Killing Dao Fruit
Chapter 267 - 264: Seafood and Mountain Delicacies on a Brocade Platter

Chapter 267: Chapter 264: Seafood and Mountain Delicacies on a Brocade Platter

Ooo...

Unsure of the time, the sky outside remained pitch black, the cold winter wind howling past, rolling up snowflakes as big as mats.

On the transparent glass windows, beautiful ice crystals carved out one after another.

Wrapped in only a pristine phoenix pattern silk robe, Huang Wu buried her exquisitely beautiful jade mask in a pile of thick black and white fur, sleeping very sweetly.

The soft, warm touch was too comfortable, intoxicating to the point where one simply did not wish to open their eyes.

Suddenly.

The girl felt the warm fur beneath her start to tremble, and she couldn’t help but slightly open her sleepy eyes, peering through a few strands of disheveled hair at the owner of the fur.

She yawned cutely and muttered discontentedly,

"Xiao Yuan, no, I want to sleep more!"

Then, two other soft and glutinous voices also chimed in:

"Zisu wants to sleep too, winter is meant for hibernating!"

"Hualing thinks the sisters are right, nothing but yummy food can wake me up!"

Transformed into a Netherworld White Tiger, lying on his back atop the ship, Wang Yuan looked down.

His sisters, disheveled and imageless, were lying on his broad, warm belly, while Zisu and Hualing each curled their tails tightly around his left and right legs.

It was clear that all three girls were determined to cling to "bed" to the death.

A huge tiger face appeared on Wang Yuan, filled with helplessness.

"If you don’t get up now, I’ll have to revert to human form."

As winter came, the little ghost girl began to get lazy, unconsciously falling in love with sleeping on the furry belly of Wang Yuan in his White Tiger form.

She claimed it was the negative effect of merging the Life Plates: the "Four Deficiencies and Evil Spirits" acting up, just wanting to be a little wastrel, eating, drinking, and being taken care of.

Even the two little Snake Spirits, who were supposed to hibernate, joined in the fun.

The three sisters truly treated him as a warm beast-shaped pillow; if their bodies were not as light as feathers, Wang Yuan would really have become a "ghost pressing on the bed" every night.

The group frolicked and fought for a good while before they reluctantly got out of bed.

Because today was no ordinary day, but the eve of the fifteenth year of Jianming, New Year’s Eve!

Huang Wu changed into a bright red golden embroidery skirt, quietly kneeling on the sheep wool carpet, her lips smiling as Wang Yuan helped her comb her hair with a horn comb.

A flash of divine light appeared in front of them,

The [Gods Three Feet Above the Head] transformed into a round mirror.

Using countless wishes directed at [Living Yama] as a medium, it projected the life and condition of all beings within Dengzhou Prefecture in front of them.

Under the leaden clouds, the sky remained dull.

The entire world, however, had already turned pure white, with mountains, fields, rivers, cities... everything covered with snow up to three feet deep.

Including Mirror Lake.

Even Little Concubine Long Shao, the Earth God with the power to adjust the climate around Mirror Lake, could only maintain the snowfall on the ground to normal seasonal levels.

Still, it was inevitably shrouded in silver.

The frosty wind swept the ground as lost migratory birds circled in the snowy silence!

In this pure white world, the vast snow continued to fall relentlessly.

In the piercing cold wind, even a pot of boiling water would freeze into ice pellets before it hit the ground.

This year’s New Year’s Eve coincided with the fifty-ninth, technically past the coldest times of the third and fourth nines.

Unfortunately, in this chilly Little Ice Age, the long winter was not so easily withdrawn.

Fear was that only by the six-nine period would the cold truly begin to fade.

Fortunately, with Wang Yuan and Zhou Jinghuan’s foresight, the Government Office was quite effective, distributing supplies in advance, constructing heated kang, strengthening houses...

They also taught the people to write Young Master Huadie’s birth characters on paper to put under their pillows, protecting them from harm by deceitful dreams.

Additionally, the [Yin Officials] from the various County City God Temples, mounting divine light, were busy back and forth between the countryside and county towns.

Any snow disaster or danger would be promptly reported to the government and spontaneously organized relief teams, ready for timely assistance.

Likewise, many [Yang Officials] from the counties braved the snow, venturing into villages to understand the disaster and alleviate the concerns.

As it was said: man may deceive, but heaven cannot be fooled.

Of these officials, which ones were truly for the people and who were simply warming the bench, all would be diligently recorded by the Day and Night Wandering Gods.

The record was then delivered to King Jing Zhou Jinghuan in an official form, becoming an important basis for official evaluation.

Not a single one dared to be lax in their duties.

The concept of "official-based governance" in Red County Shenzhou had persisted for thousands of years, and if they did not perform well, plenty were waiting to take their places.

Thereby.

After overcoming various natural disasters and benefiting the people, the feedback to Dragon Energy and incense was most authentic.

In just two months under the administration of brothers Wang Yuan and Zhou Jinghuan, the strength of the [Dragon Qi Prohibition] had increased at least threefold from its original foundation!

Expanding its coverage to once again burst out of the county town, enveloping the countryside, and further weakening the power of the snowstorm.

This scene caused the elderly to tear up, nearly believing they had returned to the robust days of the fiery Dynasty.

This was even before Wang Yuan’s "big pie" plan was put into action.

No doubt.

Tomorrow morning on the first day of the new year, the first 30 minutes of incense burned by the people would surely be for him, the [Living Yama]!

The view shifted.

On some small islands along the East Sea Coast, there was also smoke rising from cooking fires, with the bustling activity of slaughtering pigs and sheep.

Thanks to Zhou Jinghuan’s relentless crackdown over several months, large-scale pirate gangs operating along nearby shipping routes had almost completely vanished.

But King Jing Mansion now had an additional elite private pirate army consisting of 12,000 men and several hundred warships of various sizes, along with an even more massive army of "Yin Soldiers!"

Moreover, in death, Marquis Guangyang, Lingxiao, finally fulfilled his wish and took up the post of Navy Commander.

With Wang Yuan’s help, he set up Daoist rituals and converted a multitude of ordinary warships into terrifying "Ghost Ships."

Or rather, the Ghost Ships were the actual bodies of those ghost pirates!

Over the past few months, pirates on the East Sea had only two choices: work for Boss Zhou while alive or for Boss Wang when dead.

Either way, one had to be chosen.

The scene shifts again.

To the Yunhe Bridge at the mouth of the Turbid River where it meets the sea.

This bridge presented a slightly protruding arc towards the sea, resembling a gigantic longbow that continuously launched accumulated malevolent energy like arrows.

Inflicting ongoing damage to Qingyan after the "Heart-Piercing Formation" was laid against the "Living Dragon Gate."

At that moment.

A crisp "snap" resounded.

The last of the "Corpse Skeleton Reef" affixed to the forty-four bridge piers collapsed thunderously, and both evil formations, whether the "Heart-Piercing Formation" or the "Dragon-Breaking Gate," crumbled to pieces.

The fierce malevolent energy that had accumulated here for fifteen years and claimed countless lives also dissipated gradually with the howling north wind.

The sky overhead seemed to reveal a hint of brightness.

From then on, nothing stood in the way of the "Transforming Dragon."

Dozens of "Black Law Judges" under Wang Yuan’s command witnessed this scene firsthand and couldn’t help but burst into exhilarating laughter that echoed along both banks of the Turbid River.

"Hahaha...."

Half of them, in fact, had accumulated enough Taoist skill through their continuous advocacy for the ghost souls and achieved a perfect "Dao Foundation" through the unity of magic and cultivation!

Only the corresponding "Yin Mountain Taoism" ritual "Receiving Talisman" remained to be performed for them to ascend to the robust core of a Taoist Sect as "Red Seal Mages."

Even now, Zhou Wenrui of Yunjing City still believed that he firmly held the situation of Dengzhou Prefecture in his grasp.

All because the "loyally devoted" City God, Nie Renxiong, had reported back this morning, describing Yunhe Bridge as: all normal.

The pleasantry reports of officials from all levels in Dengzhou Prefecture sang praises of peace and tranquility, suggesting Dengzhou was untroubled.

If one person says there’s no problem, Zhou Wenrui might still harbor doubts.

But when ten people, a hundred people, even the City God himself says so, then there must indeed be no issues!

Nightfall arrived in haste.

Even the Living Yama wanted to celebrate the festival with family.

The backyard of the Black Water Temple was adorned with Spring Festival couplets and red lanterns, void of any outsider’s presence.

The only elder, the Little Concubine, Long Shao, sisters Huang Wu, big cousin Zhou Jinghuan, Wang Yuan, twin little cousins Zisu, Hualing, sat in a circle.

Chicken, duck, fish, meat, delicacies from the mountains and seas were plentiful, including donkey meat, a special gift from the lakeside villagers.

With dragon meat from above and donkey meat from below, this was already the limit for a common household.

Long Shao surveyed the circle of children before her, slowly raised her cup, about to speak, when her eyes fixed on the one seat left empty at the side of the table.

On the reunion night of the New Year, sadly, only Qingyan was missing.

She took a deep breath and said aloud:

"Happy New Year, may we all be reunited next year!"

Wang Yuan and others solemnly responded:

"Reunion!"

Perhaps this year they weren’t complete, but they believed that by this time next year, everything would be vastly different.

As if the world outside, covered in a blanket of white snow, was desolate and empty.

It seemed as though all of nature, the worldly human life, was frozen in time.

But beneath the covering of snow, there lay one hard-shelled "seed" after another lying dormant in the permafrost, accumulating growth energy bit by bit.

Just waiting for the spring of next year to burst forth... earth-shatteringly!

....

On the Eve of the Lunar New Year, while Wang Yuan’s side silently gathered strength.

The "No-Life Dao" was not idle either.

In Hejin County, Dragon Gate Mountain.

Under the influence of the "One-Eyed Stone Man," the Green Seal Strange Immortal, the area around "Yu Gate" was not too severely affected by the disaster.

But the disciples of "No-Life Dao" had no time to enjoy any New Year’s Eve dinner.

Under the direct command of the Yellow Seal Mage, Yu Jiezi, they carried one Seal Script-engraved formation pillar after another and rushed into Dragon Gate Mountain in groups.

Because on the second day of the second month of the following year.

A host of water creatures wishing to transform into dragons would gather in advance at the mouth of the Turbid River where it meets the sea.

One by one, they would leap over the third gate at the Yin Yang Realm, "Living Dragon Gate," the second gate at Peach Blossom Valley, "Xuanlong Gate," and finally at the first gate at Dragon Gate Mountain, "Yu Dragon Gate," where they would undergo their transformation into dragons.

This was the ultimate harvest season that they tirelessly managed for years. How could they let the water clan demons slip away wearing the bridal clothes they so earnestly sewed?

Zhu Bo’an stood on a mountaintop, looking down at the undulating terrain and formation beneath him.

One could already discern that it was a large, standard circle with high surrounding terrain and a lower middle.

"This formation feels...."

He frowned deeply, feeling that somehow this all seemed like an enormous... pot.

Not far behind him.

Yu Jiezi was intently scrutinizing a sheet of paper, drawing and writing, continually directing disciples to adjust the formation pillars, while at the very top of the paper was boldly written—[A Pot Stew·Deluxe Platter of Sea Delicacies and Mountain Treasures Formation]!