But then, as Li Fan sought the answer to refining his heart, a flash of inspiration struck him.
His mind turned perfectly clear, and he began observing with cold detachment, analyzing rationally as a bystander.
Is this my natural instinct?
Faced with such a desperate situation, some might choose to risk entering the White Mist, seeking a sliver of life in this desperate situation.
Some might choose the path of ”better you die than me,” striking first with treacherous means to eliminate the others.
Some would rather die than raise a hand against their companions.
As for me, my subconscious response is to first hide and lie low, quietly wait for others to finish their slaughter, and then reap the rewards.
This is the optimal strategic choice based on the current circumstances, and it's also related to my experiences up to now.
Each person's choice is different. In my view, it's a matter of inherent nature; there is no superior or inferior choice.
This is what is called a person's fundamental nature.
Refine the heart, refine the heart...
Li Fan was lost in thought for a long while, muttering to himself.
He forgot the perilous tide of demonic sounds raging outside the outpost, as well as the dire situation of nearly exhausted resources within the outpost.
As if entranced, his spirit grew completely immersed, to the point where even several small-scale assaults of the demonic sounds failed to affect him.
Li Fan lost all sense of passing time, absorbed in this state of comprehension.
Soon, it was the fiftieth day after the great tide erupted.
Leng Yingyi still had not returned. To prolong their lives as much as possible, everyone decided to abandon most areas of Outpost 01-11 after discussion. Only some basic structures remained in use. This way, they could reduce the consumption rate of the Black Death Talismans by nearly half.
The living space had shrunk considerably, but against the prospect of living a little longer, squeezing together hardly seemed worth complaining about.
What had changed was something else: a quiet wariness had grown between the members of this previously close-knit group.
On the surface, everyone remained polite and courteous, but only they themselves knew what was truly going through their minds. Undercurrents of hidden killing intent swirled beneath every exchange.
When Li Fan noticed the atmosphere around him beginning to curdle, his body's instincts sent up a warning, drawing him slowly back to clarity from his daze.
A brief sweep of his gaze was all it took. He understood exactly what kind of situation they were in.
From ancient times to the present, this particular play had been staged countless times—people trapped together in desperate circumstances, turning on one another to survive. It was nothing new.
And yet, understanding his predicament, Li Fan felt a killing intent rising within himself.
This was no stray thought, no outside influence. It was his own heart's desire. The Xuanhuang Heart Refinement Sutra could do nothing against it.
Li Fan sat with the thoughts welling up inside him and examined them carefully.
To seek life is human instinct. To kill for survival is to follow one's heart's desire.
Follow the heart's desire, follow the heart's desire...
Suddenly, Li Fan froze for a moment, his mind silently repeating this phrase over and over.
After a long time, a strange light flashed in his eyes.
Heart refinement, heart refinement. If one is always in favorable circumstances, how can the heart be refined?
To refine the Dao Heart, one likely needs to temper it through adversity.
Adversity, opposition...
It was like a bolt of lightning splitting through fog. In that instant, Li Fan understood something.
To attain eternal life, one must defy the principles of heaven and earth.
And to refine the Dao Heart... One must defy one's own fundamental intentions.
Perhaps all along, I have been cultivating incorrectly.
Li Fan's eyes slowly grew bright.
Following one's whims, crushing all distracting thoughts... at best, that only remains at the level of the Heart Clarification Sutra.
To truly cultivate the Xuanhuang Heart Refinement Sutra, one must temper one’s fundamental nature.
Oppose one's own instinctive choices?
Thinking this, Li Fan felt a sudden clarity, the knot in his heart dissolving completely.
The operation of the Heart Refinement Sutra instantly sped up.
It seems my haphazard guess was correct after all.
Inversely refining the Dao Heart.
This cultivation method is truly quite peculiar.
Take this crisis at Outpost 01-11 as an example. If I want to use it to refine my heart, I cannot act according to my instinctive thoughts.
It's best to do the opposite.
The greater the divergence from one's nature, the more the inner torment, and the more pronounced the cultivation effect of the Heart Refinement Sutra becomes.
Then the best choice should be...