Ze Tian Ji (Way of Choices)

Chapter 571 – A Lake Many Years in the Future

Whether discussing power or status, this battle between the Demon Lord and the White Emperor was well-qualified to be placed on par with the three battles from one thousand years ago.

Rather regretfully, this battle did not have any spectators.

Back then, Zhou Dufu’s battle with Chen Xuanba also had no spectators, but afterwards, Zhou Dufu had narrated the details of the battle many times. In an extraordinarily rare sight, Zhou Dufu did not attempt to conceal his admiration for Chen Xuanba and even clearly stated that he wanted to proclaim to the world just how amazing Chen Xuanba was.

As for this battle, afterwards, neither the Demon Lord nor the White Emperor spoke of it, so no one knew of the particulars.

No one even knew the result of this battle.

The entire world only knew that after that day, a massive crater appeared in the snowy plains to the north of Mount Han. The crater in the snowy plain was around thirty zhang deep and ten-odd li in circumference. If one stood in the crater and looked around, one would still feel like they were on a plain.

This was the trace left behind by this battle that was the most difficult to obliterate, and also the most direct descriptor of the intensity this battle had reached.

The extent of this battle’s influence was even greater. Seventy li away in the north plains was a forest of evergreen trees. Afterwards, hunters of the demon race that were familiar with the area were never able to find the slightest trace of this forest again. Moreover, a camp of the demon army’s wolf cavalry concealed in this forest also strangely disappeared.

The world seventy li away had been destroyed, so the snowy plains at the center of the battle did not even need to be discussed.

No living beings could be found at the bottom of the vast crater, only the once incomparably firm stones now crushed into a fine powder. No corpses could be found either—those snow foxes, monsters, and even smaller animals had already vanished without a trace. Only by digging deep into the gravel could perhaps a few bloodstains be found.

The most frightening of all was the unimaginably scalding smoke left over from the battle, which rose from the crater like some star had once fallen there.

Such a scalding crater naturally could not accumulate any snow. When the snowflakes fell, the snow would melt into water, gradually forming thin brooklets, then streams, and finally lakes. With the incessant wind and snow, the surface of the water continuously rose even after many years. Thus, in the snowy plains to the north of Mount Han, a blue lake appeared that would never freeze for years upon years.

Just like the Heaven Lake at the peak of Mount Han.

Of course, this was a matter many years in the future. As for the present, almost nobody knew that a crater had suddenly appeared to the north of Mount Han and that it would become a lake in the following years. Even fewer people knew that this was because a battle had taken place there. Naturally, nobody knew about this battle’s final result.

This battle only had three spectators.

After the conclusion of this battle, two of these spectators walked out of the wind and snow.

Walking in the front was a middle-aged Daoist, his appearance very ordinary. Walking behind was a youth, his appearance very unusual. He was lame, a crutch under his armpit. His black hair hanging over his eyes blocked off half his face. It was precisely those two that had vanished from Xining Village and were henceforth never found, Daoist Ji and…Yu Ren.

The White Emperor gazed at Daoist Ji and slowly nodded his head.

Daoist Ji slightly bent his body forward in return.

The White Emperor glanced at Yu Ren, then turned and vanished into the snowstorm.

Daoist Ji quietly gazed north, then he took Yu Ren and disappeared into the snowstorm in the opposite direction.

From beginning to end, nobody spoke.

Several hundred li to the north, in the snowy plains, Black Robe put away his somewhat broken-down metal plate and gazed south.

The howling wind lifted the lower corner of his hood, revealing the lower half of his face.

His face did not have the slightest emotion. Paired with the faint greenish hue on his skin, it seemed particularly strange and frightening. Yet by just looking at a small part of his face, even if it was just the mouth and lower jaw, one would still feel that this person was very beautiful. To make a strange face engender feelings of beauty, just how beautiful was the face itself?

Not long after Daoist Ji and Yu Ren disappeared into the snow, he pulled down his hood and began walking north into the snowstorm.

He had not gotten close to the snowy plains around Xuelao City when he was blocked by an enormous shadow.

It was a gigantic Mountain-toppling Fiend.

This Mountain-toppling Fiend of ruthless nature and monstrous strength was at this time extremely docile, because it was a mount.

A cold and ruthless voice came from the horn of the Mountain-toppling Fiend.

“This commander seems to have arrived a little late.”

The Demon Commander sat on the horn, leaning against the lower jaw of the beast while coldly staring at Black Robe below.

His armor was covered in golden lines and green rust, looking extremely dazzling.

His voice was abnormally raw and hoarse, harsh as metal grinding on metal.

Black Robe paid no attention to this second most powerful expert of the demons. His head lowered in silence, he prepared to walk by.

The Demon Commander’s voice grew more furious as he sharply yelled, “As the Military Advisor, you failed to dissuade His Majesty. What punishment do you think you deserve!”

Black Robe’s voice was indifferent and uninterested. “His Majesty safely returned, so what need is there for you and I to stir trouble over nothing?”

The Demon Commander was even more infuriated, yelling out in rebuke, “His Majesty is heavily wounded and you actually dare say that I am getting upset over nothing?”

Hearing this, Black Robe finally stopped. Raising his head upwards at the massive Mountain-toppling Fiend, he said frigidly, “You actually dare attempt to probe out the condition of His Majesty’s injuries from me? If His Majesty were to find out, you would die a nasty death.”

The Demon Commander coldly snorted, then said, “You believe that His Majesty will still trust in you as he did in the past?”

Black Robe calmly replied, “His Majesty has already trusted me for several hundred years, and he will continue to trust me for many more.”

The Demon Commander sharply said, “If His Majesty really did suffer severe injuries, just who do you think can save your life? Don’t forget, in these past years, how many ministers have you executed, how many grand elders have you offended? Moreover, even if you’ve achieved much for my Divine race, in the end, you are still a human!”

Black Robe ignored him and continued into the snowstorm.

No one knew of this conversation in the snow, and even if they did, they would find it very ordinary.

To the officers and soldiers of the Demon race, the Demon Commander and Military Advisor not agreeing was a very commonplace affair.

Yet if one carefully thought it over, they would be able to realize that this conversation contained many meanings that were not commonplace at all.

……

……

After a thousand years, the Demon Lord once more appeared in the human world. The continent was thrown into upheaval and became extremely tense. Mount Han, as the source of all this, was even more so.

The Heavenstone array had been forcefully broken by the Demon Lord, so the several thousand Heavenstones returned to their places. Those gaps in the fields, cliffs, and lake waters were once more filled. The injured were brought to the mountain summit for treatment, the dead were sent back to their hometowns. Those collapsed mountain paths and cliff walls also began to be repaired, but the mood could not be brought back to its former tranquility. The stewards of the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets and the cultivators attending the Boiling Stone Summit all had very nervous expressions.

Even now, not many people knew just what happened yesterday, why the supreme experts of the human world had hurried over in succession to Mount Han. The truth still remained obscured by dense fog, but people could sense that something major had certainly occurred. This was because of the heavy guard around Mount Han and also because of the oppressive atmosphere coming from the house by the lake.

Linghai Zhiwang and Mao Qiuyu, who had at first been denied entry to Mount Han, had appeared at the summit and were standing outside this house with ugly complexions.

There were ten-odd houses along the lake shore, intended for the cultivators attending the Boiling Stone Summit to stay in. This house had the best position, facing the lake and against the mountain. It was exceptionally quiet and the scenery from the house was also the best. However, it was very obvious that this was not enough for Mao Qiuyu and Linghai Zhiwang’s moods to improve in the slightest.

Because at this moment, Chen Changsheng was still unconscious in this house.

……

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