Ze Tian Ji (Way of Choices)

Chapter 674 – A Stone

Eunuch Lin’s raised eyebrows slowly descended, but the corners of his lips perked upwards.

This was sorrow and self-ridicule, but ultimately, it was mocking Chen Changsheng.

Eunuch Lin had grown up in the Imperial Palace and possessed both incredible talent and extensive knowledge. He cultivated in the most masterly of methods and had reached the peak of Star Condensation many years ago. If not for the situation in the palace becoming extremely dangerous in Taizong’s waning years—causing him to castrate himself and enter the palace at the most critical point in his cultivation, thus making him a person of irregular constitution—perhaps he might have already stepped into the Divine Domain.

No matter how talented Chen Changsheng was in cultivation, even if he had all sorts of treasures and countless tricks that had almost killed Zhou Tong on that night, he was still no match for Eunuch Lin.

He was only seventeen years old, and in Mount Han, he had failed to enter Star Condensation.

Earlier outside the Orthodox Academy, Su Moyu, out of concern for Chen Changsheng’s safety, had prevented Eunuch Lin’s followers from entering, stating that only one person was sufficient to proclaim a decree.

Eunuch Lin’s answer had been that if he needed to kill Chen Changsheng, a decree and himself was enough.

These were not empty words, but the truth.

Yet now Chen Changsheng was very seriously asking him, “Can you actually kill me?”

Eunuch Lin’s smile gradually faded and he said to Chen Changsheng, “Since I’ve been away from the capital for twenty years, it seems that youths nowadays have already forgotten who I am.”

Chen Changsheng said nothing, using his actions to express his intentions.

Two plumes of dust drifted up from the bottoms of his shoes, a marker of his strength. Then, the dust and his clothes were suddenly thrown into disarray, transforming into several lines that dragged his blurred figure through the space of the library.

He vanished from his original position.

Ten-odd extremely faint footprints appeared on the glossy black floor.

Those footprints appeared simultaneously, no first or last.

If someone were to carefully examine the positions of these footprints, perhaps they might associate them with the positions of some stars in the sky or the lines on the Reflecting Monolith.

The incomparably complex positions of the stars, the incalculable pattern of stars, signified position and order, and contained a movement of position that surpassed speed.

It was the secret technique of the demons, the Yeshi Step.

The space at the front door of the library slightly deformed.

A figure of a sword pierced through the sunlight spilling in from outside.

Chen Changsheng’s body followed.

He had already reached Eunuch Lin.

His speed was extremely fast, even giving off the impression of a lightning bolt.

Perhaps it was because when he used the Yeshi Step, he also used his most powerful Blazing Sword.

A sword glow illuminated the front door of the library, suppressing even the sunlight.

A blazing Qi enveloped the scene and quickly spread outwards.

The already yellowed grass outside the library instantly became even more listless. The pages of the books on the bookshelves of the library began to visibly curl as if deprived of all moisture.

A flame burned on the Stainless Sword as it stabbed towards the center of Eunuch Lin’s brow.

Eunuch Lin became slightly serious, somewhat surprised at what had occurred.

He had not expected that the might contained within this strike would be so formidable!

Somewhat contrary to the rumors, the amount of true essence Chen Changsheng possessed was actually so abundant that it was in no way inferior to that of experts who had cultivated for several centuries.

Perhaps it had to do with this sword technique? It was said that Su Li had passed on to Chen Changsheng a sword technique that could explosively increase true essence in a very short amount of time, and it seemed that this was it.

While he was thinking of these things, Eunuch Lin’s sleeve was already flying.

An extremely pure starlight emanated from his body and poured into his sleeves. Like two stone mountains descending from the heavens, the sleeves trapped Chen Changsheng’s sword between them!

Confronting a divine weapon of the Tier of Legendary Weapons, the incomparably sharp Stainless Sword, Eunuch Lin had actually split his Star Domain into two and used them as weapons!

This sort of response was both brilliant and extremely tyrannical!

Battles between cultivators concerned themselves with perception, like the understanding of battle, adaptability, and experience. However, the most important aspect was still strength itself.

Eunuch Lin was a peak Star Condensation expert. His Star Domain was nearly perfect, his quantity of true essence exceedingly abundant. His understanding of the principles of the heavens and earth also far exceeded Chen Changsheng’s. Thus, it was only natural for him to have control over this fight.

Would this battle end just like this? Of course not. Both Eunuch Lin and Chen Changsheng both knew that it had only just begun.

The Vault Sheath still contained several thousand exceptional swords.

With the protection of those several thousand exceptional swords, Chen Changsheng was able to beat Zhou Tong until he was drenched in blood, and so he would at least be able to stave off Eunuch Lin for a few moments. Eunuch Lin understood this very well, so he was not intending to give Chen Changsheng any chance to take out those swords. It was for this reason that he chose to divide his Star Domain. This seemed like a valiant maneuver, but it was actually quite dangerous, even a strategy that treated his opponent lightly.

But what Eunuch Lin wanted to do was ensure that his hands were free.

Right now, his two sleeves, encased in his Star Domain, had sealed the edge of Chen Changsheng’s sword. His hands, meanwhile, had emerged from the sleeves and fallen upon the center of the sword.

Chen Changsheng’s sword was formed from the Stainless Sword and the Vault Sheath. Where Eunuch Lin’s hands fell was the opening of the sheath.

Since he dared to place his hands there, Eunuch Lin naturally had some means of dealing with those swords, and perhaps had already made the preparations.

Suddenly, Eunuch Lin’s eyes narrowed, filled with a feeling of incredulity. With a howl, he attempted to swiftly retreat.

What came out of the sheath was not a sword.

It was a small, black-colored stone.

……

……

Logically speaking, such a small stone as this would never make Eunuch Lin feel as if he was confronting some dangerous foe, much less fill him with a desire to retreat.

But Eunuch Lin had carefully researched Daoist techniques and had an almost perfect understanding of the principles of the heavens and earth. When he saw the black stone, he sensed that something was wrong.

He could sense a strength that exceeded the mortal world accompanying this black stone.

Since it already surpassed the mortal world, it was naturally impossible to avoid.

Eunuch Lin’s fingers opened like a blooming flower, crushing the air of the library and snatching the black stone in his hands.

With a crack, three of his fingers broke into thirteen pieces. Immediately after, his wrist bones shattered.

It was only then that he understood that this strength that exceeded the mortal world did not originate from the Divine Staff, nor did it originate from some divine weapon he was unaware of.

This strength was weight, an unimaginable weight.

A weight like a falling sky fell upon Eunuch Lin’s body.

His face became abnormally pale and his body trembled while countless cracks appeared on the floor below his feet.

……

……

The black stone was a Heavenly Tome Monolith left behind by Wang Zhice.

The Heavenly Tome Monolith had always been very heavy, but the reason for this black stone’s weight was that it was a door.

A door to the Garden of Zhou.

Three days ago in the Mausoleum of Books, Chen Changsheng had personally seen the Pope pluck off a green leaf, using the might of a world to attack the Divine Empress.

From that sight, he had comprehended a few things.

The black stone was not the true Garden of Zhou. It could only carry some of the Garden of Zhou’s Qi. In other words, it was a very small part of the Garden of Zhou. However, Eunuch Lin was not the Divine Empress.

Since you used this world to suppress me, I’ll use my world to strike you.

The Garden of Zhou was even larger than the Green Leaf World, but the Green Leaf was an entire world, while the black stone was only the door to a world, and Chen Changsheng’s cultivation was still far from the Pope’s.

Eunuch Lin had just never encountered this sort of unimaginable attack and his response had been too late to avoid it.

If he could hold on for just a little longer, he would presumably be able to find a way to resolve it.

However, these moments of time were sufficient to do many things.

The black stone appeared, the autumn wind madly blew about the library, and the sunlight dimmed.

Eunuch Lin seemed to be pressed down upon by the starry sky and found it extremely difficult to move.

Thousands of sword glows flowed out of Chen Changsheng’s sheath and charged forward.

The sword glows tore through the starry sky, sliced apart the autumn wind, and stole the light from the day.

Countless sword intents crisscrossed through the air, innumerable sword cries resounded without end. Occasionally, Eunuch Lin’s furious roars could be heard, accompanied by his explosive attacks.

Suddenly, all sound in the library vanished, the sword intents vanishing with them. The only thing that was left was absolute silence.

Boom! Countless fragments shot out of the library, forming a vast cloud of dust in the Orthodox Academy.

An autumn wind blew through the library, carrying away the dust and fragments, leaving a bright and clear scene.

All the doors and windows of the library were no more. It seemed absolutely empty except for two figures.

One standing, one sitting.

The one standing was Chen Changsheng, sword in hand, calm and silent.

Eunuch Lin, covered in blood, was sitting, his two legs splayed out on the ground.