Chapter 1318: A Century in a Flash

"What do you need, Little Zhao?" Li Hai asked.

"The frost poison in my mother's body has relapsed, so I would like to buy some Crimson Sun Tea for her," the boy replied with his head lowered.

"Alright, I'll fetch some for you right now," Li Hai replied with a nod, then re-entered the tea shop.

The boy raised his head to say something, but ultimately remained silent as he lowered his head again.

Before long, Li Hai re-emerged from the tea shop with a red jade box in his hands.

He offered the jade box to the boy as he said, "This is enough for three batches of tea, and once she's finished, her frost poison will be suppressed."

"Thank you, Uncle Li, but over the years, we've spent all of our money on treating my mother's condition, and this is all that I have left..." the boy said he tipped out some small scraps of silver from a patchy cloth pouch.

Instead of taking the silver, Li Hai smiled and replied, "I'm aware of your family's financial circumstances. Just take the tea for your mother to drink for now, and feel free to come back for more if you need."

"Uncle Li..."

The boy bit down onto his own lower lip to fight back his tears, but they still began flowing from his eyes, nonetheless.

"Alright now, strong boys like yourself shouldn't cry. Go back to your mother, she's still waiting for you," Li Hai said as he patted the boy on the shoulder, then turned to make his way back into the tea shop.

The boy wiped the tears from his eyes, then fell to his knees and kowtowed twice before departing.

Inside the tea shop, an intrigued look had appeared on Han Li's face.

There was a wall between the young boy and where he and Violet Spirit were sitting, but of course, he was able to see through the wall with ease.

In his pursuit of severing his kind corpse soul, he had become quite sensitive to kind intent, and he had noticed a burst of kind intent appear around Li Hai as the boy had kowtowed to him in gratitude.

It was a considerably large burst of kind intent, far more than what Han Li had received from his past acts of kindness.

Why is that? Why has Li Hai received so much more kind intent from his act of kindness? What is the difference between me and him?

His breathing began to accelerate as he stared intently at the cup in his hand, and he felt as if he were on the verge of reaching an important epiphany.

Right at this moment, Violet Spirit suddenly reacted as if she had just read something of interest.

"What is it?" Han Li asked.

"This Pear Orchard Journal was written by a very respected Confucian scholar, and I just read something in here that I think relates to you," Violet Spirit replied as she offered the book to Han Li while pointing out the passage of text that had caught her interest.

The text read: "Acts of kindness are inherently good, but the goodness of such acts will be tarnished if one's motives are impure."

Han Li was instantly struck by a profound sense of enlightenment upon reading this line.

"I understand it now! Doing kind deeds for one's own benefit is only a form of false kindness. No matter how many such deeds are committed, they remain fundamentally flawed. Only acts of kindness committed for no ulterior motive or desire for compensation is true kindness," Han Li exclaimed.

Even though Li Hai was a Grand Ascension cultivator, he had made peace with himself and was no longer pursuing greater heights in his cultivation. Instead, he had chosen to settle in this desolate immortal region, and he had helped that boy just now with very pure motives, which was why he had been rewarded with so much kind intent.

Similarly, Han Li had helped that storyteller and his granddaughter on a whim, so it had been an act of kindness that had been similar in nature.

"I see. Even though you've committed more acts of kindness of an objectively greater magnitude than Li Hai, your fixations and impure intentions have worked to your detriment," Violet Spirit said as her eyes lit up in understanding.

"Now that I know the reason, I'll be able to remedy my actions accordingly," Han Li said with an excited smile.

Seven years later.

A shop in a peaceful and secluded area had changed owners. It had been purchased by a young couple, and what had once been a variety store had been turned into a clinic where patients were treated and medicines were sold.

Even though the couple was quite young, they were exceptional at what they did, able to cure many strange and complex ailments to great effect, in addition to the more commonly seen injuries and illnesses.

On top of that, the prices that they charged were extremely low, and it didn't take long before their clinic became vastly renowned far and wide.

As a result, business was booming despite the clinic's secluded location.

The couple was naturally none other than Han Li and Violet Spirit, and at their current cultivation bases, curing mortals of their ailments couldn't have been an easier task.

Prior to this, Han Li spent a whole seven years transforming himself into a mortal resident of the city, forgetting his fixations and even his status as a cultivator.

He had earned some silver over the years, using which he had purchased this shop to open this clinic, and he was doing his best to genuinely help others for no compensation.

However, this selfless mindset wasn't something that could be achieved on a whim, and his impure intentions still often got in the way.

At the very most, he could only treat one or two out of a hundred patients with a truly pure and selfless heart.

However, he didn't grow disheartened or frustrated, and he continued to run the clinic while pondering the true meaning of kindness.

Before long, the clinic had already been operating for ten years, and the young couple had become a middle-aged one.

Thirty more years passed by, and the couple had entered their autumn years.

Over time, Han Li's heart had become purer and purer, and as a result, he was receiving more and more kind intent from his treatments.

Over a hundred years flew by in a flash.

At this point, the clinic had become a time-honored brand that was renowned far and wide, and there had supposedly been many generations of shopkeepers.

Inside the clinic's inner chamber, Han Li was seated with his legs crossed, and there was a bright glow emanating from his facial features, while Violet Spirit was standing nearby, observing him in silence.

There was also a faint sheen over her face, and her aura had become more gentle and refined.

Over the years, she had also committed many kind deeds and accumulated a great deal of kind intent. Her cultivation base hadn't advanced much over the years, but her soul had become far more supple and refined than before.

Some time later, Han Li opened his eyes, and it was as if two arcs of lightning had flashed through the inner chamber.

"Is everything ready, Brother?" Violet Spirit asked.

"I am now fully able to sense my kind corpse soul, and I've also fully grasped the true meaning of kindness. By my estimates, my chances of successfully severing my kind corpse soul using my Avatar Corpse Soul Severance Technique are around 80%," Han Li replied.

"That's good to hear," Violet Spirit said in a relieved manner.

Looking at the clinic where they had stayed for over a century, Han Li was a little reluctant to leave, but he knew that it was time.

"Let's go," he said, and the two of them departed.

It was still very early in the morning, and there were no patients waiting outside.

Right at this moment, Shopkeeper Li Hai's voice rang out from nearby.

"Are you leaving, fellow daoists?"

"Thank you for looking after us all these years, Fellow Daoist Li," Han Li said as he cupped his fist in a grateful salute, and this was a very genuine and earnest salute.

If it hadn't been for Li Hai, he wouldn't have been able to identify the flaws in his ways.

"You're far too kind, Fellow Daoist Han," Li Hai replied as he hurriedly returned the salute. "I haven't helped you at all over the years. In contrast, I've received much guidance from you, and for that, you have my undying gratitude."

Over the past century or so, Han Li would often visit Li Hai's tea shop to drink and chat.

Even though Li Hai had previously already come to terms with the fact that his cultivation journy was behind him, Han Li's guidance had reignited a spark of hope in his heart, and it seemed like Han Li always knew just the right thing to say to guide him in the right direction.

"I knew from the first time that I saw you that you were far beyond me, and what you've done here is beyond the realm of my comprehension, but in any case, I wish you both the best of luck in your future endeavors," Li Hai said as a look of mixed emotions surfaced in his eyes.

"Likewise, Fellow Daoist Li. I'll be sure to come back to visit your tea shop if the opportunity arises," Han Li said with a smile.

"Please do!" Li Hai replied in an ecstatic manner.

In the next instant, Han Li and Violet Spirit were already nowhere to be seen.

Li Hai stared at the empty street as a sense of sorrow welled up in his heart, and only after standing outside in a daze for a long while did he return to the tea shop.

However, his sorrow then gradually faded away as he looked at his peaceful tea shop.

The world that Han Li and Violet Spirit were in was undoubtedly far more spectacular than this city, but the peaceful life that he led here was a form of bliss in itself.

With that in mind, a satisfied look appeared on Li Hai's face as began preparing the spirit tea for the day.

......

In a nameless mountain range in the Crane Ridge Immortal Region, Han Li and Violet Spirit appeared amid a flash of lightning.

"This looks like a good place," Han Li said as he pointed a finger at a tall mountain up ahead, releasing a streak of golden sword qi that pierced into the mountain face with ease.

The streak of sword qi raced through the mountain like a living creature, digging out a cave abode in the blink of an eye.

"Won't the sparse world's origin qi in the Crane Ridge Immortal Region be detrimental to your corpse soul severance?" Violet Spirit asked as her brows furrowed slightly.

"It's fine. At my cultivation base, I'm able to absorb the world's origin qi from many spaces, so that's not a concern. This is the place where I've gleaned the true meaning of kindness, so my soul is very compatible with this immortal region. Hence, my chances of a successful corpse soul severance will be higher here," Han Li replied.

"I see," Violet Spirit mused with an enlightened expression.

The two of them entered the cave abode, and Han Li set up several layers of restrictions around it before turning to make his way toward the innermost secret chamber.

"Brother Han!" Violet Spirit suddenly called out after him with a concerned expression.

Each corpse soul severance was a very stern test, and failure could result in catastrophic circumstances.

"There's no need to worry. With all of the extensive preparations that we've made, I'm certain that I'll succeed," Han Li said with a confident smile as he gave Violet Spirit's hand a reassuring squeeze.

His confidence instilled within Violet Spirit a great deal of reassurance, and she gave a firm nod in response.

Han Li released her hand and made his way into the secret chamber.

The door of the secret chamber swung shut, and a layer of golden light appeared over its surface, completely isolating it from the outside world.