Chapter 238: Rao Pearl

This Yuan Jiangjun's face looks somewhat like Nikolai Zhao Si, but his build is more robust, and he is not as sleazy; his two eyes are still round, and although they are round, they are tiny, like two longan pits.

His two small eyes focus like a beam of light, revealing a hint of craftiness: "What 'naked fish'? It must be those offerings the commoners on the shore have presented again, or some article they've written."

"That's not it, Great King. It's the two waves of 'naked fish' with ill intentions that you mentioned a while ago; they are both wicked neighbors."

"The Chang Sheng Jiao Fawang has already had his Sarira severed, so that must be the other wave..." Yuan Jiangjun's expression suddenly changed: "Is it a post from that Lingbao Heavenly Master?"

"It seems so." The Green Fish Spirit also cannot distinguish matters on the shore. He only concerns himself with affairs in the water—where the snails are tasty and where the water grass is refreshing—he knows plenty about that.

Yuan Jiangjun's expression is uncertain: "That Daoist has a background. Coming to my door this time, could it be to subdue me? Am I going to have to move house again?"

He took the post and read it over and over; it was stamped with a Heavenly Master seal and only stated that he would visit at the Hour of the Rat tomorrow.

"The visitor seems to have ill intentions."

Although Yuan Jiangjun is of the turtle kind, he is not skilled in strategy, but he has a wife who is a mandarin fish spirit named Huaban Furen, and she is quite resourceful.

He went to the backyard, where Huaban Furen had not yet attained the status of Earth Immortal, having only about three hundred years of Daoist Practice; she had a human body and a fish tail, and was currently inhaling and exhaling before a precious pearl. This pearl is the treasure of the Xin River Water Mansion, named "Rao Pearl," a treasure of auspiciousness, taking the meaning of "abundant water grass."

Speaking of this Rao Pearl, it counts as a type of "Earth Treasure," and rumor has it that it is one of the beads from the First Emperor's crown.

Inhaling and exhaling the Qi of the Rao Pearl allows one to borrow its creation, attain the spirit of mountains and rivers, and slowly transform from the demon kind into the "deity" kind.

However, it lacks lasting power, with an effect radius of only a hundred miles; by absorbing the Qi of abundance, she damages the heavens and earth to benefit herself, which counts as seizing the creation of heaven and earth.

Golden coin-like spots were gradually growing on Huaban Furen's fish tail, signifying wealth, and her face was very elegant and noble; unlike other minor demons who transform into village crones or lame men, she looked like a lady with a court title, someone who is cultured.

"What troubles the General? Why not let your concubine dispel your worries?"

She put down the Rao Pearl, placed it into a clam shell, and her complexion turned rosy, carrying a hint of contentment.

"My lady, that newly appointed Lingbao Heavenly Master on the shore is coming to the Water Mansion at the Hour of the Rat tomorrow. What does this mean? Is it about the flood caused by the dragon-crossing last time? Or does he want to divert water into canals and promote water conservancy?"

"General, do not be impatient. If everything is done according to the rules, it is not easy to make mistakes." Huaban Furen smiled: "Let your concubine analyze it for you."

"In these years, has the General ever engaged in licentious offerings, terrorized the commoners, or demanded blood food, such as young boys and girls, or cattle and sheep?"

"No, why would you ask such a question? If I had such conduct, how could I become a god?"

"That is just it. When the General was at Poyang, you often saved drowning commoners. Later, during the several naval battles at Poyang, the General took in the ghosts of those who died in the water and organized them into an army, which is how you earned the name of General. When that Wu Li Da Wang stirred up winds and waves, broke ships, and devoured people, you even stepped in to fight him, only retreating to this Xin River Water Mansion after being defeated."

"But we did drive away the original Xinjiang Shuishin; we did occupy someone else's mansion after all."

"That is because he had achieved nothing for years. Do the commoners still recognize him now? They recognize us." Huaban Furen said: "If one is beneficial to people, one can prosper."

"Though it is said that one who prospers by this will perish by this, that is because they do not understand how to speculate and adapt, nor do they know that worldly affairs change easily, that fortune is unpredictable, and they do not understand the Dao of handling affairs, attributing it to their own experience rather than the merit of heaven and earth."

"General, we are different. Although we left Poyang, while it looks like a failure to outsiders, it might be a successful step. Occupying the Water Mansion seems like an evil act, but to the commoners on both banks, is it not a good thing?"

"Now that this Heavenly Master is visiting, I see it not as a disaster, but as a good thing. We must change our thinking; we are not demons now. You, General, are the Xinjiang Shuishin, and your concubine is the Water Deity's wife."

"In your concubine's view, this is merely to inquire about the Poyang affair."

Huaban Furen said: "The General focuses on cultivation and is not skilled in human affairs, but your concubine has been frequently gathering information during this time. When the Jinsha Creek deity Qiu Jinsha visited last time, the General suffered a backlash due to restraining the flood. When your concubine was managing the internal affairs of the Water Mansion, I had already anticipated today's events."

Yuan Jiangjun suddenly realized: "So my lady had anticipated this long ago; you are truly the top scholar of Poyang."

This Huaban Furen was originally a courtesan on a flower boat on the Gan River, well-versed in zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting. In her youth, she was a female relative of an official family, but after her family fell into ruin, she was forced into being an official courtesan. Later, she met a heartless man who swindled her out of all her money under the guise of doing business, so she threw herself into the river and died. A spotted mandarin fish ate her eyes, and for some reason, she possessed it and transformed into a mandarin fish demoness.

At first, she wanted to recommend herself to the Dragon Lord, but the old dragon of Poyang only cared about sowing seeds, and with Wu Li Da Wang by his side, he did not lack for strategists.

She had to settle for second best and found the honest demon Yuan Jiangjun. Fortunately, Yuan Jiangjun cherished her and even gave her whatever treasures he had, which made her quite satisfied.

"When that Qiu Jinsha came here that day, it was to inform us that this Lingbao Heavenly Master had received an order from the Wuyue Mansion to open a government office here and govern all demon affairs in the Jiangnan West Circuit."

"Ah? My lady, such an important matter, why didn't you tell me sooner? If you had told me sooner, I would have gone to join him earlier."

"I did tell you, General. At that time, the flood had not yet occurred, and he had not yet achieved the status of Heavenly Master. You said there was no need to pay him any mind."

"How was I to know he had such means back then?" Yuan Jiangjun was a bit embarrassed, then said: "Is it too late to join him now?"

"In your concubine's opinion, now is not a good time to join. The demon affairs of the Jiangnan West Circuit are not something he can manage just because he wants to. There are many Great Demons in the Jiangnan West Circuit: Nanchang has Hushan, and there is a Mountain God on the mountain; Poyang has a thousand-year-old demon, a tail-severed flood dragon; Luling has the thousand-year-old couple Zhang Gong and Zhang Po; and where the Jiujiang flows into the Yangtze River, there are Great Demons of the Yangtze River in charge, descendants of Wuzhiqi, who frequently cause floods."

"Moreover, there is the Longevity Sect, which hides filth and harbors evil, poisoning the commoners. Between the two of them fighting, I still favor the Longevity Sect."

"Furthermore, he governs demon affairs, but his subordinates are all minor demons; the poisonous python of Yushan only has four hundred years of Daoist Practice and has not attained the status of Earth Immortal. The General does not need to rush to join him. On the contrary, we should maintain a certain cooperative status—relatively equal—but we must appear humbler than him. In this way, joining him in the future will be a logical step, and if he fails, leaving will also be a logical step."

Yuan Jiangjun became suspicious: "Wouldn't that make us fence-sitters?"

"It cannot be called fence-sitting; we are neutral to begin with." Huaban Furen said: "Back then, the old flood dragon of Poyang wanted to subdue us, and we did not join him. Although that old dragon was not a wise master, we risked life and death to refuse him back then. It was not easy to find peace here, so why sell our skills to others unless absolutely necessary?"

"My lady is right! I see that my lady is not only a female top scholar but also a female Taigong! Having you, my lady, is the fortune of three lifetimes!"

After saying this, Yuan Jiangjun and this mandarin fish demoness began to act affectionately.

But after a while, Huaban Furen pushed Yuan Jiangjun away: "General, we still need to prepare the etiquette; nothing can be missing. He cannot enter our Water Mansion in his physical body; he can only enter the Dharma Realm with his Primordial Spirit to communicate with the Xin River. I have heard that when the Heavenly Master goes on inspection, the City God, Earth Deity, Dragon King, River Earl, and Mountain God will all come to pay their respects. We must also wear our God Immortal robes, conform to the rules of the Divine Path, and go fifteen miles out of the river to welcome him with the Dao."

"There must also be a standard for hospitality. The Longhu Mountain Heavenly Master is treated with the standard of a Third Rank official. He is not from Longhu Mountain, only having the cultivation of an Earth Immortal, and governing the demon affairs of the Jiangnan West Circuit, so he cannot be counted as a Fourth Grade official; at most, he is a Fifth Rank. We shall treat him according to the standard of a Fifth Rank official."

"Sigh, more money to spend."

"We produce gold sand in the river; we can spend money to avert disaster. When the time comes, offer a peck of gold sand. Don't call it a bribe; just say that we feel deeply responsible for the flood getting out of control last time and are offering it to provide relief to the commoners. As for what they do with this money, that has nothing to do with us."

With the husband and wife managing things together, their level of enlightenment is still not high enough.

If Xu Jia had known in advance, he would surely have said: "Is this all you have to bribe an official?"

Only a peck of gold sand? Why not three pecks and three liters?

Xu Jia, on his side, returned home, remembering that Xiaopangdun was still cultivating inside the Three Sovereigns Ten Thousand People Umbrella. It had been half a month; if he had died, wouldn't that be a disaster?

As a result, when he returned home and looked, the little fatty under the umbrella had a rosy face and excellent complexion, so he communicated with the Heavenly Demon: "What is going on here?"

"Does the Demon Lord forget that we are Heavenly Demons, most skilled at harvesting vitality? The Feng Shui formation set up by the Demon Lord in the house gathers vitality every day, no less than supplementing him with a chicken. Maintaining him without food or drink is no problem. The Tianmo Mu has come up several times, and we have all informed her politely."

"So that is how it is."

Xu Jia immediately asked the key question: "How is his courage being trained now?"

"Reporting to the Master, he has died more than thirty times, and only then did he subdue the man-eating old demon."

"But since the Master did not give other instructions, we did not let him walk out of the illusion, but followed the Master's orders to gradually increase the horror and added quite a few demons."

They all cultivated under the Fawang and were lured down to the lower realm. When they were in the Mo Jie, none of them were easy to deal with. Setting up interconnected horror illusions was likely just for fun, using the little fatty for entertainment.

However, for a mere Seventy-Three Pillar Demon Gods of Hell, it took him more than thirty deaths to clear the level, which is far worse than when Master Xu cleared it in one go.

Xu Jia completely treated this magic realm constructed by the Three Sovereigns Ten Thousand People Umbrella as a horror-themed live-action game to develop.

With my divine sense perceiving it, I saw that Xiaopangdun was currently trapped in a labyrinth. The master of this labyrinth was an evil Buddha, and the scene was somewhat like the Qianfo Ku, Xiao Leiyin Si, and the like.

That evil Buddha sat on a meat lotus, holding a bone staff, with four faces and eight arms. The main face was compassionate, while the other three faces were a blue face of sorrow, a red face of anger, and a black face of death and destruction.

Xu Jia was startled when he saw this: "Where did you find this material?"

The three demons said triumphantly: "Master, don't forget that we previously practiced at the foot of the Great Snow Mountain in the Secret Treasury Domain, following that Dharma King. We absorbed the terrifying thoughts of those commoners. The Buddha that the commoners see is exactly this terrifying, for they must revere the monks, or else they will be eaten by the evil Buddha."

"How many times has he died now?" Xu Jia inquired.

"He has died about a hundred times or so. The shortest was dying just as the illusion appeared, and the longest he lived was three days." These three old demons took pleasure in torturing people, laughing eerily.

Upon hearing this, Xu Jia secretly thought: "In the future, the disciples can indeed often come into the umbrella to experience these illusions."

"However, Master, setting up the illusion also consumes a lot. We need offerings to continue maintaining it."

"Hmm?" Xu Jia's face showed displeasure.

"We don't need terrifying offerings, please don't misunderstand, Master. We have also taken the path of light, righteousness, and greatness. We want some Incense Fire. With Demon and God as one, we can be a god guarding nightmares. You only need to proclaim that we will eat nightmares, and we can obtain both fear and a certain amount of Incense Fire."

Xu Jia knew that once these demons started, they would try every possible way to make trouble. Who knew if they would swallow nightmares upon entering dreams, or transmit the Dharma in the dreams, passing down the Heavenly Magic lineage to let the demon descendants set up altars for offerings.

Thus, he sneered: "Not allowed."

The three old demons looked as if their necks had been pinched.

At this moment, Xu Jia's Three Corpse Demon Insects formed cocoons and underwent metamorphosis. They represented Xu Jia's "Corpse-Self nature"—namely, gluttony, lust, and desire. Here in the illusion, these three desires were infinitely satisfied, turning into cocoon shells that wrapped them up. Their current metamorphosis was actually following the path of "Corpse Severance."

The ancients believed that Corpse Severance was "Feathered Ascension," hence there would be a "jade cocoon" wrapping the corpse, sealing the nine orifices, and locking the soul inside to wait for the metamorphosis a thousand years later, just like a caterpillar turning into a butterfly. A similar principle exists in Egyptian mummies, which are also wrapped in the form of a cocoon for ascension and resurrection.

These Three Corpse Demon Insects were, of course, not metamorphosing into Immortals, but into "Demonic Primordial Spirits." The three Demonic Primordial Spirits gathered Xu Jia's "evil thoughts and desires" and immediately began to "cannibalize" the three outer demons.

But it was mainly Xu Jia's Three Corpse Demon Gods devouring these outer demons. The three demons were both shocked and angry, so they turned to devour them in return, just like two snakes, with the snake behind eating the tail of the snake in front, forming a ring.

In just a moment, the three demons all turned into three floating rings, inside and outside as one, self-circulating. The many Heavenly Demons and Yin Demons that had been summoned came to pay homage to these three rings. It turned out that these three rings also had significance; they were called the Primordial Demon Rings, representing that "not-being has being," "not-nothing has nothing," and "not-emptiness has emptiness."

They were the three different concepts of "being, nothingness, and emptiness," which both contained the philosophy of the universe and were the essential descriptions of Yin Demons, Heavenly Demons, and Realm Demons.

The three rings remained in the Ten Thousand People Umbrella, but they no longer had those selfish, cunning consciousnesses; instead, they linked up with Xu Jia himself.

Xu Jia's heart suddenly had many more "Buddhist principles." It turned out that seeing through the Demonic Obstacle was the awakening of becoming a Buddha.

However, inside there were also the Three Corpses representing Taoism. The Three Corpses represented the Three Poisons and Ignorance; they were the enemies that stored Essence Qi and Spirit, and the enemies that caused loss and leakage.

Now that they were subdued into rings, it meant there was some "no leakage, no loss," and one's self became a "pill."

This pill was not a Golden Core—round, plump, and golden—but rather a state where the breath does not leak, the divine intent is not delusional, and the essence water is not lewd. This was actually a state of "Human Immortal" perfection. It was not the realm of an "Earth Immortal," but attaining it now was not a regression of realm, but an increase in the foundation of the Dao, an extra kind of "physical achievement."

This achievement was actually the foundation of "physical ascension." Without this achievement, one could only cultivate the Yang Spirit to ascend in the future and could not take care of the physical body.

Of course, even if he died, Xu Jia's physical body could remain unrotted for many years, and his breath could even be like that of a living person.

This is called a "Golden Body" in Buddhism.

However, there are several types of Golden Body. The most perfect is the "Barefoot Golden Body," just as the saying goes, "no person is perfect, no gold is pure."

If one could truly cultivate a Barefoot Golden Body, one would have reached the threshold of physical ascension.

Xu Jia's heart felt infinite Joyousness, and he could be considered to have realized the true meaning of Hu Agui's "Joyous Dharma."

However, these were all achievements "relying on the Outer Path," and the essence was still because Xu Jia used the demons to refine this Three Sovereigns Ten Thousand People Umbrella.

If this umbrella were broken and these demons dispersed, Xu Jia did not know if he could still maintain it.

After calming down, Xu Jia did not feel smug, but only sighed: "Perhaps the monks of the Secret Treasury Domain also discovered the wonderful use of Heavenly Demons at the beginning, that they could assist in cultivation, so they passed down the method as a shortcut. But how many people can truly subdue Heavenly Demons? Even I did it by accident, and my methods cannot be considered bright. This kind of method must not be passed down."

Immediately, another thought arose: "The fault lies in me alone."

As it happened, Xiaopangdun was fighting wits and courage with the evil Buddha in the illusion, when suddenly the evil Buddha dissolved, the sky collapsed, and three eerie rings appeared, making him feel as if he were facing a formidable enemy.

Immediately, ten thousand demons appeared to worship, which made him numb: "Master, oh Master, why did you throw me here? How many more times am I going to die this time!"

Just as he was worried, Xu Jia had already manually canceled the illusion and awakened him. His timid and cautious appearance was more like a mouse creeping along, without the slightest sign of his courage having increased.

It was also true; in such a Demon God illusion, dying at every turn, anyone would become more cautious; it did not mean his courage had not been exercised.

Seeing Xu Jia, Xiaopangdun looked fierce: "You demon, you even dare to impersonate my master, simply bold, you completely fail to distinguish between the big and the small!"

After saying this, he took a small hammer and came to hammer Xu Jia. Xu Jia clearly saw the cunning in his eyes; he clearly recognized that Xu Jia was real and that he was no longer in the illusion.

Xu Jia just stood there steadily, but his gaze was like a sharp sword, staring at Xiaopangdun until he felt very embarrassed. He put down the small hammer and chuckled: "Oh my, look at my eyes. Isn't this my most beloved and respected master? Master, your disciple has had a hard life. I was just sent into purgatory and don't know how many times I almost lost my little life."

Xu Jia smiled: "This was a test for you. Those were all illusions. However, losing your life there allows you to start over; it's hard to say outside. You can only wait for me to cultivate into a Heavenly Immortal and come to fish you out, but whether I can cultivate into a Heavenly Immortal is another matter."

"In the illusion, did you learn anything useful?"

"Actually, no. It belongs to 'eating bitterness for no reason.' I feel it's unnecessary. Where in reality would there be such man-eating demons, and where would there be such eerie Buddhist temples?"

Xu Jia smiled even more kindly: "You say there aren't any, but in the Thirty-Six Heavens, not to mention Shangjie, just the Desire Realm Six Heavens alone have the boundless sea of desire, the boundless sea of sin, and the boundless sea of suffering. All sentient beings suffer. You kill him, he kills you; you eat him, he eats you. You only see people eating people, but people eat plants and animals. Do you know that plants and animals were actually people in their past lives? How is that any different from people eating people?"

"This is the first level of man-eating."

"This second level of the eerie Buddhist temple is even more terrifying. Vast numbers of sentient beings do not know the truth and blindly believe in gods and Buddhas. You see the gods and Buddhas as compassionate, but are they really compassionate? Perhaps their true face is just like this? After how many generations of embellishment in Buddhist scriptures and myths, if you believe in it, aren't you on the same frequency as it?"

Xu Jia revealed an eerie smile: "Child, you have become attached to appearances!"

This scared Xiaopangdun so much that he jumped and sat on the ground: "Could it be that I am still in the illusion, and you are fake?"

After saying this, he slapped himself twice, and it stung. Only then did he see Xu Jia's mischievous expression, and he became ashamed and angry: "Master, you are teasing me like this too."

Seeing that he couldn't take a joke, Xu Jia said: "Although the bullshit theories of Buddhism make people confused and unable to figure out ethics, they still have their reasons to some extent. You cannot transcend the Six Paths. People being eaten by people is not much different from chickens, ducks, cows, and sheep being eaten by people. If you don't break through superstition, evil Buddhas and good Buddhas are one and the same."

"The so-called 'if a god blocks, kill the god; if a Buddha blocks, kill the Buddha'—I have blocked my own path, and I even dare to kill myself to defend the Dao. Why are you afraid that I am fake? Is it because you feel that everything now is not real?"

Xiaopangdun was already like someone who had been swindled by a con artist, completely fooled.

Listening to Xu Jia play these Zen riddles, he began to think about deeper things. Honestly, his cultural level wasn't high before. Compared to the learning progress of the little foxes during this time with Xu Jia, he could be considered poor.

It was just that he didn't know he needed to learn before, but now that he knew, he could pick up some things. It was extraordinary; at least he had the level of a child scholar.

But now, listening to these profound principles, there was a hazy feeling of "so that's how it is, but I didn't understand it."

He could only force himself to remember a sentence or two. He didn't understand the rest, but he did understand the later "if a god blocks, kill the god; if a Buddha blocks, kill the Buddha."

However, Xu Jia said again, "I kill myself," which confused him again.

It's no wonder he was confused; this is an ultimate question. In *My Own Swordsman*, Lu Xiucai relied on this to make Ji Wuming kill himself. How could an ordinary person have the wisdom to realize the principle of "if I block, I kill myself"?

I suppose he will connect "if a god blocks, kill the god; if a Buddha blocks, kill the Buddha" with the "Seven Killings"—killing heaven, killing earth, killing gods, killing immortals, killing Buddhas, killing demons, and killing ghosts.

Those who are a bit more "cultured" might bring out the line: "Heaven creates all things for man, man has nothing for Heaven, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill."

They are completely unaware that the original is: "Heaven has all things for man, man has nothing for Heaven; the Ghost Gods are clear and bright, think for yourself, weigh for yourself."

Of course, these are still far from the original intent of "if a god blocks, kill the god; if a Buddha blocks, kill the Buddha."

The essence of this phrase is still to break through superstition, authority, and shackles; it is an ultimate state of seeking the Dao without regrets.

The Buddha is also an ordinary person in front of me, equal to me; if he wants to oppress me, I will kill him too.

The same goes for deities; if he is a clay figurine or a wooden statue, I smash him, I burn him, what can he do to me? If he truly has a spirit and reveals his true form, isn't that just using a clay body or wooden puppet to deceive the common people? How could I not dare to kill him? Of course, Xu Jia himself studies the Dao, so saying these things is somewhat rebellious, but it just so happens that one can be rebellious, because what is the Dao and what is not cannot be defined; everyone's Dao is different.

Therefore, the Dao that can be spoken of is not the eternal Dao.

Xiaopangdun was completely caught in such a whirlpool, stepping into the exploration of the connection between "Dao," "self," and "gods and Buddhas," which is the so-called "connection between Heaven and Earth and myself."

Unfortunately, he was only trapped for less than half a minute before his limited knowledge and wisdom knocked him back to his original state.

If he can't figure it out, he just stops thinking about it.

This state happens to prevent him from going down a dead end, and he remains happy and cheerful.

Seeing his shifting expression, Xu Jia knew the guidance had been in vain, so he sighed: "Truly, great wisdom looks like stupidity."

He then added: "It was my fault for trapping you in an illusion; I'll take you to eat something good tonight."

"What good food?"

"Have you been to the Water Mansion?" Xu Jia said: "Inside is a river-food buffet; all kinds of fish, shrimp, crabs, yellow eels, and loaches—I imagine there's plenty."

"I don't like eating fish." Hearing that they were going into the water, Xiaopangdun thought of the incident at the Snake God Temple last time: if there's a good thing, it's never my turn; it must be something bad, I won't be fooled.

So he said with a bitter face: "When I was little, my family often ate fish. Every time, Mother would pick the fish belly for me and only eat the fish head herself. Every time I asked, Mother would always say she didn't like the fish belly and just loved the fish head... Later, I understood: how could my mother love fish heads? She was just giving the best to me. From that day on, I didn't like eating fish."

"Zero points." Xu Jia did not give a very good evaluation.

"Next time I will ask your mother to see if she really likes eating fish heads."

Xiaopangdun had a bitter face: "Master, what are we doing this time?"

"Going to freeload," Xu Jia said: "An average person can't eat enough to cover the cost, and I wouldn't take them. You are my True Transmission Disciple, the future leader of the Demon Affairs Office; you are the most suitable. Didn't you say earlier that you wanted to become the tiger that guards the mountain?"

"Did I?"

Xu Jia did not change his expression: "Yes."

He then left this place: "Remember to sleep before the Hour of the Rat."

"It's Primordial Spirit projection!"

Then it's fine; it's like dreaming. With Master leading, there is definitely no danger.

He said happily: "Speaking of eating, I'm a bit hungry. Master, then I'll go home first; my mother is calling me to eat."

Xu Jia let him go and thought to himself: "Looking at it this way, the disciples and grand-disciples in America are still more pleasing to the eye. Although their talent is lacking, they think too much and do too little, but at least they are obedient."

However, Xiaopangdun has more vitality. Xu Jia doesn't need an obedient puppet; a True Transmission Disciple is meant to continue the Dao lineage. Being a bit cautious is not a major fault, it's just that Xu Jia isn't quite used to it.

Now, he can accept it.

Not wanting to face his old mother urging him to have children, Xu Jia used Sword Escape to leave Xu Fu and headed straight for Yushan. He would have to wait until dark to enter the water.

(End of this chapter)