Chapter 1130: The Arrogant Spear and the Heartbreaking Arrow
Chen Changsheng's hand moved closer and closer to Xiao Zhang's face, until it touched the edge of that white paper.
Whether it was because of sweat or too much blood, the edge of the white paper was no longer sharp, like a piece of pastry that had been left by the damp Tong River for three days.
Just as his finger touched the white paper, the two black holes on it suddenly lit up.
Xiao Zhang had opened his eyes.
He was awake.
Of course, it was also possible that he had never fainted at all.
There was no surprise on Chen Changsheng's face; he had probably known all along. He asked, "Have you rested enough?"
Xu Yourong did not turn around, quietly gazing at the mountain peak in the sky.
The Nanxi Zhai sword formation was being pressed closer and closer to the ground by that heavy, mountain-like aura.
More and more green leaves fell from the parasol tree, and the sounds coming from its trunk grew louder and louder. In some places, the bark had even split open, revealing the white wood beneath.
Xiao Zhang looked at Chen Changsheng and said, "No one has ever dared to tear off this paper. Not before, and certainly not now."
His voice was cold, devoid of emotion or awareness, just like his gaze.
In the past, he was a strong figure on the Carefree List, and with his reputation for insane bloodlust, naturally no one wanted to provoke him.
Now that he had successfully entered the Sacred Domain, even fewer dared to stir him up.
Chen Changsheng was not bothered by this threatening remark. He said, "If you refuse to wake up, I'll have to tear this paper off."
Xiao Zhang said, "I'm a bit tired. Can't you two hold on for a while? Useless."
Only a madman like him would dare to speak to the Pope and the Saintess in such a tone.
Chen Changsheng still didn't mind, saying, "Even if we take turns holding on, there will always be a moment when we can't hold on any longer."
Xiao Zhang understood the meaning of these words and was stunned.
Chen Changsheng and Xu Yourong had actually decided to stop stalling for time and were preparing to fight to the death.
Where did their confidence come from?
"Since it's a fight to the death, of course we have to gamble."
Chen Changsheng looked at him and smiled. "Maybe we'll win, maybe we'll lose. Who knows?"
His smile was still as clean, innocent, and gentle as when he was a youth.
But in Xiao Zhang's eyes, it was somewhat terrifying.
Such a major matter, and they casually decided to gamble on it?
Whether it was the Tong Palace or the Nanxi Zhai sword formation, they could still hold off the Yanzhi Mountain Man for a while.
He was severely injured, but he was still a newly promoted Saint Domain powerhouse.
Under such circumstances, Chen Changsheng and Xu Yourong decided to wait no longer and directly fight the Yanzhi Mountain Man to the death!
Didn't they understand that the Yanzhi Mountain Man, as an ancient powerhouse of the Demon race, was far stronger than those demon generals, and might even be comparable in realm and strength to the Demon Marshal? Didn't they understand that if the human Pope, the Saintess, and he, a newly promoted Saint Domain powerhouse, all died tonight, history might truly be changed? They could have waited a bit longer, so why fight to the death? Why, at a time like this, was Chen Changsheng still smiling, his smile still so clean? And Xu Yourong still had the mood to watch the stars with her hands behind her back?
Everyone said Xiao Zhang was a madman, but he now realized that Chen Changsheng and Xu Yourong were even crazier than he was.
What was the answer to all these whys?
He suddenly understood.
It was sharpness.
The sharpness of youth.
He was several decades older than Chen Changsheng and Xu Yourong, but for a cultivator, he was still considered young.
His gaze became sharp, like a silver spear washed in autumn water, full of chilling intent.
"How much longer?"
He walked over to Xu Yourong and asked.
Xu Yourong said, "Forty-seven breaths."
Xiao Zhang's hoarse voice came through the white paper again.
"I'll break his mountain momentum."
He carried his iron spear and walked into the northern night.
He didn't even glance at the shadowy mountain range in the night sky above.
The real mountain was several li away, where he was heading.
A few days ago, he sensed the signs of breaking through to the next realm and unhesitatingly ended his assassination career on the snowy plains, following the pre-arranged route south. He was about to pass through the grasslands and return to human territory when he saw three great mountains suddenly rise in the wilderness.
The Yanzhi Mountain Man, the Jingbo Three, and the Yichun Mountain Man.
Faced with such terrifying ancient powerhouses, he had no chance of escape. By all logic, he should have died. But who would have thought that this unprecedented pressure would allow him to cross that threshold, breaking through to the Sacred Domain ahead of time, and narrowly escape, albeit with severe injuries.
Riding the kite into the chaotic mountains, seeing Chen Changsheng and Xu Yourong, his mind suddenly relaxed, and his injuries and mental exhaustion erupted simultaneously, causing him to faint.
After resting for a while, his injuries hadn't healed, but his spirits had lifted considerably.
Most importantly, Chen Changsheng and Xu Yourong had appeared.
The two highest-ranking saints of the human race had come together to take him back.
This was something to be proud of, and even someone as arrogant as he was acknowledged it.
For this, he was willing to fight another battle.
But he said, "I'll break his mountain momentum," not "I'll break through his mountain momentum."
He wasn't confident he could break the Yanzhi Mountain Man's defense, nor was he confident he could survive.
The wind was bleak and cold, the white paper rustling loudly, seeming somewhat ominous.
But his figure was not desolate.
Because the iron spear was straight, and the red tassel danced.
Because his fighting spirit soared to the heavens.
...
...
Xu Yourong withdrew her gaze, looked into the night several li away, and said, "There's only one chance."
Chen Changsheng understood her meaning.
Xiao Zhang, forcibly suppressing his injuries, could only launch one strongest attack. Even if he still had the strength to fight afterward, it couldn't be stronger than this one.
In other words, if they wanted to break through head-on and defeat the Yanzhi Mountain Man, they only had this one chance.
The night wind fell on his face, slightly cold, not like a knife, but more like the water of that small stream in Xining Town in early spring.
Chen Changsheng clenched his left fist, and the stone bead transformed from the Heavenly Book Monument hung down from his sleeve, coming to his wrist.
Feeling the weight of the stone bead, his mood also became heavy. He took a deep breath before calming down a little.
...
...
Under the night sky, the Yanzhi Mountain Man really did look like a mountain.
Not the mountain range seen from afar, but a more real rocky mountain.
This rocky mountain wasn't particularly tall, but it seemed to be connected to the rock deep within the earth, giving a feeling of being unshakable.
Xiao Zhang walked to the foot of the mountain and stopped.
Starlight fell on his face, reflected by the white paper, making it appear even whiter, somewhat like the moonlight behind Snow Old City.
A very strange thing happened. The iron spear and red tassel danced lightly, actually causing the starlight to drift along.
The starlight seemed to become a real existence, in strands.
The world is relative.
If the void becomes real, then what about real things?
In the starlight, Xiao Zhang's figure appeared and disappeared, as if it might vanish at any moment.
If observed only with the naked eye, it was impossible to determine his exact location.
This was the Dao image after comprehending the principles of heaven and earth.
Tonight, he had just broken through to become a Saint, and his understanding of the principles of heaven and earth was still insufficient, far from mastery. But now, he had clearly improved a lot.
This was the ability of a Sacred Domain powerhouse. Whether in battle or in slumber, they could allow themselves to know the world more deeply.
On the high part of the black rocky mountain, two flames flickered, extremely cold and deep.
A low, indifferent voice sounded from within the rocky mountain.
"In the past few hundred years, in terms of fighting spirit, you can rank in the top three."
The Yanzhi Mountain Man seemed to know that Xiao Zhang still had combat power, but he didn't care.
Even if Chen Changsheng and Xu Yourong were there, he didn't care.
He appeared very calm, even having the mood to evaluate the other.
Given his experience, this evaluation could be considered extremely high praise.
But Xiao Zhang didn't appreciate it. He said, "You monster, you talk too much."
The Demon race always called themselves the Divine race, but being called demons didn't make them particularly angry. The so-called unity of demon and god was this principle. However, they really disliked being called monsters, perhaps because it easily reminded them of the Yao race. And in the long river of history, most of the time, the Yao race played the role of servants to the Demon race.
The Yanzhi Mountain Man's gaze grew even colder.
Xiao Zhang sneered and said, "What? Your whole body is made of stone, so of course you're a monster. Don't you agree?"
The Yanzhi Mountain Man said, "I am a Mountain Man."
Xiao Zhang laughed. "Hahaha! What Mountain Man? You're just an old black mountain demon!"
His hoarse laughter echoed across the grassland.
The laughter stopped abruptly.
Xiao Zhang thrust his spear forward.
Starlight sprinkled on the grassland, like a shallow stream.
As the iron spear thrust out, that patch of starlight suddenly moved, turning into a bolt of cloth.
The iron spear landed among the rocky mountains, and the starlight fell with it, then burst open, shattering into countless silver fragments.
This scene was extremely beautiful, like fireworks, or like real flower petals blooming one by one.
...
...
A silver flower suddenly bloomed in the night several li away.
Chen Changsheng and Xu Yourong knew that was the meeting of the iron spear and the cliff.
Immediately after, a yellow dragon rose from the grassland at that spot, roaring into the sky, with a faint trace of red appearing and disappearing within.
Two powerful auras directly stirred up all the gravel within a radius of several li. The starlight suddenly dimmed, making it extremely difficult to see.
The Yanzhi Mountain Man's realm and strength were indeed unfathomable. While dealing with that terrifying iron spear, he hadn't forgotten to continue suppressing Chen Changsheng and Xu Yourong.
The mountain range in the night sky suddenly pressed down, and the five peaks, like fingers, directly slammed into the Nanxi Zhai sword formation.
Harsh, grating sounds rang out continuously.
Countless cliff rocks were cut by the swords, falling with a rustling sound, turning into green light and dispersing in mid-air.
That palm-like mountain peak was closer to the ground.
The parasol tree was bent to the extreme, on the verge of breaking, and the green leaves among its branches had almost all fallen.
Xu Yourong was prepared, calm as usual, and said softly, "Let's go."
A flash of clear light passed, and the ground squirrel disappeared from its spot.
Chen Changsheng sent it into the Garden of Zhou, then took her hand.
A pair of pure white wings spread out in the night wind, burning with golden flames.
A beam of light illuminated the grassland, and two phoenix fires pierced the night.
In the wind of sand and grass clippings, a void appeared.
Xu Yourong and Chen Changsheng arrived in front of the Yanzhi Mountain Man.
Two sword lights lit up, incredibly bright and beautiful, then merged together, becoming a dazzling sword rainbow.
The iron spear appeared again, arrogantly leading the sword rainbow as it blasted toward the rocky mountain, blooming a domineering flower in the night sky.
A loud bang, and the earth shook restlessly.
Countless broken stones flew up, like arrows tearing through the night. Within a radius of dozens of li, countless wild beasts were crushed to death.
The dust and smoke gradually settled, and the figure of the Yanzhi Mountain Man slowly appeared.
In the middle of the mountain, two extremely deep sword marks appeared. Looking at them, they were probably about a foot deep.
Those two sword marks crossed each other, looking like the Southern Cross constellation, which was most familiar to the demon nobles of Snow Old City.
The place where the sword marks intersected was deeper than elsewhere, the shape round, the edges smooth, like a hole chiseled out by a craftsman's tool, looking extremely dark.
That was the mark left by the iron spear.
If this rocky mountain were compared to a person, the location of the sword marks and the spear hole would be the person's chest, slightly to the left, exactly where the Netherworld Mansion was located.
The arrogant spear, the combined power of the two swords, had finally broken through the Yanzhi Mountain Man's defense.
That position was the Yanzhi Mountain Man's only flaw.
This was calculated by Xu Yourong.
The question was, had that hole completely pierced through this mountain?
...
...
The surface of the grassland was full of cracks, black soil and grass clippings mixed together, impossible to separate.
Xiao Zhang lay on the ground, the white paper on his face soaked with blood, staring at the Yanzhi Mountain Man several dozen zhang away.
Chen Changsheng was also severely injured, sitting cross-legged on the ground, his face pale, coughing incessantly.
The holes in the paper were very black, Xiao Zhang's gaze was very deep, and his voice was very hoarse, like a broken bell.
"Damn it, even this isn't enough?"
Chen Changsheng sighed.
They had broken the mountain momentum, but they couldn't level this mountain.
Xu Yourong stood up and drew her longbow again.
Her face was very pale, and with the action of drawing the bow, it became even paler, like snow.
Black hair brushed past her cheeks, the contrast striking, breathtakingly beautiful.
A mouthful of blood sprayed from between her lips.
Her white sacrificial robe was covered in blood spots, like broken flowers.
The aura she emitted grew even stronger. (Note)
The bowstring moved silently.
A delicate little arrow, breaking through the night, silently landed on that mountain.
Neither off-center nor off by a hair, it shot into that hole.
With a soft crack, it was as if something had shattered.
Xiao Zhang and Chen Changsheng felt an extreme pain erupt in their chests.
Because they heard that sound.
It was the sound of a heart breaking.
Xu Yourong's face was as white as paper, swaying as if about to fall, blood seeping from the corner of her lips.
Even she herself was injured by that delicate little arrow.
The Yanzhi Mountain Man naturally suffered the most.
A roar of extreme pain rose from within the cliff.
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(The title is, of course, from Woon Swee Oan. At first, I was going to directly use "The Astonishing Spear" and "The Heartbreaking Little Arrow," and looking at the content of the chapter, you can still see traces of that. But after thinking it over, I always felt that since Xiao Zhang was named this way and had this temperament, it would be a shame not to use "Arrogant." Also, Yourong isn't one of those stinky men from Kaifeng City. Tonight, her name is Li Shengnan... By the way, I recommend Old Ben Liu's WeChat public account. It updates every day. This isn't an ad. A few days ago, he happened to write about Jin Shiyi, and it was really well written, simple and clear. As for my WeChat public account, are there any classmates who haven't followed it yet? maoni1118 is me. This is, of course, an ad, a hard ad. Finally, this chapter is four thousand words. Wishing the girls a happy holiday. Well, going back to Li Shengnan... everyone understands what I mean, right? You still have to be awesome yourself. Really, this is the most important thing.)
(Sanqi Chinese)