Free Web NovelChapter 144: Chapter 144: The Future
The Ninth Princess threw her arms around Shen Daoxing’s arm, resting her head on his shoulder.
Shen Daoxing was about to leave, and the Ninth Princess couldn’t bear for him to go. But there was nothing she could do. ’If only I were strong enough to help Daoxing, I could go with him.’
The Ninth Princess’s mind churned with a mix of emotions. Suddenly, as if struck by a thought, she silently made a resolution.
"Shen!"
The Seventh Prince, standing nearby, opened his mouth to say something but was quickly pulled away by the Eldest Prince.
The members of the Sword Institute chuckled and, with a tacit understanding, departed, leaving the two of them alone.
"A grown daughter cannot be kept."
The Martial Kingdom’s Emperor chuckled, his gaze falling on the ethereal figures of the three ancestors in the distance. Their appearance seemed to be a message to him: the Martial Kingdom could not continue to meekly endure. Doing so would only lead to them being squeezed dry by the Celestial Profound Sacred Land, left with nothing, and then heartlessly cast aside.
If this were the Martial Kingdom of old, how could they have ever been humiliated to this extent?
’It’s time for the Martial Kingdom to change.’ The Emperor of the Martial Kingdom looked into the distance, his eyes gradually sharpening.
The people on the mountain departed one by one until very few remained. The three ancestors of the Martial Kingdom also returned to the Imperial Mausoleum under Shen Daoxing’s command. Soon, only Shen Daoxing and the Ninth Princess were left on the mountain.
Neither of them spoke. The Ninth Princess simply nestled quietly in Shen Daoxing’s arms, looking up at the sky. As the sun set in the west, the clouds were gradually stained a brilliant gold.
The warm sunlight slowly descended, illuminating the Ninth Princess’s face. To Shen Daoxing, she looked exceptionally beautiful today.
And just as Shen Daoxing and the Ninth Princess were sharing this private moment...
In a large crater several dozen feet deep on the mountaintop, a withered old man slowly awoke. He shook his head, which still seemed to ache. Suddenly, a thought struck him, and his expression changed to one of alarm.
The withered old man shot up and leaped out of the crater. "This is bad! The Great Wu Dragon Vein is about to be stolen!"
When he landed, he found the entire mountain empty. His heart sank. ’He’s already been taken away!’
Then, the withered old man turned around and was stunned to see the Ninth Princess and Shen Daoxing nestled together on the peak, watching the sunset, looking as sweet as can be.
The withered old man was utterly bewildered.
At that moment, the Ninth Princess and Shen Daoxing also noticed the withered old man.
"Old Ancestor!"
The Ninth Princess turned and stepped forward, giving a respectful bow.
Shen Daoxing didn’t dare to be disrespectful. He followed suit, clasping his fists and bowing.
"Lad, you weren’t taken away?"
The withered old man looked at Shen Daoxing in surprise.
Shen Daoxing glanced down at himself and smiled faintly. "Nope!"
The withered old man was puzzled. "Then the envoy from the Sacred Land let you go?"
"No, he didn’t."
Shen Daoxing shook his head.
"Then where is he?" the withered old man asked, confused.
"Dead," Shen Daoxing said flatly.
"The envoy from the Celestial Profound Sacred Land is dead?" The withered old man shook his head. "That’s impossible!"
The envoy was a master at the Ninth Layer of the Earth Profound Realm. Even he was no match for him; no one in the entire Martial Kingdom could possibly defeat him! ’It’s absolutely impossible!’
Shen Daoxing just smiled faintly and said no more. He bowed his farewell and left with the Ninth Princess.
As the pair departed, the withered old man’s eyes fell upon the body of the Celestial Profound Sacred Land’s envoy lying on the ground not far away. His head was missing!
The withered old man was instantly stunned.
"Old Ancestor!"
"Old Ancestor!"
The figures of King Zhenwu and King Xianqing appeared beside the old man. They proceeded to tell him everything that had just happened.
The more the withered old man heard, the more shocked he became.
"You’re telling me all three of our Martial Kingdom’s ancestors are taking orders from this boy?" the withered old man finally asked, looking at King Zhenwu and King Xianqing.
"Impossible. Our Martial Kingdom’s ancestors would never obey an ordinary outsider!"
The well-traveled Old Ancestor of the Martial Kingdom immediately made a judgment. "I fear this is the power of the Dragon Vein Origin!"
"Old Ancestor, that’s what I was thinking as well."
King Xianqing, standing to the side, paused before speaking. "It’s just..."
He trailed off, hesitating.
"What is it you want to say?"
The Old Ancestor of the Martial Kingdom looked at King Xianqing.
King Xianqing slowly continued, "It’s just that... now that even the three ancestors are obeying Shen Daoxing, is this Martial Kingdom still the Gu Family’s Martial Kingdom? It seems more like we’ve become Shen Daoxing’s puppets!"
Hearing this, the Old Ancestor of the Martial Kingdom’s face turned cold.
King Xianqing fell silent for a moment before continuing, "Old Ancestor, did you know that my brother intends to let Shen Daoxing leave our Martial Kingdom!"
"What!"
The Old Ancestor was aghast. "We absolutely cannot let Shen Daoxing leave!"
"Sigh."
King Xianqing gave a bitter smile and shook his head. "Old Ancestor, I’ve tried to persuade my brother many times, but he just won’t listen!"
"How outrageous! Does he intend to send our entire Martial Kingdom to its doom?"
The Old Ancestor’s face darkened. With a sudden movement, his figure was already speeding toward the imperial palace.
「...」
After returning to the imperial palace, Shen Daoxing and the Ninth Princess parted ways. He returned to his own residence alone. Shen Daoxing didn’t know how long it would take for the Celestial Profound Sacred Land to discover what had happened. To be safe, he decided he couldn’t delay and would leave tomorrow.
’It’s a shame about all the Spirit Herb Immortal Elixirs in the Treasure Pavilion,’ he thought. ’I haven’t had time to refine them all.’
Shen Daoxing truly found it to be a pity.
’It won’t be easy to find a patron as generous as the Martial Kingdom’s Emperor in the future!’
Acting on the principle of taking as much as he could, Shen Daoxing left his room and made his way through the palace, soon arriving before the Treasure Pavilion.
In front of the pavilion, the old man guarding it was still dozing off, yawning.
"Elder Gu!"
Shen Daoxing stepped forward and offered a respectful bow.
The old man nodded, allowing him to enter without even opening his eyes.
The old man appeared lazy, but in truth, he was perfectly aware of everything around him—a master whose strength could not be underestimated.
Having frequented the Treasure Pavilion, Shen Daoxing had become quite familiar with the old man.
The old man was also a member of the Royal Family; the Ninth Princess had to address him as Granduncle.
Entering the Treasure Pavilion, Shen Daoxing went straight to the third floor.
He took out a few Primordial Spirit Pills and several top-grade stalks of Dragon Tail Grass from a brocade box. Choosing an empty spot, he sat down and placed the elixirs and spirit grass in front of him. He began to circulate the Annihilation of Ten Thousand Swords Technique, and as his one hundred and eight acupoints opened, a powerful suction force erupted from his body.
The Primordial Spirit Pills and Dragon Tail Grass floated into the air, emitting a dazzling white light as a majestic power rapidly poured into Shen Daoxing’s body.
Just as he’d suspected, from consuming too many Primordial Spirit Pills and stalks of Dragon Tail Grass, his body had developed a resistance. Shen Daoxing found it difficult to convert their energy into the Spiritual Power he needed.
However, his Seven-Colored Profound Heaven was unique and required ten, or even a hundred, times more Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi than others.
’It seems the Martial Kingdom’s Emperor was right. With the depletion of the Celestial Essence Spirit Lake, the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi in the Martial Kingdom is growing thinner and thinner. If I want to grow stronger faster, I have to go somewhere with more abundant primordial energy.’
Still, every little bit counts. Shen Daoxing urgently needed to increase his strength. After all, the help from the Gu Family’s ancestors was an external force, and once he left the Martial Kingdom, he would no longer have their support.
