"Why?"
"Six hundred and seventy-seven years and three hundred and sixty-four days ago, you secretly left the Hundred Herb Garden to meet with Senior Brother and me. At that time, you said, if we could help the former Emperor ascend to the throne, what would you do? Two hundred and fourteen years and sixty-nine days ago, the former Emperor's eye condition worsened and he was unable to see anything. He decided to let you revise the memorials on his behalf and asked for my and Shixiong's opinion. At that time, you said it was only temporary. This temporary lasted two hundred and fourteen years and sixty-nine days. Twenty years ago, before the former Emperor returned to the sea of stars, you told the former Emperor that you would return the throne to the Chen clan after a year, but … "
"Do you mean that I should follow my original promise and pass the throne to … one of these useless people?"
The Tianhai Divine Empress gazed at the fifteen imperial carriages that had already entered the capital, at the princes of the Chen Imperial clan on these carriages, a mocking smile appeared on her face.
"This is a very good reason. The so-called righteousness of the common people really does seem to be more important than personal promises. Moreover, you also said that I have to consider the continuation of the Tianhai clan."
The Daoist stood in the rain and gazed at the Mausoleum of Books. He calmly said, "But these reasons could have been used twenty years ago, but they cannot be used now, because I have already considered it for you."
The Tianhai Divine Empress drew back her gaze and gazed at the scene in the darkness. "Then in your view, to whom should We pass the throne?"
The Taoist was in the picture. He should be on the street in the southern part of the capital, but it also seemed to be somewhere else at the same time.
No one could determine his true location, because he did not have a true location. He was like a swallow in the drizzle, seemingly in the rain, or perhaps above the rain.
He said, "The throne of the Great Zhou should naturally be passed on to the only son of you and the previous Emperor."
Chen Changsheng was right behind the Tianhai Divine Empress, but she did not turn around. She indifferently said, "Pass it on to this kid who's about to die?"
"Emperor Xian had many sons, but Your Highness, you only have this one son. He is the rightful Crown Prince. In his body, besides the blood of the Chen Imperial Clan, there is also the blood of the Tianhai Clan. After ascending to the throne, he will naturally look after his maternal family and let him inherit the throne. I believe that the Imperial Clan will not have any objections, nor will the Tianhai Clan. Isn't this perfect?"
The Daoist said, "The confluence of the north and south is a success. The Great Zhou Dynasty will flourish for generations to come. The only thing we need to do is to ask you to abdicate."
It was just a simple abdication.
What a good 'just'.
The Tianhai Divine Empress calmly gazed at the Daoist in the rain.
The Daoist quietly stood in the rain and no longer spoke. This was because he had more or less finished what he wanted to say. Moreover, the entire continent had probably heard their conversation.
For some reason, the Tianhai Divine Empress suddenly began to laugh. Her laugh was extremely carefree, but also thick with ridicule.
"From the time you sent him to the capital more than two years ago until now, you seem to have always been doing one thing, and that is to let me see him."
Chen Chang Sheng sat on the ground and looked at her tall back. Hearing this sentence, he realized that it seemed to be true.
Whether it was the engagement with the Divine General of the East's estate, or the new students of the Orthodox Academy, the Ivy Festival, or the announcement on the Divine Avenue, many things that happened in the past seemed to be for the sake of allowing him to grow faster, and at the same time, appear in the sight of the Divine Empress as soon as possible.
A lot of things were driven by Archbishop Mei Lisha, but behind him, there was definitely the shadow of that Daoist.
"When one sees him, one will be curious, will have an inquisitive heart, will have doubt."
The Tianhai Divine Empress held her hands behind her back and slowly said to the Daoist in the rain, to the world in the rain, "He is like an unripe fruit, nurtured by all of you, hastened to ripen, quietly watched by We, until finally, he is about to ripen, exuding a fruity fragrance. If one smells it, they will have the desire to eat him."
"To the entire world, this fruit is extremely alluring, and to We, it is even more so."
Tianhai turned her head to glance at Chen Chang Sheng. "If I eat him, it will be the most perfect cycle of the Heavenly Dao, the most perfect conclusion to this karma."
She turned her head to gaze at the entire world in the rain, a mocking smile appearing on her lips. "But … We will not eat him."
The entire world was quiet. Whether it was the Mausoleum of Books or the capital, only the sound of the drizzle falling to the ground could be heard.
She continued, "This Longevity Fruit might be able to help mortals become immortals, but presumably, it will only be harmful to me."
Finally, she sighed with regret, "Immortals gave me the Longevity Fruit … alas, you are not immortals, you are only people."
Only people.
Only people.
… …
… …
There was a garden in the Divine Kingdom. In the garden was a tree, and on this tree was a fruit.
This fruit contained an incomparably rich life. As long as one ate it, they could transcend the mortal world and obtain an unimaginable spiritual experience and harvest.
This was a legend, a legend of the Sacred Light Continent.
The people of this world should not have heard of it, but he had.
The monk who had come from afar slowly raised his head by the stream and gazed at the distant capital. There was an additional trace of seriousness in his clear eyes.
… …
… …
The Daoist stood in the rain, still very calm, but it was impossible to tell what he was truly feeling.
The surrounding streets were very quiet. In this extremely deep night, people were still sleeping, and only he was awake. But was he awake?
Ever since he had appeared out of nowhere in the rain, not a single drop of the falling rain had been able to fall on his Daoist robe. Yet at this moment, a few beads of water had appeared in his hair, sparkling and translucent.
Yes, that Longevity Fruit was a conspiracy, or rather, a trap.
Other than the Canon of Flowing West hidden behind this entire affair, there was nothing too profound about it. It was very simple, not complicated at all.
From the moment he set up this trap twenty years ago, he had clearly understood this point.
This trap had never been too complicated, because it involved the wondrous will of the Heavenly Dao. Moreover, the more complicated the trap, the easier it was to arouse the vigilance of people on Tianhai's level.
But he believed that besides those gods of that distant continent, no one could see through the problem of the Longevity Fruit, not even Tianhai.
And he believed that, to anyone, this Longevity Fruit was an irresistible temptation, especially to Tianhai.
This was a killing trap that secretly conformed to the Heavenly Dao. There was no reason why it could not work.
Yet Tianhai had not fallen into the trap.
She had not seen through the problem of the Longevity Fruit. She was only acting according to her own will.
Did she want to eat the Longevity Fruit? Of course.
But she knew very well that those people had spent countless efforts, used twenty years, to send him to her. On the surface, they had used the Canon of Flowing West to cut off three years of age, seemingly not wanting her to know who he was, but how could those people not know that she would definitely know who he was? So those people wanted her to eat him.
The entire world was quietly waiting for her to eat him.
The entire world was prepared to watch as she ate her own son.
Then she would not eat him.
Even if there was no problem with this fruit, even if eating this fruit might really allow her to transcend life and death and enter a realm of true freedom, she still would not eat it.
It was not because she was cautious or wary, but because she was loyal to her own will.
She was her will.
Her will was that when the entire world wanted her to do something, she would definitely not do it.
… …
… …
Behind Xining Village's old temple.
The monk vaguely understood something. He slightly turned his head to look upstream of the stream.
It was late at night. There were no lights in this desolate village, and it was pitch-black all around.
But in his eyes, the scenery around him was still as bright as day. He could see the fish quietly floating in the crevices of the stones, could see flower petals drifting along with the water.
The flower petals drifted to his bare feet and slowly turned.
He smiled and sighed.
He felt somewhat regretful, but not disappointed.
… …
… …
"Either long life or eternal fall into the abyss, this is a gamble. You not eating him does not mean that your gaze can see through the supreme Heavenly Dao, only that you are afraid."
The Daoist standing in the rain was not disappointed, because this was only the beginning.
He said, "You know that this is a scheme of the Heavenly Dao, that your opponent is not me, but the Heavenly Dao, so you simply do not dare to enter the field."
Hearing this, the Tianhai Divine Empress slightly raised her brows like a Phoenix about to take flight.
"Since you fear the Heavenly Dao, are you not afraid of the backlash of the Heavenly Dao?"
The Daoist calmly looked at her and said, "Do not forget that when you swore a blood oath to the starry sky, I was also present."
"Even if the Heavenly Dao descends, the one who will die will still be him."
The Tianhai Divine Empress calmly said, "We will personally watch as he dies, ensuring that nothing unexpected will happen."
The Daoist sighed, "You truly are that world's most callous and emotionless person."
The Tianhai Divine Empress replied, "Likewise."
The two seemed to be speaking across from each other, but they were actually separated by several dozen li, sometimes even feeling like they were separated by several thousand li.
Because the Daoist's position in this world was still illusory and indistinct, impossible to determine.
Chen Changsheng also did not know his position in this world.
He had once believed himself to be a young Daoist from Xining Village's old temple, his master's student, but now he realized that he was just a fruit.
If he could be eaten, he would have some value. If he could not, he would be ignored by others, only waiting for him to ripen, fall, and then turn into mud.
He was the Tianhai Divine Empress's own son, but she so calmly watched as he died.
Logically speaking, the two people speaking to each other in front of the entire world should have been the people closest to him.
One was his own mother, the other was his master who had raised him into a man.
Yet when they spoke, they did not even glance at him.
When it came to being callous and emotionless, who could experience it more vividly and more deeply than him tonight?
That indifferent, sorrowful, and somewhat laughable feeling — what was this feeling?
It was very bone-piercing.
A bone-piercing pain, in an extremely short amount of time, exploded from every part of his body.
With a few soft whooshes, the golden needle in his neck was sent flying, stabbing deeply into the stone floor.
His blood, which contained an infinite amount of energy, surged through his internal organs like a flood.
The remaining true Qi rampaged through his severed meridians, incessantly attacking his bones and flesh.
A spiderweb of cracks began to appear on his internal organs.
His face was pale.
He was in great pain.
He was about to die.
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