Daily Intelligence: From Water Snake to Jinghe Dragon King

Chapter 202 Stars Descend to Earth, Old Demon Appears, Liu Qing Merges with the Dao, Authority of God

Firstly, it would allow them to use Sun Hua's power to make Liu Qing wary; secondly, it would help Sun Hua seize the world, and afterwards, they could ask Sun Hua to bestow upon them godhood.
Unfortunately, they lacked Liu Qing's foresight and didn't know that Li Shimin would eventually seize the throne. They only considered the size of their current power and joined Sun Hua, inevitably ending up with nothing.

Therefore, as agreed, Liu Qing and Li Shimin, through Sun Hua, destroyed the City God statue in Chang'an and seized the city.
After this act of borrowing a knife, Sun Hua will surely die. Before Sun Hua's army is wiped out, the first step is to eliminate the demonic forces within Sun Hua's army.
Therefore, Liu Qing ordered his river demons to attack the other four rivers and five lakes alliance, excluding Dawan Lake, Fulong Lake, and Shilang Lake.
Otherwise, if Li Shimin were to take action against Sun Huajun afterward tonight, these river monsters would surely come ashore to help in the battle. Why not kill them first?

To prevent any unforeseen circumstances, Liu Qing sent his clone, the River God, to provide backup. If they encountered any formidable monsters, the clone could handle them.

Liu Qing has created twelve clones to merge with the incense offerings three times, all of them being river gods of the Great Bay Lake. Among them, the first clone has the highest cultivation level, currently at the late stage of the Divine Power Realm, while the second, third, and fourth clones are at the middle stage of the Divine Power Realm.

Finally, the eight newly formed Divine Souls were at the early stage of the Divine Power Realm, in addition to those formed after Liu Qing emerged from the City God's Realm.

Having captured ten to twenty thousand soul beasts, each of his clones was allocated a thousand. Now, with twelve clones and a thousand Yin soldiers under his command, this strength is more than enough to ensure peace of mind.
Even if there are enemies they can't defeat, Liu Qing himself is always there to provide support.

Li Shimin and Sun Hua agreed to open the gates of Chang'an at the end of the Chou hour (1-3 AM) tonight. There are still three hours until then.
This is not a training exercise. The elite naval forces under the command of Shan Gong, Xia Ke Xing, and Xiao Tu Long are all out in force, and with Liu Qing's clone, the River God, leading a thousand Yin soldiers to reinforce the front, they will surely be unstoppable and quickly conquer the Five Lakes and Four Rivers.

Haishi.

A deafening roar suddenly erupted from three directions: Dawan Lake, Fulong Lake, and Shilang Lake.
Under Liu Qing's command, the river demons, led by their respective garrison commanders, surged onto the water and launched a surprise attack on six rivers and lakes: the Malian River, the Liupan River, the Hong River, the Hei River, Nanshan Lake, and Ankang Lake.

The river demon of Dawan Lake, having been taught the techniques and spells of the East Sea by Liu Qing, possessed combat strength far exceeding that of other river demons of the same level. After further training at Fulong Lake and Shilang Lake, it was now exceptionally formidable.

The eel and shrimp merchants also possessed the magical artifacts and healing pills bestowed upon them by Liu Qing, thus giving them an advantage in both combat strength and logistics.
Furthermore, due to the surprise attack, the other water soldiers and river demons of the other water palaces were quickly routed and scattered in all directions upon engaging in battle.

The powerful demon of the Water Palace, in a state of panic, hurriedly went to Sun Hua's camp on the shore to report the situation, both to warn him and to request reinforcements.

Unfortunately, Liu Qing's divided spirit had already dispatched ghostly soldiers to guard the shore, and the river demons who came ashore seeking help were all surrounded and killed.

Seeing no hope of reinforcements, the powerful demon lord of Six Rivers Lake had no choice but to rally his routed troops and fight a desperate battle against the attack from Great Bay Lake.
But the initiative had been lost, and it was too late. They could only passively resist, and defeat was only a matter of time.

Meanwhile, Liu Qing himself, along with Hong Gu and Shui'er, led his eighteen Liu family snake pythons towards Chang'an City.
Xiao Ya and Bai She'er stayed behind at the main mansion, temporarily taking charge of Da Wan Lake. Sang Qingjun, Hu Zi Nian, Steward Shi, and Ji Ping'an were responsible for wartime logistics, leading a group of low-level spirits to and from the battlefield to rescue the wounded.

Boom——

A muffled clap of thunder suddenly echoed in the dark night sky.

Looking up, Liu Qing, using his Yin-Yang supernatural powers, saw that when lightning streaked across the night sky, illuminating the night, it appeared as red as blood.
Amidst the blood-red aura, countless wronged souls roared silently in the calamity, seemingly protesting the injustice of fate. What does the change of dynasties have to do with us common people? Why are we the ones who die the most?
Liu Qing sighed, "The rise and fall of dynasties bring suffering to the common people. In the torrent of humanity, the common people are the first to perish, simply because they are the weakest."
Liu Qing was powerless to change anything and could only sigh as he watched the murderous aura surrounding the world grow stronger and stronger.

The aura of slaughter completely obscured the entire sky, turning a crimson red that seemed almost to drip blood, and this was further amplified by the start of the surprise attack by the naval forces of Da Wan Lake.
The fact that Liu Qing's subordinates began to join the fight to assist Li Shimin signifies that Li Shimin has officially begun to participate in the struggle for power.
The rumbling thunder sounded like a bugle call.

As the rumble of thunder echoed, the aura of impending doom grew ever stronger. Finally, at a certain moment, with a deafening boom, the stars trembled and the moon began to revolve.

Lightning raged, stars trembled and the moon turned, and in the next instant, Liu Qing's pupils suddenly contracted as he saw streaks of starlight fly out from the trembling stars.

It swiftly pierced the night sky and descended upon the earth.

From an inconspicuous deep pool, a hundred-foot-long monstrous dragon roared and flew out. Its body was black and covered in malevolent energy. It looked up at the night sky and laughed triumphantly.

"I have been lying in wait here since the time of the Conferred Gods, and finally today has come. Kang Jinlong, I will wait for you in the great calamity!"

In Gaoli, Taishan, the Ghost Elder observed the stars at night and saw a great change in the heavens and earth. He hurriedly summoned the younger members of his clan, the One-Horned Ghost King and the Mighty Ghost King.

"You two went to Flower Fruit Mountain last time but returned empty-handed. Now that there is a calamity in the human world, there is another opportunity. You can go down the mountain to the human world, assist a wise ruler, and seek merit and divine positions."

Deep in the Qinling Mountains.

As the stars shone and the moon moved, countless excited roars came from underground. Soon, streams of demonic energy shot into the sky and flew down the mountain.

Beneath the Wei River, in the abode of a vicious dragon, a wisp of the soul of Shen Gongbao, the Water-Dividing General, possessed a black leopard. Seemingly aware of something, it peered through the river at the night sky.

Seeing the stars descend to earth and the gods come to visit, it immediately put its hands on its hips and burst into laughter.

"Haha, haha, with the change of dynasties in the human world and the great calamity of the Journey to the West, you guys finally couldn't resist and wanted to get involved?"

"It's a pity you're too late. I, Daoist, escaped a wisp of my soul from the confinement of the Investiture of the Gods ahead of time."

"You've all become so complacent and foolish, haven't you realized that the Investiture of the Gods can no longer completely imprison us?"

"Haha, I, Daoist Master, descended to the mortal realm first and was the first to pledge allegiance to this generation's God Lord, seizing the initiative. Now that the gods are being conferred, I, Daoist Master, will be on the same side as the God Lord. Let's see who can use me to fill the sea eye in the end!" Shen Gongbao laughed, but suddenly a fierce glint flashed in his eyes: "This time, it's my turn to assist in the conferment of gods. All our previous karma will be settled this time!"

Li Shimin's formal participation in the struggle for the throne seemed to herald the descent of stars to the mortal realm, the birth of an ancient demon, and the secret delight of the gods.

They all entered the calamity, choosing one of the anti-Sui forces they favored and joining it. Some intended to settle their karmic debts during the calamity, while others planned to assist the ruler in seeking merit. Each was eager and ready to make their move.
This only caused hardship for the incense-offering deities who had already joined the Sui Dynasty, who endured the torment with anxiety, even though they enjoyed the incense offerings from the Sui Dynasty.

In this dynastic change, these forces were inherently loyal to the Sui Dynasty. To ensure their own continued existence, they had to protect the Sui Dynasty and defeat the anti-Sui forces.
Otherwise, let alone achieving immortality through divine means, in the torrent of human change and dynastic shifts, simply surviving would be a feat in itself.

Wei Xiaokuan, the river god of the Jing River in the previous dynasty, is an example.

As the clones sent messages one after another, Liu Qing's smile grew wider and wider.

The Malian River Water Palace was the first to be breached, followed by the Liupan River, Hong River, and Hei River, which were subsequently trampled flat by the river demons of Dawan Lake.
Finally, in Nanshan Lake and Ankang Lake, only remnants of the army remained, fighting like cornered beasts. At most, they could be completely crushed in half an hour.

There is still one hour left until midnight.

As Liu Qing traveled to Chang'an, he had his clone deliver all the spoils of the battle, including river treasures, local artifacts, and the corpses of river demons.
The twelve clones quickly brought over the slain river demon corpses and the harvested river delicacies, which Liu Qing's main body swallowed whole.
The Devouring Elephant talent was rapidly refined, and as the Devouring Elephant talent was refined, the Origin Qi of Heaven and Earth within the body also increased rapidly.

Liu Qing waved his hand and added all the points to his cultivation level.

Currently, the only weakness limiting Liu Qing's combat power is that his true form's cultivation level is not high. This time, his reckless attack on the other six rivers and lakes...

One of the most crucial reasons is that Liu Qing intends to break through to the Refinement of Emptiness and Integration of Dao.

After returning from the City God's realm, he consumed all the yin medicines he had obtained. At this time, the thirty-two divided souls within his body had already achieved perfect yang spirit.

The only thing missing for him to break through to the Void Refinement and Dao Integration stage is demonic energy.

[Heaven and Earth Source Qi +19]

[Heaven and Earth Source Qi +89]

[Heaven and Earth Source Qi +78].
The primordial energy of heaven and earth rapidly increased, then transformed into demonic energy, which quickly grew stronger.

[Refining Emptiness and Uniting with the Dao: 85%]

[Refining Emptiness and Uniting with the Dao: 89%]

[Refining Emptiness and Uniting with the Dao: 92%]
With a faint cracking sound, the demonic energy within Liu Qing's body grew to its maximum, and he finally broke through the barrier of continuous Dao integration.

There's still half a step to go before completely breaking through to the Refinement of Emptiness and Integration with the Dao.

That is the authority of the Dao.

Liu Qing himself naturally needed to merge with the Dao and authority, and the authority and divine duties had already evolved.

Ninth-rank River Patrol Captain.

Liu Qing's eyes gleamed with joy. After years of cultivation, he had finally attained the power of the Dao.

With a thought, the demon summoned the jade tablet representing the god of authority, the ninth-rank river patrol captain, and pressed it to its brow.

The jade tablet emitted a dazzling divine light, melting and seeping into the divine realm like water. From within the divine realm, one of the Yang spirits lunged at the jade tablet.
Then, the jade tablet instantly shone brightly, illuminating the Yang spirit, permeating the physical body, and rapidly transforming demonic energy into divine power.
The blackness of the demonic energy gradually faded, evolving into golden divine power. Once all the demonic energy had been transformed, Liu Qing's power merged with the Dao, thus completing the process.

[Realm Level: Divine Power Realm 42%]

Because Liu Qing's accumulation during the process of refining the void and merging with the Dao was too profound, his cultivation level soared directly to the mid-stage of the Divine Power Realm after merging with the Dao.
His body was filled with immense divine power, flowing like a mighty river. With a thought, the power of his talents, supernatural abilities, and spells increased several times over.

After merging with the Dao, the jade tablet that had been fused together reassembled and floated in front of Liu Qing. Liu Qing looked at it with considerable surprise and doubt.
The jade tablet of this ninth-rank river patrol captain, representing the god of authority, was surprisingly purple, unlike Hong Gu's gold.

After thinking for a moment, Liu Qing had a vague guess that it was because of his rank of 'God Lord' that the jade tablet, which was only of the ninth grade, was tinged with a noble purple.

(End of this chapter)