Reversal

The Nine Rulers glared with fury at the Lord of Yuanxi, who was single-handedly taking control of the entire Ancient Immortal Realm. "Do you intend to claim the Ancient Immortal Realm all for yourself?!" The Lord of Creation stepped forward immediately, shouting in reprimand. "Lord of Yuanxi, you have gone too far!" the Lord of Xiyu chimed in. "It was agreed that we would divide the spoils of the Ancient Immortal Realm according to our contributions. And now you wish to swallow the realm whole by yourself?!" "Heh, I did wonder when you, Lord of Yuanxi, became so easy to talk to," the Lord of Tianyuan sneered. "So this is what you were waiting for. What, in your eyes, were our actions over the past tens of thousands of years nothing more than the antics of petty clowns? Did you just sit quietly in the back watching us put on a grand show?" "It is not that I wish to claim the Ancient Immortal Realm for myself." The Lord of Yuanxi shook His head slightly. "Rather, as you can see, the Fate Dao Ancestor chose to merge with me. In effect, He placed control of the Ancient Immortal Realm into my hands. This was the Fate Dao Ancestor's choice, not mine. I am merely using the gentlest, least destructive method to complete the final step of merging the two realms." "Who knows what promises you made to the Fate Dao Ancestor?" the Lord of Shenluo voiced his discontent. "Perhaps you have sold out the interests of our Hunyuan Realm!" The spirituality radiating from the Lord of Creation was thick with displeasure, even malice. "Let me guess—are you planning to split the Hunyuan Realm in two, promoting the path of spirituality across one half of the cosmos while allowing the other half to cultivate the three thousand Grand Daos? If that is truly the case, should this battle be considered our victory, or a successful invasion by the Ancient Immortal Realm, with them becoming the masters of the Hunyuan Realm?" "Everything I have done abides by the laws governing the operation of the Hunyuan Realm, securing the greatest benefit for the Hunyuan Realm at the lowest cost," the Lord of Yuanxi replied calmly. "These accusations from the Nine Rulers are far too irrational, and they show far too little regard for the rules." "Rules? Rationality?" The Lord of Tianyuan's expression turned frigid. "Now you haul out your rules and rationality again?" "I have always acted according to the rules," the Lord of Yuanxi explained. "The spirituality condensed from all living beings empowers me. When they believed your Nine Great Conglomerates should lead this war, I complied. I even willingly acted as an auxiliary to the nine of you, assisting you with all my might to breach the Gate of Karma. Even in the early stages of breaching the Gate of Fate, my mindset did not waver. That was the choice of all living beings, the will of myriad spirits. "Yet now, we possess a superior resolution to this battle. The Fate Dao Ancestor was unwilling to bring mutual ruin upon both realms through an act of total self-destruction, so He took the initiative to merge with me, entrusting me with the integration of our two worlds. Therefore... I hope the Nine Rulers will also abide by the rules." "I don't buy it!" the Lord of Tianyuan argued. "When we clearly could have ground Him into dust in just a few tens of thousands of years, why introduce unnecessary complications? Besides, the Gate of Fate is nothing more than dry bones in a tomb now. Even if He fought back with all His might, how much harm could He really inflict on our Hunyuan Realm?" "At the very least, there would still be damage—perhaps ten percent, perhaps five percent. But when pushed to that point, the desperate death throes of a supreme power would inevitably have to be borne by the Hunyuan Realm." The Lord of Yuanxi spoke unhurriedly. "If you truly refuse to accept this, then leave the decision to all living beings and spirits. Let all sentient life choose whether to risk the Ancient Immortal Realm being detonated by the Fate Dao Ancestor and inflicting catastrophic damage upon the Hunyuan Realm to wear down the Gate of Fate, or to choose the gentle path of allowing the Fate Dao Ancestor and me to unite, integrating the Ancient Immortal Realm under my control." "Alarmist nonsense!" the Lord of Creation snapped immediately. "I contend that the Fate Dao Ancestor's counterattack does not exist at all! You only chose to cooperate with the Fate Dao Ancestor because you feared that your authority was slipping into our hands under the influence of the will of all living beings! You traded the interests of the Hunyuan Realm to secure a merger led by the Fate Dao Ancestor! Once this merger is complete, who will truly make the decisions for the Hunyuan Realm will be anyone's guess!" The Lord of Yuanxi looked at the adamantly opposing Rulers. At this moment, He did not back down. He had always approached matters strictly from the perspective of the Hunyuan Realm. And with the Fate Dao Ancestor willing to surrender and actively merge with Him, this was manifestly the outcome that best served the interests of the Hunyuan Realm and all sentient life. As a unique existence condensed from the will of all living beings, He naturally had to place the developmental interests of the Hunyuan Realm and all sentient life first. After a moment of contemplation, He maintained His steady tone: "In light of the objections raised by the Rulers, I am willing to present the pros and cons of both options in detail to all intelligent beings and immortal spirits in a fair and just manner. Ultimately, the choice will rest with all living beings and spirits." "Our Nine Great Conglomerates will also present our stance to all living beings!" said the Lord of Creation. "Very well," the Lord of Yuanxi agreed. Soon, an invisible ripple spread outward. Through the Virtual Immortal Realm and spiritual energy, it instantly resonated throughout both the Ancient Immortal Realm and the Hunyuan Realm. In an instant, nearly every entity across the Ancient Immortal Realm and the Hunyuan Realm received the Lord of Yuanxi's public announcement regarding the final decision on this war. And not just the Lord of Yuanxi. Shortly thereafter, the Nine Great Conglomerates jointly issued their own statement. The Lord of Yuanxi did not stop them. However, He pointed out several erroneous claims within it, hoping the Nine Rulers would amend them. This request was rejected by the Nine Rulers on the grounds that every intelligent being and immortal spirit held their own perspective on different events. Furthermore, they put forward the principle that 'all living beings and spirits are born free.' With so many rules and frameworks laid out before Him, the Lord of Yuanxi could hardly violate the very principles He had established upon His inception. He held sufficient confidence in Himself. His actions had always been fair and just, utterly devoid of selfish motive. He believed that the countless billions of intelligent beings and immortal spirits in the Hunyuan Realm were fully capable of discerning which of the two decisions was more appropriate. Even though the Nine Rulers had been ceaselessly propagandizing through the channels of the Nine Great Conglomerates over these years and had garnered considerable support among intelligent beings and immortal spirits, the true advantage had always remained on His side. And indeed, that proved to be the case. Before long, the Lord of Yuanxi and the Nine Rulers received feedback from countless intelligent beings and immortal spirits. The Lord of Yuanxi's support exceeded sixty percent! This result left the Nine Rulers feeling deeply embarrassed. They had believed their influence over the Hunyuan Realm was already substantial enough. They had thought they could use that influence to accomplish whatever they wished, only to find... The support gained from earlier breaching the Gate of Karma was completely hollow. The moment it was put to an actual test, their true colors were exposed. "The results are in." The Lord of Yuanxi's expression remained unchanged. He had known all along that this would be the outcome. "Now, I require the Nine Rulers to coordinate with me using the spiritual energy under your command, so that I may assimilate the Fate Dao Ancestor and complete the merger of the Ancient Immortal Realm as swiftly as possible." The Nine Rulers exchanged glances, their eyes falling upon the Lord of Yuanxi as He merged with the Fate Dao Ancestor. They knew that even without their assistance, the Lord of Yuanxi would eventually assimilate the Fate Dao Ancestor. It would simply require greater effort. Now that the Lord of Yuanxi's decision had once again gained the support of all intelligent beings and immortal spirits, the 'public' spiritual power He could mobilize had returned to over sixty percent. Whether the Nine Rulers aided Him or not, the final result would not change. The situation remained firmly within the Lord of Yuanxi's control. And yet... They were not resigned to this! They had been so close to success. Just moments ago, when attacking the Gate of Karma, they had suppressed the Lord of Yuanxi's authority. All they needed to do was follow their original plan to shatter the Gate of Fate, and the Nine Rulers would become the new saviors of the Hunyuan Realm. They would be able to freely wield the spiritual power contributed by all intelligent beings and immortal spirits of the Hunyuan Realm, thereby ruling over it completely! The hope of victory had been right before their eyes, yet now... Because the Fate Dao Ancestor had surrendered to the Lord of Yuanxi, that hope was entirely shattered. This was not the outcome they wanted. Furthermore... They refused to accept this outcome. "Rulers! Please act in accordance with the rules!" Sensing something, the Lord of Yuanxi strengthened His spiritual fluctuations slightly. "When you possessed sufficient capacity to execute a more efficient strategy, I cooperated with you to the utmost of my ability. But now, we have a superior option regarding the integration of the Ancient Immortal Realm. The Fate Dao Ancestor took the initiative to merge with me, entrusting the Ancient Immortal Realm into my hands. I ask that you also cooperate with me." The spirituality of the Nine Rulers intertwined as they conducted some unknown exchange. Only after a long while did the Lord of Creation speak in a deep voice: "It is not that we refuse to follow the rules, but rather... we do not trust the Fate Dao Ancestor!" "Then you should at least trust the choice of all living beings and spirits," the Lord of Yuanxi countered. "All living beings and spirits may very well be deceived by you, or rather, by the power of Fate!" The Lord of Creation's spiritual fluctuations surged outward, no longer confined among the Nine Rulers, but spreading across the surroundings to be perceived by all the Immortal Kings and Immortal Venerables watching from afar. "We will adhere to the operational plan of grinding down the Gate of Fate! In my judgment, the Lord of Yuanxi has already been infiltrated by the power of the Fate Dao Ancestor. To some extent, His decisions can no longer purely represent the Hunyuan Realm!" "I endorse the Lord of Creation's statement!" the Lord of Tianyuan immediately declared. "Under the influence of the Fate Dao Ancestor, it is possible that the Lord of Yuanxi will make decisions that betray the Hunyuan Realm. To ensure our safety, I propose that the Lord of Yuanxi's control over the spirituality and computing power of all living beings be temporarily revoked!" "Seconded!" "Shenluo approves of this proposal!" "The Lord of Yuanxi and the Fate Dao Ancestor are currently merging into one, indistinct from each other. It is inevitable that He will be influenced! Authority over the spirituality of all living beings must indeed be reclaimed! Fantian supports this!" "When victory could have been secured step by step, the Lord of Yuanxi chose this superfluous path. It is difficult not to harbor suspicion! I agree to revoke the Lord of Yuanxi's authority over the spirituality and computing power of all living beings!" "Huanghun seconds the motion!" One after another, the Nine Rulers voiced their stances. Their speed was astonishingly rapid. Listening to this, Yaoguang stood with a look of utter dumbfoundment. *Are you kidding me? The Lord of Yuanxi is in the middle of a decisive struggle against the Fate Dao Ancestor, and you want to revoke His control over the spirituality and computing power of all living beings right now?* The Nine Rulers paid no mind to Yaoguang, nor to the similar shock rippling through the other immortal spirits. Having concluded their declarations, the Lord of Tianyuan, who had first made the proposal, immediately issued his decree: "Now, let all intelligent beings and immortal spirits belonging to the Nine Great Conglomerates heed my command! Reclaim the spirituality and computing power you have contributed to the 'public pool'!" With that, the Ruler paused briefly before continuing: "Furthermore, I call upon all intelligent beings and immortal spirits throughout the Hunyuan Realm to withdraw your contributed spiritual power, lest it be exploited by the Fate Dao Ancestor! Wait until we have crushed the Gate of Fate and secured total victory before we reforge a new will of all living beings!"