Chapter 734: Hostage
Tang Jie had delivered far too many shocks today.
In just one conversation, Tang Jie had somehow been enlightened and comprehended the essence of Truth. This was just too absurd!
Why was it that none of the onlookers had felt anything from the same conversation?
They didn't know that Wisdom was the earliest Dao that Tang Jie had comprehended, and over the last one hundred years, Tang Jie had always been advancing on this Dao.
Truth was a crystallization of Wisdom. Wisdom was the flower, and Truth was the fruit.
But the lack of cultivation meant that Tang Jie had never been able to turn his flower of Wisdom into his fruit of Truth.
It was only now, after entering the Dao of Fate, reaching Soul Transformation, attaining strength on par with Violet Palace, and discussing the Dao, that Tang Jie finally managed to turn that flower into a fruit.
Of course, this fruit of Truth was in its weakest and most infantile form, but he had taken that most important step, which made all the other problems much easier to resolve.
But after he successfully comprehended this Dao, he realized something. The Great Dao could not be transmitted, and the Parting Classic was a method that transmitted the Dao as an art, going against the Dao, so when he cultivated the Parting Classic, he was someone going against the Great Dao. And when he severed the entanglement of Fate, he once more betrayed the guidance of Fate. Now, in his discussion with the demon, they had considered whether the Heavenly Dao existed or not, and through this medium, he had comprehended Truth and created a fruit of Truth. If someone told him that this string of treasonous actions wasn't betraying the Dao, he himself wouldn't believe it.
It was no wonder Reverend Seer would accept the will of the heavens and desire to kill him.
But if the Heavenly Dao didn't exist, where did the will of the heavens come from? And what did it mean to be a slave of Fate?
Tang Jie didn't understand, but alas, the demon wasn't willing to talk.
Turning his head, he saw that Reverend Seer had turned ghastly pale, clearly still stunned from what had occurred. Tang Jie smiled and said, "Reverend, whether the Heavenly Dao exists or not, there's actually no need to argue about it. It's not like anything will happen because of it. At least right now, even if there is a Heavenly Dao and I cursed it as being a turtle's son, it wouldn't punish me with a bolt of lightning from out of the blue. And Reverend doesn't seem to have gained anything from diligently carrying out the will of the heavens. Even if you don't carry it out, the Heavenly Dao won't punish you, so why don't we end things here?"
"'End things here'?" Reverend Seer angrily said, "I comply with the guidance of Fate, act in place of the Heavenly Dao, so how can I stop? Tang Jie, you have already fallen into the demonic Dao. Hurry up and accept your death!"
Tang Jie sighed. "I knew it would be like this. I was willing to not pursue the matter of you backstabbing me, but you still won't let go. If so, then our only option is to fight!"
He turned to Aurora, who understood his meaning and laughed. "If Little Brother Tang Jie is willing to defect, Aurora is happy to welcome you."
While he hated Tang Jie down to the bones, he showed none of this loathing on his face, choosing to work together with Tang Jie.
Reverend Seer snorted. "If that's how you want it, don't blame me for this."
He clapped his hands, and a human cultivator flew out of the distance with two people in his hands: Yiyi and Lin Xin, both unconscious.
Tang Jie's eyes suddenly narrowed.
Upon seeing Yiyi in enemy hands, Tang Jie realized that Yiyi had probably chosen to get rid of Silver Eyes' subordinates before coming. But as she was on the way over, Reverend Seer had arranged for one of his men to ambush Yiyi. Yiyi thought that this person was on her side, so she was caught completely off guard, taken down so swiftly that she didn't even have time to inform Tang Jie.
Reverend Seer was truly a cunning fellow, conspiring against Tang Jie without him even realizing it.
Tang Jie growled in anger, "Good, good, truly wonderful. I eliminated fiends for the humans, but the humans treat me as an enemy, plotting against me and even using tricks against their own."
Reverend Seer sternly said, "You went down the wrong path, so you are no longer one of us!"
"It's not up to you to say what the wrong path is!"
Reverend Seer pointed at Yiyi and Lin Xin. "Tang Jie, if you don't want your little sister and woman to die at my hands, immediately go and kill Aurora, and then commit suicide. Out of consideration for your tribute to humanity, I promise that I will spare the lives of these two."
Tang Jie gripped the hilt of his sword as he growled, "So all that I've done for humanity is only worth a suicide?"
He was so furious that his body was shaking.
Shentu Yuan couldn't stand to see this anymore, shouting, "Reverend, Tang Jie has done so much for us. Killing him just because of a single order from the will of the heavens is a little too much, isn't it?"
Ye Xiao also said, "Reverend, are you not being a little too hasty, judging someone as a demon just because they go against the Dao? We cultivators must uphold the Heavenly Dao, but we must also uphold our humanity. Reverend, if you destroy your humanity by complying with the Heavenly Dao, you go against all virtue!"
Ice Phoenix was the most straightforward. "Tang Jie has contributed a great deal to humanity, yet we repay his kindness with treachery. Such lack of loyalty and righteousness brings shame to the Dao!"
Ximen Changfeng bowed and said, "Reverend, please reconsider!"
"Reverend, please reconsider!" Quite a few human cultivators repeated the call.
Even Feng Wuxiang and Liu Zongchang appeared hesitant.
Yes, Tang Jie truly was standing opposed to the Great Dao.
But were his crimes so great that Reverend Seer had to so diligently serve the heavens?
What was the Heavenly Dao? Nobody knew if it actually existed, but if it really was all-powerful, it could come and take Tang Jie's life on its own rather than rely on the hands of another.
While Tang Jie had gone against the Great Dao, he had not done anything unjust to humanity.
Rather than relying on right or wrong, Reverend Seer was acting on behalf of the Heavenly Dao in the name of wiping out heresy when all he was really doing was killing off a dissident. This was one of the most repulsive acts in the world!
But Reverend Seer didn't seem to think so.
"Shut up!" Reverend Seer shouted. "What do you understand? This old man has spent a thousand years immersed in the Dao of Fate, receiving the will from above and rectifying the world below, never feeling shame over my actions. Tang Jie has gone against the heavens and has long ago become a demon. If I do not kill him now, he is bound to be a calamity. Perhaps he is even the future 100th Demon Lord of the Primordial Fog! I am so resolved on this because I am thinking about the future of humanity!"
He turned to look back at Tang Jie.
Tang Jie simply chuckled while softly muttering, "Ah, righteousness how many sins are carried out under your name!"
The demon once more whispered into Tang Jie's ear. "This time, it seems like you've got no other way out. Heehee, how about it? Do you want to ask for my help? So long as you're willing to help me, I guarantee that your two loved ones won't die."
Her whispers were dripping with temptation.
Reverend Seer's crazed barks filled his ears while the demon's temptations filled his mind.
That seductive demonic voice seemed to be influencing Tang Jie, and he began to feel dizzy.
But when he saw Yiyi's sleeping face, his mind instantly cleared.
Ignoring that enchanting voice, Tang Jie said to Reverend Seer, "If you want me to listen to you, you at least have to wake up my little sister so that we can say our farewells, no?"
Reverend Seer considered this and decided it wasn't asking too much, so he nodded at that human cultivator.
The cultivator slapped Yiyi awake, but he also placed a hand on Yiyi's back, ready to kill her if Tang Jie tried anything.
The moment Yiyi woke up, she realized that something was wrong, twisting her body as she shouted, "Release me!"
Tang Jie shouted, "Yiyi, don't move!"
Yiyi looked at Tang Jie and shouted, "Big Brother! Aren't they on our side? Why did they capture me?"
"Because they're afraid of Big Brother but can't beat me, so they're using you to threaten me." Tang Jie smiled and reassured her, "But you don't need to be scared. Big Brother won't let anything happen to you."
"Mm!" Yiyi dropped her head and began to cry.
Tang Jie continued to speak with Yiyi, but he was mostly trying to comfort her, in addition giving her some missions to do, like that she should help so-and-so if she ever returned home. Yiyi simply nodded.
Reverend Seer started to lose his patience. "Tang Jie, haven't you said enough?" he barked.
The annoying demon voice also continued to echo in his mind. "Tang Jie, you don't have much time left."
All these cries and calls ate away at his soul.
Tang Jie let out a long breath before turning to Aurora. "In the end, it seems I will have to fight with you, Your Majesty."
Aurora heartily laughed. "You humans, all you know is how to stab each other in the back. Tang Jie, since you were forced into this, you might as well let me kill you so that at least you won't be used by them to waste my strength. With me around, at least you'll get a chance at revenge."
Tang Jie chuckled. "It's a rare chance to fight fairly with a Divine Division fiend, so how could I miss out on it? Since I'm dead no matter the outcome of this battle, I might as well have an enjoyable fight and see if I can actually break that ancient precedent of the Stellar Chiliocosm!"
While everyone was being moved by these heroic words, a thick energy began to rise from Tang Jie's body.
This energy was his will to fight, his undying spirit.
At that moment, Tang Jie mustered all of his energy. When facing a peak Infant Tending cultivator, not only was he not afraid, he was itching to fight. Even the Iron Blood Fiend Emperor's Ironblood Saber let out a resonant clang, clearly responding to Tang Jie's will, as if it was shouting, "A true man!"
"Your Majesty Aurora, please forgive this discourtesy!" Tang Jie shouted, and then he threw a punch.
It was a majestic and righteous one, bursting with the power of the world.
Even Aurora had to take this punch seriously.
Both the young and old Aurora took action, their four hands releasing a curtain of rainbow light.
As the iron fist slammed into the rainbow light, it created rippling waves of light that forced the Aurora Fiend Emperor back nearly a thousand feet.
It was clear that Aurora was weaker than Tang Jie in terms of pure strength.
But a moment later, his four eyes flashed, and rainbow light surged toward Tang Jie.
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