Chapter 839 I Desire to Dream of Wu and Yue
The objects that Ouyang Rong hid in the Peach Blossom Spring painting were somewhat disorganized.
After seeing off Li Xian and his party back to the capital and returning to Xunyang City, he didn't really look at them anymore, leaving them all piled up in the scroll.
Some are old items, while others are spoils of war from the Battle of Twin Peaks.
In the past, he would have been very interested in examining them and carefully considering their uses.
But now, I feel a bit lazy and unmotivated.
As people often say, seeing an object reminds one of a person.
But how can we move forward again if we don't pull ourselves together? We can't stay in the same place forever.
"What's meant to come will come, what's meant to go will go, we all have to face it. Hmm, Brother Huaimin, it's all my fault, it's made me a bit lax too..."
Sitting at his desk, Ouyang Rong, who had gotten up late at night, muttered to himself for a moment before taking out the objects from the painting.
First, they took out a bronze mask and a golden fierce mask.
These are the Mirage Mask and the Square Mask.
They're all old buddies.
The former can be used to disguise oneself and travel, adapting to the Taoist meridian of the sorcerer within Ouyang Rong's body.
However, judging from Cui Hao's tone, it seems that he possesses such abilities, and after changing his appearance, he can also use the spiritual energy of the Dao veins possessed by the fake body.
That's rather frightening.
It resembles the ever-changing purple mist of merit.
However, to fully unleash its power, one needs to master the complete Qi refining technique of this Dao lineage.
After thinking it over, Ouyang Rong concluded that the most promising channel at present was still through Cui Hao.
Unfortunately, this "old fellow" always liked to keep things mysterious. When Ouyang Rong asked him before leaving, he just smiled and said, "I'll definitely do it next time."
They're all thousand-year-old foxes, hmm, big foxes, little foxes, what are they singing about in Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio...
The latter was seized from the astronomers of the Imperial Observatory. It is specifically designed to subdue spirits and monsters. The last time I saw Xiao Mo use it, it seemed to help people see the spirits of the dead.
Whether it has any further uses, Ouyang Rong is still exploring, but he forgot to ask Rong Zhen earlier.
Judging from the attitude of those people from the Imperial Observatory back then, this thing must be quite precious. I heard that because of the restraint, it is easily destroyed by rare and powerful spirits, and there are not many left in existence.
Ouyang Rong placed the two face masks in the upper left corner of the table.
Glancing at the mirage beast mask, Ouyang Rong rummaged through the painting and found a letter written in blood.
This was left behind by Cui Hao before he left.
Find a way to summon his relics again.
Having already viewed Ouyang Rong's work, I temporarily set it aside and placed it together with the two face masks.
Ouyang Rong fumbled around for a bit and took out half a scroll of withered yellow scripture.
The words "Zhen Gao" are faintly visible on the cover.
This is the source of Ouyang Rong's learning of the Shangqing secret arts, but he has already memorized the content and now uses it to tear paper and make red and black talismans.
He fumbled around for a bit and pulled out two tubes of spirit ink.
It was "confiscated" from Xiao Mo Jing.
Ouyang Rong flipped his hand and took out the "True Proclamation," then tore off two pages from the back and placed them together with the two tubes of spiritual ink.
Let's put them all aside for now.
Ouyang Rong reached into the painting and explored, then soon produced a pill box.
The box has the mark of Taiqing Longhu Mountain on it.
Ouyang Rong opened a corner of the pill box and glanced at the two pills inside.
One grain is emerald green and fragrant, the other is dark brown and foul-smelling.
It was given to him by Li Guo'er, who "suddenly had a change of heart".
The former is a precious healing elixir.
The latter, though unremarkable, is extraordinary; it is a elixir of immortality.
Ouyang Rong received it but did not take it.
He wasn't in a hurry, since even if he took it now, his cultivation wouldn't improve at the moment, and there wouldn't be any immediate effect.
Because he had not yet grasped the true meaning of the [Emperor Wen] sword technique and could not comprehend its supernatural powers, the swordsman's spiritual energy remained at the initial stage of the seventh rank, preventing him from making any further progress.
It's best to wait a while before taking this Transcendent Golden Pill; it's most effective when you finally comprehend the true meaning of the sword technique.
One plus one is greater than two, which might help him go even further.
Ouyang Rong carefully placed the pill box aside.
He started groping around again, and after a short while, he pulled out a snow-white longsword from the painting.
He narrowed his eyes slightly.
Zhi Shuang, the young lady's name.
When Ouyang Rong took it out of the painting, Zhi Shuang trembled, and a snow-white halo emerged from the sword.
Ouyang Rong squinted at him, but did nothing.
In the next instant, a Kui Xing talisman suddenly appeared on the snow-white sword.
The Kui Xing talisman, like a slender dragon, coiled around the entire sword from top to bottom, its dark gold runes flowing slowly.
This scene resembled a criminal struggling to break free of chains, but to no avail.
This is also why Ouyang Rong dared to take it out.
In the past, this sword would have "rebelled" long ago.
However, Ouyang Rong anticipated that even if Lady Zhishuang sensed it, she wouldn't dare to come, unless their Sword Swamp had some new trump card, and before they were completely defeated, Lady Zhishuang felt "satisfied" again, rekindling her fighting spirit and wanting to challenge him, the "Master of Butterfly Love Flower," once more...
Ouyang Rong thought for a moment, then pointed his index finger at the Kui Xing talisman on the sword.
The purple mist of merit within his body rapidly dissipated, and with the infusion of over a hundred merits, the Kui Xing Talisman shone brightly, and the dark gold runes instantly became glittering gold.
Zhi Shuang immediately let out a trembling, mournful cry.
It felt like being violated by Ouyang Rong's finger.
At the same time, Ouyang Rong, who was lightly touching the sword, felt that the index finger seemed to penetrate deep into the snow-white longsword along with the Kui Xing talisman.
It's like stepping into a muddy field, sometimes icy cold, sometimes scalding hot.
However, he soon encountered an obstacle.
Within the snow-white longsword, a cold and unyielding spirit was faintly resisting, fiercely "biting" his fingers, but unable to break free from the intrusion of the fingers protected by the Kui Xing talisman. Yet, it resisted relentlessly. This character... it felt vaguely familiar.
As expected of you, Lady Zhi Shuang.
Ouyang Rong felt that by continuing to consume merit, he could try to destroy this spirituality, or even crush it.
I wonder what kind of impact this will have on Lady Zhi Shuang, who is far away.
After thinking it over, Ouyang Rong decided to give up for the time being.
There wasn't much merit left anyway, so there was no need to waste it on this. It would only harm others and not benefit oneself, and it wouldn't help him pinpoint the locations of Lady Zhishuang and Jianze.
Besides, he doesn't use this Zhi Shuang.
Ouyang Rong released his grip again, tossing the snow-white longsword aside.
Zhi Shuang seemed to be scared. After escaping the man's groping hands, she became well-behaved, afraid of attracting his attention again.
Ouyang Rong lowered his head, his gaze fixed on the drawing paper.
There's not much left in the painting.
Apart from the Mo family sword box, only a few other items remain.
Ouyang Rong pursed his lips, first taking out the Mo Family Sword Box and checking the [Craftsmanship] status.
The little guy lay quietly in the box.
The lightning essence threads on the sword remained undiminished, and the ancient lightning punishment patterns were imprinted on the sword, like Mount Tai pressing down.
Ouyang Rong lowered his eyes and sensed that [Craftsmanship]'s mood was somewhat low.
Since its birth by Butterfly Creek, it has never encountered anything so restraining, nor has it ever lived such a stifling life.
The little guy looked utterly hopeless.
Ouyang Rong was about to take out a small piece of faded purple cloth to encourage it, but he stopped in his tracks.
He thought about it and decided against it.
That's a bit inhumane.
After all, he stole the limelight in the Twin Peaks battle, but the little guy was the one who got struck by lightning.
Ouyang Rong's gaze calmed down and fell on the ancient lightning runes on [Arc]'s body.
Anything capable of suppressing the mythical cauldron and sword must also be a mythical object.
Before the battle at Twin Peaks, the so-called Thunder Punishment seemed to exist only in legends, and it was the first time that Ouyang Rong and the others at Twin Peaks had ever seen it.
On that day, Shuangfengjian, in Cui Hao's helpless words, must have gathered countless evil spirits. Of course, Cui Hao and Tao Yuanming, who "came back to life," were also evil spirits in a sense, intolerable to heaven and earth, and deserving to be "struck by lightning."
But they arrived as if by divine intervention and hid well; however, there were those like Granny Song, Candle in the Snow, and Wu Daozi who loved to expose themselves…
Ouyang Rong quietly stayed with the little guy for a while before closing the sword case. His gaze then fell on the last item in the painting.
After a brief silence at the table, the young man reached out and took it out.
Place it on the table in front of you.
It was a string of copper coins, strung together with a worn-out hemp rope.
This was the money that Zhao's mother and aunt got from selling the embroiderer.
It was given to her by the previous female ruler of Yunmeng Sword Marsh. Zhao's mother and aunt were reluctant to use it and kept it until now.
According to the truth revealed by her aunt before their parting that day, she and Zhao's mother did not sell the embroiderer because they were short of money or disliked her. Rather, they sold her to protect her from being forced to eat pigs by the clan members who adhered to traditional customs...
From the perspective of Buddhist karma, the connection between the embroiderer and him was influenced by this string of coins.
The so-called dependent origination and emptiness.
This string of copper coins is the origin of a story.
The origin of Yunmeng Jianze.
According to Buddhist principles, whatever you begin with should also end with.
Ouyang Rong remained silent for a moment, then took out an ice-white jade hairpin, a natal jade pendant, a skirt knife, and a compass from the clothes rack in the inner room.
These are all things he carries with him.
The bronze compass was used to communicate between Zhang Shixiu and the Sanqing Taoist sect.
But right now, Zhang Shixiu can't help him either, as they can't find any clues about Yunmeng Yue Nu.
Ouyang Rong placed the four items and the string of coins together, stroking them from time to time.
His eyes were deep and unfathomable.
I don't know what I'm thinking.
The night was deep and quiet outside the window. The handsome young man with the lamp lit at his desk sat quietly for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.
He suddenly put a string of coins and a compass into the painting.
All the other items were carefully put back one by one.
The Peach Blossom Spring Picture is controlled by the Kui Xing Talisman. Although it consumes some merit purple mist each time it is activated, it is simple and convenient, and you don't have to carry the zither like before.
Ouyang Rong left behind only the ice-white jade hairpin, the skirt knife, and her natal jade pendant, then got up and placed them beside the clothes rack.
This is something I carry with me every day.
In addition, two tubes of spirit ink and two pages of withered yellow scripture paper were also left on the table.
Without looking at them, Ouyang Rong immediately closed his eyes and entered the Pagoda of Merit.
Inside the tower, the Blessing Bell has been silent for a long time.
Ouyang Rong's gaze fell on the cyan-gold characters above the small wooden fish.
[Merit: 1,831]
Last time, he redeemed a "Golden Blessing with Peach Blossoms" worth 4,000 merit points, which cleared all his original stored merit points.
Until recently, good news kept coming from Luoyang, and the little wooden fish's merits increased by more than a thousand.
As for the extra eight hundred merits, apart from the sporadic feedback from previous low-rent housing projects like Zheyiqu, Shuangfengjian, and Xingzifang, most of them were "unexpectedly obtained".
This is also a strange thing that Ouyang Rong has recently encountered:
Even in broad daylight, a series of wooden fish sounds would frequently ring in my ears.
It doesn't seem like he has anything to do with Li Xian and his group in Luoyang, and each time his merit increases, it jumps by one or two hundred.
There is a subtle pattern hidden within it.
I don't know where it came from.
This has happened three or four times already, and I've accumulated nearly 800 merit points so far, but it shows no signs of stopping. I expect there will be more tomorrow during the day...
It's definitely not the stable growth created by the broken-wing canal or the twin peaks, because that's already been factored in.
Ouyang Rong was slightly puzzled.
Could it be that something happened in the capital that he doesn't know about, and his junior sister and Li Xian's family are still giving him positive merit points?
After thinking for a long time without any clue, Ouyang Rong shook his head.
In any case, it's a good thing to gain merit. If you can't understand it, so be it. The merit gained is real, so don't miss out.
Ouyang Rong glanced at his merit points one last time before turning and leaving the Merit Tower.
When he opened his eyes, Ouyang Rong was still sitting at the table.
He leaned forward and picked out a wolf-hair brush specifically for drawing talismans from the brush holder.
After taking a deep breath, he began to dip his brush in the spiritual ink and draw talismans on the withered yellow paper of the scripture.
It is a red and black talisman.
Before parting ways with Li Xian and his group last time, Ouyang Rong used the remaining tube of spirit ink to draw a red and black talisman.
It was mixed with wine and made Li Dalang swallow it.
Having used the Divine Decree of Pardon so many times, Ouyang Rong is now considered an expert.
The red and black talisman was used first, since it wouldn't immediately consume his three thousand merit points anyway, so it was left in Li Dalang's stomach for now.
Just like the talisman left behind by the Celestial Master Yuan.
If Dalang and his companions encounter danger or emergency, the wooden prayer beads left with Dalang can serve as a surprise backup plan.
However, for safety's sake, Ouyang Rong needs to accumulate three thousand merits quickly, otherwise it will be in vain for Dalang to recite the incantation from afar.
Looking at it this way, Ouyang Rong became even more curious about the little wooden fish's recent sporadic increases of two or three hundred merits.
Where did it come from? Can we use it to accumulate merit?
Now that Junior Sister and Lady Rong are gone, he has lost another reliable "punching bag" for accumulating merit.
Ouyang Rong remained silent for a moment before continuing to draw talismans at his desk.
After about two cups of tea, he leaned back, relieved, and let out a sigh of relief.
A red and black talisman is now complete.
After taking a sip of herbal tea, he took the remaining sheet of scripture paper and continued drawing talismans.
Soon, following the same method, another red and black talisman was completed.
Ouyang Rong put a red and black talisman into his pocket and carried it with him.
Another red and black talisman was tucked into the scroll and stored safely along with many other belongings.
After winding the scroll with a rope, Ouyang Rong looked up and glanced around the dim and desolate study.
I originally planned to further study and refine the Kui Xing Talisman.
At this moment, however, their movements stopped.
Some of my enthusiasm waned.
As I sat quietly, the window next to the table creaked open from the outside.
A white sturgeon, emitting a white fluorescent glow, gently swam into the room through the window, its tail swaying gently in the night breeze.
It's back again.
"Big White" circled around Ouyang Rong, spinning around twice excitedly.
Using the paper and pen on the table, Ouyang Rong drew a Kui Xing talisman, infused it with over a hundred meritorious purple mists, and tossed it into the air to feed the white sturgeon.
After consuming the Kui Xing Talisman, the white sturgeon swayed its tail joyfully, becoming even more agile, and affectionately bumped its hand against his.
Ouyang Rong blew out the lonely lamp, got up and went back to his room.
As I passed the wardrobe, I heard a little ink sprite's murmured dream:
"Little Rongzi, protect me! Hmm? What are you doing with this fairy's undergarment, you brat..."
Ouyang Rong stopped abruptly, not bothering to cover the little ink spirit who kept kicking off the covers, but returned to the bed, lifted the covers and lay down, only to hear the white-haired little girl muttering in her sleep again:
"Sister Embroiderer, come back quickly! Tanlang is waiting for you here, keeping his promise..."
In the darkness, the young man, his back arched as he propped himself up, remained silent for a moment.
He reached out a hand, covered the little white-haired girl with the blankets, tucked her feet back in, and then lay down himself.
That night.
Ouyang Rong had a dream.
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
