Chapter 1234: Fake Forms, True Divine Abilities

Evening glow floats over the far riverbank; the setting sun illuminates the long pavilion.

Fire-burn clouds come from the north of the sky.

The plowing farmer squints his eyes, sets down his hoe, back to the yellow earth and face to the sky, grabs the towel at his neck and wipes his brow sweat, tilts his face up and watches the White Jade Palace whistling past, galloping southward.

The evening sun vanishes without a trace; the blazing light shines high, unchanged.

The great earth still emits a dry white light; the brown soil baked into a pale yellow-white; a gust of wind blows past, clods of earth roll down from the mountain slope, trailing a wisp of faint yellow dust.

"Rumble—!"

Lightning flashes once; muffled thunder rolls.

Lead-gray clouds follow close behind the White Jade Palace from the north; heavy rain pours down; the cracked earth cannot absorb the water; water foam churns in the pits; the hoe falls over, splashing yellow sparks.

The farmer opens his mouth and spins around; raindrops slap into his lips and teeth; he cups his hands to catch a poolful and vigorously scrubs his face.

Last year, Marquis Xingyi.

This year, King of Jianghuai.

The Great Shun giant stands up, using the Huai River that traverses east-west as a slingshot, aiming at the Southern Frontier giant, firing an incomparably hard, sharp stone that once made the other's forehead bleed. After ten days, this stone finally crosses the great mountains and great rivers, flying to Lingnan!

The new "stone" falls into the pond, splashing up layer upon layer of ripples.

The ripples collide with the stones at the pond's edge, rolling back and overlapping into new waves.

The royal carriage merely crosses a single pass, half a great mountain, and the entire Great Shun–Southern Frontier border garrison structure quietly begins to change, as if both sides are magnets, like poles repelling, opposite poles attracting. The Martial Saints and Great Manifestations on the first, second, and third defense lines begin to accompany the "stone" in its intrusion, greatly altering their own positions.

The Southern Frontier Great Manifestation on the second defense line steps through the void, drawing close to the Kugu on the first defense line, using spatial distance to pressure Great Shun.

The Huai King crosses the Dayu Mountain at the Changnan border and converges with the Xingjin King, who is also on the second defense line and provides left-wing support for the Chong King.

Before the Huai King's arrival, the Xingjin King takes the lead in leaving the second defense line, withdrawing toward the third defense line. In the crossing, he first vacates the support position.

Long Binglin descends and chats with the Xingjin King; the Huai King does not linger, striding straight across the second defense line, continuing forward.

The pressuring Southern Frontier Great Manifestations see this, split their numbers, and gradually withdraw back toward the Luchang River, retreating to the second defense line.

Simultaneously, more people in the far rear fill the third defense line support position; according to Liang Qu's progress from the second to the first line, they advance from the third toward the second, ensuring that within thousands of li, the three defense lines' opposing numbers remain equivalent, retaining a strategic buffer.

Border garrison general Xu Haitao wipes his brow sweat; based on intelligence from the Purple Lightning Ship, he arranges soldiers to patrol along the river.

The Great Shun and Southern Frontier forces both surround the two banks of the Luchang River; centered on the Chong King and Kugu, they tacitly maintain a dynamic balance that does not easily let the situation escalate or conflict intensify, yet allows immediate support should an accident occur.

This repositioning once again draws the world's attention.

Border garrison powerful clans evacuate their families.

Northern Court Martial Saints move in twos and threes, intentionally or unintentionally leaning toward the border garrison, but their numbers are not many.

The Great Hunt is imminent; it is not a contest of brute force and hard bridges; regardless of realm height, all have a chance to gain benefits; at worst, one can still expand one's root sea fivefold. Better to rest and recuperate, adjust one's state, cultivate a couple more divine abilities; the willingness for conflict is not strong.

In the East Sea, the Ironhead Fish King hesitates over whether to go seek the Flood Dragon.

The pond's waves spread wide; the disturbance affects an area wider and farther than imagined.

"Hah—!"

"Inhale."

Liang Qu sits cross-legged; his body is like a boiling furnace.

The white mist streams exhaled from him circulate in the room, ethereally forming dragon and tiger shapes, intertwining and killing each other.

Clearly his eyes are tightly shut; yet if someone were watching from the side, it would seem as though Liang Qu still has his eyes open, with a pair of eyes residing high above his own, constantly observing everything in the outside world.

"Wah yah yah, such heavy imposing aura! Boss is too too too too amazing; I can't hold on!" The Little Lip Dragon's back presses dead against the room door; every scale stands erect with effort, desperately spraying white mist to reinforce and strengthen, preventing the cultivation room from spiraling out of control and exploding.

Black clouds press on the city; the city is about to collapse.

Inside the envoy's tent, upon learning the Huai King's carriage is about to arrive, negotiations between the two sides instantly heat up.

The Southern Frontier envoy raises half a shattered wheel, speaks generously and righteously, once again demanding the use of a specially made Gu insect to unilaterally verify the Huai King's Qi mechanism, comparing the two to prove the Huai King's innocence.

The Great Shun envoy, citing the unfairness of the Southern Frontier's unilateral test, flatly vetoes it.

"This is the Huai King's divine ability!"

"Baseless slander! Fabricated charges! I say this is not the Huai King's divine ability! The Huai King wholeheartedly seeks peaceful development; in Nanzhili he does construction; this year, not to mention marching south, he has never even left the Huai River region—how could he come to your Southern Frontier to seize long Qi?

This is the Northern Court framing him; first they lured E Qirui, then went back on their word, which let Bone Sha escape and defect to our Great Shun. The Northern Court has a man named Beishan, who is specifically used to imitate the standard!

Or perhaps————it is your Southern Frontier's own self-directed act! Arranging the dead soldier Bone Sha, attempting to carry out your Southern Frontier schemes! Provoking another great war!

What an ambitious Tusi; do your Southern Frontier commoners know that for the Tusi's ambition, they have lost the lives of their own sons, husbands, fathers?"

"Spewing blood! Great Shun tore up the truce first, again and again plundering our Southern Frontier assets, killing our Southern Frontier sons! Do you really think Southern Frontier people are afraid of war?

You continue to argue unreasonably; no need to talk further! All on the Central Plains land are shameless people; return the long Qi, hand over Bone Sha, compensate for the losses here! Otherwise it's war!"

"War then! A defeated general has what face! Today I'll tear up this truce document with my own hands!"

"Tear it! Tear this document, and I'll start with you; white knife in, green knife out, pierce your gallbladder; hand over your life!"

"Shameless scoundrel, let go!"

"Watch my Monkey Steals the Peach!"

"Black Tiger Digs Out the Heart!"

"Gentlemen, calm your anger! Calm down, calm down, listen to me; peace comes not easily; how can you say destroy it and it's destroyed? The Huai King has come to Lingnan; the royal carriage will arrive; why not wait for the Huai King to arrive and then speak? At that time, let the Huai King personally recount, make the truth come to light, the water clear and the stone revealed?"

"If it truly is so, our Great Shun is willing, for the sake of peace, for the sake of the Huai King's error, to compensate the Southern Frontier for its suffered losses; if it is not————"

A long table; on both sides are all kinds of people.

Red-faced ones, white-faced ones, peacemakers, ones pointing at the mulberry and cursing the locust.

Pro-war faction, pro-peace faction, on the table rolling, brawling, eye-gouging faction————

Noisy and chaotic, not at all like a state-level dialogue.

Kugu Great Manifestation taps his forefinger; background papers fly in disorder; he does not dare be the least bit careless; he crosses his arms, staring at the distant Chong King, pondering whether he can find a pretext to cast a divine ability on the other first, as a precaution against the unforeseen.

Every face-to-face encounter carries enormous risk, especially at this moment when the Huai King arrives and the balanced situation undergoes change.

The Panding Great Manifestation is a lesson from the past; his bones are not yet cold; he died with eyes unclosed.

The White Ape's sudden appearance almost overturned the ingrained understanding that "stones in the river" could not hide, shocking the world.

Although its method was suspected to be a one-time measure, who would dare guarantee it?

Precisely because of this, Kugu made full preparations before arriving at the front line.

He had once stood at the front line together with Panding and Baizu; his strength was the lowest, a tier below Panding, and two tiers below King Chong, so the rear support defaulted to being closer. According to the subsequent development, King Chong should retreat and hand over to King Huai, or King Huai and King Chong would arrive together, and the Southern Frontier support would come as a block, making it two versus two on the Luchang River.

King Chong showed no trace of moving.

That "pebble" shot by the Great Shun giant drawing a bow from hundreds of thousands of li away, from the Huaijiang, then leapt over the nearest support position at the second defense line, and would fall into the Luchang River——

Outside the Luchang River.

Arrayed and ready, constantly monitoring the situation and Qi flow on the Luchang River, the Baizu Daxian who had confirmed Liang Qu and King Huai's arrival looked to the side.

The Xindeng Daxian, long prepared, bid farewell left and right, moved forward, pressing the distance to the opposite shore, preparing for two versus two.

Kugu Daxian has a divine ability called 【Bone Blood Wither Together】, which can instantly link with a person upon touch, causing the other's attack to be evenly shared as injury between both.

Relying on this move, Kugu Suokang can almost stand on undefeated ground, unless the opponent wants to perish together with him.

But if facing two enemies, it would be extremely dangerous.

【Bone Blood Wither Together】 cannot produce effect beyond two people; switching links is troublesome and time-consuming, and would further restrict Kugu's use of other divine abilities.

The only pity: Baizu is a Ninth Rank Wu Sheng, Liang Qu is First Rank; in a two versus two the strength is unequal. If he went, it would inevitably cause Great Shun to send a third person, falling into escalating escalation, so he could only be the Fifth Rank Xindeng Daxian.

Five plus three is roughly equivalent to five plus one.

The Yaolong gap is within three tiers; strength is basically equal.

A life-or-death instant is not likely to appear; the dangerous scenario of not waiting for rescue.

Shrinking ground into inches, swift steps like wind.

Mountain ridges on both banks receded.

Xindeng gazed into the distance.

Between the mountain ridges and the vault of heaven, a thread of crimson light emerged, accompanied by hazy mountain mist, steaming and swirling, growing ever more striking, like the rising morning sun, involuntarily stirring emotion.

Great Shun's super-grade Dragon Blood Horse, also named Red Qilin, belongs exclusively to the King's carriage.

When running in the sky, the Red Qilin steams Qi and blood, resembling a piece of sunset glow; its whole body's scales reflect sunlight, flashing brilliantly, like the sun within the red clouds.

There is a beautiful reputation in the world: "See the glow, see the King," exceedingly beautiful.

Helplessly, today the world is divided into three; only the Southern Frontier land has no Dragon Lord to raise them. Great Shun's Huaijiang is about to swap Dragon Lord for Ape Lord; perhaps this streak of red glow will be the final afterglow——

A movement in the rear.

The front instantly sensed it.

King Chong and Kugu raised their heads and gazed at each other.

"You swore up and down, insisting it was our Great Shun's King Huai who did it. How do you explain that at the time of the incident, King Huai's 'stone in the river' was not present?" King Chong suddenly spoke.

Kugu froze, not falling into the self-proving trap: "This is what you Great Shun owe us an explanation for! Why did King Huai's 'stone in the river' not move, yet still come throw our Southern Frontier into chaos? Why did the White Ape suddenly appear back then? What means does Great Shun have? What means does King Huai have!"

"How to measure Qi flow?"

"After the incident, our Tusi used Qi insects to capture the enemy's Qi flow at the first moment, able to preserve it for years. Let King Huai agree to use his divine ability once more, compare the two, and the truth will be revealed!"

The Luchang River surges eastward, deep green; green mountains on both banks rise in layered peaks, shrouded in mist and smoke.

Behind King Chong, a gorgeous red glow emerged, gilding his figure with a layer of radiance; a point of golden light between heaven and earth.

"Then you had better catch it well. For the sake of comparing true and false Qi flow, Kugu Daxian personally tests the spear, unfortunately meeting his demise."

"What?"

The key supplement from the intertwined Yaolong; Kugu's nerves were already taut, not daring to be careless. The moment King Chong's words fell, wandering needle-like rays of glow crossed the long chair back, stabbing pain into his brow center. Kugu's pupils instantly dilated.

Heaven and earth warning!

In the next instant, the slow-moving King Huai on the north bank suddenly changed speed, racing southward.

Not right!

Danger!

Heart fires collided; within the gaze of four eyes, killing intent erupted violently!

Enduring the spiritual impact, over three hundred years of arduous cultivation; instinctive action faster than thought. Kugu retreated first; dense white bones thrust out from the surrounding earth, like a dense bone forest horizontally cutting across the Luchang River.

King Chong neither dodged nor avoided; he took one step forward, smashing through ten zhang of white bones, letting the opponent brand him with 【Bone Blood Wither Together】. Maggots seemed to writhe in his bone marrow; enduring the bone-gnawing agony, he forcibly seized Kugu's collar. His palm like the Tianhe suspended, he ruthlessly struck down.

"Pfft!"

Both simultaneously sprayed a mouthful of fresh blood, ribs fractured.

And in that instant of mutual clash, of erupting Qi flow, on both north and south banks, one river three mountains, several Martial Saints and Daxian on the second and third defense lines simultaneously stirred, leaping forward.

King Chong has gone mad!

A trap!

Thoughts followed one another, flashing past.

Panding Daxian's visage and laughter surfaced in Kugu's heart; without the slightest intention of entanglement, he turned and fled. Xindeng Daxian was already within a hundred li, but a streak of shadow even faster than him swept from above his head, like a venomous snake springing from grass in his youth, tearing through the layers of clouds in the sky.

That was a dragon.

A coiling, roaring water dragon.

The water dragon split into two; one branch attacked the Xindeng on the opposite shore, one branch rushed at Daxian Kugu.

Crash.

Kugu dodged the Azure Dragon; bone spines chaotically sprouted on their own, piercing the great dragon. Then from the corner of his eye he glanced sideways.

A dazzling red light rose from the mountain ridges!

Will heated to the extreme almost materialized, scorching the earth.

Overwhelming killing intent, as if to annihilate all the clamor of the entire Luchang River.

Separated by several tens of li, Xindeng Daxian strode forward, saw the Azure Dragon turn its head, roar skyward; saw the red sun at its side, evaporating the Cang River. His eyes nearly split open, blood shooting from the corners of his eyes.

A fledgling Yinglong, promoted less than two years ago.

He actually dared to collude with the Chong King and plot against Nanjiang again!

"Liang Qu!!!"

The withered bones' eyes turned blood-red.

Liang Qu's eyes were tightly shut.

The Chong King was shocked beyond words.

He originally thought it would be the same as last time, using whatever means or methods to conjure another Bai Yuan or some other high-ranking Yinglong, but judging by the current situation, how could it be Liang Qu acting himself, and why would he close his eyes?

Liang Qu seems to still be cultivating.

Or rather.

Never escaped!

One flame after another ignited in the darkness.

They floated and flickered, entangled with each other, drifting and swaying.

The flames were so beautiful, so vibrant, so — easily extinguished.

The withered bones roared in the swaying flame core, veins on the forehead twisting like snakes, clearly opposite, yet Liang Qu faced forward, able to see his back, the back of his head, as if looking down from above, a perspective from another dimension, any direction observable.

The withered bones' movements were full of "noise," like an irrational piece of music, making one want to hold scissors and cut out the unreasonable chapters.

At high noon, sunlight blazed, the root sea scorching, the sun blazing fiercely.

A thought reached this point.

The root sea stirred heaven and earth, monstrous waves surged skyward.

Rivers and lakes, azure heavens, radiant flames, forests —

All forces gathered toward the north bank, all winds reversed and surged back, all rocks cracked.

Majestic and radiant, like the sun at high noon!

This is!!!

Chong King, withered bones, Xin Deng — scalp numb.

How many times greater is this earth-shaking resonance compared to the root sea's stirring?

Absolutely over two hundred, nearly, no, exactly three hundred times!

Even if Chong King and Xin Deng never had such magnitude! How long has he been promoted?

The blade's light was cool as water, Fubo rang, the pitch-black heaven and earth suddenly faded, even the flames turned gray-white, swaying, their outlines following the motion, like an uncolored sketch.

Piercing cold descended, intense danger nearly blocked the withered bones' mouth and nose, making him suffocate, making him tremble, pus-yellow sewage backflowed into his nasal cavity, fire burned painfully, clearly Liang Qu had his eyes closed, yet he seemed pierced by the opponent's gaze, naked, he wanted to flee, but in the darkness a voice told him.

Cannot escape.

Overwhelming fear descended, he panickedly threw down the Chong King and looked around, but there was no one beside him, not just people, Lu Cangjiang, the two banks' great mountains, dense trees — nothing.

"Hahaha, done!"

The laughter echoed, the withered bones turned back, only to see a youth, those brows and eyes, actually his younger self?

The youth was surrounded by stars, holding the unicorn beetle, raising the first poison insect he refined, becoming the pride of Changmu Meadow.

"I'm getting married!"

The youth's smile beamed, embracing the soft waist of the radiant maiden, holding her high in midair.

"Hah, refining the heart is harder than art, what harm is there in not succeeding? Finally, Entering Zhen Xiang!"

The middle-aged man was much steadier, yet could not hide the joy on his face, at the age of a martial instructor, thirty-eight, still full of vigor.

"Don't leave me!"

"Blood debt, blood repaid!"

War, death —

"Grandfather, don't be sad, grandmother is in heaven keeping you company."

"Uncle!"

"I want to enter seclusion — "

"Great Manifestation! Great Enlightenment! Great Enlightenment!"

Voices of loud calls echoed in the ears, ascending to this position took two full centuries, the next six hundred years hold great promise.

"Border emergency!"

A violent shout, sweat poured from the entire body, spirit and flesh merged, the youthful self and the present Da Xian overlapped —

Cold light suddenly pierced.

It's over.

Pupils widened in shock.

Heaven and earth drew lines, Fubo's long spear swept forward in a wide arc.

The withered bones' drifting flames were swept by the spear tip into a shower of sparks, like blowing out candle flames, after extreme bending, the flames suddenly dimmed.

Blue smoke rose softly.

Suddenly, the surrounding colors seeped through the black and white like pigment leaching from behind paper, the world blood-red, the Cangjiang river broken, the mountain ranges lush.

Rivers and light returned, the gorge long and dark, spanning the land.

Liang Qu opened his eyes.

Great Enlightenment, the withered bones' pupils trembled, a blood line appeared at the center of the face, the skull evenly split, blood threads clung, the left and right fields of vision slowly shifted apart.

Left rises, right falls.

The Yinglong's heart, beats every seven days. Now completely exposed in the chest cavity, it pounded violently, the severed blood vessels pumped out astonishing blood, shattering mountain ranges.

Vast heaven and earth, the great river flows east.

The Huaijiang is the bow, the King of Huai the arrow, shooting forth from Southern Zhili straight into the stone ridges of the southern frontier.

A reef rising from the water surface suddenly cracked and collapsed, sinking as shattered stone.

"Boom!"

River water submerged the gorge, flowing east not west, south not north.

"Dry Bones! Dry Bones!"

"Father, Father!"

"It's collapsing!"

Tables and chairs shattered; the Tusi stared wide-eyed, stumbled back three steps — deng deng deng — and fell to the ground, murmuring in a daze.

"It's over, it's over."