The more you believe me, the more real it becomes.

Chapter 304 The Great Dragon (5k)

The moment a hint of fear arose in my heart, most of my energy and spirit dissipated.

In the heat of battle, once one's spirits are broken, even if both sides are evenly matched in cultivation, death is inevitable.

Having realized he lacked the courage to fight to the death, he immediately changed his attitude—the twenty or thirty cultivators around him were terrified, and even though they knew they couldn't escape, they still cowered and dared not step forward, so they were completely unreliable.

He could only hope that his allies would realize something was wrong and come to his rescue, so he suddenly softened his tone and lowered his stance:
"Actually, there's no need to escalate things to this point today. All you want is the Sword Cleansing Stone. If you're willing to stop here, leave your belongings, and give us an explanation, our families will not only hand over the Sword Cleansing Stones we have, but also provide you with additional compensation!"

"What do you think? You've already proven your strength, and we know that continuing to fight won't benefit anyone!"

"Only by each taking a step back can we achieve a win-win situation, which is beneficial to both of us."

How could Du Yuan not see through his little scheme?
It wasn't that Du Yuan had developed the ability to read people's minds from their expressions and tone of voice; it was simply that he had seen too much of the character of these kinds of people along the way.

They clearly realized they might not be able to win, so they wanted to stall for time and wait for their allies to come to their rescue.

When dealing with ants, one might want to stomp them to death; when encountering rabbits, one might observe first before striking swiftly; but when faced with a truly formidable opponent, one becomes hesitant and timid.

He is good at planning but indecisive, fierce in appearance but cowardly in reality, he is afraid to risk his life when it comes to great things, but he will risk his life for small gains—he is quite like Yuan Shao!
However, Du Yuan had a question to ask him at this moment:

Do you know someone named King Wei?

Prince Wei? Why did he suddenly mention Prince Wei? The man paused, hesitated for a moment, and then smiled:

"King Wu Jingwei is a very famous person, how could I not know him?"

Du Yuan smiled again:

"So, how do you feel about yourself compared to him?"

"Me and him?" The man scoffed, his tone full of arrogance. "Within his fiefdom, I might be slightly inferior; but outside that land, I am better than him in every way!"

He spoke with absolute confidence, but Du Yuan simply shook her head, looking at him with deep pity, and said:

"I think you are inferior to him in every way."

Having been rebuffed again, and with his allies still nowhere to be found, the man could only suppress his anger and retort:
What makes you say that?

Du Yuan twirled the hairpin in her fingertips and said slowly:
"Because if King Wei were here, he would never be standing here foolishly, relying on those so-called allies who are completely unreliable. He would have turned around and fled long ago!"

"So you are far inferior to him. First, you can't see the true colors of those so-called allies; second, you can't recognize the difference between us, it's like comparing heaven and earth!"

In the vast southwest, only King Wei was able to escape back then.

You're something else, someone who willingly offered yourself up as a pawn. What makes you think you can compare to that scoundrel King Wei?
Although she looked down on King Wei's character, Du Yuan had to admit that if this guy hadn't been tricked by her own Hu Shen in the first place...

It's unlikely that they'll even run into each other.

Young Master Wang keeps clamoring to avoid karma, but after all that clamoring, he's not even half as capable as King Wei.

These words didn't sound particularly harsh, but they pierced his heart, causing his cheeks to twitch uncontrollably.

Finally, he couldn't hold back any longer and gritted his teeth, saying:
"What do you mean by 'the difference between heaven and earth'? You're at most three points stronger than me. If it really came down to a life-or-death battle, the outcome would be uncertain! What makes you dare to make such boastful claims?"

Upon hearing this, and knowing full well that countless people were watching, Du Yuan suddenly pointed to the sky and laughed loudly:

"You are only beginners in cultivation, having just glimpsed the path. To you, seeing me is like a frog at the bottom of a well looking up at the bright moon in the sky. But if you can truly enter the inner sanctum, you will know that seeing me is like an ant looking at the blue sky!"

The moment those words were spoken, the entire hall fell silent. Whether they were watching from below or confronting each other on stage, everyone was inwardly cursing: This guy's tone is far too arrogant!

Before anyone could refute, everyone froze in place, their eyes wide open—it turned out that the person could no longer bear such humiliation and suddenly attacked violently!
Grasping purple lightning in one hand and pulling out crimson earth fire in the other, he crashed down from the sky like a meteorite, determined to kill Du Yuan.

Faced with this thunderous blow, Du Yuan simply tossed the hairpin up and flicked it forward with her fingertip.

The next second, the inconspicuous hairpin pierced straight through the lightning and cut through the ground fire, like a silver streak of light piercing straight into the person's heart.

In the blink of an eye, the man's eyes widened, and he crashed to the ground, lifeless.

This scene, witnessed by everyone, caused the entire audience to gasp in astonishment, their faces filled with disbelief.

You must understand, this person is not one of those minor characters they pushed out to be cannon fodder, whether openly or secretly—he is the woodcutter of Hanlan Mountain!
The lineage can be traced back to ancient times, and among the successors throughout the ages, there are many who have stood at the pinnacle of their respective fields.

Although his family's prestige had declined in this generation, their foundation was still intact. How could they not even withstand a single encounter and die like this?
Before the crowd could recover from their shock, Du Yuan, with one hand behind his back and the other on his sword at his waist, took two steps forward. He glanced around and calmly asked the group still hiding:
"Who else wants to come up here to die?"

For a moment, the cultivators present were both shocked and furious, but not one of them dared to step forward.

Because this person's cultivation level has risen to such a point that they need to reassess whether it's worth it.

When the vanguard died one after another, they were merely surprised to realize they had misjudged him. But when the woodcutter also died, they finally understood that this fellow's cultivation was truly extraordinary!
As the shuttle broke through the last barrier set up in Kyoto and sped away, the tense backs of the father and daughter inside the cabin finally relaxed a little.

They were now speeding towards the ancestral land of Bashui. Only when the outline of the capital's palaces could no longer be seen from the porthole did the man finally let out a long sigh and look at his daughter, saying with lingering fear:

"My son, my daughter and I have finally escaped this calamity."

The girl nodded repeatedly, but a lingering sense of confusion remained between her brows.

After a moment of silence, she couldn't help but frown and ask:
"Father, I really don't understand why everyone is so focused on that jar of divine wine, even to the point of murder and robbery in the capital."

The man originally wanted to explain the secrets of the three religions behind the Xi Shen Wine, but before he could speak, his daughter interrupted him with her next words.

"My daughter naturally knows that the jar of wine is a rare treasure, but what I can't understand is why so many cultivators, even those who have been famous for a long time, insist on the same idea: the person who held the wine must have happened to witness a great change in the world and luckily picked up a great bargain?"

“When the great calamity struck back then, there were indeed many people who seized great opportunities by luck,” the girl’s tone became more serious, “but how could someone with such destiny be so foolish as to display such a precious treasure as divine wine in the bustling city? That would clearly be courting death!”

"But since he dared to do this, it can only mean that he is not afraid of those petty scoundrels who come after hearing the news."

At this point, she looked up, her eyes filled with confusion as she gazed at her father.
"If one person can't see through it, then he's stupid; if two people can't see through it, perhaps they're blinded by greed. But why is it that among so many people, not a single one can understand this principle?"

Upon hearing this, the man was taken aback. His fingertips unconsciously rubbed the ring on his hand that represented the identity of the head of the Ba Shui Chen family. It took him a while to recover.

He gazed into his daughter's clear, bright eyes, a smile of contentment gradually appearing in them, and he sighed softly:
“My son, when I was your age, I wasn’t nearly as clear-headed and insightful as you are now. I can truly rest assured that the Chen family of Bashui will be in your hands from now on. As for what you asked…”

He paused, then his tone suddenly turned serious:
"At first, Father didn't understand either, but it wasn't until the moment we escaped Kyoto that he finally understood. We were all meant to be swept away by the calamity and disappear into the dust."

"He did not perish when the great world collapsed back then, but now he is merely clinging to life, burdened with immense karmic consequences."

“But those ordinary people are different,” her father said, his gaze lingering on the distance. “They are the true masters of this new era, each bearing immense destiny. As the current emperor, Yaoshi Yuan is the first monarch after the start of this new era, and the extent of his destiny is beyond our comprehension.”

"So you see, on the surface, it seems like we mountain folk, with our extraordinary abilities, set up a scheme against him in Kyoto, placing pieces all over the board. But in reality..."

As they spoke, the shuttle flew further and further away, and the outline of Kyoto became increasingly blurred in the clouds, about to disappear completely from sight.

The man suddenly grabbed his daughter's wrist and yanked her to the porthole. His other hand pointed to the shrinking city; his fingertips were already pale and blue. His voice was chillingly cold.

"In reality, the dragon that is Kyoto has already swallowed us all whole! It's just keeping its fangs closed for now, but it can tighten its throat at any moment and wipe us out!"

“You can’t understand why they all acted so foolishly,” the father said, looking at his daughter’s shocked face. “But how could they act foolishly? They were blinded by fate, destined to perish in this capital, and none of them could escape death!”

Yes, they're obsessed with devouring Kyoto and Yakushi-ga. But conversely, wouldn't Kyoto, the place where the world's fortunes converge and the very source of the dragon veins, swallow them up as well?

Fortune, fortune, how can it be ordinary?

The girl was so shocked by her father's words that she felt a chill run down her spine. She looked in the direction her father was pointing, her pupils suddenly contracted, and she even gasped for breath.

Deep within the clouds, a massive black dragon, its scales as black as ink yet cold and gleaming, coiled above Kyoto. Its enormous body wrapped around the entire city, its golden vertical pupils coldly watching every "prey" within the city!
Yesterday, they all thought the pharmacist's family was fish on a chopping board, completely at their mercy. But today, they realize that the tables have turned, and the balance of power has been completely reversed!
-
At that very moment, the person who had organized the gathering suddenly stood up and shouted:
"He's bluffing us!" Everyone turned to look, and he spoke clearly and logically:

"If this guy were truly a high-level cultivator, he couldn't possibly be moving around so freely in the current situation!"

Someone else countered:
"Yet he killed the woodcutter in a single move! No one present could match that level of skill!"

Many of them could kill woodcutters, but only their ancestors, who were temporarily unable to move, could be killed in a single exchange.

"What if it comes at any cost? If everyone here were to disregard everything and seek only an instant kill, is there really no one who could do it?"

Upon hearing this, several people suddenly realized what was going on.

Yes, being able to kill a woodcutter in one move doesn't necessarily mean he has the corresponding level of cultivation!

After all, if they were to disregard everything, quite a few of them could actually do it.

The person who organized the gathering also stated with certainty:
"This man surely knows he cannot escape death tonight, so if he wants to leave this prison of Kyoto, he can only frighten us!"

"Doesn't that make sense?"

Everyone suddenly realized, "Yes, that makes sense. If he were really that powerful, he shouldn't have been able to get out."

However, some people still have doubts:

"But what if we're wrong? What if we've made a mistake? This is a matter of life and death!"

The person who organized the gathering immediately turned to look at the person who had spoken and said:

"This concerns my life and fortune! How could I not understand? How could I not make careless inferences? Humph, and look at this!"

"If this person is really that powerful, he should be walking slowly, killing one person with each step, just like before. After all, my cultivation is already so high, why should I be afraid of you?"

"But actually?"

Everyone followed the organizer's finger and saw Du Yuan suddenly shrink her distance and disappear outside of Kyoto.

"In fact, he revealed his biggest flaw: he panicked! He was in a hurry to run out!"

"So, I'm going to close the net now. The door is right there; anyone who wants to leave is welcome!"

The great dragon lowered its head from the high heavens, looking down upon the human world, but there was no one to be seen.

After all, everyone is caught up in the situation; how can they possibly see the whole picture?

Only Du Yuan suddenly turned around, then looked at the invisible dragon that resembled clouds and mist, and nodded several times.

Every time the finger is moved, the dragon's head also presses down.

In the end, they hastily retreated back to the high heavens.
-
The girl in the flying shuttle struggled to breathe for a long time before finally uttering a trembling sentence:
"And what about the one who possesses the divine wine? Is he also involved?"

Upon hearing this, the man laughed:
"How could that be? If this gentleman were really similar to those two, then not only now, but even if the world had truly fallen into decline, it would still be impossible."

"If we really want to make a comparison, it's like a house cat called 'Dynasty's Fortune' in the 'house' of Heaven and Earth, which has lured out all the rats that should have died long ago and placed them in front of the three 'guests'."

At this point, the man laughed, half mocking and half self-deprecating:
"The rats that were originally hiding in the shadows, which no one would bother to deal with, have now come out swaggering out to provoke us. So naturally, we have no choice but to crush them one by one!"

Finally, the man said with a mixture of deep regret and envy:
“My son, you must remember this. The celestial beings will never be part of the game; they are the ones who orchestrate it. If you think they are also part of the game, then you must have overlooked something, leading you to a misunderstanding!”

The shuttle continued to move forward silently, while the girl fell into a long silence.

At that moment, she felt lost about spiritual practice.

Because she suddenly realized that even if she became a father or even an ancestor, she would still be nothing more than a piece that the heavenly beings could discard at any time.

The difference is simply whether it's black or white. It's irrelevant.
-
Du Yuan's subsequent path was completely unobstructed. Until he left the capital, he did not encounter anyone who blocked his way.

Just as Du Yuan was wondering if she had scared away all these cowardly creatures...

Only after sensing the slight movement did Du Yuan lower her head and smile.

As expected, these people weren't going to give up so easily. I was worried I'd scared them away.

However, this group of people still did not officially appear. Instead, they landed not far away and watched from a distance, or rather, they made sure that Du Yuan walked in the direction they had deliberately left.

Therefore, Du Yuan, who had originally intended to use them to "sharpen her sword," naturally headed towards their arrangement.

If one wants to make a big difference in turning a fake into a real thing, one can only do so when the other party feels they have made no mistake and then turn the tide.

Finally, as Du Yuan stepped into a certain boundary.

He keenly sensed that the world had changed.

Before you could even look closely, you could see that the once flat grassland had transformed into a small world dotted with mountains and rivers.

"You little thief! You have killed so many of our comrades, so you must be deeply entrenched in demonic nature. In that case, you can't blame us for eliminating demons and protecting the righteous path!"

Du Yuan looked over with amusement and saw a man holding a somewhat familiar chessboard high in the sky.

Behind him were seven or eight other men who looked similar to King Wei.

Du Yuan guessed that this person was the one who had organized the party for her tonight.

After thinking for a moment, Du Yuan ignored him and just looked back at what was behind her—the original grassland was gone, replaced by the mountains and rivers that she had just seen, neither small nor large.

Furthermore, a cool and aloof woman was driving a bronze chariot, firmly guarding his retreat route.

Beside the woman stood seven or eight monks.

Facing Du Yuan's gaze, the aloof woman, true to her cool demeanor, uttered a curt, indifferent reply:
"This road is blocked! Don't even think about it!"

Du Yuan slowly nodded, then looked to her left and right.

To his left, a bright star hung high in the sky, and beneath it sat a burly man with broad shoulders and a thick waist, accompanied by several other cultivators.

As he looked at it, the burly man simply made a hand seal, and a great ditch descended from above the star.

"This is the Flying Flower River, a refining artifact by my great-uncle himself. It has almost never been shown to anyone. You are extremely fortunate to see it today!"

Looking at the great river, Du Yuan gave him a strange look before turning her gaze to the far right.

Since the other three parties already have representatives, there will naturally be plenty here as well.

However, in the other positions, there is one powerful character with seven or eight support characters.

Here, there was only one, before Du Yuan could even guess the person's background.

Suddenly, his body swelled up, and then a huge mountain emerged from nothingness on his back!

"This mountain is called Wenquan (问拳), the place where my father attained enlightenment! Do you dare to challenge me to a duel?"

(End of this chapter)