Chapter 99 The Little Koi Activates the Altar

Mu Fang held his daughter's arm, the veins of which were bulging.

His bloodshot eyes were fixed on the stone platform. If looks could kill, this so-called Dragon Gate Altar would have been torn to pieces a thousand times over.

"No...it's absolutely impossible..."

He squeezed out those words through clenched teeth, his voice hoarse as if it had been rubbed with sandpaper.

Xiao Beichen was also dumbfounded. He looked at the cold groove, then at the bewildered little figure in Mu Fang's arms, and felt a chill run from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his head.

Would you trade Xiao Yu'er's life for the fate of the nation?

He spat out a "pui" and spat hard on the ground.

What utter nonsense!

Yan Ziche collapsed to the ground, utterly dejected, the scrolls and rubbings in his hands scattered to the side.

This self-proclaimed child prodigy, this little genius who could devise any plan, had his mind completely blank at this moment.

All the clues led to a dead end.

A dead end that required the life of his most beloved little sister to pave.

Chu Chongjin clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckles turned white from the force.

He was reborn to defy fate and to protect the people he wanted to protect.

But in the end, fate told him that the price of saving the country was sacrificing the one he most wanted to protect.

How absurd! How ironic!

"Father...don't be angry..."

Mu Yu, nestled in his arms, sensed the overwhelming grief and indignation emanating from Mu Fang.

She reached out her chubby little hand and tried her best to smooth out Mu Fang's furrowed brows.

"If Father doesn't get angry... Little Yu'er won't feel hot anymore..."

The little girl's logic is very simple.

Father was angry because of that big rock.

The large rock made her heart ache, which is why her father was angry.

As long as the big rock doesn't "bully" her, her father will be happy.

Mu Fang felt as if his heart was being gripped tightly by a large hand, a mixture of sourness and pain.

He wanted to say something, but his throat was so tight that he couldn't utter a single syllable.

Just then, Mu Yu struggled out of his arms, twisted her small body, and pointed to the center of the altar.

"Father, put me down."

"I want to touch that crater."

Mu Fang stiffened and instinctively hugged his daughter even tighter.

"no!"

“Father, it called me…” Mu Yu’s voice was tinged with grievance and stubbornness, “It didn’t mean any harm, it was just… very lonely and cold.”

As the Koi Princess, she is most sensitive to the aura of such spiritual beings.

What others saw was a deadly keyhole, but what she felt was a shared energy, a longing to be awakened.

"It said it recognizes me."

Chu Chongjin's eyes suddenly flashed.

Looking into Mu Yu's clear, unblemished amber eyes, a thought suddenly popped into his head.

The Records of Strange Tales of the Former Dynasty states that shedding scales is like a mortal having their heart ripped out.

But that's "shedding scales"!

It's like forcibly peeling off the scales!

But what if... the way to activate it isn't by "taking" at all?

“Duke,” Chu Chongjin’s voice trembled slightly, a tremor he himself was unaware of, “let Xiao Yu’er give it a try.”

"You're insane!" Mu Fang roared.

"Please trust me this once, Your Excellency!" Chu Chongjin looked directly into Mu Fang's eyes. "Xiao Yu'er is a lucky koi fish destined for heaven, a symbol of good fortune, not a sacrifice!"

"Since this altar is related to the heart scale that she was born with, perhaps only she herself knows how to activate it!"

"To gouge out a heart and take a scale is the thought of mortals, an evil practice! How could the legitimate ruler of Heaven be so cruel?"

Chu Chongjin's words were like a thunderclap, shattering the chaos in Mu Fang's mind.

yes……

Little Fisherman is a lucky star, an auspicious omen.

How could it be a sacrificial offering?

He looked down into his daughter's persistent yet clear eyes. In those eyes, there was no fear, only curiosity and a natural closeness.

His stiff arm finally loosened slowly.

Once given permission, Mu Yu immediately slid down from her father's arms like a happy little fish.

She toddled along on her short legs to the edge of the altar.

The groove was positioned a bit too high for her.

Upon seeing this, Xiao Beichen immediately strode forward, knelt on one knee, and used his knee as a temporary footrest for her.

"Little Yu'er, step on your brother to get on."

Mu Yu turned around and smiled sweetly at him, then stepped on his knees, used her small hands to push herself up onto the cold stone platform.

She curiously examined the groove that was exactly the same as the "birthmark" on her heart.

She stretched out her little index finger and poked it.

It's icy cold.

But the moment her fingertips touched the groove, the golden, scale-like mark on her chest suddenly became burning hot!

A warm current flowed down her arm and up to her fingertips.

"ah!"

The little girl exclaimed in surprise.

She felt as if the blessed pond in her mind had found an outlet.

The golden blessings in the pond transformed into a stream, flowing out along the arm she imagined.

Mu Yu thought for a moment, then simply pressed her entire small palm into the groove.

It was just the right size, perfectly covered by her chubby palm.

"Big rock, I'm sharing some of my good luck with you."

"Don't make your father angry anymore."

She muttered in a childish voice, while simultaneously activating her ability to "bless".

This time, however, she wasn't targeting a person, but rather the ancient altar that had been silent for hundreds of years.

Buzz—

A deep hum resounded from the depths of the altar.

It is no longer a cold stone.

It came back to life!

Centered on the groove under Mu Yu's palm, golden rays of light spread out instantly along the intricate cloud and dragon patterns on the surface of the altar!

The patterns seemed to come alive, lighting up one by one, strand by strand, until they finally converged into a dazzling net of light.

A soft golden light enveloped the entire valley, bathing everyone's faces in a warm yellow glow.

Mu Fang, Chu Chongjin, Xiao Beichen, and Yan Ziche all held their breath, watching in awe at the miraculous scene before them.

It really works!

No need to cut out the heart, no need to remove the scales!

All that's needed is her purest, ever-flowing auspicious energy as a lucky koi!

Mu Yu's small hand was still on it, and she felt as if she was inflating a very, very big balloon.

The water level in the Blessed Pond is dropping at a rate visible to the naked eye.

Soon, when the pool water level dropped to half, the altar's light reached its peak.

Boom!

On the flat stone surface in the center of the altar, light and shadow intertwine, slowly revealing a huge, flowing three-dimensional sand table.

On that sand table, the mountains, rivers, and cities clearly represent the entire territory of the Great Chu Kingdom!

Above the map of the territory, a phantom outline of a dragon gate, composed of light and shadow, appears and disappears.

However, the Dragon Gate was in ruins, missing a corner on the east side and a foundation stone on the south side, and the plaque on top was also dim and tarnished.

Below the Dragon Gate, a line of large golden characters slowly emerged.

[Reconstruction of Longmen requires - National Fortune Value: 10 million points.]

[Current national fortune value: 3.6 billion points.]

[Gap: 6.4 billion points.]

Repair progress: 36%

Upon seeing this series of astronomical figures, even the usually composed Yan Ziche couldn't help but gasp.

"This...this is enough to fill the entire nation's destiny for the next hundred years!"

Xiao Beichen scratched his head, looking on with a puzzled but impressive expression.

"What do you mean? You mean we don't have enough 'money' to repair this door?"

“It’s not just not enough,” Chu Chongjin said with an extremely solemn expression. “The nation’s fortune is worth more than three million. This is the result of my father’s hard work and governance for more than twenty years, plus the Duke’s guarding of the northern frontier, which has brought us a peaceful foundation.”

"And now, that number is probably still declining."

As soon as he finished speaking, the last few digits of the "Current National Fortune Value" line on the sand table actually began to slowly tick and decrease, just like a stopwatch!

Although the speed is slow, it is indeed decreasing!

"The nation's fortunes are slipping away!" Yan Ziche exclaimed in alarm.

Everyone's hearts tightened.

This means that something, unseen by them, is like a giant bloodsucking worm, greedily devouring the foundation of the Great Chu!

Mu Yu looked at the large sand table and pouted.

The koi and auspicious cloud record in her mind's sea of ​​consciousness also refreshed the mission.

[Ultimate Goal: Leap Over the Dragon Gate!]

[Main Quest Phase Begins: Safeguarding the Nation's Fate.]

[Mission Description: The fate of the Great Chu Kingdom is being eroded by an unknown evil spirit. Please assist the True Dragon Emperor in finding and eliminating this parasite, preventing the loss of national fortune, and striving to increase it until enough points ('Ten Million') are accumulated to rebuild the Dragon Gate.]

[Mission Reward: For every 1% increase in the Lungmen progress bar, the host's primal power will be refined once, enhancing the effects of all skills.]