Chapter 997 – Before the Cold Answer
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
There were no clouds in the sky, only the manifold stars scattered about like sesame seeds, with no obvious law or pattern. No matter in which direction one looked, they seemed to be spread in a smooth and well-proportioned manner.
Chen Changsheng stood by a window, looking up at the starry sky that truly did seem closer than the ground, as he recounted his earlier conversations.
Luoluo stood beside him, her left hand habitually grasping his sleeve. Her head tilted in thought, she said, "So just meet him then."
Chen Changsheng glanced at her and said, "This matter must be done secretly. Your mother must be kept unaware."
The Shi clan leader had already noted the likely area of the White Emperor's secluded cultivation on a map and given it to him.
If he wanted to go there, he needed to use a secret path in the Imperial Palace.
In his view, even though Luoluo was the noble princess, she had no control over Madam Mu's deliberate suppression of the Imperial City.
Luoluo blinked and then earnestly said, "Be at ease, Teacher. I happen to be your student, so I'm quite capable in these matters."
Chen Changsheng felt like these words had a hint of Su Li or Tang Thirty-Six about them, so he couldn't help but smile.
……
……
As he walked out from the humid, gloomy, and stuffy stone passage, Chen Changsheng was simultaneously assaulted by the sight of a snowy mountain and the morning light.
The mountain was several thousand zhang tall. Its lower half was made of black cliffs and primordial forests while its upper half was completely blanketed in white snow, blinding in the morning sun. The mountain rose up abruptly from the edge of a lake and stretched far into the north. It was impossible to see where it ended, even making one wonder whether it might extend until the end of the world. So magnificent it was that it seemed to have been left behind by a god.
Chen Changsheng knew that this snowy mountain that extended for countless li was that mountain range often brought up in books, the Starfall Mountains.
The Starfall Mountains stretched along the shore of the Western Sea, abruptly rising from the lands north of White Emperor City, with the sea a hundred-some li to their left. Their peaks had been covered in snow for tens of thousands of years, and the mountains stretched for tens of thousands of li, reaching all the way to the extreme north. In the middle of them was a relatively flat area called Zhanling.
If one started from there and worked their way southeast for ten-some days and nights, they would come to the westernmost Cong Province Army headquarters of the Human race.
Between Zhanling and the Cong Province Army headquarters was a grassland. Once the ancestral land of the Elves, it was now in the complete possession of Chen Changsheng and Xu Yourong.
Chen Changsheng walked up to the lake and looked at the mountain range on the other side.
He recalled that it was written in the Daoist Canon that the Red River arose from one of the snowy peaks in these mountains, and then he remembered that the grassland within was connected to him, giving him a somewhat strange feeling.
Ever since the demi-humans had established their country on the shores of the Red River, generation after generation of White Emperors and Empresses had been buried within the Starfall Mountains.
According to the laws set down by the ancestral spirits, to prevent any evildoer from stealing the remains or true blood of these great demi-humans, the successive generations of White Emperors had never built any sort of mausoleum within these mountains. When their lives reached their terminus, they would take that secret path Chen Changsheng had just used to come to these mountains and randomly choose a place to close their eyes and allow their soul to return to the sea of stars.
Of course, other than when they were on the verge of death, the White Emperors would often come to the Starfall Mountains whenever they did not have government affairs to handle. Whether it was to pay homage to their ancestors, enjoy the scenery, or search for chances to break through, it was naturally difficult to not construct a few buildings in these snowy mountains to either offer sacrifices or rest. But all these buildings had extremely strict seals on them that made it extremely difficult for anyone except the White Emperor to enter.
The current White Emperor had engaged in a heaven-shaking battle with the Demon Lord in the snowy plains to the north of Mount Han. The Demon Lord had been severely injured and was later deposed by Black Robe and the Demon Commander. The White Emperor had also suffered grievous injuries, so he had spent the last few years in secluded cultivation within the Starfall Mountains. Other than figures like Madam Mu and the Xiang clan leader, very few people knew his exact location.
Chen Changsheng had the map provided by the Shi clan leader, so he was naturally not completely directionless. Crossing the snow with the Yeshi Step, he did not need long before he found the place.
Behind two extremely green and ancient pine trees was a massive cliff of black rock.
The cliff was topped by ice and snow that never melted. It was an exterior of bitter cold, utterly devoid of life, with nothing particularly strange about it.
The location marked on the map was incredibly broad. Not knowing where the entrance was, Chen Changsheng could only scatter his spiritual sense into his surroundings, but in doing so, he realized that there was a barrier in front of him.
This barrier was a wall of Qi that stopped his spiritual sense, but this actually calmed him down, as this confirmed that he was in the right place.
The black cliff and the frigid ice concealed an array. With just a moment's perception, he realized the formidable attribute of this array.
This array probably had the same root as the Tong Palace within the capital's Imperial Palace. It was strict and dangerous, imbued with the mysteries of life and death. Perhaps because it had taken in too much of the Qi from the mountains and icy lakes, this array was much colder and more callous than the Tong Palace, exuding a harsh aura and extremely strong imperial Qi.
Triggering this array would incur a might not much weaker than the seal of the Red River. Of course, it was still far weaker than the capital's Imperial Design.
Two days ago, when breaking through the Red River's seal, Chen Changsheng had used an excessive amount of the energy within the Orthodoxy's Divine Staff. He could not use it again, so how would he break through this array?
Since there was a method to form this array, it was only right that there be a corresponding method to break it.
Chen Changsheng was well-read in the Daoist Canon and had researched arrays during his cultivation, but he was still not skilled in this art. After examining it for a long time, he could still think of only one possibility.
As he gazed at this black cliff, he once more felt that mysterious feeling.
If he had not at first mistaken her for an Elf girl, would they have ended up together earlier? If, on that day by the Tong River, he waited for just half a day more after reading that letter, could he have ridden the crane with her and come here together? If she were here, would she able to make out with a glance the gap in this array?
With a zing, several dozen swords appeared in the sky. With Chen Changsheng as the center, an awe-inspiring sword intent spread out, instantly shattering the snow drifting in the air.
Chen Changsheng gripped the Stainless Sword as he warily gazed at the outcrop at the very bottom of the black cliff.
The drifting snow came from the snow capping the cliff. It was falling because it had sensed the shaking that he could feel right under him.
The outcrop at the bottom of the cliff suddenly burst apart, and two people clambered out.
The several dozen swords vibrated, letting out terrifying buzzes. They did not strike, however, because Chen Changsheng recognized those two people.
It was Jin Yulu and Xiaode.
Jin Yulu had once acted as gatekeeper of the Orthodox Academy, resolving many problems for Chen Changsheng. Though they had not met in many years, the affection was still there.
Although Xiaode had once been his enemy, he had also always had a close relationship to the Human race. In the coup of the Mausoleum of Books, he and Xiao Zhang had charged into the Imperial Palace, helping the Tang Second Master seize control of the Imperial Design. One could imagine that he also been one of Shang Xingzhou's collaborators.
This was proved from another side by the Shi clan leader's firm stance in the Heavenly Selection ceremony and in the following two days.
Chen Changsheng naturally would not attack them. He was just surprised to see them come out from the black cliff.
If the White Emperor really was in seclusion inside this cliff, had they been able to meet him?
At this moment, he himself did not know which answer he wanted to hear, as it seemed like neither answer was good.