Ze Tian Ji (Way of Choices)

Chapter 650 – Even If My Choice is Wrong, My Gaze Decides the Arrangement

The scene of the Chenggong Mountains, the story within the Black Mountain Camp, occurred tonight in many places. The Western Sea Army returning to the capital was stopped at the Guiyuan Mountains, the one entering its camp Archbishop An Lin of the Li Palace. Crucially, the Tianhai clan succeeded in their plan of preventing two armies from entering the capital.

Tonight was the most crucial night for all of the human world that opposed the Tianhai Divine Empress. All of her enemies and opponents, even her own relatives, stood up and displayed an unimaginable strength.

……

……

“You don’t even know who your own son is. What right do you have to rule the Great Zhou?

“You can’t even control the human world; why prattle on about resisting the Heavenly Dao?

“You can control nothing, not even your own fate.

“Tianhai, just abdicate.”

Daoist Ji had left the street.

The puddles on the street still seemed to contain his footprints.

The sounds of butchering meat had stopped. The sounds of fighting all over the capital had most likely finally warned the butchers that some momentous event was occurring in the world.

In this very brief amount of time, the entire situation had undergone a world-shaking transformation.

The Imperial Design had once more sunk into the earth, its awe-inspiring array energy had vanished, and various places in the capital had fallen into turmoil. The several armies speedily returning to the capital had all, for various reasons, had their march halted. Some armies were still attempting to continue forward in the torrential rain, but it was very obvious that it was already impossible for them to promptly arrive.

The Mausoleum of Books was very silent, abnormally silent, so silent that it felt rather strange.

The Tianhai Divine Empress stood at the edge of the Divine Path, her hands held behind her. She looked down at the capital, a mocking smile suddenly appearing on her sublimely beautiful face.

This world was once hers.

It was not known whether this mocking smile of hers was aimed at the world or at herself.

Then, she turned towards that ever-silent Li Palace in the northwest part of the capital.

At this moment, that voice anticipated by countless people for such a long time finally spoke.

The Pope’s voice was very calm, but everyone could hear his regret.

“We were all wrong. Only Mei Lisha was correct.”

The Divine Empress slightly arched her brow, seemingly rather interested in hearing the next part.

The Pope thought of his old friend and thought of those past conversations, and his tone became very sorrowful. “He always believed that you would ultimately choose to save Changsheng, no matter who Changsheng was.”

“And as long as you chose to save him, you would immediately fall into this plight.”

Daoist Ji’s voice came from the plains to the north of the capital.

His body appeared in the autumn grass. Ten-odd li away at the city gate, the jade ruyi containing a limitless spiritual energy had just appeared.

“I always believed that these were choices offered by me to you, but in reality, these were the choices offered to you from the Heavenly Dao.”

Daoist Ji stood in the grass and calmly spoke, his voice resounding in the night sky in front of the Mausoleum of Books.

“Kill him, eat him, or save him. These are all choices, but no matter what you choose, they’re all wrong. Only not answering this question, not making a choice, was correct. Amongst all these incorrect choices, you even made the stupidest choice, thus turning your plight into a desperate one.”

The Tianhai Divine Empress calmly replied, “Plights and desperation? Who in the world has the right to say these two words to me?”

Daoist Ji replied, “Of course, only you can say it yourself. You can rule this world without caring for your marriage with Emperor Xian, not caring for your ability to rule, only caring about your power. As long as you are powerful enough, no one would dare harbor disloyal thoughts. Even if they did have disloyal thoughts, they would not dare take disloyal actions. But your choosing him, weakening yourself, also gave the people of the world a chance to change their disloyal thoughts into disloyal actions, gave them courage. Let alone the fact that this choice was tantamount to discarding the Tianhai clan, making your most loyal strength your opponents as well.”

The Tianhai Divine Empress’s gaze fell on the capital, seeing those scenes of fighting and the quiet estate of the Tianhai clan.

She then gazed beyond the capital, seeing the mountain valleys in the pouring rain, the blood in the valleys.

Daoist Ji’s voice rose once more in front of the Mausoleum of Books. “Everyone has already left you.”

The Divine Empress expressionlessly replied, “That is because they are fools who can only see what is before them.”

Daoist Ji’s voice suddenly grew harsh.

“Is this a lack of foresight? No! Think of Chen Guansong, think of those Divine Generals. Their betrayal of you ultimately originates from their disappointment! You’ve reigned for two hundred years, and the demons have just happened to be at their weakest in these two hundred years, yet in your short-sightedness, only knowing how to preserve the strength of your loyal armies, you never once attacked the demons. Not only did you not advance a single inch, in the past twenty years, you even ceded ground and sued for peace! You managed the country well, although with extreme cruelty, and you also had an extremely good grasp over the confluence of the north and south—although that is primarily the Holy Maiden’s achievement—but on this aspect, you humiliate all of humanity!”

“So it was all for the sake of a righteous cause that all of you have betrayed Us?”

Another mocking smile appeared on the Tianhai Divine Empress’s splendidly beautiful face.

This time, it was very obvious that she was mocking the world.

“Then did you ever think that in tonight’s battle of the Mausoleum of Books, countless human experts will die, fallen and scattered as to be unbearable. The great armies on the road will have no room to advance or retreat, the hearts of the soldiers will be unsteady. If the Demon Army invades, who will stop them? If they slaughter the Central Plains, slaughtering the common people, who will bear this responsibility? A righteous cause? Can any of you bear it?”

She glanced at the Li Palace and smirked.

“I tempted the Demon Lord to Mount Han to first have him fight with the Elder of Heavenly Secrets. The Elder of Heavenly Secrets was heavily wounded, thus becoming unable to help you tonight. Right after, I invited the White Emperor north of Mount Han to ambush the Demon Lord. The Demon Lord became heavily injured and could only return to Xuelao City to nurse his injuries. Moreover, I have also made plans in Xuelao City. After tonight, they will bear fruit, but Empress, you might not be able to see them.”

Daoist Ji’s voice was calm and easygoing. “I used twenty years to arrange for tonight’s trap; I naturally will not leave a single gap. Empress, there is no need for you to be concerned.”

Hearing this, Chen Changsheng finally confirmed that his meeting with the Demon Lord at Mount Han was truly a trap planned out by his master.

His body grew colder, but it wasn’t because of the earlier drizzle or the wind blowing across the peak.

Every time he recalled the sight of that middle-aged scholar standing amongst the persimmon trees by the stream, he would always feel very cold.

His master had used his greatest secret to tempt the Demon Lord to Mount Han, but he had been completely unaware.

At the time, he truly had almost died.

“That’s right, Master raised me for ten-odd years, and you have to use it more than once to make it profitable.”

He mumbled to himself.

“Your gaze has always been only on the north?”

The Tianhai Divine Empress gazed north to the autumn plains, a mocking smile dancing about her lips. “In the end, your arrangement is still too small.”

No person could hear her words.

Whether it was the ‘gaze’ or the ‘arrangement’.

Daoist Ji had schemed this trap in the capital and had made another plan in Xuelao City. No matter how one saw it, this could be called an extremely large arrangement, yet to her, it could only obtain such a disdainful evaluation.

“All of these are excuses. All of you just don’t like a woman standing high above you. So it is for you, and so it is for Chen Guansong.”

The Tianhai Divine Empress’s gaze drifted even farther away, her voice following.

Only Chen Changsheng could hear her voice.

Because at this time, she could no longer be bothered to say anything to this world.

After all, she had discovered that all her so-called enemies and opponents were, just as expected, a pile of trash.