"I—"
"Don't say anything. It's far too late. There's no going back for you, Jade Emperor, no rejoining the Divine Cult. Stay with me. Wait for the Heavenly Court to meet its end."
Wang Lingguan had been loyal.
"So I, too, would have you take refuge in the Demon Buddha. Let me recite the *Huang Ting Jing* in silence…"
Taishang Laojun flicked his dust, and a formation sealed them inside.
Only now did the Jade Emperor understand why those boys had looked at him with such strange eyes moments ago.
They had been waiting for the world to merge — waiting to die together.
"No… Taishang Laojun, I have passed through ten thousand reincarnations to become the Jade Emperor. If you would only help me—"
"Chi'er, do you not understand? Gods are mightier than Pangu, and their sects are mightier than my Taoism. If you refuse to honor another's teaching, how can you survive this catastrophe?
"Don't speak to me of reincarnation. You were simply fortunate!"
Taishang Laojun ruthlessly severed the last thread of hope before the Jade Emperor.
Silence fell over the room.
Then a violent, suffocating aura erupted from the Jade Emperor's body. His face twisted into something hideous. Corrupting energy poured from him unchecked.
Only then did Taishang Laojun realize something was terribly wrong.
"You—the Jade Emperor, you've already been possessed by a demon!!! No… it's the Dao of Heaven… I understand now. I wondered why you hadn't been yourself lately.
"It turns out the Heavenly Dao itself was influencing you."
The Jade Emperor had been born in accordance with the Dao of Heaven. Soon after the death of the Eastern Monarch, the world felt the imbalance between Yin and Yang, and Zhang Bairen was born. His power came from the Dao of Heaven itself.
When the Tathagata Demon Buddha corroded the Dao of Heaven, all beings who understood the Dao would be demonized — the Jade Emperor most of all.
Ordinary cultivators, with their high level of attainment, could suppress the corruption through their own strength.
But the Jade Emperor was different.
Greed in his heart. Hunger for power. A failure to cultivate divine law.
The path of salvation had been foreclosed.
And now the betrayal of Queen Yaochi and the others had accelerated the demonization of his heart.
"Every cause meets its effect. A pity — you had your chance and did not take it. But the old ways cannot shelter you here. Go…
"Let the believers of God be the ones to pass judgment on you."
Taishang Laojun was shamefully set in his views.
He swept his dust once more, and the Jade Emperor was expelled outright.
Then Laojun wrapped the boy and the green ox and fled toward the Eye of the Eastern Sea.
The Jade Emperor stood in the void. Countless waves of demonic and hostile energy surged toward him.
What was the Lord of the Three Realms?
He was the one who could gather the power of all Three Realms.
Though the Jade Emperor's own strength was not great, at this moment he had become the Heart of Heaven, wildly drawing in every grievance and spite the Three Realms could muster.
"ROAR—"
With an enraged bellow, the platinum dragon robe on his body shattered and was replaced by black armor. A single purple-black horn grew from his forehead.
"Yao Chi… the gods… Kong Xuan… Taibai… I will make you pay!!!"
The sky turned blood red from the Jade Emperor's corruption.
Though in the mortal realm below, it was still blue sky and white sun — in the eyes of all living things, the sky had been dyed crimson, filling with blood.
Kong Xuan stood before the temple. She looked up at the sky and shook her head.
"So that is what happened. No wonder he fell. Go, and tell everyone not to be alarmed — the Jade Emperor has been demonized. There is no need for panic."
"Yes, Lord Goddess."
Across the ranks of immortals who had just joined the cult, shocked expressions spread.
The Jade Emperor had fallen… because they left him?
"Goodness, I never would have guessed the Jade Emperor had such power. Fortunate we left when we did — otherwise he would have devoured us all!"
"Heh… Now I understand why I never joined the Cult of God. I saw his madness long ago…"
"The Queen Mother knows righteousness. She made the right call!"
"Damn right."
"…
The envoy who had not yet departed heard the murmuring all around him.
He frowned.
"Do not jump to conclusions. The Lord Goddess has explained that the Jade Emperor's fall was caused by the collapse of the Heavenly Dao. It is not entirely his own doing — it is also because of his ambitions. If he had joined the cult earlier…
"Even the Dao of Heaven would not have been able to save him!"
Kui Mulang smiled.
"And yet that's still selfishness. Join early and today's catastrophe wouldn't exist. I don't know when the Goddess will strike at the Jade Emperor, but I, Kui Mulang, am willing to serve as the vanguard!"
"I know nothing of this. It depends on the arrangements above."
---
In the kingdom of Da Tang.
The sky had turned to blood.
The people were terrified, but with the teachings of God spread among them, many understood what had happened. The Jade Emperor — no longer human — had become a monster, and that was why the sky bled.
"The teaching of God is truly superior. Join God's teaching and avoid all disaster!"
"Absolutely. In times past, a sign like this would have brought untold catastrophes. How fortunate we are to have the current peace…"
The priest of the sect looked at the people going about their work as usual and smiled.
They had been courtiers of Tang before, and they were still courtiers now — but now they were part-timers as well.
---
At Western Ling Shan.
The Tathagata had fallen into depression when his corpse insect was killed, but now, seeing the Jade Emperor's corruption, he burst into wild laughter.
"Hahahaha…! As expected, there are like-minded friends in evil! Let me shed some light on the situation — the devil is still the best policy!"
———
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