Chapter 292: No Need for the Outer World Fiends to Act

“Masters!” Yu Feng was overjoyed—he hadn’t expected such a method.
The endless techniques of the Nine Provinces left him in awe.
“Don’t call me Master. I’ve never taken in a disciple with such poor aptitude,” said Huang Chengdan, Sect Master of the Spirit Herb Sect, with a stern face, denying Yu Feng.
Yu Feng’s talent was indeed lacking. He could learn from all schools and use what he learned skillfully, but everything he had remained at the level of “knowing,” not “mastery.”
“Ha! Old Huang, when Jiang the Human Sovereign said we could come to the Tongu World, you were the first to sign up,” the Beast-Taming Sect Master teased.
“…I just wanted to check out this new world. It has nothing to do with this kid.” Huang Chengdan held back for a long time before forcing out that line.
“Thank you, Master, for teaching me and resolving my doubts.” Yu Feng immediately kowtowed three times with loud thuds.
“Knowledge is meant to be passed on. No need for this,” the Fusion Stage cultivators said with a smile.
“Haha, I’m now the only Tribulation Stage in this world!” Bai Hongtu leapt out from the other end of the portal, declaring his sovereignty so loudly that Jiang Li had the urge to shove him back.
Yu Yin followed behind him unhurriedly. “Not anymore.”
“Master Bai, Your Majesty.” The Fusion Stage cultivators quickly saluted—the two were both Tribulation Stage.
Bai Hongtu and Yu Yin returned the greeting.
Yu Feng introduced the guests to Wu Lian one by one—her brain nearly short-circuited.
So many Fusion Stage cultivators, and even a Tribulation Stage… The Nine Provinces World was terrifying.
“And you are?” Yu Feng didn’t recognize Yu Yin.
“This is my master, Yu Yin, Tribulation Stage,” Yu Yin had just started introducing herself when the Wishful Gourd interrupted.
“This kid’s just as dumb-looking in person as he is through the Communication Talisman,” Bai Hongtu laughed. “Since it’s our first meeting, here are a few talismans as a gift.”
“With these talismans, no one below the Tribulation Stage can hurt you. Even if a Tribulation Stage cultivator attacks, it’ll take some effort.”
This was no light gift. Yu Feng quickly expressed his gratitude.
“That was thoughtful.” Talismans that could trouble a Tribulation Stage weren’t something Bai Hongtu could casually make. Jiang Li understood that Bai Hongtu had given such a precious gift because he was worried Yu Feng might face another death tribulation after losing the Stairway to Immortality fragment.
With these talismans for protection, Yu Feng would be safe.
“We’re close—no need to say more.” Bai Hongtu waved it off, then showed great interest in the Tongu World. “I’ve always wanted to see this place. Now I finally have the chance.”
Yu Yin also wanted to see other worlds, especially since she’d heard this one was even darker than her Tianyuan Dynasty.
The three of them strolled above the continent, scanning it with divine sense.
“Speaking of which, haven’t the Outer World Fiends come to this world?” At first, Bai Hongtu thought this dark world was their doing, but now it seemed this world had been like this from the start.
Yu Yin saw the issue: “They probably did come. But after realizing this world would destroy itself, they didn’t bother interfering.”
Jiang Li sighed. “Yu Yin’s right. The Outer World Fiends couldn’t have missed this place. There’s only one reason they didn’t act—they didn’t need to.”
“The people of this world go to great lengths to steal from others—spiritual energy, cultivation methods, treasures—but are too stingy to give anything in return.”
“In the long run, this only weakens the world.”
“Cultivators practice demonic paths, kill freely, slaughter each other. Mortals stay at the bottom. When facing cultivators, they can only await death.”
“The number of cultivators is dwindling. So is the number of mortals. When both drop below a threshold, this world won’t produce the kind of consciousness that frightens the fiends. Then, the fiends can act and erase the world completely.”
“How could this be? Is human nature inherently evil?” Bai Hongtu recalled a long-standing debate in the Nine Provinces.
The theory of inherently good vs. inherently evil human nature.
“I have a different perspective,” said Dong Zhongren, the Confucian Sect Master, who never got along with Bai Hongtu.
“What, you think human nature is inherently good?”
“Not quite. Your black-and-white thinking is the real problem,” Dong Zhongren countered directly. He wasn’t afraid of Bai Hongtu—he had the Great Scholar’s Manuscript in hand.
“Most people aren’t born good or evil. Their environment shapes who they become.”
“Only a very few are born with a clear sense of good or evil, unwavering and absolute.” As he said this, Dong Zhongren glanced at Jiang Li.
He believed Jiang Li was one of those rare few.
“That’s a rare point of view,” Bai Hongtu commented, judging the idea rather than the person. He thought Dong Zhongren’s theory had merit.
Bai Hongtu noticed Dong Zhongren hadn’t come alone—a large group of Confucian disciples followed behind.
“What are you all here for, to teach them manners and discipline?”
“That’s a secondary goal. Only when the granaries are full do people know etiquette; only with enough food and clothing do people know honor and shame. First, we let them eat well.”
“You can’t teach virtue when people are starving,” Dong Zhongren insisted. Material needs had to be met before any talk of moral cultivation.
The mortals of the Tongu World had faced famine for years—cannibalism was not uncommon. How could people born in such an environment be kind?
Kindness wouldn’t survive here.
Dong Zhongren’s mission was to create an environment where good people could survive—solve hunger, and not just feed people, but feed them well.
The disciples he brought might not have mastered the Four Books and Five Classics, but they were skilled at summoning rain and farming.
They came not just to teach mortals how to cultivate or summon rain, but also to instill the idea that once you achieve cultivation, you must not forget your roots and should use your skills to help your hometown.
After all, the Confucian Sect couldn’t stay here forever.
Wang Bian, the Confucian Envoy, was among them. Dong Zhongren believed Wang Bian, though strong in theory and successful in the Nine Provinces, had neglected the basics of survival.
After all, in the Nine Provinces, no one worried about such things.
Dong Zhongren wanted Wang Bian to learn through practice in the Tongu World and recognize his shortcomings.
“Didn’t expect you to have such ideals,” Bai Hongtu said, as if seeing Dong Zhongren for the first time.
“I’ve always had this view.”
“So many Confucian disciples came—why did the Buddhist Sect only send one?” Bai Hongtu asked curiously. He saw only one barefoot, white-robed Bodhisattva in silent cultivation with her eyes closed, practicing the Heavenly Eye.
“I didn’t let many from the Buddhist Sect come,” Jiang Li shook his head. Dong Zhongren had come with Jiang Li’s permission.
“I asked Wuzhi what the Buddhist Sect could do here. He said they could guide people toward goodness and help them let go of conflicts—but never mentioned food or shelter.”
“What Wuzhi said was idealistic, not realistic. So I only let a few of them stay to pass on the tradition, to see if the people of this world would even accept Buddhism.”
“The same applies to other sects. They didn’t just come to see Yu Feng. They also came to spread their sect’s cultivation paths as fortuitous opportunities—scattered across the land, waiting for fated ones.”