Chapter 266: A Path Called Courage
“Is that the Thousand-Mile Button?” Liu Xiaowan looked at the umbrella in Chen Changsheng’s left hand, asking in slight surprise. “Could this be the umbrella even Su Li couldn’t afford?”
The war between humans and demons was exceptionally brutal. On the dividing line of the snow plains, assassinations and similar acts had never ceased. To secure ultimate victory in this war of extermination, both sides stopped at nothing. Whenever an opportunity arose, they would stop at nothing to kill the young geniuses on the opposing side who had the potential to grow. Zhe Xiu had earned such a great reputation on the continent at such a young age, while still in the Meditation Realm, precisely because he could survive alone in the most brutal and dangerous places.
To protect their own young geniuses and give them enough time to mature, the sects and academies of the human world would send powerful experts to secretly guard their most valued younger disciples before they truly grew up, or bestow upon them life-saving artifacts. For instance, when Tianhai Shengsheng fought at the Snow Pass, the Divine General Fei Dian often lurked nearby. Young geniuses like the Seven Laws of the Divine Kingdom, Zhuang Huanyu, Su Moyu, and Zhong Hui all received such treatment. The demons chose to carry out assassinations in the Garden of Zhou precisely because it was unique—human senior experts couldn’t enter, and the young human cultivators had to protect themselves.
Of course, those young human cultivators would certainly have life-saving artifacts. Someone like Chen Changsheng, who was so favored by the Pope, even more so. It was just that… Chen Changsheng had far too many artifacts, and they were all so rare and powerful. Whether it was the legendary Yellow Paper Umbrella or the Thousand-Mile Button, which cultivators treasured as if it were their own lives, they were all top-tier artifacts on the continent!
As for the seemingly ordinary short sword in his hand, its unimaginable sharpness even made Liu Xiaowan feel a hint of fear.
According to their original plan, the demon experts who had infiltrated the Garden of Zhou used the rumors of the Sword Pool as a lure, gathering by the lake. With the traitor hidden among the humans, they would launch a sudden attack, easily killing Chen Changsheng, Zhe Xiu, and Qi Jian. That would complete three-quarters of their mission. Then they would rendezvous with their master and kill Xu Yourong.
Who could have imagined that such a meticulous plan would ultimately be foiled by Chen Changsheng alone?
Zhe Xiu had been poisoned by the Peacock Feather, and Qi Jian’s abdomen had been pierced by a sword, likely causing severe damage to his internal organs and meridians. But at least they had left the lakeside and were not yet dead.
Liu Xiaowan looked at Liang Xiaoxiao, her gaze falling on the cloud-patterned silk ribbon on his left wrist. She nodded.
She didn’t know this disciple of the Li Mountain Sword Sect, only that he was one of the Three Laws of the Divine Kingdom, renowned in the south, and the human who would help them, as the strategist had said before entering the garden.
Liang Xiaoxiao’s face was still pale, and his voice trembled slightly, but his tone was firm. “We must confirm Qi Jian is dead… Everyone who came here must die.”
Chen Changsheng had used a precious Thousand-Mile Button to send Zhe Xiu and Qi Jian away. If this were the real world, no matter how powerful these demon experts were, they couldn’t catch up. Unfortunately, this was the Garden of Zhou, with natural spatial barriers. Zhe Xiu and Qi Jian couldn’t have truly gone a thousand miles away; they must still be within the garden.
The key point was that Liu Xiaowan could track their whereabouts at any time.
“I don’t need to kill you, and I’m quite satisfied with that, because I really like you.”
She looked at Chen Changsheng with a gentle expression. “It’s rare for me to like a human. Just now, you earnestly advised me not to eat human flesh. Other humans, including many of my own people, upon hearing the rumors about my husband and me, would only feel disgust or fear. No one has ever seriously advised me like you did. You’re a very unusual child.”
“Unfortunately, you can’t live, because that’s the strategist’s order.”
With that, she picked up the broken iron pot, her figure suddenly blurring as she drifted across the lake. Teng Xiaoming re-tied the two baskets to his carrying pole and followed her.
Only the demon beauty, the dignified woman, and Liang Xiaoxiao remained by the lake.
Chen Changsheng looked at Liang Xiaoxiao and asked a question: “Why?”
This was something he desperately wanted to know, and also what Qi Jian most wanted to know. In the past few hundred years, it was rare for humans to serve the demons. Moreover, Liang Xiaoxiao, as one of the Seven Laws of the Divine Kingdom, had an infinitely bright and promising future. The demons couldn’t possibly offer him greater benefits or prospects. No matter how he thought about it, his betrayal made no sense.
Liang Xiaoxiao didn’t answer. He slowly raised his sword, his brows and eyes filled with frost.
“Leaving the three of us here, don’t you think that underestimates you? You know, I’m even curious if you have any other treasures on you.”
The demon beauty spoke to him in a seductive voice.
The couple had gone to pursue Qi Jian and Zhe Xiu, which might seem like a slight, but Chen Changsheng didn’t think so. Behind this conspiracy was the mysterious and fearsome Black-Robed Master. Countless deeds over countless years had already proven that the demon strategist never miscalculated. If the demons left three people to kill him, it meant those three were definitely capable of doing so.
“The youngest dean of the National Academy in human history, about to die so quietly. Even I feel a bit melancholic.” The demon beauty sighed as she looked at him.
The dignified, beautiful woman had an aura completely opposite to hers, yet when they stood together, they really did look alike, like a pair of twins.
Vaguely, Chen Changsheng even saw behind both women a pair of wings formed from pure light, just like when their severed hands had regenerated earlier.
A powerful, cold aura emanated from the light wings behind the two women.
Chen Changsheng’s spiritual perception was very sharp. He was certain that this power was something he couldn’t resist.
Moreover, Liang Xiaoxiao’s sword—treacherous and insidious, but undeniably powerful—was still nearby.
Several of his ribs were already broken, and the surface of his arm bones was covered in countless cracks. He had nearly spat blood several times earlier but had forced it back down. His sea of consciousness had been severely shaken, and his already obstructed meridians were now even more sluggish in circulating true essence. Though he appeared uninjured on the surface, his wounds were very severe.
Clearly, his enemies were well aware of this.
This was a battle with no suspense, even if he had powerful artifacts and a sharp short sword.
If the fight continued much longer, he could barely lift the umbrella, let alone hold the sword hilt. What use would he be?
But Chen Changsheng didn’t have that awareness.
He held the umbrella in one hand and the sword in the other, his expression still earnest and focused.
Despair? No, as long as he persisted, there would always be hope.
In the distant forest, the figure seemed hesitant.
If he could demonstrate his will and ability in this battle, it might help that person gain more courage.
Besides, he had been waiting for good news from the Black Dragon’s return.
…
…
The white ceremonial robe swayed gently in the mountain wind. The young girl walked silently along the ridge, somewhat lonely, and thus weary, but her expression remained serene.
Looking at the longbow the girl carried on her back, the Black Dragon felt a sense of wariness and fear. Clearly, she had come to find her, but suddenly, she didn’t want to get close.
The Black Dragon’s gaze followed the white-clad girl’s footprints into the distance, seeing the peak that stretched into the depths of the grassland.
At this moment, the sun was once again setting in the west. The mysterious grassland began to burn again, and the peak turned blood-red.
The strange feeling she had when she saw that peak the day before arose again in the Black Dragon’s consciousness.
She wanted to go over there and take a look. Something seemed to be calling to her from afar.
But she didn’t dare go.
Because at this moment, on the summit of Mu Valley, amidst the ten thousand rays of sunset, sat a girl of about ten years old and an old man playing a zither.
The Black Dragon’s eyesight was excellent. She could even see the childishness in the girl’s brows.
She was very clear that the wariness and unease she had felt earlier came half from the white-clad girl’s longbow and half from this girl’s brows.
As the highest-blooded and proudest Frost Dragon in the world, she felt utterly ashamed of this wariness and unease.
If she were in her true form, whether it was the white-clad girl, the young girl, or the old man playing the zither, she could easily swallow them in one gulp without even needing a sip of water.
But now, she was merely a dragon soul attached to a jade ruyi.
She had no ability to participate in the battle between Chen Changsheng and those demon experts.
As for the battle about to begin now, she couldn’t even get close.
The girl in the white ceremonial robe continued silently crossing the mountains.
The girl with indifferent brows continued waiting on the other side of the mountain.
No matter how long it took, they would eventually meet.
…
…
Among the wild grass covering the mountain, a trail of crushed vegetation suddenly appeared, spreading downward as if a large stone were rolling down.
What rolled down from the mountain wasn’t a stone—it was Zhe Xiu and Qi Jian.
The sharp grass blades and hard rocks left no marks on Zhe Xiu’s face.
Qi Jian lay limply on his shoulder, his black hair disheveled, his small face pale.
Zhe Xiu carried Qi Jian on his back, running wildly toward the setting sun, blood constantly dripping down.
By now, they had passed through the lake where heaven and earth were reversed and reached the world on this side of the cliff.
He didn’t know that the demon general couple was chasing behind him, nor that they could track his whereabouts at any time. But his instinctive keen sense of danger made him extremely alert. He could almost hear the footsteps behind him, even the strange sound of the broken iron pot.
He had to go faster.
But the next moment, he suddenly stopped.
Qi Jian opened his eyes with difficulty, looking at the straight road ahead, and asked weakly, “What’s wrong?”
Zhe Xiu stared expressionlessly at the road before him and asked, “Which way now?”
Qi Jian’s voice was faint. “How should I know?”
Because of some incidents during the Grand Examination matches, he had always detested this wolf-tribe youth and didn’t want any interaction with him. Now, being carried on his back was already humiliating and painful enough. And now this guy was asking him, the severely wounded one, for directions? Utterly useless.
“I can’t see anymore. So from now on, you’ll guide the way.”
Zhe Xiu’s voice was calm, without any emotional fluctuation.
The sunset reflected in his eyes—not red, but a deep green.
The Peacock Feather poison had finally taken effect.
The sunset also illuminated the mountain path, making it quieter and even longer.
…
…
(Brave young men and women, see you tomorrow.)