Daily Intelligence: From Water Snake to Jinghe Dragon King

Chapter 157 A Eulogy to General Fubo, and a Favor to the Water Official Who Relieves Calamity

"In terms of future prospects, the God of Literature is greater than the God of War, like the magistrate and the county lieutenant of a county in the human world. However, in times of chaos, the God of War is more important than the God of Literature. The key lies in the divine soldiers under their control. Whether in times of chaos or prosperity, whoever holds military power has the most say."

Liu Qing asked with some curiosity, "Divine Yin Soldiers? Where did they come from?"

"Of course, I'll recruit them myself. After becoming a god, incense and silver will be generated continuously and autonomously. As long as there are incense and silver, how could I not recruit ghost soldiers?"

“You can go to the City God's realm to recruit them; many dead souls are guided there.”

Liu Qing finally understood. No wonder he saw ghost soldiers guarding the city during the sacrificial ceremony; they must have been subordinates of that incense god.
He only uses ghost soldiers to guard the city gates to amass wealth; this incense god is also a corrupt official who does nothing but shirk his duties.

Liu Qing thought of himself; once his soul splits into two, one of his souls will merge with the incense offerings, thus eliminating the need to select Yin soldiers from the City God's realm.
The numerous remnant souls, dragons, demons, ghosts, and spirits within the Yin Jade Spirit Banner are perfect for serving as Yin soldiers under its command.

Soon, Yuan Datou completed his transformation, his body filled with rich incense smoke, and his Yang spirit completely merged with the Dao.

"Haha, haha, I, Yuan Datou, have finally become a god—"

Yuan Datou laughed heartily in the air, his centuries-old wish finally fulfilled. How could he not be excited?

Below the altar, Lady Gu looked at her husband and wept with joy.

The other mountain and river demons, with a sudden boom, went from absolute silence to uproar, all clasping their hands in congratulations to Yuan Datou on becoming a god.

Some, willing to sacrifice their pride, would kneel and kowtow to the deity, while others, more cunning, would shower him with flattery, hoping that General Fubo would promote them.

Yuan Datou simply smiled at this, turned his head to Liu Qing, and bowed: "I, Yuan Datou, owe everything I have today to Brother Liu Qing. If you ever need anything in the future, just recite my Precious Edict of General Fubo, and I will come at your beck and call."

Yuan Datou bowed, but Hong Gu hurriedly pulled Liu Qing away, spitting out, "This fellow has just become a god and doesn't know any taboos. Xiao Qing, you've only just returned to the Void Realm after refining your spirit, how can you accept the thanks from a seventh-grade incense god?"

"If I hadn't known it was unintentional, I would have beaten this idiot to death."

As Liu Qing returned the greeting, he secretly sensed his surroundings. Apart from a slight rush of blood and qi, he felt no other discomfort. He figured it was because he already possessed the divine authority and power within him.

Although I can't accept the Yuan silver dollar as a token of my gratitude, it's not a big problem.

This shows that the rank of authority far surpasses that of the incense gods. If one's authority were to reach the Dao, even if one were only a ninth-rank official, one could still receive the respect of a seventh-rank incense god like Yuan Datou.

"With sincere devotion, I pay homage to the Yuan Dongxiang, the General of Fubo within the Jing River, who commands a thousand Yin soldiers and is in charge of the water system. He is infinitely beneficial, compassionate, and has great vows. He is the Great Sage and Merciful, the Water Official of the Lower Yuan Qi who relieves calamities, the Seventh-Rank General Fubo."

Yuan Datou pointed at Liu Qing, and the divine power of incense entered the divine repository between his eyebrows, revealing this precious edict.
If you sincerely recite this precious proclamation, you can summon General Fubo Yuan Datou.

Liu Qing thanked him again, but was somewhat surprised. Yuan Datou had a precious edict, so why didn't he, the Ninth Rank Snake Pool River God, have one? Perhaps it was because he had not yet attained the Dao.

"The skin I shed could create all living beings in this Great Bay Lake. Having seized the creation from the lake to obtain this body, I will use this body to repay the creation!"

Yuan Datou pointed at the grass turtle's body, and instantly his divine power, as sharp as a knife, shattered the ten-zhang-wide body into pieces of minced meat, scattering them throughout the Great Bay Lake.

Fish and shrimp fought over the food, turtles and tortoises gnawed at it, and in no time, the enormous body's bones and flesh had been completely devoured by these creatures.
Those with good fortune will have clear vision and transform into spirits. In an instant, thousands of fish, shrimp, turtles, and tortoises in the water will eat Yuan Datou's flesh and blood and escape ignorance.

Upon seeing this, Yuan Datou laughed heartily, no longer having any worries.

Yuan Datou's incense and divine power transformed into waves. With a wave of his hand, he summoned his wife, Lady Gu. After nodding and smiling with Liu Qing, he prepared to fly south to the Jing River.

Just then, a figure suddenly flew towards them. The figure had white hair, an unusual appearance, sparse incense smoke around them, and a severed right hand.
Hong Gu glanced at him with disdain: "What's this gambling addict doing here?"

Liu Qing had a bad feeling.

This old scoundrel lingered in the Qin region, claiming the journey was long and he needed a mount, but he gambled away all the incense money meant for buying one.

Did you arrive today intending to use the Yuan silver dollar as a mount?
As Liu Qing had predicted, Qu Yuan, the Water Official, opened his mouth and spat out a fifth-rank spirit tablet, using its power to trap Yuan Datou. Then, he pointed at Yuan Datou...

"A creature born from eggs, worthy of being called a god?"

After becoming a god, Yuan Datou, who had transformed into a majestic general, wailed and revealed himself to be a grass tortoise under the finger of Qu Yuan, the Water Official.

Venus shone brightly again in the night sky, dazzlingly so, accompanied by rumbling thunder, seemingly expressing its anger at Qu Yuan's actions.
Unfortunately, the murderous aura in the human world was growing stronger, and the lightning dared only make a sound, but was blocked and could not fall for a long time.

Liu Qing observed that ever since the aura of impending doom appeared in the mortal realm, these originally law-abiding incense-offering deities had begun to grow bolder.

If we wait until the killing aura completely blocks out the secrets of heaven, they will probably become unrestrained.

When humanity is in chaos, it affects the way of Heaven. As the representatives of the way of Heaven, the Heavenly Court's hawks, hounds, and incense gods will become like vicious dogs that have broken free of their chains, ready to devour people.

Qu Yuan, still somewhat prudent, looked up at the sky and explained, "The Qin land owes me a debt of karma, and today I will use it as my mount to atone for that debt!"

The blinding Venus gradually faded into darkness, and the rumbling thunder ceased, seemingly tacitly approving of Qu Yuan's actions.

The power and authority of a fifth-rank Water Official completely overwhelmed that of a seventh-rank General Fubo. Yuan Datou struggled desperately, but still couldn't escape.

It was filled with fear and resentment, and roared, "Although I am an alien, I am still a follower of the Dao and receive offerings. How can the Supreme God treat me, a seventh-rank deity, as a mount? Where is the dignity of the divine way?"

"Qu Yuan, you seek revenge against the righteous gods of Qin for your own selfish reasons. Aren't you afraid of the backlash?"

Qu Yuan chuckled and said, "This spirit official has never accepted incense offerings from Qin, so how could I possibly suffer a backlash from them?"

As he spoke, Qu Yuan, with only one arm and two legs, took a single step and arrived in front of Yuan Datou, about to straddle him. Lady Gu, seeing her husband suffer such a humiliating disgrace,
Suppressing her fear, she lunged forward to shield Yuan Datou, spreading her arms wide: "Spare my husband! If you want to take him, kill me first!"

Qu Yuan didn't even lift his eyelids, and with one hand he twisted Lady Gu's neck: "When I jumped into the river in my early years, the first thing that swallowed my flesh and blood was a mandarin fish."

"The cycle of cause and effect continues; you must repay the debt!"

Liu Qing could not bear to watch any longer. With a flap of her fiery wings, she flew into the sky and shouted, "Qu Yuan, stop!"

Qu Yuan glanced at Liu Qing sideways: "I gave you a little respect before, and now you've taken advantage of me? You dare to yell at me, this high-ranking official?"

As soon as Liu Qing took to the air, he no longer cared about concealing himself and secretly took out the Yin Jade Spirit Banner. When he saw Qu Yuan's face turn into a dog's, he immediately activated the Yin Jade Spirit Banner, and the remnant soul dragon, Yin god and demon ghost inside rushed towards him.

Qu originally looked down on Liu Qing, thinking she was just a minor demon who had only reached the Refinement of Spirit and Return to Emptiness stage. But when the Jinghe Old Dragon and the Dragon Granny appeared within the Yin Jade Spirit Banner,
His expression changed drastically, and he sensed that the Yin Jade Spirit Banner was subtly restraining him, so he no longer dared to underestimate it.

He immediately released Madam Gu and focused his divine power to resist Liu Qing's Yin Jade Spirit Banner. Even with all his divine power, he could only barely hold on and could not gain a quick victory.
He had been gambling too much lately, and his divine power was depleted. Otherwise, how could he have failed to defeat a mere snake demon?

The power of the Incense God lies entirely in the offerings of incense; the more abundant the incense offerings, the greater the power, and vice versa.

Hong Gu, lying on the ground, had always looked down on Qu Yuan. Now, seeing Qu Yuan 'bullying' her man, how could she possibly tolerate it any longer?
He immediately released a surge of divine power, empowering Liu Qing, who then threw a punch.
The surging divine power transformed into a fist that could open the heavens and the earth. With a single punch, it sent Qu Yuan flying to the southeast, where he was instantly out of sight.

"Ah, you wretched snake! You've smashed my nose flat!"

From the distant southeast, a furious scream faintly drifted over. Liu Qing heard it and smiled disdainfully.

The god of incense offerings and the god of authority are simply beings from different dimensions. This is partly due to Qu Yuan's recent gambling addiction, which greatly depleted his divine power.

However, Hong Gu only secretly channeled a wisp of divine power, and Liu Qing punched Qu Yuan away, demonstrating the terrifying power of the God of Authority.

Hong Gu did not take action herself, but instead secretly assisted Liu Qing, intending to let her husband show off in front of others and also do favors for Yuan Datou.

Liu Qing glanced gratefully at Hong Gu.

Yuan Datou escaped death and thanked Liu Qing profusely. After much persuasion, he finally went to Jinghe to take up his post.

After Yuan Datou and his wife left, Liu Qing flew back to the ground, dispersing his fiery wings. The mountain and river demons around him now looked at Liu Qing with awe.

Before, they could only admire and respect him. Now that Liu Qing has awakened his new innate fire wings and repelled a fifth-rank water official, how could they not feel awe at such a terrifying feat?
Now, no mountain demon or river demon harbors the slightest rebellious thought, and as for vying for the position of Lord of Dawan Lake, that's utterly ridiculous.

With Yuan Datou gone, Liu Qing took over as the prefect, and the transition between the old and new prefects of Dawan Lake was seamless.

In the latter half of the night, the mountain spirits who had come to offer their congratulations were the first to take their leave, followed by the river spirits from the other lakes and rivers, who also bid farewell and departed.

By daybreak, all the river monsters and spirits from all other waterways had departed.

The mansion on the island in the middle of the lake was crafted by Yuan Datou using spiritual materials, and he took it with him when he left.

Just then, Liu Qing threw out the magical treasure, which transformed into the Liu Mansion, located in the center of the small island. It was surrounded by lakes, with lush grass and shady trees, making it a uniquely beautiful place.

The first priority upon assuming the position of prefect is to appease the people.

Since all the river demons from other waterways and the mountain demons from the land have left, only the river demons of the Great Bay Lake Water Palace remain here.

Hong Gu no longer needed to conceal her identity. She immediately activated the Face-Changing Worm with a thought. The Face-Changing Worm flashed with a strange light, and Hong Gu returned to her original appearance.

Still dressed in red, with water-covered shoes on her feet, and using a precious hairpin to hold back her long, flowing hair, she was dignified, beautiful, majestic, and wealthy.

Apart from Xia Kexing and Xia Qianqian, the other river monsters who were unaware of the truth breathed a sigh of relief. It turned out that it was still the same old matriarch.

(End of this chapter)