Chapter 23: That Man's Mausoleum
Xu Yourong and Chen Changsheng had deliberately spoken and acted this way.
This did not mean they were truly calm, as unaffected as they appeared, but rather that only by doing so could they cool down in the shortest possible time.
Xu Yourong wore a satisfied and peaceful smile on her face. To finally see this legendary mausoleum before death, to approach the true secret of the Zhou Garden, was certainly worth celebrating.
Chen Changsheng glanced at the yellow paper umbrella several times, confirming there was no movement. That sword intent had vanished the moment they saw this mausoleum. He did not know what this signified.
Had that sword intent completed its task of guiding the way? Was the Sword Pool near this mausoleum? Surrounding the mausoleum was an endless white grassland. About a dozen li away, a few old temples could be faintly seen. They were not main temples but likely auxiliary shrines. There was no lake or pond. Where could the Sword Pool be?
Chen Changsheng did not ponder for long. Carrying Xu Yourong on his back, he walked toward the mausoleum. Before long, they arrived before the stone path that seemed like the Heavenly Way itself.
As he stepped onto the stone path, dust kicked up beneath his soles. For some reason, he gradually quickened his pace, until finally he was running.
Xu Yourong, holding his neck, smiled to herself. After all, he was a young man in his twenties. No matter how calm and composed he appeared, it was only a facade. It made sense—the Snow Mountain Sect inherited the bloodline of the Frost Azure Dragon, and the Frost Azure Dragon was the dragon clan’s most notorious lover of gold and treasure. This mausoleum was surely filled with countless riches. How could his steps not be hurried?
Chen Changsheng’s injuries were gradually healing. Though still weary, he was fast. In no time, he carried Xu Yourong to the end of this divine path, thousands of zhang long, arriving at the belly of this enormous mausoleum. Facing the heavy stone door, about ten zhang high, he took a deep breath and pushed forward with both palms, only to find it surprisingly easy.
Silently, the mausoleum door swung open. From the widening gap, fine dust and gravel sprayed out.
Chen Changsheng drew his short sword, holding it before him, and stepped into the mausoleum, highly alert.
Xu Yourong leaned against his shoulder, her expression equally grave. Her fingers flexed and straightened continuously as she silently calculated and deduced.
This mausoleum could be said to be the most mysterious place in the Eastern Continent, housing the man who had once terrified the entire world.
Now they naturally understood that the mysterious Land of the Never-Setting Sun was merely the cemetery of this mausoleum.
Even the cemetery was so vast and perilous, let alone the main body of the mausoleum.
No one knew what lay within this mausoleum.
Just a few steps past the stone door, suddenly, in the distant darkness, a light flickered to life, like someone lighting a bonfire on a plain on a starless night.
Chen Changsheng stared into the distance, ready to fight or flee at any moment.
The next moment, a second light appeared deep within the mausoleum. Then, more and more lights emerged in sequence, coming toward them, forming two bright lines.
Finally, the light reached them. It turned out to be the night pearls embedded in the corridor walls glowing.
These night pearls were perfectly round, crystal clear, each the size of a bowl.
They were not as flawless as the one Luo Luo had given him, but they were certainly no smaller than those on the Sweet Dew Terrace. And this corridor was long, leading deep into the mausoleum. The walls held at least several thousand night pearls. It was truly unimaginable where Zhou Dufu had found so many nearly identical night pearls when building his own mausoleum.
Under the soft glow of the night pearls, he carried Xu Yourong deeper into the mausoleum.
This corridor leading to the depths of the mausoleum should be the Nether Path in imperial-standard mausoleums, meaning the path to the underworld. Of course, in the scriptures of the state religion, this corridor was usually called the Bright Path, meaning the path to the infinite divine kingdom of light in the sea of stars. Just as the stone path spanning thousands of zhang outside the mausoleum was called the Divine Path, it carried the same meaning.
Walking through the long corridor, only the echo of footsteps could be heard. Even with the night pearls lighting the way, it still felt somewhat eerie and terrifying.
Chen Changsheng suddenly felt a faint chill at his heart. He sent a strand of divine sense inward and found that in the cold lake outside his Nether Palace, the Black Dragon seemed to be showing signs of waking. He was slightly startled, then a smile touched his lips. He thought, truly worthy of the legendary Frost Azure Dragon, the most fond of jewels and crystals. Even in slumber, it could sense the presence of these night pearls.
Xu Yourong saw the sudden smile on his face and was puzzled, finding it somewhat strange. She softly asked about it.
Chen Changsheng didn’t know how to explain, so he just smiled again, looking a bit foolish.
Contrary to their expectations, this corridor had no traps and no guardian beasts. They walked all the way to the deepest part of the mausoleum without anything happening.
At the end of the Bright Path was another stone door.
When Chen Changsheng placed his palm on it, he naturally recalled the time during the Green Vine Banquet when Mo Yu had trapped him in the Tong Palace. He had walked to the bottom of the Black Dragon Pool and pushed open that stone door. Back then, he had pushed it open with the resolve to die, never expecting to meet the Black Dragon behind it. That encounter had since saved his life several times.
Pushing open this stone door, what would he encounter?
With a very faint grinding sound, the stone door slowly swung open.
This door had not been opened for several hundred years.
Behind it lay a world that had not been visited for centuries.
Stone pillars, dozens of zhang high, supported the dome.
The space felt immense.
The depths of the mausoleum were not a burial chamber, but a palace.
At the deepest part of the palace stood a black stone coffin.
Chen Changsheng carried Xu Yourong to the black stone coffin and only then realized it was enormous, like a black stone mountain.
Standing before the black stone coffin, their figures seemed very small.
This coffin was made of obsidian. Its surface was dull and lusterless, exuding a somber aura. No seams or signs of assembly could be seen. It was highly likely carved from a single piece of obsidian.
Chen Changsheng silently wondered, could this really be a black stone mountain?
The surface of the obsidian coffin had no patterns, no text to identify the occupant. This only made it more solemn.
The man lying quietly in this obsidian coffin needed no patterns to add luster to his name, no inscriptions to sing his praises.
When that man was young, he was called the strongest in Luoshui.
Later, he defeated the Taizong Emperor outside Luoyang and was called the strongest in the Central Plains.
Later, he traveled south, consecutively defeating countless experts from the Longevity Sect and the Huai Court, leveling the mountain gate of the Southern Stream Sect, and tearing off the veil of the Saintess of that era. From then on, he was called the strongest among humans.
Later, surrounded by countless demon clan experts, he gravely wounded the Demon Lord and drifted away. Thus, he was called the strongest on the continent.
This title of strongest on the continent was not even limited by time, not confined to that era. Looking back five hundred years and forward five hundred years, he was the strongest, without equal.
Thus, he also had the title of the Millennium’s Strongest.
Surveying the world with no rival. Perhaps it was that loneliness that made him vanish, leaving behind a legend that could never be replicated.
Finally, the world called him the strongest under the stars.
He used an entire obsidian mountain as his coffin, a land of the never-setting sun as his cemetery, and a world as his burial mound. What need was there for a tombstone, to carve his name upon it?
He was Zhou Dufu.
He could only be Zhou Dufu.
Standing before the giant obsidian coffin, Chen Changsheng was silent for a moment. He gave a simple bow, then carried Xu Yourong onward, not lingering longer.
Xu Yourong couldn’t understand his calmness and asked, “You should know who lies in this black stone coffin.”
Chen Changsheng recited like a lesson, “The strongest under the stars, the undefeated legend, the sworn elder brother of His Majesty the Taizong Emperor of the Great Zhou.”
“If it were only strength, that wouldn’t be enough to make the world remember him for so long,” Xu Yourong said. “There is a crucial reason why humanity was able to defeat the demon clan, one that history and people have deliberately forgotten: Zhou Dufu defeated and gravely wounded the Demon Lord.”
Chen Changsheng did not stop but quickened his pace instead. “I know this matter, and I understand its importance.”
“So, besides being a legend, he was also a hero,” Xu Yourong said. “Most of the young cultivators I’ve met regard him as an idol, worshiping him fanatically. If they could come before Zhou Dufu’s coffin, they would surely kneel and bow earnestly, not be as indifferent as you.”
“If it were another time, I might do the same,” Chen Changsheng said. “But now we have no time to dwell on the past. Besides, he is dead after all.”
Xu Yourong asked, “So?”
Chen Changsheng said, “No matter how heroic, how great the legend, once dead, they cannot wake up and tell us how to survive. Our situation is dire. If at such a time we only think of mourning our predecessors, then we will soon become the ones mourned. Or more likely, we will be quickly forgotten.”
With these words, they arrived at the stone steps behind the mausoleum hall. Before them was a row of doors. The ground in front of the doors was covered in a thin layer of dust, showing no traces, not even the mark of wind. It seemed this mausoleum had indeed never been opened, never entered. They were the first visitors.
Like the mausoleum’s main door, these stone chamber doors were also unlocked.
Entering the first stone chamber, a stale, decayed wind rushed at them. He held his breath, squinted, and looked into the room by the light filtering from behind. Inside, there were many decayed wooden shelves, with at least several hundred magical artifacts scattered about in disarray. From their shapes, these artifacts must have been extraordinary, but because they had been idle for so long, their spiritual aura had dissipated, making them no different from scrap metal.
Suddenly, Xu Yourong let out a soft gasp.
Chen Changsheng followed her gaze and saw, in the pile of rotten wood in the farthest corner, something vaguely visible.
(I’m extremely annoyed by the banned words. Zhou Dufu appears so many times in Ze Tian Ji. Tiring aside, the key issue is it looks unsightly. Also, the problem of how the snow marten, after being turned into green smoke by Xu Yourong, becomes roasted meat in Chen Changsheng’s hands… this is completely unsolvable. I can only say, for the sake of sacrifice, dare to make the marten die three times. The next chapter will still be after seven in the evening.)