Chapter 178: Yushan Governing Merit Seal

Another seven or eight days passed; Xu Jia had been staying at home, cultivating and keeping Xu Mu company while she looked after the baby.

Xu Jian's wet nurse was a seventeen-year-old girl named Zhaodi. She had previously given birth to a baby girl, but her mother-in-law had thrown the child away. The mother-in-law did not want her resting during her postpartum month and forced her to get out of bed and work the fields the very next day. Later, hearing that the Xu Fu was looking for a wet nurse, the mother-in-law got an idea, sent her daughter-in-law here, and even demanded a sum of silver.

Xu Mu disliked the sound of Zhaodi's name and, pitying her circumstances, changed her name to "Xiao Qing," telling her goddaughter Xiao Hong to teach her how to do some chores.

In truth, there was nothing much to do; Xu Mu was kind-hearted and rarely let her touch water.

Now that Xu Jian had a steady supply of breast milk, his complexion had improved significantly.

Human milk is a top-tier nourishing substance; just like Jia Baoyu in *Dream of the Red Chamber*, he drank it often and never went without, though it was expressed by the wet nurse.

Among these, there was one excellent nourishing dish, which was used to stew bird's nest.

Xu Jia was quite attentive to this, but this fellow could not be like Tonglao in her cultivation, returning to a child's state and then growing up year by year from infancy.

Besides this, the other thing Xu Jia did was carve Dharma seals.

A Dharma seal is a token of a Dharma official; Xu Jia did not have any high-quality jade or the like, so at first, he still wanted to use gold to make the seals.

Gold is soft in texture and actually not very suitable for seals, but it is the most opulent and carries the most authority and trust.

But after thinking it over carefully, even though the debt he carried had been dissolved by the Golden Toad, there was still a possibility of losing it, so he only sought out jujube wood that had grown in a sunny spot to make a few seals.

Once he found good jade in the future, he would use jade for the seals, or once the Golden Toad was on the right track, it would not be too late to use gold.

For his own use, Xu Jia directly used three types: the "Celestial Master Seal," the "Yushan Governing Merit Seal," and the "Daoist Scripture Dharma Treasure."

The Celestial Master Seal was the largest; although he had not yet received the Celestial Master Register, using this seal in advance was not a problem.

The Yushan Governing Merit Seal was the Dharma seal Xu Jia used to govern Yushan, and it was also the official seal for the various Immortal Halls under his command. It represented that Xu Jia governed the land of Yushan and was the local chief; it was also a power granted by Taishan Niangniang of the Wuyue Prefecture, but that was for governing the Jiangnan West Circuit. Xu Jia felt he did not have that strength yet, so he made this seal first.

At least for demonic affairs and ghostly matters within Yushan County, he could govern them, and there was also a corresponding "Temple Office." Although the small temple was small, it was efficacious, and it was already quite comprehensive in handling matters.

Apart from Qingtian Zhen, the surrounding villages had also each developed a "Fox Immortal belief." Especially after Xu Jia had dealt with the Green Bull Spirit of Jiujiegou last time, the people in the Jiujiegou area immediately understood that this was the same kind of event as the one at Qingfeng Pavilion—it was the Fox Immortal from the Fox Immortal Hall performing rites to subdue demons.

As for the Daoist Scripture Dharma Treasure seal, this seal was mainly for assisting cultivation; it was a personal seal of faith used to protect the Primordial Spirit.

Besides carving these three seals, Xu Jia also carved "fish tallies" and "tiger tallies."

The fish tallies were for the Immortals of the various halls to represent their identities. For example, Huang Pipo, Hu Jinhua, and Kan Yinwu all needed to carry fish tallies to be used in conjunction with the "Yushan Governing Merit Seal." Xu Jia governed Yushan, which was equivalent to being a "Daoist Official," so they were "Dao Clerks."

As for the tiger tallies, they concerned the "rampaging soldiers." Lujue, Hu Jinhua, Huang Pipo, Hai Sanniang, and Qiu Jinsha all practiced the art of raising rampaging soldiers. Now there were mountain-roaming, water-wading, and mist-weaving rampaging soldiers, numbering in the hundreds. Without tiger tallies, they would not be a regular force. In addition to the tiger tallies, they also had to make corresponding "commander flags" to be enshrined at the altar.

These were precisely the "rules" and "systems." Without rules, one cannot form a circle or square; a well-functioning system could also save many unnecessary administrative costs.

Carving these tallies and tokens took up a lot of his spare time.

After enshrining them one by one on the altar, Xu Jia stretched and went out the door.

The feathers on the little sparrow Zhan Ying had turned blue-black, and her body had grown a bit larger. She landed from a tree branch and told Xu Jia the news she had scouted.

"Great Immortal, I have two pieces of news now. Which one do you want to hear?"

Xu Jia flicked her, sending her flying: "Is your skin itching? Do you want to play the 'one good news, one bad news' game with me again?"

After she was flicked away, Xun Taizi immediately occupied Xu Jia's shoulder, asserting his sovereignty, and bared his teeth at the Sparrow Spirit Zhan Ying.

"How could I?" the Sparrow Spirit said: "One piece of news is that the old man from last time, that old man surnamed Wang, was caught at Cuichun Pavilion. He called out your name, Great Immortal, saying you still owe him three thousand taels of silver and that it should be put on your tab."

"Wang Mintong?" Xu Jia was speechless: "Isn't this old man a Dharma official? He should be keeping the precepts, so why did he go to Cuichun Pavilion?" "What is the second piece?"

"The neighboring Dexing has been stirred up by the Evil Sect, the Longevity Sect. Many small temples and shrines have been raided, and they have started worshipping the gods of the Longevity Sect. Now a group of them has come to me and gone up to Shanju Guan to ask for reinforcements."

Xu Jia performed a quick calculation and immediately understood the situation.

It turned out that the Huaiyu Mountain Range bordered Yushan on one side and Dexing on the other. Previously, the White Bone Hall of the Longevity Sect had intended to cause trouble in Yushan, but they were startled by Xu Jia slaying the Centipede Dragon, so they turned and fled to the neighboring area. Although there were some Daoist temples and monasteries there, and the practitioners were decent, there were no Earth Immortals or True Persons presiding over them. They were quickly slaughtered by the Saintess of the White Bone Hall, who seized the temples and Daochang and defiled the deities...

"What can those Daoists at Shanju Guan do?" Xu Jia had a headache: "They aren't coming to beg me, are they?"

"You guessed it!" Zhan Ying said: "But Shanju Guan still respects you, Great Immortal, so they didn't tell them directly, but I reckon they will come to invite you too."

Xu Jia had entered his own past-life Temple Niche Dharma Realm these days, but the many incense fire wishes only produced some copper coins that could be used; there were no "gold coins" like those of the Sha Huofo or Xia Laohan that could borrow a bit of past-life Dharma Power, and he could not unlock his "high-level account."

If he made a move now, wouldn't he be exposed? Even if the copper coins accumulated, the upper limit was limited. If the deities of these temples and Daochang had all been corrupted by evil, he feared it was not something he could solve. Besides, weren't there the government officials? The City God?

Xu Jia made up his mind not to interfere with the Longevity Sect affair in Dexing; being able to hold onto Yushan was already considered good.

"Go send a message and tell the Daoists of Shanju Guan not to come looking for me," Xu Jia said: "Tell them to go to the Dao Record Bureau, the government, to Xinzhou, to Nanchang—just don't come here."

The Sparrow Spirit Zhan Ying tilted her head: "Great Immortal, why? Are you not capable anymore?"

"There aren't so many whys," Xu Jia said: "However, I do have a piece of Cause and Effect here. It is that Saintess of the Longevity Sect's White Bone Hall. I killed her husband, and her husband, the evil Daoist, killed me. If I don't kill her, it will always be an unresolved matter. You go find her for me. If there is a time when she is alone, come and tell me. I want to slay this demoness and settle this Cause and Effect."

Zhan Ying said excitedly: "Kill! Kill! Kill!"

Then her eyes rolled around: "Great Immortal, if you aren't going, can I help move other reinforcements?"

"Did they give you benefits? Why are you so attentive?"

"No! Don't talk nonsense! And don't think nonsense!" Zhan Ying defended herself in a panic.

It was obvious she had received benefits.

"You tell them to ask Chang Yu," Xu Jia said: "Hu Jinhua and Huang Pipo both have to follow me to govern Yushan, and besides, they wouldn't be able to help much anyway."

Zhan Ying said dejectedly: "Great Immortal Changyu has already refused them."

She then flew away, looking listless.

After Zhan Ying flew away, Gui Linggao asked curiously: "Great Immortal, don't you want to establish a sect? Since you govern Yushan, why not govern Dexing? The two places flank the Huaiyu Mountain Range; it is the perfect time to encompass them."

"Governing what cannot be governed," Xu Jia said: "The Longevity Sect has already rotted over there; it is no longer something I can manage. It requires the Imperial Court to take action. My personal strength is, after all, meager."

Gui Linggao retracted his head and stopped asking.

Xu Jia once again began to play with and practice the "Wish-Fulfilling Rod."

Now it was becoming more and more wish-fulfilling; in his hands, it was like a spear or a staff, moving like a dragon.

After finishing a set, he had exercised his muscles and bones and enlivened his Qi and blood.

Two people arrived outside the door, looking like farmhands. Xu Mu went to greet them personally; it turned out they were fellow clansmen from Xu Jia Cun. The Earth Temple that had started construction was now ready for the main beam to be raised, and they had come to perform the ceremony and invite him.

(End of chapter)