荒墟牧神 - 第1482章 帝君訓誡少年 - 雲海書庫

within it the power that sunders heaven and earth. Clearly this was none other than Tai Yi in transformed form! Though Emperor Ming was the most dazzling figure of the Crimson Bright Era, before a being such as this it was plain truth that a single hair plucked from the man would be many times thicker than his waist! And judging by Tai Yi's frame, a hair of his was indeed many times thicker than Emperor Ming's waist. Tai Yi put up his axe and glanced at Emperor Ming, his voice like a great bell: "I have come, naturally, to cut down the tree." "You make it sound as though you had every right!" Emperor Ming choked with rage. "Is this your land?" Tai Yi set the axe down and leaned on its haft. He shook his head. "It is not my land." Emperor Ming sneered, "Is the tree your tree?" The crowd fell silent as cicadas in winter, not daring to make a sound. Tai Yi shook his head again. "Nor is it my tree." "It is not your land, and not your tree; by what right do you cut down another man's?" Emperor Ming said with a cold laugh. "You come running to another man's place, axe on your shoulder, set on felling a tree that grew out of his soil. There is no place on earth where you could argue that into sense! Reason, reason. If you cannot speak reason, can you speak the Dao?" Tai Yi was taken aback a moment. He looked at the crowd. They looked this way and that, not daring to meet his eyes. Emperor Ming clenched his fists and declared in a ringing voice, "This sapling is the Heavenly Venerable Mu's sapling, and this land is the Heavenly Venerable Mu's land. For you to come and cut it down without asking him, that will not do... Xuanxiu, Wen Yuan, do not pull me back! The fellow may be strong, but heaven and earth have common justice, and justice is common right... Do not pull me. The man may be fierce, but how could I fear him? As a guest of the Heavenly Venerable Mu's house, I cannot stand by and do nothing..." Hua Xuanxiu and the youth Wen Yuan dragged him backward, and still Emperor Ming struggled, crying in fury, "You two are bullies of the good and cowards before the wicked! Let me go, and I will reason with him!" Tai Yi thought it over, then sat down and said, "There is something in what you say. I granted this place to the Heavenly Venerable Mu. I am only its former landlord, and now a guest as well; to come and cut the tree, I truly should have his consent. Very well. I will not cut it for now. We will speak of it when he wakes." Emperor Ming gave a snort, brushed aside Hua Xuanxiu and the youth Wen Yuan, raised two fingers to point at his own eyes, then at Tai Yi seated on the ground, and said, "I have my eye on you. Do not think you can make your move while I am not looking... What are you doing? Why are you all looking at me like that?" The crowd marveled inwardly: "The Crimson Bright Era deserves its name as the wildest of eras. Emperor Ming has seen great things in his day, righteous and fearless, daring even to scold a being who has attained the Dao, such as Tai Yi." Xu Shenghua and Lan Yutian stepped forward to question Tai Yi. "Brother Dao, if this sapling is not cut down, what harm will come of it?" Tai Yi said, "If it is not cut, then when the tree's roots and tendrils have all revived, the mighty ones of the former cosmic epoch will be able to climb out along the roots and do harm to the world. And this universe of ours cannot withstand the ravages of such mighty ones for long; it will fall into the Great Annihilation." Xu Shenghua asked, "Then what good would come of not cutting this sapling?" Tai Yi said, "If it is not cut, there is some good in it too. When the tree has grown, its branches and crown stretching into the Ultimate Void, attaining the Dao will become far easier. And when the universe meets the Great Annihilation, there will be those who can use it to hide away into the next universe. But..." He shook his head. "They are all woodworms, every one." Lan Yutian asked again, "And if it is cut? Will the beings of t