Patrol Captain

At the fourth watch of the night, the hour of Chou (1-3 AM), the darkness was as black as ink, spilled onto the sky, impossible to dispel.

Deep within the northern section of Longling lies a ravine where the sun never shines. Vines grow in disarray, and the ravine is dark and mysterious. The wind, passing through the ravine, whistles like a mournful cry, plunging down the steep cliffs into the abyss, yet it seems to sink into the sea without even a sound, as if this abyss were the maw of a giant beast capable of swallowing everything.

At this moment, in this remote and untouched mountain forest, four or five figures moved with lightning speed, like phantoms in the night, landing in a deep ravine. Some held Bagua compasses in their hands, their fingers forming hand seals, pointing upwards, and several layers of golden characters appeared, yin and yang lines, the nine palaces rotating, searching for the dragon vein and dividing the gold. Others held a horn-like object to their ears, several times larger than normal, with the long horn pointing downwards, intently listening to the deep ravine below. Still others hurled a palm-sized bronze bell, without a striking mechanism, into the pitch-black, unseen depths of the ravine.
In the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea, the group of people, who seemed like clay or wooden sculptures, appeared to sense the magical artifacts and techniques. The Bagua compass stabilized, the bronze bell vibrated slightly, emitted a layer of azure light, and flew back.
Their eyes narrowed, gleaming in the darkness. They exchanged a glance from a distance and nodded to each other.

Before long, two figures appeared out of the void and landed on the edge of the cliff in the deep ravine.

Upon seeing this, the few figures remaining there immediately flew towards the direction of the newcomers, and then bowed deeply!
"Your Majesty!"

"The shape of the dragon vein is right below!"

"."

Xiao Zhongtian's piercing eyes gleamed as he gazed into the abyss below. His eyes narrowed, noticing the unusual surging energy of the earth within the darkness. He then withdrew his gaze and fixed it on the group of people, speaking:

"You have rendered meritorious service in searching for the dragon. Once this matter is resolved, I will reward you handsomely!"

"Thank you, Your Highness!" the group said in unison, their faces filled with reverence.

"Step back and keep watch from the side!"

After saying that, Xiao Zhongtian turned his head, his eyes flashing with a sharp light, and said in a tone that was somewhat mysterious, "Next, I will trouble you to work with me to restrain the dragon and set its posture."

As he finished speaking, a person half a body's width behind him stepped forward and revealed himself.

The newcomer was dressed in a brocade robe and wore a red demon mask.

The mask was entirely crimson, its alluring redness in the darkness almost seeming to ooze blood. Its forehead was angular and menacing, its eye sockets were deeply carved, dark and bottomless, and its lips were stretched into an exaggerated arc, sending chills down one's spine if stared at for too long.

If Chen Yuan were here, he would recognize this "acquaintance" at a glance—the Martial Saint Jiuzhu of the Holy Land!

It's not strange that he left the city occupied by the White Bone King in the south and appeared here instead. He and Old Ghost had been searching for the Celestial Beings. After hearing the news that Chen Yuan had killed a Celestial Being in Liangzhou, they rushed to Liangzhou, which had been reduced to ruins.

However, this time, they came for Liang King Xiao Zhongtian!
Because this prince shared a common enemy with them, but that wasn't enough. The deeper reason was that this prince wanted to rebel!

A prince, a martial saint, with a million soldiers at his command, possesses the qualifications to contend for the world. What a crazy thing it would be if he supported an emperor!
When the world is in chaos and the fate of the world is reshaped, it's exciting to think about. I imagine those restless old guys would also like someone to step forward.

Especially now!
"Your Highness is too kind. I will naturally do my utmost to help you. In this way, Your Highness can march into Guanzhong and contend for the Central Plains."

"When the time comes, hehe, just imagine the reactions of the world, they'll be fascinating."

"Especially that guy surnamed Chen." Jiu Zhu let out a cold laugh, his hideous crimson ghost mask seemingly carrying a mocking and fierce light.

They were referring to Chen Yuan, of course.

One could sense a hint of satisfaction in this Martial Saint who had achieved sainthood from his words.

That Ninth Prince from Shu was too domineering, willing to kill at the slightest provocation. He had been humiliated time and time again. As a martial saint who would stop at nothing to achieve his goal, he was naturally furious.

He'd do anything to annoy that guy surnamed Chen!
It was also his idea to send assassins to cause trouble in Qingshan County, which was suggested by the King of Liang.

Xiao Zhongtian sensed the emotion in Jiu Zhu's words, and his heart stirred slightly. It seemed that the man surnamed Chen had made quite a few enemies. He sneered inwardly, but remained outwardly composed.
"Then I'll take your kind words!"

After saying that, he stopped talking, raised his hand, and a large golden seal flew out of his hand. The golden light surged and it grew rapidly, flying directly down into the deep ravine.

He unleashed his Kingly Seal, using the Kingly Luck to activate the dragon veins below—this was the most direct method!
After about half a cup of tea, suddenly, a low hum came from the bottom of the deep ravine, initially like the pulse of the earth, and in an instant it turned into a clear murmur that resounded through the mountains and forests.

The clear, melodious sound carried by the rushing waves was like a thousand streams converging into a river or a myriad of waterfalls cascading into a deep pool, interspersed with the crisp sound of metal striking stone, like the scales of a dragon rubbing against rock strata.

Then, the entire ravine began to shake violently, and cracks like spider webs spread across the cliff face.

In an instant, a golden light shot up from the bottom of the deep ravine. The King's Seal that had just gone down was seen flying back, not on its own, but as if it had been hit by some huge object.

next moment,
“yin”

A high-pitched, earth-shattering dragon's roar rose from below the stream.

With this incomparably loud dragon roar,
"boom"

"boom"

"boom"

Mountains collapsed and the earth cracked; deep ravines crumbled and rocks flew through the air.

In the brief moment, Xiao Zhongtian and Jiuzhu shot up like cannonballs, soaring into the sky and looking down with piercing eyes.

Below, a beam of earthen-yellow light suddenly shot into the sky from the stream below. Amidst the collapsed rocks, an enormous dragon head burst forth from the light, its two horns like jade pillars piercing the sky. At its tip, an earthen-yellow halo condensed. When its eyes opened, two terrifying beams of light shot straight into the sky, tearing two huge rifts in the thick clouds, as if the might of heaven was overwhelming.

"Roar—" The true dragon, transformed from the dragon vein, roared, shaking the entire universe and causing the mountains within a hundred miles to tremble violently. Huge cracks appeared on the ground, leading to the collapse of the peaks with tremendous force.

Its colossal body burst forth from the abyss, its massive form awe-inspiring. Its earthen-yellow scales gleamed with a cold, metallic light in the night, carrying a power capable of crushing everything in its path. The once steep cliffs collapsed with a deafening roar, tons of earth and rock cascading down like a torrent. Amidst the billowing dust, the dragon's silhouette became ever clearer. Its claws shattered a mountain peak, its tail sweeping across, severing a nearby mountain in half. The broken fragments, trailing billowing dust, hurtled into the distance, kicking up clouds of debris.

A yellowish-brown halo enveloped it, its spine resembling a continuous mountain range, each seemingly connected to the veins of the Dragon Ridge, for it itself was the embodiment of these mountains. Wherever it passed, the void became heavy as lead, carrying the terrifying aura of towering mountains. Its enormous body directly obscured half the night sky, making everything in the world appear as insignificant as dust. The deep ravine below had long since been reduced to a scene of devastation, the traces of landslides and earthquakes spreading like a spiderweb into the distance, attesting to the earth-shattering power of this mountain-like dragon emerging from the abyss.

At this moment, the "true dragon" had golden light flowing in its eyes, filled with indifferent majesty of heaven and earth, like two great suns looking down at the two tiny figures as small as dust in the dark night sky. It opened its mouth wide and spewed out wind and thunder, causing the world to change color.

At that moment, a loud shout suddenly rose into the sky.

"You're nothing but a dead thing. No matter how vast the world may be, I can still take you!"

In the sky, Xiao Zhongtian shone with golden light, and a dragon's roar rose from his black five-clawed python robe. In the blink of an eye, the Liang King transformed into a five-clawed black dragon, soaring through the sky and grabbing at the wind and thunder spewed from the mouth of the earth-yellow giant dragon.

Dragon claws cleaved through lightning, forelimbs sprouted horn-like bone spurs, hind limbs bulged with muscles like mountain ranges, and the dragon's tail, like a steel whip with bone spurs, shattered clouds and tore through space. Dark golden vertical pupils rolled menacingly, and the dragon's body swelled to a size of several miles, directly charging towards the Dragon Ridge's dragon vein. Thus, the black dragon, fused with the true techniques of a Martial Saint and the aura of a thousand-year-old royal path, and the yellow dragon, bearing the fortune of the Great Qian Dynasty, began their battle deep within Dragon Ridge.

Below, the Martial Saint Jiuzhu of Cheng Shengdi witnessed this rare sight, and a hint of fervor and hidden madness flickered in the narrow eyes beneath the demon mask.

"Transforming from a dragon into a dragon, taking this step, may allow one to transcend falsehood and become a true dragon emperor."

"Very well, I, Your Highness, will lend you a hand today!"

"Ha ha!"

He let out a wild laugh, his figure shaking the sky. Behind him, lamps appeared silently, like pillars of fire, shooting directly into the sky towards the battlefield where the two dragons were fighting.

In Qingshan County, a day had passed. It was daytime, and the sun was shining brightly, but the county was a little quieter than usual.

In the past two days, some people in Qingshan County have been feeling uneasy.

The incident a couple of days ago was witnessed by many residents and spread throughout the small county. Afterwards, patrols inside and outside the county noticeably tightened. Armored soldiers were stationed at the docks and ferry crossings outside the city, as well as at the city gates, conducting checks. Fortunately, no further serious incidents occurred, which reassured the county's residents.

Little did they know that in a mountain forest northwest of the county town, a corpse lay dead in a pool of blood.

Several armored soldiers stood nearby. One of them searched the corpse for a while but found nothing useful. However, he found a thin needle under the tongue in the corpse's mouth, the surface of which seemed to be covered with a layer of silk as thin as a cicada's wing.

"General Liu discovered this under this man's tongue."

The armored soldiers who were searching the body reported to the leading red-armored general.

The man in red armor was Liu Qing. Liu Qing glanced at him, his eyes cold.

"If they use this to commit suicide, then they didn't kill the wrong person."

"Another assassin sent from the Northern Liang direction."

"This is the fifth one in the past two days, General," a subordinate said, frowning as he counted.

"Since these people are still up to no good, we'll play along. Although they're sent here to die and can't cause any trouble, there's still a wrecked ship with three thousand nails. Keep a close eye on them. If you make a mistake due to carelessness, even if the general spares you, I won't." Liu Qing warned, not daring to make a mistake because of this.

"General, that's not what I meant. I've just heard that the brothers from other mountains of the Mountain-Crushing Army are fighting the Northern Liang army at Tianxiong Pass in the north, while we can only stay here in the rear guarding these flies. It's really getting itchy to come here." The armored soldier who had spoken earlier, after saying this, spoke more freely, his face full of indignation:

"General, the brothers of our Ninth Mountain heard that they issued a proclamation denouncing the traitors and came to denounce the general. They are all furious. When will you tell the general that we should go north and charge those bastards from Beiliang, so as not to disgrace the general?"

"Yes!"

"Yes!"

The remaining soldiers shared the same sentiment. They had the sacred tree connecting them to the front line at Tianxiong Pass, and news from the front line frequently arrived. The brothers of the Ninth Mountain, who had emerged from the flames of war, were also restless upon hearing the news from the front.

"You're all idiots. The general is a strategist, but you're all spineless cowards. The general finally gave you a few good days, and you're already thinking about rushing back to the battlefield. You have no family to care about?" Liu Qing scolded his subordinates and followers without any temper.

"Stop talking nonsense and get to work."

After being scolded, the Ninth Mountain Green Guards had no choice but to back down and not dare to mention it again, preparing to disperse to their respective patrol areas.

However, just then, Liu Qing, who had just started giving instructions, suddenly froze, his hand trembled, and he took out his token. Then, his expression hardened slightly, and he called out to the others to stop.

"Wait!"

"Leave two people to patrol this area."

"The rest of you, come back to the camp with me!"

"General, what's wrong?" one of his men asked.

"I don't know, the garrison notified us to assemble." Liu Qing shook his head, his eyes filled with surprise and doubt. He really didn't know either, but considering that there was no trouble in Qingshan County and a general was in charge, the sudden call to assemble might involve the front line.

You'll see when you get there!
Thinking this, Liu Qing took a step forward, leaped into the air, and headed towards Langdang Mountain in the east of Qingshan County.

When he led his men back to the former site of the Prince's Palace, where the clouds and mist obscured the heavens, Liu Qing's guess was indeed correct; news had indeed come from Tianxiong Pass at the front line.

This news left Liu Qing somewhat stunned!
The Great San Pass in the Guanzhong region has fallen!

The iron hooves of the Northern Liang army trampled into the interior yesterday!
Inside the council hall, Yun Tiansheng, Lu Ming, and several department heads sat discussing the sudden news.

"The intelligence in the letter said that at that pass, retainers of the Northern Liang Prince's Mansion, leading a group of private soldiers, attacked the local garrison and then opened a teleportation array from the inside,"

"Damn it, the Northern Liang Royal Palace used this trick at Tianxiong Pass too. I remember when I was suppressing the rebellion with the general, this incident came to light."

"That rebel king was raising a large number of retainers, waiting for the day he could create chaos in the surrounding prefectures and lead his troops through the area. He was truly scheming and had the ambition of a wolf."

"."

Everyone chimed in with their own opinions, some furious, others deep in thought and frowning. This news was definitely not good.

"Where's the general?"

Everyone is waiting for the general to make his judgment.

At that moment, Old Man Dong walked in from outside.

"You've been following your general for so long, and you still can't keep your composure?" Old Dong said as he entered. (End of Chapter)