Immortality starts from the liver proficiency

Chapter 332 I'll gamble with your luck!
Such a vicious act of obstructing someone's path sent a chill down Xu Yunfan's spine, even though he was a beneficiary of the system.

It seems I was too naive back then, and there's still so much I need to learn.

He smiled bitterly to himself. He used to think that the world of martial arts was dangerous, but now he realized that the power struggles in the imperial court were the real bloodless killings. In this world, there is a path to the extraordinary, and naturally there are extraordinary powers that can influence the fate of a nation.

Dao Zong's actions, while paving the way to heaven for him, have also bound him and the sect's fate to a precipice. If he advances triumphantly, Dao Zong can use the Xuanhuang Qi of the Dragon Vein to reverse the universe, allowing him to completely transform and achieve the gathering of vast true Qi, far surpassing the ordinary nine realms.

However, if he fails halfway, not only will the fortune of heaven and earth that he has swallowed need to be replenished a hundredfold, but the thousand-year foundation of the Dao Sect will also suffer a backlash from the Heavenly Dao. At best, the foundation will be completely destroyed, and at worst, the entire family will be wiped out.

“Master... you think highly of me, actually gambling with the future of the Dao Sect.”

Xu Yunfan subconsciously gripped the pair of Mountain-Shaking and Sea-Suppressing Hammers at his waist. The hammers trembled slightly, as if responding to his surging emotions.

Such spirit truly made his heart tremble.

"In the end, we underestimated the power and courage of these old monsters..."

But then again, the path to the imperial examinations is limited to those under thirty. And among those under thirty in the nine realms, who else in the world besides Xu Yunfan today could claim such a position?
Deep within the Imperial Palace of the Great Zhou Dynasty, in the capital city of Yujing
The aging empress sat high on the dragon throne, venting her frustrations. Then, her phoenix eyes closed slightly, and she stood like a statue.

Inside the hall, the gilded dragon pillars cast dappled shadows, cutting her withered face into fragments of light and shadow.

Suddenly, her fingertips trembled, and the ever-burning lamp on the table, made with South China Sea mermaid oil and various rare longevity-promoting medicines, abruptly went out. A wisp of green smoke twisted and rose, entering her body through her nostrils.

"The Kan-Li Dragon Transformation Formation... has already begun. Continue... Minister Guo..."

She slightly raised her eyelids, looked at Guo Lang kneeling below, and slowly said, "There is no turning back for the Dao Sect's actions, nor for the Great Zhou. Eight hundred years ago, when Li Zu established the Great Zhou Dynasty, the Dao Sect had already begun to plan. Perhaps it was just a casual move by the other side back then, but who would have thought that today the spiritual energy has been mobilized by me, and this dragon vein feng shui formation has found its purpose."

The Empress's hoarse voice was like a rusty knife scraping bone. The Imperial Observatory Director, kneeling below the steps, was trembling violently, his forehead slamming heavily against the white marble bricks: "Your Majesty, please be wise! The land veins of the Examination Hall have changed, and the Xuanhuang Qi pillar has penetrated into the martial arts arena of the seventy-two wards. This is a sign that the Daoist sect is forcibly seizing the dragon vein!"

The Empress chuckled softly, her withered fingers slowly stroking the yellowed scroll of the "Great Zhou Dragon Vein Map" on the table.

The mountain and river formations outlined in cinnabar in the picture are now faintly resonating with the boiling spiritual energy network beneath the Jade Capital City.

She once sacrificed the sixteen states with her blood to forcibly raise the spiritual energy of heaven and earth from the earth's veins to extend her depleted lifespan. Although she failed, she was able to endure for quite some time by relying on the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. Now, this Dao Sect actually wants to cut off her lifespan!

If the dragon energy of the Great Zhou Dynasty were to be severed, and without the nourishment of the imperial court's energy veins, how could she possibly survive?

“That old man Bi Yuan is even more ruthless and insane than I thought. So many years have passed, and I thought he had cultivated his character, but this gambler’s nature still comes out of his bones.”

She coughed violently, splattering black blood onto her sleeve, but she didn't care. "Using the imperial examination as a trap, and Xu Yunfan as the blade, we're betting on the imminent demise of my Great Zhou Dynasty..." The Empress suddenly raised her eyes, her cloudy pupils flashing with a cold, razor-sharp light. "I'll let them know that even a dying dragon can bite a hunter's throat! I want to see whether the Daoist sect survives or my empire lasts forever! Hasn't the Amitabha Temple always wanted to spread Buddhism eastward? As long as we suppress the Daoist sect, I'll declare it the state religion!"

She shattered the dragon desk with a flick of her sleeve, and her stern voice echoed throughout the hall: "Issue the decree! Immediately close the nine gates. Any Daoist disciple who enters the Jade Capital shall be killed without exception! Furthermore, summon the 'Heavenly Wolf Guard' with my tiger tally to cooperate with the Imperial Observatory to sever the connection between the seventy-two wards and the ley lines of the Imperial City!"

Upon hearing this, Guo Lang, the Director of the Imperial Observatory, broke out in a cold sweat, but dared not hesitate. He immediately prostrated himself and kowtowed, saying, "Your Majesty, please reconsider! The imperial examination has already begun, and the seventy-two martial arts arenas are now completely connected to the 'Kan-Li Dragon Turning Formation' of the Jade Capital's earth veins. All the Xuanhuang Qi pillars are converging on Xu Yunfan. If the earth veins are forcibly severed, the dragon energy will inevitably collapse and backfire! At the very least, the Great Zhou's destiny will collapse, the dragon veins will disperse, and the Great Zhou will decline and perish. At worst... at worst, the Jade Capital's earth veins will collapse, and the entire Jade Capital will be destroyed!"

At this point, Guo Lang buried his head even deeper, his forehead touching the ground heavily.

"Your Majesty, you are now bound to the Dragon Qi of the Great Zhou Dynasty. Once the Dragon Qi dissipates, the consequences... the consequences will be unimaginable!"

The Empress's eyes were icy cold, her withered fingers gripping the armrests of the dragon throne tightly, her knuckles turning bluish-white: "You mean, the mighty Great Zhou is going to stand by and watch the Dao Sect steal my imperial aura through the imperial examinations?!"

Guo Lang's throat bobbed, and he forced himself to continue, "Your Majesty is wise! This situation has become an open conspiracy. Daozong is using the imperial examination as a shell and Xu Yunfan as a blade, betting that the Great Zhou will not dare to destroy its own foundation."

Now there are only two paths: either the imperial examinations are discontinued, and the Great Zhou Dynasty suffers the backlash from the dragon vein, never to recover, but if it is properly managed and restored, it may be able to sweep across the world again in a hundred years; or…”

He took a deep breath. "Either defeat Xu Yunfan on the arena with the glorious righteous path! As long as he is defeated, the Xuanhuang Qi will be replenished tenfold to the Great Zhou, and the Dao Sect's thousand-year plan will be in vain! Our Great Zhou will once again usher in a golden age."

The hall was deathly silent. The Empress's chest heaved violently. After a long while, she suddenly let out a hoarse, cold laugh: "What a Bi Yuan... what a Xu Yunfan!"

She slowly rose, her black dragon robe fluttering even without wind. "In that case, issue my decree: order the 'Heavenly Wolf Guard' to secretly eliminate the Jade Capital Daoist Sect's hidden agents, but leave the seventy-two wards untouched for now. Furthermore…"

A ruthless glint flashed in her eyes. "Send the experts from the palace to meet with the Amitabha Temple and have them send people. I want to see if this Xu Yunfan is truly invincible!"

Guo Lang secretly breathed a sigh of relief and was about to accept the order and leave when he heard the Empress add coldly, "If the Great Zhou fails in this imperial examination... Minister Guo, you will bring your head to me."

Guo Lang's scalp tingled, and he dared not utter a word of rebuttal, respectfully agreeing.

The Empress's ruthless decisions instantly turned the capital city into a bloodbath.

The Imperial City Guard's iron cavalry trampled the bluestone slabs of the long street, while in the deeper shadows, the remnants of the Tian Shu Sect and the warrior monks of the Amitabha Temple quietly gathered. They held the golden talisman secretly bestowed by the Empress in their hands and began to capture the Daoist disciples in the shadows.

At this moment, Xu Yunfan was completely unaware of the impending crisis.

At this moment, Chen Wei, the supreme grandmaster of Qi Refining at the ninth level of the Imperial City Guard, saw that he could not gain any advantage over Bi Sheng and received another message from him. He snorted coldly.

(End of this chapter)