Chapter 2149: s.h.i.+ft in the World! The Black Dragon Manifests!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
As Li Heng stepped out, the earth beneath him shuddered. Cries of alarm came from the depths of the palace, from many of the palace maids and consorts who were frightened by this disturbance. Li Heng could even hear the shattering of porcelain tiles.
The Imperial Palace had fallen into chaos.
“Your Majesty, the palace is in turmoil. Why don’t we…”
Li Jingzhong looked hesitantly at Li Heng.
“There’s no need!”
Li Heng confidently waved his hand in refusal.
“We are the sovereign of the country. We will never leave so easily!”
Li Heng slowly raised his eyes to the sky. As the Son of Heaven of the Great Tang and the master of its Dragon Qi, Li Heng was extremely sensitive to s.h.i.+fts in Dragon Qi. When the heavens had s.h.i.+fted, Li Heng had felt his Dragon Qi pulse.
“Imperial Father, is this the moment you spoke of?
“We are not the sovereign of a vanquished country, and the Great Tang is not showing signs of being conquered. No matter what danger is coming, We will stop it and protect the country for the sake of its people!”
Li Heng’s robes danced around him, his eyes exploding with dazzling light.
To the southwest of the Imperial Palace, in the King of Foreign Lands Residence, w.a.n.g Chong’s original body was also observing the s.h.i.+ft in the heavens.
Has the foundation of the world been shaken? w.a.n.g Chong asked himself as he looked up at the dark skies.
For w.a.n.g Chong, this was not some heavenly phenomenon. To the astrologers, there were many potential reasons for this ma.s.sive s.h.i.+ft in the Central Plains, including the drying up of Dragon Qi, but w.a.n.g Chong knew that all this had a very simple explanation.
The incessant surging of the cold wave in the north was due to the constant acc.u.mulation of energy from another world in this one. Once this energy hit a certain threshold, it would experience a qualitative transformation and begin to shake and eat away at the foundation of this world, resulting in all these s.h.i.+fts.
And all this was closely connected to Heaven and the men in black.
You won’t have it easy for much longer. One day, I’ll expose your true face and utterly destroy you. But before that…
w.a.n.g Chong slowly looked toward Youzhou.
Let’s kill your so-called Child of the World and end this war. An Yaluoshan, are you ready?
Rumble!
A lightning bolt blazed down from the heavens, streaking from the capital toward the distant northeast.
At this time, an entirely different scene was playing out in Youzhou.
Dark clouds obscured the sky, stretching all the way from the border with the Eastern Turks to the very tip of Goguryeo, a roiling sea of darkness. These seething dark clouds gathered around Youzhou, bringing Dragon Qi with them.
And if one looked carefully, one could see that the dark clouds had vaguely taken the form of a ma.s.sive black dragon, coiling in the air with its claws bared in the direction of the capital as if it was cheering on An Yaluoshan.
Kacrack!
Lighting crackled within the clouds, making the black dragon seem even more savage and terrifying.
All the soldiers of Youzhou looked up at the sky in shock and awe.
All of them could see that the black clouds were most concentrated, the lightning the most dazzling, right above the Andong Protectorate headquarters, and that was also where the dragon’s head was.
There were even slender tendrils of lightning coming down from the ‘black dragon’ and landing on the Andong Protectorate headquarters, as if the two shared some mysterious connection.
As more and more dark clouds gathered, the black dragon grew larger and larger, exerting more and more pressure on those below.
It’s about time…
In front of the Andong Protectorate headquarters, Gao Shang slowly raised his eyes to the sky, a bright glint within them.
The world had s.h.i.+fted, and the black dragon had manifested!
Although Gao Shang had seen those records in his ancient texts, this was his first time seeing it with his own eyes.
This was not simply a congregation of black clouds. This black dragon contained the Dragon Qi that they had stolen from the capital, and also the Dragon Qi that came from Youzhou being the future den of the dragon. Their fusion had brought forth this black dragon.
Even though it was pitch-black, Gao Shang did not care. There was no strict difference between a black dragon and a true dragon.
This was because when the true dragon dominated the realm, only the black dragon had a chance of overturning the dynasty, clearing out the old and bringing in the new.
And once the black dragon devoured the true dragon, it would transform into the true dragon!
The difference between success and failure had never been a matter of destiny!
Gao Shang waved his sleeve and firmly ordered, “Pa.s.s on my order! Prepare to activate the formation!”
The manifestation of the black dragon was an extremely rare opportunity. If they missed out on this day, they could put aside any thought of strengthening Youzhou.
“Yes!”
Below Gao Shang, a Youzhou horseman swiftly mounted his horse and rode into the distance.
A few moments later, the lands of Youzhou began to tremble. On the borders of Youzhou, to the south, east, west, and north, black streams of energy shot into the air and connected to the savage black dragon.
Each pillar of black energy was created through the work of seven or eight black-robed sorcerers who were performing a ritualistic dance.
In their center was either a large handled cauldron, or a copper cauldron, or the sculpture of a monster, or a copper goblet… Though these items were in different shapes and sizes, they all shared one thing in common. They were all pitch-black.
Gao Shang had gathered these black-robed sorcerers and collected these strange, black ritual tools to create this formation.
As the formation was set into motion, the black ritual tools resonated with the black dragon in the sky and finally produced a subtle change.
Bang!
After a moment that seemed to drag on for an eternity, the black dragon finished absorbing the fortune of the world, and the event that Gao Shang had long antic.i.p.ated finally took place.
Boom! The giant black dragon opened its maw and spewed out a black torrent of energy riddled with lightning. With thunderous speed, the black torrent crashed into the Andong Protectorate headquarters.
The world fell silent.
A moment later, as if the earth had sundered apart, a ma.s.sive shockwave of energy swept out from the Andong Protectorate headquarters.
The formless black energy suddenly became like dense ocean waves!
“Ah!”
The black energy pa.s.sed through a Youzhou soldier standing guard on the wall. His body went stiff, and his helmet exploded, his hair scattering apart as he raised his head and howled like a wolf.
Crackclack! A moment later, the Youzhou soldier’s body cracked and groaned. He had originally been at the first tier of the True Martial realm, but a moment later, he broke into Tier 2, Tier 3, Tier 4… in the end, he went all the way Tier 7 of the True Martial realm.
Such progress was truly flabbergasting.
And the same transformation happened to all the other Youzhou soldiers.
All the way from the lowly soldiers to the generals, all the soldiers of Youzhou were strengthened by the black dragon, growing stronger at an astonis.h.i.+ng pace.
Atop the roof of the Andong Protectorate headquarters, Cui Qianyou and Tian Chengsi were flabbergasted by the sight.
Although Gao Shang had said that this was what would happen, none of them had imagined that the Black Dragon Formation would have such a huge effect.
Youzhou had an army of six hundred thousand soldiers!
At the minimum, the soldiers received a boost of two to three tiers, with some even growing stronger by six or seven tiers.
Even Cui Qianyou and Tian Chengsi, who already had extremely high levels of cultivation and had not expected much of a boost from the black dragon, felt themselves getting significantly stronger.
And this was only the beginning! Crack! As if the heavens themselves had split open, a ma.s.sive vortex appeared next to the black dragon. A moment later, another black pillar of energy crashed down, further strengthening the Youzhou army.
On the roof, An Yaluoshan was taken aback by this sight, but as he came to understand what it was, he heartily laughed.
The Power of the World!
At this crucial moment, the familiar Power of the World had once more appeared to strengthen his army.
At this moment, even the world was helping him!
“w.a.n.g Chong, do you see it? Do you see it? The entire world stands on my side, so why are you still trying to fight me?”
An Yaluoshan spread out his arms and laughed, his eyes bright.
“Your Excellency, get ready!”
Gao Shang’s voice rang out.
Surprised, An Yaluoshan followed Gao Shang’s gaze and looked up. High in the sky, the black dragon’s crimson eyes had erupted with a light countless times brighter than the sun, and that enormous dragon head was looking straight at him.
“This is—”
Before An Yaluoshan could react, the black dragon’s eyes unleashed two beams of light that fused together into a thick, red lightning bolt that flashed through s.p.a.ce and slammed into An Yaluoshan.
At the same time, another black pillar of energy descended on An Yaluoshan.
“Ah!”
An Yaluoshan’s clothes blew apart as he let out a cry that could alarm the heavens. But unlike the others, An Yaluoshan’s cry contained no pain, only boundless ecstasy.