Cursed Mountains and Seas

Chapter 49 An Unexpected Discovery! The Official Long Yin, the Hidden Dragon in His Sleeves
Underwater, Wang Cheng followed closely behind the damselfish, swimming and observing this diligent "guide".

This sea bream is significantly larger than when he first arrived here, and its eyes are almost indistinguishable from those of a human child.

But it quietly awakened its intelligence and became a spirit!
He wasn't surprised. During this period, the damselfish had been eating a lot of monkey brains and sea urchins, which were beneficial for mental growth, so it would be strange if there were no changes.

After all, in this world even old objects can become "Tsukumogami," let alone normal animals.

Although fish, whose memory is measured in seconds, are far more difficult to remember than mammals like monkeys, their sheer numbers mean that the creatures born in the ocean surpass all other species.

Apart from a very few exceptionally gifted beings who are inherently bound to certain myths and legends and enjoy the favor of divine will, such as dragons and fox spirits, very few can transform into human form.

Most spirits cultivate in a similar way to humans.

There are three main paths: one is to use a demon's body to gain offerings and become an alien deity;

Secondly, after cultivating to a certain level, a bit of one's spirit escapes from the body and is reincarnated, breaking free from the illusions of the womb and embarking on the path of human officialdom.

Third, it has both characteristics.

The general situation is that humans are born of human mothers, and demons are born of demon mothers, but it is not impossible for demons to be born of human mothers.

Therefore, in many cases, humans and transgender people end up in the same place despite their different paths, and the conflicts between them are not particularly sharp.

It's far less about fighting to the death with evil spirits.

In many cases, in order to practice the true Dharma, they will even take the initiative to serve under human officials, either as attendants or as protectors.

They generally retain their former demonic forms, and most of the time their combat power far surpasses that of ordinary human officials.

"I feel like I've seen this situation before, but I can't quite place it right now."

Wang Cheng frowned and temporarily put aside the sudden sense of familiarity, his gaze returning to the damselfish.

After getting to know him better, Wang Cheng intended to win over this traitor and get him back to his old profession of raising monkey brains and sea urchins for him.

I come back and harvest every now and then, achieving a win-win situation for all three parties!

"It's quite a coincidence."

The monkey brain sea urchin treated the damselfish as a serf who grew vegetables for free; the damselfish treated me as a beneficial insect that protected the vegetable garden; and I treated the monkey brain sea urchin as a highly nutritious seafood delicacy.

It is true that the needs of all three parties have been met in a closed loop.

Everyone has a bright future ahead of them!

It's probably because Wang Cheng has done so many good deeds lately; good people are rewarded.

The intelligent sea bream spirit didn't take him to catch sea urchins today, but instead swam quickly to the other side of the deserted island.

Soon, Wang Cheng unexpectedly discovered a skeleton stuck in a crevice of rocks near the shore.

I don't know how many years it has been stuck here, it has long since become one with the stone.

The surrounding seabed is littered with the remains of numerous marine creatures, centered around their bones.

There were all sorts of things: huge clam shells, turtle shells, rotten fish bones, shrimp shells, crab shells, etc. They all had the same characteristic: they had all been cut in two by some kind of sharp weapon and had all their essence and blood drained away.

The freshest carcass belonged to a damselfish that had been split in two from head to tail.

Wang Cheng immediately realized that this must be one of the accomplices' relatives who had accidentally encountered an accident here.

The guide brought me here so that I would help him get rid of this "pest" that is even more terrifying than a sea urchin.

Wang Cheng carefully observed the "culprit" behind this damselfish murder case.

It was a bizarre and malevolent creature whose lower body, like a snake, was connected to the back and neck of the corpse, while its upper body writhed and twisted.

Although the exterior was decayed, swollen, and covered with scales like those of a serpent, one could still vaguely discern what the person looked like in life.

She was dressed in luxurious clothes, wearing various jewelry made of emeralds, amber, gold and silver, and had the small braids unique to the nobles of the Yunmeng Empire on her head.

Holding a dragon-headed sword that had been submerged in seawater for years yet remained as sharp as ever, it was no surprise that this was the murder weapon that caused the massacre of marine life.

From his long-distorted mouth, two words kept repeating:
"Go home! Go home!"

Wang Cheng recalled the dead bodies he had seen in the sunken ship and already had a guess in his mind:

"Judging from his clothes and appearance, this person should also be a crew member of that merchant ship that sank, and may even be the captain, as well as a Shinto official."

When the merchant ship capsized, not everyone was trapped in the cabins. This man tried to escape to the island alone, but due to some unknown accident, he became trapped and died there. Like the other crew members, he was transformed into an evil spirit.

He then cautiously approached and hid behind the turtle carcass furthest from the other side to observe.

The evil spirit, sensing the commotion, twisted its snake-like body and struck out repeatedly with its blade.

The sharp blade sliced ​​through the seawater, leaving deep cuts on the seabed.

The information gathered by the "Rare Goods for Hoarding" investigation supported Wang Cheng's guess.

Evil Spirit: Dragon's Blood
Before his death, he was a descendant of the distant royal family of the Yunmeng Empire, the Borjigin Daiqin, and the official title of "Dragon Yin". When he set off from his hometown of Citong Port to do business in the South Seas, he encountered the sea monster Lord shortly after setting sail, and his ship took on water and capsized.

He died unexpectedly while fleeing alone.

External training method: The Azure Dragon in the Sleeve (Entering the Inner Chamber)
Obsession: To be buried in one's homeland.

Wang Cheng was somewhat surprised after reading this message.

The captain of this merchant ship turned out to be a member of the Golden Family of the Yunmeng Empire, surnamed Borjigin.

Being able to take the risk and personally lead a team out to sea is definitely a model of ambition among royalty.

Perhaps because it has never been able to eat humans and has only survived on the essence of fish and shrimp, after more than two hundred years of wind and rain, even an evil spirit that is equivalent to a natural phenomenon has long since become weak and feeble.

All his special skills and extraordinary abilities from his lifetime have collapsed, and he can't even maintain the fundamental magic of a seventh-rank official. All that's left is an external sword technique etched into his body's instincts.

"However, what kind of official rank is 'Dragon's Blood'? I've never heard of it before."

Behind him, the sea bream spirit was circling and bubbling, urging him, this "beneficial insect," to quickly get rid of the pests that were hindering his farming.

Wang Cheng did not refuse.

It wasn't that he, like the sea bream, couldn't distinguish who was the king and queen in this sea; rather, he had a way to deal with this ferocious evil spirit without having to fight it out.

Moreover, he had a strange premonition that he might gain something unexpected from the other party.

Teng—!
The three flames of fortune, prosperity, and longevity on the top of his head and shoulders blazed brightly. The life fire was pure yang, scorching away evil spirits and malevolent beings, who subconsciously coiled up.

Wang Cheng stared at Sun Borjigin Daiqin, and the [Four Seas Coins] in his mind quietly lit up. Following the other's obsession, he silently recited:

"Inheriting your belongings, we send you back to your hometown."

Once the deal is done, there's no going back!

On the way back, we can stop by Citong Port. It's not much trouble, and we can use it to make a deal and subdue the enemy without a fight.

Whoosh!
A broken talisman fell into the money's eye, and the evil spirit's true form slowly dissipated, leaving only a skeleton that quickly weathered into ash.

Wang Cheng, without bothering to check the specific information about the official title "Long Yin," hurriedly stepped forward to collect Dai Qin's remains and put them into the coin hole of the Sihai Tongbao coin.

At the same time, he reached out and caught the gleaming dragon-headed sword.

At the same time, the top-grade external sword technique practiced by the Yunmeng royal family, the advanced level of the [Azure Dragon in the Sleeve], was also integrated into Wang Cheng's mind.

Wang Cheng rapidly absorbed countless experiences in using the knife, profound techniques, and even combat experience, and quickly integrated them with his own knife skills.

It felt as if I had personally and painstakingly practiced swordsmanship for decades, my muscles swelling and contracting to form bodily memory, perfectly inheriting the legacy from the other party.

As long as one can achieve harmony between the inner and outer, and attain pure Yang energy, one's spiritual control over the physical body will be extraordinary.

Even if you don't practice for a long time, you won't fall into the embarrassing situation of "being slow and clumsy if you don't practice for a day, or losing half of your skills if you don't practice for two days." You can always maintain peak combat effectiveness.

With focused mind, keen eyes, and skillful hands, every official is a genius at learning techniques.

Stab it--!
With a sudden swing of his sword, he sliced ​​open a long slit in the sea above, letting the sunlight stream onto Wang Cheng's face before the slit closed with a crash.

Wang Cheng closed his eyes and meditated for a moment, his face already beaming with joy:
"One of the secret sword techniques of the Yunmeng royal family, called the 'Azure Dragon in the Sleeve,' also known as the 'Azure Dragon Seven Constellations,' consists of seven secret killing moves."

Its exquisite craftsmanship far surpasses that of commonplace items like the Eight Blades of Breaking Waves.

I take back what I said yesterday about Bai Shuilang not caring about close combat.

It smells so good!

With a flick of his wrist, the precious sword in his hand, whose blade alone was over three feet long, suddenly vanished, truly hidden inside his sleeve by the "Azure Dragon in the Sleeve."

(End of this chapter)