Chapter 1586: If Death Had Come Back Then, Who Would Know the Truth of a Life?
The Village Chief watched Fire Celestial warily, a sense of unease growing within him.
Now that Cloud Celestial’s physical body had all its cultivation sealed by Qin Mu, only his primordial spirit’s power remained usable. Though his primordial spirit was formidable, whether it could match Fire Celestial was anyone’s guess.
Since returning from the Jade Capital of the Ancestral Court, Fire Celestial’s cultivation and strength had greatly increased. The fact that he had appeared so abruptly in the Ancestral Court, as if foreseeing their path and blocking their way, gave an unsettling feeling.
How did he know Cloud Celestial was going to the Ancestral Court?
How did he so accurately intercept them on their inevitable route?
Cloud Celestial remained calm and composed. Fire Celestial spread his arms wide, but Cloud Celestial did not step forward to embrace him. Instead, he smiled and said, “To see an old friend again fills my heart with great joy. Fire, you seem troubled, as if you have grievances against Imperial Celestial and Pastoral Celestial. Would you care to speak of them?”
Fire Celestial lowered his arms, seemingly disappointed that Cloud Celestial had not embraced him in 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 constantly misunderstood. Heh, in the years after you left, it was I who protected humanity, ensuring they were not wiped out. Yet whether it was Ling Celestial, Moon Celestial, or Kai Celestial and Nether Celestial, they all mocked and sneered at me!”
The more he spoke, the angrier he became. He sneered, “Especially Pastoral Celestial! Back then, I respected him for avenging Brother Imperial, thinking him a man of true grit. But I never expected him to misunderstand me the most! I endured humiliation and bore the burden of infamy for humanity, even taking on the blame 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 humanity? He only leads them into rebellion and chaos! He only destroys the good situation I built! And he still has the nerve to call me a traitor to humanity!”
He gazed at Cloud Celestial with fervent eyes: “They don’t understand me, Cloud. You understand me, don’t you?”
Cloud Celestial pondered for a long time, then looked up and smiled. “I understand you.”
Fire Celestial’s spirits soared, and he laughed heartily. “I knew you would understand me! In the Dragon Han Era, you and I talked at length many times, sharing our ideals. Though our ideals differed, you knew my character!”
Cloud Celestial nodded. “In the Dragon Han Era, humanity was weak, merely a more conspicuous race among the countless worlds and myriad races, giving birth to us, the Nine Celestials of Dragon Han. But at that time, humanity’s power was insignificant. Even we Nine Celestials of Dragon Han were just meat on the chopping block of the ancient gods, at their mercy. It wasn’t until Pastoral Celestial killed the Five Radiance Ancient Gods on the Heavenly River that the world was shocked by humanity’s strength.”
Fire Celestial’s expression darkened, displeased at the mention of Qin Mu’s achievements.
Cloud Celestial continued, “Even so, humanity’s power was still too weak. Despair loomed over me at every moment. Feeling the inadequacy of my own strength, I repeatedly sought you out, asking for your help. You said you wanted to find another path for humanity.”
Fire Celestial recalled the past and said, “At that time, we talked for a long time. You felt that humanity had little chance of victory, that we lacked the strength to contend with ancient gods and demigods, and that we might at any moment plunge humanity into irredeemable disaster. You wanted me to help you.”
Cloud Celestial sighed. “You said we couldn’t put all our eggs in one basket; we needed two plans. Plan one was for me to continue resisting, to keep fighting for humanity.”
Fire Celestial said, “Plan two was for me to lead a portion of humanity to surrender to the demigods and fight alongside them against the ancient gods. If you failed, humanity wouldn’t be wiped out; my portion would survive.”
Cloud Celestial nodded. “So I had no objection to you surrendering to Hao Celestial. And the facts proved your foresight was extremely sharp, your judgment of people accurate. Hao Celestial was indeed incredibly powerful, defeating the ancient gods, defeating me, and claiming the final victory of the Dragon Han Era.”
Fire Celestial said solemnly, “And as we agreed at the time, you led humanity in rebellion. If you failed, to prove my loyalty to the demigods, I had to kill you. And I did go.”
His voice choked. “I went to kill you with tears in my eyes. You died, and my heart ached the most! But because of this, I bore the infamy! Cloud, do you blame me for killing you?”
Cloud Celestial shook his head. “I never blamed you for that.”
Fire Celestial laughed heartily, his voice filled with relief. “I knew it—only Cloud is a true hero, the one who understands me best! What is Qin Celestial? What is Pastoral Celestial? They aren’t fit to polish Cloud’s shoes!”
“Later, during the Red Ming Revolution, Fire, you also went with tears in your eyes to kill Bright Emperor, didn’t you?” Cloud Celestial asked.
Fire Celestial’s mask frowned slightly. “Bright Emperor was not even your equal. He could hardly accomplish anything; he only got in the way.”
“In the Supreme Emperor Era, you must have also gone with tears in your eyes to kill Moon Celestial and Ling Celestial.”
Cloud Celestial walked to his side, gazing at the sky behind him, warped and reddened by the flames. He sighed, “In the Kai Emperor Era, you went with tears in your eyes to kill Qin Celestial. In the Yan Kang Era, you went with tears in your eyes to kill Pastoral Celestial…”
Fire Celestial’s mask frowned even tighter as he looked at the sky behind Cloud Celestial.
Suddenly, he cut off Cloud Celestial’s words: “Cloud, in terms of strategy and planning, Red Emperor and Bright Emperor were no match for you. Moon Celestial and Ling Celestial were extraordinary women, but their methods were far inferior to yours; they couldn’t outmaneuver Hao Celestial or the Ten Celestials! As for Qin Celestial, Qin Ye, by the time he rose, the universe’s great situation was already settled. The Ten Celestials ruled the world, and no one else had a chance to turn things around! Pastoral Celestial? Just a child’s foolish antics. Cloud, you should understand this.”
Cloud Celestial smiled faintly. “Then, when did you stop killing them with tears in your eyes?”
Fire Celestial turned his head sharply.
The two of them, four legs, stood almost on the same line, one facing east, the other west.
When Fire Celestial turned his head, Cloud Celestial also turned.
The Village Chief felt that at that moment, the flames between the two great mountains suddenly grew fiercer. The Dao fire churned, and a dry, hot wind blew against his face, carrying a scorched smell.
His hand gripped the divine sword’s hilt tightly, his battle intent growing stronger. He focused solely on Fire Celestial, watching his every move.
The mountains of the Ancestral Court were majestic and imposing, but even the tallest peaks could not suppress their auras!
Cloud Celestial smiled faintly. “When did it start? Was it from the moment you became one of the Ten Celestials? From the moment you held supreme power, you no longer killed your own kind with tears in your eyes, did you?”
Fire Celestial was silent. The Dao fire howled between the two divine mountains, blowing through the canyon in both directions.
The two great mountains melted in the flames. The ground turned to dust, magma churned underground, and the earth floated, softened, and dissolved on the molten rock.
“In the Dragon Han Era, we consulted many times. I understood your choice.”
Cloud Celestial said, “Once upon a time, there was a kingdom with harsh living conditions. A strategist had two sons who were about to venture out into the world. The elder son said, ‘I will support the powerful to overthrow the court. The powerful have strength and influence. If the powerful becomes the Yellow Emperor and I become one of the powerful, I can make the people live better.’”
“The younger son said, ‘I don’t trust the powerful. I will build my own power, overthrow the court, and let the people live better.’ So they agreed: if the younger son failed, to avoid endless war, the elder son must kill the younger son.”
Fire Celestial’s expression was blank as he listened sideways.
“Later, the evil court was overthrown. The powerful supported by the elder son became the emperor, and the younger son became a rebel. The elder son killed his own brother with tears in his eyes, ending the war.”
Cloud Celestial asked, “This was our thinking back then, wasn’t it?”
Fire Celestial did not answer.
Cloud Celestial said, “The elder son, because of his merit in supporting the emperor, became a powerful minister. Yet the kingdom remained desolate, the people 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 part of that court, the most powerful person in it. How could he overthrow himself? So, whenever someone couldn’t bear the oppression and rose in rebellion, the elder son was always the first to jump out and crush the rebel army. Because he had experienced the Dragon Han Era’s tripartite division of the world, he knew he couldn’t let these rebels destroy his position. He was no longer the elder son who had once fought for his family.”
“Cloud, you’ve changed.”
Fire Celestial sighed desolately and shook his head. “You are no longer the Cloud of those days, no longer the Cloud who understood me.”
The face on his mask twisted, showing both a crying and a laughing expression. “You, like Pastoral and Qin, also want me dead?”
Cloud Celestial clasped his hands behind his back, gazing at the sky warped by Dao fire behind him, and said leisurely, “A bold song in the market of Yan, calmly a prisoner of Chu. Draw the blade for a swift death, not betraying the youthful head!”
He let out a scornful laugh: “If death had come back then, who would know the truth of a life? Fire, you still have a way back.”
He turned to face Fire Celestial directly. “Fire, if you could assassinate Hao Celestial, using your relationship with him to kill him, then humanity could achieve a great victory and overthrow the current Heavenly Court! All the credit could be yours alone! Whether it’s me, Ling Celestial, Moon Celestial, or Kai Celestial and Pastoral Celestial, none of our achievements would be as illustrious as yours! You would accomplish what we couldn’t in a million years!”
He raised his voice: “Everything you’ve done in the past, I can cover up for you! In the eyes of the people, you will be a glorious figure who endured humiliation, bore infamy, and achieved the final victory! Countless people will praise your sacrifice, and future generations will admire your deeds, never knowing your past! Your past will be erased! All you have to do is assassinate Hao Celestial!”
Fire Celestial stood motionless, then suddenly began to laugh.
Cloud Celestial frowned. Fire Celestial’s laughter grew louder, shaking the canyon, causing the two great mountains to collapse into rolling magma in the Dao fire.
“Cloud, I won’t deny it—you are more persuasive than Pastoral Celestial.”
Fire Celestial turned to face him, staring into his eyes, but his voice was as cold as ice, growing colder: “But you can’t defeat Hao Celestial or the Heavenly Court! Even if I could assassinate Hao Celestial, I would be killed by his dying counterattack! Your plan is clever—kill two birds with one stone, eliminating both of us!”
He sneered, “After that, you could sweep away the Heavenly Court, then deal with Kai Celestial and Pastoral Celestial, eliminating them and seizing all power! Those hotheads—how could they match you? You think well, very well. Get rid of me, get rid of Hao Celestial, then get rid of Pastoral Celestial and Kai Celestial.”
Cloud Celestial let out a long sigh, desolate. “You really have changed. You’ve betrayed your original intention…”
“Wrong!”
The Dao fire around Fire Celestial suddenly blazed with unprecedented intensity. The flames of rage consumed everything, releasing the fury in his heart like a devouring beast: “It is you who have betrayed me!”
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