Yamafu Military Affairs

Chapter 287 Going their separate ways
"Three days. Earlier, when Ling'er was returning upstream along the Yangtze River, she sensed Yunmeng's decree, which said that my brother would transform from a dragon into a dragon on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month during the Dragon Boat Festival. Grandpa, have you made all the necessary preparations for my brother?"

Ao Ling thought about it and couldn't help but worry about her half-human, half-dragon cousin.

Unlike the old dragon of Dongting who had become the King of Water and a true celestial demon thousands of years ago, the brother and sister Ao Ling and Ao Tao were just ordinary big demons. Although they were both dragons, their actual situations were different.

Ao Ling is the combination of Ao Guang, the Dragon King of the East China Sea, and the Dragon Girl of Yunmeng. She is the youngest sister of the second generation of the East China Sea dragon clan. She is born with scales, horns and claws, and has the inherent dragon energy and great magical powers. She is a true dragon with pure bloodline.

Even though Ao Tao is a dragon-type Taotie with extraordinary talent, he cannot change the fact that he is half human, half dragon. His bloodline is barely comparable to that of a lower-level water dragon like the jiaolong, so he is not very powerful.

There was a record in the collection of the Dragon Palace in the East China Sea that there are two ways for creatures to transform into dragons.

The first one is [Yue Longmen], which has a wide range of applications.

Regardless of whether it is fish, turtle, shrimp, crab, dragon or snake, as long as the aquatic creature can go upstream from the estuaries of the four major rivers and cross three [Dragon Gates] in succession on a specific day, it can successfully transform into a dragon.

Once every thirty-six years, a maximum of seventy-two dragons can be formed at one time.

It is said that as long as one climbs up the Dragon Gate, clouds and rain will follow, and heavenly fire will burn one's tail from behind, and one will be transformed into a dragon.

Of course, the dragon body created in this way is very ordinary and cannot be considered a real dragon.

The second one is [Walking into the Sea like a Dragon], which has much more stringent requirements. The prerequisite for taking this path is that one has already cultivated the body of a dragon.

The dragon needs to swim along rivers, lakes and all the way into the sea.

During this process, it is like a bright light in the darkness, unable to escape or hide, and continues to attract wave after wave of demons and monsters that covet its flesh and blood, until it dies in battle or successfully transforms into a dragon.

Depending on the way of transformation, talent and accumulated skills, the abilities after transformation will naturally be very different.

If [Leaping over the Dragon Gate] succeeds, one can at most be a ninth-rank water officer in the future, and as for being conferred a noble title, forget it; but if [Walking into the Sea] succeeds, one can at least be conferred a viscount title, making him a sixth-rank water officer and in charge of the waters of a state.

One thing in common between the two is that they both need the abundant water vapor from rivers, lakes and reservoirs for nourishment. However, since the spiritual energy of heaven and earth within a certain period of time has an upper limit and can only increase or decrease, the aquatic creatures in Kyushu often swallow various miraculous [Dao Gong] and [Tian Xiang] when they transform into dragons, striving to preserve their condition and break free from all kinds of siege.

[Leaping Dragon Gate] goes upstream, [Walking into the Sea] goes downstream, so the two are often in competition, and even end up fighting to the death. The old dragon king placed Ao Tao's walking dragon in Qiantang instead of Sidu because there were many water monsters in the Yangtze River, and he was worried that the ants would bite the elephant to death and drag his good grandson to death.

"Except for Tao'er's feast, the rest of the armor, weapons, and medicines have all been prepared."

The silver dragon opened its mouth and spit out a roll of black bamboo slips. "The other day, there was a seventh-rank water official who claimed to be from Luofu Mountain. I don't know his background, but he came to offer this [Hundred Flavors Cooking]. I took a look at the recipe. Although it has some drawbacks and can damage your luck and shorten your life, it is indeed useful."

With a light stroke of her jade hand, the bamboo slips were unfolded. Ao Ling's beautiful eyes flashed, and an octogenarian with white hair and a youthful face appeared behind her. The two of them carefully read the ancient small seal characters that were like dragons and snakes.

After a long time, Ao Ling had a thoughtful look on his face and murmured softly.

"Use freshwater fish from rivers, lakes, wells and seafood, these five types of aquatic creatures as the five grains, plus a special 'main ingredient' like wine yeast, medicine, and brine, to make up the hundreds of flavors of water, and then use the two-cooking technique to extract the essence to make a special [Heavenly Feast]. In this way, you can really open up a new way to make [Heavenly Feast] without the need for a dragon chef, but..."

"But this 'prime ingredient' has very demanding requirements. If you want to turn decay into magic, this 'prime ingredient' must be able to overpower the five types of aquatic creatures. If it were just that, it would be fine. The key is that this 'prime ingredient' cannot conflict with Tao'er's bloodline. Otherwise, once it affects the transformation into a dragon, it would be counterproductive."

The silver-white dragon slowly shrank, and after turning back into an energetic old dragon king, he looked at the withered black bamboo slips with a look as if he was looking at chicken ribs: "Since the great water demon cannot be used, the only two choices left are humans and dragons. But in the past hundred years, there has not been a single human who can be conferred the title of the true water lord. If we want to cook this dish, in the end, we may have to use those fish, turtles, shrimps, crabs, dragons and snakes that have crossed the dragon gate as a tool."

Listening to the words of the old Dragon King, Ao Ling nodded. He also did not regard the miscellaneous dragons transformed from fish, turtles, dragons and snakes as his own species.

"Grandpa, do you mean to let General Tuo, Captain Bay and other family generals lead the sailors to catch a few miscellaneous dragons?"

"No, Ling'er."

The old Dragon King shook his head, put away the roll of dry black bamboo slips, and took out a blue-grey dragon-shaped token with the words "Rainfall due to clouds" inscribed on it.

"A month ago, when I returned to Jiuzhou, Prime Minister Turtle reported that many evil dragons had bred in Qiantang over the past hundred years and were causing trouble for the world. My brother hasn't been back to Jiuzhou for a long time, and the affairs of the Water Palace are in a mess. I didn't want to get involved, but now it seems that I should take this opportunity to clean it up. Ling'er, when I return to the mountains and seas, you will hold this token."

After giving detailed instructions, the old dragon lord paused and glanced in the direction of the guest room of the water palace: "The background of the Luofu Mountain man is unknown, so he cannot be trusted. You and Tao'er are far inferior to him. Once you go out, make sure to let Tu Mo bring the sailors with you. Be careful in everything."

Ao Ling listened to the nagging, but his face did not show the slightest impatience. Instead, he carefully put away the blue-gray token. After the old Dragon King finished speaking, he raised the [Longjing Green] in his hand and said, "Grandpa, Ling'er finally collected this tea. It will be of great use. Let's go to Jishan Palace and show you my new skills."

“good good”
-

"Huzi, what do you think of this Li Longren?"

On the way back to the Wild Hunting Bureau's office from the North Winery, the drunk Liu Gengyang and Qin Huai were arm in arm, and casually mentioned the owner of Fuchun Collection, whom he met for the first time.

"He is a man of great talent, very cunning, and his words are not true. He is not a good man."

Qin Huai thought about it and without much hesitation told Liu Gengyang his judgment of Li Long.

"It's highly likely that he's not a good person, but if there really are ghosts and evil spirits haunting Fuchun Market, it would be a good place to hold a banquet to worship the ghosts."

Cha Xiaodao, who was standing aside, was holding a green grass stalk that he had picked up from somewhere, and he became interested in Fuchun Market which was not far away.

"I think you want to go to the ghost market, right? Hahaha~"

Liu Gengyang laughed and patted Cha Xiaodao's broad shoulders with his fat hands, making him grimace.

"Speaking of the banquet venue, Xiaodao wants to go to Wenyan to have a look. What about you, Old Ding? Do you have a place you like?"

Qin Huai turned to look at Ding Ru who was silent, and spoke with concern.

"I want to visit the prosperous and rich East China Sea. I can also cast a few more nets to prepare some ingredients for the third level of [Eating Truth]."

Seeing that Ding Ru thought long-term and chose the East China Sea, which had the highest safety factor and the richest resources, Qin Huai nodded and didn't ask any more questions.

"Aru, don't forget to help me catch a few more fish as we go down the river. The Green Ice Carp would be best."

Cha Xiaodao slapped his forehead, as if he had thought of something, and hurriedly reminded Ding Ru. "You two haven't even started the second level yet, and you've already figured out what to do in the third level?"

Qin Huai looked strange and a little surprised.

"Well, Xiaodao wants to make the Confucius cuisine's [Carp in Arms], and I can make the Fujian cuisine's best dish, [Buddha Jumps Over the Wall]."

Ding Ru nodded, and then told them their plan for the third level.

"[Carp in Arms]? Daozi, can you cook this dish?"

"Didn't I go to see the master of Kong Zongyan this afternoon? He gave me this recipe and told me to go to Qufu when I have time."

Cha Xiaodao took out a piece of silk from his arms and was about to hand it to Qin Huai.

"Wenyan is dangerous. I'll go with you this time. Is that okay?"

Qin Huai waved his hand and turned to talk about the arrangements for this [banquet].

"no problem."

"It should."

Seeing that Cha Xiaodao and Ding Ru had no objection, Qin Huai smiled, and while carrying Liu Gengyang, he continued to walk back, saying goodbye to the two of them: "Okay, see you tomorrow."
-

Time passed quietly.

After the Yunmeng Decree was issued, the weather around Lin'an Prefecture gradually became cloudy and unpredictable, with sunny, cloudy and rainy days alternating from time to time.

The moonlight was obscured by thick rain clouds. After returning to Yanyue Tower under the cover of night, Qin Huai studied the map of the area around Wenyan while waiting for his master to finish drawing talismans.

After gathering information from all sides and understanding the significance of the Yunmeng Decree and the transformation of the dragon into a dragon, he realized that the entire Qiantang River basin was probably in chaos. Whether it was because of greed or fear, those demons and monsters with increasingly tense nerves were definitely not easy to deal with.

Wenyan is located at the confluence of three rivers, where good and bad people gather. In addition, there are countless people from all walks of life lurking. In order to check Xiaodao's personal safety, Qin Huai feels it is necessary to get a few more purple scrolls from the main body.

Even though Qin Huai was divided into two, his original physical fitness and mind were weakened a lot, but after all, he was promoted to Baji and was no longer the Wuxia A'mon of the past. Instead, his efficiency in drawing talismans increased.

Moreover, after the division of specialization, with the help of [Principle of All Things] and [Imperial Flying Fish Clothes], it is easier for the main body to enter a wonderful state of being focused and forgetting about the world and self, and the conditions for making talismans can be said to be unique.

[Flying Yaksha] built a Qingwei altar in the room, spread a bamboo mat on it, and placed a table.

Gold paper, purple-hair brush, inkstone, blood ink, cinnabar, five-colored soil, etc. were all placed on the table.

When dawn broke, he finally put down his brush and slowly finished the main painting, which he had been drawing for quite some time.

He wiped away the sweat on his forehead and lightly tapped the gold foil purple talisman. A clear and pleasant sound immediately echoed in the room.

"Main body, is it necessary to work so hard? How many days have you slept in the past four days? Three days?"

The clone looked at the stacks of blue and purple talismans in the box held by the Flying Yaksha, and felt both amazed and distressed.

"I didn't sleep all night. When I was tired, I meditated to regain my energy. When I was hungry, I ate [Tingyan] [Zhenwei]. It wasn't that bitter actually."

After putting away the freshly-made [Dou Mu Suppressing Evils and Eliminating Diseases Golden Curse], the main body crossed his legs on the [Qing Wei Zuo Pu], unable to conceal the fatigue between his brows.

The clone looked at the original body who was still being stubborn, smiled, and did not expose him.

Taoist priests who practice the Three Mountains Talismans can borrow magic from the sect's gods through the talisman technique that comes from the same source. Sorcerers of other sects can borrow magic from their ancestors or the heaven and earth, which greatly reduces consumption and allows them to easily draw blue talismans and purple talismans. However, Qin Huai was not among the thirty-three fruits of Bingshen at this time, so naturally he could not borrow magic power and could only use the power of meteors that he cultivated himself.

If the meteorological force in Qin Huai's body, who was at the peak of the Nine Lights, was 100 units, then after experiencing the stimulation of the Tianrui source blood and being promoted to the Eight Extremes, the meteorological force in his body was as high as 500 units!
Even though the clone was weakened a lot, the main body still had 300 units of meteorological power at its disposal at any time. In addition to recovering his energy in the past few days, Qin Huai worked day and night, drawing hundreds of blue talismans of various colors and seven or eight purple talismans!

(100 units/sheet of purple medicine talisman, 10 units/sheet of nectar blue talisman)
If all of them can be sold and converted into Yamabu points, after deducting the labor costs, this would be a net profit of several thousand Yamabu points!
"It's a pity that my talisman skills are still a little lacking, otherwise I could find some time to refine a dedicated [Qingwei Silver Talisman], and I wouldn't have to go through so much trouble."

After catching his breath, the original body took out two sets of talismans that he had prepared earlier and placed them in the hands of the clone.

"This journey is dangerous. Should we bring Yaksha with us? Kaiming doesn't have the ability to fly, which is inconvenient after all."

"No, the wind talisman is enough. Yasha should stay here to protect you."

The clone glanced at the increasingly powerful [Flying Yaksha], shook his head, put on his sword case and hunting bow, picked up the [Fresh Cage] and climbed out of the window.

roar~
A tiger roar was heard, and Qin Huai, who had rushed to the back street, looked up and saw two huge tigers squatting at the bottom of the closed Chunfeng Building, with six "White Tiger Guards" wearing helmets and armor standing quietly beside them.

These two tigers were not as big as the [Winged Tiger], but their head-to-tail length was nearly ten feet. Their fur was yellow-white with black stripes. On their huge heads were inlaid a majestic word "king". Their imposing manner was not weaker than that of the [Winged Tiger].

"The White Tiger Guards who came to protect Daozi and Lao Ding? I didn't expect them to come so early."

Qin Huai's eyes flickered, and he stopped in front of the six men and two tigers, clasped his fists and saluted:

"My name is Qin Huai. I am the hunting officer of the Wild Hunting Bureau of Lin'an Prefecture. I was hired by Cha Zhao and Ding Ru to be in charge of matters related to their Spiritual Chef Competition. I wonder if you brothers are the White Tiger Warriors sent by the court to assist the contestants in the [Food Banquet] stage?"

"Guard Captain Wang Yuan greets Officer Qin Lie. We are indeed the kitchen assistants for contestants No. 626 and 627 on this trip."

As soon as Qin Huai finished speaking, a White Tiger Warrior with a tiger-head knife on his waist stepped forward and responded in kind. They had seen Qin Huai sitting on the judges' panel during the preliminary round yesterday, so naturally they had no doubts about him.

At this moment, the door of Chunfeng Tower burst open, and Cha Xiaodao, carrying a gray-white jade bamboo box on his back and holding a handful of fried dough sticks in his hand, stepped out and almost bumped into two huge tiger heads that were sticking out from the left and right.

"Eh? Two tigers?"

(End of this chapter)