Good Luck and Bad Luck

The rumored magnificent Huaihe River Water Palace turned out to be a cave, which made Zhang Xuezhou sigh in disbelief.

The Huaihe River Water Palace is a marvel of human construction, but it is not very numerous.

Besides the "Two Dragons Emerging from Water" formation at the entrance, further inside there are stone tables and benches, and a pool, though it's unclear whether it's for drinking or bathing.

Apart from this, there were no other structures built in the Huaihe River Water Palace.

Looking at the almost impoverished Huaihe River Water Palace, Zhang Xuezhou felt that it was normal for the Water Ape Great Sage and the Dragon King to require offerings from the people along the river. He thought it was because he was suffering from hardship and wanted some good food.

Those greedy water demons might even demand a few women from the people, or want the women to keep them company for a while, or even use these human women who were abandoned during the sacrifices as food.

"Treasure Hunting Technique!"

Lacking any visible wealth within the Huai River Water Palace, Zhang Xuezhou had no choice but to unleash a treasure-hunting spell, striving to find the key element that would form the Two Dragons Emerging from the Water Formation.

To his disappointment, the formation did not contain any spirit jade, but rather relied on the power of the earth's veins to maintain its operation, thus having a continuous source of energy.

If this power of the earth's veins were to be translated into a single term, it might be the 'favoritism' mentioned by Bai.

"This is a node in the ley lines of the Southern Jambudvipa Continent!"

No matter how much Bai talks back and forth, it's far less effective than Zhang Xuezhou personally conducting on-site testing.

Having a thorough understanding of formations, he quickly discerned part of the situation.

"The power of the earth's veins is a special kind of energy. The Dragon Riding Technique borrows this power hidden within the earth to achieve the transfer. However, the construction of this power seems to differ from normal techniques; it has a shaping characteristic, which is extremely rare within the realm of Technique Method!"

The power of ley lines is like electricity in the real world. It seems incredible to be able to move by electricity, but Technique Method is similar to an electric car that uses electricity to run, so that it can carry people and move quickly.

Bai's Dragon Riding Technique was somewhat strange, which explained why Zhang Xuezhou didn't feel anything when he first used it repeatedly.

If the power of the earth's veins cannot be found, this Dragon Riding Technique will be difficult to complete.

He stood on the Seven Stars, muttering incantations, waving his hands like a charlatan casting spells.

A golden light began to emerge from the soles of Zhang Xuezhou, slowly winding its way up his body.

This is the outer shell that the Dragon Riding Technique provides for teleporting using the power of the earth's veins. Just like Zhang Xuezhou's body slipping into an electric car, he can now safely utilize the power of the earth's veins.

As long as he marks this favored land, he can draw upon the Dragon Riding Technique if Zhang Xuezhou encounters danger, thus being quickly pulled back by the favored land.

However, after using it, Zhang Xuezhou needs to re-mark the Dragon Riding Technique so that he can continue to use the Dragon Riding Technique and the Favored Land to escape or traverse long distances in a short time when encountering danger again.

This watery land is neither good nor bad.

The reason it's not too bad is naturally because the Huaihe River Water Mansion is secluded enough. Once he encounters danger and escapes into such a place, it will be very difficult for others to catch up with him.

The reason it's not ideal is also due to its secrecy. It's not easy for Zhang Xuezhou to sneak in, and it would take him a long time to sneak out as well. It's difficult to leave quickly after entering this place. If someone finds out about the situation and blocks him outside, he'll be trapped like a turtle in a jar.

But Zhang Xuezhou was still very satisfied.

The slight flaw of the Huaihe River Water Palace is nothing compared to the coordinates of this being the first place he favored.

He not only gained another favored place, but Zhang Xuezhou also gained another escape point in the Huainan area.

He does indeed have a significant need for security in Beishan.

Even if Zhang Xuezhou used the Yang Soul Transformation Technique in the Huai River Water Palace, he wouldn't need to worry about the risks of losing control of his physical body.

Given the lack of Rong Tianding, this is undoubtedly extremely important, not to mention the ability to preserve one's physical body and escape when encountering risks.

"Lei Bei be a little disappointed!"

Zhang Xuezhou was satisfied, but Lei Bei to be disappointed.

If he weren't short of money, Zhang Xuezhou felt he could have given some gold and silver to Lei Bei as a reward.

At this moment, Zhang Xuezhou not only needs to eat and drink for himself, but if he successfully escapes from Huainan, he also needs to help the people of Zhang Household Village who are making a living Chang'an City, and try to help them get through the initial stage of making a living. The financial gap will be huge.

If Zhang Xuezhou could find a place where wealth and treasures are hidden, he would also be in need of such a place.

He made the spell mark for the Dragon Riding Technique and explored back and forth until he determined that this water palace was extremely poor, or that the Huai River Dragon King had not left much wealth when he moved away. Only then did Zhang Xuezhou reluctantly venture out.

It took Zhang Xuezhou another fifteen minutes to crawl downwards and then another fifteen minutes to crawl upwards.

Nearly an hour passed, and by the time Zhang Xuezhou emerged from the muddy tidal flats, the sky was already beginning to brighten.

"So, isn't there a lot of treasure inside?"

Lei Bei a beaming smile. Zhang Xuezhou stretched out his empty hands and looked at Lei Bei's face, which went from joy to speechlessness.

"What's wrong? Didn't you find the Huaihe River Water Palace?" Lei Bei asked disappointedly.

"Found it," Zhang Xuezhou shook his head and said, "But I don't know if the Water Dragon King was too poor or if he moved away too cleanly. The Huai River Water Palace is empty, with only two stone-carved fish left at the cave entrance."

"We found the underwater palace, but there was no treasure inside!"

Lei Bei utterly disappointed.

He could accept that Zhang Xuezhou's search yielded no results, but he found it hard to accept that the legendary Huaihe River Water Mansion, which was said to be rich in gold, had fallen into ruin and had no wealth left.

This not only meant failing to find money, but also shattered Lei Bei's dream of becoming rich.

"I knew I'd been having such bad luck lately, like I'd been cursed. Why is it that I'm always so unlucky, like nothing I do is going to work out," Lei Bei teased.

"What's wrong? Have you been having a run of bad luck lately?"

"That's ridiculously bad!" Lei Bei complained. "I've had plenty of heartbreaking experiences like today's fruitless search for the Huaihe River Water Mansion. Let me tell you, I had some really bad luck last night, and only two other people were that unlucky: the Crown Prince and me..."

Lei Bei recounted how he challenged Buddha to a duel, only to have Buddha sweep Liu Qian off the city walls with a single tree.

After he finished complaining, he recounted his painful experience of losing ten consecutive games of the game "Shefu".

Then he mentioned that he had twisted his ankle while practicing swordsmanship, which made Zhang Xuezhou realize that Lei Bei's condition was indeed abnormal.

"Speaking of which, the King of Huainan once mentioned a royal secret technique during his sermons, saying that good fortune would come to us after we practiced it. I don't know if it's because I haven't practiced it, but those incantations are just too difficult to master. How could someone like me, who practices swordsmanship, possibly chant them like a madman..."

Lei Bei grumbling, but when Lei Bei mentioned as having received a spell from the King of Huainan, Zhang Xuezhou's eyes narrowed slightly.

Now he finally understood why Dong Zhongshu was not in Shouchun City.

If the secrets of the King of Huainan's fortune-telling are hidden in Room A of the Wenying Pavilion, it would require Dong Zhongshu to devise many plans to gain access.

However, since the King of Huainan promoted the secret techniques of manipulation, it became much easier for Dong Zhongshu to obtain information related to these techniques.

"Could it be that Mao's luck was so powerful that I was suppressed by his luck, which is why I was so unlucky to run into him at the charcoal kiln?"

A thought struck Zhang Xuezhou, and he realized he had also found some clues about his bad luck.

He couldn't help but wonder about the purpose behind the King of Huainan's vigorous promotion of guest advisors to practice magic arts.