Ze Tian Ji (Way of Choices)

Chapter 897 – Within the Great Light, the Phoenix Comes

In the view of the Prince of Xiang and a few other more informed people, Bie Yanghong was standing guard for Wuqiong Bi.

Chen Changsheng was no ordinary person.

He was the Pope.

If one wanted to kill a Pope, one might encounter the most unexpected of accidents.

If one wanted to kill a Pope, one had to obstruct all accidents.

Like that blade.

At this point, still no one knew whether that blade had come to Holy Maiden Peak or not. Similarly, no one knew whether that blade might suddenly drop from the sky without warning and cleave apart everything in the world that its wielder wanted to cleave, just like it did in the capital within the Luo River.

……

……

Just who could save him now? Chen Changsheng had never thought of this question.

While at Wenshui City, he knew that the blade was outside the city, because that had been at his request.

But he had been in too much of a rush when traveling from Fengyang City to Holy Maiden Peak, so he had not had a chance to inform the wielder of that blade. Moreover, ever since he had learned of his fate at the age of ten, whenever he faced any dangerous situations, like that darkness that symbolized death, he was accustomed to facing them alone.

Placing his hopes on another meant that he had no control over his own fate.

He did not want to be this sort of person; he was not this sort of person.

From start to finish, he had always placed his hopes in his own hands.

Seeing that sea of lotuses concealing limitless danger, sensing that Qi of silent extinction, he knew that he could no longer hide his strength.

When facing a Divine Domain expert, any schemes or hidden tricks represented disdain, for which there was certain to be punishment.

His right hand maintained its grip on the hilt. The countless swords in his sheath were ready to come out at any moment and assail the sky.

His left hand was raised, the monsters in the Garden of Zhou ready to come out at any moment and wash over the mountains like a tide.

In the Garden of Zhou, Nanke was ready.

On his wrist, the Heavenly Tome Monoliths were ready.

He believed that Zhexiu, who had yet to appear, was also ready.

There was also the Yellow Paper Umbrella, the Falling Star Stone, the Divine Staff of the Orthodoxy.

No one had ever seen all of Chen Changsheng’s tricks.

Even on that night in the snowy mountains, when confronting the legendary Demon Lord, he still had many tricks that he had not used.

In his original plans, these tricks should have been used on a certain elder.

It now seemed that they would have to show themselves to the world right now.

Even so, could he block the all-out attack of a Divine Domain expert?

He was not confident, because that threshold was truly very high.

The world was also not confident, or else why would so many people be rushing over to him?

Those people were worried, or despairing, or perhaps already beginning to grieve?

Suddenly, the world changed colors.

The thick dark clouds were suddenly painted with a smear of golden light.

The gloomy sky suddenly became incomparably bright.

The mountain forests began to burn.

Worry, despair, and grief were all supplanted by shock.

Everyone looked up to the sky.

A streak of fire appeared in the sky.

This streak of fire was very long, rising from that place shrouded in clouds.

The people from South Stream Temple could all guess that it was coming from Holy Maiden Peak.

The streak of fire extended towards the plateau with unimaginable speed, like some meteor descending from the heavens and leaving a fiery trail in its wake.

No one had time to react. They could only watch as the streak of fire descended at the edge of the plateau.

The pieces of the shattered wutong trees suddenly burst into flame, scattering sparks, light, and heat in every direction.

A pair of breathtakingly beautiful Phoenix wings were dancing in the fire!

A resoundingly bright Phoenix cry echoed through the world!

Flames bursting with an unimaginable vigor shot towards the lotus sea of silent extinction.

Countless sword silhouettes flickered in these flames, rising and falling, yet they did not seem treacherous. On the contrary, they seemed upright and frank, dignified and holy to the extreme.

The two Qis collided, unleashing a sound like some invisible and massive bell being rung by a god returning to the sea of stars. This fierce noise could even be heard several dozen li away, on the Tong River.

Countless waves stirred on the surface of the river. The fishermen on their boats and villages in their homes all kneeled in shock and began to pray.

Some of the cultivators on the plateau that were a little too close and had weak cultivations were knocked unconscious by the shock.

After some time, the terrifying Qi turbulences gradually settled, the blazing sparks extinguished, the light faded.

Upon seeing those still dignified and powerful sword intents in the light and the incredibly exquisite sword slashes, many people recalled a famous sight.

It was from several years ago, on the capital’s Bridge of Helplessness, a battle in the snow.

Upon seeing the slender figure in the smoke, the crowd was flabbergasted and began to slowly understand what had happened.

Countless sword intents lay in the light, and as the dust settled, they began to combine into a single sword.

As expected, it was the legendary Sword of Great Light!

As expected, it was Holy Maiden Xu Yourong!

……

……

Xu Yourong and Chen Changsheng stood side by side at the cliff’s edge, confronting Wuqiong Bi.

Chen Changsheng gripped the Stainless Sword while Xu Yourong held the temple sword.

Their faces were somewhat pale. They had probably been injured, but their expressions were still calm.

The plateau was absolutely silent, everyone too shocked to speak. They simply couldn’t believe their own eyes, feeling that everything was an illusion.

The Holy Maiden had left her seclusion early!

Did she not know how great was the price she had paid? That this might inflict almost irreparable harm to her cultivation? The crowd turned to Chen Changsheng and guessed at the reason she had left seclusion early, finally confirmed that those rumors were true. Their emotions became extremely complex. There was admiration, yearning, and of course, a great deal of envy.

Of course, there was another possibility: Xu Yourong had entered the Divine Domain and so had left her seclusion. But who could accomplish such a feat in two short years? Chen Xuanba had not done this, nor had Emperor Taizong, nor had Wang Zhice, and not even Zhou Dufu had done it.

Reality proved that Xu Yourong truly had not succeeded. As that light gradually faded, the Qi she exuded became more distinct. Although it was pure, holy, and exquisite, there was an untraversable gap between it and that threshold. If this was the case, just how had she managed to block the all-out blow of an expert of the Divine Domain?

This was what truly shocked the crowd.

The most shocked of all was Wuqiong Bi, because she was the one being blocked.

She looked at Xu Yourong and Chen Changsheng standing side by side, her face slightly pale, her eyes incredibly dark.

The temple sword was truly formidable. Containing limitless sword intent and infinite light, purely in terms of technique, it could be called the world’s most formidable sword style.

But this was not enough to give Xu Yourong even the possibility of blocking an attack with all of Wuqiong Bi’s strength behind it.

Under the absolute suppression of cultivation level, the most exquisite of sword styles was meaningless.

But just when she intended to use the Dao of silent extinction contained in her lotus sea to suppress Xu Yourong, another sword intent joined the battle.

It was naturally Chen Changsheng’s sword.

With Chen Changsheng’s sword intent entering the fray, Xu Yourong’s Sword of Great Light unexpectedly became even more harmonious, practically reaching perfection.

It was such that each swing of the temple sword was faintly fused with the aura of the Divine!

What made Wuqiong Bi even more surprised and uneasy was that the energy of the Sword of Great Light suddenly exploded at that moment, becoming several times stronger!

Just what was going on here?