Chapter 1319: A Discussion of Good and Evil

Inside the secret chamber.

Han Li was busy engraving an array onto the ground, the same one that he had used for his wicked corpse soul severance.

After the array was complete, he pulled out a stack of array tools and began setting them down as well.

This array was extremely complex, and even with his prior experience, it took him an entire day to complete it.

At this moment, countless tiny runes were dancing over the yin yang symbol on the ground, which was giving off bursts of translucent light that illuminated the entire secret chamber.

Han Li gave a pleased nod as he swept a sleeve through the air to summon an Earthly Deity Avatar puppet, which he set down in the yin half, while he sat down in the yang half.

After taking a moment to compose himself, he activated the array, and a hemispherical light barrier appeared, encompassing both him and the puppet within it.

Immediately thereafter, chains formed by flames, glacial qi, lightning, and other various other things shot out of the light barrier before piercing into the puppet's body.

After that, Han Li closed his eyes and entered his own consciousness.

In contrast with during his wicked corpse soul severance, his consciousness was currently extremely peaceful, with only a white-robed Han Li seated inside with his legs crossed and his eyes closed in meditation.

"Welcome," the white-robed Han Li said as he opened his eyes, and there wasn't any animosity or confrontation within them.

"Were you waiting for me?" Han Li asked while secretly preparing for battle.

"There's no need to be so tense. I'm not your wicked corpse soul, I have no intention of fighting you. Please, take a seat," the white-robed Han Li said with a faint smile, and a cushion, a tea table, a teapot, and two teacups appeared out of thin air at his behest.

These things had all been formed by spiritual sense, yet they appeared no different from actual objects.

Even Han Li was unable to accomplish such a feat with his spiritual sense, yet his kind corpse soul had been able to do so with ease.

"What is the meaning of this?" Han Li asked as he sat down across from his kind corpse soul.

"It's in the nature of one's three corpse souls to try and seize the body of their host, but that doesn't necessarily have to come down to a battle," the white-robed Han Li said as he took a sip of tea while pushing the other cup toward Han Li.

"How are we going to reach an outcome without a battle?" Han Li asked.

"It's very simple, all we need to do is have a discussion," the white-robed Han Li replied with a faint smile.

"A discussion?" Han Li asked as he raised an eyebrow.

"That's right. I want to discuss with you the concepts of good and evil. If your answers are satisfactory, I will voluntarily banish myself from this body. Of course, if your answers prove to be unsatisfactory, then I'll have to turn to more forceful measures," the white-robed Han Li replied.

"You can certainly give that a try," Han Li harrumphed coldly as a burst of tremendous spiritual sense erupted out of his body, causing his nearby consciousness to rumble violently.

The teacup in the white-robed Han Li's hands instantly shattered before dissipating into nothingness.

However, he remained unfazed as he conjured up a new cup with a faint smile on his face.

𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

The unrest in Han Li's consciousness subsided at his behest, and he said, "If you want to have a discussion, then I'm happy to humor you. What questions do you want to ask me?"

"Alright, my first question is: why are there both good and evil people?" the kind corpse soul asked.

"No one is inherently good or bad. Instead, good and evil are rooted in one's heart," Han Li replied.

"It's said that karma will give unto people what they deserve, but that's not actually the case. There are many kind and virtuous people who lead miserable lives, just as there are many evil-doers who seem to have everything going in their favor. Why is that?" the kind corpse soul asked.

"This is a very superficial way of looking at things. What is good, and what is evil? These questions cannot be answered through mere surface-level observations. As long as one is benefiting others and the world around them, even if they beat or abuse someone, that could be considered an act of good.

“In contrast, if one is solely self-serving, then even if they display respect and reverence to others, it will only be a sycophantic gesture that's evil in nature. If someone commits kind deeds and accumulates good karma, even if they lead impoverished and miserable lives, it's often the case that their descendants will benefit from their actions and lead better lives than they do.

“In contrast, even if an evil-doer is able to revel in riches for a time, a far worse will await them down the line," Han Li replied.

The kind corpse soul raised an eyebrow upon hearing this, then asked, "In that case, what is good, and what is evil?"

"Actions that benefit both oneself and others can be referred to as good, while actions that benefit others at the expense of oneself can be said to serve the greater good. Actions that are detrimental to both oneself and others are evil, while actions that benefit oneself at the expense of others are an even greater evil," Han Li replied.

"So all acts that benefit others can be referred to as good?" the kind corpse soul asked.

"No, it also depends on one's intentions. Those who commit kind deeds for ulterior motives are not truly good and virtuous. Only those who do good purely out of the kindness of their hearts without seeking compensation are truly good," Han Li replied.

A pleased look flashed through the kind corpse soul's eyes, and he continued, "Consider this then: an old man who is unable to swim has fallen into the water. A young merchant that's passing through saves the old man, and the latter compensates the young man with a silver ingot, which is gleefully accepted. Is that an act of good?"

"It is," Han Li replied.

"But you just said that only acts of kindness committed without the desire for compensation can be considered good. The merchant has taken the old man's money as compensation, so aren't his intentions impure?" the kind corpse soul asked.

"Regardless of whether that merchant expected to be compensated prior to saving the old man, word of his feat will be sure to encourage others to do good, and as long as a certain action can benefit the masses, it can be referred to as good," Han Li replied.

"It's often said that all lay load on the willing horse. How do you interpret that?" the kind corpse soul asked.

"This is indeed something that happens, but it's a rare occurrence and far from the norm. Only by accepting the minor injustices of the world with an open heart and mind can we continue to do good with an untarnished heart. Otherwise, we will be overcome with pettiness and resentment and lose our way," Han Li replied.

The kind corpse soul was silent for a moment, then said in an earnest and heartfelt manner, "I am truly impressed. I have one final question for you to answer."

"Go ahead," Han Li prompted with a smile.

"There are many people in this world who speak of goodness and righteousness, but when it comes time to put such concepts into practice, their actions are often lacking. I can see that you have a very deep understanding of the true meaning of kindness, but how is one supposed to actually put this into practice?" the kind corpse soul asked.

"Do not seek to give or take, do not develop fixations, and do not waver from your conviction. Do what brings the greatest good to the most people, and kindness will naturally be achieved," Han Li replied.

"Fantastic! Your answers have proven more than satisfactory!" the kind corpse soul exclaimed as he clapped his hands together in a pleased manner, then flew away as a ball of white light, seemingly trying to leave Han Li's consciousness.

However, it seemed to have been stopped in its tracks by an invisible barrier.

Han Li was ecstatic to see this, and he immediately raised a hand before bringing it down in a forceful severing motion.

A peerlessly sharp sword projection appeared in his consciousness, and the connection between his kind corpse soul and his consciousness was instantly severed, allowing it to leave as it pleased.

Inside the secret chamber, Han Li opened his eyes as a ball of white light flew out of his body, and along with it went close to half of his immortal spiritual power and time law threads.

The ball of white light vanished into the puppet in the array in a flash, while Han Li shuddered violently as blood came spurting out of all of his orifices.

Even though the ball of white light had taken close to half of his immortal spiritual power and law powers, his 1,320th immortal acupoint had opened up, elevating him to the late-Great Encompassment Stage.

Immediately thereafter, a burst of invisible force descended upon him, and the space around became twisted and warped, as if to separate him from the rest of the world.

All of a sudden, the space above him parted to reveal a boundless sea of golden light, and a burst of almighty law powers descended from the golden sea to envelop him.

Han Li could sense the aura of the vast and unfathomable aura of the Heavenly Dao within the sea of golden light.

At this point, he was already very close to the pinnacle of cultivation, but in the face of this unfathomable power, he was still made to feel as powerless and vulnerable as an ant.

Even the almighty auras of Bone Emperor, the Reincarnation Palace Master, and all of the other Dao Ancestors that Han Li had encountered in the past were completely dwarfed by the aura of this golden sea.

Could this be the laws of time within the Heavenly Dao?

Right at this moment, the sea of golden light suddenly began to churn violently, and a beam of golden light descended from within before surging into his body.

The golden light was imbued with incredibly formidable time law powers, and within the span of just a few breaths, all of the time law powers that he had lost had been replenished, while the number of time law threads in his possession quickly returned to one thousand eight hundred.

At the same time, the nearby space churned violently as bursts of world's origin qi converged from all directions before surging into his body, and in the blink of an eye, his immortal spiritual power reserves were fully replenished as well.

Inside another room in the cave abode, Violet Spirit's eyes abruptly sprang open as she cast a stunned gaze toward the secret chamber where Han Li was cultivating in seclusion.