When it comes to families of sorcerers in the Jiangnan region, the first family that comes to mind is the Shen Family Shen Family. As a family of sorcerers with a history of thousands of years, the Shen family holds a leading position in the entire sorcerer world. The number of sorcerer techniques they have collected is the largest among all families. The twelve branches of the Shen Family all have betrothed wives from great sorcerer families, and the sorcerer techniques they have acquired in exchange are all extraordinary.
Especially the eldest branch of the Shen Family, which directly plundered the main techniques of the Northern Heavenly Wolf Family, and the techniques of the other branch families were countless. Even with such a large inventory, all the heads of the Shen Family were excited when they saw the dragon's roar in the sky!
Even the usually composed clan leader Shen Laoliu (Shen Yixin), could no longer sit still. He immediately activated a spell and arrived at the clan's Star Gazing Tower, where he gazed at the azure light piercing through the mist in mid-air, remaining silent for a long time.
In just a few breaths, the heads of the other branches also arrived, including the youngest head of the twelfth branch, Shen Yichen, who was only twenty years old.
" Azure Dragon Spell!" The tallest of the four, the Laosi of the Shen Family, who looked more like a strongman than a sorcerer, spoke up. "Is that direction towards Liuzhou? Laoliu, how many days have second brother and the others been in Liuzhou?"
"It's been three days!" Shen Yixin took a breath, somewhat excited.
The Four Saints Spell —the golden age of sorcerers, and the Four Saints Sorcerer were the undisputed pinnacle. If it weren't for the royal family's staunch protection, the one in the capital would have been fought over by other sorcerer families long ago.
"Since you've appeared in Jiangnan, you belong to the Shen Family!" A hoarse, metallic voice rang out. Among the leaders, one man was covered in bandages, with only one eye showing, looking extremely strange. He was none other than the Thousand-Eyed Warlock: Shen Laoqi, Shen Yifeng!
" Seventh Brother is right!" A tall, refined-looking man nodded and said, "This time, even if the Xiao Household comes, they will not back down on our territory!"
The one speaking was the youngest direct descendant, Shen Yichen of the twelfth branch. He inherited the Divine Fire Spell left by the first wife of the Shen Family's patriarch, which is the most difficult path to traverse among the Shen Family's techniques, apart from the Dragon Transformation Spell of the eldest branch!
Shen Yiyan originally intended to follow this path, but his foundation was destroyed by fire just one step away. He should have given the name Yan to the new head of the twelfth branch, but the little guy didn't want it and chose the name Chen, which represents the rising sun of the Shen Family. He is now the patriarch's favorite child.
Looking at the spirited young man, the other elder brothers all smiled.
Yes, the Shen Family has controlled the Jiangnan region for a thousand years. Even during the most chaotic period of the previous dynasty, no force could affect Jiangnan. Now, even if the emperor of the Great Jin were to come in person, this Four Saints Spell would not be allowed to be given up!
"The difficulty now lies in this fog..." a pale man who had been silent until now finally spoke.
The man was pale, without a trace of color, and looked so weak that he seemed about to die at any moment. He sat in a wheelchair and even needed a mouthpiece to breathe.
He was the Laosan of the Shen Family.
Although this man looked like he was dying of tuberculosis, no one dared to underestimate him. Even when the eldest brother was around, the most powerful Laoda treated this Laosan with utmost respect.
The reason is that the Laosan inherited the most dangerous Blood Refinement Spell of the Shen Family!
Shen Yixin nodded upon hearing this. "I felt something was wrong from the moment this fog appeared yesterday. I've sent out several speedboats to investigate, but as soon as they get close to the fog... they come back..."
"Return?"
The others were taken aback. "What do you mean?"
"It means coming straight back..." Shen Yixin said with a wry smile, "It sounds ridiculous, but that's what the people on the ship said. We were clearly going with the wind and didn't change direction, but after sailing all night, as soon as we emerged from the fog, we were back at the starting point!"
"A bewitching array?" Shen Laosi frowned, looking at the river. "Then the area is a bit exaggerated. It's not just the river; as far as the eye can see, the entire Nanming is surrounded. To maintain a bewitching array of this siege level, it would take at least a hundred Fourth Rank sorcerers, right?"
"Is this targeting our Shen Family?" Shen Yichen, the Laoshi'er, frowned.
Shen Yixin frowned. This was also his biggest worry. A Fourth Rank sorcerer didn't sound that impressive, but in a sorcerer's family, unless it was a top-tier direct descendant, having one or two Fourth Rank was already considered good. Hundreds?
Only two forces in the world today could organize a lineup of sorcerers of this caliber: the imperial court and a certain old power in Cloud Capital.
Any one of them targeting the Shen Family would be a huge problem.
Moreover, the Shen Family had made numerous arrangements in Nanyang, yet they were surrounded by this fog without any warning. Just how meticulous must these arrangements have been?
It would likely require not only hundreds of Fourth Rank sorcerers to set up the formation, but also the cooperation of people within the Nanming Dynasty.
Who could it be?
Who wants to deal with the Shen Family? And who is working in Nanyang City from within and without?
Is the sudden appearance of the Azure Dragon Spell related to this targeted attack?
"Cough cough... Neither the imperial court nor Cloud Capital has any motive to deal with the Shen Family." The Laosan coughed for a while before catching his breath and said, "I admit that the imperial court has the ability to deal with my Shen Family, but the cost would be enormous. My Shen Family has already given up most of the wealth in Jiangnan and helped the imperial court control the situation in Jiangnan. The imperial court has no reason to take action against us."
Shen Yixin nodded upon hearing this. This reasoning was correct. Back then, the Shen Family supported the imperial court under Liu Yu's guidance. His fifth brother, Shen Yinian, even took up a post as Ministry of War. With such an attitude, it would be unreasonable for the imperial court to intervene.
Not to mention the provocation it would cause to other sorcerer families, the cost of dealing with the Shen Family alone would allow those forces in Cloud Capital to take advantage of the chaos and rise to power. After all, the Shen Family is not a pushover, and the imperial court cannot simply squeeze them!
The same applies to Cloud Capital. Dealing with the Shen Family would come at a great cost, and if the cost is disregarded, the imperial court might find an opportunity to wipe them out in one fell swoop.
It doesn't make any sense at all.
"Is it possible... that someone knew about the Azure Dragon Inheritance beforehand?"
Shen Laosan nodded. " Laoliu, your idea is exactly what I was thinking."
"Third Brother, Sixth Brother, what do you mean?" Shen Yichen, the Laoshi'er, asked curiously.
Facing his youngest brother, Shen Yixin was very patient and explained softly, "If someone had known in advance that the Azure Dragon Inheritance would appear in Jiangnan, then everything would make sense."
"The local bullies in Jiangnan are my Shen Family. We're the best at seizing the initiative. If they want to snatch food from the tiger's mouth, the best way is naturally to trap us beforehand and prevent us from making a move!"
"I see!" Shen Yichen exclaimed excitedly, "That's really interesting!"
"Indeed interesting..." Shen Laosan laughed, "Trying to trap my Shen Family with a mere spell, how amusing, Laoliu?"
Shen Yixin laughed and said, "Very well, then let's go and have a look. Let's see which powerful figure is researching this, and what makes them think they can trap my Shen Family!"
--
" Azure Dragon Spell?"
At this moment, in Nanming Prefecture Jiangnan, Mu Hongqing, the educational commissioner who was studying the mystery with the Jiangnan governor, was also shocked.
The fog came from the West Sea, spread along the Pearl River, and first reached Liuzhou and Nanming, which were also the first places to be sealed off!
As the capital of Jiangnan, Nanming Prefecture naturally had the largest number of imperial naval troops stationed there, especially after the naval forces from Liuzhou were transferred to Liuzhou. Now, the number of troops stationed in Nanming Prefecture exceeds 100,000.
Even with such a strong military force, many officials in the Nanming were still uneasy.
After discovering that the ships could not escape the fog, the Jiangnan Admiral and the Provincial Education Commissioner had been searching for a whole day, but the result was terrifying. This search involved 30,000 troops, hundreds of warships, and more than a dozen sorcerers, including Provincial Education Commissioner Mu Hongqing, but not a single ship was able to get out all night!
Such a bizarre and large-scale spell, resembling a siege, led Mu Hongqing and the others to speculate that it was the old forces of Cloud Capital who were behind it!
Because of the scale of this technique, there are not many forces in the world capable of setting it up.
After a whole night of frantic activity, and before they could even recover from their shock and disbelief, they witnessed the Azure Dragon Spell, which had been lost for a thousand years, suddenly appear in the sky. Not to mention proper sorcerers like Mu Hongqing, even a noble family like the Admiral was utterly astonished upon seeing it.
He had personally witnessed how those sorcerer families relentlessly besieged the Fei Family back then. The appearance of this Azure Dragon Spell in Jiangnan was likely to cause a great uproar!
"Teacher!" The apprentices beside Mu Hongqing were all extremely excited. "Then... then it couldn't be?"
Mu Hongqing remained silent, his attitude unusually cold.
The apprentices he brought were all assigned by the Yin-Yang Academy. Apart from his eldest disciple Qi Rui, the rest were just doing routine work. These people all came from families of sorcerers, and Mu Hongqing knew exactly what they were thinking.
If it weren't for this strange fog, I probably would have already sent a message to my family immediately!
"Master, that's the direction," a man in his thirties with a square face whispered.
"Hmm," Mu Hongqing nodded slightly, " Liuzhou."
"That junior sister."
"Your junior sister is cautious by nature and won't take risks easily," Mu Hongqing said after a moment's hesitation.
The man's lips twitched upon hearing this. Was the teacher just trying to comfort him? Was his junior sister's personality really that cautious? She was the most adventurous one, wasn't she?
Moreover, this level of inheritance would drive any warlock crazy, let alone someone with Junior Sister's personality.
Mu Hongqing was also worried. The turmoil caused by the Four Saints Spell was something his little disciple could not possibly be involved in, but she just happened to run into it.
The crucial issue is that this eerie fog prevents him from immediately going to his disciple's aid. Had he known Liuzhou was so cursed, he would never have sent his closed-door disciple there. What is he to do now?
He didn't want his disciple to take that risk at all. The fog now shrouded the area far beyond Nanming Prefecture; it was undoubtedly the work of some long-planned forces. The appearance of the Azure Dragon Inheritance at this time was surely a trap. He hoped his disciple could be clear-headed and not be a moth drawn to a flame!
Monthly pass, monthly pass, hehe!
Shamelessly asking for some monthly votes! Mofang I won an iPhone in a lottery at noon!! Dear readers, please help Mofang this dream! Hehe.