With the movement of the Imperial Design, the army was about to return. In the blink of an eye, the situation underwent countless transformations and the capital once more fell under the control of the Divine Empress.
She stood at the peak of the Mausoleum of Books and looked at a certain place in the capital. "What are you doing here?"
After the head of the Qiushan clan and the Guardian entered the capital, they had always been very quiet and low-key. It was very easy for people to forget their existence.
But since the Tianhai Divine Empress had spoken, they could not continue to pretend that they did not exist.
"This entire matter has nothing to do with my Qiushan family."
The Qiushan clan head gazed at the peak of the Mausoleum of Books, his expression abnormally humble as he said, "It is good to let the Empress know that we have come to the capital in preparation to appreciate maples."
No one believed this explanation. It was particularly clumsy, even stupid.
But that did not matter, because the Tianhai Divine Empress only needed an explanation, an attitude.
The Qiushan clan head's attitude was very proper. The more stupid his reason was, the more proper his attitude was.
The Tianhai Divine Empress was rather satisfied. Turning to the other two seats in the capital, she asked, "And you two? Are you also here to appreciate the maples? "
A carriage was parked in front of the Qianqing Gate. The Old Lady of the Mutuo Clan stood beside the carriage with a dragon-headed walking stick in her hand.
This old matriarch's small feet were wrapped. However, when she landed on the rain-soaked street, she was like a nail. She did not tremble at all, but her voice trembled.
"It's just that I haven't been to the capital for a long time, so I came to the north to take a look. I also have some matters to take care of so that Your Highness knows that my great-granddaughter-in-law is about to give birth."
The Gate of Desheng was tightly shut. The head of the Wu clan stood in front of the gate and earnestly explained to the Mausoleum of Books, "Empress, please do not misunderstand. I have come to see my son-in-law."
It was also a clumsy and stupid explanation, but it was different from the Qiushan clan head's, because these two reasons mentioned a person.
The Old Matriarch of the Mutuo Clan and the head of the Wu Clan left the capital in the night.
The Tianhai Divine Empress said nothing, her thoughts inscrutable. Did she feel that the attitudes of these two clans were not proper enough, or was she thinking about the Tang clan, the only clan of the Four Great Clans that had not appeared?
However, none of this mattered. Even if the Four Great Clans expressed their stance, it was impossible to change the current situation.
She didn't kill Chen Chang Sheng, nor did she eat Chen Chang Sheng. No matter how unfathomable the trap that the Daoist priest set up in the darkness of night was, it couldn't affect her anymore.
The Imperial Design had already been activated, its awe-inspiring Qi enveloping the entire capital. Besides Daoist Ji and the Old Lady of the Mutuo clan and the head of the Wu clan, who had never dared to take a single step into the capital, no one was able to leave.
Not even the four Divine Domain experts in front of the Mausoleum of Books.
Her Great Zhou cavalry was currently advancing towards the capital.
There were still many officials and generals loyal to her in the capital.
The outcome had been decided. Now, all that was left was to wait for her order.
At this moment, a voice rang out through the capital.
The voice was very soft, as if it was muttering to itself. Then, it gradually rose, turning into some kind of sharp interrogation. There was also some laughter mixed in it. The sarcasm was very strong, but gradually, you felt that it was self-mockery. It contained infinite emotion and awe towards certain things. Finally, everything returned to silence.
Such a complex voice and emotions were actually just a very short sentence.
"Do you think you've really won?"
The speaker was Daoist Ji.
He stood in front of a remote street in the capital, his feet treading on the somewhat filthy sewage. Behind him was a lamb shop that reeked of blood.
Meat shops were often the first places in a city to wake up. It was already very late at night, and before dawn, the first to light up were the lights in the shop.
Chop, chop, chop. The clear sound of meat being cut came from the shop.
The people in the meat shop did not know about the awe-inspiring array of the Imperial Design nearby, nor did they know that a person was standing outside the shop.
Daoist Ji gazed in the direction of the Mausoleum of Books and sighed, "I always thought that tonight was a trap that I arranged for you, but now I know that it wasn't."
At the peak of the Mausoleum of Books, Chen Changsheng gazed at the scene in the darkness, at his master. His emotions were still as perplexed as before, but there was also an indescribable feeling.
Perhaps it was because the Tianhai Divine Empress was standing in front of him and she had just changed his fate?
"But … this is also not your trap.
"I am a player in the trap, and you are also a player in the trap. This is still a trap.
"This is not a trap that I arranged, nor is it a trap that you arranged. This is a trap that the Heavenly Dao arranged for us.
"A trap of the Heavenly Dao."
Chen Changsheng did not understand what these words meant.
The Tianhai Divine Empress indifferently said, "You're still the same as you were several hundred years ago, always fond of saying these seemingly profound and incomprehensible words. In the end, a swindler is still a swindler. You want to use these words to shake Our will? There's no trap of the Heavenly Dao, it's just a little scheme of yours. "
"Correct, this was my trap, and it should have been perfect. Whether you chose to kill him or eat him, I had prepared a corresponding method, but I did not expect that you would choose to save him, because I did not expect that a woman as cold and emotionless as you would actually have a moment where your heart would soften. And I did not expect even more that you had already entered the Concealed Divinity Realm."
Daoist Ji's voice mixed with the sound of meat being cut from the meat shop. It was not muffled, but rather exceptionally clear, echoing through the peak of the Mausoleum of Books.
Besides this, no other sound could be heard in the entire capital.
The Li Palace was silent, the Mausoleum of Books was silent.
The Divine Empress had already entered the Concealed Divinity Realm?
Many people had guessed at this, but tonight, they finally received confirmation. This news would still shock the entire continent.
"You truly are very strong. Even if you eat Chen Changsheng's fruit, even if the starry sky really does send down a divine punishment, it still might not be able to injure your foundation."
Daoist Ji's voice echoed through the darkness.
A chilly wind blew over the peak of the Mausoleum of Books, ruffling the Tianhai Divine Empress's black hair.
She quietly stood there, standing at the highest point of the world, like a demon god, giving off an aura of invincibility.
Whether it was the nearby Chen Changsheng, the Wuqiong Bi and Guan Xingke at the base of the Mausoleum of Books, or the monk by the stream tens of thousands of li away, they all faintly had a certain thought. Even if the Heavenly Dao changed, even if fate flowed chaotically, even if lightning fell on her body, she would not care.
"The only thing that can injure your foundation, that can weaken you, is yourself."
With the sound of meat being cut from the butcher's shop, Daoist Ji's voice became tough and callous.
"In your view, your will is more important than the Heavenly Dao, and also more powerful. When the Heavenly Dao wants you to kill him, you insist on keeping him alive. I have to admit that your self-confidence is still as impressive as ever, but have you ever thought, when you vainly attempt to place your will above the Heavenly Dao, what sort of answer will the Heavenly Dao give?"
The Tianhai Divine Empress replied, "We have never cared about the thoughts of others, not even this starry sky."
Daoist Ji's voice was very sorrowful. "So … you chose to save him."
The Tianhai Divine Empress asked, "So what if I saved him?"
"You are perfect and powerful. We originally had no chance of victory, but tonight, you chose to change his fate. I believe that for this, you also paid a great price."
Daoist Ji's voice became callous and unyielding. "For example, your cultivation has already fallen, you are no longer invincible, and this … is the Heavenly Dao's answer to you."
Hearing these words, the countless people hidden in the darkness of the capital began to ponder in shock.
Was what Daoist Ji said true? In order to bring Chen Changsheng back from the edge of the abyss of death, had the Tianhai Divine Empress really paid such a great price?
Chen Changsheng gazed at the Tianhai Divine Empress's back, at the two hands held behind her. His mood was somewhat strange, his mind somewhat dazed.
The chilly night wind blew through the streets, carrying away the remaining warmth and the faint scent of blood.
After a moment of silence, the Tianhai Divine Empress's voice rang out. It was very cold, very condescending, and carried a hint of faint ridicule.
"The things We want to do, you mortals will never be able to understand."
She gazed at the world shrouded in darkness and said, "Not even the so-called Heavenly Dao can grasp Our thoughts."
These words were not tyrannical, but they faintly revealed absolute confidence.
She did not deny Daoist Ji's words — in order to repair Chen Changsheng's meridians and change his fate, even though she had long since entered the Concealed Divinity Realm, she had still paid a great price.
So just where did her confidence come from?
"Yes, I was wrong just now. Empress, you did not hesitate to lower your cultivation in order to save him. It is naturally not because of such a laughable reason as a loving mother taking pity on her child."
Daoist Ji stood on the rainy street, calmly gazing at the peak of the Mausoleum of Books. "You want to use this action to go against the blood oath you swore when sacrificing to the starry sky, to wipe away the shadow left on your heart by the four words' defying the heavens and changing fate '. Only in this way can you have the chance to obtain true freedom."
Not everyone was able to understand this short conversation.
Only experts of the Divine Domain like Zhu Luo or experts who had already seen that threshold could understand its true meaning.
The Tianhai Divine Empress was the strongest expert on the continent, possessing an unimaginably powerful will.
Her only weakness, the gap in her heart, lay in the oath she swore when sacrificing to the starry sky for the sake of changing fate.
This did not refer to the oath itself, but to the act itself. Just as she had said to Chen Changsheng, back then, she had once lowered her head to the Heavenly Dao.
What she needed to do now was to wipe away that old matter, to cover her heart with that layer of dust.
She wanted Chen Changsheng to live.
If she could do this, then she would be perfect, no longer having any weaknesses.
In this state, even if she fell from the Concealed Divinity Realm to the Saint Realm, she would still be undefeatable!
The Tianhai Divine Empress said, "You think too much and talk too much. This will only make things very boring."
Daoist Ji asked, "Is that so? Then if I say that Chen Changsheng is actually not the Empress's son, wouldn't it be a little more interesting? "
His voice was very calm, devoid of emotion, and so it seemed especially cruel.
In the deepest room of a street store, a thick knife of oil fell heavily on a chopping board. Lamb meat was incessantly cut open, spraying blood everywhere.
… …
… …
(October 7th, the signing of the simplified version of Heaven's Choosing Diary will be held at the Shanghai Book City. Registration is required. The address is on the home page of the starting point. A friend has asked me if I will be there … dear, this is a signing, how can I not be there … I won't be there today, but tomorrow there will be two chapters, and then I will begin to prepare for my departure.)
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