Chapter 777: One More Sword
That stone bead looked very ordinary, and that seal also showed no special features.
Only Transcendents of the Sacred Domain could clearly perceive the violent energy hidden within, enough to overturn heaven and earth.
Ever since he had infiltrated the Zhou Garden many years ago, that seal had been tied to the Demon Lord's waist, and he was very experienced with it. Thus, he could conclude that the Zhou Garden had now fallen into Chen Changsheng's hands, though he hadn't yet figured out how Chen Changsheng, with his cultivation level, could use that stone bead.
One must know that even with his own extremely high cultivation level, he had to handle it with caution. How could Chen Changsheng possibly manage it?
Three more stone beads flew over from the night.
In the world on the Demon Lord's face, a snowstorm suddenly fell, making it seem incomparably grim.
With a slight shift of his divine sense, the position of the seal in the night sky underwent some extremely subtle changes, and a breeze arose without cause.
The deep, night-like aura emanating from the Demon Lord then became exceptionally bright and righteous, as if sacred.
The changes in the seal's position and his aura fell upon those four stone beads. This was contact, but also an inquiry, a communication.
The violent aura within the three stone beads gradually calmed down.
The stone beads and the seal floated in the night sky, reflecting starlight and glowing faintly, looking like real stars.
Their relative positions to each other remained static, as if eternal, like a star chart.
This can actually work? Watching this scene, Chen Changsheng's mind was shaken, and he felt the night wind rushing toward him grow even colder, even biting to the bone.
"Back then, I comprehended the marvelous essence of fixing stars by observing the star chart at the Heavenly Book Mausoleum. I never thought that over a thousand years later, I would have the chance to use it for the first time."
Thinking of those past events, even the Demon Lord felt a surge of emotion. Looking at the stone beads and the seal in the night sky, it was as if he could see the future.
The Heavenly Book Stele that Chen Changsheng had obtained in the Zhou Garden was undoubtedly his strongest and final trump card, now broken. Soon, he would drink all of Chen Changsheng's true blood and obtain so many Heavenly Book Steles. He believed that the injuries that had plagued him for a thousand years would heal completely in one go, and his cultivation level might even break through again.
Then he would return to the Snow Old City, kill all the traitors, cast his rebellious son into the abyss, reclaim the throne, lead his army southward, pass through Tianliang into the capital, break through Li Mountain to reach the Southern Sea, unify the continent, build countless great ships to cross the Eastern Sea and subdue the Great Western Continent, becoming the true master of the world!
Finally… he would lead a coalition of the three races on an expedition, sweeping across the entire Saint Continent of Light with overwhelming force, accomplishing an unprecedented great feat!
Countless images flashed before the Demon Lord's eyes. His dominance grew, the corners of his lips rising, filled with extreme delight.
He waved his sleeve toward the opposite side of the night, effortlessly knocking down the last few dozen swords.
At this moment, he thought he was about to see the most beautiful conclusion, but he never expected to first see a pair of eyes.
Those were Chen Changsheng's eyes—bright and calm, earnest and focused, showing no trace of despair, not even frustration.
Chen Changsheng did not stay in place waiting for the outcome of defeat. From the very first moment he drew his sword, he had already left the ground and rushed toward the Demon Lord.
After the three thousand swords that pierced heaven and earth came the Heavenly Book Steles, and after the Heavenly Book Steles came his person. There was no sword in his hand, but he held a letter.
That letter had already been torn open.
Seeing that letter, the Demon Lord's pupils contracted slightly, and a strong sense of alarm arose within him.
Tonight, his strength was not at its peak, and he was not invincible, but he was still powerful, especially in terms of cultivation level and awareness, always at the highest point of this world.
There were only a few figures who could instinctively alarm him.
One was in the Great Western Continent.
Two were in White Emperor City.
Now, only one remained in the capital.
Where did this letter come from? And whose handiwork was it?
……
……
The most famous letter in the history of this continent was the correspondence between the great demon scholar Tongus and the human Pope from countless years ago. The two greatest intellects in the world, ignoring the blood-deep hatred and enmity between humans and demons, discussed many important issues in those letters and then made them public.
Both the Council of Elders in the Snow Old City and the imperial family in the capital were deeply worried about this and wanted to oppose it, but no one dared to show it because their status was too high. At that time, the Great Zhou Dynasty did not exist, the Daoist Sect was still the state religion, and the Pope held immense prestige and power. Tongus, as the teacher of several generations of Demon Lords, needed no further mention.
After that, probably around twenty years ago, following the bloodbath at the National Academy, the widely circulated "Proclamation Against Tianhai" appeared.
Though it was a proclamation, it could also be considered a letter written by the Chen royal family and the old faction of the state religion to the people of the world.
In recent years, the most famous were, of course, the letters Su Li left behind before taking the Saintess to another continent. One letter, at the Longevity Sect, killed and severely injured several elders, broke the mountain gate formation, and cut off a secret retreat path. One letter, at the Ten Thousand Willows Garden outside Hanqiu City, severed Zhu Luo's arm. One letter, at the National Academy, transmitted Chen Changsheng's sword intent, repelled another of the Eight Directions Wind and Rain, Infinite Blue, and finally fought against Tianhai Empress's wooden hairpin and little phoenix in the night sky over the capital.
Except for Su Li, who wrote the letters, Xu Yourong, who delivered them, and a few people at the National Academy, no one knew that Su Li had actually left four letters for this world.
Three letters had already been torn open and used, and one letter had always been hidden in Chen Changsheng's arms.
He didn't use it at the Heavenly Book Mausoleum because, caught between the Saint Empress and the Pope, he didn't know how to handle himself, and even if he used it, it couldn't change the situation. He didn't use it when killing Zhou Tong because he was confident, and this letter was too important and unique—using it on Zhou Tong would have been too wasteful. The only time he almost used this letter was when Old Eunuch Lin entered the National Academy determined to kill, and that night… when his teacher Shang Xingzhou came with the wind and snow.
Tonight, his opponent was no ordinary person; it was the Demon Lord.
Facing this legend, even myth, Chen Changsheng had no thoughts of luck. He unhesitatingly unleashed all his means.
The swords of the Zhou Garden, the steles of the Heavenly Book Mausoleum, and this letter from Li Mountain.
The letter paper shattered instantly, and a formless sword intent soared upward, encroaching upon the stars.
The starlight was abruptly cut off, the sword intent returned to its true form, and it stabbed straight at the Demon Lord.
A faint sound of tearing echoed in the night sky.
Like water being cut in two, like clouds being split in half, like the sky being divided into two.
That landscape was cleaved open.
That world was cleaved open.
That night was cleaved open.
The heavy mist that had shrouded the Demon Lord's face for countless years was forcibly cut open by that extremely sharp sword intent.
Reality appeared between heaven and earth.
Suddenly raised iron-like brows, like ink-black mountains.
Extremely cold eagle eyes, like deep pools.
The Demon Lord brought his palms together.
Like two mountains that had faced each other across a river for countless years, merging into one.
That sword intent left by Su Li was caught.
A straight and clear wound appeared on the Demon Lord's face.
Between those ink-black mountains, between those deep pools.
……
……
(I'm so tired… I just checked, and I've been updating for nine consecutive days. I hope I can hold on tomorrow and push myself to see. But I haven't been slacking off; in fact, I've been writing more seriously than in previous years. As I told everyone last year, I now revise whenever I have time before uploading. Yesterday, I looked at some scenes from the Grand Examination and found many fragmented words and passages that could actually be deleted. My writing is much cleaner now. Anyway, progress is always a good thing. Let's all keep it up together.)