Food System in Cultivation World

Jiaolong!

As the saying goes, where there are storms, there are dragons.

When Wen Daoyuan gazed afar at the Yuan Cang River, his eyes first saw a dragon, then the surging waves.

Soon after, a sound akin to the tremor of the earth arrived.

Then, the vast morning glow ahead was suddenly shrouded by dense rainclouds.

Suddenly, thunder rolled, and the rain roared.

With a clap, a mighty storm descended, enveloping almost the entire Seven Prefectures of the South.

Wen Daoyuan felt as if a faint taste of copper emerged in his throat.

He understood, understood completely!

This was the truth behind the Emperor's refusal to divert water from the south to the north.

Because...Because he wanted to nurture dragons in the Seven Prefectures of the South, in the Yuan Cang River.

But, where did the dragon come from?

Ahead, a colossal creature emerged, snake-headed with deer antlers, scales all over.

Yet, it was not a complete dragon.

Its body was long, but its stomach arched outward in a bloated curve.

Its belly did not possess claws, but on its back, it had massive fins akin to the thin, resilient wings of a mermaid.

Upon closer inspection, the so-called "dragon" was actually just an oddly large carp!

Because its fish body was exceptionally elongated, at first glance, it seemed like a dragon.

Now, this fish raised its upper half out of the Yuan Cang River, summoning winds and rain to stir up havoc.

Its whole body was shrouded in swirling black mist, filled with overwhelming resentment.

Amidst the vast rain, countless unjust souls writhed and wailed incessantly:

"Hate! I am filled with hate! I hate so much..."

The voices of the unjust souls rippled through the storm, such that the entire Seven Prefectures of the South seemed to hear them.

Those voices, filled with hate, twisted and writhed, whispering as if floating over the whole world:

"I hate that in life I did not reach eighteen, in death I found no rest; I have no place to return, why should you?"

"They took my land, seized my wife and children, broke my legs, twisted my neck, sunk me into the Yuan Cang River..."

"Everyone in the world is unfaithful; although I supported him to study and take the imperial exam, he turned and poisoned me after becoming a Scholar!"

"Come, turn around and have a look. Is your face not mine?"

"Hehe hehe..."

The eerie laughter of unjust souls surrounded the strange fish; obviously, this was no proper path to creating a dragon.

This fish was born of resentment!

Simultaneously, to become a dragon, it must stir greater disaster, gather more resentment.

The raging storm was just the first step.

Before long, if no one stops it, it might bring about a catastrophic flood across the Seven Prefectures of the South.

When the time comes, miles of mountains and rivers would be submerged.

The entire Seven Prefectures of the South might be engulfed in a monstrous flood.

Innumerable people will perish, derived from the flourishing resentment of heaven and earth.

It will surely propel this fish to leap over the Dragon Gate.

Transform into a dragon, perhaps become a true dragon.

And then, the exalted Emperor will descend in person to subdue the dragon—

No, no, Wen Daoyuan rejected this guess.

The Emperor, how does he have the power to subdue a dragon?

If he were in the capital, in the Imperial Palace, perhaps he could.

But once leaving the Palace, coming to Pingyang Prefecture, even if fully equipped with Divine Artifacts, the Emperor can hardly subdue a dragon.

Not only that, if faced with a few more fortune-bearing rebels, the Emperor might meet his end directly!

Haha…

If it is not the Emperor himself who comes to subdue this evil dragon, then who will act?

Upon reaching this thought, Wen Daoyuan's heart already held the answer.

He felt the taste of copper in his throat intensifying, cursed the Cloud Boat for flying too slow.

Cursed his own mortal body; although possessing the cultivation of a Great Scholar, capable of traversing thousands of miles in a day.

However, he ultimately could not leap off this Cloud Boat and directly reach Pingyang Prefecture.

That would not be dragon subduing, not saving, but courting death!

Wen Daoyuan could not die so worthlessly.

He could only grit his teeth, filled with anger and hate, yet forced to endure.

No wonder, no wonder indeed...

Ten years ago, Xie Huaizheng insisted on investigating the Yuan Cang River's burst banks, implicated Liu Shao, the Emperor let Liu Shao frame Xie Huaizheng, crushing him!

It's a pity that back then Wen Daoyuan was in seclusion, unable to save Xie Huaizheng.

An unjust case ten years ago, will there be an even greater injustice ten years later?

Wen Daoyuan watched the current storm thunder and flashing clouds on the Cloud Boat, swift as lightning.

But still not enough, not fast enough!

Wen Daoyuan's heart surged with anxiety, as turbulent as the rolling thunderclouds.

Yet he thought: after all, the provincial exams just concluded, Chief Examiner Feng Xing was still in the Imperial Examination Hall reviewing scripts.

That hall now gathered over a dozen Advanced Scholars with profound cultivation.

Chief Examiner Feng Xing was but a step away from being a Great Scholar.

Feng Xing stationed in Pingyang Prefecture, alongside Governor Yao Xing at Celestial South Dao, they will surely stabilize the storm for a while.

The strange fish won't act excessively until I arrive, until I arrive...

However, Wen Daoyuan did not know, during the ensuing storm, the Heaven-Equalizing Bell in the Imperial Examination Hall indeed rang once.

Dong—

It was the spontaneous chiming of the precious bell.

The long bell echoed through the rain, resonating in every heart in the Examination Hall.

At that time, several Vice Examiners exclaimed: "How did such a massive rain suddenly start? This rain is too torrential, the Yuan Cang River, won't it cause chaos again?"

No examiner dared to outright declare the Yuan Cang River would burst.

Yet all worries were evident, after all, the Yuan Cang River breaking its banks wasn't new.

Several examiners even ceased reviewing, turning to peer out the window.

The rain was too heavy, for unknown reasons, causing inexplicable unease.

But Feng Xing at the head said, "Ladies and gentlemen, in our position, we must attend our duties, today we are here solely for the provincial exam.

At the critical moment of exam grading, even amid tempestuous weather,"

Yet all worries were evident, after all, the Yuan Cang River breaking its banks wasn't new.

Several examiners even ceased reviewing, turning to peer out the window.

The rain was too heavy, for unknown reasons, causing inexplicable unease.

But Feng Xing at the head said, "Ladies and gentlemen, in our position, we must attend our duties, today we are here solely for the provincial exam.

At the critical moment of exam grading, even amid tempestuous weather,"

Yet all worries were evident, after all, the Yuan Cang River breaking its banks wasn't new.

Several examiners even ceased reviewing, turning to peer out the window.

The rain was too heavy, for unknown reasons, causing inexplicable unease.

But Feng Xing at the head said, "Ladies and gentlemen, in our position, we must attend our duties, today we are here solely for the provincial exam.

At the critical moment of exam grading, even amid tempestuous weather,"