Chapter 260 The Ancient Holy Capital
"The Ancient Holy Capital is just two months away from the Imperial Examinations of the Great Luo Heavenly Dynasty."
Zhongshan, ninety-six years old, at the sixth level of the Golden Core stage, would arrive in the Ancient Holy Capital the next day. In a valley, Zhongshan took his final rest before welcoming the Grand Luo Holy City, the most prosperous capital of the world, the Ancient Holy Capital.
In the valley, Ah Da, Ah Er, and Princess Qianyou awaited Zhongshan as he closed his eyes to recuperate. According to his arrangements, his "Great Glory Trading Company" should have already arrived in the Ancient Holy Capital by now, although he wondered about its current situation.
The Great Glory Trading Company, led by Zhong Zheng, was still quite weak, but Zhongshan knew Zhong Zheng's capabilities. Having studied under him for decades, Zhong Zheng was undoubtedly a top figure in market expansion. However, the Great Glory Trading Company currently lacked influence, power, and connections, making market expansion not an easy task. Therefore, this return would be an opportunity to establish its presence.
"Roar~~~"
Suddenly, a deafening tiger roar echoed from outside the valley. Ah Da guarded Zhongshan, while Princess Qianyou and Ah Er flew out of the valley.
Outside the valley, there was a gigantic tiger, one hundred and forty meters tall, with a head roaring above it, a super tiger at the Yuan Ying stage or higher. Each tiger had a man in armor standing on its head, each carrying a formidable large blade on his back.
Seeing Princess Qianyou fly out of the valley, all hundred armored men simultaneously knelt down on one knee, bowing towards Princess Qianyou.
"Greetings, Your Highness, returning to the capital," the leader of the generals said.
"Hmm, what are you doing here?" Princess Qianyou frowned.
"At the order of the Qitian Marquis, we came to greet Your Highness on her return to the capital," the leader of the generals said.
"The Qitian Marquis? When did you arrive? And who else is with you?" Princess Qianyou frowned.
"We arrived two days ago, a total of one thousand of us, divided into ten groups, waiting in ten directions. We were just lucky enough to be here when Your Highness arrived," the man bowed.
Princess Qianyou furrowed her brows, nodded, and said, "Wait here!"
"Yes!" Everyone responded immediately.
Princess Qianyou flew back to the valley with Ah Er. By now, Zhongshan had already risen.
"Princess, we didn't inform anyone of our whereabouts," Ah Da immediately expressed his confusion to Princess Qianyou.
"In the Ancient Holy Capital, there are countless capable people, and it wouldn't be difficult for them to guess the general route. But to guess the exact date, that's much harder. Water Mirror might be able to, but these people are sent by Gu Lin. I don't know if it was Gu Lin who figured it out or Water Mirror," Princess Qianyou frowned.
"Regardless, let's go," Zhongshan said.
"Okay," Princess Qianyou nodded.
Then, the four of them flew out of the valley.
Outside the valley, the hundred tigers were still waiting, but one of the hundred men who were previously on the tigers' heads was suddenly missing. Princess Qianyou immediately knew that he had gone back to report.
And that white tiger naturally became the transportation for Princess Qianyou's group. White clouds slowly descended onto the head of the white tiger, which was very obedient, allowing the four of them to step on it.
"Let's go," Princess Qianyou said.
"Roar~~~"
With a loud roar, the white tiger led the way, followed closely by the other tigers behind it.
The next day, Zhongshan arrived near the so-called Ancient Holy Capital. Across the vast distance, Zhongshan could see turbulent golden streams rushing towards the center of the sky.
The Qi Fortune, the Qi Fortune collected by the Great Luo Heavenly Dynasty.
In the sky above the Heavenly City of the Great Universe Imperial Dynasty, a golden Qi Fortune dragon coiled.
In the Great Luo Heavenly Dynasty, the sacred capital of the Heavenly Dynasty, there were countless golden Qi Fortune dragons, countless rolling Qi Fortune dragons. Although not as huge as the dragon of the Great Universe Imperial Dynasty, they excelled in quantity. Moreover, within the golden Qi Fortune layer, they surged endlessly, roaming in all directions.
This was still just the edge of the Qi Fortune clouds. The further inward, the more Qi Fortune clouds there were.
The Ancient Sacred Capital, without city walls, had no need for them because this was the heart of the Great Luo Heavenly Dynasty, where the most powerful individuals resided, the most formidable among them.
Sieging this place? The strength of a hundred cities couldn't match this sacred capital without walls.
In the distant high sky, at the very center, Qi Fortune converged. It actually formed an image of a palace within.
The massive Nine Dragon Crossbeam Throne was entirely formed by Qi Fortune. Each Qi Fortune dragon reached the size of the Qi Fortune dragon in the sky above the Heavenly City. The Nine Dragon Crossbeam Throne merely formed a seat, a magnificent Nine Dragon Qi Fortune Throne.
And atop the throne was a figure, seeming both real and illusory, indistinct, impossible to discern facial features. But who else could sit atop the most powerful throne but the Emperor of the Great Luo Heavenly Dynasty?
The image of an Emperor formed by the convergence of Qi Fortune exuded countless majesties. Even from afar, Zhongshan could feel an overwhelming oppression emanating from that Qi Fortune shadow, a kind of celestial might. It was as if proclaiming to the world that he was the heaven, the heaven of the Great Luo Heavenly Dynasty.
Among the most elite individuals in the world, beneath the immortals, the most supreme existence.
Beneath the Emperor in the Qi Fortune was also two rows of Qi Fortune shadows, civil and military officials! But those who could manifest in this Qi Fortune were the top officials and nobles of the Heavenly Dynasty.
Facial features were indiscernible, but it didn't matter because the celestial Qi Fortune palace had already created an unbeatable impression.
This was merely the manifestation of Qi Fortune according to certain rules. What spectacle awaited within the true celestial court was unknown.
Below the Qi Fortune Celestial Court was the true court of the Great Luo Heavenly Dynasty, where the Emperor conducted affairs and resided. Surrounded by mist, only a faint glow could be sensed emanating from within.
Because the area was too vast, covered by dense mist, nothing inside could be clearly seen, only faint glimmers penetrated outwards.
Outside, countless floating islands dotted the sky, drifting in all directions as if following some mystical trajectory, with only a few stationary, most moving slowly.
People flew back and forth, and below, crowds bustled, presenting a scene of grandeur in the sacred capital.
"Sir, do you know why the floating islands of the sacred capital are constantly moving?" Princess Qianyou stood on the head of a giant tiger, smiling faintly at Zhongshan.
Standing atop the forty-meter-high tiger head, Zhongshan still felt incredibly small, everything here could be described as colossal. These floating islands exceeded any he had seen before, flying incredibly high, some even reaching altitudes of a hundred thousand meters.
"Why?" Zhongshan asked, puzzled.
"Because the Ancient Sacred Capital has a super array. These floating islands not only serve as residences but also draw upon the power of the celestial stars. In times of utmost peril, they can even harness the power of the stars to defend against enemies." Princess Qianyou admired.
"A super array?" Zhongshan queried.
"The Great Luo Celestial Star Formation, the primary formation of the Great Luo Heavenly Dynasty," Princess Qianyou chuckled.
"Mm," Zhongshan nodded. He was still reeling from extreme shock at this moment.
The capital of the Great Luo Heavenly Dynasty, the Ancient Sacred Capital.
The capital of the Great Jun Dynasty, Xuanjing.
The difference between heaven and earth, what a stark contrast. The strongest sacred capital versus his own, which could be considered the weakest royal city?
Taking a deep breath, Zhongshan knew the road ahead was long and arduous. However, there was no sense of discouragement within him; instead, there was pride. So what if it was the Ancient Sacred Capital? In the future, the capital of the Great Jun Dynasty would surely be stronger, even more formidable!
Lu Jianping had already become a person of the Great Jun Dynasty. The future was only a matter of time. As long as he worked hard, he could also reach the pinnacle!
"Inside the Ancient Sacred Capital, you can fly and use spells, but you cannot cast large-scale spells," Princess Qianyou said.
"Large-scale spells? What do you mean by large-scale spells?" Zhongshan asked, puzzled.
"It refers to the range of the spell. It cannot exceed ten zhang. Inside the Ancient Sacred Capital, there are many powerful individuals, countless practitioners. If it exceeds ten zhang, it will affect others. And this is a rule of the sacred capital, no one is allowed to break it, not even me, not even the princes or the crown prince," Princess Qianyou explained.
But it seemed like fate was specifically picking on Princess Qianyou. No sooner had Princess Qianyou finished speaking than a huge orchid shadow shot up in front of her, growing larger and larger, far exceeding ten zhang, reaching a diameter of a hundred zhang, a thousand zhang, ten thousand zhang! It continued to expand.
Princess Qianyou's eyes widened, and at this moment, even the white tiger beneath her stopped moving forward.
In front of Princess Qianyou, within a certain area of the Ancient Sacred Capital, petals soared into the sky from all directions. Under the control of the spell, they flew higher and higher, more and more of them.
In just a moment, the world before Princess Qianyou's eyes was completely covered by endless petals, densely packed, all petals.
Real petals, incredibly fragrant petals. Countless petals, too many to count!
The entire world seemed to become dreamlike.
But this was supposed to be the Ancient Sacred Capital where spellcasting beyond ten zhang was forbidden. How could this be? Although it was only a small area of the Ancient Sacred Capital, it couldn't be so lawless. More and more petals flew up into the sky and then fell down again, incredibly dreamy and beautiful.
Why didn't the guards of the Ancient Sacred Capital intervene? What was going on?
Princess Qianyou looked on in bewilderment, and at the center of this sky full of petals, on a square, stood a group of people who had been waiting for a long time. Master Shuijing stood among them, slightly sighing as he looked at the person in front. That person full of vigor.
Marquis Qitian! Gu Lin!
Marquis Qitian wore a phoenix-winged purple gold crown on his head, a lock-golden armor on his body, lotus-silk cloud shoes on his feet, and held a phoenix feather in his right hand. He looked spirited as he gazed at the long street that had been cleared, then looked directly at Princess Qianyou and her group slowly approaching from afar.
At Marquis Qitian's command, countless petals danced into the sky, filling the heavens and earth. This was the first scene of Marquis Qitian's respectful welcome to Princess Qianyou.
Using all the credit from retrieving the Wan Cheng Treasure Mirror to exchange for an opportunity to cast a large romantic spell in a fixed area of the city.
Based on his wisdom, Marquis Qitian understood this. To win back Princess Qianyou, it all started from this first scene. Among the three strategies proposed by Marquis Qitian and Master Shuijing, it was the upper strategy. The upper strategy was to attack the heart. Once he won over Princess Qianyou's heart, everything would fall into place without needing to spend any further effort.