More than half of the court's officials were criticizing Feng Feiyun.
This was a conflict between factions in the Jin Dynasty. Only by defeating the other side would one be able to enjoy the glory and become the next master of the imperial throne.
On the other hand, Ji Lingxuan was particularly silent. Her skin was pale and colorless, and her hair had turned white in an instant. She looked like a white-haired beauty who had experienced the vicissitudes of life. The clamor in the court seemed to have nothing to do with her. Her eyes were dull, like a wilting rose.
Luofu said: "Princess Yue is no longer in this world, this is an indisputable fact. She is the only princess betrothed to the Divine King, so it is only right for him to build a tomb for her. Not just three years, even ten or thirty years would be within reason.
However, don't forget that in order to become the next Divine King, he must marry a princess.
If anyone wants to use this as an excuse to strip Feng Feiyun of his title, then … they should be punished. "
The crowd didn't dare to say anything else.
Feng Feiyun didn't say anything as well.
Princess Luofu continued: "His Excellency must marry another princess. As for who he wants to marry, that's our royal clan's business, outsiders have no right to interfere.
Even if he wants to marry this princess, as long as he can win the competition, then this princess will definitely marry him and accompany him in building Princess Yue's tomb. So what if I have to wear mourning clothes and guard the tomb for thirty years? "
No one dared to say anything else. Even Beiming Moshou didn't say anything else.
Before sunset, the meeting ended and the top seven were decided. Li Xiaonan was eliminated by Long Qingyang. Of course, the spectators knew that it wasn't because Long Qingyang was stronger than Li Xiaonan, it was because Li Xiaonan didn't want to win at all. His heart belonged to Dongfang Jingyue so he couldn't win.
The top seven were: Feng Feiyun, Dongfang Jingshui, Beiming Potian, Prince Hongye, Heavenly Saber Gu Cuo, Mu Xingzi, and Long Qingyang.
Today, the sky was already dark. The battle of the top seven would take place the next day. The cultivators left the imperial city one after another.
The clouds at the edge of the sky gradually turned from fiery red to cold, and finally completely darkened.
The temperature difference between day and night was great at the capital during winter. At night, the temperature plummeted with snowstorms. Overnight, the entire capital would be covered in a thick layer of snow.
Feng Feiyun left the palace at nightfall. The imperial city was brightly lit with maids and eunuchs hurrying to greet Feng Feiyun.
"Clatter!"
A group of cranes pulled a carriage through the imperial city and stopped next to Feiyun. There was no driver so it seemed a bit lonely. There was no sound coming from inside either.
"Is it the Divine Consort?" Feng Feiyun stopped.
The carriage was silent for a long time before someone coughed. "Divine King, please … cough … get in …"
Ji Lingxuan's voice was a bit bleak and sorrowful, giving off boundless despair.
If someone's voice was filled with despair, then they weren't far from death.
The temperature dropped drastically. Feng Feiyun exhaled a breath of cold air and asked: "Where are we going?"
"To see an old friend." Lingxuan coughed again.
Hearing her sad voice, Feng Feiyun wasn't as afraid of her as before. She seemed to be just an ordinary woman. Feng Feiyun boarded the carriage and lifted the curtain to enter.
The carriage continued to move out of the imperial city.
Ji Lingxuan was sitting in a corner of the carriage. Although her hair was white and her face was pale, she looked beautiful today. Dressed in the simplest of clothes, she looked like an innocent young girl, untainted by the dust of the world.
Feng Feiyun was slightly dazed. He then found a place covered in fur and sat down. He had a feeling that Lingxuan was no longer a Divine Consort at this moment, but the young girl from the Ji Clan from 180 years ago — gentle, playful, knowledgeable, and intelligent.
It was as if the two of them had crossed time and space to meet 180 years ago. At that time, Lingxuan was only sixteen and a talented female disciple who had just left the Ji Clan. She had yet to marry the Jin Emperor and wasn't a scheming Divine Consort.
Feng Feiyun pondered for a bit and decided to tell her about Long Cangyue's survival. He thought about what to say and then said: "The truth is …"
Ji Lingxuan spoke before him with a smile that revealed her bright eyes and white teeth: "Zuo Qianshou had mentioned you to me before."
Feng Feiyun shuddered: "Master Zuo, where is he right now?"
Zuo Qianshou was the number one formation master among the geniuses and used to be Ji Lingxuan's admirer. He viewed her as a goddess and listened to her every word. He even went to the most dangerous place in the world for her, the imperial palace of the Jin Dynasty to steal its defining providence stone, the Dragon Spirit Stone.
Alas, he didn't get Lingxuan's love, it was her merciless slash that severed his right hand and brought him before the Jin Emperor.
Lingxuan gave the stone to the emperor and became his woman while Zuo Qianshou was imprisoned in the capital's prison.
Later on, Feng Feiyun's grandfather's grandfather rescued him and exiled him to the southern barbarian border of the Jin Dynasty. He hid his identity in Fire Beacon City for 180 years, not daring to take one step into the capital.
Feng Feiyun still remembered this sad story because he felt that he and Zuo Qianshou were the same type of person. Both of them fell into the hands of the woman they loved the most, becoming a lifetime of pain.
"You will see him soon."
Lingxuan's eyes were misty while her blue dress was as pretty as a painting. She sat in the carriage as if she was a beauty in contemplation.
Zuo Qianshou had come to the capital several years ago, saying that he wanted to settle things with Lingxuan. However, after Feng Feiyun arrived, he sent people to inquire about Zuo Qianshou's whereabouts but to no avail.
Lingxuan wanted to say something many times but stopped because she saw Feng Feiyun's ashen expression, so she didn't dare to speak.
The white crane pulled the incense carriage and drove to the Nantian Temple. It flew straight in.
The majestic mountain was surrounded by numerous temples. Even at night, one could still hear the faint chanting of buddhist scriptures.
Ji Lingxuan walked out of the carriage and stood under the moonlight, treading on a wisp of smoke as she leisurely walked toward a valley. There was a wooden pavilion there, and next to it was a lone grave.
Feng Feiyun landed in front of the grave and saw the name "Zuo Qianshou" carved on top of the cold tombstone. Everything was so sad.
There was also a thick layer of fallen leaves left behind by autumn. The night breeze blew by, causing the leaves to flutter and make "whoosh whoosh" sounds.
Feng Feiyun cultivated the Heavenly Phoenix Gaze so he could see through graves. There was an old man buried under the soil. He was handsome and extraordinary when he was young, but now, he was lying in a cold coffin. He had been dead for several years.
Because of the powerful body of cultivators, it didn't rot even after several years.
His life was ruined by Ji Lingxuan.
"How could he die?" Feng Feiyun clenched his fists with a cold glint in his eyes.
Ji Lingxuan took out an ironwood broom from the wooden pavilion and swept the fallen leaves in front of the grave with elegant movements. Her white hair fluttered in the wind as she lightly said: "In my life, there was no one I loved the most or hated the most. However, there was one person I let down the most, and that was him. I will think of a way to make it up to him."
The broom moved, causing the fallen leaves to flutter even faster and fell on the tombstone.
"Only feeling sorry?" Feng Feiyun originally felt pity for Ji Lingxuan, but at this moment, he felt that she was even more hateful.
"Every year, I would come to sweep his grave and recite scriptures at the Blue Sandalwood Courtyard to help him ascend.
The first time we met, I had already helped him for three days. "Ji Lingxuan said.
"But he is already dead. Sweeping his grave is considered making it up to him?
Isn't that a bit too laughable? "
Feng Feiyun was amused. He wondered if Shuiyue had killed Feiyun. Would she also bury him and sweep his grave every year?
Ji Lingxuan didn't say anything else. She continued sweeping the fallen leaves until all of them were gone. Then she plucked out the weeds on the grave one by one. Her hands were covered in dirt, and she was extremely meticulous. Only when there was not a single weed left did she stop.
Her eyes were so clear, without a trace of impurity. She was like a newborn baby, pure and innocent. Looking at the tombstone and the grave, she said: "That's right!
Killing should always be tasted with a life. "
The air became even colder. Snowflakes fell from the sky like white goose feathers. Some landed on Ji Lingxuan's head, some on Feng Feiyun's shoulders, some on the grave, and some in front of the tombstone.
It was a huge snowstorm. Before long, the entire world was swallowed up and turned into a silver world.
The cold wind howled, a bit freezing.
Ji Lingxuan rubbed her hands, blushing. "Feng Feiyun, can you hug me?
I feel so cold, so tired, and my heart hurts. "
Feng Feiyun didn't plan to walk over and hug her. He still stood there, a thick layer of snow on his shoulders and head. After a while, seeing that Ji Lingxuan wasn't going to say anything, he glanced at her and found that half of her body was frozen in ice. From her waist to the soles of her feet, she had become one with the ice crystals. Her lips were trembling, frozen without a trace of blood.
Feng Feiyun rushed over and hugged her. However, he could only hug half of her body. He released a strand of spirit energy to expel the cold energy in her body, but it could only slow down the freezing process. It couldn't save her at all. "You took the ten-thousand-year-old Icesoul before coming here?"
The coldness of the Icesoul could seal all vitality, turning flesh and blood into ice crystals and bones into frost. Not to mention Feng Feiyun's current cultivation, even the Jin Emperor himself couldn't save her from the gates of hell.
Ji Lingxuan was like a pure and innocent girl. She rested her frosty face on Feng Feiyun's chest and said with a trembling voice: "When I learned of Yue 'er's death, I didn't want to live anymore."
"Cangyue, she's not dead."
Feng Feiyun's hands were full of flames. One hand was pressed on her chest while the other was propping up her face.
"It's … not important anymore … I just want to go back to 180 years ago … How wonderful that would be!"
Ji Lingxuan had a peaceful smile on her face. It was the most sincere smile and also the most beautiful smile in the world. She said slowly: "Take … good … care of her for me. Promise … me?"
Feng Feiyun nodded.
Ji Lingxuan's smile became even more beautiful. Her eyelashes trembled slightly, but there was a teardrop hanging on the corner of her eye. It was quickly frozen by the cold energy and turned into two crystal beads.
She had turned into an ice sculpture. The ice on her body became thicker and thicker as she moved further and further away from Feng Feiyun.
He could still see her immortal face through the layer of ice. However, this thin layer of ice was infinitely far, so far that it couldn't be crossed. It was the distance between life and death.
The cold wind howled and the fallen leaves flew. The snowflakes were like white blades, slapping against Feng Feiyun's body. They piled up on him as if they wanted to turn him into an ice sculpture.
Right in front of this lonely grave, Ji Lingxuan was atoning for her sins.
"Amitabha!"
A buddhist chant appeared as a young monk trod on the snow. His body shone with a treasure light as he walked in the wind and snow. His eyes were filled with sorrow and compassion as he said: "She spent her entire life working for the survival of the Ji Clan. She sacrificed her reputation, her purest heart, and finally, herself."
Feng Feiyun asked: "What do you mean?"
"The Ji Clan is a clan of Treasure Seeking Masters, not accepted by the Yin and Yang Worlds. She sacrificed herself to marry the Jin Emperor and became a Divine Concubine. With the Jin Emperor's protection, the Ji Clan was able to survive until today.
Zuo Qianshou's matter originally had nothing to do with her. It was all arranged by the Ji Clan, but she always felt that it was her own sin and debt. "The monk said with a dejected tone.
Feng Feiyun tightly closed his eyes. No wonder why she said that she was very tired when she wanted Feng Feiyun to hug her. So it turned out that she really lived a tiring life.
The monk continued: "The Jin Emperor is about to abdicate and no one will protect the Ji Clan. She must let Princess Yue ascend to the throne in order for the Ji Clan to survive. Everything she did was not of her own will. Her sins should have been forgiven, but no one could understand her."
"Was it really worth it?"
Feng Feiyun hugged the iceman in his arms. She had completely lost her vitality and became one with the ice.
"Sometimes, for the survival of a clan, sacrificing a woman is worth it."
The monk was a bit hesitant when he said this. It was clear that he didn't believe his own words.
So it turned out that she was also a pitiful woman.
After taking the ten-thousand-year-old Ice Soul, Ji Lingxuan became relaxed, young, innocent, and inexperienced. She had let go of all her burdens, just like the smart girl 180 years ago who had not yet been chosen to sacrifice herself for her family.
Perhaps at the last moment of her life, she wanted to have her own youth, her own life, so she sat in the same carriage with Feng Feiyun. However, this was only an extravagant wish. At that time, Feng Feiyun only hated her and didn't cherish her.
If Feng Feiyun knew the reason earlier, then maybe he would have treated her better on the way here. Of course, this was only a 'maybe'!
There were no ifs or maybes in life!