If Qianye Immortal King had only suspected earlier that Elder Tai of Xuantian was engaging in moral coercion, then now she was almost certain—Elder Tai of Xuantian was indeed doing so, and intentionally at that.
What left Qianye Immortal King helpless was that even knowing Elder Tai of Xuantian was intentionally coercing them morally, there was nothing she could do. Because Elder Tai of Xuantian had already positioned himself on the moral high ground, not only gaining the support of many Great Dao Patriarchs, but his moral coercion was also reasoned and justified, leaving no grounds for rebuttal.
"Changfeng, you absolutely must not voice what's in your heart. Otherwise, your entire life will be ruined. Even if you are unwilling, it's best not to show it now. Moreover, staying silent isn't a solution either. The more you remain silent, the harder he'll press you. When that time comes, you'll have even less room to retreat. So, I think it's best if you verbally pretend to support him for now. After all, this matter is full of unknowns; no one knows what changes might occur in the end."
Qianye Immortal King transmitted her advice via secret voice, but Changfeng Great Emperor seemed not to hear it, offering no response.
Sure enough.
Just as Qianye Immortal King had guessed, the more Changfeng Great Emperor remained silent, the harder Elder Tai pressed him. Seeing Changfeng Great Emperor's silence, Elder Tai roared angrily, "Chang! Feng! Great! Emperor! Do you not know the fate of the Great Dao's myriad lives rests upon your shoulders? At such a critical moment, you choose silence? Are you worthy of the Heavenly Mandate you bear? Worthy of the True Destiny you bear? Worthy of the Azure Heaven's Justice you bear?"
Finally.
Changfeng Great Emperor spoke. "Elder Tai, there is no need for you to morally coerce me, Gu Changfeng, in this manner!"
When Changfeng Great Emperor uttered these words, Qianye Immortal King beside him felt like dying. What she feared most was Changfeng Great Emperor saying whatever was on his mind, and to her dismay, he had done just that. Not only had he done it, but he had also bluntly stated that Elder Tai was engaging in moral coercion.
Instantly, Elder Tai's face turned livid with rage. "How dare you! You dare say this old man is morally coercing you?"
Changfeng Great Emperor responded expressionlessly, "Is that not the case?"
"Then tell me, how has this old man morally coerced you?"
"Forcing me to support your actions—what is that if not moral coercion?"
"First! This old man is not forcing you! I am merely seeking your opinion. Second, my actions are the most correct choice for the Great Dao. You are a Great Emperor who bears the Heavenly Mandate, and you are also the destined calamity variable who bears the True Destiny. You have the responsibility, nay, the duty to protect the myriad lives of this heaven and earth's Great Dao!"
"If you believe suppressing the spiritual awareness and demonic thoughts within You Di is the correct choice for the Great Dao, then you may proceed. There is no need to force me, nor to seek my opinion."
"So you're saying this old man's decision to suppress the spiritual awareness and demonic thoughts within You Di is the wrong choice for the Great Dao?"
"That is not what I meant."
"Then what do you mean?"
"In this unknown calamity, there is no right or wrong, only different choices. You have your choice, and I, Gu Changfeng, have mine."
"And what is your choice?"
"My apologies, but Gu cannot divulge that!"
"Preposterous! Utterly preposterous!"
Elder Tai of Xuantian was furious, incensed to the extreme, his face pale with rage as he glared at Changfeng Great Emperor, gnashing his teeth. "Gu Changfeng! Let this old man tell you—if the myriad lives of the Great Dao fall and perish in this calamity, you will be the Great Dao sinner spat upon by future generations!"
Hearing this, Changfeng Great Emperor did not grow angry but instead laughed softly. "If the myriad lives of the Great Dao fall in this calamity merely because I, Gu Changfeng, refuse to participate in Elder Tai's plan, then the title of 'Great Dao Sinner'—even if you don't bestow it upon me, I, Gu Changfeng, will personally claim it!"
"Good! Good! Good!"
Elder Tai of Xuantian forcibly suppressed the fury in his heart, pointing at Changfeng Great Emperor. "It is precisely because the Great Dao has selfish, self-serving existences like you that it is as scattered as loose sand!"
Changfeng Great Emperor smiled and said, "Right and wrong have their own truth; justice resides in the hearts of the people!"
"Justice? What a joke!" Elder Tai of Xuantian laughed in extreme anger. "A selfish, self-serving person like you has no right to speak of 'justice,' much less bear the Azure Heaven's Justice!"
"Whether I, Gu Changfeng, am worthy of bearing justice is not for you, Elder Tai, to decide." Gu Changfeng pointed at the void sky. "The Azure Heaven bears witness!"
Elder Tai of Xuantian burned with rage. The other eight of the Xuantian Nine Immortals, along with many Great Dao Patriarchs present, angrily denounced Changfeng Great Emperor, calling him selfish and self-serving, unworthy of the Heavenly Mandate he bore, unworthy of the True Destiny he bore, and unworthy of the Azure Heaven's Justice he bore.
"Merely bearing the Azure Heaven's Justice, yet you dare be so arrogant? Don't think that just because you bear the Azure Heaven's Justice, even if you were the Lord of Azure Heaven presiding over justice, before this seat, you would only have the qualification to submit!"
The one who spoke these words was none other than the wildly arrogant, insolent, and incomparably haughty Taiji Boundless. His face, which seemed both male and female, wore a look of disdainful amusement.
"Compared to you, who is hailed as the Venerable Boundless," Changfeng Great Emperor stood tall, meeting Taiji Boundless's gaze, "my bit of arrogance is truly not worth mentioning."
"Let this seat see what ability you have!"
As his words fell, Taiji Boundless's figure suddenly vanished, reappearing in the void.
Taiji Boundless's speed was incredibly fast, so fast that the patriarchs present couldn't react in time. When they came to their senses, they saw Taiji Boundless descending from the sky like a sharp sword, directly assaulting the top of Changfeng Great Emperor's head.
Changfeng Great Emperor's speed was not slow either. He abruptly raised his hand, blocking the descending Taiji Boundless.
At this moment, Taiji Boundless stood with arms crossed, his handsome, demonically charming face filled with arrogance, his eyes brimming with contempt. "Overestimating yourself! Scram down for this seat!"
Whoosh!
The void stirred without wind. Celestial dragons and earthly phoenixes condensed and manifested, chasing and swirling around him like the sun and moon alternating, like yin and yang intertwining, a true display of dragon and phoenix auspiciousness, containing a vast and mighty imposing force. This force was like heavenly might and earthly might, like the power of Profound Yang and Profound Yin, sweeping forth overwhelmingly like crushing dead wood.
"Whether I, Gu Changfeng, am overestimating myself or not, I do not know. But if you dare suppress the spiritual awareness and demonic thoughts within You Di today, then it won't be merely overestimating yourself—it will be seeking death!"
Gu Changfeng blocked Taiji Boundless with one hand. When the vast and mighty dragon-phoenix auspiciousness appeared, his eyes blazed with anger. Azure light around his body ignited like flames. The flames burned, accompanied by rolling dragon roars, then transformed into an azure dragon. This dragon was immensely huge and exceptionally fierce. Upon appearing, it coiled upward around Gu Changfeng.
Taiji Boundless's dragon-phoenix auspiciousness force was as vast and boundless as heaven, earth, sun, and moon. And Changfeng Great Emperor's Azure Heaven force was not the slightest bit weaker.