"Martial arts matters are best left unspoken," I said to Xu An'an with a faint smile. "Speaking them aloud ruins things for everyone."

"Originally, I didn't want to tell such a story. But you insisted on forcing me to be some righteous hero, so I had no choice but to tell you the truth."

The color drained from Xu An'an's face, and Xu Yulong sighed, pulling Xu An'an away.

I sat on the tree trunk, lost in thought.

Feng Ruoxing watched me for a long time without moving, then waved a hand in front of my eyes, "What are you thinking about?"

I replied absentmindedly, "I'm thinking about the story I just told."

Lin Zhao burst out laughing, "You're not moved by the story you made up yourself, are you?"

"That story wasn't made up by me. It really happened," I said solemnly. "However, this story gave me an idea."

I recounted my meeting with the little dwarf, "I've been wondering, why does Tiewa Temple keep luring people into Taiqu Mountain? I think I understand now."

I looked at Lin Zhao and said, word by word, "They are looking for someone who can enter the demonic path."

Lin Zhao was slightly stunned, "What are you saying? I don't understand. If you want to find someone to enter the demonic path, wouldn't it be easier to find those who are utterly wicked?"

"You're wrong!" Feng Ruoxing said, "Murder, arson, robbery, and oppression of the good are wickedness, but not demonic. Acting as one pleases, being unbridled, is arrogance, is domineering, but not demonic."

"People often say: the demonic path. Meaning, the demonic is also a path. Or rather, the ultimate goal of entering the demonic path is to pursue the supreme Great Dao."

Lin Zhao shook his head again, "I still don't understand."

Feng Ruoxing explained further, "The prerequisite for entering the demonic path is an unwavering obsession! When a person's obsession penetrates their bones, they lose their reason, they lose their humanity, then they enter the demonic path."

"Li Po told you a story about a musician, and I will also tell you a story about a musician."

Legend has it that long ago, there was a man who loved the qin (Chinese zither) as much as his own life, and his lifelong pursuit was the pinnacle of the qin Dao.

However, after spending more than twenty years, his qin skills could only reach the level of a high-level musician, and he could no longer improve.

At that time, someone told him, "Your mind is not entirely focused on the qin, you cannot become the number one musician."

After realizing this, the musician stopped doing anything else and devoted himself to playing the qin.

In just a few years, he squandered his family fortune, and eventually the whole family could only live in a thatched hut. The musician still only cared about playing the qin, living a life of being waited on hand and foot. Even when his old mother was angered to death, he did not change.

However, his qin skills did indeed improve greatly. However, he still did not reach the pinnacle.

Then someone told him, "Your master is suppressing you, you cannot improve unless you defeat him."

The musician forced his master to death with a life-or-death performance.

That person then told him, "You still have attachments in your heart, you must be free from all attachments to reach the peak."

That night, the musician killed his wife and children, even abandoning their bodies in the wilderness, not even leaving them a grave. Only then did his qin skills reach their peak.

However, he always felt that his qin had only reached the peak of skill, but had not transcended the mundane and entered the Dao through the qin.

That person finally told him, "You can still see, the world you see, the words you speak, all interfere with your qin Dao. To play the qin, only ears are enough."

So, he blinded his own eyes and poisoned his own throat, and he finally entered the Dao through the qin, becoming an unparalleled musician.

Lin Zhao gasped when he heard this, "Are you talking about the White Bone Qin Demon, Lin Zijing?"

"Yes!" Feng Ruoxing nodded, "The White Bone Qin Demon gave up everything for the qin, even giving up himself. You can say that he was fearless in pursuing his goal. But, wasn't he also possessed?"

"The demonic path is a path of mad obsession, an obsession that destroys everything for one's own goals."

"Think about it, aren't those who truly become demons outstanding figures, sweeping across their peers, even invincible in the world?"

"Doesn't every battle to eliminate demons by those on the righteous path require dozens, even hundreds of times the cost to wipe out the demonic path?"

"This shows the heights that those who enter the demonic path can reach."

Lin Zhao said, "But this has nothing to do with Tiewa Temple!"

"It does!" I explained, "I've been wondering all along, where did Tiewa Temple get the ghost king relic?"

"Back then, weren't the four great evil monks people who had entered the demonic path? Could ghost king relics have been cultivated on their bodies?"

"The ideas between Buddhism and the demonic path must be diametrically opposed."

"Buddhism speaks of abandoning attachments and being free from all worries. The demonic path, however, uses attachments to enter the demonic state, giving up everything, seeking only obsession."

"Tiewa Temple was classified as a demonic sect by the martial world back then, but they still claim to be a temple, so there must be someone in Tiewa Temple practicing demonic arts."

As I said this, I pointed at Feng Ruoxing, "Just like Feng Ruoxing said, obsession is the prerequisite for entering the demonic path, so the person Tiewa Temple has been looking for is someone who is sufficient to become a demon."

I looked at the tents outside the temple, "Think about it, isn't the act of making a wish the beginning of entering the demonic path?"