Chapter 200: The Palace Grand Formation
“So you’ve always wanted to kill me after all.”
The Demon Lord looked at Chen Changsheng and said, “I thought after that day, you had abandoned that notion.”
Chen Changsheng replied, “Abandoning it once doesn’t mean I won’t try again.”
The Demon Lord remarked with emotion, “As expected of Shang Xingzhou’s disciple—truly skilled in hypocrisy.”
Chen Changsheng said, “The opportunity that day wasn’t ideal.”
“Do you think today’s opportunity is any better?”
The Demon Lord smiled at him and said, “You should be well aware that neither the White Emperor nor Madam Mu will let you kill me.”
“Is this what you call balance?”
Chen Changsheng said, “Maintaining balance is an extremely difficult task. Tightrope walkers often meet a bad end. Whether the White Emperor or Madam Mu wins, neither will indeed let me kill you. The problem is that they haven’t decided the victor yet.”
The Demon Lord said, “Do you think someone like the White Emperor, while dealing with Madam Mu, has no attention left for the rest of the world?”
Chen Changsheng was silent for a moment, then said, “Even if that’s his stance, I’m not prepared to accept it.”
In the Falling Star Mountains, he had used the Nanxi Zhai Sword Formation to break through that sealing array, confirming the White Emperor was still alive and obtaining the best possible answer.
Unexpectedly, he sent Linghai Zhiwang and the others, along with the five members of the Tang clan, back to White Emperor City.
Then he and Tang Thirty-Six also hurried back.
All because he had one thing to do.
Those seemingly perfect answers were always answers given by others.
He wanted to write an answer that belonged only to him, one that couldn’t be falsified.
He wanted to kill the Demon Lord.
“No one knows if the White Emperor can stop you, but at least for now, he hasn’t stopped you.”
The Demon Lord looked into his eyes and asked with deep meaning, “Have you ever wondered why he’s doing this?”
Chen Changsheng said, “Perhaps we’re all overthinking it. There’s no such thing as balance. The White Emperor also wants you dead.”
“No. The reason he’s not stopping you is that he knows you can’t kill me.”
The Demon Lord smiled at the human experts outside the courtyard and said, “All of you combined can’t kill me.”
…
…
Back then, the White Emperor fought a world-shaking battle with the Demon Lord on the Snow Plains, was severely wounded, and then imprisoned for years by Madam Mu using the Star Stone Grand Formation. After breaking free, he should have needed time to recover his realm and strength. Moreover, there were many matters in White Emperor City requiring his attention, such as revenge.
But he was a true sage, the overlord of the West. If he truly wanted to stop Chen Changsheng from killing the Demon Lord, he should have had many means.
He did nothing, merely watching quietly as Chen Changsheng sent Linghai Zhiwang and the others away, then watched Chen Changsheng depart on a crane.
Why was this? Could it really be as the Demon Lord said?
Chen Changsheng couldn’t understand where the Demon Lord’s calm confidence and the White Emperor’s tacit permission lay.
He was very certain that neither the Demon Marshal, nor the legendary Eight Mountain Hermits, nor even the most mysterious Black Robe would appear today.
Across tens of thousands of miles of mountains and rivers, even a Sacred Domain expert would need time to traverse them.
More crucially, he knew these demon experts had no way to come today.
So, all clues pointed to some hidden possibility.
Seeing Chen Changsheng’s expression, the Demon Lord knew he had guessed something and said calmly, “Now, do you still insist on killing me?”
Chen Changsheng said, “If that’s really the case, then I want to kill you even more. Of course… your priority will be moved down a bit.”
The Demon Lord asked with great interest, “Because of the matter of Bie Yanghong and Wuqiong Bi?”
Chen Changsheng said, “A distant guest arrives early; die early, go home early.”
When this conversation began, no one could understand it.
The first to catch on was Tang Thirty-Six, whose face immediately turned somewhat pale.
He knew the truth of that sacred battle, knew how Bie Yanghong and Wuqiong Bi had been severely wounded.
The next to react was Linghai Zhiwang. His eyes became incredibly bright, like the most blazing flames sweeping across the entire world, yet deep within was a crystalline core that seemed impossible to melt, no matter how high the temperature.
He too understood the meaning of the Demon Lord and Chen Changsheng’s exchange, but the change in his eyes came not only from the violent surge of battle intent but also from the aura of that crystalline core—yes, that core was not a product of consciousness but a real entity.
That core, which brought countless heavenly flames yet was not melted by fire, was one of the legendary treasures of the Palace.
Then, three more supremely sacred and powerful auras emerged from Si Yuan Daoren, Archbishop Anlin, and Hu Sanshier.
A section of willow branch, gleaming with a faint, dark luster, appeared in the sky.
A thin sheet, like a banner or a painting, appeared in the sky.
A seal, bearing an ancient and unadorned aura, appeared in the sky.
Dark Willow!
Mountains and Rivers Painting!
Celestial Seal!
…
…
The Palace could have many archbishops, but only six were called the Titans.
These six archbishops resided in the Sacred Hall of the Palace, each guarding one of the most precious and powerful treasures of the State Church.
These treasures were either strange objects like the crystalline core in Linghai Zhiwang’s eyes, or divine artifacts forged by previous sages of the State Church.
These treasures were the foundation of the Palace Grand Formation, or rather, its true sharp edge.
Even a sage like Madam Mu, when facing these auras in the Palace back then, had to be cautious.
Today, although Mao Qiuyu, with his profound cultivation, and the Glorious Wall he was responsible for guarding did not appear, it should still be enough.
Seeing those divine artifacts in the sky and feeling the sacred, blazing auras falling like rain, exclamations arose from outside the courtyard.
These exclamations were filled with awe and longing, and deep within lay fervent piety.
Even the Demon Lord’s expression finally turned solemn.
So this was the Palace Grand Formation?
Who would preside over it?
Chen Changsheng was there.
As the Pope, no one was more qualified than him to preside over this Palace Grand Formation.
His right hand had already grasped the sword hilt.
The world’s sharpest Stainless Sword did not leave its sheath.
What appeared were countless rays of pure white light.
Those light rays spilled from between his fingers, illuminating the stone steps before the courtyard gate and the blood that was gradually turning black.
A very round white stone floated into the sky, following the four sacred auras.
The stone was inlaid with an extremely complex black-gold formation, making it exceptionally beautiful.
This was the Falling Star Stone.
Back then, at the Wenshui Dao Hall, after White Stone Daoist was killed, this State Church treasure was temporarily kept by Chen Changsheng himself.
The Falling Star Stone flew into the air, carrying an extremely ancient aura, and began to attract everything around it.
Countless cold winds and fragments of stone surged toward it, and even the principles of heaven and earth began to warp and twist slightly.
A deep, dark hole appeared in the sky, and the Falling Star Stone hovered silently within it.
The sacred auras from the Mountains and Rivers Painting, the Dark Willow, and other State Church treasures began to spin along the edge of the black hole, then connected.
Countless golden threads, emitting dazzling light, cascaded down like a curtain of water.
The entire courtyard was enveloped within, and no one could leave anymore.
Chen Changsheng’s right hand left the sword hilt, grasped the divine staff, and pointed it at the figure deep within the courtyard.
An unimaginable quantity of supremely magnificent sacred power, carrying infinite light and heat, surged forward like a giant wave. (To be continued.)