Druid Fairy

Chapter 202 The Vengeful Dragon
The pure and cool power of the moon did not, at the moment of contact with the resentment, produce the intense conflict that one might expect, like fire and water.

To everyone's astonishment, a soft silver halo appeared on Li Mengyue's small body.

Behind me, the silhouette of a towering osmanthus tree loomed faintly, and beneath its shadow, a bright, full moon hung high in the sky.

Wherever the holy moonlight passed, the deep-rooted, chilling resentment within the Empress subsided, as if a vicious dog had encountered its nemesis, sheathing its fangs and slowly calming down.

The black threads clinging to her soul began to melt and purify at a visible speed under the moonlight.

On the phoenix bed, the empress's face, which had been completely bloodless, miraculously regained a rosy hue.

Her withered body stopped trembling, and her rapid, weak breathing became steady and long.

The most obvious change was that her tightly furrowed brows slowly relaxed at that moment, as if she had finally broken free from an endless nightmare.

"Is this a miracle?"

An elderly imperial physician was dumbfounded; in his entire medical career, he had never witnessed such a wondrous sight.

A burning light simultaneously shone in the eyes of both the Crown Prince and the First Prince.

This auspicious body can truly restrain that terrifying "curse"!
"It works! It really works!" The Crown Prince's voice trembled with excitement, and his gaze toward Li Mengze became more fervent than ever before.

The eldest prince, on the other hand, was more composed. He took a deep look at the calm and collected Li Mengze, and then at the dignified Li Mengyue. His fear of the Li family and his desire to win them over reached their peak.

After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Li Mengyue slowly withdrew her small hand. Her face was somewhat pale, and fine beads of sweat appeared on her forehead. Clearly, this "conversion" had taken a great toll on her.

Li Mengjin stepped forward silently, shielding his sister behind him. A pure sword intent quietly passed over her, calming her disordered aura.

"Cough...cough..."

Just then, the Empress on the phoenix bed coughed slightly and slowly opened her eyes.

Her eyes were initially somewhat confused, but they quickly cleared. She saw her two sons guarding the bedside, and the room full of important officials. Finally, her gaze passed over everyone and landed on the little girl who was being protected by her brother and was panting heavily.

A complex emotion flashed in those deep phoenix eyes: gratitude, sorrow, and a hint of... deep helplessness and sympathy.

"Child... come here." The Empress's voice was still weak, but it carried an undeniable authority.

At her older brother's prompting, Li Mengyue obediently stepped forward.

With all her might, the Empress raised her hand, which had regained some color, and gently grasped Li Mengyue's small hand. Her palm remained icy cold.

"Good child...your life...is more bitter than mine..."

The Empress's voice was barely audible; after uttering this seemingly incoherent sentence, she appeared to have exhausted all her strength, closed her eyes again, and fell into a deep sleep. This time, however, her sleeping face was much more peaceful.

A crisis that could have shaken the very foundations of the nation seemed to have been averted.

But everyone knows that this is just the beginning.

That very evening, the emperor's gifts poured into Tingtao Pavilion like a flowing river. Gold, silver, jewels, and fine silks were all commonplace items.

What was truly terrifying was that imperial edict.

"Princess Mingyue, Li Mengyue, is blessed with auspicious omens and divine favor, and has rendered meritorious service to the nation. She is hereby specially conferred the title of 'Purifying Saintess,' enjoys the ceremonial regalia of a princess, and is granted the 'Purple Imperial Token,' which allows her free entry and exit from the palace. She may enter the palace at any time to share the burdens of the Empress Dowager and the Empress, and to cleanse the world of its troubles."

Saintess of Purification!
These four words, like a magnificent golden cage, completely bound Li Mengyue's fate to the royal family.

From then on, she was no longer just the youngest daughter of the Li family, but a strategic "magic weapon" used by the entire Dayu Dynasty to combat "resentment"!
At the same time, another imperial decree was delivered to Li Mengze's desk.

"Issuing Li Mengze, the Deputy Director of the Royal Alchemy Academy, to immediately establish the 'Exorcism Bureau' to oversee the matter, allocate funds and provisions, and allow access to all relevant royal records, so as to find a foolproof plan to completely eradicate the 'Curse of the Vengeful Dragon' before the 'National Sacrifice Ceremony'."

A prestigious title, a position with real power.

The emperor's scheme was perfectly legitimate and beyond reproach. He granted you supreme glory and power, but also a task that was utterly impossible to accomplish.

"What do we do now?" In the study, Li Yuanhu looked at the two heavy imperial edicts and felt his scalp tingle.

"When soldiers come, we'll block them; when water comes, we'll dam it." Li Mengze remained calm as he slowly unfolded the animal hide map given to him by Chen Qingxuan on the table.

His finger touched the red dot on the map marked "Abandoned Altar".

“Brother Yuanhu, Second Brother, this place probably holds all the answers. Let’s go and find out tonight at midnight.”

At midnight, the night was as dark as ink.

Two black figures, like ghosts, bypassed the layers of imperial guards' patrols and silently infiltrated that long-abandoned area deep within the imperial city.

It was Li Mengjin and Li Yuanhu.

With Li Mengjin's identity as the deputy commander of the Golden Scale Guard as cover, coupled with his movement technique that blended seamlessly with nature, the entire imperial city was practically uninhabited for them.

The altar marked on the animal skin map is located behind a patch of overgrown ruins.

Without a map to guide you, no one would have discovered that such a huge place was hidden beneath this desolate landscape.

Pushing aside the waist-high weeds, a section of stone steps, long since eroded beyond recognition by time, appeared before the two.

A chilling wind, filled with an ominous aura, swept in from the bottomless staircase.

Li Yuanhu instantly felt as if he had returned to the Blood Pool at the foot of Luofeng Slope. The chill that penetrated to his very bones made him subconsciously tighten his grip on the knife at his waist.

Li Mengjin's expression also became extremely solemn. The "Shadow Fang" in his hand emitted a low hum, and a wisp of sword intent that combined with the power of wind and rain emanated from his body, keeping the yin wind out.

"Follow me."

He spoke succinctly and took the lead, stepping into the darkness.

The tunnel was deep and winding, the walls were covered with dark red moss, and the air was filled with a stench of rust and rotting flesh.

The deeper you go, the stronger the oppressive feeling of resentment becomes, as if millions of wronged souls are silently roaring in the depths of the earth.

After walking for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the view suddenly opened up before us.

A huge underground space, about half the size of a martial arts arena, appeared before the two of them.

At the center of the space stood a colossal altar carved from a single block of black basalt. The altar was covered with countless bizarre and twisted runes, forming a complex array that, even after thousands of years, continued to slowly rotate, radiating a chilling and eerie light.

Around the altar, the dark red ground was covered with countless names!

Thousands upon thousands, countless!
Each name is followed by its place of origin and date of birth.

"Wang Erhu, Yunzhou, the third year of the Kaiyuan era..."

"Zhao Sihai, Qingzhou, fifth year of Kaiyuan..."

Li Yuanhu glanced at it and felt as if his blood had frozen. He recognized the format; it was the army's "list of the dead"!
This place is actually a huge... military cemetery!

No, it's not even a tomb!

Their remains have probably long since become "nourishment" for this land!
Li Yuanhu's eyes were bloodshot, and his teeth were clenched so tightly they were grinding together.

Li Mengjin remained silent, his gaze fixed intently on the stone wall in the very center of the altar.

The stone walls there are not covered with names, but rather carved with a mural in the oldest seal script.

The content of the murals is shocking.

At the center of the painting is a figure wearing an imperial crown with a blurred face, who is none other than the founding emperor of the Great Yu Dynasty.

He held aloft a bronze sword stained with blood, its tip pointing straight to the sky.

At his feet lay a mountain of corpses, all soldiers dressed in the uniforms of the Great Yu army. Their blood flowed like a river, seeping into the runes of the altar.

At the end of the blood river, on the other side of the altar, a hideous, pitch-black dragon phantom with nine heads slowly rose from the blood river, opening its massive maw to greedily devour the boundless blood energy and resentment!

In the corner of the mural, there is a line of small characters written in blood, which, after a thousand years, still emit an ominous red light.

"With ten thousand troops as a sacrifice, I summon the vengeful dragons of the nine netherworlds to pacify our nation's destiny and ensure its eternal prosperity!"

Vengeful Dragon!

It really is a vengeful dragon!

The foundation of this dynasty was not some magnificent dragon aura, but a bloody pact with an evil dragon from the deepest abyss, a pact that used the lives of thousands of soldiers as sacrifices!
That so-called "Ten Thousand Souls Blood Crystal" was probably expelled by this vengeful dragon!
The "Dragon Blood Fruit" is an extremely poisonous fruit containing the aura of a vengeful dragon!
The royal family members have been taking it for years, and their fate is now inextricably linked to that of the evil dragon!
Just as the two were in shock, Li Mengjin's pupils suddenly contracted, and he grabbed Li Yuanhu, shouting, "Let's go!"

"boom!"

Before the words were finished, the runes on the entire altar suddenly lit up, and a torrent of resentment ten times stronger than before erupted from the mural like a volcanic eruption, transforming into an invisible giant hand that fiercely grabbed at the two of them!

This altar still retains a trace of the vengeful dragon's divine will; anyone who glimpses the truth will be annihilated by it!

Without a second thought, Li Mengjin swung his sword backhand and unleashed a devastating strike.

A sword curtain composed of countless fine sword energies instantly took shape, carrying the resolute determination to sweep away everything, and slashed fiercely at that giant hand of resentment!

"Hey!"

The giant hand of resentment was actually torn open by this sword curtain.

Li Mengjin groaned, a trickle of blood spilling from the corner of his mouth. Clearly, this hard-fought battle had caused him considerable internal injuries.

He dared not linger for a moment, grabbed Li Yuanhu, and transformed into a wisp of green smoke, rushing back into the tunnel they had come from without looking back.

Even after they emerged from the tunnel and breathed in the earthy air above ground, they still felt a lingering sense of unease.

At Tingtao Xiaozhu, after listening to the two people's descriptions and looking at the rubbings of the murals and blood-written words, Li Mengze's usually calm face finally showed an unprecedented solemnity.

"Sacrificing ten thousand troops, summoning the vengeful dragons of the nine netherworlds..." he murmured, a chilling glint in his eyes. "What a founding emperor! What a glorious and prosperous dynasty! This is not about protecting the nation's destiny; it is about kidnapping the entire dynasty and making it pay for his family's greed!"

The truth has come to light.

But what followed was a deeper despair.

What they were facing was not just a corrupt royal family, but a vengeful dragon from the deepest hell, whose fate was intertwined with that of the entire dynasty!

“National Sacrifice Ceremony…” Li Mengze’s gaze fell on the imperial calendar. The three large vermilion characters looked so ironic and bloody at this moment.

"That's probably not a sacrifice to the heavens, but... a sacrifice to the dragon!"

There is less than a month left.

In this oppressive atmosphere, an unexpected turn of events occurred.

Inside the Eastern Palace, the Crown Prince suddenly suffered a qi deviation during cultivation, causing his meridians to reverse and his dantian to shatter, destroying all his cultivation in an instant!
The news caused a national uproar!
At this critical juncture, the Crown Prince was deposed, which was tantamount to a violent earthquake in the court!

Everyone thought this was the Crown Prince's chance.

However, the emperor's next move surprised everyone.

Instead of appointing a new crown prince, he issued an imperial edict ordering the fifth prince to oversee the country and handle state affairs on his behalf.

At the same time, he announced that he would go into seclusion for meditation, fasting and bathing, to pray for the upcoming "National Sacrifice Ceremony," and that no one should disturb him.

"What is he trying to do?" In the study, Li Yuanhu was completely puzzled. "The Crown Prince has been deposed. Shouldn't he be supporting the First Prince to ascend the throne? Why is the Fifth Prince, who has the least presence in the country, being put in charge of the country?"

“He’s not choosing an heir.” Li Mengze looked out the window at the moon obscured by dark clouds, his voice icy. “He’s… choosing a sacrifice!”

Upon hearing this, both Li Yuanhu and Li Mengjin were startled.

“The Vile Dragon Contract must have its rules,” Li Mengze slowly analyzed. “I guess that each ‘National Protection Ceremony’ requires not only a massive amount of resentment as ‘food,’ but also a ‘Priest’ who possesses the imperial dragon aura to communicate with and appease the Vile Dragon. This person might have been the emperor himself in the past. But now, with the backlash from the ‘Ten Thousand Souls Blood Crystal’ growing stronger, he probably can no longer suppress it.”

"Therefore, he needs a new, sufficiently powerful sacrifice to take his place and bear the wrath of the vengeful dragon!"

"It's probably no accident that the Crown Prince went mad. The First Prince is too sharp and difficult to control. Only this Fifth Prince, who seems indifferent to worldly affairs but possesses pure dragon energy, is the most perfect... scapegoat!"

For the sake of their own immortality, and to maintain this bloody pact, they would not hesitate to push even their own sons onto the altar!

As for the Li family, the "Purifying Saintess" Li Mengyue, who was pushed to the forefront, is probably just another dessert used to appease the vengeful dragon in this bloody ceremony!
(End of this chapter)