Ze Tian Ji (Way of Choices)

Chapter 940 – The Iron Sword Is Still Here, the Face Has Never Changed

After turning right at a little alley called Three Harmonies Borough and walking to the end, Xuanyuan Po pushed open the old wooden gate and reached the small courtyard that he had lived in for the last few years.

This courtyard was extremely small, each side about one zhang in length. However, it was extremely clean, the ground paved with white stones. Planted in the middle of the white stones was a young pine tree that was still shorter than a man. Its contrast against the gray walls and black eaves gave it a serene beauty.

In the small courtyard’s vicinity was the temple to the Celestial Tree for the Pine Paths district, so the area was very quiet and secluded. Other than when the bell rang to signal the morning or twilight, there was no other noise.

One could even say that this small courtyard was the best building in all of the Pine Paths, though few people knew of it.

Xuanyuan Po walked across the white stones and sat down at the wooden floor in front of the entrance to the building. He took off his shoes and put on a clean pair of white socks.

Before entering, he glanced at the pile of firewood by the door.

It wasn’t a very tall pile of firewood, but it was a very neat one. Upon careful examination, one would discover that each piece was almost identical in both length and thickness.

Xuanyuan Po quietly thought for a while, then thrust his hand into the pile of wood and slowly drew out an iron rod.

There were no edges or corners to this iron rod, much less any sharpness. It looked very ordinary and unremarkable.

In truth, it was a sword.

Regardless of which quality was used to rank it, this sword would assuredly be ranked in the top ten of the Tier of Legendary Weapons.

Who could have expected that the legendary Mountain Sea Sword was in a courtyard within the impoverished district of White Emperor City, and that it had been casually hidden in a pile of firewood by its owner?

However, it had received a similar treatment in the Orthodox Academy. It had even had to endure the oil and smoke of the kitchen and borne the duty of stoking the fires.

Xuanyuan Po carried this iron sword as he pushed open the door and entered the room.

The room was also very small, with a short table and a few mats serving as furniture. A paper door ran through the middle, separating this area from his living space.

Xuanyuan Po gazed at the paper door, tightening the grip of his left hand on the sword. His breathing became slow and steady as his expression turned extremely stern.

The paper door was very thin. Let alone the Mountain Sea Sword, even a huff from his strong and sturdy body would be enough to blow it over.

Just what was he wary of? He even seemed somewhat fearful.

Suddenly, a voice came from the other side of the paper door.

“I do not know who you are, but since you were able to notice our presence the moment you entered this small courtyard, you are presumably also a cultivator of the Dao. Please enter so that we can talk.”

Xuanyuan Po did not appear shocked as he sternly asked, “Who are you?”

……

……

On the other side of the paper door.

The room was somewhat dim. A streak of light from a flying carriage in the sky would occasionally illuminate it for a few moments.

A little blood was on the walls, slightly glimmering with gold, but it had already ceased to give off any Qi.

A Daoist nun sat against the wall. She had a delicate appearance and it was difficult to tell her age. She had a ruthless aura about her, but her eyes were full of fear.

A scholar sat beside her, his complexion slightly pale and his expression as calm as usual.

It was Bie Yanghong and Wuqiong Bi. If not for the fact that Madam Mu was busy maintaining the seal on the sky over White Emperor City and Black Robe was concealing their activity from the heavens, this husband and wife would have found it very difficult to escape with their lives. Even so, they had still suffered terrible wounds from the two Angels and had paid an enormous price.

Wuqiong Bi was shocked and angered at Bie Yanghong’s words. “Instead of just killing him, you’ve decided to invite him inside? For what!”

“He’s the owner of this place, and when has it ever been right for the guest to keep the owner out of the house?”

Bie Yanghong looked at the figure in front of the paper door and calmly said, “We cannot move, so cannot come out to welcome you. Please, come in.”

……

……

Xuanyuan Po silently thought for a while after hearing this conversation. Then, he took up the metal sword and pushed open the paper door.

He first saw a pile of crystals, two small pagodas, and several pieces of spirit wood.

This was clearly some sort of array that was able to ensure that not a single strand of Qi within the array could leak out and be discovered.

He then raised his head to look at the two people sitting against the wall.

It wasn’t that the bear child of the Orthodox Academy had grown more careful with age. It was just that too many things had taken place in White Emperor City today. The Red River Beast Guard were still sweeping the city and the flying carriages were still in the night sky, so he had to be a little more careful.

When he saw that pale and wary Daoist nun, Xuanyuan Po froze.

And when he saw her severed arm and blood-drenched body, he couldn’t help but think dazedly, is this the cycle of the Heavenly Dao?

On a certain night, this Daoist nun had visited the capital and tortured a stray dog to death. Guan Bai attempted to obstruct her, for which she severed one of his arms.

Afterward, the Daoist nun broke through the Orthodox Academy’s wall, intending to kill Xuanyuan Po to vent her rage.

If not for Su Li’s letter, he would have died that night and the Orthodox Academy would have been destroyed.

In his eyes, this Daoist nun was a true fiend, powerful and callous.

Who could have expected that after several years, they would meet again, and this Daoist nun would be heavily injured, with one of her arms cut off…

Xuanyuan Po said nothing, shifting his gaze to the scholarly man.

There were no wounds on his body, not even a speck of dust, and his expression was very calm.

But Xuanyuan Po sensed an aura of death.

It was obvious that this person had suffered even more severe wounds in an even deeper part of his body.

When he thought of this, Xuanyuan Po suddenly felt sad.

Since the Daoist nun was Wuqiong Bi, this man was naturally Bie Yanghong.

Just who in the world could wound Bie Yanghong and Wuqiong Bi so?

In one of their idle chats in the Orthodox Academy, he had discussed this question with Tang Thirty-Six and the others.

The only people that could defeat this husband and wife of the Divine Domain were the two Saints that were husband and wife: the White Emperor and the Empress.

The problem was that the White Emperor was in seclusion, so who had assisted the Empress?

As Xuanyuan Po thought of these things, Bie Yanghong’s gaze fell on the iron sword.

The Mountain Sea Sword had slept in the Garden of Zhou’s Sword Pool for many years, after which it was hidden away in the Orthodox Academy. Bie Yanghong had also never seen its true appearance before. However, he could clearly perceive the extraordinary strength in this sword, so what of the owner of this sword?

They could only be a demi-human expert.

Bie Yanghong internally sighed as he thought, if this is my fate, there’s nothing I can do.

But Xuanyuan Po did not do anything, did not attack or call for the guards.

He silently thought, then said, “What medicines do you need?”

……

……

Bie Yanghong was startled at these words.

On the other hand, Wuqiong Bi resentfully said, “What do you plan on doing? Don’t think about harming us!”

It was clear that she had already recognized Xuanyuan Po.

When she and Bie Yanghong had escaped the cliff, she was already heavily injured. Now, let alone fighting, she couldn’t even stand straight.

Both shores of the Red River had been locked down and it was impossible for them to hide their tracks, so they took the risk of entering White Emperor City, hoping to use the chaos to gain a chance of survival.

White Emperor City had truly been plunged into chaos, but many demi-human experts began to appear, clearly pursuing them.

They fled across the city, coming to the relatively unguarded riverside district in the outer city. They entered the Pine Paths, sensed a sort of spiritual aura in one of the alleys there, and followed it to this small courtyard. They sneaked in, but before they had a chance to find the source of the spiritual aura, they sensed that their injuries were about to break out and so hurriedly set up this array.

And then, Xuanyuan Po returned.