Chapter 115: Poison Python Transforms into a Flood Dragon (4,000 words, seeking monthly votes)

The cultivation method of Shanju Guan is called the "Genyue Qi-Ingestion Method," which involves practicing by absorbing the spirit Qi of the mountains, rivers, and the earth.

However, they do not contemplate nature or inhale the natural Qi of the mountains and earth; instead, they first "worship the deity," namely the Mountain God.

This is because natural Qi is chaotic, containing both spirit Qi and Evil Qi.

But after being sorted and refined by the Mountain God, it becomes the proper "Genyue Qi."

The "Qi nature" of different mountains varies; the Qi nature of Yushan is "jade."

Therefore, this type of cultivation involves refining jade into an elixir paste to assist in practice.

Even if one cannot achieve the status of an Earth Immortal, once the soul is stained with "jade nature," it will transform into a "jade ghost," avoiding the descent into You Ming and remaining within the "Shanshen Fudi" of the Yushan Mountain God to continue practicing, eventually being able to follow Yushan and become the "Underground Lord" of a certain Earth Vein.

If one succeeds in becoming an Earth Immortal, one will possess "jade bones and jade skin," with a body like rigid jade, entirely refined and elegant.

Listening to Zhang Zhenji's explanation, Xu Jia thought to himself: "When I checked the data back then, I heard that the spirit Qi between heaven and earth is divided into three types: the upper Qi condenses into innate deities, the middle Qi resides in Immortal Truths, and the lower Qi sinks into mountains, rivers, and peaks, transforming into Blessed Lands and Water Mansions. Although they dwell in Immortal Mountains, that is because Immortal Mountains are said to be very close to the Heavenly Realm, allowing them to receive spirit Qi from the Heavenly Realm for cultivation, supported by Clear Spirit Qi, thus ascending and entering or exiting Cave Heavens."

"Contemplating the Mountain God and absorbing Genyue Qi... In my past life, Xu Jia only chose a place with good Feng Shui to gather the earth Qi of mountains and rivers when refining Magic Tools."

Or, when seeking dragons and dotting the acupoints for others, or checking Yinzhai.

Unless one is practicing the "Corpse Severance," which requires one to die first, be buried in a place with good Feng Shui, and refine the form, eventually becoming a "Corpse Severance Immortal." The Corpse Severance Immortal belongs to an ancient method of cultivation that was later gradually phased out. If the Corpse Severance is successful, one can cultivate into a "Yang Spirit," or at the very least, a "Yin Spirit," which is no different from a Ghost Immortal. Moreover, because they are buried in mountains and rivers, the superiors of Corpse Severance Immortals are often various Mountain Gods, such as those of Mount Tai.

But he is not doing Corpse Severance! Furthermore, they contemplate the Yushan Mountain God, and Yushan is merely a minor deity. Xu Jia looks down on it entirely; when contemplating earth deities, the minimum should be the "Wuyue God Kings," and higher still would be the likes of the Earth Deity.

In his past life, Xu Jia only contemplated beings like "Taiyi Jiuku Tianzun," or at the very least, a "Marshal."

It is not that he looks down on the Yushan Mountain God; after all, local earth deities can also "make it big," such as the Sichuan Fuzhu Er Lang Shen, the Jiangxi Fuzhu Xu Xun, the Fujian Fuzhu Mazu...

But this Mountain God has now fallen and become evil, so their foundation of cultivation is likely to have its path cut off.

Xu Jia believes that if he were to compile a set of techniques himself, even if he changed it to absorbing the Qi of plants and trees, contemplating the "Qingdi Nine Emperors," and praying to the Tai Sui, it would be far more profound than this set of techniques.

Actually, it is already quite good; at this time, the cultivation techniques of various schools and sects are all kept secret, and even for the same Daoist scripture, the versions of each school are different.

Although Xu Jia said in his past life, "This won't work, that won't work," those "ineffective" techniques were all things that people in ancient times were genuinely practicing, and some even reached unique levels of mastery, which allowed them to establish sects and pass them down.

The ancients called them "Immortals," either "Feathered People" or "Jade People." Since this technique can cultivate one into a "Jade Person," how could it not be an authentic method?

It is just that in Xu Jia's view, becoming a "Jade Person" happens because the essence Qi of the jade was not digested; how it enters and how it remains, without being transformed into "medicine," is what turns one into a "Jade Person." This is actually a kind of "rigidity," and one cannot proceed to the next step of cultivation.

After Zhang Zhenji finished reciting the technique, he looked at Xu Jia with expectation: "How is it? Our method must also be paired with the accumulation of external merits and the experience of tribulations; this is the carving and polishing of jade, and only then can one achieve the Immortal Truth."

Xu Jia insincerely praised: "The technique is a good technique, but I feel this part needs to be changed. Look at this 'ingesting jade to fly essence, contemplating Genyue, reaching the heart and kidneys, tempering water and fire, and nourishing the Zhou Tian'—this is tempering the essence of jade in the heart and kidneys. Then one must distinguish between mountain jade and water jade, warm jade and cold jade... and one can also divide jade into the Five Elements according to its five colors. It is not very reasonable to directly refine jade powder here. Why not use jade powder to disperse jade into the five internal organs, using it to cultivate the field, grow jade mushrooms, and pick the mushrooms to make medicine?"

After Xu Jia finished speaking, Zhang Zhenji was stunned, because what Xu Jia said made too much sense, and the feasibility was higher.

"Cultivating the five internal organs; since jade is the essence of Genyue, it should be used as soil to cultivate the field, using innate essence Qi as seeds, waiting for them to mature and transform into jade mushrooms, then picking the spirit mushrooms to make immortal herbs. Long-term consumption leads to Longevity. As for the jade essence that has lost its effect, one can think of a way to refine it into sand, which can also be used as a Magic Tool."

Zhang Zhenji looked at Xu Jia as if he had seen an Ancestor: "Has Brother seen our lineage before?"

"No, this is my first time hearing of it," Xu Jia said. "However, I practiced cultivation in my past life, so I know some theories."

"Truly a high-level Immortal Truth!" Zhang Zhenji exclaimed: "Our sect does indeed have a method for refining the Genyue Body God treasure, which can only be produced by an Earth Immortal True Person. There are five grains in total, refined by the Ancestor, also known as the Five Elements Genyue Body God, which are worshipped before the altar, but no one has ever been able to drive them."

Xu Jia was surprised; this is "Cinnabar," a product of the intersection of Inner Elixir and Outer Elixir. When the Outer Elixir school began to practice Inner Elixir, the Inner Elixir would seize the essence of the Outer Elixir, and some hard substances that could not be digested would form Cinnabar.

It seems the Ancestor of Shanju Guan still had some substance, but later disciples might have had poor comprehension and understanding, and so it was passed down from generation to generation, drifting away from the original source.

Because Xu Jia only saw the "Qi-Ingestion Method," this belongs to the even earlier cultivation method of the "Pre-Qin" Qi Refiners, which is older than the Outer Elixir school that rose during the Qin and Han dynasties.

Xu Jia dispelled the mystery of the authentic cultivation methods of this world, and his wisdom became firm: "I carry a treasure mountain without knowing it; why go seeking external objects? I only need to increase my wisdom and cultivate the Inner-Refining Yellow Court method obtained from Qingcheng Mountain. Heavenly Immortal is within reach; why be greedy for more and be distracted? Have you not heard that value lies in focus and purity!"

"I have a treasure that can suppress the Mountain God," Xu Jia said, taking out the Broken Bowl. He had just asked Hu Jinhua to call Niu Congcong over specifically to retrieve this bowl from the altar.

"This is?"

"This is a Magic Tool refined by a Libationer of the Yellow Heaven Sect. It is called the Raw Rice Bowl. Later, it was obtained by the demon immortal Huang Muchun, who used it as a vessel for refining demons and holding alms. It was once used here to refine a centipede demon. Its corpse fell and transformed into a part of Yushan. The image of the centipede dragon created by the evil Yushan Mountain God is the same as the demon that Huang Muchun refined back then."

Xu Jia said: "I originally wanted to set up an altar at Dizang An, but Dizang An is a Buddhist site, and it has just undergone a massacre, making it difficult to purify the altar. Shanju Guan is a Daochang for worshipping the Mountain God, which is perfect for setting up an altar."

Zhang Zhenji asked: "Is it the same kind of altar as last time?"

Xu Jia nodded: "Exactly. Although this altar is dangerous, its power is immense."

Zhang Zhenji did not even think: "Good, I will go and arrange it now!"

Xu Jia nodded: "That is excellent, it will save a lot of unnecessary trouble!"

Zhang Zhenji turned to return to the temple, and Xu Jia gave him two Horse-Armor Talismans to let him prepare quickly.

"Where is Qiu Jinsha?"

"This minor deity is here!" In the pond of Dizang An, Qiu Jinsha poked his head out; he was a large loach as thick as an arm.

Xu Jia said: "You continue to patrol the Water Veins and investigate the source of the evil Qi. I suspect that besides Shanju Guan, there are other evil sacrificial sites on Yushan, just like the bloody and terrifying ones in the Underground Palace; otherwise, it would not be enough to cause a deity to fall."

Qiu Jinsha was already familiar with this task, and since there was no danger, he happily accepted the order.

He then said to the Yeyou God: "These two thousand Military Officials, listen to my command later, follow me to set up the formation. Allocate four columns, each with three hundred Military Officials, to guard the four directions of Yushan. The remaining eight hundred Military Officials will follow to the front of the altar and await my command."

"By your command!"

Xu Jia then said to Hu Jinhua: "Hu Jinhua, you and Hui Zhuo work together to help him communicate with the spirits and try to contact the spirituality of the Mountain God."

"Where is Luejue Shen?" In the illusion, a Spirit General riding a large rooster appeared, with fifty Mountain-Roaming Changs beside him.

Xu Jia said: "You patrol the surroundings of Shanju Guan. If there is any movement, report it immediately. The two little ghosts, Duowen and Guangmu, will act as scouts with you!"

Spirit General Luejue nodded slightly: "This subordinate obeys your command!"

"Where is Huang Pipo?"

"This old one is here!" Huang Pipo lowered her head to listen to the order.

"You stay at Dizang An to prevent any changes."

Huang Pipo was slightly disappointed; this was not a very important task.

But she still said: "This old one respectfully follows the decree of the Immortal Truth."

Xu Jia looked at Miaoren again: "Little nun, come up the mountain with us!"

……

The Shanju Guan was brightly lit, and the sounds of chanting scriptures were constant; they were "performing a ritual."

Since the old temple master sacrificed himself to the deity, the "Hall Master of Scriptures" had been acting as the temple master.

The ritual was performed, firstly, to appease the corrupted Mountain God; secondly, to pray for the old temple master; and thirdly, to communicate with the Ancestor. After all, the Ancestor of Shanju Guan was, at the very least, an Earth Immortal True Person. However, perhaps this Ancestor had a poor signal, or perhaps he had shut down for seclusion and was ignoring external messages, as there was not a single response.

When Zhang Zhenji returned to Shanju Guan, the Scripture Master Daoist asked: "Why did that old hag summon you? The Dizang An at the foot of the mountain has been filled with ghostly Qi one moment and radiant Buddha light the next; what has happened?"

"Junior Uncle, the Dizang An at the foot of the mountain has already suffered a calamity. However, thanks to a high cultivator of the Dao, the Ghost King was subdued. He also learned of the current predicament of our Shanju Guan and took the initiative to offer his help."

Zhang Zhenji did not mention that Xu Jia had also inquired about their cultivation methods and lineage. In his view, Xu Jia's insight was far superior to his own.

"A high cultivator of the Dao? Just now there was clearly only Buddha light, as if a high-ranking Buddhist had entered Nirvana. How did it become someone from our Daoist school? Could it be that the old nun Jingxing sacrificed herself just like our temple master?"

"Abbess Jingxing has already been murdered, and all the nuns at Dizang An have died as well... Although nuns and Daoists do not walk the same path, they were neighbors after all. That they suffered such a disaster and we did not notice a thing..." the Scripture Master sighed: "But we are like Mud Bodhisattvas crossing a river; we can barely save ourselves..."

"Since it is a high cultivator of the Dao, why not invite him up quickly!"

He even had the other Daoists stop their ritual, led them out of the door, arranged them in two rows, threw open the mountain gate, burned incense to clear the path, and looked on with anticipation.

It was deep into the night, and they could not see much, only a blue lantern gradually approaching. It was one of the various tools brought by Niu Congcong, followed by a man and a woman, looking like the Black and White Impermanence.

Waiting until they were closer, they could see clearly: the one holding the lantern was a Xiaopangdun in strange clothing, followed by a young man covered in bloodstains but with delicate features, and beside him was a hare-lipped nun wearing monk's robes and holding prayer beads.

The Scripture Master stood on tiptoe, trying to look behind them; these three seemed to be clearing the way, so surely the high cultivator of the Dao must still be behind.

Just as he was wondering, Zhang Zhenji shouted: "Senior Brother, here!"

Xu Jia arrived face-to-face: "Xu Jia of the Fox Immortal Hall in Qingtian Xiang, greets all fellow Daoists."

The Scripture Master looked at Zhang Zhenji, then at Xu Jia. He did not possess the "sincerity" of Zhang Zhenji; he was half an innocent soul, unable to see Xu Jia's Daoist Practice or wisdom, and did not understand the Merit involved. Hearing only "Fox Immortal Hall," he knew this was the nest of foxes that had eliminated the chicken demon at Qingfeng Pavilion a few days ago, but he had not expected the person behind the foxes to be such a young man.

"Is Your Excellency the high cultivator of the Dao that Zhang Zhenji spoke of? I wonder what method you have to cure the Mountain God?"

Xu Jia smiled: "I dare not speak recklessly before the Mountain God Temple, for fear that he might overhear, rendering the ritual ineffective."

Xu Jia said: "However, I cast a hexagram before coming up the mountain. This matter is not difficult; it has the appearance of turning bad luck into good, so it should be solvable."

"Please!"

Regardless, a guest is a guest. Since this young man had the ability to speak up, why not test just how much ability he truly had.

Xu Jia entered the temple. There was an incense tripod in the temple with a 'mu' character structure, layered one upon another, with a plaza in the middle.

The deities enshrined in the front were the Earth Deity, the Wealth God, the Matchmaker, and the God of Literature.

The deity enshrined in the back was the Mountain God. The Mountain God was in the appearance of a martial general, with a king cobra coiled in his hand; the king cobra was extremely venomous.

At this moment, Xu Jia observed the Mountain God's spiritual light. It was a surge of Clear Spirit Qi suppressing the evil energy, but it had only suppressed it to below the neck of the statue. Once the evil energy entered the facial features of the statue, it would be evil energy entering the brain, and the Mountain God would completely lose control.

However, Xu Jia was more concerned about the king cobra held in the Mountain God's hand. This snake also had its own spiritual light, and it was very clear, unaffected by the evil energy.

It is said that centipedes and snakes are natural enemies; when a snake encounters centipede venom, it will break into two sections.

But this is only hearsay; unless the centipede is the same size as the snake, it is hard to say who would win.

Xu Jia asked directly: "Does the Mountain God have a spirit beast under his seat?"

"Yes, it is a venomous python. It was occasionally seen over a hundred years ago, but now one can only see the shed skin of this venomous python. It does not harm people and only hides in a certain cave to cultivate. There is snake skin here."

The Scripture Master ordered someone to bring out the collected snake sloughs. They were pulled extremely long, a full five or six zhang, nearly twenty meters.

Although the snake slough had been stretched and deformed, it was at least over ten meters long. No wonder these Daoists did not call it a venomous snake, but a "venomous python."

Xu Jia looked at the snake skins—there were several of them—and touched them slightly, reaching a conclusion: "These are not from the same one; there are three large snakes in total. Among them, the largest one is about to undergo Transformation into a Flood Dragon."

"A snake grows into a hui, a hui grows into a python, a python grows into a Flood Dragon, and a Flood Dragon grows into a dragon." Xu Jia had once seen a flood and a Flood Dragon's journey in his previous life, though at that time he was not slaying the Flood Dragon, but assisting it in entering the sea.

"This... what does this have to do with anything?"

Xu Jia said: "My meaning is, if something happens to the Mountain God, it could take his place."

(End of chapter)