Start practicing from Mr. Fox

Chapter 193 A Northern Aura

The Dragon King burst into laughter upon hearing the sound.

"Fellow Daoist, it seems you'll need to offer quite a bit of explanation."

Chen Ji glanced at him and saw that he seemed to care nothing at all. Just as he was about to say something, he suddenly realized what he had done.

Dragons and snakes are inherently promiscuous, and they marry men...

If we consider the state of mind of the elegant and refined scholars of the Wei and Jin dynasties who took Wushi Powder, it is indeed possible.

No wonder he said he needed to explain things properly.

He couldn't help but shake his head and look at the dozen or so women approaching.

Although none of them could be described as exceptionally beautiful, they were still different from the women commonly seen in the world.

She possessed an ethereal quality that surpassed that of the women in the village.

"The Water Palace is indeed a nurturing place for people."

Chen Ji thought slowly, but had already cupped his hands in a gesture of respect.

“I am not the Dragon King’s new bride, but I have come here specifically for you all.”

"For us?"

The women exchanged puzzled glances.

Chen Ji then explained the practices of temple priests and matchmakers.

"How could this be?"

The women exchanged glances, all utterly shocked.

“We wrote letters home and even received replies.”

How could they not know?

"Could someone have secretly kept the letter?"

Judging from everyone's expressions, Chen Ji had already guessed the outcome.

Needless to say, this must have been done by the temple keeper and the matchmaker.

Chen Ji just couldn't understand it.

Since they knew these women were still alive and that the river god would take new women down to earth every year, how could they be so bold as to conceal the information?
"This is my fault."

After Chen Ji asked the question, Jiu Qu shook her head apologetically.

"I didn't let them explain these things in the letter, so as not to leak the plan. I only let them say that they were all fine."

"It seems that the temple keeper and the matchmaker, knowing the truth, were worried that the matter would be exposed, so they concealed the contents of the letter and forged a reply themselves, which is why this happened."

"No wonder the letter I received didn't mention anything about my family, it only told us to serve the River God well."

"Me too."

"I used to think I was the only one like this..."

Before the women could finish speaking, Chen Ji already knew the key point.

It seems we should go back and ask those two for clarification.

But looking at the women, he slowly spoke.

"I came here today to check on your condition. Since you are all well, please be patient. Once we understand what is going on here, we should be able to go back."

The women had wanted to ask about this matter, and when they heard that Chen Ji had already brought it up, they nodded slightly.

"Thank you very much, Daoist Master. Everything is going well for us in the Water Palace. Since we cannot bring a letter home, we would like to trouble you to send some things to our family."

"Ok?"

Chen Ji looked at them.

Then the woman who was speaking looked at Jiuqu and took out a pearl the size of a pigeon egg from her body.

"My Lord, may I take the pearls you gave me earlier home to supplement our household income?"

"Naturally, this thing is everywhere in the Water Palace, so I have no use for it."

Jiuqu glanced at it, completely unconcerned.

Chen Ji shook his head.

"Let's forget about this item. It's too valuable and might attract unwanted attention. If we were to give it as a gift, silver or copper coins would be enough."

"They don't have any on them."

The women exchanged glances and shook their heads.

Chen Ji could understand.

Based on the temple keeper and the matchmaker's words, the villagers only thought they were sending their daughter to her death, and they certainly didn't think about bringing any money with her.

Besides, money is useless in the water, so naturally no one would prepare it.

Several women from wealthier families took out small silver ingots from their pockets, pooled them together, and handed them to Chen Ji, totaling about ten taels.

"This is all we have. Please take it back and distribute it to the families of these sisters."

"This amount of silver?"

Chen Ji took it and tossed it a few times in his hand. Just as he was about to ask a question, he saw that the girls blushed and even lowered their heads, not daring to look at him anymore.

Then it dawned on me.

This was the money they received when they married into the Water Mansion.

It serves the same purpose as the travel permit the old man mentioned earlier.

According to folk custom, the deceased should not enter the underworld empty-handed; they should be given some silver as a bribe to the underworld officials.

It was only after Chen Ji took up his post as a ghost messenger that he realized this was just a popular, albeit unrealistic, idea.

Even if the underworld officials take silver, they have nowhere to use it; even a hundred or so taels of silver are not as valuable as a stick of incense.

Of course, this is not the point.

Since this silver was meant as a mouth-pressing fee, it was meant to be kept in the mouths of these women.

Chen Ji had just been handling the silver in his hand, which they found rather frivolous. So they quickly put it into their purses.

"Don't worry, everyone, I will deliver them to your homes."

"Thank you, Taoist Master."

The women breathed a sigh of relief and quickly thanked them.

"Alright, it was the Daoist Master who was worried and called you over to confirm. I still have some things to discuss with you, so you can go back now."

The women knew that what followed was not for them to hear, so they took their leave.

Chen Ji waited until they had all left before looking at Jiu Qu.

"Does the Dragon God have anything else to say?"

"Fellow Daoist just said that they believe I have obtained the method for achieving immortality."

"Yes."

Jiuqu closed his eyes and pondered for a moment.

"Fellow Daoist said earlier that the two of you have now become human demons. Now that you mention this again, I think of the reason."

"Oh?"

Chen Ji looked towards Jiuqu with a solemn expression.

"They want to use me to find a way to achieve immortality."

"Why do you say that?"

After a few breaths of silence, Jiuqu slowly spoke.

“When I performed miracles and brought rain to the world, they were the first to believe me. I mentioned to them that I have the blood of a true dragon.”

"True dragon bloodline?"

Chen Ji pursed his lips.

He had heard the mudfish demon talk about the special nature of the true dragon's bloodline, but he didn't know that there was also the possibility of immortality.

"It's not true immortality."

Jiuqu smiled.

"True dragons are long-lived creatures, with lifespans comparable to mountains and seas, and their bloodline also contains a trace of the Dao's essence."

"Fish and snakes can enhance their cultivation and bloodline abilities by obtaining the bloodline of a true dragon, but if a cultivator obtains the bloodline of a true dragon, they may be able to extract a portion of the true dragon's lifespan."

Chen Ji was taken aback by what he heard, but he was puzzled.

"If one possesses the bloodline of a true dragon, the lifespan it contains will naturally be considerable. But you only possess the bloodline of a true dragon; how can you attain immortality?"

"I wonder what other secret techniques the Ghost King might have."

Jiuqu shook his head.

"The bloodline of the true dragon in my body is still quite strong. If an ordinary person were to obtain it, it should add a thousand years to their lifespan."

"Since he was able to say such a thing, he must have some methods. If you can find out anything, please help me find out."

"nature."

Chen Ji nodded in agreement.

Jiuqu bowed and thanked him again.

"Fellow Daoist is so chivalrous, no wonder the Dragon Lord Jiming trusts you so much and even left behind the aura of Beidu to help you."

"No wonder."

Chen Ji suddenly understood.

He had previously wondered why Jiuqu noticed something was wrong when it was the first time they met.

Looking back now, I must have sensed the aura of Beidu within myself.

only……

"Is there any other use for this aura?"

Chen Ji asked.

"Also."

The road winds and nods.

"It is said that the River God of the Northern River can sense this aura, and if someone with this aura is in danger, the River God of the Northern River can send down his divine power to help them."

Chen Ji's eyes lit up.

The Nine Bends refers not to the Ji Ming, but to the river god of the Northern River, which is quite different.

Even if the Northern River God is weak, he is still one of the Four River Gods, and his power in the human world is comparable to that of the Five Sacred Mountains Emperors, or even stronger.

After all, the imperial court has not offered sacrifices to the Eastern Peak for several years, but the people along the river have never stopped worshipping the river god.

All these offerings will eventually converge in the Four Rivers.

If this continues, the strength of the Four Rivers Dragon Gods will indeed not be underestimated.

No wonder Ji Minglongjun didn't tell him about this.

Those who practice spiritual cultivation should avoid acting arrogantly.

Even if one has never shown this personality trait, if one knew that such a divine being was protecting them, they would probably still have some different thoughts.

"Fellow Daoist, there's no need... cough cough cough..."

Just as Jiuqu was about to say something, she suddenly coughed uncontrollably, as if she had choked on water.

After a while, he came to his senses and quickly shut his mouth, not daring to say anything.

He respectfully looked towards the northeast and bowed.

"With the Old Dragon Lord above, Jiuqu dares not say any more, so I will leave it at that."

Chen Ji looked at him in confusion and asked him what was going on.

(End of this chapter)