Chapter 22: A Futile Joy

  A Taoist robe that had been washed until it was somewhat bleached, white leg bindings, and black cloth shoes, with a lean and agile appearance of a wandering Taoist official, which was far from the image of a bearded and benevolent Taoist priest in Chen An's mind.

  After the two sides exchanged greetings, Daozhang chuckled a few times, "I am Qingyangzi, from the Qiongtai Mountain Wudang Temple. I have been traveling in the clouds for many years and differ from the Taoist priests in the minds of donors."

  Chen An felt embarrassed at being seen through and hastily invited Daozhang to have a cup of tea.

  After sitting for a while, Chen An politely asked, "Qingyangzi Daozhang, what brings you here?"

  With a thoughtful tone, Qingyangzi smiled and said, "I think you're an impatient person, so I'll just say it straight out. Mount Kongtong is where the ancient Guangchengzi and Chisongzi cultivated their Dao, and even the Yellow Emperor came to ask about longevity. Therefore, Mount Kongtong has its own profound traditions, one of which is recognizing the location of the world's qi operation. The area within a few hundred miles around here is exactly where the Nine Provinces' dragon pulse is located."

  Dragon Pulse? Chen An was so frightened that he dropped the teacup in his hand and stared at Daozhang in disbelief.

  Suddenly, Chen An's face sank and he immediately ordered the guards to guard the house ten meters outside, prohibiting anyone from peeking. Then, coldly, he said to Dao Zhang, "Dao Zhang, be careful with your words. If you accidentally provoke the imperial court's suspicion, I'll send you to the ninth heaven first."

  Qingyangzi smiled, dipped his finger in tea water and drew a few strokes on the tea table. "Please take a look, master. This is a brief topography of the surrounding hundred miles. Doesn't it look like a group of dragons rolling over? Especially here, it looks more like two dragons playing with a pearl?"

  Chen An watched Daozhang's movements, but his heart was stirred up like a huge wave. Lin Yushan's scope of observation had already been very large, and the topography of the map was just as Daozhang had drawn it. However, Qingyangzi only used simple strokes to reveal the extraordinary features of the terrain. Double Dragons Playing with the Pearl? Chen An suddenly stood up straight, shocked to discover that the pearl was actually the back mountain of Chenjiazhuang.

  The next words scared Chen An silly.

  Qingyangzi said slowly, "The overall trend of the world has both great dragons and small dragons. Great dragons control the earth's energy, with wind and rain in harmony, achieving a dominant career. Small dragons also communicate with the earth's energy, endowing resources, and increasing mysterious luck. Great dragons are often the focus of past dynasties, while small dragons are overlooked. Earth produces metal, where there is a small dragon, there must be golden energy, producing gold is not necessarily a small dragon pattern, but a small dragon pattern must contain golden energy."

  "In the area of several hundred miles around where the master is located, there are at least 99 small dragons, so there are at least 81 golden veins. Before this, many people saw the golden veins, but no one had the ability to use them, nor would they disturb the dragon's pattern. However, it can be said that Daoist Zhang wandered here and unexpectedly discovered that the golden veins in this place have already been utilized, and the dragon energy is subtly fluctuating."

  Chen An broke out in a cold sweat. Dammit, could these Taoist priests really see something about the dragon veins? The unfathomable and mysterious powers of the gods were indeed real?

  With a flicker of his eyes, Chen An immediately grabbed the Daoist priest's hand and said hastily, "Priest, if you have something to say, please speak quickly. I'm listening carefully, or else I'll build a Daoist temple for you!"

  Qingyangzi smiled and looked at Chen An, somehow withdrawing his hand and picking up the teacup to take a few sips.

  Bad, forgot, the Kongtong Sect is a sacred place for martial arts, these Taoist priests are wandering outside, aren't they all skilled in martial arts before they dare to venture out into the chaotic world. Chen An's hands were empty, and his heart suddenly skipped a beat, the idea of capturing the Taoist priest had to dissipate like smoke.

  Hurry up and busily make tea for Daozhang, Chen An this time sincerely asked Daozhang for advice.

  The dragon vein is the rise and fall of the dynasty, as long as the dragon vein is discovered, no matter how big or small, the court will absolutely not let it go, and take the dragon vein to enhance the fortune of the current dynasty. Chen An was naturally anxious in his heart, if someone found out that there was a surge of dragon energy here, the old and young people of Chenjiazhuang would be in danger.

  Isn't the imperial dragon vein in the Northeast? How can digging a hole at home stir up the dragon vein, has the imperial prestige collapsed? Chen An scolded loudly in his heart.

  What made Chen An even more stunned was that Qingyangzi was very clear about what Chen An had done recently, and he also appreciated Chen An's temperament. He also found that his aura was extremely good, which was why Daozhang came over to remind him of a few things.

  The small dragon veins are different from the large dragon veins, and only by gathering more can they form a situation that is on par with the large dragon veins. At least nine small dragons are needed to be comparable to one large dragon vein.

  The numerous Longmai in Longnan is unimaginable, but this mysterious secret has only been passed down orally within the Taoist and Buddhist esoteric schools, because no one had ever been able to stir up the dragon energy before. The Han people's inherited Taoist and Buddhist esoteric schools were even more unwilling to inform the current court of this secret, which was composed of people from humble origins, resulting in the court being completely ignorant.

  Qingyangzi Daochang firmly stated that the Longnan Small Dragon Vein absolutely exceeds 81, and it is possible that it is the location of the Nine States' Qi operation, so it cannot be damaged. Therefore, he rushed to discuss with Chen An how to protect the dragon vein. In those years, Qin rose in Longnan, but later moved to Guanzhong, and the Qi operation was discounted, yet it still created a dynasty that lasted for thousands of years, which is clear evidence.

  Qingyangzi gave Chen An an idea, either to restore everything, or to use a divine instrument to calm down the dragon energy surging out of the back mountain, so as to continue enjoying the great fortune brought by the dragon vein, but he could no longer continue to excavate the gold vein.

  Chen An immediately arranged for people to fill in all the pits dug out on the barren mountain, covering them with enough thick mud, and transplanting a large number of trees, completely concealing the gold vein. As for his own backyard, Chen An still stopped only after digging enough space for a secret room.

  Is that a divine artifact? The Xuan-Yuan Sword, the Kong-Tong Seal and other such divine artifacts, not to mention Chen An, even Qing Yang Zi doesn't know if they really exist. But Chen An has a mysterious suitcase in his hands, right? In Chen An's heart, this is already a divine artifact. In life, can one not have the courage to take a gamble?

  Qingyangzi Daozhang had originally planned to leave after the desolate mountain was restored, but he was pulled back by Chen An. Chen An had taken a liking to Qingyangzi Daozhang's extraordinary martial arts skills.

  Qingyangzi, who was being pestered to no end, and also had a good impression of Chen An's enthusiasm for protecting the nine states' energy, finally agreed to stay for three more days and teach a martial art to someone designated by Chen An.

  Chen An immediately called over Hu Zi to receive Qingyangzi's temporary teachings.

  Qingyangzi pinched the bone marrow of Hu Zi and revealed a surprised expression. After a moment of contemplation, he said, "Master Chen Shi, this young man has an extraordinary skeletal structure, with innate talent. If you are willing to follow me back to the mountain, I can accept him as my disciple."

  Won't be, Chen An also strangely circled around Hu Zi a few times, making Hu Zi somewhat shy.

  "Hu Zi, this is up to you, come back and help me in a few years." Chen An also started randomly pressing Hu Zi's bones all over the place, but he didn't recognize anything, just blindly pressing away.

  "Huhu shook his head without hesitation,"Young master, I'm not going, it's better to stay in Chenjiazhuang and be at ease."

  Chen An wanted to say a few more words, but Qingyangzi stopped him. "The first reaction is the true reflection of one's heart. We are just not fated to be master and apprentice. Alright, I'll teach you the Pre-Heavenly 18 Arhat Hand."

  Dao Chang explained that the Pre-Heavenly 18 Arhats Hand is a mother fist created by Bodhidharma, and the ancestor of the Kongtong School, Fei Hongzi, learned this fist at the Shaolin Temple and passed it down to his disciples as the basic skill of the Kongtong School. However, many people are unaware that although the Pre-Heavenly 18 Arhats Hand is a fundamental martial art, it is the only method in Kongtong martial arts that can have the effect of prolonging life and increasing vitality. When practiced to a high level, it is all-encompassing and its power is not inferior to advanced martial arts. Of course, the Pre-Heavenly 18 Arhats Hand is easy to learn but difficult to master, requiring great perseverance to achieve results.

  Hu Zi's simple and honest heart is actually beneficial for mastering the eighteen Arhats' techniques. Chen An listened with great interest, and hastily asked if he could learn from him. The Taoist priest smiled but didn't respond, only gazing at Hu Zi. Chen An had a sudden realization, chuckled to himself, and left. After Hu Zi masters the technique, it won't be too late for him to teach us then.

  After circling around the secret room several times, Chen An came out and sent someone to call Liu Shi. "I think the support in this secret room is not very solid. In the future, we will still set up cannons on the mountain top, which will cause great vibrations and easily lead to collapse. Shouldn't we send people to Hanzhong or Xi'an to see if there are any experts who know how to use that foreign cement for reinforcement? That's the method used by the Russians in their fortresses in Liao Yang. If they have foreign cement, let's buy some back."

  Liu Shi responded with a hum, "I've seen it in the county town, but there's no such foreign ash. It seems that Hanzhong 18th Street hasn't seen it either, so I guess we'll have to send someone to Xi'an to take a look."

  Xian is here, Lao Ye Zi and others should have arrived too, Chen An Xin's mind kept turning with thoughts.

  "Well, in that case, you don't have to go. I'll personally go to Xi'an to pick up Old Master after a few days, and you can stay behind in Chenjiazhuang." Chen An finally made the decision.

  Liu Shi was taken aback for a moment before responding, "Alright."

  Three days later, Chenjiazhuang has taken shape, the village wall foundation has been laid, the two-story Chen's house is completed, and the craftsmen have started building earth walls for the villagers' houses in order from inside to outside.

  The Qingyangzi Daochang, who had taught for three days, looked at the spirited and vigorous Tiger Son with some regret as he struck the Pre-Heavenly Eighteen Arhats pose, then gave a slight bow to Chen An before floating away without waiting for Chen An's response.

  It's a pity that Chen An didn't leave behind any Taoist scriptures for Hu Zi to learn from.

  After a few days, Liu Shi received a Maxim machine gun and over a dozen boxes of ammunition from Chen An. Having witnessed the mysteriousness of Qingyangzi Daochang, Liu Shi was thoroughly numb to Young Master's actions, even if he were told that iron birds would fly in the sky, he would believe it. As for this new machine gun that suddenly appeared, he was completely indifferent, and in fact, he had just helped Hu Zi load the original machine gun onto the horse carriage ready to depart.

  With machine guns and the twenty or so men left behind by Zhao Si, Liu Shi, who was garrisoned in Chenjiazhuang, was not afraid of any force. Even if the troops from the county town's patrol camp came to attack, they would probably only be able to flee in disarray. The patrol camp stationed in the county town had only one company of soldiers, while the other two companies were stationed at Biku Matou, as it was a major tax collection point for the entire province and could not be neglected.

  Chen An led Lin Yushan, Hu Zi and thirty other men to prepare for the northward journey to Xi'an to meet the main force of Chenjiazhuang. Before leaving, Chen An hesitated for a moment and insisted that Koval, who was still seriously ill, follow him on the journey, feeling intuitively that bringing a foreigner would have a great effect.