Well it would be all well and good if that power didn’t turn you into a monstrosity that will not have that mental filter of knowing who is “worthy” of getting sacrificed and the innocent.
Casting aside the moral implications of sacrificing human beings for power, in this particular setting, the power in itself is evil since we know that: short term strength cripples your potential; will eventually turn you into a monster no matter what you do and increases your soul’s corruption (meta knowledge sure but it’s def something to consider)
2 Likes
Sacrificing People to gain short term power all the while convincing youself that you are a good person? Where have i heard that before?
I really wish the demon taint actually have some consequences instead of just giving us free AP. Like as many have said losing your choices and becoming Tao’s slave until we either redeem ourself by Sacrificing a part of us or overpowering Tao Demonic powers itself.
Or maybe we have Voldemort like transformation as we start losing sanity and become looking less Humane and more like a ugly monster.
8 Likes
What If we become demon, ancestors of Oni
2 Likes
The only reason we haven’t seen any negative effects yet is because we’re still in the short term benefits stage of things. No one would do demonic cultivation if it immediately turned you into a fiend.
But going by the lore if you continue down this path eventually it will become harder and harder to resist turning into a fiend. Look at the sunbringers they learned demonic cultivation under Taio and so when the gate appeared many of them immediately turned into fiends.
Not only that but if people find out you are a demonic cultivator they will hunt you down.
I think in Nanhou we will be given a chance to remove the taint but at some cost to us probably losing AP or something and if we refuse or if we are already too far gone we will start seeing the side effects of the taint
19 Likes
I’m no cultivation expert, but from what I’ve gathered of the nature of the wicked way compared to the righteous way and that of demonic chi, is that in the world of cultivation what is “good” is doing things the proper way, going through the proper process, earning your strength through hard work, nepotism and alchemy.
You can be the most massive pile of shit like the Crusher family and still be “good” because despite the horrible things you do, you cultivated properly.
And straying from that path is inherently evil in comparison. The real difference between demonic and righteous has nothing moral to it, not in the sense we understand it, cultivator morality is based on propriety rather than goodness. Respect, obedience, hierarchy, tradition, proper cultivation, those are the only things that matter. That is why oppressing peasants and slaughtering bandits is “okay and righteous” but sacrificing them to absorb demonic chi isn’t.
Demonic chi is an inherently evil and corrupting force, because it the complete opposite of chi. It is a perversion, a counter-nature way of cultivation, because chi is a living, flowing force that MUST flow through all things. Cultivating demonic chi is to forcibly harvest and hoard that chi for yourself, often the chi of other living beings, which completely perverts it as you force it to remain stagnant within you. You’ve stolen for yourself and made stagnant a force that is meant to be shared by all and keep flowing always. And it will in turn, corrupt and pervert you, make you something that is not truly living, and no longer capable of cultivating the proper way, as chi no longer flows through you. And the more demonic chi you’ve accumulated the stronger this effect is on you.
Maybe that is not author’s vision at all, in which case mea culpa, but it is how I interpret these concepts.
22 Likes
Whether a martial artist is considered wicked or not has a lot to do on where they are located as each of the inner kingdoms have vastly different cultures. In the sacred lands for example slavery is outlawed and martial artist strive to protect the common people above all else.
Crusher Mao likely trained in the wild lands which has a very barbaric culture that praises the strong but degrades the weak which explains his behavior and Jacks as well. But in the sacred lands he would not be viewed favorably due to his mindset and violent nature.
And the author revealed that in the akakiru lands every child even those who are slave caste are all given a chance to train in combat and carry a blade. So they wouldn’t look favorably on someone like crusher jack who would try to hinder another person training just because of his own ego.
The main reason why demonic cultivation and those who practice it are hated is because human sacrifice and its other practices corrupt the martial artist and eventually turn them into a fiend hell bent on hunting down unpowered and powered individuals alike with a hunger that can never be satiated. Imagine if someone of Crusher Mao’s strength suddenly turned into a fiend. Now imagine there was an entire sect full of people at his level of strength all turning into fiends at the same time. It would be total anarchy.
Also the only reason why the way the MC was practicing cultivation was considered “bad” is because every martial artist in Thunderfall is hell bent on kissing Jack and Mao’s ass. I don’t think anyone outside of the thunderfall sect has any problem with any of the things we have done in terms of cultivation. Heck even when we take the Heavenly Gate that Tian Fang earned away from her all she does is shrug it off and is like “well played thunderfaller”
19 Likes
You both make valid arguments. Especially considering the author can do what they want and our discussion is moot, but its a good talking point.
Is demonic energy a case of willpower or is it an absolute corrupter? Clone Bitch has quite the control, but then again he’s an evil, sadistic piece of shit. We just don’t know yet.
bl00d makes a valid point regarding the typical morality of cultivation. GENERALLY, it is about method and not targets. But what if we disagree? What if our character, whether as an extension of us or not, simply despises the morality of cultivation? Look at the treatment the lower castes receive and all of the boons that come with our clan being risen to the warrior caste. This dynamic, to me, gives us a better window than most “normal cultivators” into the lives of the commoner and allows us the opportunity to view morality differently. We’re nothings that did whatever possible to cultivate in the laziest, most simple way possible. It would actually make sense for some MCs to latch onto demonic chi and abuse it as far as the story goes. But if the possibility exists to control the power and only utilize it in tandem with power from proper training, is it really that bad?
As JVM said, culture has a good amount of sway in how cultivators act. Whether they’re more barbaric, altruistic, tyrannical, etc. So morality certainly involves more than just following the proper path of cultivation.
So to me, demonic chi isn’t inherently bad as every one claims it is… AS LONG AS IT TRULY ISN’T AS CORRUPTING AS PEOPLE SAY IT IS, which it totally up to the author and we simply won’t know for a while. Both sides of the coin are plausible at this point. I’m excited to learn the consequences, personally. I’m hoping there’s a fine line we can walk between “demon devourer” and “devouring demon.” There’s nothing more fun than tapping into a corrupting power as a supplement. NOW, if someone uses demonic chi as their very foundation… I can only agree with Bl00d’s argument on that.
9 Likes
I just realized that our MC is going to be spending a long period of time with at least two ROs on a small, cramped ship, in which probably only he has his own room. That being said, I would suggest that the MC prevent the rest of the crew from sleeping (if you know what I mean 
)
9 Likes
Oh. Right. Koskue and Leona in my case.
Oh. Oh my.
That’s a whole sea adventure on its own.
3 Likes
in fact, there can be up to three ROs if you don’t have the blades style (since leona will go along regardless of what your style is)
7 Likes
You think Kosuke is gonna mind Leona being around her man?
3 Likes
I hope not (in fact I hope she likes it) I saw that someone commented that if Leona sees the MC kissing Kosuke we gain relationship points with her so it is confirmed that Leona doesn’t mind sharing
9 Likes
Yeah, but Leona is batshit insane.
Kosuke is a bit more…mentally sound.
8 Likes
She might take offence to Leona.
3 Likes
Did it got content after the start of sea ship arc , wanted to know if I missed some update
1 Like
Nope. No update yet.
1 Like
If you have positive romance value with Fang, Kosuke has a note in her journal about how she doesn’t like the way Fang is looking at the male MC. She might be less inclined to share than we hope for.
14 Likes
This might escalate to a cat fight or dog fight in Fang’s case lol
10 Likes
How does one even get that? In my run, I was hardly even allowed to interact with her. lmfao
1 Like
She’s potentially MC’s teacher in Chapter 4, if you pick beast specialization.
9 Likes