Heaven's Punishment (Part Two)

The Demon Clone handed the Demon-Revealing Demon Mirror to Zhuge Xiang. Holding the Demon Mirror in his hand, Zhuge Xiang smiled. With the Demon Mirror in his grasp, he believed he had truly gained the upper hand.

Seeing the Great Tang Emperor pinned down in the lava by his own Sea Calming Divine Needle, unable to move, Zhuge Xiang raised the Demon Mirror in his hand.

"Wait... wait... Zhuge Xiang, listen to me..." Looking at Zhuge Xiang, the Great Tang Emperor, who had indeed obtained the Demon Mirror, cried out in horror, "Why did you expose my Imperial Throne? It doesn't benefit you at all! If you promise not to reveal my identity, I can agree to give you half of the Great Tang Dynasty, and we will rule it together."

"Give me half of the Great Tang's territory? That's truly an irresistible temptation," Zhuge Xiang said softly, stroking his chin upon hearing the Great Tang Emperor's words. He seemed to be tempted.

"Yes, yes, with Great Tang's territory, you will possess unparalleled wealth, power, and cultivation resources. At that time, you will have everything you need—materials, women, treasures, and more..." Seeing Zhuge Xiang's tempted expression, the Great Tang Emperor hurriedly nodded and said. At this point, with his lifeline in Zhuge Xiang's hands, the Great Tang Emperor was willing to pay any price.

"Half the country is good, but unfortunately, I'm used to being free and unrestrained. Even if I were to sit on the Imperial Throne, I would find that position too uncomfortable..." However, Zhuge Xiang quickly shook his head and rejected the Great Tang Emperor's proposal.

Without waiting for him to say anything more, Zhuge Xiang activated his magic power. The Demon Mirror shot out a milky-white light, which landed directly on the Great Tang Emperor.

"Ah..." As the light of the Demon Mirror fell upon him, the Great Tang Emperor let out a scream, as if his soul had been torn apart. Immediately, it was visible to the naked eye that the Great Tang Emperor's temperament had undergone a great change. Although he was still noble, he no longer possessed the Emperor's Aura that made people want to worship him.

The Demon Mirror pierced through his disguise, and the Great Tang Emperor reverted to his true form. Although his appearance remained unchanged, in the workings of Heavenly Dao, he had become himself again, no longer the emperor of the Great Tang. Therefore, the National Fortune, fortune, Imperial Qi, and so on, were all stripped away from him.

"No... you can't do this..." The Great Tang Emperor cried out in alarm, feeling all the National Fortune and other things around him disappear. However, without the National Fortune Protection, he was no match for Zhuge Xiang. With a single blow from the Sea Calming Divine Needle Bang, the man was sent flying, spitting blood.

"No... no... I am the Emperor of the Great Tang Dynasty, you can't do this to me..." Although he was sent flying backward, spitting blood, he still cried out and struggled frantically.

"Rumble..." Just as Zhuge Xiang about to deliver a ruthless blow to the struggling fellow, he suddenly felt a pang of fear in his heart.

A vast Divine Might appeared out of thin air. Although the target of this Divine Might was not Zhuge Xiang, but the Great Tang Emperor standing beside Zhuge Xiang still felt an indescribable sense of crisis even standing next to him.

"This? Could this be Heaven's Punishment?" Feeling the fear that came from the depths of his heart, Zhuge Xiang murmured to himself. Having entered the Dao Seeking Realm, Zhuge Xiang knew very well that this crisis came from the wrath of the Heavenly Dao. Even the Blood-haired Man was formed from the obsessions of the Six Nations and had reached the Divine Buddha Realm did not have this terrifying sense of crisis.

"No... no... I am the Great Tang Emperor..." The Great Tang Emperor, who had fallen from the Imperial Throne, naturally felt the crisis from the Heavenly Dao and cried out in terror, as if to defend himself, but his words were so pale and powerless.

Heaven's Punishment!

The Myriad Phenomena of the Great Thousand World, and the operation of everything in the vast world, are all within the rules of the Heavenly Dao. However, this Great Tang Emperor used the Creation Furnace to deceive the Heavenly Dao. Now, the Demon-Revealing Demon Mirror has stripped away his disguise and exposed his true nature. The Heavenly Dao has naturally sensed this and, therefore, expressed its anger at his act of deception, sending down Heaven's Punishment to condemn him!

The Heavenly Dao is invisible and intangible, yet no Cultivator dares to doubt its existence. Just as air is invisible and intangible to ordinary people, who would dare deny its existence?

"Heaven's Punishment?" On the ground, Liao Wufa, the Golden Body Bodhisattva, Wu Yazi, and Cheng Yaojin, four peerless experts, naturally sensed the aura of Heaven's Punishment. All four stopped fighting. Who was it that was being punished by the Heavenly Dao? Who had done something that angered even the Heavenly Dao?

"Haha, it seems I don't even need to lift a finger..." Sensing the aura of Heaven's Punishment, Zhuge Xiang laughed as he spoke. As he spoke, he grabbed the head of the Great Tang Emperor, and his fiery red Phoenix wings vibrated as he traversed the lava at lightning speed. In a moment, he arrived on the ground and, without any hesitation, threw the Great Tang Emperor to the ground.

As the saying goes, "Even wearing Dragon Robe doesn't make one look like a prince," referring to someone who lacks the bearing of an emperor. Even wearing Dragon Robe cannot make up for it.

The current Great Tang Emperor is quite aptly described in this statement, because without the National Fortune and Imperial Qi, even if he still wears the Dragon Robe, he no longer resembles an emperor.

"Your Majesty?" Wu Yazi's expression changed slightly as he looked at the man who had been grabbed by the head and thrown out by Zhuge Xiang. However, he immediately shook his head and said, "No, you are not His Your Majesty. Although you look the same, you do not possess the National Fortune or the Emperor's Aura. You are not a monarch."

"Within the Great Tang, there have long been rumors that the emperor of the Great Tang is a fake. Do you think this is just a baseless rumor?" Zhuge Xiang said with a smile, seeing Wu Yazi's astonished expression. His words left Wu Yazi at a loss for what to do.

Wu Yazi, as the Pavilion Master Great Tang Elder Pavilion, naturally obeys the orders of the Great Tang Emperor. However, this so-called Great Tang Emperor is not actually the real emperor. Now, Wu Yazi really doesn't know whether he should take action against Zhuge Xiang again, because he has no reason to do so.

"You managed to deceive everyone and ascend to the throne of a nation. Who are you?" Cheng Yaojin, though old and frail, looked at the Great Tang Emperor with curiosity in his eyes.

It's important to understand that replacing an emperor isn't simply a matter of resembling him; the most crucial element is gaining the approval of Heavenly Dao.

All things under heaven operate within the workings of the Heavenly Dao. As the ruler of a nation, one can be said to act on behalf of the Heavenly Dao, overseeing all living beings. If one cannot gain the recognition of the Heavenly Dao, how can one sit securely on the Imperial Throne? However, this Great Tang Emperor was actually able to deceive the Heavenly Dao and steal the Imperial Throne? This can be considered a precedent set in history.

"Hehehe, I don't want to know the reason. I only know that this guy's trickery has been exposed, and Heavenly Dao has sent down punishment. I've never seen what Heaven's Punishment looks like before..." Zhuge Xiang looked up at the sky with anticipation on his face and said. He had seen Heavenly Tribulation, but what about Heaven's Punishment? Zhuge Xiang really had never seen it before.

Heavenly Tribulation is a test of the Heavenly Dao for Cultivator. Although it is extremely dangerous, it is merely a test of the Heavenly Dao. However, Heaven's Punishment is the true punishment of the Heavenly Dao. The aura of Heaven's Punishment is a hundred times more dangerous than that of Heavenly Tribulation.

The aura of Heaven's Punishment was entirely one of slaughter; when the heavens unleash their killing intent, all things under heaven are filled with terror.

"I am a member of the Li Clan family, so what's wrong with becoming the Great Tang Emperor?" The Great Tang Emperor raised his head and roared loudly at the sky. However, since Heavenly Dao had sent down its punishment, how could it easily let it go?

Thunder rumbled in the sky, but no dark clouds could be seen. All that could be seen was that the entire sky had turned a blood-red color, as if Heaven's Punishment was about to descend. Even Wu Yazi and Cheng Yaojin retreated rapidly, leaving the side of the Great Tang Emperor, and thus became collateral damage.

"No, you can't kill me! I am the Emperor of the Great Tang! If I die, the struggle for the Imperial Throne will surely be filled with bloodshed..." Zhuge Xiang and the others fled, but the Great Tang Emperor ignored them and just shouted loudly at the sky.

In the sky, the pure killing intent of the Heavenly Dao has transformed into an Execution Platform ten thousand feet high. The ferocious and enormous guillotine blade is engraved with dragon and phoenix patterns and exudes a magnificent aura. This Execution Platform formed by the Heavenly Dao can surely slay even the Gods and Buddhas of all Heavens.

Countless transparent threads appeared and bound the Great Tang Emperor out of thin air. No matter how much he struggled or shouted, there was no change. He was bound tightly and then dropped onto the Execution Platform, which was thousands of feet high.

The Great Tang Emperor, bound to the Execution Platform atop a towering height, appeared incredibly small, like an ant pinned down by a giant cleaver.

But it was precisely because of this insignificance that, under the Execution Platform's blade, the Great Tang Emperor found it even harder to muster any will to resist; he felt so small and insignificant.

"Tsk tsk tsk, is this Heaven's Punishment? It can even kill gods and Buddhas. There's absolutely no way Cultivator from the Cultivation World could escape..." Zhuge Xiang said, clicking his tongue as he looked at the towering execution platform Execution Platform high in the sky.

Let alone other Cultivator, even Zhuge Xiang himself was not confident that he could use his physical body to withstand the cleaver of that ten-thousand-foot-high Execution Platform.

"No! I don't want to die..." No matter how glorious his past was, or how much power he possessed, at this moment, facing death, the Great Tang Emperor let out a terrified cry. However, bound by the Execution Platform, he couldn't even move a finger.

Click!

The massive, cleaver, hovering high in the sky, crashed down, drawing ever closer to the Great Tang Emperor's head. It descended with incredible speed; even Half-Immortal Artifact could be easily severed. Tell me, what human body could withstand such a blade? (To be continued...)