CHAPTER 60: THE WEIGHT OF LEGACY AND CHOICE

Only now did he realize... those aberrations had been created by the One Flower Sect’s founder himself!

The One Flower Sect was the root of all that was abnormal?!

As if recalling something, the light point responded with a careless laugh, "Yes, I made them—so what? We cultivators seek the supreme Dao; who has the time to care about anything else? Survival of the fittest is the law of nature. I created those things, but I didn’t unleash them into the world. I sealed them inside the Jade Blossom Mountain Range. That already shows my mercy."

Bok Taejin shouted angrily at the light point, "You could’ve just destroyed them!"

"But why should I destroy them?" the light point calmly retorted. "Just because their existence may damage the environment where humans live, does that mean I have to strip them of the right to exist?"

"You only know that I created them, but do you know under what kind of circumstances I created them? How much do you understand about the creation process of The Seal of Life and Death? Do you know what kind of world this was during the era I lived in?"

Bok Taejin was rendered speechless by these questions.

The light point sounded quite pleased with itself: "Speechless now, aren’t you, you fool? As I see it, you don’t need to worry about any of that. Just follow my instructions and continue cultivating. I guarantee you’ll become the strongest person in this world!"

Bok Taejin was silent for a long time, then firmly shook his head. "If what you want me to do something that will ultimately harm humanity—I’m sorry, I won’t do it."

Call him a fool—he would accept that.

He admitted it—he was inflexible, and even now he couldn’t bring himself to lie to the light point just to get by.

"Maybe you’re right. Maybe they do deserve to live. But I’m a human. I can’t abandon my stance as a human being. So as long as their existence threatens human survival, I still can’t tolerate them. What I want is for human life to keep improving—not just for me to have great power."

"Maybe I haven’t cultivated long enough, so I still can’t understand those immortals who care only for the Dao. But to me, this world filled with all kinds of living people—that’s what I cherish most. If cultivation leads to a place where, in the end, nothing remains but the Dao, then it’s meaningless to me."

"At least for who I am now, it has no meaning. Even if I die from not cultivating, so what? If I can’t live a life worth living, then how is that any better than death?"

The light point chuckled softly for a while, then slowly said, "It seems I didn’t misjudge you. You really might be able to carry on the work I left unfinished in this world."

"Don’t worry—I won’t force you. I’ve already said too much and I’m tired now. I won’t give you a long lecture, just a brief explanation."

"In the era I lived, this world was still a primitive wilderness. People lived in tribes, and humans were very few in number. This land belonged to countless plants—even the fiercest animals relied on plants to survive."

"Back then, we often prayed to the heavens and earth, hoping to find a way to survive. Later, the ones who prayed the most truly began to comprehend something from nature. That was the origin of cultivation."

"What I comprehended was the energy of life and death. At first, I only gathered some plants and used my life energy to draw the seal on them, making them evolve through countless generations in a short time until they finally developed the traits I needed."

"But in that process, some of them evolved traits I didn’t need. At first, I didn’t care. Later, I realized that even if they were aggressive, as long as they were used well, they could protect my tribe and help us expand our territory."

"The creatures now sealed in the Jade Blossom Mountain Range—those were once great contributors to our cause..."

"You see only the potential harm they pose to humans—but have you also seen how well they live in undisturbed places? How they coexist with one another? Or that maybe, even now, they could still find a way to coexist with humans?"

The light point’s voice grew quieter and quieter until it disappeared completely.

Only then did Bok Taejin notice that the light point had dimmed considerably.

Clearly, speaking with him like this consumed a great deal of its energy.

He couldn’t help but glance toward the direction of the Jade Blossom Mountain Range.

Under the gray-blue sky, the dense forests appeared so deep and dark they almost looked black.

In the evening light, the mountains were veiled in a thin mist, and through that mist, everything looked like diluted ink.

"Bok! Tae! Jin!" The sound of someone cracking their knuckles rang loudly by his ear.

Bok Taejin jumped, turning around in a hurry—only to see Im Beomhyeon’s face full of fury.

"Brother Im?"

"Hmph!" Im Beomhyeon grabbed his collar in one hand and almost lifted him off the ground.

Grinning with a mouthful of big white teeth, Im Beomhyeon’s eyes glinted fiercely. "You little brat, you’ve gotten bold, huh? I’ve been yelling your name so many times, and you dared to ignore me?!"

Beside them, Seo Sowoo shrugged his shoulder and headed toward the big kitchen with a large white goose in one hand.

Everyone in the village knew—Im Beomhyeon just had a loud mouth.

"Brother 8., I’m a patient!" In his panic, Bok Taejin grabbed at his biggest shield. "Did you forget? I fainted just this morning! I wasn’t feeling well just now, my head was all dizzy—I really couldn’t hear anything! I wasn’t ignoring you on purpose!"

Im Beomhyeon leaned in close and stared at him suspiciously.

His hand still didn’t let go of Bok Taejin’s collar.

Under that gaze, Bok Taejin started to get nervous.