Hearing Karma's words, Faen was not surprised.
Regarding Ashlesh's curse, the reason Faen remained unaffected—aside from Nilah suppressing the demon on the other side—was partly because Faen had gradually mastered more of the essence of Joy. Although Ashlesh still held the ultimate core, Faen was already able to unilaterally "mute" and "silence" it.
This had significantly improved Faen's quality of life.
After finishing her statement, Karma looked at Faen and spoke calmly: "For lifeforms of the Spirit Realm, pursuing the essence of their origin is the greatest meaning of existence. It is for this very reason that spirits who pursue malice will continuously create strife. And now, Faen, you have returned to Ionia. For what purpose?"
Hearing Karma's inquiry, Faen nodded, prepared to give a brief explanation.
Faen held a very positive impression of Karma. Although every generation of Karma possessed the memories and spirit of the past, the one currently in control was always the chosen individual herself. In other words, while the title remained "Karma," the personality of each generation differed.
Among them, this generation's Karma was not the kind to follow old rules and stick to convention. Quite the opposite—she chose to silently push for Ionia's transformation from within. In Faen's mind, she was a person he absolutely had to contact more deeply if he wanted to change Ionia.
Unfortunately, just as Faen was about to speak, a white-haired elder clad in white robes snorted coldly from the side.
"What could it be for? To create more intense emotions, of course! To shake Ionia's ancient traditions and stir up countless ripples in the Spirit Realm, all to fill a belly that feeds on negative thoughts!"
Faen had a good opinion of Karma, but that didn't mean he felt the same way about these old relics in the Temple of the Long-Standing. When they remained silent, Faen could pretend they didn't exist. But now they were proactively jumping out to cause trouble?
Thinking this, Faen's face showed no extra emotional fluctuations. He merely asked with a half-smile, "It seems Elder Guchuan has quite an issue with the negative thoughts in people's spirits?"
Hearing Faen's words, Guchuan let out a cold laugh. As the staunchest defender of Ionia's ancient traditions, Guchuan appeared extremely cold in the face of these words, his voice filled with unquestionable firmness:
"An issue? Is a 'negative thought' supposed to be something good? You were born in the Navori province, so you should know very well that when those evil spirits cross the veil of the Material Realm, they will without hesitation create the emotions they require."
"Hate, anger, pain, slaughter... all kinds of negative emotions and extreme malice that can stimulate the violent cravings deep within people's hearts are merely means of feeding for them. For these evil spirits, the suffering people endure in the process and the impact on Ionia's fragile balance are completely outside their consideration."
"This ignorance of the sin within their own actions... that is the greatest sin of all!"
Pausing for a moment, a sliver of pity appeared in Elder Guchuan's eyes, but it was quickly washed away by a cold light.
"As long as your goal is to shake the traditional foundations of Ionia, then even if you are Xynia's disciple, you should not set foot on this land to disturb the peace of the spirits here."
Though he seemed cold and heartless, the other elders, masters, and even Shen and Usan (Zed) beside them felt that Elder Guchuan's words were very reasonable.
Especially for those of the Kinkou Order, their mission was to guard the balance between the Material and Spirit Realms. Because of this, the Kinkou was the Ionian sect with the deepest understanding of—and the most frequent confrontations with—evil spirits. For spirits that fed on emotion and constantly manufactured chaos and bloodshed, the equilibrium of the two realms was not in their interest. Rather, these spirits wished for the two realms to fall out of balance, creating greater chaos and more negative emotions for them to feast upon.
If the timeline were pushed back a century or two, then perhaps even Faen would have been a staunch traditionalist—this wasn't about being a political flip-flopper, but about being realistic.
In the past, these traditions had indeed protected Ionia for thousands of years, as the veil between realms remained precarious following ancient wars.
The problem, however, was that the current era was not the era of the past. After the Rune Wars ended, Runeterra had been peaceful for over a thousand years—though there was still constant conflict, with Noxus conquering everywhere and smoke rising across Valoran. But strictly speaking, compared to the era of the Rune Wars, this didn't even count as a minor scuffle.
Thinking this, Faen simply asked back calmly, "Then, in Elder Guchuan's view, negative emotions should not exist at all?"
"They may exist, but they should not be pursued," Elder Guchuan shook his head, not making a broad, arbitrary cut. He spoke calmly: "Just like your talent in the War Dance. Even if you can focus your will into every corner of your limbs to resonate with the consciousnesses in the Spirit Realm, the mere presence of the War Spirit causes hostility to sprout in a person's heart. It is so for you alone; if there were more, the already impulsive youths would soon cause Ionia to lose its original balance."
"If that is the case, is blind suppression and neglect truly 'Balance'?" Hearing this, Faen did not show dissatisfaction, but spoke calmly:
"Strife and ambition are inherent to humanity, even a part of this land itself. Bamboo grows by breaking through rocks; surging torrents shape the canyons. Within the lush, dense forests, towering ancient trees compete with each other for the sunlight falling from the sky and the limited nutrients in the soil. Between the fragrant flowers and green grass, the struggle of a butterfly to emerge from its cocoon... these are all parts of this land. If we must discard these thoughts for the sake of a so-called 'Balance,' then the current Ionia should be a wasteland."
"No, you are wrong," Guchuan shook his head. "The reason Ionia is stable and prosperous is precisely because of the balance we painstakingly maintain."
"And the spirit of struggle? Has it simply vanished?" Faen countered. "Or have these so-called 'negative emotions' simply been hidden away, slowly accumulating in corners where people cannot see?"