Chapter 22: The Dharma Realm Cave Abode of the Fox Immortal Hall

While Xu Jia was storing Vitality, the Niu household on the other side was in complete chaos.

Niu Congcong followed Xu Jia's advice to set up a hall in a quiet place to worship the Fox Immortal.

But there were people coming and going everywhere in the Niu household, and there was no quiet place, so Niu Congcong thought about buying a house alone.

Buying a house was not a small expense; it required withdrawing over a hundred taels of silver, which alarmed Niu Mu.

Niu Mu didn't care about anything else, but she was terrified that her son would go whoring or gambling. Upon hearing the news, she immediately took a sturdy servant woman, detained Niu Congcong at home, and forbade him from going anywhere.

The little fatty Xiaopangdun took advantage of a moment when no one was paying attention and tried to climb the wall to run away, but he sprained his foot and wailed in pain.

He was dragged back into the house again.

Niu Congcong couldn't help but cry and sob as he told Lady Niu that he wanted to buy a house to study in peace and earn a title in the future.

Niu Mu had raised this brat, so how could she not know that this fellow couldn't read a single word? She didn't believe him at all and instead imagined a scenario of him "hiding a mistress."

She refused to give him the money or let him out, saying, "Just wait for your father to come back and deal with you."

Niu Congcong could only sigh and give up, looking listless.

Seeing that Niu Congcong had sprained his foot, Sha Erzhu massaged it to promote blood circulation and remove stasis, while saying, "Young Master, what are you trying to do? Why must you buy a house?"

Niu Congcong looked heartbroken: "I have obtained a destiny with an Immortal and need to find a quiet place to worship. It's just a pity that my mother, that little woman, doesn't understand and keeps me blocked at home. If this can't be done, my Immortal destiny will be missed."

Upon hearing this, Sha Erzhu didn't ask what kind of Immortal destiny it was. After pondering for a while, he said, "Why not use the house from my old home? After my father died, it became an empty house, and I came to work at your place."

"It's just a dirt house in the countryside, in a remote location, only two miles away from here. It's just that no one has lived there for a long time, and I haven't been back much, so I'm afraid it's all overgrown with weeds..."

"Good Er Zhu! You are still the best." Niu Congcong's eyes lit up when he heard this: "It's good that it's remote and uninhabited. Let's go, let's hurry over to clean up and prepare!"

The two of them spent some effort and managed to sneak out, heading toward Sha Erzhu's old home.

Sha Erzhu's house was in a cramped corner of Niu Jiaji, with a small mountain behind it and a large tree blocking the entrance.

Because of this large tree, the gate and courtyard were crooked, which is a great taboo in Feng Shui; the so-called "crooked doors and evil paths" refers to this.

The mountain behind was not a reliable backing either; if there were a heavy rainstorm, it would wash away the foundation of the house.

In terms of Feng Shui, this place was not suitable for building a "Yang Dwelling," and not even suitable for building an Yinzhai.

Moreover, the Back Mountain blocked the light, and the front door had a large tree, blocking both the light and the path, which was even more inappropriate.

As soon as he entered this place, Niu Congcong felt a shiver; it was gloomy and chilly.

The small courtyard inside was also very damp, with ferns growing. Er Zhu stepped out a path, opened the door lock, and a gust of wind blew from inside to outside, which was also gloomy and chilly.

The inside was actually dry, but it hadn't been cleaned much, and there was a smell of dust and mold.

Niu Congcong walked in on tiptoe; it was dark and dim inside, with only a small table and stools.

After entering and looking carefully, he passed through the main hall and reached the backyard. The backyard was directly against the mountain, with a small part dug out. A simple shed was the kitchen, firewood was piled up next to it, and a small, abandoned vegetable garden was on the side of the house.

"It is indeed remote and quiet enough." Niu Congcong clicked his tongue. "My father was diligent and built the house on a piece of land no one wanted. My mother died early, and he raised me alone, but ended up working himself to death."

Sha Erzhu said, "Before my father died, he took me to beg the Master, and the Master was kind and kept me."

"A few days later my father was gone, the things in the house were moved away by relatives, and the fields were divided."

"Only this house was kept by the Master's decision, saying it was for me to use when I marry a wife in the future."

"Er Zhu, you are so miserable! You are just like the protagonists in the storybooks." Niu Congcong said with emotion: "Sha Erzhu, from now on, if I have a bite of meat, you will have a sip of soup. You kid, follow me, and you won't go wrong."

Then the two began to clean up and decorate. The dining table was placed in front of the hall and covered with a red cloth.

A blank Drawing Scroll was hung directly on the wall. According to what Xu Jia said, "Position of Dharma Lord Xu Shigong" was written at the very top, Hu Jinhua was written below, and Hu Duxiu, Hu Butang, and Hu Delu were written below Hu Jinhua.

Next was to consecrate the "Immortal Genealogy Position," to invite the Fox Immortal's spiritual thoughts, and to consecrate the Incense Burner.

Xu Jia had taught all of these. Niu Congcong did it step by step, inserting incense and bowing to the four directions, inviting the Four Spirits, and settling and notifying the Earth Deity, and settling and notifying all the spirits of the world...

After the ceremony was completed, Niu Congcong didn't know if it was successful or not, but he still followed the instructions. When leaving, he used a piece of red paper on the door to write, "On such and such a year, month, and day, disciple Niu Congcong invites the Fox Immortal to enter this hall; all spirits and demons of this place are not to enter without invitation," acting as a seal.

This was for fear that after setting up the hall, it would be snatched away by something else.

After doing this, the two left.

And after Niu Congcong performed the ritual, under the Old Crooked-Neck Tree, Hu Jinhua immediately had a response.

He was overjoyed, scratching his ears and cheeks, dancing a strange dance on the spot, and ordered: "Children, pack up your belongings, we are moving tonight. We won't live in this smelly, fishy, dilapidated place anymore; we are going to live in a human house."

The foxes asked upon hearing this: "Where is that human house, how big is it? Is it enough to live in?"

Hu Jinhua couldn't answer, only saying: "I will go explore the place first, see how the environment is, and tell you later."

So he transformed into an old woman in black and followed the guidance to Sha Erzhu's old house. Seeing that this house was against the mountain, he was very satisfied: "Really good, the children can also go to the mountain to play."

Walking in for a look, the large tree in front of the door was even more to his liking: "We lived in that Old Crooked-Neck Tree before, and there is also a large tree here. A large tree can gather Spirit Qi, can also provide shelter for us little demons, and can also gather crows and magpies to build nests here, really not bad..."

Seeing the red seal, he read the words on it twice, confirmed that it was inviting him to move in, and only then did he smile and show his fox teeth, tore it off, and folded it as a proof of invitation.

Entering the courtyard for a look, although there were many weeds, for foxes, this was not a disadvantage, but an advantage.

Crossing the courtyard and entering the main hall, although it was dark and dim, he could still see the "Immortal Genealogy" at a glance, so Hu Jinhua respectfully knelt, kowtowed, and offered incense: "Disciple Hu Jinhua pays respects to Dharma Lord Xu Shigong!"

After kowtowing, he separated a cluster of thoughts and attached it to the three characters "Hu Jinhua" written on the genealogy.

As this thought entered, the perspective began to change.

It turned out that this house, after setting up the offering table and Incense Burner, was already a Fajie Daochang, and this divine genealogy had become a portal to enter the Fajie Daochang.

Inside the divine genealogy Dharma Realm, the position of Dharma Lord Xu Shigong was like a sun, illuminating this space. It could be faintly sensed that it seemed to be a temple with flourishing Incense Fire.

It was just that this space was not large, about the size of this house, but it could move with thoughts, manifesting a courtyard full of flowers and plants. With another thought, all kinds of furniture appeared, but the spirit was extremely exhausted.

(End of chapter)