Chen Cuo fell silent.
Tingyi looked up into the depths of the sky, worry flickering in her eyes. Beneath it, a deathly stillness was spreading. She knew she had little time left, so she spoke almost bluntly. "With your talent, Lord Chen, the beginnings of the Way of Rise and Fall you've established, and the Journey West you've set in motion, you need only cast off what's unnecessary, avoid the sharpest edge for now, and build your strength steadily. Then you'll surely survive the Great Calamity to come!"
As she spoke, her gaze turned east.
"Right now, Chang'an is where winds and clouds converge. In the future, it will be the heart of the Great Calamity, drawing the eyes of the Heavenly Realms. If you leave this peril behind and put a thousand miles between yourself and the city, wouldn't that give you the chance to lie low and cultivate?"
Dong! Dong! Dong! Dong! Dong!
"Your Majesty, scouts from every quarter have sent word. Several Buddhist temples do seem to be making unusual moves..."
Inside the Imperial Palace, Li Shimin sat listening to the report, but his thoughts began to drift. He could faintly see a Divine Dragon of purple qi circling above the palace. Strands of purple qi descended and wound around him, seeping inward and sharpening his five senses and Divine Sense.
The sensation was familiar. Ever since his confrontation with Li Jiancheng at Great Hua Mountain, he had felt it often. On his campaigns east and west, the Divine Dragon had shielded him more than once. After the incident at Xuanwu Gate, it had even possessed him, leaving him with something akin to a Divine Ability!
*The more dire the hour, the more likely this Divine Dragon of purple qi is to join with me. Then I