Zhang Tao's words took apart the emperor's mind, crushed it into pieces, and peeled it off bit by bit to tell the three worlds.
Emperor, do you really feel that you have lost face and cannot bear it?
How is that possible!
These people were also the overlords and pride of the party in the past. They defeated the existence of Chuwu and were the true invincibles of the origin.
How many of Fang Ping and Zhang Tao care about face?
Does Li Zhu care?
Does King Kun care?
If he really cared, Feng would have collapsed long ago, and King Kun would have been hunting Fang Ping for thousands of years.
Face is not important, only the winner can write everything.
Ten thousand years later, people like Fang Ping are dead and the Nine Emperors are still around. Who dares to say that the Emperor is incompetent?
A chuckle spread and the news spread.
Someone laughed.
"King Wu...interesting..."
Zhang Tao sneered and said lightly: "Yes, it's very interesting! Just like when we observe ants moving, we also find it interesting. In your eyes, don't we think so too?"
"What compensations and threats are all in vain! You are afraid that we will ruin your plan, and we are afraid that you will risk your lives to come to the Three Realms. We all have our own fears. Now let's give each other a step, and it will be over if we get down!"
Zhang Tao said indifferently: "But we are barefoot. Although we are not as strong as you, we have less scruples than you! I don't know what people like Hongkun think. I only know that my human race must stand and not kneel!
"
"So what if the Nine Emperors and Four Emperors... I can't kill you, I'll kill the human race headquarters!"
"So, you have to compensate us and calm down our anger. As for us, we have taken the benefits and continue to survive, continue to be our grandchildren, and want to find an opportunity to kill you again... In this way, we have to restore the previous situation. This
Isn’t it just what you want?”
Zhang Tao smiled again and said: "Emperor Doutian and God Emperor are playing a double act, right? One has a red face, and the other has a white face?"
Zhang Tao laughed so hard that his stomach hurt. He held his stomach and laughed: "We have been fighting for a long time. One of you wants to take action and the other wants to block it. Is it intentional? Is it staged?
Why did Ji get beaten?
Because you are disobedient!"
"Good guy, he suddenly ran out and almost ruined your plan. Can't you teach him a lesson? But it's hard for you to take action yourself. Just use our hands to teach him a lesson and let him suffer a loss."
"But if we really want to kill him, you two will probably have to come out, right?"
"We can't kill him at all!"
"Of course, now that you two have come out, things will not go well. The Three Realms... will be in chaos! It doesn't matter if you kill us, it doesn't matter if you don't... right?"
"Is it really possible to rebuild the world? Can you afford to wait ten thousand years?"
"Just saying it casually, who would take it seriously!"
Zhang Tao at this moment is infinitely charming, at least in the eyes of all races, he is so charming.
Zhang Tao still smiled, "So, Ji won't kill him, and we will teach him a lesson for you! This son of a bitch should be more obedient in the future. He used to recognize the Emperor as the boss, but the Emperor is now asleep. He
Without a boss, he likes to fool around, so it's probably hard for you to control him.
You also have to wonder if he is pretending to be crazy and acting stupid. Maybe depriving him of his throne this time is actually one of your goals.
Human Emperor... Human Race... Human Emperor Sword...
Ji's identity is still very important. Are you a little worried about something?
So, take this opportunity to deprive him of the position of Human Emperor as early as possible, and let me break the Human Emperor Sword. Isn't this just a way of reaping the benefits?"
"If the God Emperor comes forward and says a few words, maybe Ji will join him tomorrow."
"As for Emperor Dou Tian, he shouldn't suffer any loss, and he might also gain some benefits."
"In the end, it was this guy Ji who was unlucky... But Ji is not stupid either. Maybe he knew that you were afraid of him, so he deliberately staged a big show to show you how miserable and pitiful he is. The big bosses just don't care.
You doubt me, I’m just a younger brother, I’m really not an old bastard, am I?”
Zhang Tao laughed heartily. At this moment, the corners of the mouths of all the powerful men in the three realms twitched.
What a great show!
A big drama imagined by Zhang Tao.
However... doesn't it make sense?
Doesn't it really make sense?
Not necessarily!
As soon as these words came out, the three realms became eerily quiet.
Zhang Tao sneered and said, "You didn't expect me to say this, right? Will someone scold you, talk nonsense, and sow discord? Maybe you want to yell, but you feel guilty if you yell, right?"
"Hahaha!"
Zhang Tao laughed loudly again, "I knew something was wrong when the inspector showed up at that time! He didn't come out early, he didn't come out late, but he came out at that time. On the one hand, it was to prevent us from continuing to fight, so as not to shake the foundation. On the other hand, it was probably
It was also a cover-up for this scene.
Immortal Inspector, it’s hard for your emperor to come.
Ji still has to guard the Gate of Qi and Blood, and this unexpectedly happened... Didn't you see that Emperor Doutian punched his eyes out before?
If it comes later, it will be a matter of course, right?"
Zhang Tao smiled playfully. At this moment, the God Emperor sighed softly: "King Wu... I appreciate you more and more."
He doesn't say whether it's true or not, and he doesn't care about whether it's true or false. Will Zhang Tao's words have any impact?
Not necessarily!
But if there really isn't, then it's not necessarily true.
Zhang Tao, however, was too lazy to pay attention and said calmly: "Bring the things! Here they are, everyone goes back to their homes and finds their mothers! You continue with your plan, and we will continue with ours.
I don’t have time to talk about this with you people. Each and every one of them pretends to be confused and pretends to understand. What they say is in vain.”
The God Emperor smiled and said softly: "Things will be given to you, but... remember, in the beginning of martial arts... you cannot preach! King Wu, you are a smart person, and smart people should understand that some things are the bottom line.
There is no difference between the initial Wu preaching and what you are doing today, and it is also an act of destroying the original foundation."
Zhang Tao said calmly: "Of course I won't teach Chuwu, Fang Ping is just talking! Chuwu takes too long, maybe it's better, but we can't afford to wait! We have to fight for time and let the human race grow rapidly. Chuwu
You can’t give us this!
If eight thousand years ago, the human race was like this now, and I had asked Chu Wu to preach, what would have happened?
But now...it takes too long to reach the first level of martial arts above the eighth level. It's so long that I'm afraid that one day, the human race won't have the strength to kill you guys!
As for after defeating, maybe he will teach the first martial arts, maybe he will follow a new path...
If you lose, it's all over, and it's not up to you to decide how to go or what path to take."
Zhang Tao looked at Hades and said with a smile: "Senior, what I said is clear enough! I am not in a hurry now whether I can leave Chuwu or not. It will not work for three or two years. If we win, we can discuss it. If we lose...
If you leave now, it will be in vain."
"My name is Ming!"
The God of Hades said in a low voice: "I understand what King Wu said!"
Zhang Tao said this in front of the emperor. His purpose was very clear. Chu Wu... did not necessarily need to be hostile.
I won’t leave Chuwu today. It’s not that I won’t leave, but that I can’t and I don’t dare.
But in the future...it’s hard to say!
I am also telling the emperor, don’t worry that I have betrayed my origin and left Chuwu, because I can’t afford to wait or waste time.
King Wu is King Wu after all, and he is much smoother than Fang Ping.
According to Fang Ping's wishes, if he rebels today, what can he do?
But Lao Zhang understands that today... I really can't afford to rebel!
After a few words, Zhang Tao, the King of Wu who was almost overshadowed by Fang Ping, once again entered the public eye.
Fang Ping is still a little younger.
Dare to fight, dare to kill, dare to fight.
But he may not be as smooth as King Wu in dealing with the aftermath.
"The human race is lucky to have two of them..."
At this moment, Emperor Doutian also spoke, and his voice echoed, "The King of Humans and the King of Martial Arts live up to their names! The original martial arts originated from the human race, and its origin comes from the human race. The human race is the foundation of all ways. It can lead the human race and win
The human race recognizes...the two kings of all ages who are the most suitable to me."
"Emperor Doutian is so complimentary!"
Zhang Tao smiled and said: "It's just talk. He is really capable. Today...Ji will die! Fang Ping and I have always been able to kill, but today...it doesn't matter if we don't talk about it, we still have to let the tiger go back to the mountain and wait for this dog to bite us one day."
One bite..."
The Emperor's eyes were cold.
Zhang Tao said calmly: "There is no need for this, you may be pretending, or you are real! In the future, there may not be times when we will not cooperate, and there is no need to act like the enemy who killed your father now.
A biting dog does not bark..."
"Woof!"
The tengu roared and mentioned it again!
The corner of Zhang Tao's mouth twitched, "Made, you are sick, did you tell me?"
It interrupted my train of thought, hateful!
"Ji, if you are pretending, it means you are not so shallow, and there will still be opportunities for cooperation in the future. If you are really so impulsive and irritable, I am not too afraid of you. If I have the opportunity in the future, it will not be difficult to trap you.
!”
Zhang Tao smiled and said: "So, I'm really not too afraid of you taking revenge on us, but I'm more afraid of... those dogs that don't bark!"
"King Wu, after all, is the master of the human race, why should he hurt others with his words?"
The God Emperor chuckled and said, "There are some things that don't need to be explained too clearly. What do you think, King Wu?"
"That makes sense!"
Zhang Tao said with a smile: "But I didn't hurt anyone. I said dog. Look, Tiangu is the Emperor of Heaven. His status is supreme. Why is he insulting people? Do you look down on dogs? Or do you think dogs are insulting words? If so... Emperor of Heaven,
I didn't mean it in a derogatory way, they all thought so, so there was nothing I could do about it.
The history of my human race is shallow, even if the dog curses people, it was passed down from these guys in ancient times, so I can’t blame the human race.”
The Tengu's eyes were fierce, glaring fiercely at the Human Emperor and into the void.
King Wu was right!
How old is the human race?
Of course, I am talking about Xinwu.
How old is Zhang Tao?
If dogs curse people, it has been passed down from ancient times.
The tengu remained silent this time. It had a grudge, and it remembered it!
Zhang Tao smiled playfully, looked at the Human Emperor again, and said with a faint smile: "Ji, whether you deliberately left the position of the Human Emperor behind, or you were stripped of it passively, the Human Emperor... you can't afford it!
Call it whatever you want, don’t call it Human Emperor!
And I, Zhang Tao...can't afford the position of Human Emperor..."
Before he could finish his words, a ball of golden light fell in front of him in the void, and the God Emperor said calmly: "It's better not to delay."
After finishing his words, he said calmly: "Fang Ping, you can stop!"
…
In the void.
While Fang Ping absorbed a large amount of energy and blood, he used a long knife to carve words on the door. The door was too hard and it was difficult to carve words!
However, a few words were also engraved at this moment.
Some twists, not much.
"Human Fang Ping...here we are..."
When Fang Ping heard this, he didn't put away his sword and said with a smile: "Wait a minute, I still have one more word to write! You haven't finished writing it yet, Ji. You are not allowed to erase it when you go back. Did you hear me? It will be your pillar of shame. It can inspire you."
This has a very good effect on your fighting spirit, believe me!
Only by enduring humiliation and bearing heavy burdens can you become a true man!
If you erase it, then I will be your inner demon. You must be determined to kill me, Fang Ping, and then erase these words. Then you will be sublimated!"
"Perhaps...you will transcend the emperor by then. Believe me, it will be very effective!"
Fang Ping smiled and said: "I like the feeling of being hated. You hate me and I hate you. In this way, you have the fighting spirit and I have the fighting spirit. You want to kill me and I want to kill you. Let's make progress together.
What a great pair of good friends who support each other!"
"..."
At this moment, the Three Realms became the home of the Human King and the Martial King.
The two of them faced the emperor, chatting and laughing happily, and were carefree and carefree. They were indescribably romantic and unrestrained.
At this moment, those strong men in all directions, even if they thought it was ridiculous, couldn't help but feel something.
This is how you should be!
That’s what being a strong person should be like!
How about the emperor?
Today I will force you, the emperor, to bow your head. No matter how you pretend or plan, you still bow your head to me!
For the first time in thirty thousand years, someone forced the emperor to bow his head!
The first time someone said that the emperor was speechless, I didn’t know whether to answer it or not.
What needs to be said has been said by these two.
What else could you say?
At this moment, Cang Mao also carved a mini kitten on another door, and said: "Old Man Huang...oh oh oh...Old Man Ji! Don't wipe my cat, otherwise...else
This cat will let the big fat man beat you up!"
Boom!
There was a loud roar, and the blue cat rolled and rolled in the void, rolling into a ball.
No one said anything, but everyone knew who did it.
The blue cat climbed up pitifully from the void, rolled and rolled, and then rolled back to Fang Ping's feet. The cat had an aggrieved face, and the fat man beat it!
Fang Ping was too lazy to speak. The nickname for this cat was... addictive!
I have actually wanted to beat it up for a long time. Who is the liar?
Am I?
You deserve a beating if you use random nicknames.
Fang Ping slowly carved the last word, reluctantly and madly absorbed the power of the last breath of blood, walked out along the false road that was about to collapse, and said with a smile: "Have you given me the five-handled artifact?"
"Not given."
"Five Saint Tokens are enough. I don't care about so many. Divine weapons can be turned into holy weapons!"
As soon as these words came out, the God Emperor said softly: "The Saint's Order... only three of the origin universes have been found..."
"Okay, don't worry about this."
Fang Ping laughed, he had 31, and one of them was in King Kun's hand, which he had just snatched away.
There are three coins here, which means there is still one missing.
As for where it is, whether it is in the hands of the emperor, it is hard to say now.
The God Emperor also smiled and said no more. Three Saint Orders shot out from the void and went straight to Fang Ping. Fang Ping did not pick them up. Instead, he picked up Cang Mao and waved Cang Mao's claws to catch them.
, in Cang Mao's blank eyes, he smiled and said: "Big Cat, you put it away first and check if there is any danger. These old things may have hidden some clones inside, and their things are hard to get!"
As soon as these words came out, Cang Mao felt even more aggrieved. If you don't dare to take it, why should I take it?
"It's okay, you are still useful to the origin. I suspect that you are the pet cat of the guy who created the origin. These guys probably want to take advantage of you... they won't harm you for the time being."
Cang Mao muttered, put away the Saint's Order, and stopped talking.
Fang Ping continued to walk out. At this moment, Li Zhu smiled lightly and said: "Li doesn't want much. The method to become an emperor, even if it is fake, can give Li a glimpse of reality. Don't be too fake. It's too fake."
It’s fake, Li is more or less a Po Qi warrior, so he can still tell something.”
"You're interesting too!"
A faint smile came, and a ball of golden light shot out.
King Kun said coldly: "The way to become an emperor is the place where my father sleeps, or where the origin is!"
The same ball of golden light shot out.
At this moment, Hongyu suddenly whispered: "The method of source fusion."
As soon as these words came out, the void froze for a moment, and the God Emperor said lightly: "Your origin is chaotic, and this matter cannot be solved by martial arts..."
"I just want this!"
The next moment, Emperor Doutian said: "It doesn't hurt to give it a try!"
As soon as he finished speaking, a ball of golden light came.
"One piece of the Tyrant Emperor's bones!"
This was Feng's request. Feng's face turned pale. He didn't want anything else, but he wanted the bones of Emperor Ba Tian.
At this moment, there was once again a period of silence.
Soon, a ball of golden light floated over.
Feng laughed and said no more.
The Zhenhai envoy also simply said, "The Beast King's staff will lift the seal, and the Beast King will remove the mark!"
"snort!"
There was a cold snort, and the next moment, a golden light hit the Beast King's staff, and the Beast King's staff shone with golden light, and instantly burst out with bright light.
The strong men who break the Eighth Route Army are all making demands.
The casting god smiled and said: "Give me a hundred drops of the blood of the immortal source."
"you……"
"No, no, no, do I want this too much? Come on, don't wait!"
silence.
After a long while, the God Emperor said: "Give it to him!"
"snort!"
A soft hum came, and a ball of golden light shot out again. The caster's face was full of excitement, and he smiled and said in a low voice: "Good thing, Wan Dao Blood, I can try to cast the real body with my clone, it's done, the artifact is bone
, they are all broken eight clones. After they merge into one, they will directly become the emperor and kill whoever they want!"
"..."
No one paid attention to him, but no one dared to take it seriously.
It’s not necessarily a boast!
It's not impossible for this lunatic to do it.
The artifact is bone, and the blood is the foundation. Can we cast a clone and merge the clones into one, can it be successful?
have no idea!
However, the false path before has shocked people's hearts. This guy is terrifying.
At this moment, apart from Chuwu and others, only King Zhentian remained silent.
King Zhentian thought for a while and said with a smile: "It's not too demanding..."
Then there was no sound!
This old guy secretly sent a message and asked.
Soon, I seemed to have received a reply, my face changed for a while, and soon returned to normal, and said calmly: "I know it!"
He stopped asking questions and making no more demands.
At this time, the Human Emperor snorted coldly and was about to break free from control and leave.
But at this moment, Luan suddenly cursed and said: "What do you mean? I don't have it? Why? I want benefits too, so hurry up..."
Ran was furious. Over there, the Tengu suddenly remembered something. They... didn't seem to be doing anything good for him?
"I want it too!"
"And I!"
Ishiba also chimed in!
The God Emperor said calmly: "The methods of becoming an emperor are similar with some differences. You are single and this is all you need. It may be better to follow your own path. It may be meaningful to refer to it..."
As soon as he finished speaking, balls of golden light fell.
Soon, the source channel began to close, and the voice of the God Emperor came again: "Let Ji leave, if the Qi and Blood Gate is not suppressed, once it collapses, the source will be in chaos..."
King Zhentian and others looked at Fang Ping. He proposed this plan. At this moment, it was Fang Ping who should end it.
Fang Ping smiled and said: "The plan to kill the emperor has failed today! It's fine, I'll leave it for later! But before I leave, I still have a few words to say..."
Everyone looked at him.
Fang Ping smiled and said: "The first question is, whose claw is that in Jiuchongtian just now?"
"..."
King Zhentian smiled and said: "It seems to be the Beast King, it should be him."
"That's good, I'll take note of this grudge. You, a member of the Beast King lineage, be careful!"
"..."
Fang Ping continued: "Second, Human Emperor Ji is no longer Human Emperor. He is an emperor after all. Calling him Ji is a bit disrespectful. I thought about it and gave him a name, Tu Ping Huang.
, to remember this shame, kill me Fang Ping and then let it go, what do you think? If possible, we will call it this in the Three Realms from now on."
"..."
The Human Emperor's eyes did not change. At this moment, he suddenly said: "Fang Ping, since you are so kind... I accepted it!"
"I'm just afraid that one day... you'll regret it!"
Fang Ping narrowed his eyes and said with a smile: "I don't regret it. I will give myself a little pressure. If you come back later, I will break you into pieces and let you try the consequences of offending me!"
After laughing, Fang Ping continued: "Third, are the other three emperors dead? Emperor Doutian, I want to hear your answer to this question!"
Emperor Doutian said softly: "The emperor is immortal... Even before he becomes the emperor, he is in danger of being destroyed."
"I see!"
Fang Ping laughed and said: "I understand, you don't need to answer me anymore, just forget it if you die, if you don't die...just watch again!"
"..."
After Fang Ping said this, he chased away people like flies: "Go away! Return to the emperor, I didn't feel the majesty of the emperor at all this time, and I was expecting you in vain! I thought you would blow up with one punch as soon as you came out of the mountain.
The Three Realms, the result is like this... It seems that the emperor is nothing more than this!"
His provocative words did not make the emperor angry.
At this moment, the original world continued to tremble, and the Human Emperor quickly broke through the air. Soon, he arrived in front of the Qi and Blood Gate. Without a word, he moved the Qi and Blood Gate and disappeared into the universe in an instant.
The air passage disappeared in the blink of an eye.
The connection point between the original universe and the real world has disappeared.
There was a loud bang, and outside the Nine Heavens, all the barriers were restored, and the previous gaps disappeared.
The world returned to tranquility.
The emperor seems to have never appeared.
Fang Ping and the others did not separate. After waiting for a while, King Zhentian said slowly: "It's almost done. Breaking the original universe is not that simple! The same is true for the Nine Heavens, but be careful when one day the Nine Heavens suddenly lowers a claw and pinches it.
Kill you!"
Fang Ping disagreed and said with a smile: "It's enough to hold Po Ba to death, right?"
"Was it too late to hold Poba to death?"
King Zhentian smiled, and his smile was very strange. He said... Poba is worthless?
Co-author, you criticized the emperor for a few words and then you drifted away?
Have you forgotten your last name?
Fang Ping didn't care about this, and laughed loudly at the moment: "No matter what, we won! This time, although we failed to kill the emperor, we still won! It was a great cooperation this time, although everyone was an opponent, but...
...We have divided the three realms, so how can the emperor intervene?"
"This plan to kill the emperor has been a great success, so congratulations!"
Fang Ping smiled happily, but the others were silent.
Li Zhu smiled, shook his head, and turned away instantly.
A battle was just to prepare for the emperor level, but in the end... ten kings died, and finally many emperors were brought out, and then it came to an end.
This battle was fought inexplicably.
This battle also made everyone feel a little uncomfortable.
And the one who gained the most from this battle was actually the human race.
As for forcing the emperor to make concessions in the end, this is everyone's success. The emperor has been self-proclaimed for three years. No matter active or passive, at least everyone knows that the emperor will not interfere in the affairs of the Three Realms in a short period of time.
But no one really expected this battle to be like this.
Too many people have died. Even Chuwu feels a little sad at this moment. Yuanhua is still dead. Not only that, but the powerful Heavenly Kings who sealed the Earth Emperor before are all seriously injured at this moment. Chuwu also suffered heavy losses this time.
Fortunately, only Yuanhua died, and the few people who cooperated with Fang Ping absorbed a lot of energy and blood, so the problem was not too big.
"Big victory!"
Fang Ping ignored them and shouted loudly, instantly causing millions of warriors to respond!
"Big victory!"
"Slaughter ten kings and countless saints, but I am invincible!"
Everyone started shouting again, extremely excited!
At this moment, Lao Zhang and others also smiled, and sweat rolled down their backs.
shock!
Afraid!
It is impossible to say that there is no fear when the Emperor comes, but this battle was still won.
This is also a very meaningful battle and a battle worth remembering.
After today, the human race will be one of the overlords of the three realms, the strongest overlord!
From being a big fat guy in everyone's eyes, to today, he has become a landmine in everyone's eyes. At this time, anyone who thinks about continuing to fight against the human race is an idiot.
Unless the other parties in the three realms unite, the human race will no longer be a weak group, but a strong one.
"Hahaha……"
Fang Ping laughed loudly and shouted: "The Southern Territory belongs to the human race, our master! If the cave warriors dare to enter the Southern Territory, behead them! The three regions of East, West and North can continue to be the battlefield. If you can find the strength in the underground cave, continue the war!"
Fang Ping laughed and flew directly towards the Southern Territory.
Everyone was speechless. King Kun and the others left one by one. Too many things happened today and they needed to think clearly.
The tengu men also slipped away quietly at this moment and continued to the sky tomb.
Some things still have to go on.
The hostile relationship between Chu Wu and the human race seems to have weakened a lot, but those old guys in the sky grave still have to keep an eye on them.
…
Everything is back on track.
It was as if the earth-shattering battle before had never happened.
However, the devastated Kuhai and Southern Territory still witnessed the brutality of this battle.
The blood-red sea water tells everything.
The four heavenly kings left behind by the inspectors were standing quietly in the air at this moment, full of confusion and confusion.
Dead!
After all, it was their side that suffered the heaviest casualties, killing six heavenly kings.
All parties have gone to practice cultivation, where will they... go?
The four heavenly kings usually have people to win over them, but today there is no one.
Tianji was about to leave quietly, but now he was extremely scared. He had said before that if the old emperor came out, he might be beaten to death. That was because he thought that someone would become the emperor.
But who would have expected that just today, the Human Emperor was almost beaten to death.
horrible!
The rest of your life!
From behind, his senior brother seemed to be calling him, but Tianji pretended not to hear, shattered the void, and disappeared instantly.
If you don't get involved with these guys, you will easily get into trouble.
No one recruits these people, that's because they are the emperor's spies, and they may stab you at any time, which will be more troublesome than their opponents.
Tianji pretended not to hear. As for his father, he didn't hear him speak, so he didn't know whether he was alive or dead.
In short, now he suddenly doesn't want his father to come back.
Too dangerous!
People can't kill the emperor, maybe like today, they have to kill the emperor's direct descendants, and he... is the prince, so he is an easy target.
"Father, Father...if you are not dead, please continue to stay outside the Three Realms!"
He who summoned his father to come back every day suddenly changed his mind. Don't come back. Don't harm your son when you come back. It's not easy for your son. It's too difficult to survive today!
Tianji left, and a moment later, the Xihuang Taoist Temple moved and continued deep into the sea of suffering, without trace.
Everyone left one after another, and the human race and the underground cave retreated their troops.
The three realms are quiet.
ps: There are only two updates today, 15,000, not bad, just ends this little plot...