6kv Chapter 92 What is the Demonic Path?
Chapter 92 What is the Demonic Path?
The stone chamber was completely silent, with only the power of nothingness flowing through the air like fine sand, and the faint light of the luminous pearl casting the shadows of the two people lightly on the stone wall.
Ning Qingxue leaned against the stone wall, her face still pale. Her cold gaze fell on Lu Ming, carrying a hint of doubt:
"Who exactly are you? When you appeared in the Wangnan City area before, I thought you were a disciple of the Zhenwu Sect, but today, you are traveling with people from the Dao Academy."
Lu Ming looked back at her and said frankly:
"I am a disciple of the Tianyan Peak of the Dao Academy, not a member of the Zhenwu Sect. I was simply stranded in the Northern Territory and received kindness from the Zhenwu Sect."
As soon as he finished speaking, Lu Ming's gaze darkened slightly:
"As for you, the young master of the Litian Palace of the Lihentian Palace... I used to think you were just an arrogant and spoiled disciple of a noble family, but I never expected you to be a member of the demonic path."
He grew up in a Taoist temple, where the sect's scriptures and the teachings of his elders all depicted the demonic path as a bloodthirsty, ruthless force that wreaked havoc on the world.
In addition, his experience of being chased by Ning Hanchuan in the Immortal Remnant Land and nearly dying had already etched his prejudice against the demonic path into his heart.
Ning Qingxue was incredibly intelligent; she saw through the wariness and disdain in his eyes with just one glance.
But instead of getting angry, she gave a soft chuckle, with a hint of disdain:
"In the eyes of you righteous sects, anyone who cultivates demonic arts or enters the Palace of Separation and Hatred is an irredeemable demon, isn't that right?"
Lu Ming remained silent, offering no denial.
Ning Qingxue slowly closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, her former arrogance and willfulness were gone.
She spoke with an almost solemn tone, as if recounting a legend forgotten by the world:
"The beginning of the demonic path originated from the Demon Lord. And the Demon Lord was originally a cultivator of the immortal path who followed the way of Heaven."
Lu Ming was startled and looked up at her.
"The cultivation of immortality emphasizes severing the seven emotions, cutting off the six desires, forgetting the mortal world, and aligning with the Way of Heaven."
"Cultivators must sever all attachments, eradicate all obsessions, and make their hearts like withered trees and their emotions like dead ashes, ultimately becoming a part of the Heavenly Dao, without joy or sorrow, without love or hate."
"This is what you immortals call the highest realm, the Supreme Realm of Forgetfulness."
"The Demon Lord has cultivated for ten thousand years, but he has never been able to overcome that hurdle. His obsession is too deep. He cannot let go of what he cherishes in his heart, nor can he let go of the ties of the mortal world. He also does not want to be a puppet of the Heavenly Dao."
"The Demon Lord is quick to avenge wrongs and acts almost obsessively. The immortals regard him as an anomaly with a demonic heart and an impure Daoist mind, and they ostracize him in every way, wanting to get rid of him as soon as possible."
"And he seems to be someone abandoned by the heavens, with a life full of hardships."
"The Demon Lord sat alone at the edge of the sky for three thousand years, questioning me every day."
"People say he knocks on the demon, but he never knocks on any demons or monsters. Instead, he knocks on his own heart, the damned inner demon that the immortals talk about."
Ning Qingxue's voice echoed softly in the stone chamber, carrying a sense of awe:
"A single bow before the demon spans three thousand years; looking back on the mortal realm, I envy not the immortals."
"The Demon Lord finally attained enlightenment in the Heaven of Separation and proved his Dao in the face of adversity. He abandoned the ancient methods of immortal cultivation and created a unique demonic cultivation system. He understood his destiny and then defied it, refusing to be assimilated by the Heavenly Dao and establishing his own path."
"Heaven is inherently without emotion, therefore it harbors no hatred; it is human beings who have attachments, therefore they harbor hatred."
"Heaven wanted him to be a heartless immortal, but he insisted on being a person with thoughts."
"On the cliff of Litian, he left behind a nine-character Taoist rhyme: Heaven has no hatred, but those who part have their own hatred."
"He cultivated against the path of immortality, taking his obsession as the foundation of his path and his inner demons as his true nature. He did not worship the heavens or respect the earth, but only guarded his original heart."
"After the Demon Lord attained enlightenment, he deeply understood the bitterness of being abandoned by the Heavenly Dao and ostracized by the Immortal Sects, so he established the rule of teaching without discrimination."
"Regardless of social status or talent, even those who are driven out of the righteous path, abandoned by fate, or who are utterly wicked, as long as they have the obsession to defy fate, they can enter the demonic path."
"The core concept of the demonic path has never been evil, but rather the word 'rebellion'—defying fate, cutting off life, guarding one's mind, refusing to be controlled by destiny, and refusing to be assimilated by the heavenly way. This is the most fundamental principle of the demonic path."
"The highest realm of martial arts, the Reversal of Fate Realm, is based on the Demonic Path."
Ning Qingxue paused, her tone growing increasingly calm, yet every word she spoke pierced through the hypocrisy of the world:
"In the philosophy of the demonic path, there is no absolute good or evil, no constant right or wrong, only differences in stance."
"When a person defies fate and fights for survival, he may be seen as a villain by others, but to him, it is a great act of self-preservation."
"The good and evil, right and wrong that you righteous people talk about are nothing but hypocrisy from your own perspective."
"It's merely an excuse to control people's hearts and consolidate the orthodox tradition, far less honest than the demonic path facing its true nature."
"What the Demon Lord created was not an evil path of murder and arson, but a great path of cultivation that does not go against one's conscience and is not assimilated by the Way of Heaven!"
Lu Ming was deeply shocked. His understanding, which he had built up since childhood, collapsed at this moment.
"Then why... do people regard the demonic path as evil?" He couldn't help but ask.
"Because the righteous path is afraid." Ning Qingxue's tone was indifferent, yet her words hit the nail on the head.
"Righteous cultivators follow the rules and do good while avoiding evil, not because they are inherently good, but because they are afraid of getting tainted by karma, stirring up inner demons, and ruining their seemingly flawless Dao heart."
"They dare not confront their own desires, dare not uphold their own convictions, and also dare not protect their own interests."
"Therefore, those who are prejudiced, those who do not listen to them, those who defy fate and fight against destiny are all condemned as heretics."
"Those who follow the demonic path never shy away from their inner demons. For our path is based on our thoughts and intentions."
"We act without restraint, not in accordance with the way of Heaven, but only according to our own hearts. In your eyes, this is ruthless, unrestrained, and heretical."
She paused, then revealed a secret that even many cultivators were unaware of:
"Do you know why all cultivators in the world, regardless of whether they are righteous or evil, must undergo Heavenly Tribulation and Inner Demon Tribulation to break through to a higher realm?"
"That's because of the Demon Lord."
"The Demon Lord defied the heavens to prove his Dao with his demonic heart, which angered the Heavenly Dao and caused endless heavenly tribulations to befall him, but he managed to withstand them."
"Since then, the Demon Lord defied the heavens to prove his Dao, and the Heavenly Dao had no choice but to acknowledge the existence of the Demonic Path."
"The Demon Lord's life is rooted in the tribulations of the heart, which are the foundation of cultivation."
"Therefore, after the Demon Lord attained enlightenment, he decreed the laws. From then on, all cultivators in the world who wish to ascend to higher realms must first overcome their inner demons and undergo heavenly tribulations."
"This rule was imposed by the Demon Lord, which is why all cultivators in the world hate the demonic path."
Finally, Ning Qingxue raised her eyes, her cool gaze meeting Lu Ming's directly:
"The great evil you see is evil in its nature, not evil in the way of demons."
"The devil is not evil. The devil is obsession, it is defying fate, it is a mortal heart that refuses to have its edges smoothed by the way of heaven."
The stone chamber fell silent once more.
Lu Ming stood there, speechless for a long time.
Ning Qingxue truly lives up to her title as the young master of the Li Tian Palace. Although she is young, her knowledge and experience far surpass those of ordinary people.
Lu Ming's mind was flooded with memories of the Northern Frontier, the scene of the wolf girl questioning him still vivid in his mind.
She only wanted to protect her people and avenge them, but from the perspective of humans, this was evil.
There were also those rogue cultivators who blocked the road, accusing the immortal sects and families of monopolizing spiritual veins and resources, and not giving the lower-level cultivators any chance.
What they did was a great evil according to righteous principles, but to them, it was nothing more than fighting against fate and seeking a sliver of hope.
It turns out that his belief in the distinction between good and evil was merely a matter of differing perspectives.
It turns out that the demonic path was not inherently evil, but rather a group of people who refused to be crushed by fate and dared to fight against destiny.
He looked at Ning Qingxue, who was still weak and leaning against the stone wall, and a crack appeared in the prejudice that had been built up in his heart since childhood.
Lu Ming was confused. What was right? What was wrong?
After saying all this, Ning Qingxue seemed to have exhausted all her strength. She gently closed her eyes and said no more.
Inside the stone chamber, only the faint echoes of the power of nothingness and the subtly changing atmosphere between the two remained.
They remain trapped in this doorless and windowless stone chamber, their future uncertain and their fate unknown.