Chapter 659: Three Saints Unite
The night before the Heavenly Book Mausoleum suddenly grew lighter, not because the morning sun was about to rise, though dawn was indeed very close. The night grew lighter because a shade of green had descended. This green was so rich, so full of vitality, that the autumn trees on the mausoleum and across the wilderness felt ashamed, bending their branches lower.
It was a pot of green leaves, plump and tender, clearly well-nurtured, never lacking nutrients or water. The leaf surfaces were smooth, obviously tended with great care; even a speck of dust would be wiped away in the shortest time by that most honored old man with the most expensive silk cloth.
Chen Changsheng was very familiar with this pot of green leaves. He had seen it too many times in the Li Palace.
This pot of green leaves appeared in the night sky, naturally following the Pope.
The Pope's sacred robe fluttered gently in the night wind.
The sacred crown on his head shimmered with a holy light, especially conspicuous in the darkness.
A ripple came from Chen Changsheng's sword 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 faint footprints remained. The Daoist Calculator had already entered Luoyang City, hidden by the torrential rain, arriving at the back gate of the Changchun Temple.
The black dragon formed from starlight in the clouds above had also vanished. On the streets of Luoyang, the sound of piercing wind occasionally echoed, with only a black light visible.
Suddenly, that harsh, tearing sound of wind disappeared.
The black light vanished before the Changchun Temple.
A jade ruyi scepter hovered silently in 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, like the formation aura that suddenly enveloped several streets.
Dozens of Daoist priests sat cross-legged in the torrential rain, eyes closed, endlessly chanting Daoist scriptures.
Countless faint, intangible auras pierced through the rain, forming layers of barriers that prevented the jade ruyi from leaving freely.
The Daoist Calculator walked through the rain, crossing the temple's thousand-year-old, pitted path, and came to the street.
He gazed quietly at the jade ruyi.
As if gazing at her.
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By the stream beside the old temple in Xining Town.
A splash.
The seemingly still stream suddenly stirred.
That was because the monk had dipped 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, barely reaching his knees, and the current was not swift, unable to wash away even the blood lotuses. But he walked with extreme difficulty, as if each step required overcoming great obstacles.
Perhaps it was because she stood on the opposite bank.
She was imposing, her pressure striking directly into the soul.
The monk continued forward calmly.
His spiritual power was close to hers. By actively approaching, he had to endure more pain and pressure, placing himself at a disadvantage and greater risk.
But he still pressed on, enduring without fear.
Finally, he reached her.
Heavenly Sea Saint Empress gazed at him quietly and asked, "Is it worth it?"
The monk replied, "It is worth it, because now, you cannot go back."
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Under countless gazes, Heavenly Sea Saint Empress raised her right hand toward the night sky.
A low hum suddenly echoed through the capital's night sky, accompanied by howling wind—the result of air being rapidly expelled.
The trees in the Heavenly Book Mausoleum bent slightly under the night breeze.
An iron spear, transformed into a streak of light, tore through the darkness, arrived at the Heavenly Book Mausoleum, and fell into Heavenly Sea Saint Empress's hand.
The iron spear was pitch black, its surface faintly tinged with gold, yet it carried no sense of luxury—only an overwhelming aura of slaughter.
That gold was not the luster of gold, but the color of autumn forests.
Aside from the hidden killing intent and autumn hues within the black iron, the spear's appearance had nothing particularly special.
But everyone who saw it could feel the immense power and divine might contained within.
People were shocked, then awed.
The Frost Remnant Divine Spear!
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Heavenly Sea Saint Empress looked at the Frost Remnant Divine Spear in her hand, her gaze falling on a handprint on the shaft, where she also saw a faint trace of green.
Her brow slightly raised, a flicker of anger appearing in her eyes.
Thought moved with intent. A golden flame burst from her palm, instantly burning away the peacock feather poison on the Frost Remnant Divine Spear.
Then, with a wave of her hand, she hurled the spear down the divine path.
Seeing her movement, the experts surrounding the Heavenly Book Mausoleum were startled. They each used their unique skills, turning into countless afterimages, retreating further away.
Only then did they realize that Heavenly Sea Saint Empress was not attacking them. Their actions 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, grasped by Divine General Han Qing.
Heavenly Sea Saint Empress gave him no instructions, instead looking at the Pope emerging from the darkness.
Han Qing had broken through to the Divine Domain two years ago. His understanding of the laws of heaven and earth might still lack depth, but after killing Zhu Luo with a single sword strike, his momentum was at its peak. With the Frost Remnant Divine Spear in hand, he could fully contend with experts of the Eight Winds level, even holding the upper hand.
Bie Yanghong was severely wounded and likely unable to fight. Wuqiong Bi's courage had shattered. Even if Wuqiong Bi's mind suddenly recovered and unleashed her true strength, even if Mao Qiuyu, Mu Jiushi, and the hidden sect elders in the darkness exceeded 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, Heavenly Sea Saint Empress had decided this.
She would first eliminate the troublesome enemies like Guan Xingke and Bie Yanghong, clearing the area around the Heavenly Book Mausoleum.
Then, she would fight the Pope, Shang Xingzhou, and the distant monk from the Holy Light Continent alone.
The Pope, Shang Xingzhou, and the monk by the stream—all were stronger than the Eight Winds level. By the continent's realm classification, they were all Saints.
Such a lineup, even if Zhou Du|fu, Chen Xuanba, or Emperor Taizong were resurrected, would be extremely dangerous.
Yet even though she had sacrificed her peak strength to alter Chen Changsheng's fate, she remained confident.
A thunderclap sounded in the night sky.
Wind passed through the forest, through the rain on the leaves, swirling around Heavenly Sea Saint Empress, gently lifting the hair at her temples and her robes.
She still stood atop the Heavenly Book Mausoleum, yet she had already gone elsewhere.
In the cloudless night sky, the stars had been beautiful and dazzling, but at this moment, they lost all luster, because a shadow stretched across heaven and earth.
It was a pair of vast black wings, seemingly covering the wilderness, utterly dark yet magnificent.
The thunder was the clear cry of the Black Phoenix.
The Black Heavenly Phoenix and the Pope's figure simultaneously vanished into the clouds high in the night sky.
All starlight was torn apart. All clouds began to churn and twist rapidly.
Countless lightning bolts flashed deep within the thick clouds.
People could faintly see two figures moving through the clouds, between the lightning, at unimaginable speed, but they could not make out the details.
Then came countless rumbling thunderclaps.
The lightning was the heavenly mechanism triggered by the two Saints.
The thunder was the fluctuation caused by their clash.
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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 rising everywhere. People awakened from their dreams cried out, screamed, and fled in all directions, not knowing where to go in the darkness.
Over a dozen Daoists lay in the rain, their fate unknown, covered in bricks or broken wood. The Changchun Temple had become a ruin, no longer its former self.
The jade ruyi had failed to break the Daoist formation. It had not intended to break through and leave. At that moment, it pierced through layers of rain curtains and met the Daoist Calculator's finger in the darkness.
Two sublime, elusive auras met. Two ultimate Daoist techniques unleashed their greatest power in that encounter. The heavenly and earthly energies of Luoyang City were churned like a collapsing mountain or a drying sea. 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. The jade ruyi also trembled, faint fragments peeling off, creating countless deep holes in 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 at her quietly, then raised his right hand, pointing at her brow.
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This battle took place at the Heavenly Book Mausoleum, in Luoyang City, and in Xining, thousands of miles away.
Three Saints simultaneously struck at Heavenly Sea Saint Empress.
Heavenly Sea Saint Empress fought them with her body, her Dao, and her soul, dividing herself.
Even her most loyal ministers should have understood that this was the critical moment.
Chen Changsheng was not far behind her, watching most clearly.
He did nothing, only watched it all.
Logically, he should belong to the national religion faction, standing against Heavenly Sea Saint Empress. He and she were not mother and son, but he was alive only because of her.
Anyone else would probably not know how to choose.
Moreover, he was exhausted now, unwilling to make any choice.
Yes, he had survived, and it seemed he could live for a long time. But the world he could live in seemed to have nothing to do with him anymore.
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The night before the Heavenly Book Mausoleum was torn apart by many figures breaking through the air.
The sound of wind was like the sharpest crossbow bolts. Starlight bent and distorted, as if the Heavenly Book Stele were doing something.
Wuqiong Bi put down the severely wounded Bie Yanghong, her face full of venom, staring at the ruins below the divine path. After all, she was one of the Eight Winds, still possessing formidable combat power.
Mao Qiuyu, Mu Jiushi, and other leaders of the national religion also came before the divine path.
Wind rustled white paper. Xiao Zhang, covered in blood, arrived.
Hidden experts from various families and sects still waited silently in the darkness, holding back.
At least half of the human world's experts had gathered before the Heavenly Book Mausoleum. With such a lineup, no matter how powerful Han Qing was, even with the Frost Remnant Divine Spear, how could he resist?
Suddenly, Han Qing found something in the ruins of the pavilion. He wiped off the dust 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 no illness. I've been suffering terribly these days. It's nothing. May you never go without food. Take care, everyone.)