345 The Pheasant in Dire Straits

Before the Garden of Zhou had opened, before the rainbow had appeared, MountLi was already in a condition of absolute vigilance. Xiao Songgong and threeelders of the Discipline Hall sat at various places along the mountain path,and the Myriad Sword Array of Mount Li was hidden in the depths of the clouds,ready to kill any enemies that appeared at any time. However, they were stillunable to create absolute safety. Only when the Sect Master of Mount Li createda long whistle with his sword did the rainbow stabilize, as well as purge theother Qi from within the rainbow. Unfortunately, it could not stop the Demonrace from closing the gate of the Garden of Zhou in time. If they wanted to open the gate of the Garden of Zhou again and let theseveral hundred human cultivators out, other than the formations deployed bythe many experts outside Hanqiu City, what was most important was still therainbow that originated from Mount Li. After all, the key was there. In thetime that had passed, Mount Li remained in silence. Everyone focused theirattention on the activity on the main peak. At that moment when they saw thesect master finally exit the dwelling, all the people that had waited for avery long time surged forwards, bowing and saluting. Xiao Songgong asked with aserious expression, “Senior, how is it?” The Mount Li Sect Master gazed into the eastern night sky, and looked at thestar that remained bright. He said, “At dawn, the Garden of Zhou will reopen.” Hearing that, Xiao Songgong relaxed a little. However, he discovered that theSect Master remained stern in expression, especially in the silent lake in hiseyes, and his sword intent seemed to move slightly. Xiao Songgong could nothelp but feel extremely uneasy and asked, “Perhaps there are other changes?” The Mount Li Sect Master retracted his gaze to the east, and followed therainbow until it landed on the position of Hanqiu City in the north. He said,“There are great matters currently occurring in the Garden of Zhou, and thereare already signs of collapsing. I don’t know if the people inside are stillable to last till dawn.” The Mount Li Sword Sect Disciples present heard what he said, and feltshocked. However, they did not dare to create a hubbub. After a while, an elderof the Discipline Hall asked in concern, “Are there any other methods?” The Sect Master did not say anything, and the people naturally understood whathe meant. A disciple asked, “How is Eldest Brother?” With his question, many disciples shot their gaze towards the tightly-shutdoor of the dwelling. To the younger generation of Mount Li disciples, itseemed that nothing could pose a problem to their Eldest Brother. Although theyknew that his level of cultivation definitely was not as great as their martialuncles, they still subconsciously placed hope on him. The Sect Master looked at all the disciples and said, “In order to quicklyreopen the gate of the Garden of Zhou, your Eldest Brother has basically burntall of the blood of the True Dragon in his body, and you want it to open evenfaster? Perhaps you wish for him to completely cripple his cultivation? Or isit that you want him to just die under this rainbow?” Hearing this, the disciples were all surprised, and did not dare to say anymore. Just at this moment, a voice resounded from inside the dwelling, “Master,disciple… still wants to try again.” The voice was very exhausted, and seemed extremely weak. However, it remainedas clear as it was normally and extremely pleasant to the ear. The emotions inthe voice was still very calm, unhurried, confident and resolute. Moreimportantly, the voice was just like how it was normally; no matter whatsituation it was in, it would not sound depressed, and carried a feeling ofbeing free and at ease, or even being carefree and unrestrained. Hearing the voice, all the disciples felt slightly relieved for some reason,just like how it was normally. The Sect Master looked at the dwelling and said with a deep voice, “If youwant to try again, perhaps there is only death.” The voice disappeared for a while, and then resounded once again. It remainedcalm and extremely resolute. “Junior Sister is still in the Garden of Zhou.” This was an excuse. This was a reason. It was an excuse and reason thateverybody in the world was willing to know and believe.  When the Sect Masterheard the seemingly calm voice of the Eldest Disciple who he loved the mostdearly give off a truly worried feeling for the first time, how could he havethe heart to stop him? In the depths of the Plains of the Unsetting Sun that was covered in energystorms, the mausoleum was surrounded by violent whirlwinds. The pools of waterin the grassland were already almost completely evaporated, and the mud alsoturned into dry dirt. With the wind that blew violently in the world, some dustfloated in from the edge of the Yellow Paper Umbrella, which blocked some light. Xu Yourong leaned on Chen Changsheng’s shoulder and said quietly, “Will wedie?” At this moment, she who was just shy of the edge of death was extremely weak,whether physically or mentally. Chen Changsheng’s gaze bypassed the edge of theYellow Paper Umbrella, and stared at the ten stone pillars in the wind and dustin the surroundings of the mausoleum. He thought about the outcome she hadcalculated before, and was currently doing some type of comparison. Suddenly,he heard her speak, and said after thinking a little, “Perhaps… but I won’t letyou die.” Xu Yourong said with a gentle voice, “Before, if you did not give me yourblood, I would already be dead. However, before, I did not fear death, but nowI do. I don’t know why.” Chen Changsheng looked into her eyes and said, “Perhaps… it’s because you havea reason to live for?” Xu Yourong thought a little and said, “Perhaps.” Chen Changsheng gave a smile that originated from the bottom of his heart andsaid, “I am very happy.” Xu Yourong looked at his smile and said, “I am also very happy. But the more Iam like this, the more I don’t want to die.” Chen Changsheng said seriously, “Yes, so I am thinking how we can continue tolive.” Xu Yourong made fun of him, “Are you very good at coming up with solutions?” “No, but matters regarding how to continue living… I have often thought aboutit.” After saying that, he continued to observe the wind and dust in thesurroundings of the mausoleum and the images in the wind and dust, especiallythe area that was covered in white grass before, and was now covered by monstercorpses and dust. Many monsters had already died, and even more monsters foughtagainst the whirlwinds, or were perhaps being blown everywhere by thewhirlwinds. Death would always arrive, whether early or late. Other than theYellow Paper Umbrella in front of the main entrance of the mausoleum, therewere no other places that could give the beings that were once powerful andfierce any coverage. Just at this moment, a black shadow passed through the violent flows of energyand the whistling wind and dust, and arrived in front of the main entrance ofthe mausoleum like lightning. It passed through an extremely small crack at theedge of the Yellow Paper Umbrella, and landed heavily on the heavy stone doorof the mausoleum. It gave off a muffled sound as it collided with the stonedoor, and several cracks formed on the door. To be able to evade the storms of energy released by the Heavenly TomeMonoliths, disregard the sky full of wind and sand, and almost knock over themain entrance of the mausoleum… it was a bird. The bird was covered in messyfeathers and did not seem pretty at all. Its right foot was already destroyed,and it was covered in marks of blood. It seemed just like a pheasant that hadescaped with its life under the arrows of a hunter. The pheasant rolled out from the center of the crack in the stone door, andlanded on the ground. It used a leg to stand up with great difficulty, andmoved its neck. It flapped a wing, dislodging most of the dust and water fromit, and seemed slightly satisfied. Afterwards, it gazed at the sky full of windand sand at the edge of the Yellow Paper Umbrella, and gave out a few angrypheasant cries. The space under the Yellow Paper Umbrella was very small, somost of the dust and grit that it had flapped off landed on Chen Changsheng andXu Yourong’s faces. The two could not help but begin coughing.