"Emperor, please calm your anger." The face of the Heavenly Dao slightly bowed
"It is I who have eyes but fail to see, yet it is also I who brought the Emperor back. Moreover... in this life, I harbor no ill will towards the Emperor."
"Is it you who wishes to return?"
"Emperor, I understand you, and I know what this world has brought you. But this time, please trust me. Whatever you want, just say the word."
The face of the Heavenly Dao bowed even lower, feeling distressed. Even though Yu Mu's soul power had dissipated significantly, it was still the soul of an emperor, a top existence in this world.
It first resided under the consciousness of the spirit of the Great Dao, and secondly, it was beneath Yu Mu, having no power to resist.
If Yu Mu truly uprooted the Heavenly Dao seedling, it would never have another chance. Given Yu Mu's temperament... if he disregarded Ye Tian, it still could not escape the fate of being sacrificed.
"Can you protect a few people?"
This's correct; Yu Mu's coldness in his voice dissipated somewhat. How much better it would be to talk directly about conditions, rather than wasting words.
"I cannot."
"Mm?!"
"Emperor, let me explain. Currently, my power has recovered too little, and the consumption from reversing time is too great. Now, I am just an empty shell, and... the duties of the Heavenly Dao are represented by the will descended from the Great Dao. I truly cannot interfere with worldly matters."
The Heavenly Dao face explained: "However, in this life, Ye Tian's fortune has been greatly stripped away. I still rely on the Emperor's body; with your means, it would not be difficult to kill him!"
Yu Mu: "..."
"Then what use do you have?"
"I am useful! I am useful, Emperor... considering that I brought you back, and if I recover a bit more, I will definitely be able to accomplish what you require."
"Boom!"
A massive burst of soul power erupted, directly scattering the face of the Heavenly Dao, leaving only a small seedling trembling.
Yu Mu coldly stared at the seedling for a few breaths, and finally... felt the aura of Elder Yun from the outside world. That soul form still dissipated in the sea of consciousness.
"Master, how did the discussion go?"
In the outside world, Yu Mu opened his eyes, looking at Elder Yun, who raised his teacup and drank it all under the grape trellis.
"What else could it be? Just some trivial matters within the sect."
Elder Yun waved his hand, and a breeze blew by, drying the sweat remaining on Yu Mu's forehead, adding a bit of refreshment.
"Little Mu, have you encountered problems in your cultivation?"
"No, just some insights that consumed a bit of my spirit."
Yu Mu stood up and refilled Elder Yun's tea.
However... there was a bit more determination in his eyes. The spirit of the Heavenly Dao understood him, and he understood Ye Tian.
Ye Tian should be persuaded by that cat demon to behave for a while. But... it was ultimately not a long-term solution; this person was too ruthless. It is possible he would set traps for Elder Yun, which could not be ignored.
But at this moment, the sunlight shone through the clouds again, and the old and young were drinking tea and chatting under the grape trellis, presenting a scene of tranquil years.
This feeling, Yu Mu... would not allow anyone to destroy.
...
"Ha... that was close, that was close."
In the chaos space above the sky.
The face of the spirit of the Heavenly Dao became much clearer, now showing more human-like emotions, which... should not appear on the spirit of the Heavenly Dao. Even Yu Mu did not know that it not only devoured all the soul power that Yu Mu had spilled out, but that the Heavenly Dao seedling was not merely a simple parasitism.
It was more like a contract between the Heavenly Daos, and even if Yu Mu was the top cultivator in this world, he could not perceive a hint of it. Thus... it could merge Yu Mu's emotions and causality to mobilize Yu Mu's imperial fortune.
It even achieved a true symbiosis with Yu Mu! Because it had merged with Yu Mu's emotions, the face of the spirit of the Heavenly Dao began to resemble Yu Mu's appearance.
"Devil Emperor Yu Mu, protector of the Dao, strong yet not oppressive to the weak. I lower my stance, and he will not completely annihilate me."
"Still too young, how could he compete with me? But it is worth me betting all my chips."
A sense of pride crossed the face of the spirit of the Heavenly Dao. It was under the control of the spirit of the Great Dao and could only rely on Yu Mu to accomplish things.
At this moment, in front of it were several lifelike puppets made from chaotic energy, closely resembling Zi Li, Xiao Yu, Liu He, and some others. It was not that it was powerless to protect Elder Yun and the others, but... its power needed to be used elsewhere.
"The child of fortune... betrays me? I want you to be abandoned by all, and you will pay blood for blood!"
An invisible force surged into the puppet belonging to Fairy Zi Li, carrying the might of time! What it was doing was inherently breaking the rules.
But now controlling the world was a wisp of consciousness from the Great Dao. Whenever this wisp of consciousness tried to interfere with it, it would use Yu Mu's imperial fortune as a shield..
And the spirit of the Great Dao was ultimately just a consciousness, bewildered, after all... this guy Yu Mu's origins were very strange, and his life level was also quite peculiar.
So, at this moment, Yu Mu, who was cultivating, looked at the Heavenly Dao seedling deep in the sea of consciousness, lost in thought.
He felt something was off but could not pinpoint exactly what was wrong...
"Calm your mind!"
"Smack!"
Yu Mu's back of the head was slapped, accompanied by Elder Yun's furious shout. The small stick was picked up a few days ago, because Elder Yun noticed that Yu Mu seemed to often space out while cultivating.
Yu Mu smiled helplessly.
He was already in the process of re-cultivating; all the experiences, techniques, and so-called forbidden arts from his previous life had not been lost.
As a result, he had no so-called cultivation shackles and only needed to accumulate spiritual power for breakthroughs. But his master...
Calming his mind, Yu Mu softly said, "Yes, Master."
Elder Yun remained silent. In the cultivation room, the steady and rhythmic breathing of the old and young, along with the rustling sounds of insects outside the window, added to the tranquility.
The Heavenly Dao seedling also swayed slightly deep within Yu Mu's sea of consciousness. It was devouring the malevolent energy from Yu Mu's soul! One reason was that it feared Yu Mu might one day think of annihilating the world, and the second... it wanted to try to cleanse the bloodstains within Yu Mu's soul.
It had misjudged by choosing Ye Tian, that kind of ungrateful wolf, while a cultivator like Yu Mu... should be pure and clean. The spirit of the Heavenly Dao mistakenly believed that Yu Mu's cunning was a result of his environment, and it would only realize its folly when it found itself cursing in vain later...
However, that was a matter for another time..
The Yunhe Sect was fervently preparing for the inter-sect competition in the northwest, and Elder Zi Li of the Ziyun Hall had almost not left her seclusion.
Rumor had it that due to the matter concerning Yu Mu, Elder Fairy Zi Li's Dao heart had developed cracks, and she was now working to stabilize it.
Indeed, it needed to be stabilized.
After all, how could an ordinary cultivator with some talent withstand the manipulations of the spirit of the Heavenly Dao that governed a realm?