Chapter Eighty-Four: Yin and Yang Reversed, the Beauty Unclothed

Wang Cheng felt a sudden stirring in his heart, and in an instant he understood every change that had occurred within his own spiritual nature.

After completing the first level of the Sea-Crossing Starward Summoning Art, he had successfully invoked a personal star officer: the first star of the Azure Dragon’s Seven Mansions, Horn Star, the Wooden Flood-Dragon.

The dragon robe and python cloak on his body had been formed by the fusion of a silver-ringed snake’s shed skin with the authority of a star officer. It could appear or vanish at will, changing in endless ways.

Within it lay three principal powers of Horn Flood-Dragon.

Star Watching: the most basic ability granted once the Sea-Crossing Starward Summoning Art is mastered. Everyone has it. Even without a compass, one can use one’s personal star officer to locate oneself with ease. When looking at route charts, even without any mathematical knowledge, even without learning mathematics or astronomy, one reads them as clearly as patterns in the palm. By observing the positions of fortunate stars and the brightness or dimness of their starlight, one can discern auspicious currents and the flow of vital energy throughout heaven and earth, gaining a measure of skill in divining good and ill.

Wang Cheng faintly sensed that the auspicious position nearby was moving, and it was on A-Xiao’s body; all other directions were dim with starlight.

The second ability, Becoming a Flood-Dragon:

A state of profound affinity with flood-dragons, thereby granting a unique power.

A dragon may be great or small, may rise or hide; when great it stirs clouds and exhales mist, when small it conceals its scales and hides its form. It is most skilled in transformation, and among the spirit-beasts it is also one of the few clans capable of shapeshifting.

Once the dragon raiment is donned, one’s destiny and species are altered: from the “naked creatures” headed by humankind, one becomes one of the “scaled creatures” headed by flood-dragons.

The body may grow to a maximum of ten zhang, or shrink to a minimum of one zhang, while comprehensively enhancing one’s sense of direction, strength, speed, and might.

Even the Tortoise-Head Body technique, which on the sea could at most increase one’s strength by three hundred jin, was not fit to be mentioned in the same breath.

“By virtue of the destiny of a scaled creature, there is no need to first perform enlightenment; one can temporarily summon nearby schools of fish, birds, and beasts to aid in battle, and even command wind and clouds!

“Once in water, one is as a dragon entering the sea, a tiger returning to the mountains. Not only ordinary fish, turtles, shrimp, and crabs, even those sea-monster lords will feel some measure of dread.”

Wang Cheng thought this art felt a bit like a Taoist version of the Dragon God Technique; the higher one’s cultivation, the more one resembled a human-shaped flood-dragon.

The third ability, Wind and Thunder: Horn Flood-Dragon corresponds in the Eight Trigrams to the Thunder and Wind trigrams. Thunder corresponds to trees and lightning; wind corresponds to the breeze and flowering growth.

It can wield the twin methods of thunder and wind, with wind and thunder stirring one another like wings added to a tiger. At present, this power was the weakest.

Wang Cheng found that wind and thunder indeed followed behind him. With a slight wave of his hand, he could whip up a fierce gale, faintly seeming to hear dragon roars and tiger cries.

That rapid descent just now had only been the most rudimentary practice, yet it had already seemed like mastering a thousand-mile solitary martial art of lightness. Perhaps one day it would grow into paired wings of wind and thunder.

In addition, it was not only his yang body that had donned dragon raiment and python cloak.

The evil yin body within his shadow had likewise changed beyond recognition, becoming another Wang Cheng with the exact same appearance.

Its dragon raiment and python cloak matched the yang body’s style, only entirely black.

The pupils of its eyes had also been replaced by square-holed coin apertures. Should one meet its gaze by accident, one would be helplessly drawn into the money eye.

Perhaps some folk tale about snake catchers paying taxes with snakes, or the legends of white snakes of silver and dragons of bone transmuting into cash, had taken effect, granting the Prince-Heir of the King Who Patrols the Four Seas an additional specialty.

Debt-Collecting Ghost:

“Whatever he has eaten, he makes vomit back up; whatever he has taken, he makes return.

“If anyone owes him a karmic debt, even without revealing their birth date or secret tally, they will still be forcibly locked on to.

“When they are utterly unguarded or fall into weakness, he will silently come to their door and, without their noticing, take away information, wealth, treasure, cultivation, flesh and blood, even their soul, in repayment of the debt.”

From this point on, it could leave Wang Cheng’s yang body and act independently.

If necessary, the yin and yang bodies of this single being with two faces could even become entirely indistinguishable, suppressing fate by means of the Four Seas Treasure, making it almost impossible for outsiders to tell them apart.

No matter whom he fought, he would have two seventh-rank officials fighting two against one, reaping every advantage.

“The potential of the Thunder and Wind methods may be even greater. At present their main use is only for escape; in direct combat, the true role of offense still lies with Becoming a Flood-Dragon.

Melee combat, summoning—within the seventh rank of officials, this is already extremely formidable.”

Wang Cheng lifted the dragon robe and python cloak from his body, revealing Yun Xiao, whom he had been shielding in his arms all along.

“Sister A-Xiao, are you hurt?”

Only then did he realize that this kind of princess carry posture was somewhat improper. If it were one of those young ladies from a wealthy household, it would have been enough for her father, brothers, and servants to beat him to death with clubs.

In this age, touching a girl’s hand and thereby being forced to marry her was, in truth, a misconception.

It came from reading too many wish-fulfillment tales written by poor scholars, who did not know that in feudal society it was far easier to solve the person who caused the problem than to solve the problem itself.

Fortunately, Yun Xiao was not human. Her expression remained cool and calm as ever, only the tips of her ears were faintly red.

“I’m fine. Put me down.”

Only then did Wang Cheng have time to turn back and look at the broken feng shui formation.

With the eye of the formation shattered, his Star Watching art already clearly sensed the malice beneath the earth. Black vapor, mixed with strange shifting lights and shadows, surged and splashed like a flood breaking through the corner of a dam.

The eruption of the sediment of history was already unavoidable.

“A-Xiao, the formation eye has been broken, and the sediment is rising. The Madam hidden in your family’s earth-vein node has been completely exposed. What should we do?”

Yun Xiao also looked at the ancient well exposed in the foundation after the Eight-Pointed Tower collapsed. Her face was slightly cold, yet there was also a trace of relieved release in it.

“The sediment of history was not released by us. That burden cannot be laid on us; the ones who deserve punishment are the gentry faction.

“To some extent, they did a bad thing that turned out well. There’s no need to keep worrying over the harm caused by the seal breaking this time. This is what sister asked you to help with.

“The Madam has suppressed this place for more than twenty years and has also been burdened for more than twenty years. In the Twenty-Four Rhythms Scripture, she already has her merits. Today is the day the imprisoned dragon rises to the heavens!”

Just as a torrent of illusory black water began to rise from the ancient well and weave together in the sky into a vast spectacle of light and shadow, the dawn that had only just appeared was once again turned to black.

She hurriedly pulled Wang Cheng toward the well.

“Since the reversal of yin and yang is unavoidable, the main battlefield is no longer in Moon Harbor or on the sea.

“We must enter the sediment of history ahead of the gentry faction and find the source of the Nine Dragons River, the Nine-Dragon Pool. The true body of the flood-dragon is sleeping there. Follow behind me.”

Previously Yun Xiao had concealed many things regarding the safety of her true body from everyone, Wang Cheng included. Yet now, without realizing it, she had let down her guard.

She was willing to share joy, anger, sorrow, and delight with someone who felt very much like a kindred being.

After all, once the dragon raiment was donned, Wang Cheng was, by destiny, a human-shaped flood-dragon.

At that moment, Wang Cheng suddenly reached out and pulled her aside, just in time to avoid a red peach pit shooting toward them with a shrill whistle.

Crack.

The pit struck the ground before them, quickly took root and sprouted, and grew into a thick peach tree that looked half real and half illusory, bearing peach fruits with human faces and hung all over with red cords. Its branches writhed and blocked their path.

One by one, the peaches leapt from the treetops, grew arms and legs, turned into tiny men, and brandished peach-wood swords as they charged Wang Cheng and A-Xiao.

It turned out that Tang Miaofu, the West Lake Boat Girl, had never left at all.

She had been waiting according to the prevailing taboo in the cultivation world, intending to give them a finishing blow only after the great explosion had passed.

Moreover, unlike Yun Xiao, who had long known that a well was hidden beneath the Eight-Pointed Tower, she knew that this place was the only entrance before the reversal of the earth-vein node’s yin and yang.

That was also the main reason she had come here under Pu Shouying’s orders.

As Wang Cheng pulled her aside, A-Xiao countered swiftly:

“Qi of the kidneys, surge forth into my body, gather in one drop, scatter across heaven and earth. Black vapor, dim and heavy, shield my form. Swiftly, by decree!”

Her embroidered lips opened, and a rolling white mist instantly spread outward.

Just as she had once seized Xie He from Wang Cheng’s hands, it instantly transformed into a thick bank of white fog that swallowed several streets in one breath.

Only after hearing the incantation did Wang Cheng realize that she had been practicing one of the three orthodox methods from the Guide to Following the Wind and Escorting the Rain: Spreading Clouds and Cutting Rainbow!

It could command wind, rain, thunder, and lightning. At a high level, opening an altar and performing rites to change the heavens was as easy as reaching into a pocket. It was a powerful strategic art.

Tang Miaofu was equally deft, opening her mouth to blow out a pink, fragrant breeze that dispersed half the white fog rushing toward her.

At the same time, with a pinch of her jade fingers, she shot out a thread of red light swift as lightning, aimed straight at A-Xiao’s back.

She seemed to especially dislike A-Xiao, a peerless beauty who nonetheless possessed an ethereal purity, and always targeted her.

Wang Cheng, beside them, slashed out like lightning to block the petals.

Clang.

The gentle petal struck the blade, making the precious Chixin saber hum and tremble.

Relying on the overwhelming control of the eye in his mind, he used the Wind formula to divert the force into the surrounding air. Wing-shaped gales swirled up on both sides behind him.

Then his whole body became a wisp of blue smoke, circling around A-Xiao and severing every one of the attacking peach-men, peach flesh and pit alike, in a single stroke.

Blue blade light surged violently, given substance by him, swelling continuously into a terrifying monstrosity that sprouted sharp dragon scales, claws, and fangs.

“Cut!”

The next instant, a peerlessly sharp flash of blade light exploded, and that peach tree was also cleaved in two by one blow.

Thud, thud, thud.

Before the two of them could flee, a burst of hurried footsteps sounded from the nearby alley.

It was the elite personal guard under Tang Miaofu, somehow hidden away, who had found them. Clearly, like them, they intended to enter the earth-vein node one step ahead, before the sediment of history completely reversed.

The eye in the mind issued an early warning: the leader of this reinforcement group was none other than Wei Zhong, the sixth-rank blade-for-hire known as the Jackal-Badger, the very man who had once stormed Moon Harbor carrying a wanted poster!

Behind him followed the last two members of the four-man group: Old Boathead Cheng, the Corpse Retriever, and Master Chen, the Skin Stitcher.

If he were facing only someone like the West Lake Boat Girl, who was not skilled in combat arts, Wang Cheng would still dare to join hands with A-Xiao and attempt a leap-rank fight.

But with so many people suddenly arriving, if they were delayed even for a moment, things would become disastrous.

Just then, Tang Miaofu again took several peach pits from the pouch at her waist and began to cast a spell.

Wang Cheng had a flash of inspiration and discovered a blind spot he had overlooked before.

Tang Miaofu is a woman.

Then he suddenly remembered that one forbidden art he had thought he would never use in this lifetime.

He no longer cared about the cautions in the method’s taboos, borrowed power from the treasury of the Four Seas Treasure, and pointed at Tang Miaofu with one hand:

“Under the Three Origins, form and shadow linger. A beauty’s steps wander to and fro. I now have no choice but to seek no recourse from you. One breath blown, and naked shame is revealed. Command!”

It was none other than the Beauty-Stripping Technique that had erupted from the stone mason Cui Sheng!

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

The move was as fast as lightning. In the blink of an eye, all of Tang Miaofu’s clothing seemed to come alive, swept up by a gale, and flew away from her in every direction.

Only a dazed, completely naked West Lake boat girl remained in place.

“Aaaah!”