Chapter 708: Someone Raises Dragons

A White Horse from Liang Province

A White Horse from Liang Province

The Southern Shu Bamboo Sea was a vast expanse of green stretching to the sky. As evening approached, it seemed about to snow but held back. A group of people strolled through it, as if they were immortals.

One man was dressed in white, with a face like polished jade. However, compared to the scholarly travelers who usually ascended these heights to admire the scenery, he exuded an inexplicable aura of the battlefield. Another, slightly older man, possessed a scholarly air, more akin to a pure scholar. Behind them followed an elegant woman, whose beauty was unmatched in Shu. She wore flowing white robes with wide sleeves, and even her embroidered shoes were white with only light blue lotus patterns, seemingly to complement the man's attire in front of her. She carried a slender broken bamboo branch in her hand. The two men ahead walked at a leisurely yet not slow pace, which left her feeling somewhat out of breath and struggling to keep up. Yet, she dared not suggest a moment's rest, for she knew that whether climbing mountains or following them through future conflicts, if she stopped, she would never catch up to the imposing man in front of her.

Even if she was Xie Xie, the captivating woman who had consistently topped the Rouge Ranking, and the mistress of Spring Paste Hall, the foremost sect in Western Shu.

She couldn't help but glance up at the middle-aged scholar beside the man she admired, her eyes filled with genuine awe. She shared the same surname with the latter, but while she was an insignificant branch of the Xie family, he was the direct descendant of the Xie family, one of the ten great noble clans of the Central Plains. Unfortunately, the Xie family was the first prominent aristocratic house to fall during the Spring and Autumn Wars. At that time, the Xie family's eldest grandson, Xie Guanying, was hailed as a "heavenly talent," excelling in both civil and military arts. He had collaborated with Li Yishan, across the river, to compile the "Martial Ranking," "Statesmen Ranking," and "Rouge Ranking." However, with the continuous southward advance of the Xu family cavalry, Xie Guanying suddenly disappeared. Losing its pillar at a critical moment of survival, the Xie family subsequently perished. After Xie Guanying, two subsequent "Martial Rankings" were fortunately decent enough to barely continue, but the "Civil Ranking" became a disappointing anticlimax, failing to win public approval. Soon, no one dared to take it over, and even Xu Weixiong from Shangyin Academy eventually gave up, realizing the difficulty.

Xie Xie was merely one of many pawns hastily placed on the chessboard by the Xie family during its downfall. When this Xie family man, who had been missing for over twenty years, appeared in Western Shu and then assisted Chen Zhibao, the King of Western Shu, as an advisor, Xie Xie felt as if she had fallen into a cloud of mist.

The three ascended the steps, the mountain path winding, the cliff face cut as if by a sword. Upon reaching Lock Dragon Cliff at the summit, they looked out, and the entire bamboo sea stretched before their eyes.

As the mistress of the Bamboo Sea, Xie Xie began to narrate the origins and legends of Lock Dragon Cliff, pointing to the cliff carvings as she spoke. "Legend has it that in ancient times, an Ancestral Dragon was buried in Western Shu. Its claws, eyes, and pearl were all stripped away by immortals using great divine powers. The dragon pearl it held in its mouth was embedded in this very cliff wall. From then on, the dragon qi in Western Shu was only enough to form 'Jiao' (flood dragons), but not true dragons. Thus, there have always been Jiao but never true dragons here. Historically, warlords who seized control of Western Shu attempted to excavate Lock Dragon Cliff, but they soon died mysteriously. For centuries, eminent figures from Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism have enjoyed inscribing characters on this cliff, each with their unique style. The 'Platform for Ascending Immortals,' which occupies the central auspicious spot, was inscribed by the Sage of Calligraphy from the Great Feng Dynasty. The seven running script characters 'Cultivating Truth and Finding Peace in Kunlun' at the very top were carved by the Taoist sage Liu An with his sword. The smallest characters among the carvings, 'Heart Aspires to Buddha,' were engraved by an anonymous monk. What's remarkable is that the character for 'heart' originally lacked a dot. Later, the Confucian Grandmaster Wang Yuanshan ascended the mountain on a snowy night, observing the characters by candlelight. Inspired, he drew his sword and carved that missing dot. This is the origin of the current saying, 'Wang Yuanshan dotted the dragon's eye on a snowy night, comprehended the Dao through characters, and became a sage,' thus elevating him to the realm of a Confucian Saint, transcending the mundane and entering sainthood."

The middle-aged scholar gazed at the cliff carvings left by famous figures, as if looking at an old man's face deeply etched with wrinkles. Man and mountain, guest and host, both fell silent.

Xie Xie walked to the white-robed man and softly asked, "General, do flood dragons truly exist in this world?"

Chen Zhibao, the King of Shu, calmly replied, "If you see them, they exist. If you don't, they don't."

Xie Xie paused, taken aback. If an ordinary person had spoken such seemingly nonsensical words, she would surely have dismissed it as pretentious and inferior wit. But how could the 'Butcher of Men,' who had always valued words like gold, be so trivial?

The middle-aged scholar, whom the Guanyin Sect Master called Xie Feiyu, smiled and began, "In fact, it's not just Western Shu that lacks true dragons. There are also no true dragons in Nanzhao to the south of Western Shu, in the Southern Border where King Yan Chi Zhao Bing resides, or in the two Liaos governed by King Jiaodong Zhao Sui. However, if you speak of flood dragons, they are commonplace everywhere and not surprising. Zhao Huangchao of Longhu Mountain stole the fortune of Western Chu, using Dilung Mountain, the foremost blessed land of Taoism, as his lair, and forcefully nurtured a black dragon. Northern Mang, having absorbed the fortune carried north by Hongjia's flight, also successfully nurtured a flood dragon into a true dragon in a certain location in Xijing."

Xie Feiyu suddenly laughed aloud. "Zhao Bing of the Southern Border and Nalan Youci have been exhausting themselves over the matter of producing a dragon, constantly making small moves, yet Tai'an City turns a blind eye. Meanwhile, Xu Xiao and Li Yishan of Beiliang, who couldn't be bothered with such elusive fortune, are instead regarded by the imperial court as a major threat. Xie Xie, can you guess the mystery behind this?"

Xie Xie shook her head.

Xie Feiyu turned his head to glance at Chen Zhibao in white, his tone laced with amusement. "The four-character prophecy 'White Python Revives Qin' that spread widely in Tai'an City twenty years ago – Huang Longshi was the instigator, and I also helped fan the flames. The Imperial Astronomical Bureau quickly found corroborating evidence from dusty local records and ancient texts. The black dragon of Dilung Mountain came into being for this very purpose. As for the white python robe bestowed by the imperial court upon Xu Fengnian, it also originated from my hand. Speaking of which, this trick of prophecies, fabricating supernatural tales – no matter how much we, including myself, meddle with it, it's ultimately just parroting others' ideas. We're not even worthy of carrying Huang Sanjia's shoes."

At this point, Xie Feiyu suddenly looked north, narrowed his eyes, and let out a surprised "hmm," while rapidly performing calculations with his left hand hidden in his sleeve.

Chen Zhibao looked north almost simultaneously, leaving only the still bewildered and ignorant Xie Xie.

She had heard that after entering the Celestial Phenomenon Realm, a stage within the First Grade, one could hope to achieve the profound and mystical 'Heaven-Man Inducement' (or 'Cosmic Connection'). Xie Xie, being privy to inside knowledge, had deep insights into the four realms of the First Grade. The Celestial Phenomenon Realm was a threshold; the disparity between Celestial Phenomenon and Finger Profound realms was second only to the gap between the First and Second Grades. True Taoist masters of the First Grade were in the Finger Profound Realm. Many talented aura-readers, such as Mei Yingyi of the Guanyin Sect, could also comprehend Finger-Sword, a Finger Profound divine ability. Moreover, many warriors in the First Grade Vajra Realm often possessed one or two Finger Profound secret arts as trump cards. Compared to Finger Profound, the Celestial Phenomenon Realm was truly far rarer. While a few could advance further after reaching Finger Profound, entering the Celestial Phenomenon Realm meant achieving the realm of a Land Immortal was a straightforward matter.

Xie Feiyu's fingers in his sleeve continued their rapid calculations as he softly said, "If, before the Celestial Phenomenon Realm, a martial artist's internal qi was merely like water in a well or a pond, varying in depth but ultimately stagnant water—once a life-or-death battle occurred, a portion of water was lost for every portion expended. Then, once one enters the Celestial Phenomenon Realm, it's like Chun Shen Lake, connected to great rivers, a living water source. However, if heavy rain falls and the rivers flood, the lake water naturally cannot escape involvement. The Celestial Phenomenon Realm, therefore, has both advantages and disadvantages. After resonating with heaven and earth, it's like having submitted a household registration and travel permit to the heavens. The saints of the three doctrines dare not wantonly commit acts of killing because adherence to 'rules' is paramount among their followers. As the saying goes, 'Heaven's principles are clear, and one dares not overstep the thunder pond' – this is the very reason."

Chen Zhibao asked, "Has Northern Mang made a move?"

Xie Feiyu nodded, "Indeed, the commotion is quite significant."

A long silence followed, punctuated by the occasional brief and enigmatic remarks from the middle-aged scholar.

Xie Xie successively heard mentions of "Sword Qi Proximity," "Exiled Immortal," "Seven Thunders, Eight Thunders Transformation," "Qi Xuanzhen," "Dragon-Tiger Purple Golden Lotus," and "Slumbering Vat," among others.

During this time, Xie Xie noticed Chen Zhibao's gaze shift from west to east, as if he were watching a meteor streak across the sky.

But when she followed his gaze, she saw nothing.

As dusk deepened, Xie Feiyu could not hide his weariness, but he quickly regained his vitality, extending his left hand to flick his five fingers, and declared with finality, "Great events are to be expected."

Xie Feiyu looked up at the sky, spreading his arms, and murmured, "Between heaven and earth, there are layers of sieves, easy to ascend, difficult to descend. Exiled Immortals are both fish that have slipped through from above and bait deliberately cast down by the celestial beings."

"My Xie family advances by retreating; I, Xie Feiyu, retreat again and again."

"Chen Zhibao, I helped you absorb the Buddhist fortune of the Longshu monk to compensate for your losses from leaving Beiliang. Before that, I assisted Zhao Huangchao in nurturing a dragon at Dilung Mountain, allowing you to enter the capital as Minister of War, in exchange for the Taoist fortune he had accumulated.

Once Cao Changqing dies, you will be able to fuse the three doctrines within yourself..."

Xie Xie's face turned pale; she lowered her head, not daring to breathe.

Chen Zhibao remained expressionless.

Xie Feiyu retracted his hand into his sleeve and self-mockingly said, "A sage once said, 'Heaven and Earth are eternal and everlasting because they do not exist for themselves, and therefore can be everlasting.'"

Chen Zhibao frowned.

"Who says Western Shu has flood dragons but no true dragons?"

Xie Feiyu turned to face the cliff wall, known as Lock Dragon, and with a flick of his sleeve, a white bowl appeared before him.

Inside the bowl, small flood dragons swam like fish.

The flood dragons leaped out of the bowl, like flying fish.

They swam towards the mountain wall and disappeared into it.

Xie Feiyu burst into laughter. "Qi Xuanzhen has broken the Slumbering Vat; the war between dragons and pythons is imminent. After tonight, the hidden dragons of the Southern Border will still struggle to gain prominence, but Western Shu will have a true dragon!"