Chapter 221: Beheading the Dragon in a Dream

Xu Jia summoned Gongming. These days, Gongming had been drilling the militia and maintaining order, which was much more comfortable than his time as a County Commandant at Yushan.

For a moment, the Qi in his chest was open and relaxed. Coupled with having received the Register, and Xu Jia having passed on the method of "Life Cultivation," the Essence Qi he had previously depleted at Cuichun Pavilion was now, through a combination of medicine and food, and a mix of nurturing and training, faintly restored to the peak state of his past.

"Why did you summon me, Master?" Standing before Xu Jia, he was nine feet tall, looking just like an iron tower.

Seeing that his Essence, Qi, and Spirit were well-nurtured, Xu Jia said, "I am going to pass on a secret technique to you."

Chen Gongming was exceptionally excited and full of vigor: "What method is Master going to pass on to me now?"

Xu Jia looked him up and down: "Go take a bath first, then come find me."

"?"

Just as Chen Gongming was stunned, Xu Jia tapped him with the Ruyi rod: "What are you thinking? It is for fasting and bathing. You stink; one can smell you from ten yards away."

Only then did Chen Gongming go "oh, oh, oh" and hurry off to bathe. In less than a quarter of an hour, he returned before Xu Jia, having changed into clean clothes.

Xu Jia said: "Take off your clothes."

Chen Gongming:?

But he still obediently followed orders.

Xu Jia took out a brush. This brush was made from the tail hair contributed by Huang Pipo. There were seven or eight such brushes; one could only say that now that he had disciples providing for him, he already had the foundation for some finer things.

He dipped it into the Dharma ink.

This Dharma ink was not ordinary cinnabar ink; it was Dharma ink that Xu Jia had made by taking the gallbladders of carp over three years old, mixing them with cinnabar, grinding them with distilled high-proof white liquor, and personally consecrating them with incantations.

Xu Jia then painted the "Taiwei Nine Heavens Immortal Inspection Talisman" on his back, wrote the two characters "Supervise Execution," and mobilized 1,200 soldiers and horses. These soldiers and horses were summoned from the "Tiangang Great Sage" and were all Thunder Fire Heavenly Soldiers holding firearms.

Xu Jia had previously passed on to him the Tiangang Thunder Fire Dao, the General Register, and the Human Immortal Register.

Having obtained this "General Register," he was now an incumbent "Heavenly General." Although this Heavenly General was quite hollow and lacked any real power of his own, now that Xu Jia had borrowed troops from the Tiangang Great Sage, he was officially justified.

"Master, what are you drawing?"

"Don't speak yet, or you'll mess up the drawing."

After Xu Jia finished this side, he called for Xun Taizi to blow wind to dry it, then told him to turn over to draw the front.

This time, he started from the face.

Chen Gongming only felt itchy and wanted to cough.

"Hold it in."

Xu Jia sighed: "This was originally the job for your senior apprentice brother Hui Zhuo. He previously studied Divination Shamanism, but I passed the Great Cave True Scripture to him, and he couldn't quite wrap his head around it. He has some great wisdom and looks like he has a sense of 'great skill appearing as clumsiness,' but his courage is truly too small. I've trained him many times, and he's even become afraid of me. I can only have you, this outer-sect senior apprentice brother, step up."

After finishing the facial makeup, Chen Gongming dared to speak: "What exactly is this? Why don't I know about it?"

Xu Jia said: "I need you to go to Heaven once to crusade against a wicked dragon."

Xu Jia then immediately painted on his chest. This was not body art; what Xu Jia was painting now were Body Protection Talismans. There was the Heavenly King Armor, the Heart Protection Mirror, and he painted the Four Spirits on his limbs and the Wuyue on his abdomen.

With his whole body covered in talismans, he then said: "I have already told Hu Jinhua to prepare the altar in advance. Tonight, drink as much liquor as you like, and when you are sleepy, just sleep; don't worry about anything else."

Hearing about drinking, the reckless man's eyes lit up. He hadn't touched a drop of alcohol in these days, and it was rare for Xu Jia to let him drink his fill today.

After painting these, Xu Jia specifically cut paper. This paper was not yellow paper, but indigo blue, made with blue-dyeing technology; it was generally used for making paper figures and paper clothes.

Xu Jia cut twelve at a time, cutting out paper figures, and called for Gongming to cut them together until there were 1,200. Xu Jia's paper figures were quite standard, after all, he was a veteran master, but this reckless man lacked the meticulousness of Zhang Fei and couldn't do fine work. The paper figures he cut could only be said to barely possess a human shape; either the head was too big or the belly was too big.

After cutting enough paper figures, Xu Jia used bamboo strips to make small weapons—bows, swords, and firearms. He didn't make many of these, just one of each, then dipped them in ink and pressed them onto the paper figures to give them an image.

Only then did he begin to recite the Troop Dispatching Incantation and the General Sending Incantation, and finally used the "Yushan Governing Merit Seal" to stamp them.

The newly carved "Heavenly Master" seal was also stamped on.

When Xu Jia was learning minor Yin Master techniques at the Lushan Sect, there weren't so many rules for dispatching troops, but these troops were different; they were proper Heavenly Soldiers, summoned from the hands of the Tiangang Great Sage.

As for the offerings, there were mutton, fried meatballs, fresh fruit, sugar, rice cakes, fresh flowers, steamed buns... twelve items in total.

As the saying goes, "The Emperor does not send hungry soldiers," so the food could not be poor. On the Incense Burner, it wasn't just three sticks of incense; it was a whole bundle, directly filling the burner.

This is called "Incense Burner Ignition."

The soaring aroma is called the "Incense Dao," which is the path for the Heavenly Soldiers to march; it is used for both dispatching and withdrawing troops.

Besides this, there was also a large rooster. Whether it was the orthodox method or the minor method, a large rooster was indispensable for sacrifice and clearing the way.

Furthermore, it was necessary to issue money. Xu Jia didn't need to do this; Jinchan Duobao had prepared it long ago. Using gold foil paper and silver foil paper folded into ingots, they were piled into a gold mountain and a silver mountain; this was the "Soldier Provisions."

This was not the money and grain given to wandering ghosts; this was real gold foil and silver foil pasted on paper and folded into ingots. Every time he folded them, he had to activate the Dharma Power of the golden toad. He also followed Xu Jia's method and recited the Three Sovereigns Scripture Proclamation. Thus, although these gold and silver ingots were not "wish-money" that could make wishes come true, they were still proper "Incense Fire Money."

After such busyness, time reached the evening, with candles burning bright and the incense fire flourishing.

It was still raining outside, but inside the room, several jars of wine had already been set out, including liquor, farm rice wine, and the Polygonatum wine brewed by the Daoists of Shanju Guan.

The lids of these jars were all removed, and large bowls were filled on another table. Gongming smelled the wine aroma and his "wine bug" was hooked: "Can I drink now?"

Xu Jia looked at the basin in front of him, where the illusion revealed that the cloud dragon was still accumulating clouds and rain, so he nodded: "The time is just right, drink!"

The man immediately picked up a large bowl and drank, gulping it down: "I've been craving this! This wine is so refreshing!"

After the first three bowls, his face turned red, but it was covered by the colors on his face; only when his neck and below turned red did the power show.

The Qi of the whole body was stimulated by the wine, and the talismans all triggered automatically upon sensing the blood energy.

After a while, his nose twitched, and he suddenly stood up, picked up a large bowl, and drank eight more in a row, drinking wine like water. Steam began to rise from his head, as if he were evaporating.

This was exactly "General Drinking Wine."

Xiaopangdun, who had been dragged along to learn, watched in a daze: "He won't drink himself to death, will he?"

"He won't. It's just borrowing his body to drink. Look at the steam rising from his head; doesn't it look like a stick of incense? All that Wine Qi is evaporating."

After drinking three jars of wine, the reckless man muttered: "Why does this wine taste like something when it enters the mouth, but I feel nothing once it's in my stomach?"

The next moment, he fell backward and slept like a zombie.

"He won't fall to his death!"

Xiaopangdun was terrified; after all, the man weighed over two hundred pounds, and if he fell like that, wouldn't he get an intracranial hemorrhage?

However, the next moment, his snoring was like thunder, which meant Xu Jia didn't need to prepare thunder weapons in advance.

Xu Jia immediately killed the chicken, sprinkled the blood on the indigo paper figures, then burned the gold and silver mountains, and shouted: "Chen Gongming, hear my command! Order you to dispatch troops immediately, capture the evil dragon, and behead it after trial!"

The next moment, a general appeared beside this reckless man, wearing Heavenly King Armor, holding a precious sword, and carrying a large bow on his back. He was surrounded by the Four Symbols spirit beasts. Because the mission was to subjugate a Flood Dragon, the White Tiger of the West, which governs warfare, took precedence; he sat astride the White Tiger, with twelve hundred Military Officials behind him. These Military Officials were all clad in armor, though not as exaggerated as the Heavenly King Armor.

Afterward, amidst Gongming's snoring, they followed the smoke path of the Incense Burner and shot straight up into the clouds.

This troop of soldiers was far more formal than the Demon God rampant soldiers Xu Jia had previously summoned using his Body God. There was no billowing Black Qi, nor was there any gale; instead, a beam of starlight was revealed. This was not the Army-Breaking Star, but the "Great White Star."

As the Great White Star shone, a hole appeared in the dark clouds in the sky. Fortunately, it was night, so it would not alarm the common people.

One could only hear a tone like that of an opera: "Wa-ya-ya-ya-ya~~ Bold wicked dragon, how dare you invade my jurisdiction and wreak havoc with lewd rain! If you do not retreat quickly, this general shall spare your life."

The Cloud Dragon sneered: "Where did this minor deity come from, daring to put on such a show here?"

Although it was only a breath of Qi, Qi also possesses "Qi-nature," so its personality and emotions were not much different from the original entity.

"You minor deity, move aside quickly! Otherwise, I shall swallow you into my belly and chew you clean. You would only dirty my spleen and stomach, and I would have to defecate your corpse-soul out!"

Chen Gongming was furious upon hearing this—not as a figure of speech, but because flames actually appeared on his body. These flames emerged from his nostrils, from the back of his head, and from the soles of his feet.

"Quickly deploy the Heavenly Net, do not let him escape!"

Those Military Officials immediately replied: "As you command!"

One saw the twelve hundred Military Officials enter the clouds and reach the four directions. They emitted ropes from their hands, weaving them horizontally and vertically to form a great net. It was visible yet hidden, enveloping the Dharma Realm, and those cloud-Qi were all scooped into the net as well.

A scene surfaced in Xu Jia's mind: a magically altered version of Wu Song fighting the tiger, with Chen Xiongda slaying the dragon.

"It is said that on that day, Chen Xiongda bade farewell to Xu Jia and traveled to a dangerous place called Bishui Cliff.

It was dusk; the setting sun on the horizon was like blood, and mist swirled among the mountain forests. A great river wound its way through the forest, its waves surging and its sound like thunder.

Chen Xiongda had intended to find a place to stay for the night when he suddenly heard bursts of shrill sounds from the riverside, as if some giant creature were thrashing in the water. Knowing something was amiss, he drew his precious sword and followed the sound. Upon reaching the bank, he saw white waves towering to the sky. A massive Flood Dragon soared out; its dragon body was several dozen zhang long, its scales shimmering with cold light, and its eyes like torches. It was whipping up wind and waves, throwing the surroundings into chaos.

Thus, his heart burned with rage, and he secretly thought: 'I, Chen Xiongda, have spent my life upholding justice; how can I tolerate this wicked beast running wild here!'

He shouted loudly: 'Wicked dragon, cease your wild behavior!' He then stripped off his clothes, revealing his knotted muscles, and leaped into the bone-chilling river water, heading straight for the Flood Dragon.

Seeing someone dare to challenge it, the Flood Dragon was furious. It opened its giant maw and spat out a vortex-like torrent of water, intending to swallow him. Little did it know that Xiongda's form was agile, moving through the water as nimbly as a fish. He skillfully dodged and, holding his precious sword, struck a powerful blow that landed squarely on the Flood Dragon's head. The Flood Dragon felt the pain and went into a frenzy, thrashing even more violently and raising towering waves in an attempt to drown him.

He was completely unafraid. Borrowing the momentum of the waves, he leaped onto the Flood Dragon's back, clamped his legs tightly around the dragon's body, and held his staff with both hands, striking the dragon's head repeatedly. The Flood Dragon could not bear the pain and lunged left and right, attempting to shake Xiongda off, but it did not know that Xiongda possessed infinite strength and remained fixed firmly on its back like a nail.

The battle grew increasingly intense. Xiongda seized an opportunity and delivered a blow with the strength to pull up mountains, landing right between the Flood Dragon's eyes. With a loud 'Boom—', the Flood Dragon wailed in agony and finally collapsed limply onto the river surface, splashing up a thousand layers of spray..."

Of course, this was all divergent imagination in Xu Jia's mind; above the sea of clouds in the sky, it was a "righteous gang fight."

Chen Xiongda frowned slightly, released the White Tiger from beneath him, and retreated behind the Military Officials: "Rewards for those who charge first!"

Although there were no city walls here, it still ignited the fighting spirit of the Military Officials.

Aside from the six hundred left to secure the Heavenly Net, there were another six hundred Military Officials. Those with blades drew them, those with bows bent them, surrounding the Cloud Dragon, ready to attack.

The Cloud Dragon exhaled Qi, transforming clouds into shrimp soldiers and crab generals, turning water into troops, frost into armor, and hail into hammers...

Suddenly, in the Yushan and Dexing regions, there were gales and torrential rain. The temperature dropped abruptly, and hail began to fall from the sky, mixed with heavy rain. It smashed countless roof tiles and damaged who knows how many seedlings. People were startled awake in the middle of the night, and children were frightened into crying all night long.

Those cloud-soldiers were more than enough to deal with the rampant soldiers Xu Jia refined himself, but they were ineffective when encountering the formal troops of the Tiangang Great Sage.

One saw those troops put away their cold weapons and pick up the "Tiangang Five Thunder Divine Fire Musket." They fired at the opposite side, and six hundred musket shots rang out in unison. The sky was shocked by the thunder, and in a flash of sparks and lightning, the cloud layer was blasted open to reveal the sky.

The cloud-illusioned soldiers and generals died instantly, turning into rainwater and falling from the sky.

The Cloud Dragon was startled; it had never seen such a style of troops before.

Seeing those six hundred Tiangang Five Thunder Divine Fire Muskets reloading ammunition, it knew it could not go on like this. It immediately took the initiative, gathering clouds around its body to transform into a Cloud Dragon ten times its original size, spitting out hail and sleet like a rain of arrows from its mouth.

At the same time, its dragon body churned, instantly creating a massive tornado, the so-called "eye of the storm."

"Still daring to be wild!" Chen Xiongda watched for a while and figured out that this thing only had a few tricks; it was not hard to deal with. He could dodge the breath, or the dragon claws and tail. He immediately took an arrow and shot it, aiming straight for the Cloud Dragon's brow.

"Whoosh!" The arrow hit, and the next moment it actually exploded.

He was also stunned, not knowing that Xu Jia had drawn talismans for him and borrowed the Dharma Power of the Heavenly Dipper Thunder Fire Method. He was also in his Primordial Spirit state, as the "Tiangang Great Sage Responsive Incarnation," which was why he possessed such power.

After discovering that the fired arrows would explode, this fellow became even more excited: "Take another arrow from this humble one!"

The Cloud Dragon was annoyed. It swiped its tail to send the Military Officials flying and reached out its claws to grab the arrow, but the arrow exploded in its claws, emitting bursts of thunder and revealing streaks of lightning—truly majestic.

(End of this chapter)