Chapter 180

Chapter 180: Those Who Have Left Me Behind， Why Linger Over Them?

The monk appeared young， dressed in a two-toned robe— white on the left， black on the right— with a face that mirrored the same contrast， malevolent on the left and benevolent on the right， giving him a deeply unsettling appearance.

In his hand he held a string of prayer beads， eleven in total— six formed from condensed white bone， five from bodhi seeds. As he walked at an unhurried pace， two distinct auras stirred around him: one of compassion， utterly benevolent and kind， the other of malice， utterly wicked and wrathful.

Good and evil coexisting!

Cultivating both Buddha and demon!

The monk walked straight up to Ye Tianming and looked him over， then smiled and said，“So young… please， have a seat.“

Without anyone knowing when， a meditation cushion had appeared behind each of them.

Ye Tianming made a welcoming gesture.“After you， Master.“

The two sat down at the same time.

The monk looked at Ye Tianming and smiled.“Fellow Daoist， your vision is grand— far grander than mine， on par with those three ancient sages of Guzhe Sect long ago. But I must ask: how does one draw the line between good and evil?“

He smiled faintly and continued，“Petty people fear power， not virtue. Ordinary folk respect the wicked， not the righteous. The weaker you are， the more evildoers will surround you. The strong prey on the weak— that is the law of survival. The bullying of the meek and the fearing of the strong— that is the truth of human nature. If you lack the ability to protect yourself， anyone will take advantage of you， even your own family.“

At that， he let out a soft sigh.“Good cannot disappear， and evil even less so. A bowl of water can never be held perfectly level. But since you have put forward this vision， Fellow Daoist， you must have your thoughts on it. I would be grateful to hear them.“

Ye Tianming said，“I wouldn’t dare call it instruction— shall we simply discuss it?“

The monk smiled.“Please.“

Ye Tianming paused in thought for a moment， then said，“What Master speaks of is human nature， and human nature is indeed as you describe. But what I wish to address is not the surface of good and evil— to resolve this problem， we must see its true nature， the most fundamental logic underlying it all.“

He paused briefly， then continued，“What is that true nature? It is the distinction between the strong and the weak. As the old saying goes: those at the bottom toil with their bodies， those in the middle toil with their minds， those at the top toil through others. Simply put: the lower class abides by the rules， the middle class uses the rules， and the upper class makes the rules. The roots of human evil come from two sources— one is innate nature， the other is the imperfection of the rules themselves.“

The monk asked，“The imperfection of the rules— for example?“

Ye Tianming said，“I once came across some records about the Milky Way system in the ancient texts at the Dadao Bookhouse. The question was: if an elderly person falls， do you help them up or not? For the person who helps， their heart is genuinely good— but for themselves and their family， it could become a source of harm， because they might be falsely accused of causing the fall…“

He looked at the monk.“Why does this situation arise? At its core， it is because those who enforce the rules are unjust— they prefer to muddle through， they fail to severely punish those who do evil， and they fail to give justice to those who do good. This is what causes many kind-hearted people， even when they wish to do good， to not dare act on it. At the same time， it allows the shameless to act wickedly without any restraint whatsoever.“

He paused， then continued，“Coming back to what we were saying— at its core， those who make the rules have failed to make good ones. Not only have they failed to make good rules， they have also failed to enforce them strictly. And at an even deeper level， the fundamental issue is that the common people have neither the right nor the ability to hold the rule-makers accountable.“

After a long silence， the monk said，“Your vision is even grander than I imagined.“

Only now did he truly perceive the real depth of Ye Tianming’s vision— and drawing the line between good and evil was merely one small idea within it.

Ye Tianming said，“In this world， certain things must be done by someone. In the past， it was my teacher. From now on， it will be me.“

The monk smiled.“I’m rather curious— is this still just a vision for now， or have you already begun?“

Ye Tianming opened his palm， and the Zhongsheng Code appeared in his hand. He passed it to the monk， who took it and looked— and was immediately stunned. After a long， long silence， a flicker of complex emotion crossed his eyes.“So you are not merely a theorist， Fellow Daoist— you are a practitioner.“

Ye Tianming said，“I am still very weak at the moment. Some things can only be done step by step.“

The monk shook his head.“What you have done is already remarkable beyond measure.“

He glanced at the Zhongsheng Code before him， then said，“That you would show me such a divine code， young friend， surely carries a deeper meaning.“

Ye Tianming said earnestly，“I wish to kill someone， but that person has too many powerful backers. When I make my move， there will certainly be those who try to stop me. Therefore， I wish to ask Senior to lend me your aid at the critical moment.“

The monk smiled.“Who do you wish to kill?“

Ye Tianming said，“Someone from the Yang family.“

The monk was briefly taken aback， then said，“Guanxuan Domain?“

Ye Tianming nodded.

The monk said seriously，“The Sword Master of Guanxuan’s strength is unfathomably deep. To be honest， if I were to face him directly， my chances of winning would not be great.“

Ye Tianming said，“If he makes a move， Senior need not intervene.“

The monk looked at Ye Tianming， pondered for a moment， then asked，“Is killing this person from the Yang family truly unavoidable?“

Ye Tianming nodded.“It is unavoidable.“

After a brief silence， the monk said，“Give me a reason.“

Ye Tianming opened his palm， and the Buddha-Demon Seal appeared in his hand.“That person from the Yang family— I will kill them regardless. If Senior does not wish for the Buddha-Demon Sect to make an enemy of Guanxuan Domain， then I will relinquish my position as Sect Master of the Buddha-Demon Sect here and now， so as not to implicate the sect. This is also one of the reasons I came here today. Of course， if I survive， even after leaving the Buddha-Demon Sect， I will repay the kindness that Senior showed me when they first took me under their wing.“

These were his sincere words. He knew that one day he would inevitably come into conflict with the Yang family， and making an enemy of the Yang family would naturally bring trouble upon the Buddha-Demon Sect. So he wished to place this decision in the hands of the sect’s founder.

If the other party was willing to fight， he would be glad. If not， he could understand— it was only human.

The monk gazed at the Buddha-Demon Divine Seal in silence. He understood clearly that this young man before him was placing the decision in his hands， and now the time had come for him to choose.

Fight!

That meant making an enemy of the Yang family.

Don’t fight!

That meant this young man would leave the Buddha-Demon Sect.

The monk suddenly broke into a smile.“There is one thing I have believed in deeply throughout my entire life. Do you know what it is?“

Ye Tianming said，“Please tell me， Senior.“

The monk said，“It is fate. Since you have joined my Buddha-Demon Sect， in my eyes that is clearly a matter of fate. So… let us fight! If the Sword Master of Guanxuan were to appear…“

Ye Tianming finished the sentence，“Senior need not intervene— I mean no disrespect…“

The monk smiled.“If the Sword Master of Guanxuan appears， I won’t claim I can defeat him， but holding him off for a time should still be within my ability.“

Ye Tianming rose and gave a slight bow.“Thank you.“

The monk said，“No need for thanks. I do this for my Buddha-Demon Sect as well. You are worth my Buddha-Demon Sect making an enemy of the entire universe!“

These were his sincere words. This young man before him left even him feeling humbled. A talent like this— if the Buddha-Demon Sect was still unwilling to take the gamble， then what kind of person would they ever be willing to bet on?

Guanxuan Domain was powerful， but great calamity often heralded great fortune. And for him personally， this was also an extraordinary opportunity.

People like him had all established their own Dao. Now that Ye Tianming had joined the Buddha-Demon Sect， he was counted among those within his Dao. The stronger and more numerous those who followed his Dao lineage became， the stronger he， as the one who had established that Dao， would become. Of course， he understood clearly that Ye Tianming would one day establish his own Dao— but that did not matter. Perhaps this young man before him might one day help him reach an even greater height.

The monk suddenly looked at Ye Tianming.“Fellow Daoist， you were honest with me just now about who your enemies are， and you were unwilling to implicate my Buddha-Demon Sect. I admire you for that. And I， too， am unwilling to deceive you. Your vision is better suited to Guzhe Sect— one could say your ideals align with theirs perfectly. You would find far greater development there…“

He paused， then continued，“I can make an introduction for you. And rest assured— even if you join Guzhe Sect， the promise I just made still stands.“

But Ye Tianming shook his head.“I cannot join Guzhe Sect.“

The monk was puzzled.“Why? Don’t worry— if you are willing， I will personally take you to meet the Three Sages of Guzhe…“

Ye Tianming said，“I once took part in Guzhe Sect’s assessment…“

The monk instinctively said，“You didn’t pass? No， that’s impossible— there’s no way you could have failed their assessment…“

Ye Tianming gave a brief account of what had happened when he participated in Guzhe Sect’s assessment back in the lower realm.

After hearing it， the monk was completely dumbstruck.“You’re saying… they rejected you?“

Ye Tianming smiled.“It is all in the past.“

As for Guzhe Sect’s rejection of him— though it had been genuinely unpleasant at the time， his heart was now completely at peace. They had their own choice to make， and that was entirely normal. There was nothing to hold against them， including what had happened in the end with the Tower Ancestor and the Path-Walking Sword.

Those who abandon me and leave— why should I linger over them?

“Good heavens!“

The monk shook his head.“Guzhe Sect actually rejected you. If those three sages were to find out…“

He suddenly broke into a laugh.“Looking at it this way， the previous generation’s Sect Master of the Buddha-Demon Sect may have been unremarkable in cultivation， but their eye for talent and their judgment were exceptional. I’ll say no more about Guzhe Sect. From now on， Fellow Daoist， you are one of my Buddha-Demon Sect. Your affairs are the Buddha-Demon Sect’s affairs.“

Ye Tianming said，“I would like to ask Senior for another favor.“

The monk said，“Speak.“

Ye Tianming said，“I wish to comprehend True Intent and behold my True Self.“

The monk looked at him.“Skipping the earlier stages and jumping straight to the later ones?“

Ye Tianming nodded.“I wish to cultivate in reverse.“

The monk pondered briefly， then said，“It has never been done before.“

Ye Tianming said，“Then I will be the first!“

Cultivating in reverse!

This idea had not come to Ye Tianming on a whim， nor was it a desire to take shortcuts— it was the result of careful deliberation. And the reason he had the confidence to do so was， naturally， the Zhongsheng Code.

He had created the second law of the Zhongsheng Code upon the foundation of the first， and the core of that second law was suppressing an opponent’s realm down to match his own. If he could forcibly suppress an opponent’s realm— compressing it from ten all the way down to zero— then why could he not go directly from zero straight up to ten?

A flip of the hand to suppress!

A turn of the hand to fill the realm!