by Tony Tran
Upon returning to their camp and entering his tent, Zhang withdrew a map made from golden silk and placed it atop a large table. This map, of course, was the map that he had obtained a long time ago that depicted the ever moving dragon’s veins.
Once the map was laid out on the table, mountains and forests began to form on to, along with the depiction of a dragon’s head at a location roughly a day’s travel from where Zhang was camped.
“We finally are close enough to one that it won't disappear by the time we get to it. Now I'll finally be able to break, though.” Zhang said.
After stepping into the seventh level of cultivation his progressed had stalled. None of the beauties nor Zhang were able to break through to the eighth level due to the lack of cultivation materials available and the low density of essence in the air. Had he been in the Underworld where the essence is abundant then breaking through would not be an issue at all.
So considering how hard it was to obtain cultivation materials within the warring states region, Zhang’s best bet was to locate a dragon’s vein. He would periodically check for them but they were either nonexistent or too far away.
The veins ran beneath the earth and would often move from one place to the next. They generally only stayed in the same spot for roughly ten to fifteen days. Considering the speed, he could travel by horse, Zhang had never been able to reach any of the veins that had appeared on the map before.
But luckily for him, while moving through the Dark Sea Province, a vein appeared and judging from its location on the map it would only take him a day’s travel from Dark Sea City. Hence, the reason why he gave Liu Biao three days’ time to decide whether to surrender or not.
This would give Zhang two days to travel and one day to absorb the abundant energy from the vein. One might wonder why Zhang did not allow himself a larger time frame to absorb the essence from the vein, by the answer is simple.
Although the vein itself possessed a nearly inexhaustible amount of essence, the locations that show up on the map was merely spots where its essence had seeped through the earth and rose to the surface. The vein itself was located deep underground, far from the reaches of man.
Meaning only a portion of the vein was available for absorption. But nonetheless, this portion would still be of massive help.
“Once we consolidate our rule, I'll send some people to dig all the way down there.” Zhang thought. Such a project, of course, would need an unbelievable amount of manpower and massive funds to accomplish but all of this would be available to him once the Warring States Region was united under one rule.
After confirming the location of the dragon’s vein, Zhang, the beauties and Little White departed from camp. If they brought along all of their soldiers and generals, then there was without a doubt that the vein would be depleted in next to no time. So for once they decided to be greedy and hog the vein to themselves.
In the end, there was no one to rely on but yourself anyway.
While Zhang was away, control of the army would be given to Sima Yi due to his seniority but if big decisions had to be made the two of them had to work together.
Atop their fiery mounts and clad in dazzling white armor, Zhang and the beauties rode over vast fields and rugged mountain paths.
The further they got away from Dark Sea City the more serene the scenery became. Once they had left the fifty-mile radius around Dark Sea City, small villages comprised of a few dozen homes would often pop up.
These places interacted so little with the outside world that it seemed like they did not know a war was happening at all.
Unlike the usual suspicious gazes and fearful expression made when strangers rode into villages while clad in armor, these people looked in intrigue and awe.
Due to the time that they had departed from camp Zhang and the beauties had to camp outside for the night. Well, one wouldn't call it camping because with a wave of his hand Zhang had withdrawn their magical carriage from his inner spatial ring.
To allow their horses to move at maximum speed they had not traveled within the carriage, but thankfully it could be stored away within an interspatial ring, so it could be used for other purposes.
So as the stars appeared overhead and illuminated the skies and while the moon smiled down and radiated the night, our prince and princesses were all seated around a warm campfire.
“So which one of my beautiful wives will be cooking dinner tonight?” Zhang laughed.
Ai gaze shifted toward Yuying, while Yuying’s gaze shifted to Ling, whose gaze finally landed on Lingqi.
“I can make dinner but considering the amount of time I spend dealing with poisons, I think I'll end up getting everyone sick.” Lingqi said with a laugh.
While Lingqi was threatening everyone with poison, Ai began to whistle and pretend she didn't know what was happening.
After some funny looks and failed attempts to get someone else to cook, it was decided that everyone would cook one dish.
Soon a meal consisting of five dishes were laid out within the magical carriage. Ai had called dibs on the easiest but more essential dish of all, the rice. While the other beauties each made a simple dish of their own. Zhang had outdone everyone by going into the woods and coming back with a large boar which he grilled over an open fire.
So after a hearty meal filled with weird looks, everyone crawled into bed. Once in bed, no one would fall asleep for at least a few hours of course since an epic war was still raging on and neither side was able to show clear dominance.
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While Zhang and the beauties were headed toward the dragon’s vein, within the confines of the provincial lord's within Dark Sea City, Liu Biao could be seen pacing back and forth through his study.
With only three days to make a decision that may lead to his demise, Liu Biao’s head felt like it was going to explode.
There were currently five scenarios playing out over and over in his mind. The first was one where he refused Zhang’s offer and Dark Sea City was sieged, resulting in his death. The second scenarios were not too different besides the fact that he manages to repel Zhang's forces but later ends up dead because after Aurora’s forces withdrew, the Dark Sea Army was no longer strong enough defend itself against the other southern provinces, which would also result in his death.
The third scenarios were one in which Liu Biao chose to surrender and Zhang’s army sweep through the southern provinces, crushing all who stand in their way. But the end result would be that Liu Biao outlived his usefulness and is killed by Zhang.
The fourth scenario is one where Zhang’s forces are defeated and dispersed by the southern alliance and the Dark Sea Province is persecuted for defecting. This, of course, would result in Liu Biao’s death also.
Lastly, there was the fifth scenario where everything ends well and Liu Biao becomes duke of the southern lands.
Liu Biao felt that odds were entirely against him because no matter what he did there was only a one in five chance of surviving this situation. Currently, he was stuck between a rock and a hard place, without a clear way out.
“Damn it…” Liu Biao cursed as he sweeper his arms and caused everything on his desk to drop into the ground.
“What's wrong father?” Liu Shan said as he entered the room. He had been passing by and heard the commotion so he wanted to check if everything was okay.
“Shan, come here.” Liu Biao said.
Once Liu Shan arrived in front of him, Liu Biao began to speak.
“What do you think we should do? Should we surrender or should we fight?” He asked in a dejected tone.
“Neither, I say we pretend to surrender and secretly work with the other provinces to put an end to Aurora.” Liu Shan replied instantly without a thought.
“You think we can establish contact with the other provinces without Zhuge Liang noticing? It wouldn't be too farfetched to believe that he has placed spies and subordinates throughout the southern region.” Liu Biao ret
orted.
“If we don't surrender we have to fight, if we surrender we have to fight….” Liu Shan said with a sigh.
“How about we call for a meeting with all of the government officials within the city and see their opinion.” Liu Shan suggested after a long pause.
“Hmph most of those fools know nothing and all their good at is sucking up. You really want to give them a say in a decision that can bring about the end of our province?” Liu Biao snorted.
“Then how about spread news that we did fight against Aurora but lost, while in actuality we surrendered.” Liu Shan suggested.
“Fool, that would defeat the purpose of us surrendering in the first place. That Zhang fellow wanted us to surrender to set an example for the rest of the provincial lords. He wants to show them that if they surrender to him they will receive benefits without suffering any disadvantages.” Liu Biao said.
“Then we should take a gamble and surrender.” Liu Yuan’s voice echoed as entered the room.
“If all paths lead to death then we might as well pick the path that gives us the longest time to live. We need not think too far in the future when the problem is at our doorsteps.” He said.
Although both of Liu Biao’s sons were playboys, Liu Yuan was the brighter one of the two.
Of course despite Liu Yuan’s suggestion, he, his brother and his father would have to spend the next two days on finalizing their answer to Zhang.
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Meanwhile within the New Moon Province, Xiao Hua was having the time of her life.
She had totally forgotten or well chose to forget, about her mission to track down the person who knew how to open the Reaper’s Coffin. Instead, she had sent her subordinates on a wild goose chase while she herself spent her time enjoying various tourist attractions and delicacies.
She who rarely ever got an opportunity to leave the order was going to enjoy this one chance to its fullest.
“I hope we never find out who it was.” She thought as went from stall to stall down a busy street buying up various foods.
“I wonder where I should go next, maybe Aurora or Star mist will be fun.” She thought while nibbling on some food.
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In the depths of the Underworld, the Yama was still processing through all of the paperwork that had to deal with the Underworlds influx of residences.
By now he had stopped cursing Zhang and his rage had subsided. Of course, there was still the occasional mumble when more paperwork showed up on his desk.
“That damn rascal…” He would say with a sigh.
Before when he was anger was at its peak he had been ready to order for an additional floor to be made within the eighteen levels of hell, especially for his silly son in law. However, the thought of never being visited by his daughter and grandkids had kept his anger in check.
“I'll lock you so deep down there that you'll never see the light of day again…” He went on and on before he changed his mind.
“Hopefully, my grandchildren won't come out a rascal like their father.” Was something the Yama would also often say after giving up on the idea of making a floor in hell for Zhang.
Very much like Liu Biao, the Yama was extremely torn on what to do.
Chapter 44: Dragon's Vein
It was noon before Zhang and the beauties had set foot into large cavern that opened on the side of a steep cliff which was located within a deep ravine.
Had it not been for the Wraith Spiders, it would have been next to impossible to enter the cavern without the risk of slipping and falling to one’s death.
The moment they were within the cavern, Zhang could feel that the essence present in the air was already a fraction greater than how it regularly was.
As if it was reacting to the increase of essence within the cave, Little White jumped out of Ling’s arms and ran about excitedly. This of course, was a very adorable sight considering Little White looked like a fluffy kitten.
While Little White was playing around, the Underworld Heart which was inside Zhang’s chest began to turn his body into a vortex as it took in the essence from the surrounding area.
With a thought from Zhang, the essence taken in by the Underworld Heart was equally distributed among the group.
Although a part of Zhang wanted to be stronger than his wives so that he could shelter and protect them, he felt it was much more logical for everyone to be equally as strong. That way everyone can protect themselves even if he were not around.
He thought about how so many powerful men would often pair themselves with women who were basically damsels in distress and were solely dependent on their man to survive and came to the conclusion that such pairings were often disasters waiting to happen.
Honestly Zhang would have probably been one of these men too had it not been for his experiences and the memory of his past life, he would have wanted to become a pillar of support, one that could hold up the skies and keep it from crashing down on his loved ones. But thanks to his experiences and memories, his way of thinking was gradually changed.
The world is filled with dangers and life could slip away from our hands at any moment for any reason, so if someone was solely dependent on someone else, then what happens with that person that we depend on disappear.
Women who are dependent on their husbands often find themselves in seriously troubling and dangerous situations once their husband dies or disappears. Stereotypically stories of widows being kicks out of their homes or being forced into this and that were common occurrences in this time and age.
Since Zhang did not know the future, there was always the possibility that one day he might disappear or be stuck somewhere and unable to return, while his wives and children would have to fend for themselves so to prepare for this possibility he preferred to gradually grow stronger together with the beauties.
That way he wouldn’t have to worry about their safety every time he left home or was apart from them. It also helped establish an equal relationship amongst him and his wives, where no one was really the dominant figure.
As they traveled deeper and deeper into the cave the concentration of essence continued to raise.
“If we are able to go directly to the source then there would be an inexhaustible supply of essence there. I’m definitely going to have people try to dig down there and see if we can tap into the vein.” Zhang muttered.
Sadly, the pickets of essence which appear on Zhang’s map were only excess essence that was released from the Dragon’s Vein and not the vein itself. Over time essence would travel from deep beneath the earth from the Dragon’s Vein up to the surface through cracks in the ground.
Once a considerable amount of essence is saturated in the ground, it’ll seep through to the surface. But due to the nature of essence, these pockets would quickly disperse or condense together over ten or fifteen days.
So, it was not the vein that traveled but the pockets of essence disappearing that had been preventing Zhang from harnessing its power. The vein itself did not move but was inaccessible due to how deep it was underground.
After walking a considerable distance into the cave the density of essence in the air ceased to increase. Instead the cavern walls were now lined with hundreds of sparkling purplish crystals.
“Spirit stones.” Yuying said as she plucked one of the purplish crystals out from the wall.
“Simply inject some essence into it and it’ll turn into a gas and can be absorbed to either strengthen one’s cultivation or replenish one’s essence stores like our essence water does.” She added.
“We should collect them all after we finish absorbing the essence in the cave.” Zhang suggested as he sat cross legged onto the ground and began mediating. Soon after his wives gathered around him and also sat cross legged on the ground.
As the Underworld Heart gathered all of the essence in the air and distributed it amongst the group, everyone began circulating the essence throughou
t their bodies.