Chapter 286: How Could One Not Know What Heaven Is?
Chapter 286: How Could One Not Know What Heaven Is?
After leaving the North Cloud Path, the further north Chen Changsheng traveled, the fewer signs of human life he saw. The wind and snow grew fiercer, blown down by the gale.
It felt like heavy rain pounding his body, even though it was snow.
Apart from the howling wind and snow, all other sounds around him seemed cut off. Only the relentless, booming beat of his own heart remained audible.
Anyone capable of traversing such a blizzard must be truly extraordinary. In this environment, devoid of other sounds and gripped by bitter cold, the torment of body and mind could drive one mad.
But for Chen Changsheng, it seemed like a familiar state of being.
As he walked, he appeared to stumble over something. Looking down, he saw it was a frozen corpse, seemingly lying there for a long time.
He paid it little mind and continued forward.
Further ahead lay a stretch of snowy peaks. Here, the wind and snow lessened, but the cold sharpened, biting deeper than outside.
Chen Changsheng stopped to rest. He took a couple of swallows of wine. A puff of white mist escaped his lips as he exhaled.
“Crunch…”
The sound of footsteps on compacted snow broke the silence.
Chen Changsheng paused, turning his head to look.
A figure was walking towards him from further down the path.
Chen Changsheng froze where he stood.
His mind wandered, dazed for a long while.
Only when that person stood directly before him did he slowly return to himself.
That face – Chen Changsheng knew it intimately. He had lingered within this person’s memories for so long, searching endlessly for an answer, but finding none.
“How have you been lately?” the person spoke and asked.
Upon hearing the voice, Chen Changsheng frowned. He tilted his head back and gulped down another mouthful of wine, sharpening his awareness.
“You are not Yu Xuan,” Chen Changsheng stated.
The newcomer looked exactly like the Yu Xuan from his memories, as if carved from the same mold. Yet, the moment she spoke, Chen Changsheng knew this wasn’t her.
‘Yu Xuan’ smiled. “Of course I’m not.”
Chen Changsheng snorted coldly. “How should I address you? Heaven and Earth? The Heavenly Dao? Or Celestial Sovereign?”
“Any will do.”
‘Yu Xuan’ gazed at him calmly. “Haven’t you always wanted very much to meet me?”
Chen Changsheng raised his hand. The Taiqing Sword was already gripped within it.
‘Yu Xuan’ glanced at the blade. She seemed not to recognize it, merely commenting, “That is a good sword.”
Chen Changsheng said, “This sword has slain men, demons, immortals, and dragons. Yet it has never slain Heaven.”
‘Yu Xuan’ asked, “Do you truly intend to kill me?”
No ripple stirred in Chen Changsheng’s eyes. “She used countless souls as fodder, developed Rebirth, perfected the ‘Sutra of Rebirth’. But did she permit everything you have done?”
‘Yu Xuan”s eyes held not a hint of emotion. She met Chen Changsheng’s gaze directly. Suddenly, she spoke again.
She took two steps forward. “Have you ever considered,” she continued, “what this place was like before the Demon Race entered the world?”
The grip Chen Changsheng held on the Taiqing Sword subtly relaxed.
“In times long past, natural and man-made disasters were rare. Humans and the Demon Race coexisted peacefully. All living things existed for life itself, not for death.”
‘Yu Xuan’ went on. “Mortals dwelled in cities, countless demons inhabited the mountains. None were troubled about survival. But not long ago, everything changed.”
Her gaze fixed upon Chen Changsheng. “My origin was a fragment of Heaven and Earth. She used me to forge this realm. Countless souls trapped here were destined for decay and extinction. Yet, by my own power, I perfected the Dao of Reincarnation! I made this realm renew endlessly, enduring for one hundred and forty-nine thousand eight hundred years to this very day. Do you know how much I have sacrificed?”
“I am Destiny. How could I not know what Heaven truly is?”
‘Yu Xuan’ advanced step by deliberate step until she stood right before Chen Changsheng. “Now, see how Heaven and Earth have become this?” she said. “Do you truly believe this is my wish? Was it her wish?”
Chen Changsheng asked, “What are you trying to say?”
‘Yu Xuan’ opened her mouth as if to speak, then paused in silence for a moment. Finally, she said, “Stop this. Cease it now. I desire no more killing. If you truly understand me, if you understood her, you would not wish to continue.”
Chen Changsheng stared into her eyes, seeming to search for something within them. The result was disappointing.
He voiced his question. “Perhaps we should speak clearly. And Yu Xuan… is she here too?”
‘Yu Xuan’ kept her eyes on him. “You will know. This Heaven and Earth… it was always her gift, left specifically for you.”
“Chen Changsheng, you must understand this: This Heaven and Earth has me at its core. Do you truly believe your External Incarnation can Remake Heaven and Earth?”
“Do not continue this path.”
Chen Changsheng countered, “Did you appear before me just to utter threats?”
“Not a threat,” ‘Yu Xuan’ replied. “A warning.”
“The last thing I want,” she added, “is for you to become tangled in this as well.”
As her final words fell, her form abruptly became hazy, translucent.
Chen Changsheng’s brows shot up. He gripped his sword and lunged forward.
A surge of Sword Qi shot out, potent and sharp, yet it passed harmlessly through her intangible form. The unleashed Sword Qi struck a distant snow-capped peak.
A thunderous rumble followed as a colossal avalanche crashed down.
And that ‘Yu Xuan’, right before Chen Changsheng’s eyes, dissipated completely into nothingness.
Chen Changsheng frowned. A fleeting moment of disorientation passed. He then raised his eyes, scanning the immense silence of the surrounding Snow Mountain.
“Escaped…”
Chen Changsheng felt this was unexpected.
In his calculations, it shouldn’t have happened this way.
Could it be that earlier, Heaven had genuinely held back? Deliberately?
But… why?
And moreover, how much truth, how much falsehood lay within all the words she had just spoken?
Chen Changsheng had failed to discern any of it.
His gaze turned once more upon the surrounding Heaven and Earth.
Suddenly, he felt he could see a little more clearly, yet it was as if a layer of mist still obscured his vision.
‘Careful consideration is needed.’
Chen Changsheng frowned. He looked ahead towards the path before him, then glanced back behind him.
One side, the Mortal World. One side, the Demon Realm.
Where should he begin his search?
Abruptly, a figure surfaced in Chen Changsheng’s thoughts: the monk clad in kasaya robes whom he had seen beneath the City Platform.
That monk must surely know something.
“It seems I can no longer afford to be idle.”
Chen Changsheng sighed. He then raised his hand in a beckoning gesture.
“Taiqing!”
Taiqing transformed back into a sword. Stepping onto it, he morphed into a streak of red light that pierced directly towards the massive chasm.
That sword light exited the Divine Domain and hurtled into the Demon Realm. Below, layer upon layer of mountains, green waters, and verdant peaks flashed past in an instant.
They plunged down amidst the twenty-two great mountains within the Demon Realm.
…
The Second Peak was especially desolate and quiet.
Among the Thirty-Six Caves, the most unique now were just two. First was the Great Demon Peak, inhabited solely by the Mountain Lord. The second was this, the Second Peak.
Among the demon populace, rumors often spread that the master of the Second Peak was bloodthirsty and cruel. Furthermore, by the Second Peak Lord’s explicit demand, this peak bore only the title of Peak Lord and hosted no lesser demons, no subordinate monsters at all.
Excepting the Great Demon Peak, the Second Peak stood as the most deathly quiet mountain among the Thirty-Six Caves.
Atop its summit, within a deep, clear pool,
Gou’er sat cross-legged, wearing his Wooden Carved Mask. His brows were deeply furrowed, forehead slick with cold sweat.
He seemed engaged in a desperate struggle, forcing himself to resist lapsing into madness. He had endured this torment for many days.
A flash of sword light touched down upon the peak.
Chen Changsheng’s eyes fell upon Gou’er sitting within the clear pool.
Immediately, his brows drew together in a frown.