404 Under the Vast and Boundless Heaven
Xiao Se finally stepped onto the third floor.
It was hell on earth.
That was the first thought that popped into Xiao Se's mind. The ground, the walls, and the roof, were all carved with relief sculptures. The relief appeared to be a battlefield. There were mounted soldiers wielding their spears as they trampled over corpses strewn all over the ground. Roaring flames burned on the battlefield while countless people wailed as they were trapped in the flames. A general wearing an iron mask stood in the flames, his sword pointed at the sky as he howled in rage. Seventeen armoured cavalry soldiers stood behind him, roaring together with him.
"This is..." Xiao Se brushed his fingers across the relief. "The Fragmented Country and Fall of Heaven!"
The founding emperor of Beili, Xiao Yi, rose to power through turbulent times. He led his army to subdue all under Heaven and finally, only Heavenly Revelations City, the capital of the Great Qin, was left unconquered. It was said that the Great Qin used their last resort, an occult practice that was even more terrifying than the medicine men of Western Chu. The result was Heavenly Revelations City became reduced to a hell on earth. In the end, Xiao Yi wielded his Heaven Breached sword and personally led his Five Pillars of State and twelve generals into battle. He slashed through the occult army to finally conquer Heavenly Revelations City.
Nearly a hundred thousand soldiers died in this horrifying war. The soldiers who survived all described the battlefield as hell on earth, and Grand Preceptor Dong Li, who experienced the battlefield first hand, finally rendered what he’d seen into a painting. The painting was a precursor to the relief sculptures Xiao Se was seeing now - the Fragmented Country and Fall of Heaven. However, Xiao Yi declared the painting of Fragmented Country and Fall of Heaven to be too violent and ordered it shifted to the top floor of the imperial library where no one was allowed to open it again. Xiao Se was only guessing based on some records he’d read to surmise that the relief sculpture before him was carved from the Fragmented Country and Fall of Heaven.
"Young master has a good eye." A voice suddenly sounded.
"Who’s there!" Xiao Se whirled around.
However, a long spear suddenly thrusted at him and Xiao Se turned sideways to dodge the attack. But at the same time, a horse was right in front of him, its hindlegs raised in a kick that was aimed at his chest. He was startled and propped his Wuji staff on the ground to retreat furiously.
No, wait! Why was there a horse?
Xiao Se looked around quickly.
He was standing on the battlefield!
The ground was covered with corpses and vultures hovered in the air. Raging flames burned all around him while soldiers riding on horses trampled over the corpses. Watching all these in silence was a peerless and famous general, the one who wielded the Heaven Breached sword, the emperor of a dynasty.
Everything had turned into reality and appeared right in front of Xiao Se.
Could he travel back in time?
Was there another world hidden within the painting?
What a terrifying place this First Tower Under Heaven was!
"Could there really be something supernatural in this world that we don’t know about…" Xiao Se murmured.
"This world is very ordinary. The only thing supernatural is this First Tower Under Heaven." The voice that spoke earlier remarked again.
"Who are you?" Xiao Se asked.
"The Great Dragon and Elephant Strength used to open the tower doors clearly came from two people, but the power is extremely pure. They must be two little Daoist boys. There is really no shortage of talent in the world. The sword aura used to stabilise the tower is also exceptional, exuding the aura of a Confucianist yet no less than the manner of a king. I really want to meet them. As for you, you’re holding the Wuji staff in your hand. Are you from the Directorate of Astronomy? Why are you not a Daoist?"
"Who are you?" Xiao Se asked again.
"It doesn't matter who I am, but you are the guest and I am the host. Since you’re the one coming to my territory, you should report your name first."
"I’m Xiao Se," Xiao Se said.
"Your surname is Xiao?" The man blinked. "Are you from the Xiao Clan imperial family?"
"I have already reported my name." Xiao Se looked at the vast battlefield and asked, "Who are you? How did I get here?"
"You only said your name, but you’re asking me to answer two questions." A middle-aged man in a black robe appeared, his face obscured by the black hood.
"Speak." Xiao Se raised his Wuji staff.
"Look." The black-robed man raised a finger and swiped across.
The scene in front of him changed rapidly.
Corpses, roaring flames, thrusting spears, and blood gushing everywhere. One after another, each scene flashed across Xiao Se’s eyes. His head felt as if it was splitting and it was so painful he nearly cried out.
"Stop." The black-robed man withdrew his finger.
Xiao Se panted heavily and raised his head. He saw the emperor who was decked out in his iron armour, raise a hand to lift his visor, revealing a youthful visage. However, his eyes appeared exhausted and he looked like an old man.
After a while, he suddenly raised the sword in his hand!
Outside the First Tower Under Heaven.
Sikong Qianluo gasped loudly, "Cut!"
The moonlight on the Silver Moon spear had never been so strong, and the wind rolled up at the tip of her spear had never been so violent!
This spear move was her ultimate move.
She finally managed to tear a hole through the dense net formed by Xie Jiucheng's sabre. A portion of his long sleeves were sliced off, and black-coloured blood flowed out from the cuffs.
"What a beautiful spear," Xie Xuan praised.
"A bright moon rises over Heavenly Mountain, passing through the distant sea of clouds. It was indeed very beautiful," Qi Tianchen also praised.
Sikong Qianluo landed on the ground and slammed her spear into the ground. "I am guarding this tower. No one is allowed to break through! If you want to kill Xiao Se, you’ll have to first ask my spear!"
"To put it bluntly, she’s just like her mother, protecting her husband." Xie Xuan chuckled.
Qi Tianchen shook his head. "It's just a pity…"
"A pity?" Ye Ruoyi frowned.
On the other side, Wuchan and Ming Hou also retreated. Compared to Sikong Qianluo's spear that seized the moon, they didn't exhibit such a moment of incredible power and were already covered with wounds.
"This lady, you’re very powerful," Wuchan praised sincerely.
Ming Hou's attention was drawn to their opponents. "He seems very happy."
Everyone followed Ming Hou's gaze and saw Xie Jiucheng. Although his arms were still bleeding, there was a creepy smile on his lips, and he even made a sound. "Geh… heh… heh…"
That shrill and eerie sound was particularly creepy in this dark night, causing the others to grit their teeth in a grimace. Xie Jiucheng raised his sabre again and pointed it at Sikong Qianluo. A cold light flashed in his eyes. "Come… again…"
"How did his voice become so inhuman and ghostly?" Wuchan chanted a few words of Buddha's names in a low voice and added worriedly, "I hope shidi doesn’t become like that too."
"Yue Ji," Ming Hou muttered to himself with a frown.
Sikong Qianluo drew her spear again. "Alright then, come again. Since you’ve become half-human and half-ghost, then we will not rest until we die!"
Ming Hou, Wuchan, and Sikong Qianluo jumped out again, and Xie Jiucheng led a few of his Hidden River assassins to meet them.
Under the gloomy cold, they drew their sabres again to face each other.
One side was intending to kill, while the other was to protect.
Sikong Qianluo could feel her energy draining little by little. She couldn’t help but turn her head to glance at the First Tower Under Heaven.
Xiao Se, will you be able to walk out of there?
Maybe I won’t be able to see you again.
Because I'm... going to die.
"Cut!" Sikong Qianluo turned back, her eyes turning cold in an instant. She raised her spear high and slammed it down hard!
*
Poetry note:
明月出天山，苍茫云海间
A bright moon rises over Heavenly Mountain, passing through the distant sea of clouds.
Qi Tianchen's praise of Sikong Qianluo's spear is from 《关山月》 (The pass, the mountain and the moon) by Tang dynasty poet, Li Bai. This is the first line of the poem and describes the moon. It's an apt description for a spear named after the moon. The Heavenly Mountain, or Tian Shan, is a large system of mountain ranges in Central Asia.