If you don't give up, I'd like to be your adoptive father.

Chapter 1028 Returning to Pei County
Zhang Liang was the first and most agitated leader of the rebels, but not the only one.

Xiaoyu didn't stop; Han Guoxiaolong was just testing the waters.

With sincere wisdom, Xiaoyu taught Han Guoxiaolong the "Ox Lying on the Ying River" technique. Xiaoyu then finished her work in Yingchuan and continued eastward, returning to Dang County.

During the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, the Song state's base was located in Dang County.

At first, Xiaoyu thought to herself: Duke Xiang is an old friend of mine, and he has treated me with great respect. I have helped the unrelated state of Han to take care of the little dragon vein.

Now that we've entered Dang County, we must repay Duke Xiang by helping his descendants raise a great dragon.

Then go to Suiyang and tell Duke Xiang to show off and impress him so that he will be moved to tears and bow down in gratitude.

Uh, Grand Tutor Yu's tastes are just so shallow and vulgar.

But she roused herself, made preparations, and entered Dang County. She took good care of the land of Dang County, showing her "benevolent stepmother's heart," and finally gained the approval of the "soul of Dang County," touching the internal organs and soul of the land of Dang County.

Several hidden dragons were found, but none of them belonged to the old Song Dynasty.

"What's going on? Is there no one left in the old 'Song family'? Descendants of royal families from other countries are making a lot of noise and even 'mining' within the territory of the Song Kingdom."

Duke Xiang, you are a 'bozhang' (a high-ranking official), one of the Five Hegemons, don't embarrass yourself!

The old Song territory wasn't without dragon veins; there were five or six of them!
But all the dragon veins belong to other families.

It clearly belongs to the old Song Dynasty territory, yet it gave birth to someone else's dragon vein. This is just too disappointing.

For example, the Jing family (the Mi clan of the Chu royal family, Jing Ju), which Xiao Yu had always looked down upon, actually raised a dragon vein in Mangdang Mountain.

It's quite large, about twice as thick and several times as long as the Korean dragon.

If it weren't for the fact that the aura and location were all wrong, Xiaoyu would have thought that Liu Laosan's dragon vein had finally "turned from yin to yang"—moving from the bottom of the lake to Mangdang Mountain.

Well, Liu Laosan's dragon vein should be on the main peak of Mangdang, while Jingju's dragon vein is on the outskirts of Mangdang, near Mangxian.

"The Jing family's dragon vein is actually absorbing the earth energy of the Mangdang Mountains."

Judging solely from the dragon vein's trajectory, Jingju seems to have an edge over Liu Laosan.

A few months ago, Xiaoyu had also carefully examined the land veins of Mangdang Mountain, but couldn't find even a trace of a dragon vein.

Even though he had now gained the power of the Celestial Master, he first had to show his "benevolence as a stepmother" to the "Earth Soul" of Dang County before he was accepted and then discovered the dragon vein hidden "deep in the soul".

The reason Xiaoyu couldn't find Jingju's dragon vein in Mangdang last time wasn't because it didn't exist.

It has probably existed for several years, but the secrets of heaven are obscured, and the hidden dragon remains concealed, so outsiders cannot discover it.

Once exposed, Xiaoyu immediately discovered the relationship between the Jing family's dragon vein and the Mangdang earth vein: the "essence" (pure earth vein evil energy) in the Mangdang earth vein flowed into the Jing family's dragon vein, combined with the Jing family's vitality, and generated dragon energy belonging to the Jing family.

Ignoring everything else, just looking at the relationship between the Jing family's dragon vein and the Mangdang land vein, it seems that the Jing family is bleeding Liu Laosan dry.

"If this geological pattern doesn't change, even if Liu Laosan's dragon vein moves from the bottom of Zhaoyang Lake to Mangdang Mountain, it will be like doing a wedding dress for someone else, and he will end up being sucked dry by Jingju."

If this is true, Jingju truly has the bearing of an emperor!
Even Liu Laosan was about to have his dragon vein essence drained; which of the other hidden dragons could withstand that?

But that's clearly impossible. I've personally verified that Liu Laosan can cultivate the "Old Man's Joy" technique.

Xiaoyu had too many doubts in her mind and couldn't calm down enough to give the Dang County Dragon Vein a full "health massage". She then went to the neighboring Sishui County.

Sishui County truly lived up to its reputation as the "base camp of rebels" and "the rebellious bone of the Qin Dynasty."

Other counties, such as Sanchuan County and Dang County, although they are somewhat resistant to the "stepmother," at least allow her to put her hands under her down jacket.

The man from Sishui County, dressed in armor and wielding a weapon, glared angrily at Xiaoyu, his "stepmother's agent."

Not to mention allowing her to put her hand inside her clothes, the soul of the land of Sishui County directly rejected the Ying clan's ancestral dragon.

The aura of the ancestral dragon that Xiaoyu transformed into traversed the earth veins of Sishui County with difficulty.

The earth clearly resisted the "stepmother".

"It seems the changes in the celestial phenomena are indeed true. Today, a wave of anti-Qin sentiment is about to rise in the southeast of China."

Xiaoyu used the "Mingxin Hall" to spread the "benevolence of a stepmother," cultivating the land veins of Sishui County for half a day, but still reaped little harvest.

Sishui County never removed her armor, and forbade her to put her hands under her clothes to feel her pulse and examine her illness.

Although Xiaoyu was not discouraged, she changed her strategy: first leave Sishui County, gain the recognition of the "Soul of the Earth" around Sishui County, connect the "Power of the Earth Mother" into one, and surround Sishui County in the center.

For example, to the east of Sishui County is Dang County, which she has already conquered.

The soul of Dangjun has recognized Qinling Zulong's status as its "stepmother," and has fully accepted and trusted her.

This acceptance and trust signifies that she has grasped part of the "land power" in Dang County.

Therefore, they were able to discover the dragon veins hidden deep within the land of Dang County.

To the north of Sishui Commandery lies Xue Commandery, to the east Donghai Commandery, and to the south Jiujiang Commandery.
Using the same old method, the "stepmother's heart" was used to illuminate the four directions of the land through the Mingxin Hall.

After more than half a month, Xiaoyu finally conquered all seven or eight counties surrounding Sishui County.

She could clearly feel that the closer she got to the southeast, the greater the resistance of the will of heaven and earth to the First Emperor of Qin.

Fortunately, at this time, the Qin Dynasty was still the legitimate ruler of China.

Although there were many rebellious ministers and traitors, they all remained silent, did not launch any attacks, and none of them declared themselves kings.

As long as he did not declare himself king and establish another dynasty, these counties would still belong to the Great Qin, and the land veins should be attributed to the "stepmother" who recognized the aura of the First Emperor of Qin.

As long as the stepmother retains her title, the mother retains her "custody rights" over the child.

The authority hasn't expired yet, and no matter how much is left, Xiaoyu can gradually take control of it.

After Xiaoyu had roughly explored the area around Sishui County, the "power of the land" was connected.

Sishui County is also within this area.

The surrounding earth spirits all accepted "Ancestral Dragon Qi" as its stepmother, so it reluctantly took off its armor, put on a down jacket, and allowed its "stepmother" to put her hand inside the down jacket.

Xiaoyu then thoroughly sorted out and restored the land veins, water veins, and mountain ranges of Sishui County.

Finally, she touched the soul of Sishui County.

"There aren't many dragon veins!"

Besides Liu Laosan's Zhaoyang Lake dragon vein, Sishui County also hides a "big dragon," four small dragons, and several "dragon seeds"—not qualified to contend for the world, but with the opportunity to be enfeoffed as kings and established as regional kings.

The number wasn't small, but Xiaoyu had already seen the world in Dang County, Xue County, and Jiujiang.

Such a small dragon vein seems unworthy of Sishui County's status as "the main stronghold of rebels throughout the land".

However, having many dragon veins only means having many mountains.

With many factions and a lack of unity, it's difficult to achieve anything significant.

In terms of sheer effectiveness, the sheer size of Liu Laosan's dragon vein alone surpasses the combined total of all other dragon veins in the region.

"Hmm, something's not right about Liu Laosan's dragon vein."

Xiao Yu only cleared the earth veins of Dang County and did not have time to "protect" all the dragon veins before rushing to Sishui County. This was mainly because he was suspicious of the Jing family's dragon veins plundering the essence of the earth veins of Dang Mountain.

Now that we have finally figured out the geomantic veins of Sishui County, we must check the dragon vein of Zhaoyang Lake as soon as possible.

Last year, she only roughly determined the connection between the Liu family's dragon vein and Mangdang Mountain.

There was neither the opportunity nor the ability to conduct in-depth research.

Now she has directly transformed into a "stepmother's agent" and arrived at the edge of the Zhaoyang Lake dragon vein.

As soon as she got closer, she realized something was wrong.

First of all, the dragon vein at the bottom of Zhaoyang Lake is too condensed.

Other people's dragon veins are long dragons, stretching for tens or hundreds of miles.

The dragon vein of Zhaoyang Lake has shrunk into a small, narrow area.

Secondly, there was an ancient aura surrounding the Zhaoyang Lake dragon vein that filled her with awe. It was protecting and nourishing the dragon vein.

"Strange, this ancient and great power seems somewhat familiar."

Xiaoyu carefully sensed it for a long time, feeling that it was familiar, but she couldn't remember where she had seen it before.

She simply released herself from the "stepmother's agent (ancestral dragon aura)" state, transforming from a dragon-shaped aura back into a human.

Then, points of spiritual light flickered in various acupoints on Xiaoyu's body.

It is the true form of the landscape of Kyushu that has been integrated into her body.

Among them is the "True Form Map of Weishan Lake".

Although she was at Zhaoyang Lake at the time, Zhaoyang Lake is one of the "Four Southern Lakes".

Four large lakes are connected together.

With Weishan Lake as the main body, they form a whole.

The true shape of Weishan Lake includes Zhaoyang Lake.

A glimmer of light shifted from her chest to her brow, and Xiaoyu's pupils disappeared, transforming into a landscape of Weishan Lake.

"Splash!" The sound of waves rang out, and Xiaoyu disappeared again, replaced by a lake.

In conjunction with "The Wind and Water Refine the Spirit", Xiaoyu transformed into Weishan Lake itself.

She has "merged with the Dao" of Zhaoyang Lake, and the mysterious veil of the Zhaoyang Lake dragon vein has been lifted all at once.

"Damn it, it's actually the Nine Tripods of Yu the Great! They hid it so well, what a clever trick!"

In an instant, Xiaoyu found the source of the ancient and magnificent aura: another of the Nine Tripod Cauldrons of Yu the Great.

Immediately afterward, she thought of something: there were only eight large cauldrons in the Qinling Mountains, and the ninth cauldron sank in Pengcheng, Sishui, and has never been found.

"It turns out that it fell to the bottom of Zhaoyang Lake and was used by the Dragon King of Zhaoyang Lake to nourish the dragon vein for Liu Laosan. When the cauldron sank into the water, it was probably picked up by this old dragon."

Or perhaps the sinking of the cauldron wasn't an accident, but rather the work of the old dragon, a grand scheme?

Having understood the power that protects the dragon vein at the bottom of the lake, many of my previous questions were quickly answered.

"No wonder Liu Laosan's dragon vein originates from deep water. This is not a natural phenomenon; it must be the Great Yu Cauldron that contained the dragon vein and transported it here."

No wonder that despite the Jing family's plan to seize Mangdang Mountain by exploiting its dragon vein, it was Liu Laosan who ultimately became the true dragon.

Even with the best feng shui layout of the Jing family's dragon vein, the Great Yu Cauldron alone cannot plunder Liu Laosan's dragon energy. No, the Jing family's dragon vein is already plundering the essence of Mangdang's earth vein.

Once yin and yang are balanced, the Great Yu Cauldron, carrying Liu Laosan's dragon vein, will move from the bottom of the lake to the main peak of Mangdang Mountain. The feng shui will instantly reverse, and the Jing family's dragon energy will be plundered by the Great Yu Cauldron.

The moment Xiaoyu glimpsed the source of Liu Laosan's dragon vein, the Zhaoyang Lake Dragon Lord, coiled up at the bottom of the Crimson Dragon Palace, shivered.

"Oh no! The secret of heaven has been revealed! Who, who has discovered the secret of the 'Nine Cauldrons Raising Dragons'?"

The old dragon was greatly alarmed. It soared into the sky, bursting out of Zhaoyang Lake, its eyes wide open, its sharp gaze sweeping across hundreds of miles.

He actually saw a few suspicious people.

They didn't do anything wrong; they just possessed extraordinary skills but disguised themselves as ordinary people and loitered around Zhaoyang Lake.

There was also a young boy dressed as a fisherman, whose eyes were fixed intently on the divine dragon in the sky from dozens of miles away.

Old Dragon saw him, but he wasn't afraid; his face showed only curiosity and excitement.

"Damn it, that brat Xi Juan is catching spirit fish in my Zhaoyang Lake again!"

The Dragon King cursed under his breath and looked away.

He was searching for someone who could glimpse the secrets of heaven.

Xi Juan, a fisherman who lives by the lake, is an old acquaintance and is not a suspect.

"Alas, the Great Qin is now too weak to cause trouble, yet the heroes of the world are becoming restless. So many extraordinary individuals are searching for the dragon vein near my Zhaoyang Lake, preparing to sever it and plunder its fortune."

Although the Dragon Lord deeply resented the extraordinary individuals who kept their tracks hidden around him, he was not surprised.

Since the Mangdang Incident last year, the "108 Heroes of Pei County" have become celebrities across China, and have been followed by countless people.

Many more sorcerers have emerged in the vicinity of Pei County in search of dragon veins.

The Qin Dynasty was undoubtedly the greatest enemy of all rebels, but for the ambitious warlords vying for supremacy, the "bandit leaders" who joined them in rebelling against Qin were also threats and competitors. If given the opportunity to weaken them in advance, they would not hesitate or show any mercy.

The Dragon King of Zhaoyang Lake could not find Xiaoyu.

Xiao Yu, who had transformed into "Weishan Lake", noticed His intense reaction.

"This old dragon is no ordinary creature; not only does it possess the skill to nurture dragons within a cauldron, but its spiritual senses are also incredibly sharp."

Xiao Yu's heart was filled with excitement, and she had the idea of ​​becoming the godfather of the Dragon Lord.

However, she only hesitated for a moment.

This old dragon is too solitary.

She remained huddled alone at the bottom of the lake, never having a chance to approach.

Going over there now will only arouse his suspicion.

She secretly dredged the water veins of Weishan Lake and connected them with the nearby earth veins, then went to Liu Laosan's house in Zhongyangli, Fengyi.

It was late February, the perfect time for spring plowing.

Farmers, both men and women, young and old, can be seen working in the fields everywhere.

Xiaoyu glanced around briefly.

Looking around for dozens of miles, he even saw Liu Ji's second brother and father.

Liu Zhong was driving his large, glossy black ox, looking exhausted as he plowed the field.

Although he was tired, there was a deep sense of satisfaction and joy on his face and in his eyes.

No wonder he's such a skilled farmer.

Only with genuine passion can one achieve the best.

His wife and father, one hoeing the ground and the other planting beans, were both busy and covered in dust.

But at this time, Liu Laosan's house was full of distinguished guests, toasting and laughing, having a great time.

Liu Laosan did not separate from his father, but instead built a large house next door.

It wasn't luxurious; it was just a brick house built wall to wall.

It's 120-130 square meters, with a main hall in the middle and four bedrooms on either side.

The structure is very simple.

There was a large, open courtyard outside the house.

There are two large tables set up in the yard right now.

Twenty or thirty "heroes" sat together, eating meat and drinking wine in large bowls.

Liu Laosan was the center of attention, everyone called him "Big Brother" and toasted him.

He was drunk, his flushed cheeks beaming with joy and smugness.

His wife, Lü Zhi, wearing a somewhat dirty blue cloth jacket, was busy in and out of the kitchen with her belly protruding high, her face covered in oil, sweat and soot.

She has completely lost the elegant and refined demeanor of a noble young lady she had six months ago.

She looks just like a village woman who was born and raised in the countryside.

(End of this chapter)