Starting with the titmouse, seventy-two transformations

Chapter 377 Deduction: Suddenly an old friend crosses my mind; looking back, the mountains and rivers are already in autumn (Part 2)

In the 431st year, you opened a wood carving shop opposite Xu's Pharmacy...

...

In the 454th year, you settled in Penglize.

You did not use the name "Black Dragon Demon" but instead carefully selected a shrimp demon, secretly bestowed its essence blood upon it, and did not show yourself.

This is the first "seed" you have planted; it needs time to grow and mature.

And the one thing you have in abundance is patience.

...

[The 460th year, six years have passed.]

With the help of your essence and blood, the shrimp demon's bloodline was enhanced, its strength increased dramatically, and it called itself the "Demon Shrimp King". It gathered thousands of aquatic creatures and demons around it, creating waves and waves, and wreaking havoc in all directions, gaining some notoriety.

This attracted some righteous people to come and subdue the demon.

You ambushed them halfway and slaughtered them all, accumulating sins and advancing your spiritual cultivation.

But not enough.

One day, an old Taoist priest came to your door and said that you had killed his disciples and their descendants, which was against the will of Heaven and not for the sake of the common people, but only for revenge.

You were overjoyed, but to avoid revealing your strength, you pretended to be outmatched and lured him into the depths of Pengli Marsh, where you killed him with the Yin Water of the Four Fiends.

This old Taoist priest was quite famous; he spent his life practicing Taoist cultivation, helping the weak and oppressed, slaying demons and saving people, and his merits were immeasurable.

After you kill him, your merit will turn into sin, which will befall you, causing bloodshed and chaos, and filling the sky with evil light.

Your cultivation has greatly improved!

...

[In the 470th year, another ten years have passed.]

With your secret assistance, the "Shrimp Demon King" has occupied a large area of ​​water east of Poyang Lake. He commands numerous demons and over ten thousand aquatic creatures, has established a stronghold, and is powerful and famous.

Over the years, a number of demon hunters have come, but all have returned empty-handed, many even perishing in the waters, forever separated from their families.

All of this, of course, comes from your design.

The "Shrimp Demon King" was completely unaware of this. It became complacent and increasingly flamboyant and arrogant, causing quite a few troubles.

This is a good "bait"!
You lie in wait, observing everything, patiently waiting for the "fish" to take the bait.

...

In the 480th year, the Shrimp Demon King had been famous for nearly half a century.

Having gathered demons to commit evil for many years, killing countless people and doing all sorts of bad things, he was a sinner whose infamy spread far and wide.

Over the years, many righteous people have come to try to exorcise demons, but unfortunately they all went alone and ended up as food for the monsters.

The Shrimp Demon King and his subordinates became increasingly arrogant, conceited, and presumptuous, regarding all people as mere food for their own consumption.

Especially after tasting the flesh and blood of cultivators, which aids their cultivation, they become increasingly greedy and eager to capture more demon hunters.

They are no longer content with devouring ordinary people and have begun to take the initiative.

And that is exactly what you're after.

You didn't take action; you mostly just observed from the sidelines, occasionally catching a few who slipped through the net and filling in the gaps for them.

You know, the "seeds" planted back then have grown and matured, and are about to bear fruit.

This is a dish you've been preparing for thirty years...

A delicious dish!

...

[The 490th year has passed, another ten years have gone by.]

The Shrimp Demon King of Pengli Lake was already infamous for his treachery and ruthlessness, having harmed many demon hunters, which finally attracted the siege of righteous sects.

It's a feast!
All the righteous sects in the world sent people here, and their disciples, elders, and protectors gathered here.

The Shrimp Demon King also rallied his friends and gathered tens of thousands of demons to confront him head-on, becoming the most powerful figure of the time.

This battle was fierce, causing immense suffering and death. The raging waves stretched for thousands of miles, turning fertile fields and beautiful landscapes into a vast swamp, and resulting in the deaths and injuries of millions of civilians.

His sins are heinous!

You are naturally aquatic, lurking in the water. Like a river flowing into the sea, no one can detect you. Furthermore, you urge the four evil spirits and yin waters to secretly harvest the remaining blood.

In the end, the Shrimp Demon King and many other demons perished in the chaos. The righteous forces that came to besiege them also suffered heavy casualties, with only a few remaining before fleeing in panic.

And you, your sins are so solidified.

When they go out, blood rains down; when they return, a stench of carnage fills the air.

You dive to the bottom of the water and, in a pre-prepared nest, begin to molt...

...

In the 520th year, you wake up underwater, shedding your old body and feeling completely refreshed.

Its scales are tougher, its fangs sharper, its body longer, and its cultivation has crossed a certain minor realm...

But it didn't transform into a dragon!

The dragon is the pinnacle of all spirits; how difficult it is for a jiao (a type of dragon) to transform into a dragon.

Even if the Vajrayana Sutra takes a different approach, accumulating sins to transform into dragons, it is still extremely difficult.

However, if that "feast" from thirty years ago were repeated a few more times, it would accumulate enough sins to transform into a wicked dragon.

It's just a matter of fishing a few more times; it just takes a little more time.

So you "sowed" again, this time choosing a crab demon, and the cultivation process was exactly the same as that of the shrimp demon king back then.

This time your skills are even higher, and your techniques are more refined. You'll soon make the Crab Demon famous...

...

In the 550th year, the second "feast" began.

Just like last time, you lurked in the shadows, cold and ruthless, silently reaping one "sin" after another.

Whether you're a demon or a cultivator, they're all just resources you accumulate on your path to becoming a dragon.

At this moment, you understand the will of Heaven and comprehend the true meaning of "Heaven and Earth are ruthless, treating all things like straw dogs."

Your temperament is becoming increasingly detached and indifferent.

On the shores of Poyang Lake, corpses piled up like mountains, blood flowed like rivers, demons and humans were all dead.

And you dive back into the water, to slumber and molt...

...

[In the seven hundredth year, the third "feast" is about to begin.]

This time, you selected a turtle demon with extraordinary bloodline as the "seed" and secretly helped it rise to an unprecedented height.

He was ranked among the top ten demon kings in the world.

Such a splendid "bait" should attract even greater and more "sins," helping you to completely transform into a dragon.

Even though it took much longer than the previous two times.

This time, all eight righteous sects arrived, with their leaders leading the way and their elite forces making a grand spectacle.

You spotted a familiar figure in the crowd.

He was a young Taoist priest named Xu Xun, with a pair of watery, peach-blossom eyes and a feminine appearance, as if Xu Rong'er from more than two hundred years ago had come back to life.

You sensed something was amiss, and secretly observed, and just as you suspected...

He is a descendant of an old friend.

I thought that in order to settle the karmic debt and sever our ties, I would leave for a distant land and never see you again.

Can,
The arising and ceasing of conditions, the ceasing of conditions and the arising of conditions, the will of Heaven is unpredictable, what can be done?
You gave him a complicated look, then silently left.

Soon after, he returned indifferently and...

Kill.

The sins committed against one's body have an effect no less than that of a sect elder or protector.

It is easy to imagine that the descendants of the Xu family must have been subduing demons and monsters, protecting the people, and accumulating countless good deeds along the way.

He was a born spiritual seeker, a good person among good people.

But so what?
No one can stop your determination to transform into a dragon!

The turtle demon's potential is beyond your expectations. This old turtle is naturally wary and seems to have sensed your presence, attempting to negotiate with human cultivators.

While they were having a private meeting, you suddenly attacked, revealing your demonic form and killing the human cultivator, leaving the turtle demon speechless.

And so, the bloody battle began.

This time, you no longer concealed your strength, revealing it completely, slaughtering cultivators from all sects, and your sins have only increased.

Several sect leaders were "bait" that you deliberately let go back then, and now they have become the heads of their respective sects.

Only then did they realize that the numerous disturbances and calamities caused by monsters in Pengli Marsh over the years, which had plagued the world, were all orchestrated by you behind the scenes.

But it was too late. They all died at your hands, becoming the "sins" you needed to transform into a dragon. Once you had accumulated enough, you activated the secret method in the Vajrayana Sutra and began your dragon transformation.

Your old scales fall off and new scales grow, your single horn disintegrates, the two bulges on the top of your skull burst open and grow bloody fleshy horns, and a pair of claws regenerate on your belly...

Your blood is boiling, and your soul is being sublimated and transformed.

But at the most crucial moment of sublimation, a magnificent chant resounded within your body...

The radiant light of Buddha seemed to have substance, seeping from every scale, every bone, and every inch of your flesh, transforming into Buddha patterns that covered your entire body and intertwined into a mantra!
Om! Mani! Padme! Hum!
The Six-Syllable Mantra of Great Compassion!
An old monk arrived riding on golden light, his appearance dignified and solemn. He chanted incantations, his words flowing like a heavenly flower, and golden lotuses sprang from the ground.

He denounced you for harming the world, stirring up trouble, committing heinous crimes that are intolerable to Heaven.

Now he acts on behalf of Heaven, vanquishing demons and monsters, to restore peace to the people.

You struggled with all your might, but it was all in vain.

Covered in sins, under the influence of the incantation, this has now become your prison; the deeper your cultivation, the stronger the prison.

You then realized that the Vajrayana Sutra was actually the "bait" that Buddhism had laid out.

Demons commit evil deeds according to the scriptures. The more serious their evil deeds, the deeper their sins. The more merit the Buddhists gain after acting on behalf of Heaven, the more merit they accumulate.

And you are the biggest "fish" that Buddhism has caught in hundreds of years.

The old monk smiled, held up a flower, chanted "Namo Amitabha Buddha," and lowered his vajra to pierce your skull.

Then merits will descend from the heavens, covering the sky and the earth, stretching for thousands of miles.

Suddenly, a great light shone forth, and the old monk's body became as if cast in gold, with light emanating from the back of his head, thus attaining the status of an Arhat.

He laughed three times, then left.

【you are dead. 】

……

"That bald monk deserves to die!"

Liu Sheng let out a low shout, opened his eyes, and unleashed a terrifying killing intent.

Although the previous memories have faded, the process is still vivid in my mind.

Yin Shui Jiao had been "fishing" for three hundred years and had reaped a great harvest, but little did he know... he himself was the real "fish" in other people's eyes.

Perhaps the cause and effect were already determined the moment he obtained the Vajra Maya Sutra when he was still a Green-Scaled Serpent.

"Once you start practicing the Vajrayana Sutra, it's like a stubborn boil that can't be changed. You can only go down this one path to the end, and it will eventually become the material for some bald monk to attain the Arhatship."

Unless one completely loses all their cultivation, like Bai Suzhen did back then, and is reduced to an ordinary, strange snake?

Liu Sheng took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

This simulation seems to have reached a dead end.

But the Great Dao is fifty, the Heavenly Dao is forty-nine, and man escapes one of them; therefore, Heaven never completely cuts off man's path.

Therefore, there must be a glimmer of hope in this deduction, but it just hasn't been discovered yet.

So, where will this chance for survival be found?
He summoned the panel, read the deduced text several times, and finally locked his gaze on the Xu family descendant named Xu Xun.

Buddhism and Taoism clash!

In this world, only Taoism can counter the underhanded tactics of those bald monks, perhaps...

In the 431st year, you opened a wood carving shop opposite Xu's Pharmacy...

...

In the 454th year, you settled in Penglize.

You secretly choose a shrimp demon, bestow upon it your life essence, and push it to the forefront.

At the same time, we should closely monitor the movements of the Xu family in Lin'an City.

But only observe, do not interfere.

...

In the six hundredth year, you chose a turtle demon as the "seed" for the third grand feast.

That year, Xu Rong'er's youngest great-grandson passed away.

You hide in the shadows, proceeding step by step, accumulating sins as if you haven't noticed the traps in the Diamond Sutra.

You are waiting patiently.

...

In the 676th year, war ravaged Linjiang City.

The Xu family's pharmacy was looted by marauding soldiers, and the entire family was killed. Only a three-year-old boy survived by hiding in a water vat and was rescued by a passing Taoist priest.

Little did you know, you had already tampered with this boy named "Xu Xun".

For the past three years, you have spent time with him every year, and you have secretly formed a blood pact with him, which is difficult for outsiders to detect.

...

In the 690th year, Xu Xun, a disciple of Lady Chen of Danyang, completed his apprenticeship and descended the mountain to subdue demons.

He was a born cultivator, and before he was even twenty, his cultivation was no less than that of his master, and he had deeply grasped the essence of the Three Pure Ones.

He vanquished demons and monsters along the way, never suffering a defeat, and his fame grew rapidly.

All of this, of course, owes much to your behind-the-scenes efforts.

Several years ago, you recognized him and used the wood carving you left for Xu Rong'er as proof.

You explained the reason, wanting to use them to escape the conspiracy set up by the Buddhist sect.

After much hesitation, Xu Xun finally agreed to help you escape this calamity.

You handed over all the information you had collected about the monsters over the years to him.

This enabled him to selectively target his objectives, resulting in a record of undefeated victories.

Shocked the world.

He was known as the "born Daoist prodigy," and his prestige within the Daoist community grew daily.

...

In the seven hundredth year, during the tenth year of the Demon-Slaying Campaign, Xu Xun tirelessly traveled to all corners of the country, vanquishing demons and monsters, and upholding justice on behalf of Heaven, leaving behind many admirable tales.

He accumulated immense merit and combined filial piety and Taoism to create the Supreme Lingbao Jingming Tao, which became famous throughout the world, making him the leader of all Taoist sects.

And your third "feast" has arrived as scheduled.

The righteous forces of the world have gathered at Pengli Marsh, intending to join forces to eliminate the one ranked first among the ten demons of the world...

Dragon Turtle Carrying the Mountain.

Nourished by your essence and blood, and stimulated by your bloodline, the little turtle demon of yesteryear has grown into a great demon.

Driven by your efforts, the bloody battle finally broke out.

This battle was so fierce that the sky darkened, the sun and moon lost their light, and countless people died or were injured.

You fought desperately, and finally accumulated the sins needed to transform into a dragon, solidifying them into a tangible substance that no secret technique could conceal.

It is like a fully ripe fruit...

Just as the bald Buddhist monk was preparing to secretly reap the rewards, Xu Xun struck first, using his supreme Taoist magic to severely injure and capture you.

He then carved mountains into islands and molded earth into palaces deep within the Pengli Marsh, naming them "Longevity Palaces," and later imprisoned you in a deep well within the palace.

Then merits descend from the heavens, covering the sky and the earth, and purple qi comes from the east, stretching for eight thousand miles.

He then transplanted the sacred iron tree and made a vow on behalf of Heaven: "When the iron tree blossoms, a dragon will be born."

After the matter was completed, he ascended to the upper realm, where he joined his master, friends, and disciples, totaling forty-two people.

The Buddhist monks were furious, but fearing the power of the immortal, they dared not act rashly and thus gave up.

No one knows that before his ascension, he infused you with a wisp of immortal energy, which not only completely cleansed you of all your sins and broke the secret methods left behind by Buddhism, but also helped you improve your bloodline...

Once this immortal energy is completely refined, everything will fall into place naturally...

From a jiao (a type of dragon) to a dragon.

...

In the first millennium, a great storm raged over Pengli Lake, accompanied by rolling thunder.

In the deep well of the Longevity Palace, you opened your eyes, your claws and teeth fell off, your old scales shed, and long horns grew on your head...

You break the chains, burst out of the deep well, and roar to the sky, only to see the iron tree blooming by the well, its leaves turning yellow in autumn.

Finally, it's done!
"A snake becomes a viper after a hundred years, a viper becomes a dragon after five hundred years, and a dragon transforms into a dragon after a thousand years. You're so powerful, you'll definitely be able to transform into a dragon..."

Lu Sheng's words still resonate in my ears.

You seem to see again that foolish scholar who was forcibly taken to Snake Valley, muttering "I'd rather die than submit."

Can--

That was almost...

That happened a thousand years ago.

(End of this chapter)