Chapter 1276: Each Finds Their Own Insight

Ye Liuyun heard this and laughed: "Looks like you were a demon in a past life too, haha!"

Mo Tianheng also gave a wry smile: "There's no choice! The martial world is like this—mutual deceit, you can't be without vigilance! If it had no malicious intent, after I left, I would have destroyed this formation plate, and it naturally wouldn't affect it."

"But now the formation plate is reacting, indicating that after it left, it has returned to this vicinity."

Ye Liuyun suddenly recalled Mohu's words and asked: "In the Divine Realm, is everyone also scrambling for resources?"

Mo Tianheng nodded: "The martial world is the same everywhere. Getting stronger is to obtain more resources; fighting for resources is to become stronger."

"What if one doesn't get stronger?" Ye Liuyun asked.

"Then you'd be at the mercy of others, a knife's board while I'm fish flesh!" Mo Tianheng said confidently.

Ye Liuyun heard this and fell into contemplation.

"Since we are born in this martial world, only by constantly getting stronger can we make ourselves safer and those around us safer."

"It seems Mohu's words to me have a huge loophole."

He thought of this and already found many inaccuracies in Mohu's statements.

The inner demon in his heart had lessened considerably. However, to vanish completely still requires time for deeper reflection.

Ye Liuyun followed Mo Tianheng out of the Cave. Sure enough, a demon monkey suddenly leapt from the foliage, blocking their path.

Ye Liuyun scanned with his Golden Pupil and found that within its core pill, the True Essence was only one third.

It seems it hurriedly absorbed some energy and ran back, fearing it would let Mo Tianheng and the others escape.

"Alas! Isn't it better to live well? So eager to rush to death!" Ye Liuyun sighed inwardly.

Mo Tianheng, smiling, asked the demon monkey: "Didn't you leave? Why are you back?"

The demon monkey sneered: "I was in that underground stone cave, dark as night, locked up for so long; if you don't pay a bit more, how could I bear to leave?"

Mo Tianheng replied: "It was you who proposed it originally; I helped you find Xuemo's core pill for healing, and you guarded the treasure for me. We each got what we needed—fair, right?"

The demon monkey waved a hand, disdainfully saying, "That was in the past. Our contract has ended. As for the treasure, naturally whoever has the strength claims it!"

"Fine, since you say whoever has the strength gets it, then make your move!" Mo Tianheng shrugged helplessly, showing no worry on his face.

The demon monkey glanced at the formation plate in his hand, not recognizing what it was.

It only saw that Mo Tianheng was not afraid of it at all, and began to suspect whether Mo Tianheng had some backing.

He then looked at Ye Liuyun, checked Ye Liuyun's realm, and immediately withdrew his gaze.

He paid no heed to the realms of the two of them.

Even if Mo Tianheng was powerful in a past life, now they're far from that.

Using Divine Sense, it scanned the formation plate in Mo Tianheng's hand and found only a common insect inside.

"Since you won't show me any courtesy and insist I act, I won't be polite!"

It intended to first test what backing Mo Tianheng actually had.

But as it activated its True Essence, it suddenly found its True Essence rapidly draining.

Startled, it again forcefully mobilized True Essence, only to see the loss accelerate.

With Divine Sense, it discovered a small insect had already gnawed a tiny hole in its core pill and was still feeding.

The core pill is like a reservoir for True Essence; once it leaks, all True Essence will eventually drain, rendering it a cultivation waste.

"That insect…"

It suddenly realized the insect in Mo Tianheng's formation plate was the same as the one in its own core pill.

It immediately understood that Mo Tianheng had left a backdoor, tampering before giving it Xuemo's core pill.

But now that it understood, it was already too late.

The demon monkey instantly mustered whatever True Essence it could, trying to launch an attack early, to subdue Mo Tianheng and Ye Liuyun before the True Essence fully drained.

Otherwise, its fate would surely be terrible.

Yet its attack was easily blocked by Mo Tianheng.

It wasn't Mo Tianheng's strength, but the True Essence drained too quickly, leaving it powerless halfway.

The palm it struck with couldn't even unleash half of its power.

Ye Liuyun silently watched it, feeling regret for it.

"How easy it is to cultivate to the Tianzun Realm! It endured in the cave for years, finally healed and emerged to see the light, yet not even an hour passes before it meets death! All because of its greed!"

And the demon monkey was stunned at that moment.

In this situation, it couldn't even flee; having lost its True Essence, it was weaker than a common ferocious beast.

"Splash!"

It immediately knelt before Mo Tianheng.

"I was foolish and greedy; I hope you, sir, will overlook my fault and spare my life!" the demon monkey begged Mo Tianheng.

Mo Tianheng hesitated briefly, but then suddenly struck, flattening the demon monkey into mush with a palm.

He then tossed the Formation Plate in his hand and led the way back along the original path.

Ye Liuyun silently followed.

He also understood that Mo Tianheng had already given the demon monkey a chance, and it failed to cherish it.

If it were him, he wouldn't leave any lingering trouble.

"Do you think I'm being cruel? The demon monkey's core pill was already broken, a waste, yet I…"

After walking in silence for a while, Mo Tianheng asked Ye Liuyun.

Ye Liuyun didn't wait to finish, and added: "If it were me, I would do the same! I once was soft‑hearted and let that person go, leaving a lingering threat! That may be the cruelty of the martial world you mentioned!"

Mo Tianheng fell silent again after hearing that.

After a while, he said to Ye Liuyun: "I don't only know what kind of person I was in a past life! Could it truly be, as you say, that I'm a demon?"

Ye Liuyun laughed: "People often call me a demon or a Devil! But so what? I have my own goals and principles to protect, and I don't care how others judge me."

He said up to this point, and he himself was stunned for a moment.

Perhaps everyone is the same, doing things each has their own judgment standard; as long as one's conscience is clear, there's no need to insist that all standards be the same.

Looking at it this way, no matter what I do, as long as I am guilt‑free in my heart, I will walk very calmly.

Mo Tianheng, hearing this, also nodded gratefully and said to Ye Liuyun, "Thank you."

Ye Liuyun laughed and said, "Don't be polite—if anyone should thank, it's me thanking you! On this adventure, the gains are secondary; what matters is that it has let me figure out many things!"

Mo Tianheng also smiled and said, "The realm of martial arts always grows with one's thinking! I, too, have gained some insights."