We bear people have power

Jingwei asked Guan Bo if he was scared, and Guan Bo replied without hesitation, "I am indeed scared. Fill in the East Sea? Only a fool wouldn't be scared."

Jingwei: "..."

Although he knew these words would offend people, Guan Bo still had to say it: "Just because you drowned, you want to fill up the East China Sea. What is that if not idiotic? There are hundreds of millions of aquatic creatures in the East China Sea, and tens of thousands of ordinary people who rely on the sea for their livelihood. Just because you're unhappy, you want to make hundreds of millions of lives perish with you? I can't do something so selfish."

"If everyone in the world were like you, choking to death while eating and making sure no one in the world could eat, choking to death while drinking water and making sure no one in the world could drink, or even dying in bed and swearing that no one in the world could sleep, how could anyone live like that? Even if I don't get this black lotus today, I will never help you fill up the East Sea, don't even think about it."

In Guan Bo's view, although Jingwei filling the sea demonstrates people's courage to defy nature and go against the heavens, the actual behavior seems a bit petty.

Honestly, wouldn't it be better to just put up a sign prohibiting swimming at the beach?

Jingwei, of course, didn't think so. She retorted, "Eating, drinking, and sleeping are basic human needs. What's so essential about swimming? Even if the East Sea were filled in, people wouldn't be limited to relying on the sea for food. On the contrary, the creation of countless fertile lands would support a larger population, allowing humanity to prosper."

"According to what you said before, there are still mountain people among the human race who live off the mountains. Does that mean we don't need to cut down trees to create fields or clear land?"

“Using sophistry will not help you escape this predicament. If you truly want to fill the East Sea for the sake of the people, I will call you a remarkable woman. But if you are only concerned with satisfying your own desires, then don’t blame this lotus for tormenting you here for a thousand years. It’s alright if you are conflicted. At least the Wise Old Man and Kuafu were able to honestly face their desires. Since you are a soul obsessed with desires, you should know why you are obsessed.” Guan Bo said sincerely.

Jingwei bit her lip and after a long while, she whispered, "I just think the sea can drown people. I just hope that no one in the world will sink to the bottom of the sea like me and never see their family again."

"Then you don't need to fill in the sea. There are many other ways to prevent people from drowning." Guan Bo didn't know if she was telling the truth or not, but since she said that, Guan Bo could think of other ways.

"Hmph, even if everyone in the world knows how to swim, the ocean currents are unpredictable. Even good swimmers can drown. How can you guarantee you won't drown?" Jingwei looked at Guan Bo with the eyes of someone looking at an idiot.

"So you're stuck in old ways and inflexible. Who said you have to learn to swim? People drown because they can't swim, not because they can't breathe underwater. They suffocate. But what if people could breathe underwater?" Guan Bo said smugly.

"Breathe in the water?" Jingwei really hadn't thought of this method.

Guan Bo released a burst of mysterious light from his hands, which transformed into a humanoid figure wearing a diving suit and carrying an oxygen tank.

"See? This thing is called a scuba tank. It allows people to breathe freely in the water, so they won't drown," Guan Bo said proudly.

In truth, even Guan Bo himself wasn't sure how effective this thing was; countless people had drowned while wearing oxygen tanks. But he had to at least give it a little hype first; maybe he could fool them?

But Guan Bo seemed to have underestimated Jingwei's wisdom. She only glanced at it before asking, "How long can this thing breathe?"

Guan Bo casually replied, "One or two hours should be no problem."

Jingwei then resolutely said, "Not enough! If we are pulled to the bottom of the sea by the ocean current in just one or two hours, we simply won't survive."

“Then let’s think of another way. If scuba diving doesn’t work, let’s use magic. I can deduce a spell that will allow someone to breathe underwater for three to five days. That should be enough to get them back,” Guan Bo said.

"You can even deduce this kind of magic?" Jingwei's face was full of disbelief.

“I possess a treasure bestowed by the Queen Mother of the West, which allows me to access the Kunlun Jade Book. As long as there is sufficient spiritual energy, I can deduce any kind of magic. The mere underwater breathing technique will be deduced in no time.” “But that’s useless,” Jingwei retorted again. “Spells are not for everyone. Ninety-nine percent of mortals cannot cultivate them. Even if you deduce the spells, how can they use them?”

Hearing this question, Guan Bo felt an indescribable sense of satisfaction. It was like Cao Cao hearing the question, "Why is the Prime Minister laughing?"—it was as delightful as finding the most compatible comedian in the world.

"Hahaha, good question! Only a few mortals in the world can cultivate, but what if I said that everyone in the world could cultivate? As long as they have magical power, everyone can capture dragons in the sea and take the moon from the sky. The mere ocean is no threat at all," Guan Bo said smugly.

"What nonsense are you spouting? If you could make everyone able to cultivate, I'd change my surname to yours." Jingwei's face was full of disbelief.

Guan Bo put his hands on his hips, laughed three times, and then used magic to condense the entire text of "The Longevity Manual" and display it in front of Jingwei.

"Look at this, it's the 'Longevity Manual' that I deduced using the Kunlun Jade Book, which everyone can cultivate. Putting aside everything else, it's definitely enough to reach the Foundation Establishment stage, and those with better talent aren't out of the question either," Guan Bo said proudly.

Jingwei was initially skeptical, but after carefully reading through the "Longevity Manual," she was stunned. After a long pause, she hesitantly asked, "This... can it really make everyone in the world a cultivator?"

"I'm honest and trustworthy, this is my proudest work," Guan Bo assured, patting his chest.

Unexpectedly, Jingwei started sobbing as soon as Guan Bo finished speaking.

What's going on? Is this girl schizophrenic?

As Guan Bo was wondering, he heard Jingwei crying, "If only I had learned this 'Longevity Manual' back then!"

Upon hearing this, Guan Bo seemed to understand something and asked, "You were the daughter of Emperor Yan back then, so you can't cultivate either?"

Jingwei nodded and said, "That's right, I'm the kind of person who has absolutely no talent for cultivation. If it were back then... sob sob sob..."

Once she started crying, she couldn't stop.

Guan Bo never expected that Jingwei, the daughter of Shennong, would be unable to cultivate. No wonder she could drown in the ocean while swimming. Thinking about it this way, it really has nothing to do with conspiracy theories.

However, this girl's crying was incessant, so Guan Bo had to shout a few words to remind her before she realized what was happening and stopped crying.

“So, you should have figured it out by now. As long as I can spread this ‘Longevity Manual,’ very few people in the world will drown,” Guan Bo said.

Jingwei stopped crying, nodded to Guan Bo, and then, like her two companions, shattered her black body, turning into a transparent ghost.

When Jingwei was also freed from the karmic fire lotus, the barrier outside the lotus shattered instantly.

The wise old man quickly reminded him, "Quickly, before any new greedy, angry, and resentful spirits appear, pluck the lotus flower."

Guan Bo reached out, grabbed the stem of the Karmic Fire Lotus, and with a strong pull, finally plucked the black lotus from the lava.

To Guan Bo's surprise, the magma continued to gather at the original location of the lotus flower, and a lotus flower composed entirely of magma reappeared.

It seems that in a few thousand or tens of thousands of years, another lotus of karmic fire will bloom here. As long as the three poisons of greed, anger, and ignorance, and the sins of the human world remain, this lotus will exist forever.

However, Guan Bo couldn't worry about that right now; what he needed to think about was how to eat the lotus flower.