Chapter 23 Chapter 23 "Zhao Zhao, I want you to go down and wait for me first. ...
Changshengtai, the place where people watch executions among the clouds.
After successfully graduating from Changye Academy, Jiuzhao completely lay down and became a lazy guy in Changxi Palace.
Lan Qi is the opposite of her.
Due to his age and experience, he hadn't yet been officially assigned a position by the Divine Emperor. However, he was restless, so he followed the various Supreme Gods and Celestial Immortals as a trainee immortal official. After hundreds or even thousands of years of study at each place, he would change his duties. Currently, he happened to be serving under the Supreme God of Punishment.
Today, Sanqingtian is different from the previous peacefulness.
The judiciary came by order and will punish a pair of golden immortal lovers at Changshengtai for secretly possessing a forbidden book written by the evil god Wu Shao.
The God Emperor has been in charge of the affairs of heaven for ten thousand years, and he rarely issues a decree for a severe punishment like sending someone off the platform of immortality. Therefore, this time, all the gods and immortals above the rank of Three Pure Ones are present. Only by witnessing the shocking punishment with their own eyes can they serve as a warning and obey the order.
Before the execution time came, Jiu Zhao sat in the misty clouds and yawned impatiently.
She didn't have to come.
The heavenly order to punish and watch executions did not bind the gods and god kings who were busy all year round, so naturally it did not work for her, the crown prince.
Ke Lanqi left her a note before going to work in the morning, saying that he would assist the God of Punishment in carrying out the execution today.
She came anyway.
Since Lan Qi specifically brought up this matter in such "earnest words", she should at least give him some face, right?
Jiu Zhao propped his chin on his hand and, rather proudly, gave the reason that he had "no choice" to attend the execution, then turned and gestured to the maidservant beside him to feed him a grape. Before he could chew it twice, he noticed the other gods all casting subtle glances at him.
Jiu Zhao was used to being the center of attention wherever he went, so he didn't mind.
She ate a few of them carelessly, spitting the peels and cores into another empty plate. When she was about to be fed again, Jiangyu suddenly put away the two things and pointed a finger at the distant sky. "Your Highness, the punishment is about to begin."
The sunlight disappeared, and dark clouds quickly gathered in the sky opposite the Changsheng Terrace.
Crackling lightning flashed through the clouds, and from time to time there was a rumbling sound of thunder.
The reason why the punishment of being knocked down from the Changshengtai is so terrible is not only that during the falling process, the sinful immortal's spirit bones will be blown into pieces and removed by the extremely fierce and violent gale, but also that before the final punishment, the sinful immortal must endure a certain number of nine-day thunder punishments.
Sinful immortals who lack power will often be reduced to ashes in a flash of lightning and thunder.
The two Golden Immortals worked diligently for ten thousand years, and the God Emperor finally spared their lives, but only demoted them to mortals, without having to grind their bones to dust.
Four chains made of fine iron were used to hang up the sinful immortals one by one.
In front of them, the God of Punishment, Mount Yi, was suspended in mid-air, with his long eyebrows deeply pressed down and his eyes solemn.
Time passed and noon arrived.
With a gesture of his hand, Lan Qi, who was standing silently at the back, took the lightning rod from the tray held by the immortal official and placed it next to him.
The dark brown divine light merged into the needle body, driving the power to circulate.
The lightning rod continued to grow longer and thicker until it returned to its original shape, and then, guided by Mount Yi, flew to the top of the execution stand.
Everything was ready, and he shouted the order: "Execute!"
Boom!
The lightning wandering in the clouds finally found its target, transformed into a giant blade that could split the sky and earth, and chopped down with a roar.
The first one.
The second one.
The tenth one.
Question 20.
A total of thirty-three heavenly thunders split the Golden Immortal's skin barrier that was invulnerable to swords and spears, burning his flesh and blood, revealing his glowing white bones.
At first they were still able to bear it, but later as the female fairy cried out in pain, the male fairy's bloody face began to shed tears.
He raised his head and faced the thunder, shouting that if it was going to strike, it should strike him alone and spare his wife.
Unfortunately, the way of heaven is cruel, and no matter how the male immortal begged and scolded, it was of no avail.
The execution is completed, under the fine iron chains.
Two dying bodies slid down and crawled on the ground.
Before kicking them off the Changsheng Platform, Yishan questioned them on behalf of the God Emperor: "You secretly possessed the forbidden book and sympathized with the rebellious gods. Do you know your crimes?"
"If the Queen of Gods hadn't disobeyed the Phoenix Clan's order and married the Emperor, how could the War God Wu Shao have been so humiliated and indignant as to openly rebel against the Heavens?"
"We have no guilt to know, no fault to commit—and nothing to regret!!"
As the last four words came out, the little remaining vitality seemed to return to the two sinful immortals.
They didn't know where they got the strength from, but while laughing miserably, they held hands and crawled to the edge of the Changsheng Terrace, and then fell down.
The fierce gust of wind instantly engulfed the two figures.
Seeing this, Yishan shook his head coldly: "Stubborn and unyielding."
…
After the execution, the gods who watched the execution left one after another, except Yu Lanqi who asked to stay and do some finishing work.
He insisted on staying until the end, and Jiu Zhao, who came because of him, naturally couldn't leave early.
She waved away the maid, jumped down from the clouds, and came to the Changshengtai.
The gale continued to gust, and the shattered golden immortal bones turned into dust-like particles, mixed in the vast swirling airflow.
Their spirits still linger, still carrying a little sparkle, surging up and creating a magnificent scene between heaven and earth like stars flowing backwards.
There are generally two options for dealing with spirit bones.
If it is an ordinary experience on earth, someone will specially collect the broken bones and restore them, and then inject them into the body again when the immortal returns.
If it is a punishment, then the broken bones will turn into spiritual energy and dissipate between heaven and earth.
Lan Qi had to wait until the spirit bones were completely shattered and the strong wind flowed down, and then he could use a spell to clean up the Changsheng Platform before he could leave.
There was nothing to do for the time being. He saw Jiu Zhao with his hands behind his back and his head raised, staring intently at something, so he asked, "What are you looking at?"
"Look at the broken bones in the strong wind."
Jiu Zhao shared his observations and feelings without reservation, "Look, they are shining like stars, thousands and thousands of them, so beautiful."
Lan Qi didn't expect Jiu Zhao's answer to be so good.
The thunder punishment is merciless and the gale is bloody. Whenever the gods witness the execution process, they will always remain silent for a long time.
Pian Jiuzhao just regarded it as a scenery to appreciate.
Lan Qi's tone was as gentle as ever: "Isn't Zhao Zhao afraid of the cruelty of the punishment?"
Since the other party asked this, Jiu Zhao pretended to think about it for a moment, then shook his head decisively: "When a rabbit dies, the fox mourns; when animals mourn their own kind—I have never associated with them, and I will never make the same mistakes. Why should I be disturbed by their experience?"
By the end of her words, the disdain in her tone was obvious.
In the past, Wu Shao was the god of war of the Three Pure Ones, and the two sinful immortals who were punished today were both generals in his army.
Later, Wu Shao rebelled against the Heaven, but out of loyalty or family ties, they chose not to follow him.
"Either rise up in rebellion and die a glorious death, or let go of all thoughts and live an honest life. They decided to pledge allegiance to the Three Pure Ones, yet they couldn't forget Wu Shao. This wavering, unable to distinguish between their responsibilities and positions, led to their tragic end today."
Since completing his studies at Changye Academy, Jiuzhao has continued to follow his own will.
Many times, watching her eccentric behavior, Lan Qi always felt that she was no different from when she was a child.
But at this moment, the cold words that came out of her mouth made him vaguely realize the king's ruthlessness.
Restraining the emotions surging in his chest, Lan Qi gently stroked his sleeves: "Even if you can't let go of Wu Shao, apart from secretly storing the forbidden book, they haven't done anything substantive to rebel against the Heaven... Don't you think that the Emperor's harsh punishment for the matter involving Wu Shao is a bit excessive?"
Jiu Zhao found it hard to believe that such outrageous words would come from the mouth of the God Emperor's adopted son, the God Lord Lan Qi.
She stared at Lan Qi with wide eyes, as if she was looking at a stranger behaving strangely.
After a moment of silence, my heart softened.
She attributed Lan Qi's unusual behavior to the shock he received from assisting in an execution for the first time, so she softened her tone and tried to reason with him, "Wu Shao's crimes are innumerable. If it weren't for him, the Phoenix lineage, now elevated to the patriarchal lineage, wouldn't have rebelled against the heavens and fallen into evil, and the Mother Goddess wouldn't have suffered all kinds of criticism and restlessness. What good can a book written by such a person bring? These two sinful immortals insisted on breaking the law, and they deserved to be cast off the Changsheng Platform."
"What's more, Father God didn't completely take their lives. He simply stripped away their spirit bones and demoted them to mortals."
"Stripped of the spirit bones, one will never be able to attain immortality... Tens of thousands of years of perseverance are undone in a single day."
Lan Qi muttered to himself.
He reached out his hand toward Gang Feng, and a fragment of spirit bone landed right in his palm. "Heaven has decreed that twins possessing the true blood of the Phoenix must unite to fill the gaps in each other's power. Wu Shao has been in love with the Divine Queen for ten thousand years, and now she's married someone else. How could he possibly feel?"
Seeing that Lan Qi didn't recognize his mistake and instead stubbornly brought up the taboo past, Jiu Zhao frowned, "Do you think this is fair? Why must two people, just because they possess the power of true blood, disregard morality, disregard their true nature, and disregard all will to be bound together? What's wrong with my Mother Goddess falling in love with my Father God? It's just that Wu Shao is too obsessed and doesn't understand the principle that a forced melon won't be sweet."
"Love is important, but...what about responsibility?"
Lan Qi closed his eyes and sighed, "The Queen of Gods has turned her back on Heaven, abandoned the Phoenix Clan, and devoted herself to pursuing love. How will the power of True Blood be passed on?"
"The lifespan of the gods is so long. Is it true that if we just stay true to our duty and search diligently, we will never find a way to inherit the second inheritance?"
Jiu Zhao asked repeatedly.
But she is not the Queen Tai'e, and Lan Qi is not the God of War Wu Shao.
The hypotheses that each party holds can only be hypotheses, which will be lost in the long river of time and will never get an answer.
Finally, Lan Qi took a step back and said, "Yes, maybe your idea is correct."
"On one side is my beloved yet hopeless sister, and on the other is the resentment and confusion of my entire clan. If I stay in Sanqing Heaven, I'll be torn between affection and responsibility... Zhaozhao, have you ever considered that if the God of War Wu Shao leads his clan in rebellion, it would be the best way for the Queen of Gods?"
Holding the broken bones tightly in his palm, Lan Qi turned his head and stared at Jiu Zhao.
Jiu Zhao felt very different about him today. Both his attitude and the emotions in his eyes made Jiu Zhao feel suffocated from the bottom of her heart.
She heard her initially calm voice gradually become piercing: "Lan Qi! Do you know what you are saying? Wu Shao is the God of Sin. How can you whitewash the God of Sin's rebellion against Heaven with baseless speculation? You don't want to die, do you want to be knocked off the Changsheng Platform?!"
Lan Qi smiled and interrupted the topic.
Compared to Jiu Zhao's heavy mood, his face showed a look of relief.
That kind of relief is like a secret that has been hidden for thousands of years, finally being poured out, and no longer having to bear it alone.
"It's my fault. I said too much. I'm sorry, Zhao Zhao."
He stepped closer to the gale and stood just on the edge of being swept into it.
He turned his handsome face to the side and looked at Jiu Zhao again. When Jiu Zhao's eyes were blurry for a moment, he smiled slightly. "Actually, what I want to ask most is, if one day, it was me who stood on the Changsheng Platform, would Zhao Zhao also think that I deserved to die?"
It felt like something was about to be lost.
Jiu Zhao blurted out: "This joke is not funny!"
She quickly approached Lan Qi and cupped his thin knuckles in her hands. She didn't know how to say soft words that would please others, so she instinctively let out a threatening threat: "You are my adopted brother, a member of my family and the Father's—there are only a few people in this world I trust completely. If you betray me, I will make you suffer a consequence ten times more severe than taking down the Changsheng Terrace!"
Lan Qi took over and held her in his arms: "Okay, as long as it's given by Zhao Zhao, I'll be happy to accept anything."
With his chin resting on the girl's fair neck, Lan Qi lowered his eyes and watched as the hems of their clothes were swallowed up bit by bit by the strong wind.
Feeling the beauty of being surrounded by warmth for the last time, he reached back and grabbed Jiu Zhao's shoulders, gently pushing her backward. "Unfortunately, that day will eventually come. I'm narrow-minded and can't imitate Wu Shao in fulfilling his wishes... Zhao Zhao, I need you to go down and wait for me."
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