Chapter 190

Ah?!

Originally Zhao Si was still complaining that Xue Xiaohei was too extreme, but he didn't expect that the cultivators of the primordial wilderness now are even more extreme than him!

At most, Xue Xiaohei has a problematic mindset; aside from the people of the Western Wilderness killed by the power of the primordial wilderness, the number of people he has personally killed is actually very small, and the reason for killing is simple:

They offended me.

In essence, it still cannot be considered Chaos evil.

And this so-called righteous path actually cultivates immortality by eating people!

They kill the ordinary mortals who come to seek refuge, extract their souls, refine them into spiritual energy, to make up for the cultivation needs of the people in the blessed land.

If this continues, how many people will have to be killed?!

"The key is, this is still considered the righteous path!"

If the righteous path has become this noble, then the demonic path must have defied heaven to the point of being indescribable!

Zhao Si suddenly felt a sense of disgust:

"The cultivation of this era... has already gone awry from the root!"

In normal times of the primordial wilderness, cultivation should be inhaling and exhaling the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.

But in this era, they cultivate immortality by eating people!

Zhao Si naturally understands the reason they have taken this path:

The Six Sages and the Heavenly Dao of Hongjun have vanished; the primordial wilderness only has an unnamed sage, who doesn't even go to work, and aside from destroying the world, they have no intention of managing anything—let alone replenishing the resources of heaven and earth, which is impossible.

Therefore, whether cultivators like it or not, if they want to cultivate immortality, there is only one path: eating people!

But disgust is disgust, wrong is wrong, eating people is not right!

Having played this game for so long, Zhao Si can be said to know every basic setting of this version of the primordial wilderness like the back of his hand.

A primordial wilderness living being, essentially, can be divided into three parts:

The first part is the physical body; the physical body determines the being's race—for example, if a human reincarnates into the Demon Race, he becomes a Demon Race member; if a Demon Race member reincarnates into a human, he becomes a human. The differences between races are manifested only in the physical body and its associated abilities.

When Gold Bing ordered Houtu to establish the cycle of reincarnation, this was the principle used: using reincarnation to ease the conflicts between the Demon Race and humans, allowing different races to transform into one another, laying the foundation for the Demon Race and humans to achieve relative equality!

The second part is the true spirit; the true spirit is indestructible, it is the source of the living being, but it has no consciousness, only simple instincts, such as seeking benefit and avoiding harm, such as cultivation.

The "True Spirit Path to the Dao" of Jiaoming and the Three Ancestors is based on this!

The third part is the soul; the soul is the consciousness entity of a living being, which can be understood as a derivative of the true spirit; the true spirit is its foundation, but the true spirit lacks consciousness, and only when the true spirit gives rise to a soul does a person possess consciousness.

In summary, the physical body determines racial identity, the true spirit determines origin and cultivation, the soul determines consciousness; these three parts each have their function, and lacking any one of them means one cannot be considered a 'person'!

Roughly speaking, the physical body encloses the soul, the soul encloses the true spirit, layer upon layer—this is a primordial wilderness living being.

Among these three, the soul is a particularly special existence, because it originates from the true spirit yet is not equal to it; it is a special spiritual energy formed by the Pangu true spirit spontaneously creating something from nothing!

However, the Pangu true spirit is not Pangu himself, so it can only "create something from nothing" once; when the soul disperses into the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, consciousness and memory also dissipate, and the corresponding true spirit is effectively dead.

That is why Hongjun told Jiaoming that the true spirit cannot be revived, because consciousness resides only in the soul, and the true spirit is merely the core of the soul.

What the current primordial wilderness cultivators are using is precisely this soul born from the true spirit; extracting the soul and scattering it yields usable spiritual energy.

"Isn't this just using people as spiritual stones?!"

In addition to his disgust, Zhao Si also couldn't help but feel a hint of killing intent:

"Such a cultivation world, even its root is twisted, using people as consumables in pursuit of longevity and immortality…… if possible, we should destroy it as much as we can!"

At this moment, Zhao Si, who previously thought Xue Xiaohei was extreme, now wishes he would immediately become the Great Western King and exterminate this twisted-root primordial wilderness cultivation world!

……

【From the desperate yellow-clothed people, you obtained information about their blessed land.】

【This blessed land, in the mythic era, was once a subsidiary blessed land of the Great Sage's Teaching, the Western Sect; therefore, when promoting themselves externally, they always claim to be of the Western Sect, aiming to gain the favor of ordinary people by using the well-known name of the Great Sage's Teaching.】

【In reality, they have no connection whatsoever with the Western Sect; they are merely deceiving the world and stealing its name……】

【Even so, the yellow-clothed people still insist that their blessed land is the righteous path!】

【"The righteous path……"】

【You said nothing, only seized the terrified him in your hand, and then swiftly flew toward the location he provided……】

【Not long after, a blessed land housing over ten thousand cultivators appeared before you!】

【Within the blessed land lies a landscape of clear mountains and beautiful waters; though the spiritual energy is not abundant, it is sufficient for these cultivators below the true immortal level to subsist.】

【You see: immortals in groups of three or five, wearing Daoist robes and carrying immortal swords; some white-bearded immortals hold whiskers, sitting cross-legged in meditation; some dark-bearded immortals hang ruyi scepters and gourds as magical treasures, discussing the Dao and dueling with spells, they come and go among the clouds, wandering carefree within the blessed land.】

【The scenery of this immortal realm differs entirely from the mortal world, making viewers intoxicated, wishing only to linger here long, seeking longevity and carefree ease……】

【And maintaining this immortal blessed land is a curtain of light, like an inverted bowl, firmly sealing this region's spiritual energy!】

【As you gaze upon the splendid scenery of this blessed land, what appears before your eyes is instead mountains of corpses and a sea of blood, white bones piled like forests, with countless mortal souls wailing here eternally, unable to be reborn……】

【Parents, younger brother…… and all those mortals who came seeking the blissful life of the immortal realm, aside from the few who possess immortal roots, the rest all perish here, their souls turning into the spiritual energy needed for cultivation.】

【They came with hope, yet died in despair……】

【You caught a whiff of spiritual energy, and then instinctively felt a chill run down your spine!】

【Sorrow, fear, nausea, hatred, anger…… all negative emotions overwhelm your reason, causing your eyes to unconsciously take on a bloody tint……】

【Your world has turned blood-red!】

【……】

【You openly hover in the void above the blessed land, naturally drawing immediate attention from the immortals.】

【They look at you with great curiosity, assuming you are a wandering cultivator from outside who has come to seek refuge in the blessed land, and they wish to have a friendly exchange with you.】

【But suddenly someone lets out an exclamation of surprise, for they see again the yellow-clothed person you are holding in your hand…… the yellow-clothed person is known to some; in their astonishment, they still thought he had provoked you, and thus, under the influence of the doctrine "immortal way values life," they decide to come mediate……】

【"Fellow Daoist, harmony is precious!"】

【They enthusiastically step forward to persuade.】

【"Exactly! If there's anything, let's discuss it first!"】

"Exactly, exactly! In this world there are no deep grudges or great hatreds; as long as we speak openly, all disputes will be resolved!"

"……"

Faced with their earnest advice, you remained silent the whole time, only staring at them with bloodshot eyes.

When they realized you were treating everyone with this same indifferent attitude, they became even more puzzled: "When did we ever offend you?"

You still gave no answer, merely tossing aside that desperate yellow-clad man like a dead dog, letting him fall to his death while his cultivation was sealed…… This is your reward for him, after all he answered so many questions, serving as your guide to the world of cultivation; this comfortable death is what he deserves.

Afterward, facing this group of righteous cultivators with bewildered faces, you closed your eyes……

That day, the first blessed land you had ever seen in your life was completely flattened under the might of a true immortal!

Tens of thousands of cultivators, in shock and bewilderment, were blasted to bits by your crude true immortal power!

Those who rose in resistance—kill!

Those who knelt and surrendered—kill!

Those who despaired and cursed—kill!

Those who wailed and begged for mercy—kill!

After slaughtering all the cultivators, you still could not quell your hatred; amidst this blessed land's immortal realm, vengeful ghosts seemed to dance before your eyes, wailing spirits seemed to echo in your ears, and you dared not even draw a thread of spiritual energy from here…… Die! Everyone must die!

Standing atop the silent blessed land, you let out a roar, and the vast black power, with the force of Mount Tai pressing down, utterly crushed and flattened the beautiful mountains and rivers that had survived since the age of myth!

This is the first blessed land you have destroyed, and it certainly will not be the last!

……

Ding! Overwhelmed by despair from the guilt and remorse brought on by the slaughter, you choose: (?)

A: Self-destruct to atone, using your own life to pay for the lives of the 'innocent' dead! B: Coldly leave and continue the slaughter!

"……"

Abstract!

Zhao Si's mouth twitched; what scheme is this kid hatching? He could certainly guess it, but it's merely the 'life for life' rule set earlier:

"You brat, go ahead and slaughter if you want, but why all this ceremony… are you trying to show off your respect for 【life equality】?"

Despite the complaints, Zhao Si still pointed out:

"Choose A."

{You chose option A, self-destructing to atone, using your own life to pay for the lives of the 'innocent' dead! }

{Standing before the utterly transformed blessed land, you couldn't help feeling 'remorse' for your earlier slaughter, so to uphold the baseline of life equality, you chose a life for a life! }

{You self-destructed! }

{You died; the wrong choice led to a wrong outcome…… What a genius! Let you figure it out! }

{Should time be rewound, returning to the previous life node? }

"Yes……"

{Time has already been rewound……}

{……Overwhelmed by despair from the guilt and remorse brought on by the slaughter, you choose: (?)}

{A: Self-destruct to atone, using your own life to pay for the lives of the 'innocent' dead! B: Coldly leave and continue the slaughter! }

"Choose B……"

{You chose option B, coldly leaving and continuing the slaughter! }

{Having already died once, you now completed the ritual—a life for a life, truly respecting everyone's lives……}

{With a sigh, you left this sinful place. }

{Your parents and younger brother are already dead; you naturally feel sorrow, but you tell yourself in your heart: this is just a game, no matter how dire the world becomes, after a restart everything will return to its original beauty! }

"The dead will ultimately be resurrected……"

{You silently recited this phrase to ease the pain and grief of losing your loved ones……}

{After a long while, you regained calm, but…… while your mood can settle, can your state of mind truly pretend nothing happened? }

{Your state of mind has already changed imperceptibly; you don't know whether it's good or bad, but you cannot avoid it……}

{However, although the people of the next life will be resurrected and reset, you do not intend to let these worldly vermin off the hook for this life: cultivating by eating people—what kind of immortality is that? }

"Kill as many as you can!"

{You said this to yourself silently. }

{Immortals are no longer immortals! You despise this kind of 'immortal,' and you don't want to be grouped with these 'immortals' and called immortals. }

{If this is what immortality entails, then you would rather become a demon! }

……

(End of chapter)