"Oh no, the Yuan Cang River is undergoing an anomaly!"

On the cloud boat, Wen Daoyuan murmured solemnly.

He looked down at the river below, surging and bubbling like boiling water, sensing the peculiar aura within, and he immediately furrowed his brows.

Just a moment ago, he was leisurely chatting with Chen Xu, but now, the world was suddenly changing.

Wen Daoyuan contemplated his course of action throughout the journey and felt as if he had been racing the wind and lightning, without wasting a single moment.

But he had only taken Chen Xu on a quick trip between the north and the south, so why had the southern water system suddenly developed such an anomaly?

Wen Daoyuan instantly circulated his Literary Qi and urged the cloud boat to accelerate once more.

He needed to return to Pingyang Prefecture at the fastest speed.

However, the Southern Border was vast, encompassing much more than just the Seven Prefectures of the Celestial South.

There were also the Nine Prefectures of the Jingheng Path, the Thirteen Prefectures of the Penglai Path, and the Seven Prefectures of the Western Shu Path.

This time, the cloud boat needed to pass through the lands of the Three Prefectures of the Jingheng Path before returning to Pingyang Prefecture.

With such a long distance, no matter how fast the cloud boat was, how could it cover it in a single instant?

If they couldn't swiftly return to Pingyang Prefecture, who knew what consequences the anomaly in the Yuan Cang River might bring?

Could it affect the South-to-North Water Transfer?

Enough, now that they had returned to the Southern Border, there were fewer constraints compared to the Northern Border.

At this stage, all means must be employed.

Wen Daoyuan thought about this and touched a point on his forehead with one finger.

Then he threw out the Fighting Brush and suddenly reached a hand towards the sky.

With that grasp, he captured a strand of "Celestial Light" —

The light struggled and twisted in Wen Daoyuan's palm, seemingly possessing a spirit of its own.

Primordial Qi surged around Wen Daoyuan, and what appeared to be delicate scholarly hands held boundless strength.

He forcibly pressed this strand of light into the cloud boat, sighing softly as he said warmly:

"A gentleman fulfills the beauty of others, not their wickedness. I wish to borrow the Celestial Light; why not let it be?"

With these gentle words, an indescribable and strange power slowly brushed over the four directions of the cloud boat, and the light indeed stopped its struggle.

It seemed that Wen Daoyuan truly regarded this light as a sentient being and was "educating" it with words.

Making it docile and subservient to his will.

Thus, the light obediently allowed itself to be truly "educated."

Chen Xu, witnessing this scene, was so astonished that he momentarily neglected the tumultuous and abnormal river below.

Wow, so it can be done this way?

I've learned something new...

The next moment, golden light flowed along the sides of the cloud boat, sketching rapidly to form wings.

With wings emerged, the cloud boat's speed increased dramatically by another measure.

At that moment, the cloud boat seemed less like it was chasing the light and more as if it had transformed into the light itself!

Chen Xu felt a ringing in his ears, and for a moment, he couldn't hear the surrounding sounds.

The mountains and seas surged, and the entire sky seemed like a vast painting made of lines.

Yes, that was exactly the feeling!

It was the peculiar sensation Chen Xu had once experienced through the Jade Leaf Knot summoning technique, traversing hundreds of miles in an instant — he had caught a glimpse of that feeling during the transit.

He often felt, momentarily, that the essence of the world was not what living beings saw with their naked eyes.

Rather, it was the interweaving of Primordial Qi, where all things became rune lines with their own unique operational patterns.

Then, what exactly is the operational pattern of the space, above and below, all directions?

Chen Xu once had a fleeting glimpse, feeling as if he had touched upon an answer.

But he couldn't see it clearly or understand it, so he repeatedly missed it, just brushing past the answer ambiguously.

Yet, at this moment, the rapid flight of the cloud boat suddenly brought the previous answer back before Chen Xu!

Chen Xu's heart wavered, with Innate True Essence swiftly circulating within his Dantian.

The Golden Core seemed to be breathing, thrumming heavily at this moment.

He extended a hand —

Chen Xu did not know that as he reached out, Wen Daoyuan stood at the front of the cloud boat, appearing to calmly navigate its flight but was actually extremely anxious inside.

He had exhausted all means, yet the cloud boat was still not fast enough, not fast enough!

Why would the southern water system choose this moment to act up?

What impact would it have on his journey for the South-to-North Water Transfer?

Wen Daoyuan contemplated many things at that moment.

A great scholar's thoughts move a million miles a moment.

Standing from a different vantage point, Wen Daoyuan could see far more than ordinary people.

At this moment, all his doubts suddenly converged and then all pointed towards one person—

The Emperor!

Yes, precisely the Emperor.

Wen Daoyuan had always held some hope for the Emperor, wishing to be a loyal and wise subject, thus guiding and educating him through countless means.

In such circumstances, Wen Daoyuan truly did not wish to envision the Emperor in excessively negative terms.

But recently, especially on the matter of the South-to-North Water Transfer, after being disappointed by the Emperor, Wen Daoyuan suddenly seemed to have cleared away the fog before his eyes, unwilling to deceive himself any longer.

He carefully pondered: What would make a person hesitate, equivocating, willing to forgo enormous achievements and benefits?

Was it truly just cowardice, or merely the desire for effortless success?

No, substantial benefits worth a hundred million are sufficient to drive any person to exert themselves fully and recklessly.

Yet the Emperor's previous actions clearly contradicted human nature.

The biggest reason for his behavior could only be because he had a chance to gain more significant benefits from another angle himself!

What kind of benefit could be greater and more alluring than eternal merits of a thousand autumns?

Then Wen Daoyuan recalled how the Emperor had repeatedly asked him about "longevity."

During the Great Li Dynasty, Emperor Yonghui, he cared not for the people but for longevity.

But where does longevity come from?

Wen Daoyuan once answered the Emperor, suggesting it be sought with merits lasting a thousand autumns and ten thousand blessings.

Build an eternal legacy, plea for heaven's mercy.

To be honest, there was, in fact, an aspect of bluffing in his words.

Wen Daoyuan only wished to placate the Emperor, hoping he'd be a "wise ruler" quietly.

After all, creating an enduring legacy is extraordinarily challenging; the hardships of which Wen Daoyan understands, and truthfully, the Emperor is also clearly aware.

The mutual understanding remained unbroken — Wen Daoyuan believed the Emperor could still be educated, but what if... the Emperor had long had another plan?

The most terrifying thing is that the Emperor's plan might not be righteous.

It might even starkly contradict Chen Xu's treatise on the "South-to-North Water Transfer."

Only this could explain why an Emperor who had long desired "longevity" would abandon the pursuit of enduring achievements!

Wen Daoyuan's heart raced, overwhelming even a great scholar's steady heart at this moment.

The cloud boat flew high in the sky, enabling Wen Daoyuan's eyes to see an extraordinarily vast distance into the horizon.

And then, he saw it.

In the distant, farthest upper edge of the Cyan Forest Plain, where Pingyang Prefecture was located.

A gigantic head with horns rose boldly into the air, bathed in sunlight!

Meanwhile, the previously surging yet relatively calm Yuan Cang River suddenly surged with immense waves, the roaring waves shaking the entire earth as if it were trembling.

Wen Daoyuan's expression drastically changed, and he uttered just two words: "Jiao Dragon!"

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