Chapter 158 Azure Dragon Soars to the Heavens

The gray-robed youth stepped out of the Wu residence.

The treetops rustled in the wind. He stood with his hands clasped behind his back and said calmly, "Come out." As his voice faded, the demonic entity that had been entwined with him ever since the collapse of Mount Tianmu appeared. It was a massive green snake. Mount Tianmu was located north of Lin'an Prefecture in Jiangnan.

Not far from Jinshan Temple, the sacred ground of Buddhism.

Named Tianmu because its east and west peaks each had a pool, resembling eyes gazing up at the sky.

In an instant, the snake transformed into a woman in a green robe, her massive scales becoming silk, her black hair coiled up. The corners of her eyes and brows were tilted upwards, her face slightly gaunt, and her temperament valiant. Her vertical pupils emitted a faint light in the night as she looked at the youth before her.

"...Why did you call me out?"

"I'm going to the capital. I need a mount."

The woman, transformed from the green snake, watched him with icy eyes, arms crossed, and sneered, "Are you afraid that you'll die there after going to the capital this time, and no one will be able to restrain me, so you're pulling me along to die with you? Oh, how truly virtuous, a true cultivator! So grateful!"

"This little girl really has to thank you, Mister Yuan, for accompanying me in life and death."

The gray-robed youth gazed at her with gentle eyes and said softly:

"This time, it might be beneficial to you as well."

"Afterwards, I can let you leave the Divine Land and not harm you."

The green snake's pupils narrowed.

Along this journey, from the eighteenth year of Jiajing until now, more than ten years had passed. The green snake had been pestering this gray-robed youth every day. At first, it was to eat his flesh and blood, to suck his soul, but this youth was skillful, and she never succeeded.

Finally, discouraged, it was less about being obsessed with killing him and more about the fact that, apart from this old geezer of unknown age, she had no acquaintances in this world. With nothing to do, she had no choice but to pester him endlessly.

Although this youth's abilities were inexplicably powerful, he had never really been ruthless.

The green snake's courage grew, and later on, she often freeloaded, making sure to order a table full of dishes for the youth. To some extent, the green snake knew more about how much money the youth had than he did himself.

And day by day, if she didn't scheme against this young man, she felt that the day lacked some fun and was quite boring.

She was self-centered, not caring whether the world belonged to the Zhao family or the Zhu dynasty. As for what the identity of this youth was, how high his cultivation was, and how difficult his background was to fathom, or what he wanted to do, it was all the same to her. Helping the White Snake flood Jinshan in the past, doing it again today wasn't a big deal. She silently withdrew her gaze and said:

"As you say."

"However, I don't have the cultivation of my sister, and I can't soar like a dragon."

"If you don't mind, I don't care anymore..."

The youth chuckled, "So that's what you're worried about?"

"I can help you briefly."

He pointed a finger to the space between the green snake's eyebrows, and a stream of magic power flowed.

"I've seen a dragon before..."

"So, pointing out a path for you isn't too difficult."

………………

Someone yawned as they came out of their house and caught sight of an unbelievable scene in the distance, immediately freezing in place.

An elegant gentleman, and a maiden who seemed to have some heroism and some barbarity.

The gentleman reached out and touched the maiden's brow.

Accompanied by a clear dragon's roar, the maiden in green transformed into a massive green serpent, coiling in front of the youth. The gray-robed man, with his black hair and jade hairpin, possessed a gentle temperament. He reached out and pressed his hand on the serpent's brow, a fleeting image of the Yinglong he had once seen flashing in his eyes.

Also the form of the dragon vein he had once seen in the company of his teacher.

Thus, the green snake briefly transformed into an Azure Dragon, clouds rising between its claws.

The youth lightly stepped onto the dragon's head.

Leaving behind only the bystander on the spot, collapsing to the ground, lips trembling, unable to speak.

Amidst the rising dragon's roar, the Azure Dragon coiled upwards, and after the initial excitement, it flew towards the location of the northern capital. Along the way in Jiangnan, pavilions, towers, painted boats, and mist-shrouded attics with women playing the zither and scholars composing poems and drinking alone, all were romantic affairs. No one knew which scholar in which attic, when tired and looking outside, saw the clouds surging.

Taking another look, they vaguely saw scales shuttling through the clouds, and they froze in place.

At this moment, the courtesan was saying something with a smile, but she saw the scholar suddenly jump up and scream.

"Dragon!"

"There's a dragon!"

This exclamation spread, and the courtesan felt that this guest was causing trouble, but hearing similar voices from afar, everyone realized what was happening, and men, women, old, and young crowded to the windows and downstairs, craning their necks to look into the distance. They saw the Azure Dragon soaring into the sky, a gray-robed youth sitting quietly on the dragon's head, with black hair and a jade hairpin.

The entire Jiangnan seemed to have stopped flowing, with only individuals watching the immortal riding the dragon.

"There really are immortals in this world..."

………………

Capital.

The Jiajing Emperor once again recruited over a hundred virgins with special constitutions into the palace.

This emperor, who did not wear a dragon robe but appeared like a true cultivator, still listened to the Daoists, piously seeking immortality. The cause of this should have been what the Daoist carrying the twin dragon and tiger swords said.

Accompanied by grand ceremonial rituals, incense rose in the Zhai Palace, which cost millions of taels of silver. The incense was made of the finest sandalwood, and every arrangement was carefully considered. All kinds of beautiful jade, magical artifacts, and talismans were valuable items, arranged in order.

"Even the residence of immortals is no more than this, right?"

The recruited women whispered.

Their eyes were filled with envy and disbelief.

The emperor, still appearing somewhat handsome, came out, and after a series of rituals, he cleansed his hands.

After praying for the prosperity of the Great Ming and the peaceful life of the people, the emperor took out a jade seal.

Below were the eight large characters: "Having received the Mandate from Heaven, may (he) enjoy longevity and eternal prosperity."

The text on the talisman beside him stated that he would be ordered to additionally grant the Great Ming Emperor the title of 'Supreme Great Luo Heavenly Immortal, Overseer of the Five Thunders, Grand Master of the Xuan Capital, Emperor of Boundless Life'. The numerous Daoists bowed, and the emperor slowly exhaled, pressing the jade seal with both hands, about to stamp it on this edict of conferment.

Invisibly, he was using the national fortune as ink.

But at this moment, the Imperial Jade Seal suddenly resisted violently.

The emperor stood before the desk, gripping the seal with both hands, exerting all his strength, his face faintly contorted.

The seal could not be pressed down at all.

The atmosphere was inexplicably silent.

"Return."

Suddenly, a calm voice rang out.

The jade seal suddenly shone brightly, and then directly shook the emperor, turning into a stream of light, flying into the sky. At this moment, the clouds suddenly thickened, accompanied by the sound of thunder. Everyone looked up abruptly, and then their expressions froze. Following the trajectory of the jade seal's flight, an Azure Dragon swam between the heavens and earth, a gray-robed man sitting cross-legged on the dragon's head.

The Imperial Jade Seal fell into his hand, slowly rotating.

Even the people in the palace, who were used to hearing legends of immortals, were stunned into silence. Just as they thought this was an immortal who had come upon hearing the emperor's orders, they saw two noblemen in blue and purple robes, their eyes wide with fury, retreating repeatedly. The dragon's roar shook the heavens, and the Azure Dragon spewed thunder.

The gray-robed youth's expression was calm.

Carrying the *Tui Bei Tu*, he instantly locked onto the two noblemen in blue and purple.

Before anyone knew how to react, the twin dragon and tiger swords behind Daoist Shao Yuanjie suddenly flew up.

The sword light crisscrossed, directly nailing the two Daoists in blue and purple robes to the ground.

The youth on the Azure Dragon's head slightly gripped the jade seal in his palm, and then gently sent it away:

"Your Majesty the First Emperor once agreed with you, entrusting the Jade Seal to the care of the Mount Tai Ruler."

"There are no emperors in the human world; let the Jade Seal return to you."

With a casual wave, the jade seal flew towards Mount Tai in the east.

Everyone watched helplessly as a stream of light flew away between the heavens and earth.

The twin dragon and tiger swords suddenly flew up and fell into the youth's palm. With a flick of his fingers, he formed a decree. This decree also came from Shao Yuanjie's palm. Yuan's eyes narrowed. At this moment, he felt some kind of power within him rapidly dissipating. At least two hundred years of cultivation that he had accumulated within him quickly vanished.

Entering into the affairs of human emperors with the identity of a Daoist.

None would end well.

But ah, teacher...

Isn't this how our lineage is?

Yuan's expression softened, and he tapped on the Celestial Master's decree, his voice calm, "The Celestial Master's decree originally belongs to the Orthodox Unity Way, but it fell into the hands of outsiders, almost destroying two hundred years of accumulation in the Divine Land. Today, the Celestial Master's decree is returned to the Orthodox Unity, and the twin dragon and tiger swords, to prevent them from falling into the wrong hands again."

"I will detain them for five hundred years as punishment."

"Five hundred years later, send the current Celestial Master to retrieve them."

"Go!"

The twin dragon and tiger swords were enveloped in his sleeve.

With a flick of his sleeve, the Celestial Master's decree trembled and disappeared instantly.

At the ancestral hall of Dragon Tiger Mountain, a stream of light fell from the sky, directly into the depths of the mountain rocks.

Then a calm voice slowly fell.

The current Zhang family Celestial Master of the Celestial Master's Mansion ran out, saw the Celestial Master's decree quietly fallen on the ground outside the door, stunned and unable to speak, after a long time slowly bowed, solemnly said: "...Receiving the decree."

The Jiajing Emperor's face was livid, and he retreated step by step. He could make the resources of the world be used for his cultivation, so of course he was not a fool. He could see that the newcomer was ill-intentioned. While ordering the surrounding guards to step forward, he looked at the immortal on the dragon's head and roared, "I am the Son of Heaven, the Son of Heaven of the Great Ming, entrusted by Heaven. Are you not afraid of divine punishment for deceiving your sovereign and rebelling?!"

The youth on the dragon's head narrowed his eyes slightly:

"In the thousands of years of the human world, the Kunlun Heavenly Gods have never killed me."

With a flip of his sleeves, dragons roared, and the Imperial Guards of the entire palace had already collapsed like dust.

The palace was already silent. The entire capital saw the immortal descending on a dragon, and those who were closer could vaguely hear the voice. The emperor retreated step by step, his expression faintly angry and unwilling: "I am the Emperor, the Heavenly Emperor, the entire heaven and earth are mine, the Grand Prayers are held every year, heaven and earth should help me!"

"I am the Supreme Great Luo Heavenly Immortal, Overseer of the Five Thunders, Grand Master of the Xuan Capital, Emperor of Boundless Life, step back, step back!"

The gray-robed man suddenly felt some inexplicable powerlessness and loss.

The desires of one person influenced the world, causing the accumulation of nearly two hundred years of the entire human world to be exhausted. It was such a person.

"Then, Supreme Great Luo Heavenly Immortal, Overseer of the Five Thunders, Grand Master of the Xuan Capital, Emperor of Boundless Life."

The youth calmly watched the emperor, his voice calmly falling.

"Commit suicide."

ps: Today's third update... I'm really not good at these, lying down...

Tomorrow this little story should end.

In the original Crouching Tiger Order Armory it was written - Twin Dragon and Tiger Swords, Wei Yuan then speculated that the Dragon Tiger Mountain's Twin Dragon and Tiger Swords were fake.