The treasure ship of Shao Kingdom returned from the fairy island overseas, but did not bring the incense and magical artifacts they wanted. However, a spiritual pool was found in the Baidi Pool, and now the rumors about the ruins and the incense and magical artifacts have fallen into their hands.
A treasure ship that looked more like a warship was docked at a port in the southern border of Shao State. Precious light was flowing on the ship, and the entire dock was blocked by Shao State's Dragon Guards, and no one was allowed to approach.
Zhou Yang stood on the big ship. Although his cultivation was not high, his status in the world was high. This time, he went down to the Mountain and Sea Realm in person for the incense and artifact, which was enough to show how much he valued this mission.
Of course, there is another reason. Shao State has been established for hundreds of years. Although the modern world has continuously strengthened its control over Shao State, huge conflicts of interest have arisen between the practitioners of the modern world and the natives of the Mountain and Sea Realm. The modern world cultivators have a high status and hold great power in Shao State, while those cultivators in the Mountain and Sea Realm can only obey them, which in itself poses huge problems and hidden dangers.
More importantly, Shaoguo’s own public office also seemed to be out of control.
This made Zhou Yang extremely cautious, because the speed of time flow in the Mountain and Sea Realm and the real world was different. Ten days or half a month might have passed outside, but the situation in the Mountain and Sea Realm had already changed. Another purpose of his entering the Mountain and Sea Realm this time was to see what problems had arisen in their control over the Shao Kingdom in the Mountain and Sea Realm, and how big the problem was.
However, once he entered the world of mountains and seas, he discovered that the problem was more serious than he had imagined. Not only the royal family of Shao State, but even the Imperial Observatory and all the mountain gods and water lords of Shao State were gradually slipping away from their control.
Zhou Yang was worried, but the most important thing was to find the incense artifact. Shao Kingdom was just their layout in the mountain and sea world, but the incense artifact was related to the stability of the world. Zhou Yang knew very clearly which was more important.
However, Zhou Yang failed to find the incense artifact and received another bombshell news when he returned, which made Zhou Yang's already worried heart even more serious.
"What? Lu Zhou is dead?"
As soon as Zhou Yang stepped off the warship, he asked the Lingtai Lang from the Imperial Observatory who was delivering the news, "What's going on? Didn't we say that we should do everything in a safe way? How could Lü Zhou be dead?"
Lin Shu and Lu Wu, who were holding the Dongyuan Sword, also had heavy expressions on their faces. Lu Zhou himself was an important member among them, not to mention that he was one of the few masters in the world who was proficient in refining equipment and making elixirs. The death of such a person was a heavy blow to them.
The cultivators around him recounted everything that had happened before. The sudden appearance of the ruins and the secret about a corner of the heaven that fell tens of millions of years ago made Lu Zhou attach great importance to it. Because most of the power had gone to the overseas fairy island, Lu Zhou personally led his men to the Ten Thousand Mountains.
More than a dozen third-level cultivators gathered in the Ten Thousand Mountains and fought so hard that the sky collapsed and the earth cracked. Lu Zhou died in the ruins. Finally, Lu Zhou's disciple Kong Huai obtained the incense artifact, but was unable to get out. As the ruins were closed, he was also left inside.
A series of blockbuster news left Zhou Yang, Lu Wu and Lin Shu dumbfounded. They had traveled overseas, gone through untold hardships, made complete preparations, and a large number of cultivators had died. They finally opened the Baidi Pool and reaped huge rewards, but did not find the incense artifact they wanted.
While they were away, relics of gods and demons that had fallen from heaven were discovered in the Ten Thousand Mountains, and Lu Zhou even found the incense and magic weapon they had been searching for.
Lin Shu held the Dongyuan Sword, and a trace of sadness appeared on her face. Having stayed in the Mountain and Sea Realm for so long, she was used to seeing life and death. However, the death of someone so familiar like Lu Zhou made her feel sad. "Lu Zhou was not talented enough, and he was old. I'm afraid he knew that he couldn't achieve immortality, so he risked his life!"
Lu Wu shook his head. He was usually taken care of by Lu Zhou. "Old man Lu! What a pity! I thought I could get him a good position in the Shinto!"
"Now we don't even know if he can be reincarnated. He died at the hands of a third-level cultivator. I'm afraid even his soul won't be able to escape."
"But his disciple helped him get revenge. Otherwise, forget it. I really can't beat that Dan Jia."
"That old monster Danjia forced our Shao Kingdom to submit to Dahuan for so many years, and I didn't expect he's still alive!"
"Kong Huai?"
Zhou Yang was shocked, and immediately retrieved the information about Kong Huai from his mind. The identity of every person present in the Mountain and Sea Realm was deeply memorized in his head. Each of these people was an important chess piece to infiltrate the Mountain and Sea Realm, and was also the key factor for them to maintain control over the situation in the Mountain and Sea Realm.
"So, this Kong Huai is still in the ruins?"
"Immediately collect all the clues and information to determine the probability of Kong Huai's survival!"
"Then, at all costs, try every possible way to reenter the ruins and bring Kong Huai and the incense artifact out!"
Zhou Yang immediately made a judgment based on the information he already knew. Although the incense artifact was not found in the Baidi Pool, because of Lu Zhou, they did not miss the ruins of the Ten Thousand Mountains this time.
At the moment, it seems that our side has a huge advantage and has already gained the upper hand.
But Zhou Yang didn't know that at this moment, a large number of soldiers and horses of the five countries as well as their own generals and monks were gathered near the ruins of the Ten Thousand Mountains, cleaning up the aftermath of the war. The fire had turned the nearby mountains into a bare expanse, and corpses and traces of the battle between monks were everywhere. Corpses were floating up and down the Lijiang River one after another, and from time to time in the lower reaches one could see the corpses of soldiers and monks in different costumes floating downstream.
However, after the other four countries joined forces to wipe out those barbarians, they quickly united and launched an attack on Shao State, and forced Shao's army back to Lijiang.
The army of Shao Kingdom only welcomed back a few people who escaped from the ruins. A large number of low-level warriors and ordinary soldiers forced their way across the river on the floating bridge or swam directly. They were chased by the monks and warriors of the four countries, and the blood dyed the river red.
The losses were heavy and the army was almost wiped out.
The four states of Pan, Bai, Zheng and Li built a city near the ruins, excluded the Shao state, and jointly excavated the ruins.
Everyone knew that the people of Shao State had obtained the incense artifact. Thinking of the power of that arrow, the fourth-level Dan Jia was shot to death like an ant, and his soul was scattered.
If the Shao Kingdom got hold of this sacred artifact, it would shoot arrows at the capitals of various countries. The thought of this scene would make other countries tremble with fear.
"We must not let Shao Kingdom get this sacred artifact. Even if we can't get it, we can't let Shao Kingdom get it!" This is the idea of the other four countries, and even the Gao Kingdom which is far away in the sky.
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Shaoguo, the lower reaches of the Li River.
Fang Xiu was walking along the bank of the Li River, leading a dragon horse with hair like flames. From time to time, he could see corpses flowing down from upstream. In some villages along the river, many people from the Shao Kingdom were pointing at the river. Many of them were soldiers of the Shao Kingdom, and you could tell they were from their clothes.
The boats passing by on the river, and the boatmen and merchants on board, were all staring at the upper reaches of the Li River in shock, not knowing what was happening there.
However, when the water reached here, whirlpools were seen forming in the water, and the corpse sank and disappeared without a trace.
The rivers in this area of Shao State all have their own owners and maintain order, so you can see villages in this area. If the rivers were ownerless and the demons in them were causing chaos, no one would dare to live within dozens of miles of the river.
"Lu~Lu~" The horse snorted, as if it was reluctant to leave Fang Xiu, but unwilling to leave him. It had been the master of this water for decades, and had been worshipped and believed in by people. It had lived a comfortable life for a long time and was reluctant to leave its own water palace.
"Aren't you going back to Youdu with me?" Fang Xiu looked at the dragon horse. The horse seemed a little scared, and its pair of bright big eyes rolled from side to side.
Fang Xiu didn't care and laughed: "It seems that you have done a good job here, Dragon King. I don't want to go back."
"Well, then you can stay in Dongzhou!"
Fang Xiu pondered for a while and said, "You have been with me for a while. You have carried me all over Dongzhou and Beizhou. It is hard work. If someone summons you with a jade slip in the future, you can follow him. If you can really use the luck and merit of Fulongting, once you succeed, you may be able to become the god of Lijiang River."
Fang Xiu looked at the vast Li River, which was as surging as the blood of the earth. "The Li River God runs through the north and south, stretching for thousands of miles. Although it is not as big as a big river, it is worthy of the status of a local god."
However, the dragon horse had no idea that if it followed Fang Xiu back to Youdu, it would be able to defeat not only the Lijiang River God but also the Dragon God of the Four Seas in the future.
But at this moment it only remembered the Lijiang River God mentioned by its master Fengdu, and was filled with joy that it did not have to return to the dark and sunless Youdu and that it could possibly rule the entire Lijiang River.
The dragon horse transformed into a red dragon for the last time, happily carrying Fang Xiu towards the sea.
At this moment, a fairy ship as heavy as a mountain came out from the clouds, broke through the clouds, and arrived in front of Fang Xiu, and Fang Xiu landed on it.
The dragon circled the fairy ship again and again, as if bidding farewell, and let out a few dragon roars before leaving.
Fang Xiu didn't turn around to look at it again. The immortal officials and demon officials from Youdu who came to pick him up were replaced by a new batch. They crawled in front of Fang Xiu in a mighty manner, cheering like thunder and sea, but Fang Xiu just felt a little bored.
He just said: "No need to be polite, the Baigu Lingxu ship turns around and returns to Youdu!"
All the chess pieces have been deployed. There is no need for Fang Xiu to stay in Dongzhou any longer. Even in Youdu, he can still control the situation. Just paying attention to it from time to time will be enough.
Who will become the true dragon? Who can become the next saint? For Fang Xiu, it doesn't matter.
The important thing is that a true dragon will definitely appear. As for which one of the nine people it will be and who will eventually create a new dynasty, it doesn’t matter to Fang Xiu.
Even if Tang Li did not become the fifth saint, someone would replace him and the seeds of righteousness would inevitably be planted. As for any other accidents and mistakes that might occur, just let them develop.
The big ship disappeared in the mountain-like clouds. Fang Xiu climbed all the way to the top, turned around and looked at the entire Dongzhou.
No matter who succeeds or who fails, as long as everyone is moving, they will become a piece in his chess game. Winning or losing is not important, because sitting on both sides of the chessboard is only him.