Chapter 41: A formidable enemy nearby, a Golden Core river god (please bookmark, vote, and keep reading)
"Disaster is coming?"
"For me?"
Jiang Sheng looked at Cha Liangping's solemn expression and could not help laughing. "Are you joking with me, fellow Daoist?"
"In all the time I've been in Dongjun, I don't believe I've offended anyone."
Jiang Sheng was indeed telling the truth.
Since coming to Qingping Mountain in Dongjun, he had only had a handful of enemies.
The Eight Wolves of Dongjun and Young Master Kongxu had all become passing clouds.
Even the river god of the Taiping River had been reduced to dust.
Jiang Sheng never provoked others lightly, either. He had remained on Qingping Mountain, cultivating in seclusion. How could disaster be coming?
Cha Liangping prompted him, "Think carefully, fellow Daoist. Have you truly offended no one?"
Jiang Sheng gave it some thought, and an inexplicable warning stirred in his heart.
For cultivators, such sudden intuitions were undoubtedly warnings from Heaven. Jiang Sheng understood that trouble might truly be coming.
Yet despite his faint premonition, Jiang Sheng remained outwardly as calm as drifting clouds and a gentle breeze. "I imagine ordinary trouble wouldn't warrant your traveling ten thousand li from the commandery city to Qingping Mountain, fellow Daoist Cha."
"Allow me a guess. Could the matter of that river god still be unresolved?"
Cha Liangping's pupils contracted. He had not expected Jiang Sheng to be so perceptive, arriving so close to the truth in mere moments.
"What makes you think so, fellow Daoist Jiang?"
Cha Liangping grew curious. He dearly wanted to know how many more hidden talents this fellow Daoist from Penglai possessed.
Seeing Cha Liangping's slight reaction, Jiang Sheng knew he had guessed correctly.
Once he knew it concerned the river god, Jiang Sheng felt somewhat more confident, and his manner became even more natural. "It was merely deduction."
"Since coming to Qingping Mountain, I've devoted myself to secluded cultivation. Usually, others come looking to trouble me. The only one I actively offended was that river god."
As he spoke, Jiang Sheng took a glittering golden granule from his robe and showed it to Cha Liangping.
"When I fought that river god, I could clearly sense toward the end that his strength was failing."
"Even when he unleashed an embryonic divine ability, impressive as it appeared, he was strong on the outside but hollow within."
"At the time, I thought he had simply exhausted too much magical power flooding half of Qingshan County."
"But after I slew him, his body shattered, leaving only this."
Jiang Sheng's voice was warm and even. He held the golden granule between his fingers, his half-lidded eyes concealing his thoughts from Cha Liangping.
As Cha Liangping looked at the granule in Jiang Sheng's hand, towering waves surged through his heart.
He had assumed Jiang Sheng had joined forces with others to slay the river god. Yet from the looks of it, Jiang Sheng had plainly fought and killed him alone.
Now he understood why Cha Liangcai had sent him. Jiang Sheng truly was a hidden dragon worth investing in!
Collecting his thoughts, Cha Liangping said, "Do you know, fellow Daoist Jiang, that Dongjun has thirteen counties, and every one worships a river god?"
Jiang Sheng nodded.
Cha Liangping continued, "But what you may not know is that our Cha Family is actually involved in this matter."
Jiang Sheng's expression shifted slightly. He had thought Cha Liangping had merely learned something and come to earn his goodwill. He had never expected the Cha Family to be involved in the river god affair!
Cha Liangping briefly explained the whole story to Jiang Sheng.
He described the bottleneck the Cha Family currently faced and the Lineage's helpless situation, along with how his elder brother Cha Liangcai had happened upon the river god and struck a deal with him.
When Jiang Sheng heard that the Cha Family had helped build river god temples throughout the commandery city and all thirteen counties to gather incense offerings, in exchange for the river god helping the Cha Family achieve core formation in the future, his expression finally changed.
"Fellow Daoist Cha, you mean that river god has thirteen incarnations in Dongjun, all at the early Purple Mansion Realm, while his true body has remained on the riverbed outside Dongjun Commandery City?!"
Cha Liangping gave a bitter smile. "Yes. My elder brother never imagined that the river god would be so powerful."
"At first, my brother merely wanted to cooperate with him. But now, he's riding a tiger and cannot dismount."
Jiang Sheng fell silent. He had suspected the waters surrounding the river god ran deep, but he had never imagined he would hook a great fish that might be at the Golden Core Realm!
Someone capable of possessing thirteen Purple Mansion Realm incarnations could never have a true body merely at the Purple Mansion Realm.
The Golden Core Realm!
Even someone with a low-grade golden core was a genuine earthly immortal with a lifespan of eight hundred years, wielding true divine abilities and magical arts, capable of holding down an entire province alone.
"When the river god made his agreement with my elder brother, he promised that if we ensured an uninterrupted supply of incense offerings for fifty years, he would help my brother forge a golden core."
"Now, only two years remain of those fifty."
Jiang Sheng nodded and rose. "By coming to warn me today, fellow Daoist Cha, you have treated me as a friend."
"I will remember this kindness."
Cha Liangping stood to take his leave. Before departing, he offered an earnest warning. "Fellow Daoist Jiang, you are a true prodigy. Contending with that river god now simply isn't worth it. Leaving Dongjun early might be a way out."
After seeing Cha Liangping off, Jiang Sheng stood before the mountain gate with his hands behind his back, thoughts shifting endlessly in his eyes.
"Master, Magistrate Zhang and Miss Zhang are waiting at the foot of the mountain. They say they wish to come up and offer a stick of incense," Tian Ming'an said softly.
Jiang Sheng glanced down the mountain, then turned back toward the temple. "Tell the magistrate that I appreciate his goodwill. There is no need for him to come up."
"And send everyone else at the foot of the mountain away. Don't let them linger there and disturb the peace."
Tian Ming'an hastily acknowledged the order and hurried down the mountain to convey Jiang Sheng's wishes.
Hearing that he need not climb the mountain to offer incense, Zhang Qingyun did not know whether to feel pleased or offended.
In the end, Zhang Qingyun said stiffly, "Sorry for the trouble, young Daoist. I'll be heading back, then."
When the gentry from the various counties gathered below Qingping Mountain saw that even Qingshan County's magistrate could not meet Daoist Jiang, they stopped inviting rebuffs and dispersed.
Before long, peace returned to the foot of Qingping Mountain.
Yet waves continued to rise and fall in Jiang Sheng's heart.
A Golden Core cultivator lurking in the shadows, whose exact strength was unknown, already bore a grudge against him!
To someone at the Golden Core Realm, a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator was no different from an ant.
However extraordinary Jiang Sheng considered himself, he was merely a larger ant in such a person's eyes.
For some unknown reason, that Golden Core cultivator was currently in seclusion. A fifty-year retreat might mean he was cultivating some divine ability, or perhaps recovering from a grievous injury.
But in two years, that Golden Core cultivator would emerge!
The wrath of a Golden Core True Person would undoubtedly be more than Jiang Sheng could withstand.
Yet he was even less willing to slink away from Qingping Mountain!
He refused 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 that immortal-like figure and murmured, "Two years left?"
"No matter what, I must give it a try. If I flee without even seeing his face, how can I speak of pursuing the Great Dao?"
With those words, Jiang Sheng's eyes cleared completely. He severed every tangled, distracting thought, leaving only a heart as still as undisturbed water.
"Ming'an."
"Your disciple is here."
Tian Ming'an stood behind Jiang Sheng.
As he looked at Jiang Sheng's figure, which was not tall yet inspired the reverence of gazing up at a towering mountain, an inexplicable premonition stirred in Tian Ming'an's heart.
"Your body and bones are now sufficiently tempered. In three days, I will help you draw qi into your body."
"I will follow your instructions, Master." Tian Ming'an felt no joy. He sensed that something was about to happen.
Three days passed. Jiang Sheng had Tian Ming'an find a meditation cushion in the front hall, sit down, regulate his breathing, and sense the movement of qi.
When Tian Ming'an dimly sensed a mass of qi in his lower abdomen, Jiang Sheng immediately acted to help him draw qi into his body.
With Jiang Sheng's assistance, Tian Ming'an drew a wisp of spiritual qi into his dantian.
From that moment, Tian Ming'an officially embarked upon the path of cultivation, becoming a first-layer Qi Refining Realm cultivator.
After barely managing to guide that wisp of spiritual qi through one full circuit of his meridians, Tian Ming'an felt spiritual qi arising within him, its gentle warmth seemingly nourishing his flesh and bones. Joy finally appeared on his face.
Jiang Sheng quietly watched Tian Ming'an joyfully circulate his qi, a faint smile in his eyes.
Although that slippery old fox Tian Guofu accounted for half the reason he had taken this disciple, Jiang Sheng was still very pleased with Tian Ming'an.
After all, he was Jiang Sheng's first disciple.
After manipulating his spiritual power for a while, Tian Ming'an suddenly came to his senses. He hurriedly stood and said, "I let my excitement carry me away. Please forgive me, Master."
"What is there to forgive? When I first drew qi into my body, I was scarcely any better than you," Jiang Sheng said with a smile.
Then Jiang Sheng abruptly touched a finger to Tian Ming'an's brow.
Tian Ming'an felt passage after obscure passage of scripture pour into his mind, leaving him drowsy.
In the end, those passages arranged themselves within Tian Ming'an's mind, forming a Daoist scripture.
"This is the Azure Yuan Talisman Scripture," Jiang Sheng said. "It isn't a particularly profound cultivation method, but its strength lies in its balanced, harmonious nature. It can serve as your foundation for cultivation."
"This method can take you to the ninth layer of Qi Refining Realm. It contains two protective arts, two offensive arts, and four talisman-making arts."
"Cultivate it diligently. Once you have thoroughly grasped and understood it, you will have a chance of establishing your Dao foundation."
As Tian Ming'an listened, the ominous feeling in his heart grew ever stronger. He could not help asking, "Master, has something happened?"
Jiang Sheng chuckled softly. "I won't hide it from you. In two years at most, my enemy will come knocking."
"Is the enemy very strong?" Tian Ming'an asked urgently.
Jiang Sheng looked toward the mountains outside the temple and said softly, "Yes. That is why I must enter seclusion to cultivate."
"Go down the mountain. I will leave you enough pills and spirit stones to more than cover your cultivation to the ninth layer of Qi Refinement."
Without hesitation, Tian Ming'an said, "I don't wish to leave the mountain. I want to stay and serve you, Master."
Jiang Sheng scoffed. "What use would you be if you stayed?"
"Go down the mountain. Don't be foolish."
Yet Tian Ming'an knelt on the floor and stubbornly said, "I want to stay on the mountain."
Jiang Sheng's gaze was calm and unruffled. "Do you know that the one I must face is a Golden Core True Person?"
"A single strike from a Golden Core True Person could destroy Qingshan County Seat. Their divine abilities are far beyond anything the Foundation Establishment Realm or Purple Mansion Realm can withstand."
"Even I would face nothing but death."
"I'm giving you ample resources. You've achieved what you sought by running around in my service all this time. Why won't you leave?"
Happy New Year's Eve, dear readers.
In the new year, I wish you good health, success in your careers, harmony at home, and well-being for your families.
May everything go smoothly throughout the year, may wealth come your way, and may your whole family enjoy happiness and peace.
Lin Yuan hasn't taken a break for New Year's Eve, either, bringing you another three-thousand-character chapter full of sincerity.
Lin Yuan knows his writing may be a little padded and his handling of the plot lacking, but he will never let down any reader following the story. He will keep working hard, keep updating, and keep improving.
Thank you all for your support. Lin Yuan bows in gratitude~
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(End of chapter)
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