Cursed Mountains and Seas

Chapter 9 Wang Cheng, the Registered Scholar; Cai Zhu A Xiao

"The lamp of the heart has finally been lit!"

Wang Cheng felt a throbbing sensation between his eyebrows, as if he had opened a third eye without needing the help of the Four Seas Coin's money eye.

My senses became extremely sharp, and the world before me seemed exceptionally vivid. Even in the dim light, I could see things on the shore clearly.
Sea breezes from different sources have distinctly different salty and fishy smells, which can be easily distinguished by smell.
Listening to the whistling wind in my ears, I could clearly tell the wind speed and direction.
The five senses, which serve as channels for internal and external interaction, have all been significantly enhanced to a higher level.

Wang Cheng had no doubt that on the battlefield amidst gunfire, his chances of being hit by a stray bullet were far less than those of an ordinary person who had not lit the lamp of their heart.

Soon, the ever-increasing pure white light emanated from his body, and white hairs began to appear on his skin.

From then on, he no longer needed to rely on the divine power of the ship god, and he could also command various talismans drawn in advance by officials, which can be considered as having one foot in the threshold of the divine path.

At this moment, through the eye of the Four Seas Tongbao coin, he finally saw with unparalleled clarity the two destinies on his body: one was that of Wang Cheng, the heir of the Prince of Jinghai, and the other was that of the evil spirit Wang Fugui.

The latter clung to the shadow, wriggling slightly at the slightest thought, resembling a living creature.

The book says, "A shadow is a companion to the body. A shadow follows a person's form and is never apart from them."

By lighting the lamp in his heart, he transcends the mundane and can actively utilize the physical appearance and destiny he bought from evil spirits, greatly increasing his flexibility.

Wang Cheng essentially possessed both a "living yang body" and an "evil spirit yin body" simultaneously. Due to the karmic entanglement of the divine rituals of the water-collecting lineage that sent the royal boat, the foundation of this yin body was extraordinary.

His face showed both joy and sighs:
"【Four Seas Treasure】is truly a marvel of creation, its power to defy fate as simple as eating and drinking."

Unfortunately, the bones of evil spirits and ghosts are much lighter than those of living people. That night, when I bought Wang Fugui's life, his bone weight only increased from two ounces and eight mace to three ounces and one mace.
"Busy and bustling, struggling to make ends meet, when will the clouds part and the sun shine? It's a rare blessing to have a family that can stand on its ancestral foundation; in middle age, food and clothing are gradually no longer a worry. Barely, one can live like a normal person."

But that's far from enough; the highest possible bone weight of seven taels and two mace, a natural-born emperor's destiny, is even more unattainable.

Moreover, Wang Cheng had a vague premonition that he should not do this kind of life-saving thing a second time before he was officially ordained and appointed as an official.

Having confirmed the breakthrough was complete, he slowly stood up and stretched his creaking muscles.

Although the subtle changes after lighting the heart lamp were significant, the physical body neither underwent a complete transformation nor did its strength increase in the slightest; it remained merely a mortal body.

At most, his explosive power, control, and balance have improved significantly, allowing him to easily perform many difficult moves that he couldn't do in the past.

This is the training of Shinto officials.

The physical body is merely a temporary dwelling for people; the three souls, seven spirits, and the spirit of the soul are their true essence!
Although Wang Cheng had a lot of theories from his previous life, such as "cultivating both body and mind" and "if you only cultivate your body and not your mind, your spirit will never be able to become a saint."

But he had only just begun his training; how could he dare to question the mature cultivation system that had been passed down for thousands of years? Nor did he have the ability to do so.

Only when I reach the summit and replace my father, Prince Jinghai, as the strongest water collector will I be qualified to explore the secrets behind the cultivation system.

They quickly packed up their fishing gear and, before the sun had completely set, hurriedly rowed their boat back.

He was already planning his next move:

"I was born in the Year of the Dragon, which is a great advantage for me as I am born in the Year of the Ox, Tiger, Dragon and Horse. I was born on the 15th of the tenth lunar month, the Lower Yuan Festival, so my destiny is quite strong."

He also practiced internal cultivation methods from a young age, diligently practicing the "Chenlong Breathing Technique" among the Twelve Yuan Chen Breathing Techniques, which corresponds to the "Twenty-Four Solar Terms".

Finally, at the age of sixteen, he lit the lamp of his heart and became a qualified ordained student.

The next step is to try to catch even more 100,000 sea cucumbers and make more money.

I strive to illuminate my inner light to its fullest extent before the first pentad of the Rain Water solar term next year, [Otter Sacrifice Fish], and reach the state of pure Yang in my life force.

And in those short five days, they held a divine ritual and successfully conferred ordination and entered the ranks.

Otherwise, if I want to follow in my father's footsteps and become a water-dwelling official ("White Water Gentleman"), I'll have to wait another year. So this step absolutely cannot be delayed.

Thinking of this, Wang Cheng couldn't help but show a hint of difficulty on his face:
"In order to hold rituals during specific seasons and weather, one must also have a talisman that has been worshipped for a sufficient number of years to suppress fate and to build an altar to communicate with the Dao energy."

During this process, a highly skilled guide is needed to help submit the petition.

In other words, there are four conditions: pure Yang fire in one's life, otter sacrificial fish, talismanic object for suppression, and a guide. I currently lack all of them.

I can't use my original identity, so I'd better start by finding a new master under the identity of Wang Fugui.

But I heard that to learn to cook in the city, you not only have to be able to withstand scolding and beatings, but you also have to have your master go through some kind of door for every dish you learn.

Even with this, it would probably take ten years to learn the skill, but I only have two months.

Difficult! Difficult! Difficult!

Putting aside his worries for the time being, he decided to go back and discuss with the Zhang brothers when to return to Yuegang. He rowed the boat swiftly.

In Wang Cheng's perception, the billowing black tide from the deep sea gradually spread towards the land, while golden-red flames lit up the direction of the Tanka people's boats, firmly holding back the tide. Three against one, united in purpose!
Within and beyond the mountains and seas, the three classes of officials, spirits and deities, and the yang energy of all living beings work together to protect all people from the invasion of evil spirits.

Especially on the harsh sea, even with a mountain and sea curse blocking the way, it is impossible for one person or one family to survive on their own.

The Tanka people must work together to thrive and multiply.

This also makes them far more united than their compatriots living on land, regardless of family or surname; everyone is a brother or sister.

Their faith in the gods was naturally even stronger, and it could not be measured by eggs in later generations.

Just as the small boat was about to approach the ring of blazing fires surrounding the Lianjia boat, Wang Cheng suddenly heard a melodious song overhead:

"Without wind, the sails sway at the bottom of the boat; a hemp basket lies at the bottom, awaiting the return of my beloved."
"Let's go to the seaside in a small boat, row the big ship out of the sea, and go without any moorings."

He paused in his rowing motion.

'This sounds like a popular love song among Tanka women?'

Looking up, you can see a small, knife-cut cliff standing on the side of the shore where the Lianjia boats are moored.

At the top of a cliff tens of meters high, sat a stunningly beautiful young woman with long hair, no more than twenty years old, hugging her knees.

He stared blankly at the boundary between the sky and the sea, where the cursed Great Wall once again appeared and disappeared with the alternation of yin and yang.

She wasn't wearing normal clothes, but a close-fitting dark blue sharkskin camisole, revealing only her exquisitely beautiful face and fair hands and feet.

With a slender waist, long legs, and rounded hips, her fair skin and graceful figure are particularly striking.

Most remarkably, her eyes were heterochromatic.

One is brown like a normal person's, while the other is a magnificent azure blue, like the ocean. The brown and blue shimmer with a strange and unique beauty.

I don't think I've seen this older sister before.

Wang Cheng glanced at her briefly before adhering to the sage's teaching of "do not look at what is improper," and withdrew his gaze, intending to walk around her and continue paddling forward.

But my mouth started singing along involuntarily:

"Without wind, the sails glide beneath the boat's edge; a hemp basket lies at the bottom, awaiting the return of my beloved."

Before I even finished singing, my heart skipped a beat.

He had just lit his heart's lamp with the help of 100,000 rare sea creatures [Parrotfish], but in his excitement, he forgot about the side effect of this fish passively "parroting".

Whether it's unmarried or married young women and wives, singing this fisherman's song is fine, but when it's Wang Cheng and his pseudonym, the scholar Wang Fugui...
The key is the use of a soft, female voice.

The older woman on the cliff corner silently lowered her heterochromatic eyes.

Even without saying a word, Wang Cheng could clearly perceive the emotions in the other person's eyes:

'You sang well, but don't sing it again next time!'

He instinctively reached out, trying to offer a reason and salvage his image.

The other person only glanced at him before looking away, then leaped from the cliff edge into the sea with an elegant posture, without even splashing a drop of water.

Then, like a mermaid leaving a white trail underwater, she swam in one breath to the center of the many sailboats.

His figure flashed and disappeared on a sailboat that was even larger than the [Zhang Fushun].

Wang Cheng stared at the other person's disappearing figure for a long time.

Until a hand waved in front of him several times.

"Scholar, Sister A-Xiao has already entered the boat temple, don't bother looking."

However, Zhang Wen, seeing that Wang Cheng had not returned, rowed out in a small boat to meet him and happened to witness this scene, so he couldn't help but make a joking sound.

"Scholar, Sister Axiao."

This time, Wang Cheng reacted quickly. Just as he was about to parrot someone else, he hurriedly covered his mouth with his hand.

He frowned slightly as he glanced at the few bits of information he gleaned from the girl in that fleeting moment.

Rare find: Ah Xiao? A pearl-diving woman serving as a water official.
Just one sentence? Why is there so little information this time? Strange!

(End of this chapter)