Chapter 308: Dragon Veins Under the Sea-calming Palace and Entering the Azure Secret Area
Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
Part of the Divine Wind Palace?
Zhou Bao suddenly saw a lot of stars flickering before his eyes as if he was dreaming a dream. Gaping at Golden Rooster with a dull look, after a while, he said, “Golden Rooster, what the h.e.l.l are you doing?”
“I’m not making any trouble,” said Golden Rooster with a bitter smile. “Somebody is whimsical. That’s why we’re here!”
“Whimsical? Who’s whimsical?”
“It’s not whimsical. It’s Fengshui!” A voice suddenly sounded and surprised Zhou Bao. His nerves were abruptly tightened, like a steel wire. The Internal Qi, like the black flaming, also began to run instantly.
“Take it easy. Just a bad bat!” Seeing Zhou Bao showing a nervous look, Golden Rooster waved hands and added, “His other skills are useless, but he’s good at hiding and mystifying. No one is a match for him regarding these things!”
Taking a look at Golden Rooster, Zhou Bao gradually calmed down.
“Ohhh hehehe, you’re that Leopard. I’ve heard of you previously but had no opportunity to see you. Today, I finally meet with you. Ohhh hehehe!”
A figure slowly walked from the dark with a strange giggle and approached Zhou Bao step by step.
Simultaneously, Zhou Bao saw him clearly. He had a short, small stature and wore a black robe which was used for the 28 constellations of the Immortal Palace to work outside the palace; there was also a black bat pattern embroidered on the robe.
“Earth Bat of Girl!”
Seeing the dress, Zhou Bao immediately realized his ident.i.ty. It was the Earth Bat of Girl of the 28 constellations.
Although he already knew his ident.i.ty, he had no idea how to address him, and thus became stiff for a while.
“Ohhh hehehe. You’re one of us. Others call me bad bat, jerk bat. You can also call me like they do!” Earth Bat of Girl seemed to know what was on Zhou Bao’s mind and said with a laugh.
Zhou Bao gave a wry smile. “I dare not. Anyway, you’re senior to me. I’d better address you as Senior Bat!”
“Interesting. You’re so polite. As you like!” Earth Bat of Girl showed a weird smile.
Earth Bat of Girl seemed to be at the age of 50 or 60. He had a darkish face, a slight figure and looked very capable. In particular, his eyes kept rolling around, which easily gave people a feeling that he was a shrewd person.
“I say, Senior, why are you free to visit me?”
“For your sake!” Earth Bat of Girl laughed and pulled the drawing from Zhou Bao’s hands. “Do you know that your territory has good Fengshui?”
“Good Fengshui?” Zhou Bao blinked, he did not get it at that moment.
“Yup, excellent Fengshui. The Fengshui in your territory is dozens of times better than that in Western Capital of the Great Jin. There’s only one dragon vein under Western Capital, while your territory is a place where the Nine Strips of Dragon Veins convene. The fate is so strong that it shocks the heaven and the earth!” Saying this, Earth Bat of Girl was seemingly excited and gesticulated with his hands and feet.
Zhou Bao blankly turned his head and had a look at Golden Rooster but that was only to see a bitter complexion. Golden Rooster helplessly spread the hands, indicating that he could do nothing.
“Buddy, you know? As long as you control the dragon veins here, then, if you’d like to, the whole world will be in your hands. Moreover—”
“No no no. Senior, I, Zhou Bao, am not that ambitious!” said Zhou Bao, waving his hands. In this world, there were the martial arts world and the martial arts. When one person cultivated the martial arts to a certain degree, he would possess incredible Divine Senses, plus the magic weapons and the fairy weapons in the legend, which are totally a different world with the previous world. In this world, one could likely gain a long life of tens of thousands years or even hundreds of thousands of years after he culminated in cultivation, broke through Level Nine and finally jumped out of the three realms. However, frankly speaking, when one day another person came to you and said that your place had a good Fengshui, it was still pretty weird. Therefore, Zhou Bao had an emotional resistance right now, especially when an apparently untrustworthy person told him that.
“You don’t have great ambition? You don’t need that. It’s destiny, serendipity, fate. Got it? That’s the fate of heaven that falls to you. You need to do nothing. You just build the Sea-calming Palace. Then everything will take its course.”
“Sea-calming Palace?”
“Right. Sea-calming Palace. It’s the real Sea-calming Palace. I found it in a damaged pattern in a wall at an Ancient Ruins. Hehe. It should have been the whole pattern of the Divine Wind Palace, but the only intact part is the Sea-calming Palace. Anyway, it’s enough to suppress the Evil Earth Qi in your territory!”
“Evil Earth Qi?” Zhou Bao stared at Earth Bat of Girl confusedly.
“Exactly. Evil Earth Qi. The Evil Earth Qi here is too strong that the Dragon Qi is completely covered in the place where the Nine Strips of Dragon Veins converged. So, n.o.body else ever found it. Thanks to me, I came here and noticed this. Otherwise, you may really waste such valuable land with such good Fengshui. See, once my Sea-calming Palace is constructed, the Evil Earth Qi will be instantly suppressed. Then, nothing could suppress the Nine Strips of Dragon Veins here. Thus, your good fate will pour in from all sides!”
“I don’t need such strong fate!” Zhou Bao still shook his head and cast eyes on the drawing in the Earth Bat of Girl’s hands. “Also, even if I need fate, it’s not now. Besides, your Sea-calming Palace is a really huge project. I can’t afford it now. Look at my two subordinates, their faces have paled with fright. So, let’s talk about this thing later!”
“Later? What does your ‘later’ mean?” Earth Bat of Girl cried unsatisfied, “Do you know what the fate on earth is? Don’t you know that once you own the fate of the Nine Strips of Dragon Veins, your future—”
“The Nine Strips of Dragon Veins are here, and they can’t run away. Construction of any building results in the same effect. Now, you want to build up such a big palace. Eye-catching. It’s not the good time, not the time!” Zhou Bao said with hands waving.
Hearing what Zhou Bao had said, Earth Bat of Girl thought for a moment and nodded with a smile. “Yes, you’re also right. It’s really garish to build the palace now. However, it’s not good to let the Dragon Qi simply be suppressed by the Nine Strips of Dragon Veins. How about erecting a main hall on it to suppress the Evil Earth Qi and release a little fate?”
“OK. As long as it’s not showy and I can afford it, you just build it,” said Zhou Bao, nodding with a forced smile and waving hands to Jiang Xiao and Zhu Ba. “Em… You two, come here!”
“Your Excellency, what can we do for you?”
“Let me give you an introduction. This is Golden Rooster, the overseer for building the villa. In the past, he obeyed you, but now, you should obey him. So long as we can afford it, just give him what he wants. Clear?”
“Yes, Your Excellency!”
“And, this one. Mr. B-Bat, an a.s.sistant to Golden Rooster. Regarding the project, all of you shall listen to him. Got it?”
“Yes, Sir. Clear!” Those two people were dripping with sweat, like the rain.
A place where the Nine Strips of Dragon Veins got together?
What did it mean?
It should be known that, in this world, most people were superst.i.tious. Especially, the fate or the dragon vein, which often appeared in all kinds of stories and legends, as it were, could be deeply rooted among the people, particularly those with undercla.s.s backgrounds like Jiang Xiao and Zhu Ba.
Hearing that Zhou Bao’s territory was a place where the Nine Strips of Dragon Veins gathered, their heart rate sped up and felt an upsurge of emotion, which made them too excited to do anything.
Western Capital, the imperial capital of the Jin, was known as a Land of Dragon Rising, and thus a vast foundation was launched there. Even so, only one dragon vein was under the land. In contrast, Nine Strips of Dragon Veins were here!
Did it mean that their master, Zhou Bao, was much better suited to be an Emperor because he had more fate than the Emperor of the Jin?
All of them were with Zhou Bao when they were about 13 years old. So to speak, they were the first team. This time, if Zhou Bao really became the Emperor, they would all be senior officials who contributed to the country’s establishment!
This thing which only happened in the novels suddenly befell them, making them feel that they were in the dream.
“What daydream are you two dreaming? You believe a charlatan’s words?” Zhou Bao scolded with a low voice, awakening his subordinates who were caught up in their daydreams. The two didn’t return to the reality until now. Raising their heads, they found that only Zhou Bao was before them.
“Stop looking. Both have already left!” Zhou Bao gave them a black look. “Did you hear what we just talked about?”
“Yes, Your Excellency!”
“Now that you’ve already heard it, don’t leak it out. I just saw your angry face as if you were ready to eat people. What’s up?”
“Yes, yes!”
At this moment, Jiang Xiao and Zhu Ba had no idea what to say and clicked their tongues for a while. Finally, Zhu Ba said, “Golden Rooster, as you called him, the overseer, suddenly brought that drawing to us and insisted on expanding the foundation based on the drawing and wanting more money and laborers. Em… We didn’t know his ident.i.ty, so we refused him. We just thought he was a common… common overseer, but who would expect that he came to you behind our backs!”
“Hehe. It’s not a big deal. Golden Rooster is a friend of mine. He came here for help. He doesn’t want others to know his ident.i.ty, so he conceals himself with the ident.i.ty of an overseer!”
“Yes yes yes. We know it now!”
Actually, when Golden Rooster came to Zhou Bao and unscrupulously called him “guy”, they realized that Golden Rooster had a special ident.i.ty. After that, the old Bat also came here and made a fuss. Even an idiot would understand that they belonged to another system of the subordinates under their boss, Zhou Bao, or another force.
“Now that you already know that Golden Rooster is my friend, in the future, if you encounter something which can’t be solved by our forces, just go to him. He’s a Level Eight expert. Nothing can’t be solved by him!”
“Level Eight expert?” Jiang Xiao and Zhu Ba sharply swallowed the saliva and felt that they had lived in vain for half a life. Several years ago, when they had served as the privates in Jiang City, they had not often met masters of martial arts of Level Four or Five, let alone the experts. The experts, like the Immortals in the legend, flew in the sky instead of walking on the ground.
But, how about now?
Since they followed Zhou Bao, everything had changed. A Level Four or Five master of martial arts would not get their attention anymore. Zhu Ba was already a Level Five expert. Even Jiang Xiao, a person who was poor at martial arts among the high level of the Navy of Jiang City, had already broken through the Level Three phase and reached Level Four in terms of the cultivation. The experts who had been known only by their name but they had never met with in person in the past, now frequently emerged before them. They often saw some Level Eight and Level Nine experts, still less Level Seven experts. See, they just disputed with a Level Eight expert and flushed with agitation, which almost led to a quarrel.
Fortunately, they avoided the quarrel!
If they two, a Level Four and a Level Five expert respectively, really argued with a Level Eight expert, they may not even know how they died. Thinking of their att.i.tude toward Golden Rooster a moment ago, they were so scared.
“Don’t panic. Although Golden Rooster is not a broad-minded guy, he won’t haggle over you two!”
“Thank you, Your Excellency!”
“Well, it’s over. As for the villa, you two keep an eye on it. Also, Golden Rooster, if he wants laborers, just arrange them. If he wants money, just give him the money. However, there’s a limit. Like this time, if you really run into a brutal thing, come to me. Oh, I will be in a closed-door training in the near future, so I will leave for a period. If you come into unreasonable things, go to w.a.n.g She. He’s in a closed-door training in the mine hole here!”
“Ch-Chief w.a.n.g?” The two looked at each other with eyes revealing an awkwardness.
They knew of w.a.n.g She, but only knew of him. There was a big gap between them on the part of ident.i.ty. Even though they had seen him, they had to look at him from a distance. Because they walked behind Zhou Bao, they just lowered their heads and dared not to speak when seeing him. How could w.a.n.g She know them?
“You’re my most competent subordinates, so w.a.n.g She knows you. He won’t ignore it if there’s any trouble in my territory,” said Zhou Bao with a smile. “Besides, this time he brought some masters of martial arts with him, didn’t he? You can arrange something for them. It’ll be beneficial if you’re on good terms with them!”
The two threw helpless eyes to each other and said with a wry smile, “Yes, your Excellency!”
…
…
“Your h.e.l.l territory should have the gathering of the Nine Strips of Dragon Veins?”
w.a.n.g She, lying on the chair, made a very indecent gesture, his feet almost extending to Zhou Bao’s desk. “Isn’t your luck excessively good?”
“You truly believe it?”
“You don’t believe it?”
“What does that Earth Bat of Girl actually do? I think he’s a Jianghu fraud!”
“Is there any Jianghu fraud whose cultivation can reach Level Eight?” w.a.n.g She asked with a smile, waving his hand. “This guy is the Fengshui master of the Immortal Palace. He’s been researching Fengshui for hundreds of years. I tell you, his insight is never wrong. He’s more brilliant than those Jianghu frauds!”
“Are you sure?” Thinking of Earth Bat of Girl’s appearance, Zhou Bao still was not convinced.
“I don’t need to fool you!” w.a.n.g She shook hand. “This guy’s cultivation of the martial arts skills is not half a patch to his Fengshui achievement. Do you know, 15 years ago, he said that Northern Yuan’s good fortune would run out? He even successfully predicted Northern Yuan’s perdition time. Hehe!”
“Is that so abnormal?”
“Somethings are much more abnormal,” said w.a.n.g She, shaking his head. “Anyhow, you can deny his other statement. If he said something about Fengshui, you’d better trust him. Now that he said it’s a gathering place of the Nine Strips of Dragon Veins here, the Nine Strips of Dragon Veins must converge here. What do you think of it, Guy? Any idea?”
“Not yet,” said Zhou Bao, shaking head. “For now I have an important matter, and I need your help!”
“Whom will you set me against this time?”
“Not against somebody. I want to enter the Azure Secret Area!”
“Haven’t we already made a deal? You can enter at any time as long as the Essential Qi Tide inside stops!”
“I can’t wait for the ending of the Essential Qi Tide. I must enter when the Essential Qi Tide is still there!”
“Are you sick of living?”
“My Air-frozen Bead practice is almost done. It’s half-finished but can still ensure my safety in the Essential Qi Tide,” Zhou Bao said. He opened his mouth and spat out a mouthful of Green Qi—the Faux Air-frozen Bead.
“Half-finished?” w.a.n.g She changed his expression and gave a look at the Faux Air-frozen Bead suspended in the air. “Judging by the spirit, it should be a celestial device at the Mysterious Level. Your Air-frozen Bead has shaped! ”
“It’s not at Advanced Level. There’s still room for improvement!”
“I’ve heard the function of this stuff, but are you sure it can ensure your safety in the Essential Qi Tide?”
“There should be no problem!”
“Even if it can ensure you uninjured in the Essential Qi Tide, so what?” w.a.n.g She said, shaking the head. “In that furious Essential Qi Tide, you can’t do anything at all!”
“I told you, I will be fine!”
“You seem to know something about the Essential Qi Tide!” w.a.n.g She slightly turned his head and stared at Zhou Bao with a serious countenance. “Boy, you’re becoming more and more mysterious, right? You already know many things that you shouldn’t know!”
“What are the things that I shouldn’t know?”
“What’s the Essential Qi Tide on earth? Few people know it in this world. I’ve never told you. As far as I know, people who know the Essential Qi Tide have nothing to do with you. Even if people like Golden Rooster know of the Essential Qi Tide, they don’t know the essence. Why are you so confident that you could benefit from the Essential Qi Tide?”
“Yes, right!” Zhou Bao was inexpressibly astonished but showed a warmer smile. “I’m not sure I can certainly gain some benefits from the Essential Qi Tide, but I know I have such a chance, and it will help me to break through the state!”
“That’s what I’m curious about. Why are you so confident?”
“It’s my secret. I suppose I don’t need to tell you my secret,” said Zhou Bao, laughing.
“Alright, you have many secrets, but you don’t need to tell me all of them!” w.a.n.g She was mildly rebuffed, but he was not angry. He nodded and said, “Well then, since you’re so confident that you’ll gain benefits from the Essential Qi Tide, I have no need to stop you. I will arrange this thing, but you should be careful!”
“One more thing. I have no idea when I can come out after entering the Azure Secret Area. So, could you please take care of the things happening outside the Area. As for your subordinates, I’ve already set Jiang Xiao to arrange tasks for them. If there’s anything, just order Jiang Xiao and Zhu Ba!”
“Yeah, I know. The two guys have been following you for several years, haven’t they?”
“Correct. When I was the commander of the Navy of Jiang City, they began to be with me. Till now, almost four to five years. They deserve our trust!”
“Hehe. OK. I got it. Don’t worry. I’m here. No trouble will occur in your little territory. However, you cannot be too careful in the Azure Secret Area. Once you can’t hold up there, get out quickly. If you get caught in it, it’s not a good thing for anyone!”
“Am I that silly?” Zhou Bao laughed.
…
…
After making comprehensive arrangements, Zhou Bao walked into the pa.s.sageway built by Sun Rat of Emptiness before the shocked eyes of Golden Rooster, Sun Rat of Emptiness and Moon Deer of Extended Net.
This time he voluntarily walked into it, which was very different from the previous experience when he entered there involuntarily. The palisades at the bottom of the mine hole, which was as smooth as a mirror, began to radiate dreamlike blue light after Sun Rat of Emptiness had spoken out several incantations.
The blue light was mild and had a comforting effect. Seeing the dreamy blue light, Zhou Bao, who was excited before, now was slowly calming down. His mind also became very sober.
“What a good thing!” He acclaimed in his heart. Knowing that this effect was attributed to the Pure Yang Celestial Device used for constructing the pa.s.sageway, he praised secretly. When the blue light flashed, Zhou Bao felt as though he was underwater. However, the water was warm. He could easily breathe, which gave him a feeling that he was in a bathhouse. Regrettably, something suddenly showed up in front of him before he could enjoy that bathhouse feeling for a while. A wild and dry wind came in his face, almost blowing him away.
“Here I am!” Treading on the blazing fine sand and watching the surrounding boundless desert, Zhou Bao knew that he was already at the right place.
Compared with the experience that he had when he had come here for the first time, the environment here was much worse now. Endless sandstorms were everywhere in the whole desert. As far as the eyes could reach, hundreds of tornados violently blew one after another. Sand pervaded between the sky and the earth, and the whole place was immense and indistinct.
“No worries. It’s not the Essential Qi Tide here. The heavy wind was due to the influenced of the Essential Qi Tide in the Azure Secret Area!”
Green Spirit’s voice sounded in his brain. Before the voice died away, he heard a bang. A clap of thunder came from a tornado at a short distance away. At this moment, Zhou Bao found that those tornados were unexceptionally giving out dim blue flashes of lightning.
…