Chapter 123: Chongyi Kingdom

The pearl of the Centipede-Holding-Pearl is a mountain rock shaped like a stone lion; Xu Jia felt it would be very suitable to build a "Hall of Relieving Suffering" here.

The stone was moved away, and the Wugong Ling lost the nourishment of the precious pearl; coupled with the fact that the air vent was blocked by groundwater, a surging mountain wind rose from the flat ground.

If one were to look from the Dharma Realm, one would see the centipede dragon that was about to merge with the great mountain, currently roaring in pain.

Black evil Qi was battling with righteous white Qi, and the evil god with a dragon's head, human face, and centipede body glared fiercely at Xu Jia and the others.

It was just that the black ceramic Raw Rice Bowl in Xu Jia's hand, which contained the centipede eggs, revealed an ominous aura.

Chang Yu sensed the inexplicable eeriness of this wind; hissing, he stood upright to a height of three or four zhang, threatening the air.

Xu Jia pinched the Wind Calming Pill in his hand, but this pearl originally originated from the centipede pearl and could calm the wind, yet it only protected himself.

This wind was neither a southeast, northwest wind, nor a spring, autumn, summer, or winter wind, nor was it a wind passing through leaves and forests, a nine-heavens gale, or a nine-nether yin wind; it was a kind of "evil wind." If a person has an illness, "symptoms arising from wind" account for more than half, and this is even more true for evil winds.

This wind blew, causing the group to have headaches, stuffy noses, alternating chills and fevers, and some muscle and bone pain.

Even Huang Pipo and Hu Jinhua, who had fur to resist the evil wind, both sneezed twice, spraying out a large lump of sticky phlegm and thick snot.

The few were in a sorry state, and Zhang Zhenji said, "What is going on?"

Xu Jia saw them like this and said, "This is the evil Qi of the evil god, which leaked out along with the earth Qi and dispersed between heaven and earth, avoiding an eruption."

"You have been invaded by the evil wind and have already fallen ill. For wind-evil Qi, only the herb 'wind-repelling' can treat it. When we go back later, boil this Wind Calming Pill together with the herb wind-repelling, add two centipedes, and drink it all in one breath. Once you break into a sweat and the cold passes, the evil Qi will be gone."

Zhang Zhenji sneezed violently: "A-choo! Remember!"

Even Chang Yu, at this moment, had snot hanging from both nostrils on his huge body.

As the evil wind gradually dispersed, in the surrounding mountain forests, one after another, came the sounds of animals sneezing, from small birds to large humans.

Xu Jia instructed the group to cut down a tree, sharpen it, roast it with fire, and carbonize it a little; then, at this place of holding the treasure, he drove it in. Wooden stakes are not suitable for "dragon-nailing stakes" because they rot easily; iron nails or steel nails are more suitable. However, in all things, one should leave a margin for error, and Xu Jia would not go so far as to completely nail it to death.

He only let it slowly exhaust its Qi and become stiff on its own, so it would not move around and trigger earthquakes.

A total of eight such carbonized wooden stakes were driven in, all at the nodes.

Xu Jia also drew Talismans on all eight wooden stakes.

They were all "Lushan Wulei Sha Wuwen Fu"; this talisman is suitable for Altar Opening during the Dragon Boat Festival. The month of the Dragon Boat Festival is also suitable for the Thunder Fast, inviting the power of the Thunder Law to execute the five plagues and five poisons of evil Qi, cleanse the house, and clear away evil spirits.

Xu Jia drew this talisman according to local conditions, using charcoal as a pen to draw it on them.

Now it is not the Dragon Boat Festival, nor is there "pure yang" Qi, nor is it the Flying Dragon in the Sky, but it is still enough to pin it down; if it wants to turn over, it will be injured by the Qi of the talismans within.

After nailing these eight nodes, the group arrived at the ant nest at the tail of the centipede. The "Notice of Moving for the Ant Kingdom" that Xu Jia had written earlier was still hanging there; none of the ants were literate or understood human reason.

One must know that in Xu Jia's previous life, whenever a new house was built, a notice would be written: "On such-and-such a day of such-and-such a month of such-and-such a year, at such-and-such an auspicious hour, the host family will move in; all gods and evil spirits, please leave quickly," to inform any ghost sha or demons that might still be lingering in the room.

If the new house had not yet been built but the land was seen to have problems—such as being a Luanzanggang or an old grave—one would find an old yellow ox to plow the land three times. After three times, no matter what the land was, it would be "auspicious land," it would be "field."

If this nest of ants did not give way, their final path would be to be plowed away by the ox. "Hui Zhuo, it's your turn to go on stage again!"

Xiaopangdun had just dug a pit, his hands full of blisters and aching; hearing that Xu Jia wanted him to exert himself again, he looked a bit bitter: "What do I need to do?"

"You only need to communicate with the queen of this ant nest," Xu Jia said. "Don't look at the ant nest as small; inside it is comparable to a kingdom. There are monarchs, ministers, assistants, and envoys; commoners and civilians; all kinds of works and industries. There are farmers who can raise mushrooms; there are animal husbandmen who know how to raise aphids; there are construction workers who can build nests; there are military generals who specialize in fighting; there are nannies and aunts who are responsible for taking care of newborns. You go and communicate with the queen, tell her to move; we are willing to find her a treasure land with abundant food."

Xu Jia talked eloquently, making the Daoists of Shanju Guan marvel: "These ants are busy and mediocre, yet they have such a structure?"

Xu Jia nodded and said: "Therefore, I dare not be negligent; I need to send an envoy."

When Xiaopangdun heard this, he was no longer distressed; instead, he was filled with curiosity and immediately performed the Shaman Spirit Communication.

It was just that this time, he fell asleep very quickly.

After falling asleep, Xiaopangdun saw himself walking on a big road. In front of the road was a city, and the city's population was bustling. On the city gate, a few large characters were written: "Chongyi Kingdom."

Several soldiers at the gate had huge heads; seeing Niu Congcong, they said repeatedly: "Who comes?"

Niu Congcong said: "I have come to meet your king."

The soldier sneered: "Our king has a noble status; is he someone you can see just because you want to?"

Just as he was about to drive him away, someone suddenly ran from inside, clearly looking like a eunuch: "His Majesty the King invites the honored guest!"

The soldier immediately showed an apologetic smile: "Since it is His Majesty the King who invites, then you are an honored guest of our Chongyi Kingdom. Please come in!"

Niu Congcong hadn't even felt what was happening when seven or eight strong men stepped out, hoisted him up, and carried him into the city.

"Do you not have carts in your kingdom?"

"What is a cart?" the eunuch asked in confusion.

"It's something needed to transport large quantities of things; you can also sit on it."

"Everyone in our Chongyi Kingdom is a strong man; we can carry giant objects over a hundred times our own weight. What do we need carts for?"

As the two chatted, they passed through layers of pavilions and houses, arriving at a huge palace. From within the palace came the crying of hundreds of babies: "Wah—wah—"

Niu Congcong asked in confusion: "Why are there so many children?"

"Those were just birthed by His Majesty the King; they are also the future citizens of our Chongyi Kingdom."

After passing this palace, they saw a group of maids and eunuchs holding trays filled with all kinds of delicacies. They said one after another: "His Majesty the King is hungry again! Quickly serve the meal!"

They saw, behind layers of gauze curtains, a graceful and luxurious, yet tall and fat woman sleeping on a bed. At the foot of the bed, several midwives said happily: "Your Majesty has given birth!"

They carried the baby out, and then another midwife said: "Your Majesty has given birth again!"

The fat woman looked at Niu Congcong and said: "Honored Envoy, this little woman is inconvenienced in her movements, so please forgive me for not being able to pay my respects."

(End of this chapter)