501: The wrath of the Great Celestial!

Hearing footsteps, Eastern Sovereign Emperor unhurriedly placed the final piece, only then looking up.

His gaze was gentle and calm, and he stood up to perform a salute to Lu Jiuyuan: "Your Majesty has arrived."

He then looked at the Monkey King and Nezha, a flicker of understanding flashing in his eyes, and smiled: "Great Sage, Third Prince, I hope you have been well."

The Monkey King and Nezha hurriedly returned the salute.

"The Emperor has refined interests."

Lu Jiuyuan walked to the side of the stone table and glanced at the chessboard, seeing black and white intertwined, a magnificent sight; the game had already ended, with the white pieces winning by half a point, though the victory was extremely precarious, leaving endless aftertaste.

"Playing against the Void Realm to deduce the heavenly secrets?"

"Nothing to do in my spare time, just amusing myself." Eastern Sovereign Emperor flicked his sleeve, and the chessboard and pieces all turned into streams of light and dissipated:

"I cannot compare to Your Majesty, holding the pieces in your palm, making the world return to unity."

Lu Jiuyuan smiled indifferently and sat down on the stone stool: "I have indeed come here today to borrow a piece from the Emperor."

"Oh?" Eastern Sovereign Emperor personally poured tea, his movements slow and relaxed, "I wonder what piece Your Majesty wishes to borrow? Here in Fangzhu Mountain, apart from a few good-for-nothing children, there are only rocks and trees all over the mountain."

"The one I wish to borrow is your little disciple, 'Fairy Biyou'." Lu Jiuyuan spoke bluntly.

Eastern Sovereign Emperor's hand holding the teapot paused almost imperceptibly, the tea falling steadily into the cup; he raised his head, his gaze meeting Lu Jiuyuan's calmly:

"Biyu? Her personality is flighty and fickle, and her cultivation is shallow; I do not know what use Your Majesty has for her?"

Lu Jiuyuan picked up the teacup, sniffed the tea's aroma, and instead of answering, asked: "Why does the Emperor feign ignorance?"

Eastern Sovereign Emperor was silent for a moment, then slowly said: "That child... her heart is simple, and she values affection and righteousness."

"She and that Qiao Linger have a fated romance of one lifetime, but now that the Spirit Child has fallen into the hands of the Devil Head, to borrow my disciple again, isn't that like a sheep entering a tiger's mouth? I will not lend her, I will not!"

"Although I am incompetent, I cannot bear to see my own disciple go to her death in vain."

"The Inner Demon Tribulation of one lifetime is essentially the accumulation of ten thousand years of the Tathagata; if it is not eliminated, it will only prevent the Buddha's Reincarnation from achieving Perfection!"

"Delaying it, accumulating it, neither is a good thing! The ins and outs of this, the Emperor should know!"

"After all, the Tathagata only reincarnates this one time; there will not be a next time! The owed Inner Demon Tribulation, I fear, will never have a day of resolution!"

Eastern Sovereign Emperor frowned slightly: "What does Your Majesty mean?"

"No Heaven will still listen to my words! Hand Fairy Biyou over to me! I promise she will be safe and sound!"

"It is just that this Inner Demon Tribulation of one lifetime must be overcome, no matter what!"

The atmosphere on the stone platform suddenly became a bit stagnant.

The gentle smile on Eastern Sovereign Emperor's face faded, his gaze becoming deep: "Does Your Majesty say this to pressure me with the status of Heavenly Emperor, or to advise me as a Fellow Daoist?"

"Is there a difference?" Lu Jiuyuan raised his eyes, his gaze calm, "The fated romance between Biyou and Qiao Linger is a tribulation, but also a fated connection. If this tribulation is not resolved, it will be detrimental to her future, and it will also leave a flaw in the Tathagata's Reincarnation. I have come here to resolve this situation, not to harm her."

"Resolve the situation?" Eastern Sovereign Emperor shook his head slightly, his tone carrying detachment and a faint disapproval:

"Your Majesty, it is not that I do not believe you. It is just... what kind of situation are the Three Realms in now?"

"The Devil rises and the Dao wanes, and No Heaven's influence is great."

"As the Heavenly Emperor, you do not sit in the center to turn the tide, but instead raise your hands in surrender, without shame, and now act as a lobbyist for that Devil Head, losing all the face of the Heavenly Emperor!"

"Back then, Xingtian killed the old Heavenly Emperor, allowing you to pick up a huge bargain! Now it seems that your virtue does not match your position; it simply does not! Even if you obtained it, you cannot sit firmly."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the imperial robe on Lu Jiuyuan, his tone calm but his disdain overflowing:

"The world has its own fixed numbers; when the Tathagata's tribulation ends and he returns, I want to see how you will continue to sit as Heavenly Emperor!"

"You want me to hand over my little disciple? Bah! I, Eastern Sovereign, am still a person who values face!"

The Monkey King and Nezha's expressions changed suddenly, and they both stepped forward in unison, glaring at Eastern Sovereign Emperor.

This old Daoist dared to insult the Old Master like this!

But Lu Jiuyuan laughed.

The smile was very faint, and very dangerous!

"Emperor, you certainly have great courage! Even the Tathagata would not dare to say such words, yet they have come out of your mouth!"

Lu Jiuyuan slowly put down the teacup, the bottom of the cup making a light "tap" sound as it touched the stone table, which sounded like a thunderclap in the silence: "Virtue does not match position?"

He did not get angry, his voice remaining calm, but with every word he uttered, the Spiritual Qi around the stone platform became a bit more dense and heavy.

Eastern Sovereign Emperor's heart inexplicably tightened, but the words had already been spoken, and his pride as an ancient Emperor made him unwilling to retreat, especially in front of juniors like the Monkey King and Nezha.

His expression became solemn, and a faint cyan immortal light rose around him, faintly echoing with the earth veins of Fangzhu Mountain beneath his feet:

"Is it not?"

"Xingtian attacked the heavens, the old Heavenly Emperor fell, and you merely rose with the momentum. Now that the Devil tribulation is upon us, you are afraid before even fighting, and even... act as an accomplice to the tiger! What I said, what is untrue about it?"

"What is untrue?" Lu Jiuyuan repeated, nodding,

"Very good."

He stood up.

But at the very moment he stood up,

"Boom!"

The entire Fangzhu Mountain suddenly sank downward!

It was as if it had been grasped by an invisible giant hand and forcefully pressed down several feet!

A teeth-grinding groaning of compression came from inside the mountain, the mountain-protecting formation automatically lit up with countless runes, but in an instant, they dimmed and shattered!

Eastern Sovereign Emperor's expression changed drastically; he felt his connection with the earth veins of Fangzhu Mountain being forcibly cut off and stripped away by an irresistible force!

That force was vast, majestic, and cold, carrying the will to dominate everything, brook no questioning, and brook no resistance!

"You...!"

Eastern Sovereign Emperor was both shocked and angry; he wanted to stand up but found that he could not move at all while sitting on the stool!

It was as if that simple stone stool had turned into a divine mountain, nailing him firmly in place!

The surging cyan immortal light around his body was like it had been imprisoned in an invisible cage, only able to circulate within a foot of his body, completely unable to be released, let alone drawing upon the earth veins or summoning constellations!

He could only watch helplessly as Lu Jiuyuan slowly raised his hand, not towards him, but to pick up the cup of clear tea in front of him that had just been poured and not yet drunk.

"Does the Emperor think my virtue does not match my position?"

Lu Jiuyuan looked at the clear tea in the cup, his tone as indifferent as if he were discussing the weather: "Think that I picked up a bargain, think that I should wait for the Tathagata to return and yield this position of Heavenly Emperor?"

He gently swayed the teacup, causing tiny ripples in the tea.

"Today, I will tell the Emperor what is 'virtue' and what is 'position'."

As his voice fell, Lu Jiuyuan flipped his wrist.

He actually turned the teacup upside down on the stone table in front of him!

The mouth of the cup was facing down, and the bottom of the cup was facing up.

A single drop of crystalline tea slowly seeped out along the edge of the inverted cup, about to drip but not yet dripping.

At the very moment the teacup was turned upside down,

"Hum!!!"

A terrifying Dao charm, indescribable and incomprehensible, erupted from the center of the inverted teacup!

That was not a surge of power; that was the manifestation of "Law", the display of "Order", and the will of "Domination" that transcended all things!

Eastern Sovereign Emperor's pupils shrank to pinpoints!

He felt that the space and time around him, and even the Wood Dao Law he had cultivated for countless eons, were all completely "inverted" and "suppressed" in this instant!

He desperately drove his Primordial Spirit and mobilized his magic power, only to find that even his thinking began to slow down, his consciousness sinking into an endless quagmire, and all external perception and control over himself were rapidly being stripped away!

What made him even more Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering was that he clearly felt that his life Origin, immortal essence Dao foundation, and even his long lifespan that was meant to be as enduring as the world,

were all forcibly "grasped" by an invisible giant force, and then... began to "sink" and "solidify" at a constant and irreversible speed!

Lu Jiuyuan's voice, as if coming from above the Nine Heavens, was clearly imprinted in his consciousness that was about to solidify:

"Speaking wild words, showing contempt for heavenly might, you shall be punished."