Ze Tian Ji (Way of Choices)

Chapter 1141 – The Heaven Shrouding Sword

The light of the fire in front of the mountain simultaneously alarmed the human camp.

The soldiers were roused from their dreams. Grasping their weapons, they began to run to their positions.

The array masters worked as quickly as possible to complete the preparations to activate the array. The ranks of eight hundred crossbowmen were also completely moved to the front of the camp.

This was the North Third Camp, commanded by Divine General Peng Shihai.

He gazed indifferently at the several thousand vultures blanketing the sky, his voice firm and steady as ten-some orders neatly issued from his lips.

Only the aides standing near him noticed that their general’s fists were tightly clenched, the knuckles going white.

It was not out of fear, but anger and concern.

If each vulture was carrying this kind of explosive weapon, what sort of trial would the North Third Camp have to endure?

The array laid out by the array masters could cover half the camp, but it could not possibly last long against such a fearsome fire.

As for the crossbows, they could shoot down a group of vultures, but given the speed at which the vultures flew, by the time the crossbow bolts struck them, they would already be flying over the camp. What difference would it make then, whether they dropped the explosives of their own accord or were shot down?

……

……

“It would be fine if Master were here!”

One of the cavalrymen shouted as he climbed up the cliff.

Another cavalryman shook his head and said, “Even if Master were here, he wouldn’t necessarily be able to kill all these birds.”

The third cavalryman said nothing. His entire body exuded a cold Qi, his killing intent soaring to the heavens.

In his view, the North Third Camp would assuredly turn into a sea of fire today. Even if the array could last for a few moments, grievous losses were a certainty, and the swift wolf cavalry of the Demon race were probably waiting north of the mountains to strike. In other words, there was no way to prevent this defeat.

Thus, he had to at least kill the director of these vultures so as to avoid such a defeat happening in the future.

Able to climb such a steep cliff and think about such things, he and his two fellow cavalrymen were naturally not ordinary soldiers.

But even if they were powerful cultivators, there were still many things on the battlefield that they were incapable of changing.

A burst of screeches exploded in the sky.

The three cavalrymen subconsciously stopped and turned to look at the human camp. They were greeted by a completely unexpected sight.

Streams of blue light spread out over the plains, ultimately forming an array that covered the front half of the camp.

Even from such a distance, they could still see the light glimmering from the Sacred Light crossbows.

The human army waited to receive the onslaught.

But before the vultures were even able to fly over the camp, they began to drop from the sky!

It was like some invisible and mysterious strength had appeared in front of the vultures, frightening them and depriving them of the strength to flap their wings.

The several thousand vultures dropped from the sky like rain, crashing down to the plains into a magnificent plume of flame that soared to the heavens.

“What’s going on here?”

One of the cavalrymen shouted in delight.

The frosty cavalryman yelled, “Faster!”

The three cavalrymen were energized at the fact that the camp was fine. They climbed to those caves in the center of the cliff as swiftly as flying swans!

As they arrived in front of those caves, the three people sensed the dark and cold Qi seeping out. They knew that the demon freak was probably still inside. They acted without any hesitation, their longswords crisply humming out of their sheaths. Coldly gleaming, the swords shot into the caves and began to thread through with unimaginable speed.

There was no sound at first, but then there was an abrupt thump, quickly followed by incessant hacking sounds mixed with cries of pain and curses in Demon language. Soon, that demon freak were repeating only one phrase, uttered in panic and fear.

After some time, the cliff finally fell quiet.

Three icy swords flew out from the caves and back to their sheaths.

The sun had risen higher, so the morning light reflected off a nearby mountain back onto this cliff, shining upon the faces of the three cavalrymen.

One face was composed and calm, one was determined and proud, and the last was young and intelligent. It was Liang Banhu, Guan Feibai, and Bai Cai.

Bai Cai curiously asked, “What was that demon freak shouting before they died?”

Liang Banhu and Guan Feibai glanced at each other and laughed.

Guan Feibai’s smile faded as he sternly asked, “Eldest Brother told you to study up on Demon language, so why didn’t you listen?”

Chagrined, Bai Cai replied, “There are more than one hundred kinds of Demon language, so how could I learn them all?”

……

……

Cries of surprise rose from all over the plains.

This was because all the camps were in similar circumstances.

The demons were not counterattacking with a large army. Instead, they launched countless raids simultaneously.

These raids were better described as surprise attacks. All the bizarre strategies of the Demon race were displayed, and they had dispatched many of their experts.

This was the first time since the start of the war that the demons had used their experts in battle.

But just like in the first phase, once they used them, it was an all-out assault without the slightest leeway!

The demons had more than three thousand tribes, and the tribes with powerful fighting forces numbered no less than a hundred.

Today, the elders and strongest warriors of these tribes burst out of the plains or flew out from the cliffs, ferocious visages stamped on their faces.

The beast tamers from the remote Snow Lake directed monsters in suicidal assaults.

The unappreciated wandering warriors from the slums of Xuelao City tore off the beast furs covering their bodies, took up their heavy demon axes, and leapt out from the monster herds.

The goal of these experts was exceptionally clear and had clearly been targeted beforehand. It was the rations, array masters, and commanders of the human armies.

Several hundred small-scale battles were simultaneously initiated on the plains. Although it might not have a large effect on the entire war, it succeeded in producing mass chaos.

And a clear and callous intention often lurked behind the chaos.

As the morning sun rose over the horizon—though its light refracted by the grass and mountains only seemed to make the world gloomier—the true intentions of the demons were finally revealed.

Several hundred experts of the Demon Army, clad in a somber Qi, concealed beneath an array able to obscure the eyes of heaven, came to a place not even twenty li from the Human race’s Central Army Camp.

The heaven-obscuring array caused the clouds in the sky to gather. Rain began to fall, and the drops falling on the faces of the soldiers felt rather light and empty.

This was the strength of laws. Had an expert of the Divine Domain arrived?

Commander-in-Chief He Ming was an inconspicuous and composed person, but in certain respects, he was extremely adventurous, even radical.

He had established the Central Army Camp at the very forefront of the front lines, only a hundred-some li from the mountain called Nuorilang¹.

At this crucial moment, there was no need to hold anything back.

The human experts finally struck.

Sacred Light, white and searing, illuminated the gloomy world, tearing open those cottony clouds and revealing a corner of the blue sky.

Mao Qiuyu and Daoist nun Huai Ren walked out from the Central Army Camp. With a sweep of their sleeves, they slew ten-some demon experts.

No one was astonished.

Even these demon experts who had been essentially sent to their deaths had long expected this end.

How could the most important Central Army Camp not have experts of the Divine Domain standing sentinel?

The demons had already foreseen this, so they had naturally made the appropriate arrangements.

The sky suddenly dimmed.

The blue sky disappeared while a black and damaged chessboard moved in and out of the faint clouds.

At the base of Mount Nuorilang, a black path manifested over the deserted plains.

The edges of this path were quite ragged, tattered like a randomly torn piece of paper.

This was actually a rather appropriate description, because this was a path torn out from space by the Demon race’s terrifying great array.

Several Demon Generals and several thousand wolf cavalry charged from a valley several hundred li away toward the Central Army Camp.

As the clouds thickened, they obscured the sunlight, seeming to bring the night down early. Two massive figures loomed within them.

One was presumably a member of the Council of Elders, the other a duke of Xuelao City.

Mao Qiuyu and Huai Ren appeared unaffected, their expressions remaining very calm.

Since the demons were able to foresee their presence, they were naturally able to imagine that the demons had made the appropriate arrangements.

Late last night, they had seen through the Fated Star Plate the possibility of that path appearing.

Up to now, nothing new had happened, nothing exceeding their expectations.

Suddenly, Huai Ren’s eyes turned grave.

Mao Qiuyu’s sleeves began to move despite the lack of wind.

A massive black silhouette suddenly appeared at the peak of Mount Nuorilang.

Unlike the Demon Generals and the wolf cavalry, the black silhouette had not used the path leading to the valley. It had just suddenly appeared on the summit.

The world grew even gloomier, but quite a few of the clouds in front of the peak were blown away, revealing the true appearance of that giant figure.

It was an extremely rare monster from a primordial era, the Mountain-toppling Fiend. It had a long mouth and coiled horns, making it seem utterly demonic. It was around forty-some zhang tall.

A thin and short demon, shorter even than a human child, sat in the coiled horns of the Mountain-toppling Fiend. It was dressed in armor, the helmet engraved with golden threads that formed a complicated design. Dark green objects were embedded in the armor. Some of them were green jewels, but others were copper rusted by time.

A Qi of unimaginable terror oozed out from the chinks in the armor, but it was still far inferior to the cruelty and evil in this demon’s gaze.

When this demon appeared on the peak, the world for hundreds of li around it fell silent for a moment.

Because she was the Demon Commander.

After this briefest of silences came shrill howls and cries of bloodlust.

Several thousand wolf cavalry almost madly charged to the Central Army Camp.

Because the Demon Commander had arrived.

It was obvious that if the Central Army Camp was to be defended, the prerequisite was to defeat, or at least block, the Demon Commander.

When the old Demon Lord was still alive, she was the unquestionable second strongest of the snowy plains.

Now that the old Demon Lord was dead, could she not be called the strongest demon?

No one knew the answer, because Mountain Man Yanzhi had been in seclusion, because Black Robe had never fully showed her strength, even today.

But there was one thing that was certain.

The Demon Commander was not an ordinary expert of the Divine Domain.

If Chen Changsheng were here, he might have recalled that when Su Li was lying in the hot springs, he had once described the Demon Commander as a mutant.

If even Su Li regarded her as a mutant, one could imagine just how cruel and powerful the Demon Commander was.

Mao Qiuyu was well aware that he was no match for the Demon Commander, and Huai Ren had been a Divine Domain cultivator for an even shorter time, so who could stop her?

……

……

A sword glow came from the south.

This sword glow was chilling and clear. It was like actual water.

This sword glow washed away the haze in the sky, drowned the howls on the plains. It seemed unhurried, but it slashed with hidden killing intent at the peak.

A plume of black smoke suddenly rose from the charging wolf cavalry. The Eighth Demon General flew through the sky, treasure in hand as he hurtled toward the sword glow.

The sword glow was like a reflection in the water. It trembled for a moment before circling around.

There was a swish as a clear sword slash appeared on the Eighth Demon General’s armor, fire pouring out from within.

This unbearable pain caused even this Demon General famed for his endurance to howl in fury.

As the angry howl resonated over the plains, yet another plume of black smoke rose from the wolf cavalry, its momentum comparable to the first. Demonic Qi surged into the sky, finally managing to hold off the sword glow.

The occasional flash from the sword glow illuminated the black smoke while the rending of metal sporadically came from within.

The Third Demon General had finally succeeded in blocking the sword glow. His helmet was covered in slashes and a small part of his horn had been cut off, blood bubbling forth from the wound.

One sword glow had unexpectedly required two high-class Demon Generals to block it, and they had been left in terrible condition, both of them suffering injury.

It was different from Su Li’s sharpness and freedom, and it also was not Chen Changsheng’s straightness and determination.

This sword was calmer, gentler, but it was not lacking in sharpness. It left behind no traces, unfathomable and exquisite to the extreme.

There was a tent to the side of the camp used to store miscellany.

An old Daoist walked out from this tent.

His right hand held a sword while his left gripped a sheath. Neither the way in which he walked nor the way he gripped the sword could be described as beautiful, and they certainly couldn’t be described as unearthly. But a perceptive person could see that his sword was an extraordinary object. It seemed to have been washed in autumn waters for three thousand years, so bright that it was impossible to look at directly. It desired to shroud the world before everyone’s eyes, including the heavens and earth.

Was this the legendary Heaven Shrouding Sword?

And was this ordinary old Daoist the Sect Master of the Mount Li Sword Sect?

The officers and soldiers were flabbergasted as they gradually began to yield the path.

Mao Qiuyu and Huai Ren slightly bent at the waist in a bow.

^{1. In Tibetan, Nuorilang means ‘grand and magnificent’. In China, it is used as the name for two geographic features within the Chinese National Park of Jiuzhaigou, the Nuorilang Waterfall and the Nuorilang Lakes.}