A Great Enemy at Hand, the Golden Core River God (Please Bookmark, Please Vote, Please Follow)

"Trouble has come?"

"Me?"

Jiang Sheng looked at the solemn-faced Cha Liangping before him and could not help but laugh. "Fellow Daoist, surely you are not joking with me?"

"During the time I've been in Dongjun, I don't believe I've offended anyone, have I?"

Jiang Sheng was not lying.

Ever since he had arrived at Qingping Mountain in Dongjun, he had only made a few enemies.

Whether the Eight Wolves of Dongjun or Young Master Kongxu, they had already become passing clouds.

Even the river god of the Taiping River had been reduced to dust.

And Jiang Sheng did not casually provoke others. He had been cultivating in seclusion on Qingping Mountain all this time, so how had trouble suddenly come knocking?

Cha Liangping reminded him, "Think carefully, Fellow Daoist. Have you truly not offended anyone?"

Jiang Sheng thought carefully, and an inexplicable warning rose in his heart.

For cultivators, a sudden stirring of the heart was undoubtedly a warning from heaven. Jiang Sheng understood that he might truly be in trouble.

Yet even with a vague premonition already in his heart, Jiang Sheng remained calm on the surface. "Ordinary trouble surely would not be worth Fellow Daoist Cha rushing all the way from the county seat to Qingping Mountain."

"Allow me to make a guess. Could it be that the matter of the river god has not yet been settled?"

Cha Liangping's pupils contracted. He had not expected Jiang Sheng to be so perceptive, analyzing the matter with near-perfect accuracy in only a moment.

"Why does Fellow Daoist Jiang make such a guess?"

Cha Liangping was somewhat curious. He very much wanted to know just how many hidden capabilities this Fellow Daoist Jiang, who had come from Penglai to gain experience, still possessed.

Seeing Cha Liangping's little movement just now, Jiang Sheng knew he had guessed correctly.

Once he knew it concerned the river god, Jiang Sheng felt several degrees more certain and appeared even more at ease. "It was merely deduction."

"Since coming to Qingping Mountain, I have devoted myself to secluded cultivation. Usually, others come looking for trouble with me. The only one I have actively offended was that river god."

As he spoke, Jiang Sheng drew a glittering golden pellet from his robes and showed it to Cha Liangping.

"When I fought that river god, I could clearly sense at the end that he lacked the strength to continue."

"Even though he used the rudiments of a divine ability, making it seem immensely imposing, in truth he was strong on the outside but hollow within."

"At the time, I thought his mana had been overly depleted after he flooded half of Qingshan County."

"But after I slew the river god, his body shattered, leaving behind only this thing."

Jiang Sheng's voice was warm and calm. Pinching the glittering golden pellet between his fingers, his half-lidded eyes revealed none of his thoughts to Cha Liangping.

Yet as Cha Liangping looked at the pellet in Jiang Sheng's hand, stormy waves had already risen in his heart.

Cha Liangping had assumed Jiang Sheng had joined forces with someone else to kill the river god. But from the look of it, Jiang Sheng had clearly fought and slain that river god alone.

Now he understood why Cha Liangcai had sent him here. Jiang Sheng truly was a hidden dragon worth investing in!

After sorting through his thoughts, Cha Liangping said, "Does Fellow Daoist Jiang know that Dongjun has thirteen counties, and every one of them worships a river god?"

Jiang Sheng nodded.

Cha Liangping continued, "But perhaps Fellow Daoist Jiang does not know that the Cha Family is actually involved in this matter."

Jiang Sheng's expression shifted slightly. He had thought Cha Liangping had merely learned some information and come to do him a favor. He had not expected the Cha Family to be involved in the river god's affairs!

Cha Liangping briefly explained the full course of events to Jiang Sheng.

He included the bottleneck currently facing the Cha Family and the family's helplessness, as well as how his elder brother Cha Liangcai had happened upon the river god and entered into cooperation with him.

When Jiang Sheng heard that the Cha Family had helped the river god establish river god temples throughout the county seat and all thirteen counties so he could gather incense offerings, while the river god would help the Cha Family form a Golden Core in the future, his expression finally changed.

"Fellow Daoist Cha, are you saying that the river god has a full thirteen incarnations at the early Purple Mansion Realm in Dongjun, while his true body has remained beneath the river outside Dongjun County Seat all this time?!"

Cha Liangping smiled bitterly. "Yes. My elder brother had not expected that river god's strength to be so formidable."

"If my elder brother merely wished to cooperate with him in the beginning, then now he is truly riding a tiger and unable to dismount."

Jiang Sheng fell silent. He had known the river god's waters ran deep, but he had not expected to hook a great fish that was likely a Golden Core cultivator!

To possess thirteen Purple Mansion incarnations, the river god's true body was absolutely not at a level the Purple Mansion Realm could possess.

The Golden Core Realm!

Even a low-grade Golden Core was a genuine terrestrial immortal who could live eight hundred years, one who possessed true divine abilities and arts and could suppress an entire province alone.

"When the river god made the agreement with my elder brother, he said that so long as we ensured his incense offerings remained unbroken for fifty years, he would help my elder brother form a Golden Core afterward."

"Now, only two years remain until those fifty years are up."

Jiang Sheng nodded and rose to his feet. "For Fellow Daoist Cha to come and deliver this warning today means you regard me as a friend."

"I, Jiang Sheng, will remember this kindness."

Cha Liangping rose to take his leave. Before departing, he sincerely urged, "Fellow Daoist Jiang, you are a true genius. It is not worthwhile to contend with that river god now. Leaving Dongjun early may not be a bad path."

After seeing Cha Liangping off, Jiang Sheng stood before the mountain gate with his hands clasped behind his back, countless thoughts turning in his eyes.

"Master, Magistrate Zhang has brought Miss Zhang and is waiting at the foot of the mountain. He says they wish to come up and offer a stick of incense." Tian Ming'an spoke softly.

Jiang Sheng glanced down the mountain, then turned and returned to the temple. "Tell the county magistrate that I accept his goodwill. There is no need for him to come up the mountain."

"Also, drive away all those people below the mountain. Do not let them remain there and disturb the peace."

Tian Ming'an hurriedly acknowledged and rushed down the mountain to convey Jiang Sheng's words.

Hearing that he would not be allowed up the mountain to offer incense, Zhang Qingyun did not know for a moment whether he should be pleased or angered.

In the end, Zhang Qingyun could only say stiffly, "Thank you for the trouble, little Daoist. Qingyun will return now."

When the gentry and scholars from the various counties gathered below Qingping Mountain saw that even the magistrate of Qingshan County could not meet Daoist Jiang, they no longer made nuisances of themselves and dispersed one after another.

Before long, peace returned to the foot of Qingping Mountain.

But within Jiang Sheng's heart, waves surged without end.

A Golden Core cultivator hidden in the shadows, whose true strength was unknown, had already marked him with hatred!

To a Golden Core cultivator, Foundation Establishment cultivators were no different from ants.

No matter how exceptional Jiang Sheng considered himself, in the eyes of a Golden Core cultivator, he was merely a somewhat larger ant.

At present, that Golden Core cultivator was in seclusion for some unknown reason. A Golden Core cultivator going into seclusion for fifty years might mean he was cultivating some divine ability, or perhaps he had suffered grave injuries.

But in two years, that Golden Core cultivator would emerge from seclusion!

The wrath of a Golden Core True Person was undoubtedly something Jiang Sheng could scarcely bear.

Yet Jiang Sheng was even more unwilling to flee Qingping Mountain with his tail between his legs!

He was unwilling to do something that would damage his Dao Heart!

Standing with his hands behind his back before the patriarch's portrait in the front hall, Jiang Sheng gazed at the immortal-like patriarch in the painting and murmured, "Two years remain?"

"No matter what, I have to fight for it. If I run before even seeing his face, what right would I have to speak of pursuing the Great Dao?"

After saying this, Jiang Sheng's eyes became utterly clear. He severed every tangled and chaotic thought, leaving only a heart still as water.

"Ming'an."

"Your disciple is here."

Tian Ming'an stood behind Jiang Sheng.

Looking at Jiang Sheng's figure, not especially tall yet inspiring the awe one felt before lofty mountains, Tian Ming'an inexplicably felt a premonition rise in his heart.

"Your body and bones have now been tempered well enough. In three days, I will help you guide qi into your body."

"Your disciple will follow Master's arrangements." Tian Ming'an felt no joy. He sensed that something seemed about to happen.

Three days passed. Jiang Sheng had Tian Ming'an find a meditation cushion in the front hall and sit down to regulate his breathing and sense the flow of qi.

When Tian Ming'an vaguely sensed a cluster of qi in his lower abdomen, Jiang Sheng decisively acted and helped Tian Ming'an guide qi into his body.

With Jiang Sheng's help, Tian Ming'an guided a wisp of spiritual qi into his dantian.

From that moment onward, Tian Ming'an officially embarked upon the path of cultivation and became a first-level Qi Refinement cultivator.

After Tian Ming'an barely managed to control that wisp of spiritual qi through one complete cycle in his meridians, feeling the gentle warmth of spiritual qi arising within his body and nourishing his flesh, blood, and bones, joy finally appeared on his face.

Jiang Sheng quietly watched Tian Ming'an happily circulate his qi, a faint smile in his eyes.

Though half the reason he had taken this disciple was because of that old fox Tian Guofu, Jiang Sheng was still very satisfied with Tian Ming'an.

After all, this was Jiang Sheng's first disciple.

After controlling his spiritual power for a while, Tian Ming'an suddenly came to his senses and hurriedly rose. "Your disciple became carried away in his delight. Please forgive me, Master."

"What is there to forgive? When I first guided qi into my body, I was not much better than you." Jiang Sheng smiled.

With that, Jiang Sheng suddenly tapped a finger against Tian Ming'an's brow.

Tian Ming'an felt obscure and incomprehensible scriptures pour into his mind, making him drowsy.

Those scriptures then automatically arranged and combined themselves in Tian Ming'an's mind, forming a Daoist scripture.

Jiang Sheng said, "This is the Qingyuan Talisman Scripture. It is not some profound cultivation method, but it is upright, balanced, and peaceful, making it suitable as a foundation for cultivation."

"This cultivation method can allow you to cultivate up to the ninth level of Qi Refinement. It contains two defensive arts, two offensive arts, and four talisman-making arts."

"You must cultivate this method well. When you have thoroughly grasped and comprehended it, you may have a chance to establish your Dao foundation."

Listening to Jiang Sheng's explanation, Tian Ming'an felt the ominous feeling in his heart grow ever clearer. He could not help asking, "Master, has something happened?"

Jiang Sheng chuckled. "I will not hide it from you. In no more than two years, my enemy will come knocking."

"Is the enemy very strong?" Tian Ming'an hurriedly asked.

Jiang Sheng looked toward the mountains beyond the Daoist temple and spoke softly. "Yes. That is why I must enter seclusion to cultivate."

"You should go down the mountain. I will leave you enough pills and spirit stones to cultivate to the ninth level of Qi Refinement with plenty to spare."

Without hesitation, Tian Ming'an said, "Your disciple does not wish to leave the mountain. Your disciple wishes to remain here and serve Master."

Jiang Sheng snorted. "What use would you be if you stayed in the mountains?"

"Go down the mountain. Do not be foolish."

But Tian Ming'an knelt stubbornly on the ground. "Your disciple wishes to remain in the mountains."

Jiang Sheng's gaze remained calm and undisturbed. "Do you know that the one I must face is a Golden Core True Person?"

"A single strike from a Golden Core True Person is enough to destroy Qingshan County Seat. Their divine abilities and methods are far beyond what Foundation Establishment or Purple Mansion cultivators can withstand."

"Even if I face him, there is only death."

"I have given you sufficient resources, and your purpose in serving me so diligently these days has been fulfilled. Why will you not go down the mountain?"

Happy New Year, everyone!

In the new year, I wish you all good health, smooth careers, harmonious families, and healthy loved ones.

May everything go smoothly throughout the year, may you prosper greatly, and may your whole family enjoy happiness and peace.

Lin Yuan did not rest even on New Year's Eve. This was still a sincere three-thousand-character chapter.

Lin Yuan knows that the story may be a little padded and that his grasp of the plot is not good enough, but Lin Yuan will never let down any reader who follows along. He will keep working hard to update and improve.

Thank you all for your support. Lin Yuan bows in gratitude~

PS: Thanks to all of you last week, Lin Yuan was fortunate enough to make it onto the second round of recommendations.

For this round of recommendations, following the chapters on Tuesday is still crucial.

Please, everyone, turn to the final page on Tuesday and help Lin Yuan boost the follow-through rate.

Lin Yuan is endlessly grateful~