Chapter 151
Chapter One Hundred Fifty-one, Not Known by the People, Right and Wrong Confused. (不为⼈知, ⿊⽩颠倒)
Chen Ge Guang was born out of “Nan Huai’s Chen family”, a wealthy family and influential clan, and was part of Chen family’s direct line of descent. If he stably went down according to the original path, then his career of taking on a post as a capital official would have been smooth- sailing.
Nevertheless, he was in the big deserts of Gua Province instead, blown by the swift and chilling western winds, and stayed there for tens of years.
Only because he brought alcohol to pay respects to his own good friend that time.
Just what did he say to his own father, oh, “What is committing foolery? Seeing right and wrong confused, seeing a close friend die to injustice and playing it safe, this is committing foolery”—— such noble words! So manly, so loyal!
So laughable!!
“Mr. Yan? Mr. Yan!” Chen Ge Guang clenched down on his teeth in the darkness, and stared at that familiar face revealed after the mask fell off. Song Over Clouds, Liu family’s eldest young lord and his close friend, Liu Yan[1].
That good friend who died off in the big fire! That eternally elegant and talented, compassionate good friend!
Hah!
Why was it that when he clearly knew his prospects would be completely destroyed if he went, he still went? Was it not because he was angry for his wronged and innocent good friend from the Liu family who died in his prime years due to baseless accusations? Because he had abhorred these muddled supposed “equilibriums”.
Those damned, disgusting, right and wrong-confusing things. And the result? What of the result?
As a result, the good friend that he thought was dead actually lived well off- the Liu family’s eldest young master that, in his memories, while dressed in dark clothing as he walked over the stone bridge with an umbrella, would show sympathies on his face as he saw refugees, what kind of piece of scum did he become? What kind of piece of scum did the Liu Yan he recognized turn into?
Wearing an unpresentable mask, being the imperial clan’s secret guard, and because of one word from an ordinary person, they could use black fire to burn that person into ashes without blinking an eye.
That kind of ruthless bastard that could conveniently kill an ordinary person, this kind of bastard, Mr. Yan, who could watch Quan Jie Left Wing First Army’s several thousand-strong cavalry die in the yellow sands without a single change in his expression—— a bastard who, if possible, he wanted to draw his blade to cut down, was actually his good friend?
Just when did his good friend turn into this kind of scum of a thing? “Mr. Yan? What a great Mr. Yan!” Chen Ge Guang tightly gripped his fist.
He was on the verge of hysterically cursing out loud.
—— There was no meaning anymore. Everything was a joke.
His resolution in carrying alcohol for condolences was a joke, him guarding Gua Province’s boundless yellow sands without any prospects for tens of years was a joke, the righteousness he persevered was even more of a fucking complete and utter joke.
Because he could not watch as rights and wrongs get confused, he would go to Liu family’s still-burning ruins without hesitation, drink like a dimwit, and be drunk like an idiot.
In the end, the bastard who he defended already turned into a member of those people who made rights and wrongs confused.
Chen Ge Guang did not know just how Liu Yan lived on, clearly, Liu family already turned into shambles, while Jin Tang’s secret guards were like wolves, pursuing and killing off all the people from the Liu family. No matter how Liu Yan lived on, just why he became the imperial family’s secret guard, all could not change one truth.
Liu Yan became Mr. Yan. Became a person that both Chen Ge Guang and Liu Yan both loathed back then.
Casually killing a person of little importance, sacrificing so many people without batting an eyelid all just to achieve some unknown goal—— how Liu Yan and him hated this kind of bastard back then! But after all that was said and done, how could he turn into that kind of person too?
There was no so-called joy from meeting after long separation from how his good friend was not dead yet.
Only endless mockery. Chen Ge Guang felt like he could hear the cold laughter his father let out back then. What was his father laughing at back then? Was he laughing at his naivety, or his ignorance? All the people were wise, only he alone was just like an idiot.
In the darkness, Chen Ge Guang did not know what he was cursing at either.
He only felt it was incomparably…… hilarious.
“Ha! Ha! Ha!” He laughed out loud, even more unpleasant- sounding than crying. He gripped his fist, and his face pretty much hideously twisted- was it anger or sadness, or was it something else?
“Fuck you!”
Within the dark imperial city of an ancient emperor’s concealed within history, the world seemed to be letting out its ill-willed laughter.
Chen Ge Guang wanted to draw his blade out.
Wanted to cut down those things that made people nauseated, wanted to cut apart all the hypocritical nauseating things. However, he could abandon his own prospects, and go to the shambles after the fire to drink alcohol, but could not know that his good friend would turn into a scum; he could straightforwardly lead the army to attack, ride a thousand miles with no fear of life or death, could cut off heads to the ground, yet could not change this world.
He brandished his blade against the entire world, yet the blade fell into the air.
Be it justice or principles, in front of the world, it was all a joke. And he, other than cursing out loud, could not do anything at all. Liu Yan held the luminous pearl without saying anything, and let
Chen Ge Guang let out a bunch of profanities. “Fucking say something! Did you not win every single time before?” Chen Ge Guang said with a hoarse voice. He was close to yelling, but his voice was so low it pretty much could not be heard clearly.
He was that angry, yet his voice was that low. Say it! Say it! Refute him!
Chen Ge Guang remembered before, every time he argued with Liu Yan over something, the one to win would always be this bastard Liu Yan. Liu Yan was a famously gifted scholar, extremely well-learned[2], extremely talented[3], always right to the heart of the matter, refuting him to the point of becoming speechless.
With a person this sharp-tongued, how could he just not say anything?
Just like before, refute him, and let him know he was wrong! Like that, him guarding in the sands for tens of years would not seem like a joke.
But Liu Yan did not say a single word. His face seemed like it hardened, while the knuckles on the hand holding the luminous pearl turned white.
Just like he was mute.
Chen Ge Guang loosened up his hand, and no longer continued scolding anymore. He turned around and walked towards the darkness step by step.
This was Namu’s city, the imperial city of an ancient emperor from the era of Chaos. Here, there was a big and tall cavalry, there was fire that could burn a person that not even a scrap of bone would be left. The darkness in front of them seemed like a viscous liquid, with countless killing intents concealed within. He was not an immortal cultivator, with a blade that was useless in front of this power, he was only an ant in this place. But what of it? What could be done about it! Fuck it, to hell with it.
“Don’t move recklessly.” Liu Yan finally opened his mouth, but his voice was very light.
“Ain’t any of your fucking business.” Chen Ge Guang cursed without turning his head back.
At this moment, he didn’t seem like a person born from an aristocratic family at all, like he was no different from a soldier that lived in Gua Province, accompanied by the deserts to the very end.
That’s right, he was not Chen family’s young master, and not some damned descendent of a prestigious influential clan.
He was the area commander of Gua Province’s Quan Jie Left Wing’s First Army. He was the general of those troops who had never read much books, and did not know what was called the “principle of the wise”.
Chen Ge Guang recalled that young little soldier burned by the black fire.
At first, he saved that little soldier’s life in the desert, so even if faced against the Mr. Yan who seemed to have a divine-like power, [that soldier] was willing to draw his blade and reproach that the other party was insolent. And the cavalry in Gua Province here, most of them were completely illiterate[4], but because he diligently governed Gua Province, even if they feared the forbidden territory called Ghost City, they would still be willing to step inside it with him.
In the end, they were all buried in the yellow sands. Died to unknown causes.
Chen Ge Guang pulled at his mouth, and smiled. That’s why even if he angrily scolded Mr. Yan—— oh, no, Liu Yan
—— what use was it? Wasn’t the one who lead the troops that trusted him, and brought them onto the road of death, he himself? Even though he knew that the mission the imperial family’s secret guards carried out might not be safe, didn’t he still obey the secret orders?
Even he himself, lived that wretchedly.
“I’d rather you’d have died already.” Before completely entering the darkness, Chen Ge Guang stopped in his steps, and suddenly said this.
His tone was no longer agitated, no longer angry. As calm as dead waters.
Liu Yan did not say anything.
He laid on the ground, and watched his good friend that was always unrestrained, reckless and fearless, hold his blade as he walked into the sunken darkness.
“Hah.” He lowered his eyes, and looked at the luminous pearl in his hands.
He also laughed.
“You’re right.” Liu Yan said in a low voice. The hand he held the luminous pearl with dejectedly let go. The luminous pearl fell down, and rolled on the ground, with the sound extremely clear.
That final line Chen Ge Guang said was just right. He too had also hoped he died instead.
A ghost rather than a human.
Liu Yan hoarsely laughed. He laid on the ice-cold floor, and after laughing and laughing, he started coughing out blood. He wanted to stop Chen Ge Guang from leaving, but he could no longer stand up. The blade that he threw out just before that exploded in midair, was his life-tied weapon.
What was a life-tied weapon? Something equivalent to his life.
“So you’re going to die like this.” There was suddenly someone’s voice in the darkness.
A torch suddenly lit up, and a person stood at a place not far from
them.
Liu Yan recognized that was Tai Shang Sect’s eldest disciple
brother, Ye Qiu Sheng. Many times, he encountered this person in some secret territories related to the eras, and exchanged quite a few blows time after time.
He was a very, very dangerous person.
“How unfortunate, I’d love to save you, but I don’t have that power. Though, if there are some last words, I could listen to it, one of the heads of Jin Tang’s secret guards, Liu family’s young master.”
Ye Qiu Sheng walked over. “Don’t let him die.”
Liu Yan’s expression returned to a collected look, and looked to be an aristocratic family’s young lord once more, calm and unhurried. A bronze tablet appeared in his hand. He tossed the bronze tablet at Ye Qiu Sheng.
“I know you guys were searching for this thing. Here.” Ye Qiu Sheng did not take it. “Though I want it, in this kind of shady place, I cannot guarantee it can be done.”
What he was saying was the truth. “I know.”
Liu Yan’s expression was calm. Before, he sensed that there was a person standing in a place not far from them, and the other party was locked onto himself. That’s why he let Chen Ge Guang walk away. When Ye Qiu Sheng walked out, he contrarily let out a breath.
“So, if it can be done, save him.” Liu Yan’s voice quieted down bit by bit.
He threw the item to Ye Qiu Sheng like a gamble.
Ye Qiu Sheng took away the bronze tablet, then turned to leave. Liu Yan lifted his head up, and laid on the ground.
He died.
Carrying many secrets others did not know of.
[1] 柳⾔- Yan, not for face as Liu Wu Yan’s Yan is for, but for word, speech. Now the question becomes, did his alias come from his masked
face, or was it borrowed from his sister’s name, or just merely used for the same sounding character? Time to guess which part of the name Chen Ge Guang was mocking.
[2] 学富五⻋- the expression here is, to have read five cart-loads of books.
[3] 才 ⾼ ⼋ ⽃ - talented in many areas (usually in reference to extraordinary literary talents)
[4] ⽬不识丁- to the extent that they do not know a single word.
Chapter 152
Chapter One Hundred Fifty-two, Tian Ji Valley, Who Is Innocent. (天机之⾕, 谁是⽆辜)
At many times, the world was an unfortunate and shitty place.
The young noble lord of a prestigious family who once bore sympathy would turn into a jerk that casually took away people’s lives, whereas immortal sects that guarded the ancient secrets would also send disciples to do many things that could not see the day of light.
This world was never either just black or white.
There was no downright justice, nor was there any compete and utter evil. Everyone simply lived ignorantly without aim, stood in different positions, and carried different missions, doing different things.
Ye Qiu Sheng gripped the bronze talisman he got from Liu Yan, and held onto his blade, silently walking in the darkness.
Not knowing why, he thought to Bai Li Shu once again.
When they were in Gua Province’s Ghost City, and did not yet enter Namu’s city, that day, that little girl called a’Mu with a pair of eyes “able to see the past and future” spoke with Duotana. He heard the words they spoke of, and then turned to tease Bai Li Shu, and said, they are saying you are not a good person. At that time, that person who always had many concerns repeated the words “good person”, then slightly smiled, and said:
—— I am originally not some good person.
Why would he suddenly remember this brief conversation? Ye Qiu Sheng thought.
Probably when he saw that young Jin Tang general break up with the secret guard’s Liu Yan, when that general scolded asking Liu Yan, why he turned into a scum, he subconsciously recalled it.
Who did not want themselves to be a good person?
When he was small, he followed the shitty old man all around the mountain carrying his blade, and said with a solemn pledge, he was to become a swordsman in its narrowest sense. Straightforward[1], elegant, and unrestrained. But when he grew up, he then discovered, immortal cultivators certainly could travel a thousand miles on the blade, take people’s heads with one single strike, but being straightforward and unrestrained, none.
What there was, was only responsibility.
And this sort of thing, responsibility, had no separation between good and bad.
Ye Qiu Sheng grew up in Tai Shang Sect. Tai Shang Sect gave him a name, gave him a life, his blade, his cultivation, all was given by Tai Shang Sect. He was Tai Shang Sect’s eyes, Tai Shang Sect’s sword. He travelled through the twelve dynasties for these many years, and to avoid the archaic secrets from being leaked out, he too killed many people.
There was one time, to seal a secret territory, Ye Qiu Sheng killed a cultivation-less executive.
However, that executive actually did not know anything. He was only a pawn sent here to search if there were any abnormalities. Those hidden people, to not let the immortal sects investigate their identities and origins, would not send out actual immortal cultivators and the true participants. They would only send out some mortals that did not know anything, nor understand anything.
However, these ordinary people, they would see which mountains have transformed, and which place’s rivers have changed directions.
Was Ye Qiu Sheng able to let these clues spread out? No.
So he killed that prefectural executive as well as the people who followed the executive on the journey, who were completely ignorant to this matter.
In front of immortal cultivators, they were simply ants. But when killing these ants, the hand holding the blade must use more strength than usual, to then let the body of the blade be steady.
And so, the straightforward martial artist with a strong sense of justice he thought of being when he was young, when he grew up……
He ended up turning into this kind of scummy thing as well.
As he thought of this, Bai Li Shu’s light voice seemed to resound by his ears again.
If…… If Bai Li Shu really was as he had surmised, was the same person as the one who continuously appeared in the wall drawings.
Then, that person, when he said he was not some good person, what kind of feeling did he bear?
Ye Qiu Sheng could not imagine it. He only felt fatigue.
He walked into the sunken darkness. The darkness here was a bit strange. It was so dark it was like a liquid, and when one walked into it, after a short distance, the figure would disappear. At this time, Ye Qiu Sheng did not see where Chen Ge Guang went to either.
But he wasn’t worried for the time being.
He faintly already knew what Bai Li Shu and a’Sa spoke about during that night.
This was the inside of Namu’s imperial city’s temple. Before Namu’s will awakened, the Zangmu guards would be in a state of deep slumber. Walking in the temple right now, though dangers were by the side, would not get one killed for the time being. The true crisis was in the later portion.
They were not Namu’s subjects, so hastily stepping into Namu’s temple would make them automatically be seen as offerings.
By walking in the darkness here, if one did not have the Scarlet Flame, they would be unconsciously led to the bottom of the sacrificial altar in the deep part of the temple, then trapped within, awaiting Namu’s awakening. At that time, the sacrificial offerings would very naturally be sacrificed.
And by then, the unstoppable death would befall within Namu’s
city.
The conversation between Bai Li Shu and a’Sa, was probably
related to this.
Ye Qiu Sheng did not know what Bai Li Shu wanted to do, but he was certain of a’Sa’s identity.
Now that it was mentioned, it was very funny- when the people of the Boyikh finds out that the tribe’s shaman they whole-heartedly trusted was not actually some true a’Sa, nor some representative of Namu in the human realm, what kind of reaction would they have? The real a’Sa of the Boyikh tribe, was not that white-haired old person, but that……
That little lady a’Mu who was seen by the Boyikh as something
strange.
During the ceremony, a’Sa turned the bone bracelet in his hands,
and when the flames sprung up, everyone was obliviously absorbed in the ceremony while that little girl named “a’Mu”, her eyes appeared with a strange transformation—— she was the true “a’Sa”. Her vision was the power that Namu left for the Boyikh tribe, she was the human Zangmu.
And the so-called a’Sa, used that bone bracelet to control that little lady.
That little girl’s power was borrowed away by a’Sa.
This was part of a very profound, secret scroll that Tian Ji Valley would not spread outside.
Named “Seizing Heaven”.
Even Heaven’s strength could be stolen and seized for one’s own use, what of a small little girl’s hidden power?
And that bunch of bastards that was Tian Ji Valley, were typically all mysterious and shady- playing a role like a shaman was practically their specialty. Let alone……
Gua Province, located in Jin Tang’s northwest borders, intersecting with Fu Yi dynasty, was originally very close to Tian Ji Valley.
The torch in Ye Qiu Sheng’s hand faintly illuminated a temple’s gate, and he finally walked to the place where the sacrificial altar was. Before stepping into the temple with the sacrificial altar, Ye Qiu Sheng turned to look in the direction of the divine temple’s main gates, and coldly laughed. —— The subject of Namu who possessed eyes that connected with the past and future, would bring all the tribespeople to once again return to the homeland, and the Fire of the Scarlet Flame would be lit by the human Zangmu.
This was the ceremony to rekindling the Scarlet Flame, awakening the ancient emperor.
But now, that little girl possessing Namu’s power was merely just a
puppet.
And though the flames burned with a great and majestic force, Ye
Qiu Sheng did not feel a sliver of the ancient emperor’s will.
The ceremony, was wrong. Tian Ji Valley.
They, too, were watching.
[1] 快意恩仇- to repay debts of gratitude as soon as it’s given, and in the same vein, pay revenge back with revenge. To be straightforward without any hesitation. Common traits of warriors/martial artists in wuxia stories.
Chapter 153
Chapter One Hundred Fifty-three, White Emperor Perishes, No Justice. (⽩帝陨灭, 没有正义)
Tian Ji Valley that proclaimed themselves to “look at the black and white with cold eyes of an outsider, and if one wanted to find out where the pieces fall, then they ask Heaven’s will”, also participated in these matters in the end.
However, now that it was mentioned, it was not something worth being surprised over. Tian Ji Valley was one of the sects of the Eight Immortal Sects, they were originally among the black and white- since they were among them, how were they able to place themselves outside the matter?
Perhaps it should be said, because they were able to calculate Heaven’s will, the number of things that Tian Ji Valley concealed and participated in secret would definitely be to a shocking extent. People of Tian Ji Valley wore cloaks and bamboo hats, would appear in the dim-blue morning light, or would leave in the deep and sunken night. They were originally one of the members that placed pieces on this chessboard.
Except, what could be calculated out, was Heaven’s will, what could not be calculated out, was the right and wrong.
A’Sa lead the people of the Boyikh tribe into the temple.
The black imperial city was already burning, and due to their long- cherished wish being realized, each person of the Boyikh tribe was in tears. How long has it been?
How long has it been since they wandered in the large desert of Khlajöwwma? Day and night, within the many alternations, they travelled within boundless sandstorms, all just to find the legendary homeland. Generation after generation, ever since birth, the parents’ generation would speak of the ancestors’ distant legends each and every day.
The long narrative poem spread in Khlajöwwma’s deserts, was the oracle that each and every one of them could recite from beginning to end without missing a single word.
That was their history, their glory.
When the white-haired Boyikh elderly people fell in the sandstorms, the prime-aged parents would take over the bone blades in their hands, while the small children would follow behind the parents, with distant and clear camel bells by their ears resounding for several hundreds and thousands of years.
—— Generation after generation, this was all the memories of the entire Boyikh tribe.
It was also their conviction.
And today, what they worshipped, finally spread open before them.
The Scarlet Flame soared up, and the black temples would burn with a brilliant fire along where the Boyikh people walked over. The soaring fire adhered itself to the extensive and ancient wall drawings depicted with scenes before the era—— Namu’s imperial city suspended within the sky, whereas the living beings between the heavens and earth submitted underneath Namu’s divine might.
Within the flames, these pictures were that brilliant. They were born here. —— See the Flames of the Scarlet rise from the deep abyss, be it above the skies or down the earth. Namu who rules the kingdom of death was born in the Scarlet Flame.
Duotana gripped the bone blade, and she looked at the slowly burning divine temple that went from being enveloped in darkness to turning into a brilliant colour, and felt like everything was just like a dream
—— did it finally get realized?
Were they finally going to take back their former glory?
A surge of high sea-like feelings flooded up, and Duotana’s ears seemed to once again resound with those camel bells that repeated each day. She recalled the boundless yellow sands she saw ever since she was born, recalled the Boyikh tribe being chased by Jin Tang dynasty, fleeing like a bunch of dishevelled wild wolves.
Now, these will end.
They will soon awaken Namu who protects them, they would soon turn into the most glorious tribe of Khlajöwwma.
Duotana’s eyes clouded up, and she was almost on the verge of choking up while lowly speaking with a’Mu by her side, “A’Mu, we…… we…… we’ve returned.”
She did not receive an answer.
Duotana turned her head. A’Mu who was similarly burning with flames on her body stood straight while looking forward, whereas the flames enveloped each and every one of them. Duotana could not seem the expression on her face, and thought a’Mu must be overly excited.
She extended her hand out, and wanted to hold a’Mu’s hand.
And then, at this time, they already arrived inside the front hall of the temple. The area the divine temple took up was very spacious- the front hall was broad and humongous, like there were traces of giants around.
Inside the front hall of the divine temple, was an old, deep-black giant tree standing in the very middle. The giant tree’s branches intertwined like dry Qiu dragons, with a deep-black colour like it was steel. It seemed like it was made of metal, yet also seemed like a divine tree directly growing out of the black stone. The main hall of the temple in Namu’s city, other than a single towering and lofty giant tree, had nothing else.
But that was already enough.
Flames already burned in the temple. The main hall was in a span of brilliance, and within this brilliance, the giant tree remained with a deep- black colour.
The flames did not burn on the giant tree’s body.
This, was a divine phoenix tree that made people tremble in reverence.
The Qiu dragon-like branches did not have a single leaf on it, yet gave people a feeling of loftiness. Each branch and stem all contained a terrifying might. How was this a tree? This was clearly an ancient miracle left from the era several thousands of years ago. The old dragon’s soul sat within the darkness, while its roots deeply penetrated the thick and heavy stone, and hung towards the turbulent and roaring black waters beneath the imperial city.
The people of the Boyikh, under the guidance of a’Sa, piously knelt under the giant, deep-black old tree—— compared to the old tree, they were just like ants.
Within the Boyikh tribe’s belief, after a person dies, the soul would be taken away by the army of Zangmu, and return to Namu’s kingdom of death. And within the kingdom of death, the souls would then be absorbed by the divine tree. Their ancestors, those countless souls all dwelled within this towering giant tree.
Spirit, oh spirit, whom restricts you? When the deceased return, the living grieve!
But at this time and moment, the tribespeople of the Boyikh no longer needed to grieve.
Because they already came to the place where the souls resided and
rested.
Their predecessors, their ancestors, all the brothers and sisters who
were deceased…… were all with them.
“When Namu’s flames burn, Namu’s might will come through the ancient times. Namu’s subjects have already returned to the homelands once more, all the past glory will come back.”
They didn’t know who it was, but the first voice hoarsely recited these words that were regarded like a conviction, and at a moment before this, the low and deep recitation was still continuously echoing within the raging fire.
Kowtow, kowtow, and kowtow again.
They took their excited gazes and sent them towards the person who was at the front, a’Sa.
The white-haired a’Sa stood up with a totter and his gaze swept over each and every one of the Boyikh tribespeoples’ faces, like he was to deeply remember each person’s face inside his mind. A’Sa was already old, the hand he held the bone cane with slightly shook, and within the flames, his face carried a sorrow expression.
“Namu’s subjects——” Within the fiery flames and the crackling sounds of the fire, a’Sa’s voice was low and deep. He lead Boyikh’s tribespeople, wandering within Khlajöwwma’s large deserts for this long, and now, everything was about to end.
“Our ancestors died in the path of the search, our brothers and sisters buried within the yellow sands in the seeking of the homeland, and now, we have finally returned.”
The Boyikh tribespeople’s faces revealed sorrow within his voice.
They recalled those predecessors, older generations, and brothers and sisters who searched for an entire lifetime.
“With the blood of Namu’s subjects, awaken the divine tree that is entrusted with the divine will. The Fire of the Scarlet Flame will soon burn, and Namu’s might will soon descend upon the vast land of Khlajöwwma once again!”
A’Sa’s voice suddenly rose up, and he thrust the bone cane into the deep-black stone.
A’Sa looked to only be a white-haired aging elderly person, but at this time, his voice was like a ringing large bell, while the bone cane pierced down like copper cutting into soil, and directly sunk into the hard stone layer.
He gripped the bone cane, and the bone cane turned into a magma- like deep-gold colour.
The Boyikh tribespeople half-knelt on the ground, then, clang——, clang——, clang——, sound after sound, directly thrust the bone blades with patterns of flames into the stone.
When the bone swords pierced into the stone layer, the Boyikh tribespeople reached their hands out to grip the edge of the blade, and overflowing blood poured down along the blade’s body, seeping into the stone. Using the blood of Namu’s subjects to revive that deeply- slumbering divine tree, the Scarlet Flame completely burned the divine tree.
And the ever-lofty Namu would soon wake up in the Scarlet Flame.
As blood seeped in, the lines on a’Sa’s face whose back was turned to everyone pretty much turned into a statue’s, cold and stiff.
He lowly recited a lengthy curse with a deep and low tone that was yet stable with strength.
But on his face, tears silently and slowly came out within the light.
And in the fires, before the tears could even slide down, it already disappeared.
◈◈◈
ly, the shitty old man said, Gua Province was the so-called place of the phoenix’s return.
In Ye Qiu Sheng’s memories, Tai Shang Sect’s disciples would come to Gua Province for experience and disappear in Gua Province in the end, but the sect’s elders did not even mention a single word about this.
At that time, Ye Qiu Sheng had not become Tai Shang Sect’s eyes yet, and was still a dunce that impatiently practised the blade with the shitty old man.
When young, there would always be many questions that once one grew up, they would know the answers to.
After that long of a time, Ye Qiu Sheng finally knew the answer.
When he walked inside the temple, Ye Qiu Sheng finally confirmed which ancient emperor of the era was Khlajöwwma’s legend’s deity, Namu.
In the era of Ten Thousand Immortals after the era of Chaos, of the remaining three ancient emperors, there was one called White Emperor. Within the fragmented legends, White Emperor’s true body was one of a phoenix, and he lived in Wu Dong, the fire vein of the world.
Namu was one of the remaining three emperors from the era of Ten Thousand Immortals, the White Emperor.
Within the legends of Khlajöwwma, the Fire of Scarlet Flames rose from the abyss, from the skies to the earths, where Namu who ruled the kingdom of death was born in that Scarlet Flame. And phoenixes, were divine birds that were born in undying fire. Phoenixes were undying and imperishable divine birds, they were born in flames, and would also reincarnate in flames.
That’s why when the Fire of Scarlet Flame is rekindled, Namu would return to the land once more.
The era’s history spread by the people of today was filled with various imaginations, where fact interweaved with fiction, with the truth only a tip of the iceberg. Let alone, those biographers compiling the era’s ancient history were only some normal people, what were they able to see? They could only see the false impressions that the immortals sects gave.
Those shocking truths were heavily hidden away.
The White Emperor that left in enlightenment in the legends, actually felt that the Eighteen Clans of Old already became more and more hard to ward off, and thus would be persuaded by that mysterious cloaked person, moving the imperial city into this dark space. When White Emperor’s city migrated to another space, the area the imperial city was originally at—— the place that was called Wu Dong at the time, turned into a wild desert within a single night, with all the phoenix trees dead and withered away.
Place of the phoenix’s return, should the White Emperor who had the body of a phoenix come back, then where would it return to?
He would return to the region he originally ruled over. And Gua Province was the place of the phoenix’s return!
Gua Province was the Wu Dong of the era past—— or perhaps it should be said, the desert of Khlajöwwma was Wu Dong of the previous era. Wu Dong was the world’s fire vein, here, grew phoenix trees with leaves like scarlet-red flames, and White Emperor who was born in flames ruled over this place. So when the White Emperor left, with the fire vein’s abrupt changes, it turned this place into a scorching large desert.
However, the act of moving the imperial city to stop the Eighteen Clans of Old’s massacre itself, in the end, was the scheme that the Eighteen Clans of Old made to kill the White Emperor.
The person who deceived the White Emperor took away the imperial city’s Scarlet Flame, and the White Emperor fell.
Then, the imperial city submerged into darkness.
Before the fall, the unresigned ancient emperor cursed that traitor, and also left a way of escape.
Phoenixes were divine birds that would reincarnate in flames. The people who carried the mission of reviving the White Emperor left the imperial city in the void, and returned to the Wu Dong that already turned into a large desert. To prevent the Eighteen Clans’ chase, they hid away their names, and used fictional myths to transmit the true history generation after generation through word of mouth.
The Eighteen Clans of Old may have disappeared in the world’s eyes along with the severance of the era of Ten Thousand Immortals, but the era’s soul-shocking battles did not cease ever since.
After the Eighteen Clans of Old, the Eight Immortal Sects that ruled the twelve dynasties and had a lot of connections with the Eighteen Clans of Old, secretly chased after the old truth.
Just like how Jiu Xuan Sect would borrow the excuse of improving the Qing Ming tower to enter the Mausoleum’s ancient emperor burial grounds to search back then, Tai Shang Sect did pretty much the same things in secret as well.
There was never some so-called experience-gathering.
Those Tai Shang Sect disciples who came to Gua Province then never went back, came searching for this place’s clues to the burial ground, and died here.
Gua Province’s Ghost City that was originally a Buddhist city in the legends, similarly concealed a truth that people did not know of.
This place certainly was a Buddhist city in the past, and there were also certainly deep and profound cultivated monks here that died and turned into stone statues.
There was no Qing Ming tower in Gua Province’s Ghost City- that Buddhist city was something Fan Yin Pavilion constructed to seal the ancient emperor’s burial ground in this place. Perhaps…… just like how the Mausoleum of Ten Million became a soul-sealing altar in the end, back then, this space appeared with traces of the ancient emperor reviving, with the Scarlet Flame’s aura once again appearing here.
And those monks from Fan Yin Pavilion very possibly turned into stone statues to suppress the reviving Scarlet Flame.
If the truth was as he surmised, then many things could be connected together.
As Tai Shang Sect’s eldest disciple brother, Tai Shang Sect’s eyes, the things Ye Qiu Sheng knew of were far more than other people.
He remembered, several hundred years ago, Jiu Xuan Sect once suppressed an almighty being who refined in the Ye fire, called Wen Ren Jiu. And according to what the shitty old man said, the Ye fire was not that person’s trump card- that person’s trump card was the Scarlet Flame. Wen Ren Jiu made a name for himself several hundred years ago, and several hundred years ago, the White Emperor’s space suppressed by Gua Province’s Buddhist city appeared with an abnormality- the Scarlet Flame revived, and the monks turned into stone statues to suppress it.
—— The times matched.
That Wen Ren Jiu, might have refined the Scarlet Flame from Gua Province.
As the truth was gradually pieced together like a jigsaw puzzle, Ye Qiu Sheng could not help but let out a sigh.
The things these old secrets implicated were too much. The immortal sects, the dynasties, Eighteen Clans of Old…… every one of them used all their strength in this hidden turbulence.
How does a single person face the vast long river of history? Ye Qiu Sheng did not know, and had no way of understanding.
He only knew, he was Tai Shang’s Ye Qiu Sheng, Tai Shang’s blade, and Tai Shang’s eyes.
As the truth gradually turned clearer, Ye Qiu Sheng stepped into the big hall located in the deepest part of the temple. There was only an extremely dazzling, mysterious altar with patterns lit up within the big hall.
Ye Qiu Sheng gripped his blade and cautiously walked up. At the very top of the altar, Ye Qiu Sheng saw one person.
A young man dressed in white robes with a longbow placed by their side quietly sat there. There was not much expression on his face, yet it made people feel like, he seemed to be sad.
Chapter 154
Chapter One Hundred Fifty-four, Blazing Fires Like Song, Edges Like Snow. (烈⽕如歌,⼑锋如雪)
Ye Qiu Sheng had always felt like Bai Li Shu was a very hard-to- understand person.
This person, Bai Li Shu, always hid too many concerns. His figure was concealed in those old secrets of the era, and by association, made people have no means of estimating just what those concerns of his were.
Furthermore, they did not know, just what kind of feelings he had when facing against the various unspeakable past events from history.
Actually, just what Bai Li Shu thought, and what kind of feelings he had, had no relation with Ye Qiu Sheng whatsoever. Even if his guess was correct, that this person who on the surface suddenly became Jiu Xuan Sect’s eldest disciple brother was actually the mysterious being from the Bai Li clan repeatedly appearing in those wall drawings of the past, how was it related to him?
Two irrelevant people, that were at most just partners. Even a constantly-ignored partner at that.
And so, why?
Why was it when he saw the youth in snow-like white robes sitting by the black-pooled white spring, with a look of indifference, he would also feel as sad as them? A depressing, unspeakable kind of sadness. Was he sympathizing?
No, he wasn’t.
No matter if Bai Li Shu was actually the person from the Bai Li clan continuously appearing in the era and suffering the ancient emperor’s curse as he guessed, a person like him never needed others to sympathize with him.
By living on the vast lands of the twelve dynasties, as long as the hand held a blade, there was never a need for others’ sympathies.
Be it immortal cultivators or ordinary people, holding a blade meant being prepared to die. People who bore responsibilities, even if they fell on the road with a body drenched with blood, did not need anyone to sympathize with them.
So, why was it?
Ye Qiu Sheng recalled in the night of Gua Province’s Ghost City, the desert wolf corpses killed by him were still piled outside the cave, the bloody air did not disperse in the night winds even after a long time, and the bonfire’s flames were flickering about. He was injured, so his mind was a bit muddled, and thus, leaned against the rock wall, swayed the hard liquor, and spoke with Bai Li Shu who was lying in the cave.
At that time, he only did it to make himself maintain consciousness, yet, he accidentally talked about the Mu Zi temple in the southeast region of Qi Qin dynasty.
Thus, he abruptly said. Said that Qiu Sheng, this name, was something given by the shitty old man, but the time he was picked up was on a summer day.
After saying this, he started drinking.
At that time, just what did Bai Li Shu say all of a sudden? —— I asked a person, who am I, he told me, my surname is Bai Li, given name Shu, and so, I am called Bai Li Shu.
When he saw the young man indifferently sitting there with their side placed with the gold-coloured longbow, yet looking to be that sad, Ye Qiu Sheng did not know why he thought to these things. Thus, at this time, the world suddenly turned ice-cold.
If one was cold, then drink wine!
A wine so strong it would be like knives pouring down from the throat to the chest with one single gulp. The crumbs of ice inside the bones would burn off under that kind of hard liquor, and then, even if the world was so cold it was like the far-north’s ice sheets, the hand holding the blade would no longer tremble.
But Bai Li Shu said before, he never drank wine. How troublesome. Ye Qiu Sheng sighed.
He carried his blade and walked towards the young man sitting by the strange spring emitting with a faint white light. Bai Li Shu calmly looked at him. His face did not have any expression whatsoever, and his eyes were as always, with the bottom of the pupils sealed with frosty ice, while underneath the ice layer were unseeable and boundless concerns.
Ye Qiu Sheng walked up to him, half-knelt down, and placed his blade on the icy deep-black stone.
—— This world was that cold, as cold as an endless ice field, that all that one saw when they scanned around were freezing knives. The cold seemed like ice crumbs that seeped into the bones, even one’s breath carried a hint of cold in it.
That freezing cold.
And so, Ye Qiu Sheng reached out, and he lightly held Bai Li Shu. Just like he did by the bonfire at Gua Province’s Ghost City. “My surname is Bai Li, given name Shu. I am Bai Li Shu.” Ye Qiu Sheng heard Bai Li Shu say.
The sound was very light, yet calm as always.
“My surname is Ye, I was picked up on an autumn day, so I am called Ye Qiu Sheng.” Ye Qiu Sheng also replied in a low voice.
The body of the blade placed on the surface of the deep-black stone, reflected with the golden longbow’s flames.
Within the deep-black space here was a sleeping archaic emperor, inside the black imperial city was a bright magma-like molten fire, while the suspended throne was burning up like the scorching sun melting down, and the black waters beneath the city were vast and mighty, coming from somewhere unknown, and flowing off to somewhere unknown.
But what matter was it?
The heavens and earth turned upside down, the era ebbed and flowed, yet, as majestic and unstoppable as it all seemed, within this majesty, it would have that instance for a breather too.
—— One saw the edge of the blade akin to snow, yet also illuminated with the glows of a fire.
◈◈◈
Fire started burning up.
From the iron tree’s several roots, it started seeping out from the deepest parts of the bronze armour-like bark of the iron tree, and the scarlet- red molten fire on the towering tree branches was just like the flood wilfully overflowing around the thick soils way back then. At this time, the Qiu dragon-like branches were revived, and the flames coiled around the densely-black tree like a Pan dragon[1].
The Scarlet Flame burned up. The divine phoenix tree carrying the Boyikh’s souls was like it was resurrected into its former appearance within the flames.
The tree was like raging fire, burning like it attained liberation[2]. The people of Boyikh tribe knelt on the floor, lifted their heads up,
and ecstatically and piously looked towards the towering divine tree.
“Namu bless me——” Duotana’s tears poured out from her eyes, and she senselessly looked towards divine tree erupting with flames from the inside. Her sound was so hoarse, like the winds of Khlajöwwma.
Kneeling by her side, was a’Mu.
A’Mu had her head up, and vacantly looked at that divine tree that was about to completely burn up, while the blood-coloured tears were dried on her face like scars.
To the back were the Boyikh tribespeoples’ choked voices, and a’Sa who knelt at the very front slowly crushed the bone bracelet in his hand.
“All gods all burn, why does thou exist——” His voice suddenly turned sharp like a blade, suddenly fierce like lightning, and suddenly burst like that in everyone’s ears.
Carrying a completely unfamiliar iciness and killing intent.
—— This time, the words a’Sa spoke were no longer Boyikh’s language, but another extremely strange, abstruse and hard-to-understand language.
The syllables were archaic and abstruse, while the language alone carried a kind of terrifying strength.
These words were like an order.
He stole a’Mu’s strength that belonged to the White Emperor, and now reversed it, and borrowed this power to give the Boyikh tribe’s true human Zangmu, a’Mu, a terrifying order. An ancient emperor’s power was certainly the most scariest strength in this world.
Just as the order using White Emperor’s power left the mouth, the voice fell into the air, and the atmosphere started shaking, and the interior of the temple suddenly swept with a fierce tornado. Within the tornado, a fiery flame danced like an ancient python, and the sound of the raging fire in the main hall intermingled with the atmosphere’s buzzing from the tremors, forming an unimaginable power.
Like seawater suddenly rising up to the air, then the hundreds of thousands of tons of seawater heavily falling down once again.
The Boyikh tribespeople who knelt on the floor of the deep-black stone with their hands holding bone blades and using their blood as an offering was completely defenceless, and in an instant, only felt like a power of several tens of thousands of tons heavily pounded onto their own bodies.
Even a question of astonishment could not come out of their mouths before all the Boyikh tribespeople fell to the ground.
The very young Boyikh people and the tribe’s aged elderly people, underneath this one heavy strike, directly fell and died. They widened their eyes, and their faces were left with the excitement from returning to the homeland.
They did not know what happened at all, and died off at that terrifying order just now.
And when a’Sa voice came down, a’Mu who knelt by Duotana’s side madly bent her head backwards on an angle that a human could not possibly achieve, and her eyes suddenly turned into the colour of the Scarlet Flame. Then, an extremely ear-piercing and extremely terrifying shriek burst out from her mouth.
The shriek so ear-piercing and fierce that it definitely could not be let out by a human shook the entire big hall. The Boyikh people who fell to the ground just now within the heavy attack that were seriously injured but not dead yet—— those strong-bodied hunters whose blood was activated in the return to the homeland—— painfully twisted their faces within the screeching.
They wanted to struggle and climb up from the ground, but their hands seemed to have lost control, and still tightly gripped onto the bone blade.
Within the shrieking, the blood in the remaining people’s bodies already completely lost control, and was forced out by some powerful strength- it gurgled out from the wound cut by the bone blade, and continuously seeped into the deep-black stone.
“A’Sa……” The Boyikh’s leader, Kw’lang’s eyes widened. He struggled, and wanted to climb up from the floor, yet blood poured down from his face. He looked at the elderly person slowly standing up in front of the divine tree in disbelief.
—— What happened? Just what exactly happened?
The a’Sa that the Boyikh tribe idolized, that they trusted that much, stood up in the gazes of all the people who were not dead yet. He did not turn back, and drew out the bone cane thrust in the stone. At this time, the bone cane already turned into a long sword with its edge emitting a merciless and icy light, while his voice carried a terrifying, familiar strength.
—— That was Namu’s strength.
But he instead used this power to lay down orders to kill the Boyikh tribespeople.
What was going on? Just what exactly happened?!!
The world changed in an instant, it turned twisted, turned mad. They were completely off-guard, and the a’Sa who they whole-heartedly trusted suddenly turned into a completely unfamiliar figure in the raging fires. The old, always-hunched back suddenly turned straight like a blade, a sword, and the entire person completely changed in an instant.
Within a’Mu’s screeching, violent gusts swept up the scorching fire, and the scorching fires madly danced like dragons.
Akin to an apocalypse.
The divine temple started shaking, and the Boyikh tribespeople’s blood seeped into the stone, like seeping through to the entire imperial city’s heart. The Boyikh tribespeople’s blood carried the strength of an ancient emperor- this was the glory they wanted to regain, thus, were able to allow for the divine phoenix tree to revive once again.
But the ceremony, from the very beginning, was wrong.
A’Sa who hosted this ceremony, from the very beginning, did not do it to let the divine tree re-awaken.
The divine tree was one of the imperial city’s cores. And his goal—— to destroy the divine tree.
Capable of awakening the divine tree, was only the ancient emperor’s strength, then on the same principle, capable of destroying the divine tree, was also only the ancient emperor’s strength.
A’Mu’s body twisted, and flames erupted out from her body.
But they were not the flames of revival. That was a fire of ruination.
“A’Mu——” The seriously-injured Duotana who fell by a’Mu’s side reached out, and desperately tried to grab her hand.
At this time, the flames on a’Mu’s body erupted out, so when the flames extended to Duotana’s body, Duotana’s voice stopped all of a sudden. In an instant, Duotana turned into ashes in that fire.
The Boyikh tribe was Namu’s subjects, the blood in their bodies hid with Namu’s aura, thus, they would receive the flame’s protections. When they stepped into imperial city and the flames rekindled on their bodies, they were safe and sound in the flames.
This was because they were Namu’s subjects.
And at present, a’Sa controlled Namu’s strength that he stole away from a’Mu, and borrowed Namu’s power to place an order of being destroyed by fire.
How could a subject oppose their king?
So, when the flames that protected them reversed and wanted to take away their lives, the Boyikh tribespeople had no power to oppose it whatsoever.
The flames that exploded from a’Mu’s body merged with the flames in the surroundings, and all the flames turned into an ominous bloody-red colour, while the Boyikh tribespeople were burned into ashes in the flames.
Not even knowing why when they died.
—— Why their a’Sa would suddenly turn into a stranger.
The temple started collapsing, giant rocks started falling down in big chunks, and the rumbling sound was just like some ancient existence, letting out a furious roar.
Flames, falling rocks.
Within this kind of terrifying scene, a’Sa gripped the bone cane that turned into a long blade, and stood up straight, staring at the completely- reddened divine phoenix tree.
He heard all the sounds to his back. A’Mu’s cries, Duotana calling out a’Mu’s name, Kw’lang’s voice…… Anything and everything.
But he did not turn back, and was just like a statue.
He firmly stared at the phoenix tree in front of him. Within the earth-shaking, the divine tree was also trembling, and streaming fire was flowing from the tree—— the ancient emperor was making a counterattack out of rage. The top of the divine tree was like several tens of thousands of Qiu dragons swimming and coiling around right now. They were protecting this imperial city’s heart.
A’Sa’s seven orifices also started slowly flowing out with blood.
The ancient emperor’s might intensely permeated out from the divine tree in front of him—— White Emperor who slept here, after the ceremony had been ruined, no longer cared for anything anymore and wanted to forcefully re-awaken, rescuing this city.
At this time, the divine tree was as hard as black iron, so firm it could not be destroyed.
Nevertheless, all of a sudden, the trunk of the divine tree appeared with a crack.
The crust burst, and like magma spewing out, the Scarlet Flame slowly flowed like liquid from the bark of the divine tree, erupting from the cracks—— just like it was the divine tree’s blood.
When the gap appeared on the divine tree’s trunk, at the altar in the deepest part of the temple, Bai Li Shu put up the longbow, and shot one arrow into the mouth of the spring emitting with white light.
Like the golden crow of the ancient times rushing into the East Sea, resulting in the East Sea disappearing and turning into a barren land for thousands of miles, the instant the long arrow sunk into the mouth of the spring, the spring completely vaporized. But the long arrow did not stop- it carried an unstoppable momentum, and perforated the entire altar.
Thus, gold light burst from the middle of the altar, and the altar broke and collapsed, with loose rocks rolling off, rumbling like thunder.
With the one arrow shot, Bai Li Shu spurt out a mouthful of blood, and his facial colour turned pale-white, but the longbow in his hand instead turned more scorching and bright.
As the altar crumbled down, Ye Qiu Sheng pulled the pale-faced Bai Li Shu, and took him out of the temple and flew out.
And at the time the altar collapsed, the divine tree emerged with a
fissure.
A’Sa took in a deep breath, and he shouted, then cut down with the
long blade.
The strike of light was like a rainbow, pouring down towards the gap in the divine tree.
[1] 蟠⻰- a hornless water dragon, often depicted in a curled up state (hence the ‘pan’, which bears the same tone as the word for curling/盘).
[2] 涅槃- specifically, Parinirvana. Release from the cycle of life and death after reaching nirvana. True death, essentially.
Chapter 155
Chapter One Hundred Fifty-five, the Imperial City Destroyed, Cavalry Turns into Light. (王城覆灭, 铁骑成辉)
All this time, in the eyes of the Boyikh tribe, a’Sa was old and hunch-backed. He held boundless and endless knowledge, but at the same time, was aged and weak, gradually turning old.
Nevertheless, at this time and moment, a’Sa who had the long blade raised high up to cut down with a rainbow-like strike of light, already completely changed in appearance.
He angrily shouted, roared, just like a furious male lion.
The back of the hand holding the blade had its muscles bulging out like a Qiu dragon, whereas fiery and raging flames reflected into his eyes, and burned into a resolution and cruelty of gambling everything away. The wrinkles on his face all gathered into lines of a bronze statue, with pure strength pouring into the lines, and the elderly person wielding the blade while springing up turned into a courageously advancing man at this very moment.
In the man’s world, he did not ask of life or death, did not ask of consequences, and did not ask of success or failure.
The thing he had to do was only one: Even if he had to carry a burden as important as Mount Tai[1], he had to draw his blade and cut down without any hesitation! When the atmosphere starting shaking and the long blade cut down, it was like a pure-black sky being ripped apart without mercy from top to bottom by cruel lightning, and the flames burning in the temple were hit by the strike of light.
The meteor-like strike akin to a rainbow injected itself into the unyielding phoenix tree’s body.
The loud echo from falling rocks colliding together rumbled like explosives in the air of the divine temple, shaking so much that people’s eardrums seemed like they would split open, while the penetrating sound of breaking exploded like thunder.
The magma-like red flames sputtered and sprayed out from the bark of the iron tree, and the atmosphere suddenly turned scorching hot.
A’Sa roared, the muscles on his face twisted, while the web of the hand holding the long blade split apart, and blood fell down along the hilt.
Compared to the towering iron tree, a’Sa was just like an insignificant mayfly.
But right now, that trivial mayfly was about to shake the very big and tall tree.
Within the shouting, all of a’Sa’s primordial energy poured from his hands to the long blade pierced into the tree truck’s gap, and a string of sounds that was practically like the sky shattering resonated. A’Sa gripped the long blade, and cut from the very top of the tree trunk down the entire way.
The phoenix tree emerged with a very, very long scar from top to bottom, like a human’s artery was cut open, and viscous-red fire splattered out from inside.
Just like blood. When the divine tree was cut open by the long blade, the entire black imperial city shook, and crevices appeared on the thick black-stoned streets, with magma-like flames bubbling and bursting out from the continuously-expanding crevices. The divine phoenix tree was Namu’s imperial city’s heart, and today, this heart was being cut open by someone.
Lines and lines of the cracks traversed through the grand imperial city, and big pieces of stone shattered and dropped down from the sky pillars. The imperial city suspended in midair through the support from the eight pillars, that was not a residence belonging to humans, was falling apart.
Those giant bronze-armoured knights rushed over from the continuously breaking streets like a giant flood, and rushed to the continuously collapsing temple swept in red flames.
When the cavalry was running, the stone was shaking, and tens of thousands of tons of armour colliding together let out a low and deep sound of muffled thunder. They passed by like a flood through the flames, and formed into a terrifying army rushing towards the direction of the temple.
Chen Ge Guang stood within the raging fires, and just about vacantly watched the army rushing over like a torrential current.
—— When he was walking alone within the dark temple, the temple suddenly shook, and thousands upon thousands of tons of stone came crashing down. Chen Ge Guang dodged in an extreme panic, and when he saw he was about to be crushed by a giant stone, two people saved him.
One was dressed like a bodyguard, with their hand holding a blade, while the other one’s face was pale-white like a seriously-ill person, with their hand holding a longbow burning with golden flames.
There were actually other people in this shady kind of place? Chen Ge Guan’s mind passed by with this kind of thought, yet did not have the opportunity to ask about it.
No explanation, no words. At this time, beside them was the continuously collapsing temple, with giant stones weighing thousands of tons, beneath their feet was a spiderweb-like shattering floor, and magma-like flames spewing out from the crevices.
An apocalyptic scene of destruction.
All of this already exceeded the extent of which Chen Ge Guang could understand!
Mortals, in front of a divine scene, could only shiver in prostration and quake.
But those two who saved Chen Ge Guang’s life, in this terrifying environment, carried him without batting an eyelid and quickly went forward. That young man with a very good-looking and pale face holding the bow was blocking in front of them, thus, the entire way, all the flames automatically split apart from their sides.
Rumble rumble. Horse hoof sounds resonated like thunder, and at the end of the wide streets connecting to the big gates of the temple, that terrifying cavalry that Chen Ge Guang saw before appeared, and passed through the imperial city’s streets like a flooding current.
That was an unstoppable and terrifying cavalry.
And then, these two who were by his side continued going forward in this kind of apocalyptic scene of destruction without any hesitation at all- they did not dodge or make way.
Chen Ge Guang saw that person holding a blade take out a bronze
tablet.
The blade-holding person cut his own wrist, and blood dripped on
the surface of the bronze tablet, then, their side suddenly swept up with a terrifying whirlwind. An outrageous might erupted out from the bronze tablet in that blade-holding person’s hands, and the air shook like an emperor was furiously roaring. Chen Ge Guang could no longer maintain himself, and the blade in his hands pierced into the stone, and he directly knelt down on the ground in fear of that terrifying might.
The person holding the blade was Ye Qiu Sheng.
His hands held that bronze tablet that Mr. Yan used to request him to save Chen Ge Guang with, while cold sweat rolled down from his forehead. The tablet had ancient symbols on it, and at this time, the symbols were lighting up bit by bit.
At the time the pressure turned heavier and heavier, the enormous and terrifying cavalry current already rushed to the front of the three.
When Chen Ge Guang felt that harsh frosty wind from the cavalry coming here, his eyes were already cast with the bronze-covered horse hooves stepping down from high in the air.
—— This cavalry was going towards the deeper part of the temple.
Just when the three people were on the verge of being trampled on by the giant-like cavalry current and the iron mounts were about to make a long drive straight in, the symbols on the bronze tablet in Ye Qiu Sheng’s hand finally completely activated.
Chen Ge Guang heard the atmosphere transmit with a loud sound like the sky was collapsing, and in the next moment, a dazzling light burst out in front of the three people.
It was that bright of a light, so bright it was enough to illuminate the entire space.
There was nothing left in front of their eyes, only a span of boundless snow-white colour. The eyes started hurting like it burned, and hot tears came running down out of a physiological response. The world was only left with a span of snow-white. Chen Ge Guang could not see anything anymore, and his ears heard the sound of something collapsing and breaking apart inch by inch.
The horse hooves no longer resounded, while the air drifted down with a lot of powder-like things, and all by the ears was a buzzing sound.
Chen Ge Guang shivered as he prostrated on the ground- in the eruption of the terrifying power just now, even if Ye Qiu Sheng put up a barrier, he was still shaken that all his organs[2] were like they got displaced, and blood spurted out from his mouth.
—— Just what kind of background did these two people have? Were they lunatics?
Chen Ge Guang did not die, but he was already blind.
After the snow-white world was sustained for a very long while, his eyes were only left with a stretch of pitch-blackness.
Within the white light that was as bright as snow just now, that current-like cavalry froze in midair, and then starting from the heads, turned into powder bit by bit, and rustled down in the wind.
The bronze tablet in Ye Qiu Sheng’s hands clattered onto the
ground.
He vomited a mouth of blood, and the entire person drooped down
in an instant.
Now, his facial colour was just about the same as Bai Li Shu’s, so pale-white there wasn’t even a sliver of blood colour left.
The white light slowly dissipated. The flames in the black city were still raging on, but that cavalry that was about to rush into the temple to stop a’Sa from destroying the phoenix tree was already without a trace. “Fuck.” Ye Qiu Sheng used his blade to prop his body up as he lightly cursed, then bit down and staggered, attempting to stand up.
Bai Li Shu’s face was originally pale, and at this time, it turned even more frighteningly white, while his hands held the gold longbow- it was he who used this longbow just now to protect the three.
The hand Ye Qiu Sheng no longer had strength in barely picked up the bronze tablet, and tried two times, yet did not succeed in standing up.
Bai Li Shu extended his hand out, and pulled him up.
At the time the three people had not yet stood steady, the entire unceasing vibrations suddenly turned more violent. Bai Li Shu coughed, pulled Ye Qiu Sheng and Chen Ge Guang, then rushed out.
Just as they rushed out of the big gates of the temple, they heard a very loud rumbling emitting from their back.
The tall and majestic temple door with ancient pythons hovering around collapsed with a loud crash behind the three, and the ground shook along with it. Within the rumbling sounds, a blaze of black flames like crows madly flew around, and sparks fell down across the sky like rain.
Bai Li Shu did not pay heed to the situation to the back.
He lifted his head up to look in the direction of the temple’s main
hall.
Flames gushed out from the main hall’s building several zhang high,
and swept towards the pitch-black skies high up. The skies suspended with the imperial throne in their sights was like it was melting, turning into a scarlet-red magma, and dripping down from the deep-black skies. Then, the surrounding space of the imperial throne started warping—— no, not just the throne’s surrounding space.
The eight giant stone pillars that supported the black imperial castle started emerging with cracks. The stone started to break off piece by piece from the pillars, then fell towards the increasingly turbulent and roaring black waters.
The imperial city that long already spread with web-like cracks broke apart street by street, and fell down from the stone pillars, rolling towards the black waters of unknown origins and unknown destinations. Those chains that Ye Qiu Sheng’s group all stepped over connecting the lone islands suspended in the air and formed into a spiral-shaped heaven’s ladder all broke down.
The islands dropped down from the sky one after the other.
The divine phoenix tree that was supporting this space was dying
off.
This entire space today, after the era of Ten Thousand Immortals,
finally headed towards complete destruction.
Bai Li Shu stood up straight. He took out a long arrow.
It was a long arrow with a Qiu dragon’s spinal bones hammered into the body, a golden crow’s skull cast into the arrowhead, and a black bird’s plume forming its tail. The instant the long arrow was taken out, the flames in the surrounding area suddenly sprung up higher, and the atmosphere seemed to transmit with the cries of a golden crow coming from the past.
Bai Li Shu put on the arrow, and drew the bowstring.
He slowly lifted his arm, and aimed at the suspended and melting
throne.
As his white robes violently swept up with the winds, he let go his
hand, and shot the fate-like arrow.
[1] 泰⼭- largely a symbol of great importance. [2] 五脏六腑- specifically, five ‘zhang’ organs and six ‘fu’ organs, namely the heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidney, then, the six refers to the small intestines, gall bladder, stomach, large intestines, and bladder. Merely an all-encompassing term for all your internal organs, really.
Chapter 156
Chapter One Hundred Fifty-six, the Imperial City Collapses, a’Sa, a’Sa. (王城塌毁, 阿萨阿萨)
The world seemed to be only left with two colours. Black and gold.
In the pitch-black space, the places the long arrow flew over was left with a molten gold-like trail of magnificence. Ye Qiu Sheng lifted his head up and watched that “fate”-like arrow, just like what he saw in the Qiu Huang tower, hitting the bronze throne highly suspended above the city.
The imperial city was originally in the skies like a melting sun, and in the ancient times, the sun was the golden crow.
After the eras were superseded several times, the one arrow that shot down the golden crow appeared in the long river of time once again.
The golden longbow in Bai Li Shu’s hands already transformed.
That gold longbow completely burned up, and Bai Li Shu who held the longbow was just like he was holding a sun. The place they were standing at, was bright like the daytime.
The surface of the longbow emerged with countless magnificent symbols so complex it made people’s head spin. As though the dust that sealed it for a long time was finally wiped away, a terrifying strength that had long been silent was resurrected in the longbow’s body, and the features of the person holding the longbow were completely illuminated by the golden fire.
While the bottom of their eyes were pretty much an icy tranquility.
—— Held in Bai Li Shu’s hands, was not some Golden Crow longbow modelled after the Setting Sun.
That was originally the actual, divine bow that shot down a golden crow in the far-ancient times!
That divine bow called the “Setting Sun”.
Setting Sun, Setting Sun, once the ancient emperors who overthrew the crude beasts’ rule became the new tyrants, they would become the new suns of “when the days die and wither”! The golden crow was the image of the sun! Since the ancient emperors who were just like the violent scorching sun fell to a gold longbow, then, shouldn’t that longbow be called “Setting (the) Sun”?
The ancient era’s past was this hidden within legends, passed down to the future generations like this.
Back then, through the imitation of the “Setting Sun”, the Golden Crow longbow, Shen Ye found Bai Li Shu who lost his memories time and time again while walking with the Setting Sun longbow.
That Golden Crow was only a catalyst.
And held in Bai Li Shu’s hands, accompanying him within the very long eternity this entire time, was the true divine bow of Setting Sun.
The era of Chaos vanished, era of Ten Thousand Immortals severed, the time of several tens of thousands of years violently surged on in the torrents of history, and within this current, the longbow named Setting Sun, once again revived in its owner’s hands. Thus, Bai Li Shu shot out that shockingly-bright arrow.
As golden flames erupted out, the rolling fire burned up in the pitch- black skies, and the entire space started shaking. The sounds of wind were sad and shrill, vibrating the ears so much one could almost be deaf, whereas the black waters underneath the imperial city bubbled up. A horrifying, fearful might erupted out in this tranquil deep-black space.
But that was no longer the might of an emperor returning. That was the rage of despair.
It was the cries it let out when the unstoppable demise arrived.
The imperial city under their feet shook, and the sturdy stone beneath cracked open inch by inch. The spiderweb-like splitting spread over the big and small streets and alleys- not only the divine temple, but those stone houses to the two sides of the long streets also started collapsing one by one. Winds violently ran about this miraculous imperial city frozen in the era and time, and let out a primitive roar.
Within the winds, were boundless fires. Golden, world-burning fires.
With a sound of the canopy of Heaven breaking apart, the imperial city in the skies completely collapsed with the one arrow that drew out a gold trajectory. Thus, the skies seemed to be drawn over with a shower of meteors. Balls and balls of fireballs drew out long and frightening arcs in the pitch-black skies, and then, the momentum carrying the power of destroying the world heavily fell into the imperial city that originally already started coming apart.
The rumbling sounds did not cease.
The flames completely burned up just like this.
The black imperial city created by the White Emperor who was born in flames, now was vigorously perishing in flames. At this time and moment, this pitch-black world turned that magnificent.
So magnificent, it made people unable to breathe.
This was the lament of perishing, for the world that was being destroyed.
Within the Tower of Qiu Huang, the scene Ye Qiu Sheng saw from time reversing emerged in his mind. In this world intermingling with gold and black, his eyes imprinted with the young man holding the longbow, while the young man’s features were reflected by the flames, just like becoming a drawing frozen in time.
Within the Qiu Huang tower, he saw a white-robed person holding a longbow going up against the flow of the crowd, shooting the one arrow to perish the throne, then, the Unfalling Country within the white clouds was swept around with an undying sea of fire. That ancient image and all in front of his eyes overlapped with each other—— this White Emperor’s imperial city being destroyed in the golden sea of fire in the pitch-black world before his eyes.
Ye Qiu Sheng knew who that person he saw in the illusion shoot out that one arrow with their features hidden underneath the bamboo hat was now.
Zhao Ge’s Bai Li, herd to Dong Ling. Bai Li, Bai Li, the Eighteen Clan’s most mysterious clan, Bai Li!
After shooting out that one arrow, Bai Li Shu staggered, with his face turning whiter, and spurt out a mouthful of blood. He used his longbow to prop himself up, and half-knelt on the floor. A ball of fire like a loose rock fell down from the skies, and dropped down towards the place they were standing at.
Ye Qiu Sheng called out Bai Li Shu’s name, and Bai Li Shu turned his head around. Within the brilliance of the golden fireball coming down, Bai Li Shu saw Ye Qiu Sheng running towards himself.
He grabbed Bai Li Shu’s hand, pulled Chen Ge Guang together, then used the last bit of strength in his body to rush out. Ye Qiu Sheng could not care to think where to run, and brought the two people out of the range of the fireball coming down. Just when they rushed out, they felt their backs rise with a wave of scorching heat—— that kind of scorching feeling like the sun was falling at their backs.
“Go to the main hall.” Bai Li Shu coughed, then bit down and stood up, and similarly grabbed Chen Ge Guang along with Ye Qiu Sheng who was completely exhausted, then rushed to main hall of the temple on the verge of collapsing.
The entire space, was collapsing at a faster and faster speed.
◈◈◈
Inside the temple’s main hall, the towering phoenix tree broke apart, and fell to the ground, while the Qiu dragon-like branches were still burning with a dim-red fire.
A’Sa coughed out big mouthfuls of blood, with his long blade pierced into the thick stone, half-kneeling on the floor.
His body was covered with blood. The pale-white hair was dyed with blood, and also burning with fire. The web of his hands already completely split open, and the pair of hands holding the blade trembled—— he could no longer draw a blade.
By his side was the fallen divine phoenix tree, above his head was continuously falling black stone. And yet, a’Sa, with a hoarse voice, lifted his head up and laughed.
How do mayflies shake a big tree? A’Sa remembered when he was young, Master once asked him this question. Don’t know. He replied. Because, no matter how it was looked at, it was a very despairing and uncertain thing.
The ephemeral[1] mayflies were so insignificant, with a mayfly like this, how were they able to shake a big tree? There was not even a sliver of hope.
Master laughed, and said, it’s very simple, just put up everything, and it will be fine.
Just put up everything on the line, and it will be fine. That’s why he put almost one hundred years of time to trek in the large deserts of boundless yellow sands, just for a single scheme; that’s why he put up his own past and origins to hide names, that’s why he put up the completely worthless and completely meaningless conscientiousness.
The so-called Tian Ji Valley, was formed from these kinds of people who would not spare any efforts.
A’Sa put up everything, so in the end, the mayfly managed to shake the big tree.
“How incredible.” A’Sa lightly sighed.
He lifted his head up, and saw a young man walking into this currently-collapsing temple.
The hands of the young man dressed in white long robes held a dazzling gold longbow.
—— If the times want to resurrect, then just shoot it down once more. In the night of Gua Province’s Ghost City, only a’Sa and Bai Li Shu were in the tent. At that time, the young man who was still dressed as a Jin Tang official said this. His face did not have much expression, and his voice was very light.
—— I understand what you mean. A’Sa watched the young man slowly take out the longbow and place it to his front, and thus, he respectfully lowered his head.
A’Sa was a person of Tian Ji Valley- he carried the sect’s secret orders and left Tian Ji Valley located within the giant valley’s clouds and mist, and went far off to Khlajöwwma’s big deserts, and became the Boyikh tribe’s a’Sa, hid his name, all to completely destroy the White Emperor’s resurrection.
And when a’Sa had not yet left Tian Ji Valley, he once saw Bai Li Shu.
It was a matter that was deeply engraved inside him.
One day, Tian Ji Valley’s valley master suddenly left the sect, and after several months, an elder that isolated in the sect suddenly came out, and directed several of Tian Ji Valley’s elders to come with him to go out the sect and wait. Wait for what? The isolated elder did not say.
Thus, the ten or so Tian Ji Valley elders draped on white robes, put on bamboo hats, and rode in the sunken night colours, and went out of the clouds and mist of the deepest parts of the giant valley that was Tian Ji Valley, then waited at the entrance of an old mountain range.
And then, in the early morning’s dim-blue light, they waited for the valley master who left the sect several months ago.
The valley master carried a sword on his back, and brought back a young boy.
No explanation, no questioning. Everyone silently went towards the deep part of the old mountain ranges, and walked on top of the steep cliffs, then passed through layers of clouds, and returned inside the sect without alerting the disciples.
And then, after that young boy who made Tian Ji Valley’s valley master, the isolated elder, and ten or so elders act came here, a’Sa no longer saw him, just like that day waiting in the early morning to receive that young boy was only an illusion. Afterwards, a’Sa came to Khlajöwwma, and became the Boyikh tribe’s a’Sa. Then, when they finally reached Namu’s homeland, a’Sa once again saw the young boy who was in the middle of the group of people wearing bamboo hats personally lead by Tian Ji Valley’s valley master back then.
But now, that young boy had already become a young man. Within the tent, the young man took out that gold longbow. Thus, a’Sa understood.
I will aid with my all. Faced with the young man who said to “shoot down the times again”, was how a’Sa answered.
—— If the times want to resurrect, then just shoot it down once
more.
The young man who said these words with a collected tone, really
shot down the times once again.
How incredible. A’Sa thought. He then tossed an engraved plate that seemed like jade, yet like gold, to Bai Li Shu.
This was an engraved plate able to open up a space, and forcefully move to a designated area, created from the skull of a crude beast from the Savage era named “Xu[2]”. The surface was added with symbols inscribed by a top-class formation master.
It was also only this kind of spacial plate that was capable of taking them away from this space at the time the ancient emperor’s burial grounds started collapsing.
“Valley Master has always hoped to see you again.” A’Sa said. He loosened his hands up, and leaned against a branch of the fallen divine phoenix tree, and slowly fell to the floor.
Bai Li Shu caught the plate. He poured primordial energy into the plate, and the symbols on the plate slowly lit up.
A’Sa watched, with no intention of getting up to go over there. He wearily sighed.
Bai Li Shu looked at him, asking, are you not leaving?
A’Sa started laughing. At this time, he seemed like a plain and ordinary elderly person, without the peerless might of drawing a blade cutting down, without the insanity of the mayfly shaking a tree- just aged, hunched, exhausted, and haggard.
“No.” A’Sa said, and he sighed. “The thing I must do is already done.”
Bai Li Shu looked at him, and did not say anything.
Within the temple, raging fires blazed on, and the black stone continuously caved in, separating a’Sa and Bai Li Shu’s group in the middle. A white light erupted, and enveloped the three.
A’Sa watched as Bai Li Shu and the other two’s figures disappear.
He lifted his head up and looked at the caving giant rocks, then let go the hand holding the blade.
He did not tell Bai Li Shu his name, nor did Bai Li Shu ask. This was Tian Ji Valley’s rule. Tian Ji Valley’s disciples were originally people who pried into Heaven’s will- their names possessed the effect of the so- called “fate” more compared to regular people, so when Tian Ji Valley’s disciples were sent out on assignments, they would give themselves a new name.
This name would replace their original name.
After using the new name, the original name would no longer be mentioned. So that was why many of Tian Ji Valley’s disciples would silently die off without being known for an entire lifetime.
A’Sa thought, then let out a sigh.
He reached out, and pressed on the floor. This deep-black stone was filled with the Boyikh tribespeople’s blood, so it would be that boiling hot. His ears seemed to resound with those calls from the dying Boyikh tribespeople of disbelief.
This was the so-called “everything”.
How was a mayfly able to shake a big tree? They must turn into one who stops at nothing, so, anything that was able to be used, must be used. That’s why that a’Mu who possessed an ancient emperor’s power died, that fire-like young Duotana died, that resolute Kw’lang who resolutely led the tribespeople died……
They all died, because they were the “everything” destined to be sacrificed in his plan.
It was that simple.
A’Sa watched the falling rocks dropping down, watched the space as it warped, and watched as the temple turned unsteady in the fire.
“A’Sa? A’Sa!” He laughed out loud, laughed so much he started violently coughing, and laughed so much that he lifted his head up.
He leaned on the divine phoenix tree, then lifted his head and watched as the temple completely collapsed, with giant rocks loudly dropping down in his vision. The instant the giant rocks dropped down, he saw the pitch-black canopy of Heaven sweep by with gold flames.
He was Tian Ji Valley’s elder, he was the Boyikh tribe’s a’Sa.
He was a sinner with hands full of blood, who would stop at
nothing. So…… why leave?
The temple completely crumbled apart, and the caved-in giant rocks enveloped everything—— those Boyikh tribespeople who did not know what happened even at their deaths, that towering phoenix tree……
As well as that elderly person leaning against the phoenix tree, laughing loudly.
[1] 朝⽣暮死- the expression is, born in the day, only to die by night. That is how transient their existences are.
[2] For, void, or illusory.
Chapter 157
Chapter One Hundred Fifty-seven, Valley of Heaven’s Will, Flowing Sands like Songs. (天机之⾕, 流沙如歌)
Tian Ji Valley.
Tian Ji Valley was located to the south of Gua Province, within the ancient mountain ranges of Fu Yi dynasty. Steep cliffs a thousand zhang high were like knives unruly cutting down, and at the very south end inside the giant valleys, clouds and mist hovered around, while torrential riverwaters coiled and circled at the bottoms of the steep cliffs.
Vapour and fog merged into one and enveloped this place, so outsiders would not know the way around.
Tian Ji Valley was concealed- just like how the so-called “Heaven’s will” could not peered into, it did not allow for outsiders to pry into it.
The skies were dim and murky at this time- this was the time where early morning was about to come, so cold hues of a dim-blue light ghastly covered over the ancient ranges enveloped in mysteries for several tens of thousands of years. The sounds of water from the giant valley’s ravines even carried a sliver of gloomy coldness at this time too.
On top of a star-gazing platform constructed within a mountain range in Tian Ji Valley, the white-robed Tian Ji Valley Master led several isolated elders that the sect’s disciples typically did not see and sat down. The morning winds were freezing, moving the hazy white morning mist, and enveloped these people sitting on the high platform within it. Their white robes blew with the wind, and other than the valley master, all the elders wore a bamboo hat that hid their faces. The atmosphere was quiet, so quiet even the hums and cries of birds and bugs were particularly tranquil and bleak.
Though Tian Ji Valley very seldom appeared in front of people, as the most secretive sect of the Eight Immortal Sects, Tian Ji Valley’s position was still incomparably sublime.
And at present, Tian Ji Valley’s valley master brought the elders of the sect with extremely high statuses to quietly sit in this place, clearly in wait for something.
What kind of person was worth a reception as grand as this? If outsiders saw, they would probably be extremely startled.
However, not a single one of the elders sitting to the valley master’s back questioned it.
Everyone silently sat, and silently waited.
The star-gazing platform emitted a dream-like, illusory light resembling constellations within the clouds and mist, as though the platform itself contained countless stars. This was a high platform of an entirely pure-white body in the shape of the Eight Diagrams, hidden within the clouds, where ordinary elders and disciples were unable to step in. Star- gazing, star-gazing, derived from Tian Ji Valley’s sayings on star-gazing to predict Heaven’s will.
This was an important place of Tian Ji Valley.
That kind of ghastly and dim dreary-blue light within the world before the early hours of the morning gradually dispersed, and slivers of sunlight silently passed through the layers of clouds from the east, falling onto the surface of the star-gazing platform. When the morning light fell down, Tian Ji Valley’s valley master whose eyes were closed were suddenly opened up.
“They’ve come.” He said.
The star-gazing platform suddenly lit up, and the myriad of constellations contained within the platform shot out all its radiance at the time the first ray of the morning sun passed through the clouds. The sea of stars suddenly reversed in this place, and with the star-gazing platform as the epicentre, the space was suddenly enveloped by those dream and fantasy-like constellations.
The Tian Ji Valley Master stood up, and the elders to his back also stood up along with him.
The light of the constellations rotated and accumulated, and by the end, formed into a vortex on the very top of the star-gazing platform, like it could even absorb a person’s soul into it.
The sounds of birds disappeared, the sounds of wind disappeared, the sounds of water disappeared.
The world suddenly turned into a span of deadly silence.
The rays of stars in the sky seemed like it all projected to the surface of the star-gazing platform, rotating, and forming into an ancient vortex. When the vortex completely formed, the eastern sun suddenly rose up from the horizon, and the world turned as bright as snow.
In that instant, the vortex’s light exploded. So dazzling nobody could see anything.
When the light scattered, the stars on the star-gazing platform once again dimmed down as well, and the place where the vortex formed on the star-gazing platform appeared with three figures.
Of one, their hand held a burning golden longbow, and was draped in white long robes. By his side was a young man with a long blade who had his hand out helping him up, and there was also another person who turned unconscious and immediately fell to the floor.
Their bodies were drenched in blood, and expressions all exhausted and haggard.
It was Bai Li Shu’s group of three.
Ye Qiu Sheng held a blade in one hand, and had his other supporting Bai Li Shu—— after activating the plate that forcefully allowed them to escape from inside Namu’s city, Bai Li Shu became the weakest of the three. Except, this person still retained consciousness, and his face was still as always, without much expression.
After leaving that black and gold space, their senses were still left with that scorching air from the flames, and then after standing steady, what came to greet them was a cold and frosty air.
Making people a lot more awake.
Bai Li Shu coughed, and lifted his head up.
On a high platform enveloped in clouds and mist, a few people dressed in white robes and bamboo hats stood in front of them, looking to have already waited for a very long time. The person leading did not wear a bamboo hat, it was a face he had previously seen before.
—— That person who pulled the young boy walking ahead at the top of a cliff, with a sword carried on their back.
Bai Li Shu stood straight, with the Setting Sun longbow in hand, and looked towards these people standing in front of him.
“You’ve come back.” Tian Ji Valley’s master looked at the young man holding the longbow, then his gaze swept by the remaining two others. His gaze was very calm, but Ye Qiu Sheng had a feeling like all his secrets were exposed in the person’s one glance. After confirming there were only three people, Tian Ji Valley’s master lightly sighed, and softly said this.
He did not ask about other things.
—— Did not ask why a’Sa did not come back.
Ye Qiu Sheng glanced at Bai Li Shu. The young man’s features were indifferent, and with a single tone, he was considered to have responded.
The young man dressed in white robes calculated without missing anything, with nothing he didn’t know about. He once teased Bai Li Shu inside how he didn’t seem like one of Jiu Xuan Sect’s lunatics, but was instead like those bunch of shady bastards from Tian Ji Valley.
Would the things he joked about be true?
“You’ve worked hard.” Tian Ji’s valley master spoke up, and he slowly made a deep bow towards the young man carrying the gold longbow with their expression all weary.
He was Tian Ji Valley’s valley master, a sect leader of one of the Eight Immortal Sects, and yet, at this time, he instead seriously thanked Bai Li Shu, and respectfully gave him a bow. Not only him, even those elders wearing bamboo hats were the same, and silently paid their respects.
Ye Qiu Sheng retreated to the side, and watched this scene with his blade in his arms.
He did not let out an astonished expression.
Winds passed by within the ancient ranges, and clouds blew over like water along with it. One of the elders from Tian Ji Valley carried away the unconscious Chen Ge Guang, while Bai Li Shu and Ye Qiu Sheng followed and walked among the Tian Ji Valley elders, and the entire group of people silently walked along the plank road on top of the vertical overhanging cliff, heading towards the deep part of Tian Ji Valley. Beneath the steep cliff was a torrential mountain ravine. The sound of the mountain ravine hitting the rocks let out an unchanged sound, while water vapour rose up, and flying birds crossed within the vapour.
Bai Li Shu silently walked by as he carried his longbow. The images in his memories were slowly overlapping.
The figure of the young boy following the white-robed person walking on the cliff back then, was slowly overlapping with his.
Hence, Bai Li Shu lightly sighed.
Matters of the world, in all manners were all impermanent. And yet, naturally followed the principles of condition.
At the time Namu’s city collapsed, and Bai Li Shu, Ye Qiu Sheng, and Chen Ge Guang stepped onto the star-gazing platform, in Gua Province’s Ghost City, yellow sands rolled around, and within the haze, eighteen monk-like stone statues broke apart and toppled over.
Along with the stone statues’ toppling, inside Ghost City, those strangely-shaped rock mountains also collapsed as well.
With flowing sands soon to bury this all.
***
One of the few random extras, with no relation to the main plot whatsoever. Any other extras will be posted off the main schedule of release like this.
【Twelve Dynasties· Jin Tang· Geographic Records】
Jin Tang was located in the middle of the twelve dynasties, where the north neighbours Huang Ling, the south goes against Cang Pu, and the east connects to South Chen and Qi Qin, with the west close to Bao Dan and Fu Yi. The southern region of Jin Tang had many mountains, and the rivers here mostly flowed from west to east.
Jin Tang’s southwest region was close to Cang Pu, with many large mountains, of which one was named “Guan’zi Mountain”- mornings had miasma about, and the roads were dangerous, with many scoundrels and demonic spirits roaming around. The merchants that come and go to Cang Pu and Qi Qin would pass by this area, and would mostly go with company, being careful and cautious.
One year, there was a Qi Qin merchant going through Guan’zi Mountain, when all of a sudden, there was a big fog, and within the fog, they heard a low voice, “Where is this guest headed?”. The voice was sad and shrill, unlike a person speaking.
The merchant did not dare answer.
Not long after, mad winds blew around, and the fog grew strange. The merchant turned frightened, and just when he was scared, he suddenly saw a strike fly by. That light was cold as the frosty moon, as fast as lightning, traversing like a rainbow.
In an instant, the mist dispersed, and the nefarious air left.
The merchant looked all around, but only saw a white-clothed young boy shouldering a blade going far off.
Chapter 158
Chapter One Hundred Fifty-eight, Chaos About to Rise, In Front of the Divine Rock. (⼤乱将起, 神⽯之前)
Heaven’s will.
Just what exactly is Heaven’s will?
Su Chang Su[1] was Tian Ji Valley’s valley master, yet he felt like he never understood these two words himself. Tian Ji Valley proclaimed to “look at the black and white with cold eyes of an outsider, and if they wanted to find out where the pieces fall, they would ask Heaven’s will”, but these three words, “ask Heaven’s will”, was originally a joke, a ridicule.
Heaven’s will could not be disclosed, Heaven’s will could not be opposed…… anything related with destiny, definitely could not be detached from these sayings. People who predicted Heaven’s will were the ones who had the clearest understanding that the mandate of Heaven’s grandness could not be run against, and yet, the goal of calculating out Heaven’s will, was to change fate. Since it was like this, wouldn’t everything become an indefinite paradox and a joke?
Su Chang Su was inside a secret pavilion in the deep part of Tian Ji Valley, personally putting down a spiritual tablet.
He took one step back, and looked at the many black spiritual tablets placed here. The surface of the spiritual tablets used white paint to write each and every one of the names.
Once Tian Ji Valley’s disciples hid their names due to a certain matter, their names would no longer be mentioned by the people in the sect- this was the rule that Tian Ji Valley had ever since long ago. It was precisely because of this one point, that after Tian Ji Valley’s disciples silently died ingloriously outside the sect, they would be unable to receive a funeral rite.
Their names, from that first moment it was hidden, would be covered in dust.
All around the sect, the only person who knew which of the sect’s elders or disciples were sacrificed, was only the valley master alone.
Only the valley master himself was able to enter the secret room placed with Tian Ji Valley’s disciples’ life lanterns, and with each extinguishing of a lantern, it would be up to the valley master to personally add a spiritual tablet in the secret pavilion.
The one to engrave the spiritual tablets would only be the valley master, the one to write on the spiritual tablets would only be the valley master, and the one who knew which people died, would also be the valley master.
down. Su Chang Su clearly remembered each and every name he wrote
From the time he became the valley master to now, it had already been that long, but there were some things that would not turn numb due to the long flow of time.
One spiritual tablet, was one sigh of sorrow. As well as anger.
Like magma moving in the deep part of the earth’s crust kind of
anger. Su Chang Su calmly sat in the secret pavilion, and faced each and every silent spiritual tablet. Just as usual, his gaze once again slowly swept over the spiritual tablets, and read the names he was already familiar with in his heart. He lit up each and every incense stick, and the faint light smoke slowly sprung up, gradually obscuring Su Chang Su’s face.
He sat there, straight as a pine tree.
When the ashes all completely fell, Su Chang Su then left the dim secret pavilion.
After going out the secret pavilion, the sky’s light fell onto his white robes, and he narrowed his eyes, then smiled. An immortal cultivator’s age was very hard to see on the surface, and from the surface, Su Chang Su looked to even be a bit younger than Jiu Xuan Sect’s Sect Leader Yi He Ping. It was the appearance of a young man approaching middle-age, elegant and graceful.
He walked within Tian Ji Valley’s valleys with steady stride, and when the disciples he encountered on the way bowed towards him, he responded with a smile.
The amiable and easily approachable Su Chang Su had a very high prestige within Tian Ji Valley.
The disciples of Tian Ji Valley only saw Valley Master’s moderate smile as always, so no one knew that he was in the Valley’s secret pavilion just now observing all those black spiritual tablets, and even personally added one more to it.
Ye Qiu Sheng leaned against a big tree at Tian Ji Valley, and narrowed his eyes as he watched the white-robed Tian Ji Valley Master Su Chang Su’s back figure leave. Since coming out from White Emperor’s burial space, the injuries he suffered were quite serious, and so he temporarily stayed at Tian Ji Valley to recover. Ye Qiu Sheng, no matter how it was said, was the one of the Eight Immortal Sect’s, Tai Shang Sect’s eldest disciple brother, thus, Tian Ji Valley was considered to be polite to him. The amiable and easily approachable Tian Ji Valley Valley Master?
Ye Qiu Sheng held a blade of grass in his mouth, and lazily bit on it. As he watched Su Chang Su smile in response to the valley’s disciples, he spit out the grass blade, and sneered.
—— Tian Ji Valley’s Valley Master? A lunatic through and through.
Is what the shitty old man once said.
At that time, the shitty old man swayed a jar of wine in his hands, half-laid on the floor, and casually spoke of the world’s miscellaneous affairs. When speaking on the sect leaders of the Eight Immortal Sects, this was how he assessed Tian Ji Valley’s valley master that from the outsiders’ view, seemed without any prestige.
“Lunatic?” Ye Qiu Sheng repeated this word. Sounding cynical.
◈◈◈
Bai Li Shu sat straight up.
Su Chang Su sat across from him, and in the middle of the two, brewed with tea.
They sat inside a very ordinary wooden house—— many of Tian Ji Valley’s houses were constructed from wood—— and the house only had Bai Li Shu and Su Chang Su inside of it. And yet, outside the house, there were ten or so Tian Ji Valley elders in white robes and bamboo hats hidden in the dark on guard.
“White Emperor’s imperial city is already destroyed.” Bai Li Shu lowered his eyes, and looked at the tea leaves in the white porcelain cup slowly expanding out, as well as the faint clear ripples spreading in the water. On the surface, he was only Jiu Xuan Sect’s eldest disciple brother, and in front of Tian Ji Valley’s Valley Master Su Chang Su, he should be observing the manners of a disciple. Yet, in truth, it was not like that. Bai Li Shu and Su Chang Su sat opposite to each other, and the one whose manners carried a hint of respect, was instead the Eight Immortal Sects’ Tian Ji Valley’s Valley Master Su Chang Su.
“It is thanks to your strength that we were able to completely destroy White Emperor’s imperial city.” Su Chang Su poured a cup of tea for himself, and the steam came up fluctuating, “Those mask-wearing people of Jin Tang’s have loitered in Khlajöwwma long enough, those cavalries were pretty much about to step through each inch of sand. If the imperial city was not destroyed so promptly, those people’s goals would probably be realized soon.”
“No.” The front of Bai Li Shu’s eyes emerged with the old person leaning against the divine phoenix tree in the fire. “I only provided some aid was all.”
The hand Su Chang Su held the cup with slightly froze, and he sighed, “Changing fate requires a price to pay, sacrificing one’s life for some things, is Tian Ji Valley’s destiny. You do not need to feel grief for him.”
“These members, are my Tian Ji Valley’s glory.” Su Chang Su said, and held up the cup.
And yet, the one who truly grieved, was the person who said this kind of sacrifice was logical.
Bai Li Shu calmly looked at the normal-looking Su Chang Su, and did not say the words out loud.
“The iron-faced wolf-dogs spread over the vast lands of the twelve dynasties, but the wolf-dogs are not enough to be feared.” Su Chang Su did not continue that topic just now, and turned to speak about another matter, “What makes people take caution are those powers hidden beneath the iron faces. It truly makes people lament. After the severance of the era, the immortal sects ruled the land of the twelve dynasties for this long, the lofty position had always been as stable as Mount Tai, but now, they didn’t even know when there was a Heaven’s Net enveloping towards them.”
His voice was calm, just like a scholar casually lamenting over the world’s changes.
And yet, Bai Li Shu felt hidden within it, was a rage like underground magma.
This Tian Ji Valley Master with gentle smiles who was amiable and easy to approach in front of disciples, was a person who bore wrath.
“The immortal sects, aristocratic families, and the dynasties have always been connected together.” After going silent for a moment, Bai Li Shu spoke up.
In Ye Qiu Sheng’s eyes, Bai Li Shu was just like an immortal outside the world, carrying a longbow walking outside of worldly matters. However, at this time, the “Immortal Beyond Heaven”-like young man’s words, instead considered the mortal realm’s matters particularly carefully.
“It is as you say.” Su Chang Su smiled.
The immortal sects had a paramount position within the dynasties- each province and prefecture would have the immortal sects’ branches there recruiting disciples. The immortal sects’ influence would thus seep into the secular realm, and within the tributes from the secular aristocratic families and dynasties year after year and day after day, they would also continuously send disciples to join the sects. Immortal cultivators were not only in the sects, but were also outside the sects.
This was very complicated, so complicated it was hard to use two or three words to clearly explain the situation.
Nevertheless, by merely relying on the dynasties’ power, one could not shake the immortal sects that was like a big sky-reaching tree. So, all this time, everything was only a hidden current, violently surging underneath the surface of tranquility.
However, the mole crickets and ants’[2] strength would gather into a terrifying power, let alone when there were powerful existences starting to gradually break free in the darkness joining one by one into this soon-to- come storm.
“The true turbulence is about to begin.” Bai Li Shu said lightly. His voice was like a sigh, yet also like a prophecy.
Su Chang Su did not refute it.
The tea already turned cold, and no longer had steam coming up. “The time has come. The thing you need to do can be done now.” Su
Chang Su looked at the sunlight outside the window, and stood up, “Please follow me.”
Bai Li Shu stood up too, and silently followed behind Su Chang Su.
The very center of this seemingly-plain and ordinary wooden house silently slid open, revealing an entrance to a secret passageway. Though it was said to be a secret(dark) passage, it had faint, obscure white light emitting from the sides of the stone walls in the passage.
The entrance lead to a downward-sloping stone stairs, and Su Chang Su lead Bai Li Shu inside.
When the secret passage’s entrance appeared, the Tian Ji Valley elders hidden around the wooden house joined hands to form a barrier, enveloping the wooden house inside it.
That was a barrier named “Fu[3]”.
This was an extremely strange barrier. It did not operate as defence, and could not obscure the things in the barrier. It’s purpose was only one, and that was to conceal the things happening within the barrier from implicating Heaven’s will.
This was a barrier specifically invented to “conceal [things] from Heaven”.
The hidden passage continuously extended downward, so deep it seemed to directly connect to the underworld.
After some time, they finally reached the end of the secret passage. At the very end, was a relatively small space, like a naturally-
formed cave, yet also like a stone room someone meticulously excavated out later on. The very middle of the stone room was placed with a square rock emitting a hazy white light. The square rock was approximately one zhang tall, and was completely bright and spotless, as though there were countless stars hidden inside it, looking to be a bit similar with the star- gazing platform.
“The star-gazing platform is a projection of it.” Su Chang Su explained.
Certainly, compared with the star-gazing platform, the square rock was much more mysterious, much more immeasurable, and the cloud of stars within seemed to be trickling about.
This was the rumoured divine rock possessed by Tian Ji Valley.
Bai Li Shu walked up to it. At this time, the Setting Sun longbow in his hands turned more and more brighter, as though creating a kind of resonance with the square rock. Gold flowing flames circled on the surface of the longbow.
As Bai Li Shu looked at the myriad of stars on the rock, the hand holding the Setting Sun longbow inconspicuously tightened up.
He slowly reached his hand out, and touched the bit of light on the surface. [1] 苏⻓肃- either chang/zhang, for growth, or long, and by extension, forever or lasting. Su, for respectful, or solemn/serious, or as a verb, eliminate.
[2] 蝼蚁- term for nobodies.
[3] 覆- to either cover, envelop or, overturn(throw), capsize (of a ship).
***
Random extra is random.
【The Twelve Dynasties· Cang Pu· Records of Tradition】
Cang Pu dynasty has many poor mountains and evil ranges, all humid and glum, and in early mornings, it would be permeated with miasma. The early people of Cang Pu drank alcohol, borrowing it to dispel the cold. At the foot of a mountain named “Qi Mountain” was a family, its head’s surname was Mu, an expert at making alcohol. The Mu family had a secret alcohol called “Li Yuan(Origin of Pear)”, the alcohol fragrant and strong, unlike regular alcohol, and was not given to others.
There was a high official who heard of this, and requested it at the exchange of a thousand golds.
Mu did not give in, and said, “Li Yuan is not ordinary alcohol, regular people cannot drink it.”
When the noble heard this, they bore a grudge at heart, and later on, found a reason to dispatch someone to arrest the family of Mu to be sent to jail. Three days later, Mu died in the jail.
The brew of Li Yuan was thus finished.
Chapter 159
Chapter One Hundred Fifty-nine, Should Not Be Forgotten, the Nameless Person. (不该遗忘, ⽆名之⼈)
The white light spread out like a myriad of stars gathering together. Su Chang Su watched that young man holding the longbow get surrounded by the constellations, and recalled a very distant matter.
Tian Ji Valley, Tian Ji Valley, a sect that dared to call itself “Heaven’s will” was originally implicated in too many secrets.
Tian Ji Valley was probably the one out of the Eight Immortal Sects that knew the most regarding the past of the Eighteen Clans of Old. After Jiu Xuan Sect’s Elder Shen Ye perceived the abnormalities of the ancient emperors’ burial grounds, they started searching for the clan of Bai Li. But Tian Ji Valley’s valley master, was tasked generation after generation with the mission of finding the Bai Li clan.
The truth of history could not be known by the commoners, but the brave warriors who spilled all their blood should not be forgotten. Is what the forefather who first established Tian Ji Valley said.
Thus, from that time on, finding the Bai Li clan that was hidden in the long river of history became one of missions of Tian Ji Valley’s valley master as well as the elders.
Generation after generation of valley masters continuously calculated Heaven’s will, searching for the whereabouts of that Bai Li clan person carrying the longbow. Because that Old Clans’ mediator named “Bai Li Shu” participated in too much of the ancient emperors’ falling, they were burdened with too many curses the ancient emperors laid down before dying, and wandered in the long river of time and space.
The fate of Bai Li Shu who was banished from time and space was mysterious and hard to predict, like Heaven’s will seemed to have lost its traces on his body.
Every time they calculated his whereabouts, the valley master or elder undergoing the calculation would be injured once. And then, after those many generations of masters, there was finally some prospects in regards to Bai Li Shu.
Not one person knew what happened during the era of Ten Thousand Immortals’ severance, however, according to the calculations the valley masters made, there was a strong possibility that Bai Li Shu also participated in that upheaval, and personally propelled the severance of the era forward. And at the time the era was broken off, his spiritual insight broke apart.
One portion stayed in the land of the twelve dynasties, listless and without aim, and one portion of the spiritual insight was wrapped by that Setting Sun longbow, and stayed in another projected space of the twelve dynasties that came out due to the era’s severance and the world’s destinies turning chaotic.
From that time on, he was banished by time and space.
No matter where, he was listless and without aim, and burdened with serious illnesses.
When they first started, Tian Ji Valley did not think to the possibility that the Setting Sun longbow would envelop Bai Li Shu’s shattered spiritual insight and be banished to a projected space.
It was that Elder Shen Ye from Jiu Xuan Sect who came visiting for a cooperation. The era of Ten Thousand Immortals only lasted for fifteen thousand years, merely the half of a normal era. The tremors brought from an era’s severance was far too horrifying, and according to records, it was a terrifying scene of the world entering chaos, with great big upheavals, where the constellations circulated and fluctuated, fate and heavenly principles rewritten, and space breaking and freezing. During this time of the era’s severance, it created a projection of the era of Ten Thousand Immortals, and formed into a drifting space that people were unable to get in touch with.
According to rumours, that space retained a portion of the era of Ten Thousand Immortals’ portrayal.
In that space, the mountains, rivers, people, environment, as well as the language and words remained with the characteristics of the era of Ten Thousand Immortals.
But that was just a rumour. Nobody was able to confirm whether that so-called space of the era’s projection existed or not.
What Shen Ye proposed, was that there was this kind of possibility,
Since Bai Li Shu was one of the participants of the initial era’s severance, and also carried the ancient emperors’ curses, there was a strong possibility the broken spiritual insight had one part banished to that projected space of the era of Ten Thousand Immortals.
Jiu Xuan Sect’s Shen Ye started using his entire life to create a longbow able to resonate with the legendary divine bow of the Setting Sun, while Tian Ji Valley’s Su Chang Su and elders were willing to spare no efforts to find Bai Li Shu in the lands of the twelve dynasties.
After that many times of calculating Heaven’s will, they finally obtained some clues.
Su Chang Su found a young Bai Li Shu at a ruined little shrine in Cang Pu dynasty. He was dressed in white while sitting within the ruined little shrine. The daylight fell onto his body, yet he sat in the light without a single expression. Su Chang Su walked inside, and the young boy turned their head, and calmly looked at him.
It was like his eyes were a span of emptiness, yet also an ice-bound deep sea, with a thousand zhang-deep abyss underneath the sea.
“I’ve found you.” Su Chang Su said.
“Who am I?” After a moment of silence, so silent like the world had gone far off, the young boy finally opened his mouth. He asked in a light tone, yet the voice was steady.
With the spiritual insight broken and banished by time and space, no matter where he was, Bai Li Shu’s memories would be incomplete and broken. He would not die, yet would not be like he was living. He did not remember his own name, or even remember his own past. He forgot that he once carried a longbow, and personally propelled city after city’s destruction, and forgot all the soul-shaking things he did in secret.
He had forgotten, he did not remember. And the world too, did not remember.
In that instance, Su Chang Su finally understood the words the Tian Ji Valley forefather said back then.
History’s truth cannot be known by the commoners, but the brave warriors who spilled all their blood should not be forgotten.
The commoners did not know what kind of shocking things the person called Bai Li Shu did before, the annals of history did not exist with his name either, and even he himself had forgotten it.
Like this, if they who were of future generations also walking in the dark did not remember his name either, then who would tell him, who he was? Who would remember the past of the eras that should not be forgotten?
Time was solitary, eternal, like a lamenting song.
Su Chang Su slowly, respectfully bowed towards the young boy sitting inside the worn-out little shrine, and lowly opened his mouth with a hoarse voice, “Your surname is Bai Li, given name Shu, the family head of the clan of Bai Li.”
And also the person who walked alone in the era.
The mission Tian Ji Valley’s valley masters carried for that many years was finally realized in Su Chang Su’s time.
They found Bai Li Shu who was banished by time and space, and brought back the nameless person forgotten by history.
He brought Bai Li Shu to the top of a long, long plank road of a overhanging cliff at Tian Ji Valley- below the cliff, was surging sounds of riverwaters, where the clouds and mist filled the air, and the heavens and earth like old.
With some perseverance, it would no longer be worthless. Su Chang Su fell in a trance, and thought like this.
After Tian Ji Valley found Bai Li Shu, they informed Jiu Xuan Sect’s Yi He Ping who was similarly was working hard on this matter. Yi He Ping rushed to Tian Ji Valley from a long ways, and brought back Bai Li Shu who already had his spiritual insight broken since the severance of the era.
Tian Ji Valley and Jiu Xuan Sect cooperated to put down a formation at Jiu Xuan Sect in secret.
If, if Shen Ye succeeded, then Bai Li Shu who was residing at Jiu Xuan Sect, would soon have his spiritual insight whole. At that time, the sorrow from being banished from time and space would end. No longer would there be falling down time and time again, then blankly waking up again, no longer would there be any wandering about without a place to return to.
That’s why, once Bai Li Shu stepped into Jiu Xuan Sect, Jiu Xuan Sect’s eldest disciple brother was destined to be only him.
Su Chang Su, Yi He Ping…… they were not some good people. The hands of each and every one of them were stained with that much blood.
However, the Bai Li Shu who walked forward alone in the era should not forever wander inside that deathly-still fate.
Chapter 160
Chapter One Hundred Sixty, the Time Has Come, Cang Pu and Jin Tang. (时间已⾄, 苍濮⾦唐)
The light from the constellations gradually dimmed down, and Bai Li Shu’s figure disappeared in front of the divine rock.
The light from the approximately one zhang-tall divine rock suddenly retracted, and stirred on the glossy surface of the rock like a stream, swimming like running water, yet did not spread towards the outside.
As the morning light dimmed down, Su Chang Su’s expression turned serious. He walked forward, and cut open his own hand with a blade, and blood dripped down to the floor. He used his own blood to slowly draw the lines of an ancient formation pattern on the floor.
When the final stroke was drawn, Su Chang Su’s face was already a bit pale.
With a circulation of the primordial energy, the wound on the hand then disappeared. The formation on the floor abruptly lit up, and rays of light intertwined as it passed through, like the sunlight reflecting off a snowy peak, enveloping the divine rock in the very center of it. The entire secret room was suddenly flooded with this magnificent illumination.
And at the same time, there appeared to be some kind of strong veiled strength wrapping around here. Once the formation was activated and the divine rock was enveloped by light, Su Chang Su let out a sigh, and stood up straight.
This was not some unimportant move.
The strictly-guarded divine rock hidden in the deep parts of Tian Ji Valley contained a reduction of the universal constellations. And within the system of immortal cultivation since the ancient times, the universal constellations were intimately linked together with time and space- the universe was perpetuity, and also variation, it was the past, and also the future, it was the current times, yet also the past world.
And today, Tian Ji Valley’s Valley Master, Su Chang Su, and many of the elders of superb skill who typically isolated and did not come out joined hands, only for one single matter: Conceal the abnormalities of the universal constellations drawn in after someone used the divine rock, and not let the world perceive it.
Bai Li Shu used the divine rock and its relationship with the universe’s space, to use it as a passageway, and re-enter the projected space of the era of Ten Thousand Immortals.
That space that he was trapped in for who-knows-how-many years. There were countless ties the projected space of the era of Ten
Thousand Immortals had with the current era, so Bai Li Shu going through the divine rock to return to the projection of the Ten Thousand Immortals would draw in the world and constellations’ changes.
That would draw in all the gazes of the existences at the twelve dynasties participating in this undercurrent.
When the constellations wrapped over the divine rock, outside the wooden house, the barrier the elders joined hands to erect suddenly took on some terrifying pressure- the surface of the barrier shaped like a overturned basin named “Fu” violently stirred like ripples, and as the passage of time flowed after that instant Bai Li Shu’s figure disappeared, the barrier’s tremors turned more and more intense. A fully-white-haired elder lowly shouted, and a black chess piece flew out from his sleeves and fell onto the barrier with a tapping sound.
One piece, two pieces……
Black and white chess pieces flew out from all around, and stably fell down on the barrier. By the end, the barrier was like a chessboard, with the black and white pieces on the surface intermingling.
When the final black chess piece fell down, the light of the barrier brightened up all of a sudden, then finally stabilized.
The winds and clouds in the skies burst forth in a frenzy, and dark clouds overlapped each other, as though a thunderstorm was about to rise, and sudden showers about to come down.
However, this circumstance did not last for long- when the ancient formation that Su Chang Su activated with blood circulated, the atmosphere trembled, and after a low buzzing passed by, the dark clouds in the sky scattered, and sunlight once again came down, with skies high and clouds light, like nothing happened at all.
Looking at the black and white with cold eyes of an outsider, and if one wanted to find out where the pieces fall, they would ask Heaven’s will.
What looking on with cold eyes- Tian Ji Valley’s people were originally a group of madmen who vainly wanted to deceive Heaven’s will, and attempt to take hold of fate itself.
Time passed by bit by bit, and when the light from the black and white pieces on the barrier gradually dimmed down, Su Chang Su finally slowly came out from the wooden house.
He nodded his head to the few elders.
The elders then took back the already dismal-looking[1] pieces one by one. Compared to the pale-faced Su Chang Su, these elders were not that much better off either. Between their features was an uncontrollable exhaustion- with cultivation at their kind of level, to make them reveal an inconcealable fatigue was already a very difficult task.
Deceiving the heavens and the earth, was not something that one could casually do.
Don’t look at how each and every one of these elders were still standing intact, just the invisible countering effects alone were indescribably terrifying.
The elders already left, and Su Chang Su stood in his original place. He lifted his head up to look at the lonesome sky.
After a long time, he muttered to himself, “Has time…… already
come?”
No one answered him. Su Chang Su laughed once, unable to tell if it was out of happiness or sadness, then turned to leave.
Bai Li Shu who walked within the eras with a longbow, to completely recover all his memories, went to find those clues he forgotten, and returned to the space of the era of Ten Thousand Immortals through the divine rock. Certainly, during the era of Chaos and Ten Thousand Immortals, Bai Li Shu pretty much ended one after another ancient emperor like a miracle.
However, it was no longer the era of Chaos, nor the era of Ten Thousand Immortals. The Eighteen Clans of Old that once traversed through the vast lands fell and scattered, and the powerful bunch—— those who were called “demons”—— hid in the opposing side in the dark.
What they had to face, had to solve, was already completely different.
The Eight Immortal Sects could not have everything entrusted to a former hero. And so, even if Bai Li Shu returned, they could not have all the responsibilities pressed on the shoulders of this silent one who walked through the eras.
Su Chang Su walked into the bright yet close-to-harsh sunlight, while the white long robes he wore was just like snow in the sunlight. After walking far off, it was like his back figure melted into the light.
◈◈◈
Jin Tang’s capital, Li An[2] inclined to the south.
Actually, at the beginning, Jin Tang’s capital leaned towards the north, and was located in a place not too far off from Jiu Xuan Sect’s main sect. But later on, Jin Tang’s Ling Wu Emperor used the reason of “being too close to Huang Ling dynasty and having long been disturbed by the beast wave and the northern barbaric tribes”, and moved towards the south. After Ling Wu Emperor, in Jin Tang’s history, the following emperors also uses various kinds of reasons, and once again moved the capital time and time again.
Finally, the capital they settled on was Li An.
And Li An was a thread over Zhen and Huai[3], and already completely belonged to the southern cities, plenty distant from Jiu Xuan Sect’s main sect.
As Jin Tang dynasty’s capital continuously migrated south, the economic core in the country continuously moved south, drawing in Cang Pu dynasty’s dissatisfaction, and so the two dynasties’ relationships turned from good to bad. In the third year of Tian You, Jin Tang dynasty went all in on war, and attempted to cross the thousands of mountain ranges to punish Cang Pu that was seen as a barbaric tribe.
However, this grandiose military dispatch, in the end, ended like a child’s play. The leading senior general of Jin Tang that time, Chen Xuan, originated from one of the four big aristocratic families, the Chen family. The time was late summer, about to enter the autumn season. When Chen Xuan led the big army to Guan’zi Mountain, right at high noon, the skies suddenly shifted, and thick fog and miasma rose up, and people standing across from each other could not see one another. For the time being, the Jin Tang army turned into a mess.
It was at this time that war drums exploded like thunder on the flat lands, and the Cang Pu warriors dressed in vine armour holding curved blades rushed out from all around.
Guan’zi Mountain was originally of narrow and cramped terrain, and added with the envelopment of the big miasma, Jin Tang’s large army was defeated. Chen Xuan then lead the cavalry with not even three thousand remaining towards northwest and rushed from there.
When they were escaping at full speed towards the northwest, halfway in the journey, Chen Xuan met an unusual person.
This person was dressed in white long robes, wore a bamboo hat, and had their face covered. When the unusual person asked Chen Xuan how could they have been defeated to such an extent, Chen Xuan spoke of the reasons, and while speaking, Cang Pu’s pursuing troops managed to make it here.
Under the terror, Chen Xuan was about to lead the troops and escape, when the unusual person clapped their hands and laughed loudly, and then, tossed countless tiny and small things towards the sky. They then heard a sound of thunder in the flat lands, and in between a trance, countless armoured warriors like divine troops appeared out of thin air, and chased the pursuing troops off behind them.
Cang Pu’s pursuing troops did not dare to chase again, and lead the troops to leave. Just when Chen Xuan turned again to ask about the details, that white-robed person with the bamboo hat already disappeared. Leading the remaining three thousand troops, Chen Xuan could only bring the cavalry back to the dynasty.
Since then, Cang Pu dynasty and Jin Tang dynasty had a ceasefire, and both parties no longer fought, barely maintaining peace.
No matter if it was Cang Pu dynasty or Jin Tang dynasty, the reactions they had to this was very strange. No one said anything more, and took this big ruckus of a war like it didn’t exist at all.
However, acting like it didn’t exist did not mean it actually didn’t
exist.
In the flourishing east market of Li An City, in an inconspicuous
little teahouse.
A middle-aged man dressed in casual clothing sat within a compartment of the teahouse close to the streets by the window. This middle-aged man had a sturdy frame, however, their conduct also carried a bit of an elegance- their background should not be plain.
Furthermore, this person’s face was a bit similar with Chen Ge Guang who was at Gua Province in charge of the blockhouse.
The middle-aged man’s face was half-hidden in the shadows, and he calmly watched the normally-passing pedestrians on the street, thinking about something.
The rays of light in the compartment moved, and a very lean man bent his body walking in. This person was dressed like a travelling merchant. Cang Pu had many medicinal ingredients, and Qi Qin’s merchants, for the explosive profits, would typically not hesitate to run about for thousands of miles. After purchasing medicinal ingredients from Cang Pu, they would transport it to Jin Tang dynasty, thus, the number of people with this kind of get-up would often be seen in Jin Tang’s capital.
And this very lean man looked to be not that different from Qi Qin’s travelling merchants, with a weary look of being hit by winds and rains from running about for thousands of miles.
“Lord Tao has waited for long.” The very lean man’s face was full of smiles, while wrinkles on the face piled together, crammed so much the eyes turned even smaller, and when they opened their mouth, it bore a tone of an unscrupulous merchant.
He hung down the hands by his side low, and the finger bent a few times, and made a strange action.
The middle-aged man called “Lord Tao” swept a look over his hand gestures, and slightly narrowed his eyes, then waved his hand, “Being a peddler is hard work, no need for that much courtesy.”
Hearing Lord Tao say this, the very thin man let out a breath of relief, and their back was no longer hunched. After slightly taking in a breath, he sat straight up, and his face let out a grim expression that was not in line with a travelling merchant.
The secret signal that the very lean man’s fingers slightly made out meant, everything was going smoothly, without any mistakes. The middle- aged man’s “no need for that much courtesy” on the surface demonstrated that this place was within control, and he could be at ease.
“Gua Province had an incident.” After sitting up straight, the first sentence the very lean man spoke was only these five words.
His tone was also very much different from before, seeping with a wave of discomforting bloodiness like that of a jackal or a wolf[4]. At the same time they spoke, the very lean man’s gaze sharply watched Lord Tao, not letting go of even a sliver of change.
When Lord Tao heard the two words, “Gua Province”, his face did not have any change at all.
[1] 黯淡⽆光- so intensely dark, without light. Doom and gloom. [2] 离 安 - Li, for leaving, be away from, an, for peace, tranquility, calmness etc.
[3] ( 溱淮) Should be referring to two rivers, separately the Zhentou River/溱头河 and the Huai River (淮河), both belonging in the region of Henan province (its own name referencing itself being located south of the Yellow River).
[4] 豺狼- and by extension, cruel/ruthless people.