usatvline Chapter 186 Li Chunfeng's Regret!
Chapter 186 Li Chunfeng's Regret!
In the night sky, Li Chunfeng's figure was like a frozen sculpture.
He had just escaped the dragon's clutches, and his sword intent still lingered around him, the silvery sword light layering like a tide, not yet fully subsided.
But all his sharpness, all his fighting spirit, all his vigilance.
Everyone saw the figure emerging from the dragon's body—
It solidified.
Black crow.
Li Chunfeng's pupils contracted slightly, his gaze fixed on the figure emerging from the core of the shattered dragon's body, every white whisker trembling gently in the night wind.
He knows this person.
In the early stages of the Celestial Realm, he was one of the advisors under Xu Longxiang of the Northern Territory, codenamed "Ink Raven".
Specializing in stealth, assassination, and intelligence infiltration, his lightness skill is unparalleled in the Northern Territory. He once infiltrated the Northern Mang royal court alone and returned unharmed with the enemy chieftain's head seven days later.
He was Xu Longxiang's most trusted hidden blade, a shadow lurking in the shadows, and the final executor of those shady dealings.
Li Chunfeng had seen all of this intelligence.
But at this moment.
This Celestial Realm assassin should have been in the Northern Army camp or on his way back to the North.
But it appeared here.
It appeared in the sky above the Nujiang ferry crossing.
Li Chunfeng's white beard trembled even more violently in the night wind.
He didn't believe it.
Or rather, he didn't want to believe it.
Tonight's events began with the eerily quiet at the ferry crossing, then the sudden thick fog, the seemingly immortal dragon of the river, and finally the dissipation of the Emperor Taizu's edict...
Everything is pointing in the same direction.
Qin Mu.
That unfathomable Qin emperor.
That vast, abyss-like existence that he sensed last night when he probed with his primordial spirit.
Li Chunfeng was almost certain that tonight's kidnapping was the work of Qin Mu.
But at this moment—
The black raven appeared.
Emerging from the dragon's body.
As Li Chunfeng gazed at the dark figure, countless thoughts raced through his mind like a raging blizzard.
Why is Mo Ya here?
When did he sneak into the Nujiang ferry crossing?
What is his relationship with Qin Mu?
Or……
Li Chunfeng's gaze suddenly turned as heavy as iron.
Could this operation have been a complete fabrication from beginning to end...?
Was it all done by the North?
Is it Xu Longxiangqian's?
The thought exploded in his mind like a thunderclap, shaking him to his core.
He recalled the look in Xu Longxiang's eyes when he looked at His Majesty outside the east gate of the imperial city yesterday morning.
That gaze was too intense, too direct, carrying too many inappropriate emotions.
If we look at it this way, Xu Longxiang might actually be the mastermind behind this incident.
Li Chunfeng's gaze sharpened, his eyes filled with a chilling intent.
At this time,
The black crow moved.
The dark figure blurred for a moment in the moonlight, then, like ink scattered by the wind, silently blended into the night.
Without any warning, without any fluctuation, not even a trace of scent remained in the air.
It was as if he had never existed.
It was as if the figure from just now was merely a hallucination that Li Chunfeng had after the fierce battle.
Li Chunfeng's eyes narrowed, and his divine sense instantly spread out in all directions like a tide, covering every inch of space within a radius of several miles.
But he caught nothing.
The aura of the black raven has completely disappeared.
It was as if it had been erased from this world.
Li Chunfeng did not pursue the matter further.
He slowly withdrew his divine sense, turned around, and cast his gaze toward the cliff.
There--
His Majesty has disappeared.
The moment the Emperor Taizu's edict dissipated, he sensed His Majesty's presence suddenly vanish.
But he couldn't get away.
That damned dragon, like an immortal monster, relentlessly entangled him, refusing to fight him head-on, only trying to wear him down.
Only now was he finally able to escape.
Li Chunfeng no longer hesitated.
With a swift movement, he transformed into a streak of silver-white sword light, instantly sweeping across the surging surface of the Nu River and hurtling towards the mountain cliff.
The sword flashed like lightning, piercing the night wind and leaving a long-lasting silver trail on the river.
The next moment, he landed on the cliff.
But on the cliff—
There was nothing there.
Only moonlight.
Only the bluestone slabs, crushed into dust, gleamed a pale white under the moonlight.
There was only a desolate open space, ravaged by the violent energy.
Only when the night wind blows does the fine dust it stirs up resemble scattered ashes under the moonlight.
There is no Your Majesty.
Qin Mu is not among them.
There was no one in sight.
Li Chunfeng stood still, the hem of his gray-white Taoist robe fluttering gently in the wind.
He slowly closed his eyes.
Divine senses surged forth once more like a tide, this time no longer covering several miles.
It is a range of tens of miles.
His perception was like an invisible giant net, spreading out in all directions from the cliff, covering the surging Nujiang River, the vast and desolate mountains and forests on the opposite bank, the scattered houses of the ferry town, and the winding cart tracks on the official road stretching into the distance.
He sensed every inch of land, every rock, every tree, and every stream.
He could sense the faint breathing of the people still asleep, the restless heartbeats of the disturbed night birds in their nests, and the footprints of the nocturnal beasts fleeing in panic through the forest.
He sensed every lingering trace of life, every faint fluctuation of true energy, and every corner where a figure might be hiding.
Take a breath.
Two breaths.
Three breaths.
Time seemed to stretch on endlessly in our perception.
Finally, Li Chunfeng slowly opened his eyes.
His expression was extremely solemn.
No.
There was nothing there.
There was no trace of His Majesty within a radius of twenty miles.
It was as if His Majesty had completely vanished from the world he perceived.
It was as if an invisible giant hand had gently wiped this world away.
Li Chunfeng's breath hitched slightly.
He gazed at the empty cliffs before him, at the pale, scattered rocks under the moonlight, and at the dust rising in the night wind.
For the first time, a complex expression, a mixture of bewilderment and relief, appeared on his aged face.
The confusion stems from the fact that His Majesty is truly nowhere to be found.
I felt relieved because the other party was indeed very powerful.
After all, even if he were to face the phantom of Emperor Taizong of Liyang, he wouldn't be confident of defeating him.
That was the founding emperor three hundred years ago, the only terrestrial immortal in Liyang, and an existence who, even with only a remnant of his essence, energy, and spirit remaining, was enough to crush the peak of the Celestial Phenomenon Realm.
Li Chunfeng had cultivated for seventy years and was confident that his swordsmanship was unmatched in the world, with one foot already in the realm of a terrestrial immortal. Yet, even facing that illusory figure, he still lacked the certainty of victory.
But the other party—
However, in a very short time, it defeated the phantom of Emperor Taizong.
The phantom image, condensed by the decree of the founding emperor and powerful enough to reverse the tide of the dynasty in its time of peril, couldn't even last three breaths in the hands of the opponent.
It was crushed into nothingness.
Li Chunfeng closed his eyes, then opened them again.
In the moonlight, a hint of awe was reflected deep within his eyes.
He cultivated for a lifetime, met countless powerful figures, and experienced countless life-and-death battles.
Never before had he felt so...
Powerless.
It wasn't the helplessness of defeat.
Rather, it is the profound sense of powerlessness that comes from facing something incomprehensible.
The opponent's strength, or rather, methods, had completely exceeded his expectations.
At the very least, he can't see through it yet.
even--
I dare not see through it.
Li Chunfeng withdrew his gaze and lowered his eyes.
The moonlight shone on his aged face, making the wrinkles etched by time exceptionally clear.
A deep sense of regret flashed in his eyes.
He didn't expect that.
I really didn't expect that.
The Qin Dynasty, a behemoth beset by internal and external troubles and on the verge of collapse in his eyes, actually harbored such a powerful force.
An existence powerful enough to crush the remnant souls of terrestrial immortals.
An existence that even Li Chunfeng found unfathomable.
An existence that makes him unable to even muster the courage to confront it head-on.
And he, the Sword God of Liyang, a half-step terrestrial immortal, is the most powerful guard by His Majesty's side.
But because of his carelessness, because of his underestimation of the enemy, and because of his misjudgment of the Qin Dynasty...
This led to such a major blunder in the mission.
This led to their emperor being captured.
Li Chunfeng's hand slowly clenched.
This mistake can be described as—
Eighty percent of the blame lies with him.
If he had been more careful and more thorough when he explored the Hall of Mental Cultivation with his primordial spirit last night.
If he had been more alert and more persistent when he noticed something amiss at the ferry crossing today.
If, the instant he sensed the dissipation of the ancestral decree, he were to risk damaging his own cultivation to forcibly break free from the dragon's entanglement.
If he...
Countless "what ifs" surged in my mind, but behind each "what if" lay the reality that there was nothing I could do to change the situation.
Li Chunfeng took a deep breath.
The night wind, carrying the moisture from the Nu River, rushed into his lungs, icy and biting, yet it could not extinguish the complex emotions churning within him.
There is regret.
I feel guilty.
There is doubt about one's own abilities.
There is also a sense of awe for the unknown and unfathomable.
But more than anything, it was the clarity and decisiveness that he maintained even in dire straits, as the Sword God of Liyang and His Majesty's most trusted guard.
Regret is useless.
Blaming yourself is useless.
The most important thing right now is to find His Majesty.
Or rather, it's a confirmation—
Your Majesty is still alive.
Li Chunfeng closed his eyes and sensed again.
This time, what he sensed was not an aura, not fluctuations in true energy, not any trace that could be hidden or erased.
But -
Destiny.
Every person in a high position, especially an emperor, has a destiny that is different from that of ordinary people, connected to the fate of the nation and the fortune of heaven and earth.
It is a more fundamental and harder-to-conceal existence.
A moment later, Li Chunfeng opened his eyes.
The fleeting look of bewilderment and awe in his eyes has receded like the tide.
Instead, a faint but exceptionally firm light shone through.
His Majesty is still alive.
The destiny has not yet dissipated, and the fortune has not yet ended.
Although the aura has completely disappeared and the senses can no longer detect it, the mark of destiny still remains.
This means that His Majesty should still be alive.
and--
Li Chunfeng's gaze sharpened slightly.
The other party will not do anything to endanger His Majesty's life in the short term.
Otherwise, the other party wouldn't have gone to such great lengths.
First, they sealed off the river with thick fog, preventing the imperial guards from getting close.
Then he used the dragon to entangle himself, preventing the dragon from escaping.
Only then did they attempt to kidnap His Majesty.
All of this reveals one message—
The other party's objective was to kidnap, not to assassinate.
It was a capture alive, not a silencing.
In that case, His Majesty should be safe for the time being.
At least--
There is no danger to their lives.
This realization caused the huge weight that had been pressing on Li Chunfeng's heart for so long to ease slightly for a moment.
But it was only for a moment.
Because he had more important things to do next.
check.
Let's start by investigating the source.
Everything that happens tonight has a beginning—
That ship.
The lean, middle-aged man who claimed to be the "manager of the Nujiang Gang's fleet".
Those boatmen who were still being escorted by the Imperial Guards, huddled together in fear.
They are the only clue.
Li Chunfeng no longer hesitated.
With a swift movement, he transformed once again into a silver-white sword light, hurtling towards the ship shrouded in thick fog on the river.
The sword light pierced the air, leaving a cold, clear trace in the night sky.
In the blink of an eye, he was on the deck.
The deck was a scene of chaos and disarray.
The plain gauze lanterns hung askew on the side of the boat, the candlelight long since extinguished, leaving only a few wisps of smoke.
The silver-armored guards scurried back and forth on the narrow deck like headless flies, swords drawn, their faces filled with panic and their eyes brimming with bewilderment and terror.
Fang Hecheng stood at the bow of the boat, his hand on the hilt of his sword, his tiger eyes wide open, staring intently at the mist that had not yet completely dissipated on the river surface, his jaw clenched tightly, and the veins on the back of his hands bulging.
Hearing the whooshing sound behind him, he turned around abruptly and saw that it was Li Chunfeng. His eyes suddenly lit up with hope.
"Imperial Preceptor!" He strode forward, his voice hoarse and urgent. "Where is His Majesty? Is His Majesty well?"
Li Chunfeng did not answer.
He simply shook his head slowly.
The movement was light and slow, yet it struck Fang Hecheng's heart like a heavy hammer.
Fang Hecheng's face turned deathly pale instantly.
"The Imperial Preceptor..."
His voice trembled, his lips moved but he could no longer utter a single word.
Li Chunfeng walked past him, his gaze landing on the few huddled figures in the corner of the deck.
The boatmen, dressed in brown short jackets, were forced into a huddle by the Imperial Guards with knives. They were all ashen-faced and trembling like leaves.
The lean, middle-aged man leading the group, Hu Er, was trembling so badly he was almost falling apart. His forehead was pressed against the cold deck, and he dared not look up. Only his shoulders were shaking violently, showing his fear.
Li Chunfeng walked up to him and stopped.
Moonlight shone in from behind him, casting a long shadow over him and enveloping Hu Er in darkness.
"Raise your head."
Li Chunfeng's voice was old and calm, devoid of any emotion.
Hu Er trembled all over, but dared not disobey, and raised his head tremblingly.
Under the moonlight, his face was as pale as paper, and cold sweat slid down his temples, gathering into drops on his chin, which dripped onto the deck with a soft "drip-drip" sound.
His lips trembled violently as he tried to say something, but only made a "clucking" sound as his teeth chattered.
Li Chunfeng looked at him quietly.
That gaze wasn't sharp; it could even be described as gentle.
But when it landed on Hu Er, it felt like being crushed by an invisible mountain, making it difficult for him to even breathe.
"The Nujiang Gang," Li Chunfeng began slowly, "what is their relationship with the Northern Border?"
Hu Er's eyes widened suddenly in that instant.
Fear exploded from the depths of his pupils.
........