novelnext Chapter 414 - 255: I Have Arrived Outside the Celestial Gate; Your Highness, Just Go All Out
Chapter 414 - 255: I Have Arrived Outside the Celestial Gate; Your Highness, Just Go All Out
’It’s this big, and it’s not even an adult?’
Lu Mingyuan wondered, utterly astonished.
The dragon’s body was so immense it obscured half the Imperial Palace, blotting out the sky. A single one of its eyes was as large as a great hall.
A person standing on its head would look like an ant.
’True Dragons are beings from before the Middle Ages, at the very least. They’re close relatives of many ancient behemoths whose bodies were like mountains and rivers. Thinking of it that way, it’s understandable.’
"If Your Highness requires it, I can tame this dragon."
"Really?"
Lu Mingyuan was overjoyed.
He hadn’t expected the Celestial Dragon Master to possess such a skill.
This dragon was truly worthy of its pure bloodline. Even as a juvenile, its aura was already approaching the Upper Three Grades, rivaling that of a Demon Emperor of the Demon Race.
Its Flesh Body was so tough that not even a Twelfth Realm Qi Cultivator could damage it.
Lu Mingyuan had tried many times to subdue the beast, to no avail. The main issue was that the Dragon Scales of the Dragon Race were among the hardest substances in the world.
If it could be forcibly tamed, nothing would be better.
"Of course. This humble Daoist has cultivated in the Dragon Valley for a hundred years. The Dragon Souls I’ve tamed number in the dozens, if not a hundred. A juvenile dragon like this is a small matter."
Not far away, the Celestial Dragon Master, clad in a purple Daoist Robe, stood atop a massive red-beaked white crane. His entire bearing was otherworldly and immaculate. He looked incredibly young and bore the mark of a Celestial Eye between his brows.
After they finished speaking, the Celestial Dragon Master took a small inkstone from his sleeve.
It was called the Dragon-slaying Platform.
This small piece was a priceless, long-lost Treasure.
Legend had it that the Dragon-slaying Platform was jade stained with the blood of a True Dragon. It had only grown more precious with the passage of time.
It could be used to forge all manner of Divine Weapons and Treasures.
The Celestial Dragon Master used his index finger as a brush to sketch out a cage that sealed off a portion of the world, imprisoning the True Dragon in the sky within that self-contained space.
Everyone has their own area of expertise.
When it came to dealing with the Dragon Race, the Celestial Dragon Master was undoubtedly the greatest expert.
In a few moments, the Demon Dragon in the sky grew quiet. Perhaps it sensed a familiar bloodline from the Dragon-slaying Platform, or perhaps the Celestial Dragon Master, being fluent in the dragon tongue, had managed to pacify it.
The situation instantly improved.
Even so, Emperor Yong’an was still making the battle more difficult.
He controlled the twelve Golden Armored Giants to trample the Cultivators below the Dragon Wall.
It was at this moment that Lu Mingyuan noticed it.
Amidst the shifting battlefield, an old eunuch quietly appeared.
"Can you handle it?"
The voice that reached Lu Mingyuan’s mind was like the gentle inquiry of a revered teacher asking, ’Do you understand?’ Yet it also carried the serene detachment of a thousand-year-old hermit, unperturbed by all worldly matters.
Despite the presence of so many masters, not one of them could intercept the transmission. Not a single one had even detected the old eunuch’s existence!
Lu Mingyuan shook his head. "I can handle this."
He was very strong now and had many subordinates; it wasn’t yet time for Wei the Ninth to intervene.
And yet, Wei the Ninth, worried for his safety, was already standing guard nearby.
The gesture warmed his heart.
Looking at the Sixth Prince who had grown so much, Wei the Ninth gave a faint smile.
It was a smile of both relief and wistful sentiment.
In any case, he saw a shadow of his former self in Lu Mingyuan.
He had initially taken an interest in Lu Mingyuan’s potential not only to borrow his Destiny,
but also because of the young Prince’s vow to endure thirty years of humiliation in the Cold Palace.
He saw his past self in the boy—a man who had hidden in the Cold Palace for centuries, only to end up utterly alone.
’I became invincible, yes, but what was the point?’
He didn’t want to see a similar tragedy befall Lu Mingyuan.
「At this very moment.」
Zhao Xuanwu, leading the Sword Cultivators of the Dao Alliance, had already conquered the First Floor of White Jade Capital.
Rage burned in Emperor Yong’an’s heart.
’At every turn, someone stands in my way.’
’I refuse to believe the Three Religions aren’t plotting behind the scenes.’
’The Three Religions have been working against me from the very beginning.’
’So they chose a proxy to come and destroy me!’
’The Three Religions and the Court ruling the world together!’
’It’s all a lie!’
’I will create a world without the Three Religions, a Great Yan Dynasty free from their interference, where my word alone is law!’
’Not a world where I am shackled by them at every turn!’
Emperor Yong’an had clearly lost his earlier composure and had become extremely irascible.
He couldn’t be blamed. Lu Mingyuan’s current power and influence were not something one or two trump cards could overturn.
Academy Great Scholars, Great Powers from various sects, and Confucian Temple Saints were all watching to see how this would end.
’What a bunch of ungrateful bastards!’
’To think I valued Confucianism so much, promoted the Confucian Dao, and in the end, the Confucian Temple actually chose to remain neutral!’
The Buddhist Buddha, the Confucian Temple Saint, and the Daoist Ancestor Master—the reason they didn’t personally move against Emperor Yong’an was their fear of the terrifying backlash from the Great Yan Celestial Mandate.
’They could only choose Lu Mingyuan, the heir who enjoys popular support, to overthrow me as a matter of course!’
Having understood everything, Emperor Yong’an snorted coldly. "Buddha, Li Sheng, Yuqing Ancestor Master! Since you are all determined to see Us fall and stand idly by, then don’t blame Us for being ruthless!"
An extremely terrifying Demonic Qi erupted from his body.
The black Divine Pearl in a secret chamber deep within the Imperial Palace began to emit a black, corrosive light, blooming like a Nether Moon.
Demon Patterns swarmed across Emperor Yong’an’s neck. A monstrous amount of Dragon Qi surged from the Underground Dragon Vein and poured into the Demon Patterns. It was like a sacrificial ritual, creating a bizarre and terrifyingly evil power out of thin air that caused the Great Flame Dragon Wall to nearly shatter.
A pillar of Destiny light was seen rising straight into the heavens.
Then a black vortex appeared in the sky.
Immediately after, a huge pillar of light symbolizing the Celestial Dao descended with shocking violence. It was so fast that even if Lu Mingyuan fled at full speed, he could not escape the cage forged by the Ancient God Power.
Facing the Divine Punishment that the Ancient God sent down using Emperor Yong’an’s own Dragon Fortune as a sacrifice, Lu Mingyuan was forced to one knee, unable to even lift his head.
The power of this light pillar was equivalent to a dozen or so supreme masters—Twelfth Realm experts like Jiang Shan and Zhong Yuli who were half a step into the Upper Three Grades—attacking him simultaneously.
After a painful struggle, Lu Mingyuan’s consciousness began to fade, and his life flashed before his eyes.
The last time that had happened was inside the Grand Thousand Canglan Map.
He recalled that night on the Great Snowfield during the Banquet of Ten Thousand Nations, when he had saved a snow-white Daoist Nun. Back then, Yun Qinghe, still a cold and aloof Fairy, was wrapped in a cotton-padded jacket. She had looked at the Sixth Prince, who was sitting by the fire in Qingzhu Hall, and asked:
"You’re the Sixth Prince? Why didn’t you say so earlier? It’s just... you don’t look anything like a Prince. Are you even cut out for it?"
"Who knows? As long as I’m alive, that’s enough. Why do you care so much?"
The memory of Yun Qinghe’s flustered expression was still vivid.
He also recalled Lu Yunqing, outside the Cold Palace gate, sitting before him with a dead-serious expression, saying she wanted to rescue him from the palace.
The figures of his mother, Wang Zhaoyan, his maternal grandfather, Wang He’fu, and Qi Muxue flashed through his mind one by one.
In that instant, Lu Mingyuan’s consciousness returned. He slowly straightened his back, forcing his body upright inch by painful inch. He gritted his teeth and muttered to himself, "After coming this far, how can I possibly lose?"
Seeing this, the Holy Nether Ancient God, which had absorbed Great Yan’s Fortune, also grew angry and increased the pressure of the light pillar. But even so, despite his body swaying several times, Lu Mingyuan kept forcing himself to stand!
He threw his head back, took a deep breath, and roared, "Wei the Ninth!"
Upon hearing his name, Wei the Ninth simply gave a faint smile.
No longer concealing his aura, he transformed into a rainbow streak of light and soared into the sky, breaking through the clouds.
He arrived in an instant, streaking toward the high heavens and smashing a fist into the Demon Cloud Divine Shadow.
This single punch was the pinnacle of the Mortal World’s Martial Dao. Any Martial Artist in the world who witnessed this man’s Martial Dao could only look up and bow their head in submission.
In a flash,
the illusory image of the Ancient God, projected by the black Divine Pearl after it absorbed the Power of National Destiny, was shattered by Wei the Ninth’s punch.
From the far reaches of the sky, Wei the Ninth’s hearty laughter rang out:
"I am here."
"This old one is already outside the Celestial Gate. Your Highness may fight without restraint."
The old eunuch of the Cold Palace, Wei the Ninth, had ascended step by step to the heavens, arriving outside the Celestial Gate!
After hearing this, Lu Mingyuan let out a soft breath, as if exhaling all the pent-up frustration from his years of forbearance in the Cold Palace—the bitterness of Sleeping on Firewood and Tasting Gall, and the humiliation of endless scorn.
He laughed heartily and responded, "Good!"
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