This is the ancient Dujiangyan!

It turns out the Dragon Palace Water Mansion is not far from Dujiangyan.

Soon after, sediment billowed, and the Dragon Palace Water Mansion was buried and collapsed.

A stream of information flooded into his mind.

Li Yan finally understood that the existence of the Dragon Palace Water Mansion, like the Cloud Lord's Divine Que and the Wushan Goddess Palace, was a special space.

It's estimated that only certain ways can enter it.

Soon, the Dragon Pattern Jade Gui rose up and appeared before his eyes.

This thing turned out to be the key!

Li Yan had already guessed roughly in his heart.

The Dragon Lady could use this to send dreams; it truly was unusual. Holding this item to that river domain would probably mean dreaming into the Dragon Palace.

The original agreement was for him to find the reason for the River God's strange behavior, and the Dragon Lady would give him the Dragon Palace key.

Now, it seems thoroughly completed.

Just as Li Yan thought this matter was concluded, the dream changed again.

It was an enormous city.

Though ancient in appearance, Li Yan vaguely recognized it as Chengdu Prefecture, albeit smaller; it should be the city at that time.

At this moment in the city, many women gathered, carrying flower baskets and touring the streets, smiling as if hundreds of flowers were blooming.

An artifact descended from the sky.

It was precisely the flower basket-shaped Divine Artifact found in the Dragon Girl Temple.

This item landed in the old Chengdu Prefecture, scattering a rain of flowers across the sky, flying into the flower basket, then seized by a pair of jade hands.

The originally rampant storm and flood instantly ceased…

...

"Yo, the snow finally stopped!"

In a haze, Li Yan heard Sha Lifei's shouting.

He opened his eyes, sitting by the fire pit, first drinking a cup of hot tea to regain his senses, staring at the embers of the dying fire.

Last night's dream was indeed somewhat lengthy.

The Dragon Lady presented a dream, then proposed a condition.

Originally, after the River God perished, the Dragon Lady would gradually inherit its power, sending dreams for tribute, protecting the local people.

If nothing unexpected happened, she would become the Min River Water God.

But now there's an issue, as someone privately descended, absorbing the remaining essence of the River God, reincarnating in the human world.

It's unknown what the other party intends, but surely it's not good.

For this reason, the Dragon Lady's opportunities were seized.

The Dragon Lady and the River God were two sides of the same coin.

One represents the violence of the river.

One represents the expectations of the people.

Just like the Min River, capable of causing floods, yet also irrigates the Chengdu Plain, nurturing thousands of people.

Once the other succeeds, the Dragon Lady would completely disappear.

Therefore, the Dragon Lady issued the task again, asking him to help defeat the opponent and rebuild the temple, gathering incense.

The offered reward was very tempting to Li Yan.

It was actually the Divine Astral of the River God!

The importance of Divine Astral is unmistakable.

This thing is condensed from Innate Astral Qi and Incense Fire Wish Power.

In ancient legends, those powerful great gods had ample Divine Astral, making them immensely skilled.

Like Li Yan's Soul-hooking Thunder Rope, it can directly be enhanced with Divine Astral.

Even some magic artifacts can be enhanced with Divine Astral to increase their power.

However, Divine Astral is extremely rare.

Li Yan had completed several tasks, capturing Demonic Qi, and obtained three strands of Divine Astral, all saved up, not daring to use.

Wanting to use good Astral at the most crucial moment.

From both a moral and selfish standpoint, this task cannot be missed.

The only thing Li Yan couldn't understand was the usage of the flower basket.

This item is crucial to building the Dragon Girl Temple.

According to the dream scenario, many women with flower baskets are needed.

Never heard of such a ritual before…

While he was pondering, activity outside had already started.

Fire starting, cooking, horse brushing…

Voices rose sharply, filling the wilderness temple with bustle.

Wang was very courteous, particularly ordering people to wake early and prepare sheep soup, inviting Li Yan and the others to eat together.

Nothing is more refreshing than having a few bowls of hot sheep soup in this icy and snowy land.

Paired with oil chili peppers, it makes the whole body warm and comfy.

After breakfast, the group continued their journey together.

This too was Wang Tianzuo's little plan, as he wanted to make a companion by being so accommodating.

After all, the goods being escorted were extremely valuable.

With the Twelve Primordial Spirits accompanying, the journey became much safer.

A heavy snowfall overnight made the mountain paths even harder to travel.

The large wagons would often skid and get stuck in the snow.

In such moments, Wu Ba's abilities became apparent.

His strength was astonishing; a single push could easily resolve the issue, earning the escort agency members repeated thanks.

Watching Wang busying himself back and forth, Li Yan felt a thought stir in his heart and went forward to ask quietly: "Wang, may I inquire, have you ever seen many women gathering with flower baskets?"

The scene from his dream was set in Chengdu.

If it was some special tradition, perhaps Wang Tianzuo had seen it before.

To Li Yan's surprise, Wang Tianzuo responded without hesitation: "Of course, Young Hero Li, you must be talking about the 'Flower Festival'."

"The 'Flower Festival'?"

Li Yan became interested, "Wang, please elaborate."

He had heard of the "Flower Festival" before; back when the Daoist guarding the Dragon Lady invited them to Qingyang Palace as guests, they mentioned the "Flower Festival."

Li Yan thought it was just a regular holiday and didn't pay much attention.

Now it seemed not so simple after all.

Seeing his inquiry, Wang Tianzuo was happy to discuss further, "Young Hero Li should have heard that Chengdu Prefecture is famous for its Shu Brocade; back then, Zhuge, the Marquis, used Shu Brocade to strengthen Shu Han and even established the position of 'Jinguan'."

"So, since ancient times, scholars and poets have often used 'Jinguan City' as a synonym for Chengdu."

Beside him, Wang Daoxuan nodded and smiled, "As this humble Daoist knows, 'In the morning, seeing the red moist places, the flowers weigh down Jinguan City,' and 'In those years, I galloped west of Jinguan City, once drunk to the ground for plum blossoms,' and many more famous quotes."

"Daoist's knowledge is impressive."

Wang Tianzuo complimented and continued, "But besides Jinguan City, there's also a saying of 'Rong City' for Chengdu Prefecture."

"Back then, the later Shu ruler, Meng Chang, loved hibiscus trees, so he ordered hibiscus trees to be planted all over the city, and each late autumn, the hibiscus would blossom, displaying forty miles of colorful beauty like a painting."

"To achieve this, firstly because Meng Chang was wise and beloved by the people, and secondly because the people of Chengdu loved flowers."

"Every year on the lunar calendar, the fifteenth of February, is the birthday of all flowers, and thus it's called the 'Flower Festival.' The people of Chengdu celebrate by admiring flowers and playing around. This day is also the birthday of Lao Jun, making it particularly grand."

"At Qingyang Palace, there would be grand temple rituals, and nearby there's the largest flower market in Shu land, especially lively during the 'Flower Festival'."

"On this day, people would wear flowers in their hair. In various places, outstanding girls are selected and dressed as the Twelve Flower Goddesses, who parade to worship the Flower Fairy."

"Young Hero Li, you must be referring to this event."

"I see..."

Li Yan mused upon hearing this.

The Flower Basket carried by the Dragon Lady might be related to her past life, possibly she was one of the touring Flower Goddesses, thus able to gather incense power again.

Lunar calendar, fifteenth of February...

It precisely follows after the Opening Kiln Festival at Qingcheng Mountain.

But achieving this is not easy.

This is competing for opportunities with that person who descended privately, and if the Shu Prince Mansion is involved, they would certainly hinder in every way.

But building the Dragon Lady Temple can't be done without local support.

It seems some advance planning is necessary.

Outmaneuvering the Shu Prince Mansion, it's tough...

Thinking to this point, a figure suddenly appeared in Li Yan's mind.

According to gathered intel, the person who descended privately was working with Zhao Changsheng and others, and the Dragon Lady was merely implicated.

The true target of their struggle was the Immortal Master Erlang's opportunity!

Though unclear what exactly these people wanted, it was entirely possible to join forces with the reincarnation of Immortal Master Erlang to face it together!

Hence, a plan formed in Li Yan's mind.

After the trip to Qingcheng Mountain, secretly enter Chengdu, find the reincarnation of Immortal Master Erlang, and unite to face this calamity...

But the whereabouts of Immortal Master Erlang are mysterious and may not be in Chengdu.

Near Dujiangyan, there must be clues!

Thinking to this point, Li Yan deliberately remained behind, gathered a few companions, and discussed the matter.

"I'll go."

Lv San spoke up directly, "There are too many people on Qingcheng Mountain, and I'm not a Taoist, I would feel uncomfortable going up there."

Sha Lifei also pondered for a moment and shook his head, "I'll go with you; after going up the mountain, I can't do much either, and Wu Ba can follow us to avoid causing trouble with those Taoists after going up."

"That's fine too."

Li Yan nodded in agreement immediately.

Lv San was not good at dealing with people, but with Sha Lifei accompanying, and Wu Ba for protection, he felt more assured.

After finalizing the plan, the group quickened their pace on the road.

As it neared dusk, the team finally reached the fork road near Guan County.

Lv San and the others followed the escort team to Guan County.

Li Yan and Wang Daoxuan turned southwest, headed towards Qingcheng Mountain…

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.