The night was pitch-black.
Inside the imperial city, Aunt Qin was drenched in blood.
The terror in her eyes had yet to fade, yet she sprinted frantically deeper into the city.
The two auras behind her did not pursue, choosing instead to lie dormant where they were.
Even so, the lingering shock within Aunt Qin did not dissipate.
She rushed into the palace.
"Aunt Qin, what happened to you?" Seeing Aunt Qin covered in blood, Jin Li turned pale with horror.
Nearby, the Duke of Yu and the Great Worthy Kong Qi, who were supervising the construction progress of the God-Worshiping Platform, also hurried over, clearly noticing Aunt Qin's gruesome state.
Upon seeing how severely injured she was, expressions of worry and despair surfaced in both their eyes.
Over the past several days, aside from building the God-Worshiping Platform, they had secretly conspired with Aunt Qin to see if they could smuggle Empress Jin Li out of the imperial city.
Tonight, Aunt Qin had slipped out of the city in secret precisely to test the waters.
Yet none of them expected her to return so grievously wounded.
"Cough, cough..." Aunt Qin hacked violently, spitting up a mouthful of bloody froth that seemed mixed with fragments of shattered organs.
Seeing this, Jin Li hastily fed Aunt Qin the healing medicine Hua Xian brought over.
After swallowing the medicine, Aunt Qin's complexion improved slightly.
"Aunt Qin, are you feeling better?" Jin Li asked, fraught with worry.
"Better now. Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty." Aunt Qin looked at everyone and said heavily, "Just now, as I attempted to leave the city, I was ambushed by two sovereigns!"
"What? Two?"
"If it were merely two, they wouldn't have wounded me so severely. Several more were lying in wait in the shadows. Most importantly, they aren't human—they are demons! A grand array has already been laid outside the imperial city!" Aunt Qin spoke in rapid bursts.
Hearing this, everyone present blanched.
The Great Worthy Kong Qi's beard trembled. "Demons? A grand array?"
"Beyond this array, blood-red light blankets the sky, and inside stand three thousand white banners—it appears to be the Soul-Burying Banner Array!"
As Aunt Qin said this, everyone present nearly lost their footing!
The Soul-Burying Banner Array was infamous far and wide.
Fifty years ago, a small nation bordering the demon territory was invaded by the demon race. They laid down the Soul-Burying Banner Array, refining hundreds of thousands of people in that small country to death alive.
Because of that atrocity, the human nations across the Wangyue Continent were enraged and formed an alliance to wage a great war against the demon race.
In the end, their vitality was severely depleted.
It was also from that conflict onward that Southern Qian's imperial power began its gradual decline.
Massive upheavals swept through several mortal kingdoms.
Now, hearing Aunt Qin say that the Soul-Burying Banner Array lay outside the imperial city, how could their courage not shatter?
"Are you certain you weren't mistaken?" The Duke of Yu looked at Aunt Qin, his voice low.
The others looked at Aunt Qin as well, their faces etched with anxiety.
Aunt Qin said, "I made no mistake. That is undeniably the Soul-Burying Banner Array!"
Upon hearing this, Kong Qi slumped to the ground, utterly dejected. Then he abruptly pushed himself up. "I'm going to ask him—just what does Sima Ting think he is doing?!"
Hearing this news, Jin Li felt a creeping dread as well.
She had originally thought Sima Ting merely sought usurpation, wanting only her life and the lives of those supporting her.
Now it seemed Sima Ting harbored truly sinister intentions—he wanted Southern Qian entirely doomed!
Yet with so many demon race experts—and sovereigns at that—entering Southern Qian, could the Heavenly Fortune Sacred Sect truly be unaware?
Jin Li felt an inexplicable chill. She knew the waters here ran far deeper than she had imagined.
However, looking at the nearly completed God-Worshiping Platform, a sharp, icy glint surfaced in her eyes. "Set this matter aside for now. We finish building the God-Worshiping Platform first!"
Her voice was resolute, brooking no doubt.
Kong Qi, whose spirits had been utterly crushed, also stood up. "By your decree."
Yet his vitality and drive were entirely gone.
Returning to her bedchamber, Jin Li stood alone in the room. Gazing through the window at the Ancient Qi Toon Tree in the sky, she tightly clasped the Exquisite Jade Tide.
"Qi Yuan, if it were you, what would you do?"
...
Inside the Prime Minister's residence.
Sima Ting kept his head lowered, appearing exceedingly fawning.
"My lords, if that person isn't eliminated, she might expose the matter of the grand array and interfere with your grand designs."
The lean sovereign from the Heavenly Fortune Sacred Sect merely smiled without a word.
The demon sovereign, however, couldn't care less. "The array is already complete; let it be exposed if she wishes. Turmoil in the city will only benefit the process of forging the Bloodless Sovereign Staff!"
"However... if they spread the word, unexpected troubles might arise and incite mutiny among the garrison!" Sima Ting was still somewhat anxious.
"Can you, Sima Ting, not even keep your own soldiers in line?" the demon sovereign mocked.
Cold sweat broke out across Sima Ting's back. "If word gets out, I will certainly find an excuse to steady the army's morale."
Now that the entire imperial city was under his control, pacifying the troops would not be difficult.
"I heard that at noon the day after tomorrow, your empress will ascend the God-Worshiping Platform to offer sacrifices to Heaven?" The demon sovereign shifted the topic.
"Indeed," Sima Ting answered.
"Very well. Having nothing better to do, I'll go have a look—and see if my future wine vessel is as peerlessly stunning as they say." The demon sovereign laughed heartily.
"I shall make arrangements at once." Sima Ting had not originally intended to go, but since the demon sovereign wished to attend, he would have to bring along the civil and military officials as well.
"Mm." The demon sovereign nodded in satisfaction, a profound gleam passing through his eyes.
His attendance at the God-Worshiping Platform was naturally not as simple as merely eyeing his future wine vessel.
On that day, with all civil and military officials gathered, he would unleash a slaughter.
With vitality in turmoil and widespread panic, the entire imperial city would plunge into chaos.
Blood, slaughter, terror, and desire would converge, making the Bloodless Sovereign Staff all the more terrifying upon completion.
Naturally, he would not utter a single word of this to Sima Ting.
...
The God-Worshiping Platform stood over two zhang high, crowned by a pavilion whose four corners each bore a small beast sculpture.
The entire platform gave an impression of antiquity and simplicity, steeped in a primal, rugged air.
Viewed from afar, it appeared desolate yet imposing.
Precisely because of its simplicity, constructing the God-Worshiping Platform had taken very little time.
Sima Ting sat upright in his seat, while the demon sovereign sat beside him, completely slouched with no regard for posture.
Sima Riyue had not even bound his hair, appearing all the more arrogant.
Beside them, clusters of civil and military officials whispered in low voices.
Some looked toward Sima Ting with suspicion in their eyes, while others looked toward the demon sovereign with pensive expressions.
Evidently, Aunt Qin had already leaked word of the grand array.
However, most believed it was merely Empress Jin Li's scheme to sow discord.
Of course, lacking the power of Sovereign-rank experts, none of them could detect the Soul-Burying Banner Array in the first place.
"Her Majesty has arrived!"
Following the herald's call, Empress Jin Li entered everyone's view.
She wore a golden cross-collared robe with wide sleeves, embroidered with gold-thread phoenixes along the fabric. A white jade necklace adorned with golden florets graced her neck, the Exquisite Jade Tide hung at her waist, and atop her head rested a pearl phoenix coronet.
Only at this moment did she truly embody the graceful poise, splendor, and stately majesty of an empress.
Regrettably, upon Empress Jin Li's arrival, virtually no one bowed in greeting except for the Minister of Rites and a mere handful of others.
With the army now stationed inside the imperial city, Sima Ting's faction no longer bothered to keep up appearances.
Seeing this, Sima Riyue was especially smug. Leaning close to Sima Ting's ear, he said in a voice that was hardly quiet, "Father, if you had done this sooner, your son would already be the crown prince!"
Many officials throughout the court heard him and broke into smiles.
Jin Li heard it, but said nothing.
"The auspicious hour has arrived! Commencing the sacrifice to Heaven!" Kong Qi straightened his spine, his voice resonant and solemn, as though this sacrificial ceremony were destined to witness the curtain falling upon a dynasty.
Chapter 52