Chapter 128: Inverted Five Elements Formation

"Capture this Bone Saintess as well," said County Commandant Chen. "What kind of bullshit bone magic can withstand the court's armor-piercing crossbows?"

Xu Jia was pleasantly surprised: "You still have armor-piercing crossbows?"

This thing is actually no different from a firearm; you just consecrate the arrows and wrap them in Talismans.

"Yushan only has a Commandant's Office, not an armory, but the Xinzhou Armory should have them."

"Doesn't that mean you said nothing? If the government had done anything at all, they would have sent troops directly when it was reported last time."

"That's not my fault, is it? I, Chen, still want to get some real work done. Also, watch your tone. No matter what, I am still an official appointed by the imperial court!"

County Commandant Chen's confidence was already wavering. Although his martial arts were somewhat accomplished and dealing with seven or eight strong men was no problem, these demons and ghosts were clearly beyond the scope of "humans."

"Yes, yes, yes!" Xu Jia coaxed him: "I'll still need you, this appointed official, to put in some effort later!"

The Longevity Sect's Bone Saintess was nothing good. If there had been no precautions, it would be one thing, but now that there were, there was no need to fear. The Yeyou god led two thousand ghost soldiers to surround Yushan. Shanju Guan was, after all, an Earth Immortal lineage; under Xu Jia's guidance, setting up a formation was more than enough.

Plus, County Commandant Chen, who stood over eight feet and a half tall and looked like a bear, could count as a tank even if he couldn't be classified as a warrior.

"Where is the Five Elements Cinnabar left behind in your temple?"

Scripture Master Jingzhu Daoren said: "It is being worshipped in the Zushi Tang. Does the True One have any use for it?"

Xu Jia said: "Five Elements Cinnabar can be used for Dotting the Acupoint. Moreover, it was refined by an Earth Immortal who practiced the Earth Method. I originally didn't want to use the relics left by your Ancestor, but using the Five Elements Cinnabar will provide more power to suppress demons and better mobilize the Five Elements Origin Qi between heaven and earth."

Jingzhu Daoren thought for a while: "Although I have been acting as the head since the previous temple master, this is an Ancestor's relic, so I still need to discuss it with the other Daoists."

"Ah, ya ya!" County Commandant Chen had just been badly frightened by the centipede spirit: "You bull-nosed Daoist, still so pedantic. Since it's useful, just take it out. What is there to discuss?"

Zhang Zhenji also said: "This is also a piece of the Ancestor's Merit. Although we practice by collecting jade, no one has been able to drive this cinnabar. Although the former temple master said I am a seed of a True Immortal, if it really erupts, we are on Yushan—could we even survive?"

Jingzhu Daoren asked: "How should it be used?"

"Collected from Yushan, returned to Yushan," Xu Jia said. "This cinnabar is originally jade sand, stained with the Five Qi in the chest. Take the cinnabar, settle the Earth Vein's Five Elements, fix the yin and yang; let what belongs to the Dharma Realm return to the Dharma Realm, and what belongs to the human world return to the human world."

"So that's it. It's just equivalent to changing the place of worship?"

"You could say that. You can also set up Dharma Altars in these five places and offer sacrifices every year."

"Then take it out!" Jingzhu Daoren went to the Zushi Tang and opened a mechanism behind the Ancestor's statue; the Five Elements Sand was hidden inside.

Calling it sand, it was more like five pieces of jade, each the size of a paulownia seed, with a texture close to transparent, like five-colored jade or crystal.

They were white, yellow, black, cyan, and red, respectively.

The five pieces of jade were respectfully invited out. Upon seeing them, Xu Jia already roughly knew the cultivation method of the Shanju Guan Ancestor. This cinnabar was more like a monster's demon core, a calculus, or bezoar; it was condensed from the five internal organs absorbing the Qi of the five jades.

It was a pity that the five colors were not fused; otherwise, even if it wasn't a "five-colored stone," it wouldn't be far off, and it wouldn't be "cinnabar" but a "Golden Elixir Magic Tool."

After all, the Inner Elixir is also a balancing of the Five Elements and a harmonization of water and fire, and this Outer Elixir is also a balancing of the Five Elements and a harmonization of water and fire.

It's just that one internalizes the Three Treasures of Essence Qi and Spirit, while the other externally cultivates the Three Treasures: wind, fire, and thunder.

This Five Elements Cinnabar, in the end, was still a bit lacking in refinement.

It seems the Shanju Guan Ancestor indeed did not reach the Yang Spirit realm. If one ascends via Yang Spirit, they count as the "God Immortal" class.

The Earth Immortal class likely cannot be an official in heaven and often transfers to local deity positions, but they wouldn't fall into You Ming.

By logic, the most suitable deity position for the Shanju Guan Ancestor would be "Yushan Junzhu," governing the Yushan Blessed Land. Even if there were some Mountain God, they could sit on equal footing.

Now that the Five Elements Cinnabar is left here and the disciples cannot contact them... Xu Jia's estimation of the Shanju Guan Ancestor was not very good. The Earth Method of absorbing Qi, if one consumes too much jade essence, it is very easy to gradually jade-ify and sit stiff, turning into a "jade person." Although the physical body lasts forever, changing from a carbon-based life form to a silicon-based life form must have its price.

Although at the highest level of Daoist cultivation, the immortal body is naturally formed, being "Golden Muscle and Jade Bone," consuming jade like this is still very easy to "eat oneself to death." It is better than consuming cinnabar or sulfur, but only to a limited extent.

The mortality rate for consuming Outer Elixirs is still very high.

Like Chang Yu's situation, the snake's body is constantly growing and its skin is thick, so it might not care about these side effects. The human body's limit is here; constantly accumulating jade essence must surely have some problems.

Therefore, Xu Jia's suggestion to Zhang Zhenji was to "cultivate jade powder as a field base," plant "Small Medicine" to transform into jade fungus, collect the fungus to refine elixirs, and whatever can be excreted from the body should be excreted; what cannot be excreted should be refined into cinnabar and turned into a Magic Tool.

The five pieces of cinnabar, or rather, jade elixirs, were much harder than the "three-colored Sarira" seen before, and they felt very heavy when weighed. The size of a paulownia seed felt like "three or four catties," and it even felt heavier than gold.

Lightness is driven by "Clear Qi," and heaviness is driven by "Turbid Qi." This Five Elements Cinnabar was condensed from the Five Elements Turbid Qi, which is why it was so heavy.

Using it to absorb the Five Elements and nourish the five internal organs is definitely not possible; it can only be a Magic Tool or treasure. And it's not certain that anyone knows the method of refining it. The most suitable use should be to draw the "Five Wuyue True Form Talisman Diagrams," refine this cinnabar, and summon the essence souls of the Five Wuyue. When a single grain of cinnabar manifests in the Dharma Realm, it is a great mountain; even in reality, throwing it at someone could shatter their head like a watermelon.

"This item is most suitable for Dotting the Acupoint!"

Xu Jia said: "Rest for a while today. Chang Yu, later I need you and your wife to help me carry the thirteen tables to the top of Yuxu Peak. I will set up an altar and perform rituals then."

"You had better not make me do this kind of thing a second time!" Chang Yu said resentfully.

Xu Jia asked again: "Are there any Command Flags or similar things here?"

"There are Five Elements Flags. This mountain also used to refine soldiers and generals; they were all troops under the Mountain God. But ever since the Mountain God became evil, these troops were all devoured by the Mountain God," Jingzhu Daoren sighed: "Otherwise, we wouldn't be so blind and deaf, not even knowing what happened at Dizang An."

"It's a pity that many of the altar gods and ghost generals on the altar were condensed from the souls of the temple's previous Daoists, and they all met a tragic end!"

The Five Elements Flags are Command Flags used to summon troops and issue orders.

Military strategy: Wind, Fire, Mountain, Forest. The Five Elements Flags have their corresponding uses.

There were over thirty Five Elements Flags found in the Daoist temple.

Xu Jia only picked twenty-five, arranging for the Daoists to set up altars in the five directions. These Daoists practiced the Earth Method, learning how to communicate with Earth Qi and Earth Veins, but communicating with Earth Qi required contacting the Mountain God and Dharma Lord. Since the Mountain God and Dharma Lord could not be contacted, the method was mostly useless.

Now Xu Jia taught them to set up altars according to the positions of the heavenly stars, worshipping the "Five Directions and Five Virtues Star Lords": the Southern Fire Virtue Star Lord, the Northern Water Virtue Star Lord, the Central Earth Virtue Star Lord, the Western Metal Virtue Star Lord, and the Eastern Wood Virtue Star Lord.

By using heavenly stars to define the Five Elements, there is no need to communicate with the Mountain God.

Jingzhu Daoren presided over the central Dharma Altar, Zhang Zhenji presided over the eastern Dharma Altar, and the three rooms—the Scripture Room, the Warehouse, and the Accounting Room—presided over the other three Dharma Altars.

For the twenty-five Five Elements Flags, Xu Jia measured the positions one by one, in groups of five, each strengthening the Dharma Altar according to the way the Five Elements generate each other.

For example, the eastern Dharma Altar would cycle through the other four elements to achieve "generating water," and what the Five Elements Command Flags generated would then supply the Wood Virtue of the eastern Dharma Altar, providing it with powerful "might."

This formation is called the "Inverted Five Elements Formation."

Looking from the outside, the East is Water, the North is Metal, the South is Wood, the West is Earth, and the Center is Fire.

But the essence is still the proper "Five Directions and Five Elements."

By disrupting the magnetic field and inverting the directions in this way, whether it is an ordinary person or a practitioner, it would be difficult for them to walk out for a time.

Beside every Command Flag, there were ghost soldiers under the City God performing the formation, constantly moving the Five Elements.

(End of chapter)