Chapter Nineteen: The Serpent Lurks in the Yellow Springs

Lu Qian completed his transaction for the Daoist arts and placed his hand upon the jade slip. A beam of light entered his forehead, and information emerged in his mind.

At Tongyou Temple, Daoists were forbidden from privately trading sect techniques. Only after reaching the later stages of Qi Refining and earning the right to take disciples could one pass on the arts in the formal manner.

Returning home, Lu Qian summoned his paper figurines to guard the doors and windows. The windows were tightly sealed, leaving only a small gap for ventilation. He sat cross-legged, quietly nurturing his energy.

He was still over two hundred marks away from perfection. According to his calculations, after consuming the Fish-Dragon Herb, he should achieve mastery.

He opened the box. Inside, a strange fish with grass growing from its head lay quietly. Upon seeing Lu Qian, the creature gazed at him beseechingly, its eyes full of pleading.

“A carp leaping the dragon gate is a once-in-a-century sight; a plant taking on form, even rarer. Yet the path of cultivation is a struggle against Heaven and man. Today, your body shall fulfill my Dao,” Lu Qian mused silently.

He pressed his tongue against the roof of his mouth, sank his breath to his lower abdomen, and let true energy flow gently along his Ren and Du meridians. His belly grew warm, and his entire body felt as though immersed in a hot spring.

After some time, Lu Qian struck the box open with his palm, seized the lively Fish-Dragon Herb, and swallowed it whole, chewing it thoroughly.

Emerald-green spiritual liquid, fragrant and fresh, burst in his mouth, transforming into a surge of burning energy within.

Boom!

His mind exploded with thunder. Lu Qian felt himself turn into a fish, swimming in water, facing a waterfall. The fish leaped again and again, trying to ascend the falls, seeking to reach a vaster realm.

Day after day, year after year, the carp leaped tirelessly, failing but never yielding.

One day, the carp finally ascended against the current.

Boom!

In that instant, wind and clouds shifted. The carp transformed into a dazzling golden dragon, summoning clouds and rain, stirring wind and waves.

Supreme freedom, boundless ease.

Outside, a day and night had passed.

At this stage, Lu Qian should have awakened, for the medicinal power had been fully absorbed. Yet he remained immersed in the vision of the carp transforming into a dragon.

The progress of the Tongyou Breathing Technique advanced slowly; the dark ring gradually turned golden and complete.

Perfect mastery of Embryonic Breathing!

True energy, once limited to the Ren and Du meridians, now spread through the ancillary channels—Small Circulation became Great Circulation.

Simultaneously, the visualization in Lu Qian’s mind shifted as well.

Tongyou Visualization Technique focused on the Nether Yellow Springs—a black world bisected by an ancient yellow river.

Now, within the yellow river lay a “Fish Dragon.” Its form resembled a fish, with four limbs on its belly, scales of earthen yellow, a long neck, large eyes, an elongated snout, and sharp teeth—resembling a marine reptile, but more graceful, akin to a stretched long-snouted goldfish.

The Fish Dragon lay dormant in the Yellow Springs, eyes tightly shut, enduring wind and rain. Its body slowly transformed, growing slender, approaching that of a hornless dragon.

A hornless dragon is called a jiao; this Fish Dragon was thus a Jiao Dragon.

It continued striving to leap the dragon gate. When the cultivation was complete, a true dragon would soar, summoning clouds and rain.

Outside.

Pale silver moonlight poured over Lu Qian, flowing from above, passing through his skin, entering his meridians, refining his flesh, turning into vigorous true energy, and finally condensing into a “Great Medicine” in his lower abdomen.

With the completion of the circulation, in his visualization, the Fish Dragon’s body trembled slightly, exhaling dark true water.

Lu Qian’s dantian condensed a drop of pitch-black true energy.

This true energy was immense and weighty—one drop worth a hundred others.

A faint black mist circled around him, leaving the whole house damp, water stains covering the floor. Above the roof, a dark cloud even gathered, as if rain were about to fall.

Who knows how much time passed; the sun’s essence and moon’s radiance enveloping him slowly faded.

The Fish Dragon in the Yellow Springs settled into deep hibernation.

“What miserable weather,” someone cursed outside the courtyard.

It was Xie Te, followed by more than a dozen masked men, each wearing tall white hats, clad in white robes, carrying eerie green lanterns.

“Honored officers, Lu Qian is here,” Xie Te said with a bow and a smile. “I’ve confirmed he’s been here for days. I’ll go in and draw him out, lest he escape.”

Lu Qian, still in meditation, suddenly opened his eyes, sensing Xie Te and the others’ voices.

“There is no gate to hell, yet you insist on entering. So eager to die—what a difficult request,” Lu Qian chuckled, his figure flashing as he left the quiet chamber.

A solitary figure emerged from the dark room—garbed all in black, pale-faced, as though untouched by sunlight for ages.

Swish, swish!

A series of sounds broke the air as the white-robed figures encircled Lu Qian.

They approached slowly, a translucent, pitch-black chain appearing in their hands.

“What are you doing?”

“They’re from the Mountain Patrol Bureau. I reported you for theft…” Xie Te grinned smugly, only to be interrupted by Lu Qian.

“Silence! Perfect opportunity for you all to taste my mastery.”

The force of pitch-black true water swept forth.

Whoosh!

Three men were struck by a tremendous power—their flesh, organs, and skin scattered everywhere, leaving only clean skeletons behind.

“I originally planned to rest and let you live a little longer, but you came seeking death. Truly, self-inflicted disaster cannot be avoided.”

Lu Qian wiped his hands calmly, as if he had merely slaughtered a few chickens.

The terrifying scene left the mountain patrol officers trembling.

Such decisiveness! Such ruthlessness!

Ordinary men, upon gaining power, would surely flaunt it before old enemies, savoring vengeance.

But this man acted instantly, killing without hesitation.

Resolute and merciless—truly, a formidable character.