Ji Xia returned to Tai City, bringing with him the severed heads of over a hundred Dove Dog clan leaders, the corpse of the Dove Dog Kingdom's ruler, and the bones of several ancient sages.
This victory greatly elevated Ji Xia's status in Tai Cang. For several days, the citizens of Tai Cang spontaneously gathered in the square before the palace, silently kneeling and offering their respects to Ji Xia.
The officials of Tai Cang were no different. Even at the morning court sessions, the way they looked at Ji Xia had changed. There was more respect, even a hint of admiration in their gazes.
Ji Xia, of course, enjoyed such sentiments. Genuine feelings like these were rare, and they were a great boon for the growth of the sacred saplings in the Immortal Tree of Decay. For Ji Xia, this was a cause for great joy.
Today, he walked the streets of Tai City with Jing Ye. As many citizens spotted him from afar, they hurriedly bowed their heads in respect, but did not approach him.
"Has Lord Po Xian, the city lord of Po Xian City, completed the breakthrough to spiritual energy? Has the food supply for the ten days been distributed?" Ji Xia, wearing a loose robe and with his hands clasped behind his back, strolled leisurely through the streets, occasionally nodding to the passing citizens.
"Yes, Lord. The report from Tai City's government came in yesterday. The ten-day food supplies have all been distributed, and it's being handed out according to the standard of three meals a day. Countless citizens have received their rations and are heading to the Great Wind Statue to offer their prayers for you and Tai Cang," Jing Ye replied, his face also showing a hint of joy. Even he, a high-ranking official, felt moved by the generous food distribution, let alone the ordinary citizens who had been suffering from hunger.
"Let them eat without worries. They don't need to hide the food. Just tell them that the Tai Cang Silver Guard has found a way to solve the food shortage problem," Ji Xia said with a calm tone.
He knew his people well. They had suffered from hunger for so long that, even when they had enough food, they were reluctant to eat too much. They feared that a future famine might come, and they would need to ration the food for survival.
"Right now, there are more than three thousand Spirit Crystals. Even if the people of Tai Cang eat freely, we can sustain them for a long time," Ji Xia thought to himself, feeling a sense of relief.
But then, his mind shifted back to the reason for his current journey, and the lightness in his heart darkened a little.
"Mon Gui has been away from Tai Cang for ten days now. I wonder if the plan has succeeded."
Ji Xia took out a letter from his sleeve and muttered to himself, "If Mon Gui is clever enough to use his ability to transform into a quagmire with his mask, escaping back to Tai Cang shouldn't be difficult."
For the past few days, he had felt inexplicably uneasy. He was a practitioner of extraordinary strength, with a physical constitution even more formidable. How could he be so restless without reason?
"I heard that before the Sky Barrier, practitioners could sense faint hints of destiny. Could it be that Mon Gui has failed?" Ji Xia furrowed his brows and pondered.
After walking for some time and observing the people's lives, they finally reached a narrow alley on the western side of the city. This alley was no different from most others in Tai City—shabby and dilapidated.
Many of Tai Cang's buildings were ancient, made of stone, and the citizens, lacking enough food, didn't have the strength to repair them. The timber they had was mostly used for heating during the cold months.
"If every household used timber to fix their houses, we'd probably have to cut down a third of the Southern Forbidden Forest," Ji Xia mused.
"Is this the place?" Ji Xia asked as he looked at the quaint stone house in front of him.
"If the address on the letter is correct, then yes, this is it," Jing Ye replied as he took in the surroundings with curiosity. Although the house was made of stone, it was maintained in a way that set it apart from the other buildings around it.
Several green plants hung down from the doorframe, and vibrant flowers added a touch of beauty. Both Ji Xia and Jing Ye were impressed. The stone walls were painted with special pigments, featuring golden wheat fields that stretched toward the sky. The entire scene looked as though it was from a bountiful harvest year.
"Nice painting," Ji Xia remarked. "I wonder who the owner of this house is. Even in times of famine and hardship, they still manage to keep such poetic beauty."
The door opened, and a figure in white emerged from the house.
It was a woman, about twenty-five or twenty-six years old, wearing a white robe. Her hair hung loosely around her shoulders. Though not stunningly beautiful, her appearance had a certain delicate charm.
What impressed Ji Xia the most were her lively, intelligent eyes.
The young ruler of Tai Cang cleared his throat, taking out the letter Mon Gui had entrusted him with, and handed it to the woman in white.
"Miss, this is a letter from Mon Gui, entrusted to me for delivery."
The woman in white didn't respond immediately. There was a hint of confusion in her expression as she took a step forward, accepting the letter. She then retreated to her previous position and began reading it, ignoring Ji Xia and Jing Ye.
Ji Xia and Jing Ye exchanged a glance and waited in silence.
The more the woman read, the darker her expression became.
"Could I have guessed wrong?" Ji Xia thought to himself. "I expected something like a flirtatious letter, or a confession of some sort."
He recalled how awkward Mon Gui had been when they last met, and for a moment, he had thought the woman in white was Mon Gui's lover.
After a long pause, the woman in white finished reading the letter. Her face had darkened to an almost sinister expression as she turned her gaze toward Ji Xia.
Ji Xia was taken aback. He could clearly see the disdain in her eyes.
"Does she not know who I am, the ruler of Tai Cang?" Ji Xia thought, his ego flaring. "Even if she doesn't know my identity, with my appearance, no ordinary woman should be able to harbor such disdain."
The woman's disdainful gaze faded.
Ji Xia nodded to himself, thinking, "Perhaps she didn't see me clearly before. Now that she's seen me, surely—"
Suddenly, the woman in white lightly waved her hand.
A terrifying aura gathered from all directions, abruptly cutting off Ji Xia's thoughts. His heart instantly filled with a sense of dread. The oppressive force slammed into him, freezing him in place!
A massive surge of spiritual energy, like a roaring tide, swept over Ji Xia, suppressing his own spiritual energy and locking down the space around him.
"What level of power is this?" Ji Xia thought in shock. "Even with my abundant spiritual energy, I have no resistance against this force!"
It felt as though a chain had coiled around his chest, locking him down completely. He tried to resist but had no strength to do so, helpless as the overwhelming pressure bore down on him.
"This power is even stronger than the spiritual energy arrows I used to kill the divine shadow with the Tenfold Giant Bow. I am nothing but an ant before this strength. I have no way to fight back!" Ji Xia's cold sweat drenched him, and in his panic, he tried to use the Immortal Tree of Decay to find a way out.
But just as suddenly as it had arrived, the oppressive power vanished, as though it had never existed.
Freed from the suffocating aura, Ji Xia's spiritual energy surged back to full power. The torrents of spiritual energy flowing from the Snow Mountain flooded his limbs, bringing him to his peak state.
He looked at the woman in white, only to find that she was still engrossed in reading the letter, as though Ji Xia's immense spiritual energy was completely nonexistent to her.
Ji Xia couldn't help but feel deflated. He recalled the terrifying pressure the woman had just exerted on him and thought for a moment, then decided to release all his spiritual energy.
"I wonder who this powerful figure is," Ji Xia mused. "Such strength… that one move alone was enough to surpass many in the God Realm."
"She made a move on me, but didn't kill me. What could her reasoning be?"
He cleared his throat, about to speak, when the woman in white didn't even spare a glance at him or Jing Ye. She leaped into the air!
As she rose, a puff of white mist enveloped her body, obscuring her form completely.
Then, to Ji Xia and Jing Ye's astonished gazes, a massive, white serpent tail, covered in scales, extended from the mist!
Soon after, a long, sinuous body with two claws and a large jaw emerged...
"Dragon…"
"Dragon…" Jing Ye gasped, his mouth agape, staring in disbelief at the colossal creature overhead.
"Two claws, no horns… This is a flood dragon!" Ji Xia recalled a description from an ancient text and spoke in a hushed tone.