“Ah Zhan, did you carefully examine the evil aura on your father?” Uncle Bao asked.
Ruan Zhan thought for a moment, “He went to Ironhead Mountain to use the natural spiritual void there to dispel the evil aura. However, it doesn’t seem to be very effective. I felt that the evil aura had gotten stronger since the previous time we met. At that time, he was still able to prevent it from manifesting, so I hadn’t noticed at all. It was the bloodwood sword that sensed it. This time…it was already very noticeable.” He thought of the black cloud surrounding his father, and his heart ached.
“Besides that, didn’t you notice anything else?” Uncle Bao asked again.
Ruan Zhan shook his head, momentarily puzzled. He didn’t know what Uncle Bao meant. Were there other secrets surrounding his father?
“It’s a shame that despite your innate gift, you weren’t willing to look closely enough at your father. You didn’t notice there wasn’t only one kind of evil aura around him, and they don’t dissipate because he’s holding onto them.” He spoke so bitterly that the several juniors were taken aback.
“Isn’t he…trying to dispel the evil aura? Why would he hold onto it?” Xiao Xia asked the question on everyone’s minds.
Uncle Bao did not answer but looked at Ruan Zhan. Ruan Zhan lowered his head, trying hard to recall the scene of meeting his father that day. It was something he had been unwilling and afraid to recall. Today, after Uncle Bao’s reminder, he thought about it seriously and suddenly felt his heart race. He couldn’t pinpoint exactly what it was, but he just felt that something was off!
He glanced at Uncle Bao, who nodded, “That’s right, the evil aura on your father is not just one kind. Now, let me tell you why.” You must all have assumed he must have done great evil to possess such an aura. Why did none of you think that it was because he had done great benevolence?”
“Benevolence?” Bao Da Tong said anxiously. “Was Uncle injured by something evil while doing good deeds? Or did he suffer a heart demon while casting spells?”
“Let me tell you all a legend first!” Uncle Bao suddenly said.
Both Bao Datong and Xiao Xia had impatient natures. How could they put up with a story at this moment? But Uncle Bao didn’t give them the chance to object, and had already started speaking slowly.
“In Buddhism, there is a Buddha of Suffering. I don’t know if you’ve heard of him. His depiction is extremely ugly, with a constant bitter expression. Very few people are willing to worship him. However, he actually bears all the world’s suffering on his shoulders to save humanity. You might not have heard of this buddha. But have you ever heard of Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva? This jade amulet on Xiao Xia’s neck is in his image. He once said: As long as there is a single resentful soul remains in hell, he will remain there, never becoming a buddha. These are all extremely noble spirits and moral characters, with hearts of extreme benevolence. Essentially, this is great love, love for humanity. But there is another legend of a person who I feel is even more noble.” He glanced at the four juniors and continued. “It is said that all evil in the world is contained by righteousness, locked in something like a giant vessel until the energies of heaven and earth can purify or refine it. But because “evil” is too destructive, the vessel gets damaged once every few centuries. On those occasions, many cultivators must work together to keep the evil aura trapped for a time until the vessel repairs itself, before placing it back inside.
The battles rage fiercely in this cycle unknown to the world, and it isn’t as simple as I make it sound. There are always significant casualties. Sometimes, because the force of evil is too great and the cultivators too weak, they fail to overcome it. Thus, invisible evil aura seeps into the world, invading people’s souls, turning them cruel and vicious. Or it results in wars, devastation and destruction of livelihood. It was on one such occasion as the vessel was going to break. The last time it did, evil had already triumphed. Not only had it poured into the world, it had also resulted in the loss of over half the cultivators. They had yet to recover from the losses after so many years, so it seemed failure was imminent once more. Two successive failures in a row was something humanity could definitely not withstand. Fragile things such as kindness and beauty would soon be wiped out!
To resolve this matter, the various sects and cultivators, and even some benevolent spirits and monsters, all gathered to find a solution. However, despite everyone’s best efforts, nothing came of it. Some were willing to sacrifice their cultivation and lives, and even souls to save humanity, but it was of no use. As the vessel was about to break, one of them finally came up with a method to divide and conquer. He knocked out his friends who were guarding the vessel, and cracked it slightly to allow the evil aura to slowly seep out. There he waited, directing every wisp that come out onto himself, using his own body as a new vessel to bear part of the evil aura. Like this, the power of evil became split, and both parts were drastically weakened. As long as the others dealt with each part separately, they would overcome this calamity without a doubt.
He knew that despite his own profound cultivation, bearing the evil aura would still cause his heart to be invaded. He would lose himself, and a proper grandmaster would turn into a demon. Therefore, he had to ensure the others would kill him with the cruelest methods, and wipe out his soul so that he would perish together with that evil. Death isn’t something to fear for cultivators. Some who wish to eradicate demons and uphold the Dao are also able to accept having their soul destroyed. However, what he had to endure was an even greater sacrifice.
Other sacrifices were bound to be recognized by others. People would feel gratitude, and would remember it. Yet his sacrifice would not be understood. He would only receive resentment, mockery and contempt. He wasn’t going to die a hero. Instead, he would be cursed as a demon as he was wiped out. Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva’s greatness comes from his willingness to bring light to resentful spirits. The Suffering Buddha is great because he endures grief and suffering for humanity. Although they aren’t looking for anything in return for their sacrifice, they are still respected and worshipped by humanity. The people feel sincere admiration and gratitude. As for him? He died without a trace of his soul remaining. No one knew about his sacrifice. He used his own strength to save humanity, but is remembered as a villain consumed by his own evil, if at all!
Furthermore, the moment he drew the evil aura within himself, it merged with his soul. So if the others were able to fully destroy him after he demonizes, it would be a blessing. However, if their strength wasn’t sufficient to finish the job, his soul would be consigned to damnation. He would have to endure endless suffering. No one would know, not even himself. He would have lost all will, unable to recognize his friends and relatives. He would thoroughly become a heartless demon suffering in hell.
Prior to acting, he had carefully considered every part, and knew the consequences of his actions. However, he had an incomparably benevolent heart, and was willing to make this sacrifice. He asked for nothing in return, and didn’t seek gratitude or understanding. He would lose himself, bear the infamy and become a demon slandered by all if it meant saving the world.
At this point, Uncle Bao’s throat choked up, and the four juniors were also sighing. Xiao Xia’s tears also fell. “What happened next? Was he just wronged like that?”
“That was his plan. It also happened that way, but his close friend ended up finding out. He had chatted and drank with that friend, and took him by surprise to erase his memories before resolutely carrying out his plan. That night, right before he demonized, he used all his willpower to awaken the others, including that good friend of his. He put on a good show of falling into depravity. Then, as he wished, he was killed by his fellow cultivators. Everyone cursed his hypocrisy, thinking they had misjudged his character. His act of attracting the evil aura onto himself was considered and act of fate. No one knew that everything he had done was for the sake of this outcome. However, there were too few experts during that time. Despite his careful planning, those people still failed to thoroughly wipe out the evil on his body, leaving him to suffer in hell afterwards.”
“What about now? Is he still suffering? He has to be wronged by himself like that?” Xiao Xia asked again.
“Silly child, the reason this story has been passed down is definitely because his friend later regained his memory. Otherwise, how would we know about it? Although we don’t know his name, at least we know his story. As for whether he is still suffering in hell, I don’t know.”
“What does this have to do with my father?” Although Ruan Zhan, like others, was immersed in the story, savoring the greatness of the legendary figure, he remained relatively clear-headed and immediately thought of his own father. Why did Uncle Bao tell this story, why did he say that the father had his reasons, and why did he say that they all misunderstood the father? Did father do the same thing?
Uncle Bao pondered for a moment, “Ah Zhan, your old man never told you, did he? My relationship with him is the same as yours with Wan Li; we have been friends since childhood. Do you know what he likes the most? He likes snow the most. Not because everything gets covered in a layer of silver, but because snow can purify everything. The ugly becomes beautiful, the dirty becomes clean, and finally the snow turns into black, dirty water, taking away the filth of this world. As a child, his character was like snow, and it persisted as he grew up. Despite being a cultivator, he has the benevolence of a buddha. I think you should understand what I mean now.”
Hearing these words, Ruan Zhan’s shock was indescribable, and the other three people felt the same. However, although the father turned evil for the sake of doing good, and although he had great compassion, what was the cause of the matter?
“When did it happen? Don’t tell me that vessel or whatever is leaking again?” Ruan Zhan asked.
Uncle Bao smiled wryly, “That’s just a legend, but your father did indeed end up like this in an effort to thwart evil. As you know, his master Sima Nan is a cultivation maniac. If it weren’t for his obsession with Daoism, he would be a pretty good person. It shows that being too fixated on one thing often changes a person’s nature, which is completely contrary to the concept of the natural way of the Dao. Well, that’s a little off-topic. What I wanted to say is that because of his obsession with Daoist arts, he had a vast collection of forbidden tomes. Amongst them was a tome describing the absorption and purification of aura from people and souls, and turning it into one’s own spirit power.
However, knowing it might be harmful, Sima Nan never practiced this kind of magic. But he was too obsessed with Daoist arts, and he became more and more irrational. He even started exhibiting signs of extreme evil. Tian Yi, like Ah Zhan, was an orphan from a young age, so he respected Sima Nan like a father. Seeing his master in this state, he suddenly thought of this tome. He wanted to resolve the evil on his master’s body. Furthermore, during that turbulent era, he wanted to absorb all the ravenous ghosts to bring some peace to the world. But he hadn’t realized the tome was incomplete. The second half had been Si Ma Nan’s speculations. After learning this technique, he absorbed all the berserk spiritual energy the next time Si Ma Nan’s cultivation went astray, saving his master’s life. However it caused his master’s years of cultivation to go to waste, causing them to have a falling out. This is why Si Ma Nan’s strength was far from Tian Yi’s later on.
Later, realizing the flaw in this spell, Tian Yi intended to stop cultivating it. His innate abilities meant the spells dangers didn’t cause him absolute harm. However, his warm heart despite his cold appearance meant he couldn’t resist helping others. His soft-heartedness along with constantly encountering injustice meant he couldn’t stop using this harmful spell. Later, during the Cultural Revolution, he was forced to return to a secular life. It was a time of great chaos, with many wronged souls and vengeful spirits lingering in the world. Those grievances were fierce and heavy, and couldn’t be resolved one by one. Tian Yi could no longer worry about his own safety. He knew that continuing would result in getting swallowed up by the evil aura he couldn’t dispel. He would become like that person of legend, but he was unable to turn a blind eye. He kept redeeming suffering people and souls, and finally ended up in this predicament. He helped too many people, but in the end, no one could help him!”
“Is this the reason he gave birth to me?” Ruan Zhan asked.
“No. In the beginning, you weren’t part of this story. Uncle Bao looked at Ruan Zhan sympathetically, “He thought he could dispel the growing evil aura on him. He even thought about committing suicide, letting tribulation lightning strike him to pieces. He never thought about having a son to bear his suffering!” But later he realized that the evil energy could not dissipate on its own, and because he had absorbed too much, the evil energy had already surpassed his own strength. At that moment, he was in the same situation as that great man of legend, using his own body as a vessel to trap the evils of the world. An external force of the same kind and origin to break both the vessel and the things inside is needed, so as not to let the evil energy he had painstakingly trapped return to the human world. As you know, the reappearance of the evil aura will cause even greater harm.”
“So he wants me to be the one to break the vessel.” Ruan Zhan gritted his teeth and said.