Chương 386: Heaven & Hell

Sect Master Yuan stood before me. This was it. This was the end of my journey. There would be no negotiations, no clever bargaining, no last-minute escapes. I would be strapped to a table somewhere and experimented on until the sect found out everything they needed to know about my abilities, my past lives, the red and blue sun energies. They would dissect my secrets like a scholar examining a particularly interesting specimen, and whatever was left of me afterward...

well, that probably wouldn't be worth calling human anymore. My mind raced through desperate scenarios. Could I somehow activate the World Tree Sutra's world-walking abilities to physically escape to another realm? Or perhaps I could leave my body behind and escape with my soul? But even as I considered these options, I knew they were futile. If I released my soul from my physical form here, it would be trapped before it could even attempt to world walk.

Whatever space this was, whatever technique had brought me here, it had been crafted by a Civilization Realm cultivator specifically to contain someone like me. I was trapped, completely and utterly at the mercy of someone whose power I couldn't even begin to comprehend.

"Azure," I thought frantically, "please tell me you have some idea how to get out of this." But Azure's response, when it came, was barely a whisper.

"Master, is this…is this what it means to be afraid?" Great. Even my inner world spirit was frozen with terror. As I stood there trying not to hyperventilate, Sect Master Yuan seemed to notice my growing panic. His expression softened slightly, and when he spoke, his voice carried none of the menace I'd been expecting.

"Do not be afraid," he said, his words echoing strangely in the vast darkness. I blinked, certain I'd misheard. Do not be afraid? I was standing in what appeared to be a literal hellscape face-to-face with one of the most powerful beings on the continent, and he was telling me not to be afraid?

"You have no reason to fear," the Sect Master continued, his tone carrying the kind of calm authority that came from absolute confidence.

"Unless, of course, you have committed crimes for which you should rightly be afraid." The words should have been reassuring, but they only made my confusion worse. This wasn't what I'd been expecting from someone who'd just dragged me into what looked like a torture dimension.

"I..." I tried to speak, but my voice came out as a croak. I cleared my throat and tried again.

"Where are we? Is this your inner world?" The question tumbled out before I could stop it, driven by a desperate need to understand my situation. If he'd brought me into his personal universe, then I was completely at his mercy. Inner worlds were the absolute domain of their creators. Here, he would be truly omnipotent. Sect Master Yuan shook his head slowly, and I caught a hint of what might have been amusement in his eyes.

"I know better than to allow a World Tree Sutra practitioner into my actual inner world," he replied.

"This is merely a partial manifestation, a reflection of certain aspects of my domain projected into neutral space." My eyes widened at his words, and I felt a chill that had nothing to do with the cold air around us. He knew. He knew about the Genesis Seed's ability to make connections with other inner worlds, knew about the potential for stealth infiltration that came with advanced World Tree cultivation. How much did he understand about my abilities? I tried to back away but found I still couldn't move.

My feet seemed rooted in place by some invisible force.

"What do you want?" I asked, proud that my voice only shook slightly. Instead of answering directly, Sect Master Yuan looked around at the darkness surrounding us, his gaze lingering on the distant screams that had begun echoing again. His expression grew thoughtful.

"Tell me," he said, "what do you understand about the concept of consequence? About the idea that every action, every choice, every deed creates ripples that eventually return to their source?" I frowned, struggling to follow his meaning.

"You mean like... what goes around comes around?"

"A crude but accurate summary," he agreed.

"Every soul reaps what it has sown. Those who spread suffering in life will experience suffering. Those who show compassion will find compassion. The universe has its own sense of justice, though it operates on scales far longer than mortal minds typically comprehend." I looked around at the souls writhing in whatever torment they were experiencing, then back at the Sect Master.

"I... I don't understand what this has to do with me." Sure, I wasn't perfect. I'd made mistakes, gotten into fights, maybe been a bit ruthless during my time in this world. But I hadn't been going around slaughtering innocent people or committing the kind of crimes that would warrant eternal punishment. This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. Sect Master Yuan studied my face for a moment, then nodded as if confirming something to himself.

With a casual gesture of his hand, the environment around us began to shift and change. The oppressive darkness lifted like a curtain being drawn back, replaced by soft, golden light that seemed to emanate from everywhere and nowhere at once. The screams faded, replaced by something far more beautiful: the sound of laughter, of gentle conversation, of what could only be described as contentment. I gasped as the new landscape resolved around us. We stood in what could only be called paradise.

Rolling green hills stretched to the horizon, covered in grass so vibrant it almost hurt to look at. Crystal-clear streams wound between groves of trees that bore fruit in every color imaginable, their branches heavy with abundance. The air itself seemed to sparkle with vitality, carrying scents of flowers and growing things that made my enhanced senses sing with pleasure. But it was the inhabitants that truly took my breath away.

Beings moved through this idyllic landscape with grace and purpose, tending gardens, playing music, engaged in what appeared to be philosophical discussions under the shade of great trees. They looked almost human, but not quite, taller and more elegant, with features that seemed to capture the best aspects of humanity while leaving behind its flaws. Their faces held an inner light that spoke of wisdom and genuine contentment.

Like the torture dimension before it, this paradise had a translucent quality that reminded me it was only a manifestation, a reflection of something far greater and more real.

"These are my children," Sect Master Yuan said, his voice carrying a note of pride that was both divine and surprisingly paternal.

"Well, the ones who lived good lives during their time in the material realm. They are being rewarded for their efforts, for the kindness they showed, for the light they brought into my inner world." He gestured back toward where the darkness had been, though now I could only see more of the golden landscape.

"The tortured souls you heard are also my children, but they chose a different path during their lives. They caused suffering, spread cruelty, chose selfishness over compassion. Now they are in the process of being cleansed. Once they are pure, once they have learned from their mistakes and truly repented, they too will be allowed to enter this paradise." My eyes widened as the implications hit me like a physical blow. Heaven and hell. Judgment and redemption.

A divine being creating souls, watching over them, sorting them into eternal punishment or reward based on their moral choices. This was literally the concept of God, complete with divine judgment and the afterlife, except it wasn't a metaphor or a religious belief. It was real, standing right in front of me, casually discussing his created beings like any father might talk about his children. I knew Civilization Realm cultivators were powerful.

I'd known they could create life in their inner worlds, could shape reality according to their will. But only now did I truly understand the scope of what that meant. This wasn't just advanced cultivation. This was genuine divinity; the power to create souls and guide their eternal destinies. The sheer scale of it was overwhelming. How many beings lived in his inner world? Thousands? Millions? Billions?

Each one a unique consciousness that he had brought into existence, nurtured through their material lives, and then judged based on their choices. The responsibility alone would crush most minds, but he spoke of it with the calm assurance of someone who had been managing cosmic forces for millennia. I struggled to compose myself, though my voice still came out slightly strained.

"Why are you showing me this?" Was he about to judge me over my actions? Was I about to experience one of the two fates I'd just witnessed: either eternal paradise or that screaming hell of purification? Had this entire encounter been leading up to my own karmic reckoning? Sect Master Yuan turned those ancient eyes on me, and for a moment I felt like he was seeing straight through to my soul.

"You were told that during the preparation period, you might receive visits from elders offering guidance and instruction." I nodded, remembering Elder Wan's announcement.

"What you were not told," he continued, "is that those elders had no intention of offering you genuine guidance. They wished to take your secrets for themselves, to dissect your unique abilities and claim them for their own advancement. They saw you not as a promising disciple to nurture, but as a resource to be exploited." A chill ran down my spine. I'd suspected something like this might happen, but hearing it confirmed by the sect master himself made it feel much more real and threatening.

"Therefore," he said with a slight smile, "I decided to provide guidance myself. Consider this a more... comprehensive form of instruction than you might have received elsewhere." A wave of relief washed over me so powerful that my knees almost buckled. I had truly believed this was the end, that I would spend whatever remained of my life as an experimental subject. Instead, this was actually meant to be helpful.

"Thank you," I said, and meant it deeply.

"Though I have to admit, you scared me half to death. I thought..." I trailed off, not wanting to voice my fears about being dissected. To my surprise, the sect master's expression shifted to something that looked almost... apologetic.

"I must ask for your forgiveness," he said, and I felt my brain nearly short-circuit at the words.

"I did not intend to cause you such distress. Higher level cultivators like myself often struggle with communication. As we ascend, we begin to see the world from perspectives that can be... difficult for those at lower levels to understand." I stared at him, completely dumbfounded. A literal god, someone who created souls and managed the cosmic balance of an entire universe, was apologizing to me. To me, a Pseudo Elemental Realm cultivator who barely qualified as an ant in comparison to his power.

"You... you don't need to apologize," I stammered, not sure how to even respond to such a situation.

"I mean, you're..." I gestured helplessly at the paradise around us, at the casual display of divine authority.

"I am many things," he replied gently, "but that does not excuse poor communication. The disconnect between realms is not just one of power, but of fundamental worldview. What seems like a simple demonstration to me can appear terrifying to someone who has not yet walked these paths." That made sense, I supposed.

I'd read stories where ancient masters would speak in riddles or behave in ways that seemed completely incomprehensible to younger cultivators, not out of malice but simply because their understanding of reality had evolved beyond conventional frameworks. But I'd never imagined one of them would actually acknowledge the problem, much less apologize for it. It was strangely humanizing, this admission of fallibility from someone who could reshape reality with a thought.

"Now," Sect Master Yuan said, and suddenly his voice carried a weight that made the very air around us seem to thicken.

"I have a question for you, and I want you to consider it carefully." I straightened, sensing that this was the real reason for our meeting.

"What is your dao?"