Chapter 343: The True Form of Zhou Garden
The so-called sky is the boundary of space, weightless, and its fragments are naturally lighter than the lightest falling leaves, drifting and swaying as they descend toward the grassland, sometimes in the east, sometimes appearing hundreds of miles away in the west, making it utterly impossible to track their trajectory.
No one knew how much time had passed. Under the gaze of countless terrified and despairing eyes, this fragment of sky finally landed on the surface of the grassland. Whether by intent or accident, it fell precisely onto the mountain-like Jian Beast at the rear of the beast tide. In an instant, it transformed into blindingly white flames, spewing forth infinite light and heat. The Jian Beast let out a mournful and furious cry before vanishing into the white flames. Not even ashes or smoke remained—no trace of its remains was left behind!
The grassland trembled violently. Beasts within several miles collapsed to the ground, and those slithering close to the earth like serpents were shaken until they vomited blood and died. The tremors reached the mausoleum, and countless clouds of dust burst from the gaps between the massive stones and the bluestone slabs.
The two maids, Ning Cui and Hua Qiu, were jolted awake by the tremors. Sensing the terrifying energy explosion in the distance, their faces turned pale with fear, unable to comprehend what had happened. Nan Ke closed his eyes, feeling the crack in the azure sky, and vaguely understood something. He murmured, "So that's how it is."
What had already happened could not be changed. What needed to be done was to find the source of why this event had occurred. Chen Changsheng quickly withdrew his gaze and looked toward the origin of the clear light that had shot into the sky earlier. He noticed that the light had come from a stone pillar directly in front of the mausoleum.
Around the mausoleum stood ten stone pillars of similar form. Yesterday, when he and Xu Yourong had come to Zhou Mausoleum, he had already noticed these pillars—each several zhang tall, their surfaces carved with patterns of unclear meaning. Over time, battered by wind and rain, those patterns had become blurred and indistinct, their meaning impossible to discern.
The reason he had paid attention to these ten unremarkable stone pillars was that they reminded him of the pillars outside the Li Palace, and also because, compared to the grand mausoleum, these pillars seemed too worn and shabby, creating a sense of disharmony, as if they did not belong. Now it appeared that these seemingly insignificant stone pillars were indeed unusual. Within them lay such terrifying energy, and the clear light they emitted could tear a fragment from the sky!
The sky fragment effortlessly reduced the mighty Jian Beast to nothingness, vanishing itself in the process. The grassland fell silent again, or rather, deathly still. Whether it was Chen Changsheng, the two maids, or the countless beasts, all stared at that stone pillar, gripped by an indescribable tension and unease.
Suddenly, a piece of stone skin fell from the pillar's surface. That piece was several fingers thick and several feet wide, shattering into fragments as it hit the bluestone ground with a soft crack. The sound was light, but in the deathly stillness of the grassland, it was startlingly loud. The beast tide stirred, and countless beasts collapsed in fright among the water and grass.
A moment later, another breath of energy seeped through the pillar's surface, transforming into a clear light that silently drifted away from the mausoleum.
At that instant, Chen Changsheng sensed it—a presence of immense antiquity and supreme authority.
That presence was even older than this continent itself.
What exactly were these stone pillars?
This time, the clear light did not fly toward the azure sky. Instead, it drifted casually at an angle toward the edge of the grassland, heading somewhere unknown. Countless terrified eyes followed this clear light, as if seeing it off, watching it fly a thousand miles away until it could no longer be seen.
After a long time, a dull impact sound and a distinct tremor traveled back from the edge of the grassland a thousand miles away to the mausoleum. Because of the distance, the sound was not loud, but the tremor was still violent. Countless water plants flew into the air, and dust once again filled the mausoleum.
The intense tremor nearly caused Chen Changsheng to fall, but his gaze never wavered. He kept staring at that stone pillar and noticed another piece of stone skin falling off.
The stone pillar, weathered by wind and rain, had a rough, gray surface that looked like ordinary stone. After the two pieces of stone skin peeled away, the interior of the pillar was revealed. Under the clear sky's light, it was very clearly visible—it was... black.
The energy within that stone pillar continued to seep through the surface, dispersing into streaks of clear light that danced across the grassland. Some fell into the distant sky, some landed at the far edge of the grassland, and some struck the ground not far from the mausoleum, tearing the sky, overturning the earth, and bringing forth terrifying explosions.
Those streaks of clear light contained incredibly fearsome energy, impossible to block. Even with ten thousand swords at his side, Chen Changsheng could not do it, because the energy emanating from the stone pillar far exceeded anything he could comprehend—it was a power not even recorded in the Daoist scriptures.
The heavens and earth shook. The violent energy explosion enveloped the entire Never-Setting Sun Grassland, and though unseen, it was easy to imagine that the entire Zhou Garden was now in such a state.
With the appearance of those clear lights, the stone skin on the pillar's surface kept peeling off, shattering into fragments at its base, revealing more and more of its true form. The inside of the pillar was still stone, but black in color, mottled and uneven, like an unfinished rubbing.
Looking at the pillar's mottled surface and the exposed black stone, Chen Changsheng felt a strange sense of familiarity.
Considering the possibility, his fingers gripping the sword hilt turned white, his body trembled slightly, and his lips were parched. Earlier, facing the Golden-Winged Roc, he had dared to draw his sword and fight. But now, looking at that stone pillar, it seemed he had even lost the courage to draw his sword.
He thought in shock... it couldn't be!
The stone pillar continued to emit clear light, and the stone skin kept peeling off, revealing more and more of the black interior.
The violent energy explosions finally converged, turning into countless terrifying hurricanes that began to rage wildly across the grassland.
The tremors throughout Zhou Garden all transmitted to the mausoleum, reaching beneath his feet.
Even more terrifying was that the other nine stone pillars around the mausoleum also began to tremble slightly, with gravel falling from their surfaces. Those fearsome energies were about to emerge.
Chen Changsheng gripped his sword hilt, knowing he should do something but not knowing what to do, his mind somewhat dazed.
The sword hilt trembled slightly.
So, the ten thousand remnant swords buried in the grassland were meant to suppress these stone pillars—or more precisely, to temporarily seal the energy within them.
Now, the sword sea had been taken away by him, and the things hidden within these ten stone pillars were about to appear.
What exactly were these stone pillars?
Chen Changsheng had already guessed, but he couldn't believe it, didn't want to believe it.
Yet, this had already truly happened.
The stone skin on that pillar had mostly peeled off.
A square black stone gradually revealed itself between heaven and earth.
Standing tall between heaven and earth.
Though some stone skin still clung to the black stone's surface, the intricate, enigmatic lines were already visible.
Of course Chen Changsheng should feel familiar—anyone who had stared at them for so many days couldn't help but feel familiar.
In that mausoleum south of the capital, he had seen many things similar to this black stone.
The black stone's surface was covered with countless lines—lines that were patterns, that were script. A square stone carved with script was naturally a stele.
So, the black stone was a stele.
A black stone stele.
A Heavenly Book Stele.
...
...
(Today, for certain reasons, I was particularly irritated. To distract myself, I set up a lottery on Sina Weibo, same as last time, purely for fun. After updating, I'll post the lottery tweet. Everyone is welcome to join—real money and silver, hoping to lift my spirits. I was actually writing quite happily recently, but encountering something like this... well, everyone knows my Weibo name, right? If not, let me say it again: Mao Ni Is Too Powerful. Yes, with such a shameless ID, it's definitely mine. See you all tomorrow.)