Chapter 253

Next up, the most formidable force is the second tier – the seven Power of Elements.

The Ninth-Grade Supreme beings of the Huaxia Heavenly Palace thought they were about to seize the Elemental Authorities, but they never expected that... Xia Changsheng would distribute them one by one to other Realm Domain.

Initially, they could console themselves, analyzing, "Using a few Elemental Authorities to win over those powerful Realm Domain will help consolidate the position of our Huaxia Heavenly Palace in the Astral Realm."

It wasn't until Xia Changsheng bestowed the four Elemental Authorities upon other Realm Domain...

Finally, someone couldn't hold back any longer.

They asked Xia Changsheng, "Your Majesty, what are your plans regarding the Elemental Authorities?"

Xia Changsheng revealed the list that had already been prepared.

At that moment, the top leaders of Huaxia felt as if everything went black.

The seven Elemental Authorities will all belong to other Realm Domain!

These old ministers, who had followed the Human Emperor for tens of thousands of years, couldn't even get one.

At this moment, the seeds of internal problems were sown.

Xia Changsheng and Daowu traveled to Realm Domain of the Astral Realm, helping them hold Elemental Authorities and formulating corresponding Dao of Pure Cultivation based on the attributes of this authority.

They never imagined that internal strife within Huaxia was already raging, about to erupt into a terrifying infighting.

What ignited all of this was an unexplained leak of footage showing Xia Changsheng's early campaigns in other Realm Domain.

She killed the Realm Domain ruler, then stripped him of his authority and merged it into her own body.

This scene has been misinterpreted as— the Human Emperor cultivates the Dao of Devouring, which is why she possesses such immense power!

Xia Changsheng promoted the Dao of Pure Cultivation throughout the entire Astral Realm, solely to fulfill his own Dao of Devouring.

If no one else tries to devour it, then she will have all the resources of the entire Astral Realm to herself!

Holding Authority of God requires consuming vast amounts of resources. Their investigation revealed that those rulers who held Elemental Authorities had taken countless resources from the Star Nexus Pavilion.

All of Huaxia's resources are flowing outwards...

This further enraged the high-ranking officials of the Huaxia Heavenly Palace!

On what grounds?

Why should all the benefits go to outsiders?

Then some people brought up Daowu and Xingshu's identities, and even spread the absurd claim that Xia Changsheng was not Huaxia at all!

Just as Xia Changsheng was overwhelmed with other matters, a fierce internal struggle broke out in the Star Nexus Pavilion.

Xingshu never expected that his trusted subordinate, a key figure whom he had personally nurtured, would turn against him and try to seize his Authority of Time.

This enraged him, unleashing astonishing power that killed dozens of Ninth-Grade Supreme from Huaxia.

When the news reached Xia Changsheng, it shocked her.

But the messenger said, "The Divine Venerable of Time has suddenly gone mad and slaughtered half of the Star Nexus Pavilion. Your Majesty, please return immediately!"

Xia Changsheng couldn't imagine...

How could Xingshu possibly go mad?

That's absolutely impossible!

She hurriedly said to Daowu, "I'll go back and check on things; I'm leaving this to you."

Daowu grabbed her arm and said, "Xingshu wouldn't do such a thing. There might be something going on..."

"I know," Xia Changsheng said, looking at him. "Don't worry, you and Xingshu are the people I trust the most!"

Despite operating in the human realm for a long time, Xingshu still doesn't understand human nature.

He was trying hard to defend himself and prove his innocence.

Someone said, "If you are truly as selfless as you claim, then why do you hold the Authority of Time? His Highness Daowu is the one who is truly without desires! He doesn't do what you do, establishing the Star Nexus Pavilion and holding the Authority of Time... You are not loyal to His Majesty as you say; you are just a greedy and ambitious man!"

"I didn't!" Xingshu hurriedly protested, "I never wanted the Authority of Time, it was Your Majesty... I did it for Your Majesty..."

"Shut up, you hypocrite! His Highness Daowu rejected the Authority of Space and can still serve His Majesty! Why do you insist on holding the Authority of Time? You are nothing but greedy for power! You want to purge His Majesty's supporters and ascend to the highest position for yourself!"

Amidst the barrage of questions, Xingshu grew increasingly eager to prove his loyalty and innocence.

Finally, he forcibly tore the Authority of Time from his own Divine Soul, saying, "I did not betray His Majesty! I seized the Authority of Time only to help His Majesty alleviate his burdens. My life was given to me by His Majesty, and I would never..."

"Stop!" When Xia Changsheng rushed back, he saw the core members of the Huaxia Heavenly Palace frantically fighting over the bloody Authority of Time.

The Xingshu was trampled on the ground, turning into blood-stained petals.

Xia Changsheng felt a surge of anger rising within her. An astonishing power erupted from her body, blasting away all those frantically vying for the Authority of Time. Then, she carefully gathered the petals on the ground.

The petals were covered in mud, looking utterly disheveled.

He struggled to say, "Your Majesty, I haven't betrayed you, I haven't..."

Xia Changsheng said in a trembling voice, "A-Xing... you'll be alright. I'll have A-Wu take you back to the Lotus Domain, you must..."

"Your Majesty, I do not like the Authority of Time, I... I..."

Xia Changsheng, carrying the critically injured Xingshu, rushed to Daowu's side. Her eyes were red and swollen as she pleaded, "A-Wu, take him to the Lotus Domain... The Lotus Domain will surely help him recover..."

This scene also had a huge impact on Daowu.

His voice was tense as he asked, "What happened?"

"Quickly... quickly return to the Lotus Domain..."

Daowu was always Ninth-Grade Supreme, which is why he was able to return to the Lotus Domain.

If Xia Changsheng were to coexist with him, he could also take her back.

Xia Changsheng said, "I have to go back to the Huaxia Heavenly Palace... Things are in chaos there. You take Xingshu back to the Lotus Domain to heal your body first!"

Daowu instinctively didn't want to be separated from Xia Changsheng, but he knew he had to bring Xingshu back to the Lotus Domain.

Daowu n't hesitate any longer and said, "I'll take him back now, and I'll come back as soon as I've settled him in."

Xia Changsheng nodded and watched them leave.

She felt utterly exhausted after returning to the Huaxia Heavenly Palace.

In fact, if she could just regain the Authority of Time and use Time Rewind, she would know what really happened.

She didn't believe that Xingshu would go mad, much less that he would slaughter his own subordinates for no reason.

But does the truth still matter?

Xia Changsheng felt a strong sense of powerlessness, and a wave of exhaustion washed over her.

She convened the Xingshu Conference.

He explained the situation in the Lotus Domain in detail, and pointed out the huge hidden dangers of the Dao of Devouring.

She thought everyone would understand, would put aside their ambition and greed, and reunite to work together to protect this Astral Realm.

However, a Ninth-Grade Supreme stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, it's not that we don't trust you, but are you not susceptible to being deceived? The petals of the Lotus Domain have gone mad; can you really believe what the Lotus Domain says?"

Hearing this, Xia Changsheng felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar.

Then someone else spoke up, "Why do you trust them? Why do you hand over all the Authority of God to foreigners? Shouldn't your own people be the ones you trust most?"

"Besides..." Everyone looked at Xia Changsheng and asked her, "Isn't you the one who has devoured the most in the entire Astral Realm? You have devoured so much Authority of God and slaughtered so many Realm Domain! Your hands are covered in blood, and your back is covered in corpses. With such actions... how can you expect us to cultivate the Dao of Pure Cultivation!"

"If you truly wish to purify the Astral Realm... the most important thing you should do is cleanse yourself of your sins!"

Chapter 253

Her sins...

These words were like the last straw that broke the camel's back.

Xia Changsheng felt extremely tired. Her original plan was to hand over the Emotion Authorities to the Huaxia Heavenly Palace.

Faced with their relentless questioning, she no longer had the energy to assess who should be given the corresponding Emotion Authorities...

She released all her Emotion Authorities and said, "The Authority of Earth is not suitable for Huaxia; it would limit everyone's cultivation. Perhaps in your eyes, the Authority of Humanity is relatively weaker, but... it is the most numerous..."

If you were to ask who in this Astral Realm understands the Authority of God best...

It seems that Xia Changsheng is the only one who can do it.

Of the three abstract authorities, the Lianxin, petals, and Lotus Leaf are the most suitable to be governed.

The Lotus Leaf have long since vanished into the Kongzhi, in order to protect the Pure Petal that also fell into the void at that time.

It was the sacrifice of the Lotus Leaf that allowed Xia Changsheng to encounter the Pure Petal and thus rescue the Lianxin from the Spatial Rift.

The Authority of Earth corresponds to a specific Realm Domain.

These are called exclusive Realm Domain because their Realm Domain are extremely singular. For example, in the Realm Domain of Fire, both the entire Realm Domain and the Star Wielders within it can only sense the fire element.

At first glance, the seven elements may seem to possess terrifying combat power, but they are also easily countered.

For example, even the most powerful wood element fears the fire element.

On the contrary, Authority of Humanity is not particularly restrained and even has infinite potential.

Xia Changsheng had never before had the opportunity to demonstrate the full power of the Authority of God.

This has led to the misunderstanding that Authority of Humanity is relatively weak.

Xia Changsheng never intended to explain these things, just as she never imagined that her people would misunderstand her like this.

At this point, she explained all of this in detail.

The high-ranking officials of the Huaxia Heavenly Palace all stared at her with burning, intense gazes.

Xia Changsheng felt like he couldn't breathe.

She was overwhelmed by a profound sense of powerlessness and began to question her own ideals.

She initially wanted to promote Dao of Pure Cultivation simply because she sensed a better way of spiritual practice and wanted to share this wonderful thing with everyone.

Because of Lotus Domain's request, she became even more determined in her ideal, believing that this was indeed the right path.

Later, she discovered that the Lotus Domain had been polluted, and in order to protect this Astral Realm, she became even more determined to promote the Dao of Pure Cultivation.

But now, she couldn't help but wonder—why should she share good things with these people? Why should she protect such an Astral Realm?