Ze Tian Ji (Way of Choices)

Translated by: Hypersheep325

Edited by: Michyrr

There were many crevices on the rocks lining the shore, and one of these crevices was connected to the drainpipe running beneath the Daoist church.

During the daytime, the Tang clan had sent someone to break the array in that area and fill the inside with a black and viscous substance.

The clump of water mud slowly flowed into the crevice, seeping into the drainpipe below the Daoist church. It continued to nudge forward, making no sound, and this object seemed to be covered in some mysterious substance that prevented it from being stained by the sticky black oil.

Chen Changsheng's gaze fell on the opposite shore.

He did not know that in the daytime, the opposite shore was buzzing with activity, with many government laborers, peddlers, and fortune-tellers, and even a blind zither player at the shore. The restaurant had also been rather bustling, and Luo Bu had drunk two jars of fine wine there.

He did not notice that the ground behind was slightly swelling and that two frost-colored blades of grass had already crawled over his feet.

The black mud noiselessly burst apart like a budding flower, an ugly hand covered with scales and fur stretching out of the ground.

There was a tiny perturbation in the Qi of the world. With Chen Changsheng's sharp senses, he immediately noticed.

But his reaction was still a step too slow.

He was too late to use his swiftest Yeshi Step or Hanging Sunset to send himself far away.

The ugly and terrifying hand had shot out of the ground and was now wrapped in a death grip around his ankle.

An indescribable Qi emerged from this hand and traveled up his ankles, invading the rest of his body.

Chen Changsheng felt like he had fallen into the mouth of a volcano. His entire being seemed to be wrapped in scorching lava, every part of his skin in excruciating, almost numbing pain.

This was an illusion, because this Qi was not hot, but frigidly cold.

This incredibly cold and foul Qi poured into his meridians and began to corrode his flesh and blood.

Even more terrifying was that this cold and foul Qi seemed to have a life of its own. Transforming into a thin membrane, it completely sealed off all three hundred sixty-five Qi openings. This also meant that the star radiance in those Qi openings would not be able to break out for a short period of time.

Immediately after, this Qi poured into his chest and froze his Ethereal Palace into an icy mountain.

All this happened in an extremely brief span of time.

The yellow leaf on the tree had only fallen an inch from its branch while the stars had not even had the time to twinkle.

Chen Changsheng's body had been seized, both his breathing and heartbeat frozen.

Let alone a counterattack, he couldn't even make a noise.

The subterranean sneak attack had been too insidious, the Qi too cold and sinister.

Any other cultivator, even a grand expert at the peak of Star Condensation, if caught completely unprepared and suddenly assaulted by this sinister attack which had not been seen in the world for so many years, would be seized and then silently die.

Would Chen Changsheng die like this? Protected by countless experts, in a church of the Orthodoxy, under the silvery starlight?

Guan Feibai had walked out of the church with his sword, but he was still ten-some zhang from Chen Changsheng.

Crucially, other than sensing that the wind had gotten somewhat chillier, he did not feel that anything was wrong.

The Daoist church's array had also not sensed the arrival of that insidious assassin.

Chen Changsheng's breathing slowed. Counting from the start of the sneak attack, his second breath had been seven times longer than his first.

At the same time, his heartbeat had also slowed. Also counting from the start of the sneak attack, his second heartbeat had come many times slower than his first heartbeat.

If this continued, his next breath might never come, his heartbeat might stop, and then he would die.

Chen Changsheng was extremely close to death at this moment, but this was not even the closest he had been to death.

Starting from the age of ten, he had kept the shadow of death as his constant companion. Beneath New North Bridge, by the lake in Mount Han, or at the peak of the Mausoleum of Books, he had encountered much more dangerous situations, so when he could so clearly see the menace of death, he did not panic.

More importantly, he was very experienced in how to deal with such cold Qi.

He had been blown about by Zhizhi's dragon breath many times. In these past few years, he would occasionally transform into a sculpture of ice at the bottom of a cave or a block of ice floating in the lake of some deserted palace.

The breath of the Black Frost Dragon was the coldest substance in the world. Although this assassin's Qi was even more sinister, it was still not as cold.

From a certain perspective, Chen Changsheng was the person in the world who had resisted cold Qi the most. In terms of both mind and body, his endurance far surpassed a normal person, and even an expert of the Divine Domain might not be his match in this aspect.

In the view of the assassin, Chen Changsheng's body and spiritual sense should have been completely frozen, and even his mind should have ground to a halt, making the idea of a counterattack ridiculous.

Chen Changsheng truly could not move, but he could still think.

As long as he could think, no one could hold him.

In the midst of this interminable gap between breaths and heartbeats, his mind moved.

Countless swords poured out of his sheath, one after the other!

Countless streams of swift and forceful sword intent enveloped the entire back garden.

Countless sword glows hacked at his surroundings, shattering the starlight and shredding the grass. Deep sword slashes appeared all over the ground while hard flecks of mud were sent flying every which way.

The Daoist church's array was finally activated. A clear light erupted from its roof, shrouding the entirety of the church and its garden.

Within these innumerable sword glows, a faint groan could be heard. It was accompanied by a ripping sound, like something had been broken.

The lawn incessantly bulged as if something underground was currently attempting to escape.

The sinister and foul Qi no longer had a source, so Chen Changsheng's life was no longer on the verge of being extinguished, but he still could not move for the moment, still was in danger.

The swords flew back, hovering around his body and forming an impenetrable sword array, releasing a buzzing sound.

……

……

Looking at Chen Changsheng from the distance, Guan Feibai had already noticed that something was strange.

The slowing of Chen Changsheng's breathing and heartbeat could not be concealed from his brightly lit Dao heart.

Then, he saw the mud on the grass and that bizarre hand gripping Chen Changsheng's ankle.

He unsheathed his longsword and charged over. He was extremely nervous, because he realized that he might be too late.

At this moment, countless sword glows appeared over the grass, cleaving the starlight and grass into pieces and forcing out the assassin.

Seeing the bulges on the grass, Guan Feibai threw out his longsword in their direction.

The darkness by the Wenshui was suddenly illuminated by the white flash of a sword.

The starlight from the innumerable stars seemed to dim, the frosty grass bent, and the yellow leaves crumbled.