In the Taiji Hall, Li Er sat on the dragon throne, with two groups of civil and military officials standing on both sides below him.
It was the height of autumn, and at five o'clock in the morning, the sky was still dark. There were servants in the palace holding lamps, and lights were everywhere.
With the help of the bright light, Li Er's eyes swept over the civil officials and military generals below, and he saw Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, Xu Shiji, Xu Jingzong, Cheng Yaojin, Qin Shubao and other civil officials and military generals standing solemnly, each of them was dignified and dignified, but the figure of Prime Minister Wei Zheng was missing.
Seeing this, Li Er's heart skipped a beat. He immediately summoned a guard next to him and asked in a low voice, "Where is Wei Zheng?"
The guards were the elite troops that Li Er transferred from the imperial guards, and they were equivalent to the heads of the secret service agency that belonged exclusively to the emperor.
Hearing Li Er's question, he immediately knelt on the ground and said with cold sweat: "Your Majesty, last night there was a strange light in Wei Xiang's mansion, and there was also the cry of cranes in the sky. We were amazed by this strange phenomenon and dared not approach the prime minister's mansion. Please forgive me, Your Majesty!"
Li Er was startled when he heard this. He did not bother to punish the guards for dereliction of duty. He muttered to himself, "A strange light appeared in the sky, and cranes cried in the sky... Could it be that the envoy from the Heavenly Court came down to earth to announce the decree, ordering Wei Zheng to supervise the execution of the old dragon at 3:30 noon?"
Thinking of this, Li Er felt that he could not hesitate any longer, and immediately ordered Wei Zheng to come for an audience.
At that time, Wei Zheng was sitting cross-legged in the quiet room of the prime minister's residence, testing his wisdom sword, and circulating his spirit, waiting for the right time.
Before he became an official, he had practiced Taoism, so he had some attainments in the way of the soul. Last night, Wei Zheng received the golden decree from the Heavenly Court. He was both happy and worried. He hurriedly thanked the Jade Emperor for his grace, then fasted and bathed, waiting for the right time, so he was unable to enter the court.
Unexpectedly, before the time came, Li Er, a close attendant, came to announce the decree.
Although Wei Zheng was extremely awed by the Jade Emperor's decree, he was unwilling to disobey the emperor's order, so he had to quickly straighten his clothes and belt and go to the court to receive the order.
In front of Emperor Li Er, Wei Zheng straightened his appearance, kowtowed solemnly, and apologized to the emperor.
Li Er smiled slightly, pardoned him, and then ordered all the ministers to withdraw from the court, leaving only Wei Zheng.
Wei Zheng didn't know the reason, but he couldn't refuse Li Er's request.
Li Er smiled and led Wei Zheng into a side hall, where he first discussed with him strategies for maintaining national security and stabilizing the country.
When the sun rose high in the sky and it was almost noon, Li Er ordered the officials to bring the chess pieces and chessboards, spread out the imperial desk, and said with a smile: "I am in a good mood and would like to play a game of chess with you. What do you think?"
Wei Zheng glanced at the sky, sighed and said, "That's what I really want, but I dare not ask for it!"
So, the king and his minister sat down to play chess, passing the piece back and forth, setting up the black and white formations.
At the same time, Empress Chang Sun sat beside Li Er, holding a night-shining pearl emitting silver light, watching the chess game quietly without saying a word.
…
…
On the other side, above the Jing River, above the clouds.
A dark cloud gathered rapidly, bringing with it a tremendous murderous aura.
In the water palace of Jing River, the Jing River Dragon King, who had transformed into a human form, seemed to sense something. He immediately showed fear on his face and could not help but cast his gaze towards the three people in front of him.
After all, the Dragon King of the West Sea is under the jurisdiction of the Heavenly Court and has a sensitive identity, so he left long ago to avoid suspicion.
Now, there are only three people left in the Jinghe Water Palace: Bai Lang, Ya Mu and the dragon girl Ao Jie.
Seeing the panic on the face of the Jinghe Dragon King, Bai Lang said with a smile: "Don't panic, Brother Long, it's just a trip to the Dragon Slashing Platform. With the means we have laid in advance with the Emperor of Tang, we can ensure that you will be safe and sound on this trip!"
Hearing this, the Dragon King of Jinghe River relaxed his expression a little, bowed respectfully and said, "I'll leave it to you, my two brothers!"
The dragon girl next to him stepped forward, grabbed the arm of the Jinghe Dragon King, and looked into his eyes, her eyes blurred with tears.
At this moment, a majestic voice came from the sky, sentencing the Dragon King of Jinghe River to death for violating the laws of heaven!
Before he finished his words, golden chains extended from the clouds and instantly locked the neck, wrists and ankles of the Jinghe Dragon King, causing him to cry out in pain, revealing his true form as a black dragon from the white-clothed scholar.
The black dragon has majestic horns and cold scales, and it exudes a powerful dragon aura of the Golden Immortal level.
A black dragon of this strength is already the most powerful among the dragons today, and its combat power is not inferior to that of the Dragon Kings of the Four Seas.
But even so, facing the golden dragon-binding rope that stretched out from the clouds, the Jinghe Dragon King still had no power to fight back. He could only look panic-stricken, and was dragged above the clouds by the golden chain with his fangs and claws bared.
"Husband!"
The dragon girl stretched out her hands to the sky, cried out in grief, then stopped and looked at Bai Lang and Ya Mu with a pleading look.
Bai Lang and Yamu looked at each other, then jumped up and flew into the clouds following the Jinghe Dragon King.
But above the clouds, countless heavenly soldiers and generals were riding auspicious clouds, holding long weapons, and looking down majestically and solemnly.
In the center of them, heavily guarded, was a golden platform with a huge guillotine standing on it. There also stood a god in golden armor, radiating a majestic divine light.
After the Dragon King of Jinghe River was captured here, he was locked on a high platform with golden chains.
"This is the Dragon Slaying Platform!"
Bai Lang stopped and looked at the Dragon Slaying Platform and said, "Do you know why the dragon race is so in awe of the Heavenly Court?"
Yamu said thoughtfully: "Is it because of this dragon-slaying platform?"
Bai Lang nodded and said, "That's right. When the Heavenly Court deals with death row prisoners, there is actually another execution ground. When they dealt with Sun Wukong, they took him to the Demon Slaying Platform for execution. There is also another execution ground for dealing with immortals and gods who violated the Heavenly Law."
"But whether it's gods or monsters, the names of their execution grounds are all normal."
"The only special execution ground for the dragon clan is the one called the Dragon Slicing Platform..."
Yamu was slightly startled, then he reacted and couldn't help feeling a chill.
The so-called "slicing a dragon" means killing first and then slicing it!
The Heavenly Court deals with rebellious demons and deities who violate the rules as if they were normal prisoners, but it treats the dragon clan as if they were a precious food ingredient.
Yamu still remembered that Nie Changchuan had told them that at the Peach Festival several years ago, in addition to various kinds of peaches and fairy fruits, there were also rare and precious animals, dragon liver and phoenix marrow!
Thinking of this, Yamu couldn't help but sigh: "No wonder when the Heavenly Court was weak, the four seas dragons didn't dare to resist. Even a golden immortal-level power like the Jinghe Dragon King was so frightened in front of the Jade Emperor's edict."
"...This is a fear that has been deeply engraved in the minds of the dragon race for countless thousands of years!"
Thinking of this, Yamu cast his gaze towards the Dragon-Slaying Platform in front of him. On the platform beneath the Jinghe Dragon King, there were faint traces of blood, and a monstrous murderous aura emerged from it, as if countless wronged dragon spirits were roaring.
At this moment, the golden-armored general stepped forward, glared at the two of them and shouted:
"Who is coming?!"
Bai Lang was not afraid at all, and stepped forward and said: "I am Bai Lang, the Nuclear Energy Master, under the command of Emperor Zhongtian!"
...Emperor Zhongtian?
The golden-armored general was slightly startled, then his tone softened: "So it's Master Bai, where is the Emperor?"
Bai Lang smiled and said, "The Emperor is not here. We two are just visiting friends in Chang'an and are just passing by here."
The golden-armored general frowned, his divine power radiating from his body, and he said calmly: "Since the Emperor is not here, I am afraid it will be difficult for you to escape from the execution ground without any evidence, unless..."
"Unless what?"
"Unless the real person holds the Great Emperor's credentials."
The Emperor's credentials?
Bai Lang and Ya Mu looked at each other.
The latter thought for a moment, then took out the Void Jade Plate and said calmly, "Can this be used as proof?"
The golden-armored general took a closer look, and his expression immediately changed. He restrained his aura and said with a smile: "It turns out that he is under the command of the Great Emperor!"
As he spoke, he cupped his hands and said with a smile, "The execution ground is strict and will not allow me to be careless. I am sorry for the offense, two masters!"
Bai Lang smiled and said, "It's okay. Lord General is just doing his duty. I understand!"
The golden-armored general breathed a sigh of relief and said softly, "In that case, please leave as soon as possible. If you delay the execution, I'm afraid I can't just sit there and watch..."
Bai Lang shook his head and said, "I'm afraid that won't work."
The golden-armored general frowned and tightened the spear in his hand.
"Why?"
"Isn't that what I just said?"
As Bai Lang spoke, he cast his gaze towards the hopeful Jinghe Dragon King on the Dragon Slaying Platform, and said slowly, "We are here to visit an old friend in Chang'an."
The golden-armored general followed his gaze and looked behind him, then turned around and let out a long sigh.
"Forgive my ignorance, but the good friend of the two masters, could it be the evil dragon behind me?"
"The Lord God is indeed smart!"
Bai Lang smiled and gave a thumbs up to the golden-armored general.
The golden-armored general frowned, and once again exuded the divine power of the Golden Immortal Stage. He said calmly, "This... I'm afraid it's not good, right?"
"To be honest with you two, the Dragon King of the Jing River has violated the Heavenly Law by changing the rainfall schedule without authorization, and he should be sentenced to death. You two are under the command of the Great Emperor Zhongtian, so why would you wade into this muddy water for the sake of a wicked dragon?"
Bai Lang sighed and said, "I can't help it. I've already made the announcement, so I can't not save him!"
Yamu, who was standing next to him, glowed with silver light. He said calmly, "My Lord God, the Dragon King of the Jing River only slightly changed the time for rainfall. He did not disobey the order. The Heavenly Court should just give him a small punishment and a big warning. Why do you have to force him?"
After he finished speaking, Bai Lang shook his head before the golden-armored general could answer.
"Give up. This kind of thing can be big or small. If we really want to reason with each other, we are really not in the right. Don't waste your breath."
"..." Yamu glanced at him and sighed, "So, it has developed into a robbery?"
Bai Lang smiled slightly: "What do you mean by robbing the execution ground? Don't say it so harshly. You and I just met a master of the same level. We were itching to have a fight with this great general!"