The conversation and confrontation by the stream bank of Xining Village's old temple were still continuing.
The Mausoleum of Books was surrounded by a deathly stillness, without a single sound.
Everyone was shocked.
No one could have imagined that the course of the battle would be like this.
This was the first time the Tianhai Divine Empress had acted.
In a single breath, Guan Xingke had died while Bie Yanghong had been heavily injured.
There were extremely few experts of the Divine Domain in the world, and in the eyes of the common people and cultivators, they were like gods. Yes, everyone knew that a Saint like the Tianhai Divine Empress should be a level stronger than the Storms of the Eight Directions, but who could have imagined that she could so easily accomplish such a feat in such a short amount of time?
In this battle of a few breaths, the Tianhai Divine Empress had displayed her might, her unimaginable strength and Daoist techniques, her ability to calculate and plan on par with the will of the heavens.
In order to change Chen Changsheng's fate, her cultivation level was damaged and she was no longer at her peak. She was still entangled with the Heavenly Dao. But she could still stare at that expert from the Sacred Light Continent by Xining Village's stream while intimidating Daoist Ji to the west of Luoyang, returning from the divine path to kill in an instant, and then sending her soul ten thousand li away!
In the west of Luoyang, Daoist Ji gazed silently at the Black Dragon in the night sky.
The Tianhai Divine Empress's soul had returned from tens of thousands of li away. The first thing he sensed was him, so he used a Daoist technique to condense clear light and solemnly await.
No one had expected that her first target would be Wuqiong Bi.
Wuqiong Bi believed that she wanted to kill her.
Bie Yanghong and Guan Xingke believed that she wanted to borrow Wuqiong Bi's death to kill Bie Yanghong.
In truth, none of them. From the very start, her goal had been to kill Bie Yanghong and Guan Xingke in one blow.
These were no ordinary experts, but two of the Storms of the Eight Directions who had entered the Divine Domain many years ago!
What a confident thought! What a domineering aura!
She dared to think this way because she could do it.
She could do whatever she wanted.
Chen Changsheng gazed at the Tianhai Divine Empress's back and recalled what she had said to him at the very beginning.
"If I don't want you to die, you can't die."
That's right, if she didn't let Chen Chang Sheng die, then Chen Chang Sheng couldn't die. Then, if she wanted someone to die, how could that person not die?
The Tianhai Divine Empress stood at the edge of the Divine Path, gazing at the world beneath her feet. Her expression was calm, as if she had done nothing at all, much less left.
Only Chen Chang Sheng could see that her hands were slightly trembling.
In a single exchange, she had destroyed two of the Storms of the Eight Directions. Even if she was the Tianhai Divine Empress, she still had to pay a price.
However, a battle between Saints had never been about reason. It was all about the will and momentum.
At this moment, the night phoenix was in the sky, its aura flourishing.
Zhu Luo and Guan Xingke were dead, Bie Yanghong was heavily injured, and Wuqiong Bi was scared out of her wits. Even if the hidden experts of the noble clans and the experts of the Orthodoxy appeared, they would not be able to defeat Han Qing and step onto the Divine Path.
Her opponents were never the Storms of the Eight Directions, but the monk by the stream near Xining Village's old temple, the Daoist who was about to sneak into Luoyang, and …
The Tianhai Divine Empress gazed at the Li Palace.
She did not forget where her strongest opponent was.
From the start of the battle until now, the Li Palace had remained quiet. Only when Daoist Ji revealed Chen Chang Sheng's origins did the Pope say two words.
Besides this, that place had remained silent until now.
The place that would decide tonight's victory or defeat was right there.
The entire world was waiting for the Pope to make his choice.
At this moment, the capital shrouded in darkness suddenly began to glow with light.
This light came from the Li Palace, from the Great Hall of Light.
As she gazed at this sacred and pure light, the Tianhai Divine Empress's Phoenix eyes slightly narrowed, sharp and cold to the extreme.
In truth, she had long since known of the Pope's choice, because her supporters in the Orthodoxy, like the Tianhai clan, had never appeared.
If one were to say that those nephews of the Tianhai clan had chosen to change their stance because she had defied the heavens and changed Chen Chang Sheng's fate for him, then Linghai Zhiwang and Daoist Siyuan were probably the people most willing to see Chen Chang Sheng inherit the throne of the Great Zhou, because this meant that Chen Chang Sheng would not inherit the position of Pope.
But neither Linghai Zhiwang nor Daoist Siyuan had made a move.
So someone had naturally made a move.
As Prefects of the Orthodoxy, there was only one person that could make Linghai Zhiwang and Daoist Siyuan unable to move, even unable to make a sound.
It was the Pope.
"Why?" she asked the Li Palace.
This was the first time she had wanted an explanation, a reason.
Because she and the Pope had worked together for many years, had an old friendship, had once walked the same path.
"Because you and I have gradually taken two different paths in our view of this world."
The Pope's voice rose from the Li Palace. "In the twenty years since you ascended to the throne, you have used far too many people like Zhou Tong. I know that you want to protect your own authority so that you can put your ideas into practice, but the problem is that authority cannot resolve all problems, and your ideas are not necessarily the ideas of the people."
The Tianhai Divine Empress replied, "You are wrong. I do not want authority, but I cannot give authority to these pieces of trash."
The Pope replied, "But there is no existence that lasts forever."
These words were spoken of her, of him, of all things in the world.
The Tianhai Divine Empress fell silent for a very long time, then said, "Perhaps you can wait a little longer for me."
This was the first time she had conceded, even if it was just words.
Just as she had said before, it was not because she feared anything, but because she and the Pope had worked together for many years, had an old friendship, had once walked the same path.
"In the past, of course I could."
After a moment of silence, the Pope's voice rose once more, this time filled with even more sorrow. "But I do not have the time."
The Tianhai Divine Empress's brows slightly rose as she asked, "Why do you not have the time?"
The Pope calmly replied, "Because I am about to die."
The Tianhai Divine Empress's brows rose even higher, like swords about to pierce through the night sky. Her voice also sharpened. "Why do you want to die?"
The Pope replied, "Because I am too old, I naturally also want to die."
The Tianhai Divine Empress's brows slowly descended like Phoenix wings, her voice becoming rather lonely. "That's right, Heavenly Secrets is about to die, you are also about to die. In the end, both will die."
The Pope added, "And tonight, if I do not act, far too many people will die, far too many people."
… …
… …
The Divine Hall of Light was filled with light. The stone walls, which were somewhat pale from the light, noiselessly parted.
The statues of sages and gods on the stone walls gazed with complex expressions at the person walking out.
Tonight, the Pope was not wearing a hemp robe, but a Divine Robe and a Divine Crown. His hand did not hold the Divine Staff, but a pot of Green Leaf.
Linghai Zhiwang and Daoist Siyuan kneeled at the bottom of the stone steps, clearly under some sort of seal that rendered them immobile.
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