Yeah, using demonic energy while being a good person overall is good.
Plus, I’m pretty sure Leona is into that shit.
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Yup, the very first thing you do on this path is turning people into demon fuel, instead of giving them rehabilitation opportunity, like an actual good person would.
Heh. I get ya. It’s usually not an option. But consider this:
Who says those murderers and thieves deserve a second chance? They were working for a demon themselves. Sacrifice. Hell, you can even just not do it if it really makes ya feel bad. But for me its kind of like… don’t wanna be sacrificed by a demon? Don’t work for a demon.
Other demons? Is anyone really going to complain if I hunt down other demons specifically?
Clone bitch? He was going to use the power himself and he’s a murderer, torturer, vile piece of non-human. The perfect example of using evil methods for good is using the power against him.
It’s just another way to get power. The methods aren’t the issue to me, the targets are. Of course that assumes we remain in control of the taint. You’re evil if you take a bunch of innocent people and sacrifice them for your power. If you sacrifice a bunch of murderers, rapists, and tyrants… is it still evil?
I’ve always enjoyed the thought, but if you want to see it in action Mo Dao Zu Shi is a great example of a non-bad-guy using evil methods (BL warning). Again, if we lose control to taint in an evil fashion, though… its probably not worth it. It’s all about remaining in control and not turning into something mindless.
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A good person is exactly someone who would say they do deserve a second chance.
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Ah, it’s so refreshing to see someone else who gets it, I agree with all you said here.
Nah, that’s a naive or saintly person, maybe both.
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Altruistic, maybe. I personally left them alive and made them slaves to the people they hurt since I gave the book to Jack (cuz I really wanna see what comes of that). As if it mattered… there was literally only one left alive by the time I was done with it all. But I’m open to testing around with taint in my next run.
But in terms of the world the story takes place in, only using sacrificial techniques on people who already made the choice to harm others doesn’t scream “evil” to me, if not at least morally gray at worst. If I’m a demon and Crusher Jack is a worse person in every facet compared to me… am I evil?
I doubt it’ll be a thing in the story, but I’ve always enjoyed the idea of “being the last demon” because we destroyed all of the rest of them.
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I do agree that yea a good person would be more reasonable and merciful since Mercy is noble and allat.
But yea sacrificing ppl is just straight up evil,if MC really wanted to do it the “righteous” way,hé would have just executed them.(that’d be ruthless ig)
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I just do what I think is in character for my MC.
Beast Chi Ruthless Wolf MC: Kill most of the bandits, then turn them over to the village.
Socercy Chi Kind Monkey MC: Convince them to work as farmhands.
Blade Chi Demonic MC: SACRIFICE
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Don’t know if I would say slaving people makes you better than someone that kills them.
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Omg weiying. I’m gonna play just like xie lian a baby saint whose addicted to sword tho I won’t be dirt ass. Poor.
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Being demonic probably will have like dependency mechanics, I mean there is reason why demonic martial artist keep sacrificing people.
There is even chance that it will cause corruption to the surrounding landscape.
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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)
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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.
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What If we become demon, ancestors of Oni
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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
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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.
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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”
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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.
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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 
)
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Oh. Right. Koskue and Leona in my case.
Oh. Oh my.
That’s a whole sea adventure on its own.
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