"But what we had to do was keep guarding them.
Yungui continued, "And to guard them, we had to possess strength. That strength needed incense offerings to sustain it."
Miaotan fell silent for a moment, then suddenly understood. "Senior Brother means that our Buddhist sect deliberately turned a blind eye to many things, so that the common people would feel fear and provide us with an endless stream of incense offerings?"
Yungui tacitly admitted it.
Miaotan rebuked him, "This is creating the karma of slaughter."
"Without sacrifice, how could there be achievement?"
Yungui retorted, "This is not the karma of slaughter. It is true great compassion."
"This is not great compassion."
Miaotan shook her head.
"This is great compassion."
Yungui insisted, then continued, "Junior Sister once mentioned that Chen Lei of the Eastern Continent possesses great compassion.
"But he came from the military, and countless people died by his hand throughout his life.
"As the saying goes, when one general's achievements are forged, ten thousand bones wither. Without the sacrifice of tens of millions, how could there be peaceful lands under heaven? So long as the ultimate purpose is good, it is great compassion."
Miaotan's gaze was deep. "Chen Lei's great compassion is absolutely not what Senior Brother describes."
"Junior Sister, you are fixated on appearances."
Yungui said solemnly, "Your breakthrough is at hand. If you keep entertaining such wild thoughts, even a Bodhisattva Reincarnation may suffer instability of heart."
Buddha reincarnation into demon was not without precedent.
"If I cannot discern what true great compassion is, then I have cultivated this life in vain."
Miaotan's tone was resolute.
"Amitabha."
Yungui raised one hand. "Whatever Junior Sister wishes to do, go and do it."
Tianshui Continent.
After fleeing all the way, Chen Sanshi and the others finally crossed the Great