“Darn… darn…”
Xiao Jidu tightened his grip on the long sword, glanced at Master Nanshan, and still dared not act rashly.
The task the other party had just assigned would gravely harm Li Rubi’s fortune, yet he dared not disobey.
After all, compared to failing the mission, defying orders now meant immediate death. He had no confidence in escaping from Master Nanshan’s grasp, let alone…
Glancing sideways at the composed Yu Shaojun, Xiao Jidu secretly gritted his teeth: “You better not be fooling me… otherwise…”
“With Li Rubi’s fate and aura, he indeed lacks the qualification to become a king. Unless he buries his roots deeply, cultivates quietly for twenty years, and coincides with the changes of heavenly timing, there might be a chance for the hidden dragon to soar…”
Xie Xiaodi pondered slowly: “Not to mention whether the court will allow such time, even we cannot afford to wait. A great victory is impossible, and indeed, only the path of a great defeat remains…”
With this thought, she no longer hesitated, stepped forward three paces, arrived at the position three chi in front of the tombstone, and silently began digging.
The soil was reddish-yellow. After digging down three chi, she encountered a talisman covering a long needle, and her heart stirred:
“Here’s the technique to subdue the dragon! Dragons are inherently ferocious, and this particular spot is where their scales become most unruly. Inserting a needle here to draw blood will certainly provoke the hidden dragon, but the method is too extreme—it undermines its very foundation!”
“However… this might just be the Taoist’s intention!”
With a bitter smile on her face, she silently took out a golden mallet, aimed at the long needle, and struck it hard!
Bang!
The long needle sank deeper, and Xie Xiaodi seemed to hear a furious dragon roar in her ears, causing her to feel dizzy, bleed from all seven orifices, and fall backward.
“The deeper the needle pierces, the angrier the dragon spirit becomes!”
Witnessing the ancestral tomb towering majestically with a faint dragon-like silhouette, Master Nanshan showed no trace of fear, his lips curling into a cold smirk as he muttered softly: “But… what can mere rage accomplish? I am the officially appointed priest by the general, wielding legitimate authority. Besides, the dragon spirit has weakened significantly after being drained. My strength grows as yours diminishes. Today is the day of reckoning!… Heh… Disciple, take action!”
Seeing this, Yu Shaojun suddenly understood.
He knew that Master Nanshan must have a grudge against the Li family, wanting to destroy their ancestral feng shui.
However, the dragon spirit was sentient and majestic. A year ago, as an outsider, Master Nanshan probably couldn’t even get close, let alone do anything.
Moreover, even if such a dragon spirit were destroyed, its energy would naturally attach itself to the true master of the Li family, making it useless!
Therefore, the old Taoist had meticulously planned, first gaining Li Rubi’s trust to become one of them, then altering the feng shui to let the hidden dragon soar, thus draining their fortune.
Just think, since Li Rubi started his rebellion, he has gone through countless battles, always emerging victorious. How much fortune has been drained by the military aura, the killing intent, and the resentment of the people?
Now, it has reached a critical point.
Not only has the power of the dragon vein weakened, but it has also been extracted and solidified onto the tomb. With Master Nanshan serving as the chief priest, he can now act openly.
With a little more effort, he could destroy the dragon vein layout, completely wiping out the Li family’s future and even bringing calamity upon their entire clan!
“As you wish!”
However, this was also what he desired. Without further ado, a pearl the size of a peck appeared in his hand, flying into the pit.
He then formed a seal and shouted: “Seal it!”
A flash of five-colored light, and the surrounding tomb soil closed together, forcibly suppressing the earth dragon that was about to escape.
With one seal cast, Yu Shaojun’s face turned red, and he spat out three large mouthfuls of blood, quickly sitting down to take medicine and recover.
“Ah? Disciple, your pearl is of quite high quality, and your Daoist cultivation is also quite profound!”
Master Nanshan glanced at Yu Shaojun, but his feet began stepping in a pattern, each step causing the ground to tremble and faint thunder echoing around.
Layer upon layer of talisman light emerged from all directions, a result of his long-term planning.
Now, everything was finally connected: “Reveal yourself!”
Roar!
Xiao Jidu’s eyes suddenly widened.
Before him, hovering above the Li family’s ancestral tomb, was a phantom of a dragon!
The dragon possessed the body of a fish and the tail of a serpent, adorned with a single horn on its head and two claws on its belly. Its entire body shimmered in a bluish-golden hue, while its eyes carried a faint purple glow as it unleashed a furious roar.
“This is the dragon spirit of the Li family’s feng shui, fully manifested to the point where even ordinary people can see it!”
Yu Shaojun murmured.
“What are you waiting for? Cut it down!”
Master Nanshan’s face turned fierce, suddenly spitting out a mouthful of essence blood, gathering onto Xiao Jidu’s sword, forming countless blood-colored talismans.
“Die or not, let’s go! Kill!!!”
Cornered, Xiao Jidu gritted his teeth and charged forward with the sword.
He was highly skilled in martial arts, leaping into the air, holding the sword with both hands, and fiercely slashing at the dragon’s neck!
Boom!
Outside the cave, dark clouds immediately covered the sky, heavy rain poured down, and lightning snakes danced wildly!
The dragon vein was severed, and Heaven and Earth felt it! Ghosts and gods were enraged! The blood of Heaven wept!
With this slash, the cave was filled with blinding white light, faintly echoing the dragon’s angry roar.
Caught in the wind and thunder, everyone was violently shaken, pushed back by a great force, spat blood, flew several meters, and crashed into the rock wall.
After an unknown amount of time, Master Nanshan got up, looked at the mess around him, and couldn’t help but laugh: “The great task is accomplished!”
Suddenly, his face turned pale, and he spat out another mouthful of essence blood, quickly swallowing a pill, which brought some color back to his face.
Looking around, he saw Yu Shaojun’s blood-stained robe but clear consciousness, Xie Xiaodi unconscious on the ground, while Xiao Jidu, being an ordinary person, was relatively unharmed. He sighed again: “No wonder he is the one whose fate is unseen and destined for calamity. Severing the dragon vein brought him so little backlash…”
The dragon vein was the embodiment of Heaven and Earth’s majesty. Even with prior preparations, if the old Taoist had acted alone, he would have surely been struck by five thunderbolts and met a bad end.
Therefore, the moment he saw Yu Shaojun, noticing his ability to confuse fate and deceive Heaven’s will, he was overjoyed and immediately accepted him as a disciple.
Based on what Yu said, he found several others like Xiao Jidu, all meant to carry out this heaven-defying act and reduce the backlash.
“Pity… that Wu Ming has already become a Wei Zheng, and Li Rubi won’t let him go. Otherwise, if we had brought him along, the backlash could have been reduced even further… However, he should still be in the midst of battle now. It seems his doom is inevitable…”
Master Nanshan’s face showed a mix of sorrow and joy as he murmured.
“Has this… succeeded?”
Yu Shaojun leaned against the wall and stood up, watching as strands of bluish-purple qi continuously dissipated, sinking into the ground. Some were absorbed at the three-foot spot in front of the tombstone, and he couldn’t help but reveal a look of delight on his face.
“Of course, it has succeeded. With the great dragon severed, these dragon spirits have become ownerless, scattering back into Heaven and Earth…”
Master Nanshan said: “I’ve finally avenged half of my clan’s grudge. I must thank you for generously offering your treasure. Otherwise, it would have been difficult to suppress the earth dragon and force it to reveal itself…”
He narrowed his eyes again: “However, your artifact has also been tempered through this, gaining significant benefits. It’s a mutually beneficial arrangement, so I won’t thank you!”
“Not at all… not at all…”
Yu Shaojun’s face was filled with joy as he asked: “Then, is Li Rubi finished?”
“With the dragon vein severed, there must be signs in his fortune. This great defeat is certain… However, the Li family still has residual blessings, and their fortune hasn’t completely dissipated yet. They might still avoid death, but it’s perfect, for I, the old Taoist, will personally settle the score!”
“That’s great! That’s great!”
Yu Shaojun nodded repeatedly, seeing the threads of fortune gathering underground, and couldn’t help but be overjoyed.
…
“Zhong Ting! Niu Yong!”
On the battlefield, Wu Ming shouted loudly, gathering his trusted and fortunate subordinates around him: “This battle is extremely ominous! Gather the horses; we must be ready to retreat at any moment!”
These were his most loyal followers, who had seen his ability to foresee the future many times, so they silently prepared.
Boom!
At that moment, another muffled thunder sounded from the sky, and dark clouds obscured the sun and moon.
A faint dragon roar echoed, making Wu Ming’s expression change repeatedly. “Indeed… they’ve gone to do that deed!”
He immediately looked toward the central command platform.
In the past, though the quantities were minute, golden energy surged like tides, while azure energy resembled a canopy, nurturing violet energy within—all distinctly visible.
Yet now, the azure and violet auras had dissipated, the celestial canopy lay in ruins, with only fragmented golden threads of energy left, desperately attempting to mend themselves. Meanwhile, external baleful energies and calamitous forces morphed into dark clouds, surging forward with reckless abandon.
“The dragon vein has been severed, and the fortune has suffered a great loss!”
Wu Ming sighed, changed into a soldier’s uniform, and mounted a brown horse.
Speaking of the Nine Mountains army, Li Rubi was extremely generous and had once bestowed upon Wu Ming a white stallion, rumored to have the bloodline of a grassland heavenly horse, known for its majesty and vigor.
However, Wu Ming never rode it into battle, except for daily use.
In battle, a white horse was considered an omen of ill fortune, not just in terms of fate, but based on real examples.
A white horse was too conspicuous on the battlefield, making it an easy target and attracting more attacks, increasing the risk of ambush for the rider. Thus, generals often met untimely deaths.
Although Li Rubi intended to elevate him, giving him such a warhorse was enough to show that Wu Ming had offended many people.
Even if Li Rubi did not kill him, it would be difficult for Wu Ming to survive for long.
As Wu Ming mounted his horse, suddenly there was a commotion outside, and from beyond the battlefield, shouts of slaughter echoed as six cavalry units ambushed from all directions, each led by a general marked with stars.
“Pu!”
Li Rubi, standing on the high platform, spat out a mouthful of blood at the sight: “What’s going on? Why are there so many cavalry units?”
“Report!”
At that moment, a scout rode in swiftly: “General, bad news! The governor of Youzhou has sent six thousand cavalry, led by Wang Xuanfan as a surprise force, claiming to avenge the theft of horses!”
“Avenge the theft of horses?”
Li Rubi felt dizzy, suddenly recalling the batch of military horses he had seized at the beginning, and couldn’t help but feel intense regret.
“Charge!”
The Youzhou Yan Yun cavalry were elite troops known throughout the land.
Originally, Wang Xuanfan’s army already had the upper hand, but now, with the addition of six thousand cavalry, the tide turned into an avalanche.
One camp after another of the Jiushan soldiers collapsed under the cavalry charge.
This continued to expand, quickly forming an unstoppable momentum, like the collapse of a heavenly pillar or the reversal of rivers and seas. Even if Wu Qi were reborn or Sun Wu were alive, they would be unable to reverse the situation.
“The defeat of an army is like a mountain collapsing… Let’s go!”
Wu Ming first cut down the military judge with one slash, then mounted his horse with his trusted men. Suddenly, he felt dizzy again.
Luckily, at that moment, tiny golden lights emerged from his body, stabilizing him.
Knowing the backlash had arrived, he dared not linger and immediately rode away with dozens of horsemen.
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