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Disciples of the Zhang Heng Prominent Family were blown away, staring at the sky in astonishment.
"Our family head deceived us; this is no drill! We brought the Armillary Sphere here not to fend off a major Demon Barbarian invasion at the Two Realms Mountain, but to prepare for today!"
"Is this… the ecliptic soaring to the heavens, the celestial path unfolding? Has the Western Saint gone mad? Is he attempting to shift an entire realm?"
"What on earth is happening? What are All the Saints scheming? Wasn't the Armillary Sphere supposed to trigger the fall of heavenly stars? How did it become the celestial path? What exactly is being done to turn the Armillary Sphere into an auxiliary object?"
***
In the Holy Land of the Holy Origin Mainland, at the Kong Prefecture…
An elder's desk was covered with yellowed bamboo scrolls.
Though it was night, there was no light in the study.
The elder held a bamboo scroll that bore no words, akin to a book from heaven, yet he read the content of "I Ching" from it as if there were words, and with each word he uttered, a golden character flew from his mouth, tearing through space and disappearing.
"…Riding the six dragons to command the heavens. The ways of Qian change, each upholding their nature and life, preserving the great harmony, thus benefiting righteousness. The first to emerge are all beings, and all nations shall know peace…"
The elder read with focus, moving from one scroll to the next.
In Yu Huan City, at the Fang residence…
Under the lamplight, Yang Yuhuan was intently reading "The Legend of the White Snake" written by Fang Yun, with her pet fox listening contentedly, its fluffy tail sweeping back and forth at her favorite parts.
Yang Yuhuan was about to turn the page but found it impossible to move.
"Ah…" Yang Yuhuan felt the book suddenly possessed its own strength. With a light exclamation, she quickly let go and stepped back.
The book stood upright on the desk, refusing to fall.
The little fox was startled too, instinctively slapping the book with its paw.
With a slap, the book fell onto the desk.
The little fox heaved a sigh of relief, patting its chest with its paw as if to say it was scared to death.
Suddenly, like a phoenix rising from the ashes, the book stood up again from the desk.
"Ah…"
"Ow…"
Nunu darted into Yang Yuhuan's arms, and both clung to each other, retreating to the corner of the wall, looking as if they were about to cry.
"What's wrong!" Fang Da Niu bellowed, accompanied by the sound of the door being pushed open, as he rushed into the study.
Whoosh…
All the books in the study suddenly levitated, then split into two, forming wings. Like butterflies, they flew out.
"Ghosts…"
Fang Da Niu, terrified, ran for cover, looking back to see the books chasing after him, his face turning pale.
"Don't chase me…"
Fang Da Niu shouted as he dashed back to his room, slamming the door shut, then nervously peered through the crack.
All the books flew in a line, whirling through the courtyard under the bright moonlight, never falling.
In the study, Nunu suddenly broke free from Yang Yuhuan's embrace and dashed outside, no longer showing the fear from before.
"Nunu!" Yang Yuhuan, worried for the little fox, quickly followed.
The little fox leaped into the courtyard, gazing at the books circling in the moonlight, grinning foolishly. Then, with a jump, it landed on a book and began hopping from one to another, playing joyfully.
Yang Yuhuan curiously watched the books, noticing that although they seemed to be spinning, their covers all faced the moon.
Confusion filled Yang Yuhuan's eyes. She felt she had heard of such a phenomenon before but couldn't quite remember.
Suddenly, a shout came from the neighbor's house.
"The Books Worship the Moon! It's the Books Worship the Moon!"
Yang Yuhuan stepped outside, heading to the neighboring Presented Scholar Pang's house, and saw books floating in his courtyard too. She visited a few more homes and found that in every yard, books had taken flight, as if paying homage to the moon.
All the books of Yu Huan City took to the skies, with countless people shouting "The Books Worship the Moon."
The same phenomenon occurred in all the cities, towns, and townships of Jiang State, so it was in Jing Kingdom, and likewise in the Ten Nations.
All the books of the Holy Origin Mainland took flight, paying homage to the heavens.
Countless scholars witnessed this scene, knowing that the books were not worshiping the moon or the heavens, but The Path of the Saints.
At the Inverted Peak Mountain, Holy Academy…
A tower of books vanished into thin air.
In the Dragon Palace of the Eastern Sea…
"Hmph, lucky it wasn't me! Yu Wei, remember not to play mind games with the human race in the future. Speak directly, or they will surely trick you to death! Hmph, that Kong brat is the worst!"
At the Demon Ancestor's Gate, Comet Corridor, in front of the seventh corridor…
Not far away lay a vast expanse of poisonous Blade Snow, while near the entrance was clear sky.
Those Presented Scholars and Demon Barbarians were originally practicing here, but now they could no longer calm their minds.
Only the ape demon with a tuft of white hair on its head was still sound asleep at the entrance, but the fur on its body was slowly falling off, more and more.
"Who are the two speaking?"
"Semi-Saint! That's the power of a Semi-Saint! What's happened?" Li Fanming asked.
Kong Delun sighed lightly, "If I'm not mistaken, it must be a Demon Saint breaking through the barrier between the two realms. The barrier between the Holy Origin Mainland and the Demon Realm is exceptionally tough, with only a few places allowing passage. The Two Realms Mountain can be traversed by Semi-Saints or higher powers, like the Five Demon Mountains, Three Barbarian Lands, and at most, only great demon kings can come and go, like a net that small fish can pass through but big fish cannot. However, it's said that the Demon Ancestor's Gate belongs to the Demon Realm, and although the barrier can stop ordinary Demon Saints, if several Demon Saints join forces, they can move freely."
"Ah? If a Demon Saint comes to the Two Realms Mountain, could they come to kill us?"
"The Demon Saint probably won't kill us; it seems he's here to avenge his son's death."
"That's a relief."
The Presented Scholars had just relaxed when they heard a louder demon language than before.
"Human Fang Yun, I will exterminate your ten clans! I…"
The earth shook, and the demon language was suddenly interrupted.
Everyone couldn't believe that any force could interrupt a Demon Saint's words.
"No, this doesn't seem like a Demon Saint breaking through the barrier between the two realms, but rather… something is about to destroy the Demon Ancestor's Gate!"
Yan Yukong suddenly said, "Look up."
Everyone hurriedly looked up to see a bright yellow light coming from nowhere, with stars shining brightly within, paving a heavenly path.
"Isn't that the celestial path of the Armillary Sphere? Could it be that the Zhang Heng family's people going to the Two Realms Mountain was just a ruse, and their real goal is…"
Before Ma Xiong could finish, the ground shook again, this time far more violently than any before.
At the end of the celestial path, a pale yellow light appeared, and then a mountainous object tore through the starry sky, descending slowly. The object was wrapped in pale yellow light, and no one could see what it was.
Every scholar who saw the mountain felt an instinctive joy and wanted to fly towards it, to reach its summit.
The Demon Barbarians felt disgust and fear at the sight, even sensing an impending disaster.
"What… what is that? What kind of mountain has such a powerful presence, as if it could destroy a realm? It seems to be descending carefully, as if afraid of damaging the entire Demon Ancestor's Gate."
"Could it be…"
"Impossible! That mountain cannot move!"
"What on earth is happening?"
"That seems like the power of our human race, and it can cross countless spaces to reach here, its power already far surpassing that of a Semi-Saint's Treasures of Literature!"
Deep in the seventh corridor, before the Throne of Stars…
Here the sky was filled with poisonous Blade Snow, the clouds so dense that neither the celestial path nor the strange mountainous object could be seen.
The rage of the Barbarian Saint injured everyone, with the Demon Barbarians faring slightly better, but the injuries of Fang Yun and The Tyrant from the human race were particularly severe.
Fang Yun wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and slowly stood up.
He surveyed the Demon Barbarians.
Under the vast snow, they wore smiles of victory.
Longling said, "Although I don't know why the Barbarian Saint suddenly fell silent, since he has come here, you are already dead. I won't quarrel with a dead man."
The Tyrant laughed, "True to Fang Zhenguo's character, undaunted by certain death, unfazed even by the arrival of a Demon Saint, truly a model for scholars. Alas, I am the victor! Do you remember what I told you? You won't leave The Holy Land alive! My true self might still harbor a faint hope that you could become an asset to my Meng family, but I know that's impossible! Only a dead Fang Yun is a good Fang Yun!"
Towards the end, The Tyrant's expression became hideously twisted, his wolfish face slightly contorted.
"But I am not dead yet," Fang Yun said.
Longling said, "The Barbarian Saint has just arrived at the Demon Ancestor's Gate and naturally needs to communicate with the descendants of the Demon Ancestor. Killing you becomes a matter of convenience, to avoid angering the descendants is the real task at hand. Moreover, you killed his most promising son; even if you escape back to the Holy Origin Mainland, with the power of the Barbarian Saint, he can still kill you!"
"Fang Yun, stop being stubborn, admit defeat," The Tyrant's gaze held scorn and pity, with a hint of the true self's demeanor of a Military Marquis looking down upon All the Saints.
Fang Yun slowly said, "You talk too much. Since the Barbarian Saint hasn't killed me yet, I'll just have to continue what I said before, and send you on your way to the netherworld first!"
"Don't let him write poetry! Stop him! Use demon magic!"
All the Demon Barbarians immediately attacked Fang Yun with their fastest demon magic; Eagle Flame's fire, Dragon Barbarian's roar, Tiger Demon Saint's roar, although not the strongest attacks, were incredibly fast and reached Fang Yun in the blink of an eye.
The Tyrant showed a cruel smile, but it froze on his face as all the demon magic was repelled by an invisible force before reaching Fang Yun.
The Tyrant was taken aback, only now carefully observing the power of The Courage to Write surrounding Fang Yun. He had never considered that Fang Yun's The Courage to Write could be so strong, assuming it was the power of The War Poetry, and had not observed it closely. Now, taking a closer look, he was shocked.
"The Courage to Write second realm? How can it be the second realm! Even my true self is only… you, you, you…"
The Tyrant couldn't finish his words, stunned by what was happening before him.
A poem completed in one breath.
The original work's radiance, the first book's radiance, the radiance of the pages formed by the power of the God of Literature, and finally, even the rarest radiance of the soul of poetry.