Chapter 1332: Imperial Heaven Must Die
"Old man?"
Xiao Tianzun's expression darkened slightly. "Crude. Mu Tianzun, you've become so flustered that you're resorting to foul language. It disappoints me. It seems the pressure I've placed on you has been too great. Today, I am not here to deal with you, but with Yue Tianzun. After all, you and I are still allies, and there are ways I can use you. But Yue Tianzun is not."
His gaze fell upon Yue Tianzun. He extended a hand and said solemnly, "If Yue Tianzun is willing to submit, I can let bygones be bygones regarding the matter of you killing me in the past."
He said calmly, "Don't say I lack magnanimity. My magnanimity is vast indeed. Heaven Duke and Earth Lord were unruly and defiant, yet I could tolerate them. The Celestial Venerables—Yu, Hao, Ling, Yue, Huo, and others—pioneered the path of acquired cultivation, and I could tolerate you as well. Acquired beings becoming gods, I could tolerate that too. I even allowed you to establish the Xiao Han Heavenly Court and the Long Xiao Heavenly Court, sharing power with you. Even when Mu Tianzun carried out reforms in Yankang, I turned a blind eye. As a generation's Heavenly Emperor, my magnanimity isn't bad, is it?"
His eyes were sincere as they fell upon Yue Tianzun's face. "If it were another Celestial Venerable, do you think any of the current Ten Celestial Venerables would have such magnanimity? Hao Tianzun? He couldn't. If he were in my position, he would undoubtedly eliminate you all at the first opportunity, cutting off all reforms."
"Langxuan Divine Emperor? He couldn't either. He doesn't have such boldness."
"Huo Tianzun? Merely a petty, sycophantic creature who fawns on whoever is strongest."
"Hong Tianzun is too detached. Yan Tianfei doesn't dare to stand up on her own, only clinging to men. Qiang Tianfei is the Grand Emperor—he would even annihilate his own race, let alone you all?"
"Gong Tianzun is too arrogant. Xu Tianzun's heart is too dark. Ancestral God King is arrogant and wild. None of them are fit to be Heavenly Emperor."
He said leisurely, "As for your Long Han Nine Celestial Venerables, aside from Hao Tianzun and Huo Tianzun, Yun Tianzun had talent and strategy but lacked momentum. You Tianzun is withdrawn and hard to achieve greatness. Yue Tianzun, you are only fit for logistics. Ling Tianzun has communication issues. Qin Tianzun, though broad-minded, is cautious by nature and only worthy of contending with Hao Tianzun for the world. As for Mu Tianzun..."
He glanced at Qin Mu and smiled. "Too erratic. Though he has schemes and methods, his excessive curiosity will eventually be his undoing."
Qin Mu's face was as black as iron.
Xiao Tianzun laughed. "Look throughout history—who has the breadth of mind, the bearing, the means, the responsibility, and the magnanimity to perfectly fulfill the role of Heavenly Emperor? Search as you might, from beginning to end, there is only me. It is not that I have dominated the universe and become Heavenly Emperor, but that the universe itself chose me to be Heavenly Emperor."
Yue Tianzun's cultivation was steadily rising, her aura growing stronger. She said calmly, "You spoke of the Nine Celestial Venerables of that era and the Ten Celestial Venerables of today. But what about Yu Tianzun? Why didn't you mention him?"
"Yu Tianzun?" Xiao Tianzun's expression darkened slightly.
"Yes, Yu Tianzun!"
Yue Tianzun stood in the palm of Qin Mu's primordial spirit, her eyes sharp as she fixed her gaze on Xiao Tianzun's face, speaking each word deliberately: "You say you have magnanimity, so why don't you mention Yu Tianzun? Is it because he was more suited to be Heavenly Emperor than you, and you couldn't tolerate him, so you had him killed?"
Xiao Tianzun lowered his head and chuckled softly, murmuring, "Yu Tianzun? I didn't kill him. It was Hao Tianzun and the Yin Heavenly Emperor who did the deed..."
Yue Tianzun raised her brows, about to speak, when Xiao Tianzun continued with a smile, "But the reason Hao'er and Yin Chaojin dared to act was indeed on my orders. I even helped Hao'er seal the Man Hui Corridor to ensure that even Heaven Duke and Earth Lord couldn't detect the cause of Yu Tianzun's death."
He wore a smile. "At that time, it was the first Heavenly Court Grand Assembly. During that assembly, the great powers gathered to discuss the establishment of the Long Han Heavenly Court, honoring me as the sovereign of the world. I sat high above, my power unparalleled. At that time, the human race was still an insignificant little clan, the Yao Chi Grand Assembly was merely an inconspicuous corner of the Heavenly Court, and the Seven Celestial Venerables were just minor figures of that era. Yu Tianzun was merely a slightly stronger ant among the masses. Yet I felt fear."
Yue Tianzun clenched her fists.
Xiao Tianzun continued, "I had no more enemies. The Grand Emperor was defeated, the primal stone shattered, and he became a homeless dog. Gong Yun died, and I buried her in the Ancestral Court. Heaven Duke had a weakness in my hands. Earth Mother stood alone and vulnerable. Earth Lord was no match for me either. As for the Four Ancient God Emperors, they were only fit to bow as vassals in their own domains. But when I saw Yu Tianzun, I felt fear."
He turned to look at the Divine Artifact Yu Tianzun behind him, reminiscing about the past. After a moment, he turned back and continued, "Yu Tianzun had talent—peerless talent. He opened the Spirit Embryo Divine Treasury, allowing all living beings to cultivate and earning the gratitude of every race. He also had ambition. He made friends widely, whether among half-gods or acquired races, all treated him as an honored guest. He pioneered the method of becoming a god, giving half-gods and acquired races the hope of standing shoulder to shoulder with or even surpassing the ancient gods."
"At first, I merely noticed him and was tolerant of everything he did. He was just a talented child. But when Hao'er recounted his method of becoming a god to me, I felt a deep fear."
Xiao Tianzun sighed. "If I allowed him to spread that method of becoming a god, he would accumulate a kind of momentum—a righteous and unstoppable momentum. Yue Tianzun, Mu Tianzun, you are not Heavenly Emperors, so it's hard for you to understand this momentum. You've seen dynastic struggles and the rise and fall of eras, but have you ever seen a situation where a person's momentum reaches its peak, and the entire world turns its heart to him? The path Yu Tianzun walked was exactly that!"
Qin Mu and Yue Tianzun were momentarily stunned. Even the Medicine Master, who was treating Yue Tianzun's final injuries, couldn't help but listen intently.
Xiao Tianzun said, "At the time of the Yao Chi Grand Assembly, he already possessed all the conditions for this path. Prestige, reputation, followers, the future—he had them all. The only thing he lacked was strength! Imagine, hundreds of thousands of years later, when half-gods and acquired beings had grown strong, with hundreds of beings at the Imperial Throne realm or the Heavenly Court realm, whom would they rally behind as their leader? Yu Tianzun—only Yu Tianzun! That was the momentum he had accumulated—a righteous and unstoppable momentum!"
Qin Mu and Yue Tianzun thought it over. If Yu Tianzun hadn't died back then, with half-gods and humans coexisting peacefully and all honoring him as their leader, the scene Xiao Tianzun described would indeed have come to pass hundreds of thousands of years later.
It would have been an unprecedentedly prosperous era, where all ancient gods would have been reduced to supporting roles!
"At that time, Yu Tianzun wouldn't even have needed to act. He would only have needed to point at the Heavenly Throne and say, 'I want to sit in that seat!'"
Xiao Tianzun's face was expressionless as he said coldly, "I would have had to stand up and let him sit! If I didn't stand up and yield to him, countless half-gods and acquired divine beings would have surged forward to kill me without him lifting a finger! That was the future I saw! Therefore..."
Qin Mu said, "Therefore, Imperial Heaven must die."
Xiao Tianzun nodded. "Imperial Heaven must die."
This was a righteous path to seize power—a path of kingly way and imperial way, requiring no schemes, no power struggles.
All that was needed was to give Yu Tianzun time, and he would naturally stand at the pinnacle of power. Anyone who stood in his way would be crushed and buried like a storm sweeping away debris!
When the tide of the times turns, none can stand against it!