At the Twelve Emperors' place, they flew back to the Daoist Secret Realm, the Imperial Mausoleum Ancestral Land.
The war in the Outer Realm had entered a stalemate phase.
While inside the realm, Tao Qian's situation grew increasingly dangerous.
If not for Zhang Jinluan and Si Xixin, these two individuals refraining from openly stabbing him in the back, Tao Qian would probably have perished by now.
Even so, he couldn't hold out much longer.
The Forbidden Law Barrier that originally enveloped six provinces had been forcibly seized, with one province lost.
One would think that faced with such a situation, nearly a situation of certain death, Master Tao should be quite panicked.
He should surely have lost his composure, at least a bit.
But curiously, that was not the case.
Tao Qian was indeed doing his utmost to think of strategies to break the impasse, but at the same time, due to the Human Dao Destiny and the Ancestor God Forbidden Technique, Tao Qian could see the current conditions of the Seventy-two provinces.
Thus, at this moment, he developed a special feeling.
It was as if the massive stone that had long been pressing on his heart finally vanished, and an indescribable sense of relief surged forth.
Heart Soul delighted, filled with Ultimate Happiness, he realized in a daze:
"If I survive, this ordeal must lead to Ultimate Happiness."
"Just afraid that I truly may not live through it, they may take my life away."
Just as these thoughts of sorrow and joy arose in Tao Qian's mind, the scenery before his eyes changed abruptly, mountains and rivers shifted, and All People overlapped.
In a daze, a familiar voice, faint and intermittent, came through.
That voice was both deep and clear, free from any impurity.
It was as though an old farmer, or perhaps a scholar, was calling out to him through the void:
"Daoist friend, Daoist friend, can you see me?"
At first, this voice was faint.
But gradually, it became clearer and clearer.
And mixed with other "noises," Tao Qian listened intently and couldn't help but smile.
His current situation was indeed precarious, apart from the risk of perishing in the Dao, the immense merit was also at risk of being deceitfully plundered by the Twelve Emperors.
Many of the people from the Seventy-two provinces had been deceived by the false facades of the Twelve Emperors, and with the preconceived notions of the wise and benevolent Human Emperors depicted in the historical texts, they still regarded Tao Qian as a great savior but also considered the Twelve Emperors as benevolent emperors who rushed back from the Outer Realm to save the world.
But such deception could not last forever.
The ignorant are indeed easy to convince.
But one must also realize the saying that water can carry a boat but can also capsize it is an eternal truth.
Now that the Human Dao Destiny had reached a boiling point, as time went by, more and more people of the Human Clan began to realize the truth.
Consequently, words of awakening gradually penetrated Tao Qian's ears:
"How come the situation at Qiantang has not yet concluded, where is Tao Master, could something unexpected have happened?"
"Not good, I fear it's a trap, an entrapment, are those emperors giving Tao Master a hard time?"
"Impossible! Emperor Liu, Li's ancestor Emperor, Zhao Family Ancestor... which of them wasn't a Bright Lord and a benevolent ruler? Inviting Tao Master to a banquet must be to reward him for his merits, how could they trouble a True Master?"
"Bah, you fools, don't forget what the True Master once said during the Yang Sui Uprising, that these emperors in life might have been good, but after death turned into Alchemists, each and every one became blood-sucking rats and insects clinging to the Longevity Heavenly Dynasty. These damned creatures might have used some Blinding Technique, and right now, they might be surrounding and attacking the Tao Master."
"I remember now, during Emperor Zhu Shizong's reign, Zhu Rizhao had once displayed an immortal's demeanor to deceive the world, until after the Yang Sui Uprising abolished the imperial system, and Zhu Rizhao revealed his disgusting and terrifying true form. Those rotting palace maids, eunuchs, crawling Ghost Babies, and muddy flesh... Since Zhu Rizhao was like that, could the other emperors be any different?"
"The upheaval in Demon City, the Yang Sui Uprising, the New Moon Revolt, and now the disturbance at Qiantang, the Great Vow of the reconstruction of the Ancestor God Forbidden Technique... every time, wasn't it Tao Master who stood up? I fear these cursed emperors saw the power consolidating and decided to come out and pick the fruits of victory?"
"It's bad, it must be so, Tao Master is in danger."
As these voices grew louder, becoming a tidal wave,
Tao Qian heard that familiar voice become clearer in his ear, and finally, it coalesced into the form of a familiar old man, overlaying itself among the myriad figures of All People.
Upon seeing this, Tao Qian couldn't help but reveal a joyful expression and replied through the void:
"I see it, I see it."
"Ancestor Spirit Daoist, could it be that this time, I am to die and be reborn?"