Chapter 239: The Thirty-Seventh Generation Heavenly Master of Longhu Mountain

Climbing to the peak of Yushan, I quietly waited for the silence of the night. This time is not like my past life, where electricity is developed and lights are bright; after nightfall, it is pitch black and hollow. Apart from the light of the heavens, one cannot see the ten thousand families' lights of the human world.

But the more this is the case, with no external interference, the easier it is to "gaze at the Qi."

Xu Jia looked out. Licentious Qi was misty, evil Qi was decadent; there was little sign of righteous Qi. The Five Turbidities were pervasive, yet hidden and not yet unleashed. Mountains, rivers, and the great earth were home to dormant monsters, stirring and restless, reaching toward the human world.

Looking further up, he saw only an old dragon, gloomy and morose, unable even to stand. The scales on its body were dim, and beneath it, a young dragon, as if manipulating a puppet, carried the old dragon on its back to move, also gritting its teeth.

Around them were dragon lice, dragon flies, and dragon ticks, jumping back and forth on the dragon's body, sucking blood and laying eggs.

Where the dragon's body touched the ground, one could not tell if it was festering pus, filthy blood, or excrement and urine.

"Has the fortune of the Da Ning Dynasty truly reached this point?"

In fact, the Jiangnan West Circuit is a land of fish and rice, with excellent academic traditions, simple-hearted commoners, and good folk customs. Since ancient times, unless there was man-made extermination of the race, almost every household had three years of grain stored, so they would not be without their next meal.

Although one often hears of floods, they actually only occur easily in the two places of Nanchang and Jiujiang. Nanchang is in the Poyang plain area, while Jiujiang is because of the Yangtze River. There is a saying about the confluence of nine rivers, known as three mountains, four waters, and two parts of farmland.

Therefore, this situation often occurs: while the outside is already in a chaotic mess, the Jiangnan West Circuit remains peaceful and serene.

However, the side effect of this is that it is relatively conservative. Once it is no longer conservative, it becomes quite radical. Because the people are outstanding and the land is spiritual, prosperous ages produce civil ministers, while chaotic times produce military generals; it belongs to the top-tier "rebellion-originating grounds" in history.

Therefore, although Xu Jia is in the land of the Jiangnan West Circuit and has been affected by the evil of the Longevity Sect spreading from the south, he has not yet seen the situation in the northern provinces. His gaze is limited to one place, which is what he has seen and heard himself.

In fact, many places in the north are already suffering from drought, while many places in the south are suffering from floods. There have also been earthquakes in Shu, and the Huanghe and Yangtze rivers are flooding simultaneously; it is already a case of "constant heavenly disasters."

If it were only this, it would be fine; if the imperial court could provide disaster relief, it could still save the hearts of the people. But the land of Ganlong is being harassed by northern barbarians, and a hero has emerged in the northern grasslands, vaguely intending to move south and occupy the fertile soil north of the Huanghe.

The land of Henan and the Central Plains, however, has fallen into a great drought at the same time the Yangtze and Huanghe are flooding, and the commoners have already begun to flee as refugees.

Added to this is the rampant evil sect in the south. The Longevity Sect's Dao Kingdom controls the sea routes overseas and has formed pirate bands with the Easterners, raiding wealthy households in the Jiangnan West and Jiangzhe areas from time to time.

Except for the level of the Eight-Nation Alliance at the end of the Qing Dynasty in my past life, these changes can already be seen as having the "signs of a nation's demise and the exhaustion of its people."

Plus, the Great Ning Dynasty has already been founded for one hundred and seventy or eighty years; in the end, it is already going downhill.

The bloated imperial bureaucratic institutions, as well as the large number of old aristocratic families and new powerful clans... are annexing land and destroying the imperial court's tax laws...

It can be said that the current imperial court needs money to fight wars and imposes heavy taxes on the commoners, but it cannot collect even one or two tenths of the imposed taxes. Once this tenth reaches the national treasury, and then the military is dispatched, there is not even three or four tenths left.

This has increased public resentment without increasing the strength of the army; coupled with the already serious corruption in the military, it is another issue.

Therefore, Xu Jia could see that little dragon—the new emperor who has been in office for less than three years—struggling to manipulate the decaying and aging old dragon, which is the Great Ning Dynasty itself.

This emperor has the heart to revitalize it, but seems unable to turn the tide. Dancing the old dragon about, baring fangs and brandishing claws, is just like carrying a corpse; it is heavy and exhausting, yet it cannot restore vitality.

Watching this situation, Xu Jia secretly said: "The true dragon's Dragon Qi of the dynasty is scattered, and the Heavenly Mandate is already half-dead. No wonder that Poyang old dragon wants to achieve the status of a True Dragon, sowing seeds in all directions, growing evil flood dragon licentious seeds. These flood dragon licentious Qi, although not True Dragon, also have the ability to harmonize with mountains, rivers, and Earth Veins. They are the paths left behind by the True Dragon, and the three dragon veins of north, middle, and south, running through China, are the sloughed-off remains left by the True Dragon back then."

The thousand-year centipede dragon was suppressed by Huang Muchun back then, and its physical body turned into a mountain ridge of Yushan. That these mountain and river dragon veins can be activated after many years of cultivation to become flood dragons is likely because these mountains were originally part of the dragon's body.

Xu Jia borrowed the method of Heavenly Master Xu to summon the Flood Dragon-Slaying Sword, and he only suppressed the flood dragon without killing it, protecting the Earth Vein of Dexing.

As for why the Poyang Dragon Nest was wiped out back then, it is likely they went too far.

Xu Jia climbed high to gaze at the Qi, sensing the Qi of heaven and earth and the general trend of the times, only to feel his own insignificance, and for a moment, a sense of vastness arose in his heart.

But soon, these delusional thoughts were cut away by the Golden Flood Dragon Sword and the Silver Flood Dragon Sword.

"Why should I be so sentimental and waste my heart's Qi? At least do one thing as one, and two things as two."

Xu Jia has the intention of "Zhixing Heiyi" (Unity of Knowledge and Action); although he has not reached the level of a Sage, he still acts according to his own heart and nature.

So he let out a long breath and stopped looking at the dynasty from afar, only looking closely at the lands of Nanchang and Jiujiang.

In the land of Xinzhou, Three Pure Ones Mountain has already been taken, so there is no need to worry about others. But toward Nanchang, there is the Poyang old dragon; in the land of Fuzhou, there seems to be gloomy ghost Qi; and further toward Jiujiang, there are also demons...

"To make it in this world, one still needs to cultivate influence. It's just that although I have also gathered shamans and witches, after all, in a single village, there are only one or two such shamans."

"According to what is said in the Dragon-Slaying Book, three people form a branch. A village must have at least three of our people, and they must hold the power of discourse, control production, control armaments, and control faith."

"The likes of witches and shamans can only be said to control faith."

"But I have not yet grasped production and armaments."

The matter of armaments cannot be rushed, but the matter of production has great potential.

This is why Xu Jia attaches importance to the Amelika Tongtian Temple lineage; once production is up, armaments will not be difficult to improve.

Xu Jia continued to gaze at the Qi, only to see that many lineages in the Jiangnan West Circuit had noticed. On the Zongtan, deities and marshals appeared, glaring at him.

Immediately, he saw a message coming from the neighboring Longhu Mountain: "Fellow Daoist, you are observing the celestial phenomena at night; have you gained anything?"

He saw the dark starry sky, borrowing the moonlight, condense into a Dharma image. It was the appearance of a young Orthodox One Daoist holding a ruyi.

"Who are you?" Xu Jia asked calmly.

"This poor Daoist is the Thirty-Seventh Generation Heavenly Master, Zhang Fajing. The one who previously passed the Celestial Master Register to you, Fellow Daoist, is my martial uncle."

Wang Mintong was the Faguan of the Thirty-Sixth Generation Heavenly Master. During the time of the previous emperor, the Thirty-Sixth Generation Heavenly Master entered and exited the palace, explaining scriptures and Dharma for the emperor. He was once enfeoffed with titles and ranks, holding the First Rank. However, because the current emperor is dissatisfied with the Taoist sect and has stirred up the Buddhist sect, the Thirty-Sixth Generation Heavenly Master voluntarily stepped down from the position of Heavenly Master and underwent Feathered Ascension.

This Thirty-Seventh Generation Heavenly Master actually ascended to the position in a hurry, because the previous Heavenly Master was also very young. It is said he only reached the Human Immortal realm at twelve, the Earth Immortal realm at sixteen, was ordained as Heavenly Master at twenty-two, and entered the palace to lecture on the Dao for the emperor at twenty-five. Within ten years, he was successively enfeoffed with the Third Rank, First Rank, and even obtained the title of Duke. Until the old emperor passed away, he left the capital and underwent Feathered Ascension on Longhu Mountain, being only thirty-six years old, which is extremely young.

What surprised Xu Jia was that this Thirty-Seventh Generation Heavenly Master, with such cultivation, had clearly reached the Yang Spirit realm, yet looking at his age, he was estimated to be only in his twenties.

Does Longhu Mountain have a method for quickly achieving the Yang Spirit, or is it as rumored, that Longhu Mountain has the "Celestial Master Degree" technique, which can seal a portion of the cultivation of past Heavenly Masters into the Celestial Master Degree, like "empowerment," to quickly cultivate someone?

After knowing his identity, Xu Jia bowed slightly. What he respected was the Wanfa Zongtan of Longhu Mountain, the Taishang Daozu, as well as the Orthodox One Alliance Oath and the Ancestral Heavenly Master.

That Zhang Fajing immediately returned half a bow.

Xu Jia said: "I cannot say I am observing celestial phenomena; I am just gazing at the atmospheric conditions. It is just that in my humble opinion, there seems to be the appearance of a chaotic age."

"Indeed," Zhang Fajing said. "Demons rise and the Dao wanes; licentious and evil Qi is abundant, while the Qi of awe-inspiring righteousness is insufficient. Therefore, there are many who wallow in the mire and few who are noble and ambitious; there are many who covet pleasure and few who harbor worries for the world. It is becoming easier for demons to cultivate, while for people of the Dao like you and me, cultivation is fraught with disasters."

Zhang Fajing said: "So when my father told me that a Heavenly Master of a different surname who has been out of the world for five hundred years might appear to sweep away the evil aura, I was actually relieved."

"Didn't Wang Faguan say you chose several Heavenly Master Seeds? There are some in Shu, right?"

"There are some in Shu, but they do not have the atmosphere you have, Fellow Daoist, being able to climb high and gaze at the Qi, looking down upon the land of China. You are the only one who has disturbed my Wanfa Zongtan. The myriad gods in the Zongtan are stirred, vaguely echoing with you, Fellow Daoist. You must be cultivating the Supreme Clarity Great Cavern Lingbao method, containing ten thousand gods within your body, which is why you have a resonance with the primordial gods enshrined in my Wanfa Zongtan. I fear it is not just my Wanfa Zongtan that has sensed this; all the Zongtan enshrined in the lineages of the Jiangnan West Circuit likely have sensed it. It is like the gods returning to their positions as mentioned in the Investiture of the Gods; heaven and earth have their order. The deities on the altars seem to be thinking of being re-enfeoffed, returning to their correct order, and even ascending in rank."

Xu Jia knew that it must have been the last resonance with the Jiujiang Shuidi, harmonizing the Qi of clouds and rain, that alarmed the Three Officials Office. Plus, having become a Lingbao Heavenly Master and cultivating internal and external divine methods, he is very attractive to these gods.

Of course, True Gods who already hold high positions will not be such sycophants. It must be that some capable but unrecognized deities want to come and beg for a meal. These deities are likely all Desire Realm deities, not even Form Realm deities; that is to say, they are local deities of this world, not Heavenly Gods of the upper realms.

The likes of local deities of this world are at most the "Seventh Rank Heavenly Court deities" mentioned in the Form Realm.

However, the well-known "Wang Lingguan" is only a Fifth Rank deity of the Heavenly Court and is still the number one Protector of Taoism. In the Desire Realm, this Seventh Rank can actually "claim to be an emperor," which is the likes of the Ghost Emperors who unify the You Ming.

In the end, the Desire Realm Six Heavens and the infinite number of Yanfu Shijie mean that even managing five hundred underworlds like the reincarnation of this world is only called a Xiaodifu, and the Fengdu Dadi who presides over it is only a Fifth Rank official of the underworld who rotates every three thousand years.

This is also something Xu Jia learned while working in the Xiaodifu; the thirty-six heavens of the Heavenly Court are truly vast, and his own title as a Heavenly Master of Lingbao in the Desire Realm is merely that of an agent for the Daoist lineage within one corner of the world.

It is essentially the same concept as what Xu Jia had previously imagined: three people in a village establishing a branch office.

Ascending to the Form Realm is merely changing from a village-stationed cadre to a county-level civil servant.

Of course, basically all great gods come from the grassroots, though some are sent down directly from the Heavenly Court to the grassroots; the treatment for a Desire Realm Heavenly Master is still quite high, and upon ascending to the Form Realm, one also directly receives established status and benefits.

Thus, "political achievements" are the key to one's treatment after ascension, which is to say, "Merit"; after all, those with ability can shine and generate heat anywhere and will not be content with mediocrity.

Xu Jia asked curiously, "Longhu Mountain is the leader of the Daoist sects, the Zongtan of ten thousand gods, and the source of all heavenly Dharma teachings; why is it still entrusted to a Heavenly Master of a different surname?"

Zhang Fajing said, "Because we do not need to enter the arena ourselves; as long as we quietly wait for the world to be at peace, we remain the leaders of the Daoist sects. If we enter the arena, then things become uncertain. The Daoism of the Desire Realm is not invincible; two thousand armored soldiers surrounding our Longhu Mountain would see the lineage extinguished all the same. When it comes down to it, the Chinese lineage lies in Taoism, not in Confucianism."

Xu Jia already understood and nodded, "So that is how it is. You are the practitioners who uphold the Dao, and you want me to be the practitioner who defends the Dao."

"More or less," Zhang Fajing said, "but one cannot put it exactly like that. It is just movement and stillness, transcendence and immersion; holding the yin and attaching to the yang is what is called the Dao."

Xu Jia understood; it is like the School of Diplomacy during the Qin dynasty, which is said to be a branch of the Ghost Valley lineage of Taoism, or Zhang Liang in the Han dynasty, Zhuge in the Three Kingdoms, the Louguan Dao in the Tang dynasty, the Divine Firmament Sect in the Song dynasty...

This matter of lineage, when it comes down to it, is the same thing as assisting a wise ruler and gaining the merit of following a dragon.

However, Xu Jia felt that he was afraid he would not be able to perform the act of "supporting the dragon."

He himself follows the "Heavenly Emperor path": his Primordial Spirit is an Emperor, encompassing ten thousand gods, the Three Primes, the Eight Vistas, the Inner Heaven and Earth, establishing a Heavenly Court, and setting laws.

It would be more accurate for him to "bestow a mandate from Heaven" upon an emperor; he is the father, and the other is the son—speaking of it, it is also an "agent war."

As Xu Jia was thinking this, he was suddenly startled; it seems that behind many founding emperors of past lives, there appeared to be such a brilliant Taoist figure who created a heavenly mandate for the emperor, legitimizing his orthodox myth. Even for those who were not founding emperors, many were keen on this, and thus corresponding Taoist Dharma lineages and traditions flourished, becoming the orthodox teachings.

"Me?" Xu Jia imagined himself entering the arena to assist an emperor.

He feared he would personally abolish the imperial system and implement the art of dragon-slaying.

The Instructor has already made a start, slaughtering the dragon of the two-thousand-year-old imperial feudal system. From the Qin onwards—no, from the Xia onwards—the dragon was born, marking the beginning of the world as a family's private property. It went through the Shang and Zhou, reached its youth in the Qin and Han, its prime in the Tang, and by the late Qing, the dragon was in its twilight years. Slaughter it, and there will be no more dragons in the world; the imperial feudal system will never be restored.

However, this Heavenly Master Xu Jia would likely be nothing but a demon or monster in the eyes of the Instructor; how could he possibly guide such a figure?

Those who can become founding emperors are all filled with ambition, and none would take demons or monsters seriously. Just as Zhang Fajing said, two thousand armored soldiers could slaughter everyone on Longhu Mountain.

Of course, those who have cultivated into Earth Immortals can escape, but those who achieve Earth Immortal status are few. A dynasty gathers the great momentum of the True Dragon; if they write a decree labeling your Zongtan a heretical altar, your god a heretical god, and your lineage a heretical path, it becomes even more troublesome. The world will despise you; an emperor's word to abolish or establish gods is a real, tangible thing.

Thus, when Taoism can bewitch such a heroic ruler, it is only in his twilight years, when he is muddled, speaking to him of Longevity and tempting him with becoming an Immortal.

Xu Jia thought for a long time and felt that Longhu Mountain was a bit too self-righteous; it was completely out of sync with his own rhythm and plans. If he listened to them, his lineage might flourish for two or three hundred years, but after two or three hundred years, as the dynasty collapsed, it would certainly be liquidated.

This Longhu Mountain would then appoint another Heavenly Master, assist in following another dragon, and another lineage would rise; Longhu Mountain would still be the orthodox leader of Taoism in the world, receiving inquiries from later emperors about Talismans, Golden Core, and Longevity...

Zhang Fajing nodded and said, "I see the fellow Daoist has the talent to govern the world."

Xu Jia smiled, "Then which person does the fellow Daoist think is the Submerged Dragon, the wise ruler?"

"I have yet to discover one; it depends on your judgment, fellow Daoist."

Xu Jia nodded, "So that is how it is. I have already made my decision."

Yet he did not explain it to him, only saying, "Who else is a Heavenly Master?"

"There is a Heavenly Master at Maoshan, and there is also one at Qingcheng Mountain in Shu. Although the Longevity Sect is rampant in Nansheng, a Heavenly Master has also appeared at Luofu Mountain. You will know in the future, fellow Daoist."

Xu Jia thought to himself: They are all famous mountains and Cave Heaven Blessed Lands. His Three Pure Ones Mountain cannot even be ranked among the famous mountains of Jiangnan West Circuit; he still needs to manage it well.

Three Pure Ones Mountain is always compared to Huangshan and is known as "Little Huangshan." In fact, the scenery of Three Pure Ones Mountain and Huangshan can only be said to have their own merits.

Of course, Huangshan is listed among the Three Mountains and Wuyue and is as famous as Lushan and Yandang Mountain; its reputation is not empty, so one cannot call Three Pure Ones Mountain "Little Huangshan."

Xu Jia intends to make a name for himself; when he establishes his sect, he must invite fellow Daoists from the Three Mountains and Wuyue, and Longhu Mountain will also be on the invitation list.

Therefore, although he does not agree with the words of this thirty-seventh generation Heavenly Master, he does not intend to offend him either.

"The time is about right," Xu Jia cupped his hands and said, "I have an appointment with the god of the Xin River Water Mansion to attend a banquet, so I will not chat with the Heavenly Master any longer."

Zhang Fajing nodded, and then his light and shadow dissipated, falling into stardust.

Truly, gathering and dispersing at will.

Xu Jia does not yet have such Daoist Practice.

However, he does not envy it; he only plans and considers how to recruit disciples widely. Wanting to cultivate Earth Immortals through elitism is not as good as cultivating ten times as many Human Immortals. Learning from the past and taking in three thousand disciples would not be bad either.

However, the more disciples there are, the more mixed the quality, making it difficult to supervise; there are both advantages and disadvantages.

Thus, one can only "establish a system"; the system is the lifeblood that sustains the lineage.

Xu Jia is not going to cut ties with this world after ascending; he still needs to manage it well.

The Amelika Tongtian Temple fell apart after Xu Jia died precisely because it lacked a good system and rules. If he went back now, only a few stragglers would remain. If he went back later, he feared his Golden Body would be sold by unfilial descendants as a mummy to Amelika cannibal capitalists as a health supplement, ground into powder and taken with water.

Xu Jia escaped with a thought and appeared under the Three Sovereigns Ten Thousand People Umbrella. Protected by this treasure, his Primordial Spirit left his body; although it could not be counted as a Yang Spirit, it was yin containing yang.

This Primordial Spirit looked like a Daoist, carrying two immortal swords, holding a Wind Fan, with three halos behind his head. Within the halos, gods could be faintly heard chanting scriptures. Looking closely, one could actually see three thousand six hundred heavenly beings inside, as well as a Blessed Land world and various heavenly palaces.

This Primordial Spirit Daoist called out softly, "Where is my disciple? Come with me to the banquet at the Xin River Water Mansion."

He saw a Primordial Spirit rushing over; it was Xiaopangdun. He was dreaming at home, and when Xu Jia called, his Primordial Spirit came out. However, his cultivation was relatively low, and his Primordial Spirit was also a Yin Spirit, lacking yang properties. Nevertheless, he was riding a nine-tailed red fire fox and holding a Spirit Drum. It was still the same getup from the Shamanism days.

Although it was like a dream, Xiaopangdun understood what he was doing and immediately said, "Master, I am here."

Xu Jia saw him sitting on a fox and remembered that he also had a green ox mount, but that old ox had already gone to plow the fields and sow seeds. Xu Jia also had the Sword Escape technique and was no longer used to riding an ox to cosplay as Laojun.

Xiaopangdun clearly knew what it meant when Xu Jia looked at him twice more; he immediately got off the fox, and the little fox shrank in size and crawled onto his hand, looking somewhat like a "flower fox marten."

This was not the original Primordial Spirit of Hu Jinhua, but merely a wisp of spirituality captured and transformed by him into a Protector demon god.

The two traveled from the Dharma Realm, not using Sword Escape. In the Dharma Realm, it was still gloomy and gray; there was no light during the day, but at night, there was a moon, and many things that only came out at night were very active.

Wandering ghosts, shadow spirits, yin demons in mirrors, and candle-fire monsters.

He saw several heads flying over there, opening and closing, and in that strange forest over there, several hanging ropes were swinging like swings.

Several children over there were making hehehe laughing sounds...

Xiaopangdun did indeed become bolder. Looking at these Dharma Realm scenes, he said to Xu Jia, "Master, these are not as scary as the demon realm in that broken umbrella cloth."

"Those who dare to cause trouble in the Dharma Realm are already gone. Those flying heads are the souls of commoners flying out while dreaming. Sometimes when people dream that they are flying, wandering, or being chased by something, it is like this."

"Those children are the babies about to be born in pregnant women's bellies, but they come out to play hide-and-seek."

"Those hanging ghosts are Evil Qi, not ghosts."

Xu Jia said: "The Dharma Realm under my governance is much cleaner than before, but there are still many accidents, especially regarding the hungry ghosts. I have already eaten a batch of the hungry ghosts in this area, and another batch has been led into the mountains and forests. Near the villages, there are spirit-mediums and witches who have performed sacrifices to the Immortals and deities, and have set up barriers."

After speaking, Xu Jia pointed to several spots of firelight within the Dharma Realm and said: "That is the Social Fire Dharma Realm. Do you see houses there?"

Although Xiaopangdun was spiritually sensitive, he had never entered or exited the Dharma Realm. Seeing Xu Jia point them out one by one, he felt moved in his heart. With much of the unknown removed and having become known, it was no longer so terrifying or suspicious.

"Those houses are the manifestations of ancestral halls in the Dharma Realm. The Social Fire is the village's sacrificial rite. During the New Year, festivals, and the first and fifteenth days of the lunar month, the village folk will perform sacrifices. It is a set of extremely complex and practical rituals for worshipping gods: worshipping Heaven, worshipping Earth, and worshipping the four directions. These are the reasons why the Social Fire can be maintained."

"However, these ancestral hall Ghosts only protect their blood relatives. If you go to knock on their doors, I fear they will fight you."

Xu Jia said: "These ancestral hall ancestors generally do not include those who died unnatural deaths, because if someone who died an unnatural death becomes a fierce ghost and still receives Incense Fire, they will take revenge on the entire clan. Many people die unnatural deaths in foreign lands, and their descendants want to welcome them into the ancestral hall, doing so sneakily, thinking that once they enter the ancestral hall, they can turn from ghosts into gods, not knowing that they are just dead. How could there be such great Divine Ability? In the end, one must still rely on one's own accumulation of virtue and good deeds to have blessings."

"Look there." Xu Jia pointed to a place emitting blue smoke: "This is the ancestral grave emitting blue smoke. It is the intersection of the Earth Vein's Vitality and the residual Qi of the ancestors' remains, sensing the bloodline and bestowing blessings upon the descendants. This is the Dao of Feng Shui, but Feng Shui is only a minor path. No matter how good the Feng Shui is, without virtue, one will not prosper."

The two traveled through the Dharma Realm, and every scene they saw was the opposite of the mortal world: "Things that are about to happen in the mortal world, although they have not yet occurred, always have omens. Often, cats and dogs discover them earlier than humans, and Ghost Gods discover them even earlier than cats and dogs. The anomalies of the Qi of Heaven and Earth are discovered even earlier than by Ghost Gods. Therefore, many arts of divination and fortune-telling require connecting to the Dharma Realm to ask the Ghost Gods."

……

As the two walked along, no one without eyes came to obstruct them on the way, unlike when Xu Jia had just been resurrected, when all sorts of demons and monsters appeared in the Dharma Realm. This was the deterrence brought by strength—the aura of an Earth Immortal and the legal standards of a Heavenly Master.

Before they even reached the Xinjiang Dharma Realm, they heard the sound of blowing and beating.

They saw a rural band for weddings and funerals sitting in a thatched shed by the road. Inside were monsters and ghost spirits: a frog was drumming, a turtle was playing the sheng, a water ghost was playing the flute, a duck was clacking the clappers, and a pair of mandarin ducks were singing a tune.

They were playing and singing the play: "Heavenly Master Causes Havoc in the Fire God Temple."

This play tells the story of the Jade Emperor descending to the mortal world, intending to eat the offerings, but the offerings were eaten by a dog. Consequently, he flew into a rage and ordered the Fire God to set fire to the villagers' houses in the middle of the night.

The Fire God received the order and met the Heavenly Master Zhang on the way. The two chatted for a while, and Heavenly Master Zhang took the initiative to act on behalf of the Fire God.

As a result, he had the human world light up thousands of lanterns, pretending that it had already burned down. The Fire God returned to report his mission, only to be punished by the Jade Emperor, and then realized he had been tricked by Heavenly Master Zhang. Thus, in a fit of anger, he burned down the Celestial Master Mansion and the Heavenly Master Temple.

Heavenly Master Zhang would not have it, so he occupied the Fire God Temple, saying that from now on, he would live in the Fire God's house.

Xu Jia had just finished talking with the Zhang family; what was the meaning of the Xin River Water Mansion performing this play?

Just then, he saw a big bald head, smiling lewdly, with a shrill voice like a eunuch, acting pretentious as he spoke: "This minor god, Yuan Jiangjun of the Xin River Water Mansion, pays respects to the Heavenly Master. I wish the Heavenly Master progress in his Daoist Practice, eternal enjoyment of immortal blessings, a lifespan equal to the heavens, and immortality."

Seeing this appearance, Xiaopangdun was stunned: "Master, we haven't reached Xin River yet, have we?"

"This minor god feared the Heavenly Master might not recognize the road to the Water Mansion, so I specifically came out fifteen miles from the Dharma Realm to respectfully welcome the Heavenly Master."

After speaking, he pointed to a sedan chair and honor guard beside him and said: "I invite the Heavenly Master to grace us with his presence."

The sedan chair was a lidless one, like the thing that the Jingxi Ghost and Lingli Insect used to carry the Old Mother of Yaolong Mountain in Journey to the West—two bamboo poles supporting a chair.

However, this fellow had brought out the Water Mansion's honor guard. One could see signs on it reading "Water Mansion," "Waves Do Not Rise," "Wind Is Calm and Waves Are Still," "Fish and Shrimp Need Not Bow," and "Turtles and Soft-shelled Turtles Need Not Kowtow."

Those carrying the signs were some water ghosts, their bodies soaking wet, with water weeds wrapped around their ankles.

Xu Jia said: "I will not sit in this sedan chair. Keep everything simple; there is no need for such fanfare. This poor Daoist came here actually just to understand the situation and not to add pressure to your Water Mansion."

"No, no, these are all minor matters. Being able to host the Heavenly Master is our Water Mansion's honor. In the future, when the Heavenly Master establishes his Daoist court, we mountain and water deities will still have to rely on your breath..."

(End of chapter)