Killing Dao Fruit
Chapter 270 - 267: Leaping Dragon Gate, Eating the Heart Liver

Chapter 270: Chapter 267: Leaping Dragon Gate, Eating the Heart Liver

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!...

In the vast sea, streaks of white water shot out like arrows released from their bows, each vying for the lead without yielding to the others.

Among all the Water Clan, a red carp spirit, half-fish and half-human, nearly fifteen feet tall, surged ahead the fastest.

It wore a golden helmet that dazzled and shone, clad in golden armor reflecting rainbows; around its waist, a treasure belt encircled with pearls and jade, its feet shod in boots of a peculiar yellow smoke.

Its nose stood high and lofty like a ridge, its broad forehead as regal as a Dragon Lord’s; its eyes sparkled fiercely and round, its teeth sharp and pointed like steel.

It held two nine-petaled reddish-copper hammers, riding the waves beneath its feet and leaving its kin far behind.

The instant it neared the Living Dragon Gate, it transformed into a large Turbid River carp, about a yard long.

Its scales were crimson as if aflame, and at the corners of its mouth hung two long golden whiskers; though not yet transformed into a dragon, it clearly possessed a hint of a dragon’s likeness!

This red carp spirit thrashed its tail vigorously, creating a tremendous wave beneath it that lifted its body soaring into the sky.

One zhang, two zhang, three zhang...

Within the blink of an eye, it had successfully leaped over the imposing Living Dragon Gate.

This trial seemed hardly worth mentioning in its presence.

Just as the red carp crossed the Dragon Gate, a strand of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Mechanism, stored there for the past thirty-six years, was released and instantaneously absorbed by it.

The next moment, the carp spirit gently landed back into the Turbid River.

Behind it,

Crackle and pop...

More of the Water Clan plummeted from the sky back into the sea, having failed to leap over the Living Dragon Gate—the successful ones were probably fewer than a mere ten percent.

The majority were extraordinary demons and spirit monsters.

Watching the Living Dragon Gate and the other kin far behind, the uncatchable carp spirit laughed aloud:

"Hahaha, when I had just awakened my Spiritual Wisdom long ago, I encountered the White Sun Bodhisattva at the bottom of the Turbid River, not only did I listen daily to ’The Genuine Faith Removing Doubts without Cultivation Scriptures’ at the Bodhisattva’s feet,

I was also personally given the name by the Bodhisattva: Red Scale.

How could us followed demons compare with you wild low breeds?

Even if we caused trouble outside, those human Magicians wouldn’t dare touch a single hair of our whiskers."

"Since the ’Dragon Qi Prohibition’ weakened thirty years ago, I alone dominated the middle of the Turbid River, consuming countless boys and girls.

My body’s Dragon Energy has long been no less than that of the Earth Gods!

This time, I am destined to succeed in my transformation into a dragon!"

Those who leapt over the Dragon Gate not only relied on their own Cultivation, but also on the Dragon Energy contained within them.

These, having received the talisman orders from White Sun Bodhisattva and occupied temples enjoying offerings for nearly thirty-six years, naturally stood out as ’Dragon Lords.’

These fish, turtles, shrimp, crabs, and flood snakes, enjoying local Blood Meals and controlling the rainmaking, inherently performed the duties of wild Earth Gods, and by continuously grooming the Earth Qi and water veins over the years, eventually assumed the proper position of Earth Gods!

In doing so, they would also peel away the Dragon Energy emerging from rural villages from the Dynasty’s Qi Fortune bit by bit and gather it into their own basin.

Until they had accumulated enough resources to leap over the Dragon Gate and transform into real ’Dragon Kings,’ they would then privatize the public energy and further tear apart the Dynasty’s Dragon Energy, causing the Red Dragon to fall!

Behind the mighty Red Scale King,

Countless streaks of white water migrated up from the seabed, leaping over the Living Dragon Gate, then continued their course upward along the Turbid River.

With the spring floods intensifying, the river’s force also grew more ferocious, increasing the pressure on these upstream-swimming Water Clan, who, under the fierce rush of the water, could only regress if they did not progress.

When the first giant black fish, feeling its strength waning, suddenly turned and bit off half of a bream nearby,

Other ferocious fish, turtles, shrimp, and crabs immediately followed suit, voraciously devouring their companions to replenish their energy.

Consuming humans could yield Qi and Dragon Energy, and naturally, the same went for consuming their own kind.

"Ah—!"

"It’s broken, my swim bladder is broken!"

"Gaga, gaga..."

Screams of agony, mad laughter, and chewing sounds suddenly filled the air above the entire Turbid River, as the once clear water gradually turned blood-red.

This frightened the people on both banks of the Turbid River, who no longer dared to approach.

However,

what could replenish their strength were not only the flesh and blood of their own kind.

Many demons, emerging prominently in the slaughter and successfully breaking through, were likely to "accidentally encounter" one or two massive pearls filled with Human Qi in the river.

Emitting an intoxicating aroma that demons could hardly resist.

They would be devoured instantly, without discernment for the taste.

If one were to look from a higher perspective,

they would notice a mass like thousands of ordinary Water Ghosts weaving back and forth above the Turbid River.

Wherever a particularly formidable demon was spotted, a pearl filled with Human Qi would be dropped.

From within the sinister wind, the sneaky laughter of Mr. One-Eyed would occasionally emerge:

"Ah! This one is especially plump, my boss Wang rewards you with a good one!"

"This one is also not bad, boss Wang has cast too!"

"Eat up, eat up, rest easy, my boss Wang has made so many ’investments,’ and he never cares about interest from others!"

"Exactly, my master is kind-hearted, he can’t stand to see the sufferings of the Mortal World."

"..."

Beneath the water, those fish, turtles, shrimp, and crabs ate joyously.

But their tiny brains probably hadn’t yet realized.

Since Human Qi and Dragon Qi could be transferred step-by-step through the food chain, from young boys and girls to low-level demons, and from low-level demons to high-level demons, barely anything was wasted in the process.

Therefore, it seemed only natural that eventually, all this Dragon Qi would move to an existence at the top of the food chain!

Elsewhere.

The illustrious Red Scale King, dashing through the Turbid River like lightning, seemed to have wings attached by the dense water vapor and Dragon Qi around him—a single flick of his tail could propel him miles away.

He effortlessly crossed the second, even more majestic Xuanlong Gate.

Suddenly, he felt the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Mechanism inside him growing even fuller, almost ready to fly directly out of the water.

As he approached the third Dragon Gate, the most important of all, the Yu Dragon Gate,

a scripture, passed down for more than a thousand years, resurfaced from the depths of his heart:

"Dragon Gate Mountain stands in the Hedong Boundary, Yu hollowed out the mountain creating a gate more than a mile wide, through which the Turbid River flows, making the banks impassable by vehicle or horse.

At the beginning of spring each year, members of the Water Clan swim upstream against the current, and those who succeed turn into dragons.

In a year, merely seventy-two manage to ascend Dragon Gate. Upon their first ascent, clouds and rain follow them, and heavenly fire burns their tails, transforming them into dragons..."

A long time ago, the first to leap over the Dragon Gate and transform was a red carp.

Naturally, this red carp also became a hero among the entire Turbid River Water Clan.

The elders of the Water Clan often educated their young.

You should be like that red carp, ordinary by birth, but through your own effort, you can surely leap over the Dragon Gate and become a towering True Dragon!

This was also the lifelong dream of the Red Scale King.

The first Water Clan member to transform was a red carp, and he was just an ordinary red carp in the Turbid River himself.

With such a precedent set before him, he always believed that as long as he diligently cultivated, he could definitely achieve his dream!

Armed with this unshakeable belief, the Red Scale King overcame the increasingly strong water pressure, and made a leap in front of the mountain-high Yu Dragon Gate.

In mid-air, memories of his past years flashed through his mind.

As a small fry, hiding and darting about, slightly bigger, he competed with other Water Clan members for food and territory, after gaining spirit, he sought refuge under the tutelage of the White Sun Bodhisattva...

After becoming "Dragon Lord," under Bodhisattva’s guidance, he diligently devoured humans, tirelessly cultivating day and night through all seasons, managing the Earth Qi to become an Earth God, and devouring the Dragon Energy of the surrounding lands by any means necessary...

All for the sake of today’s leap!

Suddenly.

A fierce wind swirled around the soaring Red Scale King, clouds and rain arriving together, and a red fireball fell from the sky, striking right on his tail.

Heavenly fire burned his tail, and he underwent a complete transformation!

Boom—!

A blinding bolt of lightning flashed.

The original carp disappeared without a trace, replaced by a scarlet Divine Dragon, serpent-like in length, with two horns atop its head, fluttering whiskers, and a body with four claws.

"I.... I succeeded! I, Red Scale King, am truly a Dragon Lord now! Ao howl—!"

He did not fall back down but instead tried vigorously to fly higher, and in the blink of an eye, he broke through the dense clouds and saw the golden Sun above them.

He suddenly felt that all his years of effort were worthwhile.

Then...

He suddenly felt his body become heavy, plummeting from the clouds, uncontrollably falling into a vast, mist-enshrouded "Heavenly Pond."

While he was still puzzled by this, a majestic figure with a golden body tall as ten men, seemingly made of yellow jade with only one eye, appeared by the side of this "Heavenly Pond."

The figure, radiating a Buddha’s light bright enough to illuminate ten miles, compelled one to worship.

The Red Scale King quickly prostrated, his claws pressed together as he said:

"It is White Sun Bodhisattva in person!

Bodhisattva above, please guide this humble creature. Although I have transformed into a dragon, why did I suddenly feel so heavy and unable to fly freely a moment ago?"

The White Sun Bodhisattva, turning a rosary made of thirty-five Clear and Muddy Treasure Beads in his hand, slowly lifted his eyelids and glanced at him:

"Buddha’s compassion! So it’s you, Red Scale,

Though you have become a dragon, you haven’t completely shed your mortal bones, flesh, and tendons, and you’re still a few steps short of becoming a dragon capable of soaring through the Nine Heavens.

Nevertheless, since we are destined to meet, I will help you strip away your mortal body."

"Thank you, Bodhisattva!"

Overjoyed, the Red Scale King had just begun his thanks when he was enveloped by a warm Buddha’s light.

This True Dragon, deceived by a "Deceitful Heart" and showing an expression of ease and intoxication on his face, did not see

the affable White Sun Bodhisattva quietly picking up a... gleaming kitchen knife from behind, then fiercely peeling it on his own body.

Dragon Skin, Dragon Meat, Dragon Liver, Dragon Gallbladder, Dragon Tendon... were each carefully sorted and placed into separate, giant dishes.

He even finely carved the meat, sprinkling pre-prepared spices on it.

A Dragon Whip was especially preserved in a place of honor on its own.

Finally, with a "plop,"

the almost completely skeletal head of the Red Scale King, now stark white, fell into that mist-shrouded Heavenly Pond (a platter of sea delicacies), continuing to swim joyfully within.

It seemed like a legendary dish—Bone Swim.

And the essence of the dragon bones was slowly released into the pot as he continued to move vigorously.

This was indeed a pot of exquisite broth hard to find anywhere in the world.

The White Sun Bodhisattva, holding a sharp knife, lightly wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth, forcibly suppressing the saliva almost tumbling out like a waterfall:

"The poor monk merely told a gigantic lie, painted a grandiose picture, which then led countless members of the Water Clan to strive for generations, just to become suitable food in the pot.

Just wait a little longer, just a little longer. This is just one so far; how could that be satisfying enough?

If this monk does not eat to his heart’s content, how could he possibly justify their decades of arduous cultivation? So be it! So be it!"

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.