"If he really is Crown Prince Zhaoming, I think that there are probably many people who want him dead. Although those people might already know that he is about to die, My Lady should be well aware that the lives of their clans and even the thousand generations of their clans depend on My Lady. They will not take any risks, will not allow him to live another day."
Xu Yourong calmly continued, "So I cannot leave the Orthodox Academy, and the sword array of South Stream Temple will never be lifted."
The elegant celestial porcelain cup slowly turned between her fingers, like a waterwheel being pushed by a stream, smooth and silent.
The Divine Empress gazed at the cup between her fingers, revealing a smile that seemed to contain a deep meaning, but she said nothing.
The celestial porcelain cup was very beautiful and seemed very hard, but to her, she only needed a thought to crush it into powder.
Xu Yourong had never hoped that the Divine Empress would save Chen Changsheng, even if he might be her own son.
Moreover, the Pope might not be able to do anything about Chen Changsheng's illness, and the Empress might not be able to either.
But she hoped that in the last years of Chen Changsheng's life, he would be able to enjoy a beautiful and undisturbed period of time.
From the age of ten, Chen Changsheng had always endured the shadow of death, arduously advancing without any time to catch his breath. Every time she thought of this matter, she would feel somewhat sad.
"If My Lady agrees, I will take him with me and leave the capital tomorrow."
Xu Yourong said to the Divine Empress.
The Divine Empress's smile faded, her expression indifferent as she said, "If he really is my son, then every day he lives is a day that I will be uneasy."
Xu Yourong replied, "On the way back from Mount Han, I searched through all the scriptures of the church. There is no proof of the backlash of the Heavenly Dao."
"That's because neither Emperor Taizu nor Taizong violated the oath they made back then. The former caused the death of all his children except Taizong, while the latter killed all those elders in the portraits in the Lingyan Pavilion. If not for Wang Zhice's quick escape, Taizong might really have been able to last through the autumn and for ten thousand generations, still sitting on my position."
When she mentioned Taizu and Emperor Taizong, she was not very respectful, especially when she mentioned Emperor Taizong, who was revered by the people. Her tone was filled with ridicule and disdain.
"Two years ago, when Chen Chang Sheng lit up his Destined Star in the library of the Tradition Academy, Mo Yu and I were coincidentally on the Dew Platform. At that time, I said, Destined Star can also be the fated nemesis … … If it is fated, between me and him, only one can live. Do you think the heavens will let him die or me die?"
The Divine Empress's voice gradually grew cold.
Xu Yourong was well aware that before the Heavenly Dao made its final judgment, the Empress would give an answer herself.
The Divine Empress stood up and motioned for her not to say anything more. She walked to the window with her hands behind her back and gazed at the burning sky.
Xu Yourong also walked to the window and gazed at the bright red sky. She narrowed her eyes and subconsciously put her hands behind her back.
Looking at them from the back, their postures were exactly the same, as if they were replicas. They also looked like a pair of mother and daughter.
The Divine Empress said, "No matter how you look at it, you are more like my daughter than Ping Guo."
Ping Guo was the daughter she adopted from the Family of Tian Hai. Their blood relationship was very close and their appearance was also somewhat similar.
When she was young, she was one of the most famous beauties in the world. Xu Yourong was now recognized as the most beautiful girl, but they were both extremely beautiful but not alike.
But just as she said, no matter how you look at it, Xu Yourong looked like her own daughter.
That was because their temperament, temperament, and spirit were similar.
"In reality, I have always treated you as my daughter because we have the same blood."
The Divine Empress looked at the burning clouds in the sky. Her beautiful face shone with dazzling light. She was extremely confident. "Back then, I sacrificed the starry sky to change my fate. I was willing to die without descendants to ascend to the throne. I have never regretted this, because I know very well that even the Heavenly Dao cannot stop the rebirth of the phoenix."
The burning cloud slowly moved west in the sky. It looked like a phoenix breaking out of the fire.
"You, are my descendant, my successor."
The Divine Empress looked at Xu Yourong and said indifferently, "As for whether he is my son or not, I don't care."
Xu Yourong thought, after all, he is your own flesh and blood. Don't you have any feelings for him?
"I taught you for so many years, but now it seems that teacher of yours has taught you back."
The Divine Empress expressionlessly said, "Feelings are the cheapest thing in the world. Morality is only an excuse for the weak to protect themselves. None of this is important."
Xu Yourong asked, "Then what is the most important thing?"
The Divine Empress looked at the sky and leisurely said, "Existence."
Xu Yourong thought for a while, then said, "How should we exist?"
"How to exist, each with its own wonders. Whether one can exist for a long time, how the soul cannot be extinguished, these are the Great Dao."
"All things have a beginning and an end. Even those above the Concealed Divinity who have obtained great freedom will still be born and extinguished."
"Things are easy to decay, but their shadows cannot be extinguished. In the end, it all depends on the thickness of those marks."
The Divine Empress turned around and looked at her. "And those marks come from our footsteps, following the direction of our hearts."
Xu Yourong asked, "What if someone blocks the path?"
The Divine Empress replied, "So we need the ability to kill all those who block our path. Only in this way can we bring this world forward according to our will, branding our souls into history. Even if tens of thousands of people curse us, it will not be able to erase us. Only in this way can we approach true eternity."
Xu Yourong was somewhat confused. Frowning, she asked, "If everyone opposes it, how can we kill them all?"
"Of course we can kill them all. This is a very simple matter."
The Divine Empress's voice echoed through the empty palace hall.
"First kill them all over there."
She looked to the distant north, as if speaking to the year-round snowstorm.
"Then kill them all over there."
She looked to the distant west, as if making a declaration to the boundless ocean.
"Then kill them all over there."
She drew back her gaze and turned to a certain place in the capital.
With her words, the trees lining the Divine Path of the Li Palace suddenly began to move despite the absence of wind. Countless green leaves rustled to the ground.
"Finally, kill them all over there."
She looked to the sky, her gaze very deep, as if she wanted to see through this burning sky.
… …
… …
Twilight gradually retreated and night came. The restaurants outside the Orthodox Academy continued to close, and Hundred Flowers Lane was very quiet. Only the occasional shouts from those peddlers could be heard. However, they had received a warning from the Orthodoxy cavalry and knew that the Holy Maiden and the disciples of South Stream Temple were currently residing in the Orthodox Academy, so their shouts were very restrained and not loud.
An old man selling gardenias borrowed the cover of the darkness to arrive in front of the walls of the Orthodox Academy. It seemed like he was about to relieve himself, but he suddenly vanished.
The food delivery carriage of Clear Lake Restaurant entered the Orthodox Academy through the back gate. More midnight snacks than usual were carefully carried into the kitchen by the cooks for the students and disciples of South Stream Temple to eat at night. A middle-aged man delivering the food chatted with a cook and then vanished into the gray walls outside.
Similar scenes occurred in many places, but no one paid any attention to them.
There were a total of fourteen people who had infiltrated the Orthodox Academy under the cover of the night. They were all assassins and killers.
Besides the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets and Black Robe, in the entire continent, only the Department for Purging Officials could find so many powerful assassins and killers in such a short amount of time.
The female disciples of South Stream Temple had extremely high cultivations and powerful swordplay, and the sword array they had laid down was even more powerful. However, they were still disciples of the Daoist sect that cultivated in seclusion in the mountains, so they were extremely lacking in experience. Moreover, the walls of the Orthodox Academy were connected for ten-some li. No matter how tight the patrols of the Orthodoxy cavalry were, they could not possibly control every single area.
Not everyone in the Orthodox Academy had not noticed the infiltration of these assassins.
Just when the old man selling gardenias arrived in front of the walls of the Orthodox Academy, Zhexiu opened his eyes.
He was not in the building, but on the great banyan tree by the lake.
During the day, Chen Changsheng had given his last words, as well as many other things.
Tang Thirty-Six and Su Moyu were very quiet. After Xuanyuan Po ran away, Zhexiu said nothing. He climbed the tree, hugged the Demon Commander's Banner Sword, and began to sleep.
Behind him was the sword array of South Stream Temple, and behind him was the small building. Chen Changsheng was inside.
If they wanted to kill Chen Changsheng, they first had to get past him.
In the Proclamation of Azure Sky, he was ranked second, the only young genius that could threaten Xu You Rong's position. It was not because of his high cultivation, but because of his extremely powerful battle prowess.
At present, in the Orthodox Academy, his cultivation was not the highest, but if magical artifacts and other items were not taken into account, not even Chen Changsheng was a match for him.
This was because he had lived in the desolate and dangerous snowy plains since he was a child, a wolf cub that had survived in the face of death.
Last autumn, in front of the Orthodox Academy, Chen Changsheng had broken through the Star Domain with a single strike, shocking everyone present. At the time, he had said that there were at least five people that could do what he had done, defeat a Star Condensation cultivator at Ethereal Opening.
The five people he spoke of were Qiushan Jun, Xu You Rong, Gou Hanshi, himself, and Zhexiu.
Zhexiu was extremely sensitive to danger. He expressionlessly gazed at the Orthodox Academy in the darkness. It did not take long for him to discover the traces of at least seven assassins.
However, what happened next was extremely strange, because those assassins began to collapse one by one. Some collapsed in the weeds, some collapsed in the depths of the forest. One assassin borrowed the water to escape, but sank, never to rise again. Under the starlight, only a few faint smears of red could be seen in the lake.
Only then did Zhexiu realize that the Orthodox Academy was actually concealing so many experts. Although these experts were clearly friends and not enemies, they still made him feel a chill.
… …
… …
A carriage stopped outside Hundred Flowers Lane.
The light in the carriage was very dim, illuminating the white paper on the table with a yellowish tint and the words on it with a bluish tint.
The two officials of the Department for Purging Officials, on the other hand, grew paler and paler.
Without question, ever since the Divine Empress had come to power, the government office in the alley of the Northern Military Department had become the most sinister and unbridled place in the entire continent.
But tonight, the person that the Department for Purging Officials wanted to kill was not an ordinary person, but the future Pope. When they thought of this fact, these two officials still felt incomparably nervous and afraid.
Not a single one of the assassins that had infiltrated the Orthodox Academy had returned.
Even more terrifying was that not a single sound could be heard from the Orthodox Academy, as if no battle was taking place.
The darkness enveloping the Orthodox Academy was like an abyss, noiselessly swallowing the lives of ten-some of the most extraordinary assassins of the Department for Purging Officials.
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