Chapter 308: Mirage Dragon

After Grain Rain comes the Beginning of Summer.

The sky burns with scorching light; people wear short sleeves and linen shirts.

As the heat rises, one must guard against heatstroke and the flu.

Bai Laotai, Bai Qinghua, and the descendants of the Bai family have already prepared heat-relieving herbal tea and soup to dispel evil and restore health.

The fleet of Sun Bao and the others has also purchased a large batch of porcelain and tea leaves here in Yushan before setting sail once again.

They promised to tell more merchants next time that there is a miraculous Golden Toad here. Such is human nature; once they are under the control of the Golden Toad, they will not speak of it to others. Besides, this may not necessarily be a bad thing. Xu Jia needs more ships to go out to sea, to transport disaster victims, and to transport grain.

……

Shunji Xiao Longwang pacified the various demons of the Earth Office Yamen and said to Ao Jin, "You are the Water Boy among the Water Fire Boy under the seat of Heavenly Master Xu. There is also a Drought Demon Fire Essence, who is the Fire Boy. He is stubborn by nature and not as obedient as you. You must advise your master to be careful and cautious, and not to go further and further astray. I shall head to Dongting to meet with the various reclusive Great Demons."

Ao Jin said, "What? That fire child is also a boy of the master? How come I didn't know?" He looked shocked, but he had misunderstood the point: "He doesn't even cultivate Fire Virtue; he's just a furnace tender, smelting gold and forging ore there. How can he be as close to the master as I am?"

Shunji Xiao Longwang was speechless: "Suit yourself."

Having said this, he transformed into a water dragon, soared into the sky, entered the clouds, and when he descended again, he had reached Dongting.

In ancient times, Dongting and Poyang were originally one body, known as Yunmeng Marsh. Later, as the seas changed into mulberry fields, the great marsh dried up, transforming into thousands of lakes and pools, along with countless fertile fields upon them.

Because Poyang possesses a Dragon Nest and follows the path of water evil, it is adept at using floods, making it the capital of flood marshes.

Although Dongting also has much water, it rarely floods; it is just that there are many hidden legends in its depths, and it is home to many strange beasts of mountain and sea.

Shunji Xiao Longwang has come to subdue these strange beasts of mountain and sea on behalf of Xu Jia. If that fails, he must at least negotiate to maintain peace; otherwise, Xu Jia might truly learn from Xu Xun Tianshi and slaughter the demons to fulfill his great vow.

But Shunji feels that this great vow is endless and impossible to realize. The Buddha only spoke of it; it is to become a Pure Land after death. If you want to transform the world into a Pure Land while people are still alive, the power required for such a transformation is no less than creating heaven and earth. Moreover, it will not only be obstructed by demons but also by the very sentient beings you wish to save.

The obstruction to reform is always internal; first, it rots from within, then it festers on the outside.

When a sore appears on the surface, it is actually the eruption of internal heat toxins. Squeezing the pimples and sores is useless; if the internal toxins are not cleared, one cannot be healthy.

There are quite a few Great Demons in Dongting. Those at the Earth Immortal realm are considered ordinary. There is only a rhinoceros demon, a catfish demon, and a Mirage Dragon, all of whom are at the God Immortal realm. The Mirage Dragon, in particular, has the image of a beautiful youth. It is said that he once had a romantic affair with the Poyang Dragon Mother and was hunted by Xu Xun Tianshi. He merely hid a Mirage Pearl, which contained his natal Mirage Qi. After being killed by the Heavenly Master, he was reborn less than a hundred years later by borrowing this Mirage Qi.

A Mirage is not some seashell, clam spirit, or Bixi.

It is the essence of the rainbow-colored Qi of the sky's light and water mist on the water's surface.

In the end, it is cloud, it is Qi, it is light; it is a formless thing that can also undergo thousands of transformations.

Some have seen clouds in the sky taking the shape of dragons from golden rays and cloud Qi; this is what is transformed by Mirage Qi. In refining methods and cultivation, one merely gathers the rays. When the dragon clouds dissipate, it is nothing more than the Mirage Qi being retracted.

Shunji is not worried about the rhinoceros demon or the catfish demon. Although the rhinoceros looks terrifying, it is a vegetarian; only the rhinoceros horn on its head is miraculous, and it is often hunted by people. After it cultivated its skills, it did not contend with outsiders, but lived in Dongting with its own kind. The giant catfish spirit likes to lie in the silt and often does not reveal its form, but occasionally moving its body has the power to shake the earth and mountains.

Shunji Xiao Longwang came here only to persuade the Mirage Dragon.

He descended from the clouds and found a place filled with mist and haze. This was not a deep part of Dongting, but merely a reed marsh by the lotus flowers.

Shunji unfolded his Dharma eyes and, on a dewdrop on a lotus leaf, saw a scene reflecting the sky, yet it was in the appearance of palace pavilions and towers.

This ability to see the large within the small, to see the real within the void, and to seek truth within falsehood is exactly what the Mirage Dragon possesses.

Shunji entered from this dewdrop and saw a small world, no larger than a village or town, yet it had the feeling of the Peach Blossom Spring.

People came and went here, including men and women, old and young, rich and poor, noble and base. A short, ugly man sold sesame cakes, a flirtatious woman ground tofu, a playboy teased hawks and hounds, high officials and nobles sat in sedan chairs, and a destitute beggar snatched dog food.

It is just that these appearances of sentient beings all carried animal characteristics: the short, ugly man was like a mole, the flirtatious woman was like a fox, the playboy was like a jackal or wolf, the high officials were like fat pigs, and the destitute beggar was like a rat...

These people, or beasts, lived in this town with a dual nature.

However, none of them were real people.

"A rare guest has arrived?" A voice arose, and everyone looked toward Shunji Xiao Longwang, saying the same thing in their mouths: "A rare guest has arrived!"

Shunji Xiao Longwang said, "I am the newly appointed Shunji Longwang of Poyang, sent by the order of the Lingbao Sect Leader, True Person Xu, to come and offer amnesty."

"Amnesty? I am here in the depths of Dongting, living in seclusion, keeping to one corner, not causing trouble, not rebelling. What is he offering amnesty for? Does he want to take me in as a dog? Or use me to establish his authority?"

Suddenly, the entire scene changed, revealing bolts of lightning. Amidst the lightning, light and shadow intertwined, revealing a youth in thin gauze. His movements were ghostly, flickering, now far and now near: "You are also a Dragon King? Shunji Longwang? Wasn't Shunji suppressed here? Anji was slaughtered, so which path of Dragon King are you?"

"Is being a dog that comfortable? You haven't had enough of being one, and you're even rushing to find me first?"

"You are not a recluse." Shunji Xiao Longwang, after all, cultivates the virtue of the sea, which is vast enough to contain all things. Coupled with the virtue of the lake, his wisdom is profound, and he did not get angry: "You have long hidden hatred in your heart, only you know that now is not the time."

He saw that this Mirage Realm was a mixture of souls. When human souls obtain their demonic nature, they revert to beastly nature, undergoing morphological changes in this illusion, achieving the appearance of half-demons. Everyone is abnormal, yet everyone is very normal.

If the world were in chaos, entering the Five Turbid Evil World, where nine out of ten houses in the world are empty, wandering souls drift everywhere, and demons cause harm everywhere, he could gather them up and turn them into a Mirage Kingdom illusion, where everyone is a demon and everyone is a ghost.

Then, by Refining Falsehood into Truth and Reversing Yin and Yang, people would not know their death, nor would they know their life, spending their days lost in the illusion, drunk on dreams and dying in dreams.

He said, "This Heavenly Master Xu has issued a great vow to save all sentient beings, not just humans. The previous Shunji and Anji, although they could protect one side of the water and soil, demanded the sacrifice of boys and girls, caused harm with their offspring, demanded Blood Food, and would flood at the slightest provocation, not responding to the mandate of heaven, and not cultivating morality, which is why they met such a disaster."

"Now, this Heavenly Master Xu has already recruited the Virtuous in Poyang, and many good demons have come to join him. I believe that in the future, when there is great governance, there will be a Pure Land for you and me."

(End of chapter)