Killing Dao Fruit
Chapter 279 - 276: Stubborn and Smart, Frustrated Amid Wealth, Poverty and Busyness

Chapter 279: Chapter 276: Stubborn and Smart, Frustrated Amid Wealth, Poverty and Busyness

Tonight, the lights of Yunjing City dazzled like a galaxy, and the Meridian Imperial Road resembled a river of stars.

The weighty Fire Dragon Qi followed the meridian, passing Yongding Gate, Heavenly Bridge, Zhengyang Bridge Street, Zhengyang Gate, Great Ming Gate, Duan Gate, Meridian Gate, Jianji Hall, Central Palace...

Until it finally reached the most central and solemn place in the entire Imperial City, the Emperor’s golden throne in Jianji Hall!

Ascending the three platforms before the grand hall, along the dragon-carved imperial road, passing directly underneath the Emperor’s seat, it arrived at the core of the "Dragon Qi Prohibition" for the whole of Red County Divine Land.

It was here, in the underground palace of Jianji Hall, that the core Suppressing Item of the country’s grand formation, the Nine Dragons Wall, was located.

At this moment.

Hundreds of enormous Luminous Pearls illuminated the underground palace, revealing the lonely figure in a pale Dragon Robe standing alone before the Nine Dragons Wall.

It was Emperor Jianming, Zhou Wenrui, known as "Huo Langlong," who had stolen Qingyan’s wooden Fire Dragon Scale Armor.

It was clear to see that although he was struggling to maintain composure, the fingertips turning white from the clenching inside his sleeves betrayed his extremely unsettled mood.

Zhou Wenrui couldn’t stop muttering to himself:

"What exactly is happening above the Turbid River? Has the ’One-Eyed Stone Man,’ who intends to overturn my Great Yan, died yet?

How are Pei Yulou and Jiang Baimei handling things? Why is there still no message sent back?"

February 2nd is the critical day that will decide the future fate of Emperor Jianming.

Today, he had exceptionally turned away all court affairs and had come here alone early on, wanting to deduce the outcome of the battle above the Turbid River from the changes in the Dragon Qi as soon as possible.

Before Zhou Wenrui, the Nine Dragons Wall featured nine lifelike jade divine dragons of varied colors.

Nine is the ultimate number of yang, and five is the center.

The land has nine provinces, the sky has nine wildernesses; the "Nine-Five" system is the Emperor’s system.

The Nine Dragons Wall embodies the Nine-Five regulations everywhere: nine dragons arranged in the five cardinal directions, dragon patterns as baseboards, sculpted bricks on the wall... all are multiples of nine or five.

Unfortunately, even though Zhou Wenrui has been devoted to governing and has tried every possible means to rejuvenate the Dynasty for fifteen years since his ascension to the throne, the Dragon Qi has still been in decline year after year.

Just as Wang Yuan said.

As long as that group who should be the most taxed continually refuses to pay their dues and instead tries every means to strengthen themselves by devouring the flesh of the Dynasty, Great Yan will never be able to revive.

The paperhanger seems very busy and extremely diligent, but all his efforts are in vain.

If the direction of one’s efforts is wrong, beyond moving oneself, even working oneself to death is useless.

Today, four of the divine dragons on the Nine Dragons Wall have completely dimmed, and the central fifth one, the Yellow Dragon, is barely hanging on.

Moreover, since this morning, it has been steadily declining, moving closer and closer to a critical red line.

Once the Dynasty Dragon Qi is insufficient to light up the five divine dragons on the Nine Dragons Wall, Zhou Wenrui will struggle to maintain the Emperor’s authority, and the Dragon Qi Core will become nominal.

Then the Sacrificial Treasures will be lost, chaos will ensue, and warlords will arise to vie for power.

His ability to securely hold onto the throne will depend entirely on whether Pei Yulou and Jiang Baimei can successfully deal with the One-Eyed Stone Man.

"May you not fail my trust. Should any mishap occur, do not blame the Dynasty’s law for being intolerant of personal sentiments!"

His expression cold, he pinched two edicts hidden within his sleeve.

One decree was for rewards, the other for execution!

Zhou Wenrui would never trust anyone unconditionally, not even those bound by an "Oath of Alliance."

Before the two Martial Saints set out for war, Zhou Wenrui had dispatched experts from the twelve bureaus within the palace to keep a tight watch on their families, ensuring not a single person was missing.

If the task was performed well, there would naturally be various honors and rewards bestowed. If anyone dared to harbor ill intentions, not only would they be suppressed to death by the "Dragon Qi Prohibition," but their entire family, young and old, would be buried with them!

Both Martial Saints were energetically vigorous centenarians, with flourishing families and thousands of direct descendants, including hundreds of great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren.

Normally, with the massive families and the "Oath of Alliance" acting together, it would be enough to extinguish any flicker of wild ambition.

As the night grew darker and the decline of Dragon Energy showed no sign of stopping, Zhou Wenrui’s mood became more and more anxious.

Eventually, he couldn’t even maintain a facade of calm anymore. His eyes slightly reddened as he paced back and forth, emitting bursts of low growls:

"Useless! Useless!

Had I known, I would have called back ’The World’s Number One Blade,’ Xie Tianke from White Cloud Pass, and let this top-ranked Martial Saint kill the One-Eyed Stone Man!"

Unfortunately, he knew that these words were just empty talk.

"The World’s Number One Blade" Xie Tianke was also deservedly the top Martial Saint, in charge of guarding the northern White Cloud Pass, which was said to connect to the white clouds above and suppress the desert below.

Strategically located at the throat of the northern border stretching for two thousand miles, it constantly held back the bloodthirsty enemies from the grasslands.

This was because Yunjing City was also Great Yan’s northern gateway, with the closest fortress being only a few hundred miles away, almost directly facing the sharp teeth and blades of the "Naiman Five Tribes" from the Desert North.

In recent years, the winters in Great Yan had become exceptionally cold, and it was even colder outside the city borders in the north.

Originally, the Naiman Five Tribes mainly raided for provisions during autumn and winter, but now they had begun to harass the area day and night throughout the year.

Great Yan had no choice but to station a Martial Saint there year-round.

Zhou Wenrui, the Emperor, was the same; as the "Sacrificial Master," he could hardly leave the Dragon Qi Core in his lifetime and had to issue orders from the "Dragon Cave."

If it were up to him, he would have preferred to join the army in person and witness the downfall of the "No-Life Dao" rebels with his own eyes.

However.

At the stroke of midnight, with no good news in sight, Zhou Wenrui unexpectedly heard a shrill cry of misery near his ear.

Dragon Roar—!

Suddenly looking up at the sky,

With the unique authority of the Sacrificial Master, he suddenly saw the golden red Divine Dragon that hovered over the Imperial City raise its head in sorrowful howling, its body soaked in blood.

The Fire Red Dragon was already approaching the twilight of its years, looking somewhat feeble; now it shrank by nearly a tenth in an instant.

Pfft!

Connected by fate to the Dragon, Zhou Wenrui suddenly spat out a large mouthful of fresh blood.

His vision blurred as he staggered and clumsily fell to the ground.

Struggling to lift his head to look at the "Nine Dragons Wall" again, the central Yellow Dragon that maintained the imperial nine-five arrangement now only had its pair of dragon eyes dimly lit.

"How is this possible? The two Martial Saints have been defeated?!"

Zhou Wenrui’s complexion dramatically shifted, but he had no idea.

Because of Jiang Baimei’s betrayal, Pei Yulou failed to slay the "One-Eyed Stone Man" in time, nor could he prevent the "Fish Jumping Dragon Gate" from fracturing the Dynasty Dragon Qi’s progression.

In the end, relying on Dragon Roar’s "Transforming Dragon," they managed to interrupt the "Fish Jumping Dragon Gate" midway, resulting in half as many creatures transforming into dragons this year compared to previous years.

Owing to this, the Dynasty’s Golden Dragon, though heavily damaged, at least did not fall on the spot.

It also allowed Zhou Wenrui, whose position as an emperor was teetering on the brink for "the revered emperor," to still muster the strength to cry out in despair:

"My imperial throne!"

Alas, misfortune begets further misfortune, and on this day, the second day of the second lunar month, the time was ripe for a concerted effort to slay the "Great Dragon." How could they possibly give him a chance to catch his breath?

The doors of the Underground Palace blew open with a bang.

One confident and another light-footed, two sets of footsteps slowly descended the stone steps. Then, a voice all too familiar to Zhou Wenrui sounded in surprise, light and astonished:

"Eh, this old man didn’t drop dead on the spot under the backlash of Dragon Energy? How curious!"

Struggling to raise his head and make out the figure before him in the light of the Luminous Pearl, Zhou Wenrui’s pupils shrank in disbelief, exclaiming:

"It’s you! Xue Jiexi? Didn’t Marquis Wu Yi Zhou Xinglou’s direct forces seal off Xue Mansion long ago? How on earth are you here?!"

"And the Inner Court? Where is my Commander, the Inner Official?"

Wang Yuan had always seen Zhou Wenrui as nothing more than a "Huo Langlong" with good luck.

But only a few people at the core of the Clan and the Court knew that, even if a complete fool sat on the Dragon Chair, the city of Yunjing was his "Dragon Cave"!

Within the Imperial City, setting aside the Profound Crane Camp reserved exclusively for the matriarch of the Imperial Family, Xu Chuanyun:

And the "Coiling Dragon Camp," the "Qi Gate Cavalry," and the "Clearing Path Leader," these elite Daoist Soldiers within the thirty-six camps:

The Inner Court housed countless Grand Eunuchs as powerful as the previously mentioned Inner Official Lv, all serving as the Emperor’s personal force.

Outside the Imperial City, the Capital Camp stationed at Emperor’s Ridge near the capital held half of Great Yan’s military might.

Even if Zhou Wenrui was but a "Huo Langlong" who ascended to the throne by cunning, with over two hundred years of Great Yan Imperial Family’s accumulation, he could certainly not be summarized merely as a "Puppet Emperor."

For outsiders, the Imperial City surrounded by the nine palace gates was undoubtedly a Dragon Pond and Tiger’s Den.

Moreover, at this time, the city defenses of Yunjing City had been entrusted to Zhou Bingsheng from the Clan, raised by the Zhou Family’s matriarch.

The defense of the Imperial City was in the hands of the Commander of the Guard, also the Imperial Eunuch in charge of the Imperial Stables, Wei Gongliang, who was at the peak realm of "Military Leader."

Even if the Xue Faction was powerful, Zhou Wenrui was confident that with this force at hand, he could uproot it at any time; the only question was how much he was willing to pay for it.

Yet the places that should have been the most secure sprang the most lethal leaks.

At those words, Xue Jiexi chuckled:

"Your Majesty is searching for the Commander of the Guard? I happen to bring him along."

Thud!

Xue Jiexi untied a round cloth bag from his waist and tossed it before Zhou Wenrui.

The cloth bag scattered, and from it rolled a bloody human head, that of the loyal Military Leader and Grand Eunuch, Wei Gongliang.

"As for your Marquis Wu Yi? No, my Marquis Wu Yi! By the way, not only Marquis Wu Yi Zhou Bingsheng, but look who else is here?"

Xue Jiexi pulled the hooded woman beside him, casually tearing off her hood.

There, Consort Shu Su Yuru, wearing only a semi-transparent gossamer skirt beneath, turned her head away shyly. Yet, she could not hide the tempting silhouette beneath her thin skirt.

"You! You!..."

Zhou Wenrui’s teeth clattered with rage, how could he not understand what had transpired?

Xue Jiexi pushed Su Yuru onto the "Nine Dragons Wall," the Sacrifical Treasure of Great Yan, instructing her to bend down and place her hands on it, while he positioned himself behind the beauty.

Only then did he turn back, smiling triumphantly at the ashen-faced, fire-eyed Zhou Wenrui:

"Hahaha, solitary phoenix shines amid wood fire’s glow, reigning supreme amidst frost in the backyard bow!

Fifteen years ago, I gave you only the first half of the prophecy, and this second half encapsulates your life’s fate.

Character determines fate.

Because of this second half of the prophecy, we determined to put you, this fool, on the throne. Now listen well," he emphasized, his voice pounding against Zhou Wenrui’s chest like a hammer.

"Stubborn and self-righteous, astute and clever, despite failure and poverty, busy to the end! Your stubbornness, lack of generosity, and shortsightedness are to blame for today’s disaster!"

Sputter!

Another mouthful of fresh blood spurted out as he mumbled to himself lifelessly:

"Stubborn and self-righteous! Brought low in wealth and poverty!"

Wasn’t this the true portrayal of his life?

Even if he had forsaken wives and imprisoned daughters to climb onto the throne, his ceaseless efforts still couldn’t reverse the declining Court affairs, failing to become that revitalizing sovereign!

Then, just as Xue Jiexi was about to strike the "Nine Dragons Wall" with the final blow, disgracing both the Prime Minister and the Noble Consort with their profane conduct, which would completely strip Zhou Wenrui of his emperor’s dignity:

A resonating Dragon Roar suddenly erupted from Zhou Wenrui.

In an instant, the yellow robe burst apart, and a streak of azure dragon shadow shot towards the southeast horizon.

This time, not only did Zhou Wenrui’s body violently shake, even the composed Xue Jiexi changed color.

The "Wood Element Dragon Scale Armor" had abandoned the "Huo Langlong"—could it be that the True Dragon... was returning?!

But this was clearly not part of their plan.

Meanwhile, as the Dragon Scale Armor departed, the fifth Divine Dragon on the "Nine Dragons Wall" finally extinguished completely.

The Emperor was deposed! The Divine Artifact abandoned! Countless Flood Dragons now unbound!

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