Chapter 379: The Beginning of the Lingbao Conferred Gods

Over these past few days, the Lushan Five Immortals have been making their own arrangements, deploying naval vessels, training their generals to watch for the Command Flag, chanting incantations to set the rhythm, and beating drums in unison to build momentum; even to the naked eye, it was a magnificent sight.

If viewed from the Dharma Realm, however, the water curtains formed a splendor, and within the array were the Cold Dragon, the Rolling Dragon, the Warm Dragon, the Cloud Dragon, the Mist Dragon, the Frost Dragon, the Sleet Dragon, the Hail Dragon...

These dragons were not physical entities, but were formed from the convergence of the heaven and earth's wanton Qi and the breath of the Nine Rivers; only by obtaining the spirit of the southern Dragon Vein did they acquire a Dragon Phase.

This Nine Rivers Array, where water and sky merged into one, enveloped Jiangzhou City; Jiangzhou was like a tortoise, and the Nine Rivers were like a dragon and snake—it was precisely the tortoise and snake coiled together, ensuring a firm life.

Xu Jian held a specialized Magic Tool telescope to observe the Qi, but all he saw was a tortoise shell, with the interior shrouded in mist, making it difficult to discern the true reality.

Chen Gongming also looked worried: "Is Master Xu's Nine Rivers Water Emperor Edict, which uses water to control water, truly effective?"

"My brother said that cannons are also effective, but the current ammunition has not yet reached its full potential, or if it were powerful enough, it could level Jiangzhou City; however, there are many commoners in the city, so it should not be done that way."

"Rest assured, otherwise I would not have come here in person."

Xun Taizi flew up and down, blowing the Lingfeng; his body had shrunk significantly, but his appearance was nearing maturity. As the first spiritual pet Xu Jia had tamed, he had previously been working in the Salt and Iron Bureau as a dragon-powered blower, raising the temperature of smelting blast furnaces to refine steel. Now that some of the technology had been mastered and there were blower masters who could practice the "Winnowing Wind Incantation," he had been liberated.

Now that he had finally come out for a breather, he was naturally very happy.

Xu Jian let him make a fuss, only saying: "Tomorrow, you and I will enter the array together to take a look."

At this, Jiang Qi and Shen Bao said: "That won't do. As the saying goes, a gentleman does not stand under a dangerous wall. Let the two of us go; the commander should remain in command at the main camp."

Chen Gongming scolded: "Nonsense! Although you two were personally enlightened by Master Xu, you are young and your cultivation is shallow; you must not act recklessly."

Xu Jian, however, said: "My brother gave me instructions; it is precisely for these two to contribute, and he has passed down a treasure."

It was a Broken Bowl.

Jiang Qi took the bowl and suddenly felt it grow heavy, nearly dropping it. He couldn't help but be curious: "This bowl is so heavy; could it be some kind of treasure?"

The bowl was made of black pottery with jagged chips around the rim.

Xu Jian smiled and introduced it: "It is normal that you do not recognize this bowl. After all, it is a Magic Tool that went extinct hundreds of years ago. Many were destroyed by practitioners across the world, and those that remain are few. Previously, everyone would refine one; one only needed to find yin mud and yang soil and set up a ritual to fire it themselves. Originally, in the Yellow Heaven Sect, basically every township worshipped one bowl."

"This is the treasure of the Yellow Heaven Sect, called the Raw Rice Bowl, which has the ability to donate one grain of rice and receive five dou of grain. This bowl is not an ordinary Raw Rice Bowl; it was used by Huang Muchun, the Southeast Great Libationer of the Yellow Heaven Sect, and was obtained from a Heavenly Master of the Shangjie. It was once used to suppress a thousand-year-old centipede dragon. It is an ancient treasure!"

After Xu Jia obtained the inheritance of the Yellow Heaven Sect, he also studied this object and researched the method of sacrifice. This set of sacrificial methods involved praying to the so-called Yellow Heaven Holy Venerable, integrating resources from the various worlds under his rule to respond to the prayers. The core treasure was a "Chaos Pearl" that connected to the Six Heavens of Desire.

As it happened, this Chaos Pearl was now also in Xu Jia's hands, obtained from the Wanshou Emperor of the Longevity Sect. It was a treasure passed down by the Heavenly Master Zhang Jiao, who had descended to the lower realm to preach, and it could control the heavens with the spirit.

"If this bowl can suppress a thousand-year-old centipede dragon, it should be more than enough to break a Nine Rivers Array." Jiang Qi was very happy and examined the bowl up and down, wanting to see what was special about it, but Shen Bao snatched it away: "Good treasure, good treasure! Why are you the only one holding it? Let me see." He grabbed a handful of rice and sprinkled it inside, wanting to see if it could really donate one grain of rice and receive five dou of grain.

Who would have known that the bowl would generate a huge suction force, almost draining his Dharma Power dry. The bowl also became incomparably heavy, and grains of rice sprayed out like a fountain. Only when his Dharma Power was drained did it stop.

Shen Bao's face was pale, but the rice in front of him had indeed piled up into a small hill, though not as exaggerated as one grain turning into five dou. It was simply because his cultivation was insufficient; if his cultivation were sufficient, he might have been able to sustain it.

"It really is food!" Chen Gongming's eyes lit up: "Master Xu giving this to us is truly for logistics in marching and fighting. This rice is all high-quality rice."

"It's just that now everyone in the army is practicing martial arts and consuming Qi; rice alone cannot nourish them. If only there were a 'Raw Meat Bowl,' or if one could put in a piece of Ginseng and it turned into ten pieces of Ginseng, that would be great."

"Isn't that just an evil Treasure Basin?" Xu Jian said: "That would be blood sacrifice, and my brother has strictly forbidden blood sacrifice. However, we have already started building canning factories. That cooked meat, or canned sugar water, can provide quick replenishment and save a lot of time. Although Bigu pills have been prepared, the quantity is small; each person only has three pills, and one pill can last for a day's consumption. But that requires a large amount of Polygonatum, yam, Ginseng, Poria, and some even add Guanyin clay or jade powder. If one does not understand the art of consumption, after a long time, one will only suffer from constipation or prolapsed intestines; they can only be taken in emergencies."

"As for the Small Five Elements Pill, Large Honey Pill, and Small Powder Pill, the civilian versions have now been completed and mass production has begun. Now they can basically supply most people to fill their essence and replenish their vitality, assisting in the Hundred Days Foundation Establishment and the cultivation of the early Human Immortal stage."

After returning to Shanju Guan, Xu Jian was honored as an Ancestor by the Daoists. These Daoists basically controlled Xu Jia's core industries and were all talented individuals. As the "Young Temple Master," he naturally already had an understanding of these industries.

"This is good, but..." Chen Gongming smacked his lips and asked: "How do we break his array? After all, this looks like a logistical treasure."

He had also seen the centipede dragon—the evil spirit of Yushan. He had personally kicked over that statue, but that was just a human-shaped centipede composed of the souls of thousands of people, manifesting its form in the Dharma Realm; it was not the real thousand-year-old centipede dragon. It was a Ghost God at roughly the Earth Immortal level. Xu Jia had summoned the Dragon-Slaying Immortal Sword and beheaded it, but he had not used the power of the Raw Rice Bowl.

"This bowl can be used normally or in reverse. Inside is an infinite space, like a funnel. Those Water Origins flow into this bowl endlessly. My brother said that this bowl is a river of water and could contain the entire Yangtze River, which could stop floods from overflowing. If the two of them carry it in, they will respond to the star destiny and lead the slaughter, fulfilling the duties of the Human Officials."

"As the saying goes, Divine Ability cannot defeat Cause and Effect. The Lushan Five Immortals set up this array to obstruct us from liberating Jiangzhou; they must face a tribulation. Even though the two of them are only Human Immortals, they should still be beheaded, and the souls of the Five Immortals should be sent to Yuhua Mountain to receive an imperial edict from the Lingbao to become Incense Fire Ghost Gods."

……

(End of chapter)