Water Flowing Skill

The City God stood beside the golden bell atop the mountain, his expression complex as he looked at the crimson lotus spear in Liu Jin's hand and the bulging sack on Zhao Fengnian's shoulder. He had contributed the least to this battle, and strictly speaking, he had arrived the latest. The fight began at noon and didn't end until sunset. By the time he arrived, the Black Mountain Demon had already been thoroughly beaten by Liu Jin, his soul half-shattered by the Moon Illusion Light. He himself had only managed to finish him off with the Golden Bell of Merit.

As a result, he also took the largest share of the spoils. The Black Mountain Demon himself was suppressed and handed over to the City God Temple for disposal; it was an escapee from the underworld, and bringing it back was a great achievement. All the demon lairs on the mountain were sealed off, and the seized demon materials were enough for the City God Temple to use for incense offerings for several years. The more he thought about it, the more guilty he felt, always feeling that Sanyi Temple had contributed the most, yet the spoils he received were disproportionate. So he walked up to Liu Jin and took the initiative to speak: "Master Liu, you have contributed the most this time. Sanyi Temple has just established itself in Jinhua; is there any difficulty you need our help with?"

Liu Jin had been waiting for these words for a while. He slammed the Red Lotus Spear on the ground and briefly recounted the story of Qiu Rong and Xiao Xie. The two female ghosts were staying at the Jiang residence. Although they were wandering spirits, they had never harmed anyone. Now, with the protection of the Taiyin Star Fire, their souls were not about to dissipate, but ultimately, they needed an explanation from the underworld.

He asked the City God to look after him in matters of the underworld, and if any Taoist priest happened to pass through Jinhua and wanted to take charge of this affair, he also asked the City God to help introduce him. The City God readily agreed, but inwardly he was puzzled. How did the City God know that a Taoist priest would come to take charge? He didn't ask aloud, assuming that people of the Xuanmen sect could predict the future, and it couldn't be a bad thing anyway. After agreeing, the City God's gaze swept over Zhao Fengnian, who was rummaging through the sacks for spoils of war. He pondered for a moment, said nothing more, and led his ghost soldiers to escort the Golden Bell down the mountain.

The next morning, there was a knock on the gate of the Sanyi Temple.

Zhao Fengnian was squatting in the courtyard washing the demon core he had brought back from Black Mountain the night before. His hands were covered in dark red powder from dried demon blood. He shook the water droplets off his hands and ran to open the door. The City God was standing at the door, not wearing his scarlet official robe, but a plain long gown. He had come alone, without any ghost attendants.

He held two objects in his hands. One was a palm-sized black iron token, with the words "City God" engraved on the front and a small official seal in gold script on the back. The token was edged with a ring of dark gold merit patterns, which shimmered slightly in the morning light. This was the City God's token; the holder of this token could borrow five hundred ghost soldiers from any City God temple. The other object was a yellowed thread-bound book, with three characters written in ancient seal script on the cover: "Performing Water Merit."

The City God handed over two items and explained to Liu Jin, who came out of the meditation room upon hearing the commotion: The City God's Token was for Liu Jin. In the future, if the Sanyi Temple encounters any major trouble, he could use this token to mobilize troops from any City God Temple without needing to send a message in advance. The Water-Walking Skill was for Zhao Fengnian. Last night, after returning to the temple, he spent half the night searching through the inventory and found this book among a pile of old books.

This technique isn't particularly profound; it's considered entry-level among the dragons. However, its strength lies in its orthodox approach, specifically designed to guide the dragon bloodline in harmony with water. The City God recognized Zhao Fengnian's dragon transformation, but the Samadhi True Fire is a supernatural cultivation system, and the Fireball Technique is a minor wizarding spell—neither is suitable for the in-depth development of the dragon bloodline. The Water Manipulation Technique fills this gap, using water to ignite fire, achieving a balance between water and fire, and integrating the scattered dragon transformations within him into a cohesive system.

Zhao Fengnian wiped the demon blood from his hands on his trouser legs, took the Water Flowing Technique manual with both hands, and turned to the first page. On the yellowed page, the opening sentence was written in neat regular script: "Dragons move through water, their breath becomes clouds, their voice becomes thunder. Those who wish to transform into dragons must first learn the ways of water." He read several pages in a row, becoming more and more engrossed. This technique did not cultivate attack or defense; it focused on one thing: teaching the practitioner's body to resonate with water like a dragon.

Reaching a minor mastery allows one to breathe underwater and control water flow; reaching a major mastery allows one to summon clouds and rain, nourishing one's own dragon veins with water vapor. For Zhao Fengnian now, this is more precious than any offensive technique. What he lacks is not a means of attacking, but a system that makes his scales and dragon bones traceable.

Zhao Fengnian pressed the Water Flowing Technique to his forehead, his voice a few decibels softer than usual, devoid of his usual joking demeanor: "This is just in time. I was worried about how to train these scales. Relying solely on consuming demon blood did make the scales grow, but they grew in a mess. The two scales on my shoulder blades almost tore my clothes yesterday. With the Water Flowing Technique, I can now cultivate Samadhi internally and practice Water Flow externally, combining internal and external training. That's sure to be a success."

"You have rid Jinhua of a great scourge, so this little thing is nothing. The Water-Walking Technique is just gathering dust in my place. It is its good fortune to have encountered a cultivator who can use it. Daoist Zhao, the Dragon Clan's techniques emphasize gradual progress. When you first start learning, you need to bathe in clean water for an hour every day to allow your scales to slowly adapt to the water. You must not be impatient." After giving his instructions, the City God took his leave and went down the mountain.

Zhao Fengnian carried a large wooden basin from the kitchen, filled it to the brim with well water, and sat down inside after taking off his shirt. As the clear water washed over the scales on his body, all the scales opened gently at the same time, like countless dried leaves finally waiting for rain. The internal energy cultivation technique of the Water Circulation Technique slowly circulated within his body, and the flames at the edges of his scales became warm and gentle in the water vapor, no longer a pure fire color, but faintly revealing a very pale aquamarine.

He closed his eyes and felt the subtle sensation of water flowing through the gaps between the scales. It was completely different from the brutal pleasure of forcibly devouring demon blood with the Gluttony Mark during battle. The practice of water cultivation was slow and gentle, like polishing the texture of dragon scales inch by inch with the softest sandpaper.

The two scales on the shoulder blades that almost tore through the clothes slowly flattened in the water, and the raised edges were gently pressed back into place by the water flow. The arrangement of the scales also became visibly neat.

"From now on, I'll soak for an hour every day. It's even more comfortable than taking a bath." He leaned back against the edge of the tub, let out a long breath, and squinted his eyes in comfort.

Zhao Fengnian learned of Tao Wangsan's imprisonment even earlier than Qiu Rong and Xiao Xie.

The dark red thread bearing the mark of gluttony left on Master Tao's sleeve sent news back to Sanyi Temple on the very night Tao Wangsan was imprisoned. Intermittent conversations between Master Tao and the county magistrate in the back hall of the yamen were relayed, piecing together the complete story. It wasn't some kind of jealousy between classmates, but rather that Tao Wangsan had offended several powerful figures in the county by using poetry to satirize current events.

These people had long wanted to slander him, but they couldn't find any grounds to do so. This time, taking advantage of the ongoing uproar over the haunting of the Jiang residence, they simply joined forces to secretly bribe the school official and falsely accused Tao Wangsan of immoral behavior and living with a ghost, which was considered immoral. A single official document sent him to prison.

When Zhao Fengnian told Liu Jin the news, his tone was calm. He had known this would happen all along and was fully aware of the subsequent developments. The two agreed not to interfere for the time being and to wait for the two ghosts to come to them.