Druid Fairy

Chapter 212 Purple Dragon Soul Jade

"No!"

Qian Tianjue let out a terrified scream. He felt as if the life force within him was being drained away like a floodgate being opened!
The shadow of death loomed over him like never before. As the most favored prince of the Great Qian Dynasty, he was burdened with the mandate of heaven. How could he die here in such a pathetic way?

Just as that wisp of death was about to completely extinguish his life force, a dragon-shaped purple-gold jade pendant worn on his chest suddenly burst forth with a dazzling purple light!
"hold head high!"

A high-pitched and resounding dragon roar echoed throughout the heavens and earth.

A purple dragon shadow, even more domineering than the imperial dragon aura used by the previous emperor, soared into the sky from the jade pendant, coiling in front of Qian Tianjue and forming an indestructible barrier.

This is the "Purple Dragon Soul Jade" personally crafted by the founding emperor of the Great Qian Dynasty. It contains a wisp of dragon vein soul connected to the fate of the Great Qian Dynasty and is the most supreme protective treasure bestowed upon the heir. It can only be used once in a lifetime.

That wisp of deathly aura silently imprinted itself on the purple dragon shadow.

Amidst the horrified gazes of the court officials, the majestic dragon shadow began to dim at a visible speed, its purple scales peeling away piece by piece, its divine light rapidly fading, and finally losing all its color completely.

Although Qian Tianjue himself escaped death by sheer luck, he paid a heavy price.

His long hair turned gray from the roots at a visible speed, and in the blink of an eye, it was half white.

His once handsome face was now covered with wrinkles, and he seemed to have lost ten years of his lifespan in an instant, his aura extremely weak.

"Pfft!" Qian Tianjue spat out a mouthful of blood and staggered backward.

"Do you still want my Dao Fruit now?" Li Mengze's voice was still gentle, but to Qian Tianjue, it was more terrifying than the Nine Netherworlds.

"let's go!"

Without any further hesitation or wishful thinking, Qian Tianjue crushed a teleportation jade talisman, and a spatial ripple enveloped him, Elder Xuan, and the remaining members of the delegation.

At the last moment, he gave Li Mengze a look of resentment and fear.

With a flash of light, the figures of the Great Qian delegation disappeared into the Golden Palace.

As they left, the suffocating, oppressive atmosphere in the hall finally dissipated.

"Long live my emperor! Long live!"

"Academician Li's divine might is unparalleled, protecting our Great Yu!"

At this moment, they truly understood why the Imperial Advisor had said that as long as Li Mengze successfully emerged from seclusion, the Great Yu would have a true guardian deity.

Such methods, capable of deciding life and death with a mere flick of the wrist and repelling enemies in the imperial court, have long exceeded the realm of comprehension.

Beside the dragon throne, behind the beaded curtain, the Empress Dowager's hand, which had been tightly gripping the armrest until her knuckles turned white, finally slowly loosened.

"Big brother!" Li Mengjin flashed to his brother's side, carefully examining him, afraid that he might do something wrong.

Li Mengze smiled at him, indicating that he was fine. Then he nodded slightly in the direction of the Empress Dowager and the young emperor, and with a flicker, he disappeared from the spot, leaving only one sentence echoing in the hall.

"I will handle the border matters myself."

…………

Tingtao Xiaozhu (Listening to the Waves Cottage)

When Li Mengze reappeared, Li Mengyue and Daoist Qingxu, who had been waiting there, immediately came forward to greet him.

"Brother, are you okay?"

Li Mengyue's small face was filled with worry. The aura of life and death just now, though only fleeting, still made her heart tremble.

"Don't worry, it's been completely refined." Li Mengze rubbed his sister's head and transferred a pure life essence into her body to help nourish her soul, which had been damaged by activating the power of the Taiyin God.

Li Mengyue felt a warm current envelop her entire body, sweeping away the weariness that came from the depths of her soul, and she became radiant.

"Good lad, you've really given this humble Taoist a wonderful surprise."

Master Qingxu stroked his long beard, circled Li Mengze a few times, and clicked his tongue in amazement, "Life and death, reincarnation, prosperity and decline in a single thought, a unique path. His future achievements are limitless, truly limitless!"

"You flatter me, Grand Preceptor." Li Mengze smiled modestly, then his expression turned serious. "Although Qian Tianjue was frightened away, he will never let this go. The 300,000 troops on the border are still a sword hanging over our heads."

"good."

Qingxu nodded. "Qian Tianjue is a man who holds grudges. He suffered such a great loss at your hands today, and when he returns, he will surely use the power of the entire Great Qian Dynasty to retaliate."

“Therefore, we must take the initiative.” A glint of wisdom flashed in Li Mengze’s eyes. “Simply defending will only trap us. I need to go to the border.”

"You're going to face an army of 300,000 men all by yourself?" Li Mengjin frowned deeply.

“No.” Li Mengze shook his head and looked at Daoist Qingxu: “Grand Preceptor, how long will it take to complete the ‘Ziwei Guardian Array’ in the capital?”

"The materials are ready, and it should be able to start operating in about ten days," Qingxu replied.

“Alright.” Li Mengze nodded. “Then I will stay in the capital for the next ten days to assist the Grand Preceptor and consolidate my newly broken-through realm. After ten days, I will set off for Blackwater Pass.”

…………

The next ten days.

In the imperial court, under the joint efforts of the Empress Dowager and the Duke of Zhenguo, a series of policies to allow the people to recuperate and rejuvenate were quickly implemented, and the entire dynasty showed a vibrant new look.

Tingtao Xiaozhu and the Imperial Preceptor's Mansion became the two places with the richest spiritual energy in the entire capital.

Li Mengze shared his understanding of the laws of heaven and earth with Master Qingxu without reservation, allowing them to verify each other's insights.

One was a druidic practitioner who had mastered the laws of life and death, and the other was an expert in the celestial arts of the universe. Through their exchanges, they both benefited greatly.

With the help of Li Mengze's immense life force, the "Ziwei Guardian Array," which originally required ten days to complete, was finished ahead of schedule in just seven days.

The moment the grand formation was completed, an invisible starlight barrier, centered on the imperial palace, suddenly unfolded, enveloping the entire capital.

Meanwhile, Li's younger siblings also benefited greatly during these seven days.

Li Mengze personally used the "Withering and Flourishing" Daoist technique to refine Li Mengjin's sword heart.

He infused his sharp and powerful sword domain with a sense of the cycle of life and death, making his swordsmanship no longer simply "static," but adding a flavor of "ending" and "rebirth," thus enhancing its power.

He then guided Li Mengyue to combine the purifying power of the Taiyin Sacred Body with the life force in his Daoist temple.

The interplay of Yin and Yang, life and purity, allowed Li Mengyue to comprehend the first innate divine power of the Taiyin Sacred Body ahead of schedule—"Moonlight Canopy," which can not only purify evil spirits but also heal injuries and soothe the soul.

As for Li Yuanhu and the "Immortal Slayer Guards," Li Mengze directly implanted a "Seed of Life" containing a portion of the power of the Dao Fruit into the dragon vein node beneath the military camp. Now, the Immortal Slayer Guards no longer need to rely on the "Blood Burning Returning Origin Array," which depletes their life force.

They only need to cultivate in the camp to be constantly nourished by the life force, and their physique and cultivation will improve by leaps and bounds.

Li Mengze even tailored a combined attack formation for them called "Ten Thousand Trees in Full Bloom". The combined energy of the three thousand people can be transformed into an ancient war tree, integrating offense and defense, with boundless power.

Only after doing all this did Li Mengze finally feel relieved.

The seventh day, night.

"Brother, be careful on your journey to the border." Li Mengjin's voice was still concise, but his eyes were filled with deep concern.

"Brother, I'll wait for you to come back." Li Mengyue's eyes reddened as she hung a talisman she had woven herself, imbued with the power of Yin, around Li Mengze's neck.

Li Mengze smiled and agreed to each one. Finally, his gaze fell on Daoist Qingxu.

"Grand Preceptor, the Great Qian Dynasty is coming on strong this time. Behind it, it is probably not just the ambition of a single dynasty."

Qingxu's expression also became solemn: "That's right. I observed the stars last night and discovered that the fortune of the Eastern Region is undergoing drastic changes. That Qian Tianjue has probably reached some kind of agreement with a reclusive immortal cultivation sect in the Eastern Region. He wants your 'Dao Fruit' as a 'pledge of allegiance' for himself."

Upon hearing this, Li Mengze's eyes showed not fear, but rather a fighting spirit.

Qingxu took out a palm-sized star chart from his sleeve and handed it to him. "This is the 'Mother-Child Star Compass.' You take the child compass, and I will take the mother compass. If you encounter a powerful enemy that you cannot handle, immediately activate this compass, and I will be able to sense your location and go to help you."

"Thank you, Imperial Preceptor." Li Mengze solemnly accepted the astrolabe.

Having explained everything, he no longer hesitated, clasped his hands in a fist salute to the crowd, turned around, and took a step forward.

There were no magical artifacts beneath his feet, nor did he unleash any earth-shattering magical power.

But as he took that step, the space beneath his feet rippled with a vibrant green, like the surface of a calm lake.

The next moment, his figure merged into the ripples and disappeared without a trace, as if he had never existed.

"Is this shrinking the earth to an inch? No, this is a more advanced spatial technique!" Master Qingxu's pupils shrank as he watched this scene, his face filled with shock.

He then realized that he seemed to have underestimated the transformation that the "Life and Death Dao Fruit" would bring to Li Mengze.

…………

The Great Yu Dynasty, on the northwestern border, at Heishui Pass.

This place is constantly battered by howling winds and sandstorms, making for an extremely harsh environment.

But at this moment, the once boundless desert outside this formidable pass is now covered by an endless array of camps.

The 300,000-strong Great Qian Armored Army, their black armor like a forest, their swords and spears like mountains, their combined iron-blooded aura soaring into the sky, even staining the clouds with an ominous dark red.

Inside the central command tent, a general clad in heavy armor, with a cold and stern face, was looking at the sand table with a furrowed brow.

He was the commander of this army, the Grand Marshal of the Great Qian Army, Yuchi Gong.

Just then, a disheveled figure lifted the tent flap and stumbled in.

"Your Highness the Crown Prince?" Yuchi Gong was taken aback when he recognized the person.

At this moment, Qian Tianjue was no longer the spirited man he had been before.

His hair was half white, his face was ashen, and his breath was extremely weak, as if he had just recovered from a serious illness.

"Marshal Yuchi, there's no need for such formalities."

Qian Tianjue waved his hand, walked straight to the main seat and sat down, his eyes burning with humiliation and resentment. "My plan has failed. That Li Mengze has successfully refined the Dao Fruit!"

"What?" Upon hearing this, Yuchi Gong's expression changed.

"However, this also proves the value of that Dao Fruit!" Qian Tianjue's voice became somewhat hysterical. "Marshal Yuchi, immediately issue the order: the entire army is on high alert. We will attack the city first thing tomorrow morning!"

"Your Highness, you must not!" Yuchi Gong hurriedly dissuaded him. "Our army has come from afar and has not yet established a firm foothold. Moreover, Blackwater Pass is easy to defend and difficult to attack. If we launch a strong attack, our army will surely suffer heavy losses!"

"I will launch a full-scale attack!"

Qian Tianjue slammed his fist on the table and roared, "I will use the lives of these 300,000 soldiers to test Li Mengze's bottom line! To deplete his strength! As long as it creates even the slightest chance for the immortals of the 'Tianxuan Sect,' it will be worth it even if all 300,000 of them die!"

He has completely gone mad, using these 300,000 elite troops as bargaining chips for his revenge.

Looking at the eldest prince, who seemed to have gone mad, Yuchi Gong felt a deep chill run down his spine.

Just then, the violent sandstorm outside the tent stopped without warning.

Not only the sandstorm, but even the clouds in the sky, which were stained red by the malevolent energy, stopped moving.

The whole world seemed to fall into an eerie silence.

"What's going on?" Yuchi Gong felt a strong sense of alarm and rushed out of the tent.

The next moment, he witnessed a scene that he would never forget for the rest of his life.

On the black earth, amidst the sand beneath the feet of the 300,000-strong army, countless emerald green shoots were breaking through the soil at an incredible speed!

They grow against the wind, and in the blink of an eye, they grow from tender shoots into vines, into shrubs, and into towering trees!
In just a few dozen breaths, this iron-blooded military camp, shrouded in death and malevolent energy, was completely replaced by a vast, boundless primeval forest brimming with endless vitality!
Those cold weapons and sturdy armor were as fragile as rotten wood in the face of these seemingly delicate plants.

Countless soldiers were entangled by the wildly growing vines and lifted into the air by the tree roots that broke through the ground. The entire army formation was completely disintegrated in an instant!

This is not a massacre, yet it is more shocking than any massacre!
"He's here!" Qian Tianjue stumbled out of the tent, terrified by the miraculous scene before him.

In the center of the forest, atop the tallest ancient tree of life, Li Mengze's figure quietly appeared.

He stood with his hands behind his back, his blue robe swaying gently in the breeze, his gaze calmly surveying the chaotic army of 300,000 below.

"Put down your weapons, take off your armor, and leave. I'm only giving you one day."

“One day from now, this forest will become the graveyard of all of you.”

After he finished speaking, he said no more and just stood there quietly, as if he had become one with the entire forest.

In the blink of an eye, the world can change.

(End of this chapter)