Ze Tian Ji (Way of Choices)
chapter-780

Chapter 780 – A Simple Story

Starting several hundred years ago, the Demon Military Advisor Black Robe began to plant spies in the human world to the south. Although this plan did not seem to proceed too smoothly on the surface, no one truly knew just how many people had secretly shown loyalty to the Demon race. The story of the Garden of Zhou had long since shattered this confidence.

Black Robe had always been the target of the young Demon Lord’s respect and study. To Black Robe, any human could be the target of his bribery, so long as they were favorable to the great undertaking of the Demon race. Even if it was a foe who had slain his father, the grudge could be dissipated with a smile. If it was a very important target, he might even be willing to pay a greater price.

Shang Xingzhou was currently the most important figure in the human world. Logically speaking, it was simply impossible to bribe such a person, as the demons would not be able to provide any benefit. To the demons, however, the chance was still there, as there was clearly a problem between Shang Xingzhou and Chen Changsheng that could be used.

Since there was a chance, there was a possibility, so why did Chen Changsheng so firmly believe that the young Demon Lord was lying?

“Although he holds supreme prestige and power in the human world, it’s clear that he’s always been wary of you. Could this not be an incentive? As for power or profit, I truly cannot offer him more, but I can promise to divide the north and south and provide peace to the world. Could he not possibly wish to see such a beautiful future?”

The young Demon Lord was not attempting to convince Chen Changsheng, but to seek through the answer a deeper understanding of Shang Xingzhou, of this master and disciple.

Chen Changsheng replied, “He would not accept your conditions, as he would not be willing, and so he would not believe that you were willing either.”

The young Demon Lord’s face turned icy as he asked, “Why would he be unwilling?”

Chen Changsheng answered, “There are three thousand Daos, but he only cultivates the Dao of following his heart. I clearly understand what he wants to do, so he could never join hands with you.”

The young Demon Lord slightly narrowed his eyes and asked, “Just what does he want then?”

Chen Changsheng pointed at him and his father and said, “He wants to kill all of you and unite this world.”

The young Demon Lord fell silent for a very long time, then smiled. “Quite the grand ambition.”

His smile was not like the smile of the previous Demon Lord. It did not give off a cool and arrogant feeling, but instead a somewhat shy yet chilling aura.

“I truly can’t deceive you. My ally truly was not Shang Xingzhou.”

The young Demon Lord laughed and added, “But he really does want to kill you, and this truly is his trap. From the military to the Mount Song Army headquarters, from the Imperial Court to Wenshui, many foolish people, whether voluntarily or on orders, worked together with him, but none of them knew the truth of this plan.”

The foolish people he spoke of naturally referred to the now-deceased Zhu Ye, Ning Shiwei, and Tianhai Zhanyi. He was also referring to high-ranking officials in the military, and even that incredibly powerful prince in the Imperial Court. Of course, there were also that deputy general of the Mount Song Army who cherished the soldiers like his children, An Hua, and other such kind-hearted people.

“Some people needed to find the master of the Cinnabar Pill, some people only needed to send a young array master to the Mount Song Army headquarters, and some people were responsible for the place of the young array master on the list. However, no one knew that the young array master was actually a little monster from the Longevity Sect called Chusu who had received an order from Shang Xingzhou and the Tang Second Master to come here and kill you.”

The smile vanished from the young Demon Lord’s face as he calmly continued, “And all I did was think of a way to replace that little monster in the middle.”

This was the whole truth, but a few matters still remained concealed behind the mist. Since that little monster from the Longevity Sect called Chusu had been dispatched by Shang Xingzhou and the Tang clan to kill Chen Changsheng, it was probably incredibly strong, even terrifying, yet it had been silently replaced…even if he was the Demon Lord, such a feat was still too inconceivable.

Chen Changsheng also noticed that when he spoke about that monster Chusu from the Longevity Sect and the matter of its replacement, both the Demon Lord and Nanke did not show any change of expression. Presumably, in their eyes, this was a very ordinary matter, at least not anything difficult, but why was this?

He thought of a certain possibility, yet he felt it too absurd to continue thinking about…so he just asked.

“Just who is that person?”

It was Chen Changsheng’s freedom to ask and an inevitability that the young Demon Lord would not answer.

He asked back to Chen Changsheng, “Shang Xingzhou wants to kill you; do you not feel sad about it?”

Chen Changsheng shook his head. “Master has thought of killing me many times. I’ve gotten used to it.”

The young Demon Lord sighed, “I didn’t expect this generation’s Pope to be a blindly filial disciple.”

Chen Changsheng did not explain anything, only asked himself a silent question. Though it was easy to understand why his master wanted to borrow this matter to kill him, why had the young Demon Lord taken such a risk in coming?

No matter how close this mountain range was to the snowy plains of the demon realm, this was still within the territory of the Human race. It was naturally a risk for the Demon Lord to appear here. For instance, his father, who had been many times stronger than his son, never left Xuelao City, and the only time he risked sneaking into Mount Han, he almost failed to come back.

The Lord of the Demon race shared a very similar status to the Pope of the Human race. Placing himself at risk to Chen Changsheng was incredibly unwise.

This meant that from the very start, the young Demon Lord’s goal had not been Chen Changsheng, or not just Chen Changsheng.

Chen Changsheng looked nearby.

The Demon Lord that had once ruled the northern reaches of the continent for a thousand years was now a figure of blood, his entire body drenched in golden fluid, like the idol worshiped by some cult.

Nanke silently kneeled beside him, her thoughts a mystery.

The Demon Lord began to take extremely long breaths, as if he was about to fall asleep at any moment, if not for the fact that his eyes were fixed on the starry sky. Of course, this could also be understood as the frequency of his breaths greatly decreasing, about to stop at any moment. At that moment, perhaps he really would die with his eyes open.

The young Demon Lord said, “If it were just to kill you, the little monster Chusu from the Longevity Sect launching a sneak attack from the stretcher would probably have succeeded. But I naturally had a more important reason for taking such great risks in coming south, besides killing Your Holiness.

“Shang Xingzhou and the Tang clan did not know that my father was still alive, but I did.”

He looked at Chen Changsheng and said, “I also knew that since my father was alive, he would come and find you.”

Chen Changsheng noted, “The Tang clan finding the clues in the Cinnabar Pill essentially pointed the way for your father.”

The young Demon Lord affirmed, “Correct, and when he came, I had been waiting here for him for a very long time.”

After saying so, he walked over and crouched down next to the Demon Lord, caressing his elderly face.

“From the moment I learned of Shang Xingzhou’s plan, I knew that this was the best chance, perhaps the only chance, to kill Sir.

“Of course I was afraid of Sir, and I absolutely did not want to meet Sir. But I needed to kill Sir. Neither the humans in the south nor the Military Advisor could do. I had to do it myself.

“You see Sir, this entire matter was just that simple.”