Shulong Daojun

After a brief separation, upon returning, everything remained the same; people and events were unchanged, and time stood still.

Xiao Dou'er was like this, and so was Zhao Sheng.

He sensed the formation dissipate and the gate open on its own, knowing that a Taoist priest and the Scale Book had returned. He put down his hoe and strode toward the stone tablet.

Upon arrival, Zhao Sheng, his face beaming with joy, bowed and said, "Greetings, Master."

Senior brother, you're back.

He first bowed to the Taoist priest, and then turned to Lin Shu.

The monk looked around the temple and saw that the plants and trees were still fresh. He nodded slightly and said gently, "Sheng'er, you've worked hard. The temple has been well taken care of these days."

Lin Shu sensed it briefly and smiled, "Junior Brother's complexion is clear and his body is pure, which shows that you have completed the five tasks of the nine-year morning practice, finished the foundation building and self-refinement, and all the turbid energy in your body has been eliminated."

Your cultivation has improved significantly; congratulations!

Zhao Sheng cupped his hands and said, "Senior brother, you flatter me. I don't deserve it."

Upon hearing this, Lin Shu smiled faintly and was about to say a few more words to Zhao Sheng when he suddenly heard the Taoist priest shake his head and say:

"There's no need for such formalities between fellow disciples."

"Shu'er, now that you have been appointed a righteous god, you should shoulder the responsibility of protecting this land. When will you take office?"

Lin Shu pondered for a moment and said, "I will wait a few more days to handle some trivial matters in the temple, and then I will set off for Qingwu City to take up my post."

The moment the title of the Righteous God of Qingwu City was made public, the deadline for taking office also arrived—within half a month, there could be no mistakes.

Therefore, the sooner the better.

However, before that, he had other plans for Qingmin.

It is more likely to gain divine approval when making recommendations, and it is also related to the people's willingness to sincerely worship in the future.

Being unfamiliar with Qingwu City presents many inconveniences, so staying at the temple is the best option.

Seeing that Lin Shu understood, the Taoist nodded, then gently flicked his whisk, and a piece of azure metal appeared out of thin air.

"Shu'er, this is the Xuanjin (mysterious gold)."

He held the Taoist's whisk and flicked it again, and the black gold slowly floated to Lin Shu's side.

He smiled faintly and said, "When I was in the Taiyi Yuanchen Sect, I obtained a piece from Senior Brother Shouzheng. Please keep it safe."

Lin Shu felt a warmth in his heart, accepted the Xuan Jin with both hands, and bowed, saying, "Thank you, Master."

After saying this, he put away the Xuanjin, told Xiaodou'er some interesting stories about the Dharma assembly, bid farewell to Baoyi Daoist, and turned to go to the living quarters in the east.

The pine and cypress trees in the courtyard are evergreen, and there is a table and two stools under which people often sit, all made of stone.

As soon as Lin Shufang stepped inside, he chose a stool to sit down, and then took out Xuanjin from his storage bag and placed it on the stone table.

Immediately afterwards, he flicked his finger, and Qingmin swam down from his shoulder, landing beside Xuanjin, its dragon eyes blinking.

Just then, a ray of divine light descended, and the black gold shattered into several pieces.

Lin Shu glanced at the piece, picked up a smaller one, and held it to Qing Min's lips, smiling slightly, "Try swallowing it."

The azure dragon's eyes widened in surprise, but after only a moment, it opened its mouth and swallowed the contents.

Then it quietly lay down on the stone table, its body emitting a faint blue light, clearly indicating that it was refining itself.

Lin Shu observed for a moment and, seeing that Qing Min was unharmed, took out the ape wine and fish meat and placed them aside. Then he began to ponder another matter.

The Book of Dragons states: "The dragon is the chief of all scaled creatures. It can be hidden or visible, small or large, short or long. It can shrink when blown, be kept in a pot, and bring rain when it comes out."

Therefore, dragons are naturally capable of being both small and large, which is their nature.

Qingmin is a blue dragon, belonging to the dragon species, and also possesses this ability.

However, it is too young and not yet time for it to awaken.

However, the Dragon Book records a method that can activate it in advance.

It involves taking the steps of Yu, blowing air, shrinking the dragon into a pot, and nourishing it with water.

The Yu Step, also known as the Stepping of the Dipper, is the root of all Taoist arts and the essence of its mysteries. It emphasizes three steps and nine traces, which correspond to the positions of the seven stars of the Big Dipper.

As a disciple of the Daoist sect, Lin Shu was naturally familiar with it.

Therefore, everything is ready except for a pot.

It's not something hard to find; we use it for boiling water and making tea every day, and we have it in the house.

Lin Shu immediately got up and went into the house. Before long, he had a celadon teapot in his hand.

He placed the pot next to Qingmin, and the sight of the two pots, one large and one small, came into view.

Then it was seen that the green jade was about half the size of the celadon pot.

Lin Shu couldn't help but smile and said softly, "Not bad, it's a good item for raising dragons."

After saying that, he turned his gaze to Qingmin and waited for her to finish refining.

A moment later, the blue light on the stone table gradually faded, and a clear and powerful neigh suddenly rang out.

But Qingmin had already slowly opened his eyes.

A wisp of blue light emanated from its dragon eyes, and the blue scales on its body moved sparsely, exuding vitality, as if it were bathed in the colors of spring.

Seeing this, Lin Shu reached out and stroked the green scale, feeling a warm, jade-like sensation emanating from his hand.

After a moment, he withdrew his hand and whispered to Qingmin, "Just go with your instincts later, there's no need to resist."

Qingmin hissed and nodded its head several times.

The next instant.

Lin Shu stood up and skillfully began to walk around the stone table, his steps leaving nine marks every three steps, subtly aligning with the Big Dipper.

Immediately, he bent down and blew a breath, which struck the azure dragon's body squarely.

In an instant, Qingmin shrank back, its body shrinking slightly, though its form changed, its dragon appearance remained the same.

However, it quickly returned to its original state after only a short while.

It is clear that the shrunk shape has not yet been completed.

Lin Shu was taken aback, his brows furrowed slightly, and after a moment's thought, he began to perform the Yu Step again, blowing air.

Qingmin shrank back to his original size.

"It reacts and can shrink, so the method is correct, but why does it work sometimes and not other times?"

Lin Shu was puzzled. He looked at Qing Min while reading through the "Dragon Book" to find out the reason.

There are 108,000 methods for raising dragons, and the five chapters of the "Dragon Book" serve as its general outline.

Each of the five pieces has its strengths and weaknesses.

Therefore, the answers to what is unclear in one article can often be found in other articles.

Before long, the Scale Book found the following record:

"The dragon is the god of aquatic creatures. When it rides on water, its spirit is established; when it loses its water, its spirit is destroyed."

The meaning is that dragons are born from water, and their supernatural powers are revealed when they are in water, but their spirituality is obscured when they are out of water.

Therefore, the dragon is a creature of water.

Upon realizing this, Lin Shu suddenly understood.

The reason why Qingmin shrank and then returned to its original form was because it was not near the water, and its spiritual nature became dull.

Therefore, one only needs to find a place with water, perform the Yu Step, and blow air to shrink oneself and never return.

The phrase "nourish it with water" in that method subtly mentions this point, but it's not very clear.

Lin Shu understood without hesitation. He gently called Qing Min to rest on his shoulder, picked up the celadon pot, and turned to walk towards the stream in the valley.

Upon reaching the stream, he placed the azure dragon in the water, then once again performed the Yu Step, exhaled a breath, and brushed it towards the azure dragon's body.

This time, Qingmin suddenly shrank back, paused for a moment, but his body did not return to its original state as before.

Lin Shu's eyes lit up, and he immediately blew several puffs.

Then Qingmin shrank again and again, and his body, which was about half a foot long, instantly became the size of a walnut, which was quite small.

Lin Shu was immediately delighted. He lifted the lid of the pot, casually scooped up a small amount of stream water and poured it in, then bent down, lifted the green jade, and gently placed it into the pot.

Seeing Qingmin frolicking in the water, he smiled faintly: "From now on, this will be the Dragon-Nourishing Pot."