Outside the Haotian Mirror.
The crowd watched intently, putting themselves in Xiao Fan's shoes.
Seeing their father murdered and mother humiliated, their anger was palpable.
Previously silenced by the Northern Empress's authority, the cultivators could no longer suppress their rage and began cursing loudly.
"That bastard Leng Feng! If he fell into my hands, I'd tear him apart!"
"Count me in! That scum deserves to be skinned alive!"
"Me too…"
The crowd's righteous anger was palpable, with everyone wanting to see Leng Feng brutally punished.
At that moment, a cultivator who harbored a deep hatred for the Netherworld Demon Emperor frowned as he saw the sympathy for the young Xiao Fan. "Fellow cultivators, remember that Xiao Fan grows up to be the Netherworld Demon Emperor. If he had died at Leng Feng's hands, he wouldn't have become the scourge of the world."
"We should be regretting that he escaped."
This reminder jolted some of the cultivators.
That's right! This is the future Netherworld Demon Emperor, a menace to all. They should be hoping for his early demise, not feeling sorry for him.
Damn this immersion!
"That Leng Feng is useless! How could he let the Netherworld Demon Emperor escape?"
"Exactly! If it were me, I'd have killed Xiao Fan long ago!"
Suddenly, Leng Feng's reputation took a 180-degree turn.
Now, the crowd blamed Leng Feng for not eliminating Xiao Fan.
However, some clear-headed cultivators couldn't stand this and spoke up.
"No! I don't agree with that view."
"We cultivators should distinguish right from wrong. We cannot let our hatred blind us to the truth and morality."
"Yes, the Netherworld Demon Emperor deserves death for his countless crimes, but the Xiao Fan we see now is an innocent, kind-hearted child who hasn't committed any evil deeds."
"Had he not experienced such a tragic upheaval and been filled with hatred, he wouldn't have turned into the scourge he later became."
"Leng Feng is the true villain here, the cause of all the suffering!"
"Can't you see that?"
The crowd, silenced and ashamed, realized their mistake.
They had been led astray by their emotions, failing to see the true culprit.
Leng Feng was the root of all evil, not the innocent young Xiao Fan.
Feeling both shame and anger, the cultivators directed their fury at Leng Feng.
"Damn that bastard Leng Feng! He made me lose sight of the truth!"
"Exactly! It's all Leng Feng's fault!"
The crowd's anger grew, even though Leng Feng, a mere mortal, had likely long since passed away.
Despite this, their fury was unstoppable.
Just then, an angry voice boomed from the sky.
"Silence!"
Boom!
It was like a thunderclap in their ears.
The weaker cultivators bled from their orifices and collapsed.
Above, the Northern Empress glowed with divine light, her power surging.
Suddenly, she struck the Haotian Mirror.
The sky darkened, and fierce winds howled.
It was as if the heavens and earth were trembling.
"I don't believe it!"
"This must be fake! It's all fake!"
The Northern Empress was frantic, almost mad.
"Fool," the Jade Pool Empress scoffed. She didn't know why the Northern Empress had gone berserk, but attacking the Haotian Mirror was futile.
The Haotian Mirror, a primordial chaos artifact, couldn't be damaged, not even by an immortal, let alone the Northern Empress.
She didn't care about Xiao Fan's tragic past. Many had suffered worse than Xiao Fan, yet only he became the Netherworld Demon Emperor, showing his inherent darkness.
Buzz!
The ground trembled, and the crowd staggered, filled with fear.
The power of an imperial-level being was unimaginable.
Despite her efforts, the Haotian Mirror remained unscathed.
Bang!
The Northern Empress was sent flying by the mirror's chaotic energy, crashing to the ground like a falling star.
Boom!
The earth rumbled, and dust filled the air.
When it cleared, the Northern Empress's pale, weak face was revealed.
She murmured, "I don't believe it... It's all fake..."
Tears of blood flowed from her eyes.
Her physical wounds were nothing compared to the emotional blow she had received.
The truth shattered her lifelong belief in avenging her innocent parents.
Now, the truth revealed her father wasn't innocent at all.
In the Haotian Mirror's scenes, her father's face, twisted and cruel while assaulting Xiao Fan's mother, was inhuman, just as those cultivators had cursed—a beast!
All her life, she had remembered her father as kind and gentle.
Now, the truth was that her father was a monster.
Her faith crumbled in an instant.
Slowly standing, she looked bitterly at Xiao Fan in the Primordial Imperial City.
Her father had killed Xiao Fan's parents and taken the Xiao family's property. Xiao Fan's revenge was justified.
It was her father's crime, and he deserved his fate.
She had no right to seek vengeance against Xiao Fan.
But her hatred for Xiao Fan didn't vanish.
Her father deserved his fate, but Xiao Fan's indiscriminate killing and harming of innocents made him no better than her father.
Even if she didn't kill Xiao Fan, others would. Xiao Fan's death was inevitable.
She sat and began to meditate, ignoring the crowd.
Outside the Primordial Imperial City, many cultivators were injured by the Northern Empress's power.
Seeing her meditating, they began discussing boldly.
"Did you notice how the Northern Empress seemed to protect Leng Feng?"
"Now that you mention it, she did."
"Could there be a special connection between her and Leng Feng?"
"Remember earlier when the Northern Empress said the Netherworld Demon Emperor killed her parents and took her family's property?"
"Right! She did say that."
"The Leng family? Does that mean the Northern Empress's surname is Leng, same as Leng Feng?"
Few knew the real names of the Empresses.
An elderly cultivator spoke up, "Yes, the Northern Empress's surname is Leng. Her real name is Leng Ruoxue."
He was a saint, thousands of years old, with deep knowledge.
"If I'm not mistaken, her father was Leng Feng."
The crowd was shocked.
The Northern Empress was Leng Feng's daughter!
The truth was out.
No wonder she defended Leng Feng and attacked the Haotian Mirror!
The crowd's expressions were complicated as they looked at the Northern Empress, recalling her righteous denunciation of the Netherworld Demon Emperor.
They wondered how awkward she must feel now.
Current Cultivation Levels:Body RefiningQi RefiningFoundation EstablishmentMortal SheddingDragon TransformationHeaven-PenetratingSaintGreat SaintQuasi-EmperorGreat EmperorImmortal