From a carp to a dragon god

North Peak of Niaolu Mountain.

The white fox Liu Jinu led the way to a grotto on the mountaintop. From the traces of smoke and fire, it was clear that sacrifices were performed there regularly.

This grotto is the ancestral hall of the Liu family of Bird Mountain. Many yellow weasels are carved on the two stone walls.

The fox clan in the Central Plains was powerful, and animals like sable, tapir, and weasel all attached themselves to the fox clan. They were called "li" to distinguish them. For example, the weasel was originally a yellow weasel, but now it is called yellow li.

As soon as Yu Shuyang entered the stone cave, he felt a faint dragon aura. This was the spiritual energy emanating from the earth's dragon veins, which was quite different from the dragon aura of the dragon god and the dragon clan.

At the innermost part of the grotto, there is a nine-foot-tall dragon-fox statue, also known as the Bihu. This fox statue is not much different from the common fox, except that it has a pair of dragon horns on its head and a pair of dragon whiskers hanging from its mouth.

Liu Jinu bowed before the statue, lit incense sticks from the table and offered a few prayers before inserting them into the stone incense burner.

As the smoke curled upwards, a circular beam of light appeared in mid-air, signifying the opening of the passage to the blessed land.

"Daoist Master, this is the Dragon-Raising Cave of our Bird Mountain Liu Clan. Please come inside with me."

Liu Jinu pointed to the round light and explained.

Yu Shuyang was surprised to find that the Liu family of Bird Mountain actually had a blessed land. Then he understood and thought that the Baiyi people had a habit of adopting foxes, so it must have been opened up by foxes.

Liu Jinu, Yu Shuyang, and the Long Snake Boy entered the circular light one after another and arrived at the Dragon-Raising Cave.

Then they saw that the cave was a vast expanse, all flat spiritual fields planted with spiritual rice, lush and verdant as far as the eye could see.

"Daoist Master, this is our Liu clan's public land. Unfortunately, the spirit rice won't be harvested until August. Now, the plague is raging, and Fengtian City and the Chamber of Commerce have joined forces to drive up grain prices, causing our clansmen outside the mountains to go hungry!"

Liu Jinu couldn't help but complain. He was genuinely resentful, especially after following Wu De to help the starving people, which filled him with anger towards Zhao Shihou and the Menzhou Chamber of Commerce.

The three demons walked and stopped frequently, mainly Liu Jinu greeting the Baiyi people working in the spiritual fields. Before they even left the spiritual fields, they were greeted by the Liu clan chief.

The clan chief of the Liu clan was named Liu Xianzong. He wore a deer antler hat and soft armor made of deer hide, giving him a rather valiant air.

"Ji Nu, why are you back? Are you short of herbs again?"

Liu Xianzong glanced at Yu Shuyang and the Long Snake Boy a few times. He had already received the news, which was why he came over to ask Liu Jinu how to bring outsiders in.

However, thinking of the plague and Wood, Liu Xianzong quickly changed his question.

"Father, the plague in Wuyang Town has been brought under control. However, Zhao Shihou has stopped distributing relief grain because of this, and the people almost starved to death!"

At this point, Liu Jinu gritted his teeth, but then calmed himself down and introduced, "This Taoist priest comes from the East Sea, from that East Sea treasure ship."

The Taoist priest was donating grain to the villagers in Wuyang Town, and I invited him over. I was thinking, why not buy all the grain he has left over?

As Liu Jinu introduced the matter, Liu Xianzong's eyes lit up with envy. It's no wonder he was like that; the Liu family of Niaoshan had been tormented by Zhao Shihou and the Menzhou Chamber of Commerce over the years.

Wuyang Town was originally a means for the Menzhou Chamber of Commerce to remove the Baiyi people from Niaoshan. Through the business of the North Goods Market, they continuously absorbed strong laborers from Niaolushan.

This made Liu Xianzong anxious. The Baiyi people had been oppressed in Menzhou. Originally, there were five branches, but now only the Niaoshan and Yanshan branches remained.

However, the Menzhou Chamber of Commerce used an open scheme, and how could the Baiyi people in the mountains resist the temptation, especially the young people from tribes near Fengtian City? "Daoist Master! You must save us! Ever since the plague broke out, there has been no contact between the mountains and the outside world."

There were over a dozen villages like Wuyang Town that had run out of food. Fortunately, the plague was contained in Fengtian City; otherwise, their entire population would have been wiped out!

Liu Xianzong cried out to Yu Shuyang.

These days, as news keeps coming back from outside the mountains, he is torn between whether or not to slaughter the red deer on Bird Mountain to help the Baiyi people outside the mountains.

The plague caused widespread panic among the Liu clan, and tribes in the mountains began to migrate to Huanlong Cave. This left Liu Xianzong with no choice but to choose between his clan members, who were both on the mountain and at the foot of the mountain.

If the clansmen outside the mountains are left unattended, and a famine breaks out, the Liu clan of Bird Mountain will ultimately suffer the consequences.

Long before the plague outbreak, Liu Xianzong had sent a message to the Great Snow Mountain, and the Quanyi people of Huzhou contacted the Lingzhou Chamber of Commerce to transport grain over.

However, the grain was blocked by the two hereditary lords of Yanshan, and it was stuck in the hands of the Murong clan. No matter what, it could not be transported to Niaolu Mountain.

A few days ago, news came from Yongming City that a treasure ship from the East China Sea was heading towards Fengtian City, which excited Liu Xianzong for a long time.

Later, he learned that the goods on the treasure ship had been bought up by the Menzhou Chamber of Commerce, which infuriated Liu Xianzong.

Many of the clansmen on the mountain rose up and urged him to send troops to attack the North Goods Market, but Liu Xianzong dared not. He had already received news that the Bafu Heavenly Army had been stationed outside Menzhou Pass.

It can be said that no sooner had he sent troops to attack Wuyang Mountain than the Heavenly Army of the Overlord's Mansion entered the pass and slaughtered them. Moreover, Zhao Shihou of Fengtian City was also eyeing the city covetously.

Among the five powerful warlords of Menzhou, the most ruthless is the Zhao family warlord. Because he is a member of the former royal family, he has never given up the idea of ​​vying for the throne again.

Ever since the unrest broke out in the northern part of Lingzhou, Zhao Shihou has been eager to repeat the old path of the Murong clan and prepare to break through the pass and invade the Central Plains.

Just then, the plague broke out outside Fengtian City, which made Zhao Shihou feel as uncomfortable as if he had swallowed a fly.

At first, Fengtian City tried to control the spread of the plague by distributing relief grain to the Baiyi people in Wuyang Town, but the plague also broke out in Fengtian City.

In order to quell the bloodshed and prevent the spread of the plague, Zhao Shihou directly sealed off Fengtian City, completely cutting off the sale of grain.

All the prominent families in Menzhou watched coldly, and they could all see that the plague in Fengtian City was about to spread, and the Liu family of Niaoshan was going to suffer a great misfortune.

It can be said that the Baiyi people of Toriyama were in a dilemma. Whether they retreated to the mountains and let their people outside the mountains die of disease and starvation, or they sent troops to besiege Wuyang Mountain, the final result would not be good.

As the patriarch of the Toriyama Liu clan and the leader of the Toriyama Baiyi people, Liu Xianzong could not simply ignore the situation.

"Chief Liu, the matter of grain is easy to discuss. I came here from the East Sea to sell grain and armor. I just don't know what you can offer in exchange?" Yu Shuyang asked with a smile.

He was indeed planning to support a certain force, but he also had to consider whether the other party was worthwhile. The Liu family of Bird Mountain was different from the starving people of Wuyang City; he couldn't possibly give away food for free.

Liu Xianzong nodded upon hearing this and said, "Daoist, our Bird Mountain produces a lot of red agate and red jade, and we also have the spirit beast Red Deer, which can be used to exchange for grain."

Besides these, there are also wild ginseng and red pine wood, which are not unique to Menzhou. What do you think?

Yu Shuyang didn't care what he was exchanging; his main purpose was to test the strength of the Toriyama Liu family!
(End of this chapter)