Chapter 143: The Refining of the Five Elements Pill

Xu Jia, for his part, dispatched a group of minor demons to carry the filthy old Daoist toward the Fox Immortal Hall, instructing them to boil hot water and prepare clean clothes.

Huang Silang said, "Great Immortal, boiling water—is it for a mangy one? This old man's meat is too tough and his bones are hard; I fear he won't be good to steam and eat."

The old Daoist Wang Mintong was so frightened he trembled: "How can you still eat people!"

Huang Jiuniang said, "We didn't eat them before, but who's to say we won't in the future? If you're a swindler, we'll certainly have to rip you open to see if your heart and liver are black. If you're a good person, we certainly wouldn't dare eat you, and we'd even raise you until you're plump and fair."

Xu Jia saw they were teasing the old Daoist and spoke up: "You are truly mischievous. Don't you know which jokes can be told and which cannot? How dare you speak of eating people? Before anyone eats you, I fear you will be skinned and de-furred first."

He added, "Old man, do not be afraid. They are a few of my outer-disciple grand-disciples. Although they look ugly, their hearts are not bad; they are just a bit mischievous. For these two days, you will have to suffer their care, as I must return home for a trip!"

He pointed to his tattered patchwork robe and said, "I must have my mother mend this."

Having said this, they parted ways.

Seeing that Xu Jia had truly left, the old Daoist shouted, "Young man! Take me to your home!"

Xu Jia acted as if he hadn't heard. Even if the man were truly a high-level expert, Xu Jia would not go and act as his filial son or virtuous grandson; this kind of moral test was utterly meaningless.

In Daoist cultivation, it is not just the master who chooses the disciple, but the disciple who chooses the master. This old man's behavior was eccentric, and Xu Jia did not like him much.

Of course, this time Xu Jia was not like he was in the past, fearing the loss of opportunity and brooding over it. Xu Jia now had a clear understanding and knew to "seek within," not relying on external things.

Moreover, as far as Xu Jia knew, the Celestial Master Register was held by the legal officials, while the Celestial Master Seal was held by the Celestial Master himself.

Except for a few Celestial Masters who had the talent to cultivate Talismans, the rest were merely puppets for stamping seals.

The Celestial Master Register was like a "document," and the Celestial Master Seal was the stamp that made the "document effective."

Some Talismans of the Celestial Master Dao were effective, and some were not; it was just like documents submitted—some were approved, and some were not.

In the end, the Celestial Master Register was a system for "borrowing power," only it was borrowing the power of True Gods.

Yet what later generations revered was "gathering great power within oneself."

That is, "Once the Golden Core is swallowed into the belly, I know my fate is not determined by Heaven."

Xu Jia claimed to be of the Talisman school lineage, but in reality, he had the foundation of an Inner Elixir practitioner, because the Talisman school was not satisfying.

Of course, if Xu Jia were the Celestial Master and held the Celestial Master Seal, then there would be nothing to say; all Talismans in the world would be ineffective without this seal, and no legal official would receive the True Transmission without this Register.

However, the many folk minor arts Xu Jia had studied indeed did not require much sealing. It seems they were not arts passed down by True Gods; I suspect these minor deities and Wandering Gods who passed them down hadn't even passed their own civil service exams yet.

Xu Jia did not need to notify them when using their arts; it was as if he had collected these wild immortals into his register, and he could directly use the arts they had painstakingly cultivated.

There was no point in diligently practicing such minor arts; one should just use them. Only the Great Dao was real.

Upon returning home, Xu Zhiyuan looked grim: "Where have you been all these days? How did you end up in such a state?"

Xu Mu was full of worry: "A few days ago, there was wind and thunder but no rain, and some people said they saw a dragon flying in the sky. You hadn't returned for several days, and we thought you were in that house under the big tree, but it was empty, with only Sha Er Zhu guarding it."

"It's nothing, just a bit of wind and frost. These past few days, I went deep into Yushan for a trip and to enjoy the scenery."

Xu Jia could hardly say he had used his main account to slay the resentful Primordial Spirit of the Evil Sect centipede spirit. "Fine, fine, fine! Trying to fool a ghost, are you?" Xu Zhiyuan said, "It seems I must use family law; your heart has gone wild."

Xu Jia chuckled and pulled a gold bar from his sleeve.

Seeing this, Xu Zhiyuan immediately fell silent, and Xu Mu covered her mouth: "This is?"

"Close the door and talk." Xu Jia shut the bedroom door, shook out the gold he had carried back, and said, "This gold was obtained in Yushan. Let's store it first and use it when needed."

Last time, Sha Er Zhu's father, a wood spirit, had given Xu Jia a feng shui wooden staff containing the luck of the village's Dragon Vein, so Xu Jia intended to get two gold hoops for that feng shui coiled-dragon wood to practice the Great Sage Art.

Gold was a good thing; after all, there were no "spirit stones" in this world. Although there was jade that could serve as spirit stones, without the proper method, one could not stimulate the spirituality within the jade.

"Where did you get so much gold?"

Xu Jia shushed her: "Don't ask; if you ask, I picked it up."

The couple looked at each other, and finally, they spoke gently: "Jidi, you must not do anything that breaks the law. Don't rely on having some magic and knowing some feng shui to go grave robbing. I remember there is a tomb of a former prince in Yushan, but grave robbing is a capital offense, and it will affect my imperial examinations!"

Xu Jia: Six!

"This wasn't from grave robbing. To tell the truth, the nuns at Dizang An were charging exorbitant interest and were filthy rich, which attracted an Evil Sect. The Evil Sect killed them all, and I went to deal with the Evil Sect. This gold was found in the nunnery. There was also silver and copper coins, but they had other uses and couldn't be brought back."

"That's even more reason not to take it. Although money is a good thing, Mengzi said that ill-gotten gains must not be touched!"

Xu Jia patted Xu Zhiyuan on the shoulder: "Getting pedantic again, aren't you? If I don't take it, Father, what will you use to advance after the imperial examinations?"

The half-old man was so angry his face turned red and his neck thick: "You talk nonsense! I, Xu, act upright and sit straight!"

Xu Jia laughed: "Then you can turn the gold over to the government. I fear if you say you only took one thousand taels, the government will investigate and say there were ten thousand!"

This left Xu Zhiyuan speechless.

Xu Jia stopped worrying about it and pushed the door open. Xu Zhiyuan hurriedly covered the gold to keep the servants from seeing it.

Then Xu Jia called out: "Xiao Hong! Boil hot water and burn incense; I want to bathe!"

Xiao Hong came out with a glowing face. Seeing Xu Jia so disheveled, she exclaimed, "Young Master, were you kidnapped and then walked back begging for food? How did you end up like this?"

Xu Jia saw her spirit was full and guessed the reason: "The Five Elements Pill I ordered you to refine is finished?"

Xiao Hong was surprised: "Young Master, how did you know?"

"You snuck some, didn't you?"

"Eh? I ate a few pills." Xiao Hong felt a bit guilty at first, then puffed out her chest: "I worked hard to make them, steaming and drying them nine times, airing them by day and collecting them by night. What's wrong with eating a few?"

Xu Jia smiled: "This stuff is nourishing. If your period is coming, it's easy to bleed more; you should eat it after your period."

"Ah?" Xiao Hong was so embarrassed her face turned red, and she lowered her head: "None of your business whether it came or not!"

(End of chapter)