The Word of Heaven

Chapter 360 Sending Off the Deceased, Returning the Bell

The sound drifted through the pattering spring rain and reached the Empress's ears, leaving her expressionless.

She stared at her daughter like a stone statue for a long time, then suddenly laughed.

The smile wasn't mocking; it was pale and blood-red, with a strong, pungent smell.

Lin Wanyi wondered what that tasted like.

"reason?"

The Queen spoke softly, standing up: "Is it to avenge your father, or is this the only meaningful choice you can find for yourself?"

Lin Wanyi said calmly, "This is what I want to do."

The Empress asked, "Even if it's foolish?"

Lin Wanyi shook her head and said, "That's not how stupidity is defined."

The queen said mockingly, "How should it be defined?"

Lin Wanyi said to herself, "Besides, what's so foolish about it?"

The Empress said, "Is killing your mother something that makes you happy?"

Lin Wanyi was silent for a moment, looked into her eyes, and said seriously, "This has nothing to do with stupidity, intelligence, happiness, frustration, or any other emotions or interests. I just think this is what I should do, and it is the most important thing for me to do."

The Queen wanted to say something.

Lin Wanyi didn't give her a chance, stating indifferently, "Because this is a family matter."

The Queen laughed, a very loud laugh.

The rain seemed to suddenly startle and fall, striking the old tiles with a sound like a thousand needles falling to the ground, extremely piercing.

Lin Wanyi ignored her completely.

Wait a minute, it will appear in her hands.

The rust on the sword's edge has been completely removed.

The sword's edge, clear as water, perfectly reflects the dim sky, and the spring rain has not disturbed it.

"Is this funny?" she asked, with deep doubt and confusion. "What could possibly stop you from laughing?"

The empress's smile gradually faded.

Lin Wanyi looked at her and asked, word by word, "Is that so?"

The Empress remained silent.

Lin Wanyi said, "You really deserve to die."

When she said those words, she could no longer hide her sadness, the sorrow she had thought didn't exist.

The sound and the wind faded away, and suddenly the sword light rose.

Even without that word of 'wait a minute,' time in the Cold Palace continued to pass, only at an extremely slow pace.

Therefore, the empress took action.

Before the sword light painted her world pale and splashed blood, her entire realm was revealed, and her true essence moved accordingly.

The Realm of Attaining the Dao is the final threshold before ascension, and in the secular world it is almost a sacred existence.

The Empress had already reached this level many years ago.

However, confined by the layers of palace walls, no one knew her true strength. During the Weiyang Palace incident on the winter solstice that year, although she was not uninvolved, she did not display her strength in much detail.

Later, during the previous summer festival, she was defeated by the Dao Lord, who traveled thousands of miles with his divine soul... No one would blame her for this.

The mystery has finally been solved today.

The empress's long dress fluttered in the breeze.

She was thrown into the air.

Countless raindrops, carried by the chilly early spring wind, surged toward that white dress.

In an instant, countless clear marks appeared on the entire imperial city.

All that remains is left by the passing wind.

With the Empress at the absolute center, a whirlpool of wind and rain, about ten miles long, appeared.

This is not a temple.

This power is indistinguishable from that of a Taoist temple, enough to shake heaven and earth.

The Empress may only be one step away from breaking through that insurmountable threshold.

Lin Wanyi is undoubtedly a prodigy.

However, she was too young, and cultivation was directly related to the word "time." After decades of accumulation, there was no doubt that her cultivation level was worlds apart from her mother's.

In fact, she has not yet broken through to the Unity Realm and is still the one she desires.

To make such a decision with such limited understanding is extremely unwise.

The moment the girl pushed open the palace gates, the empress saw through this fact, which is why she used the word "foolish."

Lin Wanyi stood alone amidst the raging wind and rain.

The empress remained silent.

She didn't look at her mother; instead, she lowered her gaze and looked at the sword.

Faced with this power that seemed capable of devouring her at any moment, her response was quite simple.

That is, not making any changes.

The sword light continued forward, reaching within three zhang of the Empress, piercing into the torrent of wind and rain that swirled around her white dress like a moat.

In just a moment, the decline had already begun.

This is reflected in the constantly fading sword light.

It was as if the truth had come to light.

The Queen gazed silently at her only bloodline.

The torrent continues unabated.

She displayed her power without reservation in this battle, about to kill her own daughter with her own hands.

"Why did I give birth to such an idiot daughter like you?"

The Queen’s voice was tinged with regret: “The moment you start to rely on others, you begin to lie to yourself, a foolish lie that will eventually be exposed.”

As they spoke, the storm intensified.

In a few breaths, Lin Wanyi will be reduced to dust.

……

……

In Weiyang Palace.

"what are you thinking?"

Gu Zhuo's voice made the White Emperor open his eyes.

He asked, "Is this something I need to care about?"

…… ……

"Mother, you are wrong."

Lin Wanyi said, "I never had any expectations of Gu Zhuo."

The Empress looked at her daughter and sighed, "If you can't even rely on him, what other methods do you have?"

Lin Wanyi calmly said, "Sword."

As she spoke, a small cut appeared on her cheek from the sharp spring wind, and blood seeped out.

"Just this sword?"

The Queen's eyes turned extremely pitying: "The reason why Qieman is so remarkable is because it is in the hands of the King, what does it have to do with you?"

"You're wrong again."

Lin Wanyi said, "I never said I only have one sword."

As the sound faded, countless shooting stars appeared in the sky behind them.

No, those are not stars.

It's a sword!
Countless flying swords traveled thousands of miles to arrive, their cries echoing throughout the heavens and earth.

Suddenly, countless wisps of leaden clouds appeared, and sunlight fell from within them, scattering in fragments across the earth.

Some people subconsciously looked up at Qiong Jian, their eyes instantly welling up with tears, only then realizing that there were also swordsmen in the clouds.

All the flying swords in the world have answered the call today.

Before the imperial city, officials were filled with shock and astonishment, their exclamations rising and falling.

"Why is that rain coming again?"

For some reason, the prime minister remained silent, showing no sign of surprise in his eyes.

A few days ago, Lin Wanyi had visited him at his home.

……

……

"Why……"

The Empress frowned.

Her eyes were full of confusion as she gazed at the storm raging torrent that had been cleaved apart by countless sword lights, and said in a slightly hoarse voice, "Why do you know about this sword formation? Why can you use this sword formation? Why did the swords come like this?"

She was very confused because this was a scene she had never imagined; it was something that made no sense.

Lin Wanyi was very tired.

Exhaustion overwhelmed the girl like a tidal wave.

"Mother, don't you understand yet?"

After a moment of silence, the Empress angrily flung her sleeve and snapped, "What am I supposed to understand?!"

Lin Wanyi, relying on her sword to keep herself from falling, said, "There are really many people in this world who would like to see you die."

The empress said expressionlessly, "As long as you stand high enough, there will always be people who want you dead."

She remained calm for only a moment before her features contorted in intense rage.

"Do you know what you're doing?"

She shouted angrily, "You are killing the last of your family members in this world!"

A moment of silence.

Lin Wanyi struggled to raise her head, looked into the Empress's eyes, and said, word by word, "But, didn't all my loved ones die because of you?"

The empress was stunned.

That winter, she schemed and plotted to force the Lin family to take sides, ultimately leading to the massacre of the entire family.

She never felt she had done anything wrong; revenge was, by all accounts, sacred and right.

"I don't want to die."

The queen hissed in a low voice, as if from the abyss, filled with pain and rage: "Just one step away, just one step away, and I can ascend to immortality!"

Lin Wanyi looked at her mother and said earnestly, "But I want you to die, otherwise why would I have come here today?"

“I don’t want you to achieve immortality, I don’t want to suffer for decades before the dawn comes to kill you, the thought of you living in this world causes me great pain, and I can’t think of any reason to forgive you.”

She said to the Queen, "Mother, you should die."

As the last word "了" fell, countless sword lights burst forth from the Empress's body.

Long before the world witnessed the sword light, this sword formation had already completed its final strike.

This sword strike completely shattered the Empress's realm and vitality.

Once the immortals ascend to heaven, none can survive.

The empress and the sword light vanished together.

Lin Wanyi remained silent.

After a while, she lost all her strength and collapsed in the rain.

The spring rain, which had returned to the world, mixed with her tears, washed over her face. She mustered all her strength to open her eyes and thought that this was good.

Your father has been waiting for you for a long time.

In the underworld.

And I arrived very soon.

Thinking about these things, Lin Wanyi tried to hold on and let the sword go to that person's hand.

Just then, a figure appeared beside her.

"This time it's my turn to save you."

"You...why are you here?"

Chu Jun opened her oil-paper umbrella, knelt down beside Lin Wanyi, and used the Three Lives Pagoda to suppress the heavy injuries caused by the sword formation. Without thinking, she asked, "Why were you standing with me during the Weiyang Palace incident last time?"

Lin Wanyi was speechless.

Yes.

This is a question that doesn't require thinking.

Chu Jun lowered her head and used her Taoist magic to heal her wounds, silently thinking that if she were to die like this... her master would be very sad.

……

……

Weiyang Palace.

The White Emperor stopped looking at the Cold Palace and instead gazed at Gu Zhuo.

Gu Zhuo put down his teacup, but his gaze fell on the fragments of the morning and evening bell.

He thought for a moment, then asked sincerely, "Would it be convenient for you to return the clock to me?"

(End of this chapter)