"What you're saying is too absurd for me to believe," the retired emperor said, his brain throbbing with fever, unable to comprehend what he was saying.
Zheng Ya was too lazy to argue with him and reached out to ask for the spoils: "Whether you believe it or not, go and verify it yourself. It has nothing to do with me."
"Alright, hand over the Yin-Yang Key and your essence blood..."
"Uh, how about we discuss this some more..." The Emperor Emeritus regretted that he had exhausted ninety percent of his magical power in the chase against Zheng Ya with the help of Empress Yin, turning him into a lamb to the slaughter.
Zheng Ya stepped forward and touched the corpse: "Old man, don't think that just because I chatted with you guys in the Dragon Ball space, I'm doing this."
And the reason I refrained from retaliating while being hunted down by you was because I wanted you to command all cultivators in the world to stop Wu Wei's atrocities of slaughtering the world, and to act as some kind of savior.
No, I'm just creating hype and generating revenue.
"All the revenue generated can be used as resources for cultivation, to fight against the enslavement and pursuit of the high-level forces on the Qian Yuan Continent. Give it to me!"
"Uh, wait, you can't be so cold-blooded..." The retired emperor was stunned. Zheng Ya reached out and snatched the storage bags from him and Empress Yin: "You, the retired emperor who slaughtered all living beings, have no right to call me cold-blooded!"
Checking the storage bag space, resources filled eighteen storage bags, and there were two more storage bags containing daily necessities, but two Yin-Yang keys were missing.
Seeing Zheng Ya raise his head in anger, the Emperor Emeritus took a step back in alarm and transmitted his voice: "Don't get agitated, both keys are kept safe in the Yin Empress's Black Tower magic treasure..."
"Then kill her and loot her gear..." Zheng Ya raised his hand to strike, but the feigning-death Empress Yin summoned the Black Tower magic weapon to shield her entire body: "Boom!"
The fatal palm strike landed on the black tower, sending shockwaves across the surrounding sea and forcing the retired emperor back more than three zhang.
Zheng Ya laughed in anger: "Those in power are indeed not brainless. Are you trying to play a double agent with me?"
"Wait, don't do anything. I'll give you the key. Can you give me the opportunity to verify the truth of what you said earlier and to enter the Four Continents?" Empress Yin said telepathically as she stood up, her black tower magic weapon aloft.
Having tried every means to kill Zheng Ya but failed, and having also discovered that Zheng Ya possessed the ability to assassinate him at any time, it seemed that submitting to him to seek a way out was the only option.
The retired emperor was furious: "Empress Yin, you're playing me..."
"Shut up, you old fool! We're both equally bad. If you're not ashamed, try yelling a few more times!" Empress Yin glared at him, showing him no mercy whatsoever.
This made Zheng Ya stop and stand aside, transmitting his voice: "You woman are no good..."
"I admit I'm not a good person, but are you?" Empress Yin held the Yin-Yang Key, pretending to crush it and scatter it in two. The terrified Emperor Emeritus danced around, daring not to speak his anger.
Crazy women are capable of anything!
Now it was Zheng Ya's turn to be dumbfounded. After a moment of contemplation, he transmitted his voice: "The definition of good and bad is another matter for me."
For me, it means to sweep the snow from my own doorstep, not to harm the innocent, not to do anything that damages the spirits of heaven and earth and cuts off their lineage, to disregard the natural life and death of all beings, to cultivate my own way, to rely entirely on benevolence to save those who deserve it, to elevate the soul, and to leave no regrets. This is what I call goodness.
Promoting good and punishing evil is called good.
When have you ever seen me abandon good for evil and wreak havoc on the region?
"You're absolutely right, but you can't ignore the people who died because of your influence..." The Empress Dowager argued so smugly.
Zheng Ya waved his hand to interrupt: "You're talking nonsense."
Those who cultivate the Tao emphasize cause and effect and never concern themselves with people and things that are unrelated to them. Otherwise, they would find it difficult to make any progress, let alone cultivate their minds and nourish their nature to achieve longevity.
As the saying goes, everything is predestined, and nothing is up to us.
The sophistry you spout is nothing but an excuse for you to manipulate me. I am not a foolish saint who will be bewitched by you, morally blackmailed, or try to save those you implicate.
"It's in my dreams, do you need it?"
"You're determined to kill me, but I don't think you dare!" Empress Yin gritted her teeth and raised the Yin-Yang Key in her hand, threatening Zheng Ya to submit.
Zheng Ya laughed: "You old geezer, I told you before that this woman wasn't a good person, wasn't I right?"
"You, you mustn't provoke her into destroying the key!" The Emperor Emeritus bit his lip in desperation, shaking his head repeatedly in his advice.
Destroying the Yin-Yang Key is tantamount to destroying the seal and all hope!
Zheng Ya scoffed and transmitted his voice: "Haha, how ridiculous!"
"What are you laughing at? If you can't put my mind at ease, I'll destroy the Yin-Yang Key, and we'll all go our separate ways. No one will get away with this, it'll be a fight to the death!" The Empress Yin gritted her teeth and transmitted her final ultimatum.
Zheng Ya shook his head with amusement and transmitted his voice: "You look like a clown right now, trying to act out some kind of trick of manipulating people with your secret key and magic weapon. It's really laughable."
Let me tell you an objective fact.
In the Qian Yuan Continent, only locals aged sixteen and above are granted special abilities. By branding the Tower of Babel mark on each person's forehead, they can travel to various worlds to collect resources and treasures for cultivation.
The main issue is that the world that appears after crossing realms has a time flow rate that increases by 365 times, meaning that a single Tower of Babel mark can control the accelerated movement of a region of the starry sky.
To put it bluntly, the entire universe is their breeding ground.
They would raise various treasures and resources, and then release interdimensional travelers to plunder them when the opportunity arose.
This is called investing in nurturing a cult.
"Those who transmigrate through different realms like me are merely their tools, while you are nothing. It's laughable that you threaten me with the destruction of the Yin-Yang Key; I'm terrified!"
"No, you're lying! Don't even think about deceiving me into compromising with you! I don't believe you!" the Empress Yin roared telepathically, her defenses broken.
The retired emperor was in a complete mess, and he transmitted his voice in disbelief: "No, this isn't real, why is this happening?"
"The Immortal Dynasty is so powerful..."
"Haha, your so-called powerful immortal dynasty is probably just because the Qian Yuan Continent has raised a higher level of Gu worms and treasures!"
Just like the local structure of the Qian Yuan Continent, where humans have long lived at the bottom of the food chain, devoured by evil forces, becoming objects of food for evil forces.
To put it bluntly, it's all about surviving, living a more comfortable life, and not being oppressed. It's something we do out of necessity.
"Your Hongli Continent, from its peak to its decline, is itself the best example, isn't it?" Zheng Ya spoke freely, releasing the pressure stored in his mind and swallowing it all.
In reality, it was all Zheng Ya's anxiety about becoming a tool of the Tower of Babel official and losing his freedom, a result of his own imaginings and frustrations.
Whether the envisioned outcome is correct or not is irrelevant.
Releasing pent-up emotions, embracing innovation, and forging one's own path in life—these are the ideals Zheng Ya pursues. Using them to preach to others achieves two goals at once.
Empress Yin suddenly felt a chill run through her body and transmitted a disheartened voice: "So you don't care about the seal or the key at all? Then what are you after?"
"Haha, there is no savior in the world. If there is, it is only to seek the power of the masses to offer their sacrifices, such as faith, luck and other special energy, understand?" Zheng Ya couldn't understand why people who stand at the top of the world could not see through life and the commonalities of the world.
To give and receive freely is energy, a consumable.
Living beings remain, yet those who endlessly give will not meet a good end.
While dedication may possess admirable and moving spiritual beliefs, without eternal life to sustain it, any belief will simply become a source of energy, fueling those in positions of power to climb to the top.
This is true for human life, for all living beings, and perhaps even for the myriad worlds in the cosmos!
So, is it really that hard to choose between being someone else's energy source or creating eternity?
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