Chapter 457: Chapter 175: The Visage of the Primordial Spirit, an Unexpected Visitor
In the darkness, a faint stream of light outlined a figure that suddenly transformed, the cloud-shape evolving and morphing into a dragon’s body.
At the same time, the stagnant rainwater burst forth, violent winds arose, whipping the rain and summoning the Heavenly Thunder, demonstrating the essence of Wind Movement. The fierce winds transformed into eight pitch-black wind dragons, breaking through the air to strangle their target.
Countless gear-shaped wind wheels whirled within the wind dragons, converging toward the center, aiming to envelop Yun Jiuye’s Primordial Spirit.
"Roar—"
In the blink of an eye, the Primordial Spirit took form; a dragon shadow suddenly appeared, spiraling swiftly, its dragon body sweeping across, shattering wind dragon after wind dragon. Numerous wind wheels sliced across it, yet they could hardly cause it any harm.
Yun Jiuye, having transcended the Heavenly Tribulation and become a Heavenly Immortal, possessed a strong Primordial Spirit. Furthermore, because the Form Tomb is a dharma body technique that shapes the body through magic, even his Primordial Spirit could manifest talismans and simulate a dragon’s body to contend with Jiang Li.
After shattering the wind dragons, the dragon shadow transformed by Yun Jiuye played with the clouds, the Divine Dragon moving through the sky, striking forward with incredible speed. Wind and rain, and even the thunder summoned from the heavens, were dispersed by this dominant and overpowering strike, as if even the intangible darkness was shattered.
Incredibly swift and overpoweringly dominant, in terms of dragon’s might, it even surpassed the Flood Dragon’s Crown Prince, who had the genuine upbringing of the Dragon Palace. It truly resembled a True Dragon crossing the sky, unstoppable.
The gloomy darkness was shattered by the Dragon Claw, a blurred shadow almost merging with the darkness was violently shaken by this strike, instantly splintered into numerous pieces of rock.
Rocks?
"This is not a Primordial Spirit!" Yun Jiuye saw it clearly.What was supposed to be a Primordial Spirit was merely a large stone.
As thoughts rapidly passed through his mind, the dragon body swiftly spun, talisman after talisman manifesting on its body, instantly coiling into a snake formation.
A similar Dragon Claw emerged at this moment, as though reaching out from the void, striking the dragon shadow formed by Yun Jiuye.
Jiang Li, using the Moluo Sword Manual, created a fake body. It seemed he was facing Yun Jiuye’s Primordial Spirit, but he had always been concealing himself in the surroundings, waiting for an opportunity.
With his capability, truly hidden, no one within the fifth-rank could detect him, not even Yun Jiuye.
"Boom!"
What was supposed to be an intangible Primordial Spirit actually emitted a sound like a great bell, streaks of yellow energy joined together, hardening the dragon shadow into the form of a Golden Dragon, scales and claws fully revealed.
Jiang Li’s claw struck the dragon’s body, feeling like it hit the solid earth, his strength unable to penetrate.
"Earth Qi rises."
The Golden Dragon blocked the sudden strike, its body swiftly twisting, the heavy scales becoming agile, counterattacking like a coiled venomous snake, "Rain-shaped Cloud·Earth Cloud Yellow Mist."
The claw manipulated the rain clouds with unimaginable variables, drawing in a sweep that seemed omnipresent, as if sealing and closing, imprisoning the space around it, causing the darkness to dissipate and revealing a similar dragon shadow.
However, compared to the Golden Dragon, this semi-substantial dragon shadow had two additional wings, the true form of the Yinglong Dragon.
Jiang Li, also using the Form Tomb technique, simulated the body of Yinglong, controlling the wind and rain and commanding the thunder.
"Thunderous boom!"
Thunder light exploded between the claws, a thunder sword held by Yinglong struck towards the claw of the Golden Dragon.
"Bang!"
Winds and rain detonated into a blast wave, sweeping in all directions; the Thunder Sword, aligning with the right moment, collided with the dragon claw, powerful blasts of thunder breaking the sealing force, yet the thunder was also forcibly shattered.
’Form Tomb’s supreme techniques······’
Jiang Li sensed that blend of earth’s solidity with the cloud’s softness in the energy, a thought flashed through his mind.
This must be the fundamental technique from Form Tomb, not a derived branch like Yinglong Transformation. Yun Jiuye, being a disciple of the Heavenly Monarch and closely connected with the Ji Family, indeed received better treatment than Jiang Li, even having cultivated such techniques.
As his thoughts flowed, his body of Primordial Spirit did not stop, rather it couldn’t afford any pause now, or else he would surely be injured.
"Whoosh—"
A tremendous surge of energy rushed against the heavens, dispelling the falling curtain of rain, Yinglong and Golden Dragon both leaping, clashing in the air.
"Boom!"
Claws collided, the power like that of the vast earth shaking wind and thunder, instantly scattering wind and thunder, but scratches also appeared on the Golden Dragon’s claws.
Jiang Li’s dragon wings flashed, the Yinglong’s body moving in a zigzag pattern in mid-air, resembling the undulating body of a Dragon and Snake, like a twisted "Dao" character, murderous intention erupting from the claws, claws sharp like a sword, accompanied by wind and rain.
The moment this sword appeared, it suddenly vanished; the dragon claw seemed to probe into the void, disappearing.
One of the escapee.
In less than an instant, faster than even thunder, this sword struck the neck of the Golden Dragon, the intense bursting energy causing the Golden Dragon to roar, feeling as though its neck was about to be split in two.
Yellow energy swirled around him, enduring a sword strike, dragon’s tail sweeping, momentarily golden light and color flashing, light and shadow passing.
"Boom!"
Yinglong took a heavy hit, retreating in the air, but again the dragon shadow flickered, the twisted "Dao" character darting in the air, retreating turning into advancing, while the Golden Dragon also sprang into action, its body bending like a bow.
The two dragon shadows swept across the sky, colliding thunderously, the whole world seeming to split in two, the dark clouds in the sky scattering to both sides.
Subsequently, streaks of Divine Sense swept through space, discovering this spot where rain had parted, revealing an open space, expanding towards the surroundings, but the traces of the two dragons had already vanished.
This entire series of exchanges was as fast as lightning; after lasting for merely two short moments, they each retreated, vanishing into the darkness.
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Outside the city, a yellow carriage burst through the rushing waters. Qing Ji, with a face full of lingering fears, continuously waved the reins, urging the carriage to rush forward like a bolt of lightning.
He firmly remembered Jiang Li’s instructions, never to look back, but to head straight towards the Divine Capital to deliver the letter to Jiang Li’s master.
Following the torrent, he soon left Jun City and saw Canglang Pond to the east of the city.
Located in a low-lying area, Shu County had no natural defenses to rely on, so the original city builders had excavated three large ponds in three directions, appointing River Gods to take advantage of the geographical benefits, one of which was the Canglang Pond.
Qing Ji knew that there were heavy guards stationed at the Canglang Pond, so he immediately turned the carriage around to bypass the pond.
At that moment, an impeccably perfect jade hand suddenly appeared. With a gentle scoop, it snatched the swiftly moving Qing Ji into its grasp.
However, Qing Ji was entirely unaware of this, still urging the carriage forward in haste.
In the night, a woman in a moon-white Dao robe stood elegantly by the pond, her phoenix eyes lowered, looking at the tiny carriage that raced in the palm of her hand. Her gaze shifted slightly, and a letter was magically drawn out.
The Eight Trigrams seal on the letter vanished into thin air, and the letter paper flew out, unfolding in front of the woman.
"Something has happened at the Jiang’s Ancestral Land..."
Gongsun Yuanxi skimmed through it in a glance, her phoenix eyes slightly blinking, revealing a hint of doubt, "Is this asking me to help resolve the trouble at the Jiang’s Ancestral Land?"
Resolving the trouble at the Jiang’s Ancestral Land was not a difficult task, at least not for Gongsun Yuanxi.
But to have the letter sent to the Divine Capital, to her hands, and then have her arrange things, weren’t they afraid of delays?
"Or does this youngster know that I am in Liangzhou Province..."
During her musings, Gongsun Yuanxi involuntarily recalled those thrilling three days and nights.
In contrast to Jiang Li, she had been watching him with her eyes wide open.
For three days and nights, she watched, their ears brushing against each other, lips touching, an indescribably tender memory, all of which were deeply etched in Gongsun Yuanxi’s mind. As deep as these memories were, the embarrassment after revealing her identity was just as profound.
Gongsun Yuanxi felt a blush of embarrassment just thinking about the situation after the exposure.
"It’s better not to be as I suspect."
Murmuring to herself, a faint light emerged from her fingertips, shooting like a thread into Qing Ji’s head.
"After you get to the Divine Capital, personally hand the letter to the recipient, and then return to Jiang’s Ancestral Land, understood?"
Gongsun Yuanxi spoke, gently raising her hand.
"Qing Ji understands."
The tiny figure in yellow responded in a dazed manner, then drove the carriage out of the hand, bypassing Canglang Pond, and headed straight away.
Gongsun Yuanxi, on the other hand, waved her hand gently, a flash of light flickered, and she disappeared by the pond.
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Around 5 to 7 AM, the rain seemed to lessen. Outside the Shu County city in the Two Saints Temple, a group of powerful warriors clad in yellow robes stood like iron towers, braving the wind and rain, guarding the temple.
Outside one of the halls of Two Saints Temple, two doctors of the Taiping Sect, holding staffs, guarded the tightly closed doors.
"The wind and rain seem to have lessened," one of the doctors astutely noticed.
"It’s better this way," sighed the other, "If the storm keeps up at this rate, my True Qi won’t last till the shift change."
The two, despite being under the eaves of the great hall, couldn’t escape the hardship and had to use their power as a shield, but for such a prolonged period, even with their skills, it was too much to bear.
And those who could bear it certainly wouldn’t be doing this tough job.
"When do you think we will be relieved?" the person sighed again, continuing.
"We’ll stand guard until that deity statue inside is taken away," the doctor also sighed deeply, "Until then, the Sect Hierarch has ordered to prohibit all entry, ensuring it receives no incense."
"Hope they remove it soon."
While chatting casually and timing their shift, the silhouette of a person appeared vaguely through the curtain of rain, approaching.
The two were delighted and prepared to hand over their duties, but unexpectedly, a flash of sword light passed, and their expressions froze simultaneously.
The light of life vanished from their eyes.
Following that, the shadow that emerged from the rain climbed the steps, passed by them, and with a gentle wave of hand, pushed open the great door using True Qi.
There was no light inside the hall, but the progressively brightening sword light illuminated the form of the deity statue enshrined within.
With the horns of a live bull and the body of a man, the statue was unmistakably that of Emperor Yan.
"If removing the deity statue... actually, it could be done more effortlessly."
The uninvited visitor said softly while looking at the statue of Emperor Yan, slowly raising his sword.
"Zheng—"
The sound of the sword echoed, a streak of sword light flashed, and a deep sword mark appeared.
The statue standing on the divine stage cracked from the left shoulder extending to the waist side, the head and the upper half of the body slowly slid off, and with a thud, fell onto the divine stage.