Chapter 249: Rain Arrives, So Raise the Umbrella
The rainbow that opened the Zhou Garden originated from Li Mountain, ten thousand miles away.
The Longevity Sect was composed of over a dozen mountain sects, with the Li Mountain Sword Sect being the strongest and hardest, specializing in slaughter and warfare. It stood not among the cluster of mountains but at the northernmost point, like the very tip of a sword blade, thrusting straight toward the north.
In the early morning, the main peak of Li Mountain was shrouded in mist and clouds. Looking out from the mountainside in all directions, one saw only flat layers of clouds, as if the peak were an isolated island floating in a sea of clouds.
That rainbow shot forth from a cave dwelling at the highest point of Li Mountain's main peak.
On either side of the stone steps, several hundred ancient pines stood in solemn silence. Little Pine Palace sat cross-legged at the very top of the steps, while three elders from the Discipline Hall guarded the cave dwelling with swords in hand.
Seeing such a formation, the Li Mountain disciples gathered below on the stone path couldn't help but murmur among themselves.
"Is that beam of light the key to the Zhou Garden?"
"What exactly is that key? How can it generate a rainbow and open the Zhou Garden from ten thousand miles away? Will the senior brother be alright?"
"What could go wrong? Do you think the demon race dares to come to our Li Mountain to seize the treasure?"
"Exactly. The sect leader is in the cave dwelling protecting the senior brother, four elders stand guard with their sword formation, and on top of that, we have the Li Mountain Ten Thousand Swords Formation. Even if the Demon Lord himself came, what could he do?"
"I wonder if Third Senior Brother and Seventh Senior Brother have entered the Zhou Garden yet. Speaking of which, I'm really curious about what's inside the Zhou Garden. If only I could go in and take a look."
"Then you'd better focus on your cultivation. If you keep stagnating at the Meditation Realm, you'll never enter the Zhou Garden in your lifetime, let alone catch up to those senior brothers."
"All seven senior brothers are dazzling geniuses. How could we ever compare?"
"Speaking of which, has that young man named Chen Changsheng really reached the Illumination Realm?"
"Who knows? Northerners always act absurdly and speak with exaggeration. Although the National Academy has already declined, letting such a young child serve as its dean is truly ridiculous."
"Junior brother, watch your words. That was the arrangement of His Holiness the Pope."
"Isn't it already ridiculous? Can't I even say so? Don't the elders themselves talk like this in their daily discussions?"
"That young man named Chen Changsheng must have something extraordinary about him to have cultivated to such a realm in just one year. Otherwise, Second Senior Brother wouldn't have praised him so highly in his letter."
"So what? Can that guy really compare to Senior Brother? If Senior Brother hadn't succeeded in Star Gathering and entered the Zhou Garden, I refuse to believe Chen Changsheng could snatch anything. I don't know what Senior Sister Xu is thinking. With a true dragon right in front of her, can't she see who's stronger and better?"
In recent months, whenever the outer disciples of the Li Mountain Sword Sect discussed the several senior brothers studying abroad in the capital or Senior Brother's famous romantic affair, Chen Changsheng's name would naturally come up, leading to a tedious cycle of contempt, cautious words, and then more contempt.
But the next moment, all discussion abruptly ceased. A clear tremor spread through the entire main peak of Li Mountain—not very strong, and the sea of clouds around remained calm—but the people on the mountain instantly turned pale with fear, because such a thing had never happened before.
At the edge of the sea of clouds, a clear light suddenly appeared. Countless sword shadows, carrying terrifying power, darted through the clouds, sometimes leaping like the rising sun, sometimes vanishing like a waterfall plunging into a gorge. Dense and countless, the sword shadows let out piercing cries in the air, like schools of arrowfish in the sea madly searching for food.
This was the legendary Li Mountain Ten Thousand Swords Formation.
After a short while, the Ten Thousand Swords Formation found no trace of an enemy and automatically returned to its positions, hiding again in the countless sword caves within the mountain.
The Li Mountain disciples looked up in panic toward the peak. They saw the rainbow still there as before, but it seemed to contain something more, or rather, the strands of light within it had become somewhat disordered.
Little Pine Palace, sitting cross-legged at the top of the stone steps, suddenly opened his eyes wide. Gazing toward where the rainbow landed, he shouted sternly, "What happened?"
The three elders of the Discipline Hall looked even more solemn, turning to face the cave dwelling from which the rainbow originated.
An extremely long, clear whistle burst forth from the cave dwelling!
The disordered rainbow light, with this whistle, quickly stabilized again.
But the expressions of Little Pine Palace and the other Li Mountain elders did not relax.
For the sect leader to need to suppress it with a true sword's long whistle—what on earth had happened?
The next moment, the Li Mountain sect leader's calm and authoritative voice rang out.
"Send a message to the Li Palace. There's a change in Hanqiu City, or perhaps the demon race is making a move."
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...
Ten thousand miles away from Hanqiu City lay a snowfield, with much snow, snow everywhere. Though it was spring, the snow here still fell heavily, like a peacock's tail feathers. If the snow stopped or lessened, one might be able to see in the distance that majestic demon city, the only one rivaling the Great Zhou capital.
A demon man, entirely wrapped in a black robe, walked alone through the wind and snow. He had walked far with his back to that famous Snow Old City, until the wind and snow completely obscured the city's outline. Then he stopped, looked toward the distant south, and a charming smile appeared at the corner of his lips.
From his walking speed and slightly hunched posture, this demon man must have been very old—considering that the demon race was renowned for their immensely powerful bodies and nearly perfect athletic abilities. When he looked south, the black robe lifted slightly, revealing a pale face. Beneath the skin spread a hateful and terrifying cyan color, too full of the aura of death. Yet the smile at the corner of his lips remained as charming as ever, because his handsomeness transcended the bounds of language and could even overcome death.
He sat down in the wind and snow, taking out a black square plate.
This black square plate was made of some unknown material, seemingly possessing a certain warmth. Snowflakes landing on it instantly melted, then evaporated into steam.
The steam became mist and clouds.
The black square plate was shrouded in mist, and the demon man's face was also shrouded in mist, hard to see clearly. Only his extremely bright eyes could not be concealed.
On the black plate within the mist, many scenes appeared. Compared to real scenery, the scenes on the black plate were naturally reduced countless times. One could vaguely see several mountain ranges, a stretch of grassland, and several gardens. Those gardens were completely different in style from the ornate ones in Snow Old City, more resembling the gardens of the human world's south.
The demon man closed his eyes and meditated silently for a long time, then looked south again.
The sky was filled with wind and snow. Logically, nothing could be seen.
But he saw a rainbow.
His emotions shifted slightly, and he sighed, "Decades have passed, yet it remains the same."
After saying this, the demon man calmed again, his expression indifferent as he reached into the air.
The demon race had a saying about "fishing the moon from water."
His current action was very similar to that saying—somewhat absurd and baseless.
Yet when he withdrew his hand, a wisp of rainbow appeared between his fingers!
He had plucked a strand from that rainbow leading to the Zhou Garden in the sky!
The next moment, he gently placed that wisp of rainbow on the northeast position of the black square plate.
The mist on the black square plate, meeting the wisp of rainbow, suddenly thinned, revealing a passage.
...
...
Several thousand miles away from Hanqiu City lay a tea plantation, with much tea, tea everywhere. Since it was spring, the tea plants here grew exceptionally well, like peacock feathers. If the wind blew or the sun shone long enough, one could smell waves of tea fragrance.
In the early morning, mist swirled deep within the tea plantation. Within the mist, a path was faintly visible, leading to a stretch of lush green wilderness. An old man carrying a zither and a young girl of about ten followed the path into the mist. The girl had a childish face with delicate features, yet for some reason, she gave off a chilling aura.
The old man with the zither and the young girl disappeared into the mist. Ahead, several figures were faintly visible. Not long after, a man and a woman also entered the tea plantation. Their expressions suggested they were a married couple, with honest, simple faces. The husband carried a pole with loads, and the wife held an iron pot. If they were selling food by the roadside, this pot was far too large.
No one knew what truth the mist in this tea plantation concealed. No one knew that the path leading deep into the mist led to a place called the Zhou Garden.
Because no one could have imagined that the Zhou Garden could have a second door.
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...
The wind and snow raged.
That demon man had clearly expended immense mental energy to forcibly open the Zhou Garden. His face grew even paler, and the deathly cyan color deepened.
He silently prayed over the black square plate. The scenes on the plate became clearer, even showing the hundreds of human cultivators who had just entered the Zhou Garden.
Among those hundreds of human cultivators, he easily found his targets. He reached out his finger, snapped it above the heads of Qi Jian and Zhe Xiu, igniting two fate flames. He then placed the fate flames into two bronze pots, letting them float in the wind and snow. The bitter wind and furious snow could not extinguish those two flames.
The demon man quietly watched the black square plate, searching for a moment longer. His gaze fell on several women who had just entered the Zhou Garden, wearing the white ceremonial robes of the Qing Yao Thirteen Departments.
A third bronze pot floated in the wind and snow.
Finally, he looked at Chen Changsheng.
He watched Chen Changsheng's figure, silent for a long time, then smiled.
He transmitted the positions of Qi Jian, Zhe Xiu, and that young woman from the Qing Yao Thirteen Departments to his subordinates—those who had just entered the Zhou Garden from the tea plantation.
"I think you should continue living, at least until you're twenty. So I won't let you die easily. I'll keep watching you."
He said to Chen Changsheng, his black robe starkly vivid in the wind and snow.
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The archway of the Zhou Garden bore the words "Penetrating the Hidden," which also represented the rules of this place. Only cultivators at the Illumination Realm could enter here, avoiding annihilation by this small world's rules.
Hundreds of cultivators passed through the archway one by one into this quiet garden, then dispersed. Cultivators from the National Church system mostly came specially to bid farewell to Chen Changsheng before leaving, while those from southern sects and academies only spoke to Liang Xiaoxiao.
Before long, the garden grew quiet again.
Chen Changsheng stood on a small bridge, looking at the flowing water below. Suddenly, he felt a bit unsettled.
Zhe Xiu stood behind him and said, "This isn't the time for melancholy, and you shouldn't be a melancholy person."
Chen Changsheng smiled and was about to leave. But just then, he felt a strange sensation—as if someone was spying on him.
He looked around the garden but saw no one. Yet the feeling persisted.
He cultivated the "Follow the Heart" method, so he didn't rush to leave. He stood on the bridge for a long time.
Suddenly, a light rain began to fall in the Zhou Garden. Water marks dotted the bridge, and ripples spread across the pond.
He looked up at the sky, silent for a moment, then took an umbrella from his bosom and opened it.
The umbrella looked somewhat worn and heavy.
It was the yellow paper umbrella.
The moment he opened the umbrella, that feeling vanished.
He looked at Zhe Xiu and said, "Let's go."
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(Tomorrow, at least two chapters guaranteed.)