Ze Tian Ji

Edited by: Michyrr

The snowstorm gradually calmed and the snowy plains were peaceful and silent. However, not too much time passed before the ground began to shake and the mantle of snow began to loosen. Countless demon soldiers swept through the area, headed south in pursuit. The shadow in the sky slowly returned to Xuelao City. At some point, Black Robe had returned to the scene, with several Demon Generals standing silently behind him. Silence once again reigned over the field, with not a single sound to be heard for a very long time. The powerful demons seemed as if they had no idea what they should say. Who could have thought that the most powerful expert of the continent’s south was actually this sort of person?

"For a true expert to suddenly act so shamelessly is truly rather annoying."

Black Robe’s voice was as emotionless as ever. A random gust of cold wind blew past and lifted up a corner of his hood, revealing his green-tinged lower jaw. The Demon Generals agreed with Black Robe deep down. For someone as strong as Su Li to actually use such a lowly trick, it truly would have surpassed their expectations. Perhaps this was the principle that the lowliest individual had no enemies?

Black Robe gazed at the trail Su Li had left behind in the snow. After a long period of silence, he continued to indifferently say, "He is already heavily wounded. Although he managed to conceal himself from His Majesty’s eyes, that final sword strike of his has by necessity used up his heart’s blood. He has nothing left to support himself.”

One sword could not actually travel ten thousand li, but it was enough to cleave a sword path several hundred li long through the layers upon layers of formations set up by the demon experts. One could also imagine just how powerful this sword was. It was just as Black Robe had concluded: even with someone as powerful as Su Li wielding the sword, an appropriately enormous price still had to be paid.

Six hundred li southwest of Xuelao City was a snow-covered mountain ridge. The frigid climate was not able to freeze everything. This mountain ridge was pervaded with white steam, as it contained many hot springs. A squall of snow suddenly erupted by one of the hot springs. As the snowflakes gently drifted down, the figures of Su Li and Chen Changsheng gradually emerged.

Su Li had already returned the sword into the Yellow Paper Umbrella. His right hand lightly brushed off the snow that had fallen on the surface of the umbrella, his manner casual and indifferent. In comparison, Chen Changsheng seemed much more miserable. His hands still tightly clutched the front portion of the Yellow Paper Umbrella. Sitting in the snow, he looked just like a beggar asking for alms.

"Demons are clearly rather intelligent, but for some reason, they always act so stupidly. Those Demon Generals will definitely bring their soldiers due south in pursuit." Su Li turned his head and glanced at the path he had taken here. His gaze, as sharp as a sword ray, pierced through the layers of wind and snow, resting at some place in the distance. The corners of his lips perked up in an expression of ridicule.

These words were not meant for Chen Changsheng. He was talking to himself, or perhaps consoling himself. But Chen Changsheng did not know this, so he somewhat laboriously clambered up from the snow and said, "Senior, this place is still within the demon territory. We should leave as soon as possible."

Su Li seemed like he had just noticed the existence of this youth. He shot him a glance, but did not say anything, nor did he seem in a rush to leave. On the contrary, he walked towards the hot spring beside them.

Chen Changsheng loosened his grip on the Yellow Paper Umbrella and stared at the man that had just walked into the hot spring, not understanding what was going on.

Suddenly, a cacophony of noise burst out around the hot spring. Some of the sounds were extremely shrill, like sharp sword rays slicing through the air. Other sounds were extremely loud and clear, like the booms of iron hammers falling on stone. And some of the sounds were extremely muffled, like the sound of someone talking heard through several thousand zhang of deep water.

With the clattering of sounds, countless powerful Qis floated out of Su Li’s body. These were the sword intents from the metal swords of the Demon Generals, the storming intent of the metal staff, and the sinister intent of Black Robe. The rocks all around the hot spring were frozen solid by the cold, then one by one, they shattered.

The snowy mountain ridge resounded with the whistling of swords and peals of thunder. Even the gurgling hot springs enveloped in white steam were covered with countless cracks. Only after a long time was calm restored to the mountain ridge. Su Li stood in the hot spring that did not even reach up to his knees, his long gown in tatters and his body covered in countless wounds while blood incessantly flowed out.

In the place close to Xuelao City, besieged by tens of thousands of demon soldiers, attacked by over ten Demon Generals, calmly observed by the demon Military Advisor Black Robe, and with the will of the Demon Lord enveloping the sky as a shadow—this was the greatest assassination in the past several hundred years. Moreover, Su Li had persevered for several days.

His clothes had no tears and not even a speck of snow. He simply did not seem like someone who had been heavily injured. However, the truth was that he had already suffered many severe injuries. The Demon Generals that he had beheaded, his exchange with Black Robe, and even the will of the Demon Lord had left numerous injuries and killing intents within his body.

It was just that he had used his valiant will and superb cultivation to forcefully suppress these injuries and killing intents. It was only when he obtained the Yellow Paper Umbrella, took out the Heaven Shrouding Sword, cut a path through the snow, arrived at this place several hundred li away, and confirmed that he would be safe for the moment, that he was finally unwilling to consume his true essence to suppress it all.

Thus, the injuries and killing intents all exploded out in that instant.

The vast majority of the killing intent had been forcefully gifted by him to the snow-covered ridge, letting the world bear them all in his place, but the injuries still remained on his body.

His face was snow-white, his expression wearied. But his appearance was still as unruly as ever.

Hearing the whistling of swords and the rolling thunder, feeling the overflowing of that terrifying and cold killing intent, and seeing Su Li covered in blood and the hot spring gradually being dyed red, Chen Changsheng was so shocked that his face lost color. His voice slightly trembling, he asked, "Senior... is Senior okay?"

Su Li did not answer his question, but instead asked his own. "Are the Mount Li disciples that were inside the Garden of Zhou okay?"

Chen Changsheng shook his head. "I don’t know."

Su Li silently gazed at the pale sun that was so far from the snowy mountain ridge, thinking about something or the other.

Chen Changsheng was extremely concerned and asked once more, "Is Senior okay?"

Su Li turned his body to look at him and asked, "Do you know who I am?"

Chen Changsheng had previously thought he had guessed at the identity of this senior, but later on, the actions displayed by this senior were a far cry from what had been said about him. At that moment, he directly began to doubt his own life, so naturally, he also began to suspect that he had guessed wrong. He hesitantly asked, "May I ask Senior for his distinguished name?"

Su Li replied, "I am Su Li."

Chen Changsheng was extraordinarily astonished, not imagining that he had guessed directly, that he truly had guessed right.

Because he had never imagined that the legendary Junior Martial Uncle of Mount Li was actually this sort of person.

"And then?" he asked.

Su Li was somewhat displeased and said reprovingly, "This order isn’t correct. Let’s go again."

Chen Changsheng was at a loss. "Ah?"

Su Li stared into his eyes and asked once more, "Who am I?"

Chen Changsheng gazed vacantly back and said, "Senior is... the Junior Martial Uncle of Mount Li, Su Li."

Su Li asked, "In the tales, what sort of person am I?"

Chen Changsheng did not understand why this senior covered in blood and fatigued to the extreme would ask these sorts of questions. After thinking about it, he still sincerely answered, "Senior is a rarely-seen genius of the path of the sword. Senior has cultivated to the height of perfection since long ago and could be considered a legend."

On the face of it, this evaluation could very easily be taken as flattery, but Chen Changsheng said it very sincerely because what he said was the truth. As a consequence, the words that emerged from his lips seemed especially honest and trustworthy, causing Su Li to feel incredibly satisfied.

He looked at Chen Changsheng and said happily, "Junior, although your strength is absolutely terrible, you can still be considered to have some experience."

At this point, Chen Changsheng really did not know what to say. Seeing that more and more blood was flowing out of the wounds, he could not help but ask once more, "Senior, is Senior really okay!?"

Su Li smiled and said, "You just said, I’m a rarely-seen genius of the path of the sword, I cultivated to the height of perfection since long ago and could be considered a legend."

Chen Changsheng thought to himself, for him to remember every last word I said, it seems like there’s nothing too serious.

"So for a person like me, how could I not be okay?"

Su Li said these words with a jubilant air.

Then, like a stone pillar being chopped down, he fell forward, splashing into the hot spring.

Water splashed everywhere. The hot spring dyed red rippled while Su Li’s body bobbed up and down in the water.

It took a moment for Chen Changsheng to understand that this senior had fallen unconscious. He hurriedly rushed into the hot spring and picked him up, then placed him on the ground by the edge of the hot spring.

At practically the same moment his body hit the ground, Su Li began to snore. To hold on until now had truly made him very tired.

Chen Changsheng did not know about this point. Looking at this senior, he really did not know how to think.

The words he had previously spoken were true.

In the minds of the current generation of young cultivators, although Su Li was not ranked amongst the Storms of the Eight Directions nor did he carry the title of Saint, he was their idol. Not even someone as egotistical as Tang Thirty-Six had any objection. This was because in comparison to the solemn and divine Saints like the Divine Empress and the Pope, or in comparison to the inflexible Eight Storms like the Divination Elder and the Solitary Drunk Under the Moon, the Junior Martial Uncle of Mount Li wandered the four seas, his sword singing everywhere. To these youths, he represented their yearning for freedom and living as they pleased.

And yet... the Junior Martial Uncle of Mount Li was actually such a person.

Chen Changsheng could not keep track of how many times he had been afflicted by this emotion.

He felt that the shock brought about by this senior was even greater than the ones delivered by the Sword Pool and the Heavenly Tome Monoliths in the Garden of Zhou.

Seeing the carefree expression on Su Li’s face and hearing his thunderous roars, he suddenly felt that Su Li was very similar to Tang Thirty-Six.

Then, he thought about that evaluation Tang Thirty-Six once gave about him, that he and Xu Yourong were both people that made others speechless.

It should have been this Junior Martial Uncle of Mount Li who really causes speechlessness in others, right?