Chapter 1124 – The Eight Great Mountain Men
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
The starlight tonight truly was very bright. The distant undulating mountains looked just like white steamed buns.
No, those mountains were somewhat short, so they were more like the white flourcakes made by Miss Song in Xining Village.
Chen Changsheng felt a little hungry, and then he realized that in his hurry to sleep, it had already been one day and one night since he had eaten anything.
Why was it so bright? It was naturally because of that star.
That star was in the process of dimming, but it was still many times brighter than it usually was.
It signified that a cultivator had broken into the Divine Domain.
Chusu had been furious at this fact, and only when he realized that this person was not Xu Yourong or Chen Changsheng had he become a little happier.
Just who was this person?
Chen Changsheng and Xu Yourong did not mention that person's name, but it was obvious that they knew who he was.
As he looked up at that brightest star in the night sky, Chen Changsheng was both a little confused and uneasy.
Given that person's personality, they wouldn't ask for help even if they were about to die, and now that they had successfully broken through, who could they be afraid of?
He had been riding a boat on the Red River that day.
While he listened to the low croons of the Jings in the water, Luoluo used her small hands to feed him little red fruits. It had truly been a blessed life.
And then, the White Crane came with information.
The information had come from the Bear tribe, originating from one of their spies and passed to a medicine merchant. The medicine merchant had gone to the Mount Song Army headquarters and personally delivered it to Chen Chou.
This information was a date and a carelessly drawn line, lacking any rhyme or reason.
Chen Changsheng took a small piece of paper from his bosom. As he looked at that thin line on the paper, he laid it over a map in his sea of consciousness.
If that information was right, that person would appear here tonight.
Under the starlight, the grassland was very peaceful.
The Earth Monkey took note of Chen Changsheng's mood and quietly lay in front of him, not making a single noise.
The monsters had retreated some distance, but none of them dared to leave. They nervously looked at the Earth Monkey, prepared to receive its orders at any time.
It appeared that the true master of the grassland had not been Chusu, but the Earth Monkey.
As it looked at that bright star, the Earth Monkey squinted its eyes in confusion.
Although it was crafty and sinister, it was still not an intelligent being and did not know how to cultivate. It naturally could not comprehend such phenomena.
Suddenly, the Earth Monkey straightened its body and looked at the distant stone mountain, wariness and unease appearing in its eyes.
Almost immediately after, it scrambled behind Chen Changsheng, poking out its head and growling at the darkness.
Xu Yourong rose and looked over. "They're here."
The White Crane flapped its wings, flying high into the sky to receive the guest.
The wind suddenly intensified, and the grass bowed toward the south.
The surroundings were flat and devoid of trees, but a flapping sound was coming from somewhere.
It was the sound of wind blowing against a kite.
A massive kite drifted over from the northern regions of the bright starry sky.
A string was tied to the bottom of the kite, the other end apparently tied to a person.
The kite flew over the white-colored mountains and arrived in that grassland bathed in starlight.
With a snap, the string broke.
The kite drifted upward, gradually disappearing. It was like it had ascended to the starry skies, leaving behind no evidence of its existence.
The ground trembled.
That person landed in front of Chen Changsheng and Xu Yourong.
His face was covered in a sheet of white paper.
It turned out that the flapping sound had not been the wind against the kite, but wind blowing against this white paper.
Several holes had been punched in this white paper, their black abysses terrifying to behold. This was especially so today, as the paper was speckled with blood, making it seem even more savage.
He held a spear very casually in his hands. It was like he was carrying a bag, or a person.
But this spear was very straight, as straight as the person himself.
His body stood so straight that it seemed like it would never fall over.
Xiao Zhang, once ranked at the top of the Proclamation of Liberation, was the famed madman of the middle generation, a lunatic.
Many years ago, he had been pursued by the entire Great Zhou Imperial Court. After several years of vicious battle, he was finally forced into the snowy plains, after which nothing else was heard of him.
No one expected that when he next appeared, he would have already broken through, becoming an expert of the Divine Domain.
The starlight fell on Xiao Zhang's face, and when it reflected off the white paper, one could faintly see crystals glimmering within.
Chen Changsheng sensed his Qi and confirmed, much to his delight, that he was the one who had broken through.
But before he had time to say anything, Xiao Zhang extended a hand to stop him.
"I'm tired and need to rest for a while."
Upon saying this, Xiao Zhang fell backward.
Even at this time, he still maintained his straight posture, smashing into the ground like a pillar.
Grass and mud flew into the air.
Chen Changsheng was at a loss.
This mood and this scene made him recall many memories from Su Li's escape from the south many years ago.
After a moment, he came to his senses. Taking needles that were wrapped around his fingers, he stuck them into Xiao Zhang's neck and began to treat him.
The Sacred Light technique was less effective on experts of the Divine Domain. Xu Yourong stood on the side and watched, her eyebrows arched in thought.
It was evident that Xiao Zhang had suffered severe injuries and had probably been pursued.
Whether he had been injured before entering the Divine or after, these wounds were all proof that those pursuing possessed incredible strength.
Logically speaking, the best choice right now was to take Xiao Zhang and leave. Even the strongest opponent would find it a challenging proposition to catch up to Xu Yourong and the White Crane.
But Chen Changsheng and Xu Yourong did not do this, perhaps because Xiao Zhang's injuries were too severe, or perhaps because they noticed the changes in the darkness.
The starlight gradually dimmed as the darkness deepened. Gloomy and cold, it seemed to have weight.
The darkness gradually collected at a certain place, layering over itself, getting deeper and deeper until it transformed into an actual black mountain.
These were three figures as gigantic as mountains. They appeared in the grassland, separated by several hundred li and just happening to surround them in the center.
As the ground shook, the grass broke free of the binding wind and began to dance.
Bits of stone danced along with the grass.
This was because those three black mountains were moving. It didn't take long before they had arrived before Chen Changsheng's party.
They seemed like real black mountains, several dozen zhang high.
Two blazing torches were placed high up in the mountains. Those were his eyes.
The Earth Monkey hid behind Chen Changsheng, fear on its face as its eyes flitted to and fro. It was scared yet did not dare leave on its own.
As she looked at those massive black figures, Xu Yourong said, "Ever since I was small, I always believed that the Mountain Man of the Eight Greats was one person."
The black mountain right in front of them spoke.
His voice was a low drone, like the wind echoing in a mountain cave.
A chill instantly enveloped the grassland as the starlight dimmed even further.
The mountainous black figure seemed to be true darkness. Standing before Chen Changsheng and Xu Yourong, it exerted an unimaginable pressure.
"There naturally have to be eight of the Eight Great Mountain Men1."
It was rumored that in the old days, the Demon race had eight supreme experts.
To the various demon tribes, these eight experts were insurmountable peaks, so they were called the Eight Great Mountains.
Only today did Chen Changsheng confirm that these demon experts really did exist, and that they were actual mountains.
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1. The misconception that Xu Yourong had probably arises from the fact that historically, 八大山人, Mountain Man of the Eight Greats, was an actual person, a noted painter who lived during the Ming Dynasty.