Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
The Emperor of the Dead looked at Yan Nanlai sarcastically and said, “Courageous and fearless, contributions unrivalled and role model? Are you trying to embellish your words or is this supposed to represent your personal opinion?”
“Right now, the most reputable of the Four Immemorial Heroes of the Great Void is Yan Xinghe. He’s the pillar of the Great Void Sect and supports the entire Divine Lands too. He even perished alongside me and forced me off my throne. He is indeed the most legitimate successor of the Great Void Holy Man.”
“But in that era that I lived in, whenever the Great Void Sect is mentioned, the first person that everyone thinks of is not him, but Wen Chiyang. Just like how when one thinks of the powerful individuals in the Divine Lands, no one will ever think of the Tian Chen Daoist or Xia Fangyu. They will first think of Wen Chiyang.”
The Emperor of the Dead shook his head, “Although I only resurrected recently, news of what happened all these years were not kept from me. It seems like no matter whether it’s internally or externally, the Great Void Sect doesn’t seem to very appreciative towards this courageous and fearless role model.”
“Besides his abilities which were undoubtedly one of the most exceptional during his time, and was also publicly acknowledged, his life has probably more blemishes to the Great Void Sect, am I right?”
The Emperor of the Dead revealed a dim laughter, “Let me guess how all of you treat Wen Chiyang.”
“To all of you, Wen Chiyang shouldn’t have fallen in love with the cloud demon. A tragedy was bound to happen from that.”
“To all of you, when Wen Chiyang was torn between his wife and Emperor Xia, he should have divorced his wife readily and even kill her.”
“To all of you, if Wen Chiyang did not leave a protective spell on his pregnant wife, Emperor Xia would have killed her easily. After that, he could have killed Shen Yuan easily.”
The Emperor of the Dead laughed, “So, it’s not all your fault, but the fault of Wen Chiyang?”
There was a look of gloom that flashed past Yan Nanlai’s gaze. Within the Great Void Sect, those who were cognizant of the history of the sect indeed had such views towards Wen Chiyang.
The Emperor of the Dead guffawed, “From what I see, there’s only one reason for this tragedy suffered by Wen Chiyang. It’s because he was too powerful. But he did not realize this.”
“Those who lived inside his shadows were not just the Tian Chen Daoist and Xia Fangyu. There’s one more person, whose presence was dimmed by the existence of Wen Chiyang. It’s the junior of Wen Chiyang and the second leader of the Great Void Sect, Yan Xinghe.”
“Wen Chiyang never interfered with the administration of the human emperors. Although he had differences in opinions regarding the direction of the Great Void Sect, he did not use his own powers to influence proceedings. He did not influence Yan Xinghe’s day-to-day management and leadership within the internal ranks of the Great Void Sect either. His eyes were always only on the Barren Expanses.”
“In his heart, the person backing him was his comrade and friend. But he never knew that in the eyes of this person behind him, he was just a weapon which was as powerful as the Supreme Heavenly Mirror. But the only difference he had with the Supreme Heavenly Mirror was that when he lost his power and value, what was left was not pity but contempt and abhorrence.”
“Perhaps to some, if Wen Chiyang had dragged Shen Yuan along to die with him during that huge war, it would have been the perfect ending.”
The Emperor of the Dead revealed yet another sarcastic smile, “But the ending is still not bad. If Xia Fangyu could kill the heavily injured Shen Yuan, the ending would still be perfect. Thus, after Wen Chiyang’s natal light was extinguished and Xia Fangyu came knocking, Yan Xinghe helped Xia Fangyu to find where Wen Chiyang was hiding.”
“But it’s a pity that Yan Xinghe’s understanding of Wen Chiyang and Xia Fangyu wasn’t enough. He miscalculated the stubbornness of Xia Fangyu, who remained persistent in his desire to kill Wen Chiyang’s wife. He also did not take into account the protective spell that Wen Chiyang left on the cloud demon.”
Yan Nanlai said quietly, “Not everyone is as self-centered like you.”
The Emperor of the Dead laughed, “At least Xia Fangyu is like me.”
The evil soul of Emperor Xia was expressionless, but he was filled with loneliness.
Looking at the evil soul of Emperor Xia, Yan Nanlai, the Qing Yi Holy Woman, Qing Ning Holy Man, Wu Mengqi and the rest sighed.
“Thank you Emperor of the Dead for revealing some of the hidden information regarding the things of the past. But I have a doubt.” Lin Feng clapped at this point and said.
The Emperor of the Dead turned to him, “Master Lin, feel free to ask me.”
Lin Feng said gently, “Emperor Xia tolerated his own people and the sins of his son. This is a huge blemish in his character. But when he was the emperor, he did still contribute greatly to the Divine Lands.”
“With regards to his enmity against Wen Chiyang and his wife, it’s also a personal vendetta. But this vendetta has sparked something else, which was to let Shen Yuan escape and leave a huge problem for the Divine Lands.”
“Like what you said, the most hilarious part of all these is that the person who cleaned up all the mess was Wen Chiyang. And what’s even more hilarious was that Wen Chiyang controlled the Netherworld Sea. If he did not fight Shen Yuan, he did not have to die and he might return to the Grand Celestial World one day.”
Lin Feng said in a calm tone, “Of course, if that’s the result, I wonder how it’ll be like when he returns.”
Yan Nanlai, the Qing Yi Holy Woman and the rest turned dismal.
But soon after, Lin Feng’s words took a turn, “But this is not my doubt. My doubt is, Emperor Xia let his own selfish motives to interfere with his role as the human emperor, but what about you?”
Lin Feng looked at the Emperor of the Dead and patted his forehead, “Oh, right, you followed Emperor Xia and eventually assassinated him.”
The Emperor of the Dead remained calm and stared at Lin Feng. Lin Feng then said, “Through the Crucible of the Divine Lands, I can clearly tell that your powers were indeed beyond Emperor Xia then. Although you did not have any destiny-level magic treasure, your powers were already quite exceptional. You might not have been able to kill Shen Yuan, but you’ll have a chance.”
“Emperor Xia might have been selfish and affected the big picture. Between your own selfish gains and the sake of the Divine Lands, you chose the former.”
“Not to even mention that when you ascended the throne, you tried to construct the Netherworld, where you’ll enslave everyone who’s dead. This is something that everyone won’t agree to.” Lin Feng placed his hands behind his back. He said slowly, “How Emperor Xia was had nothing to do with your throne being taken away from you.”
The Emperor of the Dead was calm as he smiled, “Winner takes all. There’s nothing to explain further.”
Lin Feng turned his head slightly and smiled, “Oh? Maybe not? There’s many things that you brought upon yourself.”
“Emperor Xia neglected his responsibility because of his selfishness, allowing Shen Yuan to escape. Even if Yan Xinghe supported him initially and no matter how cordial a relationship they shared, they were bound to develop tension in their relationship after that. This has nothing to do with the character and morals of Yan Xinghe, but originates from the bigger picture.”
“Emperor Xia lost his virtue and his people even caused a huge uproar in the Divine Lands. And if you managed to kill Shen Yuan, your reputation will supersede that of Emperor Xia. Even if you can’t compare to Wen Chiyang, you won’t be much further from him. Your powers are above that of Emperor Xia. If the scandal of Emperor Xia being removed from his throne because of his selfish motives spreads, it’s hard to tell who the position of human emperor will go to.”
Lin Feng looked at Yan Nanlai and the rest and shook his head in laughter, “From what I know, in the first half of your rule, your relationship with the Great Void Sect was very good. It’s not that much different from that of Emperor Xia.”
“Rather than talk about the consequences of Emperor Xia’s survival, we should think about whether these consequences are worse than the ramifications if Shen Yuan is around. It’s true that you were overthrown, but I believe that you have the desire to be the human emperor eternally. As long as Shen Yuan does not die, there will be a day that you will have to face him again.”
“After all, no one knew then that Wen Chiyang would return to the Divine Lands one day.”
The Emperor of the Dead was expressionless. After a while, he revealed a smile on his face, “History can’t repeat itself. And whatever that you say might not be absolute.”
“But in the days after that, I do often think that if I chose another method, what will it be like?”
Lin Feng smiled, “Your choice of how to ascend the throne is in line with your own style. Because it’s become a habit, you will subconsciously ignore the aboveboard methods of doing things. It’s not that you never thought of them, but it’s that you have made it a habit to ignore such choices.”
“However, if we really have to say, you did succeed using your own method in ascending the throne. You also ruled for quite some time. As long as you don’t change your original intentions and hope to control the cycle of life, even if you step on the body of Shen Yuan to ascend the throne, the final situation with you as the emperor won’t change.”
After Lin Feng finished speaking, he did not look at the Emperor of the Dead again. He turned to look at Yan Nanlai, Qing Yi Holy Woman and the rest, “As for things between Wen Chiyang and Yan Xinghe, forgive me for using layman’s words of describing the relationship between them.”
“Wen Chiyang’s sincerity was fed to the dogs.”
The expressions of everyone from the Great Void Sect changed. Even Yan Nanlai’s expression changed, although he was usually a very calm person. The Qing Ning Holy Man even roared furiously, “What did you say?”
Lin Feng looked at him peacefully, “I have no habit of repeating my words. If you want me to repeat, I can do it. But you’ll have to come closer.”
After pointing just in front of him, Lin Feng said, “Don’t stand so far if you want to question me. Come closer.”
The Qing Ning Holy Man was appalled, “You…”
Lin Feng ignored him. He scanned his surroundings and said, “Previously, I showed the memories of Wen Chiyang after he entered the Netherworld Sea. And right now, I am going to show his memories before he entered the Netherworld Sea, during the War of the Two Worlds.”
After he finished saying, Lin Feng pointed with his finger and a light projection floated in void space. The scene shown was that of Wen Chiyang as he fought Shen Yuan to protect Mount Baiyun.
After feeling how powerful Shen Yuan was, Wen Chiyang saw what his destiny was going to be like. But he was fine with it, “I have to remove this demon, otherwise, the dark ages of the Primordial Age will come once again.”
Wen Chiyang looked at Yan Xinghe in front of him, “Xinghe, this time, I need the help of the Supreme Heavenly Mirror. Even if I die, I am confident of gravely hurting Shen Yuan. Then, I will need you and Xia Fangyu to finish him off.”
Yan Xinghe nodded his head, “I helm the Supreme Yin-Yang Void Formation while Xia Fangyu cultivate the Crucible of the Divine Lands. I don’t think he can return to the Barren Expanses.”
Wen Chiyang was silent, “Xinghe, I know that you have always had your prejudices towards Yun’er. But she is not the enemy of the Divine Lands. Right now, she’s even pregnant and is about to become a mother. Our child has become her priority, and not hatred.”
“If something bad really happens, I don’t count on you to take care of them. I hope that you can remain silent and not make things difficult for them. This is my only concern.”