Ze Tian Ji (Way of Choices)

Translated by: Hypersheep325

Edited by: Michyrr

This place was the Plains of the Unsetting Sun, and its sun had always been somewhat different. In addition, the fact that the sun had grown much dimmer was not a problem with the sun itself but rather that the space in which it existed had some problem that was incredibly difficult to describe in words.

Being difficult to describe, it was naturally even more difficult to understand. Yet for some reason, Chen Changsheng only needed to glance around to understand why the Garden of Zhou had transformed into this state.

The Garden of Zhou's gradual transformation into a wasteland definitely had something to do with the disaster caused by the shattering of its laws. However, the reason the Garden of Zhou had not been able to repair itself after the reestablishment of its laws was that it had been cut off from its original world. Yes, the Garden of Zhou was a miniature world, a fragment floating in the river of space and time, but it by necessity had some connection to the source world, or else, after the death of Zhou Dufu, it would no longer have complied by set rules and appeared in the world.

Chen Changsheng knew why the Garden of Zhou had to appear every ten years: it needed to connect with the source world.

Only with running water could there be no decay.

Although the Garden of Zhou was vast, if it was truly cut off from the world and became a stagnant pool of water, then even if this pool of water were as vast as the ocean, it would still eventually turn dead and lifeless.

Standing at the peak of the Mausoleum of Zhou, Chen Changsheng looked all around him and faintly perceived a sort of connection. He judged that with his arrival, a connection had been reestablished between the Garden of Zhou and the source world. This situation should change, but it would inevitably be a very long and slow process. He didn't know if those beings living within this world could endure until that day.

The monster tide in the sea of grass was no longer as vast as it was in the past. Although several tens of thousands seemed quite a lot, it seemed very little amongst the boundless and vast sea of grass.

The tens of thousands of monsters continued their journey towards the Mausoleum of Zhou, planning there to welcome the conclusion of their lives. But in the next moment, they once more felt that Qi, the sense that something was looking down on them. This time, the feeling did not come from the distant sky, but from the Mausoleum of Zhou up ahead. Moreover, this Qi was much more intense. Some of the more intelligent monsters could even tell that they had smelled this Qi before.

The Mountain-toppling Fiend stopped and raised its several-dozen-zhang body high. It gazed at the distant mausoleum, its bean-like eyes slowly filling up with a ruthless aura.

With a whoosh, the heavily injured Earth Monkey popped up from somewhere. Grabbing onto the Mountain-toppling Fiend's fur, it climbed up to its shoulder like a flash of lightning relying on only its two hands. Staring at the distant Mausoleum of Zhou, it sent out a mournful howl, brimming with anger, resentment, and despair.

At the very back of the monster tide, the Monster Bull had its eyes closed. The remnants of its ears shivered in the cold wind. From the howl of the Earth Monkey, it could confirm the origins of that Qi. Its body could barely restrain its shuddering. The mottled surface of its skin, unsightly because it had lost too many of its arrow hairs, began to send off ripple after ripple. It was like a swamp from which the water had completely evaporated but was still somewhat moist.

In the battle of the Sword Pool, these three great monsters had suffered devastating wounds. Ultimately, however, they were so incomparably powerful and fierce that by some fluke, they had actually managed to survive that disaster. It was a matter of course that they could recognize that this Qi came from that human youth, the main culprit behind the Garden of Zhou's current appearance.

To these monsters, the Garden of Zhou was their homeland. They had calmly lived out countless years here, but then it was all disturbed by these repulsive humans and demons, even forcing them into these desperate straits. The sky had fallen, and the humans and demons had all left, but they still had to live in this plain. What could they do?

The hatred these monsters held towards Chen Changsheng was naturally very easy to understand.

However, for some reason, in the next moment, the harsh howls of the Earth Monkey came to a sudden stop. It stared with round eyes at the Mausoleum of Zhou, a profound sense of disbelief appearing in its eyes, soon followed by fear and cowardice. It noiselessly approached the Mountain-toppling Fiend's ear and mumbled a few words, then took its half-ruined body and hid it behind the horn at the crown of the Mountain-toppling Fiend's head, not daring to peek out its head again. The Monster Bull at the back of the monster tide also calmed down. It slightly tilted its head and then gave out long and low cry.

The Mountain-toppling Fiend gazed at the Mausoleum of Zhou. After a moment of silence, it kneeled on the ground.

Hence, the tens of thousands of monsters all bent their forelegs or lowered their heads. Closing their eyes brimming with brutality and exhaustion, they kneeled.

This was both acknowledgment of their allegiance and a welcome. Acknowledgment so that new people could be brought into the Garden of Zhou and welcoming the new master of the Garden of Zhou.

……

……

At some place in the sea of grass, Chen Changsheng looked at the two great monsters kneeling before him, not knowing how to respond.

Even when kneeling, the Mountain-toppling Fiend was still like a mountain, as was the Monster Bull. Compared to them, he seemed exceptionally tiny. If he had not met the Black Dragon under New North Bridge so many times and been in an identical position so many times, then even if he was fully aware of the situation in the Garden of Zhou, he might have already rushed to escape. Back then when he and she were in the sea of grass, they had encountered many dangers. In the end, they were encircled by the monster tide. Those two…no, three incomparably powerful and abnormally sinister and terrifying monsters had once given them countless difficulties. If the Sword Pool had not reappeared before the world, then the unity of the souls of Nanke and the young Golden-winged Great Peng would not have been required. Those three monsters would have effortlessly slain and eaten them.

"I know of the Garden of Zhou's current situation."

Chen Changsheng looked at the pair of eyes hidden in the shadow of the Mountain-toppling Fiend's horn and knew that they belonged to that most sinister Earth Monkey. "I can help you resolve a few problems."

Hearing this, the Mountain-toppling Fiend kneeled even lower and the Monster Bull made itself even humbler. The dense mass of monsters behind these two were even more unbearable. The dragon serpents rolled their bodies around while the demon vultures gave out sharp and ugly cries. The monsters used every method to display their obedience and meekness.

In reality, any monster that could live up until now was certainly not a kind one. They were all the most powerful and dangerous monsters. Seeing this sight, Chen Changsheng couldn't help but feel somewhat strange.

He took out all the medicines that he usually kept with him and threw them before the Mountain-toppling Fiend and Monster Bull. He once more turned to that pair of eyes in the shadow of the Mountain-toppling Fiend's horn and said, "Let the heavily injured eat first."

The pair of eyes seemed to dart around, seeming to think about something.

"I didn't bring enough medicine, so you must divide them according to the instructions I just gave you." He no longer looked at that pair of eyes, instead saying to the Mountain-toppling Fiend, "I have an urgent matter to get to. Tomorrow, I will come in at the same time, but if I discover that someone hasn't listened to my instructions, I will no longer come in."

Upon hearing these words, the Mountain-toppling Fiend lightly placed its two thick arms on the ground, indicating that it would do as he said. Its two palms covered in black fur were opened upwards, seeming just like two black forests.

With this action, his horn also reached the ground.

Because of the Earth Monkey's ruined body, it could not stand firmly. It rolled off the Mountain-toppling Fiend, rolling all the way until it landed in front of Chen Changsheng.

It was plainly obvious that the Mountain-toppling Fiend had done this on purpose.

The Earth Monkey simply didn't dare to raise its head. It incessantly kissed the muddy ground before Chen Changsheng's boots, simultaneously weeping and sobbing. All in all, it seemed particularly pitiful.

Chen Changsheng knew that it was acting, but he did not care. Shaking his head, he headed towards the outskirts of the plain.

He was keenly aware that none of these monsters was kind. This especially loyal and sincere appearance of theirs could not be counted on. In truth, they were all extremely savage and cruel, but he still wanted to help them.

The heavens had the virtue of cherishing life, and he cherished life more than anyone else.

He was also not worried about the monsters biting back after being saved and returning to their former strength. He was the master of the Garden of Zhou, after all. If he did not open the Garden of Zhou, then this miniature world would eventually fade away, and no matter how strong the beings within it were, they would only be able to walk the path of death. To say it another way, the Garden of Zhou was currently his ranch and those monsters were his livestock. If the livestock were sick or hungry, it was only right that, as their owner, he be concerned about them. This wasn't even considering monsters like the Monster Bull that already possessed a tentative intelligence. He found it impossible to regard them as livestock, nor did he wish to see them die.

Moreover, to him, the Garden of Zhou possessed a deep significance.

He did not wish for the Garden of Zhou to become a land of the dead.

He hoped for the Garden of Zhou to continue to live, just like he hoped that she continued to live.

……

……

The old laws of the Garden of Zhou had already been shattered, and the spatial barrier around the Plains of the Unsetting Sun had also disappeared.

As the new master of the Garden of Zhou, a portion of the new laws of the Garden of Zhou, through some incomprehensible means, entered his mind. Afterwards, he grasped the laws in this portion that he could comprehend with his current level of cultivation. As his cultivation incessantly improved, this miniature world would display even more laws to him. From the other way, his comprehension of these laws was also extremely helpful in improving his cultivation. Because of his grasp over these laws, he only needed a brief amount of time to walk out of the Plains of the Unsetting Sun, cross several mountains, and arrive at that residence at the edge of the Garden of Zhou.

This place was the Mountainside Whispering Wood, the garden where most of the human cultivators had congregated back then and also the place he had seen the Great Peng fly her towards.

The winding corridors and small pavilions of the past were now shattered walls and piles of rubble. The place was pervaded by a lifeless atmosphere. No frogs croaked, but the cries of birds could be heard from far away, proof that this place was not truly a dead country.

But many people had already died in this place.

The collapsing cliffs had buried the most beautiful buildings of the Mountainside Whispering Wood. Countless monstrous boulders were piled up from the depressions of the mountain up to its waist.

At this horrifying scene, Chen Changsheng could only remain silent.

He was incapable of moving these boulders, but he could clearly sense that beneath this collapsed cliff were many dead people.

He stood in front of this collapsed cliff for a very long time, then left.

Afterwards, he went to the other two gardens but gained nothing.

He went to that stream, going upstream towards that cold pool.

There was no longer any sword intent in that pool, nor any person.

The lake on the other side of the pool was also devoid of people. In the depths of the lake, he could faintly make out the light emitted by that Night Pearl.

Chen Changsheng did not remove those treasures, or the silver, or those books that had been immersed in water for so many days and yet had not rotted away. He only took a few things that had been wrapped in cloth.

There was no one at the lake shore. The sands were still stained with blackened blood. He didn't know which was Qi Jian's and which was Zhexiu's.

Then he swam to the depths of the lake, arriving at those small lakes in front of Sunset Valley.

The water in these small lakes had already drained through the cracks in the ground to someplace else, leaving only the dry lakebeds behind.

Back then, he had burst out of the lake here and been rescued by her.

This place also had no people.

……

……