedly pulled them apart, one by one.

By then, both had injuries on their faces; blood seeped from the corner of Xiaobai's mouth, and Long Qi's left eye was red and swollen like an egg.

Xinyi and Rendong finally managed to pull the two apart, and Xiaobai, who was holding Long Qi, hurriedly asked, "What are you doing, suddenly acting like this?!"

Long Qi only panted heavily, his eyes red, but he did not answer. It was then that Ajin suddenly spoke:

"There are thousands of Daoist methods in the human world, but Spirit Binding is different. To bind with a god is to serve the Divine Path; to bind with a ghost is to drive the Ghost Path; only to bind with a demon is to fall into the Demon Path. And he is a demon, a Resentment Demon. Born of resentment, with hatred entering the soul, a demon formed by the rebirth of a living soul—if such a demon dies, their soul will scatter, unable to enter the Yellow Springs, let alone talk of Reincarnation."

"It is rumored that those who enter into a Spirit Binding with a demon may obtain the Heavenly Dao while alive, but if they do not attain the Dao, they will not fall into the Demon Path after death, yet they will be taken away by the Abang Rakshasas."

"I know what you senior brothers want to say, but in all fairness, I do not feel I have done anything wrong," Lingxiang said, leaning against the head of the bed. The curtains obscured her brows and eyes, making it impossible to see what expression she wore now.

Zhaoming Zhenren became anxious upon hearing this and immediately stood up: "How can you still refuse to admit your mistake? Do you know the consequences of binding with a demon?"

Chengxin Zhenren hurriedly grabbed Zhaoming Zhenren. Zhaoming Zhenren looked back and saw Chengxin Zhenren shaking his head at him. Zhaoming Zhenren sighed bitterly, flicked his sleeve, and sat back down, looking as if he were disappointed that she had not lived up to expectations.

Lingxiang's face was half-hidden, and only a smile could be seen at the corners of her mouth: "I know Fifth Senior Brother is worried about me, but I truly do not think I have done anything wrong. Is it because he is a demon that I should not have bound with him? Then I ask you senior brothers: what of gods? And what of demons?"

"Even those gods, if they become willful, will commit acts that disregard living beings. How can you judge his good or evil simply because he is a demon?"

"I am a person with a Residual Spirit Root. Throughout history, how many people with Residual Spirit Roots have had a good end? Since that is the case, what harm is there in binding with a demon? It is nothing more than walking through that hell once. In my current state, what else is there to fear?"

The Elders were speechless upon hearing this, but Qianyuan Zhenren could not help but say: "But you clearly know that Master and Mistress died at the hands of demons, yet you still bound with a demon. Have you ever thought..."

Before he could finish, Lingxiang interrupted him.

"When my mother sacrificed me to cast a curse on the Demon Lord to protect the Yuanqing Sect, did she ever think of me? If not for her actions, how would I have ended up with a Residual Spirit Root? If not for her insistence on saving that demon back then, would we be in this situation today?"

"Indeed, there are so many 'ifs' in this world. Since that is the case, why bother with which path I choose to walk? To have a clear conscience is enough."

Shangqing Zhenren opened his eyes and said in a deep voice: "Since you have already done this, you must bear the karmic cycle yourself in the future; you cannot blame anyone else."

Lingxiang sneered: "Since I have already borne the karma that was not mine, why would I care about one more?"

Rendong was shocked upon hearing this, his face full of disbelief. He hurriedly asked Long Qi: "Is what he said true?"

Xiaobai was also extremely terrified. He knew that he might turn to dust and his soul might scatter after death, and he knew of the concept of Spirit Binding among cultivators, but he had never heard anyone mention the Demon Path.

Long Qi's sorrowful expression told everyone that what Ajin said was not false.

Xinyi asked in doubt: "How did you know this?"

Long Qi held his head and plopped down onto the ground.

"Just now in the Langhuan Pavilion, I saw a book called 'The Profound Exploration Scripture', and it said exactly this."

They had heard Lingxiang mention 'The Profound Exploration Scripture' before; it was an ancient book, and even its author could not be traced.

"After all, that book is very old; perhaps what it says is not entirely true," Xinyi hurriedly comforted him.

But Ajin poured a bucket of cold water on them.

"What is said in 'The Profound Exploration Scripture' may not be entirely correct, but regarding this point, it is not false."

Xiaobai looked at Ajin upon hearing this, his fox eyes wide with terror—what would happen to him was already irreversible, but Lingxiang...

"However..." Ajin continued: "It is not without a solution."

Long Qi raised his head upon hearing this, his face full of hope.

"What method?!"