Zhongshan Shenzhu Chi

"Wanting to cross the Yellow River, the ice blocks the way; wanting to climb Mount Taihang, the snow covers the mountain."

"The Yellow River? The Taihang Mountains?"

"Where are these mountains and rivers located? Could they be the ancient names for Zhongshan Mountain and the Luo River?"

Zhao Ying remained at the highest point of Zhongshan Mountain, where the poems carved on the rocks, whether in their fierce strokes or their vibrant imagery, were very much to her liking.

"Zhongshan God must still have poems in his heart; we need to find an opportunity to dig them all out."

Thinking of this, the woman stood up, struck with both palms, and unleashed a long, dark spear.

The spearhead was sharp, cutting through the rock as easily as slicing tofu.

After hesitating for a long time, Zhao Ying ultimately couldn't bring herself to carve the huge rock inscribed with the poem. She had no choice but to settle for second best and carve the words on a rock some distance away.

[Zhao Ying of Zhongzhou receives instruction]

"I'll stay in Zhongshan this year. I've never seen mountains covered in snow and rivers frozen over."

Putting away her spear, the woman wanted to follow the birds and the wind to find the red serpent, just as she always did.

But after waiting for a while, there were no birds in sight, and the mountain winds blew erratically, so I had no idea where I should go.

"Is this a mother and son discussing something?" Zhao Ying looked around and decided not to investigate further, choosing instead to wait at the Mountain and Water Cave.

With her eyes fixed on the natural archway shaped like a pendulum, the woman's black boots slammed into the ground, her shapely, long legs tensed and then burst forth, leaping ten feet high.

After descending ten steps from the mountaintop, I picked a lot of plums that looked yellowish and ripe along the way.

One bite at a time, chew a couple of times.

"Ptooey! Ptooey! Ptooey!"

"So sour!"

The sour taste was so bad it made my teeth ache; even after I spat out the fruit, it still lingered in my mouth and even seeped into my heart.

Zhao Ying's face contorted with rage, baring her teeth and grimacing, as she hurriedly threw away the trap-laden plums.

Further along the way, we didn't dare pick any wild fruits we didn't recognize. Even with the ones we did recognize, we had to taste a little before we dared to eat them.

When Zhao Ying arrived at the foot of the Tiangong Cave in the mountains and waters, it was already dusk. Seeing no large snake or other creatures to be seen, Zhao Ying headed east along the surging Luo River.

If you keep going east, you'll reach Yunxi Continent.

The Dragon Clan has stirred up war, aiming directly at a piece of the Yunmeng Marsh's waterway belonging to the Frog Clan. It remains to be seen whether the Sword Immortal Lü Family and the Star River Sword Palace will join forces to deal with them.

The Zhongshan God transformed into a dragon by walking on water but did not enter the East Sea, clearly indicating that both mother and son were at odds with the dragon.

It's unknown whether they will follow the Luo River westward and take advantage of the upcoming drought to invade Yongning Island.

Dragons are said to bring clouds, fog, wind, and rain wherever they go, and their arrival might even alleviate the drought.

Thinking of this, Zhao Ying couldn't help but laugh self-deprecatingly.

That's wishful thinking.

"How could it be a dragon...?"

"A frog? A raven?"

The woman stopped and looked into the distance in surprise. On a rock, a frog stared blankly eastward.

There was also a black raven beside it, its wings outstretched as if comforting the frog.

It's eerie, but this is Zhongshan. There are gods above suppressing the natural order, so it's impossible for strange creatures to appear here that defy it.

"Interesting. The frog and the crow became friends?" Zhao Ying became interested and leaped up, covering the dozens of miles in a flash.

Two childish voices reached her ears.

"Quack, stop looking, it seems your Clam General won't be able to come tonight."

"What's it to you?"

"General Clam always keeps its word! If it said it would arrive tonight, it will arrive tonight!"

The evil-evil frog leaped off the little black crow's wings and landed on another rock, waiting quietly.

"Eastern frogs... Could it be that Zhongshan has allied with Yunmengze?" Zhao Ying slowed her pace and quietly leaned against the two little ones.

The black crow was completely unaware.

Its original intention in coming here was to mock, but after spending too much time with the frogs, it couldn't help but start to worry.

Zhu seems to be quite looking forward to General Clam's arrival at Zhongshan.

"Caw caw, shall we go out and look for it?" the black crow asked.

"You can't go out."

"In Zhongshan, we now belong to the creatures of Yongningzhou, and are protected by the Black Serpent God and the Red Serpent God. Dragons will not be able to enter."

"Once I leave the Zhongshan area, given the domineering nature and strength of the dragons, I won't survive."

The evil green frog followed the mercilessly flowing Luo River, gazing straight eastward.

General Clam taught it from a young age to be trustworthy and keep its promises.

Teaching by example.

They even did a lot of funny things that made the frogs laugh out loud.

If it says it will arrive tonight, then it will arrive tonight.

If they didn't come, it can only be because they were blocked.

The east was completely silent, without a sound or a breeze... just like a trap.

"How about I fly out and take a look? I was born in Zhongshan, not in your Yunxi Continent," the little black crow asked.

"Or perhaps we could get a little closer and see even further, wouldn't we?"

"I suggest you don't fly out. What if they capture you and then threaten me?" The frog was speechless and glanced sideways at the crow.

"But you can get a little closer."

"Let's go then."

The crow took flight first, perhaps annoyed that the frog was jumping too slowly, then turned around, grabbed it again, and flew straight towards the border of Zhongshan.

"Interesting, General Clam?" Zhao Ying followed closely.

Upon reaching the boundary of Zhongshan, the terrain suddenly becomes steep, and Zhongshan Luoshui and Yunxizhou seem to be separated by a staircase of more than ten meters.

The Luo River flows swiftly, cascading down from a great height.

Then, on the plains of Yunxi Continent, a clear and winding dragon formed. From here, the water veins dispersed, like blood vessels, flowing into the Yunmeng Marsh, which is like the heart of the lake, and then eastward into the sea.

"Croak, croak..." The crow landed on a rock by the water with the frog in its arms. After looking around for a while, it said, "I don't think I saw the clam general you mentioned."

Although its eyesight was not as good as the crow's, the frog still stared intently down the mountain.

The vast plain stretched as far as the eye could see, with green grass, trees, and smoke rising from chimneys, but there was not a trace of General Clam.

The evil frog withdrew its gaze and lay silently on the rock.

The Luo River flows eastward mercilessly, crashing over the steps and onto the earth.

The water was smashed, turning into moisture that billowed up into the sky, spreading like white mist to the feet of a bird, a frog, and a person.

"Who!" A sudden shout, like a thunderclap from a clear sky, rang out.

"Who is it!"

Before the crow and the frog could react, Zhao Ying grabbed them and held them by the arm with one hand.

"Who are you!" the bird and frog cried out in horror, struggling desperately under her arms.

But as the woman drew her spear, she also pulled out a palm-sized crimson scale from her chest.

"Don't shout!"

"oh."

After calming the two little ones, Zhao Ying's slightly narrow phoenix eyes stared intently at the white mist spreading across the ground.

This is not naturally occurring water vapor.

"You dragons... do you think that after consuming Yunxi Continent, you still have the strength to invade Yongning?" the woman whispered.

A sudden cloud of white mist rose up, crashing against Zhao Ying like waves.

In an instant, the world turned white, and it became impossible to distinguish up from down from front from back.

"Give me that frog." The voices, neither male nor female, came from all directions.

"You wish." Zhao Ying paused, her whole body tense, her low-hanging curves resembling those of a female leopard hunting its prey.

"Humans..."

"Whoosh!"

The man and the gun moved in a straight line like an arrow, their momentum overwhelming, shooting towards the direction from which the sound came from.

The large swath of white fog was blasted away, but the fog only grew thicker.

Zhao Ying gripped the spear in one hand, turned around, and looked around.

She could barely sense where the demonic dragon was hiding in the mist. But right now, the most important thing was to protect the frog and the black crow.

"withdraw."

The woman spun around with her gun, took a step forward, and suddenly alarm bells rang in her mind.

She immediately stopped, her supple waist twisting her entire body, and with a spin, she dodged countless white blades that came from the mist.

After landing, it spun several times, shattering the onrushing spikes.

As the white mist rolled in, Zhao Ying suddenly forgot the direction she had come from.

"Damn it, they have to be mirage dragons... I can't unleash my full power and shatter the mist yet! These two little ones haven't even broken free of a single shackle; they'll die instantly if they get hit by it."

Zhao Ying gritted her teeth, gripped the black crow and the frog tightly, and scanned the surrounding thick fog with her stern eyes.