At this moment, Fox Fairy Nannan approached, coming to Zhang Chen’s side. Her eyes looked at the stone pillar under the torchlight, showing a hint of astonishment: "How is there a large stone emerging from the water here? How tall is this stone?"
"The characters on this are so strange." Fox Spirit remarked with a hint of sarcasm, then her gaze fell upon the large characters embossed in gold, her pupils revealing a touch of surprise.
Fox Spirit glanced sideways, looking at Zhang Chen, who seemed to have understood the writing with a serious gaze, and snapped with a tinge of annoyance: "I say, boy, you’re looking so seriously, if I didn’t know you can’t recognize a single character, I would have thought you understood it. Why are you staring at this big stone instead of quickly searching for that Dragon Transformation Land?"
"Spring Court Lake Dragon Palace." Zhang Chen said.
"What?" Fox Spirit was momentarily stunned upon hearing this.
"I mean, the characters on this stone tablet say: Spring Court Lake Dragon Palace. Have you ever heard of Spring Court Lake?" Zhang Chen asked, his face full of surprise.
Now speaking of Prince Pingbian’s Mansion
The time rewinds to when the Yellow River flooded, and Zhang Chen was teasing and luring the Dragon Seed with the True Dragon Destiny. As the Dragon Seed’s crystal coffin appeared on the Yellow River, a faint dragon’s roar suddenly echoed within a room in Prince Pingbian’s Mansion, which had been closed off from light for years.
Prince Pingbian’s Mansion covered a large area, with a radius of ten li. In the rear courtyard of the mansion, there was a lake about one li in size, and on the lake, a small island was built. The island was blooming with vibrant flowers and densely planted with patches of bamboo, making the whole island lush and green.
In the very center of the island, there was a single-story house. The house wasn’t large, only seventy or eighty square meters, made entirely of bamboo. The whole house was square, except for the eaves, which looked like two dragon horns soaring to the sky.
At the eaves of the house’s four corners, there were light blue bells hung, beneath which hung ceramic bowls full of clear water, emanating a thick mist that enveloped the entire island.
At this moment, the bells at the four corners of the house suddenly rang urgently, echoing into the house.
The windows of the house were tightly shut, sealing it completely airtight. Yet the house wasn’t dark; fourteen Everlasting Lamps were lit inside, arranged in a unique pattern, illuminating the house as bright as day.
The oil in those lamps was a deep blue, resembling a boundless ocean, with the wicks resembling swimming dragons, ceaselessly moving back and forth within the lamps.
In front of that lamplight was a tablet covered with a blue cloth, and at this moment, Prince Pingbian was kneeling quietly before the tablet, with wisps of incense smoke rising in front of him, appearing very mysterious.
"Our Prince Pingbian’s Mansion has endured silently for hundreds of years, always working diligently without revealing the slightest flaw. If the old ancestor can successfully transform into a dragon, I shall then ally with the Demon Race, and even the Great Victory Court won’t be able to do anything to my Prince Pingbian’s Mansion. The old ancestor should achieve dragon transformation within these few months; I hope everything goes smoothly without any mishaps, that the True Dragon Destiny returns in time, and that no mistakes happen!" Prince Pingbian, with a head of silver hair, knelt on the ground, continuously murmuring.
Prince Pingbian looked very young, appearing only in his thirties, strong and vigorous like a young man.
At that moment, suddenly an urgent ringing of bells from outside the house reached his ears, causing Prince Pingbian’s face to change as he swiftly got up and rushed out of the house, his eyes looking at the constantly vibrating bells at the four corners under the eaves, his eyes turning serious: "Not good! Something happened! Something big happened!"
Prince Pingbian knew that trouble had arisen! Big trouble awaited him!
"Did an issue arise with the old ancestor’s Dragon Transformation Land? Logically, that shouldn’t happen; the old ancestor’s dragon transformation is already at its final stage; what problem could still appear? Could it be that the Dragon Vein was breached by someone?" Prince Pingbian stood under the eaves, looking at the four bowls of water hanging under the bells, and as the bells rang, the four bowls unbelievably shot water from their bottoms, forming four small whirlpools within the ceramic bowls. Those small whirlpools kept spinning, and as they rotated, they agitated the air flow, causing the entire island to be suddenly covered in dark clouds, with thunder and lightning tearing across, continuously producing anomalies.
"It seems a big problem has indeed occurred!" Prince Pingbian’s face was grim. After leaving the house, he quickly went to the edge of the island, only to see dozens of armored guards standing guard in front of the island.
"Prince!"
Seeing Prince Pingbian, the guards immediately knelt on the ground, bowing their heads respectfully in a salute.
"Inform the Steward to have the Crown Prince visit the ancestral land and use his blood to appease the Dragon Qi. Moreover, the truth can be disclosed to the Crown Prince. The entire mansion will eventually rely on the Crown Prince, and he must take charge of many affairs personally." Prince Pingbian commanded.
At these words, the soldier promptly obeyed and left. Shortly thereafter, the Steward once again arrived at Zhang Xiaohua’s bedside. At this moment, Zhang Xiaohua was groaning in excruciating pain, and upon seeing the Steward enter, he complained in agony: "I really wish to capture that scoundrel Zhang Chen and make him suffer all the pain I am enduring now."
"Crown Prince, please remain calm; the likes of Zhang Chen aren’t worth mentioning. You are about to accomplish something significant related to the future fortune of Prince Pingbian’s Mansion. If you succeed, what is a mere Zhang Chen compared to that? In the future, you may well have the opportunity to wield influence over rivers and lands." The Steward said with a friendly smile.
"What significant matter?" Zhang Xiaohua asked eagerly, his voice filled with anticipation.
"To see your ancestor!" The Steward replied.
"My ancestor?" Zhang Xiaohua was momentarily stunned upon hearing this.
The Steward then explained the matter of the Transformed Dragon and Walking Flood Dragon; upon hearing this, Zhang Xiaohua’s body shook, his eyes brimming with excitement: "You mean to say my ancestor is about to transform into a dragon? This is indeed a fantastic event."
"Currently, the fortune of the ancestor’s Dragon Transformation and Walking Flood Dragon is unstable; it requires the direct bloodline of Prince Pingbian’s Mansion to go to the riverside for ancestral rites. Utilize the power of the bloodline to communicate with the Northern Land’s fortune and offer a stronger fortune to the ancestor to stabilize his fortune and achieve the dragon transformation successfully!" The Steward instructed.
"Quickly help me up, and let’s set off immediately." Zhang Xiaohua, hearing this, was eager, his eyes red: "With the ancestor in trouble, how can I not lend a helping hand?"
"Let us set off now; we’ll reach the ancestral land within a day. By the way, your arch-nemesis Zhang Chen is also at the Yellow River. If he accidentally drowns, and you selflessly go to save him, it would make for a fine story if it spreads." The Steward said with a knowing smile.
Upon hearing this, Zhang Xiaohua’s eyes lit up: "Good, good, good! This is perfect! If he falls into the water, I shall risk my life to save him."
In an unobtrusive courtyard in the Northern Land
A middle-aged man held a scroll in his hand, his eyes quietly watching the surging clouds on the horizon, his gaze sharp: "Transformed Dragon and Walking Flood Dragon? Trying to achieve this right under my nose, how shall I face the Great King in the future? The martial world has long claimed that three thousand armored warriors can slay a dragon. I never thought I would have the chance to test it personally in my lifetime."
"Someone!"
The middle-aged man commanded.
"My lord," an unassuming-looking middle-aged man stepped into the courtyard, bowing respectfully with a salute.
"Assemble ten thousand soldiers to depart with me. I, Xie Xuan, will slay a dragon today for the Emperor, obtaining the True Dragon Blood to extend his life by hundreds of years, and will surely become famous throughout the world. It’s been many years since my name, Xie Xuan, was known across this land, but now I, Xie Xuan, have returned once more!" The voice of the man was filled with excitement: "Long live the Great Victory Dynasty!"
At the same time
A group of men wearing yellow turbans gathered in a ruined temple, staring at the surging water vapor on the horizon, each lost in thought.
"Who would have thought, this beast has truly matured and wants to become a Walking Flood Dragon and transform into a dragon! This is the perfect time to slay the dragon; if we can obtain the Dragon Blood and Dragon Pearl, our cultivation will certainly advance further."
The leader of the group was an elderly man over fifty, who spoke softly, his voice filled with yearning: "Immortality!"