Chapter 104 A Thousand Years of Cultivation

The next few days were lively in Ming Prefecture.

A wealthy merchant in the city found a silk scroll in a fish's belly with the words "Ming Prefecture King, prosperity for the world." He was immediately astonished, considering it a divine omen and a popular topic of conversation.

Then, some craftsmen heard foxes howling in the wilderness at night, calling out towards Ming Prefecture city, indistinctly chanting the name "Heaven's mandate revealed, protect the grain, Yang." They formed groups and kowtowed towards Ming Prefecture city.

Others, walking at night, heard little ghosts crawling out of坟头 (fentou - graves) in the roadside graveyard, chatting: "The true dragon is about to be born; Ming Prefecture is a land of great fortune…"

"Alas, our fate is not good. If we had died a few years later, we would have been protected by the Ming Prefecture King and wouldn't have been left to rot in the wilderness…"

"…"

One by one, these events spread. From street corners to alleys, storytellers, tea-selling Wang women, laborers, and merchants were all talking about the Grain Protection General's impending heavenly mandate.

Furthermore, many insiders revealed that once the Grain Protection General was crowned king, Ming Prefecture would enjoy favorable weather and abundant harvests for at least a few years.

Some even said that after being crowned king, he would thank the people by exempting Ming Prefecture from taxes for three years. The people, being practical, submitted ten-thousand-signature petitions, demanding that the Grain Protection General be crowned king.

Some elders from the countryside even came before the city, vowing not to rise until the Grain Protection General was crowned king.

How could the Grain Protection General bear such a thing?

He repeatedly declined, "Oh no, this won't do, elders, please rise…"

"I am a general of the Diyi, loyal to the emperor. How can I claim to be a king? It's against the rules, against the rules."

"…"

But he couldn't withstand the kneeling of the three armies and the united hearts of the people, so the Grain Protection General had to reluctantly agree.

Thus, before Ming Prefecture city, he performed the ceremony of offering sacrifices to Heaven and Earth, and was crowned the Ming King. The mansion in the city was now renamed the King's Manor.

Taking advantage of the coronation, he exempted Ming Prefecture from three years of taxes to thank the people.

Furthermore, taking advantage of the rising reputation inside and outside Ming Prefecture, he rewarded the three armies and appointed three grand generals: General of the Left, Zhou Liang; Deputy General, Zhao Zhu; General of the Right, Zhang Yanbei; and General of the Center, Shen Hongzhi, formerly the Left Protector of the Red Lantern Maiden Society. Each of the three generals led an army.

After appointing the generals, he issued a decree to punish bandits, stating that there were too many people in the world who were not living peacefully, and he couldn't stand it any longer, so he would set out from Ming Prefecture to punish the bandits.

The first target was the Three-Headed Flood Dragon Demon King, who was causing trouble in Lake Prefecture.

For a time, everyone under the Grain Protection General was invigorated, shouting, "That old thief has been coveting Ming Prefecture's land and water for a long time, and even sent people to cause trouble. How wonderful, we'll go and find him!"

"…"

"…"

"Bu Shi Niu's tricks are indeed very professional…"

At this time, in the Zhuangzi village of Qing Stone Town, Hu Ma also learned of the recent excitement in Ming Prefecture. He was somewhat dumbfounded. Now, even the people around his village knew about the Ming Prefecture King, and they thought it was only natural.

But he was not interested in the excitement of the coronation; he was more concerned about the Three-Headed Flood Dragon Demon King, who was about to be attacked.

"The experts say it has a thousand years of cultivation?"

Hu Ma was quite disdainful in his heart, "What nonsense. Even I only have two hundred years of cultivation. Does that mean his cultivation is five times higher than mine?"

Twenty years is one pillar; he is now at ten pillars of incense, which is two hundred years of cultivation.

According to the records of the Great Luo Law Sect, this was already the first time since the creation of the world, but now a thousand-year-old demon has appeared?

"Can your two hundred years of cultivation be the same as someone else's thousand years of cultivation?"

Old Suanpan had already inquired about the details of the Three-Headed Flood Dragon Demon King from the disciples of the Great Luo Law Sect and sighed, "For the past twenty years, the Ten Surnames have been watching over the world."

"With the help of the four hall masters of each sect, as well as the Prefecture Lords and Wandering Gods of each state and county, they have managed to stabilize the world."

"However, after all, the Ten Surnames are not holding official positions openly, but are secretly monitoring. To put it bluntly, they are governing the world with jianghu methods. How can they really keep watch?"

"It's not just loopholes; it's practically a sieve. So, despite the great reputation of the Ten Surnames, there are still many capable people and异类 (yilei - oddities) in this world who are not under their watch, nor are they in their sects."

"This Three-Headed Flood Dragon is such an oddity."

"According to the Great Luo Law Sect, there are three thousand worlds, each forming its own天地 (tiandi - heaven and earth), but our world is a little too close to the Grand Duke. Since ancient times, there have been many rumors of妖祟 (yaosui - demonic sprites) and精怪 (jingguai - monsters), and from time to time, one or two妖类 (yaolei - demons) with cultivation will emerge."

"But they are suppressed by the ancestral altar and can never truly develop. Now, the old Flood Dragon in Lake Prefecture is such an old thing that has gained power."

"However, what sets it apart from other精怪 (jingguai - monsters) is that this old Flood Dragon should have developed灵智 (lingzhi - sentience) five hundred years ago. At that time, the Zhang family still ruled the world, and the Diyi had not yet raised their army. It was still insignificant, and although it had gained灵智 (lingzhi - sentience), it simply hid and cultivated."

"Originally, this kind of thing would usually be destroyed by heavenly condemnation in three or four hundred years. Although it had some abilities, it was only spiritual and could bewitch people, at most giving the surrounding neighbors a dream. It didn't have much power."

"If it really angered the surrounding people, the hunters and farmers could discuss it and knock it to death with a hoe."

"But this thing was fortunate enough to encounter the good fortune of the Grand Duke's descent."

"When the Grand Duke descended, evil spirits grew in the world, causing chaos and祸乱 (huoluan - disaster) everywhere. But it was clever and occupied a secret 血食 (xueshi - blood food) mine deep in a mountain lake, devouring 血食 (xueshi - blood food), hiding in secret, not causing trouble, and cultivating quietly."

"Over the past two hundred years, how fast has its power grown?"

"However, because it was cautious, first fearing the Town Suppression Prefecture, and later fearing the Ten Surnames, it always hid, not letting others know, and of course, it never had the opportunity to obtain封正 (fengzheng - official recognition)."

"Without封正 (fengzheng - official recognition), other妖类 (yaolei - demons) would stop there, stagnating, but it was different. It relied on eating the Grand Duke, growing its cultivation, and gradually developed神通 (shentong - supernatural powers). According to my fellow disciple who detected its existence, this old Flood Dragon is at least in the inhuman realm."

"…"

"This is indeed worthy of being called a天地异类 (tiandi yilei - oddity of heaven and earth)."

Hu Ma nodded after listening and said, "Since it is usually so careful, why is it causing trouble now?"

"And why did it choose Ming Prefecture, which is so close to Old Yin Mountain?"

"…"

Ming Prefecture is the place where he offers sacrifices to the mountain, leading to the emergence of a new god. It is now the place with the most incense in the world. Other妖祟 (yaosui - demonic sprites) are trying to hide, but it dared to send妖人 (yaoren - demon people) from the Red Lantern Maiden Society to cause trouble, which is already audacious.

"Perhaps it feels that its天命 (tianming - heavenly mandate) has arrived."

Old Suanpan shook his head and said, "This鬼玩意儿 (gui wanyi'er - ghostly thing) used to be terrifyingly cautious. Anyone who detected its existence would be eaten by it."

"But thirty years ago, when the Diyi perished, it also entrusted itself to the path of reincarnation, drilling into the belly of a peasant woman, thereby reincarnating into the human world. This method of妖物化形 (yaowu huaxing - demon transformation) is no less than 封正 (fengzheng - official recognition), but unfortunately, its roots are alien, so it remains so even after reincarnation."

"Now, using a human form, it is bewitching the people, collecting incense, and raising an army to claim the throne. We guess that it has sensed the reappearance of the 天命 (tianming - heavenly mandate), so it wants to raise an army and fight for the 天命 (tianming - heavenly mandate)."

"If it really succeeds, it can自我封正 (ziwo fengzheng - self-recognize) and become a正类 (zhenglei - legitimate being) in this world."

"Since it has this ambition and possesses power, it has unleashed all the pent-up energy of a lifetime, making it even more ferocious than others."

"But if you really talk about cultivation, it is only thirty years old now, but adding the years in its Flood Dragon body, it is five hundred years old, claiming to have a thousand years of cultivation, which is just gilding its own face."

"…"

"If you really talk about it, it is truly the greatest妖 (yao - demon) I have ever seen in my life."

Hu Ma became interested after listening and said, "However, since even the Ten Surnames didn't see it, how do you know so much about it?"

Old Suanpan smiled after hearing this and said, "The disciples of the Great Luo Law Sect have only one job, which is to travel the world, observe qi, and seek命 (ming - fate). Staying by the side of people with heavy fates, they naturally see things more comprehensively than the Ten Surnames."

"Of course, even the Great Luo Law Sect cannot guarantee that it sees everything clearly. Maybe there are people with heavy fates who know how to hide and are happy to be carefree, not dealing with us."

"…"

Hu Ma didn't ask any more questions, but just smiled, "Since that's the case, let's go and admire this so-called thousand years of cultivation!"

Now, on the surface, Yang Gong is sending troops to punish bandits, but in reality, he is going to kill the草头王 (caotouwang - upstart king), collect the 天命 (tianming - heavenly mandate), and refine the treasure seal. So Hu Ma did not delay, and without following the Grain Protection Army to make a big show, he only took Old Suanpan and secretly came to Lake Prefecture to investigate.

To put it bluntly, this is just adding some trouble in order to collect the 天命 (tianming - heavenly mandate) and refine the treasure seal.

If he could refine the seal by directly killing the草头王 (caotouwang - upstart king), Hu Ma would just do it himself, but 天命 (tianming - heavenly mandate) is transformed by the hearts of the people.

If he killed the草头王 (caotouwang - upstart king), the 天命 (tianming - heavenly mandate) would still be there, and naturally the second草头王 (caotouwang - upstart king) would emerge locally. Even if he killed everyone to the point where no one dared to call himself a草头王 (caotouwang - upstart king), the 天命 (tianming - heavenly mandate) there would only be scattered, not taken by him. So he had to do it openly and fairly.

And after some investigation, he had a better understanding of Lake Prefecture.

The Grain Protection Army is now in a bit of a predicament.

Having issued the decree to punish bandits and designated Lake Prefecture as the first target, the Grain Protection Army naturally began to prepare.

Food, weapons, horses, and armor, but in addition to these, they also had to build warships.

Lake Prefecture is a special place, with water on three sides and roads on two ends, and the soldiers and术士 (shushi - sorcerers) under the Three-Headed Flood Dragon King are mostly skilled in阴邪 (yinxie - yin and evil) water techniques.

If the Grain Protection Army went by land, enemies could attack from the water on both sides at any time, or the enemy could cut off the army in the middle, so that the head and tail could not take care of each other, or if the enemy lost, they could retreat into the water, and there would be no way to deal with them.

Therefore, before sending troops, they had to prepare boats and ships.

But this point made the Grain Protection Army feel difficult before they even set out.

Among Bu Shi Niu's妖人 (yaoren - demon people), there were various kinds of talents, countless capable people, and shipbuilding was not a problem, but getting the ships into the water was.

The water was 악수 (aksu - evil water).

Bu Shi Niu led the manufacturing camp and had already built countless boats and ships overnight, but when they tried to launch them into the water, they suddenly discovered that the rivers and lakes around Lake Prefecture were full of妖邪 (yaoxie - demonic evils). The boats, which were fine, were capsized by the waves as soon as they entered the water.

Some who knew how to swim wanted to dive into the water to try, but as soon as they entered the water, they disappeared. When they were finally pulled up, their calves were covered with blue handprints.

Moreover, scouts from the Grain Protection Army went to investigate the terrain and intelligence by land, but as soon as they entered Lake Prefecture, they disappeared.

Only then did they realize that the Three-Headed Old Flood Dragon was quite capable. Not only did it occupy this thousand-mile water area, but it also made the surrounding villages as solid as iron.

Inside and out, either occupied by the Flood Dragon Army under its command or filled with the Red Lantern Maiden Society followers it raised, the Grain Protection Army was clearly powerful, and the soldiers were numerous, but now they were having difficulty entering Lake Prefecture.

Things in the water are different from things on land. On land, the deterrence of the army is enough to prevent most妖祟 (yaosui - demonic sprites) from showing their heads, but people on the water will naturally be in awe, and this baleful aura will be much weaker.

"If you want to attack Lake Prefecture, you must first deal with the water monsters!"

Seeing this, the military advisor of the Ming Prefecture King, Tiezuizi, said, "Don't launch the remaining boats into the water yet. Wait for me to burn incense at night and invite a powerful person from Ming Prefecture."

Yang Gong listened to him and temporarily camped, waiting for the capable person to deal with the water monsters before sending out the army.

At night, this military advisor Tiezuizi only took two attendants and went to the water's edge, set up an altar, performed a ritual, burned three sticks of incense, and invited the Ao Tou (鳌头 -鳌头) God of Niujiawan in Ming Prefecture. Following his chanting, black clouds quickly rose all around, and water vapor rose.

Before long, they could see layers of ripples on the vast water area in front of them, bubbles popping, as if there was an earthquake at the bottom of the lake.

After tossing and turning until midnight, the military advisor Tiezuizi collected his magic and returned to the camp to report, "The Ao Tou God has already come at night."

"He showed himself to protect the grain for the people when the descendants of the Hu family fought the hungry ghosts before, so he gained incense and built a temple. Speaking of which, he also has a share in our Grain Protection Army. That's why he came as soon as I invited him."

"But after a fight, the result was not very good."

"He only said that there are many things in the river, and they all have abilities."

"In his own Niujiawan, the things in the water can't beat him, but in other people's territory, he can't beat the things in the water, let alone the powerful thing watching in the depths of Lake Prefecture. So he can't help with this matter either."

"…"

"It's not just that he came to take a look; he also left some 河鲜 (hexian - river delicacies) here to pay his respects…"

Ming King Yang Gong pointed to a wooden basin in front of the tent, and saw several loaches and two crabs crawling inside. He said with distress, "Why did I dream last night of a chubby shadow with a wide back and thick waist kowtowing in front of my tent to apologize?"

"He said he didn't help and felt guilty. I was still wondering when these精怪 (jingguai - monsters) became so polite… So it's an acquaintance I've dealt with before?"

"…"

For a time, everyone felt a little unhappy.

When he was down on his luck, he fought with this old Ao once, but fortunately he wasn't killed by it. Now that it's obedient, there's no need to cause it any more trouble.

However, the Grain Protection Army's first battle out of Ming Prefecture needs to be smooth and successful. How could they be in trouble now?

He should have chosen a soft persimmon!

"That old Ao has been building a temple and enjoying incense for less than two years, right?"

Hu Ma is now also in the Lake Prefecture area, and he is also dumbfounded, "Now his abilities haven't increased much, but he has learned all the etiquette."

Yesterday night, Tiezuizi summoned the Ao Tou God to deal with the water monsters. He also took a look and didn't deliberately hide, so the old Ao sensed him.

It not only sent 河鲜 (hexian - river delicacies) to Yang Gong, but also sent him a few fat fish and a bag of gold and silver ingots wrapped in a rotten fishing net, kowtowed a few times and left. But you've done the etiquette, but you haven't done the work…

If he were to take action himself, it wouldn't be difficult to deal with the things in the water. He could just dive down and chop it a couple of times.

But he borrowed the Grain Protection Army to leave Ming Prefecture, and the final target is not these妖祟 (yaosui - demonic sprites) and怪 (guai - monsters), but the Ten Surnames at the top of术法 (shufa - sorcery) and the most ferocious草莽英豪 (caomang yinghao - heroes of the wild) in the world.

It is important to have capable people to help, but the Grain Protection Army itself must also be strong. Now, it is only the first battle out of Ming Prefecture, and he has to rely on himself to take action in everything. How can he go up against those powerful people?

Taking the world as a game, fighting for victory, you can't always have the idea of using a superior horse against an inferior horse.

"Let me do it, let me do it!"

Just as he and Yang Gong were thinking intently, someone in the Grain Protection Army offered a plan after some discussion.

When everyone looked, they were surprised to see that it was actually the义妹 (yimei - sworn sister) of General Shen Hongzhi of the Central Route Army, named Dong Qiaoyun, whose husband's family was named Lu, living in Wutong Town in Gun Prefecture. She used to sell rice, and later lived in the Red Lantern Society, but she hadn't been a big shot much.

This time, she was said to have come to find her義姐 (yijie - sworn sister) and came to play with the army. Now, seeing that everyone was helpless, she took the initiative to stand up and wanted to solve the problem.

The entire army did not know her abilities and were somewhat suspicious, but General Shen Hongzhi of the Central Route Army made a big guarantee.

So everyone followed her to the lake, ordered people to drag two boats over, and this Mrs. Lu didn't even burn incense or perform a ritual, but her fair hands pinched a few mudras, and two paper figures flew out from her side, faintly showing a purple color on their bodies.

She put the two paper figures on the two boats, clapped her hands, and said, "Okay."

"With these two ships leading the way, I guarantee that the river won't be able to make waves. We can send as many ships into the water as we want. We'll see how capable the things in the river are!"

"…"

Everyone didn't believe it, so Shen Hongzhi offered a reward and found two bold people to board the boat and row into the river.

They saw that the lake quickly stirred up a阴风 (yin feng - yin wind), which became faster and faster, seeming to want to stir up big waves and capsize the two boats.

But unexpectedly, no matter how fast the wind was, the river water remained calm and waveless, as if it was being suppressed by something.

Even the wind, when it reached the front of the boat, died down. Not only could it not blow the boat, but it couldn't even blow the paper figure at all. The entire lake surface seemed to be suppressed.

Ming King Yang Gong was overjoyed and immediately ordered, "The boats go into the water to escort, the army sets off, enters Lake Prefecture, and kills the Old Flood Dragon."

"Did she refine these paper figures in the capital, taking advantage of the opportunity?"

In the distance, Hu Ma watched this scene and was quite touched, "I didn't expect this first merit to be established by the sweet potato roast."

At the beginning, when sweet potato roast was in the capital, it relied on paper money to buy countless lives. Now they are all on the three paper figures beside her. Even he cannot estimate how much weight these three paper figures have now.

She put the paper figures on the boat and suppressed the water surface. This is not even considered a confrontation, but just preventing the things in the river from making waves.

When Ming King Yang Gong saw that the problem was solved, he immediately ordered the boats to go into the water, sending several leaders to lead two thousand soldiers on board, pressing on both sides, and the army set out in the middle, echoing each other with the other two routes, and all the way to Lake Prefecture.

They also encountered a few storms along the way, some scattered bandits and the like, in front of the Grain Protection Army, they were simply vulnerable to a single blow. Even the ones in the water were suppressed by the paper figures, and the boats were made of iron bottoms and painted with符篆 (fuzhuan - talismans), and the things in the water could not make trouble.

Even some who poked their heads out of the water to hurt people were stabbed to death by the soldiers on the ship.

Now that they have advanced for two days, they have already entered the territory of Lake Prefecture. When they passed a village, they saw that both sides were kneeling full of ragged people, shivering and not daring to look up, fearing that these soldiers would come to rob people and burn houses.

Unexpectedly, the Grain Protection Army was different from the bandits, and they passed directly between the villages, not hurting people or taking grain. But suddenly, someone among these people secretly sent a signal, and suddenly stripped off their outer clothes, revealing the red-flashing bibs inside.

Holding knives in their hands, chanting spells in their mouths, they shouted and killed the Grain Protection General who was protected in the middle of the army.

It was because this village was a 法坛 (fatan - altar) of the Red Lantern Maiden Society. Now that they saw the army coming, loyal disciples gathered to take the opportunity to assassinate Ming King Yang Gong.

It's just a pity that they didn't know that the one leading the troops now was General Zhou Liang of the Left Route Army, leading a part of the real elite of the Grain Protection Army who returned from the capital and were washed by purple air.

Facing this group of shouting妖人 (yaoren - demon people), Zhou Liang didn't even raise his eyelids. His deputy general, Zhao Zhu, holding a steel fork, flashed out, suddenly took a breath, raised his hand to support his ribs, and then his tongue exploded like spring thunder.

"Drink!"

A loud shout, like thunder, and the masculine air vibrated with the baleful aura in the army.

The阴邪 (yinxie - yin and evil) air on the red bibs on these妖人 (yaoren - demon people) was instantly blown away a lot, and they were all dizzy and unable to find the north.

Behind them, Zhou Liang waved his big hand, and the Grain Protection Army pulled out a troop of soldiers, raised their guns and stabbed them, instantly stabbing these妖人 (yaoren - demon people) under the horses. The red bibs that everyone feared in the countryside jianghu were like rags.

They only sent out a hundred-man team and rushed back and forth in this village twice, and they had already killed the妖人 (yaoren - demon people) of the Red Lantern Maiden Society cleanly, and even found and destroyed the 法坛 (fatan - altar).

And such a ruthless move immediately made the jianghu in Lake Prefecture panicked, and many who wanted to make a name for themselves and come to assassinate them stopped, and they all flocked to the direction of Lake Prefecture city.

When the main force of the Grain Protection Army, like a broken bamboo, directly approached the lakeside before Lake Prefecture city, they saw the huge stone city in front of them, under the熏蒸 (xunzheng - fumigation) of the lake air, faintly showing a cyan-black color, and the flags on the city were monstrous and stood on the city.

And under the city, there were already large troops gathered, countless boats, and strict armor, and they lined up.

When the two sides were facing each other from afar, at the same time in Lake Prefecture city, Hu Ma was on a low mountain behind the Grain Protection Army, looking up, he saw that in the depths of the rolling妖气 (yaoqi - demonic energy) in Lake Prefecture city, he faintly saw thousands of rays of霞光 (xiaguang - rosy clouds).

For a moment, he felt emotional, "He turned himself into a草头王 (caotouwang - upstart king), but he shaped his former self into an incense god in this Lake Prefecture city."

Whether this Three-Headed Flood Dragon has a thousand years of cultivation or not, his intelligence is truly rare, but precisely because of this, it is suitable for him to refine this treasure seal in his hand, right?

Faintly, he even felt that this treasure seal gave birth to a slight resonance.

When looking for the previous three words, this treasure seal was passively accepted, but only when he started looking for the third word did the treasure seal itself begin to produce灵性 (lingxing - spirituality).

(End of this chapter)