[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-dragon-lies-hidden":3,"chapter-the-dragon-lies-hidden-the-dragon-lies-hidden-chapter-997":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The Dragon Lies Hidden",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2290295,4477,"Chapter 997","the-dragon-lies-hidden-chapter-997",997,"\u003Cp>When Xiang Weiyuan flew into Guantun County, he happened to see the second fleet arriving, delivering a full one hundred thousand shi of various supplies. Guantun County had now become a vast warehouse, with two hundred thousand laborers working there under the labor-for-relief system, digging fortifications.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The fortification system Xiang Weiyuan had once built against the Liao tribes at the Northern Shanmen had been copied exactly and transported to Ji Guo. Now, centered on Guantun County, two lines of earthworks were extending outward, splitting the entire prefecture in two.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From above, the two lines of earthworks resembled wings spread wide, welcoming Xiang Weiyuan’s arrival. But from another angle, they looked like two chains, waiting silently for prey about to be caught.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiang Weiyuan shot through the sky like a meteor and landed in the center of Guantun County, descending into the county government office. As soon as he touched the ground, he instinctively knew where Zhang Sheng was, and walked through the main hall toward the study.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the instant before he pushed open the door, Xiang Weiyuan suddenly halted, momentarily dazed, as if the entire world had become a painted scroll—and he, a figure trapped within it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiang Weiyuan’s spiritual sense entered the realm of mortal smoke and fire, and at that moment, all mortal smoke and fire fell into an eerie stillness, as if time itself had ceased to flow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In absolute silence, only a frail girl in a white dress ran frantically—alone in the entire world, strikingly visible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiang Weiyuan appeared behind her, seized her hand, and yanked her back sharply. “In such a hurry? Where are you going? The heavenly tribulation isn’t over yet!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The girl, like a helpless doll, gazed up at him with wide, innocent eyes—pure as the world’s most flawless gem—tears welling as she pleaded: “The tribulation’s already ended. Let me go! Please, please!… Would you let me go if I were like this?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Her delicate, pure face shifted slightly—and became a face Xiang Weiyuan knew all too well: Xiang Xiaoyu!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dressed as a woman, Xiang Xiaoyu looked perfectly suited to it—as if she had always been meant to be this way.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiang Weiyuan stared at the female Xiang Xiaoyu, then suddenly smiled, lifted her up, and strode toward the central city. “Why the rush? We’ll take our time crossing this tribulation. Without a demonic force, what’s the point of a heavenly demonic tribulation? If you run off, the next one might be even worse. Besides—you’re useful now.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their figures faded into the distance, leaving only Xiang Weiyuan’s voice echoing across the empty fields: “I heard this tribulation can be crossed all the way to Immortality?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Heavenly Demon: There are already too many heavenly demons. Can you just be human?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the study door, Xiang Weiyuan’s world returned to normal, as if the previous distortion had never existed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He gently pushed open the door. Before him lay a lunar almanac, its date marked: the fourteenth of the third month. His spiritual sense returned to the government office’s main hall—the almanac there also read: the fourteenth of the third month.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiang Weiyuan paused. Instantly, he drew from mortal smoke and fire the scene he had just witnessed in the main hall. The almanac’s date was still the fourteenth of the third month.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He did not move. Mortal smoke and fire erupted in frenzy. He took a memory from the Heavenly Demon, then instantly copied it countless times—examining random copies while continuing to replicate furiously.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In an instant, Xiang Weiyuan had replicated tens of millions of memories and examined hundreds of thousands of copies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As countless memories converged, the date on the almanac blurred, flickered, then changed to the fifteenth of the third month.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiang Weiyuan exhaled softly—and a mist of blood drifted out. Mortal smoke and fire ceased its memory replication. Instantly, every memory reverted to the fourteenth of the third month—even the Heavenly Demon’s own memory now read: the fourteenth of the third month.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In those few steps from the main hall to the study, Xiang Weiyuan had walked back from the fifteenth to the fourteenth of the third month. Had the Heavenly Demon not been unconstrained by this world’s karmic laws and left behind one memory, Xiang Weiyuan himself might have been erased from that karmic thread.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, the Killing Tribulation had arrived.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Carrying the immense weight of mortal fortune, Xiang Weiyuan pressed forward like a boat rowing against the current, entering the study.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inside, Zhang Sheng was half-drenched in blood, yet sat upright. The wealthy merchant turned his head and smiled. “You’re earlier than expected. Perfect timing. If you’d come tomorrow, it would be too late.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He squinted at Xiang Weiyuan, his gaze piercing through his exterior and interior at once—then his face twisted in shock. He stared again and again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiang Weiyuan walked straight to Zhang Sheng’s side, gently wiping the blood from her face with his fingers. “I’m here. It’s over now. But we must wait a little longer—until they strike. Only then can I counter.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Sheng kept her eyes tightly shut. “Alright. I’ll wait.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiang Weiyuan carefully traced her eyelids, staring at the blood on his hand, his voice trembling slightly: “Your eyes…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Sheng sat upright, relaxed, unconcerned. “I have the Heart Sword Heavenly Eye—I see everything. This bodily wound? It’ll heal quickly.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiang Weiyuan said: “When this is done, let’s go to the Wild Realm together. This body of yours remains a flaw. You should mend it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Sheng shook her head. “My talent is limited. I cannot master everything. I cultivate the strongest sword—and the sword of final stillness. It demands unwavering, irreversible momentum. A stronger body only drags me down.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiang Weiyuan replied: “That’s stubbornness. You must strengthen it at least a little. The body is the boat that crosses the sea—the stronger the hull, the greater the cargo it can carry, the higher the position it can reach.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Sheng smiled faintly. “But have you ever considered… what if I don’t want to be so tired? What if I don’t want to strive anymore? What then?”\u003C\u002Fp>",1015,"2026-06-20T03:38:38.899Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","a7b5c0a0243c6d4c308dd8586245a3b15e5e665ce7dcaa144b2a63091981a1f5","the-dragon-lies-hidden-chapter-998","the-dragon-lies-hidden-chapter-996",1000,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-dragon-lies-hidden-cover.jpg"]