The Master and His Wealthy Fiancée

Chen Dong was still wondering, 'From now on, do I have to read someone's fortune from their face before I make a move?'

Just then, Chen Dong noticed his hand was trembling slightly. He felt lost. 'Maybe they didn't deserve to die. Maybe they truly had their reasons. Maybe they were genuinely trying to be good…'

"Lao Chen? Lao Chen?"

Li Zhixuan gently shook Chen Dong, who finally snapped out of his daze.

He didn't know how long he had been dazed; he hadn't even noticed Li Zhixuan and the others arriving. Seeing the fresh bloodstains in the villa, he figured Luo Hua had dealt with the ones who were begging for mercy.

Li Zhixuan frowned. "What's wrong with you? If I'm not mistaken, a Heart Demon is starting to form within you."

Chen Dong felt his hand, which was still trembling.

"I don't know."

Li Zhixuan glanced at the members of the Luo Family bustling about, cleaning up. He pulled Chen Dong out of the villa and led him to a secluded pavilion.

He spoke bluntly. "For Cultivators like us, a Heart Demon is a great taboo. Countless brilliant prodigies have fallen to their Heart Demon and failed to overcome the trial of the Dao Heart. You cannot be careless about this!"

Chen Dong asked in a daze, "What do you do if you kill a good person by mistake?"

Li Zhixuan was taken aback. "A good person? We Cultivators are already defying the heavens and cultivating ourselves. What distinction is there between good and bad? It's just a matter of being on different sides. If they're your enemy, you kill them. As long as your Dao Heart is clear, you can kill as many as you want!"

Chen Dong, deep in self-doubt, blurted out, "But my Dao Heart is wracked with guilt!"

Li Zhixuan's gaze sharpened. "My Divine Sense has been active the entire time. Those people you killed betrayed the Luo Family and turned their blades against their own kin. They deserved to die. Why would you feel guilt?"

"I…"

Chen Dong didn't want to reveal the existence of the Six Paths Light Pillars within his sea of consciousness; besides, everyone's Dao is different. Though he had grown up in the modern world and understood life's vicissitudes and the world's suffering, he still couldn't accept that he had just ended a good person's life.

"I want to meditate for a while," Chen Dong said faintly.

Hearing this, Li Zhixuan nodded. "Alright, I'll be your Guardian."

Sitting down to meditate on the spot, Chen Dong sank his Divine Sense into his sea of consciousness.

Chen Dong had no desire to become a Saint; he didn't possess that kind of universal love. He was more concerned with protecting the people and things he wanted to protect.

He sensed his Spiritual Golden Lotus. It had three stalks, their buds poised to bloom. The once fully-bloomed lotus had reverted to this state after he sacrificed his lifespan the last time.

Then, Chen Dong approached the Saint's Dao Light Pillar. The once-holy radiance was now pitch-black.

'Was I wrong?'

Chen Dong's Divine Sense seeped directly into the pitch-black radiance. Instantly, a primordial bell tolled, and his Divine Sense was violently thrown out. The black radiance turned holy once more…

Chen Dong opened his eyes and looked around. The sun was high in the sky; it was noon.

Li Zhixuan's voice reached him. "Finished with your meditation?"

Chen Dong got up and nodded. "How long has it been?"

"Ten days!"

Chen Dong marveled at the fact. That single toll of the bell had kept his mind in a state of purification for so long.

Li Zhixuan asked, "Have you found your answer?"

Chen Dong gave a bitter smile. "I haven't."

He then added faintly, "Even though I know this is the nature of the Life Path and Fate Method, I still can't forgive myself. I'm destined to carry this sin, I suppose."

Li Zhixuan snorted and said mockingly, "You Holier-than-thou B*tch! From now on, if there's someone you want dead but are too afraid of the burden, just let me do the killing!"

Chen Dong smiled and shook his head. "You're at the Golden Core Stage; killing mortals will burden you with sin just the same. Besides, what's the difference between having you kill them and killing them myself?"

"A few mere mortals? I, Li Zhixuan, am not afraid of a little sin!"

"Alright, Xiaoli, I'm fine."

During his meditation, Chen Dong had also come to understand something. The Saintly Dao Radiance that had vanished when he killed a good person was part of his atonement; that radiance would transform into a blessed fortune that would accompany the person into their next life.

But even with the Saintly Dao Radiance atoning on his behalf, Chen Dong still couldn't quite forgive himself for his actions.

The greater his power, the more he felt he was losing himself. The Celestial Dao might view all of creation as insignificant, but he, Chen Dong, was not the Celestial Dao!

Li Zhixuan nodded. "Alright, I'll take your word for it. I haven't seen any further signs of your Heart Demon stirring in this time, anyway." He then gave a slight smile. "Over these ten days, that Qin Yun has come looking for you no less than a hundred times, and Meng Xuejing has also visited you every single day. And speak of the devil, look, here she comes now!"

Chen Dong looked into the distance and saw Qin Yun. She wore a sky-blue dress, her long hair cascading over her shoulders. She was a little thinner than she had been two years ago, which only made her seem taller. A gentle breeze swept by, lifting the hem of her blue dress and rustling her hair. Qin Yun was as refreshingly beautiful as ever, like a bluebird soaring through the sky.

Taking the hint, Li Zhixuan vanished in a flash.

Qin Yun walked up and asked, a little shyly, "Is your meditation over?"

Chen Dong chuckled. "Don't be like that. It's a little strange, not like you at all."

A blush crept onto Qin Yun's face. She had never been this bashful and flustered around Chen Dong before, acting like a teenage girl who couldn't bring herself to confess her feelings.

Qin Yun lowered her head to look at her toes, but she couldn't see them at all.

"The Cai Family's compensation came through. They've compensated you with another entertainment company, called Soaring Entertainment. It's valued at forty-six billion."

Chen Dong said nonchalantly, "You can manage it, like before. Don't list my name as a shareholder this time. As for Meng Xuejing, you can give her some shares. Let's say... fifteen percent should do."

Qin Yun kicked a small stone by her feet and murmured, "Chen Dong… I feel like… you're so far away from me now."