Ze Tian Ji (Way of Choices)

Chapter 665 – The Darkness Before Dawn

Chen Guansong possessed an extremely senior status within the Great Zhou Army and was extremely skilled at patiently enduring. Obtaining the deep trust of the Divine Empress, he had managed Star Seizer Academy for many years, many of his students and disciples serving in the army. His strength was unfathomable, and he had long been a half step from the Divine. In this early autumn rebellion, he played an extremely important role. If nothing out of the ordinary occurred, he was certain to become leader of the Great Zhou Army in the future, ascending to the highest precipice of power together with Shang Xingzhou, even becoming commander-in-chief for the Great Zhou Army’s northern expedition against the demons.

However, when victory was right before his eyes, he died.

He died miserably, burned to death by the true flames of the Heavenly Phoenix. Moreover, he did not die immediately, but instead burned for a very long time before finally ceasing to breathe.

Before his death, he experienced the most painful torture in all the human world.

Because this was the Tianhai Divine Empress’s vengeance.

Before she left this world, she had taken vengeance for herself.

Simultaneously, she had also taken vengeance for those deceased and loyal subordinates of hers.

With a brush of her sleeve, she transformed Divine General Tian Chui’s corpse into a flame, conferring upon him the glory of returning with her to the sea of stars.

Then, she went tens of thousands of li away, once more obscuring the starry sky. Stepping into the stream, she slapped a palm down upon the monk.

A boundless amount of starlight fell together with her palm. Although not heavy, it was incomparably profound and impossible to avoid.

The monk flipped his palm and brought it up to meet hers. A howl came from the solitary mountain in the thick fog behind the stream, melding together with the whistling of their palms.

The two palms met and the monk understood her intentions, asking, “Are you not even leaving behind a single seed?”

“We have a successor,” the Tianhai Divine Empress replied.

The monk believed that she was speaking of Xu Yourong.

In truth, she was not, or not just her.

“My lady is truly an extraordinary person.”

The monk gazed at the Tianhai Divine Empress, blood beginning to flow from his eyes.

This was the first time he had shown reverence to the Tianhai Divine Empress.

Then, his body suddenly vanished, transformed into countless shards of light that vanished back into the Cloud Grave.

An incalculable distance away, in the other world, in a desert where the sand glistened like jade sat a massive sacrificial altar.

The monk sat upon the sacrificial altar, his legs crossed.

Tens of thousands of believers were kneeling in the desert around the sacrificial altar, all their hands raised towards the heavens. Their piety was like an intoxication, an obsession, a madness, an insanity.

Suddenly, a mental energy from another continent enveloped this entire world and pressed down towards the ground.

The monk opened his eyes. His pupils were a deep black. Two streams of blood began to seep out of the corners of his eyes, and then his entire body began to bleed.

Ten-odd priests around the sacrificial altar exploded. The believers cried out in shock and began to wail.

Countless people had died. The desert was stained red.

……

……

In the final moment of her life, the Tianhai Divine Empress did not act as many had imagined, converting her final bits of life into a crazed energy and slaying those people she did not like.

The Pope had put down his Green Leaf, but she did not strike.

Han Qing had given up on all resistance, but she did not strike.

The manor of the Tianhai clan was silent, but she did not strike.

Her spear destroyed the Lingyan Pavilion, a brush of her sleeve burned Chen Guansong to death, and then she burned the last of her life to utterly defeat the monk.

Because the monk came from the Sacred Light Continent.

Only after many years, when the people of this world began to communicate with the other race on the Sacred Light Continent, did people finally understand what it meant on that early autumn night when the Divine Empress defeated the projection of that monk from the Sacred Light Continent, and just how much time it had won for the people of this world.

Of course, the Tianhai Divine Empress was not a good person in the common sense of the word, let alone some virtuous ruler.

She had made this sort of choice in her final moments because, in these past few years, she had been preparing to carry out precisely this task.

Although this world had already betrayed her, she still persisted in the belief that this was her world.

This is Our world.

Since it is Our world, it naturally falls upon Us to protect it.

Any who is bold enough to extend a hand towards Our world will have it cut off.

She thought this way, so she acted this way, and so she did it.

……

……

It was done.

It was finished.

The Tianhai Divine Empress returned to the peak of the Mausoleum of Books.

After finishing the inspection of her world, she finally had the leisure to glance at her side.

Chen Changsheng was by her side.

Since quite some time ago, the Chen Changsheng that had been forgotten by the entire world had always been by her side.

Perhaps out of empathy for a fellow sufferer, she had never forgotten that he was by her side.

From the time Divine General Han Qing had cast his traitorous spear, to their conversation, to her final inspection of her world, an extremely short amount of time had passed.

Moreover, Chen Changsheng’s body was somewhat stiff, so he still maintained his posture from that moment.

His left knee was slightly bent, his left hand gripping the Vault Sheath, and his right hand holding the Stainless Sword.

No person noticed this sight.

At the very beginning, when the Frost God Spear had arrived at the peak of the Mausoleum of Books, he had taken this posture.

At that moment, not the body, Dao, or soul of the Tianhai Divine Empress was present. No one was there to protect her.

The Frost God Spear had come.

He did not even think about those so-called factions, how they were not mother and son, and all those other problems. He instinctively gripped his sword, wanting to block this spear for her.

He had not recovered from his injuries and his body was extremely weak, but he had several thousand famous swords in his sheath and the string of stone pearls.

However, this was the Frost God Spear.

This was the divine spear of Han Qing.

Before he had time to make the slightest response, the spear pierced the Tianhai Divine Empress’s body like a thunderbolt.

He could only watch as this scene occurred, unable to do a thing.

His sword could not arrive, only his intentions.

“You wanted to save Us?”

The Tianhai Divine Empress slightly arched her brows.

Chen Changsheng didn’t know what to say.

“All by yourself?” the Tianhai Divine Empress mocked.

Right after, the black Phoenix wings vanished in the breeze.

Suddenly, the mocking smile on her face faded into nothing and she collapsed backwards.

Chen Changsheng rushed forward and held her to his chest.

The Tianhai Divine Empress gazed up at the vast sky of stars, a vexed expression appearing on her face as if they were too dazzling.

He curled around her, blocking out the starlight behind him.

Just like their first meeting those several years ago.

Back then, in the Imperial Palace, by the pool, when that squirrel was running past, he had embraced her and curled his body around her, blocking that flower pot that did not fall behind his back.

Rain began to fall once more from the night sky, a soft pitter-patter upon the ground.

The bright and uncountable stars were high above.

On the distant horizon, extremely faint rays of light could be seen, but the peak of the Mausoleum of Books was dark beyond compare.

The endless night was finally on the verge of passing, the dawn fast approaching.

Chen Changsheng could sense the Qi at the base of the Mausoleum of Books and knew that his master had already arrived.

“I’ll take you away,” he said to her.

“And where will you take Us? The Garden of Zhou?” she sneered at him.

Only then did Chen Changsheng realize that the Empress had always known everything.

“We will certainly not go to that ghostly place where not even the sun can be seen.”

The Tianhai Divine Empress gazed east to that smear of morning light and indifferently said, “This place is quite fine.”