Chapter 953: Junior (I)
"Descendants." Daoist Master Tianwan muttered the word with a trace of mockery and said quietly, "So what if they are? What are descendants? Are they descendants because I watched them grow up and thus feel affection? Or because they revere me? None of that. I emerged from seclusion after breaking through, only to be greeted by a group of old men calling me ancestor... What does that have to do with me?"
Tanyun let out a sigh. He still held some lingering bond of master and servant in his heart, and tried to persuade her, "But blood ties can never truly be erased. Even if you feel no affection for them, they are at least closer than strangers..."
"Closer?" Daoist Master Tianwan spoke through gritted teeth, her voice full of fury and icy disdain, "I possess divine abilities! I can see directly into human hearts. I see their every thought with crystal clarity, Tanyun! The women think only of hating and envying me... What closeness is there to speak of! As for Guo Hong'er... and Guo Hongjian..."
Her expression grew even colder as a trace of cruelty rose. She spoke softly, "Fine... at least they weren't as stupid as Guo Hongyao. They knew I could read hearts, so they dared not think such things when facing me. But once I entered seclusion, they secretly indulged in lustful thoughts, fantasies of domination, and sordid repayment... What closeness could there possibly be!"
Tanyun was left speechless. He murmured, "This... this... But still!"
Daoist Master Tanyun truly didn’t know how to defend them anymore. Even Guo Shentong would have to bow his head in shame if he were here. He could only mutter, "After all, several hundred years have passed. It’s hard to expect any real familial bond... You are pure and untarnished, a stunning beauty among mortals cultivating a Dao of untouchable frost and snow... so they harbored filthy thoughts..."
His voice grew quieter as he spoke, and inwardly he wished he could drag those Guo bastards out and kill them all. Yet he still tried to reason with her, "My lady... the ancients once said, 'To glimpse a man's heart is to witness his demons.' Back then, cultivators who attained divine abilities feared visiting the mortal world, for a single glance with their divine ability would fill them with despair and rage... One's inner thoughts are the hardest to condemn... Who doesn’t harbor desires of lust and greed deep within?"
Daoist Master Tianwan merely gazed at him in silence. Her entire being exuded an aura of frost and snow, with only a faint trace of her elegant eyes visible. She spoke softly, "The old texts say that once the Life Divine Ability is mastered, one sees evil in all the world. That is why those of the Purple Mansion Realm are without emotion and slay without hesitation. It's because they see sin in every soul. I understand now."
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Zongquan Island.