Chapter 185: The Night Before the Imperial City Was Torn Open
The idea of using a formation to break a formation seemed simple on the surface, but it was an incredibly brilliant concept—so brilliant that almost no cultivator had ever dared to think in that direction. Essentially, it was the most typical water-grinding technique, like two bronze mirrors rubbing against each other.
An ordinary formation could not break this restrictive great formation because that bronze mirror was too smooth and its material too common. The Nanxi Zhai Sword Formation was different; it possessed the hardest and sharpest surface, making it most suitable for grinding things down. However, even with the Nanxi Zhai Sword Formation, breaking this restrictive great formation would not be a short-term task, as it required fine grinding, careful and cautious.
In terms of formation talent, Xu Yourong was indeed hundreds or even thousands of times better than most powerful cultivators in the world, including Chen Changsheng. But Chen Changsheng was the best candidate for breaking the formation this time, because he alone could execute the Nanxi Zhai Sword Formation, and more importantly, because he possessed unimaginable patience.
He sat with his eyes closed before the Black Cliff, from the pitch-black night until the arrival of morning light, always calm, with no trace of anxiety on his face. Jin Yulü and Xiao De felt the sword intent flying all around, looking at the Black Cliff that showed no change—how could they be as calm as him? If their divine senses weren't strong enough to sense that this restriction was weakening at an extremely slow pace, they might have been even more anxious. When they saw Chen Changsheng always calm, and that while controlling the sword array in the Nanxi Zhai Sword Formation, he hadn't forgotten to meditate and cultivate, they felt great admiration.
As the morning light grew stronger, Chen Changsheng opened his eyes, looked at the restrictive great formation inside the Black Cliff, and said, "I need to rest for a while. What about you?"
Jin Yulü and Xiao De had been working here for several days and nights without sleep or rest, already exhausted to the extreme, but they weren't planning to follow Chen Changsheng back to White Emperor City. They could only feel at ease by watching this Black Cliff with their own eyes, and they didn't want to be absent if the White Emperor suddenly woke up.
Xiao De said to Chen Changsheng, "If you really can break the formation, then before you do, you need to be careful about your own safety."
Jin Yulü said, "Logically speaking, if the Empress hasn't gone mad, she won't kill you, the Pope, in public. But what you and I are doing might very well drive her mad."
Chen Changsheng understood this reasoning. Lady Mu must have known what Jin Yulü and Xiao De were doing in the Falling Star Mountains. The reason she didn't interfere was, first, because the situation in White Emperor City was chaotic and she couldn't afford to disperse her forces, and more importantly, she had absolute confidence that no one on this continent could break the restriction at the Black Cliff. But if she suddenly discovered that someone could break it, what would she do?
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Water droplets can indeed wear through stone, but it takes many years. The Nanxi Zhai Sword Formation should be able to break the restrictive formation imprisoning the White Emperor, and it shouldn't take many years, but at least many days.
In the following days, Chen Changsheng still lived in the Western Wilderness Dao Hall, occasionally receiving some important representatives of the demon race, but more often resting. At night, he would enter the Imperial City with Luo Luo's help, pass through the secret passage to the distant Falling Star Mountains, and use the Nanxi Zhai Sword Formation to break the restrictive formation.
Except for the clan leader and a few others, no one knew about this. So in the eyes of many, at this critical moment, Chen Changsheng, as the human Pope, seemed somewhat too silent. No one took this silence as a sign of weakness or surrender. The deaths of Bie Yanghong and Wu Qiong Bi meant the human race would inevitably demand an explanation and pay a price from the demon race. At such a time, his silence instead put great pressure on White Emperor City.
Chen Changsheng also felt immense pressure, because of Lady Mu's silence. His movements were very secretive, and few could detect them, but he was very sure Lady Mu knew what he was doing. Why had Lady Mu remained so quiet all these days, with no reaction? Was it just because she believed the formation she had constructed with the power of the sea tide couldn't be broken? But the restrictive formation inside the Black Cliff had already been worn away a lot by his Nanxi Zhai Sword Formation.
What exactly was Lady Mu thinking?
One night, Chen Changsheng, wearing a black robe, walked toward the silent Imperial City, still pondering this question.
In a stone hall deep within the Imperial City, Lady Mu slowly opened her eyes, her gaze empty of any emotion, as if thinking about some unknown problem.
The hard bluestone ground still bore traces of the battle from days ago, with cracks and shallow pits from stone impacts everywhere. The city walls were also somewhat mottled, looking as if they had been eroded by wind and rain from the Western Sea for tens of thousands of years, appearing exceptionally old.
Chen Changsheng withdrew his gaze from the city walls and looked toward the depths of the Imperial City. In this Imperial City, many eunuchs, maids, and demon guards were loyal to Luo Luo. As the situation became clearer, Luo Luo gained more support, providing him with more convenience for entering and leaving the Imperial City. But he still didn't think Luo Luo's control over this Imperial City had surpassed her mother's. He knew Lady Mu might be watching him from somewhere in the Night Palace at this moment.
Just like the previous days, when he entered the Imperial City, he felt that gaze from the depths of the night—so indifferent, devoid of any emotion, making it impossible to fathom her true thoughts. All these days, he had been waiting for her to suddenly appear in the night, but that scene never happened.
Suddenly, he felt Lady Mu's gaze withdraw. What did that mean? Was the silence and stillness of both sides over the past few days coming to an end?
The night before the Imperial City was suddenly torn open by countless slits.
Those were countless black face masks being lifted, revealing cold, bright eyes. Even the intangible essence of heaven and earth was disturbed, and the starlight falling from the night sky became slightly scattered.
Dozens of demon race strongmen emerged from the night, surrounding Chen Changsheng. The attendants who had been preparing to enter the Imperial City with him fled in terror.
The foremost demon race strongman was extremely tall, exuding a terrifying pressure. His name was Xiangqiu, the youngest son of the Xiang clan chief and the strongest of this generation of the Xiang clan. He had been cultivating secret techniques deep in the mountains since childhood, rarely returning to White Emperor City, and even more rarely appearing before the world. When he appeared, he was like an unshakable mountain.
Chen Changsheng stood in the shadow of this mountain, calm and silent.
Xiangqiu looked down at him and said in a cold voice, "The Pope, disguised and charging straight into the Night Palace, may I ask what business you have?"
Before Chen Changsheng could speak, a clear yet authoritative voice rang out.
"I invited the Master into the palace. Do I need to report to anyone in advance?"
Luo Luo walked out of the Imperial City, followed by dozens of eunuchs and maids, their footsteps dense and rapid. Then, even denser footsteps sounded from behind, along with the sound of hooves, gradually turning into a downpour, with faint thunder.
Over a thousand demon race elite soldiers surged from the direction of the Heavenly Guard Pavilion, like a tide. Cold iron spears stood like a forest, pointing at those demon race strongmen.
Xiangqiu looked at the Bear clan chief in front of the cavalry, squinting slightly, and said, "Are you rebelling?"
Around the Imperial City in the night, footsteps and hooves sounded again, with more and more demon race armies gathering toward this place.
The noise before the Imperial City grew increasingly chaotic, yet there was a feeling that it was becoming quieter.
Perhaps because the atmosphere was growing more tense, more oppressive.
From the depths of the Imperial City in the night, no sound came.
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