Huang Yuan was an old Chixiao man, a true veteran of the Chixiao Sect. Many of the Banner Masters, Incense Masters, and Hall Masters had been personally promoted by him. He understood better than anyone that the reason he was still alive today was bought with the blood of countless Chixiao brothers, with the very bodies of the Bloodfiend Dragon-Elephants, and with the Monarch sacrificing his own life to exchange for it all!
If they were to submit to the Immortal Dynasty, how could they ever face those fallen Chixiao brothers?
How could they face the Bloodfiend Dragon-Elephants who died back then protecting all the Chixiao brothers?
And how could they face the Monarch, who alone shouldered all the blame and sacrificed his own life to bring peace to all the Chixiao brothers?
To ask him to submit to the Immortal Dynasty?
Huang Yuan could not do it.
Nor would he allow any other Chixiao person to do so.
Over the years, he had not only tried to persuade his own descendants but had also tried to persuade Chixiao people like Zhou Taihe.
Although no one listened to his advice.
He had never given up, persisting even now, hoping that one day, Chixiao people like Zhou Taihe would turn back.
"Elder Huang, what do you think of this matter?"
A Chixiao person asked in a low voice, "Do you think that person could really be the Monarch?
I heard he isn't a reincarnated person at all, not even someone who seized a body for rebirth. When the Monarch was judged by the Immortal Dao back then, if he returned, he should have been reincarnated... but that person..." "If he isn't, then how could he possibly command such reverence from the Bloodfiend Dragon-Elephant?"
The Chixiao people gathered in the grand hall had been discussing this very question, but after all this debate, no one dared to definitively say the man was real, nor dared to say he was fake.
As for whether the man who called himself the Monarch was real or not, Huang Yuan had not seen him and naturally dared not make a rash judgment.
He sat in his chair, looking somewhat aged, leaning on a cane. Gazing at these frightened people, he couldn't help but shake his head and sigh, "If you had known it would come to this, why did you start down this path? If you had never betrayed Chixiao, never submitted to the Immortal Dynasty, why would you need to worry now about whether that man is the true Monarch or not?"
Huang Yuan's words made the Chixiao people blush with shame, their hearts guilty, yet none dared to speak up.
It was clear that some of the Chixiao people felt at least a twinge of regret. Not just because a figure in Yanluo claiming to be the Chixiao Monarch—whose authenticity was hard to discern—had successively seized the Bloodfiend Dragon-Elephants of Shi Lingkai, Tan Tong, and others, frightening them into regret.
That was part of it, but only one part.
Perhaps due to Elder Huang's years of persuasion, some Chixiao people's hearts were tormented by their consciences, feeling that submitting to the Immortal Dynasty was a betrayal of their fallen Chixiao brothers and an insult to the survival the Monarch bought with his life. Many Chixiao people no longer summoned their Bloodfiend Dragon-Elephants; whenever they did, they couldn't bear to face them, because they all knew the Bloodfiend Dragon-Elephants had been judged by the Immortal Dao back then precisely for protecting them.
Their bodies flowed with the Bloodsha Aura forged together by their Chixiao brothers.
They bore the Dragon-Elephant Spirits that died protecting them.
And now they had submitted to the Immortal Dynasty.
This tortured the consciences of many Chixiao people.
But matters had reached this point. Like an arrow nocked on the bowstring, there was no turning back. They could only follow this path to the end. Even if not for their own pursuit of glory and wealth, they had to think of their descendants. After all, they were all Chixiao people who had overthrown the Immortal Dynasty back then, making them sinners in the eyes of the Immortal Dao. Although the Nine Heavens had promised the Monarch back then not to pursue the matter, which was why the Monarch willingly accepted judgment.
But.
Who could guarantee that the Immortal Dynasty of the present era would not settle accounts later?
If they were alone, they might have nothing to fear.
But what about all these descendants?
For the sake of their descendants' futures, many Chixiao people could only harden their hearts, endure the condemnation of their morals, and submit to the Immortal Dynasty.
For their descendants, they willingly bore the name of traitors.
Of course.
There were also quite a few Chixiao people who didn't think so deeply. They submitted to the Immortal Dynasty for themselves and for their descendants, feeling no moral condemnation, no pangs of conscience. Instead, they felt it was only right and proper.
A phrase like 'the wise adapt to circumstances'.
A saying like 'if man does not look out for himself, heaven and earth will destroy him'.
These were the perfectly reasonable justifications for their submission to the Immortal Dynasty.
"Elder Huang, what's the point of saying such things now?"
"Yes, Elder Huang. At a time like this, why are you still saying these things?"
Some Chixiao people couldn't stand it and couldn't help retorting at Huang Yuan. Some even mocked him coldly, sneering that since his own descendants had submitted to the Immortal Dynasty, how did he have the face to criticize others.
Huang Yuan was not angered. Over the years, he had grown accustomed to it. But looking at these Chixiao brothers with whom he had once lived and died, his heart truly ached with distress. He said, "Heaven sees what man does. Retribution may be delayed, but it is not absent. Whether you're willing to listen or not, this old man must still say one thing: turn back before you make an irreparable mistake."
These people who followed Zhou Taihe, though they had submitted to the Immortal Dynasty, had not yet publicly accepted its conferment of titles. This was Huang Yuan's final bottom line. He knew clearly that once these Chixiao people accepted the Immortal Dynasty's conferment, there would truly be no turning back.
And in his heart, Huang Yuan also knew that at this year's temple fair, not long from now, Zhou Taihe intended to lead these Chixiao people to publicly accept the Immortal Dynasty's conferment. From then on, they would no longer be Chixiao people, but Immortal Dynasty officials.
Regarding this.
He was already powerless to stop it.
The injuries from back then still hadn't healed. Not only that, but after learning that Chixiao people like Zhou Taihe and his own descendants had submitted to the Immortal Dynasty, his fury aggravated his condition, making his injuries even more severe. The man he was today was far from the man he had been. He clung to life only by the tenuous thread of his Nine Tribulations Immortal Spirit. Once that Immortal Spirit burned out, his time would come. Nowadays, he could clearly feel that his days were numbered.
He stood up, leaning on his cane, and said, "Today, since everyone is here, this old man wishes to say a few words. Originally, I intended to wait until Taihe arrived to say them, but it seems he won't be back for a while. Since that's the case, I'll speak my piece now."
At that moment, someone said, "Elder Huang, if you're still planning to spout that nonsense, you can spare us the courtesy."
The speaker was also a Chixiao person, named Ma Hai. He was also a Deputy Hall Master of the Juexin Branch Hall and had once served as the Left Envoy under Blackhearted Lord Zhou Taihe. Among the Chixiao people, he was Zhou Taihe's staunchest supporter, his most resolute backer. That Zhou Taihe had been able to win over so many Chixiao people was in no small part due to Ma Hai's efforts.
"Ma Hai, rest assured. This old man will not try to persuade you anymore."
Perhaps not expecting Huang Yuan to say this so abruptly, Ma Hai was rather surprised.
"Over the years, in trying to persuade you all, I've said everything that should be said, and even things that shouldn't have been said. Yet to this day, none of you have turned back. This old man's heart has long grown cold and weary. I have no desire to persuade you further."
"You've submitted to the Immortal Dynasty—whether for glory and wealth, or for the sake of your descendants—that is the path you yourselves have chosen. Life or death, fortune or calamity, you will bear the consequences yourselves."
"As for this person who calls himself the Monarch, I have not seen him and do not know if he is real or false. But there is one thing I must solemnly warn you all: if that man is false, then so be it. But if he truly is the Monarch... then each of you should begin preparing your final affairs."