Chapter 467: Fateful Reincarnation (5k)

In the capital, deep inside the Tianshi Mansion.

The green branches of the banyan tree swayed gently in the wind. Zhang Yan held the jade slip of the heavenly book in one hand and deduced it again and again.

It is difficult for "Heaven's Way" to accurately predict the future, but it is different if it is the "past" that has already happened.

When the latest divination hexagram was reflected in the old Taoist priest's eyes, all the priests in the Taoist temple heard a wail.

"What happened?"

"What's that sound? It's from the direction of the palace."

One by one, the priests came out of their respective buildings and looked at the palace in surprise.

I saw an illusory dragon shadow circling in the sky above the imperial palace, or to be more precise, in the direction of the Taimiao, and then it slowly disappeared.

"The dragon spirit of Yu State is declining, the national movement is in turmoil, and her Fengshan ceremony failed." Zhang Yan sighed with a complicated expression.

The banyan tree swayed, and a voice like the wind echoed: "Has something happened to Xu Zhenguan?"

"Not dead yet, but at least seriously injured."

The old Taoist priest frowned and looked towards the direction of Shenlong Temple in confusion. He was very sure that Xuanyin had not left recently.

Could it be Wu Xiankui? Is he that powerful? Or is it some hidden being outside the Yu Kingdom?

Zhang Yan immediately sensed that there was something fishy going on, but the "Fengshan" battle involved three celestial beings, and it was difficult for him to figure out who was involved based solely on the hexagrams.

Zhang Yanyi suddenly raised his hand and grabbed, and pieces of letter paper floated in the air, and the words appeared on their own.

He was writing a letter quickly, and the recipients were the Little Heavenly Master and his six other disciples who were traveling outside the capital.

Each letter contained only one command:

"Find Zhao Duan and bring him back."

The old Taoist priest has realized that with the empress's "fall", the eight kings will surely rebel and Zhao Du'an will be in danger. He does not participate in the internal strife of the royal family of Yu State and only saves Zhao Du'an, which is not considered a breach of contract.

Suddenly, six white birds flew out from the crown of the banyan tree. Each of them picked up a letter with their red claws, flapped their wings and flew into the sky, and soon turned into cranes.

"Pass the order down," the old Taoist priest said, looking at the priest who knocked on the door and walked into the courtyard, "the Taoist temple will be closed from now on."

Not participating in the struggle for imperial power is the foundation of the Taoist headquarters.

…

Just when Xu Zhenguan was ambushed and fell into the sea of ​​clouds, his Fengshan ceremony failed.

The "Eight Kings" scattered across the nine regions and eighteen prefectures of the Yu Kingdom all learned the outcome of the Battle of Luoshan through the royal bloodline's perception of dragon energy.

Huaishui Road, Huai'an Prefecture.

The wealthy and well-known "fence-sitter" King Huai'an, who was of plump build, looked extremely unhappy. He turned his head to look at his son and daughter.

"Father, what's going on..." the elegant and refined Princess Xu Junling asked softly.

Prince Huai'an shook his head and said, "I'm afraid the assassination attempt on Your Majesty has been successful."

As a "traitor" among the Eight Kings who secretly helped the court during the opening of the market in Huting, King Huai'an did not participate in this sniper attack.

But with his intelligence capabilities, it was not difficult for him to know what the other princes were plotting and making arrangements.

Is the imperial sister dead? Or seriously injured? No, that's not the key point. The key point is that the world is about to be in chaos... Xu Junling's face turned pale:

"Father, what should we do?"

Prince Huai'an said calmly:

"Order your forces to retreat. We have no soldiers and will not participate in this chaotic battle. Do not stop anyone who wants to use the Huai River as a passage. Let the situation develop."

At the beginning of the rebellion, the "Seven Kings" had a common goal, namely: to capture the imperial court and rush to the capital to ascend the throne.

At this time, no one would take action against King Huai'an, so they were safe for the time being. It would be time for "settlement" only when the world was settled.

"Father, sister, what are you talking about? I don't understand."

Prince Xu Qian looked confused, his eyes clear and stupid.

Prince Huai'an and the Princess ignored him.

…

Tieguan Road.

Prince Yanshan stood with his hands behind his back on a section of the city wall in the north. Even though it was summer, it was still not warm here.

Tieguan is not rich, and the soldiers and horses in the Prince of Yanshan’s palace are few, but they are good at it.

"Pass the order down and prepare to march south." King Yanshan said calmly.

The staff behind him hesitated and said:

"Your Highness, although we are close to the capital, we cannot avoid Jubei City if we want to go south. Now, the northern border troops are all controlled by Luo Kedi. I am afraid..."

Luo Ke Di... King Yanshan's eyes were filled with gloom and anger. If Duke Cao had not been captured at the end of last year, how could he be so passive now?

"Heading south. Luo Kedi? Oh, we'll have to see if he remains loyal after learning his master is gone."

…

Qingzhou.

In a wealthy mansion, Prince Heng's loud laughter attracted the attention of everyone in the mansion.

When the Crown Prince Xu Zudi hurried to the back house, he couldn't help but say:

"Why is Father laughing?"

The pale-faced Prince Heng was overjoyed and hurried along:

"The Fengshan ceremony was a complete failure. I'm afraid your sister is in trouble. Immediately raise the army. The Prince of Yanshan is being held back by Beicheng. The Prince of Hejian is being held hostage by Tang Daren. The Princes of Mu and Jing are far from home. The Princes of Chen and Lingnan have no ambition at all..."

After all, my Qingzhou troops are closest to the capital, and the road is smooth, so we might be the first to "support the king"! As long as we ascend the throne first, you will be the crown prince in the future! "

Ah? I'm going to become the crown prince?

Xu Zudi's heart suddenly burned, and he hurried out excitedly. After running a few steps, he suddenly remembered something and said:

"Father, the imperial court is in imminent danger. That widow Xiao was previously pretending to obey but secretly disobeying..."

"Hmph, you don't know the big picture. The most important thing right now is to get to the capital!" Prince Heng was very dissatisfied. "The Xiao family is still useful for the time being. Once we have the throne, we can wipe them out."

Xu Zudi slapped his forehead and nodded in agreement, his eyes filled with resentment:

"That bitch Xiao Dong'er, in collusion with that Zhao, played a trick on this prince. Once the dust settles, I'll settle accounts with them one by one."

…

Xiping Road.

The Prince of Hejian convened an emergency meeting of his retainers to formulate a plan for advancing eastward.

But when everyone looked at the border troops led by Duke Tang, they felt heavy in their hearts.

In recent years, due to the presence of Duke Tang, the Hejian Palace has been severely suppressed, and many underworld forces have gathered under its command. However, once it moves eastward, Duke Tang's cavalry will soon catch up.

"Humph, I still don't believe it. Is he so loyal?"

The King of Hejian waved his hand, his eyes firm:

"Go and tell them that I want to talk to Duke Tang!"

He knew that if he could not get the support of Duke Tang, his chances of seizing power would be too slim.

…

Coastal Road.

On a large river, several large ships were conducting drills.

The thin King Chen stood silently in front of the deck, looking at the "dragon energy" slowly penetrating into his flesh and blood from his palm, and sighed.

"Husband, why are you sighing?" The princess walked out of the cabin and asked with concern.

King Chen frowned:

"This prince has never had any intention of competing for the throne. I have only been fighting against the imperial court to protect myself. Now that Prince Jing and the others have been appointed, my Binhaidao has also boarded the pirate ship. What should I do?"

The wise princess thought for a moment and said:

"Our coastal navy is only good at naval warfare. If we want to compete for supremacy, we must use infantry and cavalry. Therefore, if we firmly defend the coastal roads, it will be difficult for the enemy to invade. If we attack, we will undoubtedly be defeated.

The only solution now is to hold on to this corner and wait for the dust to settle before negotiating for a stable life."

Prince Chen held the princess's hand, nodded repeatedly, and said to the retainers behind him:

"Pass the order down to block the Binhaidao waterway from today. If Prince Jing and Prince Mu want to go to the capital, let them go. Just don't invade Binhaidao."

"Yes, sir!"

…

Lingnan Road is the most remote and poorest, and its only specialties are lychees and exiled criminals.

The King of Lingnan, who was as dark and thin as an old farmer, stood in a lychee orchard, heartlessly directing a group of servants to pick lychees.

Suddenly, he froze, pushed the straw hat on his head with his hand, and looked to the south.

"Your Highness, what are you looking at?" An officer came in the hot sun, holding a big bowl of tea.

The King of Lingnan finally came back to his senses and muttered:

"The world is about to go into chaos. But what does this have to do with me? I can't defeat anyone anyway. No emperor would bother to come and seize this broken place. Fight, fight. This will save me from having to pay tribute to lychees this year."

He muttered to himself for a while, took the big bowl of tea, drank a few sips, and then leisurely lay down in the shade of the tree and continued to sleep.

…

…

And just when the world was in chaos and the kings rose up in arms.

Hundreds of miles west of Luoshan, in a desolate bamboo forest.

A group of crows were circling on the ground grabbing food, when they suddenly flapped their wings in fear and flew away, making a "cawing" sound.

The air twisted, and two figures appeared out of nowhere, falling heavily into the forest covered with rotten leaves.

"snort."

Zhao Duan groaned, and subconsciously hugged the empress in his arms to his chest before falling, and landed on his back.

I was extremely unlucky and fell on a rock, grimacing in pain.

Without having time to complain, Zhao Duan turned over and got up, calling out to the woman in his arms nervously:

"Your Majesty? Your Majesty? Wake up!"

But no matter how he shouted, the unconscious empress did not respond.

In Zhao Duan's eyes, Xu Zhenguan looked quite miserable at this moment. His dragon robe was stained with blood, the crown on his head was lost when he fell off the cliff, and his black hair was disheveled.

His face was as pale as paper, his eyes were closed, his teeth were clenched, and his breath was extremely weak.

There were also streams of light blue "air" flowing across her face, making her peerless beauty seem as if covered with a layer of death.

She still held the Taia sword tightly in her hand, and even though she was unconscious, she never let go.

"His Majesty!?"

Zhao Duan's face looked grim. He quickly touched the artery on the empress's neck with his hand, then forced his eyelids open and looked at her pupils.

After sensing that the Empress seemed to be on the verge of death, her heart pulse was still strong, he breathed a sigh of relief, his expression changing:

"Fortunately... Although he seems to be seriously injured, his life is not in danger... Yes, Zhenbao is a superhuman warrior after all. Even if he fights one against two, he won't die in battle..."

"I don't even know where I am right now. This teleportation jade is completely random, and I'm not familiar with the terrain here... I have no way of judging!"

"But I can't see Luo Shan from here... That means I've escaped far enough. I just don't know if the 'God of Magic' and the other enemies can catch up..."

Zhao Duan's thoughts flashed through his mind. He took a deep breath and forced himself to think calmly.

The most urgent task is to save the empress rather than continue to flee aimlessly. Once you choose the wrong direction, you will be seeking death.

As for the failure of the Fengshan ceremony and the chain reaction triggered by the disappearance of the empress... he could only force himself not to think about it for the time being.

Zhao Duan carefully picked up the unconscious female emperor with both hands, stood in the bamboo forest and looked around, vaguely catching a glimpse of a house in the distance.

He immediately hugged the empress and ran forward.

Soon, the scenery in front of him gradually became clear. Zhao Duan suddenly stopped and was stunned. A sense of absurdity of fate appeared on his face.

I saw a temple of the earth god standing in the bamboo forest. It had been abandoned for who knows how long. The temple was not leaky at all, but it was almost the same.

This is certainly not the southern suburbs of the capital, and what is in front of him is not the Temple of the God of Earth that he first saw after traveling to this world.

Just a coincidence.

But after the great change, when I saw the temple in the bamboo forest again, didn’t I feel a sense of fate in my heart?

A year ago, he appeared outside a temple in a bamboo forest outside Beijing and found that his life was hanging by a thread and he was surrounded by enemies.

A year later, he appeared outside the temple in the bamboo forest again, his life and death were once again threatened, and the whole world was his enemy.

Shaking his head, Zhao Duan didn't think any more about it. He stepped forward, kicked open the door, and entered the Temple of the Earth God.

The temple is not big and can be seen at a glance. Perhaps because there are hunters who come into the mountains to stay overnight occasionally, the inside is not so dirty and messy.

Inside the temple, there was a tattered statue covered in spider webs, with half of its body and head collapsed.

However, the stone platform in front where the tribute was placed was still intact. Zhao Duan blew away the dust and placed the empress horizontally on the stone platform.

He then took out a large pile of bottles and jars from the Taixu scroll, which contained all kinds of elixirs that he had brought with him before this trip.

Mainly used for healing, restoring Qi and mana, and detoxification.

At this moment, he didn't care about anything else and poured out the pills he thought were useful, pried open the empress's red lips, and stuffed them all in.

"Your Majesty? Take your medicine."

Seeing that she couldn't swallow it, Zhao Duan took out the water bag from his body, helped her up slightly, patted her back gently, and used his Qi to help her swallow the pill.

After doing all this, Zhao Duan noticed that blood was dripping down the edge of the stone platform.

His face changed as he realized that Zhenbao's injury was mainly on his back.

Zhao Duan climbed onto the stone platform and carefully turned the unconscious empress over, letting her lie on the platform. Then his eyelids twitched wildly as he discovered that the entire back of the dragon robe was soaked in blood.

"Your Majesty, I am guilty!"

In an emergency, Zhao Duan whispered something, then pierced his fingers into the collar of the empress's dragon robe and gently peeled off the blood-stained robe bit by bit.

Beneath the dragon robe was a slightly deformed golden soft armor woven with gold threads.

"Armor?"

Zhao Duan was not surprised. It was natural for Zhenbao to wear a self-defense weapon when he was enthroned. Moreover, this golden armor must be extremely good.

But at this moment, a handprint was clearly imprinted on the golden armor, almost sunken into it, and the gold thread was stained red by the blood that seeped out.

Zhao Duan carefully took off the golden armor and put it aside, leaving only the white inner garment.

When he used his hands to gently peel off the last layer of Xu Zhenguan's inner clothes little by little like peeling an onion, the fair and delicate body of the Queen of Yu State came into the man's sight for the first time without any defense.

Under her slender goose neck, her delicate and white skin was like a lamb, emitting a bright light.

She has plump muscles and delicate bones, and skin whiter than snow. A little more would make her look fat, and a little less would make her look thin. Her jet-black hair hangs down in a messy manner, making her jade-like back look almost dazzling.

However, Zhao Du'an was in no mood to appreciate it at the moment. After stripping off her inner clothes, a bloody palm print was faintly visible on the empress's back.

What a ferocious palm strike!

The flesh was almost torn apart, and the perfect snow-white skin seemed to be crushed, with blood and flesh all over it, almost sticking to the clothes.

"God of Law! Mysterious Seal!"

Zhao Duan stared at the palm print intently. With the help of the 'Green Lotus' in his sea of ​​consciousness, he could vaguely sense the lingering Buddhist aura from the wound.

A fire of rage burned in his heart, burning away his reason.

Zhao Duan took a deep breath, and when he opened his eyes again, they had regained their composure, but the coldness between his brows was as solid as if it were tangible.

Without hesitation, he flipped his wrist, took out the Black Turtle Seal, and threw it into the air.

The Black Turtle Seal slowly rotated, and a stream of clear water shot down, washing away the dirty blood on the empress's jade back. Zhao Duan then took out the Golden Crow Flying Knife.

After a moment's hesitation, he took out another candle, lit it, and fixed it on the stone platform with wax. He carefully burned the Golden Crow Flying Knife with the flame, and then carefully used the hot blade to treat the black and blue wound covered with blood.

"Half-step to the Heavenly Man Realm, he should be able to withstand the windbreak... but there's no need to take the risk."

The Temple of the Earth God was very quiet, with only the sound of the wind and the cries of crows in the bamboo forest.

After a long time, Zhao Duan finally finished treating the wound, then rubbed the pill in his palm and slowly pressed it on the empress's wound.

"kindness……"

Even though he was in a coma, Xu Zhenguan seemed to feel the pain. He groaned instinctively, and his beautiful eyebrows frowned slightly.

On the back, the thin, almost invisible hair stood up, as if resisting the stranger's touch on the owner.

"Your Majesty, I am sorry for the offense."

Zhao Duan whispered, covering the wound with his big hand and slowly rubbing the medicine in.

He pretended not to hear the empress's groans of pain.

Wait until the medicine is applied.

He hesitated for a moment, took off his coat, and used a flying knife to cut a piece of the new pajamas he had changed into today for the Fengshan ceremony. He cut it into strips of cloth and made a simple bandage, trying his best to avoid looking at the parts he shouldn't look at.

After finishing all this, he finally breathed a sigh of relief and took out a spare set of long gown from the limited space of the Taixu scroll.

Changing the unconscious empress's robe—the blood-stained robe wasn't the problem; the problem was that it was too eye-catching.

When the empress put on his clothes, she changed from a majestic emperor to a weak woman.

"Well, the clothes are a bit big, so I'll just make do with them."

Zhao Duan looked down at Zhenbao, who looked a little smaller because of her changed clothes, and explained with a twitch of his lips:

"The space in this scroll is limited, and there are no women's clothes."

"Hmm..." The unconscious empress's brows relaxed slightly, not knowing whether she heard it or not.

Zhao Duan said these words without expecting her to hear him. He placed the unconscious empress on her back on the stone platform, and then put the blood-stained dragon robe into the space.

As for the Taia Sword, he just held it in his hand for self-defense.

This magical weapon, which no outsider could hold, lay unusually still in Zhao Duan's hand, trembling slightly with a touch of intimacy.

"Hehe, now you are no longer the national guardian soldier, and there are only three of us left here." Zhao Du stroked the hilt of the sword, trying to find joy in the midst of suffering.

He took a deep breath, gathered himself together, walked out of the temple, and looked up at the sky.

The Fengshan ceremony was held at noon, and it was still afternoon now, but a gloomy black cloud was slowly floating in from the distance, covering the sky and blocking out the sun.

"It's going to rain..."

——

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This book is still in its new release period, so please hurry up and read it. Interested readers can take a look.

(End of this chapter)