Chapter 873 – Two Sides of the Stone Wall (1/2)

Chapter 873 – Two Sides of the Stone Wall

Translated by: Hypersheep325

Edited by: Michyrr

As he charged over to that cliff, Chen Changsheng saw many disciples of South Stream Temple. They were currently rushing down the mountain along the path, presumably alarmed by the turmoil at the mountain gate. Amongst those disciples, he saw a few familiar faces, which put him at ease, as this would prevent any misunderstandings from occurring.

He quickly reached the cliff. Pine trees grew along this cliff of white stone, and many slender waterfalls dropped down from it. In front of this cliff was a large plateau. Between the trees, he could see countless buildings constructed in a clear and beautiful style, presumably the legendary South Stream Temple. On a normal visit, he would have taken some time to properly appreciate it, but he was not in the mood. After glancing at it, he continued to swiftly make his way up the cliff.

There was no path on this cliff, only densely packed forests and precipitous cliffs. Even monkeys, skilled in climbing, would find traversing this cliff rather arduous, but it did not pose much of a challenge to Chen Changsheng.

As he climbed up the cliff, getting higher and higher, the cliff gradually steepened, and the clouds around him thickened. Eventually, he could no longer see South Stream Temple below him or even the sky above him. He could only rely on his impressions from before, but he didn't find it difficult. On the contrary, he found the feeling rather familiar.

In Xining Village, he would occasionally follow his senior brother to that solitary mountain in the depths of the clouds to pick herbs, so he was very familiar with this sort of environment.

After some time, the clouds suddenly grew lighter, the sky above him much clearer.

Chen Changsheng felt energized.

A cold wind, somewhat moist, blew through the trees and oddly-shaped rocks of the mountain and fell on his face.

The clouds suddenly scattered, opening up an expansive view before him. If he looked north, he could even see the twisting line of the Tong River.

This was the summit of Holy Maiden Peak.

……

……

Chen Changsheng was certain that this was where Xu Yourong had secluded herself, but he circled around the summit twice, saw several hundred ancient trees that he had never seen before, saw the rock by the cliff that she had mentioned in a letter, and even saw a few of those cute, jade-colored birds she had mentioned, yet did not see a cave.

He didn't see the White Crane either.

But he had already calmed down. After hearing Xiao Zhang's report in Fengyang, he had been very nervous and anxious, but after entering, all his nerves and anxiety vanished. The peak was just like she had described, not a single detail out of place, and there were no signs of battle either.

What continued to confuse him, to put him on his guard, was that Xu Yourong would probably need several years to emerge from her seclusion, so logically speaking, South Stream Temple should have left a few disciples on the summit to attend to her, or else what would happen if something went wrong in her cultivation and she required assistance?

He walked back to the north face of the summit. There were a few ancient trees here, as well as a very shallow pool of water. This was the place where he felt there should be a cave. Besides the position, scenery, and pool, his conclusion had been based on the fact that this was where the oldest and most numerous monolith inscriptions could be found.

One could see monolith inscriptions all over the cliff walls of Holy Maiden Peak's summit.

These monolith inscriptions had been carved into the rock, and there were a few that were very familiar.

The monolith inscriptions of the Heavenly Tome Monoliths.

Xu Yourong had told him that these were rubbings of the Heavenly Tome Monolith inscriptions made by the first Holy Maiden when she visited the Mausoleum of Books in the capital.

These were different from the rubbings sold outside the Plum Garden Inn. These rubbings contained the supreme wisdom and peerless soul of the first Heavenly Tome Monolith, contained the true meaning of the Heavenly Tome Monoliths. South Stream Temple's understanding of the Heavenly Tome Monoliths had never been inferior to the Li Palace's, and in certain aspects was even superior. It was precisely because they had these monolith inscriptions.

Chen Changsheng found the monolith inscriptions of the Reflecting Monolith and caressed them, his fingers feeling the cool stone.

These lines and the inscriptions in the Mausoleum of Books were practically identical, with only a few extremely subtle differences.

These differences were not mistakes. Rather, they signified the first Holy Maiden's understanding of the monolith inscriptions.