Chapter 875: Both Sides of the Stone Wall
As he raced toward the cliff, Chen Changsheng saw many disciples of the Southern Stream Sect hurrying down the mountain path, clearly startled by the commotion at the mountain gate. Among those disciples, he spotted some familiar faces, which eased his mind slightly—he thought there should be no further misunderstandings between them.
Soon he arrived before the cliff. White stone crags were dotted with pine trees, and countless fine waterfalls cascaded down. Before the cliff lay a vast, flat plateau. Amidst the lush green trees, countless elegant buildings could be seen—this must be the legendary Southern Stream Sect. Under normal circumstances, he might have taken time to admire the scenery, but now he had no such mood. With a brief glance, he continued swiftly upward along the cliff.
There were no longer any paths among the cliffs. Everywhere were dense forests or steep rock faces. Even a monkey skilled in climbing would find it arduous, but for Chen Changsheng, the difficulty was not too great.
He climbed up along the cliff, rising higher and higher. The terrain grew steeper, the ground farther below, and the surrounding mist thicker, until he could no longer see the Southern Stream Sect below nor the sky above. He could only judge direction by his earlier impressions. Yet he felt no difficulty; instead, a sense of familiarity arose.
Back in Xining Town, he had occasionally followed his senior brother to gather herbs in the mist-shrouded solitary peaks beyond the town, so he was very accustomed to this environment.
After an unknown amount of time, the mist suddenly thinned considerably, and the sky above became clearer.
Chen Changsheng's spirits lifted.
The cold wind, carrying a hint of moisture, passed through the green trees and strange rocks between the peaks and struck his face.
The mist abruptly dispersed, and his field of vision opened up immensely. Looking north, he could see the Tong River winding like a thread.
This was the summit of the Holy Maiden Peak.
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Chen Changsheng was certain that Xu Yourong was in seclusion here. But after walking around the summit twice, he saw hundreds of ancient trees he had never seen before, spotted the stone by the cliff she had mentioned in her letters, and even saw the several kinds of lovely emerald birds she had written about—yet he found no cave dwelling.
The white crane was also nowhere to be seen.
But by now, he had calmed down considerably. After hearing Xiao Zhang's words in Fengyang County, he had been tense and even anxious. Upon arriving here, all that tension and anxiety had vanished, because the summit was exactly as she had described in her letters—unchanged, with no signs of battle.
Still, something puzzled him, or rather, made him wary. Logically, if Xu Yourong was in seclusion atop the Holy Maiden Peak, even if she might not emerge for years, the Southern Stream Sect should have left some disciples here to attend to her. Otherwise, what if she encountered problems during her cultivation in the cave and needed help?
He returned to the north-facing side of the summit. Here stood several ancient trees and a shallow pool—the place he had earlier suspected might be the cave dwelling. Besides the location, scenery, and traces around the pool, his judgment was mainly based on the fact that this area had the most inscriptions, and they looked the oldest.
On the summit's cliff walls of the Holy Maiden Peak, inscriptions could be seen everywhere.
These inscriptions were directly carved into the stone. Among them were some he recognized well.
The inscriptions of the Heavenly Book Monoliths.
Xu Yourong had told him that these were the Heavenly Book Monolith inscriptions personally transcribed by the first Southern Holy Maiden from the Heavenly Book Mausoleum in the capital.
Unlike the rubbings sold outside the Plum Garden Inn, these inscriptions contained the supreme wisdom and divine soul of that Holy Maiden, holding the true essence of the Heavenly Book Monoliths. The Southern Stream Sect's understanding of the Heavenly Book Monoliths had always been on par with the Li Palace, and in some aspects even surpassed it, precisely because they possessed these inscriptions.
Chen Changsheng found the inscription of the Zhaojing Monolith on the cliff wall and reached out to touch it. His fingers felt a cool sensation.
The lines were no different from those on the Heavenly Book Mausoleum's monoliths, but there were subtle, extremely fine distinctions.
These distinctions were not errors; rather, they represented the first Holy Maiden's understanding of the inscriptions.
Chen Changsheng's knowledge of the Heavenly Book Monoliths far exceeded that of other cultivators, even true geniuses.
This was because his process of deciphering the monoliths in the Heavenly Book Mausoleum was unique, and he always wore five Heavenly Book Monoliths on his wrist.
With just a light touch and a faint sensation, he knew that if he could carefully study these inscriptions on the Holy Maiden Peak, it would greatly benefit his cultivation.
But that was for later. For now, he first needed to find the cave dwelling.
Just then, he felt a slight tremor beneath his fingers on the cliff stone.
A faint, elusive, ethereal aura seeped out from the dense green vines.
He followed that aura, parting the thick curtain of vines.
Behind the vines was still the cliff wall. Whether by sight or touch, there was no sign of anything unusual. Even if one smashed it with a hammer, only countless rocks would fly out.
But Chen Changsheng knew that inside this cliff wall was not rock—it was hollow. In other words, the cave dwelling of the Holy Maiden Peak lay within.
It wasn't that he could see through the extremely profound formation on the cliff wall, but because of those vines.
These vines were also a formation, not as powerful as the one on the cliff wall, but equally capable of deceiving the eyes of even Divine Domain experts.
Chen Changsheng could see through these vines because he had seen them before.
These vines were the Tong Palace.
The Tong Palace was a formation, and he had seen it in the imperial palace of the capital.
As for these vines transformed into the Tong Palace, he had seen them in the Zhou Garden.
Back in the Zhou Mausoleum, Xu Yourong had turned her Tong Bow into the Tong Palace, its green leaves swaying amidst the raging storm. Even when she was gravely wounded and near death, it remained steadfast.
Since these vines were the Tong Palace, the Tong Bow, her bow, then she must be inside the cliff wall right now.
Clearly, the vines formed from the Tong Bow recognized Chen Changsheng. They did not attack him or issue any warning, but emitted a soft, gentle glow, beautiful to behold.
Chen Changsheng looked at the vines in his hand, recalling that year on the Bridge of Helplessness when the white veil fell, revealing that face.
In the midst of wind and snow, her brows and eyes were like a painting, glowing with a soft, gentle light, indescribably beautiful.
He gazed at the cold stone wall before him.
She was on the other side of the wall.
He was on this side.
If his gaze held real warmth, this cold stone wall might begin to burn.
If only this were a stone door, he could gently push it, or lightly knock, and ask, "Is anyone there?"
No, even if it were a stone door, he still could not gently push it, nor lightly knock.
He could only stand here, silently watching, just as he was now.
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(Although Chen Changsheng has the potential and reasons to become a monk, I will not let him do so.)