207 Intruding upon the Divine Path

From a distance, there were faint lights within the mausoleum, and the soundof waterfalls could also be heard. However, the south end of the mausoleum wasvery quiet. No lamps were lit, and only the starlight illuminated the cliffs,the straight path, the canals, and the rock plateau. However, the starlight wasincapable of completely expelling the darkness of night. The clear water withinthe canals were pitch-black like ink. Xun Mei withdrew his gaze from the top of the mausoleum and looked at theDivine Path. Then, his gaze gradually shifted to the pavilion and finallyrested upon the man clad in armor beneath the pavilion. After a short moment, he began to walk toward the pavilion. He stepped throughthe fresh water, as if he were stirring ink, but the splashes of water weresilver-colored. What was he trying to do? Could it be that he wanted to intrude upon theDivine Path? After eyeing this scene, Chen Changsheng, Tang Thirty-Six, andZhexiu grew all the more nervous. “Senior,” Chen Changsheng called towards Xun Mei. Previously, he had seen many strands of white hair belonging to Xun Meiunderneath the starlight outside the grass hut. His sympathy had grown, but hisworries even more so. Xun Mei’s steps ceased, and he turned toward those youths standing at the edgeof the rock plateau. Unlike what Chen Changsheng and the others had imagined, Xun Mei’s expressionwas very calm. There was no frustration on his face, much less the signs of apitiable and out-of-sorts man. While smiling, he asked, “Young ones, do youneed something?” Chen Changsheng glanced at the pavilion and saw that the legendary DivineGeneral 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 behindhim in the darkness of night. He did not turn his head, but his finger had been exactly on point. His tonewas very matter-of-fact, as if he were heading home. He exuded the feeling ofhaving 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. Thismade the three youths even more worried.(TL: ?? (denglíng) means to climb the mausoleum and ?? (denglín) means tosightsee. They sound very similar.) Perhaps it was an illusion or something else, but Chen Changsheng felt thatwhen Xun Mei had spoken those words, the stars in the night sky seemed to havegrown brighter for a moment. The starlight that fell onto the canals of therock 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 beganto throb even more with terror because the Mausoleum Guard who had always hadhis head down and his face obstructed by his armor, had issued forth a lightwind from underneath the helmet, carrying some dust along with it. This was atthe exact moment when the stars had grown brighter.. Chen Changsheng did not dare take another glance, even if it was only out ofthe corner of his eyes. He asked Xun Mei, “Why?” If Xun Mei could defeat the Mausoleum Guard underneath the pavilion and usethe 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 wasvery likely that he would have intruded upon the Divine Path long ago. Since hehad 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 stillwould not have been able to overcome that obstacle underneath the pavilion. Ifthat person could be so easily defeated, how could that armor have accumulatedseveral 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 foranother thirty-seven years, and pushed his cultivation to even moreunfathomable levels, he still would find it difficult to defeat the manunderneath the pavilion. Out of the continent’s thirty-eight Divine Generals, Han Qing occupied firstplace. This expert who sat underneath the pavilion for several hundred yearswas only worthy of being mentioned alongside the Five Saints and Eight Stormsof the Cardinal Directions. Of course, those on the Proclamation of Liberationhad profound levels of cultivation as well, but regardless of Wang Po ofTianliang or Painted Armor Xiao Zhang, they would still not dare say they hadthe qualification to challenge him. After hearing Chen Changsheng’s words, Xun Mei fell silent for a while. He didnot 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 hadto bear the pain of the Tide Rush of Blood at all times. If he were a normalperson, 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-friedvegetables, cooked rice, and steamed salted fish. This sort of tranquil stateof mind was something he had long yearned for. Tang Thirty-Six had made a loudruckus in such a sacred place as the Mausoleum of Books. This allowed him tosee 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 climbthe mausoleum. Tonight, he had met these three youths, who had used their bravery, will, andyouth to awaken him. The thirty-seven years he had spent viewing the monoliths in the Mausoleum ofBooks were simply a long dream. After waking from a dream, there were certainthings he had to do. “All of you woke me up. I want to see the truth, so I need to ascend themausoleum.” 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 tofind Wang Po and where each of you stand?” Tang Thirty-Six asked inbewilderment. After hearing these words, Xun Mei roared with laughter. The laughter echoedthroughout the rock plateau, which caused the inky water within the canals toshudder. The laughter gradually faded. He looked at the three youths and calmlyreplied, “Is Wang Po really my enemy?” Chen Changsheng and Zhexiu faintly understood while Tang Thirty-Six graduallybegan to frown. “No, after thirty-seven years, the shadow over my cultivation has long sinceceased 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 fellsilent. Countless years before, the Heavenly Tomes had descended like fire fromthe heavens. They eventually landed on the continent and opened knowledge tohumanity, until humanity had learned the ways of cultivation. Certainly, thismausoleum occupied an irreplaceable role and position in human society, but tocountless cultivators, the Mausoleum of Books was in many ways their greatestenemy. The incomprehensible words and drawings on the monoliths were a tall mountainthey had to surmount and opponents that they had to defeat. Although themausoleum did not look tall or treacherous at all, in reality it pressed upagainst the blue dome of heaven. It was exceedingly difficult to surmount itwhile relying only on human strength, such that countless cultivators had theircourage and spirit shattered upon trying. Xun Mei had awoken and faced the truth. He had finally realized who his trueopponent was. As a result, he did not choose to leave the Mausoleum of Books and find WangPo, but he chose to intrude upon the Divine Path instead. The forest outside the mausoleum was extremely quiet and was without a singlestray sound. Logically, there was no way for the conversation happening southof the mausoleum to carry over here, but those two men in the forest somehowunderstood Xun Mei’s intentions. Mao Qiuyu’s two sleeves trembled with emotion.The brows of the man underneath the scholartree leapt up, making an eight (?)character. His eyes were incomparably bright and almost mesmerizing. South of the Mausoleum, the three youths had also understood Xun Mei’sintentions, but there was still something they could not accept — to wake upfrom a thirty-seven year long dream, return to reality, learn who his enemywas, and then challenge him. This was naturally a very valorous course ofaction, but if he lost, then he would enter into a dream of eternal darkness,so this seemed too desperate a course of action. Chen Changsheng had only met Xun Mei today, and they had not exchanged manywords. Reasonably, there should have been no empathy between them, but for somereason, he felt a close connection to this man. He sympathized with him andwanted to do something for him. He did not believe that he had just awoken onlyto find his death. He said, “Please be careful.” Xun Mei chuckled, and then said nothing more. He turned around and continuedon his way toward the pavilion. He was tread through the water as he went, andthe water was splashing about and soaking his shabby shirt. One hundred yards away from the pavilion, he stopped. The rock plateau south of the mausoleum was black, but the space in front ofthe pavilion was white. It was the same color as the Divine Path, and theymixed together as a whole. The black rock plateau and the white Divine Path. This was the dividing lineand perhaps also the line between life and death. The face of the man underneath the pavilion was obscured in the shadow of hisarmor, so it was impossible to make out his face clearly. Suddenly, countless motes of dust flew out from underneath the helmet. In thestarlight, they seemed like tiny fireflies. A sound followed the dust from underneath the helmet. That sound was deep and resonating, and it caused the water from the canals toleap about in turmoil as if in joy and fear. It echoed throughout the cliffs ofthe Mausoleum of Books. It was as if that man had slept for several hundred years and had only nowawakened. As a result, the Mausoleum of Books had also awakened. The faint lights from the lamps at the north of the mausoleum seemed toslightly sway with the sound echoing throughout the cliffs. Afterwards, sharpsounds of breaking filled the air: hahahahaha. As the night wind blew gently, Gou Hanshi was the first to arrive at the edgeof the rock plateau with his shirt still flowing from the wind. He was closelyfollowed by Liang Banhu, Guan Feibai, and Qi Jian. “What’s going on here?” Guan Feibai took a step forward and looked at thescene before him in surprise. Tang Thirty-Six mockingly replied, “Can’t you see? Someone wants to intrudeupon the Divine Path.” “Someone actually dares to intrude upon the Divine Path? Who is it?” Gou Hanshi guessed that the man underneath the pavilion was the legendaryMausoleum Guard, the continent’s number one Divine General Han Qing. Then, whowas that shabby-looking middle-aged man opposite him? “Xun Mei.” Chen Changsheng answered. “Snow-treading Xun Mei?” Gou Hanshi arched his eyebrows. He seemed to be insome surprise. Stunned, Qi Jian said, “Xun Mei is actually still alive? It can’t be that therumors were true, the he had been hidden in the Mausoleum of Books for all thistime viewing the monoliths?” On the side, Zhexiu expressionlessly said, “ We have already discussed theseexact same words.” Qi Jian only now realized that Zhexiu was there. His small face became filledwith hate, and he grasped the hilt of his sword. Zhexiu paid no attention to him, but kept his eyes on the scene playing outbefore him on the Divine Path. “Why is it that only you four from the Mount Li Sword Sect came over? Thesound just now was so loud, so how could those guys not have heard it?” TangThirty-Six asked. Gou Hanshi replied, “Those people are viewing the monoliths and aren’t willingto leave.” To still be viewing those monoliths deep into the night, Chen Changsheng foundit difficult to understand. Was the temptation of the Mausoleum of Books reallyso great? Then, he thought back to how even Xun Mei, whose talent was so broadand deep, had also been imprisoned by those monoliths for thirty-seven years.When he looked at the mausoleum again, he suddenly felt that it was somewhatmore sinister. “Those who cross the line will die.” A voice resounded from the pavilion. The voice came from the shadowy depths of the old armor. It was very ordinary,but it seemed to bring a sense of great change. It was like an ancient citywall. Its surface was overgrown with moss and the stones seemed ready to comeloose, but in reality they were incomparably firm. The most powerful attackwould be incapable of making the slightest mark upon its surface. Xun Mei stood before that invisible line and looked towards the pavilion. Hesaid, “I don’t want to retreat, nor can I stand here forever. Then, I must tryand see if I can cross this line.” “Several decades ago, Wang Po had said the same thing. But in the end, hestood there for an entire night and took not one more step forward.” The worn-out armor completely encased the body of the legendary DivineGeneral, and his voice also had to pass through the armor to be heard. Hisvoice seemed muffled, and it also had a strange flavor to it like a sharp bladeor a tongue licking the edge of the blade. It was the sweet smell of iron mixedtogether with that of blood.