My Dreams Connect to Ancient Times

But he neither retreated nor bowed his head. Slowly, forcefully, he spoke:

"Niu’Er, go inside."

"MOO!"

Old Nong led the Cyan Bull toward the abyssal Emperor’s Palace, while Zhao Zheng and Lu Jianxue waited outside, their eyes downcast.

Soon, he passed through the gates of the Emperor’s Palace. The gloomy depths gave way, and the space opened up brightly before him.

Lu Xuan narrowed his eyes and scanned his surroundings. The palace was the very pinnacle of extravagance, brimming with an immortal aura, yet it was deathly silent. Only on the majestic Emperor’s Throne at the far end sat an imposing figure.

A terrifying power flowed around that figure, thick with the unending aura of weapons and slaughter. Merely looking at him made Lu Xuan’s mind grow hazy, as if he could see layers upon layers of cosmoses rising and falling at Emperor Gouchen’s side.

Then, amid the clang of clashing armies and the beat of war drums, those myriad cosmoses collapsed, tore asunder, and shattered, reduced to remnants before being extinguished.

Lu Xuan’s pupils shrank. He knew this was no illusion, but real cosmos after real cosmos, true world after true world!

This was the first time he had witnessed the might of a Daluo firsthand. Maitreya Buddha had never displayed his power to Lu Xuan, only ever greeting him with a smile.

Shakyamuni Buddha had also only manifested his infinite Golden Bodies, appearing serene and gentle. Only this former Lord of a Celestial Court unabashedly displayed his terrifying power.

If not for the support of the Cyan Bull and the authority of his station as the Human Saint, Lu Xuan feared he would have already been crushed and extinguished under this immense might, just like those layered cosmoses!

On the Emperor’s Throne, the imposing figure lowered his gaze toward Lu Xuan. That simple, dispassionate stare was enough to make Lu Xuan feel as if his body were collapsing and his very soul were trembling.

But he felt no fear. He raised his head high, meeting the Great Emperor’s gaze.

After a long moment, the imposing figure let out a soft chuckle.

"Saint Lu, for what purpose have you come?"

"To call you to account for your crimes."

"Call whom to account?"

"To condemn the Immortal Gods for their sins, and to demand accountability from Gouchen."

The gates of the Emperor’s Palace had not been closed. The sound of the exchange between Lu Xuan and the imposing figure drifted out, shaking the Nine Heavens and causing the expressions of countless Immortal and Divine Officials to change drastically.

Observing from afar, Venus frowned and muttered to himself:

’That personage at the West Pole probably won’t, and wouldn’t dare, to make a lethal move. But Saint Lu’s cultivation is simply too low. Even cloaked in ninety thousand li of purple qi and embodying the vast momentum of the Human Dao, in the presence of the Emperor...’

Li Jing, at his side, picked up where he left off:

"In the Emperor’s presence, all of that is no more than a gentle breeze. Saint Lu has likely come all this way for nothing."

As the two Great Immortal Officials conversed, back inside the Emperor’s Palace of the West Pole Celestial Palace.

The imposing figure chuckled again, but his gaze suddenly turned savage, pressing down on Lu Xuan with such force that his heart seized in his chest!

Yet Lu Xuan remained steadfast, his head held high and his gaze fixed forward.

The Great Emperor demanded:

"Then pray tell, what sin have the legions of Immortals and Buddhas committed? And I... what sin is mine?"

His demanding tone was like a tidal wave, crashing through Lu Xuan’s ears and violently scouring his mind and spirit.

He remained unmoved, replying in an indifferent tone:

"I have already enumerated the crimes. Why do you feign ignorance, Emperor Gouchen?"

With a flick of his sleeve, the Great Emperor wiped a world from existence, then laughed again.

"Enumerating crimes... How absurd!"

He proclaimed:

"Heaven is above, the earth below. The Immortals and Buddhas are above, and all living creatures are below!"

"Heaven rules the earth, and Immortals rule humanity. This is the natural, unalterable order. It has always been so. To visit judgment upon the mountains, rivers, and common people has also always been so. Where is the sin in that?"

"Just because it has always been so, does that make it right?" Lu Xuan demanded, his head held high. "Heaven and Earth may be above and below, but that does not make one superior to the other. Neither can exist without its counterpart. They are fundamentally equals!"

"Preposterous!" the Great Emperor sneered. "Nature itself dictates survival of the fittest. The strong rule from above, the weak toil below. Immortals are stronger than humans, so it is only right that humans obey the commands of Immortals!"

He paused, his eyes lowering to bore into the old Daoist on the back of the Cyan Bull.

"I punish the masses in accordance with Heaven’s will! I wield the authority over weapons and warfare, over fortune and disaster. My choice to bestow calamity and war is in accordance with Heaven’s will!"

Lu Xuan gazed at the imposing figure before him, took a deep breath, and said softly:

"That is not your authority to wield. It is an authority you have stolen from Heaven and Earth."

"Interesting."

Emperor Gouchen lightly tapped the surface before him, unleashing a deafening, celestial rumble, then said:

"Whether I stole it or seized it, it belongs to me now. What, am I only permitted to grant blessings, and not to bestow disaster?"

As he spoke, he watched the disciple of the Supreme with rapt interest and added:

"Or are you saying that whatever benefits you is right, and whatever harms you is wrong?"

Every word was a blow to his soul, leaving Lu Xuan dizzy and reeling.

The two voices echoed through the Nine Heavens, and many Immortals and Buddhas were listening in. The expressions of some Immortal and Divine Officials shifted uneasily. Venus stroked his long beard and said gravely:

"The Emperor has seized control of the debate’s rhythm. This is no longer Saint Lu calling him to account, but the Emperor debating matters of the heart and the Dao with him. This is gravely dangerous."

"How so?" Li Jing asked softly.

Venus took a deep breath.

"Emperor Gouchen has existed since ancient times. His breadth of knowledge and experience is far beyond anything Saint Lu can compare with. Saint Lu cannot win this debate. With one careless slip, his Dao heart could be shattered by the Emperor’s words..."

Li Jing’s expression changed. If one’s Dao heart shatters, it becomes impossible to ever advance in cultivation for the rest of one’s life...

He couldn’t help but ask:

"Won’t the one in Douluo Palace intervene?"

"He won’t," Venus said with conviction. "This isn’t a case of the strong oppressing the weak. It is merely a debate on the Dao."

Li Jing fell silent.

「Meanwhile, in the Emperor’s Palace」

Lu Xuan’s head was ringing, but he continued to press his case:

"Issuing a Decree that commanded the Qi Kingdom to massacre its own cities and people, sending down an Evil God to bring disaster to a whole region, turning thousands of miles of the Human World into scorched earth and frozen wastes, creating a scene of utter misery—is this not a sin?"

"I have already said."

Emperor Gouchen looked down upon the aging Daoist and sneered:

"I am above, humanity below. Furthermore, my actions—using the calamity and death of the teeming masses—were to heal my own wounds."

He paused, then added:

"And... the Immortal Dao values life. I brought disaster to make myself whole. What is wrong with that? What sin is there? I am more precious than any human, and Immortals are more precious than humans!"

As he said this, Emperor Gouchen adopted an air of great compassion.

"The Immortal Dao values life, after all..."

Word after word struck Lu Xuan, nearly knocking him from the bull’s back. He barely managed to steady himself, his eyes now bloodshot.

"The Immortal Dao values life?"

Lu Xuan ground out through clenched teeth:

"If the Immortal Dao values life, does the Human Dao not value it as well?!"

"I am superior to any human. Immortals are more precious than humans," came Emperor Gouchen’s cold reply.

He surreptitiously activated a Divine Technique, each word a hammer blow against Lu Xuan’s soul, causing his Dao heart to waver and crack!

Enduring the immense pain, Lu Xuan raised his head, his eyes bloodshot, and spoke, enunciating every single word:

"The Immortal Dao values life, and the Human Dao values life, too... Because Immortals are stronger than humans, they are more precious?"

"Precisely!"

"Then..."

Lu Xuan tightened his grip on the tree branch in his hand, his voice suddenly rising, blazing with intensity:

"Doesn’t that mean someone who surpasses you is also more precious than you? Can they not, by your logic, take your life to make themselves whole?"

Emperor Gouchen was stunned for a moment, but he knew the critical juncture had arrived. Just one final move, one last push, and he could shatter this man’s Dao heart.

He immediately shot to his feet. With a flick of his sleeve, he snuffed out a million cosmoses and declared with a laugh:

"In these million cosmoses, were there not countless billions of living creatures? The strong are inherently more precious than the weak, and are thus entitled to do as they please..."

"Then."

"My Master is stronger than you, more precious than you. Does that mean he can also..."

"Do as he pleases?"

The sheer force of the Emperor’s voice made Lu Xuan cough up blood, which trickled down the Cyan Bull’s back.

For a rare moment, Emperor Gouchen hesitated. He cast a wary glance toward the Thirty-Three Celestial Realms above, then nodded.

"That is precisely so!"

The Emperor’s voice surged like a tidal wave, threatening to completely submerge and shatter Lu Xuan’s Dao heart!

Suddenly.

"I was waiting for you to say that."

The unremarkable Old Nong, who had been leading the Cyan Bull, opened his eyes and broke into a wide grin.