Ze Tian Ji (Way of Choices)

Chapter 883 – The Surging of the River Also Cannot Wash Away This Hatred

Because of Chen Changsheng’s visit and the arrivals of the Imperial Court’s diplomatic mission and the representatives of the various factions, South Stream Temple was under heavy guard today. On the plateau, disciples were standing guard in the flowering trees, and one could faintly sense several dozen sword intents in the vicinity of the path, waiting to be activated. If an external foe were to come, the sword array would assuredly be able to activate in the shortest time possible.

When those South Stream Temple disciples saw him, they bowed, one of them asking, “Where is Your Holiness going?”

As this girl asked her question, the other disciples all smirked at him, presumably having already guessed at his destination.

Chen Changsheng thanked them for their troubles and, somewhat embarrassed, pointed at the summit. “I’m going over there to take a look.”

The forest resounded with the laughter of these disciples, clear and pleasant, like the song of nightingales.

It was truly difficult to imagine that if the temple really did close itself off for ten years, this clear and moving laughter would no longer be heard. This would truly be the world’s misfortune.

……

……

On this journey to the summit, Chen Changsheng was naturally no longer willing to climb the mountain again. Wind blew through the forest, causing the flowers to sway, exuding their aroma to the surroundings. The White Crane flapped its wings and took flight, quickly reaching the summit.

Chen Changsheng walked to the stone wall and pulled aside the vines. He silently stood there for a long time, but, failing to calm his mind, turned and left.

The Luomei Mountains were formed from countless peaks, with the Holy Maiden Peak being the highest. Here, the mountains were the closest to the night sky, the light of the countless stars somewhat dazzling.

He had once gone to that solitary mountain in the Cloud Grave. He had reached a very high altitude, but he had been surrounded by clouds, so he had never seen such bright stars.

Starlight enveloped the summit like water, clearly illuminating the lines on the stone monoliths.

Chen Changsheng gazed at those monolith inscriptions, comparing them to the monolith inscriptions in the Mausoleum of Books, slowly comprehending.

Time slowly passed, and on this solemn starry night, he woke from his meditation. Walking to the cliff, he glanced at the distant foot of the mountain.

He saw the light of countless lanterns, appearing just like the stars, but much dimmer. These were presumably the Imperial Court’s diplomatic mission and the representatives from the noble clans and great sects.

South Stream Temple truly wanted to cut itself off from the world for ten years? After seeing the Heavenly Tome Monolith rubbings and touching upon the wisdom of the first Holy Maiden, he wasn’t even thinking of this question. Instead, he took out another book related to the temple sword and began to read, just like he had done yesterday afternoon. Gradually, a fierce sword intent appeared by the cliff.

This sword intent originated from his fingers and fell on the distant sky of stars and the earth of the mortal world.

……

……

The Tong River arose from the depths of the Luomei Mountains, flowed past Holy Maiden Peak, and merged with the River of Hatred, which flowed west, cleaving through another mountain range and entering a canyon.

In the canyon, twenty-some li from Fengyang City, the dark river surged with a thunderous momentum.

On a rock in the river, two people suddenly appeared. No matter how frightening the force of the water, it was not worth the attention of these two people.

Because they were true experts who had the right to disregard the force of nature, and also because their hearts were currently fraught with worry and anxiety.

One was a Daoist nun dressed in a deep-blue Daoist robe. Her eyes were slightly sunken and lifeless. Her face was pale and utterly devoid of her usual viciousness. It was Wuqiong Bi.

Bie Yanghong was still dressed as a scholar, but his usual composed and indifferent visage now appeared much graver, and one could faintly see a tinge of sorrow.

“It can’t be true, it can’t be true, my beloved child must have been naughty… and accidentally broke it.”

Wuqiong Bi was muttering to herself, her face growing paler and paler, her eyes dimmer and dimmer. She found that she could not deceive herself.

Bie Yanghong’s gaze suddenly fell on a certain place in the river. His pupils constricted, a glint of harsh light flashing in them. The red flower floating around his pinkie finger flew through the air.

Boom! The river was torn open, its waters surging into the night sky like a waterfall in reverse.

An unimaginable strength had blasted through the water’s surface and created a hole around half a zhang in radius, so deep that one could see the damp mud of the river bottom.

Wuqiong Bi shrieked and lunged towards the hole. She hovered three feet above the water and looked within.

With just a glance, she nearly fell unconscious. If not for Bie Yanghong’s prompt arrival, she might have fallen into the river.

The bottom of the hole was naught but mud. One would not detect anything strange with just one’s eyes, but given the cultivation levels of Wuqiong Bi and Bie Yanghong, coupled with the link forged by blood, they naturally noticed a problem.

In this mud were a few extremely fine grains of ice. Crucially, these grains of ice still carried extremely faint remnants of Qi.

This Qi was the brand on Bie Tianxin’s soul that Wuqiong Bi and Bie Yanghong had personally planted in their son’s sea of consciousness before he went traveling.

Wuqiong Bi sensed this ever-weakening Qi, her body fiercely trembling in her monstrous wrath. She began to sob in grief.

“Just who is so vicious! I’ll kill you! Who is it!”

Her grief-stricken sobs echoed off both walls of the canyon. A gale suddenly kicked up, flattening the forests, sending the apes and monkeys fleeing. Countless pillars of water suddenly shot up from the river, killing innumerable fish.

A look of profound grief appeared on Bie Yanghong’s face, but he was far more cool-headed than his wife. His sleeve lightly waved, taking in those ice crystals at the bottom of the river.

Only ten-some grains remained of the ice crystals, each of them about the size of a bean. If they had been just a little later, just a few more hours, the river would have melted these ice crystals away. The Qi would have dispersed, so utterly swallowed by the river that even Divine Domain experts like them would have found it impossible to sense.

The criminal was truly a most methodical and scheming individual.

When she thought of this, Wuqiong Bi felt even more rage.

Bie Yanghong’s expression suddenly turned grave, as he had sensed an extremely cold Qi from these ice crystals.

Wuqiong Bi was in a fury, so she sensed it somewhat later. Her expression quickly morphed, her eyes so filled with hate that they seemed about to bite someone.

“Black Dragon! Chen Changsheng!”

People like them could naturally determine that what had killed Bie Tianxin and destroyed almost all evidence of his body was the Deep Freeze Dragon Breath of the Black Frost Dragons.

All the world knew that the Dragon race had not stepped onto the continent for one thousand years. And only truly important people knew that the only dragon on the continent at present was the current Pope’s Protector, the Black Frost Dragon that had been imprisoned under New North Bridge for more than six centuries.

If that Black Frost Dragon had killed Bie Tianxin, then it was probably related to Chen Changsheng.

Bie Yanghong thought for a few moments, then said, “Wait for me here. I will continue to investigate.”

So saying, he left the river and appeared at some other place in the canyon. He roused a fisherman and asked what had happened in the last few days.

If one fisherman didn’t know, he awakened another. After an hour, he finally found a fisherman who said that he had seen something strange take place on the river.

Some green-winged monster had snatched up a person and flown over the river.

“Nanke! That Demon Princess!” Wuqiong Bi hollered, her eyes red. “Chen Changsheng has kept her at his side all this time; who doesn’t know this? He holds a grudge against my son. They met in the mountains, and with no one around, he murdered him! He will pay with his life!”

Bie Yanghong had an exhausted expression, remaining silent.

He felt that something was not right.

In this canyon river far from civilization, why had his son encountered Chen Changsheng’s party?

Such a probability was simply far too small.

After a while, he and Wuqiong Bi went to Fengyang City. They learned of the tea party that would be held here tomorrow, as well as the events of the daytime.

Xiao Zhang had visited.

Chen Changsheng had truly been here.