Chapter 1476: Ming Emperor Lectures Taiyi (First Update)
Within the Ten Thousand Sacred Mountains, Granny Si and the others watched Ma Ye and Battle-Empty Tathagata with tense concern. Over twenty days had passed since the upheaval at the Ancestral Court’s Jade Capital City. Although Qin Mu’s condition had remained stable, the situation for Ma Ye and Battle-Empty Tathagata was far less optimistic.
Battle-Empty Tathagata possessed high mental cultivation, but his cultivation base was low. This prolonged period had already put the great Buddha under immense strain.
Ma Ye had a higher cultivation base, but his mental cultivation was a notch below Battle-Empty’s. At this stage, he too was struggling mightily.
Just then, Yan’er suddenly flew over and said to Granny Si and the others, “Something terrible has happened! Our sacred ground has sprouted!”
“The sacred ground has sprouted?”
Granny Si and the others were baffled. Yan’er continued, “I was chatting with Mother about everyday matters, taking her around to show her the beautiful scenery of our sacred ground…”
Everyone frowned, thinking to themselves, “This girl is blinder than Blind. Although the Ten Thousand Sacred Mountains have the word ‘sacred’ in their name, that’s just us gilding the lily. When has there ever been beautiful scenery here?”
Yan’er went on, oblivious: “…When we reached the main hall at the center of the sacred mountain, I saw the hall being lifted up by two giant leaves, and its foundation was completely shattered! Those two leaves were enormous, holding the young master’s hall between them, looking rather pitiful…”
The girl’s words were disjointed. Blind quickly said, “Granny, you all stay here and watch over Mu’er. I’ll go with her to take a look.”
Granny Si nodded. Mute said, “I’ll go too!”
Yan’er led the two of them flying toward the center of the sacred mountain. Before they even arrived, Blind saw from afar two colossal leaves, like two impossibly large palms, cradling Qin Mu’s palace in their grasp!
Those two leaves had sprouted from the charred stump of the Great Black Tree. The Great Black Tree had long been cut down by Taiyi, who had set it ablaze, leaving only the unburned growth rings, which had turned into tens of thousands of black mountains.
Now, from the central mountain body, two giant leaves had grown—truly bizarre!
By this time, many people had gathered around the two leaves. Xu Shenghua, Lan Yutian, Ming Emperor, and others were flying around the stems of the leaves, examining where the plant had emerged from.
The hall cradled between the two leaves was the sacred hall of the Ten Thousand Sacred Mountains, where Qin Mu resided. Once, Taiyi had also received Celestial Lord and Earth Lord in this hall.
The hall was not small, but compared to the two leaves, it seemed tiny. No wonder Yan’er said it looked pitiful.
The two arrived beneath the leaves, looking up at the enormous foliage, their hearts filled with awe. The veins on the leaves resembled the Dao patterns of the Great Way, exuding an indescribable mystery. A vibrant life force emanated from the leaves, and just standing there made one feel radiant and rejuvenated.
Suddenly, Blind saw a burly man carrying a great axe walking over. He stopped beneath the two leaves, hefted the axe, and made a few practice swings at the stem of the leaves, as if preparing to chop.
“Hey there, you fellow, what are you doing?”
Ming Emperor flew over, furious. “Who are you? Why would you want to cut down someone else’s sapling for no reason?”
Blind and Mute’s faces turned ashen. Xu Shenghua, Lan Yutian, and the others arrived, their faces also pale. The burly man’s muscles rippled fiercely, his physique like that of a world-splitting giant. The great axe in his hand gleamed coldly, seemingly containing the power to open heaven and earth. Clearly, this was none other than Taiyi in human form!
Although Ming Emperor was the most dazzling figure of the Red Ming Era, facing such an existence, even a single hair plucked from him would be many times thicker than Ming Emperor’s waist!
And judging by Taiyi’s physique, his hair was indeed many times thicker than Ming Emperor’s waist.
Taiyi put away his axe, glanced at Ming Emperor, and said in a voice like a great bell, “Naturally, I’ve come to cut down the tree.”
“You’re quite brazen about it!”
Ming Emperor was exasperated and said angrily, “Is this your land?”
Taiyi set down his axe, leaning on the handle, and shook his head. “It’s not my land.”
Ming Emperor sneered, “Is the tree your tree?”
Everyone remained silent, not daring to speak.
Taiyi shook his head again. “It’s not my tree either.”
“It’s not your land, and it’s not your tree, so what right do you have to cut it down?”
Ming Emperor sneered, “You come here, carrying an axe, ready to chop down a tree growing on someone else’s land—there’s no justification for that anywhere! Reason, reason—if you can’t reason, can you still claim to follow the Dao?”
Taiyi was stunned for a moment, then looked at the crowd.
Everyone looked away, not daring to meet his gaze. Ming Emperor clenched his fists and said loudly, “This sapling belongs to Lord Mu, and the land belongs to Lord Mu. You can’t cut it without asking him first… Xuanxiu, Wenyuan, don’t pull me! This fellow may be strong, but heaven and earth have justice, and justice is universal truth… Don’t pull me! Though this man is fierce, how can I fear him? As a guest of Lord Mu’s household, I cannot stand by and do nothing…”
Hua Xuanxiu and the young Wenyuan pulled him back, but Ming Emperor struggled, furious. “You two are also bullies who fear the strong! Let me go! I’ll reason with him!”
Taiyi thought for a moment, then sat down. “What you say has some merit. This place was given to Lord Mu by me. I am merely the former landowner, now also a guest. Cutting down the tree does require his consent. Very well, I won’t cut it for now. We’ll wait until he wakes up.”
Ming Emperor snorted, shook off Hua Xuanxiu and young Wenyuan, raised two fingers to point at his own eyes, then pointed at Taiyi sitting on the ground. “I’m watching you. Don’t think you can act while I’m not looking… What are you all doing? Why are you looking at me like that?”
Everyone silently marveled: “The Red Ming Era truly was the wildest era. Ming Emperor has seen great things, standing upright and righteous, even daring to lecture a being like Taiyi, who has attained the Dao.”
Xu Shenghua and Lan Yutian approached Taiyi and asked, “Dao Brother, if we don’t cut down this sapling, what harm will come?”
Taiyi said, “If we don’t cut it, once the roots of this tree fully revive, the powerful beings from the previous cosmic epoch can crawl out along the roots and bring disaster to the world. This universe won’t withstand such beings wreaking havoc for long before it falls into the Great Extinction.”
Xu Shenghua asked, “Then if we don’t cut down this sapling, what benefit will there be?”
Taiyi said, “If we don’t cut it, there are some benefits. When the tree grows, its branches and canopy extending into the Ultimate Void, attaining the Dao will become much easier. When the universe undergoes the Great Extinction, some may be able to use it to escape into the next universe. However…”
He shook his head. “They would still be parasites.”
Lan Yutian asked again, “If we cut it down, will the beings from the previous cosmic epoch be unable to descend?”
Taiyi shook his head. “No. They will still descend, but it will delay things for a while.”
The two asked no more and withdrew.
Mute cautiously approached and sat down beside Taiyi’s toe. He took out his water pipe, lit it, took a couple of puffs, and handed it to Taiyi.
Taiyi was too large. He looked down at him, shrank his body, and took the water pipe from Mute’s hand, taking a few puffs.
Mute’s wrinkled face squeezed into a smile. “Dao Brother, could I take a look at your axe?”
“Go ahead.”
Mute quickly scrambled up, excitedly jumped onto the great axe, and carefully examined the Dao patterns on its surface. He waved his hand. “Blind! Blind! You have good eyesight. Come up quickly and help me study this!”
Blind didn’t go immediately but asked Taiyi, “Dao Brother, will Mu’er wake up?”
Taiyi puffed on the water pipe. “The various Celestial Lords of the Heavenly Court are currently heading to the Ancestral Court’s Jade Capital City. There is a terrifying existence within that city, blocking my sight. Even I cannot see what’s happening inside. Whether the Celestial Lords will enter the Piziang Hall to deal with the Primordial Sage of the Miluo Palace is unknown.”
Blind’s heart skipped a beat.
Taiyi said, “The nine Celestial Lords have already arrived at Jade Capital City.”