I am an immortal in heaven and earth

Chapter 285 Father Xu scolds the dragon
In Nanchang, the provincial examination had already ended. Xu Zhiyuan, who had stayed in the examination room for three days, felt like he had suffered a serious illness when he came out.

The test results will not be announced for another month, so waiting here is a waste of time.

So he went back to pack up, rested for two days, bid farewell to the great scholar who had lectured him, and planned to go back by boat.

During this period, some literati and poets would wait until the results were announced, invite a few close friends, hold poetry readings, and visit brothels... He rejected them all.

After contacting the Niu family's boat, he would go through Poyang and cross the Xinjiang River and head straight home.

When the boat passed a place in Poyang called "Laoye Bay", the boatman got off the boat and went to the "Laoye Temple" first to worship the "Laoye God".

The deity in this temple is actually the temple of Shunji, the little dragon king from Poyang, and sitting next to him is Madam Anji, the thousand-year-old black fish spirit.

Seeing the boatman worshipping, Xu Zhiyuan asked curiously, "I've heard that there are many water monsters in Poyang Lake. Previously, a black cable was causing trouble, but it was fished out and burned by the Poyang County Magistrate, and no one believed it anymore. What's so mysterious about this temple? All the boats passing by actually disembarked to worship?"

Hearing him say this, the boatman was shocked: "My husband is a scholar with a bright future, how can you say such disrespectful words?"

"We live off the mountains and the water, so naturally we have to pay homage to the water god here... Sir, the safety of the journey on the water is entirely due to this god. Not to mention us, even if the canal gang comes, they have to burn three incense sticks to him. Every year when the canal is transported, livestock are brought in by boat for sacrifice. I've seen more than a dozen dragons fly up from the lake to the sky, sucking up tornadoes that rolled up the sacrificial cattle, sheep, and pigs into the sky, and then it rained heavily. The rain was mixed with fish, shrimp, turtles, and tortoises... They were all gifts from the Dragon King... Among them were spiritual fish and precious fish, which are very precious."

"If the sacrifices are perfunctory and unsatisfactory, there will be a flood, submerging the fertile fields near the lake. The Cao Gang can only find some boys and girls and release water into the lake. The Dragon King will eat the boys and girls, and the disaster will subside."

"Sometimes the Dragon King or the Dragon Prince will come ashore and if he takes a fancy to a girl, he will leave a scale, a lot of gold and pearls as a betrothal gift. The girl will then prepare and marry the new bride on the first or fifteenth day of the next lunar month... He can also bless good weather and good harvests."

Although Xu Zhiyuan was middle-aged and had a family, he had a soft spot, but when he heard about this behavior, he couldn't help but say, "I know about dragons, they are a kind of divine creature."

He originally wanted to take a shortcut to fame, and he wanted to apply Han's teachings, Long's teachings, Ma's teachings, and Shi's teachings to his own ideas, but later he realized and reflected on himself and decided not to do so.

Now that he had come to the temple, he saw this evil dragon acting like this and also claiming to be a dragon, so he couldn't help but recite the "dragon theory" aloud. He also mixed in the description of dragons in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, which was all taught by Xu Jia.

"A dragon can be big or small, can rise or hide. When it is big, it can create clouds and mist, and when it is small, it can hide its shape. When it rises, it soars in the universe, and when it hides, it lurks in the waves. It changes with the times, traverses the four seas, and reaches the vast oceans and the mysterious universe. It is invisible to the sun and the moon, and hides in the light and scenery. It senses earthquakes and lightning, and changes its spirit. It is underwater and earth, and gurgles in the valleys. Such a divine creature is a sign of the kingly way and the saintly benevolence. How could it demand three animals for sacrifice, young boys and girls, and even forcibly take good families?"

"This kind of people, though known as the Dragon King, do not act in a kingly way. Instead, they act like bandits in the marshland or the king of a mountain stronghold. It is obvious that they are not real dragons, but just common people."

"Since it is just a grass python, the people are afraid of its power and intimidated by it. If this is the case, how can we ensure good weather and safe ships? It is the one who is causing trouble. Instead of thinking of conquering it, we build temples and offer sacrifices to it, which helps it do evil. It is arrogant and domineering. The evil atmosphere and tyranny are filling the world, preventing the righteous qi from spreading to the people."

Xu Zhiyuan became more and more excited as he spoke, to the point of pointing at the noses of the two monsters and starting to curse.

The people around were all horrified when they heard this and begged him to stop. Even the temple keeper was alarmed and said angrily, "What a rebellious man!"

But Xu Zhiyuan's words are not without power. Although he has only initially cultivated the great righteousness and did not get a ranking in the provincial examination, he can still be in harmony with the righteousness of heaven and earth.

Just as Chen Sheng and Wu Guang started an uprising, the whole country responded, simply because they had suffered from the Qin Dynasty for a long time.

Although the local people worshipped the temple of the Lord, they probably cursed him in their hearts many times, hoping that he would be struck by lightning and die a miserable death. Especially those who were forced to collect sacrificial offerings, and even those who gave birth to virgin boys and girls in their families.

But a dragon can drive thunder and lightning, so why would it be bothered by an ordinary lightning strike?

These words were spoken directly in the temple. The 800-li water realm of Poyang, when it reaches the Dharma Realm, becomes a vast ocean called the "Poyang Sea", in which there is a Poyang Dragon Palace.

In the Dragon Palace, there are seven or eight small dragons that are earthly immortals, as well as the Shunji Dragon King and Madam Anji, who are in the immortal realm. The rest of the small dragons in the human immortal realm do not practice in the Dragon Palace, but forage for food and practice in the lake like ordinary ferocious wild beasts... These are just the small dragons born from aquatic creatures. No one knows how many there are, but there may be three or four hundred of them.

Those who marry wives and eat young boys and girls are all the result of the power and influence of these little dragons in the earthly fairyland.

As for the pigs, cattle, sheep and other animals sacrificed by the Cao Gang, they were the blood food of the little dragons in the human fairyland.

The Dragon Palace and the Water Palace are also connected to the temples on the shore. The monsters in the two fairyland, who practice the way of immortals, also need the help of incense, vows and money to assist their practice.

This is also the reason why they release floods at any time, then accept sacrifices, keep them for three to five years, and then do it again to maintain their own divine power.

It is very difficult to transform from Yin to Yang in the immortal realm by relying solely on one's own practice. Only with the blessings and wishes of all living beings can one use the method of refining the false into the true and gently transform the primordial spirit into pure Yang.

There is no way to use ordinary vow-powered money, such as copper coins, silver coins, etc. Only vow-powered money carries pure yang power.

If the people pray for rain, or pray for good weather, with sincerity, they will have a high probability of obtaining this item. If they are not sincere, and what they get is not enough, this evil dragon will let their descendants cause chaos, so that the next time they offer sacrifices, they will be much more sincere.

However, Xu Zhiyuan's voice reached the Dragon Palace.

It was fine before, as all he heard were "praises of dragons". When Shunji Dragon King heard that, he was overjoyed: "Not bad, not bad, dragons are like this. He is just a scholar and commoner, but he knows so much about the dragon clan. He is extraordinary. I can invite him to the Dragon Palace, leave my calligraphy, and carve a dragon-speaking stone tablet, so that my achievements will be known for thousands of years... I will also marry my most beautiful daughter to him. When he dies, I will summon his spirit to be my chief dragon god."

The result of his fantasy was extremely good, but when he later heard the scolding, calling him an evil dragon and a copycat, he became so angry that his face turned blue.

Immediately, the righteous energy between heaven and earth in Poyang was mobilized and rushed into the Poyang Dragon Palace, intending to impose the word "evil" on all the dragon's descendants.

This is just like the Lishan School labeling Xu Jia as "evil and unorthodox".

Dragons are also considered to be "orthodox creatures". If you find a pure yang boy, a good man for three generations, or an old man with all the five blessings, you will say to him, "It's a dragon!"

It can immediately escape from the flood, soar into the sky, and transform from a water dragon into a flying dragon in the sky, and from a demon into a "god".

But if it is a "dragon" or a "big snake", the powerful force it has worked so hard to gather will be destroyed, and its magic power will dissipate. There will be only one ending, and that is death, either being struck by lightning or drowned by mud and rocks, and the fishy smell will linger for a long time after death.

In the temple, Xu Zhiyuan pointed at the statue's nose and cursed: "You guys are worthy of being dragons? You are just grass pythons!"

This would not only destroy the achievements of one dragon and one snake, but would label the entire Poyang Dragon Nest community.

Although Xu Zhiyuan is already forty-two years old and has been married with children for many years, he is not a pure virgin, nor is he an old man with all the five blessings. However, as long as he can cultivate "great and upright energy", he can be regarded as a true descendant of Confucianism.

If he rebukes the enemy as a true disciple and successor of Confucianism, word will spread from one person to ten, and from ten to a hundred. Such an article with such a style will become famous enough in the literary world. I am afraid that all Confucian scholars will come together to help in the crusade.

As the saying goes, "criticize with words and writing."

The Shunji Dragon King was worshipped and built a temple just for the sake of a good reputation and to be a righteous deity, at least to maintain his status on the surface. Now that his reputation has been exposed and things are being torn apart, he will naturally be "knocked off the altar."

If he had just lost the temple, it would have been fine, but as he is haunted by the word "evil", I am afraid that it won't be long before the gods in heaven investigate and take him into consideration... maybe even put him on the "list of evil dragons to be beheaded on the Dragon-Slaying Platform".

Dragon liver and dragon marrow are extremely delicious. Every time the Heavenly Palace holds a banquet, the evil dragons must be slaughtered. After all, it is definitely not easy to kill and eat the real dragon gods. The captive dragons are resisted by the real big dragon gods, so only the evil dragons in the lower world and the wild dragons can be killed.

When he thought about the last time, his old mother, old father, and more than 300 brothers and sisters of the dragon family in the realm of gods and earthly immortals... they were all searched one by one according to the family tree by Xu Xun, the Xu Tianjun, and were killed page by page!

But he is still a dragon egg, and has not yet been included in the family tree. When he hatches, he will have no relatives on the family tree... So only a Virgin Mary will plead for him, saying that the child is innocent and has no ability to do evil... can he survive.

But his tail was still cut off, and he was required to practice in the Dragon Locking Well and not to come out into the world...

Until Xu Tianshi ascended to heaven, he dared to come out occasionally around the Qingming Festival, and according to the family tree, he would go to various places to offer sacrifices... and bring rain and wind to accumulate some merits.

Later, they gradually became bolder and gave birth to many little dragons...

But now, he was terrified.

Back to the night dominated by Master Xu Tianshi.

The more fearful he was, the more extreme he became. Shunji Dragon King decided to nip this possibility in the bud.

At that moment, she rode on a black cloud and brought Madam Shunji, the thousand-year-old black fish spirit, to the sky above the temple.

The people of Poyang saw the sky suddenly change, and a huge black dragon appeared in the clouds, with a big black fish beside it...

The black dragon stared at the direction of the Laoye Temple. As soon as it opened its mouth, a whirlpool appeared in Laoye Bay and a waterspout rose from the bottom to the top and reached the sky.

The dragon's two eyes were like two lanterns as big as millstones, emitting a long and leisurely light.

The worshipping boatman immediately knelt on the ground, begging for mercy… The next moment he was pulled into the air by the tornado and torn into a bloody storm.

But the tornado could not roll up Xu Zhiyuan. His righteous spirit protected him. The strong wind blew his hair and the rain splashed on his cheeks. He looked up at the giant beast in the sky and shouted, "Shunji evil dragon, are you scared? I am telling the truth, so I am anxious. Are you scared?"

Shunji Dragon King roared: "How dare you, a mortal, to offend the dragon's might? Are your nine clans wholesale?"

The next moment, his figure grew bigger and bigger.

The people exclaimed: "Dragon! The dragon is flying towards us!"

Even Ye Gong, who loved dragons, was frightened by one. Although the common people worshipped the Dragon King in the temple, they were still scared to death when they saw this huge creature that was hundreds or thousands of feet tall and looked like a mountain range flying in the sky. Many of them were so frightened that their legs went weak and they even peed and defecated.

Although Xu Zhiyuan was a little scared, he had just cursed Wen Zhang, and now he felt inexplicably confident. His whole body was hot, his ears were hot, and his nostrils were hot. This was "blood rushing to his head", or "his hair stood on end with anger, he leaned on the railing, the rain stopped. He raised his eyes, looked up to the sky and roared, his heart was filled with passion!"

In short, he shouted: "Others are afraid of you, but I am not. You know what a dragon is like, and so do I. You even know it better than I do!"

The next moment, he was caught by the dragon's claws.

Shunji Dragon King only felt that his claws had caught a branding iron and it was burning him, but he still refused to let go.

But when he was about to kill him, he felt a hidden threat from within, a threat from Confucianism and Taoism. If you dare to kill him, you will be called an evil dragon.

He personally appeared in person to show his divine power, and tens of thousands of people have seen the dragon.

The local county annals would record this and even report it to the imperial court. The great scholars would know about this matter and would ask the emperor to deprive him of his deity status or even organize their own sacrifices to the gods, demanding that the evil dragon be punished.

This was exactly what he feared the most. He had finally reopened a family tree and didn't want to be killed again and only have one descendant left.

So he had no choice but to abduct Xu Zhiyuan to Poyang Water Palace.

He gathered the clouds and followed the waterspout into the Laoye Bay, and only then did the wind and rain outside gradually dissipate.

The common people and pilgrims came out and smelled the strong fishy smell with desperate expressions. The Dragon King was angry!

How many boys and girls will be sacrificed this time? How many good girls will be concubines of the dragon? How much money will be collected to buy pigs, cattle and sheep to complete the sacrifice?

Xu Jia was on Mount Sanqing, putting away the altar for his father's official position. The three-day blessing ceremony for the top prize in the imperial examination had already been completed.

Suddenly a strong wind blew by, knocking over the incense burner and knocking over the throne.

Xu Jia was immediately startled, and on a whim, he started to calculate.

"The sky is high and the water is low, the sky is high and the water is low!"

Qian represents the ruler and father, yang, metal, and dragon.

Kan represents water, danger, and disaster.

Xu Jia soon learned that his old father had been abducted by the Poyang Dragon King on his way home.

The Song hexagram is the "lawsuit hexagram", and the word "song" in lawsuit comes from this hexagram.

If you get this hexagram, you will suffer losses and need to establish virtue to escape. If you lack virtue, your life will be in danger and you may be imprisoned.

It reminds those who seek divination that they need to reflect on themselves so as to avoid danger and put themselves in a desperate situation.

Although this hexagram is dangerous, it also shows that there is no life-threatening danger in the short term.

Xu Jia immediately stood up and ordered the Marshal Chang Yu of the Earth Department to stay in Yushan and not to disrupt the formation.

Afterwards, he broke through the Dharma Realm and arrived at the Salt and Iron Administration, asking the craftsman and Lu Zhenqi who had been asked to forge the three-barreled musket to see if it had been refined.

Fortunately, the first one has been refined. After all, it has exceeded the ten days promised by the craftsman. However, it is completely hand-forged, the iron pipe is thick, and the three-barreled gun itself is heavy, probably thirty or forty pounds.

Apart from being used to fire a gun and ignite gunpowder, it can also be used as a strange cold weapon, and it makes no sound when struck.

Xu Jia also picked up the Three Emperors' Umbrella of All People, the Second-level Refined Gold and Silver Dragon Sword, the Flying Centipede Gu, the Taiyin Magic Mirror, the Niyu Evil Fan Wind, the Five Directions Command Flags, the Taiyin Copper Coin Magic Sword, and several other magic tools, and mobilized the Dragon and Tiger Navy troops, the Huangtian Sect troops, the Sheshui Chang, the Buwu Chang... as well as the Xinjiang Water Palace Turtle General, Ao Jin Boy, and more than five hundred shrimp soldiers and crab generals.

In this way, he mobilized the Nine Rivers Water Emperor in his body, the general principles of all water springs, absorbed the water energy of heaven and earth, gathered it into dark clouds, and carried all of these away...

I saw fog appearing above the black clouds, and above the fog appeared a golden ship carrying Lingbao and all the soldiers on the golden ship. General Turtle and Ao Jin turned into their original forms, a giant turtle and a giant koi, stirring up the wind and clouds, and gathering more magical power. There was a "Lingbao Banner" in front, and then the flag of the "Jiangnan West Road District Office", together with the "Road Opening Tooth Plate" of the Water Palace and the "Ghost Soldiers Borrowing the Road Tooth Plate" of the City God, all of which were used together.

Such black clouds spread over thirty or forty miles, and there were faint sounds of shouting and fighting... All the Taoist temples and monasteries on the ground were frightened... Even the Taoist Fenglei who was demoted to an animal by Xu Jia was stunned.

"What is he going to do? Why is he mobilizing so many troops? Which demon is he going to defeat?"

It’s a pity that she turned into an old hen and could only pace back and forth, clucking anxiously. She was so anxious that suddenly her anus tightened and she actually produced an egg.

Lingyun and Yilei turned into sheep and big frogs, with their eyes wide open.

Looking at the old hen transformed by Feng Lei Taoist, it was all incredible.

Taoist Feng Lei was both ashamed and annoyed, and wanted to peck the egg to pieces.

But the next moment, the egg was collected by Chang Yuying and Chang Yu'e. They said, "It's a waste of food to keep a chicken that doesn't lay eggs. Now that it has finally laid eggs, it's worth eating so many bugs."

Taoist Feng Lei felt extremely humiliated, but he was speechless. Only then did he understand what Xu Jia had said: "You keep calling each other evil and demons, but you don't know the suffering of sentient beings in reincarnation..."

They worked like beasts for a month. At first they didn't feel anything, just a little humiliation.

Now that she had laid an egg and someone had taken it away, she had finally realized something.

All the animals are helpless, unable to have their own thoughts and freedom, and are either slaughtered or exploited, without self-awareness, ignorant, trapped in suffering, and unable to escape...

Thinking of this, she broke out in a cold sweat and felt terrified, as if she had turned into an old hen.

What is the fate of the old hen?

Once they lay eggs, they have to keep laying eggs, selling their offspring to please people and get a chance to survive... Then after a while, they can’t lay eggs anymore, and they are cursed and threatened. Then they pretend to lay eggs and pretend to cluck, trying to get away with it. But in the end, they can’t avoid the fate of being exposed, and finally, they can’t escape the boiling water, being ripped open, and ending up in the pot.

Xu Jia was here before, so perhaps they had some concerns. If Xu Jia left, or if something happened during this trip, there would be no one to lift the curse for them.

In this life, they can only be old hens, frogs, sheep...

Taoist Feng Lei let out a desperate wail and wanted to walk out of the Yushan realm. But then he remembered Xu Jia's warning that if they left the Yushan realm, they would be out of the range of Xu Jia's spellcasting. The spell would get out of control and they would really not be able to turn back into humans.

She understood that her life and death were now controlled by her, and being a slave and wanting to be a slave but not being able to were her only two choices.

Correspondingly, animals, sentient beings, and even humans are often in this worst situation...

This realization made her begin to understand what Xu Jia did, and some of her inner cognition began to collapse.

She then shouted even louder, "Cluck!"

But no one responded.

No one will care about the awakening of a chicken. No matter how human it is, it is just a chicken.

It is like a cow kneeling down and shedding tears when it is being slaughtered, knowing its fate, but what has it done wrong? It has worked hard all its life until it can no longer work, has no labor value, and only surplus value, so it is sent to be slaughtered and turned into beef.

There is nothing it can do.

This is the torment of samsara, this is the suffering of all sentient beings, this is the inability to be liberated, and what sentient beings face most is the “heartless world”.

However, this heartless world is created and woven by all sentient beings themselves, just like a spider web.

So the old hen that the Taoist Fenglei transformed into began to become "depressed", or her Taoist heart was broken, or she "fell into internal friction", which are not good words in short.

……

On the other side, Xu Jia rushed towards Poyang with great momentum. When he passed over the lands, none of the city gods dared to intercept him. Only Zhang Fajing, the 37th Heavenly Master of Longhu Mountain, showed up.

He asked, "Where is Master Xu going?"

"The evil dragon from Poyang kidnapped my father. I want to find him to argue with him and save my father to fulfill my filial duty. Why is the Heavenly Master trying to stop me? Now the situation is like a fire from heaven, and we can't waste time."

Zhang Fajing said, "Is this true? This Shunji Little Dragon King and the Thousand-Year Black Fish Spirit were given the title many years ago when my uncle, the 36th Heavenly Master, was still a Little Heavenly Master. There is an old cause and effect in Longhu Mountain. How about I go to Poyang with Heavenly Master Xu?"

Xu Jia saw that he had not actually reached the realm of immortals, but was only an earthly immortal who had inherited the Heavenly Master's teachings but had not yet completely refined them. Otherwise, even if the Heavenly Master had no cultivation, he would be treated as an immortal on land. So he said, "Thank you very much for your help, Heavenly Master Zhang. However, the old dragon couple are both immortals. I went there with an indomitable attitude and did not dare to implicate the Heavenly Master."

"It doesn't matter. Although I haven't reached the realm of immortals, the gods who guard the altar on Mount Longhu have received incense for more than 800 years and have long been immortals. I will call on the generals and troops and we will attack together. It won't take a moment."

Xu Jia nodded, stopped and waited for a moment.

After a while, a path of incense turned into a cloud road, with blue clouds as its base and golden light covering the ground. All heavenly soldiers and generals arrived at once. The general walked like a dragon and a tiger, holding a golden whip, sitting on a tiger with a fierce look in his eyes. He led 1,200 heavenly soldiers. These heavenly soldiers were not the ghost soldiers and devils that Xu Jia had recruited. They were from the heavenly masters, the imperial court, and the incense and sacrifices of past dynasties. Each of them was strong and powerful, and almost every one of them was at the peak of human immortals. Three or five of them could capture all the goblins and evil gods who had not reached the level of 500 years of cultivation. Even if they had 500 years of cultivation and reached the level of earthly immortals, they could be suppressed and arrested by such soldiers and horses, with hundreds of them arranged in a formation.

Xu Jia was extremely envious, thinking that this was the real foundation. Even if he established a temple and set up an altar, without a hundred years of operation, he would not be able to train such elite soldiers and generals to pass on to his descendants.

The two armies gathered together, and marched in a mighty force, carrying with them the wind and energy of heaven, thunder and lightning, and rushed to Poyang with a crackling sound.

……

In Poyang, the old dragon had already hung Xu Zhiyuan up, and several little demons below had set up a big pot and burned dry firewood, and there was oil in the pot.

The oil had just been heated and had not yet started to smoke, but it was enough to intimidate and put psychological pressure on people.

Madam Anji, the black fish spirit, transformed into a female general in black clothes and scale armor, holding a flying sword in her hand. The sword was made from the fish bones in her brain and the cold iron collected from the Poyang Water Palace.

She said softly, "Scholar, I see you are not a teenager, you are already in your forties or fifties, but I can't sleep with you. This doesn't have to happen. We have no grudges in the past or in the present. Why did you curse at me when you came to my temple and tattooed us with a bad mark?"

After saying that, she called several little dragons over. There was a white dragon born from a silver carp, a giant blue dragon fish born from a black carp... Each of them turned into a human head, a human body, and wore clothes.

There was a word tattooed on his face, a circle in vermilion, which read "evil".

"I heard that some people who are well educated and know right from wrong will be chosen by the heaven and the underworld to become officials in the human court and do some judgment work. Maybe you have been chosen, otherwise you would not have been sentenced to tattooing without saying anything."

"They are just ignorant children, how could they commit crimes? Did you make a wrong judgment?"

"Today is not for anything else. If you are willing to withdraw your judgment, we will not harm you in the slightest. We can even send you out of the Water Palace and give you three ships of gold and silver treasures. We will ensure that your descendants will become talented, be granted titles of nobility and ministers, or even be kings and emperors."

"If you don't obey, not to mention that you haven't become a judge yet, even if you do, we will both suffer losses. Even if you go to the Dragon Slaying Platform, I will cook you, stir-fry you, and eat you up. This is what we call complaining!"

Shunji Little Dragon King said angrily, "Madam, what else can you say to him? Just torture him. He is a mortal, how can he be so bold as to go against our dragon clan? Someone must have instructed him. We can't kill him, but we can borrow his knife to kill him. We can send a message to the county officials and jailers in our dreams, and lock him up for a few days, and then everything will be resolved."

Xu Zhiyuan sneered, "No one ordered me to do this. I just feel a sense of injustice. When a country is about to fall, there must be evildoers. You dare to call yourself a dragon, how can I allow you to steal the treasure and subvert the world?"

The dragon has always been associated with the throne.

If he is not a real dragon, he must be a rebel.

He won't be in a good mood.

(End of this chapter)