122: Fourth Generation: Overlord (18)

At dawn on this day, Jiulong City had already awakened.

It was not a clamor of voices, but a solemnity that made all living things hold their breath.

The main streets of the city had been swept clean by Cleansing Talismans and covered in Breathing Soil infused with Earth-element spiritual power; the Great Shang Imperial Guards, clad in brand-new spiritual armor inscribed with protective runes, stood on both sides like a forest cast in iron, their blood essence and Killing Intent subtly connected, forming an invisible barrier that stretched from the palace all the way to the newly built sacrificial altar outside the city.

Countless commoners and low-level Cultivators gathered in the designated viewing areas, craning their necks in anticipation.

They could not only feel the solemn and fervent atmosphere but could also clearly perceive that the Spiritual Qi permeating the air was becoming active and orderly, as if waiting for the arrival of some supreme existence.

At the hour of Chen, nine mighty bell tolls rang out from deep within the palace. Neither gold nor stone, the sound penetrated directly into the Divine Soul, cleansing Heart Demons, and spread for a hundred miles.

This was the "Soul-Suppressing Bell" refined from ten-thousand-year cold iron and lightning-struck wood; its sound had the effect of clearing the mind and announcing to Heaven and Earth.

The palace gates slowly swung open amidst the spiritual light of the Formation.

The solemn procession was not a mundane one, but a torrent composed of Spirit Beasts, Magical Artifacts, and Cultivators.

Leading the way were not Cultivators, but thirty-six Spirit Rhinos with pure Bloodlines and single horns on their foreheads; their horns emitted a serene, clear light capable of breaking illusions and dispelling evil; behind them were Cultivators holding various ritual flags, treasure umbrellas, and palace fans, every step they took in harmony with the Formation, drawing the surrounding Spiritual Qi to flow with them.

Wang Qingshan, the Grand Elder, the Third Elder, and other core figures, all dressed in grand ritual robes embroidered with cloud patterns and dragon emblems, possessing inherent cleansing and dust-repelling effects, walked at the very front of the procession with solemn expressions, their Spiritual Pressure and National Fortune subtly resonating.

And at the core of the procession, under the gaze of all, was a jade carriage not made of ordinary wood, but carved entirely from "Ten Thousand Year Warm Jade".

Pulling the carriage were not fine horses, but nine "Snow-Scaled Dragon Horses," Foundation Establishment Great Demons with Bloodlines close to that of a Flood Dragon and fearsome scales; clouds formed beneath their hooves, and they moved without a trace of mundane dust, while runes flowed upon the jade carriage, condensing protective and Spiritual Qi-gathering effects.

On the jade carriage, Xu Yuan wore a flat-topped crown with twelve hanging bead curtains and a black upper garment with a crimson lower garment, embroidered with the twelve patterns of the sun, moon, stars, mountains, dragons, and insects.

Although his face still carried the pallor of one just recovering from a severe injury, making him look even younger, the calmness in his brows made no one dare to underestimate him in the slightest because of his age.

He sat upright in the carriage, his posture straight, as if he were one with this jade carriage, with this long procession, and with the entire destiny of the newly born Great Shang Dynasty.

The jade carriage, under the gaze of countless eyes filled with awe, curiosity, and expectation, moved silently and steadily along the imperial road paved with spiritual light toward the outside of the city.

The sacrificial altar was built on a specific ley line node south of the city, utilizing the terrain of mountains and water to gather Spiritual Essence from all directions.

The altar had three levels, was circular, built with "Flawless Han Spirit Jade," and stood ninety-nine feet high, symbolizing the Nine Heavens.

When Xu Yuan, guided by the ritual official, stepped onto the Han Spirit Jade steps of the altar one by one, golden light showered down, intertwining with the purple Qi swirling around his imperial robes, evolving into magnificent visions of dragons flying and phoenixes dancing, and the twelve strings of jade beads refracted a mesmerizing, ethereal glow that made one's spirit sway.

Below the altar, all observers, regardless of their cultivation level, felt an invisible pressure descend, making them feel small and causing them to involuntarily hold their breath and focus.

Wang Qingshan and other high-ranking members of the Wang family stood at the very front below the altar; they appeared calm, but their Divine Sense had long since spread out like an invisible net, covering the entire altar area, their Foundation Establishment spiritual perception raised to its Peak, vigilant against any slightest discordant spatial fluctuation or ripple of spiritual power.

Xu Yuan's gait was steady; with every step he took, the Han Spirit Jade beneath his feet glowed faintly, responding to the Spiritual Essence of the ley lines; he could feel that as he ascended, the National Fortune gathering around him was becoming increasingly surging and magnificent, like a hundred rivers returning to the sea.

The Purple Zenith Imperial Fate Art operated automatically at an unprecedented speed, and the purple Talisman seed within his Dantian emitted a yearning hum, creating a deep resonance with this altar and the Laws of this world.

Burning incense, reciting the sacrificial text.

As the ceremony proceeded, the National Fortune gathered, the purple Qi came from the east, and the Heaven And Earth Spiritual Essence boiled.

Just as the sacrificial text was about to end, at the moment when the Luck and Heavenly Dao intersected most intensely—

Xu Yuan's mind suddenly chilled!

An indescribable, majestic will, like a cold galaxy, indifferently swept across this place.

This will carried no emotion, like a dead object operating the Laws of the Heavenly Dao; its level was shockingly the same as the "Dao Lord" who had refined him and Ye Feng in his previous life!

Just by being touched by the aftermath of this gaze, Xu Yuan felt his Divine Soul freeze, his Purple Star Emperor Body shuddered instinctively, and the hairs on his back stood on end!

However, that gaze existed only for an instant, as if it were merely a routine record, and then it receded like a tide, disappearing without a trace.

"This... could it be that this so-called sacrificial ceremony of the Eastern Region nations is actually sacrificing to an existence at the Dao Lord level?!"

Xu Yuan was shocked, but the arrow was already on the string, and he could not afford to dwell on it.

The last word of the sacrificial text fell, and the scroll turned into light and shot into the sky!

Boom!

"Granted..."

A faint voice, seemingly originating from the Rules themselves, echoed indifferently, declaring a certain "approval."

Boom!

Then, a pillar of light from the Heavenly Dao descended, and the majestic Luck poured into his body!

The Purple Zenith Imperial Fate Art operated crazily at an unprecedented speed; within his Dantian, the phantom of the Purple Extremity Vast Heaven Foundation, composed of countless mysterious runes, solidified at an unprecedented speed, emitting a Dao Rhyme that was flawless and commanded all Laws!

His cultivation instantly broke through the barrier, formally stepping into the Foundation Establishment realm!

However, at this perfect moment when the Luck was pouring in, his mind and the Heavenly Dao were most deeply fused, and his perception of the outside world was at its weakest—

Killing Intent, like a venomous snake lurking in the shadows, struck suddenly!

The Shadow Tower bronze-ranked assassin, disguised as a low-level civil official, saw his aura instantly skyrocket from Qi Refining to the Peak of the Early Foundation Establishment Stage!

His body merged with the Law of shadows, penetrating the guards' spiritual perception and the slight gaps in the Formation like a teleportation; the "Silence Death Light" that corroded one's Dao Foundation condensed at his fingertips, stabbing directly at Xu Yuan's undefended back!

The timing was grasped to perfection!

"How dare you!"

The roars and interceptions of Wang Qingshan and the others were about to be a split second too late to stop that fatal moment!

Just at the critical moment when the death light was about to touch the imperial robes—

Xu Yuan's closed eyes suddenly opened, purple lightning bursting from his pupils; where was there any trace of immersion in enlightenment?

An ice-cold, bone-chilling Killing Intent mixed with the majestic Spiritual Pressure of a newly promoted Foundation Establishment Cultivator exploded!

He did not even turn his head.

"I, having received the mandate of Heaven, govern Great Shang."

The Emperor's voice was like a decree of the Heavenly Dao, directly branded into the Void Realm, invoking the brilliant National Fortune around him!

"In this domain, I decree—all Laws are forbidden, all evil shall retreat!"

As he spoke, the Law followed!

Pale golden ripples of Law spread out from him as the center!

The assassin's figure, fast as a ghost, seemed to collide with an invisible barrier and froze instantly!

The point of Silence Death Light at his fingertip, less than an inch from Xu Yuan's back, extinguished suddenly like a candle in the wind!