Chapter 1586: If Death Had Come Then, Who Would Know the Truth or Falsehood of a Life?
The village chief watched Huo Tianzun warily, his heart filled with unease.
Now that Yun Tianzun's physical body had all its cultivation sealed by Qin Mu, only his primordial spirit's cultivation remained usable. His primordial spirit was certainly powerful, but whether it could match Huo Tianzun was anyone's guess.
Since Huo Tianzun returned from the ancestral court's Yujing City, his cultivation and strength had increased greatly. His sudden appearance in the ancestral court, as if he had foreseen their arrival and blocked their path, gave one an unsettling feeling.
How did he know Yun Tianzun was going to the ancestral court?
How did he accurately block their path so precisely?
Yun Tianzun remained utterly calm. Huo Tianzun spread his arms wide, but Yun Tianzun did not step forward to embrace him. Instead, he smiled and said, "To see an old friend again fills my heart with joy. Huo, you seem to have some doubts, some criticisms of Yu Tianzun and Mu Tianzun. Would you care to share them?"
Huo Tianzun lowered his arms, seemingly disappointed that Yun Tianzun had not embraced him upon their reunion. He laughed and said, "I don't want to bring up those painful matters. I have worked tirelessly for the safety of the human race, yet I am always misunderstood. Heh heh, in the years after you left, it was I who protected the human race, ensuring they were never in danger of extinction. Yet whether it's Ling Tianzun, Yue Tianzun, or Kaihuang and You Tianzun, they all mock and sneer at me!"
The more he spoke, the angrier he became. He sneered coldly, "Especially Mu Tianzun! Back then, I respected him for avenging Brother Yu, thinking he was a man of courage and honor, but I never expected him to misunderstand me the most! I endured humiliation and burden for the human race, even bearing the infamy of harming my own kind, but I preserved the human race and built an ideal world in the Southern Heaven! And what has he done for the human race? He only leads them in rebellion and chaos! He only destroys the good situation I built! And he still has the nerve to call me a traitor to the human race!"
He looked at Yun Tianzun with fervent eyes: "They don't understand me. Yun, you understand me, don't you?"
Yun Tianzun pondered for a long moment, then looked up and smiled: "I understand you."
Huo Tianzun's spirits soared, and he laughed heartily: "I knew you would understand me! Back in the Longhan Era, you and I talked at length more than once, sharing our ideals. Though our ideals differed, you know my character!"
Yun Tianzun nodded: "In the Longhan Era, the human race was weak, merely one of the more conspicuous races among the countless races of the myriad worlds. We, the Nine Heavenly Venerables of Longhan, were born. But at that time, human power was insignificant. Even we Nine Heavenly Venerables of Longhan were just meat on the chopping block of the ancient gods, waiting to be slaughtered. It wasn't until Mu Tianzun killed the Five Radiance ancient gods on the Heavenly River that the world was shocked by the power of the human race."
Huo Tianzun's expression darkened slightly. Hearing him mention Qin Mu's achievements made him uncomfortable.
Yun Tianzun continued: "Even so, the power of the human race was still too weak. Despair shrouded me at every moment. I lamented my own lack of strength and sought you out repeatedly, asking for your help. You said you wanted to find another path for the human race."
Huo Tianzun recalled the past and said: "At that time, we talked in secret for a long time. You felt the human race could hardly win, that we lacked the strength to contend with the ancient gods and demigods, and that the human race could be plunged into eternal ruin at any moment. You wanted me to help you."
Yun Tianzun sighed: "You said we couldn't put all our eggs in one basket, that we needed two plans. Plan one was for me to continue resisting, to keep fighting for the human race."
Huo Tianzun said: "Plan two was for me to lead a portion of the human race to ally with the demigods, to fight against the ancient gods alongside them. If you failed, the human race wouldn't be wiped out because of it—my portion of the human race would still survive."
Yun Tianzun nodded: "So I had no objection to you defecting to Hao Tianzun. And the facts proved your vision was extremely far-sighted, your judgment of people accurate. Hao Tianzun is indeed incredibly formidable—he defeated the ancient gods, defeated me, and seized the final victory of the Longhan Era."
Huo Tianzun said in a low voice: "And at that time, we agreed that you would lead the human race in rebellion. If you failed, I would have to kill you to prove my loyalty to the demigods. And indeed, I went."
His voice choked: "I went to kill you with tears in my eyes. When you died, my heart ached the most! But because of it, I bore the infamy! Yun, do you blame me for killing you?"
Yun Tianzun shook his head: "I never blamed you for that."
Huo Tianzun laughed heartily, his voice filled with relief: "I knew it—only Yun is a true hero, the one who understands me best! That Qin Tianzun, that Mu Tianzun—they're not even fit to carry Yun's shoes!"
"Later, during the Chiming Revolution, Huo, you also went to kill Emperor Ming with tears in your eyes, didn't you?" Yun Tianzun asked.
The brow on Huo Tianzun's mask furrowed slightly. He said: "Emperor Ming wasn't even as good as you. He could hardly accomplish anything—he would only get in the way."
"In the Shanghuang Era, you must have also gone with tears in your eyes to kill Yue Tianzun, to kill Ling Tianzun."
Yun Tianzun walked to his side, gazing at the sky behind him that had been scorched red and twisted by flames. He said with emotion: "In the Kaihuang Era, you went with tears in your eyes to kill Qin Tianzun. In the Yankang Era, you went with tears in your eyes to kill Mu Tianzun..."
The brow on Huo Tianzun's mask furrowed even tighter as he stared at the sky behind Yun Tianzun.
Suddenly, he cut off Yun Tianzun's words: "Yun, in terms of strategy and governance, neither Emperor Chi nor Emperor Ming could match you. Yue Tianzun and Ling Tianzun were two extraordinary women, but their methods were far inferior to yours—they simply couldn't contend with Hao Tianzun, couldn't contend with the Ten Heavenly Venerables! As for Qin Tianzun, Qin Ye, by the time he rose to prominence, the great situation of the universe was already settled. The Ten Heavenly Venerables ruled the world, and no one else had any chance of turning things around! Mu Tianzun—he's just a child making a fuss. Yun, you should understand this."
Yun Tianzun smiled slightly: "Then, from what point did you stop shedding tears when you killed them?"
Huo Tianzun whipped his head around.
The two of them, four legs, stood almost on a single line—one facing east, the other facing west.
When Huo Tianzun turned his head, Yun Tianzun also turned around.
The village chief felt that at this moment, the flames between the two great mountains suddenly blazed hotter. Dao fire churned, and a dry, hot wind rushed at his face, making him smell a scorched odor.
His palm gripped the hilt of his divine sword tightly, his battle intent growing stronger and stronger. With unwavering focus, he stared intently at every move Huo Tianzun made.
The great mountains of the ancestral court were majestic and imposing, yet no matter how towering the peaks, they could not suppress the aura of these two!
Yun Tianzun smiled slightly: "When did it start? Was it from the moment you became one of the Ten Heavenly Venerables? From the moment you grasped supreme power, you no longer shed tears when killing your own kind, right?"
Huo Tianzun was silent. Between the two divine mountains, dao fire howled, blowing from the mountain gorge toward both sides.
The two great mountains dissolved in the flames. The ground turned to loose ash, magma rolled beneath, and the earth floated, softened, and melted on the molten rock.
"In the Longhan Era, we consulted many times. I understood your choice."
Yun Tianzun said: "Once upon a time, there was a nation where the people lived in misery. A strategist had two sons who were about to venture out into the world. The elder son said, 'I will support the powerful nobles and overthrow the court. The nobles have strength and influence. Once the nobles become the Yellow Emperor and I become a noble, I can make the people live better.'"
"The younger son said, 'I don't trust the nobles. I will establish my own power, build my own forces, overthrow the court, and make the people live better.' So they agreed that if the younger son failed, to avoid endless war and chaos, the elder son must kill the younger son."
Huo Tianzun's face was expressionless as he tilted his head and listened.
"Later, the wicked court was overthrown. The noble supported by the elder son became emperor, while the younger son became a rebel. The elder brother killed his own younger brother with tears in his eyes, bringing the war to an end."
Yun Tianzun asked: "This was how we thought back then, wasn't it?"
Huo Tianzun did not answer.
Yun Tianzun said: "The elder son, because of his merit in supporting the emperor, became a powerful minister. Yet the nation remained in ruin, the people still suffering. At this point, the elder son no longer had any thought of overthrowing the new court, because..."
He said calmly: "Because he was now a part of that court—the most powerful man in it. How could he overthrow himself? So whenever someone rose up in rebellion because they could no longer bear the oppression, the elder son was always the first to jump out and destroy the rebel army. Because he had experienced the Three Kingdoms of Longhan, experienced those events, he knew he couldn't let these rebels strip away his power and position. He was no longer that elder son who had once fought for his family."
"Yun, you've changed."
Huo Tianzun sighed desolately and shook his head: "You are no longer the Yun of those days, no longer the Yun who understood me."
The face on his mask twisted, simultaneously showing both a crying and a laughing expression: "You're just like Mu and Qin—you want me dead too?"
Yun Tianzun clasped his hands behind his back, gazing at the sky twisted by dao fire behind him, and said leisurely: "Singing boldly in the market of Yan, calmly a prisoner of Chu. Drawing the blade for one swift joy, not failing my youthful head!"
He let out a scornful laugh: "If death had come then, who would know the truth or falsehood of a life? Huo, you still have a way back."
He turned around to face Huo Tianzun directly: "Huo, if you could assassinate Hao Tianzun—using your relationship with him to slay him—then the human race could achieve total victory and overthrow the current heavenly court! All the glory would be yours alone! Whether it's me, Ling Tianzun, Yue Tianzun, or Kaihuang and Mu Tianzun, none of our achievements would match yours! You would accomplish what none of us could achieve in a million years!"
He said loudly: "Everything you've done in the past, I can cover up for you! In the eyes of the world, you will be a glorious figure who endured humiliation, bore infamy, and achieved the final victory in one stroke! Countless people will praise your sacrifice, countless generations will admire your deeds, never knowing what you did before! Your past will all be erased! All you have to do is assassinate Hao Tianzun!"
Huo Tianzun stood there motionless, then suddenly began to laugh.
Yun Tianzun frowned. Huo Tianzun's laughter grew louder and louder, the sound shaking the gorge, causing the two great mountains to collapse in the dao fire, turning into rolling magma.
"Yun, there's no denying it—you're far more persuasive than Mu Tianzun."
Huo Tianzun turned around, looking directly at his face, but his voice seemed to carry no warmth at all, growing colder and colder: "But you people simply cannot defeat Hao Tianzun, cannot defeat the heavenly court! If I were to assassinate Hao Tianzun, even if I could kill him, he would take me down with him in his dying strike! Your plan is very clever—kill two birds with one stone, eliminating both of us in one move!"
He sneered: "After that, you could sweep away the heavenly court, then deal with Kaihuang, deal with Mu Tianzun, eliminate them all, and seize total power yourself! Those hot-headed fools—how could they possibly be your match? You've thought it through very well, truly very well. Eliminate me, eliminate Hao Tianzun, then eliminate Mu Tianzun and Kaihuang."
Yun Tianzun let out a long sigh and said desolately: "You really have changed. You've betrayed your original intention..."
"Wrong!"
The dao fire around Huo Tianzun suddenly blazed with incomparable intensity. The fire of rage burned everything, releasing the fury in his heart like a devouring beast: "It is you who betrayed me!"
—Please vote for monthly tickets!