Alchemy Sovereign Against the Heaven
Chapter 319 - 310 Good and Evil

Chapter 319: Chapter 310 Good and Evil

After Mo Wangchen awakened to the true essence of the Bitter Sea Restricted Zone, he continued to move straight forward.

He no longer encountered any inns, nor did he encounter the couple Zhao Kang, until another month had passed...

Suddenly, in front of Mo Wangchen, a sandstorm whirled wildly, and dust filled the air—it seemed a sandstorm had appeared out of nowhere, startling him.

Mo Wangchen initially thought that this was something that could happen in the Bitter Sea Restricted Zone, but when he saw a person fleeing in panic at the edge of the sandstorm, he immediately realized what was happening.

"This is an illusion!"

He was nearly certain that after overcoming the ’Love’ of the Seven Sins, he was now facing the second type of illusion, which was also one of the Seven Sins.

"Could it be the ’Evil’ of the Seven Sins?" he frowned, hearing the fleeing person now crying out for help to him.

To save or not to save?

Mo Wangchen’s brows furrowed in internal struggle. If this indeed was the ’Evil’ among the Seven Sins, he should not save, for it was a test from the Bitter Sea Restricted Zone. If he saved the other person, he too would be unable to cross the Bitter Sea of ’Evil’.

Even though he knew it was all an illusion, the illusion was too realistic. Faced with the person about to be swept away by the sandstorm, Mo Wangchen felt his resolve waver.

In the end, he clenched his teeth and turned away.

After walking a dozen steps, he looked back. The sandstorm had disappeared, and the person crying for help had vanished without a trace; everything returned to normal, and the endless desolate desert surrounded him as before.

"In that case, have I passed through the ’Evil’ of the Bitter Sea?" he took a deep breath and then proceeded forward once more.

However, a few days later, the sandstorm reappeared, denying Mo Wangchen’s previous thought.

He had not passed through the ’Evil’ of the Bitter Sea; otherwise, he would not have encountered the same illusion again.

This time, he chose to save the other person. However, what Mo Wangchen didn’t expect was that after he saved the person, he was swept up into the sandstorm himself. He watched the other person escape from the place, not giving him a second glance.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

The terrifying storm swept him up into its midst. Sand and dust flew, constantly slapping against his face, almost suffocating him. Although it was just an illusion, it posed a fatal danger all the same.

"This is not the ’Evil’ of the Bitter Sea, but rather..."

"Greed!"

Greed, one of the Seven Sins, the so-called greed, not avarice, but the true meaning being selfishness, considering only oneself!

Watching the person who had escaped, not caring about him in the slightest, Mo Wangchen had an epiphany—this was the ’Greed’ of the Bitter Sea!

Whoosh!

The moment he realized this, the sandstorm vanished, and calm returned to the surroundings. Mo Wangchen, previously swept up high into the air, now fell heavily to the ground, yet without a scratch on him.

...

He continued onward. By now, he had passed through the ’Greed’ and ’Love’ of the Seven Sins. Five sins remained and if he transcended them all, he would reach the other shore and exit the Restricted Zone.

A month later, a city appeared in front of Mo Wangchen.

The city was filled with bones, blood flowed into rivers, and in the sky, two terrifying figures were fighting. They were two monks, each exuding an aura of the Tao Law.

"Two Emperor Realm Great Powers?!" Mo Wangchen was shocked.

The clash of Emperor Realm Great Powers was too fearsome; in their battle, millions of civilians within the city had perished, not a single one survived.

Almost without guessing, Mo Wangchen knew—this must be the illusion of the ’Evil’ of the Bitter Sea!

The two battling Emperor Realm Great Powers were both monks, and one of them had a wisp of black Demonic Qi circling around his body, as if he had become demonized.

"Amitabha Buddha..."

Opposite the monk who had succumbed to demons was a monk clad in a sash, both of whom bore numerous wounds from their battle to this point.

"Junior brother, the Bitter Sea is boundless, yet turning back is the shore. You have already fallen into demonic ways, where continuing to commit evil is unthinkable. Why not let me convert you?" The Sash Monk joined his hands together and spoke thus.

"Ha ha ha..."

The monk enveloped in Demonic Qi across from the Sash Monk threw back his head and laughed uproariously, his voice thundering through heaven and earth, "Those who preach goodness, have they never erred in their lives? Those who are deemed evil, have they never harbored good intentions? What in the end is right? What is wrong?"

"Even though I practice the Demon Technique, I have yet to kill a single person, nor have I done any wicked deeds. Had it not been for your appearance, why would the million civilians of this city need to die so tragically?"

"Therefore, you are the evil one!" The monk who had turned to demons spoke with resounding conviction.

...

"What is right... what is wrong..."

Mo Wangchen did not enter the city, for although it was merely an illusion, if he were to step into it and be affected by the fluctuations of their battle, he too would die.

Hearing the words of the monk who had turned to demons, he furrowed his brows, "What exactly are good and evil..."

He sat cross-legged in place, seemingly troubled by this question, falling into deep thought.

Who knows how long had passed, the battle within the city had concluded, and the result was the victory of the Sash Monk, who had suppressed the monk who had turned to demons.

As the battle ended, the city vanished, yet Mo Wangchen did not leave. He remained sitting in place, still enveloped in his contemplations.

Day turned to night and half a month later...

The city reappeared with the same scene as before; the two monks clashed again. During this half-month, Mo Wangchen had continued to sit in place without leaving.

Suddenly, just as the clash between the two reached its final juncture, he abruptly raised his eyes, a flash of enlightenment shining within them.

"The Buddhist Sect talks about origin, the root of all things. If at the beginning, the monk who turned to demons had not succumbed, the Sash Monk would not have pursued him, no battle would have occurred, and the million civilians in the city would not have met a tragic end..."

"Therefore, the origin lies with the monk who had turned to demons. He committed evil, and the death of a million people in the city began with him. But then..."

"What exactly is turning to demons..."

"Demon Technique? Buddhist teachings? Who is good and who is evil?"

"The monk who turned to demons practiced the Demon Technique, yet he never committed any wicked deeds. He was inherently good. On the other hand, the Sash Monk believed that Buddhist teachings were righteous and the Demon Technique was evil. Thus, in his eyes, no matter whether the monk who turned to demons had done evil or not, he was wicked."

"So, the deaths of the million civilians originated from the Sash Monk’s biased thoughts. The so-called good and evil depend on the context, not on the division of Cultivation Techniques as the Sash Monk believed. Hence, it was the Sash Monk... who committed evil..."

Buzz!

At this point, Mo Wangchen looked up and saw that the city not far away had begun to fade away, becoming ethereal. At this moment, he had crossed the ’evil’ of the Bitter Sea.

...

From the time Mo Wangchen had entered the Bitter Sea Restricted Area, almost a year had passed. Of the Seven Sins in the Bitter Sea, he had crossed evil, attachment, and greed, with only the Four Sins of anger, ignorance, hatred, and desire left. If he could cross them all, he would reach the other shore.

Time flew by, and to this day, a year had passed since he was outside that city and crossed the ’evil’ of the Bitter Sea. Adding this year, he had now spent two years within the Bitter Sea Restricted Zone.

And in this year, Mo Wangchen had successfully crossed the ’hatred’ and ’anger’ and only had the seas of ’ignorance’ and ’desire’ left to conquer.

One day, a great tree appeared before Mo Wangchen, under which sat a person. It was an utterly ordinary middle-aged man, with not a hint of Spiritual Power fluctuating about him, but he sat there with his eyes closed, as if he were breathing and Cultivating.

This was the first illusion Mo Wangchen had encountered that let him know it was one of the illusions of the ’ignorance’ and ’desire’ Bitter Seas, which he had not yet crossed.

He walked over and sat down under the big tree, while the middle-aged man kept his eyes closed and paid no attention to Mo Wangchen’s arrival.

PS: Here’s the third update, set to release on a timer. The author stayed up until four in the morning to write this, and there are still two updates to come after I wake up.

These Chapters might be a bit chaotic, I wonder if everyone can understand?