CHAPTER 1368: CHAPTER 490: THE CHESSMASTERS (PART 2)

"He still has a strand of Hongmeng Purple Qi in his hand, which is his own fallback.

"To be honest, it was I who helped him gather these Hongmeng Purple Qi.

"Above you is the Nei Tian Dao spirit, which is the spirit nurtured by the Nei Tian Dao illusionary realm. Now there are only sixteen left, and they cannot be killed by ordinary means.

"Over there, the one without facial features is the Heavenly Dao Faceless One.

"The story that just unfolded was Hongjun attempting to send Li Dazhi to his death, wanting Li Dazhi to fuse with the Nei Tian Dao, but Heavenly Emperor Li Ping’an sprang out to stop it.

"A son saving his father, a natural sentiment!

"Because Hongjun broke my heart, I gathered all of you here, who might have some old scores with him, and pinned this apparition of Hongjun—which is actually just a trace of his primordial spirit—and the Heavenly Dao Faceless One over there, right here.

"Please bear witness, next is when the Heavenly Emperor will start questioning Hongjun."

Li Ping’an furrowed his brows tightly.

Hongjun spoke calmly: "Fellow Daoist, why not introduce yourself?"

"Me? There’s nothing much to say."

The spirit in the coffin chuckled:

"I am a Transcender, already detached from the Tangible Realm, but there are some regrets I haven’t resolved, so I found a way to return to the Tangible Realm.

"My purpose is to take the remnants of heaven and earth when everything falls silent; after all, at that point, none of you will have use for it.

"I originally had no intersections with any of you, and seeing how you all appear, I doubt you would become the ultimate victors of transcendence, so there’s no need for extensive knowledge of me.

"When one grows old, words come a little more. You may call me Wang Ri.

"I have two unaccomplished named disciples, whom you should be quite familiar with: Jie Yin and Zhunti."

The disciples of the Western Sect, including Dizang, exchanged glances and hurriedly bowed, paying respect to their grandmaster.

Xuanyuan Huangdi pondered and said: "Senior’s name, I’ve heard Ping’an mention many times, but what is truly the situation here? Ping’an?"

Li Ping’an sighed:

"I don’t even know now whom to trust and whom not to trust.

"I can only speak of what I see. This place is at the boundary of the Heavenly Court, within the grand array of the Heavenly Court, and this illusionary realm is the Nei Tian Dao illusionary realm.

"Before I appeared, my father was pinned here by Ancestral Master Hongjun and several Nei Tian Dao spirits, and over there Xingtian was about to cut off my father’s head.

"Hongjun intended for my father to merge with the Nei Tian Dao, and only now do I fully comprehend the reason."

Hongjun sighed with his hands behind his back: "Ping’an, you’ve been deeply beguiled by this Transcender Teacher of yours!"

"I wish I was under his influence."

Li Ping’an frowned at Taoist Hongjun, and said quickly:

"Now, Xuan Capital City is still in a great war, and the Taoist Sect immortals are struggling jointly against five hundred innate gods and demons; it would be better for you and me to decide right from wrong swiftly."

Hongjun spoke calmly: "In this world, where is there right or wrong?"

"There is right and wrong, and they are very important."

Li Ping’an said coldly:

"This relates to whom my Grandmaster, Granduncle, and Granduncle Master will reckon with in the aftermath!

"Presumably, my teacher gathered so many experts as witnesses for this reason.

"If Ancestral Master Hongjun doesn’t mind, may I ask you three questions?"

Hongjun turned aside: "Ask away."

Li Ping’an inquired: "You indeed wanted the Nei Tian Dao to devour my father, didn’t you?"

Hongjun calmly stated: "This matter is beneficial for the Heavenly Dao to become consummate."

Li Ping’an probed further: "Were you the one orchestrating Maitreya with the Chaos Bell in an attempt to murder Xuanyuan Huangdi and severely injure experts of the Human Race, wasn’t it?"

Hongjun sighed: "All this is to allow heaven and earth to reach perfection."

Upon hearing this, Xuanyuan Huangdi furrowed his brows tightly, and everyone glared fiercely at Hongjun.

Li Ping’an nodded: "Your insistence on claiming this is all for perfection is because my Granduncle Taiqing has become a saint and is in your Zixiao Palace; you fear that losing this grandiose claim would lead to immediate reckoning by Granduncle Taiqing, correct or not?"

"Li Ping’an," Hongjun glanced at him, "right now you’re the one colluding with the Transcender, intending to seize the Source of Heaven and Earth!"

How could Li Ping’an not be aware?

If he were to dispute a single sentence with Hongjun now, it would lead him into Hongjun’s web of words, losing the initiative.

Li Ping’an continued to speak to himself:

"Then I understand everything.

"From ancient times till now, Hongjun, you’ve been plotting one thing, and that is Hedao.

"However, it’s unlikely you intend to achieve Hedao with the Creation Jade Disc, because you shattered it by your own hands; perhaps coercion by Transcender Wang Ri Old Man forced your hand, but you never gave up on Hedao.

"I was quite puzzled before... When I learned of your ability to manipulate the minds of others, do you know who I thought of?

"Mo Linyuan, that old crow.

Li Ping’an paced with his hands behind his back, speaking ever more rapidly:

"Mo Linyuan died so tragically, and Mo Linyuan did two major things in total: one was stirring up the Nei Tian Dao chaos, and the other was releasing the Nei Tian Dao sealed by Emperor Jun when the Ancient Heavenly Court was about to collapse.

"At the time, I merely thought Mo Linyuan held a grudge against Emperor Jun for seizing Empress Wangshu, whom Mo Linyuan admired and who was allegedly of the same tribe.

"But later, I found some clues in the remnants of Emperor Jun’s collected works.

"Wangshu and Mo Linyuan were actually not from the same tribe; Wangshu was Baiwu, Mo Linyuan was Wuwu, and before they were unified by the Three-legged Golden Crow, they were at war, holding grudges.

"It seems there was a greater hand behind Mo Linyuan... and today’s situation with the Nei Tian Dao spirits suggests it was your handiwork."

Hongjun shook his head but did not speak.

Daoist Luya, as if realizing something suddenly, glared at Li Ping’an: "Li Ping’an! You!"