# Chapter 2596: Green Emperor
All major forces that knew of the supreme-grade origin divine crystal's emergence had true gods stationed in the Hell Realm, participating in the division of the Origin Divine Temple's treasures.
As the gods divided the spoils, a majestic figure, holding the hand of a one or two-year-old child, stepped onto a spatial star path and walked out of the Dark Great Triangle Star Domain.
That child was radiant with golden light, his body as if forged from gold, carrying a faint Buddhist essence.
Pure white origin light and pitch-black dark power occasionally flickered across his skin. He resembled a young deity, filled with divinity from head to toe.
When he walked, his feet were soft and unsteady.
His big, round eyes gazed at the vast starry sky, and a "hehe" laugh escaped his lips—what he was laughing at, no one could tell.
Lanying was hailed as supremely talented and also took the form of a child, yet in terms of spiritual nature, he was far inferior to this toddler. This child gathered the spiritual excellence of the world, as if condensed from the essence of heaven and earth.
The Yama Clan god Wujingzong, who held the child's little hand, was tall and sturdy, with broad shoulders and a wide chest. Every inch of his muscles radiated explosive power.
He looked down at the child and revealed a gentle smile: "Wushen, you have returned from the Six Paths Reincarnation and achieved new life in the origin. I hope you can return to the Great Saint realm within a thousand years."
The golden child laughed in a milky voice: "A thousand years is too long. I think a hundred years is enough to reach Great Perfection in the Saint King realm and break into the Great Saint realm. In a thousand years, I will have accumulated enough in the Great Saint realm to attempt to charge into the God realm. I don't want to fall too far behind Zhang Ruochen in cultivation."
...
In a region of cosmic space not far from the Kunlun Realm, it was cold, dark, and eternally silent.
Suddenly, a powerful spatial force erupted at a certain point, and chaotic power surged forth, emitting multicolored light.
Space was torn open, and a lotus flower flew out from within.
"Whoosh!"
Empress Chi Yao, Haitang Popo, and Xue Lingxian flew out from the lotus flower, hovering in midair as they gazed into the distance at the Kunlun Realm, which resembled an egg. Looking closely, they could see saintly energy and spiritual qi, like egg whites, enveloping the great world.
They had returned!
With the help of the Space-Time Chaos Lotus, their journey from Jiannan Realm to the Kunlun Realm had not taken too long.
"I wonder if Dragon Lord and the others' rescue mission went smoothly." Haitang Popo's eyes were filled with worry. After all, this was a matter that would truly determine the rise or fall of the Kunlun Realm's future.
For this great undertaking, they had prepared for many years. Too many people had abandoned everything they had, resolutely setting foot on the path to the Hell Realm, making tremendous sacrifices.
Most of them had already died tragically.
Haitang Popo's gaze shifted to Empress Chi Yao, noticing that her mood was very off. Ever since leaving the Origin Divine Temple, she had been absent-minded, her eyes as if covered by a layer of gray mist—no sharpness, no spiritual light, no life—very much like the eyes of the dead.
"What is wrong with this Empress?" Haitang Popo secretly transmitted her voice, asking Xue Lingxian.
"Why ask me? Ask her directly."
Xue Lingxian transformed into a beam of divine light, flying straight toward the Kunlun Realm at an unimaginable speed.
This Empress Chi Yao had unparalleled influence in the mortal world of the Kunlun Realm and was the only god of the Kunlun Realm openly serving in the Heavenly Court. Haitang Popo was truly worried that something might go wrong with her.
If the plan to rescue Yunshen Daozhu failed, Empress Chi Yao could at least continue to support the Kunlun Realm, buying them some time to activate the second plan.
Although it was too difficult for a new god to support a great world that had endured for ten thousand years, this heavy burden had to be placed on her shoulders first. The hidden forces of the Kunlun Realm could not yet be exposed.
One hundred thousand years of waiting, one hundred thousand years of lying low—this could not be destroyed at this critical moment.
Just as Haitang Popo was about to speak, not far ahead, specks of golden Buddhist light manifested out of thin air, quickly forming clouds of light.
From within the golden light clouds, a Buddhist cultivator in a blue monk's robe walked out.
This Buddhist cultivator appeared to be fifty or sixty years old, with a gaunt face. His brow and features bore some resemblance to Chi Yao, and behind him was a ring of sacred Buddhist light.
Seeing this Buddhist cultivator, Chi Yao's gray eyes suddenly regained some vitality, and she nearly shed tears. Her voice was filled with sorrow: "Five hundred years... five hundred years, and you finally agree to see me. Father, how cruel you are..."
"This poor monk's Dharma name is Jingxiu. I have long entered the Buddhist path and am no longer an emperor or a king." The blue-robed monk said this while counting prayer beads with his right hand.
Chi Yao shook her head vigorously, wanting to squeeze out tears to make the monk across from her pity her. But she found that after forcing herself not to cry for eight hundred years, after forcing herself to be strong for eight hundred years, shedding a single tear was so difficult.
Her eyes had no tears left to shed.
Chi Yao struggled to calm her emotions and said: "Since you have entered the Buddhist path, why have you come to see me today?"
"Because... I want to be a father for one day, just this one day. Tai Shang has returned. From now on, you don't have to continue supporting the Kunlun Realm alone. I once made a vow that only when this day came could we meet. Yao'er, forgive your father. These years, your father has wronged you."
The blue-robed monk's expression was desolate, his face filled with endless sorrow. His fingers trembled, and the prayer beads scattered, all falling into the void.
Haitang Popo naturally knew that this blue-robed monk was one of the Nine Emperors of the Kunlun Realm from back then—the "Green Emperor." Seeing the father and daughter reunited after five hundred years, she consciously retreated into the distance.
Born in this era, they were all pitiable people.
One wanted to see her father but could not.
One wanted to see his daughter but dared not.
Five hundred years ago, under the leadership of the Green Emperor and Princess Chi Yao, the Kunlun Realm was unified, and the First Central Empire was established.
When Princess Chi Yao ascended the throne, the Green Emperor disappeared from the Kunlun Realm.
Only a very few cultivators knew that the Green Emperor and some other powerful figures of the era, whom Hell Realm cultivators thought were dead, had left the Kunlun Realm in batches. Some infiltrated the Hell Realm, while others went to the Heavenly Court.
The Green Emperor was among those who went to the Heavenly Court.
Carrying a token of faith, the Green Emperor paid homage to an ancient Buddha of the Western Buddha Realm who had some connection with Xumi Saint Monk. In an extremely short time, he reached the God realm, proving his worth.
Great powers of the Heavenly Court like the Western Buddha Realm and the Five Elements Temple had indeed had good relations with the Kunlun Realm in the past.
But that was one hundred thousand years ago. Their old friends from the Kunlun Realm had almost all fallen. To get them to go against the now-ascendant Paradise Realm and help the Kunlun Realm—how easy was that?
That was why cultivators like the Green Emperor were needed to pay homage to their sects in advance, hoping they would remember past friendships and help the Kunlun Realm.
At the same time, the Green Emperor and the others had to cultivate with all their might, reaching the God realm in a short time.
Because only by becoming gods could they gain a certain voice in major powers like the Western Buddha Realm and the Five Elements Temple.
It was through the unremitting efforts of these people that they gained the support of some major powers in the Heavenly Court. When Chi Yao became a god, the Kunlun Realm was once again listed as a subordinate mortal world of the Heavenly Court.
Otherwise, with the interference of the Paradise Realm, it would have been impossible for the Kunlun Realm to become a subordinate mortal world of the Heavenly Court.
If they failed to become a subordinate mortal world of the Heavenly Court, the most serious consequence would be that after the power of Xumi Saint Monk protecting the Kunlun Realm disappeared, the Hell Realm would launch a massive attack on the Kunlun Realm, and the myriad worlds of the Heavenly Court could stand by idly or even participate in dividing up the Kunlun Realm.
It would be blatant division and plunder.
Great Saints and gods would enter the realm, turning it upside down, just like the current Jiannan Realm. They would not care whether the Kunlun Realm would be destroyed or how many living beings would die.
At least now, only cultivators below the Great Saint realm could enter the Kunlun Realm. At least the Kunlun Realm would not be destroyed in the short term. At least some great worlds were truly fighting against the Hell Realm. At least they had bought time to rescue Tai Shang...
Countless cultivators were striving to save the Kunlun Realm, to save their homeland, to protect those mortals who had no power to save themselves, to guard the familiar green mountains and clear waters.
No matter how difficult, they had to grit their teeth and persevere.
Even knowing they would die, they had to move forward without hesitation, because there was no retreat.
Only they could save themselves; outsiders would not pity the weak.
Take Tianquan Great World, for example. One hundred thousand years ago, it was an ally of the Kunlun Realm. But one hundred thousand years later, the leader of Tianquan Great World, Yao Tian Gongzi, was solely focused on seizing benefits from the Kunlun Realm and snatching its most outstanding women.
If not for the Green Emperor and the others paying homage to major powers like the Western Buddha Realm in advance and cultivating to become gods, the peaceful Western Buddha Realm might not have been willing to offend the Paradise Realm and give the Kunlun Realm as much help as possible.
"Tai Shang has returned. Everything can be put down for now. You don't have to force yourself anymore. I know these five hundred years... no, these eight hundred years, you have been too tired. It is all your father's fault." The blue-robed monk shook his head and sighed, his eyes reddening.
"Can I really put it all down?"
Chi Yao was dazed, feeling that everything she heard was unreal, as if she were in a dream.
The blue-robed monk, with his keen insight, saw that her state of mind was severely troubled and said: "Yao'er, have you suffered some great shock recently? Why is your emotional fluctuation so intense?"
Chi Yao stood still for a moment, then gently shook her head.
The blue-robed monk sighed: "It seems that after becoming a god, you have been constantly dealing with various matters, rushing about everywhere—first the Zuling Realm merit war, then the Kunlun Realm merit war—and you still have to struggle to cope with the various harassments from the Paradise Realm faction gods. The pressure is too great. You lack time to stabilize your realm and to cultivate your state of mind."
"Your heart tribulation must have arrived!"
"Come with your father to the Western Buddha Realm to cultivate for a while and let your heart calm down. You have already paid eight hundred years for the Kunlun Realm. It is time for you to have some time of your own. Whether it is the curses or praises from the mortals and cultivators of the Kunlun Realm, including the turmoil, honor, disgrace, joy, and sorrow in your heart—forget them all."
No matter how well a person does, there will always be mixed reviews—some curse, some praise, some disdain, some admire.
But as a father, the blue-robed monk only hoped that his daughter could put down her burdens and live a little happier.
Because eight hundred years ago, he had treated his daughter cruelly.
Five hundred years ago, he had thrown all the burdens onto her alone.
In these years of Buddhist cultivation, he did not know how many times he had repented and wept before the Buddha statue. An emperor also has a heart; a god also has emotions. But of course, there was more helplessness.
He only regretted not being born into an ordinary family.