Chapter 195: I Invite the White Emperor to See the Living World
Countless gazes fell upon the black cliff, upon Chen Changsheng, but no one dared to speak, much less step forward to disturb him.
The King of Linghai had made it very clear earlier: anyone who dared to approach the black cliff would be treated as an assassin.
The Prime Minister and the clan leader of the Xiang tribe exchanged a glance. There was no joy in their eyes, only worry and unease.
Worry, because no one knew what they would see when Chen Changsheng opened that black cliff. If it was the worst outcome, what should they do? Would the demon generals, ministers, and tribes that now supported them kneel once more before Her Majesty the Empress in a very short time?
Unease, for two reasons.
As the largest and most powerful tribe of the demon race, why had the Xiang tribe chosen to support Lady Mu until now?
And why had Lady Mu never acted to stop all this, instead quietly watching them break the formation?
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Not everyone had gone to the Falling Star Mountains.
In that courtyard filled with yellow sand, the young Demon Lord silently gazed at the stone statues that had reappeared on either side of the back door at some unknown time, lost in thought.
In the nearby manor, the clan leader of the Xiang tribe looked at his son, hesitated for a long time, but ultimately said nothing.
In the stone hall at the highest point of the imperial city, Luoluo sat by the window, silently waiting for something.
In a muddy pit deep within the mountains, Chu Su lowered his head and licked the wound on his severed arm, trembling with pain.
In that small courtyard beside the Heavenly Tree Servant Temple, Xuanyuan Po sat on the floor of the front porch, staring blankly at the slightly raised ground.
In a very ordinary inn, Xu Yourong, who had not slept all night, washed her face with cold water, sat down at the table, and began to comb her hair in front of a bronze mirror.
A voice filled with emotion came from within the bronze mirror.
"Since you are still beneath the starry sky, how can you not see the living world?"
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On the lake, among the clouds, atop the peaks, countless sword lights suddenly vanished at the same time.
The next moment, a piercing sound of tearing air rang out.
Countless sword lights all returned to their sheaths.
Chen Changsheng reached out and grasped the middle of the sword sheath, then stood up.
All eyes turned to him.
But he looked toward the lake, the clouds, and the peaks.
The sword had returned, but the sword intent remained there.
A line of wild geese flew past the side of a snowy peak, then suddenly tilted and fell.
A sea breeze blew in from beyond the mountains, but was sliced into scattered fluff.
A few streaks of drifting clouds in the clear sky were torn into fine threads by an invisible force, then gradually disappeared.
These were all signs of the collapse of the seals.
Only after confirming this did Chen Changsheng once again look at the black cliff before him.
Boom!
Countless extremely muffled roars erupted from deep within the black cliff, even from the depths of the earth.
The ground trembled violently, countless ripples spread across the lake, snow cascaded down from a nearby snowy peak, and the roars of beasts in the mountains became shrill.
Rocks flew, dust billowed, and it took a long time for everything to gradually settle.
The black cliff had vanished without a trace, leaving only a pit hundreds of zhang wide in its place.
At the deepest point was an extremely smooth stone wall, like gold or jade, as if even the sharpest blade could not leave a mark on it.
This was the legendary Star Stone, possessing unimaginable weight and density, but now it was buried under mud and gravel, with only a small part exposed.
Starting from the Star Stone, a very straight stone path extended.
The pit, hundreds of zhang wide, was directly cut in half by this stone path.
This stone path was extremely long, stretching for countless li, reaching far into the distance.
Countless gazes followed the direction of the stone path, finally landing more than ten li away.
There, half of a mountain had collapsed.
That mountain was originally a palace.
Embedded in the half-collapsed mountain was a stone throne.
That stone throne was ten zhang high and ten zhang wide, incredibly huge, almost absurdly so.
Sitting in that stone throne was a person.
That person wore a pure white imperial robe, was extremely emaciated, with sunken eyes, as if he were a corpse.
……
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"Your Majesty!"
A cry of surprise rang out.
Then came countless cries of surprise.
Then came countless sounds of wind being torn.
Countless figures rushed toward the half-collapsed mountain more than ten li away, scrambling to be the first.
The King of Linghai's earlier warning had been completely forgotten.
Arriving before that enormous stone throne, they felt even more that the person in the throne was small, even somewhat comical.
But those demon ministers and experts had no such thoughts. Their faces were filled with excitement, and some even cried out loud.
To them, the person in the throne was a god.
Even if that person was now extremely emaciated, with eyes closed, barely alive, and incredibly weak.
As long as he was still alive, no, even if he were dead, he would still be the god of the entire demon race.
Because his name was Bai Xingye.
He was the White Emperor.
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It was clear that the demon race's high-ranking figures had long been prepared for such a scene.
Several great demon physicians were carried by black vultures onto the stone throne and began to diagnose and treat the White Emperor.
Seeing that the White Emperor's eyes were still tightly shut, Xiao De felt anxious and asked, "Where is His Holiness the Pope?"
As everyone knew, Chen Changsheng's medical skills were unparalleled in the world. In their minds, no matter how skilled these great demon physicians were, they were far inferior to Chen Changsheng.
The Prime Minister and the others turned to look, but were stunned.
They did not see Chen Changsheng.
Chen Changsheng was still more than ten li away.
Right where the black cliff had been.
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Watching the commotion in the distance, Chen Changsheng suddenly said, "Let's go."
As he spoke these words, his gaze was still fixed on that enormous stone throne, on the White Emperor's face.
This was the first time he had seen the White Emperor, and it had cost him many days and nights of great hardship.
But the moment he saw the White Emperor, he decided to leave.
Leave immediately.
Hearing Chen Changsheng's words, everyone was surprised, not understanding why.
Only the blind zither player seemed to grasp Chen Changsheng's meaning, leading the five tribesmen toward the secret passage exit behind the lake.
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Just as an elderly great demon physician mustered his courage and was about to insert the stone needle in his hand, the White Emperor opened his eyes.
His eyes were very dim.
Like a snowfield on an overcast day.
Gray and lifeless.
Then a small black dot appeared on that snowfield.
The black dot gradually grew larger, its color deepening, like a traveler crossing a vast snowfield, drawing nearer and nearer.
He had truly awakened.
Having been sealed for perhaps five years, with his star radiance and demon essence drained by the Star Stone, he was now extremely weak, barely clinging to life.
But when he opened his eyes, an unimaginable aura of majesty emanated from his frail body.
"You have all come?"
His voice was very soft, somewhat hoarse from years without drinking water.
But the entire Falling Star Mountains heard his voice.
The demon experts knelt down like a surging tide.