Zhan Fengting paused, then responded, “The dragon clan’s Holy Maiden is actually appointed by the previous Holy Maiden. The Holy Maiden gives up half of her power to her successor and informs the Dragon God of this matter through prayer. If the Dragon God permits it, then the next Holy Maiden will be created.”
Yan Tianhen made an enlightened expression.
However, he was ridiculing in his heart, What Dragon God’s permission? That dragon doesn’t care about this sort of thing at all. Looks like becoming a Holy Maiden is entirely dependent upon half of the previous Holy Maiden’s power.
“Are you guys done talking?” Hai Kuanglang walked over. “We should go now. If we don’t leave now, the sun will set soon. Who knows what will happen when night comes?”
Yan Tianhen immediately coughed a few times. “Shixiong, don’t jinx it. I heard that other remarks won’t have any effect in this Dragon Tomb, but inauspicious remarks will always come true here.”
Hai Kuanglang looked at Yan Tianhen expressionlessly. A moment later, he carelessly said to Zhan Fengting, “Longyao Yizhu was looking for you earlier. She probably has an important matter to discuss with you.”
Zhan Fengting looked at Hai Kuanglang and said softly, “I have nothing to say to her. Up till now, we’ve exchanged less than ten words in total.”
Hai Kuanglang curled his lips in a smile. “Don’t say that. You’re the next Dragon Emperor, and she is the Holy Maiden. It’s heaven’s law and earth’s will for you to marry her.”
Zhan Fengting showed a helpless expression. “Don’t tell me you don’t know who’s in my heart? Little Lang, didn’t you also say before that even if you did become the Dragon Emperor, you would never pay attention to some Holy Maiden? I’m the same.”
“Don’t.” Hai Kuanglang said, “At that time, I was young and naive. To think that I actually tried to climb the social ladder by chasing Shixiong. But now I know my place. How can I dare to continue saying such things?”
“Right, she’s been looking for you for a long time. You’d better meet her.” With that, Hai Kuanglang left leisurely. His figure didn’t seem too sad. He was probably more angry than sad.
Zhan Fengting hurriedly chased after him.
Looking at Zhan Fengting constantly trying to move closer to Hai Kuanglang’s side, Yan Tianhen couldn’t help remarking in surprise, “In the past, I only saw Hai Shixiong pestering Zhan Shixiong like sticky candy, but it’s the opposite today. Truly, times change ah.”
Lin Xuanzhi also nodded. “Before, I always thought that your other two senior martial brothers were the most worrisome, but now, it seems that the most troublesome pair is actually the one that looked most reassuring in the past.”
Yan Tianhen expressed his extreme agreement.
The hundred or so people sat together in groups of three or five to rest, but the current situation didn’t give them too much time to rest.
After Zhang Fengting finished talking with Yan Tianhen and Lin Xuanzhi, he went to reorganize the teams and prepared to set off again. Their final destination was the Dragon God’s burial ground. Leaving aside other matters for now, at the very least, that location was the safest place in the entire Dragon Tomb. The dragon clan’s ancestor would never screw over his own descendants.
Amid the land swarming with disaster victims, the group once again set off.
This Crown Prince selection truly had a huge reversal. Everyone present already knew Zhan Fengting’s identity &#k2014; except for who his father was.
Thus, the three most awkward people right now were Longyao Lingheng, Hai Kuanglang, and Longyao Yizhu. If they actually measured it, the three people’s degree of awkwardness would probably be evenly matched, but Lin Xuanzhi and Yan Tianhen felt that Longyao Yizhu was probably the one who wanted to take a knife and stab someone the most right now.
Longyao Yizhu kept on following Zhan Fengting throughout the journey. She didn’t even care about the repeated glances that other people cast her way. Speaking of which, she was also pretty unlucky. Originally, she had already placed her bet on Longyao Lingheng. After all, she was the dragon clan’s Holy Maiden, so the man she chose would never be wrong.
But she didn’t expect that nature would toy with her like this.
“You’ve been following me for a while. Do you have something to say?” Zhan Fengting stopped and asked Longyao Yizhu, who had opened her mouth to speak many times but hesitated each time.
Longyao Yizhu’s eyes moved slightly, luminous and wavering. “Since you’ve already won the position of Crown Prince, our engagement must be reported to His Majesty after we leave the Dragon Tomb.”
Hai Kuanglang looked towards their side, and a mocking smile came over his face. Nobody knew which person he was mocking.
Zhan Fengting looked indifferent. “I won’t marry you. The possibility of engagement has never existed.”
Longyao Yizhu frowned. “I don’t want to marry you either, but this rule was set by the Ancestor. There has never been a deviation from this for tens of thousands of years. This is also for the family.”
Zhan Fengting thought about it, then leaned over and whispered something into Longyao Yizhu’s ear.
After he finished, Longyao Yizhu looked like she had seen a ghost. She fearfully stared at Zhan Fengting for a moment, then involuntarily took a few steps back. She turned and quickly ran towards Longyao Lingheng and the others, as if she was running for her life.
Zhan Fengting smiled slightly and watched her leave. He then turned to look at Hai Kuanglang.
Although Hai Kuanglang was still mad, he couldn’t help feeling curious. He asked, “What did you say to scare her like that?”
Zhan Fengting’s gaze was like water. “I merely told her that if the current Holy Maiden dies, the next Holy Maiden will naturally appear. If she still harbors ideas that she shouldn’t be having, I don’t mind having the dragon clan change Holy Maidens.”
Hai Kuanglang silently wiped his face. “Shixiong, you actually said such words to a girl. You’re truly disrespectful.”
Zhan Fengting replied, “If you say anything else unpleasant to my ears or deliberately provoke me into eating vinegar, I can do even more disrespectful things.”
Hai Kuanglang, “…”
The road ahead is blocked, and it’s a long road.
They walked until midnight, when suddenly, a violent sandstorm raged in the sky. The strong wind swept through the sky, carrying coarse sand that hit everyone’s defenseless faces.
“Pah! Truly disgusting!”
“I got a mouthful of sand. Why did the wind suddenly pick up?”
“I can hide once, but I can’t hide forever. After much difficulty, I didn’t fall into the sea and drink any seawater, but I got a mouthful of sand here.” Yan Tianhen made a hand seal and blocked all the wind and sand. In the darkness within the sandstorm, he suddenly saw shadows jumping around in the distance.
“Damn it, it’s evil spirits again.”
……
North Land, Sata City.
The sun hadn’t been seen for half a month, and the entire Sata City was shrouded in half-twilight and half-darkness. The black dragon in the sky that blocked the sun always hovered there. It used its enormous body to coil up and block that bright, scorching sun.
Only at noon, when the sunlight was the strongest, would rays of light shine through the clouds and brighten Sata City slightly. However, there wasn’t even a trace of dark clouds in the nearby areas outside of Sata City. Even day and night were the same as before.
With the help of the East Sovereign and the Dragon Emperor’s early preparation, a grand array was activated at the location of Heaven’s Wail after they eliminated all the evil spirits there. It was actually able to patch up that crack in the sky with spiritual Qi, which made people ease up slightly.
News of what happened in Sata City had already spread all over the Nine Lands on the same day. During this period, all the major Daoist sects and other Divine Clans immediately sent people here to investigate. Even the Royal Heavenly Capital became alarmed.
However, not even the Dragon Emperor himself had figured out where these evil spirits came from and why they clung to his North Land with such a tight grip and refused to let go. The most he could do was to pick some sentences the Dragon God said to him and make them public.
“The disaster of Heaven’s Wail will start from the North Land.” The Dragon Emperor’s eyes were heavy, and his tone was also heavy.
He looked around at the representatives of all parties sitting in the discussion hall and continued, “The Great Immortal-Demon War tens of thousands of years ago may be about to repeat itself right now. However, in ancient times, it was the heyday of the glorious Myriad Dao Era. The Daoist sects had Chang Sheng, Cang Rong, Lian Hua, and other powerhouses who had already reached Sky Realm a long time ago. They were able to eliminate demons and kill evil spirits, allowing the Nine Lands to avert a disaster. But Sky Realm powerhouses had long ceased to exist in the current Nine Lands. If evil Qi cultivators make a comeback, who can bear the burden?”
“How could it be so sudden?” The Beast Empress came as the tiger clan’s representative. She frowned with a pair of fine eyebrows and asked, “There was no movement in the Nine Lands before, and everything was calm. How could evil spirits and evil Qi cultivators pop up all of a sudden? And now there’s even rumors about the end of the world.”
The Dragon Emperor answered, “It’s not too sudden. Evil spirits already appeared in the Dragon Tomb a hundred years ago, but my clansmen all regarded it as a test from the Ancestor and didn’t pay attention to it.”
“Why didn’t you tell us when you first found out?” Another sect elder complained a little.
The Dragon Emperor glanced at that elder. “Did I not say it? I sent news of this matter to all the major families and sects, but in the end, only the East Sovereign believed me and even came to help me in person. Furthermore, Fuyao Sect’s Esteemed Lan Yue had already informed the world that evil Qi cultivators will appear soon, but who truly heeded his warning?”
“This… Originally, everything was peaceful in the world, but now, you’re suddenly telling everyone that the world is about to become chaotic without any warning. Nobody would believe this easily, right?”
“But do you believe it now?” The Dragon Emperor asked nonchalantly.
Of course they had to believe it now.
After all, rumors could lie, but seeing was believing. The dark cloud in the shape of a giant dragon blocking the sun in Sata City was standing right there. Who could still refute these claims?
Thinking of this, some people couldn’t help secretly guessing, The Dragon Emperor worked so hard to trick all these people into entering Sata City. Could it be that he wanted them to believe the fact that Heaven’s Wail is imminent — something which was originally regarded as alarmist rumors?
……
In the fief of King Zhen, Northern Liang City.
A group of soldiers were patrolling among the strange desert rocks in the northernmost part of the border. Today’s sky seemed very dark. Although the sun still looked big and round, when they raised their eyes, they could always feel that it was covered by something hazy.
“Capitain, how come the sun turned red? What’s going on?” A soldier asked in confusion. “I grew up here. I’ve seen the sun many times, but this is the first time I’ve seen this.”
The cavalry captain also raised his eyes and looked at the sky.
He frowned slightly and tightened his grip on the horse’s reins. “This matter seems unusual. Go back and inform the General and His Highness King Zhen of this matter.”
Another cavalry soldier said, “A few days ago, I heard that a black dragon that can turn into mist rushed out of the Dragon Tomb’s entrance and entered Sata City. It went straight up into the sky and blocked most of the sun. Right now, great powers from all over the world have gathered in Sata City to discuss solutions. Does the sun here have anything to do with what happened in Sata City?”
“It’s hard to say.” The cavalry captain shook his head as he continued to patrol the area. “Everyone, remain vigilant. Recently, the demons are getting restless, repeatedly trying to feel out our defenses. The demons are our biggest enemies right now.”
