How Are Humans Different From Beasts

Chen Ye spent several days crudely refining his master's remains before storing them in his storage pouch.

The method of refining a corpse into a zombie was merely a common technique for the Devilish Heresy, with a vast array of schools and specific criteria for selecting materials.

But what room did Chen Ye have to be picky?

Mo Ci had not been a body-refining cultivator during his lifetime, his birth date and time were not ideal, and there was no specialized feng shui tomb available to facilitate the transformation. Fortunately, Mo Ci's cultivation base remained intact until his final moments, leaving his corpse with a lingering trace of spiritual energy, though it could hardly be considered top-tier material.

Yet, Chen Ye did not complain; compared to when he first arrived in this world, his current situation was already much better.

When he first transmigrated, Chen Ye truly had nothing but this body.

He had arrived naked, without any cheat system to assist him, and had nearly been captured and castrated after being mistaken for a lecherous thief.

He had barely survived for two months by petty thievery, nearly starving to death on the streets.

It was fortunate that he had met his master, Mo Ci, during that time.

Chen Ye had spotted the old beggar sleeping and intended to steal a few copper coins to buy a bun to fill his stomach, never imagining he would provoke a cultivator.

He was almost snatched by Mo Ci to be used for soul refining, but he was quick-witted; he immediately kowtowed and shamelessly begged to become an apprentice.

Mo Ci found him amusing and treated him to a meal, though it consisted of bloody raw meat that nearly made Chen Ye vomit. Chen Ye was ruthless enough; he was starving to death, so he had no other choice. Regardless of what it was, he forced those bloody chunks of meat into his mouth until he was full.

Seeing that the boy was dark-hearted, ruthless, and thick-skinned, Mo Ci deemed him a talent worth molding. Remembering that his own end was near, he took him on as a disciple.

Thus, he began his stumbling journey into cultivation, only for his master to die right after he had entered the door.

Having collected his master's soul and refined his master's bones, he would have to walk the path of cultivation alone from now on.

Just as he stepped outside, his master's voice echoed in his ears: "Disciple, where are you headed?"

Oh, right, he had forgotten—his master wasn't completely dead yet.

After the Ten Thousand Soul Banner absorbed Mo Ci's soul, it could no longer be placed inside the storage pouch. After all, both were cheap goods; their magical powers would conflict and erode each other, and it wouldn't be long before they were ruined.

Chen Ye had no choice but to wrap the Ten Thousand Soul Banner in linen cloth and scribble a few characters on it to provide some cover. However, this cheap item had its benefits: as long as Mo Ci didn't manifest himself, even if this banner were placed in front of a righteous cultivator, they would have to ponder for quite a while to determine whether it was a magical treasure or just pure junk.

Hearing Mo Ci speak, Chen Ye replied: "I have already achieved Spirit Opening, so naturally, I must find a way to condense my sea of qi. Since you don't have any Qi Condensation Pills, Master, I have to find another way."

So-called Spirit Opening refers to a practitioner's ability to perceive the flow of spiritual energy.

The spiritual energy of heaven and earth is everywhere, but it is difficult for mortals to detect. If one can tame their restless mind and enter a state of meditation, they can usually sense it; however, once their focus scatters, this sensation vanishes.

The realm of Spirit Opening means that even without sitting in meditation, one can sense the flow of spiritual energy at all times.

Chen Ye had achieved Spirit Opening on his third day of practice; his talent was truly quite good.

After Spirit Opening, one must absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to strengthen the body and soul, though this still requires focused meditation to actively intake the energy.

Only by opening the dantian sea of qi and maintaining a vortex of spiritual energy within the body can one automatically absorb the energy of heaven and earth at all times, which makes the speed of cultivation much faster.

Whether it is the Spirit Opening or the sea of qi realm, both involve transitioning from active to automatic, from effort to effortlessness—this is the Dao of Immortality.

The sea of qi realm has no high threshold; if one practices diligently, sitting in meditation day and night, those with decent aptitude can achieve it in forty or fifty years. Meanwhile, disciples of major sects can consume Qi Condensation Pills and, with a little practice, condense their dantian sea of qi in just a few hours.

Such is the naked reality of the gap in resources; Chen Ye lacked this background and had to rely on himself.

Mo Ci pondered: "Refining Qi Condensation Pills is not overly difficult, and the other medicinal herbs can be bought at pharmacies, though it costs gold and silver. However, the main ingredient requires Xuanji Dew, which can only be found in a drop of hundred-year-old stalactite milk. If you go into the mountains to forage, with good luck, you might find it in three to five years; with bad luck, you might not find it even in a dozen years. That is far too long."

Cultivators often have lifespans of hundreds of years, so why do most still complain that their lifespan is insufficient? It is because of the scarcity of resources, which causes them to waste their years in vain.

Chen Ye shook his head and said to Mo Ci: "Don't worry, Master. Although your disciple is young, I have no intention of spending a dozen years to refine a single Qi Condensation Pill."

Upon hearing this, Mo Ci mused: "Are you planning to use the Blood Refining Method? If you kill too many people, you will inevitably attract a sky-high amount of resentment. Are you not afraid of drawing the attention of righteous cultivators?"

The righteous path has its methods, and the Devilish Heresy has its own means.

The reason the Devilish Heresy is labeled as such by the righteous path is, in fact, related to their methods of cultivation.

Righteous cultivation mostly emphasizes clearing the mind, restraining desires, and keeping vows. In the early stages, it relies on self-discipline and is supplemented by medicinal pills.

They usually choose to establish their practice in deep mountains and old forests to avoid being disturbed by mortals. Their many techniques have numerous taboos; if one is not careful and breaks a vow, it is easy to lose everything. The benefit, however, is that as long as one follows the steps, there are relatively fewer bottlenecks during cultivation, and the danger of breaking through at each stage is low.

The Devilish Heresy is quite different, adhering to the philosophy: "If I don't have it, I'll just take it." Out of ten devilish cultivators, nine are fully immersed in indulgence. Is cultivation difficult? Then refine the souls and essence blood of others to supplement yourself; it is far more satisfying than sitting in meditation to refine qi!

How could self-cultivation ever be as fast as robbing others? Once they have tasted such sweetness, few cultivators can resist the temptation.

Condensing the sea of qi is not a difficult task; aren't Qi Condensation Pills just a way to use rare treasures to save years of cultivation effort? Refining the essence blood and souls of one or two thousand people and consuming them yields a similar effect, with the only downside being a bit more accumulated pill poison than a Qi Condensation Pill.

But killing people is far easier than foraging for herbs.

This is the root cause of why devilish cultivators are shouted at by everyone to be beaten.

Slaughtering thousands for one's own selfish desires is something that even members of the Devilish Heresy sometimes find unbearable.

Mo Ci did not care whether such slaughter was moral; what he cared about was that if this continued, it would easily attract the attention of righteous cultivators.

The slaughter of over a thousand people would create a sky-high amount of resentment, and cultivators who have achieved Spirit Opening are particularly sensitive to changes in spiritual energy, making it easy to draw attention.

Once targeted by righteous cultivators, given Chen Ye's current cultivation base, it would mean waiting for death—there would be no other possibility.

Righteous cultivators, who have spent most of their lives suppressing their desires, find it hard to discover a way to vent their urges without side effects, so killing devilish heads is the best choice. It is like being given a day off after years of bitter practice. Just as devilish cultivators cannot resist the thrill of plunder, few righteous cultivators can resist the temptation of slaying demons and eliminating devils.

Chen Ye, however, smiled and said: "Blood Refining is fine, but I do not intend to slaughter the common people."

Mo Ci asked in confusion: "If you don't kill people, how will you perform Blood Refining?"

"Master, what is the difference between a human and a beast?"

Upon hearing this, Mo Ci was instantly shocked. "You intend to use the flesh and blood of beasts to cultivate? How foolish! When I taught you the Blood Refining Method, I told you that the blood of wild beasts must not be used. It will damage your soul and turn you into something neither human nor ghost. Before you even condense a sea of qi, you will devolve into a mindless lunatic, no different from a beast!"

Why must the Devilish Cultivator sect kill people?

It is not because they are truly cruel and lawless; in reality, refining non-human entities produces many severe side effects, far worse than the pill toxins accumulated from consuming medicinal pills. Consuming humans yields the best results with the fewest side effects, which is why Devilish Cultivators choose to kill. Otherwise, why wouldn't they just start a ranch and have an endless supply of blood-food?

Chen Ye, however, replied, "That is precisely why your disciple must ask: what is the true difference between a human and a beast? Slaughtering a thousand people brings about a sky-high resentment, yet a butcher killing thousands of sheep and cattle is considered harmless. Why is this? Does the Heavenly Dao truly favor one over the other?"

Mo Ci remained silent for a long time, realizing that he was unable to answer this seemingly simple question.

"Master, the books only record the taboos of the Blood Refining Method, but they never detail why this is the case. Your disciple wishes to understand what exactly is in beast blood that drives a cultivator to madness. If we can identify the root cause, perhaps we can solve this problem."

Mo Ci said helplessly, "This is a problem that no one has been able to solve for thousands of years. What makes you think you can uncover this secret?"

Chen Ye countered, "How does Master know this is an unsolvable problem? Perhaps someone has already found a solution but kept it hidden. Is it not common for masters to hold back a trick or two from their disciples? Furthermore, if I only follow the beaten path of those who came before, how can I ever attain immortality and reach the Dao?"

Mo Ci remained silent, and Chen Ye quickly added, "Master, please don't misunderstand; I didn't mean that you were holding back. Although we have only been master and disciple for a few months, I believe you have already taught me everything you know."

Mo Ci: ...

That sounded... like an insult, didn't it?