The river is pure.
The river is peaceful.
Yet it carries within its currents the saliva of animals, the waste of people, and other unsightly debris.
Cultivation is about longevity and the pursuit of Dao—achieving an everlasting physique and a serene soul that looks out over all.
There are tales of a time when the path to immortality was peaceful, free from conflict and greed. People would cultivate in their secluded caves, undisturbed by distractions. The Heavenly Dao didn't unleash a single Thunder Tribulation upon them, and resources were never a source of worry.
That was true, until a man crossed paths with a Devil—a true Devil, a creature filled with malice, said to embody evil itself.
The Devil looked at the man and said, "You humans are just boring creatures."
—Excerpted from the 11th page of "Wonder and Reality of Immortality and Aspiration" by Li Shi.
...
Mao Xuelian's days after that event can be summarized as a simple and repetitive daily life. She helps Huai with everything she needs, from sweeping the yard and the cave abode to assisting her in arranging a basic Qi Gathering formation for Huai's cultivation. After helping Huai, she cultivates herself, drains her stamina, and then sleeps.
However, today is different.
Huai packed her belongings, mainly herbs and some unknown bloody substances, into her leather bag.
"Mao'er, I'm about to take on a job as an Outer Disciple. If you need anything, just tell Dean Bao, okay? He'll call me for you if it's something I need to handle," Huai said, tying the bag around her waist and standing up with her usual smile.
Mao Xuelian nodded in response, still holding a broom as she swept the yard.
Huai kissed her cheek before walking away from the cave abode with a giggle and a wave of her hand. "Alright, see you later, Mao'er!"
Mao Xuelian watched silently as Huai's figure disappeared at the end of the descending stairs built on the small mountain. After losing sight of Huai, she resumed her sweeping routine.
Once she finished her other basic tasks, she descended the mountain as well.
According to the manual for servant disciples, she would be assigned to help Dean Bao and the other servant disciples if her Senior Sister, Huai, was on a mission or in a place she couldn't enter. So, even with Huai away on whatever mission she had accepted, Mao Xuelian still had responsibilities to fulfill before continuing her cultivation.
Since she believed this opportunity could help broaden her knowledge of the outer reaches of the sect, Mao Xuelian had no complaints and was willing to engage with her peers.
However, that was what she thought initially.
Little did she know how much the Blood Sect resented her after the failure at the Cursed Blood Pool Ceremony back then.
...
—1 hour later.
At the training field of the outer area, in front of the cold gazes of Dean Bao and other disciples.
Mao Xuelian lay on the ground with a swollen cheek, bled lightly, and with widened eyes. Not out of fear, but out of shock.
"Brat, do your job seriously if you don't want me to use you as a supplement for my cultivation!"
A male disciple stood at her front with rage written all over her face—veins bulged, eyes bloodshot. He slapped her because she had accidentally dropped a towel she was about to use for wiping the soaked body of the man after he finished training his body with his External Technique.
Still in shock, Mao Xuelian was about to voice out her protest. After all, the mistake she made was too trivial for the matter to escalate to this extent.
"But—"
And yet.
"Argh!"
She received a kick on her stomach instead.
A kick, from the male disciple.
No mercy. A full power kick of a Body Tempering stage Cultivator like him, who may already be at his 27th or 50th acupoint.
Seeing Mao Xuelian vomit out a mouthful of saliva and stomach fluid, the man sneered. "Excuse! Again with EXCUSES, you trashes servants!"
Not only Mao Xuelian, but even other Servant disciples have become the targets of his anger as well.
And then—
More and more kicks to the stomach.
Only after Mao Xuelian vomited blood did the man stop assaulting her and turn away.
Hatred.
That was one of the major driving forces of humanity.
It is an emotion that can entirely change a person's way of life. It can turn a gentleman into a murderer after his love is betrayed. It can trigger a peaceful-loving grandfather to become a vengeful soul after his grandson is wronged. It can transform a loving partner into a cold-eyed individual after enduring injustice.
Hate was something Tairyn was familiar with—very familiar, in fact.
So she understood that hatred exists, and she recognized its destructive nature.
Like a wild card, hate within someone acts as a subtle corruption, leading that person to pursue hidden agendas in places they wouldn't normally engage with and toward people they don't care for.
However, Tairyn—or Mao Xuelian—had never faced this emotion directly.
She had never experienced a vulnerability like that. She had never known what it felt like to be slapped by someone. And she never imagined that one day she would be lying helplessly on the ground, dirty and bloody, due to someone else's malice.
Until now.
Now, she knew. And felt it firsthand.
—You could still satisfy your heart's desires, but don't you fear karma? Have you never considered what it would be like to be in the position of those you've trampled upon, those you've cast into despair, and those you've betrayed?
Without even realizing it, she gritted her teeth. She squinted her eyes sharply at the back of the man as he walked away, continuing on his way. She also glared at the indifferent faces of others: Dean Bao, outer disciples, and servant disciples.
They, who had ignored the commotion. They, who remained unmoved and did nothing to help her, instead chose to enjoy the unfolding drama. And they, who only shivered at the sidelines.
And again, hatred.
Oh, malice—such is the human heart.