Book 6: Fierce the West Wind
Fierce the west wind, geese fly across the vast sky, crying out to the frosty morning moon.
Under the frosty morning moon, horse hooves disorderly stamp, the horn sobs.
In vain they boast that the grand pa.s.s is a wall of iron, urging us to stride across its summit.
Striding across its summit, the green mountains like the ocean waves, the sunset red as blood.
—Loushan Pa.s.s, Mao Zedong, 1935
Chapter 821 – The Palm Falls Toward the Stone
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
Linghai Zhiw.a.n.g prostrated towards Chen Changsheng beneath the pear tree, and then rose.
This entire process happened very quickly.
He had gotten up somewhat faster than he normally did, which could mean that he was making efficient movements or that he did not care.
Many people, especially the important figures within the Li Palace, knew that Linghai Zhiw.a.n.g had never liked the Pope and held a faint hostility towards him.
Daoist Baishi and An Lin saw this sight out of the corner of their eyes and did not find it strange.
Linghai Zhiw.a.n.g had stood up, but Daoist Baishi and An Lin were still prostrating, resulting in a difference of height.
It was similar to the difference in positions between the pear tree and Chen Changsheng.
The caress of the cool breeze caused countless white flowers to drift down onto Chen Changsheng"s head and shoulders.
Linghai Zhiw.a.n.g"s right hand also drifted down, straight towards Daoist Baishi"s head.
A cold wind howled, the trees swayed, and the pear blossoms frenziedly danced.
This wind even affected the distant Wenshui, driving the waters into turmoil. The water gra.s.s at the bottom of the river began to madly writhe about like countless snakes.
Linghai Zhiw.a.n.g had struck too abruptly. None of the people in front of the hall had time to react.
An Lin caught the palm descending like a bolt of lightning out of the corner of her eye. Abnormally shocked, she wanted to stop him, but was already too late.
But Daoist Baishi apparently had already prepared himself.
He still maintained his prostrating posture, but his right palm had already left the ground, flipping over like duckweed being blown about the surface of the water.
With a clap, the two palms met over Daoist Baishi"s head.
The stone pavement in front of the hall quaked and sank several inches!
The holy gate was blown about by a violent gale, causing it to creak and seem on the verge of collapse.
Linghai Zhiw.a.n.g"s body swayed and he retreated two steps. Countless pure strands of Qi seeped out of his divine robe and tore through the air.
Daoist Baishi stood up, his face a deep red, looking like countless tiny drops of blood were seeping out of his skin.
An Lin was thrown into an even deeper shock, as the result of this clash of palms had completely exceeded her expectations.
Linghai Zhiw.a.n.g and Daoist Baishi had similar cultivations, both being at the peak of Star Condensation.
Even if Daoist Baishi had been vigilant this entire time, Linghai Zhiw.a.n.g"s strike had been too sudden, completely in harmony with the principles of the world. It could be considered the strongest attack Linghai Zhiw.a.n.g had made in his entire life, yet it was unable to heavily wound Daoist Baishi, just barely gaining the upper hand. Why was this?
An Lin sensed the divine Qi emanating from Daoist Baishi"s body, her face paling as she thought of a certain possibility.
Daoist Baishi was not bleeding, but he knew that he had suffered significant injuries from Linghai Zhiw.a.n.g"s sinister and full-force ambush. He had to leave immediately.
He had a deep understanding of the people present and knew that this was his last chance to leave.
Linghai Zhiw.a.n.g needed time to settle his true essence and An Lin had just sobered up and had not entered into a fighting state. The young man covered in a fierce sword intent that had just walked out of the hall was presumably a young expert of the Mount Li Sword Sect, but the Mount Li Sword Sect was not skilled at the art of pursuit, so this young man probably could not stop him.
As for that other person… He shot a glance at Chen Changsheng beneath the pear tree and thought, you still haven"t fully recovered, so even if you use your ten thousand swords, how can you stop me?
He gave a snort, then activated a movement technique. Transformed into a wisp of smoke beneath the winter sun, he shot out of the church.
As the fastest of the Orthodoxy"s Prefects, possessing the most secretive of movement techniques, he had conjectured correctly: no one present could stop him.
But he did not know of one thing: two more people had accompanied Chen Changsheng from the Mount Song Army headquarters to Wenshui City.
The wisp of smoke traversed the forested garden, yet it found it impossible to leave. Wherever he went, a little girl would always appear in front of him.
Daoist Baishi was forced to appear. As he looked at the girl in front of him, his eyes brimmed with shock.
This girl had a childish face and dull eyes. It didn"t even look like she could think.
So how can she tell where I"m going? Why is she so fast!
What made him even more uneasy was that when he was flying through the forest earlier, he felt like a cold wind had been blowing at his neck.
It was like someone had been behind him this entire time…
He knew that he had to use all his strength.
A divine Qi erupted from his Daoist robes, countless pure rays of light shooting out from his palm.
This was a white stone, perfectly round. Those who had visited the Heaven Lake of Mount Han would recognize it as a Heavenstone.
This Heavenstone was inlaid with an extremely complex pattern of black gold, forming an array. It looked extremely beautiful, perhaps worthy of being called a perfect intersection of man and nature.
This was one of the precious treasures of the Orthodoxy: the Falling Star Stone.
An Lin"s conjecture was proved at this sight, throwing her into a fury.
Daoist Baishi had been able to preserve the majority of his strength after taking Linghai Zhiw.a.n.g"s full-force sneak attack precisely because he held the Falling Star Stone in his palm.
The Falling Star Stone was the treasure of the Orthodoxy controlled by Daoist Baishi. An Lin, Linghai Zhiw.a.n.g and the other Prefects had their own treasures.
These treasures were divine artifacts, and formed extremely critical parts of the Li Palace"s array. They were of utmost importance to the Orthodoxy.
Without the Pope"s order, no one, including the Orthodoxy Prefects that wielded the treasures, could take them out of the Li Palace.
Daoist Baishi had secretly brought the Falling Star Stone with him. Regardless of his intentions, he had contravened the laws of the church!
An Lin waved her right hand, causing her belt to fly off and carry countless pear blossoms as it attempted to surround Daoist Baishi.
"Did you think you could keep me here with just that?" Daoist Baishi shouted as he stared at the little girl in front of him.
In truth, his question was also aimed at that phantom-like person behind him, and at An Lin, and even more at Chen Changsheng.
As he spoke, he smashed the Falling Star Stone down to the ground.
An Lin knew that this was not good. Although her belt had not finished establishing an array, she charged into the forest.
The Falling Star Stone fell against the ground. It did not make a single sound, and not even the petals and leaves trembled in the slightest.
An archaic and timeworn power suddenly manifested.
The wind suddenly began to blow towards the Falling Star Stone, as did the petals and leaves on the ground.
The Falling Star Stone seemed to transform into a ma.s.sive vortex, swallowing up everything it touched. Even the surrounding laws of the world began to twist.
An incredibly deep black hole appeared over the ground. It seemed just one zhang in radius, but also boundless and infinite.
The Falling Star Stone floated in the middle of it, exuding a faint light and appearing like a real star.
The wind, flowers, and leaves continued to sink inside, vanishing without a trace.
"Stop him!" An Lin hurriedly shouted.
The Falling Star Stone was truly worthy of its status as a divine artifact and treasure of the Orthodoxy. It had actually torn open s.p.a.ce and opened a path to a different place!
Daoist Baishi expressionlessly glanced at her.
The Falling Star Stone had already completely activated. Neither the girl in front of him nor that phantom individual behind could stop him.
He walked towards that dark path.
If all went as expected, he would soon appear several hundred li away on the plains.
But… the unexpected occurred.
His feet had clearly stepped into the dark path, but why did he feel like he was still stepping onto mud?
Why could he still feel petals and leaves under his feet?
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