CHAPTER 53: SACRIFICIAL ALTAR, SUMMON THE GARMENT FORBIDDEN ARMY

Jin Li climbed the sacrificial altar step by step, accompanied by Kong Qi's chanting. One’d expect a national memorial to be grand, yet only the Minister of Rites presided over it. Such a pitiful sight it was.

Below the platform, Lady Qin and Duke Yu gazed helplessly at Jin Li, who intended to summon the Divine Court Army. To them, it seemed nothing more than an illusion, like a dream that vanished upon waking. In the end, they couldn’t defy the heavens.

Next to Sima Ting, several civil and military ministers watched Jin Li as if enjoying a play. Some—especially those aware of the altar’s purpose—only sneered. Others sympathized with Jin Li, convinced that their empress had reached the end of her rope. Alas, beauty was often ill-fated. In the end, Jin Li would be buried along with this crumbling empire.

Jin Li mounted the altar slowly and steadily beneath countless watchful eyes. Her heart swelled with many emotions, but her greatest worry was Qi Yuan, who hadn't replied to her in the last four days.

Yet, now wasn’t the time to despair. Fretting was useless. Shoving aside her distraction, she followed the ritual exactly as Qi Yuan instructed.

With a rigid face, she lifted a long jade sceptre, advancing toward the altar. When she was two-thirds of the way there, Kong Qi doubled over, tears streaming down his face.

It was the most stifling rite he’d ever presided over—even more than the empress’s enthronement. It could be his last rite, and perhaps the final rite of the Southern Qian Empire. Like the empress, he’d leave no trace, save for a few words in the history books.

Sima Riyue sat slouched among the ministers, his legs sprawled. He laughed, pointing at the sacrificial altar, "Say, if Her Majesty were to leap from the sacrificial altar, wouldn’t it be a tragic yet beautiful finale?"

If the empire’s last empress were to leap from the altar, the moment would echo through eternity.

No one answered him. The ministers kept their mouths shut.

Only the Emperor realm demon bared his snow-white teeth in a grin, "Let's just hope she doesn't land headfirst, else my exquisite wine vessel will shatter."

With that, he crushed the cup between his teeth and swallowed it whole, drinking in a bizarre manner that drew every attention.

Sima Riyue glanced at him, then turned back to Jin Li’s beautiful long hair. An inexplicable chill rippled through him. He was aware that the demon wasn’t an ordinary man, and seemed to belong to the Heaven-Fate Holy Sect.

Sima Riyue couldn't help but say, "You have an exquisite taste. A true connoisseur."

The demon poured him more wine, and the two drank together. None of them spared the empress another glance.

Upon reaching the altar, Jin Li raised the sceptre high. She flung the jade ring into the incense burner, and it burst into shards on impact.

Then, she commanded. "O’ divine presence, have mercy upon my thoughts! Have mercy upon my thoughts as I hold the jade sceptre!"

Her voice rang out, clear as a mountain spring and majestic as a tolling bell. The flames shot higher.

"My heart trembles in fear, I offer comfort to the heavens. Radiant heavens above, cast your gaze upon this realm!"

The incantation was brief, with some words from Kong Qi, and two final, crucial lines from Qi Yuan.

She recited the first aloud, and recited the second silently in her heart as Qi Yuan had instructed.

By the decree of Qi Yuan, Master of the Garment Division, Garment Forbidden Army, heed my command!

After her invocation, the sun blazed above the sky as it always had, while the ministers below looked bored as before. None took the rite seriously!

Duke Yu sighed. As expected, nothing had changed.

However, Lady Qin remembered the miracles of Xuanyuan Forbidden Zone. She still held a glimpse of hope. Even if the altar couldn’t summon the fabled army, what if that unfathomable man, comparable to Peak Emperor realm cultivator, appeared?

Even if he couldn’t withstand the Emperor realm demons or break the capital’s sealing array, if he could whisk Jin Li away, that alone would be the best outcome.

From the beginning, Jin Li had been forced onto the throne. She was never fit to be an empress. If so, let the Southern Qian Empire be without a monarch.

Kong Qi remained prostrated on the ground, his eyes stinging with pain.

Just then, Jin Li felt a subtle thread of connection within her. Something told her that as long as she wished for it, the Garment Forbidden Army would appear. She trusted him unconditionally. All she had to do was chant the final line.

Instead, she turned toward the assembled ministers, demanding in a cold, furious tone. "Answer me, Sima Ting! Has a Soul-Burying Banner Array been set outside the capital?! You have colluded with the Demon Race to set it beyond our walls. Do you intend to plunge the people of the Southern Qian Empire into an abyss of eternal damnation?" [1].

Despite Jin Li's mediocre cultivation level, her voice boomed thunderously, spreading throughout the place.

Some ministers were stirred, while others sneered at what they thought were the final struggles of a dying empress. Yet, some cast glances at Sima Ting, awaiting his reply.

Sima Ting rose to his full, towering height and replied calmly, "Your Majesty, why seek to sow discord with such lies? Do you think such petty tricks can shift the tide? As an empress, you should stand above evil! Devilish tricks aren’t the way of the imperial family! Your Majesty, as a woman, you’re indecisive and lacking in foresight. You’re unfit to rule."

The ministers felt relieved after hearing his reply. Besides, the Southern Qian Empire belonged to the Sima clan. Why would he dig his own grave to collude with the demons?

Unfaltering, Jin Li repeated her question. "I ask again, is there such an array outside the city?"

Sima Riyue could no longer restrain himself. Rising to his feet, he jeered. "I grew tired of this, Your Majesty! And here I was hoping to see your altar summon the so-called Divine Court Army and slaughter us one by one!"

Laughter rolled through the hall.

Hardly anyone had respect for the empress. For twenty years, the Sima clan was regarded as the Southern Qian Empire’s ruling line.

Still, Jin Li didn’t waver, demanding sternly once again. "Outside the walls, is there such an array?"

Seeing her ask the same question thrice, the ministers thought Jin Li had lost it. Some snickered and regarded the empress as a maddened, tragic beauty.

At last, the demon, drinking alone, said, "Correct, fair Empress Jin Li. The Soul-Burying Banner Array of my race does stand outside the capital walls!"

Everyone was shocked.

"Grand Chancellor?!"

"Who is this man? Is the Soul-Burying Banner Array real?!"

The ministers’ faces turned from shock to terror.

The demon grinned cruelly. "Is it not so, Sima Ting?"

Sima Ting’s expression remained unchanged. "Correct."

The hall erupted in chaos.

Suddenly, the demon roared, "A bunch of useless trash!"

He unleashed the might of an Emperor realm cultivator, killing dozens of ministers in a single wave. His eyes glinted with a wicked smile.

Whoops, things get a bit messy!

He struck once again, beheading hundreds more from Sima Ting’s faction. Many ministers fell into pools of blood, plunging the hall into total chaos.

The demon grinned ecstatically. The more chaotic and bloody the capital was, the stronger the Bloodless Scepter would become!

After killing the ministers, he gazed contemptuously at Lady Qin, who stood guard before the sacrificial altar. Even in her prime, she was not his match, not to mention now that she was injured.

"Wine vessel, here I come!"

He grew to thirty feet tall, dwarfing the altar beneath him. Yet, he still offered some respect to the Emperor realm cultivator. Grinning with twisted amusement, he gazed down at the crowd in mockery.

Lady Qin leaped forth, her frail frame blocking the altar.

Above it all, Jin Li's cry rang out. "All force, heed the command! Slay!"

The clear sky above the altar suddenly darkened. A massive cluster of black clouds gathered overhead, plunging the capital into darkness. A chilling, unfathomable aura permeated the air.

Everyone shook. It was as if they heard the rumbling of a thousand warhorses and the awakening of gods themselves.

For the first time, the demon looked shaken. "What is happening?"

Even the demons beyond the walls faltered in fear.

A cold announcement rang from the sky. "By the decree of Qi Yuan, Master of the Garment Division, heed the command!"

"Summoned by Empress Jin Li of the Southern Qian Empire!"

"The Four Divisions of the Divine Court, the Garment Forbidden Army, wipe out the traitors!"

A golden ray pierced through the thick dark clouds. Daylight returned, only to be swallowed by darkness once more. An army as vast as the sea appeared above the altar, suspended in midair.

Clad in black armor and robes, they gathered around Jin Li, wielding golden spears. At the front were ten fearsome cultivators in black armor, each exuding a dreadful aura. They seemed like demons risen from the abyss, treading through the long river of history. They didn’t even glance at the mortals below, let alone speak. Yet, everyone could feel the unbearable pressure.

The Garment Forbidden Army set into a battle formation, raising their spears as if proclaiming their descent upon the world.

Duke Yu’s eyes bulged. "The Four Divisions of the Divine Court, the Garment Forbidden Army, they are real!"

Kong Qi was dumbstruck. He cried out, tears streaming, "Heaven blesses the Southern Qian Empire! Heaven blesses our Empress!"

Even Aunt Qin’s heart quivered. "So, is it all true? Qi Yuan is the master of the Garment Division?"

After so many thousands of years, could the Divine Court and the Garment Division truly exist in the world? Yes!

At last, the forest-like, silent Garment Forbidden Army stirred. One of the imperial guards, clad in red bridal armor, drifted before Jin Li.

She said in a mechanical voice, "Our Master sends two messages. First is a cheesy love message, he said so long as he is around, no one shall lay a hand on you. He also said..."

Jin Li’s gaze blazed with new resolve. She turned to the Ancient Qichun Tree at the world's center, stars twinkling in her eyes.

1. Jin Li used the chinese character '朕' to refer to herself which is simply translated to 'I' here. '朕' is a first-person imperial pronoun, traditionally used exclusively by emperors when referring to themselves. ☜