Ze Tian Ji (Way of Choices)
chapter-300

The atmosphere of their conversation in the run-down temple during the rainy night was very good.

Every cultivator on the long path of cultivation would stumble upon difficulties along the way, left with questions all too difficult for their present selves.. The questions were closely linked to their existences. Even their masters would find it exceedingly tough to provide an answer, and that only when a long time had been spent contemplating upon it. As for the difficulty of these questions, it actually represented the level of the cultivator from a certain perspective.

In the conversation regarding cultivation, the questions raised by Chen Changsheng were all challenging and quite high up on the totem pole in terms of level. Most of the time, Xu Yourong listened quietly, only able to contribute with a few sentences on occasion. However, every sentence was akin to a guiding bonfire at night. It was very enlightening, illuminating the world in front of him with radiant light, allowing him to see a completely new path.

This made him feel very surprised, followed by admiration shortly thereafter. Her attainment in knowledge in the aspect of cultivation was unfathomable. Although Tang Thirty-Six and Su Moyu both had extremely great talent, hers took everything to a whole new level. Amongst all the peers that he had encountered in his life, only Gou Hanshi could be compared to her, and of course, his senior Yu Ren who seemed to be incapable of cultivation.

Xu Yourong likewise began to feel admiration towards him, because the caliber and ingenuity of his thoughts and the perspective with which he viewed things were mirrored in the difficulty of his questions. She thought in her heart that in all of the cultivators of the younger generation, there was actually nobody who could compare to her other than senior Qiushan and Gou Hanshi. Even though the Snow Mountain Sect had a legacy of ten thousand years, deep inner secrets, and the fact that it had once experienced unlimited glory, it was still located in the northwest after all. It was not like the academies in the capital, nor like the Longevity Sect and the Holy Maiden Peak, which possessed the newest knowledge in the world of cultivation at any time. He actually possessed such knowledge, experience and capabilities, so he could be said to be exceptionally talented.

The cold rain outside the temple fell harder and harder, the ambient noise muffling their voices as they conversed, and the hay by the fire became warmer and warmer. The two sat leaning on the wall an inch apart, talking quietly. Once in a while, they would think silently for a moment with their eyebrows furrowed. They would be illuminated by the fire in an interesting look. Afterwards, he could articulate a certain conjecture, and she would mention another possibility.

To be able to go from being unable to cultivate to being the youngest cultivator in history to reach the upper level of Ethereal Opening in a short year, of course Chen Changsheng was a genius in cultivation, other than the fact that his master and senior had helped him establish an overly firm foundation. It must be known that it was definitely impossible to place first upon the First Banner in the Grand Examination only by relying on extensive reading and memorising of the Daoist Canons. As for Xu Yourong, her talent in cultivation was even more self-evident. It must be known that, if viewed closely, the youngest person to reach the upper level of Ethereal Opening was not Chen Changsheng, but rather her, as she was three days younger than him.

At this moment, neither of them knew the real identity of the other, but they both became more and more certain that the opposing party was a genius in cultivation. Geniuses tended to be lonely, as they lacked people of equal level of intellect to talk to. Although this saying seemed somewhat old, it was very true. All geniuses wished that they could meet a companion, a person who could easily understand what they were talking about, allowing them to discuss about questions that could not be discussed normally. It was just like an itch on your back that had itched for many years, and then suddenly, someone helps you scratch your back, scratching the itch just right. How could it not be comfortable?

The conversation became more and more enjoyable, and even Xu Yourong, who tended to maintain her calmness, began to grow brighter and brighter in her eyes.

Until very late at night, Chen Changsheng mentioned a somewhat contradictory idea. He mentioned whether the space in the spleen could substitute the second meridian. This made Xu Yourong think hard for a very long time, and just when she thought of a possibility, she suddenly felt her shoulder become slightly heavy. Afterwards, she smelt the very faint odor of a body.

Looking at Chen Changsheng who slept soundly on her shoulder, she was slightly startled, and a sliver of slightly shameful annoyance appeared in her eyes.

She disliked being so close to men, not to mention being in such a close posture. On the way here, she was carried by Chen Changsheng, which already made her already feel extremely burdened, not to mention actually being leaned on by him.

She extended a finger, and slowly brought it to Chen Changsheng’s forehead. When she was about to push him away, however, for some reason, she did not use any power.

A snore like thunder echoed through the run-down temple, which actually covered up the sound of rain outside.

Xu Yourong looked at the sleeping Chen Changsheng, and thought about how he was extremely drowsy all the time. Whenever the opportunity presented itself, he would basically fall asleep as soon as he closed his eyes, which should have been the side effects of the technique from the Snow Mountain Sect… tonight was definitely not an exception. Earlier, he should have been almost unable to stay awake, but contrary to that, he accompanied her to talk. This made her feel a little warm.

At the same time, she also felt it was somewhat shameful. This was the first time she was so close to a male.

Of course, she had already been carried on his back for several days, but… that was not on purpose. There was the reason of injury, and it was temporary… in short, she used countless ways to open herself up, to look for excuses before, but now, she could not find any excuses at all. He just leaned on her shoulder like that, with his eyes and brows right in front of her eyes, incomparably clear.

The ladies in the small town always said stinky men, stinky men. He was not very stinky, and did not have any particular smell.

Alright, looking at the fact that you are so injured, and that I am also heavily injured, enough to be unable to move, I will let you be.

Xu Yourong thought like that, and then pulled back her finger. Afterwards, she closed her eyes, and fell asleep to the sound of the night rain. However, for a very long time, her eyelashes constantly trembled gently.

It was unknown whether it was because his snoring was too loud or some other reason.

“What a pair of adulterers.”

The rain stopped at an unknown time, and Nanke’s cold voice resounded outside the run-down temple.

With the sounds of footsteps, she walked into the temple accompanied by the Demon General couple, the zither-playing old man, and the two maids.

Her gaze shifted from the already-extinguished fire to the pile of hay on the side of the wall. Looking at the messy hay straws and the marks of being squashed by a body, it could be deduced very easily that Xu Yourong and Chen Changsheng should have slept in embrace last night.

The two maids knew that, from youth, she strictly adhered to the rules of etiquette, and viewed herself as a virtuous noble. She viewed the word ‘virtuous’ with unbelievable importance, so she did not feel that her current reaction was weird. The Demon General couple instead could not help but be slightly surprised, before feeling that it was slightly funny. Liu Wan’er said, “They are engaged, so how can it be considered adulterous?”

Nanke was speechless for a moment. The strength of the Demon General couple was very great, and they also were not her subordinates, so she could not punish them as she did when she punished her maids. However, she still replied confidently, “The male and female are not close. Even if they are engaged, before they marry, they must maintain distance. On the way, she let him carry her. That can be explained as being forced due to no alternative, but how can this be explained?”

Liu Wan’er smiled, but did not continue to say anything.

Since Xu Yourong and Chen Changsheng had already left, the group of demon experts naturally did not stop for any longer and left after leaving the temple.

On the two sides of the White Grass Path, the grassland was filled with the Qi of monsters everywhere. Some monsters were so strong that even the Demon General couple felt slightly scared.

Although it could be said that the zither-playing old man could use his zither sounds to control a few low-level monsters, he did not have the power to control such strong monsters, not to mention the fact that the zither was currently being carried on his back and not being played at all. However, for some reason, the great monsters did not attack them, and even had a behaviour that seemed to slightly show a feeling of servitude.

This was because of the piece of black wood in Nanke’s hand.

It was unknown what this black wood was, but it constantly gave out some type of message to the surrounding grasslands.

The gaze of the zither-playing old man landed on the piece of black wood. He thought about his shock a few days ago when he first saw Nanke pull out the black wood—a piece of black wood that did not seem mystical in any way could actually compel the monsters within the Plains of the Unsetting Sun to obey her instructions. Even the most powerful, and at the same time, the most prideful and brutal, monster felt slightly unsettled in the beginning, before quickly showing its servitude.

Very obviously, the piece of black wood was the most powerful tool that Military Advisor Black Robe had left for Nanke. Even Nanke had never thought that this piece of black wood would actually have such unbelievable and magical powers. Black Robe began to become more and more mysterious and great in the hearts of these demon experts. Just who was he, why did he understand the Garden of Zhou so much, and even why did he have a magical artifact that obviously belonged to the Garden of Zhou?

There were matters that they were unable to understand, and unable to ask. What the zither-playing old man did not understand was why Nanke did not use this piece of black wood and order the innumerable monsters in the grasslands to directly destroy Chen Changsheng, and instead contrarily ordered those monsters to not attack on their own accord. Just what was she thinking?

“For Master to give me this piece of black wood, he must have calculated that I might walk into this grassland. However, Master has never told me the history of this piece of black wood, showing that Master has decided in the end for me to finish them off myself. I can use the black wood to kill them, but I can also pursue a greater dream.”

Nanke gazed into the distance of the White Grass Path and did not see the two of them. However, as if she had seen them, she said indifferently, “Although I don’t understand how they did it, they obviously know where Zhou Dufu’s tomb is. They also know the location of the Sword Pool, so of course they can’t die.”

The zither-playing old man said in a low voice, “But we have already found the White Grass Path. Why leave them alive?”

Nanke said, “If we did not have them, we would never be able to find this White Grass Path in this vast grassland. At the same time, I won’t be able to confirm what ordeals that must be gone through to enter Zhou Dufu’s tomb. I will never use something that I am unconfident in to gamble for something the opposing has already gained.

The zither-playing old man understood, and no longer said anything any more. He returned to one side respectfully and submissively. Teng Xiaoming walked out to a certain area of the path, and squatted down. He closely examined the tracks left behind by Xu Yourong and Chen Changsheng. He felt great respect towards Xu Yourong and Chen Changsheng, and thought that, to be able to last until now, no wonder they were the most outstanding male and female in the younger generation of the humans.

Nanke raised her head and confirmed the position of the sun after the rain, before continuing onwards. Her leather boots stepped on the white grass, which was like frost, leaving behind a clear footprint. The zither-playing old man, the two demon maids, and the couple, Teng Xiaoming and Liu Wan’er, followed behind. Even more behind them, in the vast grassland, there were countless monsters that followed behind quietly like the tide sweeping over pools of water and wasteland.

The scene was so terrifying that it could be called spectacular in its own right.