Chapter 344: The Lost Stele, the Powerless Maiden
Countless years ago, the Heavenly Book transformed into falling stars and descended upon the world, landing south of what is now the capital. A burial mound rose from the earth, and that was the Heavenly Book Mound. Countless steles were scattered across it, fused with the land itself, impossible to separate or move. Neither the Daoist scriptures nor the historical records contained any account of these steles ever leaving the Heavenly Book Mound. So when Chen Changsheng spent a single day at the Heavenly Book Mound reading the seventeen steles of the outer mound, only to find a broken stele beneath the final stele pavilion, he was shocked to wonder who could have possibly broken a Heavenly Book Stele and taken it away.
Now, looking at the stone pillar beneath the tomb, radiating a clear light with its stone skin peeling away, he realized that the Heavenly Book Stele that had left the Mound was inside this pillar. So it was Zhou Du|fu who had broken the stele and taken it away all those years ago. That made sense—besides Zhou Du|fu, who else in the world could have done something so astonishing? He glanced at the other nine stone pillars surrounding the tomb, and his body grew stiffer. If these pillars were also Heavenly Book Steles, then hadn’t Zhou Du|fu taken ten steles from the Heavenly Book Mound back then?
So this was the greatest secret of the Zhou Garden.
None of the legacies left by previous generations of experts, not even the Sword Pool or Zhou Du|fu’s Two-Slash Blade Technique, could compare to the secrets hidden within these pillars.
Just as he was reeling from these thoughts, the other nine stone pillars began to emit an aura that seemed to come from ancient times, and a clear light gradually rose.
The clear light fell upon the sky, tearing it into fragments. Those fragments landed on the grassland, unleashing an energy storm beyond imagination. Heaven and earth changed color. The hurricane raging across the grassland grew increasingly terrifying, even lifting the mountain-heavy demonic beasts and the rocks beneath the wet mud. The earth trembled more violently, and no demonic beast could stay on its feet; they all fell to the ground. The demonic birds that had barely managed to take to the sky couldn’t fly out of the grassland in time before being swept away by countless air currents to distant lands, their fates unknown.
The grassland and the outer reaches of the Zhou Garden world fell into chaos, on the verge of destruction. Even this magnificent tomb began to tremble. Massive stones were torn apart by the energy storm, turning into heavy boulders that rolled down from the heights with thunderous roars, crushing many demonic beasts that couldn’t dodge in time.
The hurricane swept between the tombs. Nanke closed her eyes, waiting for death in the gale, and was instantly lifted up, drifting toward the rear of the grassland. Her two maids, Ning Cui and Hua Qiu, let out mournful cries, burning their spiritual bodies desperately, transforming into two streams of spiritual light that flew to her side. In an instant, they became wings of light, attaching themselves to her body.
The howling wind carried Nanke’s body far away, and the light wings quickly turned into specks of light, vanishing in the blink of an eye. Watching this scene, Chen Changsheng calmed down. Using the Yashiki Step to break through the wind’s tearing force, he returned to the front of the tomb’s main gate. His left hand gripped the short sword, stabbing it into the thick stone door, while his right hand reached out to Xu Yourong.
He was about to untie Xu Yourong’s belt and bind her to himself.
Xu Yourong woke up, looking at the chaotic grassland before her with a dazed expression. But when she saw the ten stone pillars in front of the tomb radiating clear light, she quickly deduced everything. Her face turned deathly pale, and she murmured, “So he really did put them in the Zhou Garden.”
A beam of clear light fell not far from the tomb’s main gate. The sacred path collapsed, and a violent tremor shook the ground.
Chen Changsheng was thrown back against the stone wall. His right hand gripped the sword hilt tightly, but he couldn’t hold onto her as the hurricane tried to sweep him away.
The Tong Bow in Xu Yourong’s hand swayed in the wind, transforming back into the lush green parasol tree. Its roots clung tightly to the stone wall, helping her stabilize herself.
In the howling wind, green leaves fell one by one, and strands of black hair drifted across her pale face and slightly vacant eyes.
Chen Changsheng shouted at her, “How do we stop this?”
Since entering the grassland, he had grown accustomed to listening to her advice. He knew the wisdom and insight she possessed, and earlier he had vaguely heard her words. Though he didn’t understand why she was so familiar with this matter—needing only one look to grasp what was happening.
Xu Yourong had spent days and nights studying the Heavenly Book at the Saintess Peak and shared a deep bond with the Holy Empress, which was why she knew this secret that almost no one else was aware of. Staring at the ten stone pillars, she was shocked beyond words. After a moment, she came to her senses and muttered to herself, “…Two are still missing.”
Back then, Zhou Du|fu had cut down twelve Heavenly Book Steles at the Heavenly Book Mound. Now, only ten surrounded the tomb. Where were the other two? Even in such a tense moment, she, who had been immersed in the meanings of the Heavenly Book day and night, subconsciously thought of this question first before hearing Chen Changsheng’s voice.
Her fingers quickly traced patterns on the ground, calculating the relative positions of the ten stone pillars around the tomb and deducing the connections between them. She was already extremely weak and had been asleep for a long time. Waking up to perform such complex calculations drained her mental energy severely. In an instant, her face turned as pale as snow.
The hurricane carried gravel and slammed it into the tomb, producing terrifying sounds. The hard cliff rock was instantly pitted with countless holes. Even the parasol tree, transformed from the Tong Bow, swayed precariously, its green leaves falling continuously, on the verge of being shattered. Seeing this, Chen Changsheng didn’t hesitate. Risking it, he pulled the short sword out of the cliff rock, took advantage of a gap in the wind, and struggled to move to Xu Yourong’s side. He opened the yellow paper umbrella to shield her from the gravel flying like arrows.
The yellow paper umbrella rang out with heavy thuds.
Beneath the umbrella, it was quiet. Chen Changsheng said nothing, not wanting to disturb her calculations.
After an unknown amount of time, Xu Yourong shook her head and said, “I can’t figure it out.”
Chen Changsheng’s gaze passed over the edge of the umbrella and landed on the stone pillar in front of the tomb. He said, “There must be a way.”
This wasn’t blind optimism but a stubborn belief. Since Zhou Du|fu had been able to suppress these Heavenly Book Steles back then, they should be able to do the same. Their current cultivation levels were far inferior to Zhou Du|fu’s in his prime, but the method should be there, waiting for them to discover it.
“The positions and relationships of these ten stone pillars are subtle. It should be some kind of formation, allowing the energy between them to counteract each other and form a balance. Logically, it shouldn’t be this violent. I can’t figure out what’s wrong.”
Xu Yourong was very weak at this moment, and as she spoke these words, she showed a rare hint of frustration.
Chen Changsheng said, “Earlier, the Sword Pool was responsible for suppressing the balance. Now that I’ve taken the Sword Pool, if I release the Ten Thousand Swords now, would it help?”
Without needing too many details, Xu Yourong understood from his brief words what had happened while she was unconscious. Before she could express surprise, she began calculating again. But even adding the Sword Pool as a variable, she found that this still didn’t add up.
To calm those stone pillars again, to make this great formation work again, to restore balance to heaven and earth… more Heavenly Book Steles were needed.
But where could she find them? Who knew where the remaining two of the twelve steles Zhou Du|fu had taken from the Heavenly Book Mound were? And even if they found those two steles, the Zhou Garden world was collapsing now. Who could stop the sky from falling?
So, it was useless.
Whether it was the Sword Pool reappearing or calming these pillars again, it was all useless now.
The Zhou Garden was about to be destroyed. Everyone inside—humans, demons, and demonic beasts—would turn to ashes or be swept into the void.
Xu Yourong looked down at her trembling fingers, pressing her lips tightly together, like a stubborn little girl feeling heartbroken.
She felt utterly useless.
Chen Changsheng understood and said no more. At this moment, with one hand holding the sword and the other the umbrella, he couldn’t pat her shoulder to comfort her, nor could he embrace her to give her warmth. So he moved closer to her, sitting nearer, his shoulder gently brushing against hers, hoping to offer her some support.
The hurricane carried countless gravel pieces, pounding against the yellow paper umbrella’s surface, bringing terrifying vibrations and sounds, like war drums being beaten by a giant. If the umbrella’s defensive power weren’t so immense, they would have died by now.
Under the umbrella, it was quiet.
Xu Yourong leaned against his shoulder, looking utterly powerless.
…
…
(The next chapter before nine o’clock.)