Chapter 293: South Dragon Ao Jia

Sun Bao's words made Xu Zhiyuan ponder, but he would not listen to only one side.

He asked, "Since you have been doing business overseas, do you have corresponding sea charts?"

Sun Bao had not brought any with him when he came, but he understood some text and diagrams, so he borrowed paper and a brush to draw a rough map.

"Here is Qiongzhou and Lizhou, this is Hainan Island, here is Bao Island, which belongs to Min Province. Further this way are Ryukyu and Japan. Continuing upward is Goryeo, and here is Jeju Island. It is rumored that Jeju Island is where the ministers of the Shang Dynasty who refused to eat the Zhou Dynasty's grain migrated to, and the previous dynasty once used it to graze horses."

"As for further south, the South Sea has many reefs and islands. One must reach Southern Yue and Siam. Further south, there are many spice islands, fruit islands, and also some islands with indigenous people. Basically, these islands are not large, like isolated peaks in the sea, with no flat land suitable for cultivation."

"Because the islands are not far apart, the indigenous people here use rafts or even dugout canoes to travel back and forth between the small islands."

"Some merchants occupy an island there to use as a supply point, and they also reside there to negotiate business with the tribal chiefs."

"Large quantities of goods are transported to Min Province; there is an island where they are sold to other merchants who have ways to clear customs and then distribute them everywhere."

Sun Bao did not know why, but he suddenly had a great desire to confide, talking about how they first went to Nanyang to purchase goods, then went to the East Sea and the islands around the South Sea to unload...

Xu Zhiyuan listened very carefully, and Jinchan Duobao also listened very carefully. He was currently on the rafters of Xu Jia's house, thinking: Since spices are very good there, one should capture the indigenous people on the spot and build plantations. It would be good to grow spices on a large scale instead of food.

But Xu Jia was more concerned about food, so he continued to guide Sun Bao to speak the truth. This method was not difficult; after all, "wealth can connect with the gods," and he also wanted to get involved in the Nanyang trade and the development of Nanyang.

In Duobao's view, farming for food and spices were both very important, and even the indigenous people were important. As long as they were civilized, taught to farm, and provided with delicious food, architecture, and silk clothing, they would naturally yearn for the Central Plains culture and be willing to act as dogs. Moreover, the Master was merciful and would certainly not let them act as dogs. If they happened to become Outer Disciples and set up incense halls, everyone could make money together.

Sun Bao spoke for about two hours, and Father Xu also realized that overseas was actually very important.

At this time, a charming child of seven or eight years old knocked on the door and entered; it was Ao Jin.

Beside him was a man who looked to be about thirty years old, carrying an air of absolute majesty. In terms of appearance, he was noble beyond words, with dragon eyes, a dragon nose, and a tall stature.

"Master, this is my father. He just arrived here from the South Sea."

"Greetings, Ao Jia!" The man paused and said, "Invited by Heavenly Master Xu, I have come to preside over the Water Mansion in Poyang."

Father Xu was also aware of these things and was startled: "You are the South Sea Dragon King?"

"I cannot claim the title of South Sea Dragon King; I merely presided over the Sea Eye in the South Sea before." He smiled self-deprecatingly: "Just a little dragon."

Ao Jia patted Ao Jin's head. It was Ao Jin who had taken the initiative to invite him to preside over the Poyang Water Mansion. Poyang is called a lake, but it can actually be called a "sea." Ao Jin had not attained the "Virtue of the Sea" or even the "Virtue of the Lake," only the Virtue of the River, and could not completely purify the demonic and evil atmosphere of Poyang. Only by having his own father preside over it personally could the Water Mansion be quickly purified, the corresponding arrays set up, and the Water Virtue perfected.

Of course, this was also Xu Jia's intention.

Sun Bao was completely bewildered. Foxes or rats, I have accepted them, but you say the person in front of me is a "dragon"? He really found it hard to believe.

But in fact, this was just one of the members of the Spirit Treasure Zoo that Xu Jia wanted to open by gathering the Twelve Zodiacs and the Twenty-Eight Mansions.

Ao Jia was originally a koi fish for viewing in the Immortal Pond of the heavens. After listening to scriptures and lectures for many years, he broke through the cage, leaped over the Dragon Gate, successfully burned his tail, and obtained a dragon body. He could be called a "Brocade Dragon" and belonged to the carp-dragon clan. Since coming from the upper realm, he had not acted recklessly like the Inspiration King under Guanyin, but had silently developed in the South Sea, managed the Sea Eye, and then used the Sea Eye as the core to build the South Sea Cave Heaven.

Previously, he had diverted the Water Qi of Nanyang to various places to realize the Water Virtue of moistening things silently, but after all, that area was sparsely populated, and civilization was not as advanced as in the Central Plains.

It was just that he had no real strength, his ability to fight was not strong, and the methods he learned were all methods of moral gods, not like the divine dragons of the Form Realm that possessed all kinds of abilities. Secondly, he had no magic treasures to bring down to the lower realm.

He only had three thousand six hundred carp descendants with blood relations that he could bring down to the lower realm together, but most of them died, and only a small portion achieved the status of Earth Immortal; not a single one achieved the status of God Immortal.

He was still not as good as the Dragon Mother that Heavenly Master Xu had beheaded before; she also had widely spread descendants.

It can only be said that the innate racial value is there, coupled with the cultivation of Water Virtue, the characteristic is to benefit all things without contention. If you really calculate it, things like carp don't seem to survive long in the sea, after all, they are freshwater fish. But then again, this is a Daoist immortal cultivation world, and the subjective idealism is very high. Impossible things, I just think about them and that's it.

Furthermore, the Poyang Dragon Nest belongs to the "demon" camp; it is a group of demonic dragons, evil dragons, and wicked dragons. They are good at causing floods, can change the weather, and can destroy mountains and Earth Veins. These all belong to the "appearance of water evil" and should originate from the ancient Gonggong, who is said to have angrily struck Mount Buzhou, causing floods to cover the world.

And Ao Jia, although he cannot reach the level of a "God Dragon," can be considered to be moving toward the God Dragon. Now he has an official position; one is a bandit, one is an official, so naturally, they are different.

The moment Ao Jia revealed his true form, he had the appearance of a human body and a dragon head, but the dragon head was not ferocious or terrifying; instead, it had some auspicious and peaceful Qi.

"I can provide protection for matters in the South Sea. You only need to carve a dragon on the bow of the ship and write 'Position of the South Dragon' on it, and you will have smooth sailing. Unless blocked by natural weather, the giant beasts and demons in the sea will not dare to act recklessly."

Although Ao Jia is not good at fighting, he is at least a Seventh Rank God Immortal of the Form Realm, possessing dragon might, and can naturally rule in the sea. The Merman Tribe of the South Sea took the initiative to submit, as did the Giant Clam Tribe and the Sea Turtle Tribe. The South Dragon entering the sea made the Spirit Machine of Nanyang abundant, and there were many sentient beings with spirit.

In fact, Hainan Island is like a Cave Heaven Blessed Land of Taoism, and there have been many great cultivators throughout the ages.

Seeing his dragon head, Sun Bao's psychological defenses were truly broken this time, and he began to speak cautiously, fearing that he would be swallowed by the dragon in one bite.

Coastal boat people all believe in these things; the Dragon God represents both disaster and opportunity.

At this moment, a thought of relief even arose in his mind, relief that he had been chosen, and from now on his family would also be "protected by the Dragon God." "Mr. Xu, can you tell me the article that scolded the evil flood dragon of Poyang that day?" Ao Jia was interested in this. He felt that it contained the nature of a true dragon, which was the Divine Nature of a dragon, not the Divine Nature of Water Virtue. The Divine Nature of the dragon itself could help him understand himself, explore his potential, transform from the mentality of a koi turning into a dragon, and become a real dragon.

Strictly speaking, even if he leaped over the Dragon Gate as a carp, he was not a true dragon. The hexagram of a carp is Kan, and the hexagram of a dragon is Qian; there is a big difference between them.

The Kan hexagram is the appearance of low-lying danger, but the Qian hexagram has a very laudatory meaning: Yuan, Heng, Li, Zhen, great auspiciousness.

This question touched Father Xu's heart. The passage scolding the dragon was the highlight of his life, but he was not overly vain at this time, only saying: "My son said that this is the small Kyushu of the Desire Realm, and there is a Great Kyushu. In the Great Kyushu, there is a Master Han who wrote many articles, among which is the 'Discourse on the Dragon' that I spoke of. I also heard my son mention there is an 'Essay on Sacrificing to the Crocodile,' which banished all the crocodiles to the South Sea in one day."

Ao Jia's heart stirred. He had indeed heard of the Great Kyushu, but that was a long time ago. At that time, the upper realm was not yet an Eternal Universe, and there was no Supreme Luo Heaven above the Heavenly Court. But he was not sure if there was such a literary master; after all, before he came to the lower realm, he was just an ornamental koi in the Immortal Pond.

But these words about the Great Kyushu convinced him of one thing: Xu Jia has a background and might even be here to undergo a Tribulation. In addition, he is a Lingbao Heavenly Master. To be honest, the Lingbao Lineage is not often seen in the upper realm. The Taishang lineage practices purity and focuses on Heavenly Immortals, while the Yuanshi lineage focuses on creation and Heavenly Immortals. These two levels of merit are already the best among Immortals. What merit does the Lingbao Lineage focus on? There is no clear answer yet. Earth Immortal? Human Immortal? Or Ghost Immortal? He followed Father Xu to talk about the underwater affairs of the South Sea and the principles of ocean currents. This was a bit beyond Father Xu's cognition, but Sun Bao had sailed ships and knew the importance of ocean currents.

Ao Jia said: "The Haotian Qi Sea actually connects to the ocean. The sea and the sky are connected. What is on land can be explored very quickly, but the seabed is not. It contains infinite treasures and infinite primordial energy. The ocean is the second most important thing to all spirits after the sun. Ninety percent of the world's rainfall comes from the evaporation of ocean water."

"This is equivalent to the Qi in the human body flowing through the meridians." He talked eloquently, mentioning the fish in the Northern Darkness and the Free and Easy Wandering.

But in the end, it did not align with Father Xu's thoughts. After all, Father Xu was a firm believer in Confucianism, wanting to establish rules and systems to constrain people's livelihood and thus build on a large scale. It was the "statism" of Confucian thought, even carrying "nationalism."

But if one were to discuss these with Xu Jia, Xu Jia might agree, as this conforms to the Great Yellow Court's Zhou Tian Cave Spirit View.

But Xu Jia did not come forward at this time.

It was only after they finished talking and Ao Jin invited Ao Jia to the Xin River Water Mansion that he saw Xu Jia.

To be precise, it was Xu Jia's Primordial Spirit dharma image, with three layers of halos behind his head, representing wisdom, merit, and wishes. Beyond the three circles were all sentient beings, all those with feelings.

Ao Jia was a little surprised: "Heavenly Master Xu is actually only at the Earth Immortal cultivation level. I thought the Heavenly Master had already entered the God Immortal Realm."

"Almost," Xu Jia said. "When I refine the foundation of the sun in my left eye, I will enter the cultivation of the God Immortal Realm. But this is too fast. My Daoist Practice is insufficient, and I have not completed the three hundred good deeds of the Earth Immortal Realm, let alone the eight hundred good deeds of the God Immortal Realm and the one thousand three hundred good deeds of the Heavenly Immortal Realm."

"Seeking good is not necessarily good, and cultivating virtue is not necessarily virtue," Ao Jia said. This was his experience from many years of cultivating virtue. He once felt that the desert was too dry and should be given water, but as a result, the local desert ecology was destroyed, and a large number of living beings died. He felt that a place had too much water and should have less, but as a result, floods appeared in other places.

The myriad phenomena of heaven have their own heavenly heart, which has nothing to do with the human heart. One must avoid replacing the heavenly heart with one's own heart. Whether it is disaster or grace, it is two sides of the same coin.

"You are right. Respecting the operation of the Dao of Heaven is best, but it does not mean accepting fate." Xu Jia waved his hand, revealing some things, which were illusions and also some things that truly existed in his previous life.

"Qian hexagram: The movement of heaven is full of power; a gentleman should strive for self-improvement," Xu Jia said. "Perhaps destiny requires the right timing, but when one does not occupy the right timing, is it impossible to obtain destiny?"

Ao Jia pondered for a while: "The Heavenly Master is right. Interpreting it with the Qian hexagram, there is indeed this glimmer of survival, which is how a mortal becomes a dragon."

Xu Jia nodded and then asked about some things in the upper realm, the treatment after ascension, as well as the essentials of God Immortal cultivation and the exposition of Water Virtue.

But Ao Jia's wisdom was not enough to expound on very profound things. If he were good at teaching, his three thousand six hundred carp descendants would not have had only a few who became successful.

Xu Jia chatted with him for a while and then took the initiative to invite him to go to Poyang: "There is a Dragon Nest under Poyang. You should move to the South Sea. You will civilize them. Back then, Heavenly Master Xu killed the evil dragon, but there was one thing he did not do well, which was that he never forgave them for having dragon birth but no dragon teaching."

"The influence of parents and family can be good or bad, but one cannot only listen to the voices within the home; that will not do. Family education is, after all, narrow. Racial education is relatively broader, yet still not broad enough, but I have no better solution. Fellow Daoist, you cultivate Water Virtue well and are yourself a Dragon God. These little Flood Dragons in the Dragon Nest who have yet to be born may be born with evil roots, but there may still be a chance for them to overcome their nature. If it truly fails, then use them for other purposes."

"As for the Poyang Water Mansion, if Fellow Daoist is not in a hurry to return to Nanyang, please also help preside over it."

"Although I am in the God Immortal Realm, if I exhale a breath and infuse it with a thought, I can also create a small Earth Immortal dragon, but this cannot solve the disasters of the weather. This is the normal circulation of the Great Heaven and Earth's energy; it cannot be considered bad just because your human race is suffering. I cannot intervene to guarantee that Poyang will always have favorable weather."

"Let the overall situation remain unchanged, and only alter the minor trends," Xu Jia said. "Exhaling a breath is also a merit, is it not?"

"That is not difficult."

Ao Jia left behind his true name so that the disciples of the future sea-faring lineage could offer sacrifices to the South Dragon Altar; practicing Water Method, Thunder Law, and Wind Method would all receive bonuses, and then he rose to head toward Poyang.

He did not just exhale one breath; he exhaled five breaths in succession and dripped three drops of heart blood from his fingertips. These five breaths were each a part of the five energies in his chest, and the three drops of essence blood were each a part of his essence, energy, and spirit. Combined together, they ultimately replaced the name of 'Shunji', substituting the divine merit to achieve the position of Poyang Water Lord.

His own aura began to wither, but the next moment, he operated a water tornado, mobilized the Water Qi, and from the level of the Dharma Realm, uprooted the Dragon Nest, moving it from the water into the sky, turning it into a prick of the Heavens.

Through Ao Jia's strenuous efforts in moving it, it followed the Water Qi and headed toward the South Sea.

In fact, there are many Dragon Nests, and the South Sea also has one; that is the Poison Dragon Nest. Therefore, the various countries of Nanyang abound in venomous snakes and Poison Dragons. Even beneath the ground of Heavenly Punishment and Siam lies a massive Poison Dragon Earth Vein, which gave birth to the Poison Dragon Dragon God.

However, those Poison Dragons are not adept at walking the path of Water Virtue. Although the Poyang Dragon Nest is a nest of water evil, good and evil are essentially one body; thunder, rain, and dew are all heavenly grace, so it is relatively compatible.

(End of chapter)