Chapter 154: Three Saints Unite
The night before the Mausoleum of Books suddenly grew lighter, not because the morning sun was about to rise, though dawn was indeed very close. The night changed because a touch of green descended. This green was so rich, so full of life, that even the autumn trees on the Mausoleum of Books and in the surrounding fields felt ashamed, bending their branches lower.
It was a pot of green leaves. The leaves were plump and tender, clearly well-nurtured, never lacking in nutrients or the irrigation of clear water. The leaf surfaces were smooth, obviously tended with the utmost care; if even a speck of dust fell, it would be wiped away in the shortest time by that most venerable old man with the most expensive silk cloth.
Chen Changsheng was very familiar with this pot of green leaves, having seen it too many times in the Li Palace.
This pot of green leaves appeared in the night sky, naturally accompanying the Pope.
The Pope's sacred robe fluttered gently in the night wind.
The sacred crown on his head glowed with a holy luster, especially conspicuous in the darkness.
A ripple passed through Chen Changsheng's scabbard. He knew it was the Divine Staff sensing the arrival of its companion.
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The rain in the capital had stopped, but the rain in Luoyang City had grown violent.
On the wet wilderness, only two very faint footprints remained. The Daoist Calculator had already entered Luoyang City, and under the cover of the torrential rain, arrived at the back gate of the Changchun Temple.
The black dragon formed from cloud-colored starlight in the night sky had also vanished. On the streets and alleys of Luoyang City, the sound of piercing whistles breaking through the air rang out from time to time, with only a black light visible.
Suddenly, that harsh, whistling sound of air being torn vanished.
The black light disappeared before the Changchun Temple.
A jade ruyi scepter floated silently in the midst of the torrential rain.
The horizontal plaque of the Changchun Temple suddenly shattered into powder, instantly washed clean by the rain.
Moistened by the rain, the temple gate opened without a sound, just like the formation intent that suddenly shrouded several streets.
Dozens of Daoist priests sat cross-legged in the torrential rain, eyes closed, ceaselessly reciting Daoist scriptures.
Countless faint, intangible auras pierced through the rain, forming layers of barriers, preventing the jade ruyi from departing as it pleased.
The Daoist Calculator walked out of the rain, traversing the temple's thousand-year-old, pitted and uneven path, and came to the street.
He gazed quietly at the jade ruyi.
It was as if he were gazing at her.
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By the stream beside the old temple in Xining Town.
With a splash.
The seemingly still water of the stream suddenly began to move.
This was because the monk had plunged his other bare foot into the water.
The splashing continued.
The monk calmly walked toward the opposite bank of the stream.
The stream was not deep, just up to his knees, and the current was not swift, unable even to wash away the blood lotuses. But he walked with extreme difficulty, as if every step required overcoming a great obstacle.
Perhaps it was because she stood on the opposite bank.
She was towering, her oppressive aura striking directly into the soul.
The monk continued forward calmly.
His spiritual power was very close to hers. By actively approaching her now, he had to endure more pain and pressure, putting him at a greater disadvantage and in more danger.
Yet he still pressed on, tenacious and fearless.
Finally, he reached her side.
The Heavenly Sea Holy Empress gazed quietly at him and asked, "Is it worth it?"
The monk replied, "It is worth it, because now, you cannot go back."
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Under the gaze of countless eyes, the Heavenly Sea Holy Empress raised her right hand toward the night sky.
A low hum suddenly sounded over the capital's night sky, and a fierce wind howled—the result of air being rapidly expelled.
The trees in the Mausoleum of Books bent slightly under the night breeze.
An iron spear, transformed into a streak of light, tore through the darkness, arrived at the Mausoleum of Books, and landed in the Heavenly Sea Holy Empress's hand.
The iron spear was pitch black all over, its surface covered with a faint layer of gold, yet it did not feel luxurious—only infinitely grim and murderous.
That gold was not the luster of precious metal, but the color of an autumn forest.
Apart from the murderous intent hidden within the black iron and the hue of the autumn forest, the spear's appearance had nothing particularly special about it.
But everyone who saw this spear could feel the immense power and peerless divine might contained within it.
People were shocked, then awed.
The Frost Remnant Divine Spear!
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The Heavenly Sea Holy Empress looked at the Frost Remnant Divine Spear in her hand, her gaze falling on the handprint on the shaft, and she also saw a tiny trace of emerald green.
Her brows lifted slightly, and a flash of anger appeared in her eyes.
Thought moved with intent. A golden-yellow flame burst from her palm, instantly burning away the trace of peacock feather poison on the Frost Remnant Divine Spear.
Then, with a wave of her hand, she hurled the Frost Remnant Divine Spear down the Divine Path.
Seeing her action, the experts gathered outside the Mausoleum of Books were startled. They each used their ultimate techniques, turning into countless afterimages, retreating to a safer distance.
The next moment, they realized that the Heavenly Sea Holy Empress was not attacking them, and their movements seemed somewhat ridiculous.
The Frost Remnant Divine Spear turned into a streak of light, landing in the ruins at the end of the Divine Path, where it was grasped by the Divine General Han Qing.
The Heavenly Sea Holy Empress did not give him any instructions. She looked at the Pope emerging from the darkness.
Han Qing had broken through to the Divine Domain two years ago. His understanding and mastery of the laws of heaven and earth might still lack some depth, but having just slain Zhu Luo with a single sword strike, his momentum was at its peak. With the Frost Remnant Divine Spear in hand, he was fully capable of fighting against experts of the Eight Winds and Rain level, and even holding the upper hand.
Bie Yanghong was severely wounded and likely unable to fight. Wuqiong Bi's courage was shattered. Even if Wuqiong Bi's mind suddenly recovered and she unleashed her true strength, even if Mao Qiuyu, Mu Jiushi, and the hidden elders of various sects and clans in the darkness performed beyond expectations, Han Qing could hold out until that moment.
That moment would be when she defeated these three most powerful opponents.
Yes, from the very beginning, this was the Heavenly Sea Holy Empress's decision.
She would first deal with the two troublesome enemies, the Stargazer and Bie Yanghong, clearing the area around the Mausoleum of Books.
Then, she prepared to fight the Pope, Shang Xingzhou, and the distant monk from the Holy Light Continent with her own strength.
The Pope, Shang Xingzhou, and the monk by the stream—these were all experts stronger than the Eight Winds and Rain. According to the continent's realm classifications, they were all Saints.
Such a lineup would be dangerous even for Zhou Duofu, Chen Xuanba, or Emperor Taizong resurrected.
But even though she had not regained her peak strength after defying fate to change Chen Changsheng's destiny, she was still full of confidence.
A clap of thunder sounded in the night sky.
Wind passed through the forest, through the rain on the leaves, came to the Heavenly Sea Holy Empress's side, lingered without dispersing, gently lifting the hair and sleeves at her temples...
She still stood on the peak of the Mausoleum of Books, but she had already gone elsewhere.
In the night sky not covered by clouds, the stars had been beautiful and dazzling, but at this moment, they suddenly lost all their luster, because a shadow stretched across heaven and earth.
It was an immensely vast pair of black wings, as if about to cover the entire wilderness, utterly dark yet magnificently grand.
The thunder was the clear cry of the Black Phoenix.
The Black Heavenly Phoenix and the figure of the Pope simultaneously vanished into the clouds high in the night sky.
All starlight was torn apart, all cloud layers began to churn and twist rapidly.
Countless bolts of lightning flashed continuously deep within the thick clouds.
People could vaguely see two figures in the clouds, among the lightning, moving at unimaginable speed, but they could not make out the specific details.
Then countless rumbling thunderclaps sounded.
The lightning was the heavenly mechanism triggered by the two Saints.
The thunder was the fluctuation caused by the clash of the two Saints.
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A sudden earthquake struck Luoyang City.
From the Peony Garden to the Lotus Pavilion, buildings within a twenty-mile radius swayed precariously. Countless cracks appeared on the streets, dust rose everywhere. People awakened from their dreams cried out and screamed, fleeing in all directions, not knowing where to go in the darkness.
More than a dozen Daoists lay in the rain, their fate unknown, covered with bricks, stones, or broken wood. The Changchun Temple had become a ruin, its former appearance long gone.
The jade ruyi had failed to break the Daoist formation. It had not intended to break through and leave. At that very moment, it shattered the layers of rain curtains and met the Daoist Calculator's finger in the darkness.
Two sublime, unfathomable auras met. Two ultimate Daoist techniques released their most powerful might in this encounter. The heavenly and earthly energies of Luoyang City were churned as if the mountains were about to topple and the seas to dry up. The starry sky behind the rain clouds trembled because of it!
The earth shook, the rain curtain blurred. The Daoist Calculator's fingers trembled incessantly, and the jade ruyi also trembled unceasingly, with faint fragments flaking off, drilling countless deep, tiny holes into the ground.
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Behind the old temple in Xining Town.
The monk had crossed the stream and arrived before her.
He gazed quietly at her, then raised his right hand and pointed at her brow.
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This battle took place at the Mausoleum of Books, in Luoyang City, and in Xining, ten thousand miles away.
Three Saints simultaneously struck at the Heavenly Sea Holy Empress.
The Heavenly Sea Holy Empress fought them separately with her body, her Dao, and her soul.
Even her most confident ministers should have understood that this was the most critical moment.
Chen Changsheng was not far behind her, seeing it most clearly.
He did nothing, just watched it all.
Logically speaking, he should have been on the side of the state religion, standing against the Heavenly Sea Holy Empress. He and she were not mother and son, but he was alive entirely because of her.
Anyone, perhaps, would not know how to choose.
Moreover, he was very tired now and did not want to make any choice at all.
Yes, now he had survived, and it seemed he could live for a very long time. But the world in which he could live seemed to have nothing to do with him anymore.
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The night before the Mausoleum of Books was torn apart by many figures breaking through the air.
The sound of breaking wind was like the sharpest crossbow bolts. Starlight broke and twisted, as if the Mausoleum Steles were doing something.
Wuqiong Bi put down the severely wounded Bie Yanghong, her face full of venom, and looked toward the ruins at the end of the Divine Path. After all, she was one of the Eight Winds and Rain; she still possessed extremely strong combat power.
Mao Qiuyu and Mu Jiushi, the leaders of the state religion, also came to the front of the Divine Path.
The wind rustled white paper, making a flapping sound. Xiao Zhang, covered in blood, arrived.
The hidden experts of various clans, sects, and mountain gates still waited silently in the darkness, concealed but not yet revealed.
At least half of the human world's experts had appeared before the Mausoleum of Books. With such a lineup, no matter how powerful Han Qing was, even with the Frost Remnant Divine Spear in hand, how could he resist?
Suddenly, Han Qing found something in the ruins of the pavilion. He wiped the dust off it with his palm—it was a lunchbox, containing rice and stir-fried pork with green peppers.
Then, he did something no one expected.
He began to eat.
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(May you have nothing but health. I've been suffering terribly these past few days. It's nothing, just don't go without food. Everyone, take care of yourselves.)