Chapter 131

The blueprint depicted by Hongjun completely surpasses your imagination; you stare wide-eyed, as if you have never truly known this old Daoist who appears benevolent and orderly……

How?

Hongjun obviously saw your shock, yet he smiled and asked: After hearing all this, do you think I'm a villain?

Isn't that the case?!

You are at a loss; if Hongjun really intends to carry out his plan according to the blueprint, then no matter how you look at it, he is someone who, for his own selfish desires, slaughters living beings, then deceives the world, wrapping his blood‑stained self in the guise of a hero who saves the world……

If this isn't the ultimate villain boss, then who is?

Why?

You remained silent for a long time before woodenly asking: "……Can you really win by sacrificing others like this?"

But…… you have selfish motives!

Moreover, the Three Ancestors' failed encirclement this time will naturally make them more vigilant against Luo Hou's sneak attacks, so Luo Hou will be closely watched; in the future, there is still no chance for him to develop……

Those who achieve great things are not bound by trivialities; someone like you, a free‑spirited person, could never lead the myriad spirits out of the dark era of the Three Clans, nor could you ever defeat the Three Ancestors destined to attain the Dao…… You are still too young!

Only magic can defeat magic! Faced with the Three Ancestors who are certain to attain the Dao, Hongjun can only use attaining the Dao to deal with them.

You eagerly wanted to argue, but inside you felt utterly helpless, for you sadly realized that everything Hongjun said was true: freedom and kindness are your greatest traits, yet also your greatest flaws; you could never truly save anything, including yourself.

You found yourself increasingly unable to speak, for what Hongjun said was correct; regardless of his selfish motives, at least he truly is saving the primordial wilderness from the Three Ancestors' hands—such a great merit can only help him attain the Dao, thereby earning his reward……

Facing your rebuttal, Hongjun sneered: "Without selfish motives, wholeheartedly for the public—what would I gain? Do you think everyone is as heartless as you?"

But the Three Clans have too few slaves, causing Luo Hou to be unable to develop at all; the true spirits needed haven't been captured enough, so the Three Ancestors began their encirclement!

You retorted: "You speak so righteously, but isn't it just to fulfill your ambition of attaining the Dao!"

The usually wooden you couldn't help but panic: "You've already sacrificed so many people—could it possibly be meaningless?!"

Lost in reverie of the future's grand scene, Hongjun unconsciously paused, then gave you a half‑smile: "And to achieve all this, it merely requires sacrificing the lives of some living beings as a price, needing Luo Hou to slaughter the myriad spirits……"

"Originally I could…… but now I cannot."

Hongjun continued: "If I attain the Dao, I will certainly not enslave the myriad spirits, for I have no interest in that; indeed, I will maintain the primordial wilderness and give back to the myriad spirits."

After thinking, you suddenly realized: it's because of yourself!

But……

Since this life began, you have awakened countless primordial wilderness spirits with your own bloodline, effectively seizing a large portion of the Three Clans' foundation; their slaves have drastically dwindled, causing Luo Hou to fail to slaughter enough, unable to complete his early development before being targeted by the Three Ancestors……

"If the Three Ancestors slaughter the myriad spirits out of selfish desire, and if they truly attain the Dao, what does that mean—you should understand……"

As for freedom?

"Then you say, what can I think of to stop all this?"

"So…… is it because of me?"

But…… he still doesn't seem to be a villain like the Three Ancestors, for although his purpose isn't pure, it truly benefits the greater good; most importantly, this is the only way……

He commands the evil corpse Luo Hou to slaughter the myriad spirits—naturally not a good person, yet he also wishes to annihilate the Three Ancestors to bring eternal peace to the world, which hardly makes him a bad person…… neither purely good nor purely evil, neither black nor white……

Hongjun resignedly said: "Originally he planned to let Luo Hou unleash unmatched prowess on the battlefield first, let him develop, and then clash with the Three Ancestors."

Why? Because not enough were slaughtered!

"Look! That's why I never wanted to tell you these things, because you, a person of sentiment, always jump to conclusions without knowing the full story!"

Come to think of it, in the predetermined history without your involvement, Luo Hou could completely rely on this method to kill the Three Ancestors!

And Hongjun could easily, according to the plan, slay the resentful evil corpse Luo Hou, then release the true spirits of all beings to refine heaven and earth, forming a Dao‑attainer without self‑awareness, and then, by deceiving Him, achieve indirect control over the primordial wilderness, thereby attaining the Dao……

"To defeat the Three Ancestors who are about to attain the Dao, you first attain the Dao; to stop the Three Ancestors from enslaving the myriad spirits, you first enslave the myriad spirits; to stop the Three Ancestors from slaughtering the primordial wilderness, you first slaughter the primordial wilderness…… it's all selfish motive!"

Hongjun mercilessly, in the role of an elder, harshly laid bare your nature: a willful, kind, exceptionally wise and brave bird willing to sacrifice itself, yet useless……

Hongjun rarely began to sternly rebuke you: "If you say this is villainous behavior on my part, what are the Three Ancestors? Super‑villains?"

You self‑mockingly laughed, then dazedly sat down beneath the great tree where you were born, gazing vacantly at that crude nest.

"What meaning does my existence have? Nothing needs me; everything would resolve itself anyway…… so why must I keep returning again and again to the beginning?"

You understand, you understand it all!

"So why should I have no selfish motives?"

"Indeed, I truly care for the myriad spirits of the primordial wilderness, but I have no need to sacrifice my own interests; for me, isn't the best course to balance public and private?"

Hongjun questioned you, but you wanted to speak and stopped, for you know that given the Three Ancestors are certain to attain the Dao, Hongjun fundamentally has no room to maneuver; he has no alternative.

"……"

You began to doubt the meaning of your existence: since you do not bear the burden of saving the world, why does the hidden existence make you endure such hardship?

What does it mean? It means the myriad spirits will never be able to rise again; the Three Ancestors will enslave the primordial wilderness until ultimate extinction!

The Three Ancestors tower over the myriad spirits; then after I attain the Dao, I will instead create a realm where the myriad spirits are equal!

Hongjun sighed at your question, his face also showing pessimism and bewilderment.

"The Three Ancestors block techniques and resources, preventing slaves from growing strong; therefore, after I attain the Dao, I will spread the Dao throughout the primordial wilderness, and my lineage will be learnable by all!"

The Luo Hou you encountered in the earlier side‑quests had as its targets complete versions of the Three Clans, so Luo Hou could simply slaughter a bit and already reach the required number.

You suddenly felt like mocking yourself, thinking you were kind and capable of turning the tide, yet you ended up making things worse, ruining Hongjun's perfect plan so it could not be carried out.

"……"

Every word of Hongjun exudes cruelty and cold‑bloodedness; his image has completely flipped from the former 'nice old man' to a 'cunning old bastard'!

"I have exterminated the Three Ancestors, who deserve myriad deaths, for the myriad spirits; then I rightfully earned the reward of attaining the Dao—what's wrong with that?"

Having heard these explanations, you feel somewhat doubtful: why was it that the Luo Hou you previously encountered several times could always muster enough numbers, until gaining the upper hand against the Three Ancestors? Clearly it's the same routine.

In the face of harsh reality, you cannot achieve the freedom your nature longs for with your own strength; perhaps it is precisely because you cannot achieve it that you yearn for it so……

"Thus, after I attain the Dao, anyone who kills or harms living beings will be immediately punished by the law!"

"These are necessary sacrifices! Moreover, even if I did not slaughter them, they would die in the war of the Three Clans anyway; I merely let those destined to die meet a more meaningful end—rather than die for the Three Ancestors' plan to enslave the myriad spirits, why not let them die for me and for the myriad spirits of the future world?"

"Below the Three Ancestors, all are slaves; the life and death of slaves depend entirely on their likes and dislikes, which I will absolutely not allow."

Ha! It's just a bubble.

(End of chapter)