Chapter 946: The Starry Sky Can Kill, Who Will Save?
The young Demon Lord trod upon the yellow sand, following the seemingly aged golden bloodstains toward a certain place. That place was the back gate of the courtyard; the iron lock was covered in rust, as if it hadn't been opened for who knows how many years, looking very ordinary. If there was anything special about it, it was probably the two stone statues beside the stone steps.
Those two stone statues appeared to be male figures, completely unclothed, with perfectly sculpted body lines and a pair of wings on their backs. The statues had no expression whatsoever, yet they felt incredibly lifelike, as if they might come to life at any moment. If any of the Yao race elders who had lived for countless years were to see them, they might associate them with certain deities from tribal mythology.
In the Demon Lord's eyes, however, these two statues seemed like some kind of taboo, filled with emotions of disgust and vigilance. In fact, he was very familiar with these statues. When he was very young, he had seen them in the stone carvings of the gods at the deepest part of the Demon Palace. He wasn't surprised that these two statues had suddenly moved from the Demon Palace in Snow Old City to White Emperor City, because on the night of the Starry Sacrifice, he had personally witnessed those two beams of light breaking through the walls and pouring into these statues.
Thinking of something, the Demon Lord's face turned somewhat pale, but it returned to normal after a moment. He still harbored great vigilance and doubt toward the Starry Sacrifice, but circumstances forced him to accept Black Robe's proposal. Yet, seeing these two statues now—clearly lifeless, absolutely dead objects—he once again began to doubt whether his choice was correct.
"Father, your view might be right... The starry sky can kill, it can help us kill, and it can also kill us."
The Demon Lord looked at the two statues, slowly stroking a stone object behind his back with both hands, and said slowly, "But rest assured, I will not regard them as kin. I will only use them like hunting dogs. If the day comes when they come to their senses, I will destroy this thing."
If Chen Changsheng were present at this moment, he should be able to recognize what that object in his hand was. That night on the Snow Ridge, it was precisely such a stone object that had pierced the old Demon Lord's abdomen, drawing a beam of light filled with destructive intent from the starry sky.
...
...
Luo Luo's palace was at the highest point of White Emperor City, even higher than the bedchamber of the White Emperor and his consort. This was because she loved to climb high and look far, which also showed how much the White Emperor and his consort doted on her. However, today the clouds and mist over White Emperor City were thicker than usual. Standing by the window, it was hard to see very far. The light was somewhat dim, revealing only the familiar Red River and the green mountains on the opposite bank, the damp forests that seemed to carry a scent, and the giant trees in the distance that were as tall as the sky.
These were all scenes she had seen for many years and had long grown accustomed to, yet for some reason, they felt unfamiliar today. Then, she heard the clamor coming from outside the palace, the sound of war drums, and sensed the wildfire aura stirred up by the beast dances. Was the grand ceremony really about to begin?
She already knew what had happened last night. On the surface, the chieftain of the Xiang tribe and other important figures had appeared extremely aggressive, but she understood that those were all illusions. In the battle between sacred domains yesterday, it was clear that her mother had emerged victorious. Her prestige or momentum was at its peak. Whether it was the Grand Elder or other important figures in the demon race, aside from gripping their axe handles and uttering the word "rebellion," they had no way to make her mother yield even slightly.
What saddened her even more was that the Grand Elder had clearly sensed her father's will. This showed that her father also knew about this matter. Before leaving the palace last night, the Grand Elder had come to see her, swearing a blood oath to ensure her safety, but he had said nothing about today's events.
The Heaven-Selected Grand Ceremony would proceed as scheduled. Like raindrops falling from the sky, she was to be married, and this could not be changed. Who exactly did her mother want her to marry? Why was she so confident that the person she had chosen would surely be selected by the ancestral spirit and survive the baptism of the tree-heart heavenly fire?
Luo Luo looked at the extremely vigilant Red River demon guards outside the window, pondering these questions. Last night, because she had been thinking about many things and planning her subsequent moves, she hadn't slept well, and her complexion was also poor. Lady Li, looking at her face, thought she had lost sleep due to sadness, and her pity was irrepressible, her eyes slightly moist.
"Take the underground passage?" Lady Li brought a cup of acorn tea to Luo Luo and whispered, "I've already gotten the key."
Luo Luo gently shook her head and said, "Those heavenly silkworms underground are not easy to deal with."
Hearing the name of the heavenly silkworms, Lady Li's face turned slightly pale. She abandoned this plan and began to think of other ways to escape. Luo Luo hadn't told the truth. The heavenly silkworms were the guardians of the abyss beneath White Emperor City, with terrifying killing power, and they could freely travel through the abyss and mud and stone. In a sense, they could perfectly prevent any enemy from infiltrating from underground. But three years ago, she had already tested it; the heavenly silkworms couldn't stop her.
She touched the small stone tied around her neck, thinking of how the heavenly silkworms had fled in terror back then, and smiled happily. How could Lady Li know that that small stone was the legendary Heavenly Book Stele? Seeing her smile, she thought Luo Luo was overly frightened and was very alarmed, not knowing what to do. Luo Luo comforted her a few times before calming Lady Li down.
Yes, even if she was heavily guarded by those formidable Red River demon guards, even if White Emperor City had hidden restrictions, if she wanted to escape, it wasn't that difficult. In the eyes of Madam Shepherd, the chieftain of the Xiang tribe and other elders, and those demon generals and ministers, Princess Luo Heng of these past few years had not diligently practiced the royal clan's techniques. Her realm and strength had improved very slowly, still as delicate as before she went to the capital... No one knew that her cultivation had always been diligent. Like her teacher, she would wake up at the fifth hour every day, close her eyes and calm her mind for five breaths, then get up, wash, and eat. Afterward, she would begin learning and meditating until late at night before sleeping.
Yes, her progress in the royal clan's techniques was very ordinary, even somewhat slow. But that wasn't because of a lack of insight or unresolved meridian issues; it was because she spent the vast majority of her time completing the assignments her teacher had given her. In other words, she spent most of her time studying the sword path.
Besides the Heavenly Book Stele and her increasingly powerful sword cultivation, she also had many powerful magical artifacts left by her father. Scaring off those heavenly silkworms and leaving from underground was not a difficult task. Her sadness was more because the scenery outside the stone window might never be seen again in a few days.
Yes, if no other changes occurred, if... her teacher couldn't make it to White Emperor City in time, then she would have to leave on her own.
Suddenly, an extremely sharp, even piercing sound came from outside the stone window. It was the sound of air being torn into shreds, also the sound of restrictions being forcibly broken by a high-speed object. Then, more than a dozen muffled groans sounded outside the hall. Dust stirred slightly on the ground, the breeze abruptly stilled, and a figure materialized.
At the edges of that person's fluttering sleeves, residual images formed by the high-speed vibration of the air could still be seen, showing how fast he had arrived. That person wore a somewhat old long robe, with copper coin patterns hidden in the fabric. His expression looked very calm, like an ordinary wealthy old man. If one noticed the yellow mud on his boots, they might mistake him for a big landowner from the countryside who liked to personally work the fields.