On a certain day long after that, the Demon Lord Nero watched as the blizzard descended from the sky and was swallowed up by the abyss behind the Demon Palace. Suddenly, he recalled that snowstorm in White Emperor City.
Xuelao City was plagued by snowstorms all year round. He had seen countless blizzards, but none of them left as deep an impression on him as that snowstorm.
White Emperor City was located in the south, with a warm climate and its proximity to the Western Sea, so it rarely snowed, but that snowstorm had been extremely heavy that day.
In just half a night, the city by the Red River had been covered in snow, and the yellow sand in that courtyard had been dyed white.
The Demon Lord drew back his gaze from the abyss and said to Chen Changsheng, "I was wrong. That day, I should have paid any price to kill you."
Nanke indifferently replied, "I also thought the same."
Chen Changsheng was covered in blood, but his expression was very calm. "That's already in the past."
… …
… …
In that snowstorm that had been going on for a very long time, Chen Changsheng arrived at the courtyard not far from the Xiang clan's estate.
The Demon Lord truly had no intention of killing him, at least not at the very start.
Chen Changsheng pushed open the gate to the courtyard and walked in. The soles of his boots crunched against the soft new snow, a very pleasant sound.
He was still wearing a plain Daoist robe, but he had added a large cloak over it.
The cold wind rustled the snow on the ground, quickly erasing his footprints and lifting up a corner of the cloak.
Deep within the courtyard was a tree, and beneath the tree was a small clay stove. There was tea on the stove, and there were two seats between the stoves.
The Demon Lord sat on the seat to the north.
The seat to the south was empty.
Chen Changsheng walked under the tree.
The tea in the pot just happened to begin to boil, giving off a pleasant sound.
It was just like the Demon Lord's voice.
"One thousand years."
Chen Changsheng understood the meaning of the Demon Lord's words.
He believed that those who knew about today's conversation would have similar sentiments at this time.
A full thousand years ago, Emperor Taizong and the previous Demon Lord had a conversation in Luoyang.
That conversation was so famous that no one on the continent did not know of it. Even after one thousand years, it was still a topic that many people recalled and sighed with emotion.
Even after tens of thousands of years, this conversation would probably still occupy the most important chapter in the annals of history.
This conversation would decide the future state of the entire continent.
The humans submitted and paid tribute, while the demon wolf cavalry returned to the north.
To the Human race, this conversation should have been the greatest humiliation, but because Zhou Dufu had appeared in the willows, it had a different meaning.
From this perspective, this conversation was not just between Emperor Taizong and the previous Demon Lord, but a conversation between three great men.
After a thousand years, the leader of the Human race and the sovereign of the Demon Lord finally met once more, and they were about to have a conversation.
How could they not feel perplexed?
Chen Chang Sheng said, "There are no bystanders in our conversation today, so we may soon disappear into history."
The Demon Lord replied, "In the future, I will have the scribe record our conversation today and request that every child be able to recite it."
Chen Chang Sheng shook his head and said, "I won't do that because I don't think it's important."
The posture of these two sentences was completely different, but the meaning was very similar.
Both the Demon Lord and Chen Changsheng exuded an extremely powerful, even terrifying confidence.
How the history books recorded it, or whether to record it or not, was the right of the victor.
…
…
After the initial conversation ended, the courtyard remained quiet for a very long time.
The tea on the stove was incessantly boiling, but the Demon Lord had no intention of pouring tea. He only calmly gazed at Chen Changsheng.
Chen Changsheng was also calmly gazing at the Demon Lord.
This was not his first meeting with the Demon Lord. To be more precise, it was his third time.
But this was his first time clearly seeing the Demon Lord's face.
Just like the vast majority of the Demon Imperial family, the Demon Lord's face was extremely pale. It was not like jade, not like snow, but rather rather rather strange.
But it was not a sickly appearance, more like a sign that he was different from the world, giving off an inhuman feeling.
The Demon Lord suddenly laughed.
His smile was rather strange, revealing more of his gums. Contrasting with his pale complexion, it was not particularly unsightly, but rather bloody.
"You truly are an interesting person."
The Demon Lord said, "Or perhaps you are not human, because your body does not have the Qi of a human. You are more like … an object?"
Chen Changsheng had thought that the Demon Lord might vaguely know of his origins, perhaps even more so.
But it did not matter.
Whether it was an object or a fruit, the Demon Lord knew who he was, and that was enough. His Dao heart would naturally not be disturbed by a few words.
The Demon Lord saw that Chen Changsheng did not respond, and his smile faded. He indifferently said, "I came to White Emperor City this time mainly for three matters."
Based on his solemn tone, it was assuredly a major matter. Chen Changsheng thought about it, but he could only think of one.
The Demon Lord naturally would not speak of what had happened in the Wildfire of the Celestial Tree. He said, "Up until now, I have completed one and a half, and then today."
Chen Changsheng asked, "It has something to do with me?"
The Demon Lord replied, "Of course, because the most important matter is to see you."
Chen Changsheng asked, "When you left Xuelao City, you were sure that you would meet me here?"
The Demon Lord replied, "I was prepared to marry Princess Luoluo and the Demi-human race was prepared to ally with me. You would definitely come, so we would definitely meet."
Chen Changsheng asked, "Why must you meet me?"
The Demon Lord replied, "I thought that if I could not kill you, I would ask you a question."
Chen Changsheng asked, "What question?"
The Demon Lord asked, "What is the goal of our lives?"
Chen Changsheng fell silent.
A few days ago, after Bie Yanghong had left the world, he had sat in the courtyard, gazing at the countless stars in the night sky, sensing that black nothingness that was like the mouth of a well. He had once thought of this question.
In truth, in the many nights after the coup of the Mausoleum of Books, he had thought of this question.
In the view of many people, this question was too abstruse, a little sour, and the scholarly spirit that made one want to laugh.
But this was truly a question worth thinking about.
People like him and the Demon Lord naturally understood this principle.
"In different positions, one must do different things, consider different problems."
The Demon Lord indifferently said, "We are the highest existences in the world, so we must see the furthest."
Chen Changsheng fell quiet for a while, then asked, "Where does your gaze fall?"
The Demon Lord replied, "Above the sea of stars."
Chen Changsheng understood what he meant.
The Demon Lord added, "And for all autumns and generations to come."
Any other ordinary person would definitely not have understood this conversation, but the Demon Lord knew that Chen Changsheng could assuredly understand.
Chen Changsheng truly did understand, because this was also what he thought, because he was the Pope of the Human race.
The Demon Lord explained, "This is responsibility, and also pressure, but it is also the greatest source of pleasure, the firmest meaning of existence."
"Just what is above the sea of stars? The other races of the Sacred Light Continent? "
Chen Changsheng calmly stared into the Demon Lord's eyes and asked, "Just what is your relationship with them? What is a Fire Thief? "(To be continued.)
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