Chapter 10: The Demonic Path and the Righteous Path

“……I almost forgot to tell you, those above are your parents, and your younger sister.”

A small hand pinched the ‘victim’s’ neck, the voice sinister and wicked.

“Before your sister was… taken care of, she kept asking where her brother had gone.”

“And this person beside her, so strange. Despite having no blood relation to you, she kept calling your name—hmm? It seems she’s carrying a child?”

The speaker feigned surprise, drawing out the words.

“Oh, right. I told your sister that if she willingly jumped into the oil pot, I would let you go. She didn’t even hesitate, leaping in right away. Guess what her last words were? She wished you happiness~”

“Hee-hee-hee-hee-hee-hee-hee-hee—Ouch!”

“Just eat! What’s with all this nonsense?”

Hua Yan retracted the chopsticks she had tapped on Hua Xiangrong’s forehead, glaring at her, clearly annoyed.

“You’re just peeling a shrimp, yet you’re so dramatic, even laughing so strangely. Who knows where you picked up such habits.”

At this moment, mother and daughter were seated in a private room of an exquisite restaurant. The round table was laden with sumptuous dishes, and closest to Hua Xiangrong was a plate of glistening, braised prawns.

“Ugh…”

The pink-haired girl clutched her throbbing forehead, her eyes welling up with tears as she looked up, feeling wronged.

“Mother, I was just… practicing how to be a proper demonic cultivator in advance…”

Hua Yan’s mouth twitched slightly.

“Who told you that demonic cultivators are all like that?”

“Aren’t they?”

The girl tilted her small head, her pink eyes filled with confusion.

“Aren’t demonic cultivators supposed to be cunning, treacherous, evil people who even capture children for alchemy?”

“Then I ask you,” Hua Yan extended a slender, pale finger and tapped the tip of her own nose, “Do I look like that kind of person?”

Hua Xiangrong tilted her head, pondering. She shook her head first, then nodded.

“Not really… but a few days ago, when you killed those bad people, you were a little bit—Ouch!”

The girl’s head received another solid tap from the chopsticks.

“You know I killed bad people,” Hua Yan glared at her, exasperated. “So how did I become an ‘evil person who eats children’?”

‘Hmph, these stereotypes must have been instilled in her by that woman, Yun Xueshang, since childhood. How infuriating!’

Hua Yan mentally made another harsh note against Yun Xueshang.

“Once you finish this meal, I will properly explain to you what constitutes the righteous path and what constitutes the demonic path!”

***

To Hua Xiangrong’s surprise, after lunch, Hua Yan did not immediately answer her questions. Instead, she led her away from the restaurant in the mortal town at the foot of the Frost Ridge Mountains.

The two navigated through the bustling crowds, eventually entering a lively small teahouse.

“Sir, could you tell us a story about Immortal Siheng?”

Hua Yan took a silver coin from her sleeve and ‘*thwack*’ it onto the table in front of the storyteller, who had just finished his performance.

“Ah! Excellent!”

The storyteller’s eyes lit up. He quickly picked up the silver coin and bit it to verify its authenticity, then grinned widely as he called out to the waiter.

“Waiter, quickly seat these esteemed guests! The story of Immortal Siheng is about to begin!”

“Ah? Immortal Siheng again?” “Old Zhao, we’ve heard that story so many times our ears are calloused! Tell us a new one!”

Complaints immediately erupted throughout the small teahouse.

The storyteller, however, paid them no mind. He carefully tucked away the silver coin, took a sip of tea to moisten his throat, then ‘*thwack*’ hit his gavel. The entire room fell silent.

“Esteemed guests, please don’t be annoyed! Since a distinguished guest has made a request today, I, Old Zhao, shall once again recount the legend of the first immortal to open the heavens and cleave the earth in our Divine Land—Immortal Siheng!”

“It is said that a million years ago, our Divine Land was truly a living hell, a place of unspeakable misery!”

“In the cultivation world of that era, the law of the jungle was absolute.

Sects were irreconcilable, often clashing in life-or-death struggles! Among fellow cultivators, for a mere opportunity or a single magical artifact, brothers turned against each other and masters betrayed disciples—such occurrences were equally commonplace!”

“And that’s not all! Those high and mighty cultivators were always fond of venturing into the mortal realm!

They would capture mortals as cauldrons, abduct common folk as consumables, committing such heinous acts and even daring to call it ‘accepting disciples’!

There were even legends of powerful cultivators who, to forge a formidable weapon, refined a million living souls in one go! Imagine, everyone, how tragic and sorrowful that must have been!”

As the storyteller reached this point, he shook his head repeatedly, his face filled with compassion. A chorus of sighs and lamentations echoed through the teahouse.

“It was in this era of collapsing heavens and ravaged lands, with countless lives perishing!” The storyteller suddenly slammed his gavel, his voice rising sharply, jolting everyone present. “A towering, mighty figure emerged!”

“This person was none other than our protagonist today—Immortal Siheng!”

“Legend has it that upon Immortal Siheng’s emergence, he pacified all demons across the four seas and eradicated all evil spirits from the eight wildernesses! With his own power, he established the Siheng Laws, rectified the cosmic order, and ultimately achieved immortality, his name echoing through eternity!”

“After Immortal Siheng established the rules and ascended, the cultivation world was transformed!

Random slaughter and seizing opportunities became a universally reviled taboo; the prohibition against massacring mortals became an ironclad law of the Divine Land!

His many disciples, inheriting his legacy, founded the major immortal sects, safeguarding this hard-won order.

For millions of years thereafter, talents emerged in abundance across the Divine Land, and the immortal path flourished, with countless legendary tales passed down to this day!”

The storyteller picked up his teacup, slowly took a sip, and brought his tale to a gentle close.

“This, then, is the story of Immortal Siheng, the first immortal since the creation of our Divine Land.”

“Good! Good!”

Despite the initial grumbles, enthusiastic applause eventually filled the teahouse.

“You must have heard the story of Immortal Siheng since childhood. Are you perhaps wondering why I brought you here to listen to it again?”

Hua Yan took a sip of her tea, then raised her hand to cast a soundproofing spell, just as she had done in the restaurant.

Hua Xiangrong shifted her gaze from the smiling storyteller on stage, who was busy collecting his tips, and honestly shook her head.

“It’s actually quite simple,” Hua Yan set down her teacup. “It is said that after Immortal Siheng ascended, his disciples and retainers split into two factions.”

“One faction advocated that cultivation should primarily focus on ‘enlightenment,’ cultivating one’s own heart and proving one’s own path.

The other faction advocated using ‘objects’ as a medium, exploring the profound truths of the world through external means.”

“While the former’s progress was slower, their foundation was solid, and the realms they achieved were entirely their own.

The latter’s progress was swift, yet it relied on external power, making their cultivation prone to shallowness and difficult to integrate fully. Both had their pros and cons.”

“Given this, can you guess who these two factions eventually became?”

Hua Yan set down her teacup, looking at her with a half-smile.

Without waiting for an answer, she continued, “Precisely. These were the predecessors of today’s righteous and demonic paths.

The so-called righteous and demonic paths were originally just disputes over cultivation philosophies. After millions of years, the views of the two factions have long permeated each other, and the boundaries have become blurred.”

“For example, your mother Yun Xueshang’s Carefree Sword Sect is a sect that only rapidly rose to prominence ten thousand years ago.

According to the old classifications, cultivating with swords, which are external objects, should have been categorized as the demonic path.”

“But sword cultivators also emphasize cultivating a ‘sword heart,’ so shouldn’t that count as the righteous path?”

Hua Yan muttered softly, shaking her head. The beaded hair ornaments in her red hair swayed gently.

“Never mind, it’s a mess.”

“In short, the difference between today’s righteous and demonic paths is not too great. Even tracing back to Immortal Siheng’s era, they can be considered to originate from the same lineage.

It is only in recent centuries that relations between the two factions have grown increasingly tense, leading them to develop many negative impressions of each other.”

“Of course, people of the righteous path are mostly rigid dullards; talking to them for even half a sentence can exhaust you to death. This is absolutely true, you must remember it firmly.”

Hua Yan added, completely unaware that, at this moment, in the eyes of Hua Xiangrong and 099, she herself was the one who most fit the ‘stereotypical’ description.

“As for what you mentioned about eating children and refining blood pills, those are mostly ancient rumors that have long been lost.”

“However…”

Hua Yan’s tone shifted, her delicate brows furrowing slightly.

“In recent years, many fierce and malevolent evil cultivators have suddenly appeared from who knows where, just like the bandits we encountered that day—ordinarily, such people were rarely seen before.”

“Anyway,” she extended a slender, jade-like finger and gently tapped the forehead of the attentive girl before her, “Don’t listen to Yun Xueshang’s nonsense in the future, and don’t try to pin the blame for evil cultivators on us demonic cultivators.”

With that, she stood up and gestured.

“Let’s go, we still have to travel.”

“Oh!”

Hua Xiangrong quickly slid off her chair and followed with small, hurried steps, asking eagerly from behind her, “Then Mother, when can I learn the spell you used that day to *slash-slash* those bad people?”

“What’s the rush?” Hua Yan continued walking without turning her head. “Once you’ve mastered the Water Condensation Art I taught you and can use it to water the courtyard, then we can talk about other things.”