Chapter 60: What Does the Heavenly Mechanism Mean?
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At the summit of Cold Mountain, a deep blue lake stretched to unknown depths. Despite the extreme cold all around, mist still rose from the lake's surface.
On the cliffs by the lake and in the wild grasslands, stones of various sizes could be seen everywhere. Of course, most of the stones were still soaking in the lake water—some sunk to the bottom, others showing only their tips. Several dragon cranes that had flown north from the south for the summer stood atop them, leisurely preening their feathers.
This lake was the Heavenly Pool, formed by hot springs that converged from unknown sources. These stones were the Heavenly Stones, which had fallen from the sky in the earliest days of antiquity. Although they were not like the stone tablets in the Heavenly Book Mausoleum, which had received the worship and adoration of countless people for generations, here in this remote cold mountain, they lived more freely and gained more rustic charm.
An old man sat on a stone by the lake, his eyes closed, as if basking in the sun and resting his mind.
Behind the stone, in the pavilions and towers, there were at least several hundred stewards and subordinates, yet not a single sound was made.
The Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion had always been the most famous yet most mysterious place on the continent.
The various rankings it issued were the most fair and objective, highly authoritative, and no one had ever dared to question them. Its reputation in the world was extremely lofty. Moreover, it operated numerous merchant associations, its tendrils reaching everywhere. Even ordinary commoners knew the name of the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion, yet few knew where it actually was.
But to the high-ranking figures of the cultivation world, the location of the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion was never a secret.
The Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion owned countless properties and estates across the continent, and even possessed more than twenty famous mountains as its cave dwellings.
Wherever the Heavenly Mechanism Old Man lived, that place was the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion.
The old man by the lake was the Heavenly Mechanism Old Man.
When he closed his eyes to rest his mind, everyone in Cold Mountain naturally had to remain silent.
Suddenly, the Heavenly Mechanism Old Man opened his eyes.
His weathered, wisdom-filled eyes were full of shock. He was the foremost among the Eight Winds and Rains, his realm and strength profound and ineffable, and he was especially skilled in deduction and calculation. What in this world could escape his eyes? What could possibly surprise even him?
Without hesitation, the Heavenly Mechanism Old Man raised his right hand and pointed toward the mist on the surface of the Heavenly Pool.
A faint yet resilient aura traveled from his fingertip to the lake's surface, instantly stirring the thick mist into constant churning.
Within the churning mist, many images vaguely appeared.
Those images reflected into his eyes, becoming countless fragments of thought.
"What exactly has happened?"
"Why would you leave Snow Old City to take a risk in Cold Mountain?"
"And how could you manage to deceive my eyes? Black Robe... is it you?"
"The North and South are merging; the demon race would naturally try to disrupt it, but there's no reason for you to come personally. Besides, what use would it be to come here?"
"A thousand years ago, you were severely wounded by Zhou Du|fu, and afterward, you hid in Snow Old City to recover. Even when Black Robe plotted to surround and kill Su Li, you only helped with Night Dome, not daring to set foot outside Snow Old City. Wasn't that because you feared being injured by Su Li's outburst? So why do you dare to leave Snow Old City today?"
"There can only be two reasons for you to leave Snow Old City: one, your injury has healed; two, you have found a way to cure that old wound."
"Is that method here in Cold Mountain right now?"
"Who is it?"
"Is it him?"
"What treasure does he carry? Or do you simply want to kill him?"
"Why did Tianhai want me to go see him? Is there any connection between these two things?"
"What exactly is happening... that even I cannot see through?"
"Chen Changsheng, who exactly are you?"
"If you want to kill Chen Changsheng, why not do it on the road? Why insist on coming to Cold Mountain? I understand—it's because Mao Qiuyu and the King of Linghai have been traveling with him all the way. It's even possible that the Pope had them bring the national treasure of the Church. You're worried they might delay you... You're worried this is a trap we've set."
"After that incident, whether it's you or us, everything looks like a trap."
"So you chose to come to Cold Mountain to kill Chen Changsheng, as long as you could deceive me."
"However, you didn't expect that Liu Qing and Little De would see through it in advance, forcing you to buy this much time."
"Now, it's up to me to make a choice."
Countless thoughts were born in the Heavenly Mechanism Old Man's mind, countless calculations were carried out simultaneously, and countless subtle auras coalesced into images in his sea of consciousness.
A flash of lightning lit up among the clouds, a wisp of morning mist scattered before the light. In an extremely short time, he had thought through so many things.
At the same time, his fingers trembled slightly in the lake breeze, tearing countless channels through the mist on the water's surface.
An indescribably powerful aura enveloped the entire Heavenly Pool.
Countless stones left the grass, left the cliffs, left the lake water, and flew toward the sky.
The lake water gurgled, grass clippings and soil fell in a rustling shower, and the lake's surface churned restlessly.
From the peak of Cold Mountain to the distant sky, stones were suspended everywhere.
Each stone was a black dot, and between every two black dots was an invisible line. Countless invisible lines wove together into a net.
This net of stones covered an area of five hundred li around Cold Mountain.
The middle-aged scholar was inside it.
Yet the worry in the Heavenly Mechanism Old Man's eyes did not diminish; instead, it deepened.
Even at this moment, he still could not calculate what it was about Chen Changsheng that could lure this person away from Snow Old City to take such a risk here.
...
...
The snow on the mountain path drifted slowly. Dark clouds gathered over the peaks, making it seem like night. From far away came the faint sound of tearing.
Chen Changsheng did not know that countless Heavenly Stones were floating in the sky, turning the entire Cold Mountain into a prison.
His mind was completely focused on the middle-aged scholar by the stream.
The next moment, his gaze met the middle-aged scholar's.
Like a thunderclap in his mind, his face turned even paler, drained of all color.
Snow could conceal all colors; only blood could give birth to color.
He had already guessed who the middle-aged scholar was, and now he understood the information in the other's gaze, knowing his purpose.
The ending awaiting him was not death, but something more terrifying than death.
The ending he had feared most since that night in the old temple many years ago.
...
...
Dark clouds gathered over the peaks, and night fell.
Mao Qiuyu and the King of Linghai sensed it at the same time. They looked up toward the depths of the mountain range, their expressions instantly becoming extremely grave.
"Making things too big won't do."
Mao Qiuyu withdrew his gaze, staring at the King of Linghai, his eyes sharp as blades. His sleeves moved without wind, and his hands seemed to grip something within them.
The King of Linghai's face was unusually ugly, and he growled, "It has nothing to do with me!"
The anomaly in Cold Mountain truly had nothing to do with the King of Linghai. As Chen Changsheng and the others had deduced, Little De's attack on the mountain path—as the strongest contender for the next Pope—was indeed an arrangement by him and certain people behind the scenes. But how could he have summoned this night?
...
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(Next chapter at 8 PM.)