Chapter 374
Black clouds pressed down on the city, like a gigantic black pot covering the heavens that also enshrouded the entire Ecliptic City in darkness. The black clouds surged, thunder and lightning rolled, and the commoners inside the city had already ducked into their homes. Not a single person was seen on the streets. Occasionally, there were only several barks of yellow dogs wagging their tails, appearing even more desolate, a terrifying scene like that from the end of days.
In this dark and deathly still city, there was the Ecliptic Palace's Connect Heaven Pagoda. In the gale came an indistinct, sinister laugh.
"Jiang Jing, do not force us more than you already have. If you do not quickly go do it, this man will die a very wretched death."
At the top of the Connecting Heaven Pagoda, on a platform several dozen zhang wide stood several Ecliptic Palace cultivators. Among them was a young man whose voice was entirely fierce. In his hand, he grasped a man by the air as he spoke to a girl.
The middle aged man hung his head, his face full of blood, his teeth cracked and broken. His eyes had swelled shut. He squeezed out a smile that was more pitiful than weeping: "Shuishui, don't listen to them!"
"Uncle Hai!!" The girl cried out bitterly. That girl's flowery beauty was full of tears, pitiful.
The two of them were Jiang Shuishui and her Star Master, Zhi Hai.
The youth grabbing the middle aged man was also a Star Master. Huang Yan looked at the Jiang Shuishui trapped in the Connecting Heaven Array, and his voice sunk: "Jiang Jing, so much time has already been wasted. You had best quickly follow what I told you to go do and inform Your Servant what the future result of the Star Duels is. Otherwise, you can watch this man be ground to death by me!!"
"Little Sister Yiliu, please, have him release Uncle Hai. He is innocent. He has never thought of participating in the Star Duels." Jiang Shuishui pleaded with Yang Yiliu.
Yang Yiliu could not bear to see her sister this way. Just as she was about to speak, Huang Yan interrupted her.
"Yiliu, you cannot have compassion in your heart within the Star Duels. Could it be you have forgotten? That you were defeated by the Thief Star? We already cannot compare to those Heavenly Martial Generals. If you have any more kindness in your heart, then there will only be no hope of reprieve!!"
Huang Yan's words were irrefutable, Yang Yiliu understood that much.
"Little Sister!!" Jiang Shuishui wept.
"Elder Sister can only blame herself for bringing him into the Star Duels." Yang Yiliu grit her teeth, speaking in pain.
"Hmph. Divine Mathematician, you had best quickly calculate our future destiny. If it is useful, be at ease, with Star Generals like yourself, I will guarantee that I will release you and your Star Master!!" Huang Yan mercifully extended a glimmer of hope.
"With this 'Connecting Heaven Pagoda,' reacting to the One Hundred and Eight Stars, we believe your Divine Calculation ought to be able to calculate even more heavenly mysteries. Do not make me disappointed." Huang Yan sneered. He threw Zhi Hai to the ground, not minding this man at his last gasp. He patted off his hands, to brush off that filth.
Uncle Hai extended a hand powerlessly to grab Jiang Shuishui, showing a pained smile that made the Divine Mathematician's heart break.
"Young Master, could it be this sort of method will actually work?" Latent Star White Flower Serpent Yang Yiliu asked.
"No problem. So long as we can foresee future events, we can definitely create a miracle in the Star Duels. Yiliu, do you not want to do things this way?" Huang Yan was very stern.
"Yiliu merely feels this is too…" Yang Yiliu shook her head. After all, they were sisters. Seeing Jiang Jing's appearance, her heart was considerably uncomfortable. Seeing Huang Yan's expression of evil, she concealed her anger. Yang Yiliu sighed: "However, what Young Master said is true. We absolutely cannot show kindness in the Star Duels. Those Elder Sisters never showed mercy killing us."
"Yiliu, that you can think like this extremely good." Huang Yan was very satisfied.
…
Su Xing left the Buddha Kingdom, and at the same time, he left behind in the Buddha Kingdom a world-shocking legend that had never happened in millions of years.
The Happiness Together Courtyard and Stupa Saber Fast were destroyed after confronting Lin Yingmei. Su Xing blossomed the Meditative Mind Lotus Flower, and those monks could no longer be unbridled, not daring to move in the slightest. Regardless of whether it was defeating the Buddha Kingdom Six Ancestors, or the Five Dragons Lamp and Meditative Mind Lotus Flower, the events that transpired these days in the Buddha Kingdom could not be narrated even with the most unbelievable descriptions. Even Su Xing's sophistry of burning an image of Buddha at the sea of bitterness had in the future unexpectedly evolved into a new branch of Buddhism, one that worshipped the destruction of idols, the extremist Buddhist sect "Murdering Buddha Chan Sect" of "Meet Buddha, kill Buddha; meet ancestors, kill ancestors; meet arhat, kill arhat." This sort of Buddhism used Su Xing as propaganda to attract millions of Buddhists, one day becoming one of the new Buddha Six Ancestors. However, this was another story.
Blossoming the Meditative Mind Lotus Flower did not make Su Xing insufferably arrogant since then. On the contrary, the current Su Xing was currently arranging his next plans without rest. Hearing Chao Gai's advice, so long as he used a bit of brain, he could understand the hidden meaning of the Thousand Buddha Star's words. To confront Maiden Mountain's imminent trials, his current strength was not enough.
"Chao Gai sees that Su Xing contracting us can sweep through these Star Duels. She deliberately said some stuff to scare Su Xing." Shi Yuan proudly said. "Su Xing, don't mind her, there is completely no need to worry about these Star Duels."
"Yuan'er, you absolutely cannot treat this lightly." Wu Xinjie shook her head, warning: "You must not forget the Star Duels Fourth Phase. This is the final opportunity for all Star Generals, and it is also the chance for Earthly Star Star Generals to be able to defeat Heavenly Stars."
"Eh." Although she felt that Su Xing could now be described as unrivalled under heaven, hearing Wu Xinjie's words, Shi Yuan felt this was logical.
"The Fourth Phase is called Three Volumes Heavenly Book,1 right?" Su Xing thought. "It seems that after this phase is finished, the final phase will begin."
"Yes, and for Star Generals who want to upgrade their Star Weapons to the extreme or comprehend their Heaven Ranked Techniques, this is their final chance." Wu Xinjie explained.
"When does Three Volumes Heavenly Book begin?" Su Xing asked.
"When the Crimson Stars number more than seventy-five percent or the Star Duels begin their fourth year…"
Hearing these words, everyone lifted their heads to look at the Crimson Stars in the sky. The current Crimson Stars already were fewer than one hundred. The number of Starfalls actually was surprisingly few. Previous Star Duels at this Phase would have already had thirty Crimson Stars fall. However, following the Star Duels' increasing accumulation, the current Star Generals and Star Masters would become even more careful. This was not strange at all, add on that in this generation there was a Star Master like Su Xing that went against established practice, this was unavoidable.
"There's still some left before seventy-five percent. If it's four years, then there are still six or seven months left." Su Xing rubbed his chin, somewhat regretful. The Fourth Phase thus was a good chance to increase their strength.
"Young Master!" Lin Yingmei softly called all of a sudden.
Following the Majestic Star's line of sight, everyone caught sight of a dragon carving phoenix embroidery fragrant cart. Draped in previous jewels and blue satin, a graceful queen in a snow-white bellyband sat on the cart. Her hand held a Gold Thread Feather Fan that looked at the far off gloomy sky. Her eyes showed a rare distress.
This scene made her feel pitiful.
"Chai Ling, you honestly have refinement, coming here to bask in the sun…Even if you found the wrong place? Could it be you were waiting just for me?" Su Xing saw Chai Ling and asked a question.
Chai Ling's expression indeed seemed to have been waiting for a long time. She faintly shot Su Xing a glance.
"It seems thou hast settled thy affairs." Chai Ling retracted the distress in her eyes, showing faint charm in her smile.
"Noble Star Chai Ling, is there anything on your mind? To meet you here, it cannot be said this is a coincidence." Wu Xinjie smiled.
"Of course this is not a coincidence. This Palace has come to inform you of something." Chai Ling was stern.
"Is something the matter?"
"Do you still remember Meet Star Divine Mathematician Jiang Jing?!" Chai Ling wrinkled her brow.
Lin Yingmei faintly gasped, "We were just about to go thank her." Although Jiang Jing's Divine Calculation did not help them a great deal, those Divine Calculation verses still gave them a great deal of enlightenment.
Little Whirlwind Chai Ling raised her eyebrows, hiding her red lips with the feather fan: "Then it seems you will go save her…"
"Save her? What happened to Jiang Shuishui?" Su Xing asked in alarm.
"Talk along the way." Chai Ling closed the fan.
Su Xing urged the Fire Beacon Chariot to rush for Ecliptic City. Along the way, Chai Ling summarized events that had occurred.
As it turned out, not long after Su Xing departed, on the day Buddhism's Feast of All Souls ended, the Ecliptic Palace's Star Master suddenly captured the Divine Mathematician and her Star Master. The Ecliptic Palace apparently had long known that Jiang Jing settled at this place and was specially waiting for this chance.
In the Star Duels, Star Masters facing other Star Masters was no special matter. Life or death between the two could not be interfered with by allies of either side. Moreover, the Meet Star Divine Mathematician Jiang Jing was ranked fifty-third, without any martial force. Being killed was a destiny that could not be escaped from. This much was true, but as it turned out, this Ecliptic Palace had yet to deal the finishing blow. Rather, they were using Jiang Jing's Star Master as blackmail to coerce the Meet Star into participating in a Connecting Heaven Project.
"Connecting Heaven Project?"
Shi Yuan suddenly recalled that tall Connecting Heaven Pagoda.
"Precisely. This pagoda is the Ecliptic Palace's sole array. Using Ecliptic City's geographical advantages in its construction, this pagoda is more than a thousand zhang tall, as if it was capable of ascending to Heaven. This is the reason it received the name Connecting Heaven Pagoda."
"What does this project do? How does it involve Jiang Jing?" Wu Siyou wrinkled her brow.
"Is it because of the Divine Mathematician's Innate Skill Divine Calculation?" Wu Xinjie guessed.
"Precisely because of this." Chai Ling affirmed Wu Xinjie's conjecture.
Chai Ling possessed Liangshan's greatest information network. Investigating and understanding these sorts of matters was naturally as easy as blowing away dust. The so-called Connecting Heaven Project was the Ecliptic Palace using the Ecliptic Star's constructed platforms. This pagoda was one large array, and the Ecliptic Palace had prepared to use the Connecting Heaven Pagoda's power to draw the support of the Crimson Stars in the sky to use Divine Mathematician Jiang Jing's Innate Skill Divine Calculation for one sole purpose – to calculate the Heavenly Mystery of the Star Duels!
The Ecliptic Palace's Star Master Huang Yan's Star General was ranked seventy-third Latent Star White Flower Serpent Yang Yiliu. Her martial force did not count as high, but the Ecliptic Palace planned to make Jiang Jing calculate their future fate in the Star Duels, and by this forecast, thus rise to prominence in the Star Duels. To be able to foresee the future of the Star Duels, this indeed was an extremely great advantage. They could avoid many troubles and grasp many opportunities.
"Can Jiang Jing foresee these kinds of matters?" Lin YIngmei felt disbelief.
"Originally she cannot, however, if she were to use the abilities of the Connecting Heaven Pagoda, Divine Mathematician Jiang Jing can even calculate the secret mystery of the Star Duels." Chai Ling said.
"No wonder." Wu Xinjie took in a deep breath. If it was her, if she could know her own heavenly mystery in the Star Duels, it was difficult to not be enticed.
"There was surprisingly something like this."
"But to have a Divine Calculation of all the Heavenly Mysteries of the Star Duels is not that easy. It will require tremendous willpower on the part of the Divine Mathematician, even so far as to sacrificing her will to do so…" Pausing, Chai Ling showed a resentful expression: "Originally, This Palace did not want to stick her hands into the Star Duels, but that Ecliptic Palace tortured Jiang Jing's Star Master to force and provoke Jiang Shuishui's powers. It honestly makes This Palace feel shame."
"Su Xing, Elder Sisters, let's go teach them a ruthless lesson." Shi Yuan rubbed her palms, indignantly saying. "Using such despicable methods, This Young Lady truly regrets not tearing down this pagoda that day."
The other girls were of the same mind.
"This Palace knew thou would not make her disappointed." Chai Ling spread a charming smile, casting a glance at Su Xing.
Within it, Su Xing saw faint sadness.
- 三卷天書 ↩