Daily Intelligence: From Water Snake to Jinghe Dragon King

After disappearing for some time, Liu Bai's clone suddenly reappeared and deliberately revealed his aura to lure Liu Qing to Wen Zhong's residence. Liu Qing would never believe there was nothing fishy about it.

But we'll have to wait and see how it goes.

Liu Qing tore open a spatial rift and released his divine sense, secretly looking at his clone Liu Bai.

Then it was seen that Liu Bai's cultivation had soared to the peak of the Divine Realm, almost equal to his own, which was simply astonishing.

Liu Qing had his own advantages, and it took him more than ten years to improve to his current level. But now, Liu Bai has caught up with him in just a few months.

Such a rapid pace of progress is simply frightening. Upon closer inspection, it was discovered that the aura of the clone Liu Bai faintly carried the unique flavor of Buddhist cultivation techniques.

Liu Qing suddenly realized that Liu Bai's previous disappearance must be related to Buddhism.

Considering Yuan Haowen's disappearance and sudden death, Liu Qing speculated that Yuan Haowen had tricked Liu Bai into handing him over to Buddhism, and then Buddhism, with the full power of the sect, had elevated Liu Bai's cultivation level as if by initiation.

Little did they expect that Yuan Haowen was a spy for Buddhism.

This speculation was indeed wrong to Yuan Haowen, but Yuan Haowen is now dead and will not stand up to protest his innocence, so he can only be wronged by the master.

However, after Yuan Haowen passed away, it's unclear to whom his previous bad luck was transferred.

Liu Bai did not react at all to the probing of his own divine sense. Logically speaking, as Liu Qing's clone, Liu Bai should be extremely familiar with the divine sense of his main body. The fact that he did not detect it now suggests that something has changed.

Could it be that he has been converted?

A thought struck Liu Qing, and combined with Liu Bai's current behavior, he had vaguely glimpsed the truth.

Buddhism has converted Liu Bai and improved his cultivation to almost the same level as its own, and now it has attracted its own followers.

Their intentions were clear: they already knew that Liu Bai was their clone, and they planned to take advantage of the moment when they merged with Liu Bai to try to make Liu Bai replace them!

In the blink of an eye, Liu Qing deduced almost everything about Buddhism's various schemes, which he thought were very clever and secretive.

Aside from the fact that Buddhism wanted to use Liu Qing to weaken the power of the Heavenly Court, which was unexpected, there was no need to guess. Wen Zhong and other Jie Sect gods would not be manipulated by the Investiture of the Gods and would not fight against their master. As for the other trusted gods of the Jade Emperor, even if Buddhism did not instigate it, Liu Qing would still take their heads.

Having guessed the truth, Liu Qing naturally wouldn't immediately merge with Liu Bai to break through to the Golden Body Realm.

However, Liu Bai is crucial to Liu Qing's breakthrough. Without merging with Liu Bai, he cannot break through to the Golden Body Realm, and his path will end there.

However, if Liu Qing were to merge with Liu Bai, then Buddhism must have left a backup plan within Liu Bai's body. Liu Qing dared not be so arrogant as to think that he could ignore the backup plan that Buddhism had carefully prepared.

What should we do? Should we use the Lingbao Dushi Jing to bring Liu Bai back to life?

Liu Qing attempted to secretly infiltrate the text of the Lingbao Dushi Jing into Liu Bai's body, but unexpectedly, a mysterious power appeared and repelled the Lingbao Dushi Jing.

Conversion and conversion are the core skills of Buddhism. Although the Lingbao Dushi Jing was transmitted by Tongtian, the Buddhist scriptures for conversion were also created by two sages, and their power is no less than that of the Lingbao Dushi Jing.

Unable to be reformed and unwilling to merge, Liu Qing is now truly at a loss when facing Liu Bai.

Beyond the void lies the real world.

It started raining heavily for no apparent reason.

Since Wen Zhong, the Heavenly Lord of Thunder, along with the Wind God, the Lightning God, the Cloud God, and other Heavenly Lords of Thunder, were rescued from the Investiture of the Gods, there has been no more wind, clouds, thunder, or lightning in the Nine Heavens. Whenever it rains, there is no longer a sudden flash of lightning and thunder; instead, the rain falls abruptly and without order.

While arid lands may go without rain for months, rivers and marshes may experience torrential downpours for days on end.

The torrential rain fell like a collapsing celestial river, instantly plunging several feet down, eradicating the drought, filling the gullies, and converging along the canals towards the Grand Canal.

Several more breaths passed, and the rain poured down several feet more, and it continued without any sign of stopping.

After a short while, looking around Zhuojun, it was almost like a vast ocean. Countless people hurriedly grabbed their belongings, carrying their elderly mothers, wives, and children, and fled to higher ground for refuge.

Endless floodwaters poured into the newly dug Grand Canal, flowing south along it and unleashing devastation upon the region.

However, the Grand Canal was newly excavated. This section of the canal was also known as Yongji Canal, which was an old canal dug by the river workers of the previous dynasty. The Grand Canal simply connected it with the Haihe River and the Yellow River by excavating a section that was separated in the middle. Therefore, the original Yongji Canal was not very deep and contained a lot of silt. The newly excavated Lian Tong Canal, although deep enough, was not wide enough. Therefore, neither the new canal nor the old canal could drain floodwaters in the fastest way.

Moreover, as the heavy rains continue, this section of the Grand Canal is also showing signs of flooding. When the Grand Canal overflows, it will definitely cause immense suffering and loss of life to the people living on both sides of the middle and lower reaches.

Furthermore, if the Grand Canal overflows and cannot drain the floodwaters, the people of Zhuojun will be the first to drown.

[Today's intelligence: Level Purple, Black. Due to heavy rains in Zhuojun, rare flooding has occurred. Take advantage of the situation to cross the Jiao Canal. This will alleviate the suffering and bring merit, with a very high probability of evolving into a Five-Clawed Golden Dragon. However, it is suspected that someone will ambush you during this Jiao crossing; proceed with caution.]

The True Scripture of Earth gave Liu Qing a hint, and Liu Qing looked at it with mixed feelings of joy and worry.

The good news is that the time for me to transform from a dragon into a dragon has finally come. I can also take this opportunity to widen the Grand Canal, quell the floods, and save the disaster victims, thereby gaining merit and increasing the probability of evolving into a five-clawed golden dragon.

What worries me is that when the time comes for me to become a dragon, I can guess, without any intelligence warning, that my enemies will definitely rush to my aid, trying to become my human tribulations when I face the ordained calamity of the dragon-crossing journey, and hinder my success.

Liu Qing calmed himself down and began to ponder the pros and cons with a frown. This time, the heavy rain and his location on the canal presented him with an opportunity to escape the dragon.

If we let this opportunity slip by, who knows how long we'll have to wait for another such wonderful chance?

If one can travel along the Grand Canal and encounter heavy rains and floods, and perform meritorious deeds in helping the people in disaster relief, there is a very high chance that one will evolve into a five-clawed golden dragon. The five-clawed golden dragon is related to one's origins and ultimate Hunyuan Dao Fruit. Naturally, Liu Qing is unwilling to give up the opportunity to increase his chances of evolution.

If we give up this great opportunity to become a dragon, we don't know if we'll have another chance. Even if we do, we won't have the merit to increase the probability of evolving into a five-clawed golden dragon!

Liu Qing had a gambling streak, and faced with such a great opportunity, he decided to take a gamble and ride the dragon, betting on whether he could seize the opportunity and evolve into a five-clawed golden dragon.

Isn't it just that someone might rob you during the dragon-walking process?
I'm not the type to take a beating without fighting back. If they try to obstruct my opportunity, then I'll kill them. Let's see how fierce the calamity is. My Panlong Eight-Tone Cone is still the most powerful!
As for the matter of the clone Liu Bai, let's put it aside for now. There's no good solution at the moment, so let's hurry up and go find the dragon.

Perhaps after transforming into a five-clawed golden dragon, its strength will increase greatly, and a solution might be found.

Furthermore, at worst, we can go and ask our teacher, Daoist Yu Yu, for help.

Master Yu Yu Dao Ren is currently betting against the Jade Emperor. Liu Qing would not usually trouble his master, lest the Jade Emperor slip away and cause further trouble for the journey to the east.

Having made up his mind, Liu Qing no longer hesitated. He immediately stepped out of the void and arrived above Zhuojun. He saw that the rain, which looked like a stream of water, was pouring down on the earth with increasing force, making the floods below even worse.

Whether it was a flood disaster or a chance encounter with a dragon, Liu Qing dared not delay. He immediately trembled and revealed his true form as a nine-hundred-foot-long azure dragon.

Then, the enormous azure dragon roared to the sky, and then suddenly swooped down, plunging headfirst into the Grand Canal of Zhuojun below.

Liu Qing's move was like a dragon entering the water, stirring up a storm.

Maitreya Buddha, hiding in the clouds, saw Liu Qing suddenly appear, then manifest as a blue dragon and plunge into the Grand Canal below.

He was taken aback at first, then suddenly realized the truth and, not daring to act on his own, transmitted his voice to the Buddha: "Buddha, after Liu Qing was led to Wen Zhong's army by this old monk, he did not immediately capture and merge with Liu Bai."

"Since Liu Qing did not immediately arrest Liu Bai, he will not clash with Wen Zhong. Our plan to weaken the Heavenly Court's strength by using Liu Qing has failed."

"Could it be that Liu Qing has noticed something?"

"This old monk doesn't think so. The reason why Liu Qing didn't immediately try to seize Liu Bai's fusion was because he was currently walking the dragon!"

"Transforming into a dragon? Liu Qing's true form is already a green dragon, so it's only natural that he will transform into a dragon as he travels the river!"

"Since he is going to become a dragon, then the opportunity is even better for us. Our Buddhism can act as a human obstacle on his journey to become a dragon. This is permitted by the Heavenly Dao and has a legitimate reason for action. We no longer need to abide by the agreement that people in the Great Luo Realm cannot intervene."

Even the Buddha was exhausted. In a moment of impulse, he made a pact with Liu Qing, stipulating that neither side's experts at the Great Luo Realm should interfere.

I regret it so much now.

Liu Qing possessed divine power, numerous supernatural abilities, and a powerful spiritual treasure. With all these enhancements, his combat strength was extremely high. He was already invincible among those of the same realm, and fighting across realms was commonplace. Even fighting across two or three realms was not difficult.

Liu Qing has already reached the Divine Realm. He can face the Great Luo Immortal directly when fighting across three realms. Last time, even the Golden Immortal of the Chan Sect, the veteran Great Luo Immortal Taiyi Zhenren, failed to defeat Liu Qing due to his carelessness.

Liu Qing's combat power was already comparable to that of an ordinary early-stage Great Luo Realm expert. Due to the agreement, the Buddhist experts dared not make a move openly, which allowed Liu Qing to seize the opportunity and wipe out the five hundred Arhats and eighteen Arahats.

It's not that Buddhism keeps its word—words are worthless—it's just that they're wary of that Yu Yu Daoist. They're afraid that if their own Great Luo Realm cultivators make a move, Yu Yu Daoist will also have an excuse to attack.

Throughout Buddhism, there was no one who could stop Yu Yu Daoren.

Now that Liu Qing has escaped the dragon, Heaven has tacitly allowed the human tribulation to obstruct the path. At that time, the Great Luo Realm Bodhisattvas and Buddhas of Buddhism can openly and legitimately take action without breaking the contract. Then, Yu Yu Daoist will naturally have no excuse to deal with the great Buddhist power.

Thinking of this, the Buddha felt a surge of joy and transmitted his voice, saying, "Maitreya, this is perfect. You go and help Liu Qing overcome the tribulation of the dragon-human, and then I will send other people to assist you. Even if Liu Qing's combat power is high, he will surely be severely injured when facing the combined forces of so many Great Luo Realm cultivators!"

"At that time, if we let Liu Bai merge with the heavily injured Liu Qing, it will definitely go even more smoothly than planned!"

"Please obey my Buddhist teachings."

Having said that, Maitreya Buddha stepped out of the void, revealing his demon-subduing form. He passed Liu Qing and arrived in front of the path Liu Qing was bound to take. Looking at the huge green dragon in the canal in the distance, he sneered repeatedly.

Biyou Palace.

The Holy Mother of Wudang, who was meditating, received a telepathic message from Liu Qing. She immediately woke up from her meditation, called out to Immortal Pilu, picked up the Wudang Sword, stepped into the void, and hurriedly headed towards Zhuojun in the lower realm.

Liu Qing decided to take the dragon's flight, so how could he not make arrangements?

Pilu Xian followed closely behind. Jingu Xian wanted to catch up, but then heard Wudang Shengmu say, "Junior Brother Jingu, your cultivation is not enough. You should stay at Biyou Palace to guard the place. Senior Sister Pilu Xian and I will protect Liu Qing."

The Golden Hoop Immortal looked sullen; sigh, he'd been rejected again.

Kunlun Mountain, Yuxu Palace.

Since Liu Qing initiated the Eastern Journey, he has focused his attention on it every day.

Seeing that the situation in the East was very good and everything was going smoothly, and that Liu Qing had no calamities he could not overcome, he had not sought help from the Chan Sect.

This made Guang Chengzi, who had given Liu Qing his token as a disciple of the Chan Sect long ago and had been hoping for Liu Qing to come and ask for help, extremely anxious.

Although the Chan Sect suffered a major blow and never flourished again due to the defection of Randeng, Julusun, Cihang, Manjushri, and Samantabhadra, it is still much better than the Jie Sect and remains a major sect in the Three Realms today.

As it is a great religion of sages, it naturally has dignity. Even if Guang Chengzi was happy to help, he couldn't bring himself to ask Liu Qing for help and would take the initiative to go and assist Dongyou.

The fact that Guang Chengzi, as the acting leader of the Chan Sect, was able to give Liu Qing a Chan Sect token last time was already the limit of what he could do.

Guang Chengzi was already anxious, worried that he would be unable to get involved in the Eastern Journey. Last time, he had a falling out with Liu Qing because of the Taiyi Zhenren incident at Tongguan, which made him even more anxious.

If the matter of Taiyi Zhenren causes Liu Qing, who was already reluctant to seek help from the Chan Sect, to completely stop seeking help, then the Chan Sect will lose the opportunity to intervene in the Eastern Journey and share in the fortune. Moreover, it will be unable to resolve the karmic ties with the Jie Sect during the Investiture of the Gods.

Thinking of this, Guang Chengzi wished he could give Taiyi Zhenren a good beating.

Just when Guang Chengzi was at his wit's end and wanted to find an opportunity to break the ice, he suddenly saw Liu Qing begin to walk like a dragon.

Moreover, not long after Liu Qing began, the Buddhist Maitreya transformed into Liu Qing, who was riding a dragon, and then several beams of Buddhist light appeared from the Western Buddhist side, hurrying towards the lower realm canal.

Hmm, Liu Qing's journey with the dragon and the Buddhist mission to save humanity present a good opportunity.

I'm going to help Liu Qing, to show him kindness, and to resolve the rift brought by Taiyi Zhenren. At the same time, I can take the opportunity to understand the cause and effect of the Conferred Gods ceremony of the Jie Sect. Perhaps, I'll even have a chance to intervene in the Eastern Journey.

Guang Chengzi excitedly rang the Soul-Sinking Bell, summoning the Golden Immortals of the Chan Sect, including Chi Jingzi, Yu Ding Zhenren, and Huang Long Zhenren. After briefly explaining his plan, he tore open space and headed straight for the Lower Realm Canal.

This section of the Grand Canal is ten zhang wide and three to five zhang deep. At this moment, endless floodwaters swept across the banks, carrying mud, sand, gravel, and broken tree trunks. Drowned livestock also rushed in, almost completely blocking the already narrow canal.

The floodwaters were murky, obscuring the view, but Liu Qing remained calm. He immediately used his Yin-Yang supernatural powers to assess the situation in the water. After assessing the conditions, Liu Qing decided to first remove the silted-up rocks, tree trunks, and livestock before widening the river channel.

When a dragon travels along a river, it always takes advantage of floods, using the surging waters to drift downstream, cross rivers, and head straight for the East China Sea. When it is close to the East China Sea, it leaps through the Dragon Transformation Pool and transforms into a dragon in one fell swoop.

However, dragons traversing rivers are mostly for their own benefit, taking advantage of the floodwaters and harming the creatures on both banks. Thus, they ultimately transform into dragons, bringing additional calamities, such as lightning or heavenly fire—punishments from Heaven on behalf of the affected beings. (End of Chapter)