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Chapter 170 Jade Shatters, Dream Butterfly Devours Golden Dragon; Imperial Power Severes Fate, New Treaty Demanded [Part Two]

The aura surrounding that spiritual light faintly condensed into tiny golden dragons.

The two entered Tang Hao's brow and the Purple Mansion of his consciousness.

As expected, a notification popped up above my field of vision.

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He casually selected "Watch later" and then focused his attention on his mind.

The little golden dragons swam happily around, and in the blink of an eye, they transformed into a strange formation.

A targeted pulling force suddenly arose from the formation.

Tang Hao felt a tremor in his soul as a wave swept through him in an instant.

Meanwhile, the crowd inside the Tianyuan Hall, who had been eagerly waiting, looked at each other in bewilderment.

"That's not right! Why isn't the imperial edict appearing?"

"Logically, when the nation's destiny enters the body, the emperor's edict should be activated immediately. Why is there no reaction at all?"

"It seems that Prince Kang and others misjudged the situation; there is no problem with the identity of the Crown Prince of Rong."

"I knew it! The Duke of Rong has always had a good reputation, so how could he do something as immoral as a father taking his son's body!"

Prince Kang frowned and exchanged a glance with the Minister of Works, then couldn't help but ask in a low voice, "What exactly is going on?"

"Perhaps Your Highness has misunderstood. The Duke of Rongguo has not yet made a move?" The Minister of Works replied, wiping the cold sweat from his brow.

"impossible!"

Narrowing his eyes, King Kang said unwillingly, "If he hadn't made a move, how could this item be in Tang Hao's hands?"

"Perhaps it is true, as the Crown Prince of Rongguo said. This is a congratulatory gift from the Duke of Rongguo for his promotion." The Minister of Works forced an ugly smile.

Upon hearing this, King Kang gave him a look that said, "Are you kidding me?"

He shook his head firmly and said, "This is something he spent an unknown amount of money to create. Once it's lost, it will be very difficult to get a second one."

The reason why the jade pendant could conceal the aura of the emperor's edict was mainly because the jade used in it was mined from the dragon vein beneath the imperial city.

There's an old saying: "Where a venomous snake dwells, there's bound to be an antidote within seven steps."

It's barely acceptable here.

The dragon vein and the national energy complement each other, but there is a small, peculiar jade mine located in the reverse position of the dragon vein.

The jade mined from it could conceal the aura of an imperial edict.

Therefore, the Duke of Rongguo must have obtained the emperor's tacit approval and assistance to be able to refine this substance.

“There’s another possibility.” The Minister of Works suddenly thought of something and looked sharply at the jade pendant still in the old weapon refiner’s hand.

Before the Prince of Kang could press further, he continued, "Ordinary jade pendants are made by carving jade directly and then inscribing runes and magic arrays. They naturally fail under the detection of the Imperial Seal. But if..."

The Prince of Kang also realized what was happening and recalled the series of changes in his elder brother's expression.

Clearly knowing that verifying one's identity with the imperial seal was useless, he couldn't help but look towards the old man.

"If the jade is further refined, or if it is frequently nourished with jade liquid refined from the jade, the concealing effect will be many times greater."

In this way, the aura of fortune will probably not be able to break through the concealment effect.

"Fortunately, we still have some tricks up our sleeves." The Minister of Works nodded slightly.

The hands and feet inside the jade pendant were naturally there to disrupt the rune array.

Once activated, the jade pendant will immediately shatter, and its concealing effect will naturally disappear.

His hand, hidden in his sleeve, was about to form a hand seal.

But the sharp-eyed Prince Kang stopped him, saying, "That's not right! You're using a hand seal to activate a hidden attack right now. Do you think everyone is a fool or blind?"

"What should we do then?" The Minister of Works suddenly realized that he and his entourage were standing in the center of the hall, next to Tang Hao, and were the focus of everyone's attention, unlike when the imperial edict was being issued.

"Destroy it openly and honestly!"

As he transmitted the message, King Kang reached out his hand, and the jade pendant in the old weapon refiner's hand was immediately taken away by his magic power.

This action immediately attracted the attention of everyone in the Tianyuan Hall, who all turned their gazes toward it.

Before anyone could even ask a question.

With a crisp "crack," the jade pendant in King Kang's hand shattered into several pieces.

This item was not a defensive treasure to begin with; its texture was no different from that of an ordinary jade pendant, so it naturally could not withstand the abuse of a cultivator.

The emperor frowned slightly, displeased, and rebuked, "What is Prince Kang doing? That jade pendant was a congratulatory gift from the Duke of Rong to his heir. How could you destroy it so casually?"

"Your Majesty, please forgive me. I was worried that this item would affect the test results, which is why I acted rashly. If your identity is verified and the Crown Prince's identity is confirmed, I will certainly make amends." Prince Kang quickly apologized.

Just as the emperor was about to say something more, a sudden commotion erupted inside the Tianyuan Hall.

"Look, look! There's movement!"

"The jade pendant was destroyed by the Prince of Kang, and then things changed on the side of the Crown Prince of Rong. It seems that the jade pendant was exceptionally effective at concealing the truth."

"What kind of title is 'Heir Apparent of Rong'? He's clearly the Duke of Rong."

"That's right, it has to be Prince Kang, with his keen insight!"

The feelings of Prince Duan and his daughter today can be described as tumultuous. Throughout the grand banquet, their emotions fluctuated countless times.

At this point, I was starting to feel numb.

“If it really is the Duke of Rong, at least it’s not the heir who rejected me. But this marriage was arranged by the Duke of Rong, so why did he ask His Majesty to cancel it?” Princess Fu’an murmured.

Looking at Tang Hao in the center of the hall, his face was full of doubt and confusion.

Upon hearing this, Prince Duan sighed and was about to comfort his daughter when his eyes suddenly widened, and he slammed his hand on the table with a bang: "No! This is not the manifestation of the imperial edict."

"Hmm? Something seems different."

What exactly is the problem?

"When the imperial seal is activated, the imperial edict appears, which should be like a golden dragon pulling a chariot, circling around the head once, and then hanging above the head."

“Indeed, although it has not yet fully manifested, only a dragon head has emerged, the dragon head is clearly black with gold threads hidden beneath it, which is definitely not a sign of the imperial edict manifesting.”

Although it is rare for the Imperial Seal to trigger the manifestation of the Emperor's edict, the hall was filled with highly accomplished officials who had served for over a hundred years. Someone immediately explained the difference to the others.

Naturally, they cannot be the same, because this change was caused by the Nightmare Butterfly.

It was just a slight coincidence that the timing was right when the jade pendant broke.

The fluctuations that were scanning the soul suddenly disappeared after several fruitless attempts to probe.

The little golden dragons scattered and broke their formation.

Seeing this, Tang Hao immediately focused his mind and restrained his magical power.

Even the secret runes of the Nightmare Butterfly in his sea of ​​consciousness were deliberately manipulated and moved toward the edge of his sea of ​​consciousness.

Hunyuan Qi has the characteristic of absorbing all kinds of energy between heaven and earth. After cultivating the "Hunyuan Eight Scenery True Scripture" technique.

Tang Hao's magical power, divine sense, and various magical runes he condensed were all naturally imbued with this characteristic.

This gave him the confidence to resist the invasion of alien magic.

Although a nation's fortune is unique, it cannot escape the realm of energy.

If it were any other energy source, it would be completely devoured by him in an instant using its primordial properties.

But at this moment, he didn't want this feature to take effect at all.

Luck is a wonderful thing; if an ordinary cultivator can refine it, they can break through a minor realm on the spot.

Even when facing a major breakthrough, it is of great help, and it can easily increase the success rate by more than half.

However, the fate of a nation is not something that cultivators can easily interfere with.

Once refined and absorbed into the body, it will, to some extent, become bound to the corresponding nation. When the nation prospers, the Dao flourishes; when the nation perishes, the Dao declines.

In addition, they will suffer immense karmic consequences, being forced into the struggle for dynastic supremacy. This truly reflects the saying—personal transcendence and the karmic consequences of all beings cannot coexist!

However, even when Tang Hao tried to dodge, the little golden dragons insisted on getting closer.

He had done his best to contain his consciousness deep within his sea of ​​consciousness, so as long as he didn't actively contact it, he wouldn't disturb it.

Just as the little golden dragons were about to disperse, they seemed to be attracted by something and swarmed towards a certain place in their sea of ​​consciousness.

'That's the location of the Nightmare Butterfly!' Tang Hao was startled upon seeing this and quickly activated his secret technique runes to flee elsewhere.

However, as soon as he made a move, the group of little golden dragons changed direction.

In an instant, the Nightmare Butterfly fled, the little golden dragon chased, and the Nightmare Butterfly could not escape.

No matter how fast the arcane runes are, they can hardly surpass the little golden dragon's flight speed.

In just a moment, it was clear that it would be trapped in a corner of its sea of ​​consciousness by the little golden dragons.

Tang Hao's expression changed: 'Damn it! The cooldown hasn't finished yet. If I dissipate the [Nightmare Butterfly] rune now, I'll lose this secret technique completely.'

This technique, after all, cannot be acquired through cultivation; once it dissipates, there is no way to re-cultivate it.

'Wait a minute!' he suddenly realized, 'Although I don't have the secret cultivation method, I have the synthesis recipe!'

Relevant memories surfaced in his mind, and a secret recipe instantly took shape.

【Nightmare Butterfly】 = 【Nightmare Aura】 + 【Thousand Butterfly Soul-Guiding Pillow】 + 【Sleep-Inducing Spell】 + 【Nightmare Dragon's Whisker】

Needless to say, the [Sleep Inducing Spell] is a spell he himself had practiced, and picking it up again would be a piece of cake.

I obtained the genuine 【Thousand Butterfly Soul-Guiding Pillow】 a few days ago under some pretext from Feng Mingyang. I just need to wait for the cooldown period to pass.

The more troublesome ones are the Izumi family's [Nightmare Aura] and [Nightmare Dragon's Whisker].

The former is produced right there; the nine women can get it by simply taking a stroll in their ghostly forms.

As for the latter: 'After Sister Jue suppressed and sealed the Nightmare Dragon, she probably wouldn't have killed it directly, right? I'll have to think of a way to contact her later.'

Thinking this way, Tang Hao felt a little more at ease.

'Let it go then. Using secret runes shouldn't affect my own mana.' He quickly considered. 'If anything goes wrong, I can just abandon this technique then.'

If you have a plan in mind, it's better to take the initiative than to passively integrate.

With a thought, Tang Hao changed the direction of the Nightmare Butterfly, circled around, and pounced towards the sparsest spot of the little golden dragon.

The moment the secret runes touched a small golden dragon, an extraordinary phenomenon appeared in the sea of ​​consciousness.

【Nightmare Butterfly】transformed into a black dragon butterfly, and with a whoosh, swallowed the little golden dragon whole, like slurping noodles.

"Ang~"

A dragon's roar resounded throughout the sea of ​​consciousness.

It was unclear whether it was the Black Qi Dragon Butterfly's joyful song or the Little Golden Dragon's painful lament.

'Nothing seems to be unusual. Is it because the national fortune that has been absorbed is too small? Or are my worries unnecessary?' A hint of doubt arose in Tang Hao's mind.

However, he did not let his mind get caught up in it, seeing that the little golden dragons were about to surround him.

Tang Hao quickly focused his mind and pushed his thinking speed to the limit.

The black dragon butterfly, under his control, kept moving around.

When it gets the chance, it roars and swallows the little golden dragon whole. If it doesn't get the chance, it uses its wings, claws, and tail to injure the enemy, striking and leaving without lingering.

Tang Hao suddenly noticed something, though he couldn't remember how many small golden dragons he had devoured.

Strands of gold threads had appeared on the black dragon butterfly's body at some unknown time.

Those golden threads were buried beneath the dragon butterfly's skin and were not easily noticed unless one looked closely.

It wasn't until it had devoured all the little golden dragons that the golden lines became clear, appearing at first glance to be engraved golden patterns.

'I must say, it's actually quite beautiful!' Tang Hao sensed it and found that the secret runes did not appear abnormally.

Of course, the name "Nightmare Butterfly" remains unchanged, and the information panel is also...

'Huh? Wait a minute!' He suddenly paused, and carefully looked at the information on the panel.

"【Nightmare Butterfly】: Dream-based Mystic Art"

"Spell Effect: The Nightmare Butterfly, born from the fusion of hypnosis, dream entry, and nightmare energy, can cast effects such as dream invasion, nightmare extraction, and dream illusion. This secret technique can be used flexibly, and more techniques can be developed on your own."

"Nightmare Realms: Spell effects under construction, current progress: 1/100"

Note: This spell can only be used to guide those who do not dream. Those who do dream will be unable to construct their own dreams if they intrude.

Only then did they discover that under the spell effects, there was an additional spell effect called Nightmare Realm.

"Was the nation's fortune too limited to fully materialize?" Tang Hao was somewhat taken aback. "Back when the Water and Fire Lotus was not yet the [Five Elements Dao Lotus], it didn't undergo such changes."

'Hmm... Could it be that after the panel is formed, there will be further transformations or new spell effects, and then the corresponding progress information will be displayed? That would be much more convenient.' He was quite satisfied with this.

He then looked at the progress and couldn't help but click his tongue in amazement: 'So many little golden dragons, and it's only increased by one percent! How much national fortune would it need to absorb to take shape?'

What? I have the [Cultivation Power Boosting Technique]?
That's okay.

"It'll be about six months." Tang Hao did a quick calculation and then closed the information panel.

The next moment, however, he was startled: 'Where is my Nightmare Butterfly?'

After searching for a while, I was horrified to discover it.

The mysterious phenomenon manifested by the arcane runes—the Black Dragon Butterfly.

At this point, only half of its tail remained, and it was about to emerge completely from between its eyebrows and run outside.

'Holy crap, what's going on?'

After the Black Qi Dragon Butterfly devoured the little golden dragon, Tang Hao casually released his control over it and turned to check the changes on the information panel.

He naturally assumed that the Black Dragon Butterfly would dissipate its strange phenomenon, transform back into secret runes, and obediently stay in place.

Unexpectedly, it escaped in this form.

'These national destinies have clearly been swallowed up, so why are they still being drawn by the Imperial Seal?' Tang Hao opened his eyes in astonishment.

He immediately saw the Emperor of Dongling looking at him with the same expression.

The two stared at each other for a moment, both somewhat confused about the situation.

"Your Highness, what's going on?"

The emperor's voice came through, and Tang Hao was about to reply when he noticed that the other party's lips were tightly closed, and he was communicating with him through telepathy.

He coughed awkwardly and replied via voice transmission, "Your Majesty, I don't know what's going on either."

Noticing the disbelief in the other person's eyes, he hesitated for a moment, then quickly recounted the situation, highlighting the parts he could say.

"Interesting, a secret technique that can absorb and devour the nation's fortune." The emperor chuckled and said, "It's probably because your secret technique contains the aura of the dragon vein, which is why the two are attracted to each other."

'Dragon vein aura?'

Tang Hao was taken aback at first, then recalled the description of the power of the Nightmare Dragon when it was born, which it had used to deceive him.

'According to the Nightmare Dragon itself, it transformed into a dragon form in an extremely yin place. So, that place is actually an extremely yin dragon vein?' He immediately had a guess in his mind.

With a hint of helplessness, he transmitted his voice to the emperor: "What do we do now?"

After a moment's thought, the emperor proposed, "I can sever the connection between this wisp of fortune and the Imperial Seal, but the Crown Prince must pay some compensation or grant me a request."

He had already realized that Tang Hao's identity in the Qinghua Sect was definitely not just that of an inner disciple; he was very likely a true disciple.

This means that if the opponent does not perish along the way, they will almost certainly become a Nascent Soul cultivator in the future.

If one could exchange a wisp of luck for the assistance of a future Nascent Soul cultivator, it would be a sure-fire win, or even a huge windfall.

Just as the emperor was lost in thought, he heard Tang Hao's voice.

"Your Majesty, sever all ties first, and my compensation will be credited to your account immediately, guaranteeing you won't lose out!"

(End of this chapter)