Chapter 443: What is the Dao

"Your Majesty, please make your decision!"

"No, I cannot make this decision!"

Qing'er did not want to make things difficult for the Witch King, but although the Witch King was incompetent, he could not bear to personally order Qing'er's execution.

"Kill the Empress, purge the evil demon!"

The ignorant commoners began to shout loudly again, forcing the Witch King to order Qing'er's execution.

"Abominable! She is no evil demon; she is the sacred representative of the nation, a descendant of Nuwa! How can you execute her? Ah?"

Wine Sword Immortal suddenly descended from the sky, then angrily pointed at the commoners below and questioned them.

"She is a fake descendant of Nuwa, a demoness who blasphemes the gods!"

Facing Wine Sword Immortal's questioning, Uncle Baiyue's expression remained unchanged; he merely replied coldly.

"The one who truly blasphemes the gods is you!"

Wine Sword Immortal pointed angrily at Uncle Baiyue and said.

"Insulting the Cult Master! Kill them! Kill them!"

The Uncle Baiyue cultists and commoners below were filled with righteous indignation, even wanting to charge onto the execution platform.

"Clang!"

A sword hummed. Lin Fan arrived on his sword, and seeing this, Li Li Xiaoyao hurriedly followed on his own sword, though he had found a piece of cloth from somewhere to cover his face.

"Who are you people, daring to trespass on the execution platform!"

At this moment, the Witch King finally acted majestic, questioning Lin Fan and Li Li Xiaoyao.

"You muddled emperor, to actually bring your own wife onto the stage for judgment!"

Lin Fan looked at the Witch King with disdain. Although he didn't know why Wine Sword Immortal hadn't scolded the Witch King, Lin Fan scolded him in his stead.

"Little brother, although I don't know who you are, the Emperor was forced to do this; you cannot speak of him this way."

Qing'er looked at Lin Fan, seemingly thinking of something, her expression shifting slightly, but her tone remained calm.

"Fine, I won't bother speaking of him; he is not worthy. Let me take you and Zhao Linger away from here. The citizens of the Nanzhao Kingdom are ignorant and have been bewitched by Uncle Baiyue; the Nanzhao Kingdom can no longer contain you."

Lin Fan, like Li Li Xiaoyao, wanted to try and change fate. As long as he could take Qing'er and Zhao Linger away, fate would change.

"Although my subjects hate me, I will not flee. Even if it takes the sacrifice of my life to bring them back to their senses, I do not wish for them to be misled by the Uncle Baiyue Cult any longer."

Qing'er's demeanor was composed; she had already prepared herself for death.

"Foolish! Even if you are a descendant of Nuwa, emphasizing the great love of self-sacrifice, the Nanzhao Kingdom is but a tiny place; how is it worth your sacrifice? The subjects of Nanzhao are subjects, but are the subjects of the Central Plains not subjects as well? How can you forget all of humanity for the sake of these barbarians? Furthermore, your death has absolutely no value. You dying is like a pebble falling into the ocean; the slight ripples will vanish in an instant. Do you expect these blockheads to awaken and repent? Look, even this incompetent ruler is beginning to hesitate."

Hearing Qing'er's words, Lin Fan was somewhat angry. Descendants of Nuwa clearly had problems in their brains; perhaps that old woman Nuwa had placed a curse on them.

"I believe in him. I believe the Emperor will not abandon me. Even if I die today, the Emperor will uphold our shared ideals and govern this country well."

Qing'er glanced at the hesitant Witch King, but then said with a calm face.

"They are accomplices of the demon queen! Kill them!"

Uncle Baiyue turned and bewitched the commoners, forcing the Witch King to make a decision.

"Qing'er, I will ask one last time: are you coming with me or not?"

"I cannot leave. To understand the Heavenly Dao, to know the Saintly Dao, to be able to reach the virtue of an emperor from all directions—that is to understand letting everything follow its natural course, to educate the subjects, to let them be happy. This is my destiny; this is my Dao."

Lin Fan tried to persuade Qing'er to leave for the last time, but unfortunately, Qing'er had already made up her mind.

"Great Hero, what do we do? This woman is stubborn and unyielding, the Emperor is incompetent, these commoners are as stupid as pigs, and that bearded man is bewitching the masses. The situation is not looking good!"

Li Li Xiaoyao was somewhat nervous; this situation was too unfavorable for them, wasn't it?

"Forget it. Since Qing'er refuses to leave for the sake of this group of pigs in Nanzhao, I'll just destroy the Nanzhao Kingdom and end her attachment!"

Qing'er is too pedantic, just like that Sword Saint on Mount Shushan. Every day she talks about destiny and the Dao; it’s truly infuriating.

Back when the Sword Saint ran away on his wedding night, Qing'er went to Mount Shushan to demand a reason. Lin Fan suspects it was the Sword Saint who brainwashed her. At the time, he talked about great love and small love, making Qing'er realize what the Nuwa Dao was. It was a terrible disaster. Lin Fan will definitely go to Mount Shushan himself one day to break the Sword Saint’s Dao.

"Nine Heavens Profound Lightning, transformed into divine thunder. The majestic power of heaven, summoned by the sword!"

But there’s no time to think about that now. Since there is fire in his heart, he must vent it. Today, Lin Fan is going to start a massacre.

When Lin Fan held the Mo Yixi Sword high and performed the Divine Sword Thunder-Controlling True Art, the entire world changed color. In an instant, dark clouds gathered, lightning flashed, and thunder rolled, the air filled with a murderous aura.

Moon Worshipper’s expression was grave. Although Lin Fan was very young and his cultivation realm wasn't high, this sword art invoked the power of heaven and earth’s thunder through the divine sword, which was truly terrifying. He was clearly only at the peak of Void Return, yet he could unleash a strike of Immortal Return level.

But just as Lin Fan was about to summon the thunder to destroy the entire Nanzhao Kingdom, Qing'er stopped him.

As a Nuwa descendant, even if her strength had declined after giving birth to Zhao Linger, she was still at the peak of Immortal Return, and could even exert Earth Immortal strength. Lin Fan could only unleash one Immortal Return strike, so naturally, he was no match for her.

"Qing'er!"

Lin Fan looked at Qing'er in disbelief.

"You go. Take my Zhao Linger and leave the Nanzhao Kingdom. I will not leave. For the sake of my people and my Dao, I must stay!"

Qing'er couldn't help but avoid Lin Fan’s gaze, then said firmly.

"Fine, I am no match for you today, but you wait. When my strength surpasses yours in the future, you will naturally understand what regret means!"

Lin Fan said to Qing'er through gritted teeth.

"We’ll see about that later!"

Qing'er suddenly smiled, then waved her sleeve, and Lin Fan and Li Li Xiaoyao were sent away from the execution platform by her magic power.

"Don't let them take the Princess, go and stop them!"

Moon Worshipper suddenly said to his followers, while he himself quietly left the spot.

The Moon Worshippers, upon hearing this, immediately ran toward the palace to intercept the three of them.

Moon Worshipper arrived at the riverbank and began to perform magic to summon the Water Demon Beast. After the commotion caused by Lin Fan today, the Witch King’s mind was wavering; he had to force the Witch Empress to reveal her true form to solidify the Witch King’s resolve.

"Ants, die!"

All the palace guards and the Moon Worshippers who came to block them were slaughtered by Lin Fan.

"Who are you people?"

Zhao Linger’s grandmother looked at Lin Fan and the others with vigilance.

"The Witch Empress sent us. She wants us to take Zhao Linger away from the Nanzhao Kingdom."

Lin Fan said to Zhao Linger and her grandmother.

At this moment, a phoenix suddenly appeared. Lin Fan, seeing this, took Zhao Linger and the others onto the phoenix’s back and left the palace.