Dao Equaling the Heavens
Chapter 207 - 152: If Evil Demons Are Not Eliminated, They Will Harm Mortals_2

Chapter 207: Chapter 152: If Evil Demons Are Not Eliminated, They Will Harm Mortals_2

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On a mountain path in Nanshui,

Gu Wen slowly rode an old donkey, halting every hundred steps and resting every thousand. It seemed leisurely and carefree, but in reality, the old donkey’s pace shrank the land so that each step covered a hundred meters. Soon, they reached another town dozens of miles away.

He was going to buy wine for Chi Yu Zi, but he guessed it was no longer available.

The town was desolate, with many shadows of animals inside the houses. Pheasants, hares, and even wild boars had come down the mountain.

"Nobody’s left, just like back then. Ten Thousand Demons rampaged for eight hundred years, leaving no one within a hundred miles each year; thus, eight hundred years meant eighty thousand miles."

Ao Tang looked around, somewhat sentimental.

"Even today, some great cities of the Human Race have only ruins left, and in some places, resentment lingers thousands of years later. Who knows how many people these devils have consumed? I fear no humans inhabit the land south of Nanshui anymore."

It was hard for Gu Wen to imagine what an eight-hundred-year tribal war would be like. In his past life, a dynasty lasted only three hundred years, and wars that lasted just over a decade were enough to create everlasting enemies.

Eight hundred years of blood feud likely ingrained hostility into their bones.

Ao Tang glanced at Gu Wen, thinking as an elder, he should enlighten the young man about the concept of humans and devils and continued, "Humans and devils are inherently incompatible, the ways of survival for the Human Race and the Devil Clan differ. Do you know what the differences are, Second Ancestor?"

They both consume; there is no difference.

That’s what Gu Wen believed, but he humbly asked, "Your junior does not know."

"Do devils say that all beings feed on everything, and if devils consume humans while humans eat chicken, duck, fish, and meat, is there a mistake?"

"There is a mistake."

"Why?"

"There is no ’why’; devils eating humans is simply wrong. As a human, how could I equate creatures seen as beasts?"

Gu Wen nodded without hesitation, confounding Ao Tang. That was not quite how he taught his disciples inside the sect?

By rights, with the Daoist teachings of moral behavior and Buddhist teachings of mercy as the holy concept, young cultivators of the Human Race were generally good-natured. Even those naturally cold-blooded could differentiate right from wrong after subtle influences.

Humans can eat devils, and devils can eat humans.

This theory had been used over and over by the Devil Clan, for it posed a dilemma for the Human Race.

Especially regarding both Daoist and Buddhist teachings—the former with the principle of "Daoist Skill as nature" and the latter with "compassion at heart"—both were essential theoretical bases.

Cultivators cultivated the mind, and principles had to be clarified.

Ao Tang wanted to say, "As for devils, they are beings of a different kind, within the Dao, all things have their way of survival, and devils are no exception."

Affirming that humans and devils are both sentient beings, he then argued, "Humans possess intelligence, while beasts do not; even if devils consume them, humans naturally consume them too."

This was the rationale of intelligence, a crucial concept taught to disciples by the Daoist Sect. Otherwise, if they didn’t teach this, their disciples might eventually be misled by demons.

There had been several young disciples confused by fox demons, mistaking it for a love between humans and devils, but it was actually enslavement.

Ao Tang naturally worried that Gu Wen might be deceived, for if such a talent who could become an Immortal was tricked, the Daoist Sect would be furious to the point of bleeding from seven orifices.

However, Gu Wen’s firm stance was almost more extreme than extremists.

"What intent do you hold with this approach towards the Devil Clan? We still need to discern right from wrong in causality; otherwise, it’s harmful to cultivation and can easily lead to deviating into madness."

"Protector is kind-hearted; I am but a coarse man not attuned to so much theory."

Gu Wen dismounted the donkey and walked along the empty road, looking at signs that were either messy, collapsed, or intact.

He soon found a liquor store, walked in, and peeked over the counter to see a rotting arm while all the liquor jars were empty.

His Divine Thought scanned and found the cellar below, where he saw a corpse not older than ten, without any visible injuries, clearly starved to death hiding in the cellar.

Gu Wen sealed his sense of smell, exhaled a wisp of True Fire, and burned the corpse while using the light to load about a dozen jars of wine into his Qiankun Bag.

Lastly, he filled an empty jar with the ashes and carried it out.

Ao Tang, sensing everything with his Divine Thought, said, "You remain unperturbed; didn’t you feel any anger?"

"Protector, pity is a luxury of the affluent. I, a commoner from a beggar’s background, have seen too much of this. Finding someone to handle the dead is already fortunate in these chaotic times; grave mounds are too common."

Gu Wen lightly turned the broken arm into ashes, storing it in the ash jar, his Divine Thought sensing some unusual auras.

"Until I find a fundamental solution, I will not worry needlessly."

Initially, after escaping from his cage, Gu Wen had thoughts of being a heroic swordsman, dealing out justice. He had the power to defy the authorities, to kill corrupt officials or destroy influential families as he wished.

But after killing bandits and discovering they were mountain folks, and after executing a few officials and finding it ineffective, and after eliminating several harms only to see no change,

he realized that in a chaotic world, the lines between good and evil blur in the struggle for survival.

This era needed not a gallant swordsman, but a great power capable of supporting a collapsing dynasty.

Killing a person only requires a rusty blade; what does saving a world require?

"If we weren’t in Nanshui, they wouldn’t have died."

Ao Tang stopped mid-sentence, feeling a sudden chill as Gu Wen paused, a flash of cold light seeming to cross his eyes, "If devils don’t come to kill today, officials will tomorrow, but I am certain what the trigger is."

He could think it through, but Gu Wen chose not to do so.

Circumstances allowed no room for him to act on personal feelings, and he couldn’t possibly play the savior when he could hardly protect himself.

Yu Hua could afford to help Chi Yu Zi, and Chi Yu Zi could afford to act selfishly for his own life, but someone had to endure. Gu Wen could endure; it wasn’t his first day doing so, and he was well-practiced.