Ze Tian Ji (Way of Choices)

Chapter 1032 – I Walked the Path You Used to Get Here

Not long ago, the White Emperor returned to his city.

And then, he returned to his Imperial City.

But Madam Mu was not there.

As he gazed at the deserted observation platform and the quiet stone hall, the White Emperor perked his brows.

He did not do so out of surprise or shock. Perhaps it signified interest.

The White Emperor walked up to the stone railing, feeling with his hands the coldness that he had not felt for several years. He gazed down at the Whalefall Platform, of which a large part was now collapsed, making it completely different from several years ago. With a serene expression, he recalled several matters, calculated several matters.

There was very little in the world that could surprise him.

Everyone believed that he would be in a rush to search for his wife to seize back his Imperial City, his city, and his country.

But this was not the case. He did not urgently seek out his wife, but stood by the railing and quietly waited.

Waited for those events taking place to reach a conclusion.

Waited until several things that he wanted to see had happened.

He quietly regarded the rivers and mountains, regarded the world, and then his gaze fell on that courtyard in the western part of the city.

The air above that courtyard was split into light and dark. It was quite conspicuous, so how could he not see it?

But this was still not enough. Even though the Angel in that ball of light in the darkness was getting clearer and clearer, it was still not enough.

He then heard the strumming of a zither and the cries of swords, saw the stone sculpture in the darkness slowly opening its eyes.

The White Emperor’s brows rose in excitement, a desire to kill gradually emerging, though it was hard to tell who this was aimed at.

The Pope and the Holy Maiden could make him see all living beings, so they could naturally have this person from another race appear before all living beings.

Two streaks of fire tore through the darkness and through the Li Palace’s array, flying high into the sky.

Everyone in White Emperor City could see this.

The White Emperor was also quietly watching this scene.

His gaze followed those streaks of fire as they traveled upward, ultimately resting on the uppermost layer of clouds.

He was not looking at the place where those streaks of fire vanished into the clouds, but several dozen li away.

This place was to the west. Even if it was several dozen li away, it was still inclined to the west.

The White Emperor sighed in regret.

……

……

When that tiger-shaped cloud appeared in the sky, Madam Mu stopped her actions.

The sea of clouds returned to normal. Xu Yourong and Chen Changsheng descended toward the mountains on the other side of the Red River and the streak of fire followed.

Madam Mu paid no attention to that side. She only quietly stared at that white cloud.

“Chen Changsheng and Xu Yourong will still die, though I think that you won’t care too much about this, because it has nothing to do with you.”

Though the cloud looked very similar to a tiger, it was still a cloud. It naturally would not reply.

It was hard to say who she was addressing.

“You’ve always loved hiding behind the curtains, letting others fight in front of the curtains until you think the time is right to pluck the fruit and make your appearance.”

Madam Mu jeered, “In this play of husband and wife, how could I not know what you were thinking? And how could I let you use me?”

The tiger cloud gradually dispersed.

Madam Mu’s expression turned indifferent once more.

……

……

The mountains roared with wind.

A massive Celestial Tree was swaying in the fierce winds, its higher branches snapping, their fragments raining down.

A terrifying crack would occasionally rise from deep within its colossal trunk.

The priests of the Celestial Tree temple and the guards watched this sight with shocked and pale faces. Shouts and yells could be heard all over.

Two streams of light wound their way through the branches, dragging flames behind them and spreading stars of fire.

If not for the fact that the Celestial Tree was nurtured by the Wildfire beneath the ground, perhaps it would already be aflame.

As the Celestial Tree swayed, the scorching Qi of the Wildfire emerged from the branches and leaves and into the sky, steaming out a massive hole in the clouds.

With a boom, the two streams of light clashed and parted.

Ten-some thick and heavy branches snapped as two figures crashed into the trunk, making two massive holes before they fell to the ground.

Xu Yourong’s wings were stained with golden blood and embers while Chen Changsheng’s Daoist robe was drenched in blood.

He looked around him and found his surroundings rather familiar, though he did not have the time to carefully think.

In a ray of sunlight, the Angel of Sacred Light slowly descended to the ground. The spear of light in its hand was somewhat thinner and the blood mottling its surface was starkly evident.

Chen Changsheng raised his sword and stood in front of Xu Yourong.

The Stainless Sword had clashed four times with the spear of light. The sword itself had remained unharmed, but his body was at its breaking point, his right hand constantly shaking.

It was evident that Xu Yourong’s choice had led to a massive mistake.

She had probably planned to borrow the Wildfire of the Celestial Trees to increase the power of her Phoenix flames, at the same time using the ancestral spirits of the Demi-human race to suppress the soul of this Angel.

Yet the ancestral spirits in the Celestial Trees had no reaction to this Angel, as if they had already accepted it. Even more frightening was that the Wildfire exuded by the leaves and branches was being absorbed by the Angel, making it stronger. Just why was this?

Xu Yourong’s state was somewhat better than Chen Changsheng’s, though her face was also rather pale. Yet her expression was very indifferent.

Chen Changsheng was somewhat worried and confused. He thought, is a brightly lit heart this formidable? In these circumstances, how can she still be so calm?

He had no time to think through these questions.

The Angel of Sacred Light had already walked over, releasing a pressure as vast as the sea of stars.

……

……

When Chen Changsheng and Xu Yourong were at a desperate impasse in the mountains, the situation in White Emperor City was also incredibly dangerous.

Mao Qiuyu had remained in the capital, so the Li Palace’s grand array was not complete. After holding that ball of light in the darkness for so long, it finally showed signs of breaking.

A cruel darkness began to silently drift from the courtyard, sweeping toward Tang Thirty-Six.

The Orthodoxy’s Divine Staff was bursting with light in Tang Thirty-Six’s hand, presiding over the array. He had no mind to spare, and certainly none to retreat.

Linghai Zhiwang and the other archbishops were currently pouring all their true essence and spiritual sense into maintaining the array, contending against the Angel in the light.

The blind zither player had been heavily injured and retreated out of the courtyard. He had still not recovered his breath.

Cosmetic powder filled the sky, chains rattled, and cudgels beat apart the darkness.

The government laborers and the girl appeared in front of Tang Thirty-Six and blocked the Demon Lord’s sneak attack.

But they could not stop that thick darkness from disturbing the connection between the Divine Staff and the other treasures of the Orthodoxy.

It had to be said that the Demon Lord’s choice of time and target were perfect.

Under the fierce assaults of the Angel, the incomplete Li Palace array had been hanging by a thread, and now, it finally snapped.

There was a clap of thunder from far up in the sky, and a crisp shattering.

It was like the naughty cub of some demi-human tribe hundreds of li away had broken a porcelain jar that his grandfather had exchanged for three hundred jin of furs in human territory.

The jar was shattered, and liquid light seeped out, bringing with it a world of darkness that enclosed the light of the Li Palace’s grand array, cutting at it, eroding it.