Chapter 162: Dream Slaying the Dragon

Xu San was a postal courier, the third child in his family, and thus known as Xu San. He was a sturdy, strong young man, but unfortunately born a decade too late. He missed the chance to participate in the Spring and Autumn Wars and earn military honors. Liu Laotou, the official at the Jiming Temple Post Station where Xu San worked, had been luckier. During the Battle of Xileibi, he had personally cut down six enemy heads. After retiring from the Beiliang Army in his old age, he secured the minor official position of post station head. Though from Liangliao, the hardships of war had weakened him, making him less robust than a young man, and he feared the northern cold. So, he moved his entire family south. In his leisure time, he would tell Xu San and the other young men thrilling tales of the Spring and Autumn Wars involving the Nine Kingdoms. He especially loved to speak of the heroic spirit of the King of Beiliang, often spraying spittle all over their faces. Liu Laotou was a heavy drinker, and his breath was particularly strong when he recounted past events. The dozen or so couriers, including Xu San, enjoyed listening to Liu Laotou’s war stories. They never tired of these oft-repeated tales, especially Xu San, who wished his parents had brought him into the world sooner. What’s more, now that the empire was unified and at peace, even the poorest villagers no longer had to fear losing their heads. With their small plots of land, every household had something to look forward to. When annual heavy snowfalls of several feet occurred, elders used to lament who might not survive the harsh weather. But now it was different; watching the snow from beside a warm brazier, people would smile and say, "Auspicious snow promises a good harvest!" Xu San was illiterate, but he understood fundamental principles. Liu Laotou explained that the King of Beiliang had personally established these post stations, building one every thirty *li*. Anyone who dared to embezzle a courier’s—or *yizhu*’s—salary, no matter how high their rank, would be immediately seized and executed on the spot. Furthermore, Xu San shared the same surname as the King of Beiliang, who was also the Grand Marshal and Grand Pillar of the State. After becoming a courier, he worked with exceptional diligence when riding to deliver messages, feeling he simply could not disgrace his surname.

Last year, for the first time in recent years, the Jiming Post Station received an urgent cargo, requiring a 600 *li* delivery to the north. Xu San, being the most skilled in both physical endurance and horsemanship at the station, unhesitatingly took on this crucial task. However, misfortune often accompanies fortune. Although Liu Laotou had intended to mentor Xu San, an accident occurred mid-journey. When the cargo was handed over to the next post station, they were informed it had been damaged. A eunuch responsible for the handover screamed at Xu San, demanding that his entire family be annihilated, as if his own ancestors had been slain. Xu San, though unaccustomed to such grand displays, had learned from Liu Laotou that eunuchs from the capital, who served the imperial family, were not to be trifled with, even by governors of the third rank. He immediately kowtowed and pleaded for mercy, begging the pale-faced, beardless eunuch to kill only him to appease his anger. The eunuch, however, paid no mind to the entreaties of a commoner. He pressed the high-ranking local officials present to state their position, explaining that these were fresh lychees for the Empress, preserved in an exquisite ice cellar. This damned courier had jostled and broken the box, which was already worth a fortune, and the lychees from the southern frontier were now ruined. The eunuch, with a dark expression, asked, "Does he deserve to die or not?" The officials could only echo, "He deserves to die." How could Xu San not accept his fate? Yet, suddenly, hooves thundered. Hundreds of brightly armored soldiers, surrounding a general, rode up to the station. Seeing the situation, the general directly drew his Beiliang blade and severed the eunuch’s head. The general then told Xu San to rise and, with a smile, asked the petrified local officials beside him, "Does unlawfully killing a courier deserve death or not?" The officials, having twice in one day affirmed that someone deserved death, were stunned. It was only later that Xu San, feeling as if he had miraculously escaped death in a dream, realized that the general was none other than the King of Beiliang!

At this moment, Xu San was clinging to his last breath, on the verge of death. He repeatedly told himself that he was only twenty *li* away, just a little further, he couldn’t die! If he were to delay the King of Beiliang's important mission, shaming himself after the King's life-saving grace, how could Xu San ever face the world? Through his blurry vision, a figure appeared to float towards him on the road. The post horse Xu San was riding suddenly buckled at its front legs and instantly collapsed and died in the dust, throwing Xu San violently forward. Xu San tumbled onto the official road. He couldn't clearly see the person's face, only vaguely a Taoist robe. Clutching the package tightly, he strained with all his might and hoarsely croaked, "Xu Bing of Jiming Post Station, 800 *li* urgent! Please, Daoist priest, deliver this to Longhu Mountain..."

The Taoist priest crouched down and nodded.

The courier Xu San painfully turned his head to glance at his beloved horse, which lay dead on the spot. Then, looking towards Longhu Mountain, his breath ceased. He died with his eyes wide open. The middle-aged Taoist sighed softly, gently closed the young courier's eyes, then took the package, unsealed it, and revealed a scroll of bright yellow imperial edict.

Holding the edict in one hand and keeping the other behind his back, he tapped his toe and shot forth like a dazzling rainbow streaking across the sun. No one could discern his true form.

The middle-aged Taoist moved directly to the banner of King Xu. He tossed the imperial edict, then turned and floated swiftly away. In the air, two barrages of arrows, one from the left and one from the right, froze mid-flight, neither advancing nor falling. Only after the Taoist’s figure had completely vanished did they thunderously fall to the ground.

That year, it was a moment of critical tension. The yellow- and purple-robed Taoists on the mountain and the Beiliang Iron Cavalry below finally attained a precious, hard-won peace thanks to that imperial edict.

Tonight, the middle-aged Taoist, whose name and Taoist title are unrecorded on Longhu Mountain, projected his primordial spirit and arrived at Mount Kuanglu.

Watching the Young Master put away his dagger talisman, casually tuck it into his waist, and draw his twin sabers, the rigid middle-aged Taoist, standing atop the dragon’s head, stated, "I once met Xu Xiao at the foot of the mountain."

Xu Fengnian recalled a long-forgotten incident he had coincidentally learned from Chu Lushan. He looked up and asked, "Are you the Taoist priest who delivered the imperial edict at the foot of Longhu Mountain?"

The middle-aged Taoist replied expressionlessly, "Precisely."

Xu Fengnian hesitated, then reversed his grip on his twin sabers and bowed, saying, "Xu Fengnian greets the Immortal Master. My father once privately remarked that you are the foremost enlightened one on Longhu Mountain, not True Man Qi, who ascended to immortality fifty years ago."

The middle-aged Taoist remained impassive, merely gazing down at Xu Fengnian and the talisman.

Xu Fengnian kept his head bowed in a respectful salute and asked, "This junior is very curious why the Immortal Master can ascend to immortality yet chooses not to, and can enter the Heavenly Gate yet does not?"

The middle-aged Taoist stated plainly, "My surname is Zhao."

The same surname as the Emperor?

Those mere four words were enough to explain many mysteries. Why had the previous Grand Celestial Master not hesitated to sacrifice his own life to extend the former Emperor's lifespan? Why had the imperial court repeatedly conferred titles upon Longhu Mountain, continuously elevating the status of this ancestral home of Taoism? Why could the contemporary Celestial Master, Zhao Danping, thrive so effortlessly in the capital? And why had Mr. Bailian enjoyed such imperial favor?

Xu Fengnian's hands trembled slightly. He looked up, gritted his teeth, and said, "Immortal Master, you are already beyond worldly concerns."

The Taoist, whose age and profound cultivation were inscrutable, smiled faintly and asked, "Have you heard the saying, 'When one achieves enlightenment, even their chickens and dogs ascend to heaven'? Besides, I have not yet ascended to immortality. What harm is there in protecting one or two descendants?"

Xu Fengnian pressed on, asking again, "May I ask, what is the purpose of your distinguished visit this time, appearing in your projected primordial spirit form?"

The middle-aged Taoist did not answer the question but instead pointed behind Xu Fengnian.

Xu Fengnian dared not turn his head, fearing he wouldn't even know how he died.

The Taoist frowned and said, "Though I cannot claim to be a moral saint, I would not stoop to bickering with a junior like you. The same principle applied to Xu Xiao back then. Descendants have their own fortunes and misfortunes. As long as there is no deliberate interference, even if a nation falls or a clan perishes, I would not intervene to disturb the cosmic order."

Only then did Xu Fengnian turn his head, his eyes widening.

Unbeknownst to him, a colossal python with a flickering red tongue was coiled behind him, confronting the whiskered celestial dragon!

A great python against a celestial dragon.

This colossal python, seemingly coiled around the entire mountain, stood utterly fearless!

Xu Fengnian felt deep reverence for the golden celestial dragon that had extended its head, yet for some reason, he felt no fear whatsoever towards the snow-white python. Instead, he experienced a profound sense of kinship emanating from within. When the python saw Xu Fengnian turn, it lowered its colossal, basket-sized head and nuzzled Xu Fengnian's forehead.

The celestial dragon seemed to grow enraged by the great python. It spewed increasingly dense purple mist from its mouth, its body rising higher to reveal its upper half. It clawed menacingly and let out a furious roar towards the peak of Mount Kuanglu. The purple mist, now seemingly solid, condensed into a column of purple energy that surged forward!

"I don't care if you are a celestial being or an immortal," Xu Fengnian thought, "there is no reason in this world for me, Xu Fengnian, to resign myself to death!"

Just as Xu Fengnian was about to draw his saber, the great python coiled on the mountaintop swiftly raised its head, straightened its body, and with one bite, instantly shattered the dragon’s purple energy column.

The middle-aged Taoist, seemingly standing above all beings, merely observed with a cold gaze.

As the celestial dragon roared, Xu Fengnian saw no trace of stars left in the sky. Clouds churned and surged like furious waves, gathering above the dragon’s head, layering upon layer, growing increasingly dense and solid.

"Fengnian."

Xu Fengnian was terrified by the golden celestial dragon’s overwhelming power when he heard a voice familiar to his very core. He spun around sharply. Seeing that person, at this critical juncture between life and death, he became utterly oblivious to everything else in the world, his face simply streaming with tears.

A woman in white, her sleeves fluttering.

She had once emerged from the Sword Mound with a single sword. She had once, clad in white, beaten the Fish Dragon Drum. She had once punished him by making him hold books and face a wall. And she had once, wearing cloth shoes sewn by Xu Xiao himself, entered the imperial palace alone!

Xu Fengnian’s voice was hoarse as he softly called out, "Mother."

He feared that if he called too loudly, she might vanish with the wind.

Her body was translucent, slowly drifting towards him, like an Apsara from Dunhuang.

Suspended in the air, she seemed to want to gently caress her son’s cheek.

The middle-aged Taoist finally spoke, coldly snorting, "A lingering ghost, defying the Way of Heaven!"

With a flick of his Taoist robe sleeve, he slammed the head of the giant white python onto the ground.

"Wu Su, why are you not quickly gone to the Yellow Springs!"

With another flick of his sleeve, a powerful gale surged, pushing the white-clad woman, only a few feet from Xu Fengnian, backward with the wind.

The woman looked up and sneered, "Zhao Huangchao, then why don't *you* enter the Heavenly Gate!"

Xu Fengnian watched as his mother’s body gradually blurred, transforming into shimmering light and dissipating. He descended into complete frenzy, his eyes bloodshot, desperately reaching out to grasp her.

That middle-aged Taoist was, after all, a true land immortal, possessing boundless profound power.

Already defying heavenly fate, she struggled to move forward, allowing her soul to dissipate, and extended a faint, ethereal hand to "grasp" Xu Fengnian's.

The middle-aged Taoist’s vast Taoist energy poured down overwhelmingly. He raised his palm and declared angrily, "The Way of Heaven is mighty! Evil spirits, retreat!"

Instantly, thunder rolled across the sky.

The Taoist struck down with his palm!

The Taoist acted on behalf of Heaven, and Heaven unleashed its killing intent. The white-clad woman, from her feet to her waist, slowly vanished into dust along with the giant python.

Tear-streaked Xu Fengnian, his heart torn, screamed, "Mother!"

She smiled, her face gentle and kind, and said, "Fengnian, Mother can no longer look after you. I truly don’t want to leave…"

Xu Fengnian was like a madman, simply shaking his head. In that instant, twenty years of his life flashed through his mind like a fleeting glimpse.

Until Li Chungang's words surfaced: "I possess a sword that can open the Heavenly Gate."

Xu Fengnian felt himself explode. His acupoints thundered, his meridians thundered, his flesh and blood thundered, his soul thundered. Everything was utterly shattered. "What fear have I of death today?" he raged inwardly. "My mother died, and you, this dead Taoist priest, even dispersed her soul. Do you think I cannot kill you now?!"

He turned to face the golden celestial dragon and the middle-aged Taoist, roaring, "To hell with your Way of Heaven!"

"I have a saber that can sever celestial dragons!"

Xu Fengnian originally held no saber in his hand, but as he spoke these words, the ethereal light of the great python converged, and a snow-white divine weapon materialized in his grasp.

"I have a saber that can slay immortals!"

One saber strike tore through the air.

Heaven and earth changed color.

There was no more celestial dragon, no more immortal.

Xu Fengnian slowly opened his eyes. The peak of Mount Kuanglu was clearly calm and tranquil. Neither Li Chungang nor Qingniao and the others had arrived upon hearing any news. Xu Fengnian looked down: the talisman was still between his fingers, and his sabers, Xiudong and Chunlei, were stuck in the ground.

Xu Fengnian touched his cheek, which was streaked with tears.

So, it had all been a dream.

Xu Fengnian turned, forced a smile, and gazing into the silent void, murmured, "Mother, rest well."

He turned again, looking at the starry sky, and Xu Fengnian said, word by word, "I have a saber that can slay celestial dragons and celestial beings!"