Nightfall

The old monk sighed with deep emotion, “I was debating at Mountain Wa during autumn that year when the hierarch came to see me. By the next autumn, I left the Central Plains and traveled towards the Wilderness to seek Taoism. The world thought that I had been living in seclusion at Lanke Temple during that period, but that’s not true. In fact, I was invited by the Divine Hall and had been silently cultivating the Devil’s Doctrine. This is what I meant by the reverse osmosis of the Central Plains’ right path previously.”

Ning Que shivered slightly upon listening to his words. “Could it be that this old monk had almost become the leader of the Devil’s Doctrine that year?” He thought to himself silently. It was really an excellent plan for the West-Hill Divine Palace to invite this great man, Lotus the 30th, to join the Devil, for he could help to raise the trustworthiness of the Devil’s Doctrine. After all, there was no doubt that his state, techniques, and mind were the top in the world.

The old monk had no idea what Ning Que was thinking about as he glanced around the dusty grey stone walls in the room warmly, as though he was looking at the clean walls of the Devil’s Doctrine’s main hall years ago. He then slowly continued, “Based on the impression from the world, people from the Devil’s Doctrine are evil and rotten jerks who ought to be killed and this is not far from the truth. Indeed, people from the Devil’s Doctrine often kill the innocent without any reason. They also kidnapped and forced children to cultivate the Devil’s skills. As such, many people died every year. Yet, could this Devil’s Doctrine be the end of everything?”

“In my time, the Devil’s Doctrine was at its peak and was divided into seven main schools with 28 sects. Each sect was different, from their cultivation ideas to their ideas of entering the human realm. Some were similar to how monks cultivate in Buddhism where they isolated themselves from the world. If that was the case, how could such sect be evil doers?”

The old monk withdrew his attention and looked at the three people in front of him, as he said calmly, “Just like any other religions, there are good and evil people in the Devil’s Doctrine. I admit that most of the people in the Devil’s Doctrine are evil, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t any good men. However, when that sword split apart the stone array and fought its way into the Front Gate to start the blood war, who would know if the people who died under that sword was good or evil?”

“I was present in this mountain when Ke Haoran fought his way into the Devil’s Doctrine’s Front Gate.”

The old monk gradually lowered his head. A dry bone cracking sound was heard from his cervical spine as if his head might fall off anytime. He said, “I had been living in the Devil’s Doctrine for numerous years. Hence, it was natural for me to know many people. I knew men who were greedy, who loved spoiling his wife as well as men who loved giving his children a ride on his back. Yet on that day, all these men I knew were killed.”

“The purpose of my sneaking into the Devil’s Doctrine was to destroy it. When those people died in front of me, I should rejoice. Yet, I couldn’t and I had no idea why. I saw those familiar faces split into halves in front of me. I saw those lively children being torn apart in front of me. I saw the fresh blood flowing out of them profusely and staining the bottom of the no-word stele red with my own eyes. The blood flowed down the stone staircase, along with the stone columns which all of you have seen, and into the pitch dark cliff. I suddenly realized that I was very upset.”

Ning Que frowned and said, “That’s enough.”

The old monk gazed at him with compassion, as he shook his head slowly and said, “The massacre was not due to your Youngest Uncle. Though I still remember the scene, I am not blaming him for it. I just want to understand. What exactly is the Devil?”

“Is it the Devil’s Doctrine that kills the innocents, or is Ke Haoran who crazily killed them off the Devil? Did my concern about Ke Haoran joining the Devil and allowing him to massacre the people made him the Devil instead? Or was it me, who was behind all of these plots, the true Devil instead? When I saw the ground flooded with blood, I started questioning myself.”

The old monk’s voice began to sound doubtful. It was the same kind of doubtfulness that one had when viewing the sky while standing on the Peach Mountain, or when one stood in the midst of the ruins while feeling emotional about his past. It was the doubtfulness one had for himself and the world.

“How do you differentiate the right path from the devil one? What exactly is the devil?”

“If we differentiate via the mindset and views, then the Devil’s Doctrine is the Devil since they killed the innocents. Then again, which cultivator does not kill? The Buddhism Sect often say that everyone is equal, so if you kill, you’ve joined the Devil. Then what about butchers? What about you and I who threw stones at wild dogs when we were younger? When our hands were covered with grease as we sucked, munched and enjoyed the delicious taste of the trotters, have we thought that those were meat from pigs? Have we joined the Devil ourselves while doing all these acts?”

“If it’s dependant on one’s birth identity, then the Devil’s Doctrine was born a thousand years ago by the Great Divine Priest of Light. History had stated that the Great Divine Priest of Light was a respectable, temperament, compassionate and intelligent being, so which part of him was born evil? After all, the Devil’s Doctrine originated from the “Ming” Handscroll among the seven Tomes of Arcane in Haotian Taoism school. Hence, it in itself was a school of Taoism. Why would it become the Devil?”

The old monk quietly stared at the three youngsters in front of him and spoke softly, “When the Front Gate of the Devil’s Doctrine was conquered, the place was flooded with blood. I lived in guilt for numerous years after that day and have been thinking of this question for numerous years.”

Ning Que and Mo Shanshan kept quiet as they thought about the old monk’s words. Each of them had a different thinking.

However, Ye Hongyu raised her head suddenly and without any hesitation, she said, “Divine Lord Lotus, what you’ve said is not true. The Devil’s Doctrine is the Devil has nothing to do with the mindsets, views nor the identity from birth. The skills itself simply belongs to the Devil.”

“When Haotian shone the earth with its Divine light, she had provided it with warmth and light, so as to cultivate a pleasant environment for living things to grow. This, in turn, created an exchange and movement of aura between the Heaven and the Earth. However, the skills cultivated by the demons in the Devil’s Doctrine had forcefully taken over the natural primordial Qi as they absorbed them into their bodies. Should these demons continue to steal this generous gift provided by Heaven, the aura between the Heaven and the Earth will gradually decline. The world will then come to an end. As such, what should we say about them? This proves that their skills have humiliated Haotian, as well as messed up the order of Heaven and the Earth. This is an act of disrespect and thus, it is the Devil.”

The young lady’s voice was extremely firm, determined and clear. When the topic was about the difference between Taoism and Devil, she had presented her arguments calmly and strongly in front of the Divine Lord Lotus, the man whom she respected and looked up upon. She said in her low voice, “The difference between Taoism and the Devil does not come from mindsets nor the identity from birth, but from the fact that one creates while the other destroys the world. It’s the same with the difference between black and white, or light and darkness. They can never exist together. Hence, I disagree with your thinking.”

Ye Hongyu’s clear koto-like voice helped to clear the doubts in Mo Shanshan. She nodded her head slightly in agreement. The difference between Taoism and Devil should be determined by whether one had good or evil intentions for this world.

In the past, Ning Que had a problem understanding why the West-Hill Divine Palace, Buddhism Sect and the cultivators in Tang Empire seemed pissed every time the Devil’s Doctrine was mentioned, which made his heart palpitate with fear. Yet today, Ye Hongyu’s words finally made him understand the logic behind it.

The Devil’s Doctrine made use of the primordial Qi to its own advantage. The higher state the cultivator was in, the more they absorbed. If the Devil’s Doctrine spread and influenced everyone to cultivate with them, there would be a possibility that the primordial Qi of the whole world would be absorbed by its cultivators till it went dry. By then, this world would be destroyed. It was the same logic as breeding a herd of sheep on a grassland. If the grass and leaves were all consumed by the herd of sheep, the grassland would turn into a desert and eventually, the sheep would die.

He finally realized that the reason why the whole world viewed Devil’s Doctrine as their enemy was due to an environmental problem.

…

…

When the three world’s addicts, Tao Addict, Calligraphic Addict and Flower Addict, came into an environment which Ning Que was very familiar with, they had become the intelligent, cultured and educated pretty young girls who were shameless to study till 3 A.M. every night. Such girls often have a kind of stubbornness or addiction in them, and they enjoyed arguing with others about what they thought was true logic.

The Tao Addict, Ye Hongyu, was similar to many other cultivators in the world, such as Ning Que. On her path to cultivation, she had doubts about the world, Taoism, and the Devil. She had also thought hard about such things and even to reflect on her thinkings. However, what made her different from the others was that she did not limit herself to the stubborn thoughts that the world had and stopped thinking about such issues. Neither did she let her hatred towards the Devil become a natural part of her. Instead, she kept on widening her knowledge about the world. From there, she analyzed the issue and finally, came up with her own conclusion.

The conclusion that one got after going through such deep thoughts would definitely be much more certain and firm than the mindset of an average cultivator. Hence, even if she was facing Divine Lord Lotus with respect and fear, she was still very determined with her own stand. She was not willing to back out because she believed that this was the true logic.

Her stand was neither fabricated nor fanciful. She did not bring up the arguments about opportunity, karma or retribution. She only talked about benefits, on how Taoism and the Devil’s Doctrine could benefit or harm the world. Because this was a simple logic, so she was certain that she was right, and thus it was tough to argue against.

Yet Master Lotus was indeed a master. With only a simple sentence, he managed to weaken Ye Hongyu’s standpoint. That was because Master Lotus had seen more, thought longer and learned in a harder way. Moreover, Ye Hongyu’s conclusion was not good enough.

“Just as what I’d said, I had spent a long time living in the Devil’s Doctrine and had experienced many of its skills though I’d yet to find the “Ming” Handscroll. I believe that I understand the Devil’s Doctrine deeper than anyone in this world.”

The old monk looked at Ye Hongyu warmly and said, “I had the same thinking as you in the past. However, after I saw the cultivators in the Devil’s Doctrine, observed them from birth to death, and noticed their relationships with the Heaven and Earth, my thinking had changed. You were the same as me in the past. Both of us had forgotten an important issue.”

“Even though the cultivators in the Devil’s Doctrine were strong and had long lives, they would eventually die. When they died and their bodies hardened, the Qi of Heaven and Earth which they had absorbed for several decades during their cultivation would disperse and return to the Heaven and Earth.”

The old monk kept silent for a moment before he smiled gently and said, “After you understand this, you would comprehend that the goal of the Devil’s Doctrine was not to build another world. Instead, they wished to isolate a space for themselves in this world. That space could be the lake, the mountain, or perhaps a beautiful grassland. Whichever it is, that space would ultimately belong to a part of this world.”

“Both were born on earth and grew up under the blessing of Haotian’s Divine light. They cultivated through breathing and absorbing. In the end, their bodies turned into ashes as their aura dispersed and returned to Haotian. It may be true that each of them has walked different paths, but their beginning and ending points are the same. If that’s the case, can you tell me essentially, what’s the difference between the Devil’s Doctrine and the Buddhism Sect?”

Ye Hongyu was taken aback and could not answer his question. She felt that there was something wrong with the Divine Lord Lotus’ words, but she could not pinpoint the problem within the short period of time.

The old monk gazed at her peacefully and said, “I know what you’re thinking. If the cultivators in the Devil’s Doctrine died, they certainly would not cause any damage to this balanced and mightly world. But what if they have obtained immortality, which was what the Taoism cultivators, or should I say, what you have stated out of your caution and enmity towards them? Yet, when was there an immortal person in this world?”

Ye Hongyu gradually sat on her legs. Her black hair that was rested on her shoulders flowed down weakly. She appeared disappointed. It seemed that his words had impacted her Taoist Heart. On normal days, if she were to hear anyone declaring that Taoism and the Devil’s Doctrine were the same, she would definitely laugh coldly and slaughter that person. Yet today, these words were coming from Divine Lord Lotus, a great man whom she respected and feared. Most importantly, there were no loopholes in the words that the Divine Lord Lotus had said.

The old monk seemed to sense her insecurity and fear, as he looked at her pitifully and with compassion. He sighed softly before he raised his right arm with difficulty. A bright light shone between his fingers.

Ye Hongyu was stunned as she looked over.

Ning Que and Mo Shanshan were confused when they looked over.

The three of them could sense the holy aura emitting from the skinny stick-like fingers of the old monk.

“That year, I decided to isolate myself from the rest of the world to redeem my guilt. I set up a confinement in this room. This confinement is the world outside my body. At this place, the aura of the Heaven and the Earth is very thin but as time goes by, it can be slowly absorbed into and accumulated in the body. Now, the Qi of Heaven and Earth is circulating within my skinny body and that is the world within my body. When the two worlds come into contact with each other, a miracle will happen. This is because the confinement is from the Taoists Law, while the aura circulating within the body is from the skills of the Devil. When Taoists Law meets with the Devil’s skills…”

The old monk quietly looked at the pure holy light revolving around his fingers. He calmly said, “Divine Skill is created.”