Ze Tian Ji (Way of Choices)

Chapter 1014 – There Has Never Been Only One Truth

Daoist Siyuan and An Lin said nothing, but it was clear that they supported Linghai Zhiwang.

Hu Thirty-Two sighed and said, “It won’t be easy… but she still has to be killed.”

Tang Thirty-Six looked at Chen Changsheng.

He had no opinion on this matter, so he looked to see what Chen Changsheng thought.

Chen Changsheng silently thought for a while, then nodded.

The matter was settled.

With just the people in this Daoist church, it might currently be impossible to kill Madam Mu, but Madam Mu had to die, and her death would come one day.

Because this was the will of the Li Palace and also the will of the Human race.

Chen Changsheng had once said to Luoluo that for the deaths of Bie Yanghong and Wuqiong Bi, the Demi-human race would have to pay a sufficient price.

Though he had not stated what this price was, Luoluo well understood that it was Madam Mu’s death.

No one was willing to die, and certainly not a Saint, even if the Aquarius constellation the Demon Lord said she was born under meant her mental world was different from the masses.

So Chen Changsheng did not understand why, on that night four days ago, Madam Mu had suddenly drawn back her hand from killing him.

That strength that had run through the streets of White Emperor City, intimidating countless tribes along the shores of the Red River—if it did not come from Xuelao City, where did it come from?

Chen Changsheng gazed up at the dark skies outside the church, a pensive look on his face.

The snow had already stopped and no clouds floated in the night sky, allowing one to clearly see the innumerable stars.

Was snow falling on that mountain range to the north that was also illuminated by the innumerable stars?

Even if it was not snowing, the ice and snow accrued on those peaks were probably cold enough.

Why was that mountain range called the Starfall Mountains?

Ages ago, when the Heavenly Tomes crashed into the heart of the continent, streaks of fire spread in all directions. Many had fallen in Mount Han. Had some fallen here as well?

If the Starfall Mountains were excavated, would one find the remains of stars, or nothing?

……

……

In a building deep within the Imperial City was a carved sculpture decorated with golden threads from Xuelao City.

Madam Mu quietly examined it, her expression very calm. It was like she did not care what had happened in today’s snowstorm, or perhaps felt that nothing had happened at all.

“This is the most famous piece of art of my race’s Master Casso, from four hundred years ago.”

The Demon Lord walked into the hall. “I didn’t expect that it was in Empress’s hands this entire time.”

“It truly is art. Alas, there are few in this city that can enjoy it with me.”

Madam Mu drew her gaze away from those complicated lines on the sculpture that seemed to be imbued with the limitless beauty of the stars. She looked at the Demon Lord and said, “Your Majesty also does not seem to have this sort of interest.”

The Demon Lord smiled. “What do you want to say?”

Madam Mu calmly replied, “Why did Your Majesty not strike today?”

The Demon Lord explained, “I didn’t expect for Chen Changsheng to be so afraid of death. He actually moved the entire Li Palace over.”

Madam Mu indifferently asked, “Was this enough for Your Majesty to lose confidence?”

The Demon Lord calmly gazed back. “Several days ago on the observation platform, you stopped me from striking, so why do you want to persuade me now?”

Madam Mu’s voice became even lighter, like the tasteless air of the Western Sea when there was no wind. “That was then; this is now.”

The Demon Lord’s expression suddenly turned profound. “Four days ago, you did not strike, so what time was that?”

Madam Mu did not directly answer his question. “If Your Majesty struck today, I would naturally strike as well.”

They both wanted Chen Changsheng to die. In the end, it was just a question of who struck first.

Chen Changsheng was very difficult to kill. His cultivation level was higher than rumored and now he had moved over the entire Li Palace, adding to the difficulty.

The cultivation levels of those Orthodoxy Prefects and the treasures they carried with them presented a rather thorny problem, even for someone like Madam Mu.

Back in the Li Palace, she had keenly sensed the murderous energy formed from the principles of the world.

And this was not even considering that more and more demi-human personages and commoners in White Emperor City were standing on Chen Changsheng’s side.

There was not a single cloud in the night sky, letting the profuse stars shine with absolute clarity. There was also nothing to stop the winds from blowing in from the sea, and they were somewhat strong.

The sea breeze blew between the palaces and stone platforms before finally coming to her.

Madam Mu could smell the salt in the breeze and that familiar moisture, but she did not miss it.

The sea winds could too easily render lively creatures into lifeless, salted fish, and humid air could easily become thick and sticky, bringing with it a great deal of pressure.

A hint of exhaustion appeared in the depths of her eyes. “Then we’ll just wait.”

“Until when does Empress plan to wait?”

The Demon Lord lightly arched his brow. “Wait until they dig out that mountain and see if that person is dead or not?”

As one able to gain the loyalty of Black Robe and the Demon Commander, able to compel his mighty father into the abyss, able to gain the fervent loyalty of the entire snowy plains in a few short years, the young Demon Lord was certainly not lacking in intelligence. But now, he was realizing that he was finding it more and more difficult to understand what Madam Mu was thinking.

Madam Mu indifferently said, “Even I don’t know what I want to see.”

The Demon Lord stared into her eyes. “Shouldn’t you be stopping them?”

Madam Mu asked, “Why?”

The Demon Lord suddenly felt like he had made a mistake.

No one in the world could control, or even understand, a woman born under Aquarius.

Madam Mu did not know what he was thinking. She calmly looked north.

She truly did not know what answer she was waiting for, but she was sure that she wanted to wait for an answer.

Regardless of whether he was alive or dead.

……

……

Before going to the Starfall Mountains, Chen Changsheng had once thought that as long as there was an answer, it was no good.

And then he saw the black cliff, the intractable sealing array. There was no answer, no truth, the best result.

But there was only one truth and the answer would be revealed sooner or later, and he had already vaguely guessed at what it was.

This made him rather depressed, especially when he thought about Luoluo in the Imperial City, who was waiting expectantly for him to rescue the White Emperor.

The stars retreated and the morning light rose, only to be chopped into pieces by even brighter sword glows and drift in front of the black cliff like the corpses of fireflies.

Chen Changsheng sat cross-legged in front of the black cliff, his sheath sitting across his knees.

Today, his eyes were not closed in meditation. He was calmly staring at the black cliff as if wanting to see through it.

Several hundred famous swords from the Garden of Zhou flew around his body and continuously attacked the black cliff. They were not truly attacking the strength in the cliff. Rather, nearby and in the distance, on the lake and upon lofty peaks, they grinded away at the array, just like they had been for the last few days.

The sealing array that shared the same source as the Tong Palace had become much weaker and lost much of its original power.

In comparison, the momentum of the swords seemed even more extraordinary. Taking up their positions, they formed the South Stream Temple sword array, which slowly and inexorably crushed forward.

The Starfall Mountains were filled with awe-inspiring sword intent and one could see dazzling sword glows wherever one looked.

Daoist Siyuan had been to Mount Li before, and he was rather surprised to find that this sight reminded him of the famous Myriad Sword Array.

Besides Daoist Siyuan, Linghai Zhiwang, the rest of the Orthodoxy’s Prefects, and Wenshui City’s Fivekind Man were also standing guard at Chen Changsheng’s side.

The Bear tribe, the Shi clan, and several other great tribes had dispatched their bravest and most powerful warriors to occupy the area around the black cliff.

Several hundred demi-human experts had gathered in a circle with a radius of several li in the mountain range, and there were ten-some powerful experts on the level of Jin Yulu and Xiaode.

Farther away, on the other side of the lake, dust was rising, accompanied by the occasional roar of a monster. The armies of the various tribes had probably already seized all the mountain valleys.

At this point, the situation was crystal-clear. Whether or not the ministers and generals of the court or the leaders of the tribes were willing to believe it…

The truth would soon appear before their eyes.