Chapter 203: Luck Transforms into a Dragon
Chapter 203: Luck Transforms into a Dragon (Part 3, please subscribe)
"A snake turning into a dragon?"
Xu Qing noticed the transformation of the little snake in his body, but now it should not be called a snake, but a dragon. It has a dragon head, claws, and some dragon scales on its body. There is a white blurry pattern on the neck of the little dragon, which is not clear.
The dragon scales are mainly green in color, and the previous black air has faded a lot in an instant, further highlighting the majesty of the lucky little dragon.
Xu Qing could even feel that invisible white gas from all over Jiangning Prefecture was being injected into the little dragon of luck. At the same time, the little dragon of luck was also giving back to Jiangning Prefecture.
There is a feeling of combing the mountains and rivers and ensuring good weather and harvests.
At this time, the visualization diagram of the five great demon gods suddenly caught fire.
Each of them transformed into pure artistic conception and entered the five great demon gods.
Xu Qing had a feeling that the five demon gods had "come back to life".
It's not the kind of out-of-control "coming back to life", but rather becoming Xu Qing's external incarnation, like his hands and feet, making it easier to command him.
At the same time, the five demon gods turned into tattoo-like patterns and fell on Xu Qing's body.
They were printed on Xu Qing's limbs and heart respectively.
This made Xu Qing's every move carry an inexplicable aura of power.
"The five great demon gods correspond to five kinds of evil thoughts, which can actually be transformed into five different kinds of fist intentions." An epiphany flashed through Xu Qing's mind.
At this point, he has completely absorbed the essence of the Five Great Demon Gods' Visualization Method and has taken a different path from the founder.
Because he practiced both magic and martial arts, not just spiritual cultivation.
"Unfortunately, before I comprehend the realm of 'Tao follows nature', my martial arts has basically reached this point and has come to an end." Xu Qing knew very well that without the unity of body and soul, it would be difficult for him to pass the level of Martial Saint.
Unless there is a more powerful elixir than the Xuantian Shenglong Pill.
The reason why there are three Xuantian Shenglong Pills this time is because of the saint's manuscript. Otherwise, there would be at most two, or just one.
The power of the sage's manuscript lies in the fact that it can sublime one or two divine pills in the alchemy furnace that would have likely become waste pills.
When Xu Qing wants to find similar holy objects for alchemy in the future, he will probably find them only in the royal family or in some large tombs from the Middle Ages or earlier times.
The premise is that these large tombs have not been excavated.
In fact, with the change of dynasties, many large tombs have been excavated and countless holes have been dug.
Especially the large tombs from the Western Han Dynasty, almost no ones were spared.
At the end of the Han Dynasty, an official position specializing in tomb robbing was created, called the Mojin Xiaowei.
After observing the little dragon of luck, Xu Qing focused his attention on his body.
In the past, he could use his "spirit" to look inside himself, but now, even without using his spirit, he knows every tiny part of his body very well.
This is also different from the realm of practicing internal organs.
The "inner vision" in the realm of internal organ training is mainly focused on the locations of the five internal organs.
In addition, Xu Qing has a deeper understanding of the function of each part of the body.
This is why the martial arts master is called the master.
They have a deep understanding of any martial arts they have learned or created, know what effects and functions they can achieve, what damages they may cause to the body, and have their own cognitive system of martial arts.
And we can innovate within this system framework.
"Spirit and soul cultivation can raise the upper limit, while martial arts cultivation can consolidate the lower limit." Xu Qing made his own judgment in his heart.
The deeper his understanding of martial arts, the more Xu Qing felt the urge to completely integrate his soul into his body and achieve complete unity of spirit and flesh.
Xu Qing suppressed this impulse, but he felt something in his heart.
If you encounter an extremely dangerous moment, the soul will be completely integrated into the body, and the spirit will be transformed into energy. Isn't this a means of bursting out extreme combat power in a short period of time?
Use spirit to transform qi and refine the spirit and soul.
If it were in the past, it would be difficult for him to control the energy transformed by the reversal of his soul, but at the level of a martial arts master, there is no such concern.
Moreover, reversing the spirit and soul and transforming it into life energy will definitely increase the power of the Innate Finger.
"After all, martial arts is a way of fighting for life. When encountering difficulties, the first thing that comes to mind is to overcome them. The way of the spirit and soul is focused on preserving life. When encountering difficulties, people are more inclined to think about how to avoid them. These are two different routes." Xu Qing thought of the leader of the Luo Sect and others, who focused on the cultivation of the spirit and soul, and were indeed focused on saving lives.
But King Lin prefers fighting and head-on confrontation.
You will upgrade if you win.
Xu Qing has a bronze mirror, and he is very successful in cultivating both his body and his soul. He pays attention to seeking good fortune and avoiding disaster. If he can win, he fights; if he can't win, he runs away. He is not stubborn.
After gaining a deep understanding of his current condition, Xu Qing shook his body, and all the dirt disappeared. His body became full of vitality and exuded a fresh fragrance.
His flesh and blood is now like Tang Monk's flesh and ginseng fruit to demons.
Even a bite of it is beneficial.
It even has a great nourishing effect on evil practitioners of human beings.
Therefore, if you cultivate longevity but do not cultivate supernatural powers, you will not be able to protect your "life" and will only become food for other people.
Xu Qing even suspected that the people who practiced cultivation at the beginning did not actually pay attention to the development of supernatural powers, and therefore suffered great losses, which led to the various supernatural powers in later generations.
Or perhaps it is to obtain the flesh and blood of other monsters and beasts, to continuously strengthen themselves, and to acquire supernatural powers and magical weapons.
Life is short. Even if you are reincarnated as a ghost, after three lives, your original self will be completely annihilated. With a finite body, you seek the infinite path. No matter what you do, you can't avoid the yellow earth.
This is the significance of the existence of Taoism.
Keep the flame burning and life going forever.
...
...
Xu Qing pushed open the door and saw King Lin resting under the paulownia tree, enjoying the shade.
Next to him was an iron rod, shiny black. The rod was so thick that it was difficult for an ordinary person to hold it.
Before Xu Qing came out of seclusion, this iron rod was the purple gold beam that spanned the sea in Jiangning Prefecture, preventing any unrest from occurring in Jiangning Prefecture.
One hundred days have passed since Xu Qing went into seclusion.
Xu Qing felt like he was reborn.
Feng Wu rushed over, looking haggard, but when he saw Xu Qing, all his mental fatigue disappeared.
This family will break up without my husband.
The pressure is just too much.
Although King Lin is a good fighter, it is impossible for a martial arts master to defeat an organized army.
If Xu Qing does not show up for a year or two, the situation will definitely deteriorate a lot more than it is now, and even King Lin will not be able to stabilize the situation.
But now Xu Qing has come out of seclusion, and he is a master of both spirit and soul as well as martial arts. Without the Martial Saint coming out, who can defeat him?
It can be said that if we were to rank the world's top experts now, Xu Qing would definitely be in the top ten.
King Lin looked at Xu Qing, eager to try.
"Fight?" King Lin's eyes seemed to be speaking.
Xu Qing waved his hand: "Brother, let's not fight anymore."
Lin Tianwang: "That's right. You just came out of retreat, and you probably haven't adapted to your current body yet. If I fight you now, I won't win fairly."
Facing Lao Lin's provocative words, Xu Qing no longer acknowledged them, "Brother, I am thinking about your self-confidence. If you lose, how will you challenge the Martial Saint in the future?"
Xu Qing said in a tone that said, "Brother, you don't know how to appreciate my courtesy."
Lin Tianwang: "Gongming, just because you know a lot doesn't mean you are great."
Feng Wu smiled and said, "Brother, don't bother with him."
King Lin snorted coldly and said no more.
Xu Qing smiled and said, "It won't be difficult for you to find an opponent, brother. After I come out of seclusion this time, I plan to organize a martial arts tournament."
"World Martial Arts Conference?"
"Since ancient times, there has been no first in literature and no second in martial arts. For this martial arts tournament, I plan to invite martial arts masters from all over the world to come out and compete to see who is the most invincible person today. However, considering the speed at which news spreads, it will be tentatively scheduled for next autumn. This way, Big Brother will have a year to prepare."
“Gongming, although you have a great reputation, inviting all the masters in the world to gather together is not something that can be achieved with ordinary reputation.” King Lin said bluntly.
Xu Qing: "Next spring, I will take part in the imperial examination and win the first place in the imperial examination. This will mean that I have won six first places in a row. Who can compare with me in terms of reputation?"
He was extremely confident and thought that winning the imperial examination would be as easy as eating and drinking, and he did not consider having any opponents at all.
Lin Tianwang: "The champion and the top scholar are not just competing for their writing skills. You have offended many people..."
Xu Qing: "After the provincial examination, I will go to Beijing and settle these issues."
Time waits for no one. Xu Qing is confident, but he also has to maximize his own interests in the next one or two years and let his life flourish to the fullest.
His current vision and courage greatly surprised King Lin.
Because in Lin Tianwang's opinion, although Xu Qing took many risks, after analysis, it can be seen that Xu Qing actually took every step carefully. Looking at Xu Qing now, it feels like he can defeat ten people with his strength.
King Lin likes Xu Qing more now.
If you want to do great things, you must have great courage. Who else but me can do it?
He felt that with Xu Qing's talent, he really didn't need to learn those old things.
At that time, Guanjun Hou was only about 20 years old, but he had already conquered the Wolf's Lair, becoming a military monument.
For a real man in the world, achieving great things depends not on age or qualifications, but on strength.
King Lin is also looking forward to the world's number one martial arts conference.
He knew that if this kind of martial arts conference was successfully held, it would be a great temptation for any powerful martial artist, comparable to the ascetics in novels participating in the Danyuan Conference and the Pantao Banquet.
Because once you survive the life-and-death fight in the martial arts arena, the experience you gain is comparable to any panacea.
Afterwards, Xu Qing exchanged some thoughts on cultivation with King Lin, sent his elder brother away, and then appeared in Jiangning Mansion.
His prestige in Jiangning Prefecture is indeed unmatched.
King Lin can temporarily suppress the undercurrent in Jiangning Prefecture by using force.
As soon as Xu Qing showed up, all the undercurrents disappeared immediately.
This has nothing to do with whether Xu Qing has the skills of a martial arts master or not; it is purely due to his personal power.
Xu Jieyuan is the king of Jiangning Prefecture.
He has created too many miracles in this place.
In fact, the court's policy of measuring land has now been gradually extended to the two capitals and thirteen provinces.
However, there were not many places where it was actually enforced, and the only place where it was not misinterpreted was probably Jiangning Prefecture.
Even if Xu Qing helped Chen Fu clear the fields in Dongshan Province, he only made some good-looking data in the yellow book. Of course, this matter would also be beneficial for collecting taxes in the future. As for whether it could really benefit the common people, it was not certain.
The reason why the land was cleared according to the rules in Jiangning Prefecture was not only because of Xu Qing's prestige, but also because many backbones of Fushe personally supervised it. Moreover, Xu Qing integrated and founded many workshops in Jiangning Prefecture, and the gentry were all beneficiaries.
The benefits of growing crops cannot be compared to the income from the workshop.
Even though the government levied a lot of commercial taxes on the workshop.
This is the rule set by Xu Qing.
No matter how much more the government officials may embezzle from the commercial taxes, these wealthy gentry will never be allowed to even think about the commercial taxes.
Xu Qing personally drew a red line on this issue. Any gentry who violated it would be kicked out directly without any mercy.
For this reason, many people in Jiangning Prefecture said strange things.
Because Xu Jieyuan was helping the court collect commercial taxes, and even as the major shareholder behind the workshop, Xu Qing was essentially paying money to the court out of his own pocket.
Not to mention the gentry, even many members of the Fushe Society did not understand.
Xu Qing knew that if he didn't set rules now, it would be more difficult to set rules in the future.
This is also what the emperor was particularly satisfied with Xu Qing.
No matter how big a mess Xu Qing made, the money that should be paid to the national treasury and the inner treasury would come out of Xu Qing's hands, not a penny less, and even more.
It can be said that in the emperor's personal mind, Xu Qing is purer than Qingliu.
...
...
"Xu Gongming showed up?" Duke Wei was relieved after hearing the report from the chief steward Yan Fu.
Because he finally realized the benefits of Xu Qing's existence from another perspective.
Due to Xu Qing's presence, some ministers in the court who were hostile to him obviously shifted their targets, and His Majesty's suspicion was also weakened a lot.
It can be said that after Xu Qing became famous, he perfectly replaced Duke Wei's original ecological niche in Nanzhili and shielded him from many hardships.
In fact, at the beginning, Duke Wei did not feel deeply about this.
It was not until Xu Qing disappeared into seclusion that he deeply realized the significance of Xu Qing's existence.
It is true that when Xu Qing is here, one does not feel anything different; when Xu Qing is not here, one does not see any comparison.
It's really comfortable when there is someone to protect you.
Yan Fu was surprised when he saw the Duke's expression.
How come Xu Qing is fine, and the Duke is so happy? Could it be that Young Master Xu is the master's illegitimate son?
Yan Fu came up with a bold idea.
He immediately felt it was ridiculous.
But looking at the Duke's attitude towards Xu Qing, although he was harsh in words, he was also very honest with his body.
Duke Wei saw Yan Fu's expression was different and guessed that the old slave was confused, but he didn't expect that the old slave's thoughts were divergent and distorted. After all, he was a confidant, and some spirits must be thoroughly understood.
Therefore, Duke Wei patiently explained: "Xu Gongming's presence can protect our Duke Wei's Mansion from wind and rain."
After his explanation, Yan Fu finally understood, but the doubts in his heart were not completely resolved.
Duke Wei continued, "What do you think of asking Madam to adopt Madam Xu as her adopted daughter?"
"Maybe they will not agree." Yan Fu thought of Xu Qing's usual strong character.
Duke Wei thought the same and said, "Let Madam get closer to Madam Xu. Who knows what will happen in the future."
Yan Fu: "Master, the court's reforms have been quite effective recently. Border troubles have been curbed, maritime trade has been unblocked, and after the confiscation of the Confucius Mansion, the national treasury has obtained a large amount of silver, and the Single Whip Law has a basis for implementation. Why do I feel that Master still thinks that the court's momentum is not good?"
Duke Wei smiled slightly and said, "Even seriously ill people will have a moment of recovery. You will wait and see."
The old emperor and the prime minister were still too naive. They thought that the silver was in the hands of the southern gentry and nobles, so they shook the world's money supply. In fact, even if the court obtained a large amount of silver, it would be meaningless.
The Confucius Mansion does have a lot of silver, which can provide a certain basis for the court to implement the Single Whip Law, but this silver will soon fall into the hands of the wealthy and powerful in the north.
It's the same silver. Is there any difference between if it falls into the hands of the gentry and nobles in the south and in the hands of the gentry and nobles in the north?
According to the information he has obtained now, the price of grain in the north has dropped sharply, but local governments still require people to pay grain taxes based on the price of grain in previous years.
And because the weather has been getting colder in recent years, grain production in the north is actually getting lower year by year.
But after the smooth opening of maritime trade, the loss of grain by sea transportation was much less. The grain price in Northern Zhili did not rise, but dropped a lot. However, the grain in the hands of the people was getting less and less. And for most of the people who farmed, the only valuable thing they produced was the grain in their hands.
The situation that followed was predictable.
However, many officials still submitted memorials to celebrate this, believing that the drop in food prices was a sign of prosperity.
The old emperor even held several banquets for this purpose, which he called the Peaceful Sea and Peaceful Rivers Meeting.
Haha, how could he understand these things?
The gentry and nobles would benefit from this, so naturally no one would remind them. Even if someone did say it, they would be refuted by the upright.
Even if the Prime Minister noticed the subtlety, he couldn't say it out, because once it was brought up, things like maritime trade and the Single Whip Law would be attacked, which would be detrimental to the overall situation.
For this reason, the people can only suffer.
In fact, the Prime Minister believed that as long as the treasury was full, he could strengthen the army. With a strong army, he could continue to carry out in-depth reforms, such as equalizing the land tax, returning the fire consumption to the public, and requiring officials and gentry to serve and pay taxes together.
In order to carry out the subsequent reforms, sacrifices in the early stages are necessary.
A series of issues concerning the distribution of land tax, etc., were also the result of Xu Qing's communication with the Prime Minister through Chen Fu.
In the past, the Prime Minister had ideas about these things, but the details and framework were still supplemented by Xu Qing.
But Xu Qing also said that even if these things are done well, they are only temporary solutions and may even turn into bad policies.
In response to this, Xu Qing put forward his own suggestion, which was to ask the Prime Minister to assist him in expanding the Fushe Society and spread the Fushe Society's ideas throughout the world. Only when more people who work for the world serve as officials and clerks can the world be truly governed well.
The Prime Minister rejected these words.
It's no use for him to support it.
Because the emperor would never allow such a thing to happen.
Of course, Xu Qing's intention was not this, but to give himself an excuse to develop the Fushe Society.
After all, the Prime Minister has the world at heart. If he employs people from the Fushe and then other officials who are greedy for money, he will naturally feel the difference.
Once you become addicted to this kind of thing, it's impossible not to make things easier for yourself.
The members of Fushe were certainly not necessarily honest officials, but in these bad times, what matters is who is less bad.
In this regard, Fushe is far ahead.
It can be said that this is an open conspiracy.
Even the common people of Nanzhili would gradually realize the difference between officials from Fushe and other officials.
This will create a good reputation.
(End of this chapter)