The Heavenly Emperor of Chu

Chapter 140: I've always been here (10K10K)

"Emperor?"

"Fellow Daoist Taiyi, I'm not familiar with him!"

Duan De's eyes darted around, and he decisively severed ties with the Emperor.

After all, there are rumors circulating that the Supreme Heavenly Emperor and the Emperor Venerable are at odds, and that they even fought two earth-shattering wars tens of thousands of years ago.

If Taiyi were to find out about his special relationship with the Emperor, his attitude might not be as friendly as it is now, and he might very well end up dying here today.

"is it?"

"I've heard that the Emperor is not your disciple, fellow Daoist?"

Chu Tianshu looked at Duan De with a half-smile, but couldn't help finding it somewhat amusing.

That fatso is as cunning as ever, always eager to please when there's something to gain and avoiding trouble when there's something to lose.

"Dao, fellow Daoist, you jest!"

"How could the Emperor be my disciple? This is all slander from the world. Fellow Daoist Taiyi, you must not believe the rumors."

Upon hearing Chu Tianshu's words, Duan De felt a chill run down his spine and quickly denied any relationship with the Emperor.

"Why would Fellow Daoist Taiyi suddenly ask about the Emperor? Could it be that the two of you have some grudge?"

After speaking, Duan De glanced at Chu Tianshu somewhat guiltily.

"Fellow Daoist is unaware of this, isn't he? Tens of thousands of years ago, when Lingbao Tianzun returned, he discovered that the Emperor was setting up a special array in the mortal realm, preparing to refine the human world into a supreme immortal artifact."

"Upon seeing this, Lingbao Tianzun was enraged and immediately began fighting with the Emperor."

"After that, I clashed with the Emperor twice more because of this matter."

This time, Chu Tianshu didn't keep things mysterious and gave a brief account of what happened tens of thousands of years ago.

"what?"

"How could the Emperor be so utterly depraved?"

Duan De exclaimed in surprise, his eyelids twitching uncontrollably.

The Emperor's actions undoubtedly treat the entire human realm as his private property, sacrificing everything in the realm to benefit himself, which is extremely heinous.

If he succeeds, even I will probably not escape destruction.

"Fortunately, we have Fellow Daoist Tai Dao, otherwise the Emperor might have succeeded!"

Duan De's expression immediately turned serious, but at the same time he was overjoyed.

If it weren't for Lingbao Tianzun and Taiyi stopping the Emperor's conspiracy, the human world might not exist.

As for the possibility that Taiyi was lying, Duan De thought it was impossible.

After all, both Lingbao Tianzun and Taiyi were separated from his disciple by a long period of time, and neither of them had any grudges against the Emperor, so they could not possibly use this matter to deceive him.

Moreover, Duan De had a vague suspicion that the current Emperor was probably no longer his former disciple.

"Fellow Daoist Mingzun is too kind. I could only stop him for a short time."

"After all, the Emperor is about to complete his journey on the Immortal Path, and his strength is still much greater than mine."

"Furthermore, not long ago, the Emperor kidnapped a key figure from my clan, so my scriptures are probably already exposed to the Emperor."

"If the Emperor discovers my weaknesses, I'm afraid I'll be harmed by him soon."

After Chu Tianshu finished speaking, a hint of "worry" appeared on his face, as if to confirm his words.

This is obviously false. Even if the Emperor did see some loophole, so what?

The past was before and the present is now.

The second-generation Chu Tianshu is related to the current fourth-generation Chu Tianshu.

However, Duan De cannot know this information for the time being. After all, judging from the methods Duan De used to subdue the Emperor and refine the two realms in later generations, this old guy must have a killer move in his hand that is enough to temporarily subdue the Emperor.

If he knew Chu Tianshu's true strength, he might not have been willing to take action.

Chu Tianshu originally planned to spend hundreds of thousands of years fighting the Emperor, but unexpectedly the Underworld Lord woke up in this world, which gave him a chance to get rid of the problem once and for all.
This is why Chu Tianshu pretended to be pitiful in front of Duan De.

As long as the Underworld Lord can make a move, even if he only restrains the Emperor Lord for a fraction of a second, Chu Tianshu is confident that he can completely eliminate him without leaving any future troubles.

On the other hand, Duan De's face was like a scene from a Sichuan opera, showing a variety of emotions from struggle to hesitation, reluctance, and complexity.

Chu Tianshu didn't urge him, but instead savored the Enlightenment Tea in his hand.

The Emperor can be said to have been watched by Duan De from childhood to adulthood, growing from a weak and helpless mortal into an Emperor worshipped by heaven, earth, gods, and ghosts.

It would be a lie to say that the two had no feelings for each other after spending so many years together.

Duan De was well aware that if he made a move, his disciple would likely perish at Chu Tianshu's hands, leaving him in a state of great inner turmoil.

Seeing that Duan De was hesitant to make a decision, Chu Tianshu, who was standing to the side, immediately decided to add fuel to the fire and began to speak on his own.

"It's strange, really. Ever since he established the Heavenly Court, this Emperor seems to have become a completely different person."

"It was fine before, but we only focused our attention on those supreme beings in the forbidden zones and did not actively extend our reach to the mortal realm."

"But afterwards, he seemed to become twisted, and actually set his sights on the entire human realm, attempting to refine heaven and earth to achieve his own path to immortality."

"That's weird! That's weird!"

Click!

Chu Tianshu's words struck Duan De like a thunderbolt, instantly bringing him to his senses. "He's a different person! A completely different person!"

Duan De kept muttering to himself, acting like a madman.

He held his hands behind his head, his face contorted in pain, as if he were recalling something.

Upon seeing this, Chu Tianshu's expression immediately turned serious. He vaguely sensed that he was about to come into contact with some extraordinary event.

Duan De's expression grew increasingly pained. Suddenly, fragmented memories surfaced from the depths of his primordial spirit, and he instantly recalled some past events.

"I remember now, I remember now!"

"Wild, my brother!"

Where are you now...?

Duan De knelt on the ground, his pupils glistening, his voice filled with grief and anguish.

In an instant, the entire human realm underwent a tremendous change.

A phantom imperial figure stood at the edge of the sky, its supreme, magnificent, and indestructible aura descending and illuminating all realms and the past and present.

In the dim light, it illuminated beyond all worlds, making even an eternally dark place radiant.

The supreme god's figure turned his back to the mortal world, seemingly facing an unimaginable enemy. He used his physical body to sever all ancient history, seemingly isolating himself from endless darkness. The terrifying enemy before him prevented him from turning around.

"Yes, I've always been here!"

Suddenly, someone actually responded. Although the voice was not loud, it resounded throughout the heavens and the world, and echoed in the hearts of everyone.

The voice sounded like a murmur, yet also like an illusion, with a hint of weariness in its tone.

Clearly, this invincible being had been fighting for countless years, and even its voice had become extremely weak.

"what?"

"Did anyone actually respond?"

Chu Tianshu's pupils suddenly contracted. He could sense the terrifying power of that emperor's figure. Even a mere wisp of its aura seemed capable of collapsing the river of time and shattering everything.

The scene before Chu Tianshu shocked him. An incredible and great being responded to his call across countless worlds.

What a level of attainment this is! It's probably the end of cultivation!

In an instant, the supremely radiant imperial figure vanished from the mortal world, as if it had all been a dream.

But Chu Tianshu was certain that the emperor's figure was absolutely real. He was truly fighting in an incredible place, single-handedly defending the myriad worlds against a great enemy!
After a long while, Duan Decai finally came to his senses, but looking at the bewildered expression on his face, it seemed as if he had forgotten everything.

However, Chu Tianshu had no time to pay attention to Duan De. His gaze was fixed on the sky, seemingly across endless time and space, beyond all worlds, where he saw a weary figure.

There seemed to be several other equally incredible beings standing side by side in front of him, seemingly in a standoff.

"Could it be the Desolate Heavenly Emperor?"

"Is he facing an incredible enemy, fighting alone?"

Chu Tianshu muttered to himself, his expression suddenly becoming extremely solemn.

He originally just wanted to push Duan De to make up his mind as soon as possible and stop having illusions about his disciple.

However, unexpectedly, it directly revealed the most fundamental secret: an unimaginable figure was fighting alone outside all worlds, and it seemed to be fighting with great difficulty.

Chu Tianshu didn't know what lay beyond that imperial figure, but he vaguely felt that once that being, suspected to be the Desolate Emperor, couldn't hold on, all worlds would perish, and everything would cease to exist.

This made him feel a sense of urgency.

"Too Fellow Daoist! Too Fellow Daoist!"

Just then, a series of shouts pulled Chu Tianshu back from his reverie.

"What are you thinking about, Fellow Daoist Taiyi? I can sense that you have something on your mind!"

"If it's about the Emperor, Fellow Daoist Taiyi, you can rest assured. I will definitely take action when necessary!"

Chu Tianshu came to his senses and looked at Duan De, who seemed completely unaware, clearly having forgotten everything that had just happened.

But it's unclear whether he's the only one experiencing this, or if everyone is.

Chu Tianshu had a vague guess that he was probably the only one in all these worlds who had preserved the memory of what had just happened.

"Let's focus our energy on the Emperor first!"

Chu Tianshu murmured to himself, realizing that he was too weak at the moment, and even if he wanted to help, he would not be able to intervene in such an incredible battle.

We should deal with the Emperor first, and then fight alongside him once his cultivation level has improved.

With this in mind, Chu Tianshu turned his gaze to the lewd fat man in front of him.

“Fellow Daoist Mingzun, since that’s the case, why don’t you wait here on Tianji Ancient Star for a while?”

"I have a feeling that the Emperor will soon come knocking on our door. When that happens, please don't hesitate!"

Seeing that Duan De had finally made up his mind, Chu Tianshu felt much more confident in completely eliminating the Emperor.

Previously, although he was not afraid of the Emperor, he could only fight him to a draw at most. He was not capable of eliminating the Emperor without leaving any future troubles.

However, if Duan De were to make a move, even for just a fleeting moment, Chu Tianshu was confident that he could eliminate any future troubles.

As for what had just happened, Chu Tianshu kept it to himself, not daring to delve too deeply into it.

(End of this chapter)