Destiny is ashes

Chapter 955 The Endless Spring (4600)

"What a joke."

Others might give Zhang Junxuan face, but Jin Yanhua didn't give him any. She walked straight up, threw the Taixu Bracelet back, and sneered, "I also know the Divine Firmament Thunder Technique, and I can forge divine weapons. This is all you have to offer? You dare to talk about sincerity?"

"General Jin."

Even though Jin Yanhua was very impolite, Zhang Junxuan still remained polite. He cupped his hands and said, "I know that you have an extraordinary relationship with True Lord Xuanjing, and I know that asking for your forgiveness is too much to ask. But Xuanchen (the swordsman who attacked Ming Guangchen) is really like a brother to me, so I have no choice but to give it a try."

"If these mundane things of this world are not to the liking of the General and the Mandate of Heaven, I have some resources that I can offer in exchange, but they are not things that can be easily offered and cannot be displayed..."

"No, there's no unusual relationship between us..."

Jin Yanhua paused, waving his hands repeatedly. An Jing sighed and continued, "You know the reputation of the Shangxuan Sect. If I were to shout 'Beat the Shangxuan stray dogs,' everyone here would probably gang up on you."

“I am not afraid,” Zhang Junxuan said solemnly.

"I advise you to be a little more afraid." An Jing was truly speechless now.

Zhang Junxuan, the Taoist of Donghua, may be very strong, but he obviously has no emotional intelligence. An Jing was a little suspicious just now, wondering if this guy was trying to put pressure on her by coming over to talk about things that are best discussed in private. But now it seems that he just can't figure out when to say what.

Putting everything else aside, the face of the Divine Fate Duan Chen behind him was almost turning crimson, clearly indicating that he had wanted to warn him from the beginning but had never found an opportunity.

There's no point in talking to someone as tactless yet powerful as this. An Jing waved his hand and said, "My master isn't one to kill indiscriminately, especially since even that Xuan Chen Daoist couldn't defeat him. If nothing unexpected happens, your junior brother won't die as long as he doesn't seek death."

"Let me tell my master that when he returns, you should go and talk to him in person... no, you'd better bring a few friends with you."

An Jing had no intention of agreeing to Zhang Junxuan's demands, and reconciliation was not something he could achieve.

Even with An Jing's attitude, Zhang Junxuan was not angry. Instead, he bowed sincerely and thanked him, saying, "Then I thank you. If you are in trouble, I will definitely help you."

—Does this person even know how to speak?

An Jing almost laughed, but in the end he didn't say anything more, shook his head, and watched Zhang Junxuan leave with Duan Chenguang, who was about to faint.

One side.

"Uncle Master!"

When Zhang Junxuan brought Duan Chenguang to a corner of the banquet platform, in the territory of the Shangxuan Sect, the First Divine Mandate finally couldn't help but speak up: "How can you talk like that! I thought you were planning to go over and arrange a time privately with An Jing and the others, but you just said it so openly?"

"By publicly admitting to the attack and yielding to the Mingjing Sect, Master and the other senior disciples will not like it!"

Duan Chenguang thought he was already arrogant enough, but he never expected that his seemingly refined, easy-going, humble and cautious Uncle Zhang Junxuan would do such a thing.

"My senior brothers' thoughts are not my thoughts."

Zhang Junxuan was not angry at Duan Chenguang's complaint. Instead, he said seriously, "Why can't you apologize openly for what you did wrong? If you play tricks within the sect, you should be prepared to bear the consequences."

"Only by doing this can they follow my reasoning. If my junior brothers and senior brothers don't take responsibility for the mistakes they made, then I will. I can't guarantee the specific outcome, and I'm pessimistic about whether Xuanchen can come back alive. But since my heart tells me that I want him to live, then I have to do this."

"Ugh……"

Hearing Zhang Junxuan's words, Duan Chenguang was truly speechless... What an arrogant person who disregards everything! He believes that whatever he wants to do, he will do it wholeheartedly, and he doesn't care about the senses and opinions of others. Nothing is greater than the laws of his heart.

These are the most arrogant types of people in the world...

"That guy too."

Turning around, Duan Chenguang looked behind him in the direction of An Jing, and couldn't help but mutter to himself, "From beginning to end, I didn't think there was anything wrong with what my uncle said, but I just felt that my uncle's emotional intelligence was too low - he was not afraid of the Heavenly Sect, nor was he afraid of the True Monarch, and he treated everyone equally."

"This attitude of looking down on the world is truly identical."

The other side.

Just as everyone's attention was drawn to the exchange between An Jing and Zhang Junxuan.

The Prince of De left quietly and arrived at the banquet platform where the many leaders, that is, the True Lords who were not participating in the Scale-Illuminating Banquet, were gathered.

The area is sparsely populated, and the different banquet platforms are separated by extremely strong legal barriers. Theoretically, unless one doesn't want to, no one can find another person or dragon here who doesn't want to be found.

But he found it.

He found a noblewoman who did not want to see him.

"Ugh, it's so annoying! Why can't I shake off Da Chen's people like a remora?"

A noblewoman with long, dark blue hair leaned against a warm jade couch, her long hair, like a waterfall, seemingly lifted by an invisible ocean current, spreading out lazily.

She did not turn around, but the Prince of De instead performed a junior's salute and respectfully said, "Junior Zhenwu Mountain Xuanguangge greets Chaowu Heavenly Lord."

Instead of using the name of the imperial court, it used the name of the most theoretically core 'True Martial Mountain', which caused the Heavenly Lord of Tide Mist to lazily raise his head and look up at the Prince of De.

This is a dragon maiden whose beauty is almost ethereal. Her long hair flows like a waterfall, and her beautiful face shows no signs of aging. Her indigo eyes are as deep as the ocean. If an ordinary martial artist were to meet her gaze, he would probably have his soul stolen in an instant.

"You're not like those idiots from before... Alright, descendant of Xuan Tianji, what is it?"

Although she responded casually, Prince De dared not relax and solemnly stated several key words: "Prince Jing, no, Brother Guangyun's plan, is now known to His Majesty and me... and the civil and military officials and other town princes also know part of the secrets of 'Heaven and Earth Heart'. The Great Chen is now in turmoil and may fall apart at any time, which is worse than all outsiders imagine."

Upon hearing this, Lord Chaowu opened his eyes wide, stood up in surprise, turned his head, and looked at Prince De: "You have actually already..."

"Senior Izumi Musou."

The Prince solemnly revealed the other party's 'true name,' which was the true name of the 'Han Hai Chao Wu Zhen Chi' who once guarded the northern border: 'Now, the civil and military officials have joined forces to set up the Dragon Qi Array Plate in the northern border. As someone who almost transformed from a dragon and snake body into a divine tree body, took root in the northern border, and became the second 'Ying Tian Immortal Tree,' you must fully understand the significance of this matter!'

After speaking, he raised his hand and handed a Taixu magic artifact to Quan Wuzhong. Quan Wuzhong frowned, and with a thought, an invisible force took the artifact, opened it, and scanned it.

"Earth Vein Array!"

Upon seeing the creation within, Quan Wuzhong had to admit that Prince De and that young emperor were indeed fully aware of Prince Jing's plan from back then.

And it's not just them...

"I never expected that Da Chen's condition would be so bad."

She raised her chin, glanced solemnly at the calmly bowing Prince De, pondered for a moment, then raised her hand to add another layer to the already foolproof barrier, and slowly said: "Since you all know... then you should be very clear that after the late emperor's death, our plan 'completely failed'."

"Without the cooperation of the late emperor and the sharing of the power of the Heavenly Supervisor, the Little Heavenly Heart could not have grown at all. Moreover, the Heavenly Demons were extremely active at that time. Without the emperor, the Great Chen could not cooperate with me to suppress the demons, and naturally could not destroy the demons to exchange for the 'Mysterious Flame' from the Heavenly Dao. Even if I sublimated to the extreme and transformed my dragon body into a seed of a divine tree, it would not be possible for it to grow and become a divine tree to protect the growth of the Heavenly Heart."

“Da Chen’s expansion plan failed. I was also weakened by the backlash at that time. Not only did the Imperial Court not help me, but they even wanted to use me as a dragon pillar to suppress the Demon Abyss. I didn’t want to be devoured by the Heavenly Demons, so I had to leave—you were the ones who wronged me first.”

"Of course." Prince De nodded without hesitation—ever since he learned what the Imperial Court had done back then, he knew that the Imperial Court had truly acted immorally. Quan Wuzhong had upheld the ancient covenant, guarding the Demon Abyss of the Vast Sea for ten thousand years, but because of the internal strife of Great Chen, they wanted to use him as a dragon pillar to block the Demon Abyss. Although it was most likely not the Imperial Court's original intention to make this decision, but rather the young emperor who was coerced by the civil and military officials with the promise of righteousness, the enmity had already been formed. Having lost Prince Jing and the late emperor as partners, Quan Wuzhong naturally had no reason to stay in Great Chen.

"Let me make this clear first, I will never go back to Dachen. You humans always fight amongst yourselves before your plans succeed, and I don't have that much time to waste."

With his arms crossed over his chest, amidst the surging waves, Quan Wuzhong's expression was displeased: "Your willingness to return the Earth Vein Array Plate to me is somewhat enough to recover my losses, but it's far from sufficient to make me take action."

"It's not that I'm asking you to take action, senior, it's just..."

Prince De cupped his hands in greeting again, paused for a moment, and then said, "I hope you can provide some information, senior."

"what news."

"Tianwu."

The Prince of De raised his head and solemnly said, "That is the Heavenly Martial Artifact, [Southern Dipper's Life-Giving Blessing], which has been modified by the Prince of Jing and is now sufficient to serve as the core defensive artifact of the 'Little Imperial Court'!"

“Mingjing doesn’t know where it is, and General Gu probably won’t tell us either. After thinking it over, we have no choice but to come to you.”

"General Gu... Yun Zhi, I suppose. I never imagined that he would become a general after the death of Prince Jing."

Quan Wuzhong sat back on the jade couch, her expression returning to calm and languid, her long skirt swaying: "In the end, they were the family that served me for ten thousand years... Hmph, but after I left, they were purged. Apart from Yun Zhi, there should be no one else left. They are practically extinct."

"That's not the case."

Hearing this, Prince De felt a real chill run down his spine. Those who targeted Prince Jing were truly ruthless, leaving no room for mercy. He could only say, "The Gu family has another bloodline that is currently in the Mingjing Sect, serving as the deputy of that Tianming Anjing."

“Senior, although we are all members of the Great Chen Dynasty, those who attacked us are also our common enemies.”

Quan Wuzhong snorted coldly: "If that weren't the case, I would have kicked you out just now."

"As for bloodlines..."

She turned her head and looked in the direction of An Jing below the stage, as if she had something on her mind: "So that's how it is. No wonder that person with the destiny felt a familiar aura. I thought it was due to the aura of the Northern Frontier, but I never expected it to be the aura of the Descendant."

After a moment of silence, Quan Wuzhong spoke up: "I know where Tianwu is located."

Prince De was overjoyed: "Then..."

"But I won't tell you now."

Quan Wuzhong turned her back, no longer looking at Prince De, and said indifferently, "Wait, after this grand banquet, I will use your incarnation to entrust my mist and return to Da Chen to see the situation."

"You humans are too good at lying. No matter how much you talk about friend and foe, it may all be false and disguised."

"……it is good."

Although he was somewhat disappointed by the reply, Prince De knew that it was the best he could hope for. He understood that Quan Wuzhong was telling him to leave, so he didn't linger and turned to leave.

After the Prince of De left, Quan Wuzhong shook his head slightly: "Guangyun, Guangyun, you have schemed and plotted, but you were outmaneuvered by your own blood relative... Hehe, although your brother is not bad, he is far inferior to you in terms of talent and spirit."

"In the end, why aren't you the emperor? But then again, if you were the emperor, you wouldn't be so free."

After expressing her regret, she looked in the direction of An Jing and narrowed her eyes: "Your daughter... that's strange. The spirit of heaven and earth should be on your daughter, but I can't sense her presence."

"Fine, anyway, without you, I have no interest in helping Da Chen. There are other ways to achieve the Ancestral Dragon Path... It's just a coincidence."

Quan Wuzhong's gaze swept over An Jing and the others' faces: "Jin Yanhua, Xuan Mingjing, and that one, the last descendant of the Gu family... The karma of the past has actually come together again."

"Is it fate, or perhaps..."

She shook her head slightly, deciding not to think about it anymore.

An Jing seemed to be deep in thought, and raised his head to look in the direction where the True Lords leading the team were.

"What's wrong, Anjing?"

You Ruhui asked with some concern, but An Jing shook his head: "It's nothing, it's just that there seems to be a familiar gaze."

After a series of events, with the arrival of various forces, the Zhaolin Banquet officially began.

In an instant, thunderous drums and cloud music resounded, wind and rain roared, and accompanied by the turning of flowing light, the four dragon gods of the past and present arrived on their dragon thrones.

Their gazes swept across the banquet platform. The four Dragon Kings paused slightly when their eyes fell on An Jing. The Dragon God smiled slightly and then spoke first: "All of you young talents are the pride of the world. Your presence at this banquet is truly an honor for our Ancestral Dragon Palace."

The voice of the Dragon God resounded like thunder in spring, containing a divine power that gives birth to all things, which invigorated everyone present. They then returned the greeting in unison, saying, "We dare not accept such praise. We, the juniors, pay our respects to the Four Dragon Gods!"

After the formalities were completed, the ancient Dragon God spoke. Though he usually played among mortals, he was unusually serious at this moment, his words like an eternal bell, causing the souls of everyone present to tremble and healing many of their past injuries: "Humans are the most intelligent of all beings, and dragons are the true kings of spirits. The Ancestral Dragon Saint, the progenitor of all living beings, possesses countless minds and boundless wisdom, all descendants of the Ancestral Dragon."

We, the dragon race, are not direct descendants of the ancestral dragon.

The one who spoke was Xing Shi, the Dragon Goddess. Her voice was like fire, crackling and scorching all living beings. As her divine power spread, it caused potential to grow: "[The Feast of Paying Homage to the True Ones by Illuminating Scales is held for this very reason—all living beings in this world are qualified to cultivate the Path of the Ancestral Dragon, and the scales left behind by the Holy Ancestral Dragon are also a treasure left to all living beings.]"

But every gain comes at a price.

Finally, the dying dragon god finished his work, his voice echoing from the depths of the abyss, calming the overly excited and agitated souls stirred by the power of the previous dragon gods, causing them to calm down and consolidate their strength: "The Radiant Realm is about to open, and there will inevitably be casualties in the trials. If there are any who wish to refuse to participate, now is the last chance to withdraw."

It was both a welcome and a warning. The Dragon Gods openly and honorably gave all the choices to the warriors present, but in reality, there was only one answer to this kind of question.

That means participation. No one will back out at this point.

Seeing this, the four dragon gods were quite satisfied. One of them nodded slightly and smiled, saying, "In that case, gentlemen, please enjoy this small feast. After you've had your fill, we'll proceed with the trials."

—Was it really that smooth?
At this moment, An Jing took a sip of his fine wine and muttered, "The incidents involving Prince De and Zhang Junxuan weren't exactly unexpected, so this little thing... could it be that I've made a mistake?"

"An Jing, what did you say?" You Ruhui and Jin Yanhua were a little confused. They didn't quite understand why An Jing was frowning and looking so wary.

But at that moment, suddenly, a beam of light shot into the sky from the depths of the Ancestral Dragon Hall!
It shot straight into the stars, instantly opening up space and time, and creating the entrance to a magnificent cave!
An ancient and wild aura emanated from it.

【What? 】

The four dragon gods were all taken aback. They raised their heads and looked at each other.

—That's right, that's right.

Seeing this, An Jing finally breathed a sigh of relief and laughed, "As expected, it's started."

"Unsurprisingly, an accident happened!"

(End of this chapter)