From a carp to a dragon god

Under the persuasion of Li Zhen and Huang Wenxun, Yu Shuyang did not go directly to the Nanjiang Water Mansion, mainly due to two concerns.

One possibility is that what the Fragrant Rat said may not be true. Just like the tricks he played, he first showed goodwill in Yongming City, and then when he arrived at the Fragrant Tree Blessed Land, he did all sorts of things to try to control and manipulate Li Zhen.

Another issue is that the intentions of the Fragrance Sect and the Dragon Palace Water Mansion are unclear, so it's not advisable to act rashly. If it turns out to be a trap to lure the enemy in, Yu Shuyang might not be able to handle it.

Take the Fragrance Sect for example. During the last great calamity, the Eastern Demonic Sect's lair was completely destroyed by the Fragrance Sect.

Back when it was the Huaihe River Water Market, the Five Associations and Eight Trades were so frightened by the news from the Fragrance Sect that remnants of the Eastern Demonic Sect had infiltrated the market that they had to close the market for a year.

After much deliberation, Yu Shuyang decided to go to Fengtian City to inquire further and take a look at the "Standing Earth Tai Sui".

The treasure ship rose from the river and sailed on the cloud road again, carrying Yu Shuyang and the others. The steward Rat Seven, sent by the Fragrant Rat, also came along.

After flying along the cloud road for a day, we soon arrived outside Fengtian City. It was clear that Fengtian City was a large city with three layers, and the outer city alone had nine gates.

Fengtian City is located in the southwest of Menzhou, at the intersection of Menzhou, Huzhou and Zhongzhou, and is also close to the inland sea port, making it a key trading location.

Back then, the Baiyi and Quanyi fled with the Ruihu tribe, traveling north across mountains and seas, eventually arriving at a corner of southwestern Menzhou.

The auspicious fox spirit gathered soil and burned incense to perform a sacrifice, and at the opportune moment, the earth was broken and the wall was built, which led to the present-day Fengtian City.

However, because the Baiyi and Quanyi people had placed their ancestral graves here, no moat was dug outside the city, which prevented the treasure ships from entering the city by the current.

Shu Qi had already told Li Zhen that there was a Wuyang Mountain in the north of Fengtian City, which was a well-known northern goods market.

This northern cargo yard was set up by the Menzhou Chamber of Commerce. The treasure ships could land directly at Wuyang Mountain without having to go into the city to unload the cargo.

Ever since arriving in the vicinity of Fengtian City, the divine pupil on Yu Shuyang's forehead has been throbbing incessantly, as if it had suddenly gained some insight.

This is a response generated by the incense altar of the Tai Sui Dragon God. At the same time, it is also because the Tai Sui of the Earth confused the names of the gods, which was sensed by the deities in charge of the registers.

Yu Shuyang focused his mind and calmed his spirit, gently holding the Dongyuan Xuantian Flag in his hand. He waved the Qian Gang Dao Restriction and released a dark light to protect himself, thus feeling the power of incense and prayers.

Right now, he needs to hide to avoid being discovered by the Fragrance Scent Cult.

The treasure ship landed slowly, and Rat Seven was the first to jump from the deck to the ground, beckoning the workers and accountant in the cargo yard to come over.

Seeing the bustling scene on and off the treasure ship, Yu Shuyang decided not to get involved. He passed on a few words to Li Zhen and Huang Wenxun, and then jumped off the treasure ship himself.

He planned to investigate secretly. Previously, he had used the power of incense and prayers to sense the presence of the local deity and to activate the Five Ominous Deities Whip to punish the deity at the place of worship. However, he found nothing except for the believers who were worshipping the deity.

To be honest, if the Scent-Eating Rat hadn't said it was the Scent-Smelling Cult, Yu Shuyang wouldn't have thought of it that way, since the Scent-Smelling Cult's roots were in Zhongzhou.

Following the power of incense and prayer, Yu Shuyang discovered that there was a place for worshipping the local deity in the North Goods Market.

Using his magical winds to vanish into thin air, Yu Shuyang, like a wisp of black smoke, suddenly disappeared into the void amidst the dark light transformed from the Qian Gang Dao Restriction.

Before long, they arrived at an arms shop. The sign above the door read "Golden Knife," and there were four furnaces in front of the shop, with shop assistants hammering away at the iron.

Yu Shuyang glanced at them and could tell that they were all just for show, forged from basic materials like iron ingots and iron bars.

Before he could even enter, a shop assistant from the weapons shop came over and greeted him with a smile, "Greetings, sir. Why don't you come in and have a look around the shop?"

Yu Shuyang was dressed in a set of fairy robes, dressed as a Taoist priest, and held a command flag in his hand, which made the shop assistants at the weapons shop respect him.

"Young man, is this a weapons shop? What's special about it?"

Yu Shuyang followed slowly into the store and casually asked.

"Judging from your accent, you're not from Menzhou, are you? I suppose you're unaware of the reputation of the Golden Knife Hall."

Our Golden Knife Hall originates from the Murong clan. This branch is a separate entity from the city. We have several master craftsmen at the counter, all skilled in forging golden knives.”

The waiter gave a rather proud introduction, and seeing Yu Shuyang's puzzled expression, he also mentioned the Golden Knife Hall and the Murong Clan.

The Murong clan is an old surname of the Baiyi people. Most of them lived in the Yanshan Mountains and made a living by forging knives and carving stone statues. They were very famous in Menzhou.

Jin Dao Tang is both a hall name and a business name, specializing in the forging of golden knives, and its reputation is widespread in Menzhou and Huzhou.

Yu Shuyang was extremely curious after hearing this. He had learned before that the Central Plains human race had not developed human weapons. Even if they had eighteen kinds of weapons, they were all refined according to the methods of magic weapons.

“Young man, you’ve said so much already, why don’t you bring me a golden knife? As the saying goes, seeing is believing,” Yu Shuyang said with a smile.

The waiter was both surprised and delighted upon hearing this. He had noticed Yu Shuyang's extraordinary nature from the moment he entered the shop. Throughout the journey, whether he was talking about the Murong Clan of Yanshan or the Golden Knife Hall, Yu Shuyang had been listening attentively.

This kind of elegant and noble demeanor is definitely not that of an ordinary person. Looking at his clothes and handsome appearance, he must be a young master from a prominent family.

Unable to fathom Yu Shuyang's abilities, the waiter could only offer a flattering remark: "Sir, you may not know this, but our golden knife requires blood and fire to forge."

"The golden swords in the shop are all custom-made, so it's not convenient for you to see them. However, the shop has silhouettes of swords, all treasured swords kept by the Murong family. Would you like me to get them for you to look at?"

Golden Knife Hall does custom business, and most of the customers are swordsmiths who either forge or recast golden knives. There are very few clueless greenhorns who don't know anything about it.

When you're in business, you naturally need to use tricks. The knife silhouette is one such tactic. This item is a magical imprint of the shapes of all the top-grade golden knives forged by the Murong clan. It was originally intended for the knife makers to see.

If they encounter a new customer like Yu Shuyang, the waiter will occasionally borrow him so that the customer can have a sense of connection.

"Thank you for your trouble, young man!"

Yu Shuyang had no objection. He established the Sword Forging City in the East China Sea, intending to teach his disciples the art of crafting divine weapons, and use it to forge weapons for humanity.

Unexpectedly, he encountered "blood forging" here. He wondered what method was used to forge the blade. He would not underestimate the Central Plains people, after all, the nine holy lands here originated from the inheritance of the Great Heaven of Humanity.

Not long after, the shop assistant brought out a three-foot-long, half-foot-thick tin book, which looked as big as a door panel when he held it in his arms.

The shopkeeper was followed by a white-haired and bearded manager. The two entered one after the other. Compared to the shopkeeper, the manager was more perceptive and had already noticed something from Yu Shuyang's Taoist robe.

Among the nine holy lands of humanity, Taoism is one of them. The disciples of Taoism all wear Taoist robes and carry magical implements such as whisks. Some of them also carry command flags.

"Greetings, Taoist priest. May I ask whether you wish to refine a cleansing blade or a demonic blade?" The shopkeeper bowed deeply and asked politely.

"Shopkeeper, I know absolutely nothing about our knife shop. I don't know what a 'clean knife' or a 'killing knife' is," Yu Shuyang asked with great interest.

"Our Golden Knife Hall forges knives using blood gold, bone silver, and flesh copper as materials, all of which are transformed from earthly treasures."

As you know, those earth treasures are all cultivated from the feng shui of the earth's caves. If they were to grow naturally, a piece of blood gold would take three to five hundred years to cultivate.

In order to increase the output of gold materials, some methods must be used.

Gold that grows naturally in the earth can be forged into a pure blade, while gold that is nurtured can be forged into a deadly blade.

To be honest, the Demon Blade is more powerful; however, it retains traces of demonic energy, so one must be careful when wielding it to avoid being affected by its aura.

As the shopkeeper spoke, he helped the shop assistant flip through the knife diagrams. At the same time, he found a Bloodthirsty Blade and pointed it out to Yu Shuyang, trying to make him understand the taboos of the Killing Blade.

As Yu Shuyang followed the silhouette of the sword, he sensed the change in the spiritual energy and understood the characteristics of the golden sword forging, which still relied on the same method of using rare and precious materials.

It can't be said that the Golden Knife Hall has no unique features; it actually managed to come up with a method that surpasses the blood sacrifice in the underground cave. Those so-called blood gold and bone silver are all produced by feeding human lives.

The Purifying Blade and the Killing Blade are essentially the same; the only difference is the amount of ghostly resentment remaining in the blade.

Yu Shuyang instantly lost interest. This kind of weapon was too insidious, especially for those with shallow cultivation who were too corrupted by ghostly resentment. When cultivating seventh-grade or sixth-grade spiritual techniques, they would inevitably face numerous obstacles from demonic thoughts.

The shopkeeper and the waiter clearly sensed that Yu Shuyang's attitude had turned cold, and fearing they might say the wrong thing, they immediately became more reserved.

After the shopkeeper had finished flipping through the entire book of knife illustrations, Yu Shuyang's expression still didn't look good, which frightened the shopkeeper.

"Master, which knife have you taken a fancy to? Our knife shop is not restricted in the shape of the weapons; we can forge knives, spears, swords, and halberds," the shopkeeper asked tentatively.

Yu Shuyang shook his head and said, "This weapon of yours consumes too much of my spiritual energy. Right now, I'm focused on cultivating, so it's not appropriate for me to use such a weapon directly."

He could naturally see through the shopkeeper and the waiter's little scheme, but he didn't intend to put on airs and scare them. After all, he wasn't a custom-made golden knife manufacturer.

The shopkeeper understood and didn't say anything more. He understood the implied meaning in Yu Shuyang's words but didn't want to directly point it out.

"In that case, our shop also has precious swords forged from precious gold. If you're interested, you can take a look at them in the inner treasury," the shopkeeper recommended.

Precious gold is pure earth-grade gold material. A precious sword made from it is not much different from an ordinary sword; the only difference is the material.

The business that Golden Knife Hall dislikes the most is selling magical artifacts directly, because the profit margin is too low.

Yu Shuyang waved his hand and said, "Shopkeeper, there is something I want to ask you. I wonder if you have heard of Lidi Tai Sui?"

The shopkeeper and his assistant were startled and quickly looked around. Only when they saw that they hadn't attracted anyone's attention did they feel relieved.

The shopkeeper hurriedly pulled Yu Shuyang aside and whispered, "Daoist, it seems you've only been in Menzhou for a short time and don't know some of our affairs."

That "Standing Earthly Deity" was created by a group of prostitutes from a brothel. Originally, it was said to be able to ward off disasters and misfortunes, causing quite a stir in Fengtian City.

The dragon in the river was alarmed. Fengtian City was no ordinary place; it was the ancestral tomb. The general of Fengtian City intervened and drove the cold dragon away.

For some unknown reason, those who worshipped Tai Sui a few days ago all contracted the plague, which greatly displeased the general.

Not long ago, we invited the fox spirit from the Great Snow Mountain to come and thoroughly investigate to find out who was behind this.

"Master, please heed my advice. It's best to avoid contact with anything related to Tai Sui (the Grand Duke Jupiter) right now, lest you absorb its harmful energy."

Upon hearing this, Yu Shuyang was quite shocked. He had used the Five Ominous Tai Sui Whip to expel some of the illness energy, which was considered a punishment for the believers of the opposing Tai Sui.

He never considered the plague. The pathogenic energy he released was more like a cold-related illness or poison, and it had nothing to do with the plague.

"Shopkeeper, is your information accurate? How does it relate to prostitutes? According to the rules, brothels and flower lanes should worship the lustful god, the brothel bird. Aren't you afraid of breaking the rules?"

Yu Shuyang pretended to be joking, wanting to get the shopkeeper to say more. Since he was drawn here by the power of incense and prayers, this place must be related to the local deity.

"What the Taoist priest said makes sense! It might just be those prostitutes who caused this trouble!"
The poor starving people in Fengtian City, who used to be able to beg for food, can now only rely on fate to see if they will die from the plague or starve to death.

"Alas! The backyard is already overflowing with corpses that have been moved out of the city these past few days, all waiting to be burned in the furnace!" the shopkeeper sighed.

In order to prevent the spread of the plague in Fengtian City, all the corpses had to be burned as soon as possible. So, they approached the Golden Knife Hall to help burn the corpses.

It's not that the city is deliberately causing trouble; those who died from the plague may very well become disease ghosts and cause trouble after death.

To suppress the emergence of disease demons, one must rely on swords, furnaces, and fire to burn away the plague from corpses and the resentment from the dead.

Yu Shuyang nodded. He finally understood why incense and prayers had gathered here; it turned out that the deceased believers were all here.

"Shopkeeper, could you please take a look at the corpse? I have some skills in treating illnesses. How could a mere plague cause such a commotion?"

The sect leader was quite helpless upon hearing this. At this point, how could he not understand that the person who came was not there to forge weapons, but was clearly after the corpses?

"Master, I cannot make this decision, nor can I make any promises to you."

"If you can cultivate the Plague Technique, you will surely become a guest of honor of the Great General. Why don't you go to Fengtian City yourself?" the shopkeeper said, declining the offer.

It's said that it's better to avoid trouble, and the shopkeeper thinks the same way. He's just trying his best to push Yu Shuyang away, letting him cause a scene at the weapons shop.

Yu Shuyang nodded upon hearing this, but he didn't say anything more. After all, he wasn't there to cause trouble. Moreover, the shopkeeper's words reminded him of something.

Cao Xiaoshan and Fan Liulang built the Tai Sui Dragon God Incense Altar, and it is very likely that they placed the altar in a brothel. Don't forget that when he was purifying and cultivating, there was also a madam and four former top courtesans of Qingqiu.

Thinking of this, Yu Shuyang felt that if he went to Xiangtan to investigate, he might be able to find out the truth.

(End of this chapter)