Chapter 207: Practicing Thunder Law

This old man is truly beyond saving. I don't know what kind of blow he suffered, but he puts on a show of having seen through the vanity of the world. Yet, he possesses neither divine abilities nor shows any Dharma Power, and he certainly doesn't look like someone "playing among the red dust."

This appearance reminds Xu Jia of many people who have suffered setbacks, then collapsed and lost hope in life; it is not the carefree detachment of Zhuangzi, but rather like escaping from reality.

Xu Jia stops trying to persuade him, as continuing would be annoying, but he still has some ideas for this old man and hopes he can make some contributions.

For instance, a Heavenly Master is always accompanied by a standard set of Judges—usually at least five. One holds the Heavenly Master Sword to protect the Dao, one draws Talismans (the Heavenly Master himself only needs to stamp them), and one holds the Heavenly Master Umbrella. There are also those who hold flags and tablets; this is close to the image of an "Imperial Envoy," representing the "Royal Command Flag and Tablet," or what is called "executing demons by imperial decree."

The most intuitive attire of a Heavenly Master is actually embodied in the opera character Zhongkui. As a top scholar who died by hitting a pillar due to his ugly appearance, Zhongkui is the Demon-Subduing Judge of the Underworld. Folk tradition associates him with the "Heavenly Master," and his traveling entourage—the five little ghosts—actually play the roles of the Judges by the Heavenly Master's side. However, the treasures held by the little ghosts here are not necessarily real.

Xu Jia had a disciple in his previous life, a person from Taiwan who studied the "Zhongkui Method." In essence, it was just the "Spirit Medium Method," which is "impersonating a deity." It is fundamentally just acting; they only worship the gods, without internal observation or internal cultivation, belonging to the "Miscellaneous School" of the theatrical profession.

However, if there is a temple to reside in, then there is a lineage, and Zhongkui will pass down methods to subdue Ghost Sha.

This disciple of Xu Jia's previous life learned "swallowing ghosts and eating Sha," consuming Ghost Sha. It requires an extremely tough fate and heavy Yang Qi. However, just swallowing one Ghost Sha nearly cost him half his life. Ordinary people avoid Sha Qi as much as they can, let alone actively contacting it. Without a method to refine Sha, relying purely on the body to resist is basically like an old man hanging himself—purely looking for death.

Xu Jia himself has no experience in training Judges, so he hopes that the old man Wang Mintong can "re-enter the workforce at seventy." Seventy is the age to go out and venture; one must fully utilize the work enthusiasm of the elderly to achieve re-employment and create value.

Instead of squeezing toothpaste for half a day, needing Xu Jia to spend money to buy this Register or that Register from their Celestial Master Mansion.

If this old man can help train a few Judges, Xu Jia is still willing to provide for his old age and funeral.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Wang Mintong holds the slip Xu Jia wrote for withdrawing silver, thinking to himself that he must go try the fox spirit again. Last time he only used chopsticks to probe how deep it was; this time he wants to use an eggplant to see how wide it is, to understand how the human body structure transformed by a fox spirit differs from a normal person, and why it can make a person feel so ecstatic.

While thinking about this great problem, he sees Xu Jia looking him up and down like this, as if looking at a head of livestock to see how much it could be sold for, with an even more sinister feeling that the next moment he might come to check if his teeth are good and if he can work.

"Nothing," Xu Jia says with a smile. "I am going to draw lightning to practice the Law; do you want to come with me?"

"? Why call me? To draw lightning to strike me!"

"That won't happen, but as the saying goes, 'an old person in the house is like a treasure.' You have been in the Celestial Master Mansion for so many years and have even entered the imperial palace to lecture on scriptures for the Emperor and even the Empress Dowagers. You must be proficient in cultivation. I have some ideas, but I don't know if they are feasible, so I still want to discuss them with you."

Xu Jia's sudden flattery gives Wang Mintong goosebumps. The more he feels Xu Jia has ill intentions, the more he wants to leave directly.

Xu Jia does not stop him, only saying: "Shanju Guan is setting up an altar for me, but they have never hosted this kind of Register-adding Dharma Altar. Can you go and provide some guidance?"

"Not going, not going."

"They brew a kind of wine, a top-quality vintage you can't drink anywhere else."

Wang Mintong is somewhat moved.

Xu Jia says again: "Hu Agui has accepted my precious kasaya and has already promised not to receive you anymore. If you want to go to Cuichun Pavilion again, you won't be able to."

"You! Where did I say I wanted to go to Cuichun Pavilion? Isn't this pure slander?" The old man stiffens his neck, his expression unnatural.

Then he says: "If you want me to work, that's a different price; it won't be for free, ha!"

Xu Jia agrees: "Once I behead that Dharma King foreign monk, there will be countless gold and silver treasures; I will share two chests with you then."

"That's true. These Outer Path foreign monks are all rich as oil, wearing all kinds of gemstones on their bodies, each one more bejeweled than the Golden Body of a Bodhisattva, and they love to hoard wealth. Fine, this matter I am good at. Isn't it just setting up an altar? I'll take it! If you renege on the debt, I will go back to Longhu Mountain and invite the Lingguan on the altar to come find you to collect the debt."

Xu Jia's face turns black: "Am I that kind of person?"

But he also becomes Joyous, then summons Huang Pipo, telling her to escort this old man up the mountain to prevent him from running away. If he wants to run, Huang Pipo can blow him unconscious with a single fart.

Huang Pipo transforms into a gust of yellow wind, lands beside Xu Jia, and says respectfully: "Master Xu."

"How is the Tian Liang Miao on your side?"

"I have already hired craftsmen to repair it, but I haven't performed the Pure Altar Ritual yet. I plan to invite Hui Zhuo to do it. Also, I want to learn from the Xu Jia Cun Tu Di Miao and start a school. These are all trivial matters that need to be done slowly."

Xu Jia nods: "Matters concerning preaching and Incense Fire need to be detailed and thorough. Currently, I haven't established an office yet. The Wuyue Prefecture has entrusted me with managing all demon affairs in the Jiangnan West Circuit, so I need a Demon Affairs Office. Under the Demon Affairs Office, we need to establish a Demon-Subduing Station in various places. My original intention is to use each temple as a center and radiate to the surrounding areas. You manage one area, the Fox Immortal Hall manages another, and slowly spread out. Only by managing Yushan County well and making the name of the Demon Affairs Office known can we go to other places, whether to talk or to fight. It cannot always be me taking action every time. Like you all, I have taught you the methods and tricks for training troops. By then, you will each have your own troops to command."

Huang Pipo nods: "This little demon understands Master Xu's painstaking efforts and will definitely not lose face for Master Xu!"

"Good. This Judge Wang from Longhu Mountain will be a patron of our lineage from now on. You escort him safely to Shanju Guan. Once there, communicate with Chang Yu in the Snake God Temple. Whatever he needs, satisfy it as much as possible, as long as it speeds up the progress of setting up the Zongtan."

"Once the Zongtan is set up and I add the Register, it will be orthodox. Then we will build a Daoist temple around the Zongtan, which will be our mountain gate Daochang. This matter is the most important. You act quite steadily and have some wisdom and cleverness, unlike the others under my seat. I am at ease leaving this matter to you."

Huang Pipo nods, having understood Xu Jia's meaning, and says repeatedly: "Since this matter is handed to this little demon, Master Xu can rest assured. The matters at Tian Liang are the same if handed to Silang and Jiuniang. I will definitely supervise the construction progress of the Zongtan well!"

After saying this, she lets out a fart. The fart turns into yellow smoke, wraps around Wang Mintong, and transports him away.

Xu Jia: This Huang Pipo's method is really somewhat unsightly. Next time I will teach her to refine a "Five Yin Bag" Magic Tool to store the farts, and then release them through the Five Yin Bag, which will be much more aesthetic.

Although it feels like "taking off one's pants to fart—an unnecessary move," the sect's image still needs to be considered. Someone like Hu Jinhua is not bad; although at first the Fox Fire was also refined by collecting phosphorus fire from the Luanzanggang, later she switched to using the Zhurong Fire Qi Curse, adding three types of fire: lamp fire, stove fire, and Incense Fire, becoming less "underworld-like."

Huang Pipo can also use this method, perhaps practicing a "Wind Method" and changing the fart into a "Yellow Wind."

That Wufeng Shizhe is a Wind God; next time I will have him teach a Wind Method suitable for Huang Pipo, and that will be enough.

Withdrawing his thoughts, Xu Jia heads straight toward the Jin Chan Miao. The evil god of the Jin Chan Miao was previously struck by lightning, and Xu Jia felt the Thunder Sha condensed and not dissipated at that time.

Moreover, Xu Jia also needs to "draw lightning." What draws lightning best? Naturally, it is metal.

Of course, Xu Jia did not intend to have lightning strike the golden toad, although he swore last time that if he broke his word, he would be struck by lightning.

Arriving at the Jin Chan Miao, the golden toad thinks secretly: How much does this master not trust me? I don't know how many more times he will come to inspect.

But Xu Jia just goes back to wash and bathe, and writes a few Talismans. By the way, he checks the Fire Essence that Kui Qing mentioned, so he doesn't accidentally set his own house on fire.

Arriving beside the temple, the old trees that were charred by the thunder fire have already been knocked down, but the Thunder Sha is still there, and there is also a faint trace of Resentment Qi.

Xu Jia nods slightly. The Thunder Sha here has been here for a long time and is no longer so intense; it can be used to lay a foundation. If it were a place that had just been struck by lightning, it would be easy for Xu Jia to attract natural lightning to strike again along the original path if he practiced there.

If one is really struck to death by lightning, one can only travel to another world; even wanting to return to the Underworld would be impossible. If one doesn't travel to another world and the Soul is not scattered, it will most likely become a "Ghost Sha."

*Biographies of Divine Immortals*, *In Search of the Supernatural*, *Record of Strange Tales*, *Record of Mysterious Events*, and *Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio* all have records about Ghost Sha.

Ghost Sha often come out to harm people on rainy days and can only float at a height of about two meters in the air. In fact, it is very similar to "ball lightning." This kind of thing is a ghost in lightning, light and airy, and will chase people.

Xu Jia certainly doesn't want any accidents.

Xu Jia has the "Tiangang Great Sage Thunder Law," the method of collecting Sha and practicing Thunder from the Lushan Sect of his previous life, and the Celestial Master Five Thunders Register obtained from Wang Mintong, also called the "Five Thunders Orthodox Method."

But the Five Thunders Orthodox Method can only be used after adding the Register rank; it is a means of summoning gods or writing memorials to reach the Heavenly hearing. In *Journey to the West*, the method used by the Tiger Power Great Immortal to pray for rain is the Five Thunders Orthodox Method.

This is too cumbersome, and a process of praying for rain takes at least three days or more, with many rules and precepts. Xu Jia does not intend to practice it, but it can be used as a reference. For example, it records the names of Thunder Gods. These Thunder Gods can be dealt with officially, or they can be "dealt with privately."

Xu Jia needs this kind of private dealing: I give money, you put in effort. Xu Jia also has Incense Fire here. Once Xu Jia establishes his sect, some gods with little Incense Fire and low status will quickly become prosperous in Incense Fire, which is a mutual Achievement.

Just like Wudang Mountain and the Zhenwu faith. The Zhenwu faith was not very widespread before; at first, he was a "side general" of the Tianpengyuanshuai among the Four Saints of the North Pole, but later he was able to become the "Northern Heavenly Emperor." He is the Xuantianshangdi, and it is said he was even the "Heavenly Emperor" during the Qing Dynasty, sitting on the imperial throne.

Xu Jia only needs to summon them and agree on the conditions, and he can invite them to be driven every time. Of course, not every Thunder God will do this; many Thunder Gods are upright and unyielding.

Xu Jia looks left and right, then draws a circle around the area, recites the Dharma Curse, sets up the Pure Altar Ritual, and instructs the golden toad: "When I perform the Law later, you protect me from the side. If something goes wrong, you drive the Xiao Jinchan to eat the Thunder Sha on my body."

Immediately, he lays out three Talismans one by one in front of him, takes out cinnabar, mixes it with rice and salt, and uses it to draw around the circle he just drew, drawing a square, which is round on the outside and square on the inside.

On the four sides, he used stones and wood stained with Thunder Sha, three of each, totaling twelve items containing Thunder Sha, to create thunder gates; outside each thunder gate, he had Xiao Jinchan stand guard, two for each gate, totaling twenty-four.

Immediately after, he held the Heavenly Stems Great Sage Talisman and silently recited the Heavenly Stems True Qi Incantation three times: "Heavenly Emperor releases the chapter, wearing the Heavenly Stems, the fierce ghosts of the five directions, why do you not perish? With one inhalation of flying light, ten thousand ghosts lie in hiding, Heavenly Stems Great Sage, kill into the ghosts' hearts, Jijiru Luling."

"Om Hum Hum Li Svaha!"

Once the incantation was finished, Xu Jia swallowed this Talisman into his stomach.

Instantly, it felt as if rivers were overturning and seas were churning inside his stomach, with a seed of Heavenly Stems True Qi darting about wildly.

Xu Jia kept the essentials of cultivation in mind and began to preserve his spirit and visualize; first, he preserved his left eye as the sun, within the sun was the Yuyi Digong, the Taiyang Xingjun held a Spirit Drum, emitting a thunderous sound that was supreme and rigid; his right eye was the moon, within the moon was the Huanglin Yuegong Guanghan, there was the Taiyin Star Lord, holding a mirror, the mirror's cold light burst forth, turning into a strand of soft, feminine lightning.

The sun and moon merged at the center of his eyebrows; as time passed and it deepened, the yin and yang softened, as if at the place of the creation of heaven and earth, like the vitality of thunder and lightning; then, three inches in front of his brow, as if at an infinitely distant place, light burst forth, this light was lively and flickering, gradually becoming like the sun and moon; bright, round, and clear, with brilliant golden light.

This light combined with the power of the thunder talisman that Xu Jia had just swallowed into his stomach, creating a lively sensation of "leading Qi with the spirit," as if a new life had been bestowed.

Subsequently, Xu Jia began to circulate this light of the sun and moon's Heavenly Stems nature and True Qi, moving downward from the center of his eyebrows, following the Ren meridian downward, arriving all the way at the perineum, then entering the Du meridian from the perineum, and entering the lower back.

The light illuminated the Gate of Life!

The Body Gods in the two kidneys were both very curious, looking at this thing, but Xu Jia soon exerted his cultivation, mobilizing his spirit, visualizing the sun in the left kidney and the moon in the right kidney, and the two Body God youths temporarily transformed into the Taiyang Xingjun and Taiyin Star Lord.

At the moment where the light of the sun and moon merged, a gate suddenly appeared in the void, with "Tiangang Great Sage Mansion" written on it; this was the manifestation of the Tiangang acupoint within the Internal Scene Body Deity Appearance.

The next moment, that Tiangang nature-light, which had obtained the Heavenly Stems True Qi, rushed into it, entered the Great Sage Mansion, merged with Xu Jia's own Gate of Life Body God, and transformed into an illusory Tiangang Great Sage.

But this was not yet fully cultivated; subsequently, he would need to collect Thunder Sha to transform into the Great Sage's armor and weapons, and even have the Sha Qi merge with Xu Jia's evil thoughts to conjure a fierce beast mount, only then would it have the corresponding power.

(End of chapter)