Chapter 117 Zhou Gong Ming

In the dim, unfinished building, golden and red lights flickered, and the golden-red spell chains quickly attacked Zhou Yannan's heart and neck. He raised his hands and held the sword fingers across his chest.

"Yu."

Two shields formed by red energy blocked in front of him, the size of a palm, one in front of the neck and the other in front of the heart, accurately blocking the two spell chains.

Jiang Wu looked at this move and felt it looked familiar.

The shield formed by the Taoist Qi is either a wall or a whole circle. The former is used by people with weaker Qi, and the latter is used by people with stronger Qi. The latter naturally provides more comprehensive protection, but both have a common weakness, that is, from the center of Qi transmission to the surroundings, the distribution of Qi will become increasingly sparse, and the power of the shield will also become weaker.

The smaller the shield, the denser the distribution of Qi, and the stronger its power. But such a shield requires a very high level of proficiency in the use of Qi, so that one can make an accurate judgment of the attack in an instant and accurately control the Qi to form a shield. Otherwise, after just blocking the first attack, one will die from the second attack in the next second.

People whose Qi is too weak in their bodies simply cannot control Qi accurately. People whose Qi is too strong in their bodies don't need to bother with it so much at all. It may seem trivial at first glance, but it is particularly pretentious. It is especially suitable for people who possess innate Qi and love to pretend.

He once had such a good friend who possessed innate qi and loved to show off. The other party happened to be a Taoist priest and his surname happened to be Zhou.

Jiang Wu looked at the man in front of him with droopy eyelids and looked like he had not woken up yet, and he called out a name hesitantly, "...Zhou Gong Ming?"

Zhou Yannan responded with a hint of reluctance.

Jiang Wu's eyes widened instantly, and he said in surprise: "You are reborn too?!"

Zhou Yannan on the other side's pupils trembled slightly, and he suddenly raised his eyes to look at him, "...Rebirth?!"

Jiang Wu was startled, realizing that something was wrong. He stared at the jade-white luck on his body again and again, his eyes slightly cold, "You are not destined to be Zhou Gong."

Zhou Yannan stared at him for a moment before lowering his eyes indifferently, "I didn't say I was destined to be Duke of Zhou."

"Then what are you saying?"

“…”

Zhou Yannan took a deep breath and asked, "Duke Zhou's surname is Zhou, and he is a Taoist priest of the Shenxiao Sect, with innate Qi in his body. I also have the surname Zhou, and I am also a Taoist priest of the Shenxiao Sect, and I also have innate Qi. Have you ever doubted the relationship between him and me?"

Jiang Wu had doubts, of course, but there was a thousand years between the two men, so how could they be related? They couldn't be half-brothers, could they?

"Is it possible that I am his descendant?"

"Impossible." Jiang Wu said without hesitation.

Zhou Yannan was speechless, "Why not? He is not a eunuch, so why can't he have descendants?"

"Because he died without ever marrying or having children!"

“…”

Zhou Yannan paused, "He didn't marry, but he had two sons. One entered the official career, and the other entered Taoism because he had innate Qi. He is the ancestor of the Linhai Zhou family today."

As if afraid that Jiang Wu would not believe it, he continued, "The ancestors of the Zhou family also included a note of Duke Zhou's destiny in the Taoist treasure records passed down by them. It records your story. Emperor Zhaowu of the Great Zhou personally appointed you as the national teacher, Jiang Wu, the destiny master of the Shenjuan clan."

Jiang Wu had not yet recovered from the shock of his friend leaving behind descendants. After hearing his words, he asked curiously, "Why did he write this?"

Who would mention a good friend among the family heirlooms? Moreover, he remembered that Zhou Gongming was as rough as a bandit and didn't have such a delicate mind. Could it be that he left some will for himself?

"He said you would come back," Zhou Yannan said.

Jiang Wu's pupils trembled slightly, and his heart was instantly filled with shock and fear, but his tone was strangely calm, "He knows that I will be reborn."

"right."

"He calculated it?"

He remembered that Zhou Gongming was also famous for his ability to grow vegetables in his early years, but later on he was too pretentious about having innate qi, which made people overlook the fact that his talent for growing vegetables was also one of the best in the Taoist sect.

However, Zhou Yannan said, "You told him."

Jiang Wuyi was confused: "...I told him? When did I tell him?"

"After a drunken stint."

"I never..." Jiang Wu was about to say that he never drank, but suddenly he paused, because he remembered that he had been drunk once, and it happened to be with Zhou Gongming.

That was the third year after Yan Zhong's death. He learned that Yan Cong was tricked into killing gods with a pair of jade rings. He attended the morning court once, shot the jade rings into pieces with an arrow, frightened several ministers, and then left in anger. He turned around and went to Mount Qiong to find Zhou Gong to scold Yan Zhong's stupid adopted son.

Duke Zhou Ming was even more arrogant than him. He would twist off Yan Cong's head as soon as he opened his mouth, and he would usurp the throne of Yan Zhou as soon as he closed his mouth. However, Jiang Wu was not interested in either of these two things. He just kept complaining that Yan Zhong had a bad vision and entrusted the country and his foolish son to him, which had cheated him year after year.

While complaining, Zhou Gong Ming took Jiang Wu to drink. Jiang Wu didn't remember how much he drank, but he took a sip after each complaint. He drank all night and then lay in bed for a whole month.

After waking up, he was lying on an unfamiliar cliff on the top of a mountain. Fortunately, Zhou Gongming was still sitting beside him and told him that they were still in the Poor Mountain, but it was not the Poor Mountain of a month ago, because after getting drunk, Jiang Wu said that the reason why the Shenxiao sect was so poor was because of the bad luck and feng shui of this mountain. Then he used the great magical powers of the Siming clan to change the layout of the mountain, saying that it would change the luck and feng shui.

Jiang Wu fell silent after hearing this. Feng Shui can indeed be adjusted, but not in this way. He has seen monkeys and tigers living together.

Realizing that he was a terrible drinker and had nearly caused the entire Qiongshan to disappear, Jiang Wu never dared to drink again after that.

At that time, Jiang Wu originally wanted to ask himself what he did after drinking, but he saw the luck in Zhou Gongming.

They sat on the big rock on the highest cliff of Qiongshan Mountain. Zhou Gongming turned his back to him and looked at the morning sun in the distant east, which was rising slowly surrounded by mountain mist, just like what he had seen every day for the past hundred years, except that Zhou Gongming's black hair was now mixed with a few white hairs and his face had more wrinkles. He was no longer the young man he was when they first met.

It was at that moment that Jiang Wu saw for the first time the clear end of Zhou Gongming's destiny, that is, the date of his death.

He told Zhou Gongming the date of his death, and Zhou Gongming said "hmm" nonchalantly, as if he didn't care at all.

Jiang Wu was not surprised. People who practice Taoism take life and death more lightly than anyone else, and he had some premonition about his own death. But perhaps because Yan Chong had just passed away, he rarely felt reluctant to let him go. He told Zhou Gongming that he would see him off when that day came. Zhou Gongming agreed with a smile.

Jiang Wu suddenly realized something. He slept for a whole month after getting drunk that time. He was still wondering where Zhou Gongming got the strong liquor that could make him, a cultivator in the Guanshi realm, sleep for a whole month. So it was very likely that it was not because of the wine, but because he overdrew his soul and fell asleep.

Because he calculated his own future and told Zhou Gong his fate.

"Since you recognized me a long time ago, why did you pretend not to know me when you were at the Qin family?"

Jiang Wu realized that the person in front of him was the descendant of his good friend and suddenly felt a little emotional. "It's a bit strange. It feels like my own child. Should I give you a meeting gift?"

“…”

Zhou Yannan did not answer his question, nor did he pay attention to his teasing. He stretched out his hand and said, "Then give me the God-Guiding Bell."

Jiang Wu's smile remained unchanged, but it did not reach his eyes. "Change it. I have a use for the Divine Bell."

"What for?"

"I'm going to use it to find someone."

"who?"

"Emperor Zhaowu Yan Chong."