Chapter 149: The Calamity of the Treasure Basin (4,000 words, bonus chapter for the Alliance Leader 1)

Xu Jia said, "How much persimmon forest is there in Lan Shi Huo?"

"It's a mountain valley gap, not actually very big, but it is very deep. As for exactly how large an area, I am not clear. Though it is called a persimmon forest, there are actually some other trees as well," Hu Jinhua said. "One would have to count them to know."

"Does Lao Zhupo not know either?"

"She only concerns herself with eating."

"The persimmons she eats have seeds inside, which are scattered again along with her excrement. I imagine there should be quite a lot."

"Then let the Luejue Spirit General go and take a look." Xu Jia immediately dispatched Luejue, a Spirit General of Luejue Mountain, to investigate Lan Shi Huo.

Spirit General Luejue was a minor Mountain God personally enfeoffed by Xu Jia. Although he currently lacked a proper divine office, had no rank, and did not even count as an Underground Lord, he had consumed some Incense Fire recently and had solidified significantly.

Seeing him receive the order, he set out from the Dharma Realm, followed by a Condolence Guest, a Fiend, and a Wandering Mountain Chang, already possessing a certain aura.

The Dharma Realm was malevolent, filled with all sorts of thorns, evil weeds, Yin ghosts, and Demonic Obstacles. Luejue hacked and killed his way through, soon arriving at Lan Shi Huo. He saw that Lan Shi Huo projected a "Dragon Pig" within the Dharma Realm. This pig grew dragon scales and spat out a Dragon Pearl, puffing out a large patch of miasma. Within the miasma, one could not tell how many poisons were manifesting their forms.

This was the projection of Lao Zhupo in the Dharma Realm; she was gradually merging with the Earth Vein of Lan Shi Huo.

Though called a Dragon Pig, it was actually a "Dragon Elephant."

The Luejue Mountain God rode a large rooster and charged into the Lan Shi Huo Dharma Realm. This large rooster was transformed from the essence-soul of a Reverse-Feather Chicken, skilled at controlling evil winds. It flapped its wings in the Dharma Realm and took flight, its pair of sharp claws landing directly on the back of the Dragon Pig, pulling it straight up from the ground.

Spirit General Luejue placed his hand on the head of the Dragon Pig, and immediately, he connected with Lao Zhupo in reality.

That Lao Zhupo sensed a voice speaking to her: "I am Luejue, a Spirit General under the seat of the Dharma Lord, Marshal Xu. The Dharma Lord has sent me to ask you: how much persimmon forest is there here?"

"How many persimmons are produced each year?"

Lao Zhupo was frightened by this god-and-ghost-defying method, for although she had been practicing breathing techniques for many years, she did not travel through the Dharma Realm and remained a creature of flesh and blood.

"This gap connects to Yushan, with about twenty or thirty qing of persimmon forest. As for how many persimmons are produced each year, I do not know. I only know that I have twenty or thirty descendants here; we eat from spring to summer, and from summer to autumn, and we can never finish them all."

Luejue immediately said, "The Dharma Lord has decreed: the persimmon forest is a benefit to the people. Your clan shall enter the Lineage, enjoy the offerings of Incense Fire, protect the persimmon forest, disperse the miasma, and bless the mountain folk."

Lao Zhupo said, "But this old one cannot move!"

"That is no matter. The Dharma Lord says your Belt Vessel is blocked. As long as you eat some earth-boring insects, you can protect your cultivation. After some time, the Dharma Lord will come here to inspect; remember to put in some effort!"

Having said this, the Spirit General Luejue turned back from the Dharma Realm.

Lao Zhupo had always wanted to stand up. Hearing this solution, she was overcome with a mix of emotions, never having expected it to be so simple.

She immediately ordered the little pigs to root out insects from underground and bring them for her to eat.

Luejue returned to the Fox Immortal Hall and reported what he had seen to Xu Jia.

"Has that Lao Zhupo in the Dharma Realm already attained a Dragon Phase?" Xu Jia said. "It seems that place is also a piece of geomantic treasure land, filled with Earth Vein energy!"

Xu Jia said, "Since there are twenty or thirty qing, it is well worth investing in. Hu Jinhua, this matter shall be handled by you and Kan Yinwu together. Find a way to open a road through Lan Shi Huo."

"If we are to open a road, we still need Changyu Daxian. Master Xu, I have an idea. Isn't Changyu Daxian the acting Mountain God? Why not hold a banquet and invite all the monsters and spirits around Yushan to come together?"

"Do you take this place for a charity hall? I accept any monster? With such a mixed bag, what use would I have for them?"

"It is not for the Great Immortal to accept them, but we have a backup. Recently, there have been more and more things to do, and I am becoming too busy to handle it all."

Xu Jia thought about it and agreed: "You have become the General Manager."

At this moment, the Heart General Xu Jidi, residing in Xu Jia's heart Xinjiao, spoke up: "I will sit in command and coordinate!"

"Good, I trust you to get things done."

Xu Jia immediately tapped the position of "Dharma Lord" at the very top of the Hall Genealogy, and a streak of red light was injected into it. The Heart General would replace Xu Jia in presiding over all matters of the Immortal Hall, which is what is called "Divine Path Incense Fire."

In an instant, many halls had a sensing, knowing that there was a development different from before.

Heart General Xu Jidi immediately began to process the prayers and wishes of all the believers and set about coordinating. Originally, the total number of believers across all halls was only a few hundred, but these little monsters did not know how to work, fumbling about and slacking off. They seemed very busy every day, yet accomplished very little.

This is what is meant by "Six Gods Without Master." The heart governs the spirit; with a heart, there is no need to panic.

"Bring the Treasure Basin here for me to see!"

After arranging all matters, Xu Jia was still interested in the Treasure Basin. Even if it had been polluted by an evil god, it should have some redeeming qualities.

Hu Jinhua then retrieved the Treasure Basin from a straw stack in the woodshed, which was still smeared with a layer of soot.

When Xu Jia took it in his hands, he felt it was icy cold. After pouring in clear water, the two carp inside indeed began to move. They were golden and brilliant; one shed tears, and the tears turned into Pearls, while the other tried to leap out of the water but could only fall back into the basin, splashing out water that turned into gold Sand and gold beans, which were very bewitching to the heart.

However, Xu Jia also saw that the Pearls were eyes, and the gold Sand and gold beans were teeth—they were blood and sweat. Beneath every scale of the two carp was a twisted Soul. They writhed like maggots, opening their mouths but unable to make a sound, their hands reaching upward, yet they were trying to pull people down.

"What a vicious Treasure Basin!" Xu Jia saw the function of this treasure: it was a demonic object meant to consume a person entirely. It first gave small profits, then seized their life. Through this, it continuously plundered the blessings, wealth, and lifespan of every successive owner to serve the second-generation owner, then collected the principal with interest, waiting for the third-generation owner to discover it.

As for these two carp, perhaps they were some kind of dragon breed at the start, refined to death inside, but gradually, they became "bait."

"Can the Souls inside be liberated?" Hu Jinhua looked at it, feeling a chill.

Xu Jia said, "This Treasure Basin is actually a predatory loan basin. It first lends you a sum of principal, and after a period of time, you return the principal with interest. If you pay it back, it will lend you a larger principal, and the interest you must pay will be even higher. If you pay that back, there will be a third loan, a fourth loan, until you cannot pay, and then it eats you."

Xu Jia said, "It is possible to liberate these Souls. It recognizes money but not people; you only need to pay off the Yin Debt of these Debt-Back Ghosts. But the final owner of this basin was an evil god who utilized the characteristics of this basin to issue Yin Debt to the common people, earning Blood Food and Incense Fire, only to suffer Heavenly Punishment in the end."

Xu Jia said, "It is a pity I do not know how many people he has already harmed, nor am I clear on how great his Dharma Power or Divine Ability is; otherwise, I could set a trap to hollow him out."

"I also felt it was evil. When I was washing it in the Di Gou Quan earlier, it shook out Pearls and gold Sand. Fortunately, the Pressing Money given by Master Xu stopped me, otherwise I fear I would have plunged into the money-eye myself."

"That is fine. Actually, you possess the Wealth God Authority. If operated properly, and with enough principal, one could indeed short it."

Xu Jia said, "Let me first test if it is a Treasure Basin!"

He immediately threw in a copper coin.

The carp held the copper coin in its mouth and immediately, like a gushing spring, spat out a basin full of copper coins.

One could not even tell where they had been transported from.

As long as one touched these copper coins and spent them, the account would be recorded by the Treasure Basin. Hu Jinhua came up with a terrible idea: "How about we take them to donate as Merit? Do good deeds?"

"That would be of no use," Xu Jia said. "From the moment I threw the money in, the ritual was completed. If I threw in silver, a basin of silver would come out; if I threw in gold, a basin of gold would come out."

"Then what if a person were thrown in?" Hu Jinhua asked.

"Then it would depend on the Dharma Power of this basin, whether it could produce many people."

Hu Jinhua thought: "I do not believe it has the ability to replicate the same thing!"

She immediately took out the Pressing Money: "Master Xu said this is a Wealth God Magic Tool. If it is thrown in, can it produce many Wealth God Magic Tools?"

"Not a bad idea, we can try. If it were truly that powerful, it would not have fallen into the hands of an evil god who got struck by lightning," Xu Jia said. "But I do not like to gamble."

"Can you not count how many wronged souls are inside, and calculate how much Dharma Power he has?"

"These wronged souls are all floating on the surface; there is no telling how many more are in his belly. Unless a Yin Spirit leaves the body and actively goes into the Dharma Realm inside the Treasure Basin to observe, but that would be too dangerous."

"Let me think, how to use an evil artifact for good, and resolve them all."

Xu Jia pondered back and forth: "The best way is to smash it with money, to smash it with an amount of money that the Treasure Basin cannot spit out. No matter how much we smash, he will always follow up with ten times, a hundred times that amount."

"If only there were a Mythical Wealth Beast. A Mythical Wealth Beast only eats and does not spit out; it would collect as much money as this Treasure Basin spits out. But a Mythical Wealth Beast is also a vicious beast. Only Money Shops place Mythical Wealth Beasts at their doors. If a poor person worships a Mythical Wealth Beast, they have little wealth luck to begin with, and then it gets eaten."

"Then what if there were two Treasure Basins? Lending to each other, wouldn't that mean the more they lend, the more there is?"

"I don't know how to refine this kind of Treasure Basin either. This is a bona fide demonic artifact, refined by a demon within the Buddhist sect to collect the greed of the world."

"Only by seeing through the greedy desire to possess money can one avoid being victimized by it."

"I will first try the Five-Route God of Wealth Talisman to see if I can seal his five wealth gates so that nothing can enter or exit."

"Right, the Golden Toad Embracing the Carp!" Xu Jia thought of a method of restraint.

When a golden toad mates, if there is no female, it will embrace a carp and tightly gouge its eyes out until the carp dies.

Xu Jia happened to have refined a golden toad a few days ago due to his heart of enlightenment; it is just right to take it out and try. If this Treasure Basin turns one golden toad into a pile of golden toads, that would be the most perfect outcome, specifically to gouge out the eyes of the carp in the basin and seize its wealth Qi.

Xu Jia opened an Altar and arranged to draw the Five-Route God of Wealth Talisman. Speaking of the Five-Route God of Wealth, their predecessors were actually the Five-Route Plague Gods; they really are one big family.

Xu Jia pasted the Talisman on, and the carp indeed stopped swimming in the water and remained frozen.

"This God of Wealth Talisman is a wealth-attracting talisman. However, a True God attracts righteous wealth, while the Treasure Basin gathers evil wealth. With the righteous wealth blocking the path, the evil wealth cannot move," Xu Jia explained. "When your Wealth God Authority grows, you can try drawing this Five-Route God of Wealth Talisman. Giving it to believers and pilgrims is still quite efficacious."

Hu Jinhua nodded and tried to throw the Pressing Money of the God of Wealth into it. Suddenly, the copper coins grew wings and flew away; they simply refused to fall into the basin.

"Master Xu, these copper coins have grown wings!"

Xu Jia said, "It is normal. Since it is an instrument of Wealth God Authority, it also has Divine Nature. This is called a divine object having a spirit. These wings should be the wings of a green-fly insect. It seems this Treasure Basin is too filthy."

Hu Jinhua held down the fluttering copper coins, and the coins returned to their original appearance once they landed in her hand.

Xu Jia immediately hugged the basin and walked toward his home.

When passing through the market, he saw a bald monk begging for alms: "Benefactor, this poor monk intends to build a Buddha Daochang beside the Di Gou Quan in Fanyin Valley. Every grain of rice, every brick, and every tile is all Merit!"

There was a jar in front of him, and the common people occasionally threw some money into it.

It was just that this monk was very strange. Clearly, the weather was not hot, yet he was soaking wet, and there was sweat on his face the whole time.

"Fanyin Valley, Di Gou Quan? Isn't that where the foxes bathe? Why is a temple being built there too?"

Xu Jia took another look and saw the monk walk over: "Benefactor, your Merit is boundless!"

Xu Jia said: "Sorry, I don't have any money on me."

"Eh! Donating one coin is still a donation. Merit is boundless. Once the Buddha's Golden Body is built, the Benefactor will have infinite blessings, and the Benefactor's parents will have infinite blessings! Your ancestors will have infinite blessings!"

Xu Jia looked him up and down, feeling like he was from an Evil Sect.

Looking closely, he actually had Merit on him, but a faint trace of wealth Qi had turned into two golden leaves, covering his eyes.

Xu Jia slightly calculated the origin of these golden leaves and ended up calculating the Treasure Basin he was holding in his arms. He also calculated the origin of this monk; he was a spirit from the Di Gou Quan. Although not a deity, he could be considered of dragon descent.

They say one leaf blinds the eye, preventing one from seeing Mount Tai, but if it is a golden leaf, then one only sees money.

Xu Jia thought about it and said: "I will donate, but I have no money on me. My mother believes in Buddha. You come back with me, and I will get money for you to perform Merit."

After saying this, he did not forget to add: "My family are landlords."

The monk's eyes indeed lit up with gold stars: "What landlord or wealthy man? You are a patron of Merit, a patron of the Blessed Field."

He immediately hugged his jar and followed Xu Jia.

Xu Jia held the basin, and he held the jar; it was quite harmonious.

"How much does the Benefactor intend to donate?"

"We shall see when the time comes. I have plenty of money here. Donating to the Buddha and the Heavenly Venerables is just right."

Xu Jia bluffed.

"Good, very good! Merit is boundless, and blessings are infinite! In your next life, the Benefactor will surely be born into the Buddha Kingdom as a prince or a king."

"Then you have blessed the wrong person."

Xu Jia brought the monk inside: "Please!"

Just as he invited him in, he closed the door, and then shouted loudly: "Monster, I saw at a glance that you are not human! Reveal your true form!"

The monk looked blank and terrified, but he saw Xu Jia kick over his money jar. It shattered upon hitting the ground, and many copper coins flew out.

On the spot, the monk became enraged, and his body began to deform. Greed turned into copper coin spots, covering his entire face. A golden-money giant salamander appeared before Xu Jia.

(End of this chapter)