Emperor Chengping stepped on a flying sword and ascended to a height of 300 meters, where he hovered in the air and tried to appeal to the emotions of the demon dragon.
The demon dragon, originally named Azure Dragon, was a partner in the equal contract with the first emperor of the Great Li Dynasty and made great contributions to the establishment of the Great Li Dynasty.
Unfortunately, with the death of the first emperor, the Azure Dragon lost its power of restraint, which attracted the attention of some ill-intentioned princes who vied to sign an equal contract with the Azure Dragon and become the second emperor.
It was tantamount to a rebellion and usurpation. He secretly waged war against the sixth prince of the second emperor who was about to ascend the throne, but an unknown man in black took advantage of the situation and put a magic potion in the food that was feeding the Azure Dragon, causing the Azure Dragon to go crazy and accidentally injuring many people.
Fortunately, Qinglong still retained a shred of reason. With the help of the array of statues enshrined in the palace to suppress it, he calmed down and prevented those who had been plotting against him from succeeding.
However, it also sowed the seeds of demonic calamity within the Azure Dragon's soul and consciousness.
This resulted in the Azure Dragon being unable to sign an equal contract with humans and having to rely on numerous resources to suppress its demonic nature, making it an unstable guardian beast.
Even so, the existence of the Azure Dragon Guardian Beast still helped three generations of emperors stabilize the safety of the capital and deter those with ulterior motives, making an invaluable contribution.
Who would have thought that Qinglong would be poisoned again ten years ago, causing it to unleash its demonic nature and wreak havoc. Eventually, Prince Rong took Qinglong in and kept it in the basement's array for future use.
Prince Rong always thought he had done the job perfectly, completely forgetting that some people had secretly poisoned Qinglong and were constantly monitoring Qinglong's changes, thus uncovering the entire process of Prince Rong abducting Qinglong.
This foreshadowing of the potential problem made Prince Rong the scapegoat.
Emperor Chengping felt that the Azure Dragon had regained its intelligence and could even speak human language. He tried to appeal to its emotions and make it the guardian beast of the dynasty, killing two birds with one stone.
Little did they know that Qinglong was no longer the same as before. Thanks to Zheng Ya's three-elemental superpowers and a soul enslavement contract that had cleared away his demonic nature, he only remembered the major events of the past few years and had no emotions left.
At this moment, the Azure Dragon hovered in the air, raising the Emperor Emeritus in its left forepaw and said, "Young Emperor, you haven't even offered me the ransom before seeing this Dragon King? Or do you want this Dragon King to carry the old Emperor around and announce to the world that you murdered your father..."
"No, Your Majesty the Dragon King, these are all the resources I have. Please, Your Majesty, show mercy!" Emperor Chengping never once glanced at the retired emperor struggling in the dragon's claws, ignoring the crushing force.
The retired emperor's tongue had already been cut off by the Azure Dragon. In his weakened state, with all his magic power gone, he couldn't even transmit his voice to denounce the sixth emperor. He was so angry that his eyes were bleeding and he wanted to devour Emperor Chengping alive.
Qinglong asked jokingly, "Little Emperor, your old emperor wishes he could eat you up!"
"Don't you have anything to say to him?"
"Well, I am the emperor of the Great Li Dynasty. I am lowering myself to befriend Xie Ming for the sake of the Zheng family's descendants for generations to come. I just need to get the method of ascending to the upper realm from Xie Ming, then he will be useless."
"Father, don't blame me for being heartless. I have no regrets about sacrificing you for the sake of the Zheng family's descendants' path to immortality!" Emperor Chengping spoke with great passion, but he was also implying to Qinglong that only by following him could he have a chance to ascend to the upper realm.
The retired emperor was so angry that he vomited blood, but he couldn't utter a single word.
Qinglong asked on his behalf, "Young Emperor, I must say that you and your father are alike."
However, your old emperor used enslavement, torture, and imprisonment on Xie Ming, secretly spying on Xie Ming's cultivation methods, which is no different from your and Xie Ming's sixth strategy of seeking a way to ascend to the upper realm.
In my opinion, the old emperor was the true emperor, commanding respect and authority over the world.
But you are too effeminate, or to be precise, too insidious.
"Then do you understand what I, the Dragon King, mean?"
"Well, the Dragon King is born noble and looks down on the world. He naturally looks down on a benevolent ruler like me. I dare not ask to sign an equal contract with the Dragon King. I hope the Dragon King can enlighten me?" Emperor Chengping understood, but was also confused.
Did this Azure Dragon cleanse itself of its demonic nature, or did it turn out to be a blessing in disguise, digesting the demonic nature after advancing in rank?
Or has Qinglong already been enslaved by Fuya?
According to Xie Ming's deduction, Fu Ya is the immortal master of the Qian Yuan Immortal Sect, and it makes sense that he enslaved the Azure Dragon, manipulated the retired emperor, and took revenge on the royal family.
The problem is that Emperor Chengping doesn't trust Xie Ming at all, fearing that he might be misled by Xie Ming and become a puppet emperor. At this point, he can't figure out Qinglong's true nature.
Qinglong scoffed disdainfully: "Young Emperor, you are more ruthless and adept at imperial power than the old emperor."
Just as you ordered Wuwei to lead the invincible army on an expedition, intending to not only resist foreign enemies but also deter restless forces throughout the world.
After all, Princess Wu is still your seventh princess. Even if she wants to rebel and ascend the throne, she will need time to build an army that can conquer the world. A mere 30,000 to 40,000 invincible troops is simply not enough.
On the contrary, regardless of kinship or karma, Princess Wu will be on your side, helping you to deter the forces of the world, repay your kinship debts, and allow you to manage your internal affairs with peace of mind.
When you govern the world and gather the foundations to repair the Five Elements and Eight Trigrams Demon-Suppressing Array, you will be invincible and undefeated.
After all, once the great formation left behind by the Hongli Immortal Dynasty is fully repaired, its power can withstand attacks from Ascension Realm experts, making it virtually invincible in this half-crippled era of cultivation.
No enemy, no matter how rebellious, could breach the Kyoto Great Formation.
"And you, the young emperor, can issue an edict ordering the feudal lords to come to the aid of the king and jointly punish the rebellious ministers, which is entirely in line with your sixth son's character..."
"Ahem, Dragon King, I am handing over resources, please leave..." Emperor Chengping seemed to have been seen through by it, and chased him away with a dark face.
The Azure Dragon raised its proud head with amusement and said mockingly, "Little Emperor, you don't actually think that a broken formation has the power to rival the Dragon King, do you?"
"Dragon King, you may try?" Emperor Chengping angrily challenged him, abandoning his amicable negotiations.
With a "hum," Xie Ming manipulated the great formation to create an aura that empowered Emperor Chengping, causing him to tremble and radiate a dazzling light, increasing his strength tenfold.
Not to be outdone, Qinglong grabbed the retired emperor by the neck and pushed him forward: "Come on, you patricide-murdering little emperor, go after the old emperor..."
"Damn it, Azure Dragon! The Great Li Dynasty has worshipped you as its guardian beast for so many years, yet you dare to coerce the wishes of the first emperor and target his descendants."
"Your arrogance and dignity are so shameful that they make you a laughingstock of the world..." Emperor Chengping provoked in anger.
The Azure Dragon, unfazed, raised its right forepaw and playfully beckoned with its dragon finger: "Little Emperor, hand over the ransom, or don't even dream that I, the Dragon King, will kill your father for you..."
"You bastard! I'm giving you resources, but don't harm my father! Take them!" Emperor Chengping felt he had been tricked by the Azure Dragon and roared as he flung the storage bag out of his hand.
With a flick of its right forepaw, the Azure Dragon snatched the storage bag into its claws, then casually tossed the Emperor Emeritus from its left forepaw, saying, "This Dragon King keeps its word and returns your father intact. I'm off! Roar!"
"Ah, the shameless Azure Dragon has injured my father! I will never let you get away with this!" Emperor Chengping roared angrily in the sky, making people mistakenly believe that the Azure Dragon had injured the retired emperor.
At an altitude of over 300 meters, even with the gathering of cultivators from Kyoto, their divine senses could only detect a vague outline. It was hard to say who had injured the Emperor Emeritus.
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