The Goddess looked at Ji Fei in shock. "He barely survived, what more do you want?"
"I told you, I'm formed from the grievances of countless wronged souls. I must have my revenge," Ji Fei smirked evilly. "Do you think one can commit evil deeds without atonement? Where is the justice in this world?"
The Goddess pleaded tearfully, "This is all my fault. As a Goddess, I should never have given in to personal feelings..."
Ji Fei interrupted her abruptly: "Then why did you? You play both sides, habitually playing the passive role. After all, this way you don't have to bear any guilt or infamy, right?"
The Goddess was stunned into silence.
Though the Emperor Lord couldn't struggle, he immediately defended the Goddess: "We've already saved the world, what more do you want!"
The Goddess also came to her senses, "The Emperor Lord sacrificed his true form to save the world. Isn't that enough to atone?"
"Laughable. Saving the world is your duty. What does that have to do with the evil you've committed?"
The Emperor Lord hated such arguments the most. "Why? You all want her to sacrifice everything, but who has ever considered her feelings? Isn't it enough that I took her place?"
Ji Fei sneered, pointing at the Emperor Lord: "You are the Emperor Lord nourished by the world's vital energy. Once in power, you should maintain the order of heaven and earth, and keep peace among the three realms."
Then she pointed at the Goddess: "You are the Goddess created by Heaven's Will for a special purpose. Your responsibility from birth is to protect all living beings and shelter all creatures."
As the Emperor Lord and Goddess were about to retort, Ji Fei cut them off.
"Because of these duties, you've enjoyed all the privileges this world has to offer from the very beginning. Those privileges are formed by the power of mortal faith and worship. This is an equal exchange! To speak of sacrifice is utterly ridiculous!"
"Instead, you neglected your duties, only thinking of romance, causing so many to die because of you. Now you're using what you should have done in the first place as merit to atone for your sins?"
"You are unworthy to be the ruler of heaven and earth, receiving the worship of millions."
"You are unworthy to be Heaven's Goddess, receiving the faith of the three realms."
Ji Fei's barrage left the Emperor Lord and Goddess speechless. Finally, the Emperor Lord couldn't help but roar: "I just love her, that's all. Are immortals not allowed to fall in love?"
Ji Fei coldly laughed: "You want to be in love? Fine. Dig out your immortal bones, become mortals, and love each other to death for all I care."
The Emperor Lord and Goddess were both stunned.
"What, never thought of that? If you shed your identities, naturally you won't need to sacrifice anything. Heaven's Will will find a way to fill the void."
"Can't you see the mountain of mortal corpses piled at your feet because of your selfish desires? Since when did sacrificing a city for one person become a love story worth praising?"
"You delusionally want to be like mortals, marrying and having children, talking of love, fighting at the drop of a hat for personal feelings. What right do you have to be high and mighty immortals? Since you're in that position, enjoying the worship, faith, and offerings of the world, reaping the benefits, you should do what you're supposed to do."
"How can you want to be immortals worshipped by all, enjoying all the world's benefits, yet be unwilling to sacrifice personal emotions? Such greed can be fatal."
...
"Damn, well said!" Someone in the audience shouted, standing out in the quiet studio. But it didn't disturb anyone's viewing experience, because everyone was thinking the same thing. At this moment, almost no one would stand on the side of the Emperor Lord and Goddess.
Because Ji Fei and Qin Zhao's stage play finally clarified one thing for everyone.
The aftereffects were profound.
Online, the trend finally became one-sided.
Those stubbornly resisting fans were all submerged by the great tide, then gradually assimilated. Although they were unwilling to admit that their idols were bad, they had to acknowledge that the script was problematic.
"Sister Fei, I get it now. Isn't this like receiving a lifetime of salary and then not wanting to work at the end? How shameless!"
"We pray and make offerings to you every day, not for you to fall in love. Just do your job properly and bless us, for goodness' sake!"
"Can you do it or not? If not, then step down! There are plenty of immortals who want your position. Worst case, I'll switch to a faith that benefits me."
"If the god I believe in doesn't bless me, why should I believe? To watch you fall in love as spiritual food? I'm not sick!"
"We put you on a pedestal to guide us towards hope and happiness in life. We've given you all our faith, yet you don't want to repay us, only caring about yourselves?"
"To become an immortal, one must cut off emotional ties. If immortals develop feelings, they must descend to the mortal world to be fair!"
"You have the audacity to ask why we demand repayment? If you had the guts, you shouldn't have let us believe in you in the first place!"
"Here we have a master-disciple romance, there an immortal-mortal love, then a celestial-demon affair. At the slightest provocation, you start a big fight. Is the power we bestowed upon you just for you to be jealous and affect us?"
Xu Meng wasn't in the waiting area, so she could check her phone anytime. At this moment, she bit her lower lip, staring intently at the barrage of comments.
She suddenly had a bad feeling.
Their original plan was to use the stage effect to evoke people's sympathy and resonance. When they revealed their relationship issues later, fans would think of their heart-wrenching love on stage and be more accepting, allowing for a smooth transition.
But now the situation was completely opposite.
After all, the comments criticizing the immortals on stage could also be... criticizing idols who fall in love.
Although Sun Mo and Yang Hong weren't strictly idols, their current status was indeed supported by fans.
The reason why no one opposed Yang Hong's relationship with her was that she didn't harm Yang Hong's career. She was a qualified and low-key partner.
But now, their stage play was already disliked due to the impact of the top-tier group, even ridiculed mercilessly. If their relationship issues were exposed at this time, it would likely remind people of the current heated discussion.
No, this plan must be shelved. And to be safe, they must shift the blame for the script they performed.
It must not be that they willingly chose this script.
They were... they were forced to perform this script by Pei Mingxuan.
Yes, only this way could the three of them escape their predicament.
At this moment backstage, Gao Hao looked at his phone and suddenly exclaimed in surprise.
Qin Rong and Xiao Tao looked over curiously.
But Gao Hao handed the phone to Pei Mingxuan to see.
"Someone captured photos of Xu Meng and Sun Mo kissing. It's already starting to spread on a small scale that Sun Mo is cheating on Yang Hong. This kind of internal conflict will spread very quickly."
If it were before, Pei Mingxuan would have been shocked to see such photos.
Now she just sneered coldly, beyond caring: "Who told them to be so complacent? They deserve it."
When Qin Rong and Xiao Tao heard the news had broken, they immediately became excited, their smiles radiant as they started browsing forums and super topics, sharing the gossip with others.
"A cornered dog will jump over a wall. Will Sun Mo choose to abandon..." Gao Hao worried.
Pei Mingxuan said: "It doesn't matter, because I've abandoned him too."
Online, the smoke of war was rising, a storm was approaching, and the final stage began!
...
Faced with Ji Fei's mockery, the Emperor Lord and Goddess could no longer say a word.
But when Ji Fei was about to make a move against the Emperor Lord, the Goddess pleaded again: "He knows he was wrong, he's awakened. Look, hasn't he already removed his heart demon? I promise you, from now on I'll lead him into seclusion to atone for our sins."
This was also the gratifying ending of the previous stage. Of course, many viewers who felt gratified then are now thoroughly disgusted.
They couldn't help but wonder, how would Ji Fei handle this? Surely she wouldn't disappoint them.
The next second, there was a flash of cold light.
Without a word, Ji Fei thrust her sword through the Goddess's chest.
"Do you take me for a fool? Secluded atonement? Bullshit, you just want to go to some paradise to indulge in your love, don't you? Your hands are stained with the blood of countless wronged souls. What right do you have to be reborn and find happiness? You're sick too, you deserve to die!"
"If you truly want to atone, then go to the Reincarnation Path and taste all the suffering endured by those who died because of your selfish desires!"
"Heaven's way is just, good and evil will be rewarded in the end, without discrimination based on anyone's status or background."
"If the heavens and gods are unjust, then I shall slay the gods! I'll only believe in myself!"
