(I'm sharing three pieces of good news. First, old readers should all know that I'm a Milan fan. Although it's been several years since I've watched football, I'm still very happy to hear this news today. In the future, Istanbul and Rako will probably be mentioned less often … Second, this chapter is five thousand words. Haven't I been pleasantly surprised recently? Third, I have a stockpile. Although it's pitifully few, I still think it's very awesome. I don't know how long I can maintain this state, but I'll do my best. Tai Yan, birthday card, mada.)
… …
… …
The mountain fiercely swayed, countless rocks falling to the ground and stirring up a cloud of dust that obscured Mountain Man Yanzhi's figure.
After an unknown period of time, the smoke and dust gradually settled. The rock mountain had clearly shrunk, but it still stood in the grassland under the night sky and did not collapse.
The mountain was still a mountain.
Disappointment finally appeared on Xu Yourong's face as she gazed at this sight.
"The Holy Maiden's methods truly are impressive."
Mountain Man Yanzhi's voice was still gloomy, but if one listened carefully, they might be able to hear a hint of trembling and anger hidden within.
Xiao Zhang used his spear to push his exhausted body up.
The white paper flapped in the wind, the black hole seemingly serene and deep.
"Again."
He spoke in a hoarse voice, seemingly unconcerned by the situation before him.
Chen Changsheng said nothing.
Several li away, the storm of swords was preparing to return.
Xu Yourong also said nothing, taking out the Fated Star Plate from her sleeve.
Starlight fell on the Fated Star Plate, following the paths of the stars that flowed like water, emitting rays of light of varying depths.
She had calculated today's conclusion many times, but the results had always been extremely poor. That delicate arrow had also failed to achieve its goal, leaving her rather disappointed. But since the battle was not over, it had to continue. If the Fated Star Plate could not calculate a good conclusion, then if she used it as a weapon to fight, would that result be different?
The spear, imbued with the might of the world, rumbled toward the mountain.
The two sword glows met once more, cleaving apart the world with a resolve that seemed capable of incinerating the world.
The winds howled and the dust rose once more.
Through the sandstorm, Xu Yourong stared at the black hole on the mountain, her fingers constantly fiddling with the Fated Star Plate.
Mountain Man Yanzhi had suffered significant injuries, so he now sensed danger.
Whether it was Xiao Zhang's spear or Xu Yourong's Fated Star Plate.
What made him most vigilant was the aura of burning the world emitted from Chen Chang Sheng and Xu You Rong's dual swords.
This made him think of that extremely terrifying man of the Human Race many years ago.
The wariness and danger, the unbearable memories, had truly enraged Mountain Man Yanzhi.
The night clouds were torn apart by an angry roar and scattered in all directions.
The mountain range was like a cluster, the grassland was undulating, and the waves were furious.
Mountain Man Yanzhi's several thousand years of cultivation were unleashed!
The spear's radiance faded slightly, and the sword's light suddenly dimmed.
Xiao Zhang roared angrily as he struggled to hold on.
Chen Chang Sheng stood up and extended his left hand towards the mountain in front.
At this moment, Xu Yourong suddenly turned to the Fated Star Plate.
The paths of the stars on the Fated Star Plate revolved at an unimaginable speed, forming countless complex and extremely difficult to comprehend diagrams.
She was a little confused.
What exactly happened?
To be more precise, what would happen in the next moment that would change the course of this war and even the entire history so much?
The night clouds were torn apart and then flowed away. The sky suddenly became clear and the stars were extremely bright.
Suddenly, a line of fire appeared high up in the sky.
In a very short amount of time, this line of fire had arrived over the grassland.
This line of fire had come from the south. Logically speaking, Mountain Men Jingbo and Yichun should have been able to stop this line of fire, but for some reason, they had not done so. Perhaps it was because the line of fire did not pose a threat to the two parties fighting on the battlefield.
At the end of this line of fire was a Red Cloud Qilin.
The Red Cloud Qilin flapped its wings, but there was no one on it.
Everyone knew that the second-ranked Divine General of the Great Zhou, Xue Xingchuan, had used a Red Cloud Qilin as his mount. Could this be that one?
Ten-some years ago, Xue Xingchuan had been poisoned to death by Zhou Tong in the Imperial Palace, and that Red Cloud Qilin had vanished into the depths of the palace, never to be seen again.
Why had it appeared here tonight? Just what did this mean?
The grassland was silent.
This period of silence was very short.
To Mountain Man Yanzhi, Xiao Zhang, Chen Changsheng, Xu Yourong, and the two Mountain Men from the south, this period of time seemed very long.
It even felt like several years had passed in this silence.
The world was relative.
Position was relative.
Time was also relative.
The perceived time was longer than the actual time. Perhaps it was because the new object of reference that had arrived in this fragment of time was moving too quickly.
What came was a saber glow.
It came from the heavens.
This saber glow was not particularly dazzling, but very calm and serene.
Compared to the fierce winds and gravel that had yet to disperse, this saber glow could be said to be very exquisite.
Compared to Mountain Man Yanzhi's fury, this saber glow could be said to be very gentle.
But this saber glow was truly too fast.
If this saber glow had cut through flowing water, the flowing water would have definitely been severed.
If this saber glow had cut through the flowing water of time, time would have stopped for a few moments.
By the time everyone saw this saber glow, it was already descending.
Swish! There was a light sound.
The saber glow landed on the cliff.
There was no flying gravel, no rising of dust.
The saber glow seemed to be buried in the cliff.
And then, the mountain collapsed.
The earth quaked.
The mountain range was moving.
Two deep howls came from the darkness of the south.
These howls were brimming with grief and anger.
Chen Changsheng felt that these howls were rather similar to the language of the Dragon race.
An even more arduous battle would probably follow.
He stood up, preparing to fight.
At this moment, a low whistling sound came from the collapsed cliff.
It was Mountain Man Yanzhi's voice.
This time, Chen Changsheng could hear it more clearly. He realized that it was not the standard language of the Demon race, nor was it the language of the Ancient Demon race favored by the nobles of Xuelao City.
He turned to Xu Yourong. Xu Yourong lightly shook her head.
Although they could not understand the specific meaning, they could vaguely understand Mountain Man Yanzhi's current mood and the message he was trying to convey.
Mountain Man Yanzhi was not angry, unresigned, or resentful. He was very calm.
The two mountains stopped, let out several low howls, and then began to head west, gradually vanishing into the darkness.
The grasslands of the south had regained their peace, though there was now the sorrow of parting.
Blood kept dripping down the edge of the paper. Xiao Zhang reached out his hand to wipe it off. It was wet, and he was annoyed.
He looked at the person next to him, feeling even more irritated.
"This is such a good opportunity, so why aren't you chasing it! What are you standing around for? Just who are you hoping to erect a statue for you? "
Despite being jeered at, the person's expression did not change.
He had heard this sort of thing far too many times over the past few decades, and he knew how to counterattack.
"If you weren't injured, or if you could still walk a few steps, you could give chase."
Xiao Zhang had a very nasty complexion, but he could not counterattack, because this was a fact.
He truly had been injured, his injuries truly were severe, and he truly could not walk.
Most importantly, this person had saved him, whether he was willing or not.
… …
… …
As the dust settled, the sound of rocks rolling could be heard.
A person walked out of the collapsed mountain.
This person was dressed in white, his hair and beard all white, and his body was also white.
This white was not the white of snow, nor was it the white of paper. Instead, it seemed to be flowing with a faint luster, more like jade.
This person's facial features were very delicate, his skin smooth, and there was not a single wrinkle on his forehead or hands. He did not seem alive.
If not for the demon horn on his head, he might have been mistaken for a beauty carved out of white jade by a master craftsman of the Mutuo clan.
It turned out that the ancient demon experts of legend were actually this good-looking.
Chen Changsheng suddenly recalled his first meeting with the Demon Lord in Mount Han.
The Demon Lord had also been a very delicate scholar.
Xiao Zhang snorted, apparently rather dissatisfied.
But it was hard to tell if he was ashamed of his inferiority or disdainful.
The answer was not in the wind, but at the bottom of the white paper.
This person was Mountain Man Yanzhi.
The mountain was his demon body.
This was his true body.
"If you really did chase, both sides would be heavily injured."
Mountain Man Yanzhi looked at the person next to Xiao Zhang and said, "Even if you are Wang Po."
This person was dressed in a blue gown that had been washed so many times that it had turned white. His shoulders drooped and his brow drooped, making him look like a poor accountant.
Of course, it was Wang Po.
"Senior's cultivation is unfathomable. My side's four working together barely managed to win, so I naturally would not have any delusions."
This was the truth.
Even with Xiao Zhang's tyrannical spear style, the harmonious swords of Chen Changsheng and Xu Yourong, the sword array, and the Tong Bow, they had still not been able to defeat Mountain Man Yanzhi. They had only managed to heavily injure him, and then they had encountered Wang Po's Blade from the Heavens, which he had been preparing for a long time, resulting in their defeat.
Now that Xiao Zhang, Chen Changsheng, and Xu Yourong no longer had the strength to fight, it was very difficult for Wang Po to defeat the combined might of Mountain Man Jingbo and Mountain Man Yichun.
Of course, the reverse was also true.
Mountain Man Yanzhi said, "So I stopped them from attacking and had them leave."
Wang Po said, "Senior wanted to preserve the continuation of the Mountain Man lineage."
Mountain Man Yanzhi said, "I've already done my best. Presumably, after I die and see Great Teacher, he won't be able to say anything about me."
Chen Changsheng was well-versed in the Daoist Canon, Xu Yourong was extremely well-read, and Wang Po and Xiao Zhang were extremely knowledgeable, but they only knew that the Eight Great Mountain Men had some sort of relationship with Grand Scholar Tungus.
Who was the Great Teacher that Mountain Man Yanzhi spoke of? Was it Grand Scholar Tungus?
If this was the case, then the Eight Great Mountain Men being Tungus's students was truly a secret that no one knew.
But why did he call Tungus' Great Teacher '? Was it because Tungus had the word 'Great' in his title? Or could it be that … the Eight Great Mountain Men had another young teacher?
Chen Changsheng and the others thought of the other contents of the rumor, and their expressions flickered.
In the most secretive of rumors, it was said that the appearance of the Eight Great Mountain Men was also related to the Pope of that generation.
Could it be that the Pope was also their teacher?
"Yes, we have two teachers."
Mountain Man Yanzhi confirmed their conjecture.
All cultivators knew of the relationship between the Pope and Grand Scholar Tungus.
From Purification to Star Condensation, the countless rules and knowledge that the common people now took for granted came from the correspondence between these two.
In terms of influence and martial strength, the Pope and Grand Scholar Tungus might not have been the best, but in terms of their influence on history, they had the right to be ranked in the top three. In terms of intelligence and knowledge, the two were far ahead of anyone else.
The wisest geniuses often had the craziest ideas.
Grand Scholar Tungus and the Pope had actually succeeded in concealing themselves from the entire world and secretly worked together to carry out a single task.
Perhaps it was to verify the possibility of eternal life, the continuity of the soul, the exchange of information between races, or perhaps it was purely out of boredom.
They created the Eight Great Mountain Men.
Many of the details of this process had already disappeared. The Eight Great Mountain Men themselves did not know, but there was one thing that was certain: they were not demons, nor were they humans, nor were they mixed-bloods like Qi Jian. Rather, they were a lifeform that existed between the two races, perhaps even above them.
Every existence needed meaning, or perhaps it could be said that existences would actively seek out meaning and bestow it upon themselves.
Grand Scholar Tungus and the Pope passed away one after the other.
The Eight Great Mountain Men left the orchard and came to the world.
They began to ponder this matter.
Given their intelligence, they could not guess at the true thoughts of their two teachers, much less touch upon the domains of eternal life and the soul.
In the end, they reached a conclusion.
The two teachers had created themselves to prove that the Human race and the Demon race could live in peace, should live in peace.
They were the symbol of peace.
Mountain Man Yanzhi said, "Our goal is world peace. Before peace is finally achieved, we at least hope that neither the Divine race nor the Human race will become too powerful, leading to the danger of extermination on the other side. Thus, when one side is at its peak, we will help the other side."
Chen Changsheng said, "So in those years when you led the army to fight against Emperor Taizong, you suddenly disappeared."
Mountain Man Yanzhi replied, "Yes."
"Where were you when the Demon race was at its peak? And where were you during the siege of Luoyang? "
Xu Yourong suddenly said, her voice very cold.
Mountain Man Yanzhi replied, "At the time, the Human race still had many experts and was not in danger of extermination."
Xu Yourong asked, "As long as the race was not exterminated, the humans were treated like livestock and treated as food by the Demon race. Do you all feel that it doesn't matter?"
Mountain Man Yanzhi fell quiet for a while, then said, "As I said earlier, when we were young, we read many human stories and plays in Xuelao City. The latter were brought to the theater by Great Teacher while the former were sent to us by Little Teacher. In the end, there are still some differences between the two."
They had been born in Xuelao City and had grown up in Xuelao City, so they naturally had a much deeper affection for the Demon race.
As time passed, their sense of belonging to the Human race grew fainter and fainter, even though the human blood flowing through their veins would not grow fainter.
"So your existences have no meaning. In the eyes of the Demon race, you are grass on the wall that swings with the wind. Presumably, both the old Demon Lord and the current Demon Lord are extremely wary of you. I even think that the old Demon Lord has probably killed a few of your members. And to the Human race, you are no different from Black Robe, all traitors. "
Xu Yourong's voice was very calm, but her words were extremely lethal.
Wang Po and Xiao Zhang glanced at each other, not knowing what to say.
The truth was the most hurtful.
It was obvious that Xu Yourong was right about the Eight Great Mountain Men's encounter with the demons.
Mountain Man Yanzhi angrily retorted, "We waver, but that doesn't mean we are traitors! Don't compare us to Black Robe! "
Xu Yourong changed the topic and pointed to a place to the north. "What was originally in the darkness over there?"
Mountain Man Yanzhi froze, then said, "We're already at a time like this. There's no need to bring it up again."
Xu Yourong's lips perked up as she jeered, "Even at a time like this, the Demon race is still fighting among themselves. It would truly be illogical for the race not to be exterminated."
Mountain Man Yanzhi had a rather nasty expression.
"It's obvious that this is Black Robe's scheme. Why do you need to cover it up for him?"
Xu Yourong asked, "Is it the Demon Commander?"
Mountain Man Yanzhi hesitated for a few moments, then nodded.
Xu Yourong nodded and said, "I don't have anything else to ask."
Only now did Wang Po understand what she was doing, and he felt deep admiration for her.
He turned to Mountain Man Yanzhi and said, "Sir had best have them go a little farther."
He was speaking of Mountain Men Jingbo and Yichun.
The fires of war were merciless and were certain to engulf the entire continent. Even the Great Western Continent might not be able to avoid it.
Mountain Man Yanzhi said, "They will go to the distant Abyssal Sea."
The curtain had truly fallen on the story of the Eight Great Mountain Men.
The mission they had given themselves had come to an end.
Mountain Man Yanzhi's words were an admission of defeat.
Not tonight's defeat, but the defeat of the entire Demon race.
Before the war had even begun, he had admitted defeat.
To defeat a mountain, one first had to break the mountain's momentum.
This was what Xiao Zhang had done.
The true strength of a mountain lay in its momentum.
The difference between high and low cliffs, the rise and fall of the mountain ridges, all of these were momentum.
The momentum of the world lay in the fortune of the various races.
In the last one thousand years, the fortune of the Human race had gradually flourished.
Emperor Taizong, Emperor Xian, and the Tianhai Divine Empress could all be called wise sovereigns of their generation.
Most importantly, they had all died when they should have died, leaving only their good legacies to the Great Zhou Dynasty.
Like the alliance with the Demi-human race, the construction of the seventeen cities of Snowhold Pass and Blue Pass, the confluence of the north and south.
The current emperor was still a wise sovereign.
He did not leave the palace, but he was able to govern the world. For ten-some years, the weather had been good, the rivers clear. Did he really think that the Heavenly Dao was taking pity on him?
Compared to the Human race, the Demon race's luck in the last one thousand years had been extremely poor.
The previous Demon Lord's abilities were also extremely perfect. He was a true lord of his generation, even worthy of being called grand.
If he had died a little earlier.
Alas, this Demon Lord had lived for too long.
He was older than Emperor Taizong, and he had even once called Emperor Taizu brother.
But Emperor Taizu had died, Emperor Taizong had died, and Emperor Gaozong had died, but he had not died. He was still not willing to die.
Only flowing water could not rot. The Demon Lord had ruled Xuelao City for too long, causing the entire Demon race to become lifeless.
Even more frightening was that the old Demon Lord's body was still alive, but his mind was gradually rotting.
Perhaps because he had been facing death for too long, he had no mind for politics. He had spent the vast majority of his time and energy cultivating his demon body and soul.
He wanted to cure his old injuries, wanted to enter the legendary Grand Freedom Realm, wanted … to live forever.
Thus, he had taken the risk of entering Mount Han and wanted to eat Chen Changsheng. Thus, he had fallen into Shang Xingzhou's trap, engaged in a world-shaking battle with the White Emperor on the snowy plains, and was heavily injured. Thus, he had revealed a loophole, allowing Black Robe and the Demon Commander to work together to overthrow him, and then he had been forced into the abyss by his own son.
In the end, he had died in the snowy mountains for no other reason than that he had wanted to live too much.
It was still the same words as before. Unfortunately, it was truly a pity that he had died too late.
If he had died a little earlier like Emperor Taizong, the upper echelons of the Demon race would have been more naturally replaced. Even if they would still have weakened, the time for their revival would have come much earlier.
In the end, it was all fate.
This was the fate of the Demon Lord, the fate of the Demon race.
Tonight was the Demon race's last chance. The Eight Great Mountain Men had wanted to defy the heavens and change fate, but they had failed.
Now, the situation of the world had been settled, the Demon race gone.
"Woman, oh woman …
"Old man, oh old man …"
The starlight shone on Mountain Man Yanzhi's ghastly pale face.
His lips were also white, and they trembled like piles of snow on the verge of collapsing.
"Destroy my Mount Yanzhi and make me unable to smile."
After saying this, he closed his eyes and died. (To be continued …)
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