Mountain and River Festival

Chapter 463 The Fate of the True Dragon?

Even Huo Xingyuan, who felt he was doomed, never expected that Lu Xingzhou would actually commit murder in the street.

Just now they were saying it was "by imperial decree" and "to arrest and punish" or something like that. Even if they were going to kill him, wouldn't they take him away and kill him in secret? The guards have all gone to report the news, so there's still a chance of being rescued.

And just like that, in front of countless onlookers, he was punched in the street, shattering his heart meridian.

Huo Xingyuan's eyes widened, his thoughts racing like a revolving lantern in his final moments. Suddenly, he realized that Lu Xingzhou had already used the alchemy furnace to smear him, and now people would only say that Huo Xingyuan had secretly possessed a divine artifact, which led to the blood moon falling from the sky and evil spirits rising everywhere.

Unless His Majesty wins a great victory in this battle and wipes out all of Ye Tinglan's men... as long as the situation remains stalemate, Lu Xingzhou will not be in any trouble because of this killing, and he can still pin the blame for the blood moon on Huo Xingyuan.

Huo Xingyuan is not only dead, but he will also be utterly disgraced.

This grievance arose from the alchemy furnace and erupted from there.

Having understood all of Lu Xingzhou's thoughts, Huo Xingyuan died of anger, his eyes wide open in death.

The onlookers were completely silent, utterly dumbfounded.

Killing an official is a serious crime. Look at how many members of the Huo family have been imprisoned or exiled because of "killing an official"?

Lu Xingzhou has now killed a First-Rank Marquis in the street!

Moreover, people had long considered him to be his "father," and the visual impact of this moment was enough to leave most people's minds blank.

But suddenly, a mournful voice rang out: "Good riddance...good riddance! That damned Huo Xingyuan, you framed my husband back then and got him beheaded. You knew this day would come!"

At first, he spoke haltingly, but towards the end, his voice became hoarse and strained: "You should have died long ago!"

Upon hearing this, many people seemed to snap out of their daze, and countless voices echoed in agreement: "Good riddance to the traitor!"

"They died too easily!"

Then countless rotten fruits and eggs were thrown at Huo Xingyuan's corpse on the ground, accompanied by incessant cursing.

Lu Xingzhou had not expected this scene. He turned his head in surprise and glanced at it. Then he chuckled and bowed to the crowd. He picked up Huo Xingyuan's body and strode away.

The disgusting things the Huo family has done over the years are not limited to this one incident involving their own family.

They have always been a notorious "traitorous family" in the court and among the people, having harmed countless people, and everyone hates them to the core.

Of all the people I've killed over the years, none have ever been as grand and exhilarating as this one, surrounded by a large crowd. It feels quite good, like the thrill of unexpectedly becoming a great hero.

Unfortunately, most people don't realize that the Huo family was just taking the blame for Gu Zhanting's many misdeeds. They think it's good that the treacherous minister died, but what about the emperor?
"Boom!" Just then, the people on Lu Xingzhou's side also felt the commotion that Pei Chuyun and Xuan Nu had sensed. Energy surged from the altar on the outskirts of the capital, and a tremendous pressure swept over the capital city.

"Qian Yuan!" Some knowledgeable people were shocked and stared at the sky in astonishment, speechless.

Lu Xingzhou's heart skipped a beat. His mind raced, and instead of going to the altar, he went to the Pei residence first.

My strength is still far from reaching the peak of Huiyang or even the Battle of Qianyuan; I'm afraid I won't even be able to get into the right range.

Xuan Nu has hidden a great deal of power, and Feng Ziliu and Pei Qingyan may not necessarily be able to win. However, I and A Nuo should be able to provide some assistance and unleash this force, so that at least Feng Ziliu can participate in the battle on that side.

…………

Gu Zhanting stood in the center of the altar, with four super-grade arrays on the four sides of the altar.

Zhao En, Huo Liancheng, Gu Shaoli, and a strange demon that appears to be formed from flames.

That is the supreme-grade demon suppressed at the lowest level of the Demon-Slaying Domain.

The reason it is described as "seemingly flames" is because it looks like fire, yet also like black mist. Unlike the black flames that Lu Xingzhou subdued, which still retain a flame-like appearance, this fire person feels like a misty, ethereal mist, not like a real flame at all.

It was like fire in a phantom.

It is called Netherworld Ghost Fire, which only burns the soul and is eternally inextinguishable. It can only be suppressed and cannot be killed.

It's unclear what agreement has been reached with Gu Zhanting, but it seems that Gu Zhanting released it in exchange for it helping Gu Zhanting perform his sacrificial rites.

This sacrifice to mountains and rivers corresponds not only to humans, but also to demons, monsters, and all living things, including plants and trees.

What kind of monster will be created in the end?

Around the altar, demons that had been forced to serve as sacrifices began to scream in agony, their bodies radiating demonic energy.

Far across the land, officials were even transformed into demons in their homes, at banquets, and even on the streets. They grew hair all over their bodies, revealed menacing fangs, and then roared wildly to the sky, echoing the blood moon.

This was a scheme that Gu Zhanting had secretly planned for ten years.

It's not about plundering their power, but rather their demonic energy, monster energy, and even their life force. This is very different from plundering power; if it were about plundering power, this formation might not be able to accomplish it.

On the altar, Gu Zhanting was also emanating demonic energy. His once handsome middle-aged face began to show some ferocious patterns, and upon closer inspection, his neck had scale-like features.

Dragon scales!

The dragon robe he wore seemed to have acquired the golden shimmer of a dragon phoenix, and the dragon's might began to emanate from his body.

This was something he started planning after Long Qinghuang struck him with blood clots... Gu Zhanting never wanted to cure his illness and expel the blood clots, but rather to achieve the status of a "True Dragon Emperor" and use that to break through the Qian Yuan Pass. Countless alchemy experiments resulted not in the blood of a true dragon, but in his mortal blood. No one in the world had ever imagined this, including Lu Xingzhou and Ye Tinglan, who had never thought of it before.

However, Lu Xingzhou knew a small detail.

During the battle between Long Qinghuang and Gu Zhanting in the northern frontier, Long Qinghuang sensed Gu Zhanting's hidden dragon might.

Long Qinghuang had casually mentioned this to Lu Xingzhou during a chat, but he hadn't paid much attention at the time. Later, based on various pieces of information, he had a general idea of ​​what had happened. Just as Gu Zhanting's aura of Qian Yuan shook the capital, the blood moon in the sky suddenly flashed, and the crimson color faded.

Gu Zhanting's rapidly rising aura suddenly stopped, and he frowned as he looked up at the sky.

Ye Tinglan stood between the Blood Moon and Gu Zhanting, quietly looking down.

"You didn't leave?" Gu Zhanting wasn't too surprised. He slowly asked, "Or did you return temporarily due to unforeseen circumstances?"

Ye Tinglan said, "So what if we didn't leave? So what if we returned?"

Not leaving means that they were prepared for this moment long ago, while returning at the last minute means that they came in a hurry without knowing anything.

Gu Zhanting didn't explain, he just said, "It's too late, Ye Tinglan... there's nothing you can do to stop it."

Ye Tinglan said calmly, "I don't really want to stop anything... After all, I never thought that the dignified Emperor Qian would want to be Long Qinghuang's son."

Gu Zhanting's lips twitched: "What do you know?"

Ye Tinglan's face was very pale, and she remained silent for a moment.

Gu Zhanting thought Ye Tinglan's bad expression was because of the scene, but that wasn't the case.

Ye Tinglan never imagined that the letter Long Qinghuang sent to Daqian was not addressed to Lu Xingzhou, but to her, Ye Tinglan.

The letter contained only one sentence: "I am pregnant with Xingzhou's baby. The dignified Holy Lord of Tianyao is a shameful mistress."

Heaven knows what kind of uproar erupted in the Guoguan (National Forum) the moment they saw the letter. Even Dugu Qingli, who was standing beside him with a stern face, couldn't contain her master's rage and ran away, covering her head. For the next three days, Lu Xingzhou didn't dare to set foot in Guoguan at all; all communication was done by sending A'nuo...

Then, turning around, I saw that Gu Zhanting's plan, which had been buried for ten years, was also completely transformed with dragon blood, and the key fuse was also Long Qinghuang's stagnant blood.

These thoughts raced through Ye Tinglan's mind, but her face remained expressionless: "Long Qinghuang will not acknowledge you as her son. She has her own dragon son. If you wish to debase yourself and become a younger brother, so be it."

Gu Zhanting: "?"

Ye Tinglan added insult to injury: "In addition, if you want to become Long Qinghuang's adopted son, you will probably need your stepfather's consent. By the way, you can call me 'aunt'."

Even Gu Shaoli, Huo Liancheng, and others who were listening nearby couldn't hold back their emotions.

The meaning of this statement is pretty clear to everyone—Lu Xingzhou actually got the Dragon Emperor pregnant.

Some people got the Dragon Emperor pregnant, while others humbly used a bit of the Dragon Emperor's blood to save the true dragon's life.

Compared to this, even if Gu Zhanting could break through the Qian Yuan realm, it still feels... well, indescribable.

While others couldn't hold back their words, Gu Zhanting was even angrier inside. He coldly said, "Shut up! My destiny to become a true dragon is merely using dragon blood as a catalyst, not changing my bloodline to hers. What does it have to do with her!"

Ye Tinglan ignored him and asked Gu Shaoli, "Does the Prince of Dingxi think that such bloodline can still be the bloodline of your royal Gu family?"

Gu Shaoli didn't answer. He also felt that this wasn't Gu family blood anymore. Regardless of how many of them belonged to Long Qinghuang, there were all sorts of demons and monsters involved, so it was definitely not Gu family blood anymore. But it didn't matter; Gu Zhanting had children before he started doing all this, so the successor could be chosen from among them.

Gu Zhanting said, "The Imperial Preceptor doesn't need to get involved in such trivial matters... Since you're here, then let's become part of the sacrificial ceremony."

As the words were spoken, a powerful dragon aura shot straight into the sky, and the dragon-shaped energy rushed towards Ye Tinglan's suspended position.

The moment the dragon's aura appeared, all the surrounding demons and monsters knelt down, trembling with fear.

That power that tore through the sky... it's not unreasonable to say it's already at the Qian Yuan level.

Ye Tinglan remained calm, gently waving her jade-like hand.

Beyond the blood moon, another full moon seemed to appear, its clear light spilling across the sky, colliding with the dragon-shaped energy.

"Bang!" The void exploded, and the earth shook violently.

Gu Zhanting and Ye Tinglan both swayed slightly, showing they were evenly matched.

Gu Zhanting finally lost his composure and exclaimed in horror, "Although I haven't even begun my tribulation yet, this power is already at the Qian Yuan level... How did you manage to break through the Silent Realm?"

Zhao En, standing beside him, was also filled with doubt and surprise.

Ye Tinglan broke through?

how can that be!

Gu Zhanting shouted sternly, "Let's attack together!"

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh!" Five beams of light simultaneously lit up the four formations, including Gu Zhanting in the center.

But at that moment, Gu Zhanting's vital energy suddenly stagnated.

The altar is fine, and so are the surrounding demons.

Gu Zhanting carefully sensed it and was greatly alarmed.

All over the mountains and rivers, the demons that had been prepared and planned for ten years suddenly stopped feeding. The formation was still there, but they seemed to have sucked in air.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

PS: I checked and it's already reached 20 words by noon. Theoretically, LV4 readers should have a ticket now... There will be another update around 11 o'clock.

(End of this chapter)