Chapter 206 – Intruding upon the Divine Path (1/2)

Chapter 206 – Intruding upon the Divine Path

From a distance, there were faint lights within the mausoleum, and the sound of waterfalls could also be heard. However, the south end of the mausoleum was very quiet. No lamps were lit, and only the starlight illuminated the cliffs, the straight path, the canals, and the rock plateau. However, the starlight was incapable of completely expelling the darkness of night. The clear water within the canals were pitch-black like ink.

Xun Mei withdrew his gaze from the top of the mausoleum and looked at the Divine Path. Then, his gaze gradually shifted to the pavilion and finally rested upon the man clad in armor beneath the pavilion.

After a short moment, he began to walk toward the pavilion. He stepped through the fresh water, as if he were stirring ink, but the splashes of water were silver-colored.

What was he trying to do? Could it be that he wanted to intrude upon the Divine Path? After eyeing this scene, Chen Changsheng, Tang Thirty-Six, and Zhexiu grew all the more nervous.

“Senior,” Chen Changsheng called towards Xun Mei.

Previously, he had seen many strands of white hair belonging to Xun Mei underneath the starlight outside the grass hut. His sympathy had grown, but his worries even more so.

Xun Mei’s steps ceased, and he turned toward those youths standing at the edge of the rock plateau.

Unlike what Chen Changsheng and the others had imagined, Xun Mei’s expression was very calm. There was no frustration on his face, much less the signs of a pitiable and out-of-sorts man. While smiling, he asked, “Young ones, do you need something?”

Chen Changsheng glanced at the pavilion and saw that the legendary Divine General still seemed to be sleeping. After a moment of hesitation, he asked, “What is senior planning to do?”

“I am going to ascend the Mausoleum.” Xun Mei pointed at the Mausoleum behind him in the darkness of night.

He did not turn his head, but his finger had been exactly on point. His tone was very matter-of-fact, as if he were heading home. He exuded the feeling of having already walked the Divine Path several thousand times.

To ascend the Mausoleum or to sightsee, Chen Changsheng had not heard clearly. However, regardless of which phrase it was, their meaning was the same. This made the three youths even more worried.

(TL: 登陵 (dēnglíng) means to climb the mausoleum and 登临 (dēnglín) means to sightsee. They sound very similar.)

Perhaps it was an illusion or something else, but Chen Changsheng felt that when Xun Mei had spoken those words, the stars in the night sky seemed to have grown brighter for a moment. The starlight that fell onto the canals of the rock plateau south of the mausoleum seemed to thicken. Underneath the pavilion, the very worn out armor also began to shine from the starlight. His heart began to throb even more with terror because the Mausoleum Guard who had always had his head down and his face obstructed by his armor, had issued forth a light wind from underneath the helmet, carrying some dust along with it. This was at the exact moment when the stars had grown brighter..

Chen Changsheng did not dare take another glance, even if it was only out of the corner of his eyes. He asked Xun Mei, “Why?”

If Xun Mei could defeat the Mausoleum Guard underneath the pavilion and use the Divine Path to ascend directly to the summit of the Mausoleum of Books, then why did he endure these thirty-seven long years in the Mausoleum? It was very likely that he would have intruded upon the Divine Path long ago. Since he had not, it was very clear to himself that he had no chance of victory.

Yes, even if Xun Mei’s level of cultivation were even more profound, he still would not have been able to overcome that obstacle underneath the pavilion. If that person could be so easily defeated, how could that armor have accumulated several hundred years of dust? Even if Xun Mei surpassed Wang Po, Xiao Zhang, and other such famous names, viewed the monoliths in the Mausoleum of Books for another thirty-seven years, and pushed his cultivation to even more unfathomable levels, he still would find it difficult to defeat the man underneath the pavilion.

Out of the continent’s thirty-eight Divine Generals, Han Qing occupied first place. This expert who sat underneath the pavilion for several hundred years was only worthy of being mentioned alongside the Five Saints and Eight Storms of the Cardinal Directions. Of course, those on the Proclamation of Liberation had profound levels of cultivation as well, but regardless of Wang Po of Tianliang or Painted Armor Xiao Zhang, they would still not dare say they had the qualification to challenge him.

After hearing Chen Changsheng’s words, Xun Mei fell silent for a while. He did not directly answer, but instead he seriously replied, “Thank you all.”

As he expressed his thanks, his gaze brushed over the three youths.

From birth, Zhexiu’s meridians and sea of consciousness had problems. He had to bear the pain of the Tide Rush of Blood at all times. If he were a normal person, then he would have long ago lost the courage to live, but he did not. This sort of courage was rarely seen. Chen Changsheng made stir-fried vegetables, cooked rice, and steamed salted fish. This sort of tranquil state of mind was something he had long yearned for. Tang Thirty-Six had made a loud ruckus in such a sacred place as the Mausoleum of Books. This allowed him to see the hot-blooded passion of youth, which had long been lost to him.

Xun Mei said nothing, but this was his answer to why he had wanted to climb the mausoleum.

Tonight, he had met these three youths, who had used their bravery, will, and youth to awaken him.

The thirty-seven years he had spent viewing the monoliths in the Mausoleum of Books were simply a long dream. After waking from a dream, there were certain things he had to do.

“All of you woke me up. I want to see the truth, so I need to ascend the mausoleum.”

Xun Mei once again pointed calmly and resolutely to the mausoleum behind him.

“If senior has truly awoken…then shouldn’t you be leaving the mausoleum to find Wang Po and where each of you stand?” Tang Thirty-Six asked in bewilderment.

After hearing these words, Xun Mei roared with laughter. The laughter echoed throughout the rock plateau, which caused the inky water within the canals to shudder.

The laughter gradually faded. He looked at the three youths and calmly replied, “Is Wang Po really my enemy?”

Chen Changsheng and Zhexiu faintly understood while Tang Thirty-Six gradually began to frown.

“No, after thirty-seven years, the shadow over my cultivation has long since ceased to be him, but it.”

While smiling, Xun Mei continued to point at the Mausoleum of Books behind him.

Chen Changsheng and the others were stunned at these words and then fell silent. Countless years before, the Heavenly Tomes had descended like fire from the heavens. They eventually landed on the continent and opened knowledge to humanity, until humanity had learned the ways of cultivation. Certainly, this mausoleum occupied an irreplaceable role and position in human society, but to countless cultivators, the Mausoleum of Books was in many ways their greatest enemy.

The incomprehensible words and drawings on the monoliths were a tall mountain they had to surmount and opponents that they had to defeat. Although the mausoleum did not look tall or treacherous at all, in reality it pressed up against the blue dome of heaven. It was exceedingly difficult to surmount it while relying only on human strength, such that countless cultivators had their courage and spirit shattered upon trying.