Chapter 172: Soul-Hiding and Avoiding Calamity

"I only ever dreamed of this many snakes before; hanging on the trees, swimming in the pond, in the paddy fields, in the house—there were snakes everywhere..."

Hui Zhuo was a bit scared: "How about you do it, Master!"

After Xu Jia accepted him as a True Transmission Disciple, he stopped calling him Brother Xu and changed it to Master.

Xu Jia scolded: "Look at your lack of backbone. Just use your Shaman Technique to communicate with these spirit snakes. These spirit snakes want to borrow the Incense Fire and destiny of the Snake God Temple to cultivate. From now on, any that succeed will be the Immortals of our hall."

Xu Jia brought him out specifically to temper his courage. The spirit snakes of this Snake God Temple were all descendants of Chang Yu. Besides the king cobras, there were vipers and pit vipers—all highly venomous species. The common five-pace snakes, white-headed vipers, and green bamboo snakes were all among them.

It was the kind of sight that would scare a person awake from a dream, let alone seeing it in reality.

It was only natural for Hui Zhuo to be scared silly.

Xu Jia held the child with one arm while kicking his backside: "Shanju Guan is famous for treating snake venom; don't be afraid of being bitten to death!"

Xiaopangdun was kicked; his legs were already weak, and now he collapsed directly onto the ground. He looked up and saw a cobra "hissing."

Trembling, he began the spirit communication. It was fortunate there were no Indians here to play a flute and control it to dance, otherwise, it would have bitten his nose directly.

Xu Jia held the child and entered Shanju Guan. The various Daoists gathered around: "What a beautiful child, True Person, is this your child? Why doesn't he look like you?"

"Go, go, go!" Xu Jia dispersed them and went to the Zushi Tang, putting away the Ancestor Portrait: "Later, you will change this place to worship Heaven and Earth. Your Ancestor gathered Heavenly Qi and stole Earth Essence, and now he has returned to the Dao of Heaven and Earth. If you worship Heaven and Earth, you can repay a portion for him."

"And the Ancestor Portrait?"

"I will keep it for you to use for Soul-Hiding. You have worshipped this portrait for many years; it can already be used to hide a soul."

Xu Jia pointed at the infant: "You will know when the time comes."

By now, Xiaopangdun had already communicated with the snake spirits. The snake spirits parted on both sides, letting him hunch over to paste the Hall Genealogy of Chang Yu, Chang Yuying, and Chang Yu'e in the temple.

He then followed the ritual to perform Earth-Calming Spirit-Settling.

After finishing all this, he was covered in cold sweat and only then came out.

Xu Jia laughed: "Have you overcome this fear now?"

Xiaopangdun shook his head: "No, I'm still scared to death."

"Coward!" Xu Jia cursed.

He then asked Chang Yu: "Do you have any snake beads or similar things here?"

"No, if I had any, it would be a Dragon Pearl formed after transforming into a Flood Dragon." Chang Yu knew Xu Jia's intentions.

Xu Jia felt it was dull, so he left a Gu Talisman on the brick wall behind the Snake God Temple, letting these spirit snakes sense the Gu Technique, generate Gu Poison, and compete to become the Ten Thousand Poisons King. Only the poison king among the Five Poisons would gestate the corresponding bead.

After Xu Jia went down the mountain, Chang Yu spat out a bead from his mouth. This bead was obtained through practicing the Earth Method. It was called the "Water-Avoiding Pearl," a bead formed from his path of the Mountain Dragon, having abandoned the path of the Water Dragon and the road of Transformation into a Flood Dragon to cause floods. It could part waves and avoid water, and it was also the essence of "Earth overcoming Water" among the Five Elements.

He laughed out loud: "This swindler, still wanting to covet my treasure. I don't get a single benefit, and he even wants me to pay out of pocket?"

Thus, he waddled back to Sanlong Dong and said to his two wives, Chang Yuying and Chang Yu'e: "Keep a close watch on the family assets, especially those few pieces of Mountain Jade Essence. Do not let anyone swindle them away. You two must swallow and exhale them daily, and polish them into beads as soon as possible. Swallow them into your bellies, and in the future, they will condense into Dragon Pearls, merging with the earth, and the three of us dragons will emerge together!"

Chang Yu'e and Chang Yuying tilted their heads: "But the Great Immortal is quite good to us. Now that he has established a Daochang and Dharma Realm, we can dwell in the Dharma Realm, and our wisdom and thoughts move much faster than in our physical bodies. Moreover, we can mobilize all the spirit snakes in the mountain... after letting them swallow the essence of the sun and moon, they offer up ten or twenty percent. Accumulating little by little, one day is worth a whole month before!" "These are just small favors. Before he grants me official recognition, you two are not allowed to work too hard. You must understand who your husband is!"

Chang Yu hissed, threatening these two Snake Matrons.

The Snake Matrons coiled on the stalactites of Sanlong Dong, pretending not to hear.

Finally, there was only the sound of inhalation and exhalation. Chang Yu took a breath and sucked hundreds or thousands of bats from the cave into his mouth, swallowing them down. Only then did he close his eyes to rest, but the image of Xu Jia appeared in his mind, making him feel agitated.

Xu Jia went down the mountain and brought Xiaopangdun Hui Zhuo home.

Xu Mu was sweeping herself. Recently there had been much rain and wild winds, blowing down many fallen leaves and dead branches, waiting for good weather to clean them up.

Seeing Xu Jia holding a baby, she put down her work: "Where did you get a child? You didn't kidnap someone else's, did you?"

"Picked it up in the mountains," Xu Jia said truthfully.

Xu Mu stepped forward to take him: "This child doesn't cry or fuss; he's truly obedient."

She casually unfastened the swaddling clothes and saw the little teapot: "Nonsense! If you pick up a child, how could you pick up a boy? And he looks so good, he doesn't look like someone who wasn't wanted."

Xu Jia laughed: "This is my luck." Xu Jia couldn't say this was an ancient person from two or three hundred years ago, otherwise, Xu Mu would likely feel uncomfortable. Should she raise him as a grandson or worship him as an ancestor?

"I was at Lan Shi Huo, preparing to clear that persimmon forest. I hired some idlers to reclaim the land and farm, and we dug up a stone coffin. When the coffin was opened, I saw this baby. Seeing he wasn't an evil spirit, I brought him home."

"From a coffin?" Xu Mu frowned: "And a stone coffin? Those who can afford a stone coffin are likely not ordinary people. But why bury a living infant instead of a dead person?"

Xu Jia laughed: "Mother, don't overthink it. Just raise him. Raise him as a grandson, so you can stop thinking about arranging a marriage for me."

"That's a separate matter!" The more Xu Mu looked at the child, the more she liked him: "But where will we get milk to raise him? We aren't a family that can afford a wet nurse!"

"What of it? Goat milk, dog milk, any milk will do. When he's a bit older, feed him rice soup. Puppies drink dog milk and grow up sturdy; in two or three months he'll be fine..."

"Who drinks dog milk? You're talking nonsense!" Xu Mu didn't ask about the baby's origin anymore; she really wanted to keep him.

"I'll go ask around if there's anyone who just gave birth. A mouthful here, a mouthful there, we'll be able to feed him."

"That will be your Merit." Xu Jia laughed, then entered the study, unfolded the portrait of the Shanju Guan Ancestor, and prepared to open the altar to hook out Cai Yu's Earth Soul, seal it inside, and then send it to the Yushan Cemetery to plant a Life Foundation and bury it, to extend his life and longevity, and also to ensure the infant has fewer calamities during his youth.

Otherwise, this child, envied by Heaven and Earth, let alone living to twenty-four, wouldn't even live to twelve. He would easily fall ill, encounter evil, and attract evil gods.

After all, this body of Innate Pure Yang Qi and the Primordial Spirit that had already refined a bit of true yang could even be said to have laid the foundation of a God Immortal...

If he doesn't hide his soul and let Heaven and Earth think he is dead, he won't be able to grow up safely like a normal child, receive an education, and cultivate to adulthood.

Xu Mu coaxed the baby, seeing he never cried, and thought it strange. She recalled Xu Jia's words: "This child, if he isn't a monster, must be divine... I must give him a name to properly suppress him..."

(End of chapter)