"Hehehe!"
Green Robe Ancestor let out a sinister chuckle. "Who would have thought that the Free Emperor, renowned throughout the ages for his righteous and heroic spirit, would turn out to be a coward who clings to life and fears death! Truly an eye-opener, utterly shocking!"
"Clinging to life is not shameful. Fearing death is not shameful either," the Free Emperor said, gazing at the various Original Sin Ancestral Patriarchs who were preparing to stop Gu Qingfeng from letting go of himself. "What is shameful is the two of you colluding in secret, working hand in glove, using others to achieve your own ends."
"Esteemed seniors should understand that under these circumstances, stopping You Di from letting go of himself is not difficult. Any one of you, Green Robe or Xuanming, could do it if you truly wished, even if Lady Wuyue were to defend him with her life, it would be futile."
Shifting his tone, the Free Emperor continued, "And yet, neither of them has made a move. Instead, they have been singing in harmony, trying every means to rally all of you. Have you still not grasped their intentions?"
"Hehehehe…" After the Free Emperor's words fell, both Xuanming Ancestor and Green Robe Ancestor erupted in eerie, sinister laughter.
"I must say, Brother Free, you have misunderstood this humble one," Xuanming Ancestor said.
Green Robe Ancestor chimed in, "Free, you have not only misunderstood me and Lord Xuanming, but you have also underestimated the esteemed lords present here."
At that moment, Eight-Armed Yama spoke up. "Green Robe is right, Brother Free. You have indeed underestimated us. What kind of characters Xuanming and Green Robe are, everyone among the gathered Ancestral Patriarchs knows perfectly well, even without you saying it."
"The facts are exactly as you said. Stopping You Di from letting go of himself now is not difficult. Either Green Robe or Xuanming could do it. And I also believe that Lady Wuyue would be utterly incapable of preventing it."
Eight-Armed Yama's expression remained impassive as he spoke. "Just now, Brother Free mentioned that stopping You Di from letting go of himself would inevitably come at a heavy price, possibly even encountering misfortune, or being utterly annihilated. On this point, I fully agree. Not only do I agree, but I believe both Green Robe and Xuanming are also well aware of it. Precisely because they know stopping You Di would incur a severe cost, the two of them have been singing in harmony, calling for all Original Sin Ancestral Patriarchs to unite and stop him."
"If Brother Free thinks Xuanming and Green Robe are trying to use us to stop him from letting go, then you underestimate us even more. In this Original Sin Cataclysm, where no one knows the final answer, we are all merely pawns using each other. After all, if a man does not look out for himself, heaven and earth will destroy him!"
Eight-Armed Yama's words echoed the thoughts of all the Original Sin Ancestral Patriarchs present. They all knew Xuanming and Green Robe were no good birds. Their collusion and harmonious rallying cry were nothing more than an attempt to use everyone to stop You Di from letting go of himself.
This point was crystal clear to every Original Sin Ancestral Patriarch there. Far from resenting Xuanming and Green Robe for it, they were grateful that the two had rallied them. Because wanting to use everyone to stop You Di was not unique to Xuanming and Green Robe; every single Original Sin Ancestral Patriarch present wanted to use the others to stop You Di from letting go.
All the Original Sin Ancestral Patriarchs present understood this perfectly well.
Just as Eight-Armed Yama had said, in this Original Sin Cataclysm where no one knew the final answer, they were all merely pawns using each other.
"Hehe!" Green Robe Ancestor laughed triumphantly, sneering, "Free Emperor, have you anything more to say?"
"Since when did Brother Free become so naive and innocent?" Xuanming Ancestor also scoffed coldly. "Shame on you for being an Original Sin anomaly, yet still not knowing how to play the game of this cataclysm!"
"Hah!"
The Free Emperor shook his head, letting out a soft, self-deprecating laugh. Ignoring the mockery and ridicule from Xuanming Ancestor and Green Robe Ancestor, he looked at Eight-Armed Yama instead.
"Brother Yan, there is a question I wonder if you have considered. What if the purpose of Xuanming and Green Robe rallying all of you is not merely to stop You Di, or perhaps not to stop him at all?"
The Free Emperor's words caused Eight-Armed Yama to start. He pressed, "If their goal isn't to stop You Di from letting go of himself, then what could it be?"
"That is a question for Lords Xuanming and Green Robe!"
Eight-Armed Yama glanced at Green Robe Ancestor, then at Xuanming Ancestor, and couldn't help but fall into deep thought.
"Enough!"
Green Robe Ancestor suddenly roared sharply. "Mo Wentian! You didn't show yourself earlier, you didn't show yourself later, but now, just as we are about to stop You Di from letting go of himself, you stand up. You accuse us of having ulterior motives, but I say it is you who harbors ill intentions!"
"Although you are an Original Sin anomaly, your heart has always been with the Great Dao. You have always wanted to prevent the Daoless Age from opening. You stand here spouting nonsense, confusing the issue, doing nothing more than trying to stop us from stopping You Di from letting go of himself!"
"They say you, Free Emperor, are a righteous and heroic spirit, a rare hero and champion throughout the ages. Only today do we realize you are nothing but a despicable, sinister, petty villain!"
Facing the furious rebukes from Green Robe Ancestor and Xuanming Ancestor, the Free Emperor appeared remarkably calm, seemingly not taking them to heart at all. He continued speaking in a light, gentle tone.
"If esteemed seniors insist on stopping You Di from letting go of himself, then you must first pass through me, Mo Wentian."
With that, he leaped up, landing to stand beside Gu Qingfeng.
Witnessing this scene, the expressions of both the Great Dao Ancestral Patriarchs and the Original Sin Ancestral Patriarchs in the area grew exceedingly complex.
Earlier, when the Free Emperor had stepped forward, the Great Dao Ancestral Patriarchs had been disappointed, while the Original Sin Ancestral Patriarchs had been pleasantly surprised.
When the Primordial Black Hole had appeared, many Great Dao Ancestral Patriarchs and many Original Sin Ancestral Patriarchs had personally asked the Free Emperor about his stance on this cataclysm, asking which side he stood on—the Original Sin side or the Great Dao side.
Among the Great Dao Ancestral Patriarchs, the Free Emperor had many friends. He also had many among the Original Sin Ancestral Patriarchs.
And no matter who asked, the Free Emperor's answer was always the same, just as he had stated earlier: although his body belonged to Original Sin, his heart belonged neither to Original Sin nor to the Great Dao.
The Free Emperor had said so.
And no one disbelieved him.
Anyone familiar with the Free Emperor knew that he had always been a man of righteous and heroic spirit, deeply loyal to friendship and sentiment, open and aboveboard. If the Free Emperor yearned for the Daoless Age, he would openly admit it. If he cherished the Great Dao, he would certainly not hide it, nor would he deliberately lie.
If the Free Emperor said he would not stand on the side of Original Sin, nor on the side of the Great Dao...
Even though no one knew why the Free Emperor would do this,
everyone believed him.
Precisely because they believed him, when the Free Emperor stepped forward, the Great Dao Ancestral Patriarchs were disappointed, and the Original Sin Ancestral Patriarchs were pleasantly surprised.
However,
when everyone realized that the Free Emperor's purpose in stepping forward was not to stop You Di from letting go of himself, but to stop the Original Sin Ancestral Patriarchs present, the Original Sin Ancestral Patriarchs became disappointed, while the Great Dao Ancestral Patriarchs turned pleasantly surprised.