The Tianhai Divine Empress walked up the Divine Path paved with white jade.
The Mausoleum of Books was the continent's most unique place. Here, the laws and principles governing the operation of the world were greatly affected. Even supreme experts who surpassed the Divine Domain could not fly, only rely on their two feet to ascend. Of course, besides supreme experts like her, no one else could hope to take a step onto the Divine Path.
This was Chen Changsheng's first time ascending the Divine Path of the Mausoleum of Books, even though his feet had not touched the Divine Path.
This was a place countless cultivators of the world dreamed of being able to step onto. Back then, he had personally witnessed Xun Mei's death while attempting to intrude upon the Divine Path, and his feelings were even more profound.
Now, as he gazed upon the Divine Path, so pure and holy that it did not seem to belong to the mortal world, he had no time to sigh in sorrow, only many questions.
Why had the Divine Empress brought him here? Why had she left those words for Divine General Han Qing beneath the Divine Path? The entire world knew that the armies of the Great Zhou Dynasty were under the command of thirty-eight Divine Generals, and the vast majority of these thirty-eight Divine Generals were loyal to the Divine Empress, except … Divine General Han Qing, who was ranked first.
Divine General Han Qing was the sole surviving member of the generation of Divine Generals in Taizong's reign, and he was even more senior than Divine General Fei Dian. When he had commanded the snowy plains, the Divine Empress had still been deep in the palace, so the two should not have had any old friendship. It was said that he had sworn his life to Emperor Taizong, and the reason he had guarded the mausoleum for more than six hundred years was also because Emperor Taizong had left a will for him to guard the mausoleum. But from the Divine Empress's attitude, it seemed like she was very sure that he would obey her decree. Why was this?
Divine General Han Qing had been infinitely close to the Divine Domain for many years and was publicly acknowledged as the strongest expert outside of the Saints and the wind and rain. There was even a saying that if he had not guarded the Mausoleum of Books for six hundred years, he might have already broken through that threshold and entered the Divine Domain! If he were said to be an expert the Divine Empress had arranged to guard the Mausoleum of Books, the Divine Empress's opponents would assuredly be shocked.
Dark clouds gathered once more and the starlight vanished once more. In the gloomy darkness, the pure and holy white Divine Path seemed to gain some gloominess, making one feel rather cold.
Just as Chen Changsheng was thinking these things, the Divine Path under the Divine Empress's feet became clear water flowing west, flowing into the distance. She had already reached the uppermost reaches.
The upstream of the river was the highest point of the Mausoleum of Books, as well as the highest point of the capital.
The Tianhai Divine Empress released her grip and threw him to the ground. With her hands held behind her, she walked to the edge of the Divine Path and gazed at the world beneath the Mausoleum of Books.
The terrain here was even higher than the Dew Stage. When she looked at the world, she naturally looked down, the most natural way of looking down. It was because this was her world to begin with.
There were very few people that could stand at the peak of the Mausoleum of Books. After Emperor Xian returned to the sea of stars, probably only the Divine Empress and the Pope had come.
Chen Chang Sheng was the third person to arrive here, but he couldn't feel proud, because he was the one who was carried up, and he was in extreme pain at this moment, as if he could die at any moment.
Back then, in the Mausoleum of Books, Chen Changsheng had personally witnessed Xun Mei pay with his life for the sake of reaching the peak of the Mausoleum of Books. Now, seeing her so casually arrive here, for some reason, he felt somewhat downcast and somewhat sad.
Although he was depressed and sad, he still looked around, wanting to see the scenery clearly and remember it clearly. It was not because he had a thirst or curiosity towards the Great Dao, but because he wanted to see this place in Senior Xun Mei's place. If the Divine Kingdom above the stars really could reunite with those departed people, he could tell them just what this place was like.
The peak of the Mausoleum of Books was very ordinary and unremarkable, just like the peak of any random mountain, except that there was a stone plateau.
But after all, this was the place that all cultivators dreamed of reaching, so it could not possibly be as ordinary as it seemed.
Chen Changsheng's meridians were all severed, his sea of consciousness was without ripples, and he could not release his spiritual sense, but he could still sense the existence of some extremely profound and incomprehensible laws and principles on this stone plateau and the surrounding forest and rocks. Moreover, these supposedly formless and illusory laws actually seemed to have an almost real manifestation, though he was currently unable to see them.
This mausoleum was called the Mausoleum of Books because there were many Heavenly Tome Monoliths on the mountain. Would the peak of the Mausoleum of Books also have a Heavenly Tome Monolith?
His gaze moved around the peak, ultimately resting on a pitch-black object deep within the stone plateau.
Tonight was cloudy and starless, and the remaining lanterns in the capital were unable to illuminate the extremely high peak of the Mausoleum of Books. The scenery was very gloomy, impossible to see clearly. He could only judge from its shape that it was a stone monolith. Was this Heavenly Tome Monolith just like the last volume of the Essay on the Origin of the Dao, recorded on it the most profound and incomprehensible, and also the most extreme Great Dao?
Chen Changsheng thought this, yet he could not clearly see what was written on the stone monolith, or what was depicted on it.
"In the past one thousand years, the people that have been able to truly understand this monolith do not exceed five."
The Tianhai Divine Empress stood at the edge of the Divine Path, not turning around.
Chen Changsheng drew back his gaze and gazed at her back.
He was currently sitting on the ground, looking up at her. From this angle, she seemed to be standing in the clouds, like she was in the night sky, incomparably lofty.
"What is my lady still waiting for? Kill me and everything will end. "Chen Chang Sheng looked at her and said.
"The problem is that I don't want everything to end so quickly." The Tianhai Divine Empress gazed at the world beneath the Mausoleum of Books, from the farthest seashore all the way to the food stalls on the other side of the river outside the Mausoleum of Books. She said, "How many people want you to die and how many people don't want you to die? Tonight, I can see all of them. I want to see."
Chen Changsheng asked, "Why do you want to see all of this?"
The Tianhai Divine Empress replied, "Tonight, the people that want to save you are all my enemies, but wanting you to die doesn't mean that they're my people. If they appear tonight, even if they're separated by several thousand li, stealthily watching like a mouse, they all have ill intentions, so they're also my enemies."
"Why do you want to know who your enemies are?"
"Normally, those fellows hide very well. I'll use this chance to find them and then kill them all."
"What if the entire world is your enemy?"
"Then I'll kill half the entire world, and the remaining half will naturally not dare to be my enemy."
Chen Changsheng fell silent. Only now did he understand what she wanted to do.
Truly an awe-inspiring and terrifying woman.
He sat on the ice-cold ground, leaning against the steps, gazing at that seemingly peaceful and beautiful world beneath the Mausoleum of Books. He thought to himself, just how many people will die tonight? This depends on how many people will appear in the capital today, or as she said, depends on how many people are quietly watching the capital from some place in the darkness.
The Tianhai Divine Empress waved her sleeve and a clear light flashed. A surface of light several feet in circumference appeared in the night sky in front of the Divine Path.
This surface of light was neither far nor close, just right in front of the two of them, allowing them to see it extremely clearly.
The scenes in the night sky constantly changed. Sometimes it was the Imperial Palace, sometimes it was the Orthodox Academy, sometimes it was the official road outside the capital, and sometimes it was the indistinct shadows in the darkness.
The scenes changed too quickly, making it impossible for Chen Changsheng to see them clearly. He only knew that the people that would appear in these scenes would all be the people that she would kill tonight.
Tonight was an ordinary night in the early autumn.
But after tonight, tonight would assuredly be the most important night in the orthodox era of the Great Zhou Dynasty.
Tonight, the people that had the right, or dared, to come to the capital to save Chen Changsheng were assuredly not ordinary people. Those people hidden in the darkness and paying attention to the situation in the capital were also assuredly not ordinary people.
The dark clouds in the night sky grew thicker and thicker, the lights in the streets of the capital grew fewer and fewer. The world grew darker and the atmosphere more and more tense.
One could faintly see some places in the capital stirring, but then it quickly calmed, ultimately returning to a deathly stillness.
Suddenly, in the night sky to the northwest of the capital, a patch of light suddenly appeared. This patch of light was not dazzling. The thick dark clouds seemed to have been torn away by someone, revealing the vast sky of stars behind them. Behind the vast sky of stars was an even more crystalline splendor. Perhaps this was the moon that was rumored to only be seen by the demons?
On that official road, the weeping willows on both sides swayed despite the lack of wind, as if bowing to the center of the road.
There were no soldiers on the road, nor were there any carriages, only two people.
A man wearing a bamboo hat was pushing a wheelchair, seemingly slowly making his way from the distant official road to the capital.
Walking from the ruined Myriad Willows Garden of Tianliang County to this place required a very long time. To the man in the wheelchair, he had already walked for two-hundred-some years.
Two hundred years ago, Emperor Xian could not attend court due to his illness and Tianhai formally took power. The man in the wheelchair had never again come to the capital, because he feared her.
Tonight, he had finally come, probably because he knew that he did not have much time left in this world. Before death, all other fears would become much more indifferent.
Two of the Storms of the Eight Directions, Zhu Luo and Guan Xingke, had come to the capital.
… …
… …
As he gazed at the scene in front of the Divine Avenue, at Zhu Luo in the wheelchair, at the famed sword at his waist, Chen Changsheng very naturally recalled that battle in the rain in Xunyang City.
He remembered very clearly that Su Li had once humiliated Zhu Luo, saying that because he feared Tianhai, he did not dare take a single step into the capital.
Zhu Luo had come to the capital tonight, perhaps with the resolve to die. Together with Guan Xingke, who was also a member of the Storms of the Eight Directions, although there were only two of them, their momentum surpassed that of a magnificent army.
"Guan Xingke's personality is too indifferent, lacking love or hate for the world. His heart is only in the stars, lonely to the point of heartache. His life ends here, and there's nothing to worry about."
The Tianhai Divine Empress held her hands behind her back and gazed at the two people on the official road. "Zhu Luo has been scared out of his wits by Su Li, yet he still dares to come to the capital. Perhaps there will be some variables, but in the end, he's already crippled. Coming is just sending himself to death."
Zhu Luo and Guan Xingke were both supreme experts of the Divine Domain, ranked among the Storms of the Eight Directions, but in her evaluation, they were like clay chickens and pottery dogs.
The scene in the night sky changed once more, and the light falling on the Divine Avenue also changed with it. Chen Changsheng's face was somewhat clouded by the light. His current mood was also like this, because the scene had already changed to the waterway to the southeast of the capital.
This was the canal used to transport grain from Luoyang to the capital. Its surface was extremely wide, but according to the laws of the Imperial Court, it was strictly forbidden to sail at night. However, at this moment, an extremely exaggerated large ship was sailing across the canal. The large ship broke through the water, its surface surging with waves. Because of the darkness, the originally clear water of the canal became somewhat dark blue, yet it could not conceal the dark red in the water.
… …
… …
(Yesterday, I went to Beijing to participate in Tencent Pictures' press conference. It was a hurried day, and the flight back and forth was truly exhausting. 'Choosing the Heavens' is about to begin filming, and I mainly want to report this to everyone. It's just like how Chen Changsheng viewed the scenery in the Mausoleum of Books and also wanted to report to Xun Mei. Hey, why does this analogy feel somewhat off? Pretend I didn't say anything …)
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