Ze Tian Ji (Way of Choices)

Chapter 871 – The Chronicle of the Mountain Gate

If it were possible to fly, Chen Changsheng would not have had Nanke stop at the river outside the village, but had her fly straight to Holy Maiden Peak.

But that was not possible, as this would show a lack of respect for Holy Maiden Peak, and also because there was a restriction around Holy Maiden Peak.

Even though he was the Pope, if he brought the young Demon Princess and invaded Holy Maiden Peak, he would assuredly incur its wrath.

Their party had to first pass through the village at the foot of the mountain. Nanke once more entered the Garden of Zhou.

The courtyards of the village were very crowded together. He could see that the people here lived rather decent lives, as none of the houses were in great disrepair.

The Tong River was already in the southern region of the continent. The weather was warm and mild. Even in midwinter, it was not at all cold.

Noontime was the ideal time for a respite.

When they walked through the village, they did not encounter too many people.

A store was open on the side of the street. Tang Thirty-Six wanted to go in and buy some small souvenir, while Zhexiu wanted to buy some dried meat in preparation for an emergency, but both of them saw the look on Chen Changsheng’s face and said nothing.

Xiao Zhang had not been able to go into too much detail back in Fengyang City, as he had not actually entered Holy Maiden Peak. It was clear, however, that he felt that something had happened.

Chen Changsheng had concluded the same, so he was naturally in a rush.

Because he was in somewhat of a rush as they passed the stores, they didn’t notice that inside, the landlady was speaking with two other people.

“I’m not concerned about a little money, and I’m not that good at playing mahjong, but it’s been such a long time since the fairy last visited. I’m worried that something might have happened to her.”

“Pah, even if your beard burns up, nothing will happen to the fairy.”

“Hey, didn’t I pay for three of your house’s rooms to be remade with brick? Is it necessary to curse me like this to protect her?”

“But still, just where has the fairy gone off to?”

……

……

After passing through the village, they entered a forest. It was quiet and secluded, and they didn’t see any people on the road.

Chen Changsheng’s party began to walk faster, beginning to move so quickly that a normal person would probably only see a blur.

As they proceeded along the road, the forest concealed the fact that they were getting higher and higher, until they were amongst the mountains.

Ten-some li later, a stone gate appeared on the mountain path.

Chen Changsheng did not pay attention to the words written on the stone gate, continuing to press forward.

And then, he was stopped.

Since it was the mountain gate of South Stream Temple, it naturally had disciples to guard it: two girls of around fourteen or fifteen years old.

These two disciples did not have a very high status in the temple. They did not have any opportunities to travel to faraway places, and had not been to the capital like their senior sisters, so they did not recognize Chen Changsheng and Tang Thirty-Six.

“Stop! Who goes there?”

The girls gripped the hilts of their swords and shouted at Chen Changsheng’s party.

Their faces were somewhat tense, and they appeared inexperienced.

Chen Changsheng and Tang Thirty-Six glanced at each other, both of them recognizing that there was a problem here. Even if this was the mountain gate farthest from the temple and was assigned to ordinary disciples to guard, South Stream Temple would normally be visited by cultivators from subordinate sects or who simply wanted to visit this famous place. As such, South Stream Temple should have arranged for some more mature and composed disciples to stand guard. How could it send two girls like these?

Tang Thirty-Six slightly shook his head, indicating to Chen Changsheng that they should not reveal their identities yet. He stepped forward and said, “We are disciples of Hanqiu City’s Emotion-Severing Sect. We have come to Holy Maiden Peak to sightsee.”

One girl nervously said, “Just what sort of place is Holy Maiden Peak that you can enter it whenever you please?”

These words made Chen Changsheng’s party feel even more perturbed.

Whether it was that ‘Who goes there?’ or the question just now, they sounded like they had been lifted from a book. Where was the tone of voice that the disciples of South Stream Temple usually spoke in?

Tang Thirty-Six stared at the girl and arched his brow. “Since when did South Stream Temple have this sort of rule?”

Both the Li Palace and Holy Maiden Peak prioritized transmitting the Dao to all living beings. They had never once refused entry to the faithful or fellow cultivators, as this would cut off access to a few truly important places.

The two South Stream Temple disciples grew even more nervous, as they didn’t know how to respond.

“Perhaps the temple closing has made the guard stricter.”

Chen Changsheng said to Tang Thirty-Six, “Let’s just reveal our identities.”

Hearing this, the two disciples suddenly came to their senses and realized that this party’s claim that they were disciples of the Emotion-Severing Sect was a lie.

They became even more nervous, pulling out their swords and shakily asking, “Just who are you?”

Tang Thirty-Six had originally planned to declare who he was, but he couldn’t help but find their nervous expressions to be rather amusing. Wanting to tease them, he walked forward.

The two girls felt even more nervous, the swords in their hands beginning to shake, but they had no intention of backing down.

With two light shouts that were clearly still a little shaky, the two girls thrust their swords at Tang Thirty-Six.

Before they attacked, the girls were clearly very nervous, even afraid.

But when they used their sword techniques, all their nerves and fear disappeared, because they were disciples of South Stream Temple and used the sword style of South Stream Temple.

Clear and beautiful sword glows illuminated the stone gate and descended towards Tang Thirty-Six.

Witnessing this sight, Zhexiu felt respect. Only by practicing from morning to night could one rely on only one’s sword to calm their heart.

Witnessing this sight, Hu Thirty-Two felt apprehension. He thought, even the most ordinary disciple of South Stream Temple has such fine swordplay. It seems that our fellow sects of the south can’t be underestimated.

Witnessing this sight, Chen Changsheng felt puzzled. He thought, what sort of sword style is this? It looks rather familiar, and it also seems to be hiding something.

Standing in front of this sight, Tang Thirty-Six watched as those bright sword glows stabbed towards him. Let alone fear, he didn’t even have much intent to fight.

Yes, these two disciples truly possessed fine swordplay, but their cultivation was far too ordinary. They weren’t even at Ethereal Opening, so how could they possibly be his match?

He laughed and stepped forward, intending to break this attack with a wave of his hand, thus perfectly flaunting his graceful demeanor to these two girls.

But in the next moment, his laughter transformed into an astonished gasp, which soon after became an angry “Ouch!”

The sword glows receded and the two South Stream Temple disciples retreated behind the mountain gate. Their chests were lightly heaving and their faces had once more become nervous.

Tang Thirty-Six had not been injured, but one of his sleeves had been torn. It looked rather comical.

He couldn’t laugh.

If this were a real battle, he naturally hadn’t lost, but in terms of comparing swords, he had already lost one round.

The two girls had ordinary cultivations, so no matter how fine their swordplay, it should have been impossible for them to defeat him.

The problem was that the sword techniques used by these two disciples were somehow linked. If they were used at the same time, they would begin to naturally cooperate, and the power of the move would suddenly increase, their sword techniques turning from fine to exquisite, surprisingly seeing through all of Tang Thirty-Six’s paths of retreat.

Chen Changsheng, who had learned the Intellectual Sword from Su Li, had only been able to find three gaps in this sword technique. Just from how exquisite it was, the sword technique used by these two girls of South Stream Temple could even defeat those Star Condensation experts he met in the wilderness back then.

What sword style was this that it was so formidable?