Chapter 1 Python and Sparrow Swallow the Dragon (2/2)

Zhou Qing gritted his teeth, as he spat out each word, ”Python and sparrow swallow the dragon, and the Great Wu will rise and flouris.h.!.+”

”Python and sparrow swallow the dragon, and the Great Wu will rise and flourish?” Zhou Yuan softly repeated these words, but he failed to understand the meaning behind them. ”What does it mean?”

Zhou Qing's eyes turned scarlet red at this moment. Incomparable grief flooded his eyes as he stared at Zhou Yuan, ”Back then, I too did not understand the exact meaning behind these words, until a certain day…”

”After Great Zhou was completely defeated, I led what was left of our people, and continuously retreated. The Wu clan tightly pursued us till we came to this Great Zhou City beneath our feet. However, the Wu clan merely surrounded us and did not attack, as if they were waiting for something.”

”What were they waiting for?” Zhou Yuan felt a sense of unease.

Zhou Qing stared at Zhou Yuan. From the expression on the former's face, it was as if he was crying inside. The mixture of such despair and anger made Zhou Yuan's heart tremble.

”They were waiting for you to be born.”

Zhou Qing's words caused Zhou Yuan's heart to shudder violently. He had been caught completely off guard.

By the side, Zhou Yuan's mother, Qin Yu, was already covering her mouth. Sobs that had been suppressed to the limit were emitted.

”Do you know what it was like when you were born?” Zhou Qing gazed at Zhou Yuan with red eyes. ”Yuan'er, the moment you were born, a mystical sign appeared in the heavens. Dragon Qi swirled around you, and a dragon roar shook the land. It was the sign of the sacred dragon.”

”Your eight meridian channels naturally opened at birth, allowing you to skip the Channel Opening stage, and reach the Qi nouris.h.i.+ng level.”

”This is known as the legendary one-in-a-billion sacred dragon blessing, which bestows upon one the potential to reach the greater cultivation stages. As our Zhou clan's unprecedented sacred dragon, you would have s.h.i.+ned as brightly as the sun and moon, and have the longevity of the land!”

Zhou Qing's voice was overflowing with emotion, while his entire body violently shook. One could imagine just how emotionally moved he had been when Zhou Yuan was born. The heavens had not forsaken the Zhou clan, and allowed them to welcome the birth of a sacred dragon during such a calamity.

Zhou Yuan's eyes widened. It was clear that he was unable to believe that such a phenomenon had appeared when he was born.

”Then… then why…?” His hands trembled slightly, as he touched his body. Since his eight meridian channels were naturally open, why were they now unable to be found in his body?

Zhou Qing's emotional voice came to an abrupt halt. The brilliance in his eyes seemed to vanish completely at this moment. There was only deep sadness within them, as he explained in a dejected manner, ”Because the moment you were born, king Wu's wife also gave birth to a son and daughter outside the city. Python Qi coiled around the baby boy, while spirit sparrow Qi was present around the baby girl's head. Both were also blessed by destiny!”

”Moreover, according to the information we obtained, king Wu's wife had been pregnant for a whole three years without giving birth, yet she suddenly gave birth that day…”

”I never understood why before, but it finally became clear at that moment. It is said that those born on the same year, month, and day may devour each other's destiny. It turns out that the many years of plotting by the Wu clan was not simply targeted at Great Zhou, but at the dragon of our Zhou clan!”

Zhou Yuan's mouth opened and closed. A chill swiftly spread from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. ”It was a scheme!”

How could there be such a coincidence. It was obvious that this plot had been brewing for a hundred years, and was aimed at their Zhou clan… a grand scheme that was specifically aimed at him.

For this, they had even used all means to stop king Wu's wife from giving birth for three years. It was all done in wait for him!

Zhou Qing nodded his head, and continued in a hoa.r.s.e voice, ”It was indeed a scheme. The Wu clan had patiently waited in Great Zhou for several hundred years. They had fought our battles for us, and gained our full trust. However, who could have expected that their centuary long wait was all for your arrival!?”

”That day, king Wu entered the city and threatened us with the lives of hundreds and millions of Great Zhou citizens. He wanted to seize your sacred dragon blessing in front of your mother and I…” At this point, tears of blood flowed out from Zhou Qing's eyes.

By the side, Master Qin also wore an expression of sorrow, as he continued in a low voice, ”That day, to protect your highness, his majesty fought king Wu on the Great Zhou mountain, but was no match for the latter, and one of his arms was severed. If that king Wu was not afraid that the others would destroy his highness' sacred dragon blessing, it is likely that even his majesty would have died at the king Wu's hands.”

”To smoothly seize his highness' destiny, king Wu made an oath. Great Wu would not take even half a step into Great Zhou for the next hundred years.”

As that frightening scene once again surged out from the depths of her mind, Qin Yu could no longer restrain her emotions. She fell to her knees before Zhou Yuan, tightly hugging him, as she started to sob in a heart wrenching manner.

”Yuan'er! My pitiful son! Mother has let you down!”

The cruel memories from that day were once again bloodily torn open. She clearly recalled how the recently born Zhou Yuan was used as an array eye, and placed on the altar that king Wu had set up.

Joining him on the altar were king Wu's recently born son and daughter.

However, one was being stolen from, while the other two were taking.

The stripping of fate was akin to peeling off one's flesh. Such pain was unimaginable.

The Qin Yu at that time had been glowing with joy mere moments before. She could only helplessly watch her child bear an endless amount of pain, so much so, that even his young cries became hoa.r.s.e.

Such despair and powerlessness had caused her to faint.

Urgh.

Due to this sudden surge of emotions, Qin Yu's face instantly paled. A mouthful of fresh blood was involuntarily vomited, dyeing Zhou Yuan's hair red.

”What's wrong, mother?” Zhou Yuan was greatly alarmed. He hastily helped Qin Yu wipe the blood at the corner of her mouth.

Master Qin also rushed over from the side. Gentle energy spread from his palm, and poured into Qin Yu through the top of her head, helping her steady the Qi and blood in her body. He looked at the pale Qin Yu, before he sighed towards Zhou Yuan, ”Your highness, please do not blame his majesty and her majesty for being unable to protect you. Back then, his majesty had given his all, and almost died in battle.”

”As for her majesty, after your destiny was stolen, she infused her own essence blood into your body. Subsequently, she gave you blood every year, allowing your highness to live till this day. However, her majesty had to pay an extremely huge price. Every time she gave her blood, her lifespan would be cut by three years. Over the past twelve years, her lifespan has already been shortened by thirty six years. This is an enormous blow to her health, and she now has less than ten years to live.”

”What?! What did you say?!”

It was as if a lightning bolt had struck Zhou Yuan when he heard this. Veins of blood crazily climbed out in his eyes. He had never reacted so strongly even previously when he heard that his destiny had been stolen. After all, these events had occurred when he was still too young. Hence, he did not have overly strong feelings towards the sacred dragon blessing. Even if it was seized, he would only feel somewhat shocked.

Although the fact that he had been the target of the Wu clan's century long plot had caused huge waves of shock to rise in his heart, he was able to suppress them. However, when he found out that they had forced his beloved mother to deplete her life force, an uncontrollable killing intent rose within Zhou Yuan's heart for the very first time.

Thus, when Zhou Yuan heard Master Qin's words, he could no longer control his emotions. The blood in his body frantically rushed towards his head, causing his face to turn blood red. That delicate and immature face now appeared rather sinister.

”Wu clan, you dare to cause harm to my mother! You truly deserve to die!”

Zhou Yuan's eyes were blood red. Overflowing rage and killing intent surged in his heart, while his entire body shook.

Zhou Qing carried Qin Yu, and leaned her against a jade couch. His hair seemed to be a little whiter, and his dignified aura had practically vanished as he numbly said, ”It has been said that since the Wu clan's foundations were weak, sufficient destiny is needed for them to establish a country, allow their line to continue, and awe everyone with their power. With regards to all this, your sacred dragon blessing was the ideal.”

”King Wu seized your destiny, and granted it to his son and daughter. Henceforth, Great Wu was protected by the dragon and phoenix, allowing their country to prosper. The flouris.h.i.+ng Great Wu Empire owes everything to your stolen destiny.”

”Meanwhile, forcibly taking away your sacred dragon blessing naturally gave rise to intense resentment. That king Wu purposely sealed this resentment in your body, thus creating the Dragon's Resentment Poison. It continuously strengthens itself by devouring your essence blood until a certain day where it will finally mature. Then, it will erupt and completely devour your life force.”

”Meanwhile, your sacred dragon root was damaged, causing your naturally formed eight meridian channels to disappear. Till now, your eight meridian channels have yet to show themselves, making your journey of cultivation extremely difficult…”

Zhou Qing's tone was rather bleak, and contained an endless feeling of powerlessness. It was difficult to imagine how much despair that day had been to their Zhou clan.

On that day, the python and sparrow cried outside the city. Multi-colored lights had exploded, while they seized the opportunity to transform.

On that day, the sacred dragon wailed inside the city, turning into green smoke that rose in spirals, before fading away.

This was the python and sparrow swallowing the dragon.

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