Nightfall

If people from the Divine Halls found out that Ning Que was there, he would definitely be killed.

Ye Hongyu thought about the life and death vow because she felt that Ning Que was either courageous, or very stupid to come in front of her at the Seat of Black Heavenly Jade. This was akin to placing his life in her hands.

She sounded extremely bitter. The life and death vow very aptly described the situation Ning Que was facing and the purpose of his appearance on the Peach Mountain.

What is love? People live for it and die for it. It was normally the cause for suicidal craziness. Ning Que did not come to the Peach Mountain for her, nor for the imprisoned Chen Pipi. He was clearly here solely for the person in the Divine Hall of Light.

What a stupid choice it was to walk to his own demise because of love.

Ye Hongyu had always thought that Ning Que was one of the very few who were calm and wise like herself. However, she was disappointed to see him acting like those fictional heroes indulging in their naive choice of dying for love. She could not help scorning him

She and Ning Que were indeed similar, and he immediately picked up on the implications of her words. After a moment of silence, he said, “I asked for your help this time, not because of her, but because of Pipi. You and Pipi shared some cherished childhood memories. Are you really going to watch him get burned to death?”

Ye Hongyu replied emotionlessly, “My childhood was just like the time you shared with the one inside the Divine Hall of Light. Something I hated most and wish I would never recall again.”

Even as she replied, she was still seated on the Seat of Heavenly Black Jade with her cheek resting on her hand, staring at the black floor in front of her neither turning around nor even sparing a glance at Ning Que.

Ning Que looked up to her beautiful face and said abruptly, “I met Ye Su in Linkang City.”

If this was before Ye Hongyu had read that letter, she might had replied differently and their conversation lead to a different conclusion.

But at that point, she could only say indifferently, “Haotian knows everything in the world. You could have come to the Peach Mountain without being noticed by me or the hierarch. But you could never deceive her. I have no idea what Haotian was thinking about. And I am not going to interfere. If you are to be killed here, it has nothing to do with me.”

Upon this she closed her eyes again with no further words, as if she felt asleep again. The silence in the empty hall was horrifying.

Ning Que was quiet for a long while, then stepped backward. When the huge and cold crystal lamp above was no longer shining on his face, he answered, “Thank you.”

He had thrown his life into her hands by entering the Divine Hall of Justice. If only she had turned to him or spoken towards him, there would have come numerous powerful guards. But she didn’t. He was grateful for her reminder, and also for letting him go.

There was no more sound from in the darkness, not even the sound of breathing. Ning Que left quietly. Ye Hongyu was still siting in her black jade throne with eyes closed and cheek on hand.

She told Ning Que many years ago that they would meet again in battle and fight till the death. The two of them did not have any sweet memories with each other.

By killing Ning Que, she would have put an end to this battle. As the Great Divine Priest of Judgment, she should not have had any hesitation. Yet she chose not to take any action. She wanted Chen Pipi to be saved. Since she could not help with what her brother wanted, she could only hope that Ning Que could fulfill it.

Most importantly, she did not know whether that person inside the Divine Hall of Judgement was looking at them, and what she would do to Ning Que.

That person was a divine figure who happened to descend to the human world, and thus made things complicated. Even if the Great Divine Priest of Revelation, Li Qingshan and Master Qishan were reborn again, and the Abbot were restored to his strongest state, it would not be enough to predict what would happen in the end. No one could predict Heaven’s will.

In the quiet Divine Hall of Judgement, Ye Hongyu remained seated on the Seat of Heavenly Black Jade. Setting her cheek on her hand, she did not want to think any more about the upcoming Rite to Light and fell asleep.

The blood-colored Gown of Justice covered her perfect figure, while the Seat of Heavenly Black Jade nourished her mind. She appeared majestic, but also lonely.

…

In the fall of the 3450th year of Dazhi, the Rite to Light was held at the Peach Mountain.

Down in the towns at the foot of Peach Mountain, over two thousand Papal Cavalryman were fully armed, patrolling about on their holy mounts. The number of guards in the front yard of Peach Mountain was overwhelming. Hundreds of Sacred Guards of West-Hill were watching every single path that led to the site.

At dawn, delegates and followers flooded the mountain. Yet no one dared to speak a single word, not because of the soothing ceremonial music coming from the front yard, but the chillingly sacred atmosphere that covered the entire Peach Mountain.

Over ten talisman masters and array masters were standing in the center of the front yard, preparing to activate the giant array they had already set up. Upon its activation, the wind blew petals of peach blossoms into the air. The Qi of Heaven and Earth stirred. Tens of Haotian flags were waving in the wind. The forty-seven waterfalls in the Peach Mountain sprayed innumerous tiny beads of water into the winds, which blew them to the front yard, gently falling.

Drizzling on the mountain, it cleaned every single dust and calmed the restlessness. The flat stone ground was washed thoroughly. And the white stone altar in the center was pure as jade.

The drizzle from the waterfalls turned into mist in the autumn sun and gradually rose into three huge cloud shields. When the clouds dispersed, it became three clear circles of lights. The Peach Mountain was seamlessly shielded. When the clear circles of lights gradually disappeared, the three massive arrays were established.

Tens of thousands of followers were covered by the falling rain. Yet, instead of soaking their clothes, it instead refreshed everyone at the scene. When the three cloud shields turned into three circles of lights, and eventually the three arrays, those who had never witnessed such great occasions all fell to their knees and begin exalting the great Haotian.

Chongming, the newly crowned king of the Yan Kingdom had arrived, as well as the governors of the Song, Qi, Liang, Zhen and other smaller kingdoms. Present too were the head of the Song family who represented the clans in Qinghe Prefecture, Monk Guanhai, the abbot of the Lanke Temple, Qi Nian from the Xuankong Temple, the national master of the Golden Tribe and their number one royal martial art master General Lebu. There were also independent cultivators, faculties and students of the Revelation Institution, divine priests and deacons of the four Divine Halls, and even the servants.

These people stood closer to the foot of the Peach Mountain, some distance away from the tens of thousands of followers. They felt varied emotions when seeing those followers kneeled down and prayed. The priests and deacons of the Divine Halls of West-Hill were feeling proud, while the Buddhist practitioners kept quiet. The national master of the Golden Tribe smiled without a word, while General Bule frowned.

Two sacred sedans descended from top of the mountain, and came to a stop above the front yard.

The one in the middle was huge, shining with radiant light. A tall figure rose from within it – the hierarch of the Divine Halls of West-hill.

The other one by its side was smaller, with blood-like gauze curtains. Chilling as it was, a beautiful woman was sitting inside, with her cheek on hand and stunningly charming black hair poured from her sacred crown. It was the Great Divine Priest of Judgment, Ye Hongyu.

For tens of thousands of followers, it was their first time to see the hierarch and the Great Divine Priest of Judgment. They became even more excited and their prayers started trembling.

Those powerful figures gathered felt even more complicated feelings. West-Hill had been the governor of Haotian’s world. The hierarch and three Great Divine Priests were the mightiest human beings in this world. However, the Great Divine Priest of Revelation was gone and there was no sign of his successor even now. The Divine Hall of Light had undergone lots of disputes throughout the years. Even their everlasting lamp had died out lately. At the extravagant opening of the Rite to Light, those two sacred seats appeared extremely lonesome, and the power of West-Hill seemed dimming.

In contrast to the Divine Halls of West-Hill, their guests seemed exceptionally powerful. Except for the Academy and the Devil’s Doctrine from the Wilderness, almost all renowned cultivators from every school were presented, especially the national master of the Golden Tribe and Qi Nian from the Xuankong Temple, which had made the Sword Garret of South Jin Kingdom even more outstanding.

Liu Yiqing was representing the Sword Garret of South Jin Kingdom. This blind sword master had reached the Knowing Destiny State and became famous for killing of the king of the South Jin Kingdom. But still he was clearly not a match for the other masters at the Rite to Light. It was somewhat disappointing for the Divine Halls of West-Hill.

Everyone present could sense that the hierarch was displeased.

Right then, a white line appeared in the clear blue sky above the Peach Mountain. It was as distinctive as a crack.

Immediately after the crack, a sword appeared, hovering above the front yard.

That was just an ordinary sword, wrapped with soft and thick cloth. Its blade was made of bronze, but it did not seem particularly sharp nor bear any runes on its body.

Immediately, it captured everyone’s attention.

Because, it did not seem to be held by any person, but was simply hovering there in the air, vibrating and buzzing slightly.

No one knew how it ended up there.

Even people like the hierarch, the national master and Qi Nian were only able to see the white line that appeared, and the sword that appeared after it.

What was most terrifying was that the invisible massive array on the outmost of Peach Mountain was not able to sense it coming nor stop it.

The hanging sword remained in the air as if held by an invisible hand.

If a person stood behind that sword, he would immediately notice that the sword was slightly pointing towards the Divine Hall of Light in no particular offensive manner. Rather, it seemed as if it was just looking at the Divine Hall.

…