A Druid Also Can Cultivate

Chapter 578 - 452: The Heavenly Heart Asura Emerges! Killing to Protect, Slaying Karma Not People...

Due to the heavy burden of slaughter, Wang He has become increasingly silent over the years.

The blood scabs on the Righteous Sword grew thicker and thicker...

He didn’t know how to overcome this hurdle, and when those billions of living people would occasionally appear before him, he knew he was about to develop a Heart Demon.

But no matter what, the duties of the Hall of Punishment had not ceased, and he was unwilling to stop.

Because he knew that once he left this position, the next successor might not be able to fulfill the duties as publicly as he did.

This position held too much power, deciding the life and death of countless Cultivators. If one’s heart wavered even slightly, countless evildoers would walk free, while countless innocent people could be scapegoated or suffer nameless persecution.

It is a razor-sharp double-edged sword; wield it well, and it results in peace and prosperity, like today’s Nine Star Sea Realms.

But if misused... it would be an unimaginable Hell!

The Hall of Punishment would become the blade of the wicked for those with power and money, oppressing the common people into silence.

Even with Qi Ping, but with so many people in the Nine Star Sea Realms, and with Qi Ping overseeing so much, how could he manage everything? In every shadow supervision misses, countless vermin and scum would breed...

A significant portion of those he beheaded over the years were these people; they always used past practices for power-money transactions, but unfortunately for them, they encountered... Wang He.

So Wang He did not choose to leave this position; he simply became more reticent, diligently handling the affairs of the Hall of Punishment each day. He would not let any criminal escape justice, nor would he let any innocent person suffer persecution.

This was the only thing that could comfort him.

But when he stopped, images of all the countless beings who died by his blade would still appear in his consciousness.

Suddenly, one day, Wang He discovered that his Celestial Heart Sword Intent had changed. It was tainted with a terrifyingly red Evil Qi of Shura, with countless resentful souls roaring upon it, as if everyone slain by the Righteous Sword had been absorbed into this Shura Evil Qi.

At that moment, his strength became immensely frightening!

Despite still being in the Nascent Soul Realm, he could unleash power comparable to Divinity Transformation by relying on this Shura Evil Qi!

When fully unleashed, it felt as if Hell had descended upon the world. In this domain, those whose Divine Souls were not strong enough could be struck idiotic by the terrifying impact!

One must know that Celestial Heart Sword Intent is among the purest and most extreme Sword Intents, a Dao nearly impossible to taint or bewitch.

Yet even such a nearly unpollutable powerful Sword Intent felt like a lone boat in a stormy sea within the domain of this Shura Evil Qi, always on the brink of capsizing.

It was imaginable to what extent this Shura Evil Qi had grown, and with its empowerment, it was no wonder Wang He could slay enemies across realms.

However, even though this power was formidable, Wang He didn’t know when this Shura Evil Qi would overwhelm him.

So he told Qi Ping:

"If one day I am mastered by this Shura Evil Qi, then kill me..."

Faced with this terrifying Shura Evil Qi, even Qi Ping was helpless, as this power grew from Wang He’s heart, not by external imposition, removing this Shura Evil Qi was akin to directly cutting down Wang He.

In response, the only thing Qi Ping could say was: "Killing to protect life, severing karma rather than people, consider all the countless Cultivators who live in peace because of you..."

After that, Wang He spent his limited spare time traveling to the insignificant corners of the Nine Star Sea Realms.

In those trivial corners, Wang He saw ordinary Cultivators’ lives.

A Cultivator so crippled that he nearly lost all combat power, yet he diligently tended a green Spirit Field to support his elderly parents and young children.

He said: "My wife was ravaged to death by a group of family Cultivators... right before my eyes, I almost got beaten to death. More than once, I thought about dying, but thinking about those two kids yet grown, and Mei’Er’s aging parents, I lost the courage to die..."

"If they starved to death, how would I face Mei’Er? But living, what good is it to me? I can only grow what Cultivators dismiss to feed them."

"But now it’s better; the Cyan Divine Army brought me to the Nine Star Sea Realms! It’s so great with the Star Emperor. Look at me, even as a cripple, growing these precious Spiritual Medicines. My kids have decent Talent, with these Spiritual Medicines, they won’t suffer as we did in our time..."

"And there’s Wang, the Hall Master of the Hall of Punishment. Everyone says he’s the Shura in the world, but to me, he’s just fine. He personally destroyed the family that humiliated my wife... He’s like the Star Emperor, a person I admire most..."

"Once I raise the kids, and send Mei’Er’s parents on their way... I’ll join her. It’s been so many years; she must be scared, she was such a timid person... When I see her, I’ll tell her, the place the kids live now is good, with the Star Emperor and Hall Master Wang, they will surely live well..."

"I want to find her soon, but I fear she’ll blame me for not taking good care of her parents and kids..."

...

Facing this disabled Cultivator, Wang He found himself momentarily stunned, and only after a while did he come back to his senses.