Under One Person: Sincerity Moves the Gods

Chapter 96 Entering the World

Li Cunzhen stood quietly in place.

His chest felt as if a huge rock was blocking it, and his breathing became extremely heavy.

Li Cunzhen was not lying; he was simply stating a fact.

But his heart did not find peace; instead, it felt restless, as if being gnawed at by countless ants.

He felt he had done something wrong.

Li Cunzhen lowered his head and looked at his hands.

These hands were clean, without a drop of blood or a speck of dust.

Cleanliness is not real.

At this moment, Zuo Ruotong walked up to him and smiled gently.

"Cunzhen, you did the right thing!"

"You held firm to your principles. The knife was that man's knife, the crime was that man's crime, and you remain innocent!"

Li Cunzhen was about to speak.

Suddenly, he stepped forward and grabbed Li Cunzhen's shoulders tightly with both hands, almost screaming.

"You must never be tainted by the filth of the world!"

Li Cunzhen suddenly raised his head, his eyes flashing with doubt and surprise.

Why did Master suddenly become like this?

But the next moment, he felt a lightness on his shoulder, and Zuo Ruotong returned to her usual calm, as if nothing had happened.

Li Cunzhen nodded, indicating that he had heard Zuo Ruotong's words clearly.

But the seeds of doubt have already been sown.

Was my past persistence a form of escapism?

The so-called sincerity is to remain completely unharmed.

The reason these two ironclad rules exist is simply to allow him to avoid all choices that might cause unease.

Avoid getting involved in cause and effect, avoid owing favors, avoid lying, and avoid harming others.

But now.

Li Cunzhen found that this reason didn't seem to convince him.

Before he could think it through, the surrounding scenery suddenly distorted and collapsed.

A pungent, fishy stench mixed with a nauseatingly sweet aroma instantly filled my nasal cavity.

Li Cunzhen finds himself in an abandoned underground warehouse.

The surroundings were dark and damp, and the walls were covered with a strange slime, like traces left by some kind of insect.

The air was filled with a putrid smell, mixed with the odor of rust and mold.

Two people lay dead in an open space not far in front of him.

Their faces were an eerie purplish-black, their lips were bluish, they were foaming at the mouth, and their bodies were convulsing.

On the exposed skin, there were even terrifying, wriggling blood blisters, as if something was burrowing beneath the skin.

"Help...help me..."

"9

When one of them saw Li Cunzhen appear, his will to survive surged, and he actually reached out his hand under these circumstances, his voice barely a whisper.

Li Cunzhen was stunned, not yet understanding what had happened.

.

Then I noticed a small, thin figure huddled between the two.

She was a girl who looked only fourteen or fifteen years old.

She was wearing a tattered sterile gown, revealing pus-filled skin beneath that was barely human. The gown bore the logo of some mysterious medical organization and was covered in grime and slime.

The girl's eyes were wide open, lifeless, like the eyes of two dead fish, unfocused and devoid of spirit, as if she had long lost her mind, like a walking corpse.

At the same time, a dark green poison, visible to the naked eye, was continuously emanating from every pore of the girl's body.

The poisonous energy, as tangible as a miasma, completely enveloped the area several feet around her.

The air was filled with a cloying, fishy odor that made one dizzy just by smelling it.

A sudden surge of unfamiliar memories flooded into Li Cunzhen's mind.

Chen Duo, the Holy Maiden with Gu Poison Body.

Having been soaked in hundreds of types of Gu poison since childhood, and artificially refined to the extreme, it is a deadly Gu poison that uses the human body itself as a Gu vessel.

In other words, as long as she is alive and breathing, her body will uncontrollably release deadly toxins.

Li Cunzhen was a cultivator with protective powers, which allowed him to endure for a period of time in the poisonous miasma.

But he couldn't save people. Once this kind of poison enters the body, unless the source is cut off, even a god can't save them.

The only way to cut off the source is...

Li Cunzhen looked at the mindless, pitiful, and innocent girl.

She was treated as a tool rather than a person from childhood to adulthood, and may not even know what happened to her.

But if you want to stop her, you have to kill her.

Only when this body dies completely will the source of the poison stop, giving others around a chance to survive.

But what did she do wrong?

Chen Duo did nothing wrong.

She was merely tortured and forged into a weapon.

She is completely innocent.

If she were killed, it wouldn't even be a simple case of failing to save someone or lying; it would be the undisputed murder of an innocent person.

Li Cunzhen trembled all over.

Ultimately, he chose to watch the two men die.

Just then, Li Cunzhen suddenly felt the world spin.

His perspective was suddenly pulled up by a mysterious entity, so high that he could see the boundless poison on Chen Duo's body spreading throughout the entire city.

Li Cunzhen saw the Gu poison on Chen Duo's body spreading towards the Lu family head.

Li Cunzhen saw the Gu poison on Chen Duo's body spreading towards Zhang Jingqing.

Immediately afterwards, Lu Jin and Zhang Zhiwei's faces appeared.

"Senior brother, save uncle!"

"Old Li, save my master!"

Li Cunzhen was taken aback, and his eyes became hesitant again.

Just then.

"No!!"

A deafening roar, as mournful as a night owl weeping blood, echoed through the underground warehouse.

Zuo Ruotong's figure appeared out of thin air.

His hair had become disheveled and his eyes were bloodshot.

He gripped Li Cunzhen's arms tightly, his fingernails piercing Li Cunzhen's Taoist robe and digging into his flesh, drawing blood. "Cunzhen! Are you insane?!"

"You've decided to kill an innocent person, haven't you?!"

Zuo Ruotong was spitting everywhere.

"If you lay a hand on her, you will commit an enormous karmic act of indiscriminate killing! Your lifelong peace will be ruined! You will be burned to ashes by the fires of karma!"

"But..

""

Li Cunzhen's eyes were bloodshot as she looked at Lu Jin kneeling before her.

"Senior brother! My uncle treated me like a son; he shouldn't have died!"

Zhang Zhiwei also lowered his head.

"Old Li, I only have this one master. He's the master I grew up with since I was a child, even closer than my own father!"

On the other side...

"That's their fate! They were destined for this calamity!"

Zuo Ruotong continued to shout frantically.

"This karmic burden wasn't caused by you! You have no obligation to save him!"

All you need to do is stand here! Do nothing!

His voice grew increasingly shrill and piercing.

"Is it worth staining your pure soul for two people destined to die?!"

"Listen to your master, don't go! Turn around and pretend you didn't see anything. This will put your mind at ease!"

Two images suddenly flashed through Li Cunzhen's mind.

The first scene shows the boy huddled in an alley, crying silently, his eyes blurred with blood, looking like an abandoned stray dog.

The second scene shows the woman being dragged into the darkness, the sound of her leg bone breaking echoing in the night air, leaving a shocking trail of blood on the ground.

At that time, he maintained what he thought was peace of mind.

Yes, Li Cunzhen can defend himself.

He didn't lie, he didn't harm anyone, he didn't do anything.

He is clean and honest, with a clear conscience.

But..

He just couldn't feel at ease.

He felt uneasy as he walked out of that alley.

He felt uneasy as he left that old town.

His heart felt like it was being gnawed by countless ants; the unease and self-loathing clung to him like a bone-deep infection.

He kept thinking about what would happen if he had lied, if he hadn't pointed out the way, if he hadn't revealed the woman's hiding place.

He will lie, he will betray honesty, and he will bear the consequences of his actions.

But it can save that woman.

Will Li Cunzhen still feel uneasy?

Maybe.

Because he lied.

But is that unease really heavier than watching her leg get broken?

Li Cunzhen hesitated again.

Just then.

Both the head of the Lu family and Zhang Jingqing are dead.

The curses of Lu Jin and Zhang Zhiwei filled Li Cunzhen's ears.

The poison spread again.

Countless people in the city.

Li Cunzhen's eyes suddenly widened in surprise.

He saw Li Muxuan and Boss Li in the crowd.

The two spoke one after the other.

"Third Brother, save me!"

"Third brother, what are you still standing there for?! Are you going to watch me die in front of you?"

Li Cunzhen's thoughts were interrupted, and he subconsciously took a step forward, wanting to save his father and younger brother.

But a white shadow flashed by, and Zuo Ruotong blocked his way again.

"Cunzhen! Everyone has their own destiny, it's ordained by Heaven. Boss Li and Mu Xuan are destined to face this calamity today."

"That's no reason for you to take action!"

Li Cunzhen looked anxious.

"That's my father! Master, give me a reason why you're not intervening!"

Zuo Ruotong seemed to have been prepared and replied.

"Li Cunzhen, Chen Duo is innocent. If you kill Chen Duo, will you have a clear conscience?"

Peace of mind...

A bolt of lightning cleaved through the fog in his mind.

He suddenly understood.

His consistent insistence on honesty and integrity, without ever compromising his principles, has never been the goal.

They are means.

It was to give him a foothold in this world full of cause and effect and karma, a reason to put his mind at ease.

But what if this fulcrum itself becomes an excuse for him to stand by and watch someone die without feeling at ease?

Then it is no longer a fulcrum.

It was a wall.

A wall that separated him from the world.

He doesn't lie, so he doesn't have to bear the consequences of lying.

He doesn't harm anyone, so he doesn't have to bear the sin of harming others.

He does nothing, so naturally he owes nothing.

How clean it is!

It's very safe.

But I feel uncomfortable.

Li Cunzhen took a deep breath.

He looked up at the familiar yet terrifying face before him.

"I see...

""

"You are not my master."

Zuo Ruotong was taken aback, a hint of panic flashing in her eyes.

"You are the demon within yourself."

"You are an external thought that is hidden within my mind, disguised as my true self."

"You're right. All I've ever wanted is peace of mind. The idea of ​​sincerity and not losing a single bit of my integrity is your opinion, not mine!"

The voice just fell.

"Li Cunzhen! What nonsense are you spouting... I am your master!"

"No!"

Li Cunzhen shook his head.

"My path is not about escaping."

He turned around and looked at the innocent girl, at her empty eyes.

"If I were to watch my father and brother die here today in order to avoid committing murder under the guise of so-called abstinence from killing..."

""

"Even if there truly is a Heavenly Justice that judges me innocent, even if the cause and effect cannot be attributed to me."

"But beyond the laws of Heaven, there lies my true self."

"I will be sentenced..."

'

"Guilty."

Li Cunzhen stepped into the deadly green miasma, his cultivation having recovered at some point.

The protective essence rubbed violently against the poison, producing a hissing sound that made one's teeth ache.

He walked up to Chen Duo.

The girl's eyes remained open, devoid of any consciousness, like a broken rag doll.

She didn't know what she was doing, didn't know she was killing people, and didn't know that her very existence was a disaster.

"sorry."

Li Cunzhen said softly.

He raised his right hand, forming a sword shape with his fingers, and a brilliant and pure light condensed at his fingertips.

A sword pierced the girl's heart.

The girl's body trembled slightly, and the emptiness in her eyes completely dissipated, like a candle blown out by the wind.

Her body slumped to the ground, like a fallen leaf.

The continuous flow of poison from all around finally ceased. The dark green miasma began to slowly dissipate, and the sweet, cloying, and foul odor in the air gradually faded.

Li Cunzhen stood there, his hands stained with the blood of innocent people.

He truly killed a person who had done nothing wrong.

I feel guilty and sad.

But there was no confusion.

"You madman! You demon!"

"You have destroyed your own path!!!"

At the same time, Zuo Ruotong screamed shrilly at the edge of the poisonous miasma. His body began to twist violently, flickering like a lamp about to go out.

Li Cunzhen turned around and walked towards the withered and emaciated inner demon.

His eyes were clear and unfathomable, like an ancient sword that had been tempered by lightning, its sharpness restrained yet indestructible.

"You demon who falsely claims to be my teacher."

Li Cunzhen raised his right hand, stained with blood and dust, which made it all the more real.

"From this day forward, if necessary, human life, cause and effect, karmic obstacles..."

""

"I'll memorize it."

He unleashed a sword strike.

laugh-

The sword energy ripped through the void, instantly piercing the inner demon's brow.

"Preserving the truth..."

'

The demon's twisted face suddenly froze at that moment, and an indescribable emotion flashed in his eyes.

Then, it cracked inch by inch, like shattered porcelain.

The Demon of Heartbreak transformed into a sky full of black mist, and together with the surrounding underground warehouse, poisonous miasma, and unconscious family members, the entire illusory world collapsed with a roar.

The backyard of Tongfu Inn.

The enormous black cocoon shuddered violently, then melted away rapidly like snow melted by the scorching sun, turning into wisps of blue smoke and dissipating.

Li Cunzhen sat cross-legged on the futon and slowly opened his eyes.

A gentle breeze swept through the courtyard, ruffling the white hair at his temples.

He saw Bai Xun standing to the side with an expression of amazement, and Zhang Zhiwei leaning against the wall with a look of inquiry in his eyes.

His eyes were like deep, ancient wells.

Gone is the old restraint and fastidiousness of deliberately avoiding dust and fearing to make a mistake. Instead, there is a newfound resilience and open-mindedness that comes from having experienced the cruelty of life and daring to shoulder one's karmic burdens.

He sat in this small courtyard, as if he had already opened his arms and completely embraced the vast and boundless mortal world, full of helplessness and cause and effect.

Only by engaging with the world can one find true freedom.

Li Cunzhen thought to himself.

next moment.

The Samadhi True Fire, which he had never been able to cultivate, and the Reverse Life Triple Realm, which he had never been able to break through, both operated on their own at the same time.