Bai Xinyue thought for a few seconds before decisively shaking her head.
"Even though there is some level of truth to that statement, it isn't really the full truth. There are some orthodox cultivators that will choose to massacre millions of people if they believe it would be for the greater good, and they would do it with a clean conscience."
Huang Shi felt his heart shiver, and yet it instantly calmed down a few seconds later, as he felt that there would definitely be cultivators like that in the world.
In fact, I may even be one of those people.
Huang Shi remembered how he felt when he killed those members of the Disciplinary Hall—how emotionless and indifferent he was to killing and death, and how strangely easy it was to take the life of a person who aimed to do the same to him.
Seeing that Huang Shi was caught up in his own thoughts, Bai Xinyue chose to continue speaking. "Devil cultivators are not inherently evil. True devil cultivators do not kill for killing's sake. What they do, they do for the pursuit of their own goals; that can either be to improve their cultivation, avenge their loved ones, or even simply find a way to survive."
Hearing these words, Huang Shi felt a bit confused as a question was immediately formed inside of his mind.
That doesn't sound devil-like at all. It even seems a bit... normal?
Huang Shi didn't know if he was the weird one, but he felt a bit inclined towards the philosophy of devil cultivators, as he personally knew that if one of his loved ones died, he would surely do everything in his power to take revenge regardless of the consequences.
Bai Xinyue looked back at Huang Shi, silently observing his response before continuing to speak. "You think they're not that bad, right? That they even seem okay? Well, you are partially correct; that is because, in normal situations, there is not much difference between devils and cultivators. The difference comes in the extremes."
Bai Xinyue paused for a bit, as if even she was confused. "Devils are the kind of people that are willing to sacrifice anything, anyone, for their goals. They are the kind of people to sacrifice even an entire world—billions of lives—just to save the life of one single person, if that person is someone the devil deeply cares about."
Huang Shi suddenly felt his heart thump, as a strange feeling started to sprout inside of his chest. Right now, he didn't know what it was, but eventually, he would find out that it was a seed... a seed of devilish will.
"Orthodox cultivators, on the other hand, are an extreme on the other side of the spectrum. They are the kind of people that would rather sacrifice all of the people they love if it meant saving the world from destruction."
This time it was Bai Xinyue's turn to tremble as her eyes shook. Clearly, this was something that she had thought about for a long time already, to the point that even she didn't have a clear answer in her heart as to where she lay on the scale.
For some reason, Huang Shi did not feel the same kind of turmoil Bai Xinyue felt. In fact, for him, the answer was very obvious.
You're telling me that if I kill billions of people and destroy an entire world, I can save my Li Mei from an imminent death? Save my grandfather Huang Bo from an early grave?
What kind of fucking idiot would I be if I didn't take that deal? Are you telling me I'm supposed to just watch them die?
Huang Shi suddenly felt that his thoughts became much clearer and his brain worked faster. In fact, he even felt as if he had become slightly more intelligent, although he suspected that could just be a placebo effect.
Bai Xinyue looked at Huang Shi, an even greater sense of surprise filling her heart as she stared at him quietly before speaking in a soft voice. "Congratulations on solidifying your Dao Heart, fellow Daoist."
Although Huang Shi didn't know exactly what Bai Xinyue meant, he instinctively felt that it was something good, so he nodded his head and smiled. Bai Xinyue then stayed quiet for a few minutes before continuing to speak.
"Although extremists exist on both sides of the spectrum, extremists are far more likely to exist on the devil side rather than the orthodox side. That is because one of the fundamental benefits of having the philosophy of a devil is the fact that you can rapidly improve your cultivation base in a very short amount of time. If killing ten innocent people is equivalent to consuming one high-grade pill that costs more to produce than the work of a hundred people combined, then the choice for a poor and weak cultivator is obvious:
I would rather become a devil than remain a weak and pitiful mortal."
This time, Huang Shi remained quiet. Truth be told, he felt that doing something like that was a bit distasteful.
I can understand sacrificing people to save my loved ones, but sacrificing other people just to save myself... I don't think I can do something like that.
"Anyway, I think you understand by now why devil cultivators are so few and far between on this continent. When devil extremists show up and start killing the innocent, the great clans and sects instantly band together to try and eliminate that person in the name of justice and protecting the weak."
This time, Huang Shi nodded his head silently. Even though he felt more inclined toward the core philosophy of devil cultivators, it did not mean that he would kill people for no reason; he would only do so if they touched his bottom line.
Just because I'm a devil.. doesn't mean I'm a devil without standards! I will kill only those who threaten to kill me or the people I love
If they don't bother me, then I won't bother them