Chapter 286: Non-Canonical Chapter: Answering a Reader

Non-official article: answering readers' questions

Non-official article answering readers' questions

Hello, dear reader, thank you for your comment and analysis. I'll correct what's wrong and strive harder where there's no fault. Regarding your questions, I'll offer brief explanations based solely on content already revealed—no spoilers.

Moreover, I believe your question is quite typical and likely shared by other readers, so I'm dedicating a standalone chapter to answer it, ensuring more confused readers can see it.

1. The issue of orthodox vs. demonic opposition.

This is also the point you mentioned most in your review. I must clarify: in this novel, orthodox and demonic are not mutually exclusive, life-or-death enemies. One can become an immortal even as a demon; one can become an immortal even as an orthodox practitioner. They are not enemies of the Dao—this must be made clear.

So what defines the division and conflict between orthodox and demonic? The novel defines demonic as: willing to kill indiscriminately for one's own cultivation—this includes both mortals and cultivators—and to use human lives to forge techniques or artifacts, such as Blood Shadow Divine Light and White Bone Lock Heart Hammer.

If one kills demons, spirits, ghosts, or monsters without cause to forge techniques or artifacts, that's not demonic—it's merely a heterodox path.

What then is orthodox? One whose cultivation does not harm others' lives, and who, beyond personal practice, is willing to aid mortals and harmonize heaven and earth. That is orthodox. For example: the Three Pure Mountains that inspect thunder, the Long Hu Mountain that distributes talismanic water, the Juqu Mountain that captures ghosts, the San Yuan Mountain that controls floods—including those who intervene to protect mortals when demons kill them, and whose mortal subjects live well. That is orthodox.

So it's not true that only those who kill demons on sight are orthodox, or that only those who kill orthodox practitioners are demonic.

Thus, orthodox-demonic conflict generally arises in only two scenarios.

The first is trespassing—for example, when demons kill to forge techniques and encroach upon orthodox territory, such as the Blood God Sect annihilating the Western Kunlun, or the Blood God Son killing an immortal from Juqu Mountain.

In such cases, the orthodox response varies: in the first scenario, they merely go through the motions, since the Western Kunlun is already gone. In the second, Juqu Mountain fights to the death, actively investigating the Blood God Son's origins, forming the Hao Ran Alliance, and pushing orthodox unity against demonic threats—because Juqu Mountain still stands and remains powerful.

The second scenario is territorial competition: the Blood God Sect's destruction of the Western Kunlun was territorial; the Three Corpses Island's occupation of the sea was territorial; the Green Robe Ancestor's expansion after seizing the Southern Wastelands; even now, Mount Emei's attempt to seize Xikang—all are territorial grabs, and these lead to war.

Beyond these two scenarios, no one truly fights, because cultivators' time is too precious: first realm refines qi and opens meridians, second seeks Gangsha, third crosses tribulation, fourth avoids calamity. Everyone is too busy to waste time fighting daily—and the higher the realm, the more true this is.

Conversely, if an orthodox sect spends all day chasing demons, expanding territory, and neglects quiet cultivation toward immortality, that's abnormal—like the Shu Sect, viewed as an oddity by the East.

2. Why don't great cultivators wipe out their opponents?

This was already addressed in point one: if you don't provoke me, don't kill my disciples or my mortal subjects, I have no interest in you. If I spent every day exterminating demons and defending the orthodox, when would I cultivate? How would I break through? How would I prepare for tribulation and calamity? How would I become immortal?

Of course, time constraints are only one reason—there are others.

For example, killing demons carries risk: one can be killed, one can be wounded. Without sufficient cause, I won't take such a needless risk or expend such effort.

Again, great cultivators are busy: besides cultivation, they guide disciples and juniors, manage their sects, and occasionally visit friends or drink tea—you can't reasonably demand they also stop to exterminate demons along the way.

Are there great cultivators so gifted and fortunate that, after rapidly advancing and gaining immense power, they still have spare energy to exterminate demons?

Yes—such as Zhang Zushi, Xu Tian Shi, Sa Tian Shi, Zhang Sanfeng, Chang Mei True Person, Miao Yi True Person. Without exception, their sects expanded and established their eternal foundations precisely during the periods when these masters were actively active, because they gained fame and profit by killing demons while pursuing immortality.

If you lack this power but still roam about exterminating demons, you'll likely fail to become immortal and kill few demons—and thus be forgotten by later generations.

3. Demonic sects cannot be eradicated.

Points one, two, and three must be considered together: no matter how many times orthodox masters unite to exterminate demons, the world won't become peaceful and pure—just as evil never disappears, neither does the demonic path.

The path of cultivation holds too many hardships and temptations; many orthodox and heterodox cultivators, as they progress, become demonic—because the novel emphasizes that humans are the most spiritually endowed beings, and using humans to forge techniques or artifacts yields immense power.

Deng Yin's fall into demonic corruption and becoming the Blood God Son is a fine example—but far from unique.

This is a matter of human nature, and also of heaven's timing and earthly conditions.

Because this is a world of the transcendent: when people die, their corpses, souls, and bones remain. In the presence of yin energy or sha energy, with no one to guide them, they naturally become demonic. A mortal's death may give birth to a minor demon; a cultivator's death may give birth to a great demon.

Thus, the demonic path cannot be eradicated.

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I believe these three points together should answer most of your doubts. Additionally, regarding your specific detailed questions, I'll offer brief clarifications below:

(1) Aside from the Blood God Sect and the Three Corpses, no other demonic sects actively scheme against orthodox sects—that seems strange. Isn't there even a single fifth- or sixth-rank demonic master secretly killing junior disciples?

Answer: Just because I wrote about the Blood God Sect and the Three Corpses doesn't mean others don't exist. You can't say "none exist except these two" simply because I only mentioned these two.

(2) Demonic sects cultivate by killing—does killing mortals compare to killing cultivators? Shouldn't countless demonic figures be ambushing disciples of orthodox sects traveling far and wide?

Answer: The novel does include scenes of demonic figures ambushing disciples of orthodox sects on their travels. Didn't I already use the protagonist's friends as examples—some were killed by demonic masters? Even by great demonic masters in ambushes (e. g., Lu Yizhao of Juqu Mountain, killed on the Three Corpses Island by the Beautiful Corpse Cui Ying, who shamelessly used her superior rank to ambush and kill him; Zheng Zhaoguan of Wanshou Palace, killed in Yuyang by two of the Eight Golden Giants of Baiman Mountain, who set an ambush and surrounded him—Chapter 204). These events are already mentioned in the novel, just not elaborated upon. Also, the risk and difficulty of killing mortals versus killing cultivators differ—this must be distinguished.

(3) The Blood God Son secretly killed an immortal from the Shangqing Sect—why didn't Gu Chen just kill a few thousand Shangqing disciples when he stole the Earthly Fiend Talismans?

Answer: That's unreasonable. The Blood God Son had to sneak around even on Juqu Mountain—how could you expect Gu Chen to casually slaughter thousands of Shangqing disciples right there? That's asking too much.

(4) According to the novel's depiction, before the Blood God Son's emergence, the orthodox held absolute superiority over demonic sects. Why didn't they simply eliminate them? Except in areas where demonic sects actively banded together for defense, no demonic sect could possibly survive. Sects like the Three Demons of Xiangxi, the Miaojiang Demons, the Guanzhong Demons, and the Xikang Demons had no room to exist—they had no fifth-rank cultivators. A few fourth-rank mid-tier cultivators from major sects could wipe out an entire province in days. Even the Zombie Sect could be wiped out in a day by a fifth-rank cultivator.

Answer: Points one, two, and three should explain this.

(5) The latest Xikang plotline feels too childish. Xikang is in the midst of orthodox-demonic conflict, yet Jian Ge is methodically exterminating sects one by one like NPCs. Why didn't the demonic sects coordinate a response? Why didn't even one hide?

Answer: When the protagonist entered Xikang, it was already stated that most demonic masters fled to Xu Xin Temple and the White Bone Chan Monastery, some left Xikang entirely, and a tiny fraction clung to false hope—that was already mentioned. As for demonic coordination, the latest chapter before your question already addressed it, and it had been emphasized repeatedly before. Moreover, your next question mentions the Blood God Sect coming to aid Xikang—so how can you say there's no coordination?

(6) The Blood God Sect came to aid Xikang, yet chose to fight Jian Ge instead of supporting minor demonic sects.

Answer: I don't understand the logic here. Why is it strange that the Blood God Sect fights Mount Emei instead of aiding minor demonic sects? It has a grudge against Mount Emei and isn't a saint—why should it aid minor sects? It naturally targets major moves: helping the Green Robe Ancestor become a dragon, freeing Gu Chen, supporting the White Bone Chan Monastery, etc.

(7) Demonic sects are all NPCs; demonic plots are all childish.

Answer: I'll strengthen character portrayal in future and strive to improve.

(8) Now that the protagonist is famous, he dares to leave alone to establish his own sect. Given the author's writing style, no demonic master will ever ambush him.

Answer: The current trend in Xikang is orthodox offense, demonic retreat.

(9) The protection methods for sect seeds are laughable—some high master guarding them? But when the protagonist and his friends disguised themselves and went to Xiangxi to kill demons, they were easily trapped in danger. That minor demonic sect's leader was barely fifth-rank—why didn't any orthodox high master passing by casually wipe him out? The protagonist, at his low level, could wipe out a sect—so any fourth-rank cultivator visiting Xiangxi once a year for a week could wipe out every demonic sect except the Zombie Sect. Even the Zombie Sect could be finished off in a day by a fifth-rank cultivator.

Answer: Points one, two, and three should explain this. Additionally, regarding your specific question about Tianqiao Mountain, I'll clarify: the novel devoted considerable space to explaining the origin and nature of Tianqiao Mountain's protective array—even fifth-rank cultivators find themselves constrained. Please reread that section.

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Finally, thank you again for your comment, and I hope all readers will leave more comments and reviews—I read them all. Thank you.

(End of chapter)