Ze Tian Ji (Way of Choices)

Chapter 944 – The Starry Sky Can Kill People, but Who Will Save Them?

The young Demon Lord walked on the yellow sand, following the trail of seemingly ancient golden bloodstains.

The place he walked to was the back gate of the courtyard. The lock on the gate was covered in rust, a sign of the many years since the gate was last opened. It looked very ordinary.

If one had to find something special, it would probably be the two stone sculptures flanking the steps.

The stone sculptures depicted what appeared to be two men, completely naked. The curves of their bodies were perfect and each of them had a pair of wings on its back.

The statues had no expression, yet they seemed so vivid that they could come to life at any moment.

If a few of those demi-human elders that had lived for countless years were to see these statues, perhaps they would associate them with those gods mentioned in their tribal myths.

In contrast, to the Demon Lord’s eyes, these two stone sculptures were a sort of taboo which he regarded with an expression of loathing and vigilance.

In truth, he was very familiar with these two stone statues.

When he was very young, he had seen these two deep within the Demon Palace, in the stone carving that depicted all the gods. He also did not find it strange for these two statues to suddenly move from Xuelao City’s Demon Palace to White Emperor City, because on that ceremony to the stars that night, he had personally witnessed two beams of light pierce through the wall and pour into these statues.

The Demon Lord’s complexion paled as he pondered. Only after a while did it return to normal.

He still was very wary about the ceremony to the stars and had many misgivings, but the circumstances had compelled him to accept Black Robe’s proposal.

But when he saw with his own eyes these clearly lifeless, absolutely dead stone statues, he once more began to wonder whether his choice had been correct.

“Father, your view was probably right… The starry sky can kill people, can help us kill people, but it can also kill us.”

The Demon Lord gazed at the two stone statues, the hands he held behind his back slowly stroking a stone object. He slowly said, “But Father can be at ease. I will not regard them as kindred, only as hunting dogs. If there comes a day that they understand, I will destroy this thing.”

If Chen Changsheng were present, he would probably recognize the object in his hands.

On that night in the mountains, it was precisely this stone object that was stabbed into the old Demon Lord’s stomach, bringing down from the starry sky that pillar of light suffused with aura of extermination.

……

……

The palace hall that Luoluo resided in was at the highest point of White Emperor City, even higher than the residence of her parents.

This was because she loved looking into the distance from high places. Of course, this position also signified how much the White Emperor couple pampered her.

It was just that the clouds of White Emperor City were much thicker today. Standing by the window, it was hard to see very far, and the light was rather dim. There was only the familiar Red River and the green mountains on the opposite shore, those humid and dense forests which she felt like she could smell from here, and those massive trees that loomed in the distance, seeming to be as tall as the sky.

She had already seen these sights for many years and grown accustomed to them, but for some reason, they seemed rather strange to her today.

Soon after, she heard a din from the palace and the beating of war drums, sensed the Qi of the Wildfire that was aroused by the beast dances.

Was the grand ceremony truly about to begin?

She already knew of what had happened last night.

On the surface, the Xiang clan’s leader and the other elders had put on a very tough stance, but she knew that this was all faked.

In the battle between Divine Domains two days ago, it was clearly her mother that had won, her prestige and momentum now at their strongest. The Chief Elder and all the other important personages of the Demi-human race were only able to grip their axes and talk of revolt, utterly powerless to make her mother yield.

What made her even sadder was that the Chief Elder had clearly perceived her father’s will.

This meant that her father also knew of this matter.

Last night, before the Chief Elder left the palace, he had come to see her. He had sworn a blood oath that he would ensure her safety, but he did not even hint at today’s events.

The grand ceremony of Heavenly Selection would proceed as normal.

Just like how the rain would fall from the sky, she would be married off, and this was impossible to change.

Just who was her mother planning to marry her to? Why was she so confident that the person she chose would be chosen by the ancestral spirits and endure the baptism of the Wildfire within the tree?

Luoluo gazed at the extremely vigilant Red River Beast Guard outside the window as she contemplated these questions.

Last night, she had been so busy thinking and making arrangements for her plans that she had not slept well, giving her a rather haggard complexion.

Guardian Li looked at Luoluo’s face and thought that grief had caused her insomnia. She found it impossible to suppress her pity, and her eyes moistened.

“Leave through the tunnel?”

Guardian Li placed a cup of acorn tea in front of Luoluo and whispered, “I’ve already obtained the key.”

Luoluo lightly shook her head. “Those heavenly silkworms down there are not easy to deal with.”

Guardian Li’s complexion slightly paled at mention of this creature. Giving up on this plan, she began to think of other methods of escape.

Luoluo had not spoken the truth.

The heavenly silkworms were the protectors of White Emperor City’s underground abyss and were incredibly powerful. Moreover, they could travel freely in the abyss and through the earth. From a certain perspective, they could put a stop to any foe that attempted to sneak in through the ground. However, three years ago, she had already tried and confirmed that the heavenly silkworms could not stop her.

She caressed the small stone tied to her neck, happily smiling as she recalled the sight of those heavenly silkworms fleeing in fright.

Guardian Li had no idea that this little stone was a legendary Heavenly Tome Monolith. She thought that Luoluo was smiling from excessive shock and panicked, not knowing what to do.

Luoluo soothed her for a while before Guardian Li finally calmed down.

Yes, even with the valiant Red River Beast Guard keeping close watch, even with White Emperor City secretly locked down, if she wanted to escape, it would not be very hard.

In Madam Mu’s eyes, in the eyes of the Xiang clan leader and the other elders, in the eyes of the demi-human generals and ministers, Princess Luoheng had not been diligently cultivating the imperial techniques in the last few years, her progress was extremely slow, and she was still just as weak as she was before her visit to the capital… Nobody knew that she had always been practicing diligently. Just like her teacher, she would wake up promptly at five in the morning, closing her eyes and composing herself for five seconds. After rising from bed, she would wash up and eat breakfast, after which she would begin to study and meditate until the late night and sleep.

Yes, her rate of progress in the imperial techniques was very mediocre, even rather slow, but that was not for lack of comprehension, nor was it because the problem of her meridians had not been solved. Instead, it was because she used the vast majority of her time to finish the homework her teacher had given her. In other words, she used most of her time to study the art of the sword.

Other than the Heavenly Tome Monolith and her ever-strengthening cultivation in the sword, she still had many powerful magical artifacts her father had given her. It was a trivial task for her to frighten those heavenly silkworms and leave through the tunnels. Her sorrow was greater because after a few days, she might not be able to see those sights outside her window.

Yes, if nothing else happened, if… her teacher did not reach White Emperor City in time, then she could only leave on her own.

Suddenly, an extremely shrill sound, almost ear-piercing, came from the window, the sound of air being torn to shreds, of a seal being torn open by a high-speed collision with some object. This was followed by ten-odd thuds, dust rising from the ground, the breeze suddenly fading, and a figure appearing.

This person’s still-drifting sleeve was still blurred from its swift passage through the air, through which one could imagine just how fast this person had been traveling.

This person wore a somewhat old gown patterned with images of copper coins, as well as a very indifferent expression, making him seem like some wealthy old man. If one noticed the yellow earth on his boots, they might even think of him as some big landlord who liked to personally work the fields.