318 Facing It Together

The obsidian coffin was colossal, similar to a small mountain. Chen Changshengand Xu Yourong stood within the coffin, as though they were standing within amountain. They were unsure of how much time had passed. Xu Yourong followed the normal order, and viewed the images one by one. Herfootsteps moved slowly, from left to right. Chen Changsheng’s order was theopposite of hers, and slowly moved from right to left. Memorizing was mucheasier than comprehending and grasping it, but to memorize such profound andindescribable sword moves was not an easy task. After an unknown period of time, Chen Changsheng’s left arm touched hershoulder. Only then did the two return to her senses and realize that they hadalready met again. If it was Tang Thirty-Six, he would probably frivolously and cockily comment,“What a coincidence, actually meeting you here.” However, Chen Changsheng did not speak in this manner, and Xu Yourong also didnot speak. The two of them glanced at each other and smiled, before continuingto look at the final two images. This was Chen Changsheng’s sixty-ninth image. This meant that he had alreadymemorized sixty-nine images. Due to her injuries, Xu Yourong was rather weak,and saw fewer images than him. Altogether, she had memorized thirty-seven blademoves. After another period of time, the pair had finally memorized the final twoimages, and once again woke up at almost the same time. They once again lookedat each other and smiled. However, in the next moment, their smiles vanished and were replaced withshock and bewilderment. The images and words on the obsidian coffin were currently… disappearing! Obsidian was the hardest type of rock in the world, and these lines of imagesand texts should have been carved onto it by Zhou Dufu with his legendarydivine blade. It was deeply carved into the rock to some degree, and even afterundergoing the rubbings of hundreds of years, it did not grow faint, much lesseroded. However, at this moment, the edge of these lines seemed to grow softerby a lot. With a soft brushing of the gloomy breeze in the mausoleum, theobsidian at the edge of these lines was blown into grains of sand and fell ontothe ground with a rustle. At that moment, Chen Changsheng and Xu Yourong were not able to react at all.All of the words and images of the obsidian coffin wall were completely erased,turning into one hundred and nine depressions which varied slightly in depth. What was this about? This magical scene caused both of them to be shockedspeechless. Did this mean that the Halving Blade Technique would disappear byitself after it was memorized? Just how did Zhou Dufu do such a magical thing? The Halving Blade Technique had already transformed into the black sand at thebottom of the coffin and had completely vanished. The interior of the obsidiancoffin had become completely empty, so they naturally did not stay any longer. Chen Changsheng carried her out of the obsidian coffin, and returned to thestone floor of the mausoleum. They were still unable to calm down as theythought about the previous events. “Luckily it was memorized.” Xu Yourong said, “After we leave, we can recordthese moves, and it will be complete.” Due to living in the old temple in Xining Village since childhood, ChenChangsheng, a fifteen-year-old teenager, naturally could not avoid beingslow-witted on matters between males and females. However, for some reason, atthis moment, he understood what she said correctly. The earth-shatteringHalving Blade Technique had now belonged to the two of them, and it was notseparately belonging to each of them. Just like the blade technique, theentirety of it belonged to both of them. If they did not have enough trust and did not treat each other with sincerity,there was no point to this blade technique. “Yes, we can practice together,” Chen Changsheng said. “If we can’t leave the Garden of Zhou, what should we do?” asked Xu Yourong asgazed at his clear eyes, seemingly slightly sad. “Perhaps this blade techniquewill leave the world with us?” Chen Changsheng replied, “Don’t feel pressured. If Zhou Dufu really is stillalive, the Halving Blade Technique naturally won’t be lost in inheritance.” Xu Yourong stayed silent for a moment and then said, “I have a differenttheory. If Zhou Dufu did not die, why would he leave these sword moves in hisown mausoleum?” Chen Changsheng pondered , then guessed, “Perhaps he wanted to go do somethingthat he did not have certainty in and left these sword moves behind. He alsodoes not want to let his most impressive creation in his life to fade intooblivion. Xu Yourong gazed into his eyes and said, “Anyway, you must do your best tolive.” Chen Changsheng gazed back into her eyes, and thought that if it was fate,then the requirements fate had provided should have been extremely clear.Whether if it was for the Halving Blade Technique, or to remember these lovelymemories, only when the pair had lived and met again would there be any meaning. “May the sacred light be with you.” Xu Yourong sincerely wished him well. Chen Changsheng leaned forward, and awkwardly hugged her. He replied, “Be withus.” The ground began to tremble once again. This time, it was not the opening ofthe obsidian coffin,  nor did it originate from his dagger. Instead, it wasbecause the monster tide had finally arrived. Chen Changsheng remembered whatXu Yourong had said not too long ago, she did not want to die in anotherperson’s tomb, so he naturally supported her and walked towards the exterior ofthe mausoleum. When he passed the long passageway, he did not forget to collectall the luminous pearls embedded in the walls. Xu Yourong felt intrigued as she watched this scene, and also felt even moreadmiration; to be so calm before life and death was not something that anyonecould do. It was also very obvious that he really did not fear death. Such amental state was close to those of sages. Chen Changsheng actually did not think too much about matters of life ordeath, and instead, thought more about the sleeping black dragon in the lakewater outside his Ethereal Palace. At this moment, he did not know, and wasalso worried over that if he died in the Garden of Zhou, what would happen tothe Black Dragon? Would it follow him into a long slumber, or would it continueto live even though it was unable to wake? After all, at present, it was only aspiritual soul. They left the mausoleum and arrived at the great platform at the end of thedivine path. Previously, they were able to gaze at the grassland beneath them,Chen Changsheng looked at the wutong tree which owned the countless jade-greenleaves that swayed in the incoming breeze. He said to Xu Yourong, “No matterhow great your magical artifact is, it is still unable to constantly protectus. Why don’t you put it away?” Xu Yourong said, “It can help us buy some time.” Unlike those cultivators whoviewed magical artifacts and the level of cultivation as more important thantheir lives, she had always believed that these were mere worldly possessions.If it could be used to earn some valuable time or opportunities, not to mentionheavy damage, even directly being destroyed would be nothing to feel pity about. Chen Changsheng replied, “Right now, what we need the least is time.” Before they memorized the Halving Blade Technique, time was imperative, butafterward, it had no significance to them at all. Although Xu Yourong had beenplucked out of the abyss of death by his blood, she was still severely injuredand weak, and the longer she took, the more dangerous it was. Most importantly,the flow of time in the Plains of Unsetting Sun was different from the realworld. The closer to the Mausoleum of Zhou, the slower time flowed. Even ifthey could last for a few extra days by relying on the wutong tree, perhaps itwas only a split second in the real world outside the Garden of Zhou, so whatopportunities were there? “Reasonable.” Xu Yourong extended her hand and transformed the wutong backinto a longbow and carried it on her shoulder. The green leaves suddenly disappeared, and the surroundings of the stoneplatform became empty. Chen Changsheng and Xu Yourong began to face thepowerful opponents and unknown end head-on. Although what came directly at themhead-on was not a rain of blood, it was still a foul wind.