Chapter 812: Everyone in the World is a Demon
Fu Ji said, “Righteous Use of Demonic Arts? So this is the past event he’s remembering?”
Zhang Yu watched the scene, his gaze growing solemn. He had always been filled with countless questions and doubts about the Myriad Laws Sect’s “Righteous Use of Demonic Arts” reform during the Great Righteous-Demonic War.
Facing Jun Xuance’s questioning, Ying Xintian replied coldly, “Demonic Path techniques do have their merits. To defeat the Demonic Path, fighting fire with fire might not be a bad idea.”
Looking at Ying Xintian’s unfamiliar face, a flash of disbelief crossed Jun Xuance’s features. “Senior Brother, do you even know what you’re saying?”
Ying Xintian said, “Junior Brother, it’s time you grew up. Eliminating demons and defending the Dao isn’t just about fighting recklessly. The Righteous Path must also evolve with the times.”
Suspecting that Ying Xintian had fallen to the Demonic Path, Jun Xuance rushed to find their master, Fa Yuanzi. But he found Fa Yuanzi caressing a Heavenly Demon Banner, his face contorted with a greed, desire, and craving that made him utterly unrecognizable to Jun Xuance.
The wails of countless souls echoing from the Heavenly Demon Banner sent Jun Xuance stumbling backward in horror.
A chilling voice reached his ears. “Xuance, you’re here? Perfect timing. Master has a treasure to show you…”
Fear flooded Jun Xuance’s heart. He stumbled and ran out, finally reaching the presence of Sect Leader Zhen Jizi of the Myriad Laws Sect.
“Sect Leader!” Jun Xuance exclaimed, his face pale with terror. “Senior Brother, and Master… they’ve all fallen to the Demonic Path!”
Zhen Jizi appeared as a kindly Daoist with a long, white beard.
He stroked his white beard and said slowly, “Don’t panic. Tell me everything, slowly.”
Jun Xuance recounted the events with lingering fear, describing Ying Xintian and Fa Yuanzi’s behavior. When he mentioned Fa Yuanzi’s Heavenly Demon Banner, Sect Leader Zhen Jizi suddenly interrupted, “Xuance, is this the Heavenly Demon Banner you’re talking about?”
As Jun Xuance watched the Sect Leader pull a Heavenly Demon Banner from his own sleeve, he felt as if he’d been struck by lightning, freezing on the spot in a daze.
At the same time, a voice came from behind him.
“Xuance, my child, why are you running in such a hurry?”
Jun Xuance turned his head and saw his master, Fa Yuanzi, tearing through space with a sinister expression. Accompanied by the sound of countless wails, he walked toward Jun Xuance step by step.
Seeing Jun Xuance, Fa Yuanzi gave a chilling smile. “The demonic tide is surging, and the Righteous Sects are suffering successive defeats. This proves only one thing: the Righteous Path has fallen behind in both Immortal Dao technology and its philosophy of governance.”
Meanwhile, Ying Xintian’s towering figure descended from the sky, stepping through the void to stand before Jun Xuance.
Ying Xintian spoke, “Junior Brother, do you know why our Righteous Sects eradicate demons, defend the Dao, and protect mortals?”
Jun Xuance gritted his teeth. “We ourselves came from mortals. Protecting them… is a matter of natural justice. Why does there need to be a reason?”
Behind Jun Xuance, Sect Leader Zhen Jizi stroked his white beard, his expression profound. “Of course there’s a reason.”
“The Righteous Sects protect mortals because only a larger mortal population can produce enough outstanding disciples.”
“If the number of mortals dwindles, the disciples of each sect will grow weaker with each generation. How then can we advance the Immortal Dao?”
Before Jun Xuance, Master Fa Yuanzi sneered. His voice, mixed with the wails from the Heavenly Demon Banner, dripped with malice as he said, “The Righteous Path protects mortals to gain more outstanding disciples. The Demonic Path’s so-called protection of mortals is nothing more than a way to gain more Immortal Cultivation disciples.”
“Whether Righteous or Demonic, both paths have their own ways of exploiting mortals. In the end, ‘protecting mortals’ simply becomes a scramble to claim them.”
Jun Xuance murmured, “Exploiting?”
“Of course it’s exploitation!” Ying Xintian roared. “Without profit driving them, do you really think the sects and the revered seniors of past generations would so willingly defend the common people? Just for the sake of a slogan like ‘eradicate demons, defend the Dao’? Or ‘Righteous and Demonic cannot coexist’?”
Sect Leader Zhen Jizi chuckled lightly, his white beard trembling slightly. He said calmly, “The reason our sect is suffering successive defeats is that our methods for managing and utilizing mortals are far less efficient than the Demonic Sect’s. So, it’s time for a change.”
Jun Xuance stared at his sect leader, master, and senior brother in disbelief. “What are you planning to do? What do you see people as?”
Master Fa Yuanzi sneered. “No matter what you think people are, they are a resource. Regardless of your feelings, this is an indisputable, unchangeable fact. The essence of the Great Righteous-Demonic War is a conflict over different ways of utilizing population resources.”
“Only the side that masters a more efficient profit model and has more profits to distribute can achieve final victory.”
Beside them, Ying Xintian nodded repeatedly. “To reverse our decline, the Righteous Sects have no choice but to fight fire with fire, to use demonic methods for righteous ends. Only then can we gain the strength to defeat the Demonic Path.”
Master Fa Yuanzi agreed. “Only then can we profit more and strengthen our sect.”
Seated on the main throne, Sect Leader Zhen Jizi’s long white beard trembled rapidly as he sighed. “Only then can we unite the common people and protect the world.”
Ying Xintian turned to Jun Xuance. “Junior Brother, come and cultivate demonic techniques with us.”
“Good disciple,” Fa Yuanzi said, holding out the Heavenly Demon Banner. “This is the Heavenly Demon Banner I seized from the Self-Sovereign Heavenly Demon. Take it and use it.”
Sect Leader Zhen Jizi smiled. “Xuance, aren’t you going to thank your Master?”
“Madness.” Gazing at the countless struggling, twisted souls within the Heavenly Demon Banner, Jun Xuance retreated step by step. “You’ve fallen to the demonic path! You’ve all fallen to the demonic path!”
With that, he spun around and fled, his figure soaring into the sky.
“What do I do?”
“What am I supposed to do?”
Seeing his master, senior brother, and sect leader all succumb to the demonic path, Jun Xuance’s heart was gripped by terror. It felt as if the heavens were collapsing and the earth was splitting apart; he had no idea what to do.
“Little Martial Uncle…”
Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck his mind like a thunderclap. “I’ll find Little Martial Uncle! He definitely hasn’t fallen to the demonic path. He must have a way to turn them back!”
Jun Xuance raced across ten thousand li, searching for his Little Martial Uncle, who was away on campaign.
Following the news, he arrived at a village his Little Martial Uncle had once saved and stayed in, only to witness a scene that made his eyes burn with rage.
Several outer sect disciples had been dismembered by the villagers, their bodies used as medicinal catalysts for the villagers’ initiation into the Immortal Dao.
“Why?”
Slaughtering the still-eating villagers one after another, Jun Xuance stared at the old man before him and demanded, “Why did you do this?”
The old man, bathed in blood, had been severed at the waist by Jun Xuance’s sword, leaving only his upper torso.
When he heard Jun Xuance’s question, his eyes suddenly lit up as if in a final burst of life. “Why shouldn’t we be able to cultivate immortality?” he rasped.
“They looked down on us! They wouldn’t even teach us when we asked!”
“I was sick, about to die… I thought I might as well try the method the Immortal Master taught us…”
His eyes shone with an intense longing and desire, as if he could already see a future where he had attained the Dao and achieved eternal life…
A flash of sword light ended the old man’s life.
Jun Xuance knew that the “Immortal Master” the man spoke of was a Demonic Cultivator.
Demonic Cultivators weren’t just hunting and devouring mortals everywhere; they were spreading the Demonic Path throughout the world.
During the long Great Righteous-Demonic War, Jun Xuance had encountered mortals who secretly practiced demonic cultivation arts before.
But this was the first time he had ever seen… mortals who hunted and killed Outer Sect Disciples in return.
How had they managed it? Poison? Deception? Or had they colluded with Demonic Sect cultivators?
Jun Xuance had no will to investigate further. After all, Outer Sect Disciples were inherently of dull aptitude and weak strength; in theory, it was possible for them to be killed by mortals.
But this act, coupled with the successive descent into the Demonic Path of the sect leader, his master, and his senior brother, filled him with an even greater sense of dread.
“If more and more mortals begin to pursue the Demonic Path… if the entire world falls to demons… what should I do?”
Just as Jun Xuance’s heart sank, a man found him standing amidst the sea of blood.
“Martial Uncle!” Jun Xuance’s eyes lit up with a flicker of hope as he looked at the man before him, whose figure stood as straight and unyielding as a spear.
The man glanced at him, then at the corpses littering the ground. After listening to Jun Xuance’s account, he nodded and said, “I am already aware of what you’ve described.”
Jun Xuance cried out in despair, “Martial Uncle, if all the common people are actively embracing the Demonic Path, what are we to do?”
The man replied coldly, “Xuance, the Demonic Path amplifies desires and aligns with human nature. It is only natural that the common people would covet it.”
“As for us on the Righteous Path, from the very beginning… we have been defying Heaven’s will, fighting against overwhelming odds. We are destined to battle the greed inherent in human nature and the boundless yearning for the Immortal Dao. We are fated to be the enemies of the common people.”
Jun Xuance stammered, “But Senior Brother, and Master… they…”
“The Righteous and the Demonic cannot coexist.” The man stared at Jun Xuance. “Have you forgotten your initiation oath? If a friend falls to the Demonic Path, strike them down. If kin fall, annihilate them. If the sect falls, sever all ties.”
“No matter who seeks to exploit the world, who seeks to lead the common people into the Demonic Path, who seeks to spread its influence — we will cut them down with a single sword strike.”
After that, the former sect brothers of the Myriad Laws Sect gradually drifted apart due to their differing philosophies and choices for the future.
It began with minor disagreements, which escalated into disputes, then into battles, and finally, as the fighting intensified, into deathmatches.
Ultimately… on the battlefield known as Thundercloud Gorge, a decisive war for the future of the Myriad Laws Sect erupted.
This was the final encirclement of the cultivators who still staunchly opposed the reforms and the Righteous Use of Demonic Arts.
And Jun Xuance’s Martial Uncle was the primary target of this encirclement.
In this battle, all the remaining experts and elites of the Myriad Laws Sect — the entire sect’s finest — gathered at this single location.
This time, they fought not to slay demons and defend the Righteous Path, but to uphold their convictions, to stand by their vision for the future of the Righteous Path. They were prepared to unleash their strongest powers, fiercest magical artifacts, and most terrifying cultivation arts upon their former sect brothers in the most ruthless and heartless way.
Watching the bodies fall one by one, Jun Xuance felt his heart ache with grief. Even if these sect brothers had to die, they should have fallen on the Righteous-Demonic battlefield, not in this internal strife of the Myriad Laws Sect.
And as he looked at the savage, murderous faces of his former comrades, corrupted by greed as they charged forward, Jun Xuance felt an overwhelming sense of alienation.
“Plotting against your own sect brothers, picking off opposing experts one by one… how did you all become like this?”
Though lacking the support of several top experts, Martial Uncle stood like a pillar supporting the heavens. He single-handedly held the front line, blocking the vast majority of the encirclement’s forces.
Jun Xuance watched as, amidst the roiling black clouds, the sect leader, his master, and Ying Xintian unleashed a barrage of Immortal Arts and Demonic Techniques, repeatedly trying to encircle and kill Martial Uncle.
Their expressions were grim and vicious, their attacks venomous and lethal. Demonic Qi surged to the heavens, leaving no trace of their former Righteous Path demeanor. They looked more like ancient, seasoned demons.
Though Martial Uncle was incredibly powerful, a single pillar cannot support a falling house. As the others were slain or suppressed one by one, Martial Uncle, enveloped by the roiling black clouds, became like the light of a firefly, growing ever fainter.
Watching Martial Uncle, the last one standing before him, his aura weakening drastically under the relentless assault, Jun Xuance despaired.
“We’ve lost.”
In that moment, Jun Xuance seemed to plunge into utter hopelessness.
“A battle of unprecedented brutality… Countless people who held the ideals and spirit of the Righteous Path have died in this fight.”
“After this defeat, the Righteous Path will gradually vanish from the world.”
“Once the Righteous Use of Demonic Arts is established… the future will be a world where everyone is a demon. By then, all living beings will be food, every person a devil, and the heavens and earth will be nothing but hell.”
As boundless despair washed over him, everything before his eyes faded into darkness.
Staring into the endless void, Zhang Yu could faintly sense the despair and loss that Jun Xuance must have felt at that time.
Fu Ji spoke up, “What’s next? Is that it? Time for the credits and post-credit scene?”
As the darkness dissipated, lines of text materialized above the ancestor’s corpse.
Zhang Yu knew this was the message left by Ying Xintian.
“Ever since the reforms for the Righteous Use of Demonic Arts began, Junior Brother Jun has been filled with regret.”
“Watching the rapid changes in Kunxu, his regret grew deeper and deeper.”
“He regretted supporting the reforms for the Righteous Use of Demonic Arts.”
“He also regretted participating in the battle to besiege Martial Uncle.”
“When I saw him again, he had lost the will to live.”
Zhang Yu stared at these lines, slightly stunned. Fu Ji had already spoken up, “This dream memory of Jun Xuance’s is a bit too beautified, isn’t it? Does this mean he actually supported the Righteous Use of Demonic Arts back then?”
“So, the portrayal of Ying Xintian, Fa Yuanzi, and the others in the dream was also distorted? Jun Xuance subconsciously blamed others for his own reasons for supporting the Righteous Use of Demonic Arts.”
Immortal Slayer added, “It’s also possible that he couldn’t accept that part of himself, so in his dream memory, he projected it onto others.”
Zhang Yu remained silent, continuing to read the text left by Ying Xintian, focusing on the dialogue from when Ying Xintian and Jun Xuance met.
“Senior Brother…” Jun Xuance sighed. “When I saw mortals carving up Outer Sect Disciples for medicinal ingredients, I realized then… mortals were beyond saving.”
Ying Xintian asked, “Then why did you initially join Martial Uncle in opposing the reforms?”
Jun Xuance said faintly, “Initially, I believed… that Martial Uncle could win. I thought he could stop the Righteous Use of Demonic Arts.”
“But as the situation rapidly deteriorated, watching more and more people learn Demonic Path techniques and support the Righteous Use of Demonic Arts… I was swept up in it.”
“I began to think that perhaps the Righteous Use of Demonic Arts wasn’t without merit.”
“I started to wonder if Martial Uncle was being too rigid.”
“So in the end… I betrayed him.”
Watching their conversation, Fu Ji remarked, “A dream is just a dream, always different from reality. In Jun Xuance’s dream memory, the version of himself he imagined is probably far more decisive and resolute than the real him.”
Immortal Slayer added, “The depiction of the final battle at Thundercloud Gorge must also be heavily beautified. It’s likely that instead of Martial Uncle shielding Jun Xuance from attacks, Jun Xuance and the others besieged Martial Uncle.”
The characters continued to appear, revealing more of Ying Xintian and Jun Xuance’s dialogue.
Jun Xuance’s face contorted in anguish. “Senior Brother! We are all sinners! Our descendants have become demons among demons! Our sect members are exploiting the world, flaying the common people alive… I regret it so much!”
Ying Xintian looked at him and said faintly, “In the battle of Thundercloud Gorge, do you want to know what Martial Uncle ultimately said to the sect leader and my master?”
Jun Xuance murmured, “What did they say?”
Ying Xintian replied, “That battle… As the fight reached its final moments, both sides could no longer hold back. To avoid casualties, before unleashing the Supreme Immortal Artifact, the sect leader still tried to persuade Martial Uncle…”
The sect leader said, “Junior Brother, the Righteous Path must first survive to have a future. If we are annihilated by the Demonic Path, then no choice will matter.”
Martial Uncle stared at him coldly. “Survive by relying on the Demonic Path’s vile methods? Such a Righteous Path is better left uninherited.”
The sect leader said solemnly, “In times of crisis, there is only duty. As the sect leader of the Myriad Laws Sect, I must ensure the survival of our sect and the ideals of the Righteous Path. The foremost condition for this is survival.”
Martial Uncle roared, “The Righteous and Demonic Paths cannot coexist! If we also drive mortals to suicide to feed the Heavenly Demon Banner, force them to kill their own kin, compel sect members to turn on each other, and turn everyone in the world into demons, then what difference is there between us and the Demonic Path? You have betrayed the ancestors of generations past!”
“You’re turning the Myriad Laws Sect into a Demonic Sect! Passing it down will only add another Demonic Sect to the world. What’s the point?”
The sect leader replied, “If the world were filled with Demonic Sects like the ones today, the world would be finished. I am reforming the Myriad Laws Sect and promoting the ‘Righteous Use of Demonic Arts.’ Even if it only preserves a sliver of righteous thought in the world, it’s better than losing the Great Righteous-Demonic War and having our entire sect annihilated!”
“Why can’t you understand? Once we lose, we lose everything! Posterity doesn’t listen to losers. If we are defeated, today’s Demonic Path will become tomorrow’s Righteous Path, and today’s Righteous Path will become tomorrow’s Demonic Path. From then on, the Demonic Path will be unrestrained, universally revered, and everyone will freely cultivate demonic arts. That would be the greatest loss of all!”
Martial Uncle’s sword qi surged, his vast Sword Intent threatening to tear the heavens asunder. He spat out each word as if striking steel against steel: “If we become a Demonic Sect, what’s the use of winning? Do you think I don’t know how effective demonic techniques are? Or do you not know? Human nature is driven by profit, and the heart yearns for the Immortal Dao. Once we promote demonic techniques, there will be no turning back! This is human nature — you can’t change it!”
The sect leader’s voice was cold. “We have no other choice. To persist in futile resistance when defeat is certain is to surrender. I can be defeated, but the Righteous Path cannot lose.”
“Even if I am nailed to the pillar of shame for eternity, even if it brings disaster upon future generations and calamity to the world, even if I suffer the Dao Lineage Backlash, I will see this reform through to the very end.”
“This is my responsibility as sect leader.”
“Since this choice — this lack of choice — has been placed before me, I must make it.”
“Reform might lead to the sect’s destruction, but not reforming… will lead to the world’s destruction.”
The Sect Leader walked step by step toward Martial Uncle, his gaze like two Great Suns, radiating a pressure so tangible it was almost physical.
Martial Uncle met his gaze without flinching, retorting sharply, “A victory gained by embracing the demonic is meaningless. You are only accelerating the spread of the Demonic Path.”
“Once this step is taken, we will be eternally damned to hell, and the common people of the world will never be able to turn back.”
Sensing Martial Uncle’s conviction, his unwavering resolve, the Sect Leader felt a pang of heartache, even though he had long known that persuading him was impossible. It was the same heartache he had felt when suppressing and eliminating the elite members of the Myriad Laws Sect one by one.
But now, he understood that further talk was pointless.
At this moment, only absolute power, only the final, ultimate violence, could decide the victor and determine the outcome.
Sect Leader: “All disciples, heed my command!”
Martial Uncle: “Righteousness and demonic evil cannot coexist! All disciples, follow me to—”
Sect Leader: “Kill!”
Martial Uncle: “—eliminate evil and defend the Dao!”
“Martial Uncle…” Listening to Ying Xintian’s account, Jun Xuance murmured, “Why did it come to this? They all just wanted to save the common people…”
Ying Xintian replied calmly, “To govern the world, one must bear the responsibility of governing it. To uphold this principle, they were willing to stake their lives, to fight against their own kin and sect members, and to fearlessly shoulder the burden of changing the world, even in the face of failure.”
Jun Xuance: “But their failure isn’t theirs alone. It drags the entire world down with them.”
Ying Xintian: “If you fear bringing disaster upon the world, you will never have the courage to change it. Though I have many regrets, even if I had to choose again, I would still support the Righteous Use of Demonic Arts.”
“Because it was the only option left when all others had failed.”
“Under the overwhelming tide of the Immortal Dao, we no longer have a choice.”
“The Sect Leader and his faction failed to solve the problem, but they at least delayed it, buying us more time.”
Seeing the resolve in Ying Xintian’s eyes, Jun Xuance was stunned. “You… you can’t possibly still want to…”
Ying Xintian looked at him and said, “Back then, when the Demonic Path’s flames raged across the land, the Sect Leader and his faction initiated the Righteous Use of Demonic Arts to survive.”
“So much time has passed. Now, it’s time to change things back.”
Jun Xuance gave a bitter smile. “Can we… truly change it back?”
Ying Xintian replied, “If this generation can’t do it, the next will continue the effort. Righteousness and demonic evil cannot coexist. Even if the hearts of the common people are filled with demonic thoughts, there will always be those who hold righteous thoughts.”
“In the past, our understanding of the Righteous-Demonic Conflict was too shallow.”
“The Great Righteous-Demonic War never ended, and it never will. It is an endless, protracted battle.”
Jun Xuance murmured, “If you stir up trouble, I fear Kunxu will be thrown into turmoil, and countless people will be dragged into it.”
Ying Xintian said, “This is the choice I’ve made for the world. Regardless of the outcome, I will see it through to the end.”
Reading the dialogue between the two, Fu Ji sighed. “This Jun Xuance is quite decisive in his dream. In reality, he’s so hesitant and indecisive.”
Immortal Slayer suddenly spoke, “To bear the nation’s disgrace is to be the lord of the state. To bear the nation’s calamities is to be the king of the world.”
Zhang Yu was momentarily stunned, then said, “I still remember that? As expected of me… as expected of my clone.”
Immortal Slayer continued, “To change the world, you must possess the resolve and courage to do so. Zhang Yu, if you truly wish to change the world, you will one day face this very problem.”
As the written words and Jun Xuance’s corpse dissipated, a spectral figure materialized before Zhang Yu — Jun Xuance’s True Spirit.
He looked at the Grotto-Heaven before him, then at Zhang Yu, and asked, “You are the successor Senior Brother chose?”
“How is he now?”
Zhang Yu briefly recounted the changes in Ying Xintian and the Lower Realm.
Listening to Zhang Yu’s account, Jun Xuance sighed. “Our generation… has failed in the end.”
“The rest is up to you.”
“I’m just a useless old man. Let me help you one last time.”
With that, Jun Xuance’s True Spirit shattered with a roar, transforming into streams of flame that pierced through the space before them. It became like a bridge, spanning the void and connecting Zhang Yu’s Grotto-Heaven to a mysterious location on the other side.
At the same time, Zhang Yu’s Immortal Descendant trait abruptly leveled up to the level 4.
Gazing at the newly appeared bridge before him, a sudden realization dawned in Zhang Yu’s mind: “A level 4 Immortal Descendant can open a Grotto-Heaven Bridge to traverse the void and reach certain predetermined locations…”
To explain it in terms Zhang Yu himself was more familiar with, a level 4 Immortal Descendant could now open fixed teleportation gates, allowing him to teleport from within his Grotto-Heaven to specific, fixed locations.
Just as Zhang Yu’s Immortal Descendant trait leveled up and Jun Xuance’s True Spirit transformed into a long bridge spanning the void, the entire labyrinth changed once again.
Amidst a deafening rumble, the paths between the Office District and the Factory District were completely opened.
Witnessing this, Ling Chiye was slightly startled. He turned to Ying Aikun, who was casting a spell nearby, and praised, “Senior Ying truly lives up to his reputation as an Immortal Descendant, breaking through the labyrinth’s barrier so quickly.”
Ying Aikun was momentarily stunned. He thought to himself, “I barely even tried, and it broke? Did it sense my bloodline? Did the old man’s mind clear up before he died, knowing to leave the good stuff for his own kin?”
Of course, regardless of the truth, Ying Aikun would never deny praise or downplay his own achievements.
He simply nodded and said coolly, “Just a minor trick. Let’s go. We’ll continue inside and see what else the old man left behind.”