The old emperor only desires immortality; you must not rebel.

The entire court was excited, but Tao Zhaoting couldn't feel excited at all; his heart was filled with rage.

Deceiving too much!

Absorbing spiritual energy tax?

This is even more demonic than the Demonic Path!

If this tax law is followed, wouldn't they make a fortune?

Tao Zhaoting suddenly turned around, looked at the Holy Emperor on the throne, and said, word by word, "Does Your Majesty truly intend to do this?"

"We came here only for the fragments of the Immortal Realm, and have no intention of being your enemies?"

"No intention to be an enemy?"

The Holy Emperor slowly rose from his dragon throne, looked down at the crowd, and said coldly, "Disciples of the Heavenly Sword Sect have set foot in my Qing Kingdom and wantonly manipulated the people. Is this what you call unintentional enmity?"

"You fight over so-called celestial treasures, turning our territory into scorched earth. Is this what you call unintentional enmity?"

"You call yourselves immortals, high and mighty, looking down on mortals, wantonly slaughtering civilians. Is this what you call unintentional enmity?"

"Hundreds and thousands of people died because of you, and you call that unintentional enmity?"

The Holy Emperor's voice suddenly rose, his tone icy: "You're mining resources on this land, are you mining them yourselves?"

The Holy Emperor flicked his sleeve and coldly said, "Is this your mercy?"

Tao Zhaoting was speechless for a moment!

"What is your sect's concept of benevolence?"

"Condescending charity?"

The Holy Emperor stepped out, radiating a terrifying dragon's might, pressing down on the crowd, and coldly said, "Have you ever even glanced down at this mortal realm?"

What difference is there between the lofty immortals and those aristocratic beasts?

The only difference might be that in the eyes of immortals, even powerful families are just a bunch of ants.

As the Holy Emperor stood atop the alchemical wall, he coldly said, "You find it unbearable to pay a tax on spiritual energy; what will my people think if one day they have to pay tribute to you?"

He had already learned this from Zhao Yanzhi.

In the world of cultivation, it is common practice for mortal dynasties to pay tribute to cultivation sects.

Moreover, mortals were also responsible for mining spirit stone veins for the various sects.

Those spirit stone mines are teeming with ferocious beasts; if you're not careful, you'll be devoured by them.

If they encounter some powerful ferocious beast, it's possible that not a single person in the entire mine will survive.

If the emperor of a mortal dynasty angers a cultivation sect, the dynasty will collapse and the entire city will be implicated.

Which cultivator who comes to this world doesn't have an arrogant and condescending attitude?

This is true even in the cultivation world, let alone in this unfamiliar place, they naturally have no scruples.

Tao Zhaoting, his face stern, said calmly, "So what?"

"Isn't the world of cultivation also a place where the strong prey on the weak?"

"This has been true for thousands of years, since ancient times!"

"We, the righteous sects, protect them, and they should also make some contributions."

"If it weren't for our protection, they would have been slaughtered by the demonic forces long ago."

Tao Zhaoting did not think he was wrong.

They sheltered mortals to live, and those mortals only needed to mine the veins.

As for those who died, they weren't the ones who killed them, so even if there was a cause and effect, it wouldn't involve them.

Without their protection, those mortals would have been skinned alive and their tendons ripped out by the demonic forces, and refined into living souls long ago.

"Hahaha!"

The Holy Emperor laughed loudly, patted his waist, looked at Tao Zhaoting and the others, and shook his head.

"One day, my glory will shine upon the entire world!"

The Holy Emperor had long realized that it was impossible to reason with this group of cultivators.

No, it's that there's absolutely no reasoning with them!

Tao Zhaoting looked at the Holy Emperor with an indifferent expression, a hint of sarcasm on his lips.

Change the world?

Who you are.

It was merely a mortal dynasty confined to a corner of the world. Even if it possessed some power, its attempt to contend with the overall trend of the world was tantamount to a mantis trying to stop a chariot, an overestimation of its own strength.

Although heavenly lightning is terrifying, it is not something that a True Person of the Purple Mansion cannot withstand.

Tao Zhaoting snorted coldly and said in a chilling voice, "You dare to kill me?"

"I am a Foundation Establishment Elder of the Xuan Shu Dao Sect. If anything happens, when my sect's Purple Mansion True Person arrives, your little mortal dynasty will be completely destroyed."

"I advise you not to act impulsively!"

Although Tao Zhaoting was no match for him, he was not afraid because he had the support of the Xuan Shu Dao Sect.

The Foundation Establishment Elders are far more influential than ordinary disciples within the Dao Sect.

Among tens of thousands of disciples, only a handful are capable of Foundation Establishment, highlighting their high status.

Several disciples of the Heavenly Sword Sect exchanged silent glances.

We told them not to be impulsive before, but now they're even more impulsive than us.

However, the group was happy with it.

As a Foundation Establishment cultivator, surely I shouldn't be afraid of a mortal emperor.

A Dharma image materialized behind Tao Zhaoting, and a Bagua (Eight Trigrams) array pattern appeared beneath his feet, rapidly expanding outwards.

Tao Zhaoting used the Dao of Array Formation to build his foundation, incorporating a Primordial Sword Array as the basis for his foundation building.

No formation is needed; a sword formation can be activated in the blink of an eye.

The chilling sword energy spread outwards.

A chilling sword aura erupted, transforming into countless real swords.

The entire palace, both inside and out, was enveloped in a chilling sword aura, stretching for dozens of miles.

His eyes seemed to gleam with golden light.

The ministers' eyes showed little fear, but rather an excitement of watching a show.

Although they disliked the Holy Emperor, they had unwavering faith in his power.

These mere cultivators dare to provoke the Holy Emperor.

Tao Zhaoting, in his Dharma form, pressed down on the Holy Emperor atop the Danbi cliff, his tone carrying an ethereal and resonant quality, brimming with boundless power.

"Do you really think I'm so easily fooled..."

Before Tao Zhaoting could finish speaking, the Holy Emperor reached out his hand and gently patted him.

In an instant, Tao Zhaoting seemed to be struck by some invisible force, and the sword energy around him dissipated layer by layer.

His sword formation rippled and then shattered at a visible speed.

Above the Taiji Hall, a colossal hand descended from the sky, resembling a massive mountain, slowly pressing down.

"Bang!"

"Bang! Bang!"

The sword energy dissipated one after another!

In just a moment, the thousands of sword energies shattered and vanished completely.

"puff!"

Tao Zhaoting coughed up a mouthful of blood, looked up at the Holy Emperor, his eyes filled with disbelief.

The figure of the Holy Emperor grew larger and larger in his eyes, his whole body shining with golden light. Then a golden fist shadow slammed towards him, with boundless power like mountains and seas collapsing.

"No!"

Tao Zhaoting staggered and let out a terrified roar.

His mind quickly collapsed, his whole body trembled, and tears streamed from his seven orifices. He suddenly knelt on the ground, his knees slamming into the ground and drawing blood, instantly losing all his fighting ability.

The expressions of the several Heavenly Sword Sect disciples changed drastically, their faces filled with horror.

However, instead of trying to save Tao Zhaoting, they quickly turned around, made hand seals with their swords, and tried to escape from the place.

Are you kidding me!

Even Foundation Establishment cultivators are no match for them; all of them combined wouldn't be enough to withstand a single finger from them.

The Holy Emperor waved his hand.

Just as the group was about to flee out of the palace, they suddenly felt as if a powerful hand had swept over them, slamming them back and crashing them to the ground, completely draining their spiritual energy.