Chapter 665: The Millennial Battle
Blood gushed from the Celestial Empress’s abdomen, flowing down the iron spear onto the ground, where it met the wind and transformed, giving birth to golden flames.
Even so, her face, illuminated by the firelight, remained pale, devoid of color, just like her eyes at that moment—empty of any emotion.
Autumn Kill was truly lethal.
“I truly did not expect it to be you. Because in my eyes, you were born noble and pure; though not human, you valued loyalty and righteousness more than anyone else.”
When she spoke these words, she no longer referred to herself as “I, the Emperor.” Perhaps there was some deeper meaning, or perhaps it was due to pain, or simply out of habit.
She had grown accustomed to treating him as an equal—whether human or not.
The lotus sea below the divine path seemed somewhat disordered under the night wind’s caress, like a rice field awaiting harvest, suddenly struck by an untimely storm.
The iron spear had stilled. The autumn wind began to rise. Frost descended upon the world. The edges of the lotus leaves were embroidered with white rims, and the pink lotus flowers appeared frozen solid.
Han Qing stood amidst the lotus sea, his figure profoundly lonely, utterly impossible to connect with the one who had just wielded the Frost Remnant Divine Spear to execute Autumn Kill and alter history.
Everyone around the Heavenly Book Mausoleum was stunned. No one noticed the crucial information hidden within the Celestial Empress’s words.
He gazed at the summit of the Heavenly Book Mausoleum, a trace of melancholy appearing on his aged face. “Loyalty and righteousness?”
The Celestial Empress suddenly laughed, a pale smile.
“Indeed. A Demon Prince who has lived among humanity for a thousand years—where exactly his loyalty and righteousness should fall is truly a question.”
A deathly silence fell around the Heavenly Book Mausoleum. Hearing this, the people were even more shocked. Countless gazes fell upon Han Qing.
General Han Qing was not human, but a demon? And he was the Demon Prince?
A Demon Prince, who would risk life and death for the Great Zhou, bravely serving as a vanguard in the wars against the demons back then, until he became the continent’s foremost divine general!
A Demon Prince, who would willingly guard the Heavenly Book Mausoleum for six hundred years, until tonight, earning the deep love and trust of the people?
Bie Yang Hong and Wu Qiong Bi were deeper within the lotus sea, showing no reaction.
The His Holiness the Pope in the night also made no sound.
Clearly, these powerhouses who had entered the divine domain had already known this secret beforehand.
The Celestial Empress looked at him calmly and asked, “Why did you kill me?”
Han Qing was silent for a long time before saying, “I am the Demon Prince, but I am also a loyal minister of the Great Zhou.”
The Celestial Empress said, “If you are a loyal minister, you should be loyal to me.”
“This was the late Emperor’s final decree. I must carry it out,” he said to her.
The Celestial Empress gazed at the lotus sea, speaking leisurely, “So it seems that even until today, for you, the Great Zhou still has only one Emperor—the Taizong Emperor.”
Han Qing said, “Your Majesty is also my Emperor.”
The Celestial Empress suddenly asked, “How did the Taizong Emperor treat you?”
Han Qing was silent for a moment before replying, “The Emperor treated me like a brother.”
The Celestial Empress said mockingly, “Your brothers are all dead now, hanging on the Lingyan Pavilion.”
Han Qing said nothing, because he didn’t know what to say.
The Celestial Empress continued, “The Taizong Emperor used you, but also doubted you. Before his death, he forced you to swear a Starry Sky Oath, to guard the mausoleum for life and never leave. Otherwise, six hundred years ago, you would have already entered the divine domain. In the end, it was I who found a way to lift those bonds from you. I have shown you great kindness.”
Han Qing took a deep breath and said, “Your Majesty treated me as a kindred spirit. Back then, no matter what the Heavenly Mechanism Elder or the Pope said, Your Majesty trusted me completely, helped me stay away from the world’s troubles and dangers, and helped me break the Starry Sky Oath from those years. This kindness is as deep as the sea.”
The Celestial Empress said, “I also promised you that I would lead the army to attack Snow Old City, allowing you to kill the Demon Lord with your own hands.”
Hearing this, the gazes on Han Qing grew even heavier. No one knew what kind of grudges and entanglements existed between this mysterious Demon Prince and the Demon Lord, that would make him leave Snow Old City a thousand years ago, with the goal of killing the Demon Lord himself.
“Dean Shang made me the same promise,” Han Qing said after a moment of silence. “If I can fulfill the late Emperor’s final decree, then the Demon Lord will die tonight.”
The direction of Luoyang City was quiet.
But these words were like thunder.
A trace of bewilderment appeared on the Celestial Empress’s face. “Is that so? He is going to die too?”
In these words were the character “die” and the character “too.”
Han Qing heard it. For some reason, he felt his armor had become countless times heavier, making it hard to breathe.
“Your Majesty’s kindness to me is as heavy as a mountain, as deep as the sea… far surpassing the Emperor’s.”
“But the Emperor’s kindness came first. If not for the Emperor, I would have died a thousand years ago.”
“The kindness of a single meal, I dare not forget, because… that was the beginning of everything.”
When he spoke these words, his voice trembled slightly, lacking that confidence, as if he were trying to forcefully convince someone—or himself.
Since things had come to this, there was no need for further words.
Since words had come to this, they had reached their end.
The Celestial Empress had no more interest in speaking with him. Her gaze shifted from the lotus sea, rising to fall upon the distant capital.
In the streets and alleys of the capital, occasional fires flickered. Shouts rose again, filled with chaos. Only one area remained quiet, pitch black.
“Even after being dead for so many years, you still won’t let me go?”
That man had been dead for centuries.
She, a woman, had ascended the throne, driven his descendants out of the capital, and subjected them to endless humiliation. She thought she had successfully repaid all the suffering she had endured back then, that she was the ultimate victor. Yet tonight, she realized that after all these years, she was still fighting that man.
That place was the Great Zhou Imperial Palace, and the National Education Academy, and the Hundred Herbs Garden.
From many years ago, she had lived in these places, fought in these places, and seen many people and events.
Only now did she understand that nothing had truly changed.
…
…
“Now, you should be able to die, right?”
Before the Daoist temple in Luoyang City, the Daoist priest looked at the fading Mist Phoenix, appearing somewhat weary.
“Please depart peacefully.”
By the stream in Xining Town, the monk gazed at the fading divine soul, a hint of emotion on his face.
“I’m sorry.”
In the night of the capital, the His Holiness the Pope looked at her on the peak of the Heavenly Book Mausoleum, his aged face filled with sorrow.
…
…
The Celestial Empress looked at this world, her brows slightly raised.
She was in pain.
The Frost Remnant Divine Spear had pierced through her abdomen. Her body, soul, and Dao had all suffered irreparable damage.
She could feel that the moment of departure had arrived. This was an unavoidable thing, like blood burning into blue smoke, then returning to the blue sky.
A violent, cold, powerful, and furious phoenix cry rang out from the peak of the Heavenly Book Mausoleum, then swiftly spread across the entire continent.
Her black hair wildly danced behind her. Phoenix wings tore through the night sky.
She reached out, grasped the iron spear, and pulled it out from her abdomen.
Just by looking at the scene, one could imagine the pain involved, yet her expression showed no change at all, and even her raised brows fell back down.