At the edge of the sky, several figures were rapidly approaching. These were human cultivators, currently flying through the air. Among them were even a few disciples that Chu Yang had taken under his wing during his travels among mortals.
A man dressed in a Daoist robe looked at the scene before him with disbelief. His face was filled with rage, and his emotions were extremely agitated.
"I received word that the Emperor was massacring humans here. I didn't believe it at first, but..."
He trailed off, his eyes wide with anger as he took in the sight of the severed limbs and the rivers of blood. His heart trembled at the scene.
"But I never could have imagined that all of this was actually done by you!"
"I want to know, why are you doing this? What benefit does it bring you?"
The man, overwhelmed with emotion, shouted at Chu Yang.
He had always respected Chu Yang as the Human Emperor, holding him in the highest regard and viewing him as a holy teacher.
Yet, witnessing this act left him feeling deeply betrayed!
If he had not seen this hellish scene with his own eyes, he would never have believed that the Human Emperor, whom he had always regarded as his master, could commit such atrocities against humans.
The other cultivators, upon seeing Chu Yang standing coldly in mid-air, immediately fled. They had no desire to provoke this Human Emperor who was slaughtering humans.
Though they did not understand why the Emperor would do such a thing, the reality was before them. They knew they had to quickly distance themselves from this disaster. With their meager strength and cultivation, they could not possibly be a match for the Emperor.
Meanwhile, outside the Celestial Emperor's realm, the expressions of the assembled cultivators turned incredibly complex upon witnessing this scene.
A cultivator voiced, "Could this be what the world refers to as the Emperor's massacre of humans?"
Though they could not be certain, it seemed likely that the Emperor's infamy stemmed from this event.
Thus, their faces were filled with confusion and shock.
The cultivators viewed the entire incident from the Emperor's perspective, understanding that the Emperor had been diligently practicing the human way, striving to transcend to the highest level.
The Emperor had always protected the humans in secret, often suppressing many foreign races.
The humans in this city had not been slaughtered by the Emperor!
When the Emperor sensed something amiss, he had rushed over immediately, but the city had already been massacred.
Someone exclaimed in horror, "Was the Emperor's massacre of humans back then also a huge misunderstanding?"
In truth, even without him saying it, the cultivators had already begun to think this way.
After all, the Emperor's life had been under their watchful eyes; when would he have had time to massacre humans?
Since the Emperor chose the path of humanity, he had made countless contributions to the humans, sacrificing much for them. Even celestial artifacts were used to suppress human luck, and he had imparted teachings to the humans, bringing divine music.
All signs indicated that the Emperor truly loved the humans and could not have done such a thing.
Especially after the Emperor ascended through the human path, he silently made countless sacrifices for the humans, which everyone witnessed.
There was no motive for the Emperor to massacre humans.
Because of the Emperor's efforts and secret protection, the humans enjoyed the current era of peace and prosperity.
Even the foreign races that once ruthlessly slaughtered humans no longer dared to act as they did before.
Such a true human emperor could not have massacred humans. It was simply impossible.
If he did, what was his motive? Was it just like the scene seen in the Celestial Emperor's Mirror, where the Emperor sought to be cursed, making the entire human race loathe him?
That was impossible!
Thinking of this, all the cultivators turned their gaze to Empress Yaoguang in the distance.
They wanted to know what really happened back then.
"Empress Yaoguang, you previously mentioned that the Emperor massacred humans, wiping out dozens of ancient human cities, leaving them bathed in blood. Was that this incident?"
A cultivator asked.
You should know, this massacre was extraordinarily vast and profoundly impactful.
In just one ancient city alone, tens of thousands of lives were lost!
Let alone in over a dozen ancient human cities?
However, at this moment, Empress Yaoguang's eyes were filled with confusion and bewilderment.
Yet, she still nodded and said, "The timing is quite similar. The Empyrean's massacre of the humans should be this event!"
But, the other cultivators immediately refuted, "That's impossible!"
"Even in the current situation, the Empyrean is still protecting the human race. How could he conduct a massacre?"
"A sovereign who is revered by the entire human race has no reason to turn against them!"
The group of cultivators all refused to believe such claims.
If it were in the past, they might have believed due to Empress Yaoguang's authority.
But now, the facts were right in front of them. How could they believe that the Empyrean would massacre the human race?
Empress Yaoguang struggled to recall that scene from years ago. She said slowly, "I am not very clear about the details, but later, I did witness the Empyrean conducting a bloody massacre, and many humans must have also seen his actions firsthand."
"Otherwise, why would they hate the Empyrean so much?"
After speaking, Empress Yaoguang turned her gaze to the two human cultivators that Ye Fan had previously called forward.
She asked, "This matter, many from the human race must have witnessed it firsthand, right?"
The two cultivators stepped forward immediately and responded, "Indeed, countless innocent lives of the human race were brutally massacred by the Empyrean. His methods were extremely cruel!"
Hearing this, many cultivators' faces showed even more confusion.
The Empyrean clearly did not kill anyone!
From a distance, Ye Fan also spoke, "The Empyrean was brutal and unrestrained, committing countless evil deeds throughout his life. For him, massacring these mortals required no reason!"
Ye Fan also felt a bit uneasy.
He had always been waiting to see this scene of the Empyrean massacring mortals, but it seemed a bit different from what he had imagined.
At this moment, Nie Fengyun spoke calmly, "I wonder if any of you noticed, even though the Empyrean did not take action, all the survivors of the ancient city are accusing him?"
All the cultivators were stunned. It did seem to be the case!
If it were just the cultivators who arrived later, it might be understandable, but why would the surviving humans accuse the Empyrean?
Could it be that these people were all lying?
That didn't seem realistic either. After all, they had previously held the Empyrean in great respect. Why would they do such a thing?
The group of cultivators were not foolish and began to realize something.
Their faces changed drastically, and they all looked towards Nie Fengyun in unison! "Emperor Nie, do you mean..."
Nie Fengyun spoke bluntly, "It's simple, the Empyrean was framed!"
"At least for this ancient city, that's the situation. As for the other ancient cities, I'm not sure what the truth is."