According to Tianji Pavilion’s message, eight Dragon Raising Sites had appeared around the world…
And that they contained the great Immortal encounters.
The news shook the entire Great Zhou Dynasty, as powers from all corners began searching for these Dragon Raising Sites.
Many powers believed that Immortal encounters really existed because of the appearance of the Secret Realm of the Hidden Dragon Ridge. And that is why they considered Tianji Pavilion’s message with great importance.
It didn’t matter whether they were from the martial arts world or if they were the warlord mayors of the different counties.
When many of the mayors learned of this piece of news, they immediately deployed their troops and prepared their weapons.
To these mayors, this was perhaps a rare chance for them to achieve a major breakthrough.
In this world, the major powers were divided into three—Tang Xiansheng of South County, Tantai Xuan of North County, and Xiang Shaoyun of West County.
Meanwhile, the mayors of other counties only survived sandwiched in between these three major powers as they tried to hang in there.
Mostly, they were worried about when these three major powers would send their massive troops to lay siege on their counties and possibly annihilate all of them…
Just like what happened to Pingyang County back then. How tragic…
They tried to kill Xiang Shaoyun, but they all ended up dying tragically.
In fact, Pingyang County was now occupied by West County.
The news from White Jade City and the cultivators had become the main topic in the discussions all over the world.
Tianji Pavilion had not revealed the locations of the eight Dragon Raising Sites.
However, the major powers had already sent troops all over the world to search for the Dragon Raising Sites. It was only a matter of time before they would find some clues.
When the dragon-seeking craze began all over the world, the mysteries of the Dragon Raising Sites were slowly unveiled.
West County, Dongyan River.
This river was known for its strong, rapid currents and countless sudden—often deadly—turns, its white waves roaring endlessly.
The riverside was rugged and rocky like the scales of a ferocious dragon.
However, on the upper reaches of this river, a large number of people had gathered, many of whom were West County martial arts practitioners and soldiers dressed in robes and armed with weapons.
“There’s no mistaking it! This is the place! Someone vaguely saw a white strip of something moving in the river, like a swimming dragon!”
“There’s a stifling feeling the closer you get to the large river. This must be the Dragon Raising Site that Tianji Pavilion mentioned!”
“There is an Immortal encounter at the Dragon Raising Site. Anyone who acquires it can become an Immortal right away!”
Many of the West County martial arts practitioners and soldiers were agile and brave. Despite the obvious excitement in their eyes, they cautiously looked around their surrounding area.
However…
Amid the strong, raging sounds of the river…
The faint sounds of horses’ hooves could be heard.
The West County martial arts practitioners and soldiers who were on the riverside of Dongyan River tensed up, and they turned their heads to see 10 armored horsemen, covered in smoke and dust, coming toward them.
The one in the lead was riding a black horse—the horse’s ribs protruding and sharp. He was dressed in a light full-body armor with an axe and a shield on his back. An oppressive aura surrounded him.
When the soldiers managed to see this man clearly, they were instantly horrified.
“It’s the Overlord!” Someone bellowed.
“When the Western Liang Army is at work, those with no duties should stand back. Kill… the traitors,” Xu Chu coldly said while carrying two barbed sledgehammers. She stood behind the Overlord, Xiang Shaoyun.
“How can the Western Liang Army be so overbearing? We were here first! The Immortal encounter is for the fated ones!” The soldiers yelled in anger.
They were the ones who had found the Dragon Raising Site, but it was about to be snatched away from them before they even saw the real dragon.
The Overlord rode on his horse as he glanced at these soldiers.
“For the fated ones?”
“Who was it… Won’t you say it again?” the Overlord said faintly.
The soldiers immediately kept silent.
“Retreat a hundred miles away from Dongyan River or else… Even if you’re the fated ones, you won’t be anymore once you’re dead,” the Overlord stated.
He made a flip and dismounted his horse.
Most of the soldiers panicked, and fearing for their lives, they fled with their weapons on their backs.
Xiang Shaoyun put his hands behind his back as he stepped on a jagged rock and took a deep breath, wisps of Spirit Qi pouring into his body like snakes from heaven and earth.
“There is no doubt. This is indeed a Dragon Raising Site … The Spirit Qi of Heaven and Earth has actually appeared.”
Xiang Shaoyun opened his eyes, a glint flashing past in his eyes.
Then, with a leap, he got off from the jagged rock.
He rushed into the surging river, his body instantly disappearing in the dense water vapor.
On the shore, some of the fleeing soldiers were shocked when they turned their heads back and looked back.
Did the Overlord just… jump into the river?
However, moments later…
Boom!
There came an explosion from the river.
A giant white snake howled as it rose out of the river. Four claws emerged from under its belly as it swam toward the middle of the river. Between its howls, a foggy mist lingered, circling the Overlord.
The Overlord yelled in fury as pitch-dark Demonic Qi was unleashed and competed with the white creature. The onlookers watched as explosions erupted continuously from the river.
This brought great terror to the people who were on the shores.
At the Dongyan River, the Overlord was battling a dragon!
******
The Daoist School was located on top of a lofty mountain in West County.
Tiandang Mountain, as it was called, was shrouded in a sea of clouds and boundless fog all year-round. In that mountain, there was a peak aptly named Catching Stars Peak.
And the Daoist School was built on that peak.
Catching Stars Peak soared above the boundless sea of clouds, making the countless stars in the night sky seem that much closer as if they were right in front of your eyes. Being on that peak was like if you held out your hands, you would be able to catch the stars right away. Hence, this was how the name Catching Stars Peak came about.
There were several Daoist temples on Catching Stars Peak. With white walls and blue tiles, these temples looked more like the abode of the Immortals.
As an active school of the Hundred Schools of Philosophy, the Daoists still maintained their reputation in the Great Zhou.
Although it was supposedly called the Hundred Schools of Philosophy, the remaining active schools among them now were only the major forces, namely, the Daoists, Sword Sect, Tianji School, the Political Strategists, and the Medical School.
With the fall of the Mohist City of Traps, the Mohists, Yinyang School, and Jiguan School had suffered considerable damages. The Militarists had become a thing of the past with Bai Fengtian’s death, and powers like the Agriculturists and the Legalists had already gone into seclusion for a long time. The Confucianists had also fallen silent with their team of Imperial Advisors staying behind closed doors.
In one of the Daoist temples…
A Daoist nun walked slowly with her head raised as she looked at the dense clouds above her head that were not dispersing. There was a deep and confused look in her eyes.
Indistinctly, it was as if she could see the blurry spirit of a long snake gliding smoothly in between the layers of dense clouds in the sky.
The Daoist nun climbed to the roof of the temple and stood upright as she stared wide-eyed at the dense clouds.
The dense clouds gradually descended, almost like they were about to fall right on top of her face.
The Daoist nun’s heart dropped. She saw that a spirit had emerged from those layers of dense clouds and had appeared right in front of her face.
******
As the craze to look for the Dragon Raising Sites spread throughout the whole world…
The mysterious veils of the eight Dragon Raising Sites had also been exposed.
At the South County Big Marsh, someone had seen a long snake lying on the ground. When he tried to capture it, the long snake had slithered toward him and strangled him to death.
As a result, it was determined that the South County Big Marsh was a Dragon Raising Site.
The South County mayor, Tang Xiansheng, then sent his troops to rush to the Big Marsh.
At Dongyang County, there was a faint crimson ray of light coming through the fissures in the ground. The Dongyang County mayor had been ecstatic to have found a Dragon Raising Site, so he sent 10,000 soldiers together with a few hundred members of the martial arts world to enter into the ground fissures.
However, the moment they entered the fissure gorge, they were faced with the long crimson snake. The creature melted everything in its path. In fact, the scorching heat from its body burned the soldiers who were sent there into crisps.
A large army of 10,000 had entered the gorge, but only 5,000 had returned, as half of them had been burned alive.
The mayor of Dongyang County was filled with both joy and sorrow.
This was also a warning to the world that the Dragon Raising Sites were more than just Immortal encounters; they also contained great danger.
All over Great Zhou, a powerful storm surged.
******
Beiluo Lake Island.
Lu Fan was in his wheelchair, leaning against the red-carved wooden railing. He drank his green plum wine as he played a game of chess with Lv Dongxuan.
During their chess game, Lu Fan’s vision shifted as he paid attention to the situations at the various Dragon Raising Sites.
In fact, the eight Dragon Raising Sites had already been more or less discovered.
Lu Fan tapped his fingers lightly on the chess pieces. Since the Dragon Raising Sites had almost all been discovered, then it was time to get ready to open up the Secret Realms he had put in place.
Under the pavilion…
Nie Changqing walked up with a bag on his back and slightly bowed as he came up to Lu Fan.
Lu Fan glanced at Nie Changqing. “Ready to go?”
“I can’t wait…” Nie Changqing smiled, his eyes moving. He was unable to hide his anticipation and emotions.
He had waited for a long time to reunite his family.
He had thought that it would be impossible in this lifetime; however, he did not expect Lu Fan to have given him this chance.
“Young Master, when you said to finish off the Daoists… How do you want me to do it? Do you want to them to move to Lake Island like what Tianji School did?” Out of sudden curiosity, Nie Changqing asked.
Lv Dongxuan, who was thinking about the chess game, suddenly flushed red.
“Lake Island isn’t for anyone who wants to come…” Lu Fan slowly said.
Nie Changqing hesitated, not understanding.
Lu Fan did not explain any further, either. What he meant by acquiring the Hundred Schools of Philosophy was not to about getting the Daoists and Sword Sect onto the Lake Island and slowly train them.
No, he had no time for that.
The progress of the Hundred Schools of Philosophy was too slow. If he wanted to advance from a Low Level Martial World to a Mid Level Martial World and then to a High Level Martial World, then it was ultimately impossible with only White Jade City as the cultivating power.
He needed to build more cultivation powers and have the Hundred Schools of Philosophy fight one another to accelerate the process of world advancement.
Nie Changqing took his leave.
With the bag on his back and a butcher knife in his hands…
He headed south, toward the Daoists.
