Chapter 338: The Brightest Star in the Night Sky
For a divine beast of the Golden-Winged Great Peng’s caliber, its might was enough to shake heaven and earth. In the time that had already passed, if it had so wished, a single flap of its wings would have left Chen Changsheng, without his ten thousand swords by his side, utterly defenseless, doomed to death and soul’s demise. Yet for some unknown reason, it had remained as a silent shadow drifting in the sky, never launching an attack on the mausoleum—until now, when Nanke used some secret art to cast her divine sense into that shadow, bringing forth this scene before their eyes.
Or perhaps, as Xu Yourong and Chen Changsheng had surmised, Nanke, possessing only the Soulwood without the Soul Pivot, could not fully control the beasts of the grasslands—at least not enough to command a divine beast like the Golden-Winged Great Peng. That was why she needed so much time to summon the Peng into the world.
How could they possibly deal with this terrifying divine beast? With Chen Changsheng’s cultivation at the upper level of Penetrating Obscurity, relying solely on himself to achieve this would be nothing short of a myth. The Black Dragon still slumbered in the lake outside his Netherworld Palace; even if it awoke now, what entered the Garden of Zhou would only be a separated soul of the Black Dragon, unable to contend with a real, physical Golden-Winged Great Peng.
Even with the aid of the ten thousand remnant swords, no possibility could be seen. After all, he was not as powerful as the original owners of these swords from ages past. As the Golden-Winged Great Peng’s oppressive aura fell upon the mausoleum along with those rays of light, the ten thousand swords fell silent. Though they showed no fear, this silence clearly indicated they were no match for this Golden-Winged Great Peng.
Only the dozen or so swords that had appeared first, like the Mountain and Sea Sword and the Abstinence Sword, had their tips slightly raised, silently exuding a fierce edge, as if ready to strike at any moment. Among the ten thousand swords, these were the strongest and most proud. One sword in particular vibrated at high speed, continuously emitting a humming sound.
The trembling of the sword’s body was not from fear, but from excitement.
Watching the terrifying Golden-Winged Great Peng drift toward the mausoleum with ten thousand rays of light, this sword… was excited, eager to engage in battle with its foe.
Chen Changsheng had noticed this sword earlier.
Because this sword flew the highest among the ten thousand, the most aloof, yielding not even to the sword intent within the Yellow Paper Umbrella. It was also the brightest, reflecting the light spilling from the edge of the grasslands like the most brilliant star in the night sky, exuding an air of noble grandeur.
Looking at that sword, Chen Changsheng easily recalled the scene at the Ivy Banquet Night, when Luoluo stood before the crowd and first declared herself the daughter of the White Emperor. This kind of pride was not outwardly displayed; that nobility came from bloodline. Even if the opponent were a Golden-Winged Great Peng, how could it feel fear?
This sword was now high above the mausoleum, extremely far from the ground. Chen Changsheng reached his hand toward the sky, conveying his thoughts through the sword intent of the Yellow Paper Umbrella, then withdrew the dispersed sword intent back into the umbrella, returning freedom to the sword itself.
With a whoosh, the sword transformed into an exceptionally bright sword light, descending from the high sky to the central stone platform of the mausoleum, landing in Chen Changsheng’s hand.
Grasping the hilt, Chen Changsheng recalled the origin of this sword. When he looked again at the Golden-Winged Great Peng within that vast radiance, his gaze grew a bit more resolute.
This sword was called the Dragon’s Roar Sword, immensely powerful. Earlier, in his hand, it had severely wounded Teng Xiaoming with a single strike.
But its greater significance lay in the fact that this Dragon’s Roar Sword had once belonged to a certain prince of the Great Zhou royal family.
That prince was named Chen Xuanba, the youngest younger brother of Emperor Taizong. Gifted with extraordinary talent from childhood, he had already reached the peak of Gathering Stars at a very young age. Even in that great era of blooming wildflowers and prodigies, he was hailed as an unparalleled genius, for the blood of the true dragon flowed through his veins.
To put it another way, he was the Qiu Shanjun of that era.
Chen Xuanba died very young.
When he died, the great army from Tianliang Commandery had just captured the capital. The dynasty had not yet changed its era name, and the Great Zhou had not yet been formally established. His princely title was posthumously conferred, but no one ever questioned it. It had nothing to do with his surname; rather, the entire continent knew what role he had played in the Tianliang army’s sweep across the land.
In the thousand years of the Great Zhou royal family, this prematurely deceased heroic youth was universally acknowledged as the strongest. Although he had never fought his second brother, Emperor Taizong, before his death, no one dared to doubt this, because he had battled Zhou Dufu in the Garden of Zhou for an entire day and night before finally succumbing to exhaustion and defeat.
Now, due to certain complex reasons, few people still remembered the once-overbearing name of Chen Xuanba. Official dynastic histories recorded little about him. But those who still recalled the history of those days, whenever they thought of the name Chen Xuanba and the Dragon’s Roar Sword that once hung at his waist, would stir with many complex emotions.
Because Chen Xuanba died early, he did not participate in the bloody struggle for the throne between Emperor Taizong and his full brothers. For that prematurely deceased heroic youth, this could be considered a kind of fortune. But for the Chen royal family, it was a great misfortune. If he had lived, under the suppression of his formidable martial power, that struggle might never have erupted. Even if contradictions remained, it might not have been so brutal and bloody, ultimately leading to the slaughter of hundreds of royal family members and rivers of blood in the capital.
Of course, there was another more widely circulated theory: if Chen Xuanba had lived to later times, Emperor Taizong would never have ascended the throne. The gradually destroyed records and unofficial histories of Tianliang Commandery clearly documented that Chen Xuanba was evidently much closer to his eldest brother, Prince Jian. If he had also participated in that struggle for the throne, how could Emperor Taizong, clad in his nightgown, have survived that ambush in the Hundred Herbs Garden?
Thus, a chilling conspiracy theory emerged.
Just as the Tianliang army was about to capture the capital, the Great Zhou was about to be founded, and he was about to become a lofty prince with an incomparably brilliant future—why would Chen Xuanba voluntarily enter the Garden of Zhou to challenge Zhou Dufu? Yes, in the few remaining records, all the former witnesses wrote very clearly: this battle between peerless powerhouses was initiated by Chen Xuanba himself. Why? According to the official royal history, Chen Xuanba, seeing that the Great Zhou was about to be established and no longer needed to bear the family’s heavy burden, began to pursue the Heavenly Dao. But this explanation always lacked some persuasiveness. Most importantly, even if he was about to lose, why would he die? Even if Zhou Dufu did not care about the wrath of the Great Zhou royal family, did he not care about Emperor Taizong’s feelings? Remember, Emperor Taizong was Chen Xuanba’s own second brother and also Zhou Dufu’s sworn brother!
The past history can never be sorted out. Chen Xuanba died, Emperor Taizong died. Now, looking at this mausoleum, it could be basically confirmed that Zhou Dufu had also died. Heroes are always swept away by wind and rain, leaving only this Dragon’s Roar Sword in the Garden of Zhou to reminisce about its former glory, still as proud as ever.
A young royal, a peerless war god, the blood of the true dragon—this was Chen Xuanba.
The Dragon’s Roar Sword he used was naturally unmatched in nobility and full of pride. How could it fear the Great Peng?
Chen Changsheng looked at the Dragon’s Roar Sword, feeling the lingering pride within the blade, and inexplicably felt an immense sense of closeness.
This closeness was hard to explain, overwhelmingly strong, stirring his mind and emotions uncontrollably.
His hand trembled, and so the sword trembled as well.
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(These past two days, there have been too many family matters, so updates will be fewer. It will be better the day after tomorrow. As for today’s chapter, “The Brightest Star in the Night Sky” naturally refers to Chen Xuanba, the heroic youth of yore. He fits my aesthetic perfectly, and for the story of “Ze Tian Ji,” these two thousand words today are very important—not the main topic, but the antecedent.)