"Brother Tian?" I am a farmer tentatively called out. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Emperor Shitian suddenly opened his eyes.

In that instant, an indescribably profound feeling enveloped the entire place—not pressure, not aura, but something more fundamental. It was as if the whole world trembled slightly the moment he opened his eyes, yet nothing seemed to have happened.

Ordinary people naturally couldn’t sense this change, but everyone present was a Daluo, and they could clearly perceive something, even though they couldn’t explain it.

"Emperor Shitian? How do you feel?" The Full-time Expert cautiously spoke, his tone unprecedentedly polite.

Emperor Shitian looked at him, his gaze as calm as an ancient well.

"I have already mastered the Power of Saint, if that’s what you mean."

"Hahaha! Old Tongtian, are you dumbfounded now!" I am a farmer immediately became smug, shouting at the three thousand Tongtian Taoists, "It’s useless for you to play tricks now!"

The three thousand Tongtian Taoists simultaneously let out a bitter laugh and shook their heads.

Then Emperor Shitian spoke, his voice unusually calm, so calm it was unsettling.

"No, he did not deceive us; he spoke the truth—combining the Heavenly Dao Power with the Power of Saint will indeed result in death."

Everyone was shocked, "What? But..."

"The reason he said this was precisely because he knew that saying it wouldn’t change anything." Emperor Shitian said faintly, "I still couldn’t resist the temptation, and I still want to seize the Power of Saint."

He paused, his gaze seemingly penetrating the void, seeing a deeper truth:

"And this, in turn, allows him to clear his Cause and Effect. After all, he is no longer a Saint now, and the power of Cause and Effect is also troublesome for him. Saving the world was originally his responsibility, but to save the world, the Saint must integrate with the Great Dao.

But a Saint is also a human, and naturally, does not wish to sacrifice himself easily. Now he doesn’t have to make any sacrifices, nor is he affected by any Cause and Effect, because everything is my ’own doing.’

"From start to finish, it was all his setup." Emperor Shitian’s voice contained no anger, only a statement, "And now I have fallen into the trap, and he does not get involved in Cause and Effect, yet he has accomplished everything he was supposed to do."

So that’s it!

Xiao Jie suddenly realized.

All past doubts were instantly resolved.

Previously, he was worried about being unable to deal with the Tongtian Taoist—when Wang Xie succeeded, he suddenly had a feeling: Was it too easy? This Tongtian Taoist was a Saint’s Avatar, with deep planning, yet he was so easily fooled by himself and Wang Xie? It seemed too simple.

Now, with Emperor Shitian’s words, he realized that from the beginning, it was all Tongtian’s setup.

Even Wang Xie’s thoughts, actions, were probably all within Tongtian’s plan.

He was merely cooperating with everyone to perform a play.

Yet from start to finish, he didn’t even tell a single lie. Without the players intervening, he really would have merged with the Great Dao, sacrificing himself to save the world. But the players didn’t believe him and stopped him, letting Emperor Shitian fill this great pit, continuing on a path everyone was set to follow.

He thought he had successfully thwarted his conspiracy, but that was the conspiracy!

Luckily, he didn’t jump into this trap! Without Feng Buqi’s reminder, perhaps at this moment, it would have been himself merging with the Great Dao, becoming the Heavenly Dao Saint.

This guy... truly cunning and shrewd.

I am a farmer righteously indignant, "Ah! Old Tongtian, you’re too wicked! So what do we do now, Brother Tian? Is there a way to save you?"

Emperor Shitian slowly turned his head, his gaze calmly looking at I am a farmer.

He said faintly, "Why continue this charade? I am the Heavenly Dao Saint; everything in the world is within me. Your calculations, how could I not know now?"

I am a farmer looked slightly embarrassed, "Brother Tian, how can you say that? Back then, I wasn’t sure. If you hadn’t wanted the Power of Saint, maybe I would have taken it too."

"No, you wouldn’t have. You said so before precisely because you calculated that I am someone who strives to be strong. Without your competition, I might not have made up my mind so quickly and would have thought it over, but you sensed the crisis, so you deliberately let the opportunity be given to me, and then repeatedly provoked me, ultimately making me determined."

I am a farmer opened his mouth, wanting to argue. But when he saw those eyes of Emperor Shitian—eyes that seemed to see through everything, encompass everything, and transcend everything—the words stuck in his throat.

In those eyes, there was no emotion. No anger, no sarcasm, not even a hint of pride after "seeing through." Only a calm, absolute... understanding.

"And you, Hidden Moon Following Wind—or perhaps I should call you, Xiao Jie.

You too saw the danger, which is why you gave up the struggle for the Power of Saint. And this precisely proved I am a farmer’s concern, and so he abandoned the struggle as well."

Xiao Jie remained silent.

In his heart, he thought, you’ve said this much, what else is there to argue?

But... will this guy retaliate against them?

As if seeing through Xiao Jie’s inner thoughts instantly, Emperor Shitian calmly said:

"There’s no need to worry. I will not retaliate against you."

He paused, his gaze growing even deeper:

"Ultimately, it is because of my own greed and foolishness that I have come to this point. To become the Heavenly Dao Saint, to merge with the Great Dao, may seem like a terrible death in the eyes of mortals, but only by truly reaching this step do I understand that is the only true meaning in this world.