Translated by: Hypersheep325

Edited by: Michyrr

The conversation and conflict by the stream near Xining Village's old temple still persisted.

On the other hand, the Mausoleum of Books was eerily silent. Not a single sound could be heard.

Everyone was stunned.

No person imagined that this was how this battle would proceed.

This was the Tianhai Divine Empress's first attack.

In the space of a breath, Guan Xingke had died and Bie Yanghong had been severely wounded.

There were extremely few experts of the Divine Domain in this world, and in the hearts of the populace and cultivators, they were like gods. Yes, everyone knew that a Saint like the Tianhai Divine Empress should be at least a level stronger than the Storms of the Eight Directions, but who could have possibly expected her to easily accomplish these things in such a short amount of time?

In this fight lasting only a few breaths, the Tianhai Divine Empress had fully displayed her power, her nigh unimaginable strength and Daoist techniques, her calculations and plans that were on par with the will of the heavens.

For the sake of changing Chen Changsheng's fate, her cultivation had been damaged and was no longer at its peak might, and she was still mysteriously entangled with the Heavenly Dao. Yet she was still able to stare at the expert by the stream from the Sacred Light Continent, menace Daoist Ji to the west of Luoyang, and return to the Divine Path for an instant to kill someone, and then send her soul back ten thousand li away!

West of Luoyang, Daoist Ji gazed silently up at the black dragon in the night sky.

The moment he sensed the Divine Empress's soul from far away, he believed that he would be her first target, so he had used a Daoist technique to form the clear light and set up an array to await her.

Beforehand, no one had expected that her first target was Wuqiong Bi.

Wuqiong Bi thought that she had come to kill her.

Bie Yanghong and Guan Xingke thought that she was attacking Wuqiong Bi so that she could kill Bie Yanghong.

In truth, none of these were right. From the first moment, her goal was to kill both Bie Yanghong and Guan Xingke in one stroke.

These were not just any two ordinary experts, these were two Storms of the Eight Directions that had entered the Divine Domain many years ago!

What a self-confident way of thinking, what a tyrannical demeanor!

She dared to think this way because she could do it.

She wanted to do it, so she could do it.

Chen Changsheng gazed at the Divine Empress's back, recalling those words she had said to him at the very beginning.

"We will not permit you to die, so you will not be able to die."

Yes, she did not want Chen Changsheng to die, so Chen Changsheng would not be able to die. Then if she wanted someone to die, how could that person not die?

The Tianhai Divine Empress stood at the edge of the Divine Path, gazing at the world below her feet, her expression calm. It was like she had not done anything, or even left.

Only Chen Changsheng could see that her two hands were faintly trembling.

To destroy two Storms of the Eight Directions in a single encounter, even though she was the Tianhai Divine Empress, she still had to pay a price.

But the battles of Saints had never been reasonable. They only proceeded according to intentions and emphasized grandeur.

Now with the dark Phoenix in the sky, her grandeur was at its prime, a dazzling golden age of brilliance.

Zhu Luo and Guan Xingke had died, Bie Yanghong was seriously injured, and Wuqiong Bi had her courage frightened out of her. Even if the hidden experts of the noble clans and the Orthodoxy appeared, they would be unable to defeat Han Qing and ascend the Divine Path.

Her opponents had never been the Eight Storms in the first place, but the monk by the stream near Xining Village's old temple, the Daoist that was just about to stealthily enter Luoyang, and also

The Tianhai Divine Empress turned to the Li Palace.

She had not forgotten where her strongest opponent was.

From the time the battle began, the Li Palace had maintained its silence. Only when Daoist Ji revealed Chen Changsheng's origins did the Pope say a few words.

Besides that occasion, it had always remained silent.

This was the place that was able to decide tonight's outcome.

The entire world awaited the Pope's choice.

Just then, a light suddenly burst out from the capital.

This light came from the Li Palace, from the Great Hall of Light.

At this sacred and pure light, the Divine Empress's Phoenix eyes slightly narrowed, sharp and cold to the extreme.

In truth, she had long known what choice the Pope would make, because her supporters in the Orthodoxy, just like the Tianhai clan, had never appeared.

If one could say that those nephews of hers in the Tianhai clan had chosen to change their stance because her changing of Chen Changsheng's fate revealed that she wanted Chen Changsheng to inherit her throne, then Linghai Zhiwang and Daoist Siyuan would be the two people most willing to see Chen Changsheng inherit the throne of the Great Zhou, as this meant that Chen Changsheng would not take on the mantle of the Pope.

But neither Linghai Zhiwang or Daoist Siyuan had made any action.

This naturally meant that someone else had acted.

There was only one person that could prevent Linghai Zhiwang and Daoist Siyuan, Prefects of the Orthodoxy, from making any action or noise.

The Pope.

"Why?" she asked towards the Li Palace.

This was the first time she had asked for an explanation, a reason.

Because she and the Pope had worked together for many years, had an old friendship, had once walked the same path.

"Because your and my view of the world have gradually begun to take two different paths."

The Pope's voice rose from the Li Palace. "In these twenty years after you ascended to the throne, you have used far too many people like Zhou Tong. I know that you wished to protect your authority so as to ensure your way of thinking is carried out. The problem is that authority cannot resolve all problems, and your way of thinking is not what the common populace thinks."

The Tianhai Divine Empress replied, "You are wrong. I do not need authority, but I cannot pass authority on to this rubbish."

The Pope responded, "But there is no existence that lasts forever."

These words referred to her, to him, to all things in the world.

After a very long silence, the Divine Empress replied, "Perhaps you can wait for me for just a little more."

This was the first time she had conceded ground, even if only in words.

Just as was mentioned before, it was not out of fear, but because she and the Pope had worked together for many years, had an old friendship, had once walked the same path.

"In the past, I would certainly have agreed."

The Pope's voice paused for a while before finally rising once more, this time much more sorrowful. "But I no longer have the time."

The Divine Empress's brows slightly rose. She asked, "Why do you no longer have the time?"

The Pope calmly replied, "Because I am going to die."

The Tianhai Divine Empress's brows rose even higher, like swords that wanted to stab at the dome of the night. Her voice also grew sharper. "Why are you going to die?"

The Pope answered, "When one is too old, one will naturally die."

The Divine Empress's eyebrows slowly descended like Phoenix wings, her voice growing somewhat lonesome. "That's right, Heavenly Secrets is going to die, and you are also going to die. In the end, everything is going to die."

The Pope added, "Moreover, tonight, if I do not act, too many people will die, too many."

Rays of light filled the Great Hall of Light. The stone walls that seemed rather pale in the light noiselessly parted.

The images of sages and gods on the stone walls watched with complicated expressions the man that walked out from within.

Tonight, the Pope was not wearing his hempen robe, but the Divine Robe, and his head bore the Divine Crown. His hand did not hold the Divine Staff, but rather the pot holding the Green Leaf.

Linghai Zhiwang and Daoist Siyuan were kneeling below the stone steps. It was obvious that some seal had been placed upon them that made it impossible for them to move.