Chapter 696: Great Demon 59

"What cultivation level is the little mouse at now?" Seeing Bai Ze, Tan You thought of that little golden mouse from the past. ’He seemed to be from the same clan as that man in golden robes? The one who acted all jealous when he saw I’d reached the Ninth Heaven.’

Bai Ze smiled. "Before I ascended, I helped it pass its eighth-rank Heavenly Tribulation. But there will be a new generation of Bai Ze in the future. If it’s not stupid, it’ll find a new patron to latch onto."

Peacock said, "How could it be stupid? It’s as clever as they come. But that little thing will have a long wait if it wants to ascend. At least there’s still hope, though."

Tan You thought for a moment and agreed. "There’s no rush. How is the Demon Market doing these days?"

Old Niu replied, "It’s doing alright. But Qing Ming is still young, after all, and with all of us having ascended, it’s not that easy for him to manage the Demon Market well."

"The demon beasts from the Ten Directions Great Mountains aren’t exactly reasonable. Thankfully, your God Trapping Array is still active, so not many from the Demon Clan would be foolish enough to come looking for trouble."

Cang Long shifted uncomfortably. "Just say what you mean. Why do you keep looking at me? I’ve already ascended; I can’t manage the affairs of the lower realm. Besides, even though I’m a dragon, my clan really doesn’t have many young ones. We’re not like the Fox Clan, who have cubs by the litter."

The Nine-tailed Fox glared at him. "Before I ascended, I made it clear that no one was to disturb the Demon Market. But Jin Huan, you know as well as I do that we could only restrain our subordinates while we were still there."

"Now that we’ve ascended, the affairs of the lower realm are truly beyond our reach."

Tan You nodded. "I understand. I can’t blame you. It’s just... the Demon Market... Everyone there had such pitiful pasts. I just wanted everyone to have a place to call home. But now it seems not every demon beast feels the same way."

Jin Yuan had been listening to their discussion and now spoke softly, "Ahzhao wants to help the whole world, to shelter others from the storm. You’re very kind-hearted. But you know that demon beasts aren’t naturally compassionate."

Tan You considered this and found she could understand. "This is the clash between civilization and instinctual desire. I get it. While I may not like Cultivators, I believe many aspects of the Human Clan’s civilization are excellent."

"For example, the concepts of self-restraint and propriety, or the choice between perfecting oneself in solitude and helping the whole world. I strongly agree with these ideas."

"On my own, I can certainly live very well. But if some small action of mine can bring even the slightest positive change to someone else’s life, I would consider it a great honor."

"I don’t think demon beasts lack compassion; it’s that they are unwilling to give of themselves. There is a fundamental difference between not wanting to do something and not being able to do it."

The Cold Dragon thought about it and agreed. "Jin Huan... I should call you Jin Zhao now. You’re not wrong. We suffered so much in the past, and we never saw anyone lift a finger to help us. Now you’re asking us to help others? I can’t say I’m happy about that."

Tan You didn’t demand that he accept her way of thinking. "I understand. Doing good should be something you want to do, not something others demand of you. In fact, for many in the Demon Clan, simply refraining from evil is already difficult enough."

"Or rather, it’s not just the Demon Clan. For Cultivators, too, refraining from evil is extremely difficult."

Jin Yuan listened with curiosity. "In that case, Ahzhao, have you ever committed an evil act?"

"That depends on your perspective," Tan You said after a moment’s thought. "Let me give you an example. Let’s say I am a Great General, and I lead a war on behalf of my country."

"To the people of my country, I am a brave and skilled Great General, a veritable War God. But to those who are conquered, I am the one committing evil. There is no right or wrong in this, only different perspectives."

Jin Yuan understood. "So when you established the Demon Market, you were actually the evil one from the Cultivators’ point of view?"

"Correct," Tan You nodded. "Good and evil are actually very difficult to distinguish. Because of perspective, even if you believe you are doing a good deed, it might still be categorized as an evil act. I don’t want to be a ’good person,’ because people demand perfection from the good, and it’s impossible to satisfy everyone."

"And often, it’s the good people who end up the most aggrieved. So I just want to be someone with a clear conscience, to follow the Great Dao rather than defy the heavens."

Jin Yao put his arm around Tan You’s shoulder. "No wonder our Little Zhao can already form an Emperor’s Soul. Your comprehension of the Great Dao is truly far beyond that of ordinary people."

Tan You felt a little sheepish. ’I’m not really a genius; I’ve just experienced a lot more than most. And I once traveled with a real god as a companion, so naturally, I have my own understanding of the Dao.’

It was just that before, everything was shrouded in mist, whereas now, her accumulated experience had finally led to a natural breakthrough.

Bai Ze brought the topic back. "By the way, after you left the Cultivation World, Qinglian went with Cang Long and the others to resolve his karma. Later, Cang Long and the group managed to create a physical body for him."

Tan You raised an eyebrow slightly. "A Qing Ming Snake again?"

"Not exactly," Bai Ze said, shaking his head. "Qinglian wasn’t willing to possess a member of the Demon Clan. In the end, the Enlightenment Tea Tree of the plant clan made the decision to cut a branch from the Bodhi Heart Tree to serve as Qinglian’s new body."

"Oh?" Tan You paused in her steps. "As far as I know, the Bodhi Heart Tree cannot gain sentience. As long as wronged souls and sins exist in the world, the Bodhi Heart Tree will never be able to achieve the Great Dao. It’s a classic case of ’if I don’t enter hell, who will?’"

"Yes," Bai Ze said with a bitter smile. "Although that was the Bodhi Heart Tree’s vow, so many years have passed. For it to remain without sentience forever, withering and flourishing like an ordinary plant... it’s ultimately unfair to it."

"If Qinglian can achieve true enlightenment, it would be a way of leaving behind a legacy for the Bodhi Heart Tree. And then, perhaps, the Bodhi Heart Tree lineage can begin to flourish."

Tan You thought for a moment. "A non-sentient Bodhi Heart Tree and a Qinglian who possesses a Buddha’s heart... they are quite a good match."

Peacock interjected, "But wasn’t Qinglian’s Buddha’s heart destroyed by Jing Yue? It’s a pity we ascended too early and didn’t get to see Qinglian cultivate."

Tan You replied, "In my view, the so-called Buddha’s heart is simply a Buddhist cultivator’s understanding of the Buddha. It isn’t a tangible object to begin with. Qinglian has his own Dao. Combined with the unique properties of the Bodhi Heart Tree, his cultivation path should be quite smooth."

"When they say his Buddha’s heart was destroyed by Jing Yue, what was destroyed was merely what Buddhists call the mortal shell. The true Buddha’s heart was always hidden within him."

Jin Yao sent a sound transmission to Jin Zhen. "See? I told you our Little Jinzi has a crystal-clear understanding of things."

Jin Yao’s words were filled with pride. This was a junior he had personally watched grow up, step by step. As the clan elder, how could he not be pleased?

Jin Yuan also nodded in approval. "Someone like Ahzhao would be a prize coveted by any clan. She could succeed in any path she chose."

Meanwhile, Bai Ze and the others were still talking about recent events. "I haven’t gone out much since arriving in the Ninth Heaven," Bai Ze was saying. "Even if I don’t have much actual combat power, I still need to raise my cultivation level."