Supreme Golden Palace

Chapter 158 Dragon Lord (Part 2)

As dusk approached, the sound of hooves echoed on the bluestone road in front of the Qinzhou official post station.

Before Lü Shang's entourage had even turned the corner, a line of people and horses had already lined up in front of the official post station to welcome him.

Leading the procession was a middle-aged man in a green official robe, who stood tall and waited for the arrival of the governor's entourage.

"They're here!" came the low exclamation of the courier beside me.

The middle-aged man, his expression solemn, immediately stepped forward half a step upon seeing the procession around the street corner and respectfully said, "This humble official, Wang Hong, the postmaster of Qinzhou Post Station, along with his staff, respectfully welcomes the County Lord!"

Lu Shang sat upright on the Purple Lightning Frost, his gaze sweeping over the innkeeper standing respectfully by the roadside, and said softly, "I will trouble you, innkeeper, tonight."

"I will depart at dawn tomorrow and will not disturb you any longer."

As he spoke, Lü Shang's robe sleeves fluttered in the night breeze, exuding the magnanimity of a superior.

Upon hearing this, Wang Hong bowed and said, "I have already had people clean the main room and warm pavilion, and prepared warm water and straw. Please come to the inn to rest, Your Excellency."

"Um,"

Lü Shang nodded, dismounted, and Fang Zi'an, Xiao Ji, and their men also dismounted.

Wang Hong, the postmaster, stepped aside and led the group through the corridor of the post station, where lanterns under the eaves were lit one by one.

At the end of the corridor, in the upper room of the warm pavilion, Lü Shang pushed open the door. Inside the warm pavilion, there was only a rosewood couch with a straw mat on it, and eight kinds of fresh fruit on the table.

Upon seeing the furnishings of the main room, Lü Shang glanced meaningfully at Wang Hong and said, "Wang Yicheng, you've gone to great lengths. You may leave now; I don't need any more servants here."

"Your Excellency, an ice pillow has been prepared in the east wing. If Your Excellency needs anything at night, just clap your hands three times and a maid will come in."

After Wang Hong finished speaking with his head bowed, he took three steps back, turned around, and walked out of the warm pavilion.

Lü Shang turned to Fang Zi'an and the others and said, "You should all go and rest too; we have to get up early tomorrow."

"promise,"

Fang Zian and the others immediately responded.

The rooms in the imperial guesthouse were divided into upper and lower rooms. Lü Shang's upper room was the warm pavilion. Fang An and his men were Lü Shang's subordinates, and the official guesthouse also arranged enough lower rooms for them to rest.

The wooden door closed gently, and Lü Shang untied the jade belt from his waist and hung it on the screen.

The candlelight on the table was lit. He leaned back on the couch, placed the "Guiding Exercises Chart" that he had obtained during the crossing of the Wei River that day on the table, and silently began to read it by the flickering candlelight.

"This Dragon King of the Wei River owes him a favor,"

After looking at it for a moment, Lü Shang smiled and shook his head.

This scroll of "Guiding Exercises" indeed originates from ancient times. Our ancestors used this technique of stretching like a bear and a bird to regulate their qi and nourish their body, guiding qi through movement and correcting their physical form.

Observing his methods and comprehending their variations provides some unique inspiration for the subsequent deduction of his "Taiyi Jinzhi".

"However, it's fortunate that this favor was from the Dragon King of the Wei River; if it had been from the Dragon King of the Jing River, it would have been truly troublesome,"

As dusk settled, after thoroughly studying the essence of the "Guiding Exercises" scroll, Lü Shang slowly put down the scroll in his hands, a clear light seemingly shining in his eyes.

"Although the Jing River and the Wei River are very close, the favors owed by people in the Jing River are not something that ordinary people can easily owe; one might even have to pay with their life to repay them."

The Jinghe Dragon Lord of the Jambudvipa world is no ordinary dragon god. He is the brother-in-law of the West Sea Dragon King and is also the Grand Dragon God in charge of rain, appointed by the Jade Emperor as the Chief Administrator of the Eight Rivers. Of course, given these identities, while Lü Shang was wary of him, he was not necessarily truly afraid of him.

What truly made Lü Shang wary was the role played by the Jinghe Dragon King during the Journey to the West.

It should be noted that the initial cause and effect of Xuanzang's journey to the West to obtain Buddhist scriptures began with this dragon god.

It was originally a bet between the Jinghe Dragon King and Yuan Shoucheng, a fortune teller from Chang'an, about the timing and amount of rain in Chang'an. In order to win against Yuan Shoucheng, the Jinghe Dragon King disregarded the regulations of the Jade Emperor's decree and privately altered the timing and amount of rain.

This violated the heavenly law and brought about his death; he was beheaded by Wei Zheng in a dream.

Because he died at the hands of Wei Zheng, the spirit of the Jinghe Dragon King haunted Li Erfeng after his death, even dragging Erfeng's spirit to the underworld for a confrontation.

It can be said that it was the death of the Jinghe Dragon King that prompted Xuanzang to go on his pilgrimage, and it was also because of his death that Li Erfeng's soul entered the underworld, and that Erfeng held a grand water and land ceremony after returning to life.

Xuanzang was chosen because of his profound knowledge of Buddhism to serve as the chief officiant at the Water and Land Ritual, presiding over the entire ceremony. It was this very event that led to his selection by Guanyin, who ordered him to travel to the Western Paradise to retrieve Buddhist scriptures.

Given such a cause and effect, how could Lü Shang dare to owe the Jinghe Dragon King a favor?

According to the underworld, the cause and effect in the Jambudvipa world is like a net, encompassing the past and the future. Even though the Jinghe Dragon Lord is a great dragon god, his fate was already recorded in the Book of Death of the Southern Dipper Star before he was born, destined to die at the hands of Cao Weizheng.

"The Wei River, the Jing River,"

Lu Shang suddenly realized that in another fifty years, the Dragon King of the Jing River would die at the hands of Wei Zheng, and at that time, the position of the chief administrator of the eight rivers of the Jing River might fall into the hands of the Dragon King of the Wei River. A thought struck him.

"The Wei River owes me this favor, and with the death of the Jing River Dragon King, the Wei River will become the only dominant river among the eight rivers. Unless I can shatter the void and achieve a level of cultivation comparable to a celestial being in fifty years."

"Otherwise, befriending the Dragon King of the Wei River would also be a long-term solution."

He sighed, lay down on the couch, and slowly closed his eyes.

Achieving the Great Dao that shatters the vacuum within fifty years is almost impossible.

Let alone the fact that he was just a pure-blooded Gonggong, even the original Gonggong himself wouldn't dare say he could shatter the vacuum in fifty years.

It should be noted that martial arts that shatter the void correspond to innate ancient gods, and are the Taiyi Heavenly Immortals above the Primordial Chaos Qi.

This is an existence that can stand at the pinnacle in both the world of Jambudvipa and the world of the Great Wilderness.

If it takes fifty years to attain the Dao of Immortality, Lü Shang might still have a chance to compete. But to become a Celestial Immortal in fifty years is no longer something that can be determined by one's innate talent and physical attributes.

The moment he closed his eyes, the entire upper room suddenly went dark.

"call!"

Lu Shang lay peacefully on the couch, his palms resting on the pear wood, his arms slightly supporting him, his back arching slowly like a bridge, while his shoulders and neck were relaxed and heavy like a bear crouching on a rock. His breath came out softly from his throat, like a wisp of silk brushing past the candlelight, making the candle wick on the table flicker.

With the dual blessing of pure Gonggong bloodline and the Seven Apertures Exquisite Heart, his aptitude and endowment have indeed reached a certain limit. He can directly understand the essence of the "Daoyin Tu" and integrate the bear-like and bird-like stretching techniques of the "Daoyin Tu" into his walking, standing, sitting and lying down.

This allows him to sleep in a posture that aligns with that of a bear or bird, constantly regulating his qi and nourishing his body, guiding his qi through movement, and correcting his form through posture.

He is improving every moment. With his current accumulation, if he so desires, he could even attain the status of a martial arts immortal in an instant.

Lu Shang simply wanted to spend more time in his near-immortal state, as he wanted to go further in the path of martial arts.

The path to shattering the vacuum is the ultimate martial art he can imagine, but he does not believe that this is the end of the martial arts path. Above shattering the vacuum, there should be a realm comparable to the Great Luo Heavenly Immortal above the Primordial Qi.

(End of this chapter)