Cursed Mountains and Seas

Chapter 82 Historical Dregs, Japanese Invasion (Seeking First Subscription!)

An unstable feng shui formation causes the dragon's energy to leak out, first affecting Yuegang.

While practicing his magic, Wang Cheng continued his cultivation using the "offering method." During his meditation, he vaguely felt as if he had entered a deep pool.

After instinctively shaking its head and wagging its tail, it realized that it had no limbs.

With the help of the reflection on the calm water, I finally saw that I had turned into a big fish with a dragon's head and a fish's body, or more accurately, a Chiwen with a fiery red body!

"How is this going?"

Looking around, he realized that he wasn't the only one in the deep pool; there were countless other "kindred spirits" in it.

They are all fish of various sizes and with all sorts of strange appearances.

They all seemed to have some dragon aura about them, and had a slightly mystical dragon appearance.

Some grew two long golden whiskers, some grew one or two shiny, mottled dragon scales, and some grew a patch of bright red mane on the back of their necks.
The White Dragon once said, "If I urinate across water, the fish in the water will eat me and turn into dragons; if I urinate across mountains, the grass in the mountains will absorb the flavor and turn into lingzhi mushrooms, which will be picked by celestial children to grant them longevity."

Although the dragons in this world are not that magical, they do not have reproductive isolation from other species.

The existence of dragon species with the blood of dragons flowing in rivers, lakes, seas, stables, and cattle sheds is an objective fact.

But no matter how much these large fish around them resembled dragons, none of them were as impressive as Chiwen, one of the nine sons of the dragon that Wang Cheng had transformed into.

The moment a thought crossed his mind, the seemingly real yet illusory environment around him responded to him:

"The dragon's appearance is formed by one's own dragon-like fortune; the stronger the fortune, the more prominent the dragon's appearance."

Wang Cheng immediately understood.

Whether it is the "divine energy of Emperor Shi Huang" or the dragon energy derived from it, there is no essential difference between it and the energy of a ruler, the energy of a king, or the energy of an official.

As long as you hold a leadership position in a small system and can gain people's loyalty, you will inevitably be influenced by its influence to some extent.

Only when they grow to the level of a local king with no one above them and no constraints can they be considered to have the appearance of a dragon. In chaotic times, these people are commonly known as hidden dragons!
"This is probably the manifestation of the dragon energy that I took from the ritual of sending off the royal ship, and it is also the main reason why the gentry faction is relentlessly pursuing me."

Wang Cheng had no idea how much he had gotten from giving away the Wangchuan ritual objects before, but now he had a general idea.

The number is indeed quite large; if he were the owner, he would be anxious too.

"Hey, there's one over there that looks even more like a dragon than me!"

While observing the other "dragon species," Wang Cheng discovered a real dragon quietly coiled at the bottom of the pool.

Its entire body was covered with smooth, silvery-white scales, gleaming with a cool and noble light. Its silver horns were sharp and its upright azure dragon eyes shone with a brilliant golden light.

When Wang Cheng looked over, he found that the other person was also looking at him.

Their eyes met, and a strange sense of familiarity arose in their gazes simultaneously.

Wang Cheng subconsciously activated [Rare Goods for Sale] to look over, only to find that he had only been pulled here in terms of consciousness and could not use this special skill at all.

Just as it was about to wag its tail and approach to try and communicate, to find out what was going on, it decided to go over and try to find out what was happening.

The fish surrounding me suddenly became agitated and rushed toward the surface of the pool.

Looking up, I saw nine round pills hanging from the surface of the pool. The strange fragrance emanating from them made my mouth water and I couldn't resist taking a bite.

There just happened to be one in front of Wang Cheng.

Perhaps intimidated by the powerful dragon aura emanating from him, the surrounding large fish instinctively made way for him, and a small number even actively crowded around him and squeezed forward.

As Wang Cheng watched the pearl draw ever closer, the desire deep within his blood to devour it grew stronger and stronger.

"Gulp. This smells like dragon energy, such a strong aura."

The loud sound of him swallowing his saliva startled even himself.

Realizing the situation was not right and that he could not get any closer, he quietly tried to protect the fish in front of him.

The silver-white dragon that had been quietly staying at the bottom of the pool without coming over to join the fun suddenly swung its long tail, whipping the water into a whip and lashing him off the surface.

It spun around in the deep water, making a "glug-glug" sound, and it took a while to regain its balance.

When they looked up again, there were already nine fish, each with a pill in its mouth.

Whoosh!
The next second, Wang Cheng's vision blurred, and they all vanished without a trace.

A short while later, nine more pearls fell down, and the other large fish, as if they hadn't noticed anything unusual, continued to swarm forward before disappearing again.

"Are they fishing?"

Wang Cheng strained his eyes to look beyond the water's surface.

Beside the pool stands a dark, octagonal iron tower. While the octagonal towers in Yuegang are already considered tall with five floors, this one has a full eighteen floors.

A breeze blew by, and the iron eaves rang with a series of bell sounds.

Countless human corpses, along with bells, hung from fishing hooks dangling from the eaves, swaying in the wind.

The hook pierced their upper jaws, hanging them alive from the eaves of the octagonal iron building, making them look like fish that had been caught by someone.

"Hiss—! No, those are the fish that were just caught!"

Wang Cheng gasped for breath.

He saw a familiar face from Yuegang inside – Manager Tong from Babaozhai Antique Street, who specialized in selling counterfeit goods and had never let him find a bargain.

I am also this person's landlord.

Several of the others looked familiar, and I was certain I had seen them in Moon Harbor.

Finally, it was confirmed that what appeared in this pool with him were not some large fish tainted by dragon energy, but clearly living people who had entered meditation and dreams in Moon Harbor!

"Wait a minute, we've only fished twice, how come there are so many people hanging upstairs?"

He soon discovered something was wrong again; the number of corpses hanging on the hook was not just the eighteen that had been caught in the previous two fishing trips, but one hundred and eighty, or even one thousand and eight hundred.

However, the vast majority of them have been dried into "dried fish," and they look like they've been hanging here for at least twenty or thirty years.

The bizarre "fishing" continues.

However, Wang Cheng noticed that all the large fish that were covered with a layer of Yin Virtue and Pure Light in the Mind's Vision were knocked off by the silver-white dragon at the bottom of the pool.

Although they failed to consume the elixir, they were fortunate in a way, escaping disaster.

Even more fortunately, a very small number of people managed to bite off a small piece of pill residue before being knocked down, and their dragon auras noticeably increased.

As time went on, the bait grew larger and larger, the dragon-like aura it emitted became more and more fragrant, and the big fish in the pool became more and more frenzied.

Even the dragons at the bottom of the pool were almost unable to rescue them in time, so Wang Cheng also swung his tail and joined in to help save them. Working together seamlessly, they knocked them down.

As for those unfortunate souls burdened with heavy debts, they can only hope for the best.

Wang Cheng also had doubts:

"Since everyone here is a resident of Moon Harbor, who could be someone with a stronger dragon aura than me?"

The answer instantly came to mind.

Through interrogation of the matchmaker, information even Xie He didn't know was extracted: the dragon maiden [Madam Yan] had already been reincarnated as a human, and this dragon was very likely her reincarnation!

who can that be?

The same question also surfaced in Yan Yunxiao's mind:

"After three whole months, I've finally found you, you brat from the Wang family who collects water!"

Aside from the kings and nobles of the Great Zhao Dynasty, you are the only one in the entire Moon Harbor whose dragon aura has reached the level of Chiwen. There's absolutely no mistake.

You're really good at hiding things.

If it weren't for the fact that [Historical Dregs - Stone Drum Fishing for Dragons] has been revived, the gentry faction would soon take action against my true form. Auntie wouldn't mind 'taking good care' of you.

The only problem is, this kid must have a disguised identity in Moon Harbor. Who exactly is he?

It's unknown how long they worked or how many people they saved during this unexpected accident.

"Cock-a-doodle-doo!" A series of crows, much louder than those of an ordinary rooster, reached the ears of the two, and the fishing scene in front of them quickly faded away.

Then, Wang Cheng, who was sleeping in the master bedroom, and Yun Xiao, who was sleeping in the guest room, opened their eyes at the same time.

She turned over, got dressed, and looked out the window, which was made of a translucent seashell.

Outside, it was pitch black, with thick dark clouds covering the entire Moon Harbor. Even though it was already past midnight, the sky still looked like the dead of night.

The one that was making "cock-a-doodle-doo" just now wasn't a chicken, but a bald eagle, Ah Ji, imitating a rooster's crow.

It didn't know what other bald eagles looked like, and it was more skilled at being a chicken than a sea eagle. During this time, it crowed on time every morning.

In addition, its imposing and domineering appearance, along with its love for snatching chickens from the streets, has led to the chickens on two nearby streets being lured into becoming pheasants with upturned beaks by its combination of coercion and persuasion.

As Wang Cheng stepped out of his room, he happened to run into Yun Xiao, who looked as fresh and beautiful as a lotus after washing up. His mood immediately improved, and he greeted her.

"Good morning, Sister Xiao!"

The latter nodded slightly:
"Wealth and honor, early."

"Ah Ji crows all day long, it's hard for me not to get up early."

During this period, the two spent every day together, and their relationship progressed rapidly. The inexplicable and natural closeness between them grew stronger and stronger.

Yunxiao's aloof nature remained unchanged, but this casual joke was something she would never have dared to imagine in the past.

The chicken perched on the roof felt a chill on its neck, and immediately switched to its most majestic red-tailed buzzard call, flapping its wings and fleeing in panic.

Wang Cheng turned his gaze away from Aji, only to find Axiao staring intently at him with her heterochromatic eyes, leaning forward as if she wanted to smell his scent.

Feeling a little uncomfortable, I touched my face and coughed lightly.
"What's wrong? Is there something on my face?"

"No, it's nothing."

Yunxiao had some doubts about Wang Cheng and tried to find the source of that inexplicable closeness.

But upon closer inspection, the dragon aura emanating from him was very faint, far below the level of a dragon prince, unless... he possessed a national treasure-level artifact to conceal it.

If the Wang family had such a thing, how could they have fallen to this state?

Finding nothing, he suppressed his suspicions and avoided looking.

Unbeknownst to her, Wang Cheng had been watching her intently, scrutinizing the aloof beauty from head to toe, especially her striking heterochromatic eyes.

Unfortunately, the [Sihai Tongbao] is still as dead as ever, and no new information can be gleaned from it.

At this moment, the two of them turned their heads to look at the entrance of Fenglinzhai. Their keen senses had already heard the noisy commotion all over the street.

"Manager Tong has disappeared!"

"Manager Zhou is gone too!"

"And Boss Xun too!"

"Did you dream last night? I dreamt about..."

The two exchanged a glance, then walked out of the backyard together. The antique street, lined with shops and business owners of all sizes, was bustling with people.

Ah-Chicken has already transmitted back what it saw. It's not just the antique street; the entire Moon Harbour is in a state of panic.

Because many people have the same dream, or rather, it's not just a dream.

Some people woke up unharmed, but all those who had been caught by the hook disappeared completely.

Only a pool of blood remained on the bed.

To let others know that they have suffered misfortune, and in a cruel way, with a fishhook piercing their upper jaw.

Soon, a well-known ancient legend from the Jiulong River area spread throughout the streets and alleys—"Fishing for the Dragon at Shigu".

"Long, long ago, it was said that nine evil dragons haunted the Jiulongtan (Nine Dragon Pool) at the origin of the Jiulong River, causing the Xiangzhou Prefecture to never receive rain."

A brave villager named Shigu used his own son and daughter as mascots to fish out the nine demonic dragons from the Nine Dragon Pool. He then killed them one by one by burning bamboo shoots to make their eyes blurry.

The nine demonic dragons transformed into the Nine Dragons River after their deaths.

The Yangtze River could not possibly have been transformed from a dragon, but the stories of fishing for and slaying dragons at Shigu have indeed become regional "historical dregs".

These sediments are essentially a terrifying regional "human phenomenon," which, in contrast to natural phenomena, originates from the thoughts of sentient beings and is usually rooted in the earth's veins at the intersection of yin and yang.

For example: the corpse-driving ritual in western Hunan, and the wild man of Shennongjia.
Similar to volcanoes, some are dormant, while others are active. When dormant, they are almost harmless, but when active, they are extremely dangerous.

For example, this time, the Stone Drum Dragon Fishing has begun to recover from its suppressed state of dormancy. Just the slightest leak of its aura caused great panic.

Contrary to Pu Shouying's expectations, under the influence of negative wishes, the roles of humans and dragons were reversed, and it was not the dragon that was caught, but the human.

It is equally dangerous for both sides.

Some elderly people also said that more than 20 years ago, there was another severe drought in the Jiulong River basin, which killed many people. The historical dregs of "Shigu Fishing for Dragons" were once involved in the Yuegang Uprising.

Fortunately, Lady Yan sealed the earth's veins and formed a burial site, which successfully suppressed the disaster.

This is why, even before she returned to her original position, she had already gained her own temple and large-scale worship in the Jiulong River basin.

On this day, the incense offerings to Madam Yan flourished once again.

But Ah Xiao, who was the temple keeper for the Dragon Girl, looked serious and said earnestly to Wang Cheng:

"Wealth and honor, the historical dregs of last night were just an appetizer; the real danger is yet to come."

I've already spoken to Old Master Shen; we'll act separately then, and you'll stay with your sister.

"it is good."

Regardless of whether his guess was correct, Wang Cheng readily agreed, taking advice as a guide and deciding to cling tightly to Sister A-Xiao's coattails.

Then, following the established procedure, the sixth refining process was completed. The snake molt in the silk pouch was overflowing with spiritual energy and had begun to wriggle slightly.

"I started practicing the technique on the 24th of the first lunar month, and I only have one day left to complete the [Dragon Robe] on the morning of the 30th of the first lunar month."

I hope the stability in Yuegang can hold out a little longer, so I can finish my mission by tomorrow morning.

Unfortunately, things cannot always go according to his plan.

Just after dusk, the third senior brother Zheng Qian sent a message to Wang Cheng.

During the last "blood sacrifice across the river" operation, we followed the clues and discovered that Master Qian, the "Night Fragrance Man," was acting strangely. We have ordered all our combat personnel to prepare for battle tonight.

The reason Wang Cheng left Qian Wuye as a lead was for this very moment. He had no time to complain and quickly gathered his crew and sent a letter to the Qianzhou Shipyard.

Then, with his sword in his arms, he and Yunxiao sat quietly in the main hall, waiting for the gentry to make their move.

After midnight, when the night is at its darkest.

Suddenly, the warning signal from Baoshan beacon towers sounded. Thirty miles upwind of Yuegang, a large and imposing Japanese pirate fleet appeared on the sea and began to meander towards Yuegang.

The Five Peaks Banner and the commoners' faction's fleet reacted immediately, and then they were furious:

"Do those gentry really dare to openly collude with Japanese pirates? They are no longer members of our trade alliance, but rather a plundering faction that everyone should kill. They must be eliminated immediately with a heavy blow!"

"Set sail and anchor!"

"weigh anchor!"

The fleet had just left port.

Suddenly, large numbers of Japanese pirates emerged from several merchant ships anchored in the harbor, warehouses by the docks, and remote courtyards whose ownership was unknown to anyone.

They cut down the night patrols that came towards them, then split into smaller groups and stormed into the entire city.

clang!clang!clang!
The alarm bells on Baoshan Beacon Tower rang continuously, and the crimson moonlight and even crimson beacon fires illuminated the entire night sky.

There were still two hours left before Wang Cheng finished refining the technique.

(End of this chapter)