"Heh."
Bai Ze smiled faintly and asked, "May I ask, Senior, were you present when You Di ignited the Original Sin Karmic Fire back then?"
"No, why?"
"Since Senior was not present, how do you know You Di ignited the Original Sin Karmic Fire for the sake of the myriad living beings of this heaven and earth's Great Dao?"
"This...
Although this old man was not present back then, it is a fact that You Di ignited the Original Sin Karmic Fire. This is something everyone knows."
"That's correct. It is indeed a fact that You Di ignited the Original Sin Karmic Fire. As for whether it was for the myriad living beings of this heaven and earth's Great Dao, that is unknown. Don't just say it's because legends say so. Since ancient times, legends have always been three parts true, seven parts false. Everyone should just listen to them and not take them seriously."
"This..." Huode had originally intended to use the matter of Gu Qingfeng igniting the Original Sin Karmic Fire to muddle through, say a few good words for Gu Qingfeng, and incidentally turn the tables to deflate the arrogance of these people. He never expected this reasoning would not hold up. Moreover, facing the calm, elegant, and handsome Bai Ze's words, he truly didn't know how to refute them. What's more, he knew better than anyone that when Gu Qingfeng ignited the Original Sin Karmic Fire back then, it definitely wasn't for that nonsense about the myriad living beings of the heaven and earth's Great Dao.
"Let's set aside for now whether You Di ignited the Original Sin Karmic Fire for the myriad living beings of the heaven and earth's Great Dao back then. Even if it really was so, what of it?"
At this moment, Leng Jue, who hailed from Danding Valley, one of the other Seventy-Two Blessed Lands, also stepped forward and said, "Can that possibly offset the monstrous crimes You Di committed in the Ancient Era?
Crimes like defying fate, acting against heaven, and great impiety—how could they possibly be offset?"
"No matter what, You Di is a Great Dao criminal of the Ancient Era. This is an ironclad fact that no one can deny."
Mo Baiyu also stepped forward, saying, "We, the people of our generation, should be like the hero of the Present Era, Imperial Lord Fusheng—complying with the Mandate of Heaven, guarding the Great Dao, and benefiting all living beings."
For Mo Baiyu to suddenly say such words at this moment was enough to prove his emotional intelligence was quite high.
Earlier, he had remained silent and said nothing because Yuanwu's insult to You Di had provoked public outrage. If he had stepped forward then, he would only have brought trouble upon himself.
Now he stepped forward because the words of Bai Ze and Leng Jue were, by reason, sentiment, public duty, and private interest, irrefutable. By stepping forward now, he not only stated his own stance but also gave a powerful flattering slap to the Eternal Life Pavilion. Moreover, the timing of this flattery was excellent and quite clever.
Immediately after, Yun Zhou also stepped forward and said, "Imperial Lord Fusheng is both a Great Dao Lord who received the Mandate of Heaven and a Great Dao Emperor who received the Mandate of Heaven. He is also the Imperial Lord of the Present Era who shakes the Great Desolate. Furthermore, he is the undisputed hero and outstanding figure in the hearts of our generation in the Present Era. Especially the Minor Thousand Creation 'Rainbow Piercing the Sun' he created—it not only shook the Great Desolate of the Present Era, but now we of our generation also take pride in cultivating 'Rainbow Piercing the Sun.' We should all be like Imperial Lord Fusheng, complying with the Mandate of Heaven, guarding the Great Dao, and benefiting all living beings."
"Hey!
A bunch of little brats, quite good at climbing the pole when it's offered!"
Huode narrowed his eyes, looking at the crowd, and sneered, "You even dragged out Imperial Lord Fusheng."
If it were anyone else, Huode might have been able to find some flaws and sling some mud. But now that these brats had brought out Imperial Lord Fusheng, Huode truly didn't know what to say for a moment. Because Imperial Lord Fusheng was the publicly acknowledged hero and outstanding figure of the Present Era. Even if he wanted to argue against it, he really couldn't find a reason to do so. At the very least, having mixed in the Great Desolate for nearly ten thousand years, he had only ever heard of how heroic Imperial Lord Fusheng was—either performing chivalrous deeds or rescuing people from peril, either guarding the Great Dao or benefiting all living beings. He had never heard Imperial Lord Fusheng had any flaws.
Even if Huode didn't want to, he had to admit that Imperial Lord Fusheng truly was a hero and outstanding figure of the Present Era. One couldn't help but admire him. Whenever Imperial Lord Fusheng was mentioned, no one failed to give a thumbs-up.
Then look at Gu Qingfeng.
When You Di was mentioned in the Great Desolate, good heavens!
Either he abducted this queen or seduced that empress; either he exterminated this clan or slaughtered that immortal realm; either he damn well burned the Nine Heavens or damn well insulted the Immortal Dao; either he was an enemy of the Three Thousand Great Daos or he ran amok in the Great Desolate.
If Imperial Lord Fusheng was the undisputed hero and outstanding figure of the Present Era,
then the existence of You Di was absolutely the undisputed criminal of heaven and earth in the Ancient Era.
Imperial Lord Fusheng's life had no flaws; one wouldn't even know how to criticize him if they wanted to.
Whereas You Di's life was full of flaws everywhere. If one wanted to criticize him, they could criticize him damn well for eighty or a hundred years and still not finish.
"That's right. You Di is merely an Ancient Era criminal, nothing remarkable, and even less worth mentioning. Imperial Lord Fusheng is the undisputed hero and outstanding figure of the Present Era. The so-called You Di simply cannot be mentioned in the same breath as Imperial Lord Fusheng. He doesn't even have the qualification to hold Imperial Lord Fusheng's shoes."
The one who said these words was none other than Yuanwu.
Just now, he had been berated by Huode until he was thoroughly humiliated. Now he seized this opportunity to angrily retort. Moreover, he was also cleverly tight-lipped, directly bringing out Imperial Lord Fusheng to compare with You Di. Not only that, he even bluntly stated that You Di didn't even have the qualification to hold Imperial Lord Fusheng's shoes.
These words could not be said to be not serious.
However,
Yuanwu had also sized up the situation before speaking and was confident no one would dare say anything.
Sure enough.
When Yuanwu uttered these words, the ancient seniors present all had varied expressions, eyes wide as they stared at each other, looking at me, looking at you, none of them speaking.
Even if some among them wanted to say a few good words on behalf of You Di, representing the Ancient Era, they were also hindered by the presence of Old Lady Jin Hua, Lixin Xianzi, and others from the Eternal Life Pavilion, and dared not say much.
Who didn't know that Imperial Lord Fusheng was a member of the Eternal Life Pavilion?
Speaking ill of Imperial Lord Fusheng in front of members of the Eternal Life Pavilion—what difference was there from seeking death?
No matter how powerful You Di was, he was already a dead man.
Whereas Imperial Lord Fusheng was still alive, and moreover the publicly acknowledged hero and outstanding figure of the Present Era.
No one would offend a publicly acknowledged hero and outstanding figure of the Present Era for the sake of an Ancient Era criminal who had already turned to dust and vanished.
At this moment,
Bai Ze also said, "Yuanwu, how can you compare an Ancient Era criminal with our Eternal Life Pavilion's Imperial Lord Fusheng?"
"Yes, yes, yes. You Di is not qualified to be compared with Imperial Lord Fusheng."
Yuanwu laughed, "He simply cannot be compared with Imperial Lord Fusheng, nor does he have the qualification to be mentioned in the same breath as Imperial Lord Fusheng."
But as soon as his words fell, Old Lady Jin Hua angrily rebuked, "Bai Ze, don't talk nonsense!
Come back here!"
After saying this, Old Lady Jin Hua proactively walked over, cupped her hands, and said, "Fellow Daoist Huode, Bai Ze is young and ignorant. He did not mean to offend You Di. I hope Fellow Daoist will be magnanimous."
Immediately after, Lixin Xianzi also stepped forward, staring at Yuanwu, and said, "Little fellow, I advise you to watch your words. Don't mistake ignorance for personality, or you won't even know how you died when the time comes. Moreover, from now on, don't compare You Di with my senior brother, Imperial Lord Fusheng. It's not that You Di cannot be mentioned in the same breath as my senior brother, but that my senior brother cannot be mentioned in the same breath as You Di. These are not my words, but what my senior brother Imperial Lord Fusheng himself said!"
"And, I can also tell everyone, my senior brother once said something: You Di is the person he admires most in this lifetime, bar none!"