The Great Blue-Robed One

Splash~

As the black banners, engraved with gilded patterns, fluttered, the air on the Eight Trigrams Platform seemed to grow colder.

No, it wasn't just a thought. When Huaiqing waved the soul-summoning banner, dark clouds gathered above the Star-Gazing Tower, obscuring the sunlight, churning and swirling in layers.

Waaah

The airflow passed through the hollowed-out flagpole made of Mingjin Stone, emitting a mournful howl.

Song Qing frowned, feeling Primordial Spirit was about to leave his body along with the wailing.

This tattered flag is about to scare my soul away. Song Qing took out a wooden plug from his pocket and plugged his ears, only then did he feel a little better.

The "Sounding Stone" is also known as the "Spirit-Calling Spirit Stone" or "Ghost-Summoning Stone." Wherever it is located, ghosts will gather, making it one of the essential main materials for the Soul-Summoning Banner.

"Waaaaah"

The wailing suddenly intensified, and inside and outside the capital, wronged souls were awakened. Some crawled out of the cold, damp river, some rose from abandoned old houses, and some drifted out of overgrown graves.

A cold wind howled, dark clouds loomed overhead, and the entire Bureau of Astronomy was shrouded in a sinister and terrifying atmosphere.

The white-robed Warlock of the Bureau of Astronomy had been notified long ago and all went downstairs; no living person was allowed to remain on the third floor or above.

"Wei Yuan, may your soul return!"

On the fluttering banner, gilded runes lit up and drifted into the distance with the air currents emanating from the banner, resembling a twisted path of guidance.

Jingshan City.

On the towering altar, the statue of a young man dressed in a magnificent robe and wearing a crown of thorns trembled slightly.

In the distance, a cold wind swirled up fragments of golden light, stretching from the horizon to create a path of shattered gold.

Above the head of the sorcerer statue, a figure in green robes slowly emerged, then sank down, repeating this process over and over.

Each time the figure in green appeared, a clear light would shine from between the eyebrows of the youth statue, pressing the soul back into the sculpture.

"Wei Yuan, may your soul return!"

At the end of the shattered gold road, a clear voice called out.

The unreal figure in blue robes reappeared, its illusory body trembling as if struggling to float upwards, trying to break free from the sculpture.

Inside the sculpture, wisps of black energy surged around the figure in blue, as if lending him a helping hand.

However, all three forces were simultaneously suppressed by the sealing power between the eyebrows of the witch god sculpture.

After several attempts, the black mist and the figure in green became listless and stopped trying.

Despite the repeated calls from the end of the shattered gold road, the figure in green never reappeared.

"Wei Yuan, may your soul return!"

Huaiqing felt a sudden chill in his arms, and his hands, which were gripping the flagpole, were covered with a thin layer of ice.

The strengths of a warrior are evident at this moment; when it was Song Qing who was wielding the soul-summoning banner, his hands were frozen to stone and cracked inch by inch.

As for the toxins inherent in the Law Artifact, although they caused Huaiqing a slight discomfort, his physique as a fourth-grade martial artist meant he would not be harmed in the short term, as long as it stopped within a quarter of an hour.

The dark clouds hanging over the Bureau of Astronomy grew larger and larger, the temperature dropped lower and lower, and the power of the summoning banner affected the surroundings, making the Bureau of Astronomy vaguely transform into "the underworld," attracting hordes of ghosts from both inside and outside the Capital.

Some of them hovered above the Eight Trigrams Platform; some penetrated the walls and windows, intruding into the Bureau of Astronomy; and some flew around the Star-Gazing Tower.

Inside the Bureau of Astronomy, Warlock, wielding various magical Law Artifact, chased after the wandering spirits like children chasing butterflies.

"Quickly, gather them up! These are excellent materials for refining weapons and medicine."

"This is like a windfall!"

"Be careful, don't take Wei Yuan's soul."

The white-robed Warlock were both excited by the quantity of "materials" and saddened by the large number of deaths that had occurred in and around Capital recently.

After a person dies, their soul will gather within seven days, and then completely dissipate within half a month, unable to remain in the human world on its own.

In other words, the spirits summoned by the soul-summoning banner are all new ghosts, people who have died within the last half month.

Another quarter of an hour passed, Song Qing glanced at the incense sticks, which were burning shorter and shorter and were about to burn out. His expression immediately turned rather grim.

Why hasn't Wei Yuan's spirit arrived yet?

"That doesn't make sense. Is it really because they're not familiar with Your Majesty that they're refusing to come back?"

Huaiqing's once beautiful face was now deathly pale, her eyelashes frosted with white, and a hint of anxiety slowly settled between her brows. She snapped:

"Stop talking nonsense and see where the problem is."

Song Qing didn't speak again. He first checked the formation. Although he didn't plan to advance to the level of a formation master, he had learned all the formations that needed to be learned. With enough materials and auspicious feng shui, Song Qing could also set up a formation with tremendous power.

However, unlike a formation master, one cannot create a formation with a single thought.

"The soul-summoning formation is fine, the soul-summoning banner is fine, and the physical body and Primordial Spirit are even better."

After Song Qing finished speaking, he looked up at the Empress's graceful figure.

"You mean, there's something wrong with me?" Huaiqing raised an eyebrow.

She swore that if Song Qing dared to provoke her at this time, she would sentence Song Qing to death in the execution ground.

Song Qing frowned, pondered for a long time, and said:

"There are two possibilities: Wei Yuan's soul has either been completely annihilated, or it has been sealed in some way, which is why even a top-tier magical Law Artifact like the Soul-Summoning Banner cannot summon it."

He displayed the meticulousness he displayed when conducting alchemical experiments.

Huaiqing pondered for a moment, then turned back to look at the scene while waving the soul-summoning banner:

What can be done?

Song Qing replied:

"I was just joking with His Majesty, saying that Xu Qi'an is more suitable for summoning spirits, except that he has Wei Yuan's bloodline. Well, that's not quite accurate, but you get the idea."

"But the main reason is actually that Xu Qi'an has enough luck."

Huaiqing frowned:

"Luck?"

What puzzled her was whether summoning a soul required luck. If it was so trivial, what was the point of having a soul-summoning banner?

Song Qing shrugged:

"I don't understand. This was what Zhao Shou personally instructed when he brought Wei Yuan's remnant soul to the Bureau of Astronomy. He said that if Wei Yuan's soul were to be summoned back in the future, Xu Qi'an should be sent, because he has enough luck."

Huaiqing thought for a moment and then asked in return:

"Xu Qi'an knows about this?"

"Of course I know," Song Qing replied affirmatively.

"Then I may!"

Huaiqing said with certainty.

Because it was a task assigned to her by Xu Qi'an.

Taking a deep breath, a golden light rose from the depths of Huaiqing's dark pupils, transforming into a dragon's shadow that swirled within his pupils.

In an instant, Huaiqing seemed like a completely different person—majestic, powerful, and aloof like a human monarch, causing Song Qing behind him to almost kneel down in worship, unable to look directly at the king's imposing presence.

She mobilized the dragon energy within her body.

Before ascending the throne, she used the fragments of the Earth Book as a bridge to absorb the energy of three main dragons, as well as hundreds of scattered dragon energies.

These dragon energies lay dormant within her body, unable to be mobilized.

It wasn't until she ascended the throne and became empress, with great fortune bestowed upon her, that the dormant fortune within her completely submitted to her and became something she could actively use.

"Wei Yuan, may your soul return!"

Huaiqing, his eyes transforming into dazzling dragon pupils, gathered his energy in his Dantian, and his voice resounded throughout the heavens.

"Wei Yuan, may your soul return!"

At the end of the Broken Gold Avenue in Jingshan City, a thunderous shout echoed.

Accompanying the sound were two golden beams of light, shining straight down from the end of the Shattered Gold Road onto the forehead of the witch god sculpture.

The seal formed by pure energy between his brows seemed to peel away slowly, as if it were separating.

At the edge of the altar, Salen's voice emerged, and he stepped forward to the sculpture, laughing:

"That's more like it! Fortunately, the Great Feng still has one person with enough good fortune."

"Wei Yuan, when you sealed the Witch God, the Witch God demanded your soul, which was the cycle of cause and effect. You used the power of your life to repair the seal of the Confucian Sage, and today you erase this seal yourself, which is also the cycle of cause and effect."

"I will bestow upon you another strength."

He drew his sheep-driving whip, which emitted a blazing white light and crackled with electricity, resembling a thunderbolt.

"Smack!"

Salun Agu flicked his wrist and struck the blue-robed soul. The white light from the whip instantly merged into the soul, causing it to radiate a blinding white light and become instantly filled with power.

At the same time, the black energy inside the sculpture surged violently, gradually pushing out the soul in green.

On the other side, under the golden light, the clear light between their brows finally disappeared completely.

Boom!

The one wearing the thorn crown suddenly trembled, and black energy gushed out like a spring, pushing the blue-robed soul away.

Crack! The brow of the Confucian sage sculpture cracked again, just like before Wei Yuan repaired it.

The moment the blue-robed soul broke free, the guiding path formed by the yin wind stretched out, swept him away, and then instantly contracted, disappearing into the horizon.

The black mist continued to surge upwards, condensing into a huge, blurry human face high in the sky, overlooking the entire Jingshan City.

Salun Agu breathed a sigh of relief, feeling both relieved and disappointed.

Five months passed between Wei Yuan sealing the sorcerer god and his resurrection.

In just five months, the Witch God Cult lost its best opportunity to annex the northern border and then use it as a base to march south and devour the Central Plains.

"Now the Nine Provinces are in turmoil. Those Gods and Devils who wear a layer of false skin have returned to the Nine Provinces. The half-step Martial God has escaped and reorganized. If Luo Yuheng successfully transcends the tribulation, Daoist School sect will have another terrestrial immortal. The situation is becoming more and more complicated."

"It is the will of Heaven!"

Salun Agu shook his head regretfully.

As they spoke, the blurry human face formed from black mist high in the sky rapidly disintegrated and collapsed, shrinking back entirely into the witch god sculpture.

The sculpture's originally empty eyes now glow with two dim lights, gazing at the Confucian sage sculpture opposite them.

Upon closer inspection, one can see that the crack between the eyebrows of the Confucian sage sculpture gradually spreads and extends as he "gazes."

This process is very slow, but unwavering.

"Time is up!"

Song Qing whispered:

"Your Majesty, a quarter of an hour has passed. You should discard the Soul-Summoning Banner; holding it for too long will harm your health."

Huaiqing gritted her teeth, ignoring Song Qing's advice, and continued to wave the soul-summoning banner.

With a "clattering" sound, the remaining heat of the incense lit by Song Qing dissipated, and the ash fell off.

Song Qing shook his head and sighed.

A moment later, Huaiqing swayed, and the soul-summoning banner in his hand fell to the ground with a thud.

It wasn't that she wanted to give up, but that she had reached her limit and could no longer control the summoning banner.

Her fair and beautiful face was covered with bluish-black veins, her bright red lips had turned blackish-purple, and her arms were covered with a thick layer of ice.

A top-tier magical Law Artifact like the Soul-Summoning Banner requires materials from the Transcendent Realm for each main component, making it difficult for someone at the Fourth Rank to wield it for an extended period.

The dark clouds dissipated completely, and the cold wind ceased.

The lingering spirits that had been hovering around the Star-Gazing Tower gradually departed.

"Your Majesty, please expel the poison."

Song Qing took out a porcelain bottle from his bosom and casually tossed it over.

They have absolutely no awareness of offering something with both hands.

People who do research are just not "smart" enough.

So Huaiqing didn't answer, staggered to Wei Yuan's side, stared silently at his handsome face, and looked at him with deep disappointment in his eyes.

In that instant, Song Qing even saw a trace of sorrow in the Empress.

He vaguely remembered that when Huaiqing was still a princess, she seemed to have studied chess with Wei Yuan for a few years, if he remembered correctly.

Suddenly, the soul-summoning array beneath Huaiqing's feet lit up, followed by a burst of scattered golden light that surged and rolled in layers on the horizon, rushing rapidly toward the towering Star Star-Gazing Tower.

The golden light arrived with incredible speed, approaching the Eight Trigrams Platform within a few breaths. Under the "escort" of the yin wind, it rushed into the body of the man in blue robes within the formation.

Huaiqing withdrew from the formation, her beautiful eyes fixed on the figure in green.

A moment later, the eyelashes of the woman in blue fluttered, and she slowly opened her eyes.

He gazed at the sky in silence for three seconds, then slowly sat up, looked around, and finally fixed his gaze on Huaiqing.

His temples were graying, and his eyes held the vicissitudes of time, as he smiled gently.

"It's been a long time, Your Majesty!"

Huaiqing's eyes reddened, and tears silently slid down her cheeks.

"Duke Wei."

Outside the capital, a man in black rode out of the city gate and galloped away along the sturdy road.

Yongzhou.

Sensing something, Xu Pingfeng used teleportation to create distance and dodge the old scoundrel's blade aura.

Then, turning my head to look north, I saw a bright star hanging in the northern sky, even though it was daytime.

Wei Yuan.

As a second-rank Warlock, interpreting celestial phenomena is an ability within my domain.

Xu Pingfeng slowly clenched his fist, veins bulging on his forehead.

Wei Yuan's resurrection is not frightening; what can a weak body accomplish?

However, if Luo Yuheng successfully overcomes his tribulation, then Great Feng not only have the confidence to contend with Yunzhou in terms of extraordinary combat power, but also, on the battlefield, even if Xu Pingfeng values Qi Guangbo highly, he will not have the confidence to believe that he can compete with Wei Yuan.

"I must go to the North, even if it's just as an avatar."

Xu Pingfeng glanced at the old scoundrel below and rubbed his temples, feeling a bit of a headache.

Wearing down a second-rank martial artist is no easy task and will not be accomplished overnight.

This stinking rock in the latrine.

Southern Frontier.

In the primeval forest outside the Abyss, Granny Tian Gu looked north through the dense foliage.

Wei Yuan has been resurrected.

Granny Tian Gu squinted, a slight smile appearing on her wrinkled face:

"You don't need to worry about ending up with nothing."

Upon hearing this, Long Tu and the other Gu clan leaders were initially delighted, but then frowned.

The alluring and charming Luan Yu furrowed her delicate brows:

"Can he regain his cultivation level from when he was alive?"

Granny Tian Gu shook her head.

Longtu immediately looked disappointed:

"What's the use of that? We still need to see if Xu Qi'an can withstand the tribulation."

Yu Shi said:

"If the Great Feng is defeated, we will not only lose everything, but we might also be purged."

What he was thinking was, "That Xu Qi'an still hasn't given me that ancient corpse."

Granny Tian Gu smiled at the disapproval of the other leaders.

Star-Gazing Tower, Eight Trigrams Platform.

Wei Yuan sat behind the desk that originally belonged to the supervisor, holding a cup of hot tea in his hand. He took a sip, shook his head, and said:

"Is there no tea grown by the Flower Goddess?"

Sitting opposite him, Huaiqing had already suppressed all his emotions, subtly curling the corner of his mouth slightly.

"Duke Wei can ask Xu Qi'an for it."

Song Qing has been expelled from the Eight Trigrams Platform, which he is quite happy about, since the trivial matter of Wei Yuan's resurrection is not enough to make him put down his alchemical experiments.

Wei Yuan put down his teacup and said:

"Xu Qi'an's absence indicates that the Great Feng is in a precarious situation. Who sealed away that old bastard, the Supervisor?"

Huaiqing, who had never revealed a single piece of information to him, glanced at the man with graying temples and sighed:

"Duke Wei, did you foresee your resurrection before you even set out on the campaign?"

"The Great Feng is indeed in a precarious situation, and Huaiqing is looking for your advice."