Chapter 123: Rewarding Merit

Guang Wang nodded slightly, the beaded curtain on his crown swaying.

"As long as you understand, then my painstaking efforts were not in vain!"

Seeing him turn to leave, Su Yuanshan could not help but ask.

"Shenjun, these mortals... what do you think?"

Seeming to guess what was on Su Yuanshan's mind, Guang Wang said.

"I have already purged the demonic Qi from their bodies. They are not in any serious danger, merely unconscious for the moment; they will naturally wake up in a few days."

"Demonic Qi?" Su Yuanshan could not help but feel puzzled.

"Shenjun, was that black smoke truly demonic Qi?"

Guang Wang seemed somewhat surprised.

"You do not know? This place is a battlefield of the war between gods and demons; countless demons are sealed beneath it! Of course, there is more than one such battlefield.

And the one from just now was no ordinary demonic entity. Judging by that aura, it should be an ancient demon from the Lower Ancient Era. To be precise, it was merely a wisp of demonic Qi leaked by that ancient demon to wreak havoc. It must be that due to the passage of time, the seal loosened slightly, allowing it to succeed. Fortunately, I arrived in time and resealed it!

Actually, counting it up, this is also to your credit. Had you not sent the divine message for help in time, I would not have come. I will make sure to record this for you!"

After hearing him say this, Su Yuanshan finally understood.

However, this was a good thing for him; after all, he had gained another merit.

Who would fear having too many merits? Naturally, no one!

Su Yuanshan nodded slightly.

"This subordinate understands." Just as he wanted to bid farewell to Guang Wang, he suddenly remembered an important matter, his heart stirred, and he could not help but ask.

"Shenjun, regarding the Penglai Great Immortal Trial, I would still like to consult you..."

"Penglai Great Immortal Trial?"

Guang Wang had been looking at the distant mountains as if lost in thought, seemingly pondering something. Upon hearing this, he could not help but be startled, and he sized up Su Yuanshan with interest before saying.

"You mean the Penglai Great Immortal Trial, not the Penglai Immortal Gathering?

If it were the Penglai Immortal Gathering, it is held once every hundred years or so. Although the conditions for participation are harsh, they are much more lenient compared to the Penglai Great Immortal Trial!

The Penglai Great Immortal Trial is also the largest of the Penglai Immortal Gatherings, and the most lively one. It is held once every thousand years, and the conditions for participation are extremely harsh!

Of course, if you do not participate in the Great Immortal Trial portion, the conditions might be lowered somewhat."

Seeing Su Yuanshan's eyes light up, Guang Wang laughed heartily, stroking his beard in the wind as he said.

"It seems you are quite interested in this gathering. Very well, I have had the fortune to attend the Penglai Immortal Gathering a few times, though they were all small-scale ones, so I shall tell you about it."

Guang Wang held up a finger and said.

"The first thing is the time; as I just said, it is held once every thousand years. The second thing is the level of cultivation; to participate in the Great Immortal Trial, the minimum cultivation level is Great Freedom, and there is no limit to the maximum cultivation level.

Third, every match in the Great Immortal Trial is different. Not only are the contents of the trials varied and all-encompassing, but the rules of the trials are also different. Furthermore, every Great Immortal Trial is graded. The higher the grade of the Great Immortal Trial you participate in, the more abundant the rare treasures, divine weapons, immortal artifacts, secret manuals, and scriptures you obtain, and they will be of higher value and better grade.

Fourth, most of the time, immortals or gods of the same cultivation level compete on the stage, and the cultivation level is only allowed to exceed the opponent by at most three major realms! Any more than that is considered invalid! And also..."

Guang Wang gave Su Yuanshan a detailed introduction, even more detailed than what Guangyuanzi had introduced before. This also made Su Yuanshan feel the other's sincerity invisibly, and this was one of the main gods of the Fengdu Luoshan Baisi, who was known to be impartial and incorruptible.

This also made him even more confused. He had originally thought that King Guangwang, as one of the Ten Yama Kings, would have an image of an impartial, cold-hearted, and ruthless King of Hell, but after meeting him, he found it was far beyond his imagination.

Guang Wang answered every question he had and did not put on any airs in front of him at all.

Why was this? He truly could not understand!

After bidding farewell to Guang Wang, Su Yuanshan left the Taoyuan Xujing.

Standing on the broken stele of the Gumu Jinxu, he looked up at the bright moon and felt the chilly autumn wind.

Then he gave a light, sharp shout.

"Where are the Huangliang Yinchai?"

Before long, ghostly winds began to blow all around, and shadows flickered; it seemed something had sensed his summons.

They gathered one after another, among which two figures in black robes gradually revealed their forms, walked before him, and bowed.

"Huangliang Yinchai Ji Laowu and Huangliang Yinchai Gou Laoliu pay respects to the Prefecture Lord!"

Su Yuanshan scanned them and discovered one was a rooster that had attained enlightenment, and the other was a black dog that had attained enlightenment, but both had entered the cycle of reincarnation, been entered into the register, and become Yinchai puppets.

Su Yuanshan even found one of them looking somewhat familiar, so he asked that Yinchai who was formerly a black dog.

"Have I seen you somewhere before?"

That black dog Yinchai said with a look of shame.

"The Prefecture Lord has a good memory! This little god was originally a black dog belonging to the Liu family in Liu Sang Cun. For generations, I received the kindness of their family, so I took up residence near a large willow tree near their home as a cultivation site, occasionally performing services for the villagers such as curing headaches and fevers, and driving away external demons and ghosts.

However, later, in order to repay their kindness, I went to protect the Liu family and was unfortunately killed by a centipede demon. Thus, I entered the cycle of reincarnation. Later, the Judge checked the records and found that my black dog family had been kind for generations and helped villagers, never having done evil. Only then was I recruited into the Underworld, and after the Prefecture Lord's vermilion brush imperial approval, I was assigned here to serve as a Yinchai.

I owe all of this to you, Prefecture Lord; otherwise, this little one would likely not be here today."

As he spoke, his gratitude flowed naturally.

After hearing him say this, Su Yuanshan seemed to recall it; there really was such a matter, but because he had too many miscellaneous tasks, he had not paid much attention to it.

He thought to himself, it seems that his character of loyalty to his master from his previous life as a dog had not changed.

Su Yuanshan nodded slightly and said.

"As a black dog, your loyalty in protecting your master is commendable, which is why you have this good fortune. This seat merely acted in accordance with the will of Heaven!"

Gou Laoliu said gratefully.

"Even so, this little one is still grateful for your grace, my Lord!"

Beside him, Ji Laowu saw Gou Laoliu cozying up to the City God while he himself was anxious but unable to get a word in, so he could not help but become even more anxious and stammered.

"My... City God... Lord, this little one is Ji Laowu, orig... originally a chicken from the old Mei family in Tuchengtou Cun of Xinglongbeiying, this little one..."

Su Yuanshan was clearly not very interested in his life story as a chicken. Just as he was about to open his mouth to order them to do things, his heart suddenly stirred, and he asked suspiciously.

"The old Mei family in Tuchengtou Cun? Then do you know someone named Mei Silang?"

Feeling that he had finally established a connection, Ji Laowu seemed to stammer even more.

"Ye... yes, Lord City God.... I... I know him, I know him...... That Mei Silang is the son of my old master! He counts as my little master. Later, after the little master left, the tiny little master was only two years old and nearly bitten by a venomous snake; it was I who saved him........."

Su Yuanshan seemed to understand a little after hearing this; it turned out these two Yinchai both possessed merit, which was why they were promoted to Yinchai.

But suddenly, he realized another problem.........