This time, for the sake of their great undertaking, the Wang family had truly given their all.
Within the city, Wang Su had made preparations, while this Longmen Gathering was also of utmost importance and could not afford any failure.
As early as the previous year, they had secretly spent a vast fortune to acquire several powerful magical artifacts, some of which were even failed treasures!
These artifacts had been subjected to forbidden techniques such as blood refining and bone refining. If used without hesitation and at full capacity, their power could rival that of true treasures!
Of course, using such methods in a magical duel would be considered underhanded and inferior.
Originally, Wang Yu had believed that his cultivation and status as a Daoist adept would be sufficient to outmatch all other Daoists in the entire commandery, making such measures unnecessary.
But now, he hesitated.
“Two Daoists, step forward!”
Wang Yu ascended the high platform, his right hand unconsciously reaching into his robe to touch a skull-shaped artifact, his heart hardening with resolve.
Compared to personal honor or disgrace, the family’s great undertaking was naturally of greater importance. He had already made this determination!
“Daoist Miaqing…”
At this moment, the other Daoists saw a small paper crane perched on Miaqing’s shoulder whispering something into her ear before bursting into flames and turning to ash.
“Esteemed colleagues… I concede this duel!”
Wu Qing’s eyes flickered several times before she raised her voice to declare.
“What?!”
A wave of murmurs rippled through the gathered Daoists, with Yun Ping, the Dean of the Hall, exclaiming in shock.
Among the Daoists, not all were fearless; if one felt certain of defeat, one could declare withdrawal before the duel. Yet given Miaqing’s earlier display of a sharp magical sword, her chances of victory had appeared quite high. There seemed no reason for such a sudden concession.
“Could it be… that her family has already kidnapped Wu Ming to coerce her?”
Wang Yu’s eyes flickered with suspicion as he mused silently, his expression remaining calm and composed, maintaining an air of refined detachment.
“Excellent!”
At this moment, the Celestial Crane Boy also spoke: “In that case… Wang Yu shall be the leader of this gathering. The Longmen Gathering values magical power above all else; this young man is fit to serve as the chief officiant, while Daoistess Miaqing shall assist him!”
Regardless of the events below and the complexities involved, to the Immortal, these were merely trivial matters. Seeing that Wang Yu, the chosen one, was quite suitable—being a fully-fledged Magician—he nodded in approval.
“Reverently obeying the decree!”
Instantly, several Deans, along with Wang Yu and Wu Qing, all bowed deeply.
Yet as Wu Qing performed her bow, her heart was in turmoil: “Since my younger brother sent me a message urging me to do this, he must have made some arrangements… I’ll trust him this once…”
…
“The ceremony is complete! Present the offerings!”
After a short wait, the Longmen ritual below was drawing to a close. After the sacrificial text was burned, the three sacrificial animals were placed upon a mat woven from reeds and sent floating onto the lake.
“Heaven’s timing is upon us. All of you, prepare!”
The Celestial Crane Boy formed a magical seal, and a clear light shimmered around him and the other Deans, connecting them as one.
Buzzzz!
A fine layer of radiant energy, following a sacred pattern like a magical formation, appeared upon the platform.
“Where is Daoist Lieyang?”
Wang Yu responded with a solemn nod and stepped forward to take the lead, his face subtly flushed.
Behind him stood Wu Qing and other promising disciples from various Daoist academies, all with solemn expressions.
“Initiate the Longmen Formation!”
The Celestial Crane Boy stepped forward in a ritualistic stance, fingers forming a magical seal, and pointed once more.
Boom!
An invisible force emerged and sank into the lake.
Gurgle! Gurgle!
On the dam, the emerald lake water formed a massive whirlpool, churning with waves. A huge black stone tablet gradually emerged from the center, its golden inscriptions flickering.
“It has manifested! The River God has appeared!”
The decoys and fake Daoists below immediately erupted into chaos, though no one paid them any attention.
If viewed from high above, one could see the stone tablet, the shrine, and the cliff forming a triangular shape. A massive force surged through invisible channels.
“It’s coming!”
At the same time the formation took shape, the lurking dark qi hidden throughout the mountains trembled.
And the pair of military strategists, uncle and nephew, quietly arrived at a valley, waiting in silence.
At the foot of the cliff, the young scholar seated in the modest horse-drawn carriage also lifted his head.
The Celestial Crane Boy seemed to sense something, but his spiritual eyes remained calm. A faint smile tugged at his lips:
“This Baijiao is the son of the River Duke, naturally destined to be connected with the Nu Long River. Back then, had it not been for Wang Zhong’s seal, it would have inherited the River Duke’s divine position immediately! Even with its sins, after a century of torment, it is now time for its liberation! The Patriarch sent me here merely to do what must be done, leaving the rest to fate. If the ritual succeeds, then it was simply Baijiao’s lack of fortune. If it breaks free, it is because its sins have been cleansed. As for what trials it may face, that is no longer my concern…”
With this attitude, he remained impartial, merely fulfilling his duty by gathering magical power and channeling it into the lake.
“Roar! Roar!”
At this moment, beneath the stone tablet, a faint dragon shadow could be seen, bound in chains of magical seals, some already broken.
“Seal it!”
Under Wang Yu’s leadership, several disciples of the Dao combined their powers, with the Immortal and the Deans secretly assisting. Golden talisman characters floated up from the chains, continuously repairing the seals.
The golden light from the inscriptions on the tablet flared brilliantly. The dragon roared furiously, churning the lake water like boiling liquid, sending waves crashing in all directions.
Boom!
At some unknown moment, layers of fish-scale-shaped dark clouds appeared, instantly shrouding the sky in darkness.
“It’s time. The dragon has emerged. If I rescue it now, whether it wishes to or not, it will owe me a debt that must be repaid!”
Wang Zhong’s eyes flashed with determination as he reached for the talisman hidden in his sleeve.
“Cheng, be ready. Half a moment from now will be the Heaven’s Timing; the dragon will surely emerge!”
The middle-aged man took the sturdy bow from his nephew and drew forth a long arrow wrapped in talismans. Even the arrowhead shimmered with star-like glints, the talisman characters seemingly directly imprinted within the metal itself, its smooth outer surface concealing a rare and wondrous artifact.
“This Dragon-Slaying Arrow has been passed down in our family for generations, the last of its kind. Today, I shall stake everything on it… I… What? Why so soon?”
The middle-aged man suddenly gaped in shock.
Boom! Boom!
The earth trembled.
“What is this…?” The young boy looked toward the Longmen Dam, astonished.
Roar! Roar!
A distant, resonant dragon roar echoed forth. Waves of spiritual energy gathered, pouring into the dragon’s body.
Crack! Crack!
One golden chain after another, forged from binding incantations, snapped, revealing the dragon’s defiant gaze.
It opened its maw, releasing a long and exhilarated roar. Suddenly, a layer of cyan-purple energy emerged from its body, taking the form of a serpentine shadow, which it promptly devoured.
Boom!
Lightning danced wildly within the dark clouds.
Empowered by this energy, the dragon’s magical force surged. In an instant, it seemed to grow from an infant into a giant, breaking free from its bindings in a heartbeat. It then lunged forward, slamming fiercely into the stone tablet that had bound it.
“Cursed! Why so quickly? How could the dragon break free on its own?”
Wang Yu watched in horror, his eyes nearly popping from their sockets: “With this… it owes nothing to my Wang family, only old grudges…”
He was a man of decisive action. Immediately, he tore open the talisman, unleashing a streak of crimson-gold energy, radiating divine majesty like lightning, which shot into the lake and landed upon the merit stone tablet.
“What is Daoist Lieyang doing?!”
This sudden action disrupted the formation’s energy flow. The formation, which had barely been holding together and was preparing to reseal the dragon, collapsed instantly.
The radiant energy quickly receded, causing a backlash.
Several Deans, including Wu Qing, spat blood, and even the Celestial Crane Immortal’s face paled slightly. Yet he ignored the chaos, his eyes fixed on the lake, muttering to himself:
“So the calamity originated from within the Daoist Academy itself? That explains why I couldn’t foresee it earlier… But how did the dragon acquire the Dragon Qi?”
Buzz!
The golden divine light, moving at incredible speed, actually attached itself to the stone tablet before the white dragon could act.
Drawn by this energy, the fifteen golden characters reading “Governor Wang Zhong, by decree, slays the water demon and seals the dragon here” quickly dimmed, each character vanishing into the divine glow.
“This must be the Governor Wang Zhong’s own essence! It even contains Dragon Qi within. Only thus could the dragon be subdued!”
In an instant, three golden characters vanished into the divine glow. The merit tablet’s fortune diminished by half, its radiance fading, revealing its original grayish-white stone surface, even forming cracks of its own.
“Roar! Roar!”
Unfortunately, despite the divine light’s speed, it was merely a hair faster than the dragon. Just as it managed to absorb four or five golden characters, the white dragon roared in fury and charged forward.
Boom!
A terrifying explosion rippled outward, sending waves of water soaring into the sky.
The earth trembled. Mist rose, as if a heavy rain had fallen.
“No!”
A furious roar echoed faintly from within the water, followed by the sight of a golden divine light fleeing in disarray, retreating into Wang Zhong’s ancestral shrine by the lakeshore.
The lake water turned black, accompanied by a delighted dragon roar, as a jade-white dragon soared forth.
This dragon bore a single horn and whiskers like fish tendrils, with two claws on its belly. It soared into the air, circling amidst wind and rain, clearly reveling in its newfound freedom after breaking free.
“That divine talisman must have contained a fragment of Wang Zhong’s essence, driven by his bloodline descendant to reclaim the fortune used to suppress the dragon. But it was just a moment too late! How fickle is Heaven’s will!”
In an instant, the Celestial Crane Boy understood the cause and effect, smiling faintly.
“Immortal! What should we do with this dragon? Please give your command!”
Dean Yun Ping bowed respectfully and inquired, waving his hand as several Daoists subtly surrounded Wang Yu.
“You… what are you doing? My father is a prominent noble; he may already be a regional military governor! Do you dare to rebel against your superiors?”
Seeing his former Daoist companions drawing their swords, Wang Yu’s face paled as he shouted.
Upon hearing this, his nominal master, Daoist Shuangyang, turned even paler, nearly fainting.
“Human affairs depend entirely on one’s own choices. Let him go.”
The Celestial Crane Boy shook his head.
If everything had proceeded as planned, Wang Yu would have nothing to fear at this moment. But now? Amidst the entanglement of fortune, his father’s actions had become a significant hindrance, possibly even leading to ultimate failure!
Damp-clothed Daoists gazed upward at the dragon circling in the sky, their expressions complex.
At that moment, from the ruins where the Merit Tablet once stood, wisps of cyan-purple energy tinged with five-colored radiance began to rise, gathering into clouds that swirled around the dragon—this was the original royal mandate and heavenly fortune of Wang Zhong!
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