Mountain and River Festival

Chapter 372 Our goal is to cause trouble.

Long Qinghuang has no faith and does not worship Buddha on a regular basis. Even when she does offer a symbolic sacrifice, she simply bows slightly.

But this time, to the astonishment of the monks, he knelt side by side with Lu Xingzhou on the prayer mat, clasped his hands together, closed his eyes, and muttered something to himself.

Lu Xingzhou turned his head to look at her profile and thought she might be reciting the phrase "a harmonious marriage".

But she's become narcissistic; she feels she can't afford to make the same mistake...

More likely, he was thinking about how to make the little man obediently stay, which was the opposite of his idea of ​​taming the dragon.

The truth is that they both have it, so why can't they just stay and live happily ever after?

At this moment, the Dragon Maiden's devotion to Buddha was more sincere than ever before.

After the Buddhist ritual was completed, Long Qinghuang's expression finally turned serious. She stood up and said to Pudu, "I have some things to discuss with the High Priest in private."

Pudu clasped his hands in prayer and said, "Your Majesty, please follow this old monk. As for the county magistrate..."

Lu Xingzhou said, "Anuo and I would like to visit the source of the earth veins that influence reproduction at your temple."

Pudu paused, then looked at Long Qinghuang.

Long Qinghuang nodded and said, "I grant your permission."

The monks were speechless. Such an important matter was something that very few people in the entire demon race were allowed to see. The clan leaders of each race were only allowed to see it because they belonged to powerful clans and held important positions in the court. And you're letting an envoy from another country take a child to see it!

Do you think you're visiting a zoo?
Rumors have it that the Demon Emperor has recently become obsessed with men, and it seems that's true; he's spoiled him rotten.

In theory, Pudu could defy Long Qinghuang, and such important matters concerning the sacred land were not decided by the king alone; as the high priest, he had greater authority. However, Pudu merely gave the old monk beside him a wink: "Then you may take the county magistrate for a visit."

The old monk understood immediately, put his palms together in a gesture of respect, and said, "Please come with us, sir."

Lu Xingzhou saw their expressions but said nothing. He smiled and pulled Anuo and the old monk away.

Due to her position, Long Qinghuang didn't notice Pudu's subtle glance and followed Pudu to the meditation room with a serious expression.

In the quiet room, the fragrance of sandalwood wafted and the sound of wooden fish drums echoed, which, to be honest, did bring a great deal of peace to one's mind. The greatest compatibility between Buddhism and the demon realm lies in the fact that demons are too wild. If they are not tempered by methods such as Buddhism, they will become an extremely savage country, with conflicts and killings everywhere in the vast territory, and the disputes between the various races will never cease.

If we can only rely on violent suppression forever, then the civilization of the country will be out of the question, and Long Qinghuang will be regarded as a tyrannical ruler who harbors rebellious intentions at every turn.

Therefore, the propagation of Buddhism is very important to the Demon Realm. In recent years, the Demon Realm has been able to achieve peace and development. Apart from the curfew, the Demon Capital is a very civilized city. Buddhism can be said to have made a great contribution to this.

In fact, due to the war of unification and the subsequent suppression of rebellions and purges, Long Qinghuang had mountains of demon corpses under her command, and her reputation for tyranny had long been known throughout the land. When Lu Xingzhou didn't know her well before, didn't he also think she was a tyrant...? It turns out she was quite reasonable and not inherently tyrannical; otherwise, Lu Xingzhou would have been branded a white deer by now.

The propaganda campaign of the Demon Court naturally aimed to promote His Majesty's wisdom and might. So why is it that the version passed down to the Great Qian Dynasty still portrays him as tyrannical? There's something fishy about that.

"It's the prime minister's fault..." This assessment resurfaced in Long Qinghuang's mind, and the gloom in her heart grew even stronger.

The mere fact that I almost made the little man misunderstand me as a cruel female dragon, thus ruining his perception of me, is an unforgivable sin.

Oh no... how could I still feel murderous intent even in this Buddhist atmosphere...?

The tyrannical little dragon coughed and composed herself.

Just then, Pudu's voice came from in front of them: "Your Majesty's mind is not at peace."

Long Qinghuang said, "I am troubled by worries, hence my restlessness."

Pudu said, "Your Majesty has just returned victorious from the Qian Kingdom, avenging ten years of humiliation and displaying the might of the Demon Realm. You should be in high spirits at this time. What troubles you?"

Long Qinghuang harbored doubts about Pudu, so she didn't directly discuss the topic of dragon reproduction with him, but simply said, "I'm troubled by love."

Pudu: "?"

You might as well talk to me about the reproduction of dragons... those four words are more terrifying, you know?

“That…” Pudu almost broke out in a cold sweat: “In terms of power, Your Majesty commands all races in the Demon Realm, surpassing even the Great Qian Dynasty in strength; in terms of cultivation, Your Majesty is comparable to Ye Tinglan and Gu Zhanting; in terms of beauty, although no one in the Demon Realm dares to challenge you, this old monk can say that Your Majesty’s beauty is unparalleled in the world. Any man would be overjoyed if you took him…”

"But they're just tough nuts to crack, what can we do?"

"Lu Xingzhou?"

"Yes."

"He, um, what did he say?"

Long Qinghuang sighed: "He said that he had heard that the dragon race had difficulty reproducing, and he wanted little dragon people, not female dragons who could not lay eggs."

Pudu: "?"

Died young.

You're just hitting my bald head like it's an egg, aren't you? This old monk really doesn't know if the person he's talking to is the Demon Emperor.

“Well, giving birth to subspecies is never difficult,” Pudu said, wiping his sweat. “Isn’t it about the same as human reproduction? At most, slightly less so.”

"He wants a litter of baby dragons."

“You are a dragon, not…” Pudu barely managed to swallow the word “pig” back, and said awkwardly, “This is a matter of degree, not a matter of principle, we can resolve it with compassion.”

“The main problem is that he doesn’t believe it,” Long Qinghuang sighed. “That’s why we came to the Holy Mountain to see what the so-called land of procreation is like and to dispel his doubts.”

"I see." Pudu put his palms together and said, "You can rest assured that his doubts will be dispelled after he visits."

Long Qinghuang said seemingly casually, "Since we've come this far, I'll also like to ask, what are the High Priest's thoughts on the issue of dragon reproduction? This constant difficulty can't go on. Does the Holy Mountain have any alternative methods for addressing this?"

Pudu shook his head: "This is a limitation of the Heavenly Way, which is probably beyond human power to reverse. In fact, has Your Majesty ever thought that the reason why the dragons have so few offspring is mainly because they all like to have affairs outside the marriage. How many times can they actually have marital relations? They say they have tried very hard, but I don't see it. Your Majesty is not like them, so this problem will not apply to Your Majesty."

Well, so they're shifting the blame to the dragons for their fancy antics, and it actually sounds quite reasonable at first glance. If Long Qinghuang hadn't had some prior doubts about him, she might actually have been convinced by this. After all, the dragons are world-renowned for their fancy antics.

Finally, he even praised her, saying that given her narcissistic nature in the past, she might actually think that she herself was definitely not at fault, and that it was all the fault of others messing around.

Long Qinghuang gave Pudu a deep look. The conversation that she used to think was perfectly fine now seemed off when she paid close attention. It was as if it was a tactic deliberately targeting her.

Is it a case of suspecting a neighbor of stealing an axe, or is there really a problem with Pudu?

But this shouldn't be happening...

I wonder what Lu Xingzhou has discovered. If they can corroborate each other, the truth of the matter will probably come to light.

"Your Majesty! Abbot! Something terrible has happened!" There was a hurried knocking at the door: "Lu Xingzhou and that little girl have let all the pigs in the pigsty escape, and they're running wild all over the mountain!"

Long Qinghuang's first reaction was to laugh, but her second reaction was that this was an insult to the Holy Mountain. She wanted to laugh but forced a stern face and said, "This is really outrageous."

Pudu really wants to say, "Just laugh if you want to; this expression is harder to maintain than a smile."

He said, "Is it really worth panicking over something as trivial as a few pigs running away?"

"But those are all pigs in heat, now they want to mate with anyone they see! And they are all spiritually awakened demons with cultivation, some young monks are no match for them."

Pudu: "..."

Long Qinghuang finally stood up: "Let's go take a look."

While Long Qinghuang was testing Pudu in the quiet room, Lu Xingzhou and Anuo were taken to a mountain valley by the old monks.

The stench from the mountain valley was so unbearable that Ah Nuo immediately covered her nose, unable to stand it.

Looking around, all kinds of animals were mating in their respective areas. They were animals, not monsters. These animals, which couldn't clean themselves, were rolling around in the wild. With so many of them, there was excrement and urine everywhere, and it goes without saying what the smell must have been like.

Lu Xingzhou covered his nose: "Is this the source of your holy land's reproduction?"

"Amitabha," the old monk said, "The original reproduction of living things is naturally like this."

“But they are demons,” Lu Xingzhou said. “I can sense that many of them have a strong demonic aura, so how come they are just like animals that haven’t been awakened?”

"This aroused their sexual desire, just like humans who have been drugged with aphrodisiacs and lost their reason, leaving only the most instinctive desire to reproduce."

"Isn't this an act of demonic conduct? You are a holy land, a Buddhist sect."

"First of all, they agree and know this is the case. If they can successfully reproduce, they will only thank us."

"And then?"

"Secondly, this is different from the demonic path's malicious use of magic to incite people's desires. This is the ancestral home of the demon race, which contains the Great Dao of reproduction. Pregnancy is certain to occur here."

"...I don't see any difference." Lu Xingzhou said, "If the higher-ups of the Dragon Clan came looking for you, would you just let them roll around in these mountains under the open sky?"

The old monk said, "That won't be the case; we will arrange another venue."

"So, what about the Buddhist concept of equality for all beings? Even mating is done in VIP rooms, right?"

"It's because if the dragon rolls around here, others will be crushed to death."

Lu Xingzhou: "...So why can't I feel any aphrodisiac effect? ​​Does the earth's veins recognize people?"

“Oh, the earth's veins are naturally controlled and targeted. Otherwise, how could we possibly stay here long-term? Of course, there is still some natural dispersion, and if the county magistrate is a lustful man, he might not be able to restrain himself…” The old monk looked Lu Xingzhou up and down, a hint of contempt in his eyes: “So, county magistrate, do you still plan to go further in?”

"What's with that look? Do you think I'm a lecher?"

This time, even without the old monk's inspection, Ah Nuo revealed a look that said, "Of course you are."

Lu Xingzhou: “…”

In any case, after observing for so long without seeing any bovine-like creatures, Lu Xingzhou felt relieved and led A Nuo a little deeper into the area.

Ahead was a place that looked like a pigsty, where a large group of pigs were mating in pairs, creating a chaotic scene.

Ah Nuo spotted a cute, soft-looking little piglet at a glance, which seemed terrified and shrank back to the innermost part of the enclosure. Several other male pigs, their eyes red, grunted and puffed as they charged toward it.

Ah Nuo couldn't help but say, "Wait, wasn't that little white pig aroused? It looks terrified!"

The old monk glanced at it and said, "Oh, those are ordinary pigs used for breeding."

"No!" Ah Nuo shouted, "It's awakened! That look in its eyes..."

Before the words were even finished, the little white pig seemed to have found a savior and started running towards Ah Nuo, only to get trapped by the fence and frantically rooting around in frustration.

Ah Nuo reached out and opened the fence.

The old monk hurriedly stopped him: "You mustn't..."

As a result, this attempt to block Ah Nuo's strength backfired, and Ah Nuo bumped into him, almost sending him flying.

The fence was opened without any surprise, and the little white pig happily snuggled up to Ah Nuo, while a group of pigs rushed out from behind, trying to chase after it.

Ah Nuo ran off with the little white pig in her arms, with a group of pigs chasing after her. Lu Xingzhou quietly summoned an invisibility talisman, stuck it on Ah Nuo, and then stuck one on himself as well.

The invisibility-breaking talisman, which is usually difficult to conceal from cultivators, was extremely effective against these irrational pig demons at this moment. The pig demons instantly lost their target, and their bloodshot eyes turned to the old monks.

The next moment, pig hooves kicked up dirt and countless pig demons emerged, causing chaos and tumble.

(End of this chapter)