Capital city.
Imperial garden, Zijin Palace.
Five horses galloped through the flagstone-paved road and stopped at the garden gate. The vermillion wall glistened red under the scorching sun.
Kong Nanfei helped the Imperial Advisor get off the carriage.
The old eunuch stood to the side respectfully, holding his flywhisk aloft.
They entered the imperial garden after bypassing an arch bridge carved by skillful craftsmen. Spirit Qi was richer in the garden.
Kong Nanfei’s pupils constricted slightly.
“The capital city is a Dragon Raising Site?” Kong Nanfei thought to himself.
There were eight Dragon Raising Sites in Great Zhou. It was not a secret at all that one of them was the Imperial City.
The Imperial Advisor was calm as usual. “Let’s go see His Majesty.”
“Yes,” Kong Nanfei said, holding back his surprise.
Troops were stationed in front of the garden.
It made a place that was supposed to be relaxing a little more terrifying.
Jiang Li walked out wearing silver armor.
“Imperial Advisor,” Jiang Li said, bowing slightly at the sight of the Imperial Advisor standing with Kong Nanfei’s help.
“General Jiang is as brave as always. People call you Great Zhou’s Military God. You are really worthy of this reputation.”
The Imperial Advisor smiled. His voice was a little hoarse. The wrinkles on his face squeezed together.
Jiang Li smiled too. Walking next to the Imperial Advisor and supporting him by the arm, they entered the garden together.
“I’m flattered. I’m just doing my best to protect the country. This is what a military man is supposed to do,” Jiang Li said.
The Imperial Advisor smiled.
Bypassing teams of armored soldiers, they ventured deep into the garden.
There was a giant swirl in the middle of the pond. Inside the swirl, there was an exquisite and magnificent Dragon Gate floating. Spirit Qi was gushing out from it. A black dragon breathed Spirit Qi around the Dragon Gate.
“A Dragon Raising Site.”
A shrewd light flashed in the Imperial Advisor’s eyes.
Yuwen Xiu sat upright in a wooden chair. A few maids on either side of him were fanning or holding the umbrella for him.
He got to his feet to receive the Imperial Advisor as soon as he saw the latter.
“Master, you have finally left the Book Pavilion.”
“We missed you a lot.”
Yuwen Xiu assisted the Imperial Advisor into the chair. Jiang Li and Kong Nanfei stood on either side of the chair.
“Thanks to Imperial Advisor’s guidance, we went to Beiluo City in person. There, we found Lu Ping’an’s guide. The black dragon protected us during Zhao Kuo’s rebellion and we turned the tide completely,” Yuwen Xiu said excitedly.
He was still a kid after all. He needed to boast about the great things he had accomplished to someone.
The Imperial Advisor listened with a smile.
He waved his hand after a long silence. “Your Majesty, I never told you to go to Beiluo to visit Lu Ping’an.”
“Lu Ping’an is unpredictable… Your Majesty had better stay away from him, the Imperial Advisor said seriously.
“Master, you are worrying too much. It’s not hard to get along with Lu Ping’an. He just has a strange temper.”
Yuwen Xiu smiled. It was no big deal for him.
Pointing at the Dragon Raising Site, he said, eyes lighting up, “The rise of Great Zhou lies in this black dragon’s Dragon Raising Site. We have already investigated it.”
“There are warriors inside. People can get Spirit Qi by defeating these warriors and becoming cultivators. We can take advantage of that to train an army of cultivators. The only thing is that it will take some time for these warriors to respawn. And not everyone can become a cultivator. Some people can finish refining Qi in two hours, while others can’t condense Qi even if they spend a whole day doing it,” Yuwen Xiu said with a sigh.
“Of course!” the Imperial Advisor said, smoothing down his beard.
“The requirements for cultivators are higher than that of martial arts practitioners. Talent matters to the latter. This will apply to cultivators as well.”
“Besides these warriors, there is also a floating sky island!” Yuwen Xiu exclaimed. “Behind the floating sky island, there is a grand palace. We suppose this palace is connected to the eight Dragon Gates!”
“It’s difficult to guess the immortal’s intention. There are eight Dragon Raising Sites. The immortal intends to start a cultivation trend in Great Zhou!”
“We can only explore where the warriors are for now. No one can go across the iron chain bridge to reach the floating sky island yet. The ten-people squad was decapitated as soon as they got onto the bridge…”
“General Jiang thinks that only people with certain attainments can cross the iron chain bridge.”
The Imperial Advisor nodded. He listened carefully while Yuwen Xiu spoke.
After a long while, Yuwen Xiu gradually fell silent.
Looking at the Imperial Advisor, he asked slowly, “Master, do you want to go to the Dragon Raising Site Secret Realm?”
As soon as he posed that question, the air in the garden slightly changed.
Kong Nanfei frowned.
“Your Majesty, Master is rather advanced in age. I’m afraid his physical condition will not allow him to go to the Dragon Raising Site.”
Gllancing at Kong Nanfei, Yuwen Xiu waved his hand.
Smoothing his beard, the Imperial Advisor smiled. “Your Majesty, Nanfei was right. I’m too old to compete with youngsters like Your Majesty. I won’t be able to encounter the immortal anyway. Thus, I don’t think it is wise for me to the Dragon Raising Site.”
The Imperial Advisor refused as resolutely as Jiang Li did.
Yuwen Xiu squinted.
He looked at Jiang Li, and then at the Imperial Advisor. Both of them had turned him down.
Why?
He did not understand. Frowning, he leaned back in the chair.
The air in the garden was charged with tension again.
…
Boom! Boom! Boom!
In the Dragon Gate Secret Realm of Dongyan River, dreadful roars could be heard.
Gazing at the men fighting on the iron chain bridge, Western Liang’s soldiers were all extremely shocked.
That fight had been really eye-opening for them.
Overlord, holding his shield in one hand and his ax in the other, looked like a Demon God. When he waved his ax, the air seemed to scream because it was so intimidating.
The couple formed out of purple smoke threw their swords over and over again while jumping and tumbling about.
Their swords’ radiance was so dense, it shrouded almost the entire iron chain bridge in light.
Even with Overlord’s strength, he suffered many sword wounds on his body. They were bleeding.
His shield was also dented by their swords. The dent was one centimeter deep!
The iron chain bridge shook.
Overlord had a strong will to win the fight. He did not flinch. Instead, he was so excited that all of his pores closed, and his hair stood on its end.
He was thrilled. Finally, he felt the pressure.
The purple smoke couple was extremely fast. They were like nimble assassins or elegant swordsmen.
Overlord was ha herculean strength. He threw the long ax over with effort. One of his opponents was pushed away from the iron chain bridge. However, the purple smoke would gather again after dispersing. And the long sword formed by the smoke pierced him from a very awkward angle. Overlord bled again.
Overlord was able to analyze his weaknesses in the fight.
In terms of agility, he was way worse than the purple smoke couple.
In fact, in terms of Qi Core attainments, the demon-like Overlord was almost as strong as them.
However, the purple smoke couple’s techniques were very insidious. It was really hard to defend against them.
If Overlord had not become demon-like and had a solid body and hard skin because of that, if he were another ordinary person, he could have been dead.
Instead, he was more motivated because of the pressure.
Overlord was so thrilled that his muscles trembled slightly.
There were excitement and vengeance in his eyes. He looked at the grand palace behind the floating sky island…
This purple smoke couple was so strong! How dreadful would the thing in the big palace be?
He was really looking forward to it!
Would there be a real cultivator in the Internal Organs Realm?!
Overlord roared in a low voice.
Demonic Qi was clinging to his body. The Demonic Qi in his Qi Core had broken out. His eyes were bloodshot.
He went all out after transforming into a demon.
On the iron chain bridge, shadows were flashing, and endless sword lights and sword spirits were flowing!
A martial arts Grandmaster from Western Liang was going approaching the bridge to help Overlord.
However, as soon as he stepped onto the bridge, he was sent flying with a tragic scream.
His entire leg exploded into pieces. He bled to death, hit by more than ten consecutive sword strikes.
Fighting on the iron chain bridge was not for non-first-class Qi Core cultivators!
…
Daoist School’s field, Tiandang Mountain.
Flagstones were stained with blood. The elder’s death had caused panic all over the field.
Miao Renyu’s pupils constricted. Gazing at the calm Nie Changqing, he grasped his bow more tightly.
“Am I too easygoing?”
Nie Changqing shook his butcher knife. The blood from it splattered to the ground.
“Did I mislead you? Do you think I’m good-tempered and too nice to kill people?” Nie Changqing asked flatly.
His voice was loud but resonant, echoing over the field of the Daoist School.
Pine leaves rustled in the wind. Birds chirped in the background.
“Brother Yu, tell me where Ru’er is,” Nie Changqing said.
Miao Renyu was pale. This Nie Changqing was a stranger to him. He trembled in fear.
“She is—”
“Shut up!”
“Without His Excellency’s order, whoever tells him will be regarded as the Daoist School’s traitor!”
At the entrance of Star Picking Peak, a senile Daoist priest roared in anger.
“Martial Uncle, that’s not necessary,” Miao Renyu said, closing his fist tightly.
“Anyone who violates the Daoist School’s rules will be exiled from the Daoist School, just like this b*stard right here!” the senile Daoist priest shouted in anger. The elder’s death offended the older generation of the Daoist School.
As the most mysterious power among the Hundred Schools of Philosophy, the Daoist School had always kept a low profile, yet even the Imperial Advisor, a Confucianist, did not have the nerve to piss them off. However, Nie Changqing, who had been one of them, sauntered through the Daoist School’s main gate alone, armed with only one knife!
Nie Changqing smiled.
It was a cold kind of mile.
He waved his hand. The butcher knife flew. The senile Daoist priest that spoke roared in pain when the knife collided with his body. He coughed blood immediately. More than that, blood flowed from every pore and he was sent flying.
The butcher knife flew back.
With the knife floating over Nie Changqing’s head and dripping blood, he looked rather ominous.
He walked forward slowly.
The disciples of the Daoist School all retreated to the field of Star Picking Peak in panic.
Miao Renyu and the other higher-ranked disciples were helpless and terrified.
Nie Changqing was too strong.
Was that the strength of a cultivator?
Dreadfully strong!
Unreasonably strong!
Nie Changqing did not begin to slaughter the rest. He had learned from Young Master, who was a sensible person.
“B*stard! His Excellency really trained an ingrate!” another senile Daoist priest said in anger.
The butcher knife swept over like a black electric light.
And the Daoist priest who spoke was killed. His blood splattered. He fell on the stone stairs and stained it with blood.
Nie Changqing killed anyone who criticized him, coldly and emotionlessly.
The Daoist School disciples were all freaked out.
They all froze.
“Go on, speak,” Nie Changqing said flatly, his hands behind his back. His white robe was fluttering.
Even though he had stepped through a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, his white robe was never stained.
He walked through the narrow passage leading to Star Picking Peak on Tiandang Mountain.
His footsteps echoed, but no one had the nerve to stop him. No one even plucked up the courage to move at this moment.
Standing on the field of Star Picking Peak, Nie Changqing gazed at the thick clouds in the sky. He breathed out slowly.
The Daoist School had a Dragon Gate Secret Realm…
Behind the Dragon Gate, a Daoist robe fluttered. A beautiful figure walked out of it.
In an azure Daoist robe, wearing hair up in a bun with a fabric cover, stood an indifferent Daoist nun.
At the entrance of Dragon Gate, she looked at Nie Changqing, her eyelashes trembling slightly.