Chapter 288 Coming of Age Ceremony
One hundred years later, the coming-of-age ceremony.
Auspicious clouds are lingering on the top of the sacred mountain.
Long Ze stood on the high platform with his hands behind his back, his gilded robe fluttering in the wind.
A hundred years of time have made him more and more handsome - his sword-like eyebrows slanted into his temples, his pupils were golden like torches, his nose was high and straight, and his thin lips were slightly pursed, exuding an aura of majesty without even being angry.
He just stood there, and the mighty power of heaven flowing around him made all the living beings present hold their breath involuntarily.
"Ancestor Dragon, tomorrow is the coming-of-age banquet for the two young ancestors. Will Tiandao... come?" Long Zun asked respectfully, with cautious expectation in his eyes.
Long Chen looked at the sky, his lips slightly raised: "It will come naturally."
Ange would not miss such an important day.
On the day of the coming-of-age banquet, the sky was bright and beautiful.
Long Ze came walking on the golden light, and every step made the heaven and earth tremble.
He was taller and more upright than a hundred years ago, with broad shoulders and long legs, and the golden dragon pattern was faintly visible between his robes.
The pair of golden eyes containing the power of heaven swept across the stage. Everyone lowered their heads, and no one dared to look him in the eye - this young golden dragon was even more majestic and intimidating than the Dragon Ancestor back then!
At Longze's side, a little phoenix came in a flaming red dress.
A hundred years of time have made her a stunning beauty - her skin is as white as porcelain, her eyes are bright and shining, and her lips are red without any makeup.
The green dragon scale pendant tied around her waist swayed in the wind, contrasting beautifully with her fiery red skirt and adding a touch of seductiveness and uninhibited charm.
"The party begins!"
Following the announcement from Dragon Lord, colorful clouds suddenly descended from the sky.
The pure blessings of heaven fall like spring rain, nourishing every living being present.
Everyone looked up and saw countless colorful divine birds flying in from the clouds and circling and dancing above the banquet - they were gifts from heaven for the little phoenix!
Throughout the entire banquet, Longze always stood beside the little phoenix, like a guardian god.
The little phoenix has a smile as beautiful as a flower, and every move she makes is full of elegance and agility.
Until the last ray of sunset glow faded away, the figure that everyone was expecting never appeared.
But everyone knows that God has always been watching here, watching her children finally grow up.
As dusk fell, a ray of silver light streaked across the sky.
Ange came under the moonlight, her white dress swaying gently in the evening breeze. She had only a white jade hairpin in her hair, but it made her look even more beautiful and elegant.
Long Ze had already sensed his mother's breath.
He stood on the white jade steps outside the palace, his golden pupils glowing slightly in the twilight.
Over the past hundred years, he has grown into a taller man than his father, but at this moment his eyes reveal a childlike expectation.
He subconsciously straightened his clothes and was about to step forward...
"Mother!" A fiery red figure swept past like a whirlwind.
The little phoenix ran away with her skirt lifted up, the pearl hairpins in her hair jingling. She almost tripped on the last stone step, but still threw herself accurately into Ange's arms.
Ange was knocked back half a step and smiled as she caught her daughter who was now as tall as herself.
She stroked the little phoenix's long hair, which was as smooth as silk, and her eyes moved slightly when her fingertips touched the green dragon scale pendant that she always wore.
"My little phoenix has grown up." She said softly, but her eyes passed over her daughter's shoulder and fell on her eldest son who was standing quietly.
The moonlight cast a layer of silver light on Long Ze. No emotion could be seen on his handsome face, only the slightly red tips of his ears gave away his thoughts.
Ange let go of her daughter and stepped forward to hold her son's face: "My son is so handsome."
Long Ze coughed lightly, and his golden eyelashes drooped, casting a light shadow on his cheek.
Of course he knew that he inherited all the advantages of his parents - his father's well-defined jaw, his mother's delicate eyebrows and eyes, and the innate majesty of the dragon clan.
In the three realms, there is indeed no one who can match him.
Even though he was thick-skinned enough, he still felt a little embarrassed when his mother praised him so directly.
"Ahem." Long Chen had been standing in the corridor without him noticing. His moon-white brocade robe made him look even more elegant and refined.
He waited until the mother and her two children had been affectionate enough before he strode forward and hugged his wife in his arms.
Ange pressed her face against his chest and heard his strong heartbeat.
"I miss you too." Long Chen's voice was low and hoarse with a hundred years of longing.
Ange looked up at him, the stars in her eyes: "Me too."
She stood on tiptoes and placed a kiss on her husband's lips, ignoring the gasps of the two children beside her.
As the moonlight grew brighter, Long Chen personally went into the kitchen and prepared a table of home-cooked meals.
The family of four sat around the stone table in the courtyard, and Longze poured each of them a glass of thousand-year-old wine.
After three rounds of drinks, Ange looked at his eldest son and asked, "Have you made up your mind?"
Her question was rambling, but everyone present understood its meaning.
Long Ze swirled the wine glass, and the amber liquid reflected his calm brows.
To be the Way of Heaven means to be with all things, yet to be forever alone.
Mountains and rivers are his blood, birds and beasts are his eyes and ears, but no one can really get close to him anymore.
It had taken his mother hundreds of years to adjust to this eternal existence, and now the burden would fall on his shoulders.
“I thought about it when I was five years old.” Long Ze drank it all in one gulp, his Adam’s apple rolling, his golden eyes as firm as ever.
Ange sighed softly, and silver light appeared on his fingertips, which was the flow of the power of heaven.
But before the succession, she still had one more thing to ask: "Before you take the throne, do you have any wishes?"
Long Ze's eyes fell on his sister who was drinking too much.
Little Phoenix was secretly pouring herself a third glass of wine. When she noticed her brother's gaze, she immediately put on an innocent expression, but she couldn't hide the wine stains at the corners of her mouth.
"I want to go back to the place where I was born." Long Ze said.
Ange and Long Chen looked at each other.
The Beast World - that was where they first met, where Longze was born and the little phoenix hatched, and it carries too many memories.
After the catastrophe a hundred years ago, the collapsed beast world has been repaired by Ange. Now I wonder what the Dragon God Tribe has become.
“Then let’s go back and take a look.” Long Chen held his wife’s hand, and when their fingertips were interlocked, it seemed as if they had returned to the days when they fought side by side in the Beast World.
Over the past hundred years, Long Chen and Long Ze have tried countless methods - ancient secret techniques, dragon clan forbidden methods, natural treasures, and even the fragments of the laws of heaven left by Ange, but none of them can make up for the incompleteness of the little phoenix's soul.
Although the Phoenix clan has a long lifespan, they can ultimately not resist the passage of time.
If it fails to practice, the little phoenix will eventually wither like an ordinary bird and turn into a handful of earth.
Long Ze gazed at his sister who was laughing happily under the moonlight. Her red dress was as red as fire and her eyes were full of innocence. She had no idea that her fate was hanging by a thread.
"My sister is an adult now. We can't delay any longer." Long Ze whispered, his fingertips unconsciously stroking the wine glass.
He had spent countless late nights reading ancient books, deducing the secrets of heaven, and even used his own dragon blood as a guide to try to reshape her soul.
But every attempt was met with no response.
The night wind blew gently, and the dragon scale pendant on the little phoenix's chest suddenly flashed a faint light, which was fleeting and disappeared in a flash, as if it was an illusion.
But Long Ze saw it—his golden pupils suddenly shrank, and the dragon blood in his body boiled slightly.
That dragon scale was the only thing left before Long Indigo disappeared.
For a hundred years, it has remained as silent as a dead object. Why did it suddenly move tonight?
"The world of beasts..." Long Ze raised his eyes and looked into the distance.
Perhaps the answer lies where it all began.
He had asked Father Long countless times whether the little phoenix’s inability to absorb spiritual energy for cultivation was due to Long Dian?
Uncle Long didn't give him a direct answer.
Until just now... he thought he already knew the answer.
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