Chapter 82 White Daydreams Are Like Fireworks

  "It's fine as long as you understand." The Qi Practitioner saw that Wang Guang's words were stiff and didn't bother to say anything else, only gesturing for Wang Guang to quickly take the red copper and leave.

  Wang Guang didn't slack off either, and he grabbed a thousand pieces of red copper to store in his treasure pouch. Afterwards, he didn't dare stay for long, and with a burst of magical energy, he broke through the air and left. After all, his treasure pouch wasn't something good, if he stored the red copper for too long, the flames on the red copper might destroy his treasure pouch. When that time came, it wouldn't be easy to find someone to buy it from. Thinking about how he would end up carrying a large leather bag full of miscellaneous items, this guy couldn't help but quicken his pace.

  A wisp of smoke returned to the manor, where eighteen iron flags formed a flag array that fluttered in the wind. A strand of Western Golden Qi was absorbed by the flag array and converged at its center, forming a golden sphere one zhang in diameter. Servants continuously carried copper ingots and threw them into the flag array.

  Every time a copper ingot falls into the flag array, the flag array will stir and countless golden auras will rush in, instantly grinding the copper ingot into fragments and then absorbing the golden aura to further nourish the flag array.

  "Boundless Heaven Venerable!" The porters below, who were carrying the copper ingots, only heard a voice shouting in mid-air, and then saw a ball of fire fall from the sky and merge into the flag array. After the entire flag array had absorbed the copper ingots, it suddenly shook violently, the iron flags swaying wildly, causing the porters to fly backward in terror, each one collapsing to the ground in agony. They were afraid that when the cultivators returned and saw the destruction of the flag array, they would be punished severely.

  "What are you crying about? The master has returned, and you're not working hard, what are you doing lying on the ground?" The lead servant knew Wang Guang's habits, so after hearing his name, he wasn't afraid. Instead, he picked up a whip and severely beat the other servants. This commotion was actually an attempt to show off in front of the master. "I don't ask that qigong practitioner to see my loyalty and reward me with spiritual medicine, I just hope that if mistakes happen in the future, he can remember my past contributions and punish me a little less." It was precisely this kind of thinking that made the servant beat others even harder.

  Those servants heard this and hastily stood up to continue carrying the copper ingots, but each of them was trembling all over, fearing that their leader's nonsense might not be true.

  Wang Guang was delighted to see the people below in a state of panic and terror. "You're all doing well," he said, "today, after you've thrown the copper ingots into the flag array, you can leave." After saying this, he ignored the kneeling servants and carefully examined the flag array.

  That fallen red copper fell into the flag array, but was not crushed into powder by the endless golden energy inside. Instead, it was wrapped in a ball of Western Golden Energy and continuously tempered.

  The red copper had absorbed the golden energy and was tempered, and the flames it emitted became even more intense, and its size was slowly increasing. Seeing the red copper increase in power just like the Taoist scriptures said, he was overjoyed in his heart. "After I temper it for dozens of days, when the time comes to refine the treasure, its power will be even greater than before. It's not impossible that I can even refine a low-grade treasure." He was joyful in his heart, but had forgotten the experiences of other cultivators who had failed in refining equipment.

  He spat out a few mouthfuls of Fa power in the flag array, and then took the initiative to stir up the Xigong Jin Qi to temper the flag array. After that, he returned to his room and started moving the Fa Men to polish his Fa power.

  Time flies like water, and after several rounds of the sky, the sky has darkened. The ten thousand catties of copper ingots had long been thrown into the flag array by the attendants. And Wang Guang ordered the attendants to continue adding ten thousand catties of copper ingots inside at night, and then he lifted his dust with one hand and three shakes, shaking and swaying towards the manor where this gathering was held.

  All the way, there were not many pedestrians on the streets that used to be bustling with activity. Although after the merger of the five imperial dynasties, the cultivators forcibly relocated tens of thousands of merchants and families to the capital, but still, not many shops opened, they all closed early and hid in bed praying that those powerful cultivators would not come looking for trouble.

  Just as Wang Guang felt that the night was not lively enough, he suddenly heard a manor in front of him making noises of drinking and revelry, and someone shouting loudly, calling out "good". His heart moved, and he jumped onto the wall and leaned over to take a look.

  Only in the courtyard, dozens of young scholars wearing long gowns drank and recited poetry, surrounded by young maids beating drums, striking cymbals, and playing silk strings. There were also singing girls who wore light gauze and danced barefoot on the lawn, showing off their dancing skills.

  Wang Guang was born to be a killer, what does he know about appreciating poetry? He just felt that the dancing and singing women were very pleasant to listen to, so he sat on the wall, nodding his head and paying attention. "This is much better than those songstresses from before, tonight if nothing happens, I'll bring these women to my place, not making them do hard labor, just need to play music for me."

  Several singing girls were playing and singing when a young scholar jumped into the center of the scene and interrupted their song.

  "Ladies, please don't humiliate yourselves like this. Today I'm going to that demon's mansion to reason with those demons, so that all of you ladies can escape from the sea of suffering and stop being forced to sing and dance for others every day, wasting your bodies." The young man shed tears, clasped his fists and bowed repeatedly, begging the women not to dance or sing.

  "We sisters play the pipa for those demons, letting them have their way. Why can't we use it for you?" a woman whispered, holding her pipa in her arms. "Besides, those demons are ruthless and merciless, they kill people at will, how would they listen to our words? Don't try to be strong, or you'll lose your life. If you keep your life, even if you suffer more grievances, you can still look for opportunities to serve the imperial court, not seeking to drive out the demons, but also being able to do some good for the people."

  "It's easy to say, but it's difficult to do." The scholar in the long gown looked sorrowful. "These demonic paths are extremely greedy, and they never stop extorting gold, silver, copper, and iron. Today they demand a thousand taels, tomorrow they want a hundred million, even if this dynasty is still prosperous, if we let them continue to drain our resources like this, it won't be long before we're left with nothing."

  "In order to provide gold, silver, copper and iron for the demons, tens of millions of people gave up farming and lost their lives in mine pits. Don't those demons know that the gold, silver, copper and iron they use are filled with the blood and souls of countless innocent people?"

  "The demons delight in slaughter and bloodshed, what do they care about these things?" The pipa-playing girl said softly. "All of you can serve as officials on one side, secretly using your methods to reduce the output of minerals, which is also doing a good deed for the people."

  "What's more, those demons and the emperors of old are not much different in their methods, only that the former are openly bloody, while the latter are secretive. Both exploit and toy with the masses, what's the difference?"

  "Why bother with the troubles and worries, it's better to drink wine and sing songs, to spend a few happy days is much better than being troubled and worried." A scholar took up his cup and drank heavily, then struck a stone and sang: "Spring arrives early, disturbing my clear dreams, the small buildings and pavilions praise this morning, what harm is there in wearing simple clothes and living among green mountains, with the moon like a belt, and fingers on the zither... Don't waste your youth when you are still young."

  Wang Guang almost burst out laughing when he heard the young men's conversation on the wall. "I never thought we'd become demons, but it's fine if we're demons. We weren't good people to begin with, so being called demons isn't an insult to the word 'demon'."

  He let out a few strange laughs and then suddenly appeared in the courtyard of the estate where this gathering was being held.

  The green smoke dispersed, and only the courtyard was filled with tables, chairs, and benches. There were young men and women beating drums and blowing whistles. If not for the practitioners grabbing whole cows and sheep to devour them, it would have been a beautiful scene.

  "Wang Dao You has arrived, please take a seat quickly." Leng Tong Dao Ren saw Wang Guang Yan's cigarette fall to the ground and hastily stood up to invite him to sit down: "Fellow daoist, don't blame me. After being in this mundane world for many years, I unknowingly contracted the worldly aura, so please don't blame me."

  "The Taoist friend is being polite." Since the young men and women in the villa were chatting, this guy's mood was not bad. "What needs to be discussed? Let's talk about it early and then drink and have fun, that's the wonderful thing."

  "Haha! Fellow Taoist, don't you feel embarrassed saying that? A cultivator nearby chuckled and said: "We've been waiting for you since morning. You're the one who's late, yet you're complaining about us not being punctual. What kind of logic is this?"

  As soon as he heard the voice, Wang Guang was involuntarily annoyed in his heart. The practitioner who had just spoken was actually the person with whom he had a dispute two days ago.

  "What's wrong? Don't tell me you have an opinion that can't be expressed? If you have an opinion, speak out, don't be so evasive and make people feel uncomfortable." Wang Guang sneered and swung his feather duster, not putting the Qi practitioner in his heart at all.

  "You think I'm afraid of you? Get out! Let's settle this outside the city, one of us will die today!" The cultivator was originally short-tempered, and with Wang Guang's provocation, he immediately became enraged. He pulled out two triangular awls from his waist pouch, ready to fight Wang Guang.

  "Two fellow Taoists, don't argue, and take a rest for a while." A nearby Ling Tong Taoist saw the situation and hurriedly walked to the middle of the two to persuade: "Today's discussion about the treasure house, don't fight."

  The two of them made such a commotion that the men and women were so frightened they couldn't play music or sing. However, many of the practitioners didn't pay attention to them, which was what finally allowed them to secretly let out a sigh of relief.

  "The Earth Splitting Daoist is not keeping his promise, he said that the five countries' treasures were free for us to take, but now he's come up with some sort of token or proof, and wants us to do tasks for him in order to obtain the treasures. What kind of thing is this? Does he really think he's the sect leader? Does he think we're his disciples?

  The Spirit Infant Daoist frowned slightly and said in a low voice: "Today, I invited everyone here, hoping that all of you fellow daoists can come up with a good plan to retrieve our treasures."

  "Ling Tong Daoist friend, you're wrong about this." A female Qi practitioner stood up to refute: "Liedi Daoist invited us to come out of the mountain to assist in the battle array. Although he promised many benefits, now everyone knows the situation. If we were to treasure and take it at will, then everyone would fight for it, you'd want this thing, I'd want this thing, and we'd end up hurting each other's harmony. Liedi Daoist's actions weren't bad, at least he avoided us fighting over the treasure and making a big move."

  Who would listen to her words at Ling Tong Dao Ren? As soon as she opened her mouth, she was refuted. For a time, the crowd discussed it in an uproar, some saying that Lie Di Dao Ren did the right thing, and others saying he didn't. Wang Guang stood silently on one side, his mind not on the debate at all, but rather thinking about when to refine the treasure and get rid of the Daoist who was arguing with him.