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I’ve been schemed against!

Wu You was someone with a quick mind, and almost the moment he saw Third Master Shen preparing to chase the fleeing Wang Ye, he knew he had been played!

Although he didn’t know what grudge Minister Wang held against the Shen family or what role Chen Qing played here, he knew that Chen Qing had intentionally lured him to this place.

As a member of the Imperial Court, and with Wang Ye being the Judicial Court’s junior minister, theoretically, if someone were to make a move against Wang Ye, he should step in to help.

Clearly, that was what the other party had in mind.

The two sides faced off, glaring at each other, neither giving an inch for several moments.

Once Wu You came to his senses, he nodded at the opposing side, signaling understanding, and, pulling Hong Lie along, pretended not to see and walked towards the other direction.

This action stunned Third Master Shen. What did that mean?

The Imperial Court wasn’t going to stand up for Wang Ye? Were the Duke of Qin’s faction and Wang Ye at odds? But Hong Lie was the Emperor’s man, so why did he also pretend not to see?

After half a moment of confusion, Shen Yimiao didn’t hesitate and, after paying his respects to Wu You and Hong Lie, directly led Old Ba in pursuit.

But this delay, although brief, was enough for a magician like Wang Ye and Murong Yunji to create a significant distance. If Lyuzhou wasn’t under lockdown, Shen Yimiao would have even lost the will to continue the chase.

Carrying Shen Lao Ba, the two followed the trail left by their opponents’ techniques until they finally stopped outside of Daqing Mountain!

"Azure Dragon Barrier!"

Shen Yimiao frowned deeply as he looked at the barrier around Azure Dragon Mountain, "The Azure Dragon Heritage is indeed related to the magistrate of Lyuzhou, and from the looks of it, that guy must have already mastered the Azure Dragon Sorcery, even utilizing the barrier set by the previous Azure Dragon Sorcerer.

Old Ba, are you confident you can break this barrier? "

Eighth Master Shen squinted his eyes, which were nearly slits, and shook his head, "This barrier is too complex and powerful. There might be an even stronger internal barrier inside. I don’t recommend forcing our way through.

We could consider using the common folk of Lyuzhou City to force this Magistrate Chen out into the open! "

"That won’t do..." Shen Yimiao shook his head, "With Hong Lie and Wu You in Lyuzhou, the Imperial Court has support there. Even if we silenced them, we’d leave too much evidence behind. Wang Ye, with no background, might be feasible, but Hong Lie and Wu You are different; the Hong Family are the Emperor’s staunch loyalists.

If anything were to happen to an heir of the direct line, even if the Emperor did not pursue it, his subordinates would surely lose heart.

Wu You is the same; the Duke of Qin is not someone to provoke.

If he hadn’t given ground back then, it’s really not certain that the one sitting in power now would have subdued the Central Plains! "

Upon hearing this, Eighth Master Shen also frowned.

That meant they couldn’t touch Lyuzhou. Both that young man from the Hong Family and Wu You were Imperial Officials – they wouldn’t allow Lyuzhou’s common people to be harmed directly.

That meant they could only figure out a way to deal with the Azure Dragon Barrier.

"Third Brother knows that, while my techniques are adequate against people, these ancient barriers are what trouble me the most."

Shen Yimiao fell silent upon hearing this.

Old Ba’s techniques were secrets passed down from the Dragon Palace, applying the very essence of magical arts.

Though they seemed basic, they could unleash incredibly potent destructive power.

In a straight fight, even the eldest brother of the past wouldn’t be a match for him now.

However, Old Ba’s techniques had a flaw: they mainly relied on the energies of yin and yang, which meant he couldn’t use especially mighty techniques.

Those techniques that appeared to turn the seas upside down and were magnificiently vast in scale, Old Ba couldn’t use any of them. Of course, in single combat, such techniques wouldn’t have an advantage, but when it came to breaking a formation, it was a different story.

To break a magical formation, there were basically two methods: one was to analyze it, become familiar with the structure of the techniques, and disrupt that structure so it would collapse. However, this required sufficient understanding of the array and a considerable amount of time.

He wasn’t skilled in arrays, and the current situation did not allow him to take his time to study the formidable and well-known Azure Dragon Formation outside.

The only other method was a direct attack!

Azure Dragon Sorcery might be powerful, but since the heritage had only recently appeared, the other side shouldn’t be able to use this formation proficiently. There was a chance of finding a flaw to exploit for an attack.

But...

Shen Yimiao looked around, his brow furrowing tightly.

"What’s on Third Brother’s mind?" Old Ba asked in confusion. "Do you think there’s some kind of trick?"

Shen Yimiao nodded, "This location of Daqing Mountain is very advantageous for me, surrounded by mountains and cradling water, with rivers leading directly to larger waterways. With Murong Yunji around, the other side should be well aware of my techniques. Why choose this location?"

"Isn’t Third Brother overthinking it?" Eighth Master Shen looked around and said, "This barrier is unimaginably complex, naturally not just erected. It must have been arranged by the Azure Dragon Sorcerer who left the heritage. That Chen fellow is merely utilizing the setup of his predecessor to create such a formation. Of course, he couldn’t pick the location because without this place, he couldn’t possibly arrange an Azure Dragon Barrier by himself! "

"That makes sense..." Shen Yimiao nodded, finally convinced. He formed hand seals, and an immense spiritual power converged instantly. In the next moment, the river around Daqing Mountain halted, abruptly drained as the water surged towards Shen Yimiao above, resembling a river in the sky.

Seeing this scene from the peak of Daqing Mountain, Chen Qing took a deep breath, "Truly spectacular!"

Wang Ye beside him was also shocked, "They say that each member of the direct Shen family is as powerful as the nine ministers, and it seems there’s no exaggeration. With such immense spiritual power, it’s no wonder he’s a Grand Sorcerer known from two hundred years ago!"

"Xiao Ying..." Chen Qing glanced over at Chen Ying, who was beside him with a pale face and obviously a bit uneasy, "You must withstand this first wave!"

Chen Ying nodded at the words, "I will do my best!"

Unlike sealing Zi Yue, who was directly sealed within the barrier by the Azure Dragon Barrier, drawing from the surrounding spiritual power, even if she was strong, a magician who couldn’t summon the elements would be helpless.

However, Third Master Shen was different.

Outside of the barrier, he could launch powerful attacks with his techniques.

At this moment, although the barrier could resist, it put pressure on the person controlling it!

"Here it comes!"

Wang Ye looked up at the sky to warn them, and Chen Ying took a deep breath, gathering all her energy on the array. A dragon’s roar emerged as a green light shot up into the sky from outside the barrier, complex runes flashing, coiling around the entirety of Daqing Mountain.

Shen Yimiao sneered. It was indeed a little girl controlling the formation. How bold!

He recognized this girl; in Mu Hongqing’s first year as Academic Commissioner, he brought her to visit the Shen Family, obviously seeking a high-level technique for her.

She was turned away by Old Liu at that time.

The girl’s aptitude was indeed good, but the Shen Family had no plans to establish a new direct branch, and Mu Hongqing had no decent bargaining chip either.

He had personally assessed her aptitude. It was indeed top-notch, and even better than Old Shi’er, who had become the latest direct successor. She was certainly worth cultivating, but to directly give her Azure Dragon Sorcery? Wasn’t that an exaggeration?

This Chen family truly had a grand gesture!

However, did they really think a girl could stop him?

A cold glint flashed in his eyes as the vast river’s water surged towards Daqing Mountain like the Milky Way pouring down!

"Tsk tsk, ’Water inundating Azure Mountain.’ If we had used this scene for a promotional video back then, maybe it wouldn’t have been beaten by NetEase’s game from the start."

Chen Qing sighed regretfully, while Chen Ying’s face turned as pale as paper under the tremendous water pressure!

However, fortunately, the barrier was robust enough that even if her defense was inadequate a few times, the barrier’s inherent stability would keep supporting her with its own spiritual power.

"It’s worthy of the Four Saints Magician from a thousand years ago!

" exclaimed Old Ba from the outside; the barrier left from a millennium ago still operated with such intricacy under Third Brother’s Mystic Water heavy pressure.

The immense water pressure covering such a large area, and not a single flaw was exposed.

Water Techniques were the most suitable for breaking through formations.

Any slight flaw, and the water would seep in.

With Third Brother’s capability, just a bit of water vapor penetrating it could turn all the water inside to his use, attacking both from inside and out, capable of breaking any formidable barrier.

Yet, the barrier held up by this young girl managed to block Third Brother’s technique completely. It had to be said, this formation was intricate enough that it might not be far off from what Old Liu had mastered—the ones from Dragon Palace Secret Arts.

Shen Yimiao also showed a look of astonishment; to block his technique, aside from those arrays controlled by Old Liu in Nanyang City, this was only the second time in two hundred years!

"Retreat!"

Hearing this, Old Ba nodded and took cover to the side, moving ten meters away. He knew that Third Brother was about to get serious!

Blocked by a little girl, even if she was using Azure Dragon Sorcery, it would be very embarrassing to speak of, especially since Third Elder Shen cared so much about his dignity!

Boom!

Third Elder Shen suddenly stood up from his wheelchair, and his massive spiritual power gathered, suspending him in mid-air!

In the next instant, the surging river water came from all directions, bringing with it thick mist!

This scene shocked both Wang Ye and Chen Ying to the core.

Third Elder Shen was truly formidable, able to draw water directly from the river at this location!

The turbulent river water, carrying mist, converged around Daqing Mountain, and under Shen Yimiao’s immense spiritual power, gathered above.

A more dramatic situation occurred—the enormous water source, nearly about to cover the whole mountain range, was crazily compressed under Shen Yimiao’s control, and the endless river water was finally converged into water droplets the size of pearls, forming a rain of droplets in the sky!

Seeing this, Murong Yunji said in a grave voice, "Third Brother is getting serious now. This is his signature Mystic Water Technique. Each droplet contains unfathomable amounts of water, enormously heavy. It once took just three such droplets to destroy Wolf City in the north. That girl can’t handle it! "

Chen Ying also felt a cold sweat on her back; she was very aware that she couldn’t catch those droplets, not even one!

"Really now..." Chen Qing stepped out beyond Daqing Mountain, hovering in the air and looked at Third Elder Shen, "Do you really have to go this far for a little girl?"

"Are you Chen Qing?" Shen Yimiao looked at the man in mid-air with a calm demeanor but was extremely vigilant inside. What did this guy mean by coming out of the Azure Dragon Barrier? Was he intending to directly receive his technique?

In terms of head-on power, his technique could be said to be the strongest in the Shen Family. Did this young man really want to face it head-on?

But if he didn’t face it head-on, the Azure Dragon Barrier behind him would be broken, the fields inside would be destroyed, and the girl controlling the barrier would die. So... would the kid catch it or run away?

Chen Qing glanced at Old Ba, who was standing over ten meters away from Shen Yimiao and then at the faint mist that had spread unknowingly close. He laughed and said, "Elder, if not now, when would you take action?"