20demayo Chapter 182 Kidnapping Empress Li Yang!
Chapter 182 Kidnapping Empress Li Yang!
Zhao Qingxue looked up at the giant river dragon that seemed to dominate the heavens and the earth.
There was no fear on her face.
There is only one kind of extreme solemnity.
Under the glow of the eerie green dragon light, the deep purple phoenix eyes held a chilling clarity.
Those who can do this...
It is at least at the peak of the celestial phenomena.
No.
To be able to manipulate the water of a region with such exquisite skill, transforming the intangible into the tangible, and imbuing inanimate objects with life...
This is beyond the reach of the Celestial Realm.
This is a near-immortal on land.
even……
She didn't think any further.
Because at that moment, a face suddenly entered her mind.
The face was young and cold, with a deep-seated hatred and some other complex and viscous emotion surging in the depths of his eyes.
That was the person who had stared at her for a long time last night outside the east gate of the imperial city with that uncomfortable look.
Xu Longxiang.
No.
impossible.
Zhao Qingxue almost immediately suppressed the thought.
Xu Longxiang was far away on his way back from the northern border, and he did not have such a terrifyingly powerful expert under his command.
But why...?
Why him of all people?
"Protect His Majesty—!!!"
Fang Hecheng's roar was like a thunderclap, abruptly pulling her back from that momentary daze.
The usual composure was gone from the face of the commander of the Liyang Imperial Guards. Veins bulged on his forehead, his eyes were bloodshot, and his voice was almost torn apart from extreme tension.
He held his sword horizontally in front of Zhao Qingxue, unleashing his full inner energy without reservation. The muscles beneath his black iron armor bulged, making him look like a lion driven to the brink of despair.
Despite their initial shock, the silver-armored imperial guards remained calm and quickly formed a circular defensive formation, with their shields facing outwards and their spears pointing diagonally towards the sky, firmly protecting Zhao Qingxue at the core of the formation.
They knew perfectly well that their defenses were futile against such an existence, like a mantis trying to stop a chariot.
But no one stepped back.
Because behind them was their sovereign.
However, even faster than the giant dragon of the river was a gray-white figure.
Li Chunfeng made a move.
His step was met with complete silence on the deck.
The hem of his grey-white Taoist robe remained motionless in the fierce wind, as if the area within three feet of him was a world isolated from the rest of the world.
He looked up at the giant dragon of the river that seemed to coil in the sky and look down upon all living beings.
Two dazzling golden lights suddenly burst forth from those fully open eyes!
That light was not an outward manifestation of true energy, but something more fundamental and pure—it was sword intent.
It was a sword intent that he had refined over seventy years of cultivation, fifty years of honing his sword, and twenty years of standing at the peak of the celestial realm—a pure, almost transparent intent that touched the threshold of a terrestrial immortal.
"evil creature--!"
Li Chunfeng's voice was no longer old and ethereal, but rather like the cry of a sword from beyond the heavens, clear, resonant, and soaring straight to the sky!
He raised his hand.
In an instant, the countless silver threads of the white jade whisk stood upright, like a giant white lotus suddenly blooming.
Each silver thread represents a sword intent.
Thousands of sword intents converged into a torrent, flowing upstream and piercing straight at the giant river dragon that was plunging down!
"boom--!!!"
The sword intent and the water dragon collided with a deafening roar a hundred feet above the ship.
That was no longer a battle, but a collapse of the celestial phenomena.
A blinding white light erupted from the center of the impact, illuminating the entire night sky as if it were daytime. The dragon's body, formed from the waters of the Nu River, trembled violently under the blow, its countless scales shattering into a mist that then reformed in the air.
The torrential rain, transformed from the river water, poured down, each drop carrying terrifying residual force, striking the deck, the ship's gunwales, and the shields of the Imperial Guards, producing a dense, muffled roar like the beating of drums.
Li Chunfeng's beard and hair flew like flags in the gale.
He stood at the bow of the ship, his body unmoving, his palms forming a seal, and countless sword intents surged forth like an unending tide, wave after wave slashing at the giant dragon that was trying to dive down.
Each sword intent left a deep crack on the dragon's body.
Each crack will be instantly filled by more river water.
This is a battle between will and celestial phenomena.
It is a struggle between humanity and the forces of heaven and earth.
And at this very moment—
fog.
The white mist, which had been gradually thinning, suddenly became ten times thicker.
It didn't rise from the river surface, but rather gushed out simultaneously from all directions, from every crevice, and from countless invisible cracks in the night sky!
The fog was so thick it was almost tangible, like hundreds of white silk ribbons unfurled at the same time, or like the fangs of a giant beast suddenly closing.
It only lasted a moment.
All Zhao Qingxue could see was a vast expanse of white.
"His Majesty!"
Fang Hecheng's exclamation came from the thick fog, so close yet so far away.
Then came more gasps, the scraping sound of swords being drawn, and hurried footsteps pounding on the deck.
Everything was distorted, stretched, and blurred in the fog, as if falling into a nightmare from which one could not wake up.
Zhao Qingxue stood still.
It didn't move.
She knew she should move, should shout, and should do something.
But at that moment, her body fell into a strange state of stagnation.
It's not because of fear.
It's not because of a lack of power.
Rather, it's because—
This fog.
The fog was unnaturally thick.
Its texture is not the cool, damp feel of ordinary water mist, but rather...
It's warm.
Like breathing.
Like a pulse.
It was like a gaze that was deliberately suppressed, yet still revealed a trace of warmth.
The thought flashed through her mind like lightning.
next moment--
The fog moved.
It is neither surging nor dissipating.
Instead, it was like a giant, invisible hand gently cupping around her from the side.
The force was extremely light, extremely gentle, even tender.
It was not a kidnapping, but an invitation.
It wasn't so much confinement as...
shelter.
Zhao Qingxue felt a lightness all over her body.
The moon-white skirt hem looked like a cloud billowing in the wind amidst the mist.
She didn't even have time to make a sound.
The thick fog enveloped her, and like the receding tide, she vanished silently from the deck.
"His Majesty--!!!"
Fang Hecheng's roar pierced through the thick fog, carrying a despair that seemed to shatter his very soul.
The silver-armored imperial guards searched frantically in the dense fog, where visibility was less than three feet, like headless flies. Their swords slashed wildly through the air, only to cut through the ethereal fog and each other.
"Imperial Advisor! His Majesty has disappeared!"
"Protect His Majesty! Where is His Majesty?!"
"There's something in the fog! I touched it! Something took His Majesty away!"
Panic spread rapidly through the fog, like a plague.
These well-trained elite imperial guards, who had fought alongside Zhao Qingxue for five years, tasted helplessness for the first time.
And the bow of the ship.
Li Chunfeng froze.
He maintained his hand seal posture, and countless sword intents continued to fight against the giant river dragon.
But his eyes, which had been shining with golden light, suddenly shrank to the size of pinpoints.
He sensed it.
Within that mist that carried His Majesty away...
There was a presence.
Extremely faint, extremely subtle, like a sharp blade hidden in velvet.
But the quality of that aura, its essence as deep as an abyss and as vast as the sea…
It was exactly the same as what he had sensed in the Hall of Mental Cultivation last night.
Li Chunfeng's white beard trembled violently in the wind.
It wasn't anger.
It's not fear.
Rather, it is the instinctive tremor of a swordsman who has cultivated for seventy years and is arrogantly invincible in his time, when he touches the true abyss.
He opened his mouth.
The aged voice was barely audible in the howling wind.
"...It really was you."
The giant dragon of the river let out a deafening roar and plunged down once more.
Li Chunfeng withdrew his gaze and raised his hand.
Countless sword intents converged once again into a torrent.
He must get rid of this scoundrel as soon as possible.
Because Your Majesty is currently on the edge of that abyss.
And that abyss...
He dared not think.
In the night sky, the fierce battle between the giant dragon of river water and the torrent of sword intent continues.
The roar of the Nu River drowned out everything.
Including Fang Hecheng's hoarse roar.
This includes the cries of the Silver-Armored Guards as they teetered on the brink of collapse.
This also includes that lone boat, adrift like a rootless duckweed amidst the thick fog and towering waves.
But deep in the thick fog.
In a place where neither the river breeze nor the moonlight can reach.
Zhao Qingxue was being gently lifted by the warm mist, crossing the rushing river, the steep cliffs, and the jagged rocks.
She couldn't see anything, but she could feel—
There was a person.
Right beside her.
Very close.
She was so close that she could feel his steady breathing and smell the faint, lingering ambergris scent on his robes.
The aura was both strange and familiar.
The feeling of unfamiliarity stemmed from the fact that she had only met him twice and had never been so close to him before.
The aura was familiar because it contained the same scent she had sensed outside the Hall of Mental Cultivation the previous night, the scent that had even made Li Chunfeng change color…
abyss.
The fog gradually thinned.
The moonlight shone down again.
Zhao Qingxue's feet touched the solid ground.
She slowly raised her eyes.
Three zhang in front of them, a figure in moon-white stood with his hands behind his back.
With his back to her, he tilted his head slightly upward, gazing at the giant river dragon battling Li Chunfeng in the night sky.
The moonlight outlined his tall, straight back, as well as the faint, ambiguous smile on his profile.
It was as if they hadn't kidnapped an emperor.
Simply enjoy a meticulously rehearsed shadow puppet show in your own backyard.
A river breeze swept by, lifting his long, ink-black hair.
He slowly turned around.
Under the moonlight, his handsome, almost perfect face carried his usual languor and composure.
It seems to be saying—
haven't seen you for a long time.
It's as if it's saying—
You finally came.
Zhao Qingxue looked at him.
She gazed at the Qin Emperor, who stood high above her at the wedding ceremony, engaging in a virtual game of chess with her.
Looking at this mysterious emperor who, according to intelligence reports, was licentious and dissolute, yet displayed supernatural abilities on Qinglan Mountain.
Looking at this man... who had kidnapped her here, yet showed not even a trace of murderous intent.
For the first time, her heartbeat lost its usual steady rhythm.
It's not fear.
It's not anger.
Rather, it is something more complex and indescribable...
A flutter in my heart.
Zhao Qingxue spoke slowly.
The voice remained clear and cold, like jade striking each other.
Yet, it carried a slight tremor that she herself was unaware of.
"It's you."
It's not a question.
It is a statement.
Qin Mu nodded slightly, the smile on his lips deepening.
"it's me."
He paused, his gaze settling calmly on her face.
"Your Majesty, Empress Li Yang, you have been waiting for a long time."
Under the moonlight, the Nu River roared in the distance.
In the night sky, the sword intent and the water dragon were locked in a fierce battle.
And in this small world isolated by fog.
The two emperors finally stood face to face on the same chessboard.
But this time...
There are no chess pieces on the chessboard.
Only the player making the move.