Ze Tian Ji (Way of Choices)

Chapter 1182 – Journeying to the Sacred Light Continent

Chen Changsheng returned to the Li Palace and once again discussed the matter of Wang Po’s departure, to which Xu Yourong said something similar to Yuren’s words.

“Dying for one’s country…”

Wang Po had given up his plans to demand justice from the Great Zhou Dynasty, had given up on his revenge against the Chen Imperial clan. This was an incredibly difficult thing to do.

Mentally, it was no different from sacrificing oneself for the country.

Chen Changsheng strongly agreed, and then he recalled his senior brother’s last words to him.

“Leaving at the ideal moment is an incredibly wonderful thing.”

Anyone could tell that these words referred to Shang Xingzhou.

Chen Changsheng would not deny this, but he also felt like those words were also aimed at him.

“I might… leave for a while.”

He somewhat hesitantly spoke.

Xu Yourong asked, “The reason?”

There were many reasons. There was that phrase from just now, and how watching his senior brother teach his junior brother calligraphy with such harshness made him think of his master.

Or maybe it was due to the many ministers and commoners that were praising his senior brother by saying that he was becoming closer and closer to Emperor Taizong every day.

But he couldn’t voice any of these reasons, as these were all just speculations without a single shred of evidence. Moreover, such speculations were truly very irresponsible.

He did not say them, but Xu Yourong knew.

She said, “Perhaps you’re overthinking it.”

“Yes.” Chen Changsheng looked at her and earnestly said, “But before Emperor Taizong did those things, he was not necessarily the Emperor Taizong that we know, but the Prince of Qi that everyone praised. Perhaps he only killed his brothers and imprisoned his father because he was left with no other choice.”

Xu Yourong asked, “And so?”

Chen Changsheng replied, “I don’t want to become the second Emperor Taizong, so… I want to leave.”

“If this is your reason, I do not support you, because this is an utterly passive excuse.”

Xu Yourong declared, “Living should be a collection of active actions.”

Chen Changsheng thought this over and said, “I myself want to leave.”

Xu Yourong asked once more, “The reason?”

Chen Changsheng said, “I want to know where I came from.”

Ever since the age of ten, he had lived beneath the shadow of death.

On that night, when the Tianhai Divine Empress helped him to defy the heavens and change fate, he finally no longer had to spend every day contemplating the question of death. He had the right to contemplate other questions.

Other than the questions of life and death, three questions were of paramount importance in a person’s life.

‘Who are you?’

‘Where did you come from?’

‘Where do you want to go?’

If one wanted to answer the third question, one first had to know what the answers to the first two were.

The war with the demons had not completely concluded, but he was no longer needed.

Shang Xingzhou and Black Robe said that he came from the Sacred Light Continent, so he wanted to go there and take a look.

“I accept this reason.”

Xu Yourong added, “But don’t take too long.”

Surprised, Chen Changsheng asked, “You’re not going with me?”

Xu Yourong seriously returned, “I was born in the capital.”

……

……

Chen Changsheng returned to Xining Village. Only now did he think about his last conversation with Yourong, and then he recalled Tang Thirty-Six’s assessment of her that he had made many years ago in the Plum Garden Inn: a woman that makes others speechless.

This realization comforted Chen Changsheng somewhat, but he had completely forgotten that Tang Thirty-Six had given him the exact same assessment.

For the Pope to suddenly leave was not merely irresponsible. It truly made others speechless as well.

It was late winter, so the trees growing along the stream were bare. There were no petals in the water and no books in the temple.

Chen Changsheng slept in the old temple for the night. He woke up at five o’clock on the morning of the next day. After washing his face in the stream, he began walking toward that side. The fog grew thicker and thicker as he walked over to that side, and at its thickest, the fog became clouds. In the clouds were streams, creeping vines, easily startled deer, and the indistinct figures of many mysterious beasts.

These were all familiar sights to him, so he pressed on until he reached the base of that solitary mountain.

A Unicorn appeared, its body of pure white making it seem like a divine being.

Chen Changsheng quietly met its gaze.

He knew that this Unicorn had always been waiting for him, had been waiting for him for many years.

“There’s no need to absolutely be with any particular person. It’s fine to be alone.”

Chen Changsheng looked at it and shook his head, saying with a faint smile, “Go.”

The Unicorn reluctantly took its leave, turning to look back at him every ten or so steps.

Chen Changsheng calmly watched it, not turning to leave. Only after it vanished deep into the thick clouds did he continue his journey.

The solitary mountain was shrouded in clouds throughout the year. Its surface was very moist, covered in moss and flowing rivulets of water.

But to an expert of the Divine Domain, it was as easy to traverse as flat ground.

……

……

Nine days ago, the sun sank into the Cloud Grave and never appeared again.

On the tenth day, Chen Changsheng reached the summit of the solitary mountain.

There was nothing here other than the sea of clouds. It was so deserted that he felt very lonesome.

He sat on a stone at the peak, took out a fruit, and slowly and diligently ate it.

There were many things in the sword sheath, including food. Zhizhi had personally prepared great quantities of food, but he ate none of it, only a single fruit.

It was just like how he had chosen to climb to the peak instead of using any other method. Perhaps this imparted a sense of ceremony to this process that he felt was needed.

After eating the fruit, he raised his head up to the sky and realized that it was right before his eyes.

He stretched out his hand and felt it. He realized that the feel of the sky was rather decent. It was not as hard as he imagined. It was smooth and flexible, much like Yourong’s face.

He closed his eyes.

Three thousand swords howled as they exited. They seemed bursting with joy as they flew around the sea of clouds. They probably knew that they would soon be off to another world.

……

……

Chen Changsheng reached the other side of the sky, falling to the ground.

It wasn’t too painful, as the carpet-like green grass was very soft.

This was a grassland that had a circumference of several hundred zhang.

Chen Changsheng turned his head and saw that the just-shattered spatial crystal wall was slowly closing. The color of the sky was growing fainter and fainter until it completely vanished.

Through this, he understood that the solitary mountain on the Central Continent that soared straight into the sky was actually pointed straight at him on this side.

It turned out that these two continents were not parallel, but perpendicular to each other.

To this place, the Central Continent was a wall.

This grassland was truly very small. It only took him a moment to walk out.

Beyond the grassland was a barren desert. The white sands created a world that was naught but a white ocean.

The light of nine suns was blinding.

Chen Changsheng randomly picked a direction and began to walk.

A single step covered several li.

He quickly encountered the natives of this continent.

More and more of them.

No one asked about his background, and there was certainly no one who dared to obstruct him.

The natives gazed at him with reverence, parting like a tide, revealing that sacrificial altar.

The weather was truly very hot. That white-robed monk was sitting on the sacrificial altar, basking in the sun.

Many years ago, Chen Changsheng had accompanied the Tianhai Divine Empress’s soul and met him by Xining Village’s stream.

“I’m about to die, my Qi and blood exhausted, so I’m a little cold.”

The white-robed monk explained.

Chen Changsheng replied, “This place truly is a little cold.”

It was reasonable for the monk to say that he was cold, but why did he think it was cold?

After all, those nine suns in the sky were all real.

“Have you come to take us home?”

The white-robed monk asked.

Upon hearing this, the tens of thousands of people around the sacrificial altar prostrated, weepingly imploring, “None care not for their homeland.”

Chen Changsheng silently regarded these people.

The monk explained, “Your master promised me this. If you do not agree, I will wait for your junior brother to do it.”

Chen Changsheng replied, “If I can come back, I will seriously consider it.”

The monk understood his meaning and asked, “You want to see the path you came on?”

Chen Changsheng replied, “Yes.”

The monk said, “You should be well aware that this place is not the Sacred Light Continent.”

Chen Changsheng nodded.

He knew a long time ago that this place was not the Sacred Light Continent.

If the Sacred Light Continent were so close, the Central Continent would have already been enslaved by that God.

This place had once been the main continent of that civilization and was now the Forsaken Land.

The blazing and torrid light that seemed to be full of energy was not real Sacred Light, just a false image.

This continent had already lost all of its energy, its vitality fading away, constantly waning with the passage of time.

“Back then, we sent three drops of Imperial Uncle’s blood to the Sacred Light Continent through the sacrificial altar.”

The monk added, “And then there was you.”

The Imperial Uncle he spoke of was Chen Xuanba.

Chen Changsheng was quiet for a while, then he asked, “Can the people of the Sacred Light Continent come to this place through the sacrificial altar?”

“This altar can only transfer lifeless objects.”

The monk shook his head and explained, “Imperial Uncle’s blood was not alive, and neither was the Heaven Shrouding Sword.”

Chen Changsheng said, “But I’m alive?”

The white-robed monk asked, “Do you still not understand? When you were sent over, you were just a fruit.”

Chen Changsheng fell into another period of silence, after which he asked, “Then how was I born?”

The monk replied, “Through ten months of pregnancy, just like everyone else.”

Chen Changsheng understood. His voice tinged with hope, he asked, “Is she still alive?”

The monk looked at him with pity, just like he had looked at that young woman twenty-some years ago.

“When you were born, she died.”

Chen Changsheng was quiet for a very long time. Finally, he said, “You are all bad people.”

He was talking about the white-robed monk, Black Robe, and his master, Shang Xingzhou.

“The Sacred Light Continent has always wanted to use this sacrificial altar to open a spatial path.”

The monk continued, “They most recently succeeded ten-some years ago. They were waiting for Shang Xingzhou to use you to bring down divine judgment or to use my soul as a guide.”

It was only now that Chen Changsheng understood why the Divine Empress, when she was battling three Saints simultaneously, had prioritized the monk’s soul next to Xining Village’s stream.

He looked into the monk’s eyes and said, “If this is the case, then you are the worst of them all.”

The monk was quiet for a while, then said, “I’ve never been to the Sacred Light Continent, but I once sensed God’s strength. That is not something that we can resist.”

Chen Changsheng replied, “Even so, you cannot become the vanguard of the enemy.”

The monk said, “If not for the Sacred Light Continent sending energy through the sacrificial altar, this continent would have become an utter wasteland ages ago.”

Chen Changsheng returned, “If not for the Divine Empress, the Central Continent would also be a wasteland.”

The monk commented, “I’ve always felt that the Tianhai Divine Empress did not die.”

Chen Changsheng recalled how the Divine Empress had said to the monk that she had a successor.

What did the Tianhai Divine Empress mean by ‘successor’? Was she talking about Yuren, Chen Changsheng, or Xu Yourong?

……

……

Deserts spanned the Forsaken Land.

At the edge of the desert, tens of thousands of li away from the oasis where the natives lived, there was a great ocean.

There were no living beings in this ocean. It was a dead sea.

But even the most desolate worlds would have unique forms of life. Perhaps one could say that these were no longer living beings, but spirits of the dead.

Massive waves emerged from the ocean as cold winds roared.

A Netherworld Bone Dragon, ten-some li long, flew through the wind and waves.

This Netherworld Bone Dragon was not flaunting its strength to the heavens and earth, nor was it recounting its despairs to God. It was being forced.

A squirrel squatted in the eye of the Bone Dragon, a little black dot.

It was fearlessly watching the froth of the waves, occasionally even squealing in joy.

It turned out that this Netherworld Bone Dragon was its play partner.

On the shore, a Black Goat quietly gazed at the sky, its thoughts inscrutable.

……

……

“I want to go to the Sacred Light Continent.”

“I’ve never been to the Sacred Light Continent, nor will I ever be able to.”

“How did Su Li get there?”

“If my guess is correct, he probably went through Sangharama Temple.”

Chen Changsheng was stunned by these words.

He knew that Wang Zhice and Daoist Wu had been in Sangharama Temple this entire time, most likely attempting to recreate those murals and re-establish the Buddhist lineage.

Everyone believed that Sangharama Temple was assuredly on some extremely remote mountain. No one would have expected that Sangharama Temple was not on the Central Continent, but the Forsaken Land.

Upon walking into Sangharama Temple, he saw that Daoist Wu was still painting the walls.

And then, he saw Wang Zhice.

Wang Zhice had a head of white. He was lightly blowing on a flute, perhaps in remembrance of someone.

Chen Changsheng did not feel sorry, but he did feel respect.

It seemed that Wang Zhice had spent all this time guarding this vital path for the Human race.

Of course, that was only if Sangharama Temple really did lead to the Sacred Light Continent.

“There’s a fissure in space here. It’s extremely unstable and requires constant repair.”

Wang Zhice put down the flute and said, “Master Wu is doing precisely this.”

Daoist Wu stared at the paintings on the wall and sneered, “I wonder who it was that beat me so brutally in the Li Palace? Do you know how important I am now?”

Wang Zhice said, “I do not have much time or energy to concern myself with other matters.”

From the moment people found out that Wang Zhice was still alive, they had many poor opinions of him.

To not concern oneself with worldly affairs was irresponsible.

Chen Changsheng once had similar thoughts, but today, he learned that these were all misunderstandings.

Sangharama Temple was far too important. In comparison, the struggles over power and the life-or-death battles on the Central Continent were trifling concerns.

“Since there’s a spatial fissure here, why doesn’t God use it to open up a spatial path?”

Chen Changsheng asked.

Wang Zhice replied, “Because God also cannot guarantee that such a spatial path would be one-way.”

Chen Changsheng did not understand this reasoning.

Wang Zhice replied, “You will know when you go over to that side.”

Chen Changsheng asked, “Has Sir ever been?”

Wang Zhice replied, “I still have not prepared myself to meet that individual.”

Chen Changsheng thought for a while and then asked, “Is it not a little irresponsible for me and Su Li to do this?”

Wang Zhice answered, “Curiosity is one of the best parts about being human. It is worth the risk, even worth paying everything.”

Chen Changsheng asked, “How do I get there?”

Wang Zhice brought him to the murals.

There were many landscapes on the wall.

There were tall spires, the lines innately imbued with a divine aura.

There were pastures and white clouds, scattered cottages, bustling cities, and sunlit colosseums concealing their dark and sinister natures.

The style of the buildings was very similar to the ones in Xuelao City.

There were also many intelligent beings on these murals that were different from humans.

There were beings that seemed like craftsmen. They looked like lower-class demons, except they were even shorter. Some of the beings were immaculately beautiful, very similar to the Elf race that had secluded itself in the Great Western Continent.

Chen Changsheng became more and more entranced. Finally, the sound of a bell woke him from his daze.

He was surrounded by green pasture, and white clouds drifted over the blue sky. The sound of the bell was coming from the church in front of him, and shouts could be heard from a square building nearby.

This language was incredibly close to Demon language, so Chen Changsheng could understand it. The words seemed to concern going to school.

He had already arrived at the Sacred Light Continent.