Chapter 1272: Examining Oneself

Ye Liuyun and Mo Tianheng didn't go far before they discovered that there seemed to be something in the Demon Qi.

He activated his Golden Pupil, yet saw nothing.

Conversely, without using the Golden Pupil, he saw that there seemed to be some shadows in the Demon Qi.

"What is going on?"

Ye Liuyun looked at Mo Tianheng with puzzlement, and found that Mo Tianheng was also looking at the shadows in the Demon Qi.

It wasn't until Ye Liuyun saw the figure clearly in the Demon Qi that the Ten Thousand Gods Command emitted Golden Light, indicating that it was a Spiritual Soul Attack.

"Illusion technique?"

Ye Liuyun was somewhat curious.

Because what he saw in the Demon Qi was his own figure.

It was an image of his youth, when his parents were still alive, him playing beside them. At that time he had not yet begun cultivation.

The Ten Thousand Gods Command flared Golden Light again, trying to pull Ye Liuyun's Soul's attention back.

"Wait, let me see what this illusion is presenting!" Ye Liuyun said while resisting and communicating with the Ten Thousand Gods Command.

At this moment, the figure in the Demon Qi shifted again, becoming Ye Liuyun diligently cultivating, but his realm was stuck and could not advance no matter how he trained.

"Is this replaying my own memories? This kind of illusion is quite interesting!"

Ye Liuyun watched with great interest.

The Ten Thousand Gods Command seemed to understand his intent, and its Golden Light dimmed slightly, allowing him to focus on appreciating his past.

Next, Ye Liuyun saw himself being assassinated by Ye Xinyu, which triggered the Ten Thousand Gods Command. Afterwards he participated in the Clan Competition, continuously confronting various dangers and challenges.

He grew all the way to being marked with a death seal by the Underworld God, leaving the Cangyun Continent, slaying a powerful Underworld adversary, arriving at the Zhongyang Dalu, and finally establishing his own power.

Throughout this journey he endured countless perils, lingering on the brink of life and death.

Suddenly, all the images vanished, and a voice asked Ye Liuyun, "Why are you doing all this?"

"To find my parents and rescue them!" Ye Liuyun thought subconsciously.

But before he could speak, the voice asked again, "Now that your parents have been rescued, you can leave, right?"

"Isn't the Underworld God still hunting me!" Ye Liuyun immediately thought.

"What if you kill the Underworld God? Would you then leave with your parents? Would you stop cultivating?" the voice pressed further.

"Hmm?" The question made Ye Liuyun pause.

"Indeed! After dealing with the Underworld God, don't I still want to see the Divine Realm?"

"Just like before, he hasn't responded, and the voice asked again, as if it could read his thoughts."

"You work hard at cultivation, not really to find your parents, but just for yourself! Self‑deception!" the voice mocked this time.

"So what am I cultivating for?" Ye Liuyun began to ponder.

"You are a selfish person! You will keep walking the path of Martial Cultivator cultivation forever. In the end, you will dominate the universe, annihilating all opponents. And your family, your woman, will ultimately die because of it!"

The voice, fearing he wouldn't believe, added, "All the strong Martial Cultivators eventually obtain the world, yet die alone!"

"Am I selfish?" Ye Liuyun asked himself.

He realized that the people around him were all giving for him, helping him, even sacrificing their own cultivation time.

From that perspective, he indeed was somewhat selfish.

"But how does my Martial Cultivator cultivation relate to my family? Does it affect them?" Ye Liuyun was somewhat confused.

"Of course!" the voice explained, "For example, when you face the Underworld God, you need them to bear all the pressure for you. They don't have your power, so it's extremely dangerous for them."

"As your realm rises, your enemies become stronger, and they become even more at risk!"

"That does make some sense!" Ye Liuyun nodded in agreement.

"In the end, your family will die for you, while you abandon them for higher realms and a better world. Isn't that dying alone?" the voice retorted.

Hearing that, Ye Liuyun began to examine himself.

He had never before thought so much about it.

Before it was to find his parents, but after finding them, thoughts of protecting his family, visiting the Divine Realm, and further strengthening arose.

But the voice's meaning seemed not to align with that.

It was his first time doubting his own motives.

"Perhaps I truly am a bit selfish?" he wondered internally.

Thinking of this, he felt he should calm down and truly examine himself.

He also needed to plan carefully how his future path should go.

But regardless of planning, cultivation must continue.

"You're certainly selfish, aren't you? Otherwise, why wouldn't you think of completely eradicating the Foreign Tribe for the common people?" the voice answered confidently.

"I've always been contributing to eradicating the Foreign Tribe!" Ye Liuyun argued.

"Contribution? Did you throw all your forces into battle? Did you deploy your elite troops? You're just thinking about your own power, merely going through the motions!"

"Think about it: when you fought the Alien Evil Artifact before, did you have so many reservations? The higher your realm, the stronger you become, the more selfish you turn!" the voice pressed on, leaving Ye Liuyun speechless.

"The stronger you become, the more people you will cause to die!" the voice sounded again.

"Think back to when your realm was low; there weren't as many enemies as now. How many did you kill while vying for cultivation resources?" the voice asked again.

"Which strong one has no enemies? Does any Martial Cultivator not fight over resources or kill?" Ye Liuyun retorted, "I only kill those who deserve it!"

"Are the ferocious beasts in your arena all rightful kills? And the soldiers of those Prince commanders, are they also to be killed?"

The voice asked again, leaving Ye Liuyun without a reply.

"So the stronger you are, the more people are indirectly killed by your hand!" the voice said temptingly.

Ye Liuyun was momentarily stunned, feeling he had become a sinner.

According to the voice's logic, everything he does is wrong!

"Then I shouldn't cultivate? If I have no realm, let people slaughter me, then I wouldn't be selfish?" Ye Liuyun retorted.

"Things have come to this, they cannot be undone!" That voice sighed.

"Your current strength, if you go out, will become a scourge to the region. It would be better to stay here and cultivate. This place is very safe; even the Underworld God cannot enter. Here you will not only be safe yourself, but you will also no longer endanger your family!"

That voice suggested.

Ye Liuyun, however, suddenly gave a faint smile: "This is your true intention, isn't it? To shake my martial resolve and let me stay here to be trapped to death by you?"

In his Sea of Consciousness, the Ten Thousand Gods Command also suddenly burst forth with light.

And at that moment, that voice finally disappeared, never to appear again.