Chapter 1161: Who Determines Right and Wrong

"However, the source energy you've given me seems to be... more advanced than what's normally gained from cultivation?" Reverend Baihua paused, carefully choosing his words, and then slowly asked.

Li Ping naturally wouldn't tell Reverend Baihua that the source energy's superior efficacy was due to his attempt to refine it into pure essence by harnessing the power of sentient beings' faith. All his attempts, however, had ended in failure. After all, even something discarded by a True Immortal possessed power beyond mortal comprehension, making it incredibly difficult to control.

"It's merely your imagination, fellow Daoist," Li Ping said indifferently. "How is your recovery progressing? If you're ready, we should depart soon."

Reverend Baihua offered an awkward smile. With no other option, he sighed, bade farewell, and set off on his journey.

"Once the absolute security of our main base is ensured, we can then consider conquering other minor worlds."

"We should know the precise location of each minor world, and even consider infiltrating them first to relocate their entrances to the void near Daqi."

"The Spiritwood Realm, the Empires... and the Nether Realm."

As Saint Emperor Li Ping returned to his throne, deep in thought about the future of his dynasty, his disciple Sun Erlang requested an audience.

"Uh, Master," Sun Erlang began, looking somewhat uneasy. "An item that was fished out of the angling pond earlier..."

"Speak freely."

Sun Erlang then recounted the entire situation.

It turned out that after the previous angling competition, most of the rewarded participants were absorbed into various institutions of the Saint Dynasty. Among them, a middle-aged man named Quan Ruochu caught Sun Erlang's attention and was recruited into his ranks.

What Quan Ruochu had fished from the pond was a white orb of light. At the time, Li Ping had personally inspected it and identified it as a common item called the "Dark Orchid," thus giving it little thought. However, Sun Erlang now reported that this Dark Orchid, outwardly appearing to be of mere Nascent Soul-level quality at most, had, after a period of meticulous cultivation by Quan Ruochu, begun to exhibit utterly anomalous abilities.

"Quan Ruochu, though middle-aged, had achieved nothing significant in life. Both his parents were deceased, and he had no wife or children. His only passions were fishing and cultivating flowers; he possessed a calm demeanor and no ambition. Consequently, he wasn't particularly disheartened after retrieving the white light cluster. In fact, he cherished this Dark Orchid even more than other treasures."

"He initially believed this Dark Orchid would grow like any ordinary flower, nourished by soil and spiritual energy. However, after Quan Ruochu planted it, no matter how meticulously he cared for it, it remained perpetually withered, on the verge of dying. Driven by his love for the flower, Quan Ruochu did something utterly unbelievable to save it," Sun Erlang narrated, bowing his head and speaking in a low voice to the Saint Emperor.

"He actually planted the Dark Orchid *on himself*! Using his own body as soil, nourishing it with his vital essence and blood..."

"Within just a few days, he transformed from a relatively robust man into a mere skeleton, his breath as faint as a wisp of smoke! Yet he refused to give up, still intending to pour his last bit of vital essence into it."

"I hadn't seen him for several days, and when I went to his residence to look for him, this was the scene that greeted me."

Sun Erlang's voice dropped. "I initially wanted to eradicate this demonic flower immediately, but Quan Ruochu threatened his own life, claiming, 'If the flower lives, I live; if the flower dies, I die...' Moreover, considering that this was, after all, a treasure bestowed by you, Master, I hesitated and held back. However, as I watched Quan Ruochu's body grow increasingly frail, nearing death, I, your disciple, simply could not stand by indifferently."

The moment Sun Erlang spoke, Li Ping had already pinpointed Quan Ruochu's location and began to meticulously examine the condition within his body. After all, it was merely a blue light cluster, with nothing particularly profound about it; he understood its nature at a single glance.

After Sun Erlang concluded his account, Li Ping shook his head, his voice chilling.

"Erlang, you disappoint me greatly."

Sun Erlang's body trembled slightly, and he bowed his head even lower.

"As a commander, you must lead the entire army. You cannot allow personal emotions, or the plight of a small group of individuals, to sway your judgment."

"This is the first time you've proactively sought an audience with me since becoming my disciple, isn't it? And it's merely for this issue?"

After a long silence, Sun Erlang spoke hoarsely, "Master, your wisdom sees all. Perhaps if he were to die instantaneously, I might remain unmoved. But to watch someone familiar slowly have their life drained and wither away—your disciple simply cannot maintain composure."

"I await Master's judgment and punishment."

Li Ping's voice boomed continuously, like divine thunder from the heavens, reverberating throughout the Saint Emperor's throne chamber.

"My disappointment in you stems not only from your indecisiveness but also from your inability to discern right from wrong. This 'demonic flower'..."

"Go back and examine it carefully again!"

Li Ping waved his hand, dismissing Sun Erlang.

Sun Erlang's heart first clenched, then he seemed to grasp something profound. Overjoyed, he quickly hurried to Quan Ruochu's residence.

Guided by his Master's hint, Sun Erlang re-examined the situation meticulously and finally uncovered the Dark Orchid's secret. Although on the surface, the Dark Orchid appeared to be continuously devouring Quan Ruochu's vital essence and blood, it was simultaneously diverting a miraculous power to sustain the flickering flame of Quan Ruochu's life.

Caught in this state between life and death, the Dark Orchid flourished and grew vigorously. Concurrently, Quan Ruochu slowly underwent a complete metamorphosis.

"His last thread of hope for survival was entirely dependent on this Dark Orchid. If I had rashly severed it, both the flower and the man would have perished. I nearly made a grave error!" Sun Erlang couldn't help but feel a chilling wave of belated fear.

He sealed off the entrance, ensuring no outsiders could disturb them. Concurrently, he brought a miniature Heaven and Earth Furnace nearby to guarantee a high concentration of spiritual energy in the vicinity. Only after completing all these tasks did Sun Erlang finally breathe a sigh of relief.

"This is all thanks to Master's guidance," he murmured with a sense of relief.

What Sun Erlang didn't realize, however, was that while the Dark Orchid did indeed protect a vital thread of Quan Ruochu's heart meridians, it wasn't out of gratitude for his cultivation. Rather, it was a pure survival instinct, a temporary measure until it could find a new host. Quan Ruochu, with only Qi Refining stage cultivation, could not possibly withstand such unrestrained absorption from the Dark Orchid indefinitely; his complete demise was inevitable without external intervention. The only reason his complexion appeared to be improving was purely because Saint Emperor Li Ping had intervened.

"Whether something is righteous or wicked, right or wrong," Saint Emperor Li Ping sat upon his imperial throne, his thoughts quietly churning, "cannot be truly evaluated before reaching its ultimate conclusion. Only by proceeding step by step, to the very end, can one truly validate oneself. The process... is inconsequential."

Within the endless white mist, in one of its enigmatic domains, "How many frozen corpses are there here?" Shang Shaojun, who had been led into the Great Array of Reversing Life and Death by the Saint Embryo Li Fan, gasped in horror at the astonishing scene before him.