I made the entire cultivation world cry

Chapter 171 Refining the Heart in the Mortal World (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

Inside the side room of Cangling Temple, the air was filled with the fragrance of sandalwood.

Jiang Yi and Abbot Hu Qiyuan sat facing each other drinking tea. The tea had been refilled three times, but Xin Wushuang still hadn't returned.

Hu Qiyuan's rough fingers caressed the teacup, and he hesitated several times as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.

This Qi Refining cultivator, who was not yet forty, already had fine lines around his eyes and a few strands of white hair mixed in with his temples, clearly indicating that guarding the mortal palace was not an easy task.

"Senior Sister Jiang," Hu Qiyuan finally spoke, "Senior Sister Xin, she..."

Before he could finish speaking, the door was suddenly pushed open.

Xin Wushuang stood at the door, her face as pale as paper. She strode in and placed a blood-stained Nourishing Yuan Pill on the table.

Xin Wushuang was trembling all over, with blood still stuck in her fingernails, and she sat down in silence.

Hu Qiyuan sighed and got up to pour Xin Wushuang a cup of hot tea.

"Senior Sister Xin, this is not your fault."

Xin Wushuang did not answer, her gaze blankly fixed on the ground, a silent storm brewing in her eyes.

Hongli jumped into Jiang Yi's arms, transformed back into her fox form, and even sighed.

The things it witnessed while following Xin Wushuang in search of elixirs deeply shocked it.

Hongli actually understood those mortals better than Xin Wushuang, because it too had once risked everything for the elixirs in the hands of cultivators.

Hu Qiyuan gave a wry smile, "My two senior sisters don't know this, but some mortals will do anything to get medicine."

Hu Qiyuan took out a booklet from his storage bag, opened a page and placed it on the table. Jiang Yi and Xin Wushuang looked up at it.

[Wang Pozi brought her scalded grandson to seek medicine, but upon inspection, it was discovered that she had deliberately poured boiling water on him in order to obtain the temple's muscle-regenerating powder for money.]

A couple surnamed Li brought their dying infant to the site. It was later discovered that their son was originally born with a limp, but had been fed poisonous herbs and was on the verge of death, in an attempt to cure his limp.

Just two lines are already shocking, and the rest are mostly similar schemes. Less than 20% of them are genuinely seeking medicine for the sick or for their loved ones.

“Two years ago, when I first arrived at the temple, they learned that I was a cultivator from a newly established sect stationed here. They took advantage of my ignorance and my soft heart. I made some stupid mistakes and tried to explain myself, but they only believed what they thought. It wasn’t until later that I slowly understood why people in the cultivation world always say, ‘There is a difference between immortals and mortals. The life and death of mortals are predetermined, and cultivators cannot interfere.’”

Xin Wushuang frowned deeply. "Then are we just supposed to watch these innocent children suffer and even die?"

“It’s not that I don’t want to save them…” Hu Qiyuan shook his head, stood up, and gestured for the two to follow him to the backyard.

After passing through several courtyards, we arrived at a secluded little house. Pushing open the door, we saw a little girl of about six or seven years old sitting by the bed, being dressed by a female Taoist priest.

The girl's right leg was wrapped in thick gauze, but when she saw Hu Qiyuan, her pale face immediately lit up with a smile.

"Uncle Hu, I can move my legs now. Will I be able to run soon?"

Hu Qiyuan smiled gently, "Yes, you'll be able to run and jump around soon. Just bear with it for a few more days and take your medicine properly."

"I take my medicine very well, I'm not afraid of the bitterness at all!"

Hu Qiyuan left the house and explained to Jiang Yi and Xin Wushuang outside, "Three days ago, a horse spooked at the market. To protect herself, her grandfather pulled her in front of the horse's hooves."

Xin Wu raised his eyes and immediately recalled that at dusk earlier that day, an old man in the crowd had said that his granddaughter had been kicked by a horse...

Hu Qiyuan said in a low voice, "At that time, the mortal pharmacist in the temple said that it was difficult to save her. The old man knelt outside the temple and begged me to help, but I ignored him. The old man then left her behind. Afterwards, I secretly used the Rejuvenation Pill to make water and brought her back to life. The medicine healed her internal injuries, but her external injuries still need to be healed for some time. Her family is so heartless, so I can't send her back. I plan to send her to Cangling Temple in the neighboring county in a few days to work as a sweeping boy. That way, she can survive."

"In fact, all the temples and monasteries under the jurisdiction of our Cangling Sect have this tacit understanding, exchanging these poor children, suffering women, and the destitute with each other, giving them some small assistance to alleviate our guilt for not helping those in distress. Moreover, each temple and monastery has Taoists skilled in medicine who provide free medical consultations and half-price prescriptions for mortals." "Do you two senior sisters know that the most difficult thing in this mortal world is not slaying demons and protecting the region, but making choices between good and evil? If I were to save every one I see, it would only breed more greed, causing more mortals to take risks and indirectly killing more people."

“My heart isn’t made of iron either. For the past two years, every night when I meditate, the cries of those poor people have been ringing in my ears. But compared to that, I still think that protecting the local area from the wind and rain, driving away demons and monsters, quelling plagues and natural disasters, and going to save those one or two poor people is more important.”

"Though the rain is plentiful, it cannot nourish grass without roots. All I can do is keep these roots intact, ensure favorable weather to eliminate demonic threats, and provide affordable medicines to alleviate poverty and illness. The rest is up to ordinary people to earn their own living. Just like farming, cultivators can summon clouds and rain, but the seedlings must eventually sprout on their own."

Jiang Yi nodded slowly. This was about upholding the group's order and not seeking individual redemption, but everyone knew that upholding order was more difficult than breaking it.

Although this abbot only has the cultivation level of the late stage of Qi Refining, his insight into the world is more profound than that of many Foundation Establishment cultivators.

The practice of cultivating one's mind in the mundane world surpasses the practice of seclusion and asceticism.

"Has Abbot Hu previously served as a resident monk at other temples or monasteries?"

Jiang Yi suddenly asked if, if she could overcome this tribulation of love, she might as well come and guard the mortal palaces and temples.

"No, I had been cultivating diligently within the sect, but my spiritual roots were mixed and low in value, so my cultivation progressed slowly and it was difficult to pass the inner disciple assessment. I had to think of other ways to obtain a Foundation Establishment Pill."

Apart from those disciples with exceptional talent and powerful connections, most ordinary cultivators of the Cangling Sect, when they have no other way to obtain Foundation Establishment Pills, will choose to undertake missions in the mortal realm.

If one can maintain their original intention and not lose their way after ten years of training in the mortal world, they will receive a Foundation Establishment Pill upon returning to their sect.

If one successfully establishes their foundation, they can be promoted to an inner disciple. Often, such disciples will break through to the mid-stage of foundation establishment within three years after successfully establishing their foundation. The Heart Tribulation is nothing to them.

Xin Wushuang remained silent, but the storm in her eyes had gradually subsided, replaced by a complex sense of understanding.

"I apologize for disturbing you so much tonight and for talking too much."

Hu Qiyuan stood up to apologize. He had been living in the mortal world for a long time and rarely met fellow practitioners. The mortals and Taoists in the temple would not understand his predicament. Today, he had indeed lost control of his urge to confide in them.

"It's getting late, senior sisters, please rest. If things aren't urgent, we can talk again tomorrow."

Jiang Yi escorted Hu Qiyuan out of the side room.

"Junior Brother Hu, I want to ask you something."

"Please go ahead, Senior Sister Jiang."

"In the spring of the year Bingzi, did any of your people go to Wuliu Village to arrest members of the Mengxian Sect?"

At that time, Xin Wushuang received her first letter from home, which mentioned that a Taoist priest had gone to the village, and afterwards a widower in the village disappeared.

Hu Qiyuan took out the booklet that recorded major events by the successive abbots of the temple. After flipping through it for a while, he said, "Yes, the former abbot, Senior Brother Wen, recorded it very clearly here. On the 17th day of the third month of the Bingzi year, a member of the Mengxian Sect named Zhang Wangshan was found in Wuliu Village. He was a widow with a son and was drunk and unconscious at home all day long."

"The villagers said he often muttered things related to cultivators, much of which was information that mortals would hardly know. However, the main evidence confirming that he was a member of the Dream Immortal Cult was the discovery of traces of worshipping the 'Pillow Lord' in his cellar. Senior Brother Wen later followed this lead and investigated further..."

Jiang Yi chatted with Hu Qiyuan for fifteen minutes, asking him what she wanted to know before returning to her room.

Xin Wushuang remained seated, silent and without uttering a word. Jiang Yi patted her shoulder, said nothing, and went to the inner room to sleep.

Today's events had a great impact on Xin Wushuang. In the past, she focused all her attention on cultivation, didn't even make friends, and rarely thought about these complicated things.

Now, under the influence of the "heart-moving tribulation," encountering something like this today will inevitably make it difficult to calm one's mind.

Upholding group order and seeking individual redemption are not wrong; Xin Wushuang needs to decide for herself which good to choose between.

(End of this chapter)