Chapter 845: One Meeting, Two Familiarities

【Consuming three spiritual fish, can elevate: Wu Dao Tong Shen, Third Reckoning】

The journey took half a month.

Between 【Wō Palace】 and 【Chuánzhǔ Favor】, Liang Qu pondered long, and finally decided to elevate 【Chuánzhǔ Favor】!

【Wō Palace】 certainly greatly boosts combat power and allows one to handle difficulties with ease, yet when facing utter despair, what one truly relies on is not the enhanced hundred shots of 【Water Dragon Spear】 or 【Wō Divine Armor】, but the 【Divine Lord Seal】 and 【Slaying the River Dragon】!

A peerless blade is not as good as adding three inches of darkness to its tip.

The resolve was set.

Splash!

The patterns of the Zé Ding intertwined, blazing floods erupted, and Liang Qu closed his eyes.

All around, the sound of water.

Drip!

A drop struck precisely between his brows, icy to the bone.

Thin threads of cold seeped in, like spring seeds sending out roots, countless tendrils piercing through skin and flesh, forcing open gaps in the skull, spreading deep into the marrow, then growing ever bolder, taking root in the brain, tracing down the spine to every limb and extremity.

Cold.

Bone-deep cold.

Liang Qu couldn't help trembling, accompanied by piercing, aching pain.

Each plant's root tugged and probed, like pulling a tooth and touching exposed nerves with icy iron tongs.

The second and third favors burned like molten steel; the fourth was utterly opposite.

He gritted his teeth and opened his eyes.

The heavens and earth stretched boundless, an empty void poured in; above, gray-blue clouds, himself suspended in the center of a blue tide, beneath the surface, profound darkness, vast shadows gliding.

Sinking into it.

The tide's roar blurred.

Shimmering light flashed.

Three colossal light-fish, larger than mountains, circled each other; one pair of eyes blazed like the sun, the other two thick as yellow earth.

They locked gazes, then leapt straight into the Ding's wall.

Boom!

Endless ripples spread.

No matter how many times he witnessed this, his spirit remained shaken.

Long after the light-fish sank into the Ding's wall, the ripples did not fade, instead grew fiercer, until tiny glimmers surfaced, linking like fireflies.

The spear-wielding divine general, towering to match heaven and earth, became a pale blue phantom, striding forward, stars of the heavens shining in harmony with him.

The blue tide, frothy with water, split in two; the gap between the two great tides widened, lingering without closing.

Liang Qu stood at the Ding's base, watching the towering divine general approach step by step, shrinking with each step.

Until—human and deity became one!

Boom!

The blue tide shattered and reversed, spraying foam skyward!

……

"Lord Liang is in seclusion. The box contains…"

"The Phoenix Cry Silk Robe, acquired by the Marquis of Baron Xingyi several days ago through great merit," the eunuch bowed, glancing around. "This is a top-grade spiritual garment—likely meant for you, if I'm not mistaken."

"For me?"

Tǎ Tǎ escorted the eunuch out.

In the hall, Long Long Eying traced the exquisite treasure box, curiosity stirring.

She had never heard Liang Qu mention this.

"Long Eying-jie, open it! Open it!" Long Yao and Long Li crowded close, urging excitedly.

Long Long Eying shook her head, suppressing her curiosity and pushed the box away: "He hasn't emerged yet. No rush."

"Oh come on, the eunuch said it's a spiritual robe, the name fits too—back in Pingyang, didn't Lord Liang say he'd find you a spiritual robe? Everything matches!"

"Exactly! Phoenix cry, silk robe—does he plan to wear it himself at home? How embarrassing!"

Long Yao and Long Li kept pressing.

The suppressed curiosity sprouted again like a tender shoot.

She never dared act on Liang Qu's belongings without permission—but the name…

Long Long Eying looked to Xu Shi, seeking her adoptive mother's opinion.

Xu Shi thought a moment: "Phoenix Cry Silk Robe—I've heard of it. It's one of Shao Shao Jiyi's masterpieces."

"Shao Shao Jiyi?"

Others were unfamiliar.

Xu Shi explained: "A legendary master of spiritual garments. After his wife's death, he devoted himself entirely to women's robes, crafting wonders with unique materials: snow-feather weave from snowy silkworm silk, radiant dream-light from lunar glow of the jiazi month, butterfly dreams woven from butterfly pollen. But this master passed away many years ago—his works are now all singular treasures."

"Madam Xu knows so much."

Xu Shi smiled lightly: "Our family runs this trade. How could we be ignorant of spiritual garment masters?"

"Can lunar glow and butterfly pollen make clothes?" Long Yao marveled.

"The world is vast, with countless divine arts—why not? Didn't the court once bestow Little Nine with the Cloud Thunder Robe, woven from wind and thunder?"

"As for the Phoenix Cry Silk Robe, I've heard it's woven from wind fanned by the eyelashes of the Demon King Crimson Phoenix during the bǐnghuǒ hour of the sun—collecting the materials alone took years, hence it's not called a robe, but a 'wind.'"

"Shao Shao Jiyi made only two. Legend says only beautiful women may wear them, and never reveal them—whether true, I don't know."

Wind from eyelashes?

Long Yao and Long Li couldn't imagine it, their curiosity swelling endlessly.

"Open it," Xu Shi decided. "If this robe was meant for someone else, I'll scold Xiao Jiu myself."

With Xu Shi's permission granted.

Long Long Eying slid open the treasure box.

Sunlight spilled, dispelling darkness, illuminating the interior.

But—

Empty!

Long Yao and Long Li blinked, peered at the table—nothing visible.

"Huh? Why's it empty? Did the treasure vault guards steal it?"

"No, it's here."

Long Long Eying reached into the box, pinched—slowly, a pale orange garment materialized from nothing.

……

"Huff!"

"Hssss!"

In the quiet chamber, separated by several walls, Liang Qu gasped heavily, as if drawing warmth from the air itself.

Violent winds instantly snuffed the lamp wick.

The chamber plunged into darkness.

Sheets of frost crystallized across his body, sprouting from deep within his marrow, spreading outward, freezing flesh and blood.

After growing accustomed to the furnace-like heat of steel forging, this sudden chill felt strangely novel.

Sweat dripped to the floor, spreading white frost.

The intense cold tightened Liang Qu's brow, yet he dared not relax, inhaling slowly, exhaling deeply, enduring, waiting—for the most essential part, the finishing touch of the favor!

Soon—

His vision blurred instantly.

Then cleared.

A gale struck his face, heaven and earth darkened, the entire river churned leaden gray.

Massive waves rose like curtains, one crest failing, another rising; everywhere, swirling foam.

Liang Qu steadied himself, looked downward.

A terrifyingly vast shadow glided beneath the water; the surging river surged upward, a monstrous creature with deer antlers burst through, scattering the flood.

Two blazing suns rose into the sky, too radiant to behold!

Here it comes!

The fourth Chuánzhǔ Slaying the River Dragon!

Before Liang Qu could rejoice, grip his spear, his perspective shifted again!

The great marsh churned, black waves lifting white foam.

The spear-wielding divine general stood above, blotting out the sky's blue light, shrouded in darkness, his ten-foot frame towering to match heaven and earth.

"Back again?"

Before the divine general even moved, Liang Qu already felt his skull throbbing, splitting in two.

Three precedents existed.

He had finally uncovered the pattern.

One Chuánzhǔ, one River Dragon, alternating—full immersion, in sequence, the fourth should be the River Dragon taking the beating.

Hssss!

Having prepared himself mentally, Liang Qu quickly quieted his thoughts.

Learn!

One can still learn!

Each time the River Lord shows favor, one's innate understanding changes; standing higher lets one see farther, and one always gains something.

Whoa.

The spear moved.

Heaven and earth fell silent.

Liang Qu's entire body was completely immobilized; every scale felt as if pierced by blades.

A slight movement sent searing pain through him.

Everything turned black and white; countless lines trembled, snapped, collapsed, then reassembled.

The river surface, thousands of meters deep, cracked and sank; blood spilled outward along the collapse, as if flowing upward, staining the surroundings.

Unlike last time, when he severed the head and immediately jumped into an observer's viewpoint, Liang Qu was startled to find his vision turning red, then a searing pain struck like lightning.

The spear blade pierced the skull—like being struck by lightning!

Pain!

Too much pain!

(End of Chapter)