Chapter 1632: A Wondrous Discourse on the Logic of Sainthood
Chapter 1632: A Wondrous Discourse on the Logic of Sainthood
As if she had heard He Gan Xian's faint sigh, the female True Immortal, now restored to her original form, wore a look of utter bewilderment.
She scanned her surroundings, searching for the silhouette of her "savior."
However, the Moral True Immortal never appeared.
One act of violence begets another. Once she grew accustomed to the slaughter, the burden on her heart vanished, and killing became almost instinctual. Within this island star realm, the female True Immortal was virtually invincible. In the past, all other creatures had survived the Dao Annihilation Calamity solely because of her protection.
But now, their savior had transformed into a ruthless killing machine, mercilessly reaping their lives.
And under the influence of the mysterious dark energy, these insignificant creatures still swarmed toward the island's mistress, heedless of death.
At first, a hint of reluctance would occasionally flash across the female True Immortal’s face, but as the slaughter wore on, her expression slowly grew tranquil.
She even began to show a hint of impatience.
"A feigned morality, one constrained by emotion and conscience, may last for a time. But it cannot last for a lifetime."
"When blades are at your throat, in the throes of life and death, can you still speak of morality?"
"When you are misunderstood, when the whole world is your enemy, can you still speak of morality?"
"When you are lonely and desolate, with no one to understand you, can you still speak of morality?"
"When the path ahead is dark, when all hope is lost... can you..."
"Still speak of morality?"
"Only one who can still act with morality in such times embodies true[Morality]."
"Clearly, you are not one of them." He Gan Xian's voice carried a tone of melancholy and scorn.
As if her true face beneath the mask had just been exposed, the female True Immortal flew into a humiliating rage. Her expression twisted into a savage sneer as waves of immortal power pulsed from her, sharp as a million slicing blades, threatening to obliterate everything in sight.
But how could a True Immortal, one who was merely surviving within a single possibility, ever hope to touch He Gan Xian, a being of the transcendent realm?
The wisp-like dark moral energy did not stir in the slightest.
However, after the endless slaughter, the rampaging dark energy began to coalesce from its initial, diffuse state, slowly condensing.
It formed into immense, colossal pillars that spanned the sea of stars.
Li Fan, looking down from his vantage point, saw it all with perfect clarity.
He saw that these black celestial pillars formed a colossal inscription: [Morality]!
The female True Immortal was trapped at the very center of a cage named [Morality]. No matter how hard she struggled, even to the point of battering herself bloody, she could not break free.
"Those who pursue[Morality] will ultimately be ensnared by it and suffer the backlash."
As if proving He Gan Xian's words, the female True Immortal's body began to turn pitch-black, as though corroded by the dark energy.
She struggled desperately to survive, to escape the state of carbonization.
But each attempt to save herself only plunged her faster into the abyss of utter annihilation.
Before long, the female True Immortal had become a part of the dark moral energy, completely absorbed into the colossal pillars of Morality that spanned the heavens.
With her demise, not a single living creature remained on the immortal island.
An eerie silence fell over the world.
Only He Gan Xian's final words echoed in the silence: "One must make morality an instinct. Do not pursue morality—*become* morality!"
The pillars of Morality, having absorbed the life force of every being on the immortal island, expanded once more to the sound of He Gan Xian's dispassionate voice.
In an instant, they leaped across the Sea of Dao Annihilation separating the realm's thousands of immortal islands, enveloping the entire possibility.
Beneath the shackles of Morality, countless billions of souls faced their final doom.
"You all perished by each other's hands."
"Your extinction... what matter is it to me."
"What matter is it to me?"
If his first utterance held a trace of hesitation, the second "What matter is it to me?" was spoken with absolute conviction.
Deep within He Gan Xian's eyes, the faint glint of a tear flickered for a moment.
But his face was already cold as ice.
He Gan Xian silently watched the living beings of this possibility.
And Li Fan, hidden in the shadows, was quietly observing him.
"He Gan Xian never kills with his own hands."
"Instead, he uses True Immortal Scripts, the dark moral energy, or other means to commit murder indirectly."
"There may be no direct karmic link, but an indirect one remains. This isn't a case of He Gan Xian deceiving himself. It's..."
Li Fan observed every subtle shift in He Gan Xian's expression and aura, a realization dawning on him. "To burn away all remnants of conscience until every action and thought becomes instinct, becomes Morality itself. This is his cultivation method."
"However, as he incinerates his conscience, his own mind suffers a tremendous shock. Killing indirectly creates a psychological buffer, a shield to soften the blow."
"From what I'm seeing, He Gan Xian doesn't have much conscience left. A few more episodes like this, and he might truly achieve his perfect state of self-circulating Morality. Using his divided self, he will gather the true essence of Morality and ascend to Sainthood."
Watching the life drain away from the island possibility below, suppressed by the pillars of Morality, Li Fan paused in his thoughts.
"If it were just a normal act of destroying his conscience, it shouldn't have helped him this much."
"Otherwise, the Mountain and Sea is boundless. He could have just slaughtered his way to Sainthood."
In his sea of consciousness, he replayed the scene he had just witnessed—He Gan Xian refining the realm with dark moral energy—savoring the details over and over.
He studied every frame meticulously.
"In the Primal Possibility, this island mistress must have shared an extraordinary connection with He Gan Xian. In other words, her place in his heart was of utmost importance, much like my aunt's is to me."
"The stronger the bond, the greater the shock of her destruction. And the more effective the incineration of his conscience."
Drawing on his own experiences, Li Fan began to understand why this particular possibility was so crucial to He Gan Xian.
Whether it was the island mistress, He Gan Xian, Li Fan himself, or any other living being in the Mountain and Sea—once one became accustomed to killing, it became mundane.
And if one becomes indifferent, how can they burn away the last remnants of their conscience?
"As conscience slowly erodes, the threshold rises. Ordinary acts of destruction no longer faze He Gan Xian's heart. Only by personally destroying someone he deeply cherishes—like pouring oil on a blazing fire—can he hope to shatter the final barrier."
"With He Gan Xian's genius, he must have foreseen this outcome back when he underwent the Moral Separation. He intentionally saved these pivotal moments for last."
"Brilliant!"
The Moral True Immortal was truly a genius the likes of which the Mountain and Sea had rarely seen.
The events of the previous life had already proven his path correct. Perfect Morality, and one attains Sainthood.
He was ruthless to others, and just as ruthless to himself.
His conscience was devoured, piece by piece. One could only imagine the agony He Gan Xian's heart endured throughout this process.
But once the decision was made, he would walk this path unflinchingly. Nothing and no one could stop him.
"And this is only the path of He Gan Xian."
"What about the other half of the Moral True Immortal, the Faceless Immortal?"
"His method for attaining the Dao is likely no less formidable than He Gan Xian's."
Li Fan mused in silence, waiting for He Gan Xian to conclude this stage of his cultivation.
Once the island possibility had been completely annihilated, He Gan Xian inhaled the vast pillars of Morality in a single breath.
Then, with a faint smile, he turned to leave.
Li Fan finally spoke up. "A moment, friend!"
He Gan Xian stared warily at the man who had suddenly appeared.
To have remained hidden here, eluding his senses, was proof enough of this person's power.
And in He Gan Xian's memory, there seemed to be no such expert in the Mountain and Sea.
This made him even more guarded.
But he wasn't about to be intimidated. He Gan Xian watched Li Fan with cold eyes, waiting for him to continue.
"I see you also cultivate[Morality]?"
At these words, He Gan Xian, who had maintained his cold indifference, could not help but raise an eyebrow.
"Also?" He sized up Li Fan, scrutinizing him for a long time, but detected no trace of the Great Dao of Morality on him.
But that was to be expected. He Gan Xian was not far from perfecting his Dao. If there were another in the entire Mountain and Sea cultivating the same path, he would surely have sensed it.
And this person who had appeared out of nowhere was clearly not among them.
"Do you take me for a blind man?" He Gan Xian's voice grew colder.
It seemed he was ready to strike at the slightest provocation.
Li Fan, however, seemed utterly oblivious to his hostility and asked with a smile, "Surely you don't think I'm speaking nonsense?"
"Very well, then. Observe."
Li Fan pointed distantly across the Mountain and Sea, toward another possibility not far from the island star realm.
"That world over there suffered a slightly lighter Dao Annihilation Calamity than this island. The life force of its billions of beings is far more vibrant than what was here."
With a soft snap of his fingers, a tiny flame suddenly flickered into existence in the possibility Li Fan indicated.
In a mere moment, it grew into a raging inferno.
It devoured the Immortal Realm and the mortal sea of stars below.
To He Gan Xian, this was hardly a grand spectacle. His heart and expression remained utterly unmoved.
What did surprise him, however, was that the stranger before him also remained completely indifferent.
He Gan Xian sized Li Fan up again. He could sense that Li Fan was not an inherently evil person, nor was he an unhinged madman. Yet he could destroy a possibility with such casual indifference.
He didn't even flinch when the flames began to spread beyond that possibility, gradually affecting a larger region of the Mountain and Sea.
"Tell me, friend, would you say that I am a man of[Morality]?" Li Fan asked with a grin.
"No Dao, no virtue. No feeling, no justice," He Gan Xian replied with just eight words.
Though he didn't know why Li Fan could maintain such a cold state, his confidence in his own path allowed him to give such a definitive answer.
Li Fan sighed deeply. "You misunderstand me greatly, my friend! In truth, I am here to help you."
"Oh?"
"I came here specifically to aid you in attaining the Dao and achieving Sainthood in the Mountain and Sea!" Li Fan declared with utmost seriousness.
He Gan Xian, who had managed to remain calm, could not help but let out a cold laugh.
"All nonsense, not a single true word. His power is not weak, so he wouldn't provoke me for no reason. Is he stalling for time?"
"Are you an accomplice he sent?" As if realizing something, He Gan Xian's expression changed.
"You worry too much, friend. I simply happened upon you, and seeing your Morality circulate and complete itself, so close to the final step of Sainthood... I was struck with admiration and couldn't help but reveal myself."
"If I'm not mistaken, the 'he' you speak of is the other half of your[Moral Separation]. Am I correct?"
The moment he said the words[Moral Separation], He Gan Xian's expression shifted completely.
He stared intently at Li Fan, and countless tendrils of black energy began to swirl around him like a vortex. "And you still claim you don't know him?"
The dark energy, capable of driving the inhabitants of an entire possibility to a homicidal frenzy, had no effect on Li Fan whatsoever.
He continued speaking in a placid tone, "Though you may appear to be an immortal without virtue, you are in fact cultivating virtue. Your other half, however, is a truly virtueless being, who in fact cultivates the Dao..."
Li Fan slowly explained what he had deduced from the experiences of his past life.
He Gan Xian grew ever more suspicious and unsettled, his mind no longer calm.
This was his greatest secret.
It could be said that in the entire Mountain and Sea, besides themselves, no one else could possibly know of it.
How did this man before him know everything?
"Could it be?" A thought suddenly struck He Gan Xian.
Because his own path ran contrary to worldly perception, He Gan Xian had not gone to the so-called Other Shore after his transcendence. Nor to the Sacred Dynasty or any other place.
He had simply cultivated quietly on his own.
But he had heard of the Saints of the Other Shore and the name of the Tai Wei Saint Emperor.
It was said that in the eyes of a Saint, only the survival of the Mountain and Sea as a whole mattered. The lives within it, even entire possibilities, were of little importance to them.
Only a Saint truly possessed the qualifications and the power to save the Mountain and Sea.
Therefore, they would occasionally offer help and enlightenment to those in the Mountain and Sea who had the potential to achieve Sainthood.
Could this person be the incarnation of a Saint?
If not, how could he reveal his secret in a single sentence? And how could he so arrogantly claim he would help him achieve Sainthood?
The more He Gan Xian thought about it, the more plausible it seemed.
His tone couldn't help but become more polite. "Might I ask, friend, where does the opportunity for Sainthood lie?"
"The proof of Sainthood lies not with you, nor with me, but with him!" Li Fan gestured toward a certain place in the Mountain and Sea.
Though he didn't say it explicitly, He Gan Xian already understood who Li Fan meant.
"Moral Separation, yet Morality is not separate."
"This strange characteristic is the very foundation of your independent existences. If either one of you were to lose this characteristic..." Li Fan revealed a meaningful smile.
"You would become the sustenance for the other's ascension!"
He Gan Xian naturally knew that what Li Fan said was correct.
But Morality and Virtue were interdependent. Even the secret art of Moral Separation had been unable to completely sever the two.
So how could one so easily make the other "lose their characteristic"?
"The key lies in..."
"Virtue losing the Path, the Path abandoning Virtue." While He Gan Xian was still deep in thought, Li Fan had already revealed the heavenly secret.
"What you seek is to save the world. If you were to watch the Mountain and Sea perish, powerless to intervene, you would become one[Without a Path]."
"And what he seeks is to attain the Path. If he were to watch the Mountain and Sea be destroyed, and feel nothing, he would become one[Without Virtue]."
Li Fan's few words sent a chill of dread through He Gan Xian's heart.
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