As he spoke, he fanned the water with his banana leaf fan, and a sharp gust of wind suddenly rose, breaking through the surface and sweeping towards the water sphere. At the same time, Tieguai Li and the others also unleashed their magic, striking the water sphere.
Unfortunately, it managed to create a hole about the size of a fist, but then it closed up again in an instant.
"Jiang Liu, run! If we work together, we can break this confinement!" Yuan Tiangang transmitted his voice.
Jiang Liu shook his head, then faced the cold light directly.
At this moment, Yuan Tiangang and the others suddenly awoke and felt a strong pressure emanating from the water's surface, mixed with a rich dragon aura.
In the blink of an eye, four middle-aged men appeared on the water, their bodies shimmering with a light, as if they were made of river water. These were their primordial spirits, not their true forms.
"The Four Great Dragon Kings of the Yangtze, Yellow, Huai, and Ji Rivers!"
A middle-aged man in a black robe sneered and pointed at Yuan Tiangang and the others, saying sternly, "Yuan Tiangang, Tieguai Li, do you want to be enemies of my Dragon Clan?"
"Brother, Father's water-binding technique can be broken by them. Today, we will avenge our nephew, skin him alive, tear out his bones, and burn his soul with yin fire for forty-nine days as a sacrifice." The speaker was a middle-aged man in a blue robe, his eyes vicious, like those of a bamboo viper. The elder brother he spoke of was the Dragon King of the Huai River, the eldest son of the Dragon King of the Jing River, whose true form was a small yellow dragon.
"Then he must be able to withstand the King's icy light!"
"Perhaps he will be completely annihilated in the next second!"
The four middle-aged men asked and answered each other, not believing that Jiang Liu could withstand the cold light.
This icy, chilling light was forged by the Jinghe Dragon King beneath the 100,000-foot-deep icy spring of the North Sea Eye, using the true essence of Gui water and the Great Yin Primordial Magnetic Force. When emitted, the chilling light is overwhelming; even without touching the body, those with weak Daoist power will be instantly poisoned by its cold light within a hundred paces. If they do not have time to retreat quickly, once struck or come into contact with it, the cold poison will attack their heart, freezing their blood and marrow.
Even the fiercest fire will be extinguished by freezing.
Only exotic flames such as Samadhi True Fire, Fire in Stone, and Fire in the Sky can withstand them. These flames are beyond the reach of those who have not reached the Refining Spirit and Returning to Emptiness stage, and cannot be controlled by them.
"A mere cold poison, what can it do to me! Watch me break you..."
Instantly, a red light emanated from Jiang Liu's body. The light of the Qian Tian Fire Spirit Pearl enveloped his entire body; this was a pure Yang treasure, capable of resisting the cold poison. Then, a flame appeared, the Burning Heaven Blazing Sun appeared, forming a second layer of protection.
The sword that fought against the cold light was the "Southern Bright Fire Sword," which was forged by Bodhidharma of Shu Mountain by fusing the true gold of the West with the essence of the Southern Fire. It was the perfect counter to the icy, cold light.
The essence of fire is naturally a celestial flame, capable of blocking the icy light of the soul.
Chapter 275 Sword Slaying the Dragon Palace
For a moment, within the water sphere, red and white lights collided and separated repeatedly.
Each time they collided, the Jinghe Dragon King's lips twitched; ice and fire annihilated each other upon impact. This "Ice Soul Cold Light" was something he had painstakingly crafted, expending immense effort and resources to create.
This collision extinguished at least 30% of the cold light, how could he not feel heartache?
Seeing his expression, Jiang Liu immediately unleashed the full power of the "Southern Bright Fire Sword." This sword wasn't particularly valuable to him. He didn't care much for a stolen treasure.
Seeing that the two were locked in a fierce battle, Yuan Tiangang and the others outside were relieved.
But the four Dragon Kings frowned.
The River Dragon King said in a deep voice, “My three brothers, this sword can rival Father’s Ice Soul Cold Light, it must be a pure Yang immortal sword, a fine treasure. Even we do not have the resources and energy to forge it. Look at the round bead on his body, it should be the inner core of some kind of fire demon beast. If refined, it will be a pure Yang treasure. And those two blue-purple flying swords in front of him, judging from their shape and momentum, are rare, extremely rare!”
None of the four of them were worried about the Jing River Dragon King. What was there to worry about when a celestial being fought an earthly immortal? Besides, the Jing River Dragon King was a righteous god of the Heavenly Court, a water god recognized by the Heavenly Dao.
"Brother, didn't you say he had no background? He's just a disciple of a small Taoist temple in Jiangnan. How come he has so many treasures?"
The Dragon King of Huaidu frowned deeply and said, "Could he have received the inheritance of some ancient immortal? Fourth brother, when you saw him enter Xueying Palace that day, what was his relationship with the Third Holy Mother?"
"Don't worry, I've found out. It's because of a poem that it entered Xueying Palace."
"Excellent! If Father obtains those treasures, his strength will surely advance further... Alright, Father has unleashed the Rain Dragon Divine Seal; the outcome is decided!"
When the Jinghe Dragon King saw that the "Ice Soul Cold Light" could not subdue Jiang Liu, he immediately summoned a large seal.
"It's the Rain Dragon God Seal!" Yuan Tiangang said through gritted teeth. "He actually took out this seal! Damn it! Isn't he afraid of damaging his merits? Isn't he afraid of the Heavenly Court's punishment?"
"This seal must not be damaged!" Tieguai Li said in a deep voice. Seeing Zhang Guo's confusion, he added, "This seal is a treasure bestowed by the Heavenly Court, representing the Heavenly Court's rule over the water systems of the world. If this seal is destroyed or damaged, the Heavenly Court will definitely investigate. However, even the Jing River Dragon King will not escape!"
The Rain Dragon Divine Seal!
A large seal in the color of white jade, with a divine dragon cast on the seal knob on the back, so lifelike that its eyes seem to burn like fire!
It immediately crashed down on the river, without any fancy moves, crushing everything in its path.
This large seal is a symbol of the water system of the Nine Provinces, and a trace of the Heavenly Dao is condensed within it; it is a treasure of merit and virtue.
Once the Jinghe Dragon King assumed the position of "Great Dragon God in Charge of Rain," he would control the great seal and unleash its immense power.
With a single strike, wind and rain followed, gathering the power of all the rivers, lakes, and seas of the land.
Jiang Liu felt that this was not a large seal, but a raging river, crashing and surging towards him.
This Dragon King Seal is a hundred times, a thousand times stronger than the City God Seal of Huaiyin City that we faced before. However, Jiang Liu is now a hundred times, a thousand times stronger than before.
Before coming to Jinghe, Jiang Liu had already prepared himself to face such a divine artifact.
Instantly, a bronze cauldron appeared in Jiang Liu's palm: "Don't think that only you have a treasure of merit, and I don't? Go!"
The giant cauldron pressed down on Jiang Liu's head, blocking the "Rain-Controlling Dragon God Seal".
Strangely enough, the two did not collide, but instead traced a graceful arc and landed back in the hands of the Jinghe Dragon King.
The Dragon King of the Jing River was slightly taken aback when he looked at the "Rain-Controlling Dragon God Seal" in his hand.
What is that cauldron?
Everyone stared in astonishment at the bronze cauldron above Jiang Liu's head.
What is that cauldron?
Yuan Tiangang calculated with his fingers, but to no avail.
The four Dragon Kings were stunned for a moment, somewhat at a loss.
Zhang Guo chuckled and sneered in a low voice, "You were so arrogant just now, thinking that stealing treasure and killing people would be a piece of cake. Now you're dumbfounded, aren't you! My brother Jiang is not someone that you little mudfish can withstand!"
The Dragon King of the Jing River stared blankly at the bronze cauldron above Jiang Liu's head, as if he had remembered something. After all, he had lived for thousands of years and was quite knowledgeable, so he could barely guess what it was, but he wasn't quite sure.
After all, there are only a handful of cauldron-shaped magical artifacts in the world that possess such power and can restrain the treasures of merit.
He naturally didn't believe it was the innate spiritual treasure "Qiankun Cauldron," so the most likely possibility was the merit treasure "Jiuzhou Cauldron" that suppressed the nine provinces.
"How could you obtain this cauldron? You are not the Emperor of the Nine Provinces, how could you possibly control this cauldron? Moreover, all nine cauldrons are broken!" The Dragon King of the Jing River was truly incredulous.
At this moment, Yuan Tiangang looked at the bronze cauldron and said, "Although I can't figure it out, I can guess a thing or two. This cauldron should be the Nine Provinces Cauldron. Back then, all nine cauldrons were destroyed. It should have been obtained from the remains and then melted down to make it again."
"So that's how it is! With this cauldron, Fellow Daoist Jiang Liu is now invincible!" Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Jiang Liu grinned maliciously and laughed loudly, "Old Dragon, come on, let me see how you're going to kill me!"
The Dragon King of the Jing River's lips twitched. He clenched his fist and gritted his teeth, saying, "I can't kill you, but can you hurt me? Do you think you can roam the world with just a few treasures after I seal you away? How laughable..."
"How laughable! The dragon race exists in this world but is merely clinging to life. Let me show you what a true treasure is! What a deadly weapon is!"
Having said that, the Purple Ying Sword flew up first, followed by the Azure Suo Sword. The two sword lights instantly tore through the water sphere's restraints, like a rainbow stretching across the sky and a divine dragon emerging from the sea. The two beams of light, one purple and one azure, merged into a dazzling brilliance, spreading out horizontally like lightning, and slashed towards the Dragon Palace in the water's eye.
Immediately afterwards, the Dragon Palace trembled, the pillars swayed as if about to break, corals and other objects collapsed, and cracks appeared on the floor tiles, spreading directly into the depths of the water eye, creating a scene reminiscent of the end of the world.
The Jinghe Dragon Palace, which resembled a crystal palace, collapsed instantly.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Two sword lights turned and slashed towards the four dragon kings.
The Four Dragon Kings, who had just been laughing and joking about dividing up the treasures of the river, were now utterly terrified and their hearts were filled with despair.
Fortunately, they were all avatars of the primordial spirit, so even if they were killed, their strength would only be reduced.
"How about an exchange!"
The sword light faltered, nearly causing the Four Rivers Dragon King to collapse. Although it was a primordial spirit avatar, it truly and vividly felt the terror of impending death.
Jiang Liu paused, his sword flashing, and looked at the Jinghe Dragon King with a smile.
This old dragon is going to die sooner or later, and killing him now will only cause trouble. If the goal of saving his disciple is achieved, Jiang Liu will naturally choose to stop.
Chapter 276 The Mystery of His Origins
Faced with the threat of the river's flow, the old dragon king of the Jing River could only swallow his anger and suffer in silence.
After releasing Xue Rengui and Luo Binwang, Jiang Liu put away his flying sword under the watchful eyes of several dragons that were devouring people.
Seeing Jiang Liu and the others leave, the Dragon King of Huaidu gritted his teeth and said, "Father, are we just going to let him go like this? We're just going to swallow such a huge loss?"
The Dragon King of the Jing River snorted coldly and turned away.
Today's battle not only failed to avenge his grandson, but also destroyed the Dragon Palace. His heart was already filled with rage, wishing he could devour Jiang Liu alive. Unfortunately, Jiang Liu possessed too many treasures; even as a celestial being, he was helpless.
Back at Zhongnan Mountain, Xue Rengui and Luo Binwang stood before Jiang Liu with their hands at their sides.
"It seems you haven't been slacking off these past few months. Rengui, your White Yang True Understanding is nearing completion, your foundation is solid, and your fist techniques are quite impressive. You've reached the peak of the Innate Realm and can now cultivate Daoist arts. Since you said you wanted to join the army, I will teach you the method of physical cultivation, supplemented by your primordial spirit. Physical cultivation involves refining the 360 acupoints throughout your body. You will first cultivate the Eight Divine Acupoints of the Upper Realm, consuming spiritual grains daily to temper your body. Then I will teach you the Zhen Character Technique. You are not allowed to leave until you have opened the 24 acupoints of the Upper Realm."
"Yes, Master!" Xue Rengui bowed respectfully and then stood aside.
Luo Binwang's face was full of hope, his eyes sparkling. He had been studying for several months, and being naturally intelligent, entering a meditative state to refine his essence was no challenge for him.
"Toughening the body is painful, and I can tell you don't want to learn!"
Luo Binwang immediately nodded like a chicken pecking at rice, making everyone burst into laughter.
"Would you like to learn the method of controlling lightning?" Jiang Liu asked.
"Can I learn to fly with a sword? Like the supernatural power Master used at the Jing River!" Looking at Jiang Liu, Luo Binwang's voice grew softer and softer, then he whispered, "It's all up to Master!"
"I will impart to you the Nine Heavens Thunder Orthodox Method, and then I will bestow upon you a Thunder Dragon..."
After spending seven days teaching his apprentice, Jiang Liu then handed the reins over to Zhang Guo. With a spiritual item like Dragon Tooth Rice, it would be difficult for Xue Rengui's physical cultivation not to improve. As for Luo Binwang, a single Thunder Dragon would be enough for him to digest for a while.
...
Chang'an City, Daming Palace.
The seventh-grade Dan Ding technique that Jiang Liu had always desired was located in the Tang Dynasty Imperial Palace. Given Jiang Liu's current strength, he naturally didn't need Li Jian to secretly retrieve it for him to examine.
Yuan Tiangang introduced Jiang Liu to Li Shimin, who then openly and formally asked for his services.
Inside the Daming Palace, Jiang Liu looked at the middle-aged man in his forties wearing a bright yellow dragon robe and saw the domineering aura of someone who had long held a high position.
Li Shimin joined the army at the age of eighteen, ascended the throne at the age of twenty-eight, and reigned for eleven years, cultivating an imperial aura.