Zhou Yunshen, too, had become a blood-soaked figure, lying on the ice coffin with barely a breath left in him.
The Dao Ancestor's phantom appeared in the sky, and an ethereal voice reached his ears.
"Heaven and earth have fallen into ruin, with countless dead and wounded. Do you acknowledge your wrongdoing?"
Zhou Yunshen no longer had the strength to resist, but he still curled his lips in scorn. "Where were you when they committed their atrocities? I killed them because they deserved to die. You cannot tell right from wrong, yet you cloak yourself in righteousness-utter hypocrisy. What use are you as the Heavenly Dao?"
"You had understandable reasons for killing them, but the mortals were innocent. Do you know how many mortals lost their lives because you fell onto the demonic path?"
"You sought vengeance for the Immortal Sects' murderous schemes, but how are those mortals to take vengeance on you? Grievance breeds grievance. When will it end?"
What did he care when it ended?
Everyone he cared about was gone. Even Erhua and the others were gone. What difference did it make whether it ended or not?
Zhou Yunshen gave a cold, bitter laugh.
"We sheltered mortals for thousands of years, but who sheltered us? Everyone says we must settle karmic debts, but why must we bear the mortals' karma?"
"If karma truly exists, why did Shuyue have to die? Shi Ye, Luming, Shengsheng-what did they do wrong?"
"We accumulated so much merit, yet in the end, they died without even leaving their bodies intact. Of the thousands in the entire Immortal Cloud Sect, only a handful survived. What did they do wrong?"
"If you had been willing to act earlier, none of this would have happened! You only issue commands from on high, without a care