While Qingxin maintained eye contact, his mind wandered to one of his past travels. Back then, the senior abbot had brought his new disciple to wander the Dongli state, moving from city to towns, valleys, villages and more. One certain village brought the trip to an abrupt end. There, as usual the villagers toiled—cultivating the land while praying to their folk gods so that nature wouldn't ruin their harvest.
Harvest time approached, taxes had gone up, preventing even the village chief, an elderly fifth-level Qi Refinement man, from keeping his composure. A locust infestation ended their prayers, and Xinzi, who watched the twisting faces, tears and wails with an unsettling calm, spoke words that Qingxin would never forget.
'By making it so that their interests will always conflict, Heaven pitted the locust against man, yet men still pray for Heaven's shelter—never letting go of the irrational hope that superior forces will prevent or fix the disasters in their existences. Master, mortals are so pitiful. I want to free them.' Subsequently, Xinzi sang the Clear Heart Mantra. But as the words flowed out, the lines and rhythm changed, making this cleansing chant morph into a call for rapture and moral degeneration.
From the village head to the youngest adult, all villagers that listened to this chant embraced the call, brewed wine instead of crops, and sank into an endless cycle of drunken orgies. Qingxin tried to cleanse their minds, but after getting a taste of sublime bliss, the villagers begged him to not reverse their state, threatening to commit mass suicide should he return them to normal.
As a Lianist monk, Qingxin couldn't deny them the freedom to indulge in hedonism and left alongside Xinzi. Later, the decadent energies that accumulated there would attract heretical cultivators, leading to the village's destruction. Xiao Hu and Chun Xu came from that village.
This event of 12 years ago was the first instance of Xinzi's obscene enlightenment. An enlightenment that, though he tried to curb, Qingxin—at first—didn't dislike entirely. After all, though the methods would trigger more than one monastery's outrage, Xinzi did act in what he perceived as these mortals' best interest. Qingxin hoped that with his teachings, the part that cared for the common people would outweigh the divine narcissism and any heretical tendencies.
The narcissism did die down, but ended up getting replaced by a craving for hedonistic chaos that grew on the daily.
'Is he too far gone?' Qingxin asked himself, yet knew the answer already. By turning his Word into Law and rising to Eminent Monk status, Xinzi had already cemented his Creed of Liberation. Words alone could not turn him away from that path. Worse, Indulgence and Evil Qi came in pair. The more decadent madness Xinzi unleashed to cultivate Evil Qi, the more Holy Force he'd generate. Though he'd yet to harmonize the forces, Xinzi had already brought his Holy and Evil paths together—a terrifying concept.
"Brat, you say you're curious, but I only see a quest for self-aggrandizement. Is it the mortals that you're trying to save, or your ego that you need to feed? Xinzi, you're not a good person, and I can't help but feel that you merely want to be worshiped in one grand world of madness."
"Why would I want to be a good person? Good men achieve little and die martyred fools while evil men build them statues and thrive on their sacrifices.
Do I want to be worshiped? Who cares? If I deliver on all I promise, why does it matter? Would you rather I bring riches to the world and ask for nothing in return? Master, that's the perfect slave mentality. If I want the world I create to revel in ecstasy, then naturally, I also want the same for me." As the profane words rolled off the monk's tongue, dark clouds gathered up above, sending bolts of tribulation lightning to strike the foul monk down. Xinzi raised his right hand, slamming the tribulation bolts with a casual palm strike. He then tilted his head to the left, staring at his master with a blend of amusement and disappointment.
"Master, I thought you'd understand. Hengye Wuxin didn't want to be the Thousand-Faced God's plaything, firmly believing that his own dominance was the only way to liberate the night and bring it to new heights of glory. It's for that reason that he—you—cultivated the Holy Path. A pity that you lack conviction. You did so then, and still do now. That's why your Holy Path cannot survive the final tribulation.
Your heaven-defying comprehension skills are the only reason why you can achieve so much, so fast. But master, comprehension alone will not lead you to Transcendence. As a Lianist monk, you need convictions—the unshakable belief that your Creed of Liberation will lead the world to enlightenment.
The creed controller decides what form of enlightenment is correct—I decide. And if I need the world to worship me, so be it. Master, I'm tired of you trying to impose your newfound principles on me." Xinzi needed time—time for his Klesha Heart to create the demon and send it on its way. For that time, he didn't mind playing with Qingxin's fears—even though doing so brought him no pleasure.
The incisive words cut through the senior abbot's heart, and his cheeks twitched uncontrollably. Indeed, each Lianist monk was the master of his own faith. Just like the Lotus didn't need Qingxin to repent for his past misdeeds, Xinzi had every right to pursue whatever road he deemed fit—but not as a Clear Heart monastery monk.
Qingxin often wondered why Xinzi came to his temple. Clearly, the Hengye clan expected him to snatch the Records back, but the boy showed no such intent—never hesitating to antagonize the master that held all the keys to the Records of the Eternal Night.
"For now, your condition has stabilized. I suppose that your next step will be to enhance your Demon Heart and Holy Force. You'll also aim for a new physique. Thanks to your transmutative abilities, you can basically turn your body into any physique you desire—granting that you have enough energy supply and knowledge of the physique that you want."
"Yep. The Harmonious Duality Physique is perfect for dual cultivation, but in the grand scheme of things, it is not enough. Right now, this current body of mine still cannot compare to my original mortal shell. But with time and resources, I will make it better." Xinzi said, making Qingxin's face twist into a frown.
"Your…original mortal shell?"
"You didn't really think that this was my real body, right? Master, this body is obviously a mini version of the current you. An appearance taken to make it easier for me to get in your good graces. My original mortal shell is still in the Evernight Palace." With a small chuckle, Xinzi said. Again, Qingxin tried to take in the full measure of his words. It was almost as if Xinzi was giving him all the tools to figure out his identity.
Yet, as his thoughts got closer to the answer, Qingxin's own mental barriers would block them—always preventing him from making an educated guess as to who stood at his disciple's back.
Closing his eyes, the senior abbot snapped his fingers, making master and disciple teleport straight to the Clear Heart monastery.
"Xinzi, I've done all that I could and taught you my legacy skill. Though you'll always be my disciple, you can longer bear the mantle of Clear Heart monastery disciple." As he spoke, Qingxin took out Xinzi's ordinance, the ordinance that he'd earned by mastering the Clear Heart monastery's doctrine.
"Let it be known to all across Dongli that, form this day onward, Abbot Xinzi no longer belongs to our order. I do not have the authority to deny him any Lianist status. However, our Clear Heart monastery officially cuts all ties with him." Qingxin's voice boomed throughout the Dongli capital, alarming all citizens, who stared slack-jawed in the direction of the Clear Heart monastery. With his eyes still closed, and his hands shaking, the senior abbot tore Xinzi's ordinance to shreds.
Unfazed, Xinzi cupped his hands and bowed at Qingxin.
"Thank you master, for all these years of teachings." Xinzi, who'd be yearning for this for a while now, said and stood up—directly striding towards the exit.
Whistling sound came at his back. Xinzi tilted his head, letting a large gourd fly by before catching it mid-air.
"I prepared this a while ago, knowing that on the day that you got released, you'd probably want a drink. Consider this a parting gift," Qingxin said, but as Xinzi studied the gourd with his Spiritual Sense, his eyes marveled at its content.
"Hard lips, soft heart. Master, I do not know what the future holds in reserve and how much harm I will cause. But though I may betray all the people in the world, I dare say that I will not betray you." Xinzi said and walked out—leaving behind Qingxin, whose mind wandered to a six-years-old boy poking at and playing with various toys—eyes shining with curiosity.
The Abbot slouched his back, and his tears flowed out.