The dark mass of people around the Divine Lady Temple stared at the hundreds of people who had suddenly appeared in the open space, along with the imperial carriage, horses, and carts. Everyone collectively sucked in a breath of cold air.
The wrath of a deity was actually this terrifying.
Without wasting a single bit of effort, people from thousands of miles away were snatched out of thin air and brought before them as easily as taking something from a pocket.
This kind of absolute power was the most potent proof that mortals were as tiny as dust before a deity.
The entire long street instantly fell dead silent.
Only the wind blew from the north, rustling the smoky-purple hem of the Divine Lady's skirt, creating a beauty beyond words.
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【...】
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Shen Yu and Shen Jue gradually snapped out of their shock. With a single glance, they spotted two extremely familiar faces among the marriage proposal envoys in the open space in front of the Divine Lady Temple.
It was their father and their younger sister.
They instinctively wanted to plead for their father and younger sister, but the Divine Lady did not give them any time to react.
In fact, they had not even finished drafting their words.
The divine punishment had already arrived.
“Emperor of the mortal realm, I have already given you a chance, yet you remain obstinate and show contempt for a deity. This crime is punishable by death.”
She slowly raised her right hand.
Almost at the exact same time, the golden Cosmic Form behind her, which exuded an overwhelming sense of pressure, also moved.
The giant arm rose inch by inch, its palm facing downward and its five fingers slightly spread, pressing down like a golden canopy in the sky.
“Wherever the golden light shines, evil shall be eradicated.”
A faint celestial voice echoed from the heavens.
The Cosmic Form glowed brilliantly, illuminating the entire city, but the shadow it cast made everyone's knees go weak.
“Help... Help! No!”
As the Cosmic Form's hand pressed lower and lower, General Wang and the others who carried sins upon their bodies were instantly ground into dust beneath its palm.
“Please spare us, Divine Lady...”
“I... I don't want to die... Help...”
Wails and cries for mercy echoed across the open space.
The Child Emperor did not even have the mind to be shocked that the Sea Goddess was actually the northern Divine Lady. His knees gave out, and he fell prostrate on the ground.
In his daze, he recalled the day they were attacked by the giant fish at sea and the Sea Goddess had saved them. The nine-tailed fox in her arms had warned them not to seek their own deaths.
At the time, he had only thought that their ships had disturbed the Sea Goddess, and that taking a detour would make everything fine. Looking at it now, that was clearly a warning for him to back off.
The more he thought about it, the more terrified he became.
His body trembled like a thin sheet of paper in the wind. He banged his forehead heavily against the bluestone bricks until it turned red, but he could not care about the pain. He only desperately pressed his head lower, his voice trembling uncontrollably.
“Have mercy, Divine Lady! Please show mercy!”
“I... I was forced into this!”
As he spoke, he secretly lifted his eyelids and caught a glimpse of the golden Cosmic Form's hand freezing in midair. That momentary pause made him feel like a drowning man grasping at a floating log.
He scrambled to continue, speaking faster and faster, his voice cracking with tears. “Please see clearly, Divine Lady! This was not my intention! It was the State Preceptor who forced me to offend you...”
“Please see clearly, Divine Lady! Please show mercy...”
As he spoke, he prostrated himself and kowtowed repeatedly, the thuds echoing clearly. His forehead quickly turned black and blue, and blood began to seep out.
The Marquis of Ningyuan was also kneeling on the ground. Thinking of how his two sons had written in their letters that the Divine Lady was merciful, he gritted his teeth and looked up at the Divine Lady above.
“Divine Lady, ever since His Majesty ascended the throne, he has been helpless and under the control of the State Preceptor. The grand authority of the court has fallen entirely into the State Preceptor's hands. His Majesty is merely a puppet.”
“If not for the State Preceptor's coercion, he would never have dared to offend you in the slightest! Please show mercy, Divine Lady! For the sake of His Majesty being forced and having no choice, please spare his life!”
The Divine Lady looked down at the crowd prostrated on the ground, her dark phoenix eyes remaining completely calm and tranquil.
There was a long silence—so long that everyone thought the giant golden hand would descend in the next moment and crush the remaining marriage proposal envoys, including the Child Emperor, into dust.
Then, she spoke.
“Forget it.”
“I shall temporarily spare your lives today.”
The moment she finished speaking, the golden Cosmic Form above the Divine Lady Temple dissolved into countless points of light, vanishing into the wind without a trace.
Just as the Child Emperor and the others were about to rejoice, they heard her speak again.
“However, though you are spared from death, you cannot escape punishment.”
The Divine Lady tilted her head slightly, her indifferent gaze sweeping over the prostrate Child Emperor and the envoys behind him.
Then, she lightly flicked her sleeve.
A ripple of faint golden light spread out, silently enveloping the Child Emperor and the others in the open space.
“Thus, you shall be punished to suffer the pain of seven reincarnations.”
The Dream-Entering Bell rang. The Child Emperor and the others were instantly pulled into a dream, experiencing various life scripts custom-made for them.
The flow of time in the dream was adjustable. The Child Emperor and the others suffered through seven lifetimes in the dream, but in reality, only a few minutes had passed.
“I... I'm back...” The Child Emperor touched his face and hands in ecstatic disbelief, weeping with joy.
He did not even know how he had survived those seven lifetimes—being a beggar, then a refugee, dying a miserable death every single time.
Fortunately, having received his punishment, his life was saved.
“Thank you for your grand mercy, Divine Lady.” He heavily kowtowed three more times to the Divine Lady.
Afterward, the Marquis of Ningyuan, his daughter, and the others woke up one after another. Most of them still looked dazed because the suffering they had experienced in the dream felt incredibly real.
Seeing this, Shen Yu and Shen Jue breathed a sigh of relief. Earlier, when the Divine Lady had directly handed down divine punishment, they knew that even if they went forward to plead, it would have no effect.
The Divine Lady only looked at karma and did not show personal favoritism.
Not only did Shen Yu and Shen Jue realize this, but Pei Wanning and the others also understood that the Divine Lady could not tolerate any wrongdoing. Anyone who committed a sin would not escape death.
This applied to them as her believers as well. For a moment, everyone silently warned themselves to be much more careful and cautious in their future actions.
“In the future, you must conduct yourselves well.” The Divine Lady's cool, clear voice drifted into everyone's ears.
The crowd snapped out of their thoughts and hastily knelt to bow.
“The Divine Lady is merciful...”
The Divine Lady did not speak. She pinched a strand of golden light with her fingertips.
Then, she flicked her finger.
The golden light shot out from her hand, soaring straight into the sky and transforming into a hundred-zhang-long scroll of mountains and rivers, hanging suspended in midair.
In the painting, the fields were barren, the wells were dry, and emaciated commoners curled up beneath ruined walls. Tattered children huddled in their mothers' arms, staring blankly at the sky. A silent deathly stillness pervaded the streets and alleys.
“Is... is that Wuling Prefecture in the south?”
Someone cried out in shock, “How could it be so miserable?”
“How can anyone survive this...”
The believers whispered among themselves, their faces filled with pity.
“State Preceptor Guo Rong has shown contempt for the deities and harmed the common people. The sins he has committed deserve the destruction of heaven and earth,” the Divine Lady said. “I shall personally travel to the south. Are you willing to accompany me?”
The crowd knelt in unison. “We are willing to follow the Divine Lady south to slay the State Preceptor and rescue the common people of the world!”
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