Killing Dao Fruit
Chapter 221 - 218: Old Almanac, Summoning the Flood Dragon

Chapter 221: Chapter 218: Old Almanac, Summoning the Flood Dragon

Ninghai State, Xuankong Flying Temple.

Early in the morning, a boisterous voice echoed through the ancient Daoist observatory:

"Master Qianxing, it has been many days. When are we finally going to act against the Water Virtue Flood Dragon?

You keep saying the time is not ripe, the time is not ripe. So when is the right time to make our move?

The two of us promised in front of Young Master Xue to capture Mrs. Long Shao alive and deliver her to him (Chapter 193).

Four days ago, when Daoist Fellow Shen Jiantong and the Zhong father and son went to scout for the Azure Dragon’s whereabouts, their Soul Lamps went out one after another. Young Master Xue has already thrown a thunderous fit over this.

We, who are in charge of snatching the Water Virtue Dragon Robe, absolutely cannot afford any more slip-ups.

Delay leads to unexpected changes. If you do not act soon, I, Old Dong, will have to take matters into my own hands!"

The short and stout Third Dong of the Huanlong Clan was jumping with urgency at the entrance of Master Qianxing’s quiet chamber.

He simply couldn’t afford not to be anxious.

On the day when the "No-Life Dao" evil beings arrived at Dengzhou Prefecture aboard the official ship, the two of them volunteered to take on this mission from Xue Donglou.

But as he followed Qianxing, originally a local snake from Ninghai State, to the Xuankong Flying Temple,

And casually saw off Shen Jiantong and the Zhongs sailing from this place, the mission seemed to reach a standstill.

He’d knock on the door every day, only to receive the same reply: the time is not ripe!

Even after news of the death of those three fellow cultivators came, Qianxing remained as stable as a rock, fishing, keeping himself locked in the quiet room, doing God knows what.

Today, Old Dong’s patience had finally run out.

After a habitual knock on the door, he decided he could no longer rely on the local snake Qianxing and turned to leave, planning to act on his own.

Unexpectedly, today Qianxing finally responded:

"Taoist Fellow Dong, come in. The time has come, and we will break the formation today."

Hearing this, Old Dong immediately pushed the door open with great joy.

Inside the quiet chamber, however, there wasn’t just Qianxing.

There was another Daoist with a dark complexion and three young disciples, who, along with the gaunt Qianxing with his beautiful beard, were poised in front of an "Old Almanac" as if facing a formidable enemy.

Having stayed in the observatory for a few days, Old Dong recognized them as Lonely Star, the Temple Master of the Xuankong Flying Temple, and his three most outstanding disciples.

Even the least talented among them had received the Receiving Talisman and achieved a level of Daoist ability equivalent to his own.

That dark-faced Daoist, Temple Master Lonely Star, was just half a step away from becoming a Yin God and had already begun attempting the practice of projecting out the Yin God.

However, what first caught his attention upon entering was the thick "Old Almanac" on the table.

The yellowed paper seemed thin yet had a sort of supple texture, reminiscent of a girl’s skin.

But the blotchy reddish-brown spots were rather unsightly to look at.

Old Dong forced himself to stop thinking that this might be a human skin book, and focused on the open page of the "Old Almanac."

At the top it read: "When the time comes, Heaven and Earth lend their strength; when fate departs, even heroes are not free."

That was quite fitting for an object like the "Yellow Calendar."

Below it said:

The fifteenth year of Jianming in Great Yan, the ninth month, first day; the Heavenly Stem and Earthly Branch calendar shows a Renyin year, Jiyou month, Yiyou day;

Which was indeed today.

Ill Omens: Clashing Rabbit (Ji Mao) in the East;

Auspicious Gods to Seek: Barking Dog, Empty Moon, Mother’s Storehouse, The Three Harmonies, Heaven’s Joy, Heavenly Healer, Jade Palace, Azure Dragon, Removing God;

Evil Gods to Avoid: Nine Sores, Nine Pits, Earth Prison, Big Mischief, Five Evils;

Xingxiu: ....

[Suitable for]: Moving, Traveling, Breaking Ground, Repairing Graves, Construction, Erecting Monuments, Sculpting, Expressing Gratitude to the Earth, Religious Fasting, Funeral Rites, Transferring Coffins;

Old Dong nodded as he read.

"The plan was to borrow the power of the Government Office bit by bit to dismantle the ’Water Dragon Cultivation Formation’ centered around Mirror Lake, leaving Mrs. Long Shao’s Flood Dragon defenseless on land for us to capture.

If this Yellow Calendar is to be believed, today does seem an auspicious day for breaking ground and religious activities."

The content of the Yellow Calendar seemed normal up to this point and wasn’t much different from other almanacs.

But the "Taboo" listed immediately after the "Suitable" made his heart skip a beat.

It was a line of blood-curdling red characters, much larger than those before.

[Taboo]: Eating, Crossing Bridges, Greeting the Old Man with White Hair.

"Taboo" and "Suitable" are supposed to correspond, yet Old Dong had never heard of such strange "Taboo."

’What would happen if I did it?’ he wondered.

When he looked at the final line of fine print at the bottom, he fell silent; it was the weather forecast for today.

Clearing after rain: Cloud coverage at 5 a.m. to 7 a.m., rain at 7 a.m to 9 a.m., rain ceasing at 9 a.m to 11 a.m., amounting to one foot and three inches plus forty-eight drops of water.

Scratching his head, he couldn’t believe an Old Almanac contained the day’s weather, an unheard-of occurrence. With a sneer, he said:

"Taoist Fellows Lonely Star and Qianxing, where did this almanac come from? It is truly ridiculous."

"Not only does it have today’s weather, but it even lists the exact amount of rainfall. I’m afraid not even the Dragon Lord could calculate better, haha..."

Having seen the weather, Third Dong’s heart, which had skipped a beat at the sight of the bloody "Taboo," had now returned to calm.

However.

No sooner had his words ended than the bell in the Taoist Bell and Drum Tower, representing the hour of the dragon (7 a.m. to 9 a.m.), suddenly sounded.

Boom!

With a blast of thunder, a torrential downpour began.

Rustle rustle...

Third Dong looked at the rain outside the house, his mouth hanging open for a long while without closing.

When he turned his head again, he saw that everyone from the Xuankong Flying Temple had silently taken out rain cloaks and bamboo hats that seemed to have been prepared in advance and draped them over themselves.

"Taoist Fellow Dong, let’s go. Today’s operations will surely proceed smoothly, with no one able to stop us.

Remember, remember, within twelve hours, one must absolutely not eat or drink, cross bridges, or greet an old man with white hair.

After four hours, the second set of ’Taboos’ will appear, and after eight, the third set.

During this time, one must remember all the ’Taboos’ by heart; as long as you get past the twelve hours, all will be well."

Master Qianxing, while handing over a set of rain cloak and bamboo hat to Third Dong, solemnly reminded him.

Seeing this rain, how could Third Dong not know that this Old Almanac was a downright terrifying ’Deceit Object,’ somehow tied to the way of Fate?

If it prescribed ’favorable’ actions, could they actually be realized? And ’prohibited’ actions could not be done?

The most terrifying part was that there were no fixed ’Precept Taboos’; anyone who used it might carelessly breach a taboo.

"Set off! We must get things done within the day and immediately seal the Old Almanac upon our return!"

Master Qianxing and Lonely Star exchanged glances, holding this treasure, which they both loved and hated, and stepped out the door.

"Deceit Object • Old Almanac"

Origin: Transformed by the patriarch of "Xuankong Flying Temple" after Enlightenment, it contains the essence of the Dharma Veins and is also the primary material for crafting "Taoist Inheritance Artifacts."

Effect: As long as one follows its directives for weddings, funerals, groundbreaking, building, warfare... etc., success is guaranteed with no known limits.

Even if someone thwarts you, they’ll fail due to a string of fortuitous coincidences leading to errors.

Anyone who looks at the Yellow Calendar and does something other than what is designated ’favorable’ will immediately attract all sorts of misfortunes; if they violate a ’Taboo,’ they will be eaten on the spot.

If one does not read the text on it, no beneficial or adverse effects will appear, and they won’t be affected in the slightest.

However.

Master Qianxing and Lonely Star always felt that the heirloom of their tradition was not so simple.

They suspected that this Old Almanac was gradually becoming Activated, turning into a sentient being!

It assists its bearer merely for amusement, watching them exhaust themselves amid ever-changing ’Taboos,’ enjoying the pleasure of manipulating fate.

The most direct evidence is that none of the disciples and followers who have relied on this Old Almanac to navigate through life smoothly have ever met a good end!

Once the Old Almanac fully comes alive, there would likely be great horror unfolding within "Xuankong Flying Temple."

It’s like the time when the first great faction of the "Side Door," All Appearances Dao’s "Taoist Inheritance Artifact • All Appearances Treasure Mirror," suddenly became Activated, dragging down the entire Taoist Sect as all the disciples Mutated from the roots.

That was also the reason why Master Qianxing had initially joined the No-Life Dao.

...

Meanwhile, on Red-Tail Island at the same time, a heavy downpour raged.

Having swallowed up all the pirate ships of Mr. Wufeng at the Long Water Camp, they had returned to this temporary base.

After a great battle, all the disaffected elements were thoroughly eliminated by Zhou Jinhuan, rejuvenating the troops, who now truly deserved to be called a strong army.

Wang Yuan and Zhou Jinhuan were sitting around a small table, drinking lightly.

Huang Wu sat beside them, pouring Green Plum Wine with a smile, though the family was still missing her mother Qingyan, everything was getting better.

Wang Yuan had successfully stolen the Life Creation Pill and held the Heavenly Mechanism Mirror. His Taoist Ability had also made great strides, and within half a year, he would surely achieve Yin God enlightenment.

Zhou Jinhuan had completely taken control of the Long Water Camp, and with the help of Military Aura, he would likely soon condense his own Military Dao Dharma Image and ascend to become a Military Leader.

Even Mages wouldn’t dare act wildly.

The little ghost girl, needless to say, was in quite a good mood.

As the wine went to their heads and they looked out at the majestic army in the rain, Wang Yuan once again contemplated that ambition, seemingly casually asking Zhou Jinhuan with a cup in his hands:

"Big Cousin, the crisis of the Peach God Tao on the East Sea has been temporarily resolved, and there is a clue to save the Concubine. I wonder what plans you have for the future?"

On hearing this, Zhou Jinhuan’s face became serious, and he declared:

"My lifelong ambition is to carry a three-foot sword, set sail across the seas, travel westward wielding that sword, be the overlord of the four seas, and wage campaigns across the continents, all to pacify the world for Great Yan!"

But Wang Yuan looked at him with a mocking smile:

"I’m not the old man Jianming, testing the loyalty of you, the great filial son. Don’t give your own brother the runaround.

Seeing that tumultuous times are coming, and the world of Great Yan is truly no longer viable, do you really not consider that position in the slightest?"

As he spoke, he pointed upwards with his hand.