You don't want your secret to be revealed by others, right?

The Seventh Princess fell silent upon hearing this.

After a moment, she shook her head slightly and said, "There isn't any special reason, just that I realized... the art of medicine cannot save the world, and it's hard to fathom the human heart. My meager abilities are ultimately as insignificant as an ant trying to shake a tree."

Lin Yue pondered and asked, "Did Qiuhe suffer a hurt?"

"Not exactly."

The Seventh Princess spoke softly, "I once traveled the world, wishing to save the masses with my medical skills and spiritual medicine. Though I encountered many people who were ungrateful, even betrayers, good and evil naturally coexist in this world, so that wasn't surprising. It's just that..."

She shook her head before continuing, "I once encountered a great plague. At that time, I hid my identity and saved people everywhere, even coming up with a remedy for the disease. I thought that as long as I could distribute the remedy, the plague could be solved, but..."

Lin Yue knew the plague she spoke of, which occurred eleven years ago in Qi State of Great Yong.

It was the Holy Daughter of Chanjua Temple who resolved the plague, but after that, she suddenly vanished.

"It was only later that I learned the plague could have been resolved much earlier."

The Seventh Princess said, "A few days after it started to spread, the Twelfth Prince had already found the method to completely resolve the plague, but instead of curing it, he concocted a remedy that could alleviate symptoms. Those who took it could recover substantially but not fully, and they would still infect others."

She laughed mockingly and said, "Can you guess why he did that?"

"For merit?" Lin Yue replied softly.

"Exactly." The Seventh Princess said slowly, "Curing the plague outright would indeed yield more merit than merely easing the symptoms, but with the plague completely resolved, there wouldn't be a continuous stream of merit to gain."

There was a touch of irony in her eyes. "The Twelfth Prince was more skilled in Poison Skill. He must have racked his brain to concoct such a clever remedy, even feigning benevolence in public speeches about not giving up on any life, stating that hope came only with his medicine. Heh... A plague initially confined to a single county spread to an entire region, claiming countless lives before it ended, likely bringing him quite a lot of merit."

Lin Yue listened in silence.

He also wanted to hear how others defined their Dao Heart, their inner saintly convictions.

"At that time, he ordered that no one should freely spread the remedy to prevent conflicts with his drug's effects, thereby preventing anyone from truly solving the plague."

The Seventh Princess murmured, "My remedy was also prohibited from spreading. If I hadn't eventually commanded in my name as a princess, the plague might have spread through half of Great Yong or even the entire region before he finally resolved it to reap the last wave of merit."

Lin Yue nodded slightly and said, "Many cultivators perceive themselves as extraordinary. He, being the reincarnation of Myriad Poison Demon Ancestor, acts unscrupulously and would eradicate the Demon Clan without hesitation, even if it meant the mortal Human Clan should perish by ninety-nine percent."

"Every life..." The Seventh Princess sighed.

She shook her head and said, "Why would Father Emperor choose a person like the Myriad Poison Demon Ancestor as a prince? Is it truly only about cultivation potential, not considering one's nature?"

Lin Yue remained silent.

But he could guess a little.

—According to the Second Prince, although the Divine Emperor became a human, he was not truly human.

Perhaps, precisely because of this, the Divine Emperor did not care about the prince's nature or origin, as long as they stood by the Human Clan.

The Twelfth Prince disregarded human life, but since he wanted to eradicate the Demon Clan, he was naturally standing on the Human Clan side.

But...

What about the Crown Prince?

From what he currently understood, the Crown Prince also seemed unconcerned with these matters, focusing solely on the outcome?

"So..."

The Seventh Princess said softly, "I understood then, no matter how excellent my medical skills were, even if I cured everyone in the world, the mortal population in the eyes of cultivators was merely a source of merit, a tool to stabilize public sentiment and national fortune through deception..."

She slowly closed her eyes, "They often referred to mortals as ignorant people. Mortals cannot see those above the clouds like them and will remain ignorant, their fate easily manipulated, struggling even to survive. Just filling one's stomach is not enough to change this, it's an insurmountable chasm. Mortals need to have an irreplaceable role, perhaps... resulting in a significant number of cultivators among mortals."

Lin Yue suddenly understood.

"Your research on spirit plants is for..."

"Yes."

The Seventh Princess whispered, "Among the Heaven and Earth Treasures, some Heaven and Earth Spirit Roots could grant mortals cultivation potential. So, I thought that if the spirit plants I cultivated could rival these Heaven and Earth Spirit Roots, and could be made accessible to mortals, turning a fair number of common people into cultivators, mortals could become an unignorable force, not just a mere source of merit."

Lin Yue understood her goal.

This was a true grand obsession.

An eternally unreachable yet beautifully naive wish.

For what she truly desired was not a spirit root, but to erase social classes, pursuing equality in essence.

But as long as humankind existed, this wish would never be achievable, merely approached.

"Qiuhe, is this your cultivation goal?" Lin Yue asked softly.

"Yes." The Seventh Princess nodded gently.

Lin Yue pondered.

He realized these grand obsessions and great wishes were, in fact, the needs of those at the highest echelons, a journey to self-fulfillment.