## AST 1092 – Dragon Veins? The Essence Of A Dragon – Dragon Qi, Dragon’s Spirit

The old man looked at Qing Shui with suspicion but all he could see was the calm expression on the young man’s face. He realized at that moment that he couldn’t get a clear reading on this young man, which surprised him immensely and terribly.

“Did you know that the men you killed earlier were members of our Violet Dragon Mountain?” The old man released a subtle pressure against Qing Shui as he asked this question. It seemed that he was trying to test how strong Qing Shui was.

“I didn’t know who they were, I just knew that they had to die. If a group of people wanted to kill your woman, what would you do?” Qing Shui ignored the old man’s pressure and shot back at him with his own query.

The old man’s expression grew fierce as if he could burst at any moment. However, he managed to regain his composure and said with a calm expression, “How should I address you, sir? I don’t have any ill intentions toward you and I’m pretty sure you already knew that we are from the Violet Dragon Mountain. If you don’t mind, I will treat you to a drink. As I said, I don’t have ill intentions. I just like making friends, that’s all.”

Qing Shui curled a smile and replied to the old man. “My surname’s Qing. Your kindness is duly noted but I still have things to do today. As for who really killed your men from the Violet Dragon Mountain, I have nothing more to say. I have grudges with the perpetrators, so saying more will only arouse your suspicion toward my intentions. Just wait a few days and you’ll understand eventually because I will definitely pull them up from their roots.”

Qing Shui spoke with utmost calmness as he looked at the old man. He didn’t intend to pick fights with these people today but if they wished to brawl with him, then he would have no choice but to comply with their intent. The reason Qing Shui said so was because he feared that the enemy still had surviving forces they could summon. He wasn’t entirely certain about his assumptions but he was quite sure that one of his allies would sweep off those from the Violet Dragon Mountain should the remaining forces make their move.

When a leader fell, the others would disperse and scatter. As long as he was able to send the Lion King’s Ridge to oblivion, many would want to bask themselves in the light of his glory. After all, underneath the existence of a mighty power was none other than the promise of wealth. How could they miss the opportunity to reap the fortune of another? Besides, a lot of people hated the Lion King’s Ridge, so many would join in to further spit on their fallen banner.

However, that moment was still within his reach, yet Qing Shui could already predict the outcome. The Lion King’s Ridge would not be easily beaten, however, he decided to build up his power before he faced them in the future. Preparations before battle would always be necessary.

“Alright, since we have come to this point, then we won’t disturb you any longer. If you ever come to the Violet Dragon Mountain, please just use my name Zilong Shi and someone will direct you to me.” The old man smiled as he waved at Qing Shui. He then took his leave with his men.

Qing Shui waved back at him too, smiling as if nothing had happened. It was at that moment that he realized how some men would be able to maintain their composure during times of imminent danger. It wasn’t the result of some special training but because there wasn’t any danger to begin with. Some may view a situation as a threat, while others would see it in another light, allowing them to remain calm and resilient. Only when they saw that their life was in great peril would they would start to panic and lose their composure.

After being interrupted by the members of the Violet Dragon Mountain, everyone had lost their interest in their initial plan to roam around, so they decided to descend from the mountain and go somewhere else nearby. They had made up their mind to rest for a night here before journeying to their home tomorrow morning.

The rocks of the Dragon Spine Mountain were extremely—sturdy as raw steel—yet they never disturbed the growth of the flourishing plants even the slightest. The force of the seeds and plants could penetrate through the hard rocks as they strived to grow, just like the plants in his past life—the fragile grasses were able to crack even the sturdiest of floor tiles.

The plants in this vicinity were of the pine variety. They were tall and extremely dense in nature. Moreover, they were abnormally vigorous—this was actually considered normal in places where spiritual energy was abundant. Only mountains deprived of spiritual energy would be barren and filled with nothing but rocks.

“Daddy, look at that highest point. Let’s set up camp there!”

After they had crossed the Dragon Spine Mountain twice with the Nine Continents Step, Luan Luan pointed at the highest peak as she spoke to her father.

“Alright, whatever you like to do today, we will do it.” Qing Shui said with a smile. The ladies did not utter a word and continued to follow him towards the highest point of the mountain. The air in the atmosphere began to change as they proceeded not too far from their starting point. The weather in this vast area varied from extreme hot to bitter cold, with warmth in between and occasional rains. Hail storms were known to strike this part of the lands as well. In spite of all of this, Qing Shui was unfazed at the ever changing weather as the World of the Nine Continents was too vast—it was normal for him to encounter several forms of weather in multiple places through the Nine Continents Steps.

Qing Shui peered at the highest part of the mountain from a distance before he turned around to look behind him. The highest peak seemed like the protruding part of a dragon’s back and was the coldest part of the entire area. The coldness felt at the peak was the most painful kind, yet there was no snow to be seen. The air around the peak was dry, almost as if it could slice through a human flesh easily.

Dragon veins?

A thought then flashed through his mind. He had read about the legend of the dragon veins from a few books before, which stated that the structure of the Dragon Spine Mountain was that of a dragon. However, this didn’t mean that the mountains he was seeing would definitely be the dragon veins. The true meaning of the dragon veins was not in its appearance but the Dragon Force contained within it.

In actuality, the dragon veins were only a specific point on a mountain. It was rumored that the real Dragon’s Qi was hidden in there, which was essentially the essence of a dragon.

Qing Shui looked at the highest point of the mountain in the distance with shocked eyes. His heart was beating with excitement and joy.

“Is this the area of the dragon veins?”

The ladies were stunned as they turned to look at Qing Shui with a puzzled expression. He regained his composure and let out a chuckle as he said, “Do you think it’s possible that the dragon veins is over there?”

The ladies were shocked. Some of them couldn’t comprehend what he had said, while some were just looking at the elevated distance with unbelievable gazes. Hai Dongqing then calmly spoke out, “This can’t be a coincidence, can it?”

“I don’t think it’s a coincidence either. This is the dragon veins we are talking about. If it’s real, then we have really lucked out.” Qing Shui said to the ladies and Little Fattie contentedly while making his way toward the higher altitude.

“What’s dragon veins? Daddy!” Luan Luan asked as she followed along with his pace.

“I’m not too sure myself. According to the legends, the dragon veins is a mountain where dragons were said to be buried a long time ago. Dragons exist in the legends. The burial of the dragons would take ten of thousands of years or more to form the Qi of the dragon veins, which is said to contain the essence and Qi of a whole dragon. The whole mountain can be considered as the dragon veins but the real essence of the Qi of dragon veins is only a small area. There’s one location in the mountain where the Dragon’s Qi is at its optimum, which can be used to cleanse the bodies of humans and demonic beasts. Basically, the benefits are huge. However, this is just a legend. No one really knows if it’s true or not.” Qing Shui explained beamingly.

“Ah, then we should take a look. If this is the dragon veins, that’d be great.” As soon as Luan Luan was done talking, she pulled Qing Shui by his hand and went towards the higher altitude hurriedly.

When they finally got close to the mountain range’s peak, they realized that the mountain was actually quite tall. Even though the mountain range was still considered towering when they were situated far away, they realized the size of the mountain range was much larger than they had initially anticipated.

The circumference of this area was about 1,000 meters. Upon stepping onto the soil of the surrounding mountain range, the piercing cold of the winter breeze vanished instantly. Instead, they were greeted with a type of warm sensation that was able to dispel the coldness of the chilling wind they had felt a second ago.

It was then that Qing Shui felt there was something odd about this place. By common sense, this kind of situation would not be possible. This area was filled with an abundance of life, yet there were no signs of vegetation forming on this land. The rocks under his feet were paler than the rocks found in other places too. All in all, this place felt surreal and different from the reality that they were accustomed to.

“This place is very different. Maybe this really is the dragon veins!” Yu He exclaimed as she observed the surrounding area. After that, she shifted her focus to the rocks beneath her feet.

Qing Shui stomped on the ground forcefully but he couldn’t even crack the surface of the rocks, which shocked him for a moment. “Are the rocks that sturdy?”

He had a feeling that they weren’t the first to venture into the dragon veins and that someone else had made the same guesses regarding this mountain range was the dragon veins. However, for a place like this to remain pristine and undamaged, the probability of this whole area being the dragon veins was quite high. Despite so, it wouldn’t be easy to extract the Dragon Qi lingering in this area should this prove to be the real dragon veins that they had initially thought of.

Qing Shui and the ladies went nearby and surveyed the area to look for new discoveries or anything to prove that this was the dragon veins. Even though they were looking forward to it, they didn’t have high expectations when imagining what it would be like if their speculations were true.

“Daddy, there must be something down here. I can feel it and it’s very strong. Are we going to raze this entire area? Daddy tried it just now, and it seems really difficult to even break these rocks.” Luan Luan said with a smile as she walked alongside Qing Shui.

“I don’t think that’s necessary. Even if there’s really a place of concentrated Qi of dragon veins down there, I don’t need to raze this area. It’s useless anyway, because the violent Dragon Qi will only wreck this place. We will need another way to gather the ‘Dragon Qi’. Maybe extracting the Dragon Qi slowly, for example.” Qing Shui spoke after a brief moment of pondering.

“Then what should we do?” Luan Luan asked hesitantly.

“‘I’m not sure!” Qing Shui shook his head.

“I’ve seen the method of extracting the Dragon Qi by chance but I’m not sure if it’s real. In essence, you have to focus your mind on the Dragon Qi condensed in the dragon’s power until a point where it is possible to extract the Dragon Qi safely appears,” said Yu He with a frown, as if she had thought about it thoroughly before explaining it to the others.

Yu He seemed like she had just blurted out some random words from her mouth because most of them couldn’t understand what she was talking about. Meanwhile, Qing Shui’s eyes lit up brightly. He looked at Yu He with a sudden impulse to give her a kiss or two but couldn’t due to the presence of the other ladies and Little Fattie. All he could do in this moment was to resist his impulses and control his emotions.

“I will try it. Let’s test out Sister Yu He’s method to see if it’s real or not.” Qing Shui chuckled.

Four Symbols Formation!

The first thing that popped into his mind was the Four Symbols Formation, that consisted of the Azure Dragon position, Vermilion Bird position, White Tiger position, and Black Tortoise position. Yu He did mention something about the condensed dragon power or a method of possibly absorbing the Dragon Qi successfully.

Azure Dragon’s position!

This was the focal point of this formation for this particular situation. If this was where the Dragon Qi was most concentrated under the dragon veins, he could think of ways to extract it regardless of the method. He increased the power of the Four Symbols Formation to its maximum even though this method might not work at all. Thinking about it would only incite his excitement further, because Dragon Qi was particularly precious. It was useful for not only humans but for demonic beasts as well. Anyone and anything could absorb the Dragon Qi without a problem. However, the amount one would be able to absorb would be dependent on their luck and nature’s order. If one was lucky enough, they would be able to reap benefits beyond greatness.

Qing Shui called out the Golden Scaled Dragon Elephant first before he began summoning his Fire Bird and the Spirited Snake Turtle into the formation. The key point of the Four Symbols Formation was the use of bloodline. Qing Shui felt that the three demonic beasts he had summoned met the requirements. The remaining spot was the White Tiger position, so he decided to take on that mantle himself. However, at the moment of his summoning, he felt a slight change inside the Realm of the Violet Jade Immortal. The realm had shrunk a little before it had reverted back to its original size a few moments later.

He was no stranger to the Four Symbols Formation as he had practiced the placement of positions with his demonic beasts numerous times. The Spirited Snake Turtle had also participated in the same formation inside the Realm of the Violet Jade several times, performing outstandingly in the Black Tortoise position more than the Five-Headed Demonic Spider could ever dream of.

And so, Qing Shui stood at the White Tiger position!

Setting formation!

A subtle and formidable force began to rise up quickly and shrouded Qing Shui and his demonic beasts in an instant. The subtle layer of energy began to mix in with the formidable force, enveloping Qing Shui’s formation completely. The Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth quickly flowed towards the Four Symbol Formation like a tsunami raging into the inner lands.

The ladies could feel the power of the Four Symbols Formation surrounding them becoming stronger. They felt constrained from time to time, alternating between feelings of comfort, the sensation of heaviness, and a feeling of desolation.

Roar, screech…..

A series of demonic cries rang out. Some of the cries sounded deep, some sounded distinct, while some sounded like a clear screeching noise. Each cry that rang out strengthened the Four Symbols Formation by the minute.

Dragon’s Spirit!

The body of the Golden Scaled Dragon Elephant gleamed in a brilliant golden light, as it let out a distinct deadly shout before flying up towards the sky!