chsdbacks Chapter 116: Royal City
Chapter 116: Royal City
The surrounding mist, along with the special power contained within it, was absorbed into the middle-aged man's body, propelling his oppressive aura to rise steadily.
After climbing to a critical point, a golden chain suddenly emerged from the mist in the sky and wrapped around the middle-aged man's body.
The moment it was imprisoned by chains, the power that was about to break through the critical point suddenly dropped and was reduced to its original form.
"Failed again. There's no opening in the seal of the Chen position." The middle-aged man sighed, revealing an unremarkable face. He deliberately dispersed the power he had absorbed, causing his cultivation level to drop.
Then, the golden chains slowly retracted and disappeared into the mist.
"Where exactly is the other loophole in the seal?" He frowned in thought.
Just then, a ripple suddenly appeared in the space behind them.
Sensing the fluctuation, he turned around, raised his hand and opened a black hole in front of him, then stepped into it.
click-
Above Lingchuan County, a swirling black cloud obscured the sun. A palace floated suspended deep within the swirling cloud.
The blue ox lay listlessly on the ground in the middle of the palace, its head slightly dented, one of its crescent-shaped horns nowhere to be seen, leaving only a bleeding hole.
Seeing the figure emerge from the black hole, Qingniu burst into tears, tears the size of cartwheels streaming down his face.
"Master, I was beaten by Zhang Ping! He even pulled out one of my horns! If it weren't for the treasure you bestowed upon me, the old ox would never have come back."
The blue ox cried and crawled over with its massive body, hundreds of meters long, like a child who had been bullied by outsiders and was going to complain to its parents.
The Demon Lord shook his head, raised his hand, and released a black mist that enveloped the Green Ox.
As the squeaking sound rang out and the black mist dissipated, the Green Ox's injuries had vanished without a trace. Only one of its two crescent-shaped horns remained, looking somewhat incongruous.
"Didn't I tell you last time not to provoke Zhang Ping if you run into him?" The Demon Lord walked down the steps and came to the Green Ox.
The enormous blue ox, measuring over 100 meters in length, began to shrink rapidly, becoming the size of a normal domestic ox.
The Demon Lord patted the green ox on the head reproachfully.
The green ox felt somewhat aggrieved. "I was guarding the Hengduan Mountains as my master instructed. Zhang Ping wanted to go over, so I stopped him. I didn't expect him to be so greedy and take a liking to my Xuanhuang crescent horns, which I had cultivated. Fortunately, I had the Zhengyang Ring bestowed by my master, which allowed me to escape."
"Is that so? He went to the Southern Frontier?" A slight ripple appeared on the Demon Lord's calm face.
Inside the pitch-black hall, a crack suddenly appeared on the side. A silver giant stepped in.
"Demon Lord!" Sha Kui knelt on one knee and said.
"Take men and head to southern Xinjiang to support Black Tiger and ensure the recovery plan proceeds smoothly."
"Yes, sir!"
Sha Kui bowed and left. The Demon Lord glanced at the Green Ox and said, "Take good care of your injuries."
Then, it disappeared.
......
The capital city of the Southern Frontier, atop the sacred mountain.
There are no magnificent palaces on the holy mountain; all the buildings are constructed from a purplish-black wood.
The purplish-black wood emitted a pleasant fragrance, and countless small insects fluttered between the buildings.
Inside the largest building, people were constantly coming and going.
In the pitch-black night, a figure silently bypassed all the guards, both visible and invisible, on the sacred mountain, hiding within the dense canopy of a large tree beside the building. Gu worms occasionally flew by, but they all ignored the figure's presence.
This is the hidden power of the spirit fox.
Zhang Ping's gaze swept over the crowd coming and going, and a thought struck him: "This should be the main hall. I wonder if the Southern Border Princess is still here."
The royal family of Southern Xinjiang is unique; to maintain the purity of their bloodline, they choose endogamy. Furthermore, due to this special bloodline, every queen of Southern Xinjiang has been a woman. The queen governs Southern Xinjiang by wielding Gu worms.
Each generation of Southern Xinjiang Kings would select the woman with the purest bloodline from the royal family to be the Southern Xinjiang Princess, who would then become the next Southern Xinjiang King, and would be taught the art of Gu insects.
The King and Princess of Southern Xinjiang in this generation are quite special, as they are a biological mother and daughter.
If Zhang Ping wanted to refine the essence gu, the King of Southern Xinjiang was the best choice, not only because his gu-refining skills were the strongest; more importantly, he held Miao Caiyan's jade pendant in his hand, which was a dowry given to Miao Caiyan by her sister, the current King of Southern Xinjiang, when she got married, and it was also a token of the Southern Xinjiang royal family.
Given the current crisis in southern Xinjiang, it might not be of any use for Zhang Ping to take this jade pendant to other members of the royal family.
With the King of Southern Frontier away on campaigns, the princess he left behind became his best target for contact.
At that moment, a voice entered Zhang Ping's ears.
"Princess, the King was ambushed by demons at the front and is seriously wounded. He is retreating to the rear. We must deploy the city's defenses before the King returns to the capital." The voice was old.
Inside the wooden house, a girl of about fifteen or sixteen years old sat worriedly on a futon. She was dressed in elaborate clothing bearing the unique insignia of the Southern Frontier royal family.
"Grandma Hong, is Mother badly injured? Wasn't she...?"
The old woman opposite shook her head. "I don't know what the demons are planning, but they actually drove the traitors from the Eastern Territory to fight against the king, and then stood by and watched after the king was seriously injured."
"His Majesty is not in immediate danger. However, Princess, you must follow His Majesty's orders and quickly summon all the warriors in the capital to prepare for the final battle."
"I understand." Miao Lele nodded, pursing her lips.
After the old woman left, Miao Lele stayed alone in the room, and could no longer hold back her tears, which welled up in her eyes.
"Mother... what should I do?"
Seemingly sensing the girl's confusion and disorientation, the Gu insects that had been hovering around her flapped their wings and began to fly around her, buzzing and accompanied by flashing colored lights, as if trying to comfort her.
Just then, one of the insects suddenly stopped and transformed into a long rainbow that shot towards the door of the wooden house!
"The Flowing Light Gu?" Miao Lele raised her hand in confusion to stop her.
Just as the Flowing Light Gu was about to destroy the wooden door, it was intercepted by a giant hand that appeared out of nowhere.
A figure suddenly appeared in the room.
"Interesting, this little bug actually detected my presence?"
The newcomer was dressed in a black outfit with gold trim, tall and straight, with a hint of interest on his not-so-handsome face.
He was holding a small, bright green insect between his index finger and thumb. The shimmering light emanating from the insect's body was enveloped by a black aura, making it difficult to break free.
Upon seeing the man who had suddenly appeared, Miao Lele's face changed drastically. Without saying a word, she raised her hand and unleashed a swarm of pitch-black Gu worms!
The swarming worms, dense and numerous, rushed towards Zhang Ping like a dark cloud!
Zhang Ping was taken aback by Miao Lele's decisiveness. A hint of surprise flashed across his eyes, followed by a soft chuckle.
The attacking Gu worms instantly exploded and died.
"I see. It seems that the so-called Southern Frontier Gu worms are nothing more than domesticated and bred insect-like beasts used to defend against enemies."
After realizing that these Gu worms were essentially no different from ordinary alien beasts, Zhang Ping shook his head with slight disappointment.
Witnessing her Gu worms being so easily killed by Zhang Ping, Miao Lele's pupils shrank slightly, and she trembled as she tried to break through the wooden house to escape.
Just as she was about to turn around, she suddenly realized that she couldn't move her body! She tried desperately to move her body, but her flesh and blood were as still as if frozen, and there was even a faint sign of her losing control and backfiring.
Fear gripped her instantly, and Miao Lele's voice trembled: "Who are you? Someone sent from the Eastern Border?"