Mysterious mirror hanging high

"Damn it, you think you're a saint and that's great, but unfortunately, this world doesn't tolerate saints. You'll suffer sooner or later. Don't blame me for not warning you then." Jing Yu gave Guo Tingshu a thumbs up, but her tone was full of sarcasm.

It wasn't that he had any issues with Guo Tingshu personally; it was just that since leaving the Qingqiu Star Region, he had been traveling with Guo Tingshu for decades, and their relationship had deepened over time, so he had long regarded him as one of his own.

Jing Yu also wished that the world were full of people like Guo Tingshu—with clear minds, dutiful conduct, and who acted in accordance with rules and conscience in all their actions.

But if the world has already collapsed and evil has sprung up like weeds, then it is no longer a virtue if the closest and dearest people around you still hold onto their innocent hearts, but a weakness.

The deeper their friendship, the more Jing Yu couldn't bear to see Guo Tingshu suffer.

Because one person's gains or losses have already affected the mind of another.

Friends and mentors with deep friendships can become a close community of interests, but these friends and mentors are still individuals with independent thoughts. Jing Yu cannot overstep his bounds and make what he considers the "optimal" choice for them. He can only try his best to make amends after they suffer losses. This feeling is not good, but Jing Yu is often powerless to do anything about it.

There are many problems in this world that even the Dao Venerable cannot solve, let alone a mere cave cultivator like myself.

The only way to avoid this is to sever all ties and relationships, becoming a high-ranking, aloof, and detached observer.

But this was clearly not something Jing Yu could accept.

Destiny is born from the interactions between people. If one cultivates the great path of destiny, then it is inevitable to have entanglements with others.

Unexpectedly, Guo Tingshu simply shook his head: "I suffered quite a few losses when I was in the lower realm, but my master told me something a long time ago, and the more I think about it, the more I realize that it makes sense."

"If a wicked person in this world falls on hard times and loses their life, there's really nothing to complain about."

Guo Tingshu glanced at the spot where the three cultivators had just died: "Because what they did—murdering to steal treasures, swindling and cheating, and harming others for personal gain—was inherently disruptive to order and rules."

"Since you've chosen this dark path, you're gambling with your life. If you win, you'll be happy for a while... but if you lose, don't complain."

"This isn't the world targeting you; you chose the cards you were dealt, and if you lose, you have to accept it. That's called accepting your losses."

“But if a good person suffers misfortune or is taken advantage of, he should not blame himself, let alone doubt whether he did something wrong.”

He looked at Jing Yu and said seriously, "Good people abide by the rules, have a conscience, and do things to make this world a little more decent. They don't destroy anything; instead, they try their best to maintain that fragile order."

“If such people do not receive good rewards but instead suffer, then something is wrong—this is not their problem, but rather that the reward and punishment mechanism of this world is broken, and that the rules of this world are flawed.”

Guo Tingshu let out a soft breath, his expression somewhat helpless, yet still composed:

"Therefore, when bad people suffer misfortune, they should not blame the world; when good people suffer, they should not blame themselves."

"Alright, your twisted logic is actually quite self-consistent; I can't persuade you otherwise." Jing Yu shrugged.

To some extent, Jing Yu admired people like Guo Tingshu. Since he started practicing the [Hearing Heart Technique], the thoughts and ideas of cultivators with lower cultivation levels than himself could not be hidden, and he could also see the endless evil in people's hearts.

He then discovered that everyone in the world has some dark thoughts that are hard to bring to the table. He repeatedly reminded himself that these dark thoughts might just be fleeting "discarded cases," but he still couldn't help but feel disappointed with the person he was spying on.

He felt himself becoming increasingly inclined to "judge by intentions, not by actions." He couldn't be like Guo Tingshu, who only reacted passively when faced with danger. Instead, he always thought about striking first to eliminate risks before they even emerged.

Constantly trying to pry into people's hearts only encourages the growth of evil thoughts within oneself.

Therefore, unless it is absolutely necessary, Jing Yu rarely uses this mind-reading ability. Otherwise, even if he has the destiny of "longevity and long-lasting vision" which ignores inner demons and delusions, he cannot guarantee that he will not go on a killing spree one day.

Guo Tingshu, on the other hand, once said that his "Hearing the Heart Technique" was automatically running around the clock, which Jing Yu greatly admired.

“My master said that I’m a simple-minded person. He was afraid I would suffer losses, so he made me use the ‘Mind Reading Technique’ at all times. That way, even if I encounter danger, I will be prepared and won’t be flustered. Perhaps it’s because of my simple-mindedness that he believes I can control this double-edged sword and not let the ability to read minds harm me,” Guo Tingshu said.

Jing Yu shook her head: "Big Fool Tree, let's go... I just used my divine sense to explore, and this valley is indeed the warehouse of the black shop. There are some high-quality Snow-capped Dragon Beard Ginseng in it, enough to refine body-refining pills for the two of us."

Since leaving the Demon Refining Realm, the remaining Blood Amber has dissipated due to the feedback from the rules of heaven and earth, so Jing Yu and Guo Tingshu can no longer use Blood Amber to replenish their blood and improve their cultivation.

Therefore, he had no choice but to refine the elixirs himself.

Fortunately, Jing Yu had never given up his alchemy skills, and with the help of his destiny related to alchemy, refining body-refining pills at the cave heaven level was not a big challenge for him.

After collecting all the spoils, the two of them left this little secret realm.

The two walked through the bustling yet treacherous streets and alleys, heading towards the area in this immortal city equipped with a long-distance teleportation array.

Having finished their business here, they were about to leave. Fortunately, this immortal city had a large teleportation array that could traverse the vast void, which was used by cultivators below the Mahayana realm. So, instead of traveling through the starry sky, the two chose to take the teleportation array and teleport directly to other star regions.

Before long, they arrived at the plaza where the teleportation array was located.

The area is vast, with a towering array platform standing in the center of the square. Lights occasionally rise and fall from the platform, but at this moment, many cultivators are gathered together instead of taking the teleportation array to leave. This is because long-distance teleportation arrays in large immortal cities cannot be used at any time. Each time they are activated, a large amount of immortal stones are required, and enough people are needed to cover the cost.

Whether it was Jing Yu's imagination or not, the square seemed unusually crowded and the atmosphere was somber today.

The monks who were temporarily resting here gathered together and whispered among themselves, facing one side of the square.

Jing Yu and Guo Tingshu exchanged a glance and stepped forward. Through the gaps in the crowd, they saw a prison cart that was entirely black and covered in runes.

The prison cart was cast from an unknown metal, and its thick fence, as thick as a child's arm, was engraved with layers of binding array patterns, as well as some sealing arrays that blocked true energy, clearly to prevent the people inside from escaping or self-destructing.