Daily Intelligence: From Water Snake to Jinghe Dragon King

Chapter 179 New Talent: Beastly Serpent, Cloud and Rain Technique, Two Heads and Four Arms

After making the arrangements, Li Jing and the other two went into the mansion to pay their respects to their benefactor, Hong Gu. Luo Cheng went to visit his sister, bringing back a lot of black water chestnuts, a local specialty, from the Fulong Canal, saying that he wanted his sister to try them.

Shan Xiongxin then asked the lord of the prefecture for an order to gather the eel clan in Dawan Lake and migrate with the eel lord to Fulong Canal. From then on, Fulong Canal became the old lair of the eel clan.

Meanwhile, Daoqiu Daozi and Jiyu Jiping went to find Huzi Nian to drink.

"Master, you've arranged things perfectly. You even sent the plague-stricken turtle spirit Yuan Haowen to infiltrate Fulong Lake. With its help, we've won many victories in our battles these past few days."

The word "sick" here is not an insult, but a statement of fact, and may even carry a hint of praise.

"After the turtle spirit Yuan Haowen went to Fulong Lake, he immediately became the river demon general of Fulong Lake due to his higher level of cultivation. Every time he led his troops to fight against us, his water soldiers would inexplicably run into trouble."

Or perhaps they twist their ankle while charging into battle, or sprain their wrist while slashing, or even trip over the waves while fleeing. Lord Lord, can you believe that a river demon born of the water could be tripped over by the waves?

The eel-like old man was beaming with excitement: "With its help, it's only a matter of time before I can take over the entire Fulong Lake for the Lord of the Prefecture."

Liu Qing was quite pleased with himself: "When I first saw that it was plagued by bad luck, I had a brilliant idea and sent it to infiltrate Fulong Lake. I never expected it to actually work so well."

"By the way, sir, I heard from Bie Jingyuan that it recently took on a master, a black leopard that's always wet."

Upon hearing this, Liu Qing's pupils shrank immediately: "After the battle at Fulong Lake is over, have Yuan Haowen and his master come to Dawan Lake together."

The next day, Li Jing and the other six demons went to the Jing River. Liu Qing, through a sacred edict, summoned General Fubo Yuan Datou to appear and entrust him with the task of looking after them.

Yuan Datou was utterly speechless. He had given Liu Qing a precious edict so that Liu Qing could summon him for help in times of danger.

Instead of using it indiscriminately, Liu Qing apologized and said she would never use it indiscriminately again.

After all the tasks were completed, the kebab meat skewers that Liu Qing had Xiao Ya prepare, as well as the meat from the tiger, leopard, bear, and wolf demons, were stewed until they were plump and tender.

With a single, massive opening of its maw, it swallowed everything whole, entrusting the Devouring Elephant talent to refine it. Soon after, its Heavenly Origin Qi increased by over a thousand units.

In the following days, Liu Qing continued to cultivate the Dragon-Snake Devouring Qi Technique, and at night, he also absorbed and exhaled moonlight. Soon, he accumulated nearly two thousand units of primordial qi from heaven and earth.

With a wave of his hand, Liu Qing channeled all his energy into his cultivation level, instantly raising it to 54% and reaching the mid-stage of the Refining Void and Merging Dao realm.

There was still some primordial energy remaining, but since Liu Qing's original form transformed into a horned viper, he had not yet attempted to awaken his talent.

He then channeled this primordial energy of heaven and earth into his body, hoping to awaken a talent that caught his eye.

The cool, pure Qi formed from the primordial Qi of Heaven and Earth circulated within his body, searching for any talent that could be awakened. Ever since Liu Qing's original body's foundation had become increasingly powerful...
Awakening this talent is becoming increasingly difficult.

After a long time, the cool Qi body finally noticed it and rushed towards Liu Qing's neck.

[Note: The innate talent, "Weishi," originates from the ancient mythical beast Weishe. Upon awakening, it allows the user to grow a new head, corresponding to a two-headed, four-armed form. This talent's power increases with the user's growth rate.]

Liu Qing's eyes widened in surprise, and she was instantly overjoyed.

The innate ability of the Weishe (陽陽) originates from the ancient mythical beast Weishe, which can regenerate a new head. When it transforms into human form, it has two heads and four arms.

This talent is remarkable.

I had long heard of a great supernatural being in the Three Realms known as "Three Heads and Six Arms," ​​the most famous being Nezha, the Great God of the Three Altars and Seas in Heaven, who possessed this great supernatural power of three heads and six arms.
Being able to fight Sun Wukong, who could transform into the heavens and earth, was a worthy opponent, partly due to Nezha's numerous magical treasures.
However, it cannot be denied that the three heads and six arms played a significant role; otherwise, no matter how many magical treasures one possessed, without extra hands to use them, it would all be in vain.

Although his own talent for being flexible and adaptable is not as great as Nezha's three heads and six arms, it is still a formidable supernatural power. Even in the Three Realms, it is a great supernatural power that can be counted among the best.

Liu Qing was extremely excited. He never expected that a casual attempt at awakening today would result in such a powerful talent.

It seems that the stronger the main body, the fewer talents are awakened, but all of them are extraordinary. Just look at the previous Fang Sword, Fire Wings, and the current Winged Serpent...
That's a powerful method that directly boosts combat strength!
With a wave of his hand, Liu Qing raised the growth rate of his "Embracing Serpent" talent to its peak, then activated it. Instantly, Liu Qing appeared in human form.

Suddenly, another head grows from one side of the shoulder, the same size as the original. The two heads have independent yet shared perspectives, allowing them to see a 214-degree radius around the body. If there are three heads, the view is a perfect 360 degrees, encompassing the entire surroundings.

Below the shoulders, two new arms appeared, with the left and right hands alternating, also at a 240-degree attack angle. The new arms moved flexibly, just like the original arms.

Liu Qing opened his mouth and spat out the Yin Jade Spirit Banner, the Thousand Rivers and Ten Thousand Waters Flag, the Yin-Yang Harmony Drum, and the Ruyi Double-Eared Incense Burner, which were then held in his hands.

Try it out! Wield four magical treasures with all four hands at the same time and your combat power will double!
Liu Qing was overjoyed. With his other talents and supernatural abilities alone, he was invincible among those of the same realm. If he were to activate his Boiling Blood talent, he could even kill those of the Supernatural Ability Realm.

With this talent for maneuvering, he can fight enemies two realms above him, and he is not afraid of those in the Dharma Realm.

Not to mention, the Intercepting Sect's sword intent is also within his body, which is practically a bug.

Dispersing from his human form, Liu Qing revealed his true form, a horned serpent as thick as a water vat and over six zhang long.

Previously, it was 48 feet tall, but in the past few days, after devouring the corpses of the Special Envoy and other mountain demons, its body has grown even larger.

However, Liu Qing did not feel the snake scales tighten or show any signs of shedding its skin. He estimated that it would probably not start the next shedding process until it reached nine zhang and nine chi in length.

A new snake head grew from the neck of the horned serpent, and the new snake head also copied the original single horn.

No matter how closely you look at it, the two snake heads are exactly the same.

The deeper one's cultivation level, the less frequently one will reveal their true form. This is partly to conceal their origins and avoid being targeted by enemies, and partly because the human form is more convenient.
Unless they have exhausted all other means, a great demon like Liu Qing will not reveal his true form when facing an enemy.

The excitement of awakening the talent of the Serpentine Flow gradually faded. Liu Qing did not feel proud or complacent because of the improvement in his strength after awakening the Serpentine Flow talent.

After all, the so-called fighting beyond one's level and killing enemies across borders only involves ordinary river demons and mountain demons. Apart from Hong Gu, Liu Qing has not yet encountered any disciples of major forces within the Three Realms. If he were to encounter them, his current methods might not be enough.

Now, Liu Qing's next goal is to go to the Wei River to fight for the dragon, where he will encounter the dragon sons and grandsons of the colossal South Sea Dragon Clan.

Compared to this, all the means that we are proud of now seem rather ordinary.

Therefore, Liu Qing dared not slack off and continued to work hard in his cultivation.

In his mind, he needed to comprehend the East Sea cultivation techniques, alchemy, weapon crafting, formations, and many magical abilities taught by Hong Gu.

The water and fire refining technique stolen from the grass-headed water buffalo demon, and the wind transformation technique stolen from the bear demon Xiong Kuohai, also need to be studied and practiced.

Looking at the numerous spells, techniques, and formations that he needed to comprehend and learn, Liu Qing felt both happy and worried.

When will I be able to cultivate them all to perfection?

As for newly acquired merits from human deeds, they are like a panacea, also having the special effect of enhancing comprehension and enabling instant enlightenment.
However, this merit of humanity is hard to come by, and there is only 1 point at the moment. Liu Qing does not want to squander it and will keep it as a trump card.

Liu Qing desperately needed time to cultivate, wishing he could create seven or eight Liu Qings to cultivate simultaneously.

Suddenly, a thought flashed through Liu Qing's mind. He seemed to realize something and was immediately filled with remorse, wishing he could slap himself hard.

I possess the supernatural power of splitting my soul, and I have already created five clones—one large and four small. Each clone is one with the original, possessing independent thought yet capable of unification.

Doesn't that mean there are five more Liu Qings?

Why did it take so long to think of using clones to help cultivate various classic martial arts techniques?

Liu Qing was both amused and exasperated. This was like someone who was sitting on a mountain of gold and silver and complaining about being poor. They had a clone but didn't know how to use it. Where was their brain? Were they eating beef skewers with sauce?

After his initial frustration, Liu Qing quickly took remedial action, handing over all the magical techniques and supernatural abilities he had inherited from the East Sea to a separated Yang spirit for cultivation.

Then, the formation, alchemy, and weapon crafting were all handed over to the other three divided spirits within the body.

As for the incense offering clones, they were guarding the snake pool and also studying the divine magic of the Goddess of Good Water, so no further arrangements were made for them.

Finally, Liu Qing himself was left. He allocated his time, first using the Dragon-Snake Devouring Qi Method to accumulate the source Qi of heaven and earth, then using the Water-Fire Refining Method to refine his physical body, and finally comprehending the Wind Transformation Divine Power.

He was still very nervous, but once the four divided spirits within his body were nourished to a powerful state, he would divide another batch of souls out. At that time, Liu Qing could completely relinquish his responsibilities.

River monsters have little free time, and people are even busier in July.

Busy with summer planting.

The five hundred acres of spiritual fields on the island in the middle of the lake were all plowed up by the eighteen snake demons of the Liu family, and then exposed to the sun for several days to kill the insect eggs in the soil. Now it is time to plant the next round of grains.

These guards have completely degenerated from personal guards to tenant farmers, all because of Master Liu's needs.
They can't protect us if there's danger, and they're in the way if there's no danger. So we had no choice but to entrust the cultivation of the five hundred acres of spirit fields to them. What else could they be but tenant farmers?
One, two, three, four snakes revealed their true forms, using their short, thick tails to carve furrows in the tilled land.
Five, six, seven, and eight snakes then sowed seeds behind them; nine, ten, eleven, and twelve snakes also manifested their true forms, sweeping the soil with their snake tails to cover the furrows.

The remaining Liu family snakes used various water techniques to summon water from the Great Bay Lake and splash it around.
Within the spirit field,
Master Liu had cultivated enough for the day and felt a bit tired, so he came out for a walk to relax and clear his mind.
But when he saw the eighteen snakes of the Liu family splashing water on the fields, he couldn't help but shake his head. Too much water was being poured at once, unevenly, and insufficiently, damaging the soil and the grain seeds. So, Master Liu ordered them to stop.

He immediately pointed at the waters of Da Wan Lake and cast the Cloud and Rain Technique. This technique originated from the East Sea and was comprehended by a divided spirit. When Liu Qing's main spirit and others reached perfection in their comprehension, their thoughts were shared, and the technique was directly copied over.

As a simplified version of the dragon race's great supernatural power of summoning clouds and rain, the Cloud and Rain Technique has now reached its perfection.

Then, a stream of lake water was summoned, rising into the air and transforming into rain clouds. The next moment, Liu Qing changed his hand seals and guided the water towards the island in the center of the lake below.
In an instant, fine drizzle began to fall from the sky, silently nourishing the island in the middle of the lake, including the spiritual field.

The tall trees, low shrubs, and flowers and plants that had been scorched by the sun all stretched their leaves and rustled merrily under this timely rain.

Including Sang Qingjun, on its huge canopy, countless branches stretched out in all directions, and some egg-sized, purplish-red mulberries hanging among the leaves swayed in the rain.

After Sang Qingjun transformed into a demon, whether or not he bears mulberries is entirely up to him. However, considering that the Lord and his wife both enjoy eating mulberries, he has allowed some to ripen this year.
It's just a small amount, enough for the Lord and his wife to have some snacks. As for others, including White Snake, Little Girl, and Water Girl, Sang Qingjun won't give them any when they come to ask.

A single mulberry contains spiritual essence no less than that of a low-grade river delicacy. It requires Sang Qingjun's life essence to consume, so how could I give it to you greedy girls?

Even with Liu Qing's formidable demonic power, he could only maintain this cloud and rain technique for a few hours. It wasn't that his demonic power was exhausted, but rather that he was soaked through by the rain.

The water level of Da Wan Lake dropped by several meters due to the continuous rainfall in Liuqing that lasted for several hours.
Liu Qing looked in that direction and couldn't help but wonder, "Could they have used up so much lake water?"

Looking again at the lake shore where the water level had dropped, it was already bleached white by the sun, and the moss and algae on it had also dried and turned yellow. Looking up at the sky, it suddenly dawned on me...

It turned out that I had been cultivating within the manor for almost half a month without venturing out. I hadn't expected that the continuous scorching summer heat would have already evaporated much of the lake's water.
We are all river monsters in the water. When the lake, river, and pool water evaporate, it means that our living space is reduced and our habitat is destroyed.

Liu Qing looked up at the sky. The sun was still blazing, constantly radiating heat and baking the earth. There wasn't a single rain cloud in the sky, and even the air was extremely dry.

I did the math, and it's been more than two months since shortly after the Qingming Festival. There have only been a few light rains, and most of the time it's been scorching hot.

If this continues, there will be a drought. Liu Qing's expression became serious.

Liu Qing immediately unfolded his fiery wings and took off from Dawan Lake, patrolling various locations along the waterways. The water level in Snake Pool had dropped, as had the water levels in Wuding River, Siduan River, Shuijia River, Hunjia River, Laogui Pool, Shuiyu Pool, and Luanshi Pool, among others.

Compared to the Eight Pools and Five Rivers, the Seventeen Canals, being mostly excavated by river engineering and lacking natural water sources, experienced even more severe water level drops.
The already shallow canals are now reduced to a mere layer. Many fish, shrimp, turtles, and crabs have either been forced to migrate to other waterways or are struggling to survive in the muddy water, crowding together, rapidly opening and closing their gills, vying for the already scarce oxygen in the water.
Many spirits and river demons that have awakened their powers are assigned by the water vein guardians to each be responsible for a section of the river, maintaining order and preventing fights over living space.

(End of this chapter)