Shu Ying awoke abruptly from her dream.
She tidied her clothes and sat before the mirror, her cold gaze fixed on the two trails of tears on her reflection’s cheeks, remaining silent.
“Your Majesty, the Grand Rite is about to begin. The people are all waiting for you.”
“Very well.”
Shu Ying no longer lingered in the realm of dreams. She rose and stepped out of the vast palace.
As her view expanded further and further, she suddenly turned her head to glance at the female guard beside her. “Xiaozhuang, do you know that the Dawn-Sky Grand Rite has another name?”
Xiaozhuang’s fingertips trembled slightly. Pretending ignorance, she replied, “I have never heard of it.”
“Is that so.”
Shu Ying quickened her pace, greeting the soldiers kneeling in grand formation with a solemn bow.
Her gaze seemed to pierce through time and space, settling on the head of a girl beneath the Buddha statue in a distant temple.
The Dawn-Sky Grand Rite is also known as the Tianjian Ceremony.
Throughout history, any emperor who dared to hold the Dawn-Sky Grand Rite must have achieved a world-shaking, awe-inspiring accomplishment.
Otherwise, to appear before Heaven without sufficient merits to show would mean losing the Heavenly Decree and forfeiting everything.
The last emperor who dared to hold the Dawn-Sky Grand Rite was the former dynasty’s female general who led the empire to annihilate the Monster Clan.
So this time… what could Shu Ying, the newly ascended empress, possibly bring forth as a merit worthy of Heaven’s gaze?
The curtain rises.
The entire Capital City of Great Qi buzzed with excitement.
The once solemn and dignified Imperial Palace now stood with its gates wide open, the Forbidden Army lining the gates in perfect formation, ready and watchful.
A luxurious red carpet stretched from within the palace all the way to the Temple of Heaven.
Even the palace maids, rarely seen outside the palace walls, walked along the red carpet escorting the Dragon Palanquin.
They were adorned like blooming seasonal flowers, vying for attention with dazzling grace.
Shu Ying rode in a carriage, slowly moving along the red carpet straight to the Temple of Heaven.
The legendary Immortal was said to appear at the temple and deliver the Heavenly Decree.
All the world’s impurities and purity would be laid bare under the Immortal’s fiery golden eyes.
They would reward those with merits and punish the wrongdoers.
“Skyfire manifests,”
“Ancient sages reveal,”
“Heavenly Immortal appears,”
“Receiving sacred fortune,”
“……”
“……”
Shu Ying lowered her eyelids, a faint, indescribable glow flickering in her gaze.
She quietly waited as the Heavenly Principles Directorate Diviners conducted their extraordinarily elaborate ritual.
Each of them circulated True Qi within their bodies, amplifying their voices with all their strength.
Hundreds of Heavenly Principles Directorate Diviners recited in unison the contents of the Jiantian Treasure Record.
Their voices merged into one, resounding throughout the entire Capital City.
Every face was marked with an unrestrained fanaticism.
That was the Immortal, the realm every cultivator dreamt of.
Today, right now, all bore witness.
This fervor spread even to the common folk watching intently, holding their breath, their eyes fixed on the rapidly shifting clouds above the temple.
The clouds twisted and spiraled like a vortex, as if something was hidden within the eye of the storm.
The Immortal, perhaps, was right there.
Perhaps the calmest person in the entire Capital City was Shu Ying herself.
At this moment, she felt no excitement or reverence for holding the Dawn-Sky Grand Rite.
Her mind was filled only with the image of that pale-faced girl with bowed head in the temple.
She had agreed to hold this Dawn-Sky Grand Rite not only to announce the complete destruction of the Monster Clan and prove Lin Nan’s innocence but also to fulfill the promise made long ago.
She would become the greatest under heaven.
If she could gain the Immortal’s approval, then the title would be well deserved.
“Your Majesty, everything is ready. Please wear the Imperial Robe and hold the Imperial Scepter. We await the Immortal’s appearance.”
“Very well.”
Snapping back to reality, Shu Ying cast a cold, clear glance at the Grand Preceptor beside her, then accepted the scepter from his hand.
She walked step by step along the endless red carpet to the center of the Temple of Heaven.
She pursed her lips slightly and spoke softly, “Empress of Great Qi, Shu Ying, seeks audience with the Immortal.”
The Grand Preceptor behind her showed visible excitement.
His wrinkled old face flushed faintly red.
With a thud, he knelt on the ground and shouted with all his might, “Grand Preceptor of Great Qi, Chang Yunshu, seeks audience with the Immortal!”
Immediately, hundreds of Heavenly Principles Directorate Disciples knelt in unison.
“Heavenly Principles Directorate Disciples, seek audience with the Immortal!”
If the crowd was a lake, then the moment Shu Ying’s scepter struck the ground was like a massive stone crashing into the water’s depths.
Ripples crazily spread through the crowd.
The commoners knelt one after another, struggling to keep their eyes wide open, attempting to catch a glimpse of the divine figure slowly descending from the sky.
Suddenly, the clouds above the Temple of Heaven tore open, golden veins appearing.
Within the boiling, undulating halo of light, a shadow wrapped in immense oppressive force descended.
That shadow lightly tapped Shu Ying’s forehead through thousands of layers of clouds.
A majestic surge of Tian Dao Fortune flooded her meridians like an inverted Milky Way.
Shu Ying trembled violently all over.
The golden talisman on her dragon robe glowed, but she couldn’t move a single finger.
Her throat felt as if filled with burning iron.
She could only watch helplessly as Heavenly Principles Directorate disciples escorted a frail girl to the front of the temple.
“The Immortal decrees: The Monster Clan plagues the world and must be exterminated! Empress Shu Ying of Qi shall receive great merit.”
“This is the last Monster of our time, personally captured by Her Majesty and offered as a sacrifice to Heaven. Her Majesty, for all the people, eradicates the Monster Clan to end future calamities and open the path to eternal peace!”
The Grand Preceptor’s voice trembled with excitement.
He even abandoned his dignity as Grand Preceptor, personally lifting the gilded Demon Slayer Long Blade to the temple.
The blade’s surface reflected Lin Nan’s pale face.
The runes flowing along the blade were the “Demon Slayer Technique” that Lin Nan had personally taught Shu Ying.
A wave of despair gradually rose in Shu Ying’s heart.
As the host of the Dawn-Sky Grand Rite, she had never reported such a sacrificial offering to the Immortal!
So why had the Immortal already issued the Heavenly Decree?
If any explanation was possible, it could only be that… Chang Yunshu had told the Immortal in advance!
Shu Ying’s eyes widened.
She bit her lip hard.
Lin Nan looked up at the vague outline of the Immortal in the clouds, smiling gently.
Though the girl was clearly at the execution ground, about to die beneath the executioner’s blade, her smile was gentler than moonlight.
Shu Ying wanted to shout “No!” and question why the Immortal had chosen them as pawns in this drama.
But the golden talisman in her throat burned fiercely, even her tears evaporating into golden mist.
“Execution!”
At the instant the blade fell, Lin Nan’s calm green eyes reflected Shu Ying’s horrified face.
The Subjugation Vajra Pestle at her neck suddenly heated up, then shattered into powder without warning.
The moment blood splattered, Shu Ying heard the sound of her heart breaking.
Something surged up her throat, carrying a scent both sweet and familiar — sandalwood.
“Eradicate monsters and uphold the Dao; peace under heaven!”
“Congratulations to Her Majesty! Congratulations to the Grand Preceptor!”
“Eradicate monsters and uphold the Dao; peace under heaven!”
“Congratulations to Her Majesty! Congratulations to the Grand Preceptor!”
“……”
“……”
The roaring cheers drowned out the Temple of Heaven.
The Grand Preceptor held up Lin Nan’s severed head for the people to see.
The Demon Slayer Long Blade stained with “Demon Blood” radiated sacred majesty in the sunlight.
Shu Ying saw the newly added Qi Yun Golden Light on the Grand Preceptor’s forehead.
A sudden overwhelming murderous intent surged in her heart.
This couldn’t be real.
Deep in her heart, Shu Ying howled in unwillingness.
The Immortal’s shadow slowly faded away.
As the last trace of Tian Dao Fortune flowed into Shu Ying’s dantian, she finally moved her eyes.
She saw Lin Nan’s corpse dragged toward the edge of the temple.
The jade bracelet on her wrist cracked, and the moment it fell to the ground, a golden light shot out from the fissure like a swimming fish and penetrated Shu Ying’s heart.
Accompanying it was a faint sigh:
“Xiaoying, with the Immortal’s blessing, bind fate and receive Long Life.”
Shu Ying lowered her eyelids and bit her lip tightly.
“You died. What meaning does Long Life hold for me now?”
If it weren’t for Lin Nan’s Long Life, how could she have prayed for such a fate?
As the bells signaling the end of the Grand Rite tolled, Shu Ying was surrounded by ministers as she stepped down from the Temple of Heaven.
She touched the burning spot on her chest and suddenly smiled.
That smile was like the Demon Queen recorded in the annals of the former dynasty — naturally alluring yet bearing a biting edge.
The Grand Preceptor, flattering, stepped forward to speak, but was stopped cold by her scarlet eyes.