ATEG Chapter 58

“If it’s not to deal with me, then why would you keep me?” the soul fragment asked.

Li Chi let out a light snort. “Are you so eager to perish?”

The soul fragment fell silent. He naturally wanted to live, but if the original Feiying knew he had already awakened, he would certainly want to kill him more than anyone else.

When he had no consciousness, he was a backup plan Feiying used to preserve his life. But if he gained consciousness, he would inevitably become an obstacle. Not to mention that he knew many of Feiying’s secrets—the very fact that he and Feiying shared the same soul origin was a huge problem.

A divine soul was not clay—once split apart, it was almost impossible to stick back together as before. Without him, Feiying would at most be considered to have an injured soul, which could be restored through recuperation. But if he continued to exist, he might grow into another “Feiying,” and Feiying’s original soul would never be able to return to wholeness.

In this world, no one had ever heard of anyone attaining the Dao with an incomplete soul!

He didn’t even need to do anything—just by living, he became Feiying’s greatest problem…

But the other Feiying was Feiying, and he himself was also Feiying! He also wanted to live…

The soul fragment fell into deep confusion.

Li Chi watched this soul fragment with great interest. Perhaps because the soul was so severely damaged, his emotions seemed quite unstable, and he didn’t appear very intelligent either. If it were the other Feiying here, he probably wouldn’t be reacting this way.

“But I also want to cultivate…” the soul fragment suddenly murmured.

“You also want to seek the Dao?” Li Chi asked.

“Of course I do!” The soul fragment suddenly became agitated. “When I was still a mortal, my heart was set on longing for immortality! I sold off my vast fortune and abandoned my thriving family business, all to find the great Dao of cultivation. But what about Heaven? How did Heaven treat me?!”

“I sought the Dao for over thirty years before I found a cultivation method…”

The Dao is difficult to find. Apart from the divine path, which due to its special nature has widely opened the path of cultivation, all other cultivation methods are difficult to truly transmit.

Whether Feiying’s luck should be considered good or bad was hard to say. He did find a cultivation method, but it was the inheritance of an evil and heretical path.

The Dao should not be lightly transmitted—not only because it is precious, but also because those with inadequate character who obtain such techniques can easily become great menaces. The evil path had no such concerns.

At the very beginning, Feiying was not like he is now. Before entering that evil cultivator’s sect, he had never harmed anyone or killed any demons, much less used those sinister and ruthless methods.

What he yearned for was the immortal path of longevity, yet he mistakenly entered a heretical way. All his natural talent and constitution were entirely wasted.

Feiying truly was exceptionally talented—he became the most gifted among all his fellow disciples. This should have been a good thing, but the environment Feiying was in could not tolerate such growth.

The evil path does not cultivate character, and cultivators who practice such bloody evil methods naturally would not be good people. The more talented he was and the faster he cultivated, the more dangerous his position in the sect became.

Yet Feiying still survived. His cultivation gradually surpassed his senior brothers and sisters who had entered before him, surpassed his master and martial uncles and aunts, and finally surpassed even the grand-master of the previous generation.

In the end, Feiying used some methods to obtain the complete inheritance from the sect. Naturally, he had no sense of sect fellowship—after using these methods, his sect was more or less removed from the world.

Feiying slowly digested all the inheritances he had obtained. He even used his talent to break through the original ceiling of the inheritance, reaching heights that none of his predecessors had achieved.

But upon reaching this point, he also saw the end of this path.

Feiying made one final attempt. He refined that snake demon, but his cultivation could advance no further.

There was no more road ahead of him. What lay before him was not treacherous ground he could pioneer through hardship, but an insurmountable abyss.

He had long since taken the wrong path, and the further forward he went, the farther he strayed from the Dao he sought.

“…I gave up everything to seek the Dao. But Heaven led me onto the wrong path from the very beginning! I’m unwilling to accept this, so I sought the Dao everywhere for another six hundred years. No one’s heart for the Dao has been more steadfast than mine, no one has been more diligent and persevering in cultivation than me! But what was the result?!” The soul fragment grew more resentful and indignant as he spoke, his voice rising, causing the birds and beasts outside the courtyard wall to curiously peer inside.

Li Chi’s fingertip lightly tapped on the tabletop, producing a crisp sound. 

The soul fragment suddenly awoke with a start, only then remembering he was still a prisoner, and quickly shut his mouth. He felt Li Chi’s gaze fall upon him—those eyes were deep and cold, as if seeing right through him. If he weren’t just a ray of blood-red light now, he would probably have shivered violently.

Li Chi mockingly curved his lips. “Heaven led you onto the wrong path?”

He looked into the karma within Feiying. “You say your heart for the Dao is steadfast, that you sold your family fortune and abandoned your family business to seek it. What about your parents and relatives?”

“They were obstacles hindering my path to the Dao, so naturally I had to leave them behind,” the soul fragment said matter-of-factly.

Li Chi snorted. “You blame Heaven for leading you toward an evil path, but wasn’t this path one you chose yourself?”

“What do you mean?!” The soul fragment suddenly flew into a rage, his blood-colored radiance swelling.

“Be quiet.” Li Chi’s voice turned cold.

A terrifying pressure suddenly descended. The soul fragment immediately sobered up and very wisely shut his mouth.

He originated from Feiying, his character and thinking completely the same as Feiying’s—it was only because his soul was so incomplete that he had difficulty controlling his emotional fluctuations. Feiying had survived until now by clearly understanding when to bow his head and which people he could not provoke.

He remained quiet for a long while. Only after that oppressive force disappeared did he carefully ask, “What do you want to keep me for? I still know quite a few secrets…”

“You want to live, so I’ll let you live. You want to cultivate, so I’ll also give you a new opportunity.”

Li Chi’s voice was calm and gentle, yet the soul fragment couldn’t help but tremble, a sense of foreboding rising in his heart.

Before he could react, Li Chi had already pointed a finger at the blood-light. The soul fragment suddenly let out a miserable scream.

Dark red blood qi continuously overflowed and dissipated from the blood-light. In just moments, this blood-light became formless and colorless, the blood-evil power, sinister consciousness—everything attached to it was stripped away completely, leaving only a strand of pure soul fragment.

After losing the support of evil arts, this small piece of forcibly severed soul could not support independent thought and communication at all. The soul fragment lay there motionless and withered.

Ding Qin watched the soul fragment, her gaze thoughtful.

“What are you thinking?” Li Chi asked.

“The High God once said, ‘The Dao is walked beneath one’s feet.’ At that time I didn’t quite understand, but now I seem to comprehend a little.”

“Tell me,” Li Chi said.

Ding Qin organized her thoughts for a moment, then said, “Feiying believed he was forced and guided onto an evil path, but this was actually the result of his own choice. To seek the Dao, he sold his family property and abandoned his relatives. Though his heart for the Dao was firm, he didn’t consider what would happen to his family and kin. Seeking the Dao with such a heart, naturally he could not obtain the righteous path.”

Li Chi did not comment on whether Ding Qin’s words were right or wrong, but instead said, “All cultivators in this world seek the Great Dao, but what exactly the Great Dao is, no one can clearly explain. Something that cannot be clearly explained cannot be named. But in order to communicate about this thing with others, it still needs to be reluctantly named. The world has many languages with abundant words—why was ‘Dao’ specifically chosen to call it? Why was ‘Great’ used to name it?”

Ding Qin froze.

She had been on the cultivation path for some time now, and had heard and contemplated the “Great Dao” countless times, seen many different explanations and stories describing it, but had never considered the meaning of these two words themselves.

She had thought of the Great Dao as too lofty, too distant, too difficult to comprehend, and thus had subconsciously avoided thinking about it directly, thereby missing the teaching contained in the naming by that great sage of virtue who named the “Great Dao.”

“Dao” originally just meant road or path. The greatness of Dao encompasses and contains all things—Dao is not some lofty, ethereal thing. All things in the world exist within the Dao. Every word and deed, every action and movement of those who seek the Dao—all are walking the “Dao.”

Feiying thought he needed to “seek the Dao,” but when he decided to abandon his family and business, he was already walking on the Dao. His path was walked out by himself; his result was chosen by himself.

Li Chi’s voice resonated leisurely, “Before Feiying entered that evil cultivation sect, there were three opportunities to step onto the righteous path of cultivation. After Feiying joined, there were also seven opportunities to break free from it and cultivate the proper method.”

But Feiying had missed them all.

Was Feiying’s heart for the Dao steadfast? He had indeed suffered many hardships to seek the Dao, abandoned much power and wealth that others desired. But he didn’t even understand what the Dao was—so what exactly was his so-called “heart for the Dao” directed toward?

It was nothing more than greed for longevity, desire for extraordinary abilities, and selfishness that would stop at nothing to achieve his own desires.

How was he any different from those among mortals who commit evil to pursue wealth and power?

Cultivation indeed requires firm resolve, unwavering determination, and courageous advancement. But courageous advancement does not mean “stopping at nothing” to seek the Dao.

Sweat suddenly appeared on Ding Qin’s forehead. She couldn’t help but begin reviewing and examining her own heart and actions. She too had once regarded the “Great Dao” as a goal—had she also made missteps in the process of cultivation?

“Don’t be afraid.” The deity’s gentle voice sounded in her ear.

Ding Qin’s heart suddenly settled.

Yes, she need not be afraid. She had not yet committed irredeemable errors or ones too late to remedy. She had stepped onto the cultivation path and found the best guidance.

She was the deity’s divine messenger. She would act on behalf of the deity’s will. Behind her, there would always be a gaze watching over her.

Ding Qin suddenly felt warmth, and the slight unease and anxiety in her heart dispersed at once.

She looked toward that withered, motionless soul fragment and asked speculatively, “High God, are you going to guide him onto the righteous path?”

Li Chi laughed. “I don’t have that leisure. I’m keeping him simply because I don’t want to do Feiying any favors, and incidentally to conduct an experiment.”

Ding Qin understood the first part. Keeping this soul fragment was Feiying’s problem; destroying him would instead serve Feiying’s interests. But the second part—conducting an experiment…?

Under Ding Qin’s curious gaze, Li Chi’s divine power turned, and he sealed away all the memories in the soul, leaving only some hazy recognition of this world. Then, with a flick of his fingertip, the soul fragment fell onto the boulder outside the courtyard that had been split in two by the old pine, and was sealed within it.

Ding Qin was curious in her heart, but Li Chi offered no further explanation. He waved his hand dismissively and half-closed his eyes. Ding Qin understood and quietly withdrew from the courtyard.

The courtyard returned to quiet, but Li Chi’s heart was not as peaceful and calm as his exterior suggested.

After awakening in this world, he had discovered he had no memories whatsoever. Relying only on bits of knowledge triggered by chance, he had been groping his way through life in this strange world.

At first, he had thought that perhaps the owner had completely perished, which explained the total absence of memories. As for his own memory loss, that might be a side effect of transmigration. But now, Li Chi was increasingly suspicious about the true reason for his amnesia.

Since taking over this severely injured and amnesiac divine body, his recovery and cultivation had been remarkably smooth. In the beginning, he had almost no understanding of this world and was worried about his life, so he had never considered the strangeness in all this.

Cultivating the Dao is also cultivating the heart—a mortal’s character could almost never reach his current level, yet his character had never presented any problems throughout this process. Could it be that before transmigrating, he was already a cultivator whose character had been honed to perfection?

There were cultivation methods in this world that did not emphasize the physical body, but his divine power was condensed within this divine body. To exercise power required body and soul to be in harmony—how could he be so compatible with this divine body?

Li Chi still remembered those strange memories from the Dream-Eating Tapir incident. His memories were clear, but the behavioral style was distinctly not his own.

Just as when Shuoyue sensed his aura and, due to inexplicable fear, frantically tried to escape the mountain forest—the one fleeing was her, but she was under the control of Feiying’s soul fragment.

So then… what about himself, who acted in that dream?