Chapter 194: There Is Never Just One Truth
Recommended reading: Si Yuan Dao Ren and An Lin did not speak, but their support for the King of Ling Hai was clear.
Hu Thirty-Two sighed and said, "Hard to kill… but still, it must be done."
Tang Thirty-Six looked at Chen Changsheng.
He had no opinion on this matter; it all depended on what Chen Changsheng thought.
Chen Changsheng was silent for a moment, then nodded.
This matter was thus decided.
For now, with only these people in the Dao Hall, they might not be able to kill Madam Mu. But Madam Mu must die, and one day she would.
Because this was the will of the Li Palace, and also the will of the human race.
Chen Changsheng had once said to Luo Luo that for the deaths of Bie Yang Hong and Wu Qiong Bi, the Demon race must pay a sufficient price.
At the time, he had not made it explicit, but Luo Luo knew what he meant: the death of Madam Mu.
No one wants to die, let alone a Saint. Even if she was the Aquarius that the Demon Lord spoke of, her spiritual world was different from that of ordinary people.
So Chen Changsheng could not understand why, on that night four days ago, Madam Mu had suddenly withdrawn her hand and not killed him.
That power, which flowed like an undercurrent through the streets of White Emperor City and intimidated countless tribes on both sides of the Red River—if it did not come from Xue Lao Cheng, then where did it come from?
Chen Changsheng looked at the night sky outside the hall, lost in thought.
The wind and snow had stopped. There were no clouds in the night sky, and the stars were clearly visible.
Was it snowing on that northern mountain range, also bathed in starlight?
Even if it wasn't snowing, the ice and snow accumulated in those peaks should be cold enough.
Why was that mountain range called the Falling Star Mountains?
Countless tens of thousands of years ago, the Heavenly Book fell in the heartland of the continent, while falling fire scattered across the wilderness. There were many in the Cold Mountains. Were there also some here?
If the Falling Star Mountains were dug open, would one see the remains of stars, or just a void?
……
……
In a certain building deep within the Imperial City, there was a golden-threaded hollow-carved sculpture from Xue Lao Cheng.
Madam Mu looked at it quietly, her expression calm, as if she did not care at all about what had happened in the wind and snow today—or rather, as if nothing had happened at all.
"This is the most famous artwork of my clan's Master Ga Suo from four hundred years ago,"
the Demon Lord said as he walked in from outside the hall. "I didn't expect it to have been in your hands all along."
"It is indeed art. Unfortunately, there are few people in this city who can appreciate it with me."
Madam Mu withdrew her gaze from the intricate lines of the carving, which seemed to contain the infinite beauty of the starry sky, and looked at the Demon Lord. "Your Majesty doesn't seem to have that interest either."
The Demon Lord smiled and asked, "What are you trying to say?"
Madam Mu said calmly, "Why didn't Your Majesty make a move today?"
The Demon Lord said, "I didn't expect Chen Changsheng to be so afraid of death that he moved the entire Li Palace here."
Madam Mu said indifferently, "Did Your Majesty lose confidence because of that?"
The Demon Lord looked at her quietly and said, "A few days ago on the viewing platform, you stopped me from making a move. Why are you urging me now?"
Madam Mu's voice became even more detached, as bland as the Western Sea on a windless day: "Times change."
The Demon Lord's gaze suddenly turned deep and dark. "Four days ago, you also didn't make a move. What time was that?"
Madam Mu did not directly answer his question. She said, "If Your Majesty had made a move today, I naturally would have as well."
They both wanted Chen Changsheng dead. In the end, it was just a matter of who struck first.
Chen Changsheng was very hard to kill. His realm and strength were even greater than rumored, and now the bigger problem was that he had moved the entire Li Palace here.
With the realms of those national religion magnates, along with the heavy treasures they carried, even Madam Mu found it somewhat troublesome.
Back in the Li Palace, she had once very clearly perceived the killing intent formed by this heavenly law.
Not to mention that now, in White Emperor City, more and more powerful Demon figures and ordinary people were siding with Chen Changsheng.
There was not a single cloud in the night sky, the stars were extremely clear, and the wind blowing from the sea was unimpeded, carrying a sharp force.
The sea wind wandered among the stone platforms of the various halls before finally reaching her.
Madam Mu smelled the salty taste in the wind and that familiar dampness, but she did not miss it.
The sea wind too easily turned living creatures into lifeless salted fish, and the humid air easily became sticky, bringing a lot of pressure.
A trace of weariness appeared in her eyes. "Then let's wait a little longer."
"What exactly are you waiting for?"
The Demon Lord looked at her, raising an eyebrow slightly. "Waiting for them to dig open that mountain and see if that one is dead or not?"
To have earned the loyalty of the Black Robe and the Demon Marshal, to have pushed his own great father into the abyss, and to have gained the fanatical worship of the entire Demon Snow Plains in just a few short years—the young man was certainly not lacking in wisdom. But now, he found himself increasingly unable to understand what Madam Mu was thinking.
Madam Mu said faintly, "At this moment, I don't even know what I want to see."
The Demon Lord stared into her eyes. "Shouldn't you be stopping them right now?"
Madam Mu said, "Why?"
The Demon Lord suddenly felt he might have made a mistake.
No one in the world could control, or even understand, an Aquarius woman.
Madam Mu did not know what he was thinking. She looked calmly toward the north.
She truly did not know what answer she was waiting for, but she was certain she very much wanted to wait for one.
Whether he was alive or already dead.
……
……
Before going to the Falling Star Mountains, Chen Changsheng had thought that any answer would be bad.
Then he saw that black cliff, the unbreakable forbidden formation. He saw no answer, no truth. That was the best outcome.
But in the end, there can only be one truth. The answer would eventually be revealed, and he had already vaguely guessed it.
This made his mood somewhat low, especially when he thought of Luo Luo, who was still in the Imperial City, hoping he could rescue the White Emperor.
The stars had faded, and the light of dawn gradually appeared, only to be shattered by countless even brighter sword lights, falling like the corpses of fireflies onto the black cliff.
Chen Changsheng sat cross-legged before the black cliff, his sword scabbard lying across his knees.
Today, he did not close his eyes in meditation. Instead, he quietly gazed at the black cliff before him, as if trying to see through it.
Hundreds of famous swords from previous generations, originating from the Zhou Garden, used his body as a source, continuously striking at the black cliff. But they did not truly hit the substance of the cliff; instead, they clashed with the invisible forbidden formation nearby, far away, on the lake, and at the peak, honing it, just as they had in the past few days.
That forbidden formation, which shared the same origin as the Tong Palace, had now become much weaker, no longer possessing its former might.
Correspondingly, the momentum of the sword array was naturally even more extraordinary. According to their respective positions, they formed the Nan Xi Zhai Sword Formation, slowly but unstoppably pressing forward.
Everywhere in the Falling Star Mountains was filled with a chilling sword intent. A single glance would reveal a bright, dazzling sword light.
Si Yuan Dao Ren had once been to Li Shan. Seeing this scene, he was somewhat horrified, thinking of that famous Ten Thousand Sword Mountain-Protecting Grand Formation.
Besides Si Yuan Dao Ren, national religion magnates like the King of Ling Hai, as well as the Five Kinds of People from Wen Shui City, were all guarding Chen Changsheng.
The Bear Clan, the Scholar Clan, and several other major clans had sent their bravest and strongest warriors, taking control of the area around the black cliff.
Within a few li of the mountain range, hundreds of Demon race experts had gathered, including over a dozen high-level masters like Jin Yu Lu and Xiao De.
On the far side of the lake, dust and smoke rose in waves, and the roars of demonic beasts could be heard from time to time. It seemed that the armies of the various tribes had already taken control of all the mountain valleys.
The situation was now clear, whether the ministers, generals, and tribal chieftains of the Demon Court believed it or not.
The truth would soon appear before their eyes. (To be continued.)
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