The monster tide was like a sea, its shadow obscuring the sky. Zhexiu, with Qi Jian on his back, ran in the opposite direction. Qi Jian used his weak mind to point out the way, correcting his occasional deviations. It was just that there were problems with space and time in these plains. No matter how fast Zhexiu ran, he could not escape. As a result, once he was some distance away from that shadow, he stopped and rested for a while. At the same time, he pondered what he should do next. Just then, ten thousand sword glows appeared in the sky above the plains — the sea of swords had appeared behind them.
Qi Jian watched this scene from his shoulder. He was shocked speechless, and his body became incomparably stiff.
"What happened?" Zhexiu asked.
Qi Jian said in a trembling voice, "It seems … it seems like the Sword Pool has appeared."
Zhexiu fell silent, then said, "Continue."
The battle between the monster tide and the ten thousand swords did not affect them in the distance. Through Qi Jian's somewhat monotonous description, that magnificent scene had become much more tedious. Zhexiu still listened very seriously, because he knew that these strange movements might be the last chance for the two of them to leave the plains alive. And when the ten thousand swords rose into the sky, transformed into a golden dragon, and swallowed up the Golden-winged Great Peng, he accurately grasped an important point in Qi Jian's description.
"That sword at the very front … is a dagger?"
Qi Jian had not recovered from her heavy injuries, and after fleeing for so many days, she was already incredibly weak. If not for the fact that she had to show Zhexiu the way, she might have fainted at any time. However, she had cultivated the path of the sword since she was a child, and her eyes were like intelligent swords, able to clearly see distant objects. She very definitely gave a yes.
Hearing her words, Zhexiu unhesitatingly put her on his back and continued to walk away from the battlefield.
Qi Jian asked, "You recognized the origin of that dagger?"
Zhexiu replied, "That's Chen Changsheng's dagger."
Confused, Qi Jian asked in shock, "It's Chen Changsheng? Then … shouldn't we go help? "
Previously, she had clearly seen that although that dagger had led the ten thousand swords to successfully defeat the Golden-winged Great Peng, it was clearly on the verge of collapse. If it really was Chen Changsheng battling the demons in the depths of the plains, how could Zhexiu, as his companion, ignore it?
Upon hearing her question, Zhexiu's footsteps did not slow, but instead sped up. He said, "If he can resolve that problem, then he doesn't need our help. If he can't resolve it and can only buy a little more time, then if we turn around and go back, we will be wasting the chance to live that he has given us."
Qi Jian had grown up in the Mount Li Sword Sect, so he was used to the love and help of fellow disciples, never leaving or abandoning each other. He was somewhat unable to understand Zhexiu's way of thinking, and just when he was about to argue, he heard Zhexiu continue emotionlessly, "If I were the one fighting the demons, and Chen Changsheng was carrying Xu You Rong here, I believe that he would also not turn around."
Hearing this, Qi Jian still found it hard to accept, but in the end, he fell silent. Because Zhexiu had said that Chen Changsheng would also make the same choice, and had even compared their relationship to the relationship between Chen Changsheng and Xu You Rong, she did not know how to respond.
With her on his back, Zhexiu continued to run towards the periphery of the plains. At this moment, a beam of clear light fell into the sky. In the next moment, the fragments of the sky fell on the grassland. An explosion occurred, and a gust of wind blew. A strong vibration directly knocked them down into the water grass.
With great difficulty, Zhexiu stood up from the pool of water and asked, "What's going on?"
Qi Jian looked at the distant sky, her face pale. "It seems … like the sky is collapsing."
Zhexiu was silent for a while, then he lifted her up from the water grass and continued to run towards the periphery of the plains.
It really was the sky collapsing. Countless violent storms of energy engulfed the entire plains, and then easily tore apart the seal at the edge of the plains, heading towards other parts of the Garden of Zhou. Terrifying tearing sounds could be heard everywhere, and the world seemed to be on the brink of destruction.
Zhexiu and Qi Jian were very lucky. On the way, they were not struck by the storms of energy brought about by the clear light. Even more fortunate was that the appearance of the Heavenly Tome Monoliths had brought about the collapse of the heavens and the rend of the earth, directly destroying all the seals on the plains. The flow of time in different areas had disappeared, and with it, the boundaries between spaces had also disappeared.
Just like this, they madly ran out of the Plains of the Unsetting Sun and arrived at the base of Sunset Valley.
It was still night in the Garden of Zhou. Sunset Valley reflected the light of that distant ball of light, but it was not as tranquil and beautiful as it usually was. The storms of energy brought about by the appearance of the Heavenly Tome had already engulfed this place, and the cliffs of Sunset Valley had already fallen off. It was as if a terrifying earthquake had just occurred, and earthquakes were still occurring.
Qi Jian endured the pain in her lower abdomen and the effects of the medicine. She forced herself to maintain her mind, and guided Zhexiu through the rubble of the mountain. Zhexiu once again transformed, his sharp claws and teeth piercing deeply into the ground. He leapt and ran along the precipitous cliffs, narrowly avoiding several landslides. Finally, he arrived at a garden at the edge of the Garden of Zhou.
When Qi Jian saw a woman dressed in the ceremonial robes of the Thirteen Divisions of Radiant Green, the breath that she had been holding tightly the entire time instantly dissipated. Unable to endure it any longer, she fainted.
This was the Mountainside Whispering Wood, a place where human cultivators gathered. To Zhexiu, Chen Changsheng, and the others who had entered the Plains of the Unsetting Sun, several dozen days and nights had already passed. To the human cultivators here, not too much time had passed. Of course, to them, it was already long enough.
Because of the demons' scheme, the Garden of Zhou was in chaos. People wanted to leave, but they could not. To them, time was extremely difficult to bear. At this moment, the terrifying tremors from the depths of the plains and the even more terrifying storms of energy directly made them feel the danger of death. The garden was in chaos. Everywhere there were anxious questions, and there were also many cries of despair. They did not know when the gate to the Garden of Zhou would open, nor did they know if the Garden of Zhou was truly about to be destroyed.
The Garden of Zhou was a miniature world with a very complicated structure. On the other side of the cliff, there was still a very large region. That large lake had long since recovered its tranquility. The blood of Nanke's two maids had already been washed away by the lake water. The blood that had flowed from that treacherous sword that had pierced through Qi Jian's lower abdomen had also been covered by the gravel on the shore of the lake.
Liang Xiaoxiao and Zhuang Huanyu stood on the shore of the lake. They did not look at each other, nor did they talk. They were both expressionless, but they represented completely different emotions. Liang Xiaoxiao gazed at the inauspicious blood-red color in the distant sky and felt the tremors from the depths of the lake. He glanced at Zhuang Huanyu and said, "Let's get out of here alive first, then we can talk about anything else."
Outside Hanqiu City, the fog was still thick. Although it was night, that rainbow that came from tens of thousands of li away was still dazzling. In the end, that sliver of chaos had long since disappeared. However, it was impossible to reverse the events that had already occurred and make them disappear. In the thick fog, that invisible gate to the Garden of Zhou was still tightly shut, and it was unknown when it would open.
Zhu Luo stood at the very front of the dark forest, looking at that rainbow in the fog. His expression was grave and stern, and it was unknown what he was thinking.
As one of the strongest human experts, one of the Storms of the Eight Directions, it was unknown how many storms he had seen in his life. No matter if it was a cold wind or a bitter rain or a reign of terror, such as when the demons had infiltrated the Garden of Zhou and severed the connection between the inner and outer parts of the Garden of Zhou, although it was somewhat shocking to him, it was actually not that big of a deal. Under his supervision, the many priests of the Orthodoxy and the experts of Tianliang County were currently using some sort of formation to repair the gate to the Garden of Zhou where the rainbow had landed. Looking at the degree of distortion in the space in the fog, it should only take a little more time before it would succeed. However … just a moment ago, he sensed something extremely bad. Something seemed to have happened in the Garden of Zhou, and it was about to collapse.
For an expert of his level, he had an incomparably deep understanding of the laws of space. He clearly understood that any miniature world would have a moment of collapse or annihilation. Even the Central Continent would disappear after tens of thousands of years, but … a miniature world that could be discovered and used would definitely be a relatively stable and sturdy space. The Pope's Green Leaf World was like this, and Zhou Dufu's Garden of Zhou was also like this. No matter how he looked at it, the Garden of Zhou should still be able to exist stably for at least several tens of thousands of years, so why did it suddenly show signs of collapse?
No one could rely on their own strength to destroy a world, even if it was a miniature world. He could not, the Pope could not, and Zhou Dufu also could not in the past. The power that could destroy a world could only be the world itself. If the Garden of Zhou was about to collapse, the cause would definitely be the Garden of Zhou itself, or some sort of power that surpassed space.
Zhu Luo thought of that rumor, and his expression became more and more grave, like frost.
At some point, Mei Lisha had arrived at his side. The archbishop's aged face had always carried a habitual weariness, but at this moment, only worry could be seen. His eyes were still squinted, but as long as one stood a little closer, they would definitely be able to clearly feel the coldness in those two eyes.
His voice was slightly hoarse as he asked, "How much longer before the door to the Garden of Zhou can be opened again?"
Zhu Luo spread out his spiritual sense, using the method of Profound Insight to sense the degree of spatial distortion in the thick fog. He gave a relatively accurate judgment, "It should be able to open before dawn."
Mei Lisha's eyes narrowed even more, and he said, "No, it's too slow."
Even when facing peerless experts on the level of the Storms of the Eight Directions, his words were still so direct, even full of pressure.
Zhu Luo gazed at the southern night sky where the rainbow was rising, and said, "We've already done everything we can do. If we want it to be a little faster, we'll have to see Mount Li."
Mei Lisha understood his meaning, and gazed at that precipitous mountain to the south that was actually invisible, in silence. No one noticed that his hand was lightly trembling within the sleeve of his archbishop's robe, and naturally no one could hear the voice of this virtuous and respected old man in his heart: Chen Chang Sheng, you cannot die.
… …
… …
This rainbow that had risen from tens of thousands of li away was not the key to the Garden of Zhou. If one wanted to describe it more accurately, the rainbow was the key's action to open the Garden of Zhou. Black Robe had used that square plate to affect the rainbow, causing the door to the Garden of Zhou to temporarily close. In reality, in the instant that the key was inserted into the lock of the Garden of Zhou, he had placed a few more things into the keyhole.
The key to the Garden of Zhou had always been in Mount Li, in the dwelling at the highest peak of Mount Li, and also the place where the rainbow had risen. With a creaking sound, the door to the dwelling was pushed open. An old man with the bearing of an immortal walked out, his hand stroking the hilt of his sword. His eyes were as calm as a lake, but within the lake were a thousand swords. It was the current Sect Master of the Mount Li Sword Sect.
… …
… …
(See you tomorrow.)
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