Chapter 243: Altar
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
One could not blame Fang Zhengzhi for worrying to much. After All, his appointment as Sword Envoy in the throne room had only spread within the capital.
Even if it had spread to Huai An County, it could not possibly have reached the army.
If he was still in the Northern Mountain Village, then the issue would be easily resolved. But what if he wasn't? Could the villagers stand up to the wrath and fury of the army?
Fang Zhengzhi became increasingly worried.
At this point, the fire ahead seemed to become brighter and brighter, almost as if it was being fueled. There were also soft sounds of killing...
"Sister Yan?" Ping Yang looked to Chi Guyan for advice.
"Can we advance?" Chi Guyan did not reply instantly. She turned to Fang Zhengzhi, asking him if there were any dangers up ahead.
"Walk by the left." Fang Zhengzhi was getting worried about the Northern Mountain Village. He was determined to get to the bottom of this as soon as possible...
...
At the base of Cang Ling Mountain was a small stone cottage hidden deep inside the woods. It was surrounded by ancient trees, giving it a lonely and isolated aura.
A black altar was right in the middle of the stone house.
There was a faint silver glow on the altar.
The glow originated from a whitish silver square gem. It was clear, but there was an extremely complicated rune that flickered on its surface.
Around the altar were nine men dressed in black. They knelt in a circle around the altar, a green jade like pearl on each of their heads.
This was the demon eye. A green one meant that they were in the Supernatural State.
"It has begun, let's go!"
A voice rang out behind the nine men. Then, a previously seated figure stood up. This figure was dressed in a black cloak, and wore a hat.
If any of the surviving soldiers from the incident at the capital's gates were here, they would recognize this man as the one who had killed quite a number of guards without reason.
"Okay!"
Another voice rang out.
This man was wrapped around by green rattan. He was steely, and a dense beard covered his throat. He wore no armor.
He looked like an aborigine.
He did not have a demon eye on his forehead. This man was human.
There was one strange thing about this man. Despite his barbaric aura, he held a jade green flute in his hand.
This was something for the cultured and civilised. For someone as barbaric as him, a wolf canine may have been a much better fit. However, he was indeed holding a flute, very carefully at that.
The cloaked male glanced at his barbaric counterpart, looking at the flute in his hand. Then, he quickly looked away and walked towards the altar.
He disappeared in an instant.
After the barbaric man saw the cloaked figure disappear, a hint of unwillingness appeared in his eyes. He murmured something before finally stepping into the altar five minutes later.
...
The mist on Cang Ling Mountain became thicker and thicker.
Fang Zhengzhi led the group through the dense forest and closer towards the spark. The roars around them became louder and more chaotic.
The air was heavy with the smell of blood.
It took the three of them quite a while before they finally got to the edges of the flame.
Fang Zhengzhi's expression changed when he saw it.
He could clearly make out an army camp under the light of the flame. This camp was better built and guarded than the one before.
The perimeter was not built with wood, but with tall stone pillars. They formed a huge circle, making the camp look like a castle.
But now, the castle had been breached.
It had been breached from all directions. There were large cavities everywhere, and bodies littered the surroundings.
Having read his fair share of history, Fang Zhengzhi knew how cruel and savage the battlefield was. However, seeing it in person was a completely different experience.
This was a massacre, a complete and utter massacre...
"It's the Mountain Breaking Army, the Mountain Breaking Army of the Stabilisation Constabulary, and..." Ping Yang's voice rang out. Her eyes were filled with disbelief. She was keenly aware of how powerful the Mountain Breaking Army was.
They were the pillar of the Stabilisation Constabulary and by extension, the Great Xia Dynasty.
Each member of the Mountain Breaking Army was an elite handpicked from tens of thousands of soldiers. Each one of them was a cultivator. Just like the Red Pinion Squad of the Divine Constabulary, they were one of the four ace armied of the Great Xia Dynasty.
Chi Guyan did not look well either.
Even though Ping Yang did not say it, she had seen bodies of Red Pinion Squad members amongst the mountain of Mountain Breaking Army bodies.
More importantly, there were no other bodies in the pile...
No other bodies?!
How were the defences breached? How did so many members of the Mountain Breaking Army and the Red Pinion Squad die? What is the origin of all the killing noises to their side?
This was quite the strange sight.
Even Chi Guyan looked lost for the first time. If they weren't being attacked, where was that noise coming from?
"Sister Yan, come and take a look!" Ping Yang's voice rang out again, her eyes filled with shock as she pointed to a location with her right hand.
If one followed the direction of Ping Yang's finger...
Fang Zhengzhi quickly realized that there was a higher concentration of bodies to the right of the camp. There seemed to be signs of digging in the middle of the bodies.
It looked like an entrance to a tunnel.
"If I am correct, that should be the entrance to the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet. The Mountain Breaking Army and the Red Pinion Squad must have retreated there." Chi Guyan's eyes glimmered as she spoke.
"Then let's go quickly!" Ping Yang said hurriedly.
"What do you think?" Chi Guyan looked at Fang Zhengzhi.
"I think it could be a trap." Fang Zhengzhi said as he looked at the bodies. He hesitated for a moment, "However, even if it is a trap, we must go in. We can't just stay out here and wait."
"Oh? I thought you would choose to stay outside... I didn't expect you to say go in?" Ping Yang was slightly surprised by Fang Zhengzhi's response.
"How did you know I meant that you all would enter whilst I wait outside?" Fang Zhengzhi looked at Ping Yang in surprise.
"You... humph, I knew that we couldn't rely on you!" Ping Yang pouted.
"You will have to find out for yourself how reliable I am."
"How do we find out?"
"Yes, how do we find out?" Fang Zhengzhi mocked as he looked at Ping Yang's puffed chest, sneering as he did so.
Ping Yang became a little suspicious as she heard Fang Zhengzhi's words. She realized that Fang Zhengzhi was looking at her...
"Shameless!" Ping Yang fumed.
...
In the end, Fang Zhengzhi still went through the tunnel. As to why he would lead the entire group when he initially wanted to stay outside...
That was a long story...
Fang Zhengzhi entered happily whereas Ping Yang's face was completely flushed. She pouted as she gave the death stare to Fang Zhengzhi.
If looks could kill, Fang Zhengzhi would have been dead many times over.
The tunnel was lit by stones which glowed white. As such, it was not as dark as expected. It was not large, about five people abreast at most.
With the carnage outside the tunnel, Fang Zhengzhi expected bodies to litter the tunnel. To his surprise, the inside of the tunnel was clean.
There were no bodies. More surprisingly, there were no signs of a battle.
However, the sounds of killing continued to echo out. From the direction of the sounds, it sounded like it was coming from within the tunnel.
Why would there be killing sounds when there are no signs of battle?
What is going on?
Fang Zhengzhi was beginning to get suspicious.
Chi Guyan was silent, deep in thought.
The angry Ping Yang ignored Fang Zhengzhi. She simmered by the side, waving her fist at Fang Zhengzhi's back every now and then.
She had completely forgot to consider the fact that there were no bodies in the tunnel.
The tunnel extended downwards. The further they went, the more precipitous it got. Fang Zhengzhi felt that they were almost there.
Just as he was thinking about it, the killing sounds became clearer and clearer.
Very quickly, there was a ray of light up ahead. It felt like the first ray of sunshine at sunrise, lighting up the entire tunnel in an instant.
Fang Zhengzhi subconsciously quickened his pace.
Ping Yang's anger was also replaced by excitement. However, it was still laced with anxiety. Every now and then, she would grab onto the edges of Fang Zhengzhi's clothes whilst her other hand gripped onto Chi Guyan.
Chi Guyan was much calmer, her eyes glowing brighter by the second.
"Kill!"
"Oh oh..."
"Go to hell!"
The group of three exited the tunnel completely just as the killing sounds got clearer.
Light shone down on them. It was so bright Fang Zhengzhi found it difficult to open his eyes. It was almost as if there was an intense sun beating down on them.
But this was underground.
How could there be a sun?
Furthermore, it's nighttime now, where is the sun coming from?
Fang Zhengzhi grew increasingly suspicious. However, his questions were quickly answered by a breathtaking scene.
There was an intense source of light above him.
It was not a sun, but a ball of fire. A golden ball of fire.
A tall golden stone pillar supported this ball of flame. There were various carvings on the pillar. Some were of flora and fauna, others were of scenery and ferocious beasts.
It was at least a hundred meters tall and ten meters thick.
Why would such a large golden stone pillar be constructed underground? This was a strange sight.
Other than the golden stone pillar, there was yet another strange sight. There were eight statues kneeling around the golden stone pillar.
Each statue was carved with pure white stone.
Their expressions were solemn, and they were covered in armor from head to toe. They held blades, spears, swords, poles, axes...
More importantly, each of the eight statues were the same height as the golden stone pillar.
An ancient, divine aura emanated from these eight stone statues. It made people want to pray to it upon looking at it.
The killing sounds originated from these eight stone statues. However, there were no soldiers or bodies in sight.
"This is?"
"An altar! The Heaven Dao Sage Tablet was borne from the Dao of Heaven. When it appears, it would always be accompanied by an altar, used to offer sacrifice to the Heavenly Dao!" Chi Guyan seemed to be murmuring to herself, whilst explaining to Fang Zhengzhi at the same time.
"Offer sacrifice to the Heavenly Dao?"
"Yes, only the sincere would be chosen by Heaven, and will be given the opportunity to peep at the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet through the altar." Chi Guyan replied.
"Where do we pray?" Fang Zhengzhi had no objection if he simply had to pray.
One could kneel to the heavens, to hell, and to one's parents...
Now that he was kneeling to the Heavenly Dao, he may get lucky and be enlightened immediately. He could become a sage and get his freedom.
"The door to the altar has already been opened!" Chi Guyan did not know what Fang Zhengzhi was thinking. She pointed towards the golden stone pillar.
"Door to the altar?" Fang Zhengzhi followed Chi Guyan's hand and realized that there was a half opened door at the base of the pillar.
Half opened?
Someone had already entered? He had better not be enlightened, or we would be in trouble.
Fang Zhengzhi wanted to leave this damned place and return to the Northern Mountain Village. However, he had no way to do so.
The only way he could think of was to get the Heaven Dao Sage Tablet. That should be his way out of this place.
Even though Fang Zhengzhi had never gotten any of these storylines right...
Since he was here, he would try his luck at getting a look at this Heaven Dao Sage Tablet. He was already one step closer to it.
Furthermore, after seeing Chi Guyan's abilities, Fang Zhengzhi's curiosity about the Dao of All Creation was piqued.
Someone in the pinnacle Heavenly Reflection State...
Could travel at a faster speed than someone in the Supernatural State?
If Chi Guyan can do it, why can't I?