Seeking Truth with a Sword

Chapter 720 - 650: Bestowing a Jade

The howling winds suddenly slowed, and the surging dark clouds stood still. All sounds in the world seemed to disappear, plunging into silence.

Horse head, serpent body, fish scales, lion’s mane, eagle claws...

The azure Canglong slowly peeked its head out from the clouds, opening its blood basin of a mouth. Only after several breaths passed did the smell of blood rush back with a fierce wind, and it was then that the people belatedly heard the drawn-out dragon roar alongside the piercing ringing in their ears.

CLANG!

The dragon claw swooped down from the sky, directly aiming at Zichen Palace.

The Prohibition burst forth with light, struggling to hold, but still unavoidably cracked, gradually breaking like a Glaze Glass vessel.

"Escort the Crown Prince to safety first!"

Yan Lin shouted, ready to drag Li Si toward the back of the hall.

Li Si wasn’t pulled away and remained standing in place. It was already too late to run. The azure dragon claw had pierced through the Prohibition and, taking advantage of the situation, forced open the dome of the palace.

Even if he could escape, it was impossible for the other princes and princesses to do the same.

There was only one path left.

Li Si picked up a piece of Ink Jade tied to his Die Xie waist belt with his left hand and with his right hand drew the Gold and Jade Dagger, stabbing fiercely towards the Jade Pendant.

BUZZ—

The moment the dagger’s tip slid across the pendant, an overwhelming force that couldn’t be resisted erupted from the Ink Jade, sweeping through the entire hall like a gust of wind.

BOOM!

Accompanied by a thunderous explosion, the dragon claw was repelled high into the air and fell back into the clouds. A pained dragon roar also emanated from the dark sky dome.

Li Si stood erect, the Ink Jade in his hand continuously releasing gentle breezes.

A familiar presence. It was the essence of Lian Xuanyao.

Yan Lin was stunned for a moment, then quickly realized. This Jade Pendant was clearly a legacy from the Mountain Master, left by Emperor Yu to the Crown Prince as the last means of defense during his departure from the city.

"Lian Xuanyao?..."

Gong Jinghao’s face twisted, "That old ghost, deader than dead, still haunting this place!"

COUGH COUGH—

Ji Xuezhen coughed violently, the piece of green tile, or rather Dragon Scale, in his hand already burnt to nothingness.

He immediately pressed his hand to his fractured left shoulder, sending numerous Mind Threads flying out of his sleeve and violently plunging into the broken flesh, crudely tying off the blood vessels to forcibly stop the bleeding.

"To tread the sky and venture the abyss, to stride boundlessly without direction, is Lin Yuan."

The pale-faced Ji Xuezhen stared intensely at the lingering breeze, murmuring softly, "In the whole of Yu Country, perhaps there is not a single Cultivator who can breach the protection of the Jade Pendant, right? No wonder, Your Highness, you are so confident.

However, this Jade Pendant must have its limits. Either the duration is limited, or the range is limited. Otherwise, you would have already taken people to scout the Imperial City’s situation and attempted to restore Chang’an’s Prohibition."

Holding the Ink Jade, Li Si remained silent, his mind rapidly calculating the comparative strengths of both sides.

Ji Xuezhen was right. The Jade Pendant left by the Mountain Master only lasted for approximately a quarter of an hour. During this time, it could nullify all attacks aimed at the holder, including Telekinesis Control Devices, talismans, Sword Intent, and even indescribable evil magic curses.

Any attack below the Near-Cliff Realm could not penetrate the protection of the Ink Jade.

If at this moment, Li Si handed the Jade Pendant to He Siping, or to Ren Xin and Pei Jing, would they be able to kill Gong Jinghao and Ji Xuezhen, and even... slay the dragon?

"Something’s not right."

Next to them, He Siping stared at the Canglong and suddenly changed his expression, voicing a warning.

It wasn’t just He Siping; Pei Jing and the others also noticed the anomaly.

The Dragon Horns atop the Canglong’s head grew ceaselessly, turning black and dripping foul-smelling wastewater, and the mane on the dragon’s back began to dissipate the same Light Dust as the Haotian believers on the ground.

A Dragon with horns, a Qiu without. The size of the Dragon Horns signifies the lifespan of the Dragon Species; they grow three feet every hundred years and cannot grow spontaneously.

What exists is reasonable. Pei Jing didn’t dwell on why a Dragon, thought to have long since been extinct, reappeared but recalled various materials read previously for the Academic Palace’s Hundred Beasts Studies paper and considered a possibility,

Unless, like those Haotian believers, it too consumed the Azure Spring Water, burning its Divine Soul as the price to overdraw its potential...

Those ordinary Haotian believers, who hadn’t studied a day at the Academic Palace and whose minds were filled with Haotian Classics, could, under the influence of Zhanquan Water, temporarily possess the power to contend with Cultivators.

What would a Dragon Species that roams the world become after drinking Zhanquan Water?

"Wuxu, Yichou, Ding Wei, Jiazi."

Ji Xuezhen rapidly recited a string of birth characters composed of celestial stems and earthly branches, raised his lone arm, and spread his palm wide, "I beseech the Dragon Lord to turn back and sever this deadly qi."

Hearing the old man’s cry, the Canglong suddenly turned its head, its pitch-black eyes gazing toward a certain part of the square.

Ren Xin, who was busy slaughtering Haotian believers and too preoccupied to notice anything else, subconsciously lifted his head, directly meeting the Canglong’s eyes.

SWISH— A streak of blood appeared out of nowhere on Ren Xin’s neck and extended from behind his neck.

Ren Xin’s eyes were full of confusion; he had no idea what was happening as his head, covered with bloodstained sweat, fell from his neck and thumped onto the ground.

Those strings of characters were his birthdate.

"Gengzi, Jichou, Gui Wei, Jiazi."

Ji Xuezhen looked forward, shouting again, "May the Dragon Lord turn back and sever this deadly qi!"

The Imperial Guard whose birthdate was announced drastically changed his expression. With a flourish of his sword dance, he repelled the encroaching Haotian believers while generating a gust beneath his feet, fleeing more than ten zhang in the blink of an eye, flying toward the palace.

But it was too late.

The Canglong’s gaze swept across, and the man’s head fell to the ground without causing a ripple.

Next were the third and fourth persons.

Whether it was the Dragon Clan’s word spirit or a curse, as soon as the birthdates of the Imperial Guards were announced, their heads fell to the ground one by one, and the Supervision Department cultivators, their faces hidden by bamboo hats, were not spared either.

Ji Xuezhen had spent over thirty years as the temple master of the Haotian Temple in Chang’an City. During that time, he had essentially watched several generations of Chang’an’s elite and Yu Country’s cultivators grow up. He was also renowned for his vast knowledge and photographic memory.

Secretly gathering information and recording the birthdates (Eight Characters) of Yu Country’s cultivators was not a difficult task for him.

Pei Jing felt a cold rage welling up inside him, and a chill spread throughout his body. He had faced life-and-death situations several times in the past and could accept being overpowered and killed by an enemy, but he could not accept being executed like this—without dignity or a chance to resist. He would rather die charging forward—

His Canghai Sword swept out like the wind, managing to carve a bloody path through the crowd as he charged directly towards Ji Xuezhen.

However, Ji Xuezhen did not spare him a glance. After killing the few Yu Country cultivators nearest to him, he left the rest for Gong Jinghao to deal with.

He looked toward the Zichen Palace and shouted, "Gengzi, Renwu, Xinyou, Gengwu. May the Dragon Lord turn back and sever this deadly qi!"

The mortals in the palace were already like startled birds. The young Prince whose birthdate was announced was terror-stricken. He had just taken two steps back when a bloodline appeared out of nowhere on his neck.

THUD!

The head fell to the ground, and the headless body staggered and collapsed, splashing dirty blood on the brocade hem of Li Si’s robes.

Even the blood of an imperial successor was just red.

"Gui Mao, Yimao, Jiaxu, Yihai. Gui Mao, Yimao, Wu Wu, Bing Yin."

The heads of two more imperial children, a prince and a princess, successively flew off, rolling and bumping against the bases of the columns.

"Hand over the Crown Prince, or you will all die!"

Ji Xuezhen threatened harshly, reporting another birthdate, "Wu Shen, Yimao, Ding Wei, Gui You."

These Eight Characters were precisely the birthdate of Princess Guanghua, the Emperor and Empress’s most beloved, whom Li Leqing was holding.

Without hesitation, the Crown Prince took two steps to the side and stuffed the Ink Jade into Princess Guanghua’s hand.

A bloodline appeared out of nowhere, but it only managed to make a cut less than an inch long, barely slicing the skin, failing to penetrate the entire neck.

It worked. The Ink Jade suppressed the Dragon Clan’s word spirit.

Ji Xuezhen’s face darkened, and he recited the curse again. This time, without Li Si’s reminder, Princess Guanghua had already pushed the Ink Jade into the hands of Li Leqing, whose birthdate was being recited.

"Everyone come closer."

Following Li Si’s words, the siblings gathered around, throwing and passing the Ink Jade to one another.

It was not all smooth sailing; even among blood relatives, there were varying degrees of closeness. Only those most intimate with each other knew one another’s birthdates, and thus, reminders were necessary from those aware.

The slightest delay meant a head falling to the ground.

PHEW—

The young Thirteenth Prince, Prince Xu, gratefully touched his intact neck. Upon hearing Ji Xuezhen’s voice from afar, he instinctively turned his head to survey his siblings and tossed the Jade Pendant in his hand to the one who had raised their hand.

CLACK.

The Ink Jade was caught and clutched tightly.

Prince Guang, the Ninth Prince Li Shan, looked at the warm Jade Pendant in his hand and let out a heavy, complicated breath.

He lowered his arm, gazing calmly at everyone in the palace, and said indifferently, "It’s over."

Over... what?

Prince Xu, who had thrown the Jade Pendant, looked on in a daze, unclear about what his elder brother was saying. Meanwhile, outside the great hall, Ji Xuezhen, who had just been sullen, suddenly quieted down, no longer reciting the word spirit.

"Over. All of this."

He Siping, standing beside the Crown Prince, took a step forward to stand beside Li Shan, a satisfied smile on his face. "Thank you, Crown Prince, for the jade."