"Shepherd, do you think I am suitable to be the Holy Emperor?"
On the boundless grassland, a thin man dressed in golden armor and wearing a red hairpin asked a question to the shepherd who was playing with a royal tomb stock market.
Upon hearing this, the shepherd stopped teasing the imperial tomb stock market crash and shooed him aside to graze.
He looked up at the thin man who had asked him the question and said softly:
"I wonder why the Holy Emperor Huantian has come here to ask me such a question?"
The Illusory Heavenly Emperor, whom the shepherd spoke of, shook his head and began to recount the events of the day to the shepherd.
...
"Huan Tian! As the second Holy Emperor personally appointed by the late Emperor, how can you indulge in illusions all day long! Do you still remember the great oath you swore before the late Emperor's passing?"
A beautiful woman wearing a golden feather crown and a light blue dress spoke sternly to the Holy Emperor Huantian, who was sitting on the Holy Emperor's throne.
The Holy Emperor of Illusion shook his head slightly, and a gentle and warm voice rang out.
“Mother, I am aware of this. Now that I am the Holy Emperor, I must restore order to the world and eliminate the remaining evil forces.”
Upon hearing the Holy Emperor Huantian's words, the woman's face showed a hint of disappointment, and she said sternly to him:
"Since you remember this oath, what have you been doing all this time? You are indulging in your own fantasies, neglecting the affairs of the sacred land and ignoring the lives of all living beings!"
The numerous Holy Land guards clad in golden armor dared not utter a sound, for these two were the Holy Emperor and his birth mother. The guards stood motionless like statues, not interfering in their affairs.
Upon hearing his birth mother's words, the Holy Emperor of Illusion sighed softly and replied gently:
“Mother, do you know that illusions and dreams are not false, but real? The creatures there also need my help to save them.”
Hearing the Illusionary Heavenly Emperor's childlike words, the birth mother also spoke up angrily:
"You...you! Huan Tian! Sigh~"
In the end, the birth mother did not say anything, but walked out of the Holy Emperor's Hall with a disappointed look on her face, leaving only the Holy Emperor Huantian sitting on the throne and a group of Holy Land guards.
Meanwhile, the shepherd inside the Dao Heaven Mirror, after hearing what the Illusionary Heavenly Emperor said, asked in confusion:
"Illusory Heavenly Emperor, why are illusions and dreams real?"
Hearing that the shepherd had the same question, the Illusionary Heavenly Saint Emperor, whose physique was not particularly imposing and was even somewhat thin, shook his head and said:
“Shepherd, you do not know that I have been cultivating the Path of Illusion since I began my cultivation, and it has been a thousand years now, but I have only been the Holy Emperor for a few years.”
After speaking, the Illusionary Heavenly Emperor looked up at the imperial tomb in the distance, which was constantly devouring the lush green vegetation, and continued:
“Illusions and dreams are actually the same thing, shepherd, do you know? About a year ago, I entered an illusion I had entered before.”
"There, a being from within the illusion actually remembers me. Do you know what that means?"
The shepherd shook his head slightly, indicating that he did not know the answer.
The Holy Emperor of Illusion continued to explain to the shepherd:
"This means that the illusion may not be false as the beings of the past have said. Perhaps the illusion is just another world, and the Dao there may be forgotten by the beings of this world."
"After that, I created several illusions. I used the power of the Holy Emperor's Great Dao to keep the illusions going, and the beings in those illusions were aware of my existence."
"The illusionary realm is not large, only the size of a city, but the creatures there know how many times I have been here. They are not fake, and I can sense their emotions."
“When I came, they were happy and joyful; when I left, they were sad and reluctant to part with me; and when one of their beings perished, they also suffered because of that being’s demise.”
"Not only that, I can feel their care and love for me, just like a biological mother or a lover."
"It is neither false nor illusory. Illusions and dreams are real worlds, but those worlds are very fragile. Without the power of the Holy Emperor's Great Dao to maintain them, the beings there will lose all their memories in less than a day because of the Dao of that world."
"Shepherd, do you think it's possible to transfer the beings from the illusionary dream world to this world, and let them live in this boundless Dao Mirror?"
After the Illusionary Heavenly Emperor revealed his idea, the shepherd was also shocked, unable to believe that the Illusionary Heavenly Emperor had uttered such an absurd idea.
The shepherd shook his head and slowly said:
"Illusory Heavenly Emperor, how many dreams and illusions are there? How can you save those countless living beings? The dreams that mortals on the Heavenly Path create every day are already countless."
Hearing the shepherd's disheartened reply, the Holy Emperor of Illusion smiled and said softly:
"So what? I can live for tens of thousands of years now. As the Holy Emperor for even a day, I can save tens of thousands of lives. Even if I exhaust my entire life, I will not regret it."
Although the Holy Emperor's words were grand, the shepherd still asked, puzzled:
"Then how will you, Holy Emperor Illusion, transfer those beings into this Heavenly Mirror?"
Upon hearing this, the Holy Emperor Huantian laughed loudly, and the golden battle armor he wore emitted a dazzling golden light.
"I wish to ascend the path of enlightenment through the Path of Illusions and Dreams; this is the Path of Illusions and Dreams!"
Upon hearing this, the shepherd was speechless for a long time. He had never expected that the Illusionary Heavenly Emperor would actually seek to enter the Dao through illusion.
The shepherd then approached the Illusionary Heavenly Emperor and spoke with a hint of admonition:
"The first Holy Emperor of the Illusionary Heaven was bestowed by the Heavenly Dao. Since then, every Holy Emperor has followed the path of the Heavenly Dao. If you change your path, aren't you disregarding the Heavenly Dao?"
But the Illusionary Heavenly Emperor remained unchanged, laughing loudly as he said:
"The Holy Emperor exists for the sake of all living beings in the world. If that's the case, what's wrong with changing to the Path of Illusions and Dreams? The Heavenly Dao is nothing more than a shackle on living beings."
After saying this, the Illusionary Heavenly Emperor disappeared onto the lush green grass, leaving only the shepherds standing there and a few others around him munching on the green grass.
After a long while, the shepherd recovered from the triumphant words of the Illusionary Heavenly Emperor and muttered to himself:
“Illusory Heaven Saint Emperor, if you can truly enter the Dao through illusions and dreams, then the shackles of the Heavenly Dao will be of no use.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the shepherd sighed heavily and looked at the stock market crashing in the imperial tomb, which was grazing nearby with its head down.
With a slight raise of his hand, the few stocks from the Imperial Mausoleum Stock Market swayed and staggered towards the shepherd.
"I suppose this celestial mirror will become quite lively from now on~"
"Isn't that right? A mini stock market crash."
The shepherd, playing with a royal tomb stock market crash, said with a smile.
...
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
