Chapter 493: Dragon Formation [Two in One]

The wind was strong, rolling over the barren rocky hills, making a roaring sound between the ridges. The mountains were desolate, without a trace of green grass or trees, and filled with a bleak and dead air in the dusk.

This is Northwestern Liangzhou, the poorest place among the Nine Provinces.

Decades ago, when Yin State and Yang State were still able to trade, Liangzhou, as the only way through, was once prosperous. Its wealth was even second only to Zhongzhou and Dongzhou, ranking among the top three.

But later, the Northwest War broke out, and Liangzhou was devastated, with nine out of ten houses deserted, leaving only the reputation of being brave and valiant.

After the victory of the Yin Kingdom in this battle, Emperor Mubei exempted Liangzhou from taxes for three years to allow the people to rest and recuperate. But after that, the army marched south to destroy the country, and the money and food were unsustainable, and the treasury was seriously empty.

At this critical juncture, the officials in charge of Liangzhou, in order to show their political achievements, continued to pay taxes as in previous years, and claimed that the reconstruction of Liangzhou had been effective and the people had already returned to their previous living standards.

The imperial court was naturally happy to receive money for the war, but those taxes were levied by force and extortion. In order to win credit for one person, they really squeezed every last drop of blood out of Liangzhou.

The people of Liangzhou, who had no way to survive, revolted in anger. Even though the imperial court executed all the officials, it still could not calm their anger. The Bashan uprising intensified and once approached the border of Zhongzhou, threatening the safety of the capital.

Later, it was Tang Wei who led his troops to suppress the expansion of Bashan and turned the situation into what it is today.

Not far from the Liangzhou military town, there is a Huanfeng Ridge, which has a unique terrain and strong winds on all sides, making it difficult for pedestrians and merchants to avoid it. One of the nine dragon-raising formations built by the Confucian sage for the Yin Kingdom is located in this mountain.

The flags were fluttering, but there were no soldiers guarding the mountain. There were only three figures standing on the top of the mountain.

The first person had long hair flying in the wind, holding a golden bowl in his hand, with a divine light in his eyes that pierced through heaven and earth, and his robe fluttering high. It was the national teacher Li Longchan.

Behind him, two disciples, Du Jian and Liu Deng'er, stood solemnly.

The surging dragon energy in the valley washed over the mountain wall, shocking them every time, and leaving them speechless. The power of creation hidden in this formation was completely beyond their imagination!

Li Longchan pointed his left hand toward the sky, made hand gestures and chanted a spell in mid-air, then shouted, "Open!"

click-

There was a thunder in the void that shook the world, and a faint golden light separated from below. It seemed that infinite spiritual power was gushing out, making it difficult for people to breathe.

In a moment, the sound of a dragon's roar was heard.

"Hmm..." A shocking sound was heard, with hidden anger. "The formation gathers the earth veins, there is no danger of destroying the country, who dares to move lightly?"

"I, the National Master of Dayin, have come here on the order of the Emperor. I hope the Dragon Clan Venerable will not blame me." Li Longchan spoke politely, and kept making hand gestures with his left hand, waving it in the air. Rays of golden light escaped into the bowl on the palm of his hand, and then a waterfall of light fell to the ground, covering the entire formation.

"How dare you!" The real dragon in the formation suddenly became angry.

The nine real dragons have been guarding the Jiuzhou formation for hundreds of years. They rely on the spiritual energy of the earth's veins to practice, and also help the Yin Kingdom stabilize the dragon energy. It is a win-win situation that complements each other.

At this moment, the formation suddenly opened, and the dragon energy began to flow like a river again, and it would dissipate sooner or later.

It was already unhappy about being disturbed in its meditation and wanted to seek an explanation from the imperial court, but it didn't expect Li Longchan to use his magical powers again to suppress it!
The golden light came to his body, and it was too late to escape. The mist in the formation parted, revealing a huge real dragon body that spanned the mountains, and its bright yellow scales reflected the skylight. At this moment, the dragon body struggled violently, shaking the earth and changing the color of the sky and the earth!
Du Kan stared with wide eyes at the scene in front of him and couldn't help feeling frightened.

He only knew that his master was very powerful, but he had no idea how powerful he was. After all, his own strength was far from that level.

At this moment, seeing that the legendary real dragon was unable to escape from the master's palm and had no choice but to be suppressed, the shock was indeed quite strong.

Du Jian even began to doubt whether his decision to join Liang Fuguo was correct.

Judging from Master's cultivation level, his position in the Yin Dynasty seems to be unbreakable.

Even if you lose the Holy Favor, the most you can do is just leave the Divine Capital.

It was as if there was a blade of grass in his heart, which gradually fell to the other side as the strong wind blew.

Lei Zhen's previous fate had already shaken him, and now seeing his master's dragon-subduing skills with his own eyes was like the last straw that broke the camel's back.

"Ah--" The real dragon roared, but it was of no avail. The moment the light of the golden bowl fell on its body, its fate was doomed.

This golden bowl is also a magical weapon that is famous on the list of immortal objects. When used in Li Longchan's hands, it has the power to suppress mountains and seas, and even gods and demons can hardly escape!

As the golden light gradually converged, the real dragon became smaller and smaller, until it was finally only a few inches long and was held in the mouth of the bowl, unable to escape.

"This matter needs to be kept secret for the time being. Please stay in my bowl for a while. I will personally apologize in the future." Li Longchan said lightly, flicked his sleeves, and put away the golden bowl.

"Ugh——" The last sound left by the real dragon was a roar.

Although Du Jian couldn't understand the language of the dragon clan, he could tell from their emotions that the curses were quite dirty.

After suppressing the real dragon, Li Longchan waved his sleeves and cast a spell again. A series of loud explosions suddenly erupted in the valley below. The mountain on one side was blown away and almost razed to the ground.

"My two disciples, follow me back to the capital with the formation flags in your hands. We will plant a flag every hundred miles." Li Longchan's clone emerged and led the way in front with a gesture.

How dare the two disciples disobey? They immediately followed and planted the battle flag at a calculated distance.

But while Du Jian was doing it, he was wondering in his heart, why did Master look so weird in doing this?

Originally, the real dragon locked the earth veins, and everything was fine. But they insisted on taking the real dragon away, which also led to the dragon energy that had been nurtured for many years, just like changing the course of a river and leading it to the capital of gods. What was they trying to do?
This dragon energy is not like the spiritual energy of ordinary earth veins, which may not be regenerated after thousands of years. If it is led away without leaving a trace, won't Liangzhou be hit by frequent natural disasters in the future?
"Follow me!" Li Longchan's clear voice came from the front.

Du Jian's body trembled suddenly, and he quickened his pace to plant the flags. According to the speed of this formation to attract the dragon, it would take them nearly two days to attract the dragon energy to the capital.

Liu Deng'er's eyes sparkled as he looked back at the Liangzhou area, with a hint of excitement in his eyes.

……

"Still not here?"

Liang Yue was lying on a distant rooftop, looking at the shop opposite, feeling a little bored as he waited.

He had been waiting here since he sold the Dragon-Calling Incense to that store. He guessed that since the buyer had collected all the Dragon-Calling Incense in Shendu, his price must be much higher than the market price. After the store received the new Dragon-Calling Incense, it must have found a way to send it to the customer.

If he asked directly, the store owner might not dare to reveal the buyer's information due to the threat, and he might even be retaliated against. But this way, he hooked it out.

After receiving the dragon-attracting incense, a young man from the shop owner did run out from the back door, seemingly in a hurry to deliver a message.

But a whole day passed, it was already dark, and still no one came to pick it up.

I waited until the moon was at its highest point in the sky and the shop had already closed. Finally, a dark shadow walked out of the dark alley, walked silently to the outside of the shop, knocked on the door, and was welcomed in by the shop owner.

After a moment, the shop owner sent the person out again with a respectful look on his face.

It seems this is it.

The long wait finally paid off. Liang Yue immediately became alert and locked his spiritual consciousness on it.

The shadow walked out of the alley, got on a carriage, and left the city along Tianjie. At this time, there was a curfew in Longyuan City. Not to mention leaving the city, even walking on the street was against the law. Liang Yue was born in the Imperial Guards and was most familiar with these rules.

But this carriage obviously did not follow the usual rules. It arrived at the South Gate, and the driver showed some kind of sign, and the soldiers guarding the city immediately opened the door respectfully. After the carriage left the gate and drove away, Liang Yue appeared again and showed the badge of the Evil Execution Division.

"Sir Immortal Official, please." The soldier guarding the city opened the city gate again.

Liang Yue didn't rush out, but asked: "What brand did that person show just now?"

"Ah?" The leader of the soldiers guarding the city was immediately embarrassed and said, "According to the rules, we only need to open the door and cannot reveal these things."

Their position is extremely important and any words they say may cause trouble. They naturally dare not get involved in the fight between the gods above.

But how could Liang Yue allow him to remain silent?

“You only saw my badge of the Zhuxie Division, but didn’t see the name on the back?” Liang Yue pulled the little leader to the corner, took out the badge again, turned it to the back, and saw the two golden words "Liang Yue".

"Ah!" The little leader was so shocked that he cried out, "I was blind and didn't even pay my respects to Longxu Bo!"

Of course he had heard the name.

In today's Longyuan City, saying "My name is Liang Yue" probably means "I won't live long, and I'm not afraid of anyone, so are you afraid of me?"

Of course the little leader was afraid, and it would probably not matter even if this gentleman killed him on the spot.

"No need to be so polite, just tell me who just passed by." Liang Yue asked.

"I don't recognize the people inside, but the badge they showed is from the Dragon and Tiger Hall." The small leader immediately told the truth, and even added: "They often go out of the city at night these days, and the frequency is much higher than before."

Dragon Tiger Hall?
After getting this answer, Liang Yue nodded slightly.

Because the opening and closing of the city gates made noises, he could follow them silently, but if he followed them in and out of the city gates too closely, he would be discovered. So he had to keep a distance, or he might lose them.

He had to ask for a rough answer.

Now that we know that the other party is from the Dragon and Tiger Hall, it is not difficult to guess where they are going when they leave the city.

Qingfoyuan in the south of the city, the Tower of Babel!
Liang Yue quickly returned to the place where his dream began. It was here that he became famous and emerged from then on. He was also familiar with the terrain here.

Sure enough, the carriage that had just arrived at the foot of the tower was seen in the field ahead.

The now fully completed Tower of Babel is extremely magnificent and towering, and at night it seems to reach straight into the starry sky. A faint aura flows around it, giving it a solemn and dignified feeling.

Liang Yue approached carefully and stopped outside the tower gate.

This pagoda has many formations, and each floor has only one entrance and exit. There are no doors or windows on the outside, so if you want to go in, you can only go through the door at the bottom. Looking at the heavy guards outside, he had no choice but to become a virtual being.

In fact, it is not strange to light some dragon-attracting incense on the Tower of Babel. After all, it is the place where the imperial master prays for the emperor. However, it is a bit strange to light so many.

It is hard not to speculate that Li Longchan is doing something shameful here.

Liang Yue heard from Du Jian that his master would take him to Liangzhou in the near future, so Li Longchan should not be in the tower.

There should be no other masters in the Dragon and Tiger Hall except Li Longchan himself, so Liang Yue was not too worried. He directly activated the fairy vine, his figure disappeared into the night sky, and he instantly drilled into the open door.

……

The next morning, in the Shanhe Hall.

Mu Beidi did not seem to have had a good rest. His eyes were slightly closed, he remained silent, and his brows were filled with solemnity.

The ministers below were completely silent, no one dared to speak, perhaps they had heard or sensed something.

After a while, Liang Fuguo, the left prime minister in charge of the three ministries of military, criminal, and engineering, stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty! An urgent report came from Liangzhou overnight that the bandits from Bashan had broken through the dragon formation! The dragon energy in Liangzhou has leaked out, and there may be a natural disaster!"

"I received news from the Ministry of War last night and sent people from the Ministry of Revenue to cooperate with local officials to relocate the people of Liangzhou. The prefectures of Zhongzhou, Beizhou, and Xizhou should do their best to accept them and make sure to settle the refugees properly. No mistakes should be made." Emperor Mu Bei said solemnly.

The six ministries took action last night, so many officials are already aware of this.

However, there were still many people who just learned about this and immediately let out a series of gasps of shock.

"How could the bandits in Bashan be so arrogant?!" All the ministers were filled with indignation.

"Your Majesty is kind-hearted and truly a benevolent monarch." Some people also took every opportunity to flatter him.

"Liang Fuguo is in charge of the Ministry of War, but he has caused such a disaster! Your Majesty, I want to challenge him in a duel!" Some people still insisted on attacking Liang Fuguo.

Amidst the noise, a voice suddenly cleared the throat, "Ahem."

As soon as the sound of the light cough came out, the whole place became quiet again.

Because the person who made this voice had not appeared in the court for more than ten years. He recently returned to court, and today was the first time he made this voice.

"Your Majesty." Bashan Marquis Tang Wei stepped out from the crowd and said slowly, "The bandits in Bashan have been wreaking havoc for many years. I request that I lead the troops to fight!"

Everyone held their breath, not daring to breathe loudly.

Everyone knows that dominating the mountain is Tang Wei’s obsession. The only time he met an opponent in his life was here.

But everyone also knows that Emperor Mu Bei doesn't want Tang Wei to lead the troops.

Now that he has finally made this request, how will things develop?

All the civil and military officials in the court were waiting quietly.

"Alas." Then the Emperor Mu Bei sighed, "The people of Jiuzhou have not been at peace for long, and now they are in war. This is really my fault. But if we don't fight this war, it will be difficult to punish the evildoers, and the country will not be secure! Bashan Hou will go to the Ministry of War today to select the generals, and draw 150,000 troops from Zhongzhou, Liangzhou, and Xizhou, and march to Bashan in three days!"

"Your Majesty is wise!" Tang Wei bowed deeply, his tone unable to conceal his excitement.

Is there another war?

Although the ministers had expected the Dragon Taming Formation to be breached, they still couldn't help but get nervous when they heard Emperor Mu Bei announce it.

This is different from Ling Sansi's small-scale expedition to the East China Sea.

This is a fight with a truly powerful enemy in the world!
The war has been decided, and the next step is for all departments to mobilize and prepare for various matters in full swing.

Emperor Mu Bei, who had just issued the order to start the war, retreated to the Qinzheng Hall after the court was adjourned and was able to rest for a while.

He slowly collapsed on the back of the chair, covered his face with his hands, and asked in a deep voice: "Is Li Longchan back?"

"It should be evening." Cao Wujiu bowed and whispered, "Your Majesty, we will go to war in three days. By then... it's time to make a decision."

(End of this chapter)