Ze Tian Ji

Edited by: Michyrr

The black silhouette could be called a mountain range, and it could also be described as the arm of a demon god.

At the very front of the mountain range, precisely the part of the sky over Chen Changsheng’s and Xu Yourong’s heads, were five mountain peaks that looked just like five fingers.

The storm of swords descended upon these mountains, dust rising as the rocks cracked.

The speed at which the mountains sank down grew slower and slower until, finally, they stopped.

In this entire process, Xu Yourong never once glanced up at the night sky. She seemed unconcerned, and one could naturally understand this as the trust she had in Chen Changsheng.

She thrust the temple sword into the grass beside her.

There was a soft whoosh as smoke began to rise from the grass, but it did not burn. On the contrary, the grass grew straighter and seemed even more full of life.

She took a longbow made of tong wood from her back.

This bow made of tong wood was that bow ranked on the Tier of Legendary Weapons, the Tong Bow.

Only Nanke, Chen Changsheng, Qiushan Jun, and Gou Hanshi knew that Xu Yourong’s strongest skill was not in the sword.

The temple sword had been found by Chen Changsheng in the Garden of Zhou and returned to Holy Maiden Peak.

She had only mastered the Sword of Great Light after receiving the temple sword.

She had carried the Tong Bow on her back, however, ever since she was a child.

Usually, no one could see this longbow.

It would only appear when needed.

...Like now.

Xu Yourong took out an arrow and nocked it on the string.

This was a Wu Arrow.

With a calm expression, she raised the bow.

Her movements were calm and practiced, like drifting clouds or flowing water, but also like ten-some drawings layered over each other, each action clear and explicit.

The bowstring was pulled taut, gradually taking the shape of the Moon in the north worshipped by the demons.

Her eyelashes blinked.

The wind stirred.

Her white robes floated in the wind.

Her black hair also floated upward, rising level with the arrow.

The delicate fingers left the string.

The Tong Bow strummed.

It was said that the best zithers were made of tong wood, so it was no wonder that this sound was so moving.

The note echoed across the grassland.

The arrow arrived before the sound.

Several li away...

A bloody hole appeared between the eyes of a demon soldier.

It was an extremely round and smooth hole. One even felt the urge to describe it as delicate.

Xu Yourong then drew the bow a second time, a third time, a fourth time...

Her actions remained steady, beautiful in their simplicity and conciseness.

Her quiver was swiftly emptied.

Thirty Wu Arrows left the bowstring of the Tong Bow and flew into the darkness toward the wolf cavalry several li away.

Groan after groan followed.

Flower after flower of blood bloomed.

Soldier after demon soldier fell.

Cries of fear rose one after the other.

The wolf cavalry scattered.

Thirty arrows could at most kill only thirty times.

Logically speaking, breaking up the party was the best choice.

Xu Yourong once more raised the Tong Bow, even though she had no more arrows.

This time, she clearly needed much more time.

Finally she let the bowstring go.

The bowstring was stained with a little blood. When this blood met and chafed against the wind, it burst into golden flames.

Those arrows that pierced through the skulls of demon soldiers...

Those arrows that had penetrated through the bodies of giant wolves...

Those Wu Arrows, bringers of death that then vanished into the darkness... suddenly returned.

Thirty Wu Arrows left behind trails of fire as they pursued the scattered wolf cavalry. They were like blazing birds of fire, gorgeous shooting stars.

Many years ago in the Garden of Zhou, at the end of Sunset Valley, Nanke had experienced this attack.

This was the first time since that night that Xu Yourong had used this attack.

How could those wolf cavalry escape?

Puffpuffpuffpuff.

From all over the grassland came the sound of a Wu Arrow piercing through hardy objects.

The Wu Arrows and their tails of fire pursued the wolf cavalry and drove away the darkness. Everywhere they went, death followed.

After some time, those sounds finally stopped.

The dark grassland finally calmed back down.

But it was more appropriate to call this a deathly stillness.

Because this grassland had become a graveyard.

The ground within seven li of her was littered with fallen corpses.

Both the demon soldiers and giant wolves had died. There were no lucky survivors.

In the reflected starlight, the grassland seemed wet.

This was not a bare mountain, but it felt like rain had just passed.

Though this was not soft rain, but blood.

Xu Yourong thrust the Tong Bow into the ground.

The Tong Bow was very long, so when thrust into the ground, it was even higher than she was. It really did look like an upright zither.

In truth, it was not a zither, but a tree.

In an instant, countless branches sprouted from the Tong Bow, all of them covered in leaves that lightly swayed in the wind.

A fresh and clean air fell like a waterfall over her and Chen Changsheng, and also on the Earth Monkey.

The Earth Monkey had just been sneaking a glance at her. At first stricken with shock, it then felt like its wounds were improving at unthinkable speeds.

The branches continued to grow, quickly transforming into a massive tree.

This was the Wutong tree.

This Wutong tree contained the array of the Tong Palace.

She picked the temple sword back up and walked to Chen Changsheng’s side, looking at that mountain in the darkness.

"The Wutong can last for eighty seconds. Use it to think about any other methods."

Her temples were tinged with sweat and her expression was rather tired, but her eyes were so calm that it seemed like she had done nothing at all.

......

......

A lonely Wutong tree suddenly appeared in the dark grassland.

The branches spread out beneath the several thousand swords, blocking the mountain in the sky.

The Tong Bow and Wu Arrows combined became the Wutong. A previous Holy Maiden of South Stream Temple had used her unfathomable wisdom and ability to embed the Tong Palace array in this set of bow and arrows, even increasing its power. Only a divine artifact like this was capable of blocking the attack of a legendary individual like Mountain Man Yanzhi.

Of course, not even this Wutong tree could last forever.

Countless peals of thunder boomed over the grassland.

This was the sound of a mountain moving over the ground, crushing the rock and dirt beneath it.

Mountain Man Yanzhi was walking toward them.

His speed was very slow, but there was no gap in his defense. He was a moving mountain range, exerting an unimaginable pressure.

Another mountain was in the sky, exuding an ancient and timeworn Qi. So heavy it was that it made one’s heart beat in fear.

The Wutong tree rustled as several hundred leaves rained down. The trunk gradually began to bend, creaking as it neared its breaking point.

Several thousand swords incessantly hacked at this mountain. A fleck of stone would occasionally drift down and disperse in wisps of light.

Chen Changsheng’s eyelashes incessantly blinked, his head lowered to the ground in thought.

Xu Yourong was having him think of a way. If he couldn’t find one, they would have to risk a fight.

Chen Changsheng’s personality was not one that delighted in risks, but what other method did he have, staring at the ground as he was?

It wasn’t like he could stare a flower into blooming out of the ground.

In actuality, Chen Changsheng really was looking at a flower.

Xiao Zhang lay unconscious on the ground.

The white paper on his face would occasionally shift in the wind, causing the specks of blood to transform. They looked like winter plums in the wind.

The two holes left in the paper were for the eyes, while the nose and mouth had both been drawn on.

This was where Painted Armor Xiao Zhang’s name came from.

Why did Xiao Zhang cover his face in a white sheet of paper? This was a question that everyone was interested in.

Some people said he had a birthmark on his face that made it extremely ugly.

Others said that he was born with extremely delicate features that caused others to mistake him for a girl when he was young, and he would even encounter weird problems sometimes. Thus, he had chosen to cover his face with a mask.

The most famous and most publicly acknowledged explanation was that Xiao Zhang, in a bid to surpass Wang Po, forced his cultivation on an evil path. In the end, he went mad and was heavily injured, his face especially almost totally ruined, leading him to cover it with a white sheet of paper. It was said that the Elder of Heavenly Secrets had once asked him why he didn’t use a mask or bamboo hat. Xiao Zhang said that he used the white paper to cover his face because he didn’t want to scare children, not because he was ashamed of seeing people, so why did he need to use a mask? As for why he didn’t wear a bamboo hat, it was because it would make others feel even more dejected.

Based on Chen Changsheng’s understanding of Xiao Zhang, this conversation between him and the Elder of Heavenly Secrets was probably fake. It was said that Xiao Zhang had made this comment in a very casual and flippant manner, so the explanation itself was probably not true either. Xiao Zhang’s face probably did not bear any terrifying wounds.

So just what was underneath the white paper?

Many people wanted to tear this white paper off and take a look, but those who dared to do so were few and far between, and those people were all dead.

Xiao Zhang was currently unconscious, so this was the best opportunity to see his true face.

This was truly a great temptation, one that Chen Changsheng seemed incapable of resisting. He stretched out his hand, preparing to tear away the white sheet of paper.

But a demon expert was pressing down on them like a mountain, their situation one of extreme peril, so how was he still in the mood to think about things like this?

______________

1. The form of ’My’ here is the word 吾, pronounced ’wu’, sharing the same pronunciation as the ’wu’ of the Wutong tree and also Xu Yourong’s Wu Arrows.