Start practicing from Mr. Fox

Chapter 194 Prophecy
The Nine-Bend Dragon God immediately looked at Chen Ji with a bitter expression.

"It was the Dragon Lord who scolded me for talking too much and revealing too many things, which is why he told me not to utter a word..."

Before the words were finished, a deep, aged voice rang out.

"Knowing you're being talkative, why don't you stop? Do you want to shout it all the way to Xidu?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Jiuqu's expression changed instantly, and he bowed respectfully to Chen Ji.

"Greetings, Old Dragon Lord!"

Only then did Chen Ji belatedly realize that a thick layer of water vapor had appeared behind him.

Looking back, a huge dragon head appeared on the open ground.

It was even more majestic than the true form of Ji Ming Long Jun, with its flowing hair and beard resembling a spreading fire, but all of it was shrouded in misty water.

A pair of dragon eyes scrutinized Chen Ji, their gazes as intense as molten gold.

Although there was no hostility, it still felt like a heavy burden had been placed on Chen Ji, making his breath catch and his movements stop. He subconsciously pointed his fingers like a sword.

Upon seeing this, the River God of Beidu smiled apologetically.

"It was my oversight; young friend, you are not yet worthy of my attention."

As soon as he finished speaking, the light in his eyes disappeared, and the pressure on Chen Ji suddenly eased, returning him to normal.

After speaking, the Northern Dragon God withdrew his gaze, a hint of a smile playing in his eyes.

"Young friend, your cultivation is indeed quite good."

"In just over a month, I have already accumulated so much karma with so many deities. My cultivation will surely be smooth sailing in the future. If there are no unforeseen circumstances, with diligent cultivation, I will definitely become an immortal in the future."

This surprised Chen Ji somewhat.

I have indeed seen quite a few gods.

Not to mention the Taoist Xuanshan who transmitted the Tao in a dream, the Confucian and Taoist sages who presented him with the copy of the Dharma and expressed their joy, and the judge of the Underworld who presented him with Moon Wine, even the Five Sacred Mountains Emperors had a relationship with him that involved burning incense.

But none of them claimed to have the appearance of an immortal.

"Young friend, do you perhaps doubt your own qualifications?"

The River God of Beidu laughed and asked.

Chen Ji pursed his lips and slowly shook his head.

"It's not that I doubt it, it's just that the Dragon Lord is the first to say so."

"Oh?"

The Northern Dragon Lord was stunned for a moment, his beard and hair bristling, and then he burst into laughter.

"It seems they are not like me, saying whatever comes to mind, and are worried about the consequences."

Chen Ji did not understand the meaning of these words.

Do you know what the prophecy means?

The Northern Dragon Lord spoke slowly.

Chen Ji nodded, then shook his head.

He taught this word when he was teaching foxes.

The word "谶" means prophecy or omen, and the phrase "一言成谶" is used in this way.

However, the fact that the Northern Dragon Lord mentioned this word at this moment must have another meaning.

"good."

Beidu Longjun seemed to have seen through Chen Ji's thoughts.

"The words of mortals are merely prophecies, but if one's cultivation reaches a certain level, even a casual remark can determine the fate of an ordinary person. This is the true meaning of prophecy."

Chen Ji's brow twitched, realizing what the Northern River Dragon Lord meant.

Hearing that phrase "the appearance of an immortal" again now feels incredibly precious.

It was practically like giving himself the cultivation level of an immortal for nothing.

Bei Du Long Junlang shook his head with a smile.

"My prophecy is not enough to make you an immortal on the spot, but it leaves a karmic connection with you. If you have a 30% chance of becoming an immortal in the future, my words today may turn that into a 40% chance."

"One in ten chance?"

"It's just a rough estimate."

"This is what the Northern Dragon Lord explained."

"If someone doesn't have any affinity with immortality, it's normal for them to gain more affinity with immortality after meeting me. If they are aquatic spirits, they might gain more than just this after receiving my essence and blood to enhance their true dragon bloodline."

Chen Ji was taken aback, but then he understood what the Northern River Dragon Lord meant.

Countless people in the world seek immortality but fail, living and dying for even the faintest of chances, unable to rest in peace. But to the Dragon Lord of the Northern River, it is nothing more than a light, fleeting sentence—this is the prophecy of a superior.

Then, as if remembering something, he raised his eyebrows.

"Wouldn't that be equivalent to an imperial decree?"

"It is indeed difficult for an emperor to bestow the title of a new emperor, but if there are endless county magistrates, then wouldn't there be real people everywhere?"

Beidu Dragon Lord thought for a moment and nodded slightly.

"If we were to utter a prophecy, the weaker ones would indeed receive an imperial decree, but the kind you described is extremely rare."

"Why?"

"This is a double-edged sword."

"The Dragon Lord of the Northern River said slowly."

"If your cultivation level is high enough, the immortals bestowed by the prophecy will naturally be fine. But if your cultivation level drops, they will not be able to stabilize their cultivation level, and may even die."

"Even without this relationship, if their actions violate the laws of nature, the consequences will fall on your head. Their intentions are unpredictable, so they generally won't do such things."

"That Dragon Lord just promised me immortality..."

"I only said you have the appearance of an immortal, but I didn't say anything else. Don't overthink it, young friend."

Long Jun laughed heartily, and Chen Ji immediately understood what he meant.

In this way, one can have more affinity with the immortals and less karmic ties.

The Dragon Lord of the Northern River is indeed a remarkable person, no, a remarkable dragon!

Chen Ji stood up and bowed slightly.

"Thank you, Dragon Lord."

The Northern River Dragon God slowly shook its massive dragon head, seemingly satisfied with Chen Ji's thanks, before looking at the Nine-Bend Dragon God and shaking its head slightly.

"Nine Bends, you are a dragon, how can you be compared to that alligator dragon?"

"He can't even keep an eye on his subordinates. If it weren't for your arrival, young friend, who knows what kind of trouble he would have caused?"

"If you truly incur the wrath of Heaven and the curses of the people, even if you become a true dragon, your blood will still be splattered for miles around on the Dragon Slaughtering Platform..."

Chen Ji was stunned for a moment before he realized that this was probably what the dragons used to curse each other.

The alligator dragon, also known as the pig dragon, is notorious among dragon species for its ferocity, bloodthirstiness, and lack of intelligence. Calling a dragon an alligator dragon is indeed a very vulgar insult.

But Jiuqu dared not utter a single rebuttal, and only lowered its dragon head.

"Nine bends reveal one's mistakes."

The Northern Dragon Lord lowered his eyes and swept over them, then snorted coldly and withdrew his temper.

"Fortunately, you have protected this place. Heaven has seen it all. Although there was a mistake in not investigating, there is still the blessing of incense offerings. Once these people are dealt with and you return to Beidu, it will not affect your cultivation."

"go back?"

Jiuqu was taken aback, her face lit up with joy, but she subconsciously furrowed her brows.

"But the matter of Xidu is still unresolved, isn't it?"

"I must thank you for this, young friend. I am already confident."

"The Northern Dragon God spoke slowly."

"Does the Old Dragon Lord have a way to deal with the River God of the Western River?"

"Indeed, otherwise I would not have appeared here to meet you."

"Ok?"

Upon hearing this, Jiuqu looked at the illusory figure of the Dragon Lord and indeed discovered something unusual.

After carefully examining it, he opened his eyes wide and exclaimed in surprise.

"Why is it that the old Dragon Lord no longer possesses the aura of the Northern River, but instead has the aura of the Western River?"

"Huh? Old Dragon Lord, why did you betray Beidu?"

Chen Ji blinked.

He immediately sensed something amiss with these words, which sounded strikingly similar to the question of why His Majesty had rebelled. He instinctively stepped back a foot.

"boom!"

As soon as Chen Ji stood still, a water sphere exploded above Jiuqu's head. Jiuqu was a river god, and also a type of dragon, so originally no water could get close to him.

But there was no way to dodge this water ball, and it took the hit head-on.

Moreover, when the water balloon exploded and crashed down, his body went limp, and he staggered a few steps, letting out a wail.

"Awooo!"

Chen Ji couldn't help but glance at him sideways.

Water is naturally close to water, so even if a huge wave crashes down on it, let alone such a large ball of water, it will not be a problem.

This water sphere in front of us is so powerful that even a mudfish demon wouldn't be affected, so how could it make Jiuqu lose his footing?
Moreover, after careful observation, Chen Ji indeed did not detect the aura of Beidu within the phantom of the Dragon God; instead, it was integrated with Xidu.

It's truly amazing and incredible.

The mudfish demon once said that aquatic creatures live in the water all year round, and their bodies are covered with the unique aura of the water.

The more powerful the aquatic creature, the more pronounced this aura becomes.

"I have to thank you for the gift, young friend."

When the old dragon lord said this, Chen Ji understood that it was because of the Records of the Four Rivers.

However, when he looked at the "Records of the Four Rivers," he only saw that it was an ancient water system chart dividing the four rivers. The Dragon King of the Northern River must have gained something else, and it was not simple, otherwise he would not have said that he could fight against the Western River.

So he bowed.

"Then congratulations, Old Dragon Lord."

Beidu Longjun waved his hand, his aura merging into the water veins without carrying any trace of aura, as if he were truly like the river water, and then looked at Chen Ji.

"I only recently discovered that in addition to recording the ancient water system, the 'Records of the Four Rivers' also contains a secret."

"Oh?"

Since the Northern Dragon Lord has already gone this far, he naturally won't hide anything anymore; all he needs to do is wait and see.

Sure enough, after a moment, the Northern Dragon Lord slowly spoke.

"Young friend, do you know who wrote this 'Records of the Four Rivers'?"

Chen Ji shook his head.

Although he had flipped through it after receiving it that day, he really couldn't remember where the author was written. Suddenly, he thought of something and looked up at Beidu Longjun.

"Does the Dragon Lord already know who wrote it?"

"It's not clear, but there are speculations."

"Who?"

"Co-workers."

"..."

Chen Ji fell silent.

For a moment, I was even a little stunned.

Gonggong was the god of floods in ancient times. Legend has it that he angrily struck Buzhou Mountain, causing the sky to tilt to the northwest and the earth to sink to the southeast, resulting in the greatest flood in the world.

However, he was indeed the first water god in recorded human history.

Can……

He had previously thought that this book, "The Records of the Four Rivers," was a book written by a human being. It had been circulated in the academy for many years and had been blessed by the incense offerings from the river, which was why it had this effect.

Unexpectedly, this book was actually written by Gonggong.
"It wasn't written by him, but this book should also be a copy of that one. It still retains some of the original's essence. It was from this book that I learned how to regulate the four rivers."

"With the help of this item, even though the Beidu River is currently weak and its upstream flow is almost cut off, there is still a chance to dredge the ancient river channel through the underground river and restore the current water veins of the Beidu River."

"I have been doing this recently, going upstream to dredge the source of the North Canal and sorting out the tributaries that the West Canal has encroached upon. In doing so, I have also learned the atmosphere of the West Canal."

"I see!"

Jiuqu suddenly realized.

"How could you possibly betray Beidu, Old Dragon Lord!"

In the air, the dragon head of the Northern River Dragon Lord cast another cold gaze.

Jiuqu quickly shut his mouth.

The Northern Dragon Lord sighed and shook his head, but did not blame Jiuqu. Instead, he brought up another matter.

"When I was investigating the upstream river channel, I discovered an anomaly in the water flow. It seems the river god is intentionally storing water. Do you know why?"

"I don't know..."

The River God of Nine Bends pondered for a few moments, about to explain, when he heard Chen Ji's voice.

"I know."

Both dragons looked over at the same time.

Chen Ji then revealed the news that the Stone Mill Demon and the others had overheard that day: the Ghost King of Fenshan Town needed to train his Yin soldiers and required a large number of living souls to replenish them, so he wanted the River God of Xidu to cooperate in creating a flood.

After saying that, he looked at Jiuqu.

"Previously, my reputation was bad, and people thought it was because I was colluding with you. Now it seems that you didn't even know about this?"

Jiuqu frowned, also puzzled.

"I...I really don't know."

Chen Ji glanced at Bei Du Long Jun and smiled slightly.

I thought Jiuqu really dared to call himself "this dragon" in front of the Dragon Lord, but I didn't expect him to be speaking from the heart.

However, at this moment, the Northern Dragon Lord did not care about the title and his brows were also furrowed.

"What is troubling you, Old Dragon Lord?"

Jiuqu took the initiative to ask.

The Northern Dragon Lord spoke slowly.

"The river gods upstream and downstream of this river have all received the notification, but you are the only one who is unaware. Could it be that the Dragon God of the Western River has never trusted you from the beginning?"

"will not."

Jiuqu shook his head firmly.

“In the past, I would be informed of everything, big or small, in Xidu. There would never be anything like this that I was not informed of.”

"So, this was a matter between the Ghost King of Fenshan Town and the River God alone? It's impossible to hide it from you. Shanghe Village is located at a strategic point on the river. Without your cooperation, it would have been impossible to accomplish this."

"Weird!"

Neither of the two dragons could come up with an answer, and Chen Ji also frowned in thought; this matter was indeed very strange.

Just then, a shrimp soldier swam in from outside, rushed to their side, and immediately reported.

"Your Majesty, there was a mudfish demon outside trying to explore the underwater palace, but we have captured it."

"But when we caught him, he was still shouting that he was a messenger of the City God. We don't know what to do with him?"

"A mudfish demon? A messenger of the City God?"

Chen Ji's eyelids twitched, and he guessed what was going on. He quickly spoke up.

"Please, fellow Daoist, do not harm him. This may be the fellow Daoist who went into the water with me!"

"He was investigating the situation at the Water Mansion earlier, so he must have made some other discovery and wants to come in and inform me."

"If that's the case, then please come over first."

When Jiuqu spoke, the shrimp soldiers who had brought the message quickly retreated, and in a short while, they indeed attracted the mudfish demon.

However, the soldiers of the Water Palace were unsure whether the mudfish demon was a fellow Daoist of the Nine Turns Guest. So they sent a team of aquatic creatures, ostensibly to escort him, but in reality to monitor and guard against him, lest he escape.

Even the mudfish demon trembled somewhat among the aquatic soldiers.

He is indeed a member of the Shui tribe, but he is also a member of the Beidu Shui tribe. Apart from the area where the Xidu and Beidu meet at Ziyun Mountain, he has hardly ever been to the Xidu River basin.

We were indeed gathering information underwater as Chen Ji had instructed.

Taking advantage of his agility, he asked many aquatic creatures upstream and downstream before discovering the anomaly.

When they were about to go ashore to meet Chen Ji, they unexpectedly bumped into the Copper Toad Demon and learned that Chen Ji had only left a copper puppet to deliver a message and that he had already entered the underwater palace.

Only then did he send the bronze toad demon back to report the news, while he himself dived back into the water to search for the underwater palace so he could see Chen Ji one last time.

Unexpectedly, he was put under surveillance as soon as he appeared near the Water Palace. He only had time to shout that he was the City God's messenger before he was seized by shrimp soldiers and crab generals. His mouth was even stuffed with seaweed, so he couldn't say a word.

Fortunately, after a while someone came out and said that the king wanted to see him, so they took the water plants, untied him, and took him there.

I remained uneasy and had doubts throughout the journey.

I had previously heard that this water palace was rotten and full of blood demons, but now it seems that each one is surrounded by pure energy, just like me.

Just as he was wondering what was going on, a familiar figure appeared in front of him, and he couldn't help but widen his eyes and blurt out.

"Huh? Fellow Daoist, how did you also get your identity exposed and captured here?"

(End of this chapter)