Chapter 329: Replacing

"You cannot stop me, why must you insist on this!"

"This old man is willing to try!"

Walking step by step toward his opponent, Chen Xing moved very slowly, and each step he took was not large, yet with every step he passed, it was as if waves of awe-inspiring Hao Ran Qi bloomed.

Over these past few years, his Hao Ran intent had been tempered a thousand times over. His life's pursuit and his life's persistence were all fused within it.

Moreover, after such a long period of exploration, he discovered that the stronger his conviction, the more powerful his Hao Ran intent seemed to become.

In terms of conviction and persistence, Chen Xing believed he was second to no one within the entire Imperial Court; as a Three-Dynasty Elder with nearly a hundred years of official career, he had been practicing his own pursuit.

Three years of time were enough to allow the Hao Ran intent within his body to be strengthened and polished to its peak, letting him fuse his life's faith and pursuit into it.

This time, he had already prepared himself to die for the world. The Hao Ran Qi even faintly showed signs of another breakthrough, as if it were about to far surpass what it was before.

At this moment, it seemed as if even all things in the world were conveying a sense of awe under the shroud of this Hao Ran intent.

"I never expected that there would still be a person like you in this world!"

As Chen Xing continuously approached, even the old man in hemp clothing seemed to be faintly suppressed. It was as if he were not facing a single person, but the great power of heaven and earth.

The opponent's aura even seemed to be constantly disrupting his inner heart; he was clearly the one who was correct, so why did he feel a trace of guilty conscience involuntarily in front of this person?

Why did this person before him involuntarily make people feel respect, awe, and even fear?

The old man in hemp clothing simultaneously released his own aura to confront Chen Xing, suppressing the strange emotion that had surged in his heart.

His own path was the correct one, because he had always firmly believed in it, and thus he had always been invincible.

He considered himself the guardian of the world's order and the person who loved this world the most. Therefore, his spirit could communicate with heaven and earth, and he could freely borrow the power of heaven and earth to crush anyone with a magnificent momentum.

But this time, he felt as if he had met his match, and his own mental power seemed to have been suppressed.

Above the Capital, the winds rose and clouds surged; the confrontation between the two caused the heavens and earth to change color, with dark clouds gathering and thunder filling the sky, as an aura of destruction descended upon the Capital at this moment.

Countless people looked at this scene in terror, fleeing in panic in all directions. Under the terrifying aura, they felt suffocated, as if they were surrounded by fatal danger.

It was like the danger of being on the edge of a ten-thousand-foot cliff, where one could fall at any moment.

Human instinct made them run, made them look for a safe place to hide, yet no matter where they hid, that feeling still persisted.

"It is clear that your body is on the verge of collapse; if you persist in your stubborn course, today will be the day you die!"

"To be able to die for the people of the world, this old man has no regrets even in death!"

"Ignorant, foolish!" With an unhappy expression, the old man in hemp clothing reached out and pointed at the surroundings, his face full of unwillingness.

He had clearly met someone very similar to himself, yet that person completely failed to understand the path he had chosen, and it was even diametrically opposed.

Such a disparity made one feel depressed, and also somewhat irritable.

"Look at those foolish people who are at a loss; you are desperately trying to protect them, yet they are instead resenting you for hindering their normal lives. Is this who you want to protect?"

"They will not be grateful to you, they will only blame you for disturbing them. They will not remember your kindness, but they will forever keep your harm in their hearts!"

"This is the human heart: greedy without limit, ungrateful; in their eyes, there is only themselves, selfish and self-interested!"

The old man in hemp clothing's mental power shrouded the entire Capital; the myriad states of human life, the joy, anger, sorrow, and fear of everyone seemed to be within his perception.

At the same time, he also transmitted this perception of his to Chen Xing opposite him, as if all of this were displayed right before his eyes, within reach.

Chen Xing felt as if he saw the terror and unease of the Capital's commoners, saw the dissatisfaction on their faces, saw countless people cursing in low voices, and his ears were filled with complaints and shouts.

Under the clash of the terrifying auras, everyone in the Capital could feel it. Living in the Imperial City, the one thing they did not lack was experience; they naturally knew that this was likely experts engaged in battle.

Throughout history, regardless of who won or lost in battles between experts, it was always the most ordinary commoners like them who ended up hurt.

They were not involved in the martial world at all, yet they often had to endure all kinds of unprovoked disasters.

Therefore, regarding such battles between experts, they always tried to avoid them, for if they were the least bit careless, they could be implicated.

If it were only financial loss, that would be one thing, but they feared being caught in the crossfire and losing their lives.

Thus, whenever they saw experts fighting, while envying these experts for being able to soar high and move freely, they inevitably complained and cursed in low voices.

They did not know who the two sides fighting were, and even less did they know that someone was fighting for them and had staked their own life for it.

They knew even less that given Chen Xing's current physical condition, he would undoubtedly die regardless of the outcome of this battle. The moment he chose to erupt, it meant his life had reached its end.

Now, it was just a matter of seeing how much longer this candle flame could burn. Perhaps it would extinguish the next moment, or perhaps it would persist a little longer.

"Hearing their inner voices, do you still want to fight for them? Are these ungrateful fools what you want to protect?"

"They only know how to demand, not how to be grateful. Just as they demand without limit from the natural world, yet never think to cherish or be grateful, and even less think to restrain themselves!"

"All things in the world have nurtured them, yet have they ever been grateful? You are here fighting for them, yet have they ever been even half-grateful?"

Looking at Chen Xing, the old man in hemp clothing seemed to want to see a trace of struggle and doubt in his eyes, but he was ultimately disappointed.

Chen Xing's gaze remained terrifyingly firm, as if he were a stubborn rock that could not be moved at all.

"You are wrong; this old man does not protect them so that they will be grateful, and even less to obtain anything!"

"How could someone like you understand this old man? Even if blades and axes were pressed against my body, or flames scorched my heart, this old man's original intention would not change!"

"Stupid, why is your vision so shallow!" The old man in hemp clothing's face was somewhat irritable; this was a hatred born of not being understood.

Everything he did was the truth; why was it that these people just did not understand? He was different from other old monsters; others killed to satisfy themselves, while he did it to maintain the world.

Well, at the very least, that was what he himself believed, and he had always firmly held to this point. Therefore, he was always a loner, arrogant and disdainful of everything.

"Do you know that if things continue to be demanded without limit like this, one day everything will lose its balance. Human greed will destroy themselves, and will also destroy all things."

"And I was born to guard the order of the world, to keep all of this in balance. The existence of humans has its own reason, but they cannot grow without limit, and even less can they demand infinitely!"

"Losing balance will only lead to the destruction of everything. You only want to protect a small group, while I want to protect the entire world!"

"But this old man only wants to protect them!" Shaking his head, the Hao Ran Qi on Chen Xing's body finally climbed to its peak. "Born as a human, this old man's vision can only see them!"

At this moment, his heart was very calm; there was no great terror in facing Life and Death at all. It was as if he were just going out in the morning, so calm that even he himself was somewhat surprised.

So it turns out that between Life and Death, there is not only great terror, but there can also be peace.

"Perhaps what you say has some truth, but you are wrong about one thing: people do know how to be grateful. The love for one's offspring and the grace of parents are all buried deep in the heart!"

"This old man believes that the human heart will always awaken, and they will always become conscious of themselves. One day, they will learn to be grateful to this world and cherish this world!"

"You actually pin your hopes on the human heart? Do you not know that the human heart is the least worthy of trust!"

"Then is it worth believing that balance can be maintained through slaughter? How are you any different from the fools you speak of who only know how to take and wantonly destroy? Are you not also bringing about destruction?"