NFBE Chapter 226 can't stop here.
Chapter 226 can't stop here.
Braving wind and rain, they traversed the road, drawing thunder from the sky to transform into a black dragon.
Thousands of miles away on the Qinglin River in the Great Shun Dynasty, a large black carp in the middle of the river leaped up again and again, only to be struck down by the pale purple lightning. In just one hour, the river water, which was already somewhat turbid due to the rain, was stained with a layer of menacing lightning. Shallow lightning danced in the river water, flashing with eerie arcs.
Accompanying these lightning bolts, which resembled small snakes, was a constant flow of bright red blood seeping from Li Qing's body.
The streaks and wisps resembled ink stains left by scholars washing their brushes and inkstones in the middle of the river, their blood-red color startling to behold.
The girl in red standing silently in mid-air by the riverbank resembled a mountain demon that devoured human spirits.
Despite the seemingly high spirits of the giant black carp in the river, Xue Lan could sense that Li Qing was already struggling to hold on. If two more bolts of purple lightning were to strike, they would likely peel off a layer of scales from the carp's body.
The pain of having one's scales peeled off is enough to send chills down one's spine just by mentioning it.
The torrential rain did not lessen because Li Qing was undergoing tribulation; on the contrary, it intensified. The surrounding mountains and cities, stretching for hundreds of miles around Qinglin River, had probably not seen such heavy rain for nearly a century.
It doesn't seem like the season, nor does it seem like a tribulation, but rather...
"The heavens weep."
The girl murmured something, raised her hand to catch a drop of rain. The rain fell into her palm, and the power of the Heavenly Dao contained within it slowly dissipated, like fleeting clouds.
Heaven's laws are finding it difficult to withstand this thunderbolt.
This extremely powerful purple lightning was summoned by Xue Lan using the remnant soul of a true dragon obtained from the Wan Gong Fang secret realm, combined with Li Qing's calamity.
Transforming into a dragon is one part, and getting rid of the disgusting demonic worm inside Li Qing's body is another. If any one of these steps goes wrong...
Xue Lan received either a river god killed by the demons or a dragon controlled by a demon.
Without Li Qing, Xue Lan's plans would be ruined; what if Li Qing were to fall into demonic possession...?
Xue Lan, who gave her the dragon soul, is a sinner for all time.
In an instant, the girl's divine sense was fully activated, and she observed that the demonic energy that was about to be stripped from Li Qing's body was still entangled with her dragon bones in the river water, transforming into a ferocious broken dragon that wanted to devour all of the black carp's thousand years of cultivation.
The large black carp appeared to be struggling to survive, but in reality, the divine light on its body had already begun to dim, and it was about to fall into a disadvantageous position in this life-or-death struggle.
Xue Lan closed her eyes and made a firm decision.
The girl gently raised her hand, and a layer of azure light flashed across her body, like a gentle river flowing over her.
It's like shedding a layer of clothing that's been worn for many years.
The spells that had been cast upon her to protect her from outsiders and Xue Tong slowly faded away. Xue Lan spoke to the large black carp struggling in the river:
"Li Qing...is this it?"
The black carp in the river turned its head slightly to look at the girl in mid-air, and met her gray-white, gentle and calm eyes. At such a critical moment, Li Qing was startled.
In the Yuanming mortal realm, there is an unwritten rule that mountain gods are not considered, but water gods from all sides are always appointed by demons who intentionally connect with water veins and rely on incense offerings from the human world.
Forget about the River Goddess or the Dragon Bone technique. Although Li Qing has cultivated in the Qinglin River for over a thousand years and served as the Water God for over eight hundred years, he is ultimately a demon.
As a member of the demon race, Xue Lan was qualified to intervene.
In the instant Li Qing was in a daze, a faint breath from Xue Lan's fingertips, like a silver needle with a thread, pierced through the rain curtain in front of her and directly pierced the back of the big black carp.
A thunderclap echoed in the sky, and Xue Lan sighed inwardly.
We've offended the Heavenly Court again.
Li Qing's eyes suddenly cleared, her emerald pupils trembling slightly...
The demon race is focused on cultivating their own demonic techniques and secret arts, and doesn't have a deep understanding of the fate of mortals. Most of them simply don't care.
But Li Qing is different.
For over eight hundred years, she has lived by the Qing River, witnessing the changing of kingdoms every hundred years and the change of rulers every ten years.
She watched the flowers bloom and fade, the seasons change, and the rice harvests come and go through generations.
The warmth and traditions inherent in those mortals are always subtly influencing this deity.
Hindered by her impending transformation into a dragon, she thought she would never make any progress in her life. But unexpectedly, she turned misfortune into blessing, seizing a wisp of dragon soul and gaining access to the heavens and the thunder.
On his deathbed, he saw the red-clad girl surrounded by... demonic energy, a myriad of causes and effects.
She is clearly a fairy maiden from thousands of miles away, yet she seems to be bound by a silkworm cocoon, unable to break free.
The powerful aura of the demon race lingered behind Xue Lan, their domineering presence intertwined with the warmth of the human race, creating a balance that was both restraining and perfectly harmonious.
The air was thick with the scent of impending death, like a sword hanging overhead.
The chance for new life is bleak, like faint clouds and smoke.
The pale purple lightning struck again. Li Qing swung his tail and leaped directly out of the river to meet the terrifying lightning.
Some people carry countless karmic burdens and still walk through the world.
Despite such a dead end, it remained as calm as a mountain breeze.
The struggle between the demon race and the heavens is inherently more difficult for them than for the human race.
Li Qing suddenly remembered the mortal scrolls he had read before.
The mist is the morning breeze in the mountains, carrying clouds and dew, rising at dawn and clearing at sunrise...
It opens at dawn and opens as soon as the sun rises.
Xue Tong was utterly shocked to see the black carp willingly facing the heavenly lightning. She turned to look at Xue Lan and saw a faint smile on Xue Lan's face.
A crackling sound came from the river, deafeningly loud.
Amidst the swirling lightning, Xue Lan heard a woman's voice that resounded through the heavens:
"Miss Xue, of course we won't stop here!"
A jet-black figure pierced through the thicket of lightning, its scales scattering and gleaming with golden light, leaping across the river, which was dozens of meters wide, and was carried aloft by the gentle current. It landed in front of Xue Lan.
As the golden light shone once more, a woman dressed in a black robe and wearing a golden crown appeared before Xue Lan and the others.
His demeanor and appearance were exactly the same as the one Xue Lan and the other person had seen in the Jiangshen Temple that day.
The goddess was beautiful and radiant, with bright lights shining in her eyes, and an extraordinary determination.
The lightning that struck again from the sky could not shake her spirit.
With a gentle smile, she slowly spoke:
"Thirteen years ago, I almost developed a demon in my heart because I was unable to transform into a dragon for a long time."
"After a thousand years of cultivation, I aspire to contend with the heavens. I do not wish to lose this cultivation, nor can I bear to part with this dragon bone that I have painstakingly nurtured... My procrastination will ultimately lead to disaster."
The woman in the black robe had one hand behind her back and the other outstretched towards Xue Lan:
"Miss Xue, may I borrow a sharp weapon from Li Qing?"
Xue Lan asked knowingly, "What is it?"
Li Qing laughed heartily: "Of course... scrape the dragon's bones and slay the demons!"
In that instant, Xue Lan saw the faint dragon energy that had previously weakened on Li Qing's body rise again, transforming into a thin golden outer robe that enveloped the woman completely. The wisp of Xue Lan's own destiny that she had previously injected into Li Qing's dragon bones also merged perfectly with Li Qing.
Xue Lan laughed heartily, her smile radiant.
With a wave of his hand, a jet-black blade of light flew out from his sleeve, transforming into a jet-black broken sword before their eyes.
It was the true form of the single-edged sword that Xue Lan had previously concealed. The murderous aura emanating from it was even more potent than that of the Xuan Sha Spear.
"A rootless sword left behind by its master."
With a wave of her hand, the young girl, brimming with heroic spirit, handed the gleaming broken sword to Li Qing.
"The Way of Heaven is in decline, and such measures are insufficient for Your Majesty to escape this predicament."
"Your Majesty, please use this blade to scrape away the filth covering your body."
Li Qing nodded and flew towards the cloud vortex in the sky.
Xue Lan looked up at the sky, but before she could even smile, Xue Tong's trembling voice came from behind her: "What did you do?"
The little girl looked at the six large characters on her system panel:
The host's life is in danger.
"I'll intervene..."
"Crack!"
Before Xue Lan could finish uttering the words "heavenly tribulation," a crooked bolt of lightning, which had silently descended without warning, struck the girl with swift, accurate, and ruthless force.
Xue Lan's body stiffened, and she collapsed to the ground face down like a dead fish.
Xue Tong finally heard Xue Lan's curses.
"The Way of Death!"