He didn't know how much time had passed, it could have been very long, it could have been very short. Chen Chang Sheng awoke from his stupor and dashed away as if he was fleeing.
The little Black Dragon watched his back disappear into the darkness, a hint of fiendish intent appearing on her face. The expression in her vertical pupils became abnormally cold.
The seal that Wang Zhice had left on the stone wall prevented her from recovering her true strength, but if she wanted to, she could still easily grab Chen Changsheng and eat him. Otherwise, how could she have become the so-called 'taboo' that no one in the Imperial Palace dared to mention?
But she did not do this. The anger in her vertical pupils gradually dissipated, leaving behind only loneliness, grievance, and stubbornness.
She was keenly aware that Chen Changsheng wanted to flee not because he was afraid of being eaten by her, but because he wanted to escape from something else.
Without the little Black Dragon's help, Chen Changsheng would not have been able to use the pond to return to the surface. The path he had chosen was the one he had taken when he first mistakenly entered the underground world. When he pushed open the heavy stone door and returned to the cold palace that he had not seen for a very long time, he gazed at the distant Endless Palace and couldn't help but feel a little emotional.
Back then, when Mo Yu used the Two-Mind Connection and borrowed the array formation in the palace to trap him in the Never-Ending Palace, she probably never thought that he would really have the courage to enter the underground to face the legendary "taboo" and thus find a chance of survival. Similarly, he never thought that the "taboo" was a girl of the Dragon Race who looked violent and cold on the surface but was actually a little naive and ignorant. Furthermore, he actually had so many connections and stories with this girl.
Standing in the autumn trees by the Black Dragon Pool and gazing at the famous Tong Palace array, he fell into deep thought. He was well-versed in the Daoist Canon and had studied arrays quite a bit. Although he could not compare to Xu Yourong or Gou Hanshi, he could still be considered a well-known figure amongst the cultivators of the world. Thus, when he was trapped here, he was able to discover that the life gate of this array was deep within the cold pool.
In order to remove the seal that Wang Zhice had laid down, he had prepared for a very long time. Coupled with Xu Yourong's help, he believed that in ten years at most, the two chains would gradually lose their effectiveness and the little Black Dragon would be able to regain her freedom. If she also cultivated the Scroll of Time he had left underground, the time could be shortened a little.
But at that time, he would probably no longer be here.
After a thousand years, the white clouds drifted leisurely. Things remained the same, but people had changed.
But in the end, there were still some people or things he couldn't let go of.
South Stream Temple had a divine artifact with the same name as the famous array in this cold palace: Tong Palace.
The Tong Palace was in her hands.
She should be in the palace at this time, not far from him.
Chen Chang Sheng walked around the edge of the pond and followed a stone path out of the back door of the Tong Palace. He came to a forest and looked at the palace complex in the distance.
He didn't want to die alone, but he didn't want her to see him when he left this world.
He was prepared to go to the Garden of Zhou in a little while. There was no one there, and no one could enter.
Before that, he still had some things to do.
A soft rustling sound came from the front of the forest, and several leaves that were turning yellow but still green fell to the ground.
The Black Goat walked out from the forest, looking at Chen Chang Sheng, it tilted its head slightly, seemingly confused as to why he would appear here today and not by the pond.
Chen Chang Sheng bowed deeply towards the Black Goat and gave a serious bow, "Thank you for taking care of me these past two years."
The Black Goat turned around, gazing at a certain part of the palace complex.
Chen Chang Sheng understood its meaning and shook his head. "I'm not going there."
The Black Goat turned around and calmly gazed at him, its gloomy eyes like the deepest darkness.
"I've lived my entire life earnestly, or perhaps rigidly, because I hoped to live a few more years this way. Now that I've confirmed that I can't live a few more years, if I carefully think about it, my greatest regret is that I've never lived without restraint. I cultivate the Dao of following my heart, but when have I ever truly followed my heart?"
Ever since he had confirmed the date of his death, Chen Chang Sheng had never revealed his true thoughts to anyone, but now he expressed them to the Black Goat.
"So before I die, I've decided to do something that I've always wanted to do. If I succeed, I think I'll be very happy."
… …
… …
Kill east and kill west, kill things, so it was just the word 'kill'.
Kill all those who oppose you, and then there will naturally be no one who opposes you. Kill the heaven and earth that dare to oppose your will, and then the heaven and earth will naturally submit to your will. But what if the heaven, earth, and man all submit? What happens outside the heaven and earth? What does the human heart matter?
After hearing the Divine Empress's words, Xu Yourong was quiet for a very long time.
This was the Empress's domineering declaration, and also the Empress's instruction to her, the sole successor.
She needed to think for a while, and at the same time, she was silently deducing and calculating.
Back when she had told Chen Chang Sheng that she wanted to enter the Imperial Palace to plead for leniency from the Empress, Chen Chang Sheng had said that it was meaningless.
Now, seeing the Divine Empress's cold attitude, it seemed to be true.
In truth, anyone could have expected this result.
But she had still come to the Imperial Palace.
In order to do her best and leave the will of the heavens? Only hoping that she could plead for ten-some days of peace and quiet for Chen Chang Sheng?
No, she was a person of the Daoist sect, but she had her own edge and did not cultivate inaction.
From the moment she had left Mount Han until last night, she had always been calculating and calculating, her slender fingers never leaving the Fated Star Plate.
She had attempted to see the Heavenly Dao, had attempted to pull apart the fog of fate, had attempted to see the true path ahead, but the result of her countless calculations had always been the same.
In order for Chen Chang Sheng to escape from the trap of fate, there was only one nearly illusory thread of fate, and the other end of it was connected to the Empress.
Logically speaking, the punishment of the Heavenly Dao that Chen Chang Sheng had received was the effect of the oath the Empress had made when she sacrificed herself to the starry sky. The one who wanted him dead the most was also the Empress, so if she wanted to undo that thread of fate, she naturally had to rely on the Empress.
But she knew that the meaning faintly revealed by fate was not like this.
To see a mountain as a mountain, not a mountain, and still a mountain … in the end, a mountain was still a mountain, but its meaning was different.
Thus, she had left the Orthodox Academy and come to the Imperial Palace.
She firmly believed that this journey would bring about some change, yet a very long time had passed since daytime, yet no change had occurred.
The porcelain cup continued to turn on her fingertips. From day to night, it seemed as if it had never stopped, just like the waterwheel on a stream, just like time itself.
"The art of deduction, in the end, is to exhaust all changes, but the Heavenly Dao is indescribable and uncountable, so how can it be calculated?"
The Divine Empress suddenly placed the porcelain cup on the table and gave her a glance. This glance seemed to have seen through everything.
Xu You Rong was silent for a while and replied, "Although I can't truly touch it, I can always get closer."
The Divine Empress said, "Right now, you don't even understand the human heart, how can you talk about getting closer to the Heavenly Dao?"
Xu You Rong's face became somewhat pale, because she faintly felt that the change she had been waiting for had already occurred, yet … that change was not what she wanted.
"You laid down the sword array in the Orthodox Academy, then asked the Li Palace to send people to help, then you came to the Imperial Palace to see me. You thought that by doing this, you could isolate him from the world and isolate me from his world. Then, you waited for the Heavenly Dao to naturally operate and tried to find a trace of change, yet no matter how you calculated, you missed one thing."
The Divine Empress looked at her calmly and said, "You forgot that he was also calculating."
Xu You Rong knew that she was wrong.
What if Chen Chang Sheng left the Orthodox Academy himself? Without her present, no one could stop his departure.
The Empress summoned her to the Imperial Palace to create this kind of opportunity for Chen Chang Sheng.
In other words, when she was trying to choose a possible path for Chen Chang Sheng, the Empress already knew what choice Chen Chang Sheng would make.
"Empress, is it because you are mother and son that you understand him so well?" Xu You Rong looked at her and her voice became somewhat cold.
The Divine Empress said, "Even now, you still haven't forgotten to mention this matter and try to tug at my heartstrings. You are quite persistent, child."
A stubborn expression appeared on Xu You Rong's beautiful face and she said, "But isn't what I said the truth?"
"Of course it isn't the truth." The Divine Empress's voice was as steady as gold and jade, "I understand him because I have understood him before."
She stood up and once again walked to the window and looked out of the Imperial Palace.
The evening clouds had already become a sky full of stars. Her voice was also more indifferent than it was during the day, and even seemed a bit cold.
"In the eyes of ordinary people, the so-called Saints know everything, but they don't know that after crossing that threshold, they are still in the mortal world. The reason why Saints don't make mistakes is because Saints can't make mistakes. Once they make a mistake, they will be covered by the mortal world and will never be able to escape."
These words, accompanied by her cold voice, fell into Xu You Rong's ears and heart.
"I have never feared things like the Heavenly Dao or fate. They treat you and me like oxen and horses, so I treat them like oxen and horses. I take the reins, hang the heavy plow, use them to open up new territory, use them to bring favorable weather. But now that I think about it, I have the intention to use the Heavenly Dao and fate, which is to admit that it is useful, admit that it has a strength that surpasses my own abilities. And this was the greatest mistake I made back then. Once I made such a judgment, there was a dust in my soul that could never be washed away. "
The Divine Empress turned around and said to Xu You Rong.
Perhaps because she was speaking of the Heavenly Dao, her expression was very solemn and her perfect face seemed to be imbued with a divine aura.
Xu You Rong was keenly aware that this was also a teaching, and it was probably a true meaning that no one besides herself had ever heard.
From childhood until now, this sort of scene had occurred many times and she had long since gotten used to it, but this time was different.
Because the Empress spoke of the most profound, supreme, and wondrous Heavenly Dao, spoke of content that was extremely disrespectful to the Heavenly Dao.
And she faintly understood why the Empress was saying these things to her.
"In the future, there will be a day when you will become as powerful as me. I hope that you can become even more powerful, so I will not permit you to make the same mistake as me."
The Divine Empress looked into her eyes and said, "If the Heavenly Dao is before, it should be slain. If the threads of emotion are before, it should be slain even more."
When Xu You Rong heard these last words, which proved her conjecture, her body shivered.
"You are my successor."
The Divine Empress walked up to her and looked down at her from above. She calmly said, "I will slay anyone or anything that will obstruct your Great Dao."
Xu You Rong's complexion became even paler and her usually incomparably bright eyes were tinged with sadness.
"I like Qiu Shan very much, but you do not accept him, which I like very much."
"You like Chen Changsheng. Although he has many points worth liking, I still don't like him."
"You shouldn't waste your life on such pointless things."
"So the more you care about Chen Changsheng, the more I want to kill him."
Xu You Rong was quiet for a very long time.
Her face grew whiter and whiter, until finally, it was like snow, no other color visible.
Her eyes, however, gradually regained their brightness, like a mountain forest that had passed through the mist and once more welcomed the morning light.
Then, it was like a wintersweet had sprouted from the snowy plains, a smear of red. Gradually, the wintersweet blossomed and her face grew redder and redder.
With a hum, a gale howled through the hall and two pure white wings ten-odd zhang unfurled from her back!
She flew into the air, emitting blazing rays of light and a divine and powerful Qi.
She ignited the true blood of the Heavenly Phoenix in her body, raising her cultivation to its peak state, even surpassing the upper limits of what her body could endure.
She was the Holy Maiden of the Orthodoxy, representing purity and light, wielding the divine strength bestowed upon her by countless stars.
She was still only at the peak of Ethereal Opening, so of course she had not truly entered the Divine Domain. But in this state, she already possessed some of the characteristics and aura of the Divine Domain. She had the strength to fight against the experts at the top of the Proclamation of Liberation, and even experts on the level of the Storms of the Eight Directions would require some time and methods to completely suppress her.
She had never thought that she could threaten the Divine Empress. She only wanted to buy some time to break this trap woven by the Heavenly Dao or the human heart.
Even if she could only release a tiny bit of light, if she could illuminate the Great Zhou Imperial Palace, perhaps illuminate the capital and let the Li Palace see.
But in the next moment, the wind in the hall stopped.
Those scattered rays of pure and holy light vanished without a trace.
The pair of pure white wings on her back powerlessly drooped down.
A hand gripped her throat.
It was the Divine Empress's hand.
This hand seemed very delicate, but at this moment, it seemed incomparably terrifying.
The Divine Empress was not very tall or large, but when she extended her arm, she lifted Xu You Rong into the air.
A pair of black wings over a hundred zhang in length unfurled from her back, breaking through the two sides of the vast hall and slowly undulating in the darkness.
This scene was abnormally monstrous, yet it also possessed a soul-shaking beauty.
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