Chapter 653: Her Gaze Lies in the Distance, in the Far Shore
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Ten thousand miles away, the old temple in Xining, the night stream silent.
The Heavenly Sea Holy Empress looked at the monk across the stream and said, "You should be very clear about who I have always been wary of."
The monk's prayer beads in his hand stopped turning. Still with eyes closed, he said calmly, "They have never been to the far shore, so naturally they cannot think what you think."
She said, "I have never been there either."
At this moment, she was still atop the Heavenly Book Mound, but her gaze had fallen upon this place tens of thousands of miles away.
No matter the distance, as long as there was a connection of vital energy between heaven and earth, her divine soul could arrive in person.
That was her by the stream.
The monk thought for a moment and said, "That makes sense."
The Heavenly Sea Holy Empress looked at him and asked, "Is this the outcome you most wanted to see?"
The monk replied, "I never pre-imagined what I might see."
The Heavenly Sea Holy Empress stared at him quietly and asked, "Are you the son or grandson of Crown Prince Jiancheng?"
A trace of nostalgic sentiment appeared on the monk's face. After a moment of silence, he said softly, "Crown Prince Jiancheng was my father."
The Heavenly Sea Holy Empress raised an eyebrow and asked, "I do not understand. Why would your remnant clan join hands with him? You must know he was Emperor Taizong's black hound."
The monk said slowly, "No matter how much resentment, in the end it cannot withstand time and the longing to return home. We want to come back."
The Heavenly Sea Holy Empress asked, "But have you ever considered that you might be the vanguard of the alien race?"
The monk was silent for a moment, then shook his head and said, "The remnant clan is not an alien race. This is our homeland. No one has the right to stop our return."
The Heavenly Sea Holy Empress said, "Can you be certain that the alien races on that continent will not harbor treacherous intentions?"
The monk fell silent and said no more.
The clear water in the stream had long been frozen by the powerful divine souls of these two.
Lotus flowers formed from congealed blood floated east and west on the water's surface. The trees by the stream were sometimes still, sometimes swaying in the wind.
...
...
An autumn rain brings a chill. Yesterday, the grass still held much green, but now it had all turned yellow.
The Counting Daoist stood in the knee-deep wild grass, sensing the distance between himself and the black jade ruyi, and once again looked toward the Heavenly Book Mound. "Abdicate the throne. Like Su Li, leave this world."
The Heavenly Sea Holy Empress withdrew her gaze from the small stream in Xining Town, tens of thousands of miles away, and said, "My sons want to be emperor. Chen Guansong wants to leave his name in the annals of history. Yin is trapped by the word 'salvation.' The White Emperor wants to fight the Demon Lord. And you? I have never understood—doing so many things, what exactly do you want to gain?"
The Counting Daoist said expressionlessly, "This was the last decree of His Majesty Emperor Taizong. Moreover, you once promised my junior brother and me that you would return the throne to the Chen family."
The Heavenly Sea Holy Empress said, "I have only one son. He suffered a heavenly punishment. In my womb, his innate sun wheel was already destroyed."
When she said this, she glanced at Chen Changsheng, then looked toward a certain place within the Heavenly Book Mound.
"No matter which son of mine it is—whether kind, simple, foolish, or crippled—if he ascends the throne, who will rule this world?"
The Heavenly Sea Holy Empress looked toward the autumn grassland and said with a hint of mockery, "When the time comes, who will be the real emperor? Those useless wretches and bastards, or you?"
The Counting Daoist remained silent and did not answer this question.
The night wind blew across the wilderness. The yellow grass swayed with the wind like a rice field, but there was no fragrance, only the rotting stench of rain-soaked decay.
"After saying so many boring words and seeing so many boring people and things, in the end, you still have to kill me."
When the Heavenly Sea Holy Empress said this, she finally moved.
She took a step forward. Her hands, which had been clasped behind her back, slowly opened.
No raindrops were falling from the night sky, but when she opened her hands, a few raindrops drifted from somewhere in the wind and landed in her palms.
She lowered her head to look at the crystal-clear droplets in her hand, like pearls, then raised her head to gaze at this world that had already disgusted her to the extreme.
"So then, who dares to kill me?"
...
...
The situation tonight had already undergone earth-shattering changes.
The imperial carriage was still and silent. Within the capital, the sounds of killing rose on all sides, with flames and thick smoke erupting from time to time. In the distant fields, some armies were as still as tomb-guarding stone statues, while others were still in turmoil. This world had already slipped from the Heavenly Sea Holy Empress's control. Even those ministers and relatives of her maternal family who were most loyal to her had chosen to abandon her.
Without a doubt, the situation she faced had reached its worst possible point.
Yet she showed no fear. She looked at the peerless experts surrounding the Heavenly Book Mound, at all the enemies in this world, and spoke those words.
Who dares to kill me?
These four words were truly domineering to the extreme, arrogant to the extreme. They echoed through the silent Heavenly Book Mound and the streets and alleys of the capital, lingering for a long time without anyone daring to respond.
No one knew how much time passed before a sound finally arose.
It was the sound of stone slabs being crushed, like the grinding of teeth, or like bones bearing an immense weight.
Creak, creak, creak.
Zhu Luo stood up from his wheelchair. His gaze moved along the white sacred path and finally landed on the peak of the Heavenly Book Mound.
"I'll do it."
When he spoke these three words, there was no impassioned fervor. They were very plain, as bland as water.
Perhaps this was because he knew very well what his end would be, or perhaps it was because, ever since he opened Su Li's letter in the Ten Thousand Willows Garden, he had been waiting for this end.
Zhu Luo, one of the Eight Winds and Rains, master of the Heartless Sect, a great figure of Tianliang Commandery. As Su Li had said back in Xunyang City, he could die, but he could not be defeated.
Now he was defeated and crippled. So why begrudge death?
He had come to the capital tonight to die. He would use his own death to seek the greatest benefit for his family and sect.
"What do you want?"
The Counting Daoist's voice drifted from afar. He was no longer at the autumn fields north of the city but seemed to have gone even farther.
Zhu Luo grasped the hilt of his sword with his left hand and said expressionlessly, "I want the Wang family to never rise again."
He did not specify which Wang family, but everyone knew which one he meant.
The Wang family of Tianliang Commandery had long fallen into ruin, leaving only one person.
Zhu Luo wanted the Wang family to never rise again, targeting that person and that blade.
The Counting Daoist's voice did not come immediately. It took a moment before he answered.
Clearly, even he found this dying request from Zhu Luo somewhat troublesome.
"Fine. I promise you."
Hearing this, some expression finally appeared on Zhu Luo's face, and his body straightened even more.
He walked forward. His slow steps broke the shallow water pooled on the stone platform one by one, gradually forming a unique rhythm.
He arrived at the foot of the sacred path and slowly drew the sword from its sheath.
A powerful aura, as the bright sword left its scabbard, spread out, filling the space between heaven and earth.