Chapter 147: Choice Is Error, Vision Sets the Scope
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The scenes at Success Ridge and the stories within the Black Mountain Camp barracks were unfolding in many places tonight. The Western Sea Military Prefecture’s army, rushing back to aid the capital, was blocked at the Guiyuan Ridge line, and the one entering the camp was Archbishop Anlin from the Li Palace. Most crucially, the Tianhai family had successfully thwarted the plan for two armies to enter the capital.
Tonight was the most critical night for the entire human world opposing the Tianhai Saint Empress. All her enemies and opponents, even her own kin, had stepped forward, displaying unimaginable strength.
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“You don’t even know who your own son is, so what right do you have to rule the Great Zhou?”
“You can’t even control the mortal world, so why prattle on about defying the Heavenly Dao?”
“You can’t control anything, not even your own fate now.”
“Tianhai, abdicate.”
The Daoist Ji left that street.
In the puddles on the street, it seemed his footprints still lingered.
The sound of chopping meat from the butcher shop stopped. The clashing of battle erupting across the capital had finally reminded the butcher what was happening in this world.
In just a short time, the entire situation had undergone earth-shattering changes.
The Imperial Carriage Diagram sank back into the earth, the grim formation’s intent vanished, and chaos spread throughout the capital. The several armies racing back to the capital had halted their advance for various reasons. Some troops were still trying to push forward through the torrential rain, but it was clear they could no longer return in time.
The Heavenly Book Mausoleum was quiet, eerily quiet, so quiet it was strange.
The Tianhai Saint Empress stood at the edge of the sacred path, hands clasped behind her back, gazing down at the capital city below. A mocking smile suddenly appeared on her exquisite face.
This world had once belonged to her.
Whether that mocking smile was aimed at the world or at herself was unclear.
Then, she looked toward the Li Palace in the northwest of the capital, which had remained silent all along.
At this moment, the voice that countless people had long awaited finally rang out.
His Holiness the Pope’s voice was calm, but anyone could hear the melancholy in it.
“We were all wrong. Only Merisa was right.”
The Tianhai Saint Empress raised an eyebrow slightly, showing some interest, waiting to hear more.
The Pope thought of old friends and past conversations, his tone filled with emotion: “He always believed that in the end, you would choose to save Changsheng, no matter who Changsheng was.”
“And as long as you chose to save him, you would fall into the current predicament.”
The Daoist Ji’s voice came from the northern plains of the capital.
At that moment, his figure appeared in a patch of autumn grass. Over ten miles away at the city gate, the jade ruyi containing infinite soul power had just manifested.
“I always thought this was a choice I presented to you, but in truth, it was a choice the Heavenly Dao gave you.”
The Daoist Ji spoke calmly from the autumn grass, his voice echoing in the night sky before the Heavenly Book Mausoleum.
“Killing him, devouring him, or saving him—these were all options. But no matter which you chose, it was wrong. Only when you didn’t take the test, when you made no choice, would you be right. And among these wrong options, you picked the most foolish one, turning a predicament into a dead end.”
The Tianhai Saint Empress said calmly, “Who in this world has the right to speak of predicaments and dead ends to me?”
The Daoist Ji replied, “Of course, you say it to yourself. Your ability to rule this world lies not in your marriage to the late Emperor, nor in your governing skills, but solely in your power. As long as you are strong enough, no one dares to harbor dissent. Even if they do, they dare not act. But you chose him, weakening yourself, giving the world a chance to turn dissent into action, giving them courage. Not to mention, this choice of yours meant abandoning the Tianhai family, turning even your most loyal forces into your opponents.”
The Tianhai Saint Empress’s gaze fell on the capital, seeing scenes of slaughter and the quiet Tianhai family estate.
Then she looked beyond the capital, seeing the rain-soaked valleys and the blood within them.
The Daoist Ji’s voice rang out again before the Heavenly Book Mausoleum: “Everyone has already left you.”
The Tianhai Saint Empress said expressionlessly, “That’s because they are fools, seeing only what’s in front of them.”
The Daoist Ji’s voice suddenly turned stern.
“Is that insight? No! Think of Chen Guansong, think of those divine generals. Their betrayal ultimately stems from disappointment in you! In your two hundred-plus years on the throne, the demon race has been at its weakest. Yet you, short-sighted, only sought to preserve your loyal military strength, defending against the demons without attacking, achieving nothing. Worse, twenty years ago, you were forced to cede territory and sue for peace! You handled state affairs well enough, though tyrannically, and you managed the north-south unification skillfully, though that was mainly the Saintess’s achievement. But in this regard, you brought shame to all of humanity!”
“So it’s for the sake of righteousness that people betray me?”
A mocking smile again appeared on the Tianhai Saint Empress’s exquisite face.
This time, it was clearly aimed at the world.
“Have you considered that tonight’s battle at the Heavenly Book Mausoleum will inevitably see countless human experts fall, leaving us depleted. The various armies are caught in a dilemma, their morale unstable. If the demon army takes advantage to invade the south, who will stop them? If they ravage the Central Plains and slaughter the people, who will bear that responsibility? Righteousness? Can you handle it?”
The Tianhai Saint Empress glanced at the Li Palace, a half-smile on her face.
“I lured the Demon Lord to Cold Mountain, first letting him battle the Heavenly Mechanism Elder. The elder was severely wounded and couldn’t come to the capital to aid you tonight. Then I asked the White Emperor to ambush the Demon Lord north of Cold Mountain. The Demon Lord was gravely injured and had to return to Snow Old City to recover. I also have arrangements in Snow Old City. After tonight, there will be results, though Your Majesty may not live to see them.”
The Daoist Ji’s voice was calm and composed: “I spent twenty years setting up tonight’s scheme. Naturally, there are no omissions. Your Majesty need not worry.”
Hearing this, Chen Changsheng finally confirmed that his encounter with the Demon Lord in Cold Mountain was indeed a setup by his master.
His body grew colder, not because of the night rain or the wind sweeping across the peak.
Every time he recalled the scene of seeing that middle-aged scholar by the persimmon grove by the stream, he felt a chill.
His master had used his greatest secret to lure the Demon Lord to Cold Mountain, yet he had known nothing about it.
At that time, he had truly come close to death.
“Right, you raised me for over a decade, so you might as well use me a few more times to make it worth it,” he murmured to himself.
“Your vision has always been fixed on the north, hasn’t it?”
The Tianhai Saint Empress looked at the autumn plains north of the capital, a mocking curl on her lips. “Your scope is ultimately too small.”
No one understood her words.
Neither the vision nor the scope.
The Daoist Ji had orchestrated the scheme in the capital and made arrangements in Snow Old City. By any measure, it was a grand scope. Yet in her eyes, it earned only such contemptuous evaluation.
“Everything is an excuse. You just don’t like a woman standing above you. You’re the same, and so is Chen Guansong.”
The Tianhai Saint Empress’s gaze drifted further away, and her voice floated as well.
Only Chen Changsheng could hear her.
Because by now, she couldn’t be bothered to speak to this world anymore.
—When she realized that all those so-called enemies and opponents were indeed a bunch of useless fools.
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(Shockingly, I’ve discovered that I haven’t missed an update in two months… What’s happening to this world… To celebrate, there will be another chapter tonight. In the coming days, I’ll be going to Shanghai for a book signing and attending the annual meeting. If I can’t update, I’ll let everyone know in advance.)