Chapter 284: Idealism, Ten Thousand Zhang of Golden Clouds

Xu Zhiyuan did not know what had come over him either. He had never been this unyielding before, but upon hearing about the sacrifice of young boys and girls and the Dragon Prince's wedding, he simply could not hold back. This was not his jurisdiction; it was a matter of moral education that the County Magistrate and the Prefect were supposed to carry out.

Perhaps it was because of his vast, righteous Qi, or perhaps at some point in life, one simply possesses such a surge of energy that one longs to express it.

It was to keep a clear conscience, to live up to his "aspirations," and one could even say it was "crying out for the living beings."

At this moment, hovering above the oil cauldron, he looked somewhat disheveled, yet he still cursed loudly.

He called out Shunji Little Dragon King and Anji Furen, causing them both to lose face completely.

The two of them had always been Great Demons of the God Immortal Realm, and in this world, they could be said to roam freely; those of the same realm as them in the world did not exceed the number of fingers on two hands. As long as they did not ascend, they were beings who could roam the Desire Realm at will.

On ordinary days, the little Flood Dragons would call them Father King or Ancestor, the minor demons would call them Great King or Lady... and as for the commoners on the shore, which of them did not kowtow three times and bow nine times, praying for favorable weather?

"Where am I not worthy of being a dragon? I am a True Dragon!" he roared. "Do you think there were True Dragons from the very beginning? There is only one True Dragon, raised just like raising poisonous insects. When the earth unleashes its killing intent and dragons and snakes rise from the land, I will naturally become a True Dragon. You scholar who speaks nothing but nonsense, do you think a True Dragon is truly some kind and benevolent being? You are dead wrong."

"A True Dragon eats whoever he wants to eat and kills whoever he wants to kill. He who holds supreme power is the True Dragon. Although I am currently only lurking within Poyang, it does not mean there will not be a moment for me to wait for the time to fly into the sky and undergo transformation."

"You cannot," Xu Zhiyuan sneered. "I saw your tail; it is bald."

Shunji Little Dragon King was most sensitive about others mentioning his bald tail, and he became instantly enraged.

"Throw him into the oil cauldron and fry him! Let's see if he still has a stiff tongue!"

Anji Furen hurriedly stopped him: "Wait!"

She possessed wisdom; she had truly cultivated for a thousand years, gaining spiritual intelligence since the pre-Qin era, and had been steadily increasing her wisdom and Daoist Practice ever since.

The most rational thing she did was to maximize her own interests, and she was also well-versed in human culture. She herself was a "Black Fish," also known as a snakehead fish, praised by Confucianism as the "filial fish."

A scripture says: I have four things I do not eat... I do not eat snakehead fish, because after the snakehead fish gives birth, it becomes dizzy and cannot see the path, and the mother fish would starve to death. At this time, the small fish fry voluntarily swim into their mother's mouth to feed their own mother. Because it is "filial," I do not eat it...

In short, she could be considered a "Confucian divine beast." The other three are the old yellow ox, the wild goose, and the loyal dog.

They represent loyalty, filial piety, chastity, and kindness.

Of course, these Confucian scholars only talk about it; when it comes time to eat, they still eat.

Anji Furen had also read poetry and books and understood the ways of Confucianism. She said: "This scholar wants to be a hero, a brave man, a straightforward official, a loyal official, and a remonstrating official."

"Such a person makes even the Emperor of the dynasty feel a headache when they meet. If you kill him, you will only fulfill his reputation. If the Great King fries him, I fear it will be an even greater loss to the path of becoming a dragon."

"If one cannot tolerate small things, one will mess up great plans. One must attack the heart first."

Thus, she stepped forward and said: "Scholar, why do you study?"

Xu Zhiyuan said: "Naturally, it is to serve the country, to cultivate oneself, regulate the family, govern the state, and bring peace to the world; to establish a heart for Heaven and Earth, to establish a life for the people, to carry on the lost teachings of the ancient sages, and to open up peace for all generations."

He was already blushing, and now, saying these few sentences he had "plagiarized" from Xu Jia, although he was still blushing, one could not tell what kind of red it was.

Instead, his vast, righteous Qi became even more restless. The fortune of Confucianism actively descended; although it was of no use, it could be considered an Achievement.

"Bullshit!" Anji Furen said: "I don't know you scholars? What you say with your mouths are these high-sounding words, but in reality, what you think about in your heads are breasts, white, fleshy breasts, and piles of silver. Why do you study? It is just to seek fame and rank. With fame and rank, you can become an official, have high rank and a fat salary, endless money, endless breasts to fondle... and endless pleasure."

"So many scholars, they speak so well when they are studying, but after they become officials and taste the flavor, they all become like this."

"You haven't become an official yet, so you say these fake, grand, and empty things you saw in books. Which of these benevolence, righteousness, and morality can be touched or seen?"

"What can be seen are white, fleshy breasts; what can be touched is real gold and silver. You live in a mansion not much smaller than the Imperial Palace, have two or three hundred thousand qing of fertile land, and your servants and entourage are more imposing than the County Official... tens of millions of people depend on your breath, the Emperor dares not offend you, your students are all over the world, and the tributes sent to your door every year are countless..."

Having said this, she clapped her hands, and immediately several ships of gold and silver treasures were brought over, bright and dazzling, enough to blind a person's eyes.

There were also several clam maidens and snail maidens, dressed very scantily, their bodies covered in thin, mist-like garments, revealing graceful figures. There were also many ancient paintings and books, all unique copies of extremely high value.

Among these, there were both vulgar and refined things.

"As long as you open your mouth, these will all be yours. You have talent, but you are too rigid. Those officials will not tolerate you. Only by softening your light and mingling with the dust can you be like a fish in water; otherwise, sooner or later, it will be a dead end."

"If we provide support, even if the current Daning Dynasty is a rotten boat about to sink, we can help you jump onto a new boat. When the time comes, you will be at the helm, and you can steer the boat wherever you want. Your political ambitions, your demands, and your propositions can all be realized in the new dynasty."

"This is a business with no capital and ten thousand times the profit. As long as you agree, you can become the spokesperson for our Poyang Dragon Palace. When the time comes, you say where there can be favorable weather, and we will make it so. You say where not a drop of water should fall, and we will guarantee that there won't even be a breeze with a hint of Water Qi there..."

Anji Furen's words carried magic, or perhaps this was originally a common ailment of Confucian followers—their true state.

Xu Zhiyuan had come into contact with scholars, such as Scholar Lu, who had this kind of form, breaking their heads trying to squeeze in, wanting to get a share.

But the sea of officialdom is boundless; he only saw the eating, not the fighting. Those who held power over the court were few; most people were still the ones sending gifts, the ones being held accountable, and the ones being made scapegoats...

If you do well, it is because the superior leadership is wise; if you do poorly, it is because you lack ability.

It was also very difficult for Xu Zhiyuan to resist the land of gentleness and the sea of money.

But in his mind, he suddenly thought of his own words from before: "If I cannot become a Great Worthy, I will be a Small Worthy."

A real man has things he will do, and things he will not do.

Therefore, he sneered: "The more you beg me, and the more you give, the more it shows that you are guilty and afraid."

"If it is ten thousand zhong of grain, I will not distinguish between righteousness and benefit to accept it. What does ten thousand zhong add to me! For the beauty of a palace, the service of wives and concubines, and the poor I know, do they get me?"

"If I accept it, my inner righteous Qi will be broken, and my backbone will be snapped, becoming your dog. It sounds better than it is sung, but there is a saying: money is hard to earn and shit is hard to eat. As for me, I don't have much money, just enough to spend. I eat no more than three dishes and one soup, live on no more than a three-foot mat, wear no more than a pair of cloth shoes, and wear seasonal clothes that my wife cuts and sews herself. I am of one heart with her, so how could I linger over these vulgar, painted faces?"

As he was speaking, Anji Furen's expression also turned ugly.

Suddenly, the White Snakehead Flood Dragon exclaimed: "It's bad, it's bad! A mass of black clouds has gathered in the sky, and there is a dense crowd of thousands upon thousands of soldiers and horses on the clouds, arrayed on all sides, setting up a Heavenly Net and laying down an Earthly Web. There is also an old turtle demon who has entered the water and delivered a document, wanting to crusade against us!"

When the White Snakehead Flood Dragon said this, Shunji Longwang and Anji Furen's expressions changed. They were not proficient in the arts of heavenly secrets and calculations, or rather, the arts of heavenly secrets and calculations did not pay attention to them.

"Come, take this scholar down and guard him well! All other Flood Dragon Generals, Pig Marshals, Turtle Colonels, Crab Leaders, Shan Lishi, and shrimp soldiers and fish soldiers, each take your battle formation and follow us out of the palace."

The two of them each put on their armor and took up their Magic Tools and weapons.

Shunji Little Dragon King's weapon was a staff refined from an iron pillar; this iron pillar was the very one that had suppressed the Suolong Jing. He also had his life-bound Dragon Pearl and the Magic Tool, the Thirty-Three Heavens Creation Dragon Pagoda, which was refined from the corpses and bones of his own elders. It was constructed from thirty-three Dragon Race Magic Tools and could suppress the fortune of the Dragon Race. It contained its own space, and each level could capture a water-dwelling demon immortal, educate the corresponding water tribe within, breed and cultivate them, and turn them into Daoist soldiers.

Among them, it corresponded to many powerful creatures in rivers, lakes, and seas, but he had only subdued a few types of water tribes so far and had not finished refining it.

Anji Furen's weapon was a fish-bone flying sword, and she also had a Black Calamity Cable that could transform into a demonic dragon to capture, entangle, suck human essence and blood, and enslave souls. She also had a bag that could release a million snakehead fish larvae, all refined from the souls of her own descendants. Once released, they would be like a plague of locusts, devouring all flesh and blood.

A moment later, war drums beat, the water surface trembled, startling countless fish and shrimp that jumped out of the water. Immediately after, a huge vortex appeared, and the vortex rotated and rose into mid-air.

Then, stairs were revealed, and Shunji Longwang, riding a Water-Avoiding Golden-Eyed Beast, followed the water into mid-air.

Anji Furen rode a six-eyed flying fish and was right beside him. In addition, the shrimp soldiers and crab generals, all the water tribe Daoist soldiers, floated to the surface. Below their waists were all underwater, revealing half their bodies. They were all scaled and armored, holding long spears and short knives; these were all mortal weapons, not Magic Tools.

On the cloud head, Zhang Fajing smiled at Xu Jia: "Heavenly Master Xu, this evil beast has come out."

Immediately, he parted the clouds and unfolded the spell light of his Golden Light Incantation. Thus, golden clouds filled the air, shooting into the water and refracting countless golden scales.

Anji Furen's expression changed upon seeing this: "It is the Golden Light Divine Incantation of Longhu Mountain. Only the Heavenly Masters of successive generations, who have cultivated it generation after generation, accumulated it, and passed it down, can have this principle of ten thousand zhang of golden clouds. Otherwise, for an ordinary person to cultivate it, a lifetime would only result in golden light covering the body like a piece of cloud clothing."

Shunji Longwang also felt a measure of apprehension: "Did we not have an agreement with Longhu Mountain? When the Xiao Tianshi came to Poyang to subdue us, he lost our wager and sought an imperial edict of enfeoffment for us. How is it now? Could it be that they do not acknowledge it?"

(End of this chapter)