For a country, the title of emperor was just like one’s name. It was not necessarily good, but it must be there. Therefore, all countries in the world had their own title of emperor, but the ones that could truly be remembered by the people and effectively used in daily life were rare. In a thousand years, there were only two such titles ever existing.
As time passed by, now it was the 16th year of Tianqi era of Tang Empire, which was also the 3,447th year of West-Hill’s reign. In the spring of this year, many stories happened.
The Tao Addict, Ye Hongye, finally came back after leaving the West-Hill Divine Palace for a year. She killed Chen Bachi, then walked into the black Divine Hall, under the frightened scrutiny of many.
At the moment she stepped into the Divine Hall, an extremely majestic voice rang from the depths of the hall. The huge sound waves hit the black boulder walls and scattered into several piercing sounds that were as harsh as steel needles. The sound came to her front in a second, and covered her body.
“You are the first traitor to the Divine Hall who dares to come back. Have you come back to receive punishment?”
As the needle-like majestic sound pierced her eardrum, Ye Hongyu frowned slightly, but she had no response. She just looked indifferently toward the depths of the Divine Hall.
There was a dazzling bead curtain at the end of the Divine Hall. Behind the bead curtain, she could see the huge blood-colored black jade throne, and she could see the majestic figure on the throne.
As in the past years, the voice that came from the black jade throne stirred up the cold divinity, showing contempt while overseeing the whole world, and even some mockery today.
Ye Hongyu’s faith was very sincere, truly sincere, so she did not think that leaving the West-Hill Divine Palace meant treason. However, she did not want to give any explanation to the voice behind the curtain at this time. She just wanted to go to the front of the bead curtain and finish what she was prepared to do.
She thought so, and she did so.
She walked silently toward the verdict of the Divine Hall, and the blue-colored Taoist suit fluttered slowly on the smooth black ground, which was just like a green leaf in the dark night, unattractive but very eye-catching.
A priest of the Judicial Department stood beside the stone pillar and looked at her. He shouted and said, “How dare you!”
Another priest of the Judicial Department said furiously, “How dare you!”
More priests came. The red Taoist robes swelled on the vast black ground like blood. They gathered together and became a blood lake. The fury and cold reproach sounded without stop, “How dare you!”
The thunderous sound of reproach did not cause the slightest change on Ye Hongyu’s face. She was still so calm and apathetic. The distance of her steps was even exactly the same.
Ye Hongyu’s belief in Haotian was impeccable, but she was not a stupid follower who saw the Divine Hall then cried. Except for Haotian, nothing else could gain her respect. Therefore, facing the pressure from the Hierarch and the Divine Priest of Judgment, she did not choose to give in, but left the West-Hill Divine Palace, and did not hesitate to bear the name of traitor of Haotian Taoism, so she returned to the West-Hill Divine Palace today and walked toward the curtain.
She was originally an extremely impudent person. What she did was also extremely impudent. The red-robed priests in the black Divine Hall denounced her for her impudent actions. Why would she even care?
She walked towards the depths of the Divine Hall.
The priests of the Judicial Department in blood red robes were so angry that they trembled and flushed. However, strangely enough, no one dared to stop her or fight with her.
Ye Hongyu entered the crowd. The priests looked panicked and stepped back to leave a way for her. As if a green leaf fell into the bloody chilling lake, the water separated to the shore and did not dare to touch the green leaf.
Finally, she walked from the outside of the Divine Hall to the front of the bead curtain.
She stopped and looked calmly at the throne. Behind the bead curtain, the Great Divine Priest of Judgment on the black jade throne held his head in his hand. It seemed that he was thinking about something complicated.
Ye Hongyu lowered her head in salute. She looked calm. It was like the time when she came to the Divine Hall and met the Divine Priest of Judgment behind the curtain, before she went to the Wilderness.
Her salutation represented respect, and lowering her head represented obedience.
The Great Divine Priest of Judgment looked up slightly. Cool and powerful gaze passed through the bead curtain and fell on her body. He said plainly but unquestionably, “Kneel.”
His voice was not loud, but made the red-robed priests who were caught in the bleak mood come to their senses and understand a lot of things. The anger and dissatisfaction that were provoked by being despised suddenly overwhelmed the majesty of the name of Tao Addict in previous years.
Even if she had the opportunity to regain her strength, even if she were still that horrifying Tao Addict, here was the verdict of the Divine Hall, and behind the bead curtain was the unassailable Divine Priest of Judgment, so what could she do except for kneeling?
They raised their arms and pointed at the Ye Hongyu in front of the bead curtain who lowered her head. They said loudly in unison, “Kneel!”
“Kneel!”
“Kneel!”
These voices were either angry or exciting, or cold or cruel, and gradually converged and became extremely neat, resonating like thunder in the secluded black Divine Hall.
When Ye Hongyu was still the Tao Addict, she never kneeled before the bead curtain, even if the Divine Priest of Judgment was behind the curtain. Later, when she was no longer the Tao Addict, she had once kneeled in front of the bead curtain. The Divine Priest of Judgment had pressured and shamed her then. From that day, she swore that unless she could once more gain the power to not kneel, she would never step into the Divine Hall.
Today she walked into the temple of the Divine Hall. Of course, she wouldn’t kneel again.
“I only kneel to the ones who deserve it.” Ye Hongyu said.
Behind the curtain, the Great Divine Priest of Judgment slowly sat straight, and said indifferently, “For example?”
Ye Hongyu said, “Such as Haotian, the abbey dean, the Hierarch, the Great Divine Priest of Revelation, the Divine Lord Lotus. But your name wasn’t mentioned, Great Divine Priest.”
The Great Divine Priest of Judgment said coldly, “How dare you to compare me with that devil, Lotus!”
Ye Hongyu said, “It is not right to compare you with Divine Lord Lotus when you are inferior to a dead lotus petal of his.”
The Great Divine Priest of Judgment suddenly burst into laughter. The laughter was full of violence and coldness. “Don’t think that because the Divine Priest of Revelation is guarding you, or you have an elder brother to protect you, I really dare not to kill you! Don’t forget that here is the temple of the Divine Hall. We have special rules that were given to us by Haotian!”
Ye Hongyu raised her head and looked cold, saying indifferently, “The anger of judgment should be turned into the holy fire of Haotian. Now the anger of the Great Divine Priest can only be turned into laughter. It is really ridiculous.”
There was a soft sigh behind the curtain as the Great Divine Priest of Judgment discovered something unexpected and interesting when Ye Hongyu raised her head. He decided to let her live.
“I didn’t expect that you have not only regained your original cultivation state, but have even succeeded in breaking through to the next realm. It really exceeded my expectations. You know the rules of the Divine Hall’s temple clearly. Then, come back to be a Priest again.”
The temple of the Divine Hall judged the whole world on behalf of Haotian. They followed unusually realistic and ruthless rules. Power meant everything, and the weak should be bullied. The power and rank were only related to strength. If you were no longer powerful, then you were no longer qualified to have any position, and you should not even live. If you become powerful again, then you could regain your place.
When Ye Hongyu forcibly lowered her state to save herself in the Wilderness. Her power was severely damaged. She no longer had the hope of recovery. So she was met with contemptuous treatment and suffered a lot of humiliation. Now she recovered, and was even more powerful; she couldn’t be humiliated again. However, could the past be erased so easily by the Great Divine Priest of Judgment, as if it had never happened?
For people outside the temple of the Divine Hall, this was an unimaginable thing, but for those who belonged to the temple, this was a matter of course. The priests in red robes listened to the orders of the Divine Priest of Judgment and quickly stopped their reproach to Ye Hongyu, calmly stepping back to the side.
In the view of the Divine Hall’s priests, what Ye Hongyu requested was just this word from the Great Divine Priest and nothing more.
The Great Divine Priest of the West-Hill Divine Palace claimed to be the one who was under Haotian, above the other Great Divine Priests. His status was extremely high. Even if the Hierarch Lord could not arbitrarily question him, how could he apologize to mortals? The Great Divine Priest of Judgment had agreed that Ye Hongyu should return to the Divine Hall and allowed her to continue to serve as the Grand Master of the Judicial Department, which was already merciful enough.
The temple of the Divine Hall had never been a place of tolerance.
Ye Hongyu was not a tolerant person either.
Hearing the words of the Great Divine Priest of Judgment, she slightly smiled.
At the moment when she smiled beautifully, many pictures appeared before Ye Hongyu’s eyes.
On the windy and snowy Yanming Lake, Ning Que strangely drew out the podao, under the powerful iron spear. He used the knife as a sword. Naturally, it couldn’t be stopped, stabbing into Xia Hou’s stomach.
In the stone house of the West-Hill Divine Palace, under the dim light, she tore the envelope apart, and took out the paper. The poor sword on the paper became a river which was full of turbid waves.
In the bone hill, the Divine Lord Lotus who was skinny like a ghost, clutched her shoulders and lowered his head calmly and mercifully, tearing a piece of flesh from her shoulder.
At the bottom of Daming Lake, countless angular stone blocked the journey. She lowered her body to erase the green marks on a stone and saw two sword marks left by Mr. Ke of the Academy.
Countless pictures quickly flashed in front of Ye Hongyu’s eyes.
The two sword marks eventually converged into one mark on the yellow paper and fell on the snow lake, falling in her eyes, falling in her heart, and entered her sheath at her waist.
Ye Hongyu drew the sword out of the sheath.
This was the sword.
Then she stabbed towards the bead curtain.
And stabbed towards the Great Divine Priest of Judgment.
The black temple of the Divine Hall was surrounded by the clear light of the deep spring. It seemed particularly solemn. At this time, countless dust particles rushed out of the Divine Hall and ran toward the cliff platform along the stone steps.
At the top of the white Divine Hall, a thunder resounded, as if God was also shocked and confused.
In another Divine Hall, the Great Divine Priest of Revelation sighed.
In the temple of the Divine Hall, the red-robed priests all fell to the ground.
The bead curtain was already broken.
Ye Hongyu stood in front of the bead curtain and Great Divine Priest.
Her right hand, which was holding the sword, trembled slightly, and her pale face was extremely indifferent.
She pulled the sword out of the Great Divine Priest of Judgment’s chest.
Blood splashed from the horrible wounds on the chest of the Great Divine Priest of Judgment, and instantly drenched his blood-red robe, dyeing the green robe of Ye Hongyu red.
The Great Divine Priest of Judgment furrowed his eyebrows and looked at his chest. He said, “It doesn’t make sense.”
Ye Hongyu looked at him and said, “You said that this is a rule that was given to us from Haotian. If I can kill you, then I will dare to kill you.”
The Great Divine Priest of Judgment raised his hand painfully and furiously and then he died.
Ye Hongyu dragged him off the throne and then she sat on it.
Before sitting on the throne, she needed to step on the body of the Great Divine Priest of Judgment.
From now on, she was the Great Divine Priest of Judgment.
The black jade throne was large, like a sea of blood.
Her green Taoist robe was dyed red. She sat on the throne. She was like a drop of blood in this bloody sea, but she was the most intense and coldest drop.