Supreme Golden Palace

Chapter 157 Dragon Lord (Part 1)

Lu Shang still remembers that back then, in order to seek the Dao, he offered a large reward for any trace of immortals or divine miracles in the name of the Duke of Qi's mansion, but every time he went there full of enthusiasm only to return disappointed.

Until one day, his heart was awakened to the Dao, and he abandoned all worldly glory, wearing only a Daoist robe, and stepped into Zhongnan Mountain to seek the Dao.

He visited temples in the Zhongnan Mountains, seeking immortality and enlightenment. He lived like a wild man, eating the wind and drinking the dew, sleeping under the open sky, wandering for nearly a year. Finally, a deity, moved by his sincerity, gave him an opportunity to seek immortality.

Now that he has attained the path of immortality, he has achieved a near-immortal state and longevity is within reach. He no longer desires to seek immortality.

These immortals and saints seemed to know what he was thinking, and one after another they jumped out, truly a case of getting what one desires but not obtaining it, and gaining it without seeking it.

Just as Lü Shang was thinking about these things, strange phenomena began to occur on the Wei River. In the shimmering waves, thousands of golden scales spread out on the bottom, surging from the center of the river to both banks. The outlines of magnificent palaces and pavilions could be vaguely seen floating and sinking in the water curtain.

The Dragon King rode the primordial tortoise and slowly entered the water. As he approached the lowest water palace, the water rippled as if it were a glass mirror, revealing a crystal staircase inlaid with luminous pearls that led directly to the main gate of the Dragon Palace.

Inside the Dragon Palace, coral serves as pillars, and pearls as lamps. Countless silver-scaled fish hold pearls in their mouths to form chains, stringing together layers of water curtains, resembling the undulating Milky Way.

The Dragon King entered with a flick of his sleeve, and the water-repelling pearl on his jade crown reflected a few specks of rainbow light.

As the Dragon King entered the Dragon Palace, the chime bells in the underwater palace started to chime on their own without any wind, their deep tones slowly rising.

"Welcome back to the palace, Your Majesty!"

Upon seeing this, the fish maid and the clam maid knew that the Dragon Lord had returned to his residence, and immediately knelt down and bowed.

"Welcome back to the palace, Your Majesty!"

As the prime minister of the Dragon Palace, the Turtle Prime Minister followed suit, leading a group of eel warriors to greet them.

"Hahaha,"

The Dragon King of the Wei River laughed heartily, his wide sleeves billowing out water, reflecting off his jade-like face. His brow bones were slightly raised, his eyes shimmered with golden light, his nose was high and straight, his lips seemed to be stained with cinnabar, his temples were adorned with dragon whiskers, and diamond-shaped dragon scales were hidden beneath his jade crown on his forehead.

Surrounded by the Turtle Prime Minister and others, the Dragon King took his seat on the dragon throne. Shrimp soldiers and crab generals knelt in, carrying a jade plate filled with fine wine freshly brought from the East Sea. A few unmelted cloud crystals still clung to the bottom of the plate.

The Dragon Lord raised his hand and gently brushed the rim of the cup, and the cloud crystals in the cup suddenly turned into mist.

"Good wine!"

Then, he raised his cup, slowly took a sip, and let out a low dragon's roar.

"Your Majesty,"

The Turtle Prime Minister cautiously stepped forward and said, "You have returned today after bringing rain, and you are all smiles. I wonder what joyous occasion has made His Majesty so pleased?"

"Haha, Lord Turtle,"

Upon hearing the question from the Turtle Prime Minister, the Dragon King of the Wei River chuckled again, put down his cup, and said, "You don't know, but today I met a very good young man in the mortal world."

The Turtle Prime Minister frowned and asked in confusion, "A young man?"

The Dragon King of the Wei River nodded and said, "Just now, I returned from bringing rain and was about to go back to the palace when I heard someone below praising the magnificence of my Wei River, saying that my Wei River is covered with reeds and is a divine blessing!"

"I was pleased to hear such praise. I then thought I would like to see what kind of person he is. If he is worthy of being cultivated and catches my eye, I will not hesitate to reward him and give him a future."

"So I concealed my true form, disguised myself as a lone fisherman on a small boat, and met with the man below." The Turtle Prime Minister stroked his beard thoughtfully, then said, "It seems the man below is quite remarkable, having caught Your Majesty's eye."

"Brilliant, outstanding!"

The Dragon King of the Wei River clapped his hands and sighed, his dragon whiskers trembling slightly. He said, "He is more than just outstanding. That man has a heroic air between his brows, and he himself has the appearance of a phoenix and the grace of a jade tree. I have high hopes for him."

"I also admired his handsome appearance, so when we parted, I gave him a copy of the 'Guiding Exercises' as a memento."

The Dragon King of the Wei River had a very good first impression of Lü Shang, and he always felt an inexplicable sense of closeness to Lü Shang.

Perhaps it was because of this close relationship that the Dragon King gifted Lü Shang a scroll of the "Guiding Exercises" after only meeting him once.

Upon hearing this, the Turtle Prime Minister looked surprised and said softly, "The King actually bestowed upon this child the art of guiding qi? This mortal is truly blessed!"

"That is truly a blessing,"

The Dragon King of the Wei River said indifferently, "I like this boy quite a bit. If it weren't for his special identity as a relative of the Northern Sui, with too much worldly karma on his shoulders, I would have liked to recruit him into my Wei River Dragon Clan."

"As you know, I have seven daughters. My eldest daughter married into Dongting, my second daughter married into Chaohu, my third daughter married into Hongze, my fourth daughter married into Poyang, my fifth daughter married into Taihu, my sixth daughter married into the South China Sea, and I only have one youngest daughter to accompany me. If I can find a good husband for her, that would be a joyous occasion."

The Prime Minister of the Turtle pondered for a moment, then shook his head and sighed, "It's a pity that a relative of the Emperor of the Mortal World is not a good match."

"Yes, the karma is too heavy, and he is not a good match. However, although he is not a good man, he is of good character and is a hundred times better than the boy from the Jinghe Old Dragon family."

As if he had thought of something, the Dragon King of Wei River snorted and said, "That old dragon of Jing River is really audacious. Knowing that I only have this one daughter, he still wants to ask my little slave to marry his good-for-nothing son."

"Even if he's just the chief administrator of the Eight Rivers, or even a righteous god of the Water Department, so what?"

It should be known that among all the rivers and lakes in the world, the Dragon King of the Wei River and the Dragon King of the Jing River have always been outwardly friendly but inwardly at odds. The Dragon King of the Wei River has seven daughters, while the Dragon King of the Jing River has nine sons, and the two often fight each other.

Unlike the daughter of the Dragon King of the Wei River who married into the Five Lakes, the nine sons of the Dragon King of the Jing River, except for the youngest son Tuolong, all became powerful and held important positions.

The eldest son, Xiao Huanglong, lived in the Huai River; the second son, Xiao Lilong, lived in the Ji River; the third son, Qingbeilong, occupied the Jiang River; the fourth son, Chi Ranlong, guarded the He River; the fifth son, Fu Laolong, was the bell-ringer for Buddha; the sixth son, Wen Shoulong, guarded the ridge of the Divine Palace; the seventh son, Jing Zhonglong, guarded the Huabiao pillar for the Jade Emperor; and the eighth son was stationed at Taiyue in the East Sea.

It was because of these eight dragon sons that the Jinghe Dragon Clan's prestige surpassed that of the Five Lakes and Eight Rivers, and rivaled that of the Four Seas Dragon Clan.

Just as the Dragon King of the Wei River was speaking with the Turtle Prime Minister, on the north bank of the Wei River, Lü Shang had already ordered his military advisor Fang Zi'an to lead his troops to throw the sacrificial offerings of three kinds of animals into the Wei River.

At the very moment the sacrificial offerings were placed into the Wei River, Lü Shang watched as wisps of blue smoke rose straight up. When the offerings had completely sunk into the center of the river, the surface of the water rippled with tiny golden fragments.

"My lord, what about these offerings?"

Fang An lowered his voice, his eyes fixed on the rippling water.

Lu Shang smiled slightly and waved his hand, saying, "It's never a bad thing to be polite."

He paused, remembering the scroll of "Guiding Exercises" in his sleeve, and unconsciously stroked the place where the scroll was hidden.

"We should at least give a return gift,"

After the ripples on the water had completely subsided, Lü Shang stood by the Wei River for a while longer before turning around, mounting his horse, and heading straight for the post station with his entourage.

(End of this chapter)