19: A new adventure?

Mellaine’s view

While my new book should be able to empower the good people of the world to fight against those who’d steal from others, fundamentally, the reason the world is so full of violence is because we all rely upon the same source of power to cultivate: The world around us. 

So, if I want to really change things, I’d have to change that. Unfortunately, while there are methods to create more ki for use in cultivation, they aren’t really sustainable. In my past life, I found that the mortal world generated ki at a limited rate. When cultivators die, their ki will spill out into the environment. This is why battlefields could become filled with undead and poisonous fog. The lingering grudges and resentment in a dead cultivator’s ki could form constructs or animate bodies. The soul is gone though, so even when they seem like a person, it’s just a fake.

If all I want is to create peace though… that’s not too hard if I’m willing to be a tyrant. Creating rules and laws enforced through absolute power is not that complicated. Creating a system of rules and laws that enforce themselves is far more difficult. If I actually created a world where everyone lived peacefully without a method for unfairly concentrating resources in the hands of a single person, the immortals would descend and wreck it. Such a world wouldn’t create new immortals as quickly as one normally does, and the influx of new immortals to the immortal realm is an easy source of resources for them. Greedy fools.

What I really need is to learn how the dao of this world works, and how it can be changed or bypassed. The current world rewards theft entirely too much. A world that rewarded cooperation would be much better.

…

“Oooh, a special small realm is opening up?”

“Yes Lane, once every decade, this realm created by an ancient expert will open. Only people below the deity stage can enter.”

“Do all the sects send their students who can enter to seek fortune?”

“Yes. Though we avoid sending anyone too weak. It’s a very dangerous venture due to competition with all the other sects.”

“Oh? The fortune is of interest to you? People have found valuable herbs and other materials in there.”

“No Smitt, what interests me is the realm itself. I’m curious to learn how it is constructed and stabilized. Might help me better understand the dao of this world.”

…

Random cultivators at the gateway to the small realm:

“Wait, the Clear Sky sect is actually enforcing the rules?”

“I’d heard they always tried to kick others out, and the other sects had to cooperate to prevent them from monopolizing it.”

“What happened to the sect? After they won the past few intersect tournaments, I thought for sure they’d be abusing their power here.”

“It really doesn’t seem like the same sect anymore.”

“Hmph, idiots. Not using power they have just means we have a chance to get more than they do! We’ll seize the opportunity and get stronger than them!”