Chapter 118: Riding the Snake and Harnessing the Wind

Xu Jia is a very upright person, but upright people are always misunderstood.

For instance, by this large snake.

The large snake originally intended to threaten and intimidate, but there was no fear in Xu Jia's scent, only excitement and pleasure.

This excitement and pleasure was the joy of "Hearing the Dao," the expectation of seeing "Longevity."

The mountain-crossing snake paused and opened its mouth: "What do I need to do to achieve this Merit?"

Xu Jia said: "Heavenly secrets must not be leaked; if I say it now, it won't be effective. You only need to follow my command. Transformation into a Flood Dragon is not difficult. If I bestow a title upon you, it will be worth sixty years of your cultivation."

"By the way, what is your name?"

The mountain-crossing snake inexplicably thought of the Daoist from Shanju Guan who had given him a name two hundred years ago. When he first entered the mountains, he had almost eaten the Daoist, and it was through such cajoling that they became good friends. The Daoist observed his breathing exercises, and he learned principles and classics from the Daoist.

"My name is Chang Yu."

"A good name." Xu Jia praised: "Hiding jade; a gentleman is like jade, restrained in substance, not revealing the treasure's light. A name connects to one's fate, and fate connects to one's character. You have such a name, and you reside within Yushan; you are one with good fortune."

"This name was given to me by the old Daoist of Shanju Guan. My original Dongfu had many high-quality jade stones. I didn't recognize these stones, but just lying on them was warm in winter and cool in summer, and practicing breathing exercises was more comfortable than anywhere else."

"Later, the jade was mined away by him, so I changed to another place to cultivate."

"However, my two wives do not have names. Since you are a man with the Five Blessings complete, why don't you give them one first?"

"I thought you didn't have a name and intended to give you one. Since you already have a name, I don't intend to waste the effort. These two wives of yours lack the skill, and their fortune is not as complete as yours. If I give them names, it would be just like when you and that Ancestor of Shanju Guan established a Karmic Connection."

"If a Karmic Connection is established, then so be it. Human life is short anyway. You will become an Immortal in a hundred years or so; if you don't become an Immortal, you won't even have a hundred years..."

Hearing this, Xu Jia praised again: "You have wisdom. Life and death are but mayflies, morning and evening. Only Heaven and Earth are eternal. If one can entrust their feelings to Heaven and Earth, why care about the length of life? If one day in the future I am gone, those who have established a Karmic Connection with me will look at the books I have written, walk the paths I have walked, touch the trees I have planted, and offer sacrifices at the Altar I have established..."

The snake demon heard this and felt it made great sense: "So that's how it is. No wonder after the Daoist from Shanju Guan left, I couldn't help but come to check often. So this is the consequence of establishing a Karmic Connection..."

"Yes," Xu Jia said: "Cause and Effect are intertwined; connections and tribulations are bound. If a single thought does not cease, ten thousand thoughts will not be still. If one cannot attain true stillness, one must undergo Tribulation."

Compared to the Daoists of Shanju Guan, this large snake clearly possessed more of the true transmission of the Shanju Guan Ancestor. However, since he said the Shanju Guan Ancestor created the Gen-Peak Breathing Method by observing his breathing, it was hard to say who was whose teacher.

"Then shall we establish a Karmic Connection?" Xu Jia asked.

"Establish the connection!" Chang Yu said: "Why not?"

The two large snakes also spiraled down from the roof, clearly obeying their husband.

Xu Jia observed them for a moment and said: "They haven't had contact with people yet, have they? Their beastly nature and wildness are too strong."

Xu Jia saw panic in their eyes, saw appetite, and saw submission to the strong, as well as why such a powerful existence as their husband would converse so politely with these weak humans.

This was the effect of wisdom, almost reaching the function of the Buddhist "Other-Heart Perception."

"Yes, I have always been the one to teach them principles. If they don't listen to me, they get beaten by me."

"Tsk tsk!" Xu Jia laughed aloud: "You really are..."

"The ancient Sage Emperors of the human race had Ehuang and Nüying as companions. How about I name them Chang Yu'e and Chang Yuying?"

"Good!" Chang Yu nodded and said: "Don't you have some kind of Immortal genealogy? Just add them to it, and I will be at ease to undergo my Tribulation." "I have a Fox Immortal Hall, a Yellow Immortal Temple, and a Dragon Immortal Cave; now adding a Chang Immortal, we shall establish the Chang Immortal Genealogy."

Xu Jia immediately found a Drawing Scroll from Shanju Guan, pasted white paper on it, dotted the lineage for them, took snake blood, mixed it into the ink, drew the true form of the talisman, and recorded their names.

"Are you not entering the lineage?"

"Wait until you give me the Tao Fen before we talk. I won't fall for your trick!"

Xu Jia laughed: "Very well!"

The two female snakes entered the lineage and paid respects to the Dharma Lord, thus establishing a Karmic Connection with Xu Jia. At the same time, Xu Jia could borrow their Dharma Power. Their Dharma Power was thick and heavy, belonging to the "Earth" of the Five Elements, which was also the entry point for the Gen-Peak Breathing Method.

It secretly matched the "Soaring Snake" aspect among the Five Elements.

Once in the lineage, everyone was "kin."

Huang Pipo's Daoist Practice was about the same as these two Snake Matrons, but weasels do not grow in size, while snakes have the talent for near-infinite growth, so their physical sizes differed greatly.

Hu Jinhua also plucked up the courage to communicate with them. The two Snake Matrons were actually in their "old age" stage, but their mindset was much younger than these two demons who had transformed into old women. What they were most curious about was the magic of transforming into humans, which was something they had not learned.

Hu Jinhua's human transformation was wearing the skull of an old woman, while Huang Pipo's human transformation was achieved after experiencing "Tao Fen," asking people: "Do you see me as a human or a god?" before she could cultivate in human form.

Different demons have different ways of transforming into humans. From the information Xu Jia looked up in his previous life, the first step for a snake demon to transform into a human is to transform the head, becoming a "beauty snake" with a human head and snake body; the second step is to transform the upper body; the third step is to transform the feet.

The method of transformation might be related to "shedding skin," which is to say, a snake demon changing into a human is the most "biologically" consistent "metamorphic development."

It is different from the more "metaphysical" transformation rituals of the Fox Immortals or Yellow Immortals.

The group of Daoists from Shanju Guan, seeing Xu Jia persuade the three large snakes with just a few words and even directly take in two of them, were already very much in awe of Xu Jia.

But this was not revealing his true ability; what would happen next would depend on the following operations.

Seeing Xu Jia say a few words to Chang Yu, Chang Yu lowered his head somewhat reluctantly. Xu Jia stepped up and stood on the snake's head. Chang Yu raised his head again, climbed outward, and reached the canopy of the forest.

He was going to take Xu Jia to circle Yushan, to observe the Qi of Yushan, to determine where Huang Muchun had suppressed and killed the thousand-year-old centipede demon, and which of the peaks of Yushan it had turned into, which was also the "foundation for becoming a god" for the current Yushan Mountain God.

After determining this, Xu Jia needed to Seek Dragon and Dot the Acupoint, set up an array, and "suppress" it.

Only by suppressing this place could he coordinate with "overthrowing the Altar" and establishing a "new god," weakening the strength of the Yushan Mountain God to the greatest extent.

With Xu Jia traveling like this, Huang Pipo and Hu Jinhua boldly stood on the heads of the two Snake Matrons, and together they rode the wind through the forest.

Leaving Xiaopangdun there: "What about me? I was just confused by the spiritual connection, and now you are all going off to play on big snakes without taking me! I am truly angry!"

Xiaopangdun was sulking there. Fortunately, the Shanju Guan Daoists did not slight him, inquiring about Xu Jia's character while asking about the results at the foot of the mountain.

Zhang Zhenji recounted the time he saw Xu Jia flip the nine-layered table altar.

"A nine-layered table altar—those with excellent skills might not find it hard to flip, but what is the use of this? What kind of magic is it?"

The Daoists also heard that Dizang An had been slaughtered and sighed one by one. Among them, one was even silently weeping; it turned out he had a sweetheart who was a nun down the mountain, though they only met in secret and had done nothing out of line.

(End of chapter)