Chapter 246: The Grand Void Mirage

Yuan Jiangjun invited Guiyu Po to a safe place, careful that the fighting might harm his flower-like, jade-like wife.

Ao Jin, meanwhile, leaped into the Xin River.

Xu Jia spoke at this moment: "Since this is for the title of Water Mansion Water Deity, there is no need to fight to the death. In my view, you should compare something practical and useful."

Yuan Jiangjun had originally intended to have a big fight with his Fragrant Melon Bone Hammer; his martial arts were not bad, and his Divine Ability was not weak either. Five hundred years of Daoist Practice were not cultivated with a calm and peaceful mind.

Ao Jin also believed he had cultivated the Water Virtue Dragon Scale, and by using the Imperial Jade lent by Xu Jia, he had purified his dragon blood and awakened one or two Water Virtue Divine Abilities, so he reckoned he was no worse than this turtle monster.

Previously, he had only been deceived by him and had voluntarily invited him into the Water Mansion, thinking he was a good person; if he hadn't been ambushed, he certainly wouldn't have been unable to handle him.

Hearing Xu Jia say there was no need for killing, he was a bit stunned, and even the melon-eating commoners nearby were somewhat disappointed: "What? No fighting?"

Xu Jia said: "Wherein lies the Dao of the Water Deity?"

"It lies in presiding over favorable weather for the crops, a bountiful harvest, and controlling the wind and waves."

"The two of you might as well use rainmaking as the subject for your contest."

"Currently, Dexing and Yushan counties have had a long summer; they are in urgent need of a rain to lower the temperature and dispel the heat."

Xu Jia turned to the commoners on both banks: "What do you all think? Do you want them to decide the winner by fighting, or by comparing their rainmaking arts?"

"Deities exist for the sake of the people; this poor Daoist still wishes to hear your opinions."

Hearing Xu Jia say this, many commoners thought: "I suppose fighting is the work of martial artists. According to the plays, summoning wind and rain is what Dragon Kings do; they sneeze and it rains. Could it be that he wants them to have a sneezing contest?"

There were also some commoners who had read books, and they spoke up directly: "Naturally, the one with the ability to ensure favorable weather is more capable and thus fit to sit securely in the position of River Deity. If they only know how to fight, we might as well have martial artists govern the country; what would we need the government offices for?"

"What's wrong with martial artists? Did martial artists offend you?" Chen Gongming looked indignant.

Xu Jia glanced at him: "Why are you jumping out? Do you want to go up and have a go too? To compete for this position of River Deity?"

Chen Gongming immediately fell silent.

A few old farmers bowed to Xu Jia: "Heavenly Master, we have no particular requirements; we only ask not to offend these two lords. We are willing to worship both lords."

Xu Jia laughed: "It doesn't matter. This poor Daoist believes that a useless God Immortal is a monster, and a useful monster is a God Immortal. If they can truly ensure favorable weather and a bountiful harvest, even if they are monsters, I will push them onto the divine throne. If they occupy a position but do not perform their duties, even if they are True Gods, I will kick them off the Altar and cast them into the Evil Sect."

"However, when it comes to farming and planting, one must also follow the solar terms and the principles of heaven, earth, and nature. It requires the help of the seasons, and even more so, human effort. You all need not focus too much on providing for the Altar and neglect your own labor, nor need you fear suffering retaliation for not being respectful to them."

Xu Jia took the opportunity to preach: "Do not fear struggle. The struggle between people, the struggle between people and gods, and the struggle between gods and gods—the root cause is the emergence of contradictions. If you retreat, they advance; if you advance, they must retreat."

"As a Heavenly Master of the Lingbao, I maintain the Three Days Divine Covenant and oversee all monster affairs in the Jiangnan West Circuit. My purpose is to resolve the contradictions between the common people and the gods and monsters, and at the same time, teach everyone a set of basic methods for struggle: struggle with preparation, struggle with purpose, and struggle with method."

The many commoners did not quite understand, but only a few who had read books sensed that something was amiss.

"Since the ancient times of the Yellow Emperor, our ancestors have struggled against heaven, earth, nature, and all things, thus allowing the world to develop into what it is today."

"Fuxi observed the heavens and understood the Eight Trigrams."

"The Yellow Emperor defeated Chiyou and unified the Central Plains."

"Great Yu controlled the floods and established the Nine Provinces."

"Nüwa mending the heavens" and "Dayi shooting the sun" were all struggles against heaven, through which benefits were gained for our human race.

"Well said!" Two teenagers, one fourteen and one twelve, climbing in a tree to watch the Jiao Ritual, heard Xu Jia say this and said repeatedly: "This Daoist speaks well, and he has the ability to command Ghost Gods. I want to learn Daoist Practice from him."

"Me too."

"Let's go be Daoists too, and become his disciples."

These two youths were at that rebellious age. Previously, they had followed a local big brother, but since that big brother had been taken away by a Golden Toad for labor reform, no one had been looking after them.

Both of them had lost their parents early and lived with their grandparents. Their grandparents were old and frail, unable to control them, and they did not understand the principles of books and morality, so they let them play and roam, idle and doing nothing. All day long, they were either chasing fish in the stream, chasing rabbits in the mountains, occasionally stealing melons from the neighbor's house, or lying under a widow's wall to listen to sounds.

They weren't exactly evil, just unguided; I fear they will only become more lawless in the future.

Now, seeing Xu Jia's skills and methods, and seeing the River Deity and water monsters manifest, they developed a yearning for Immortals and the Dao.

It was not just the two of them; among the commoners, there were many young people, impractical and with wild imaginations, all thinking of seeking Immortality.

This was exactly Xu Jia's intention. To build palaces and temples, one must have some proper disciples. Begging people personally is not as good as having people come to beg me.

As for Chen Liuxian's three-lifetime Love Tribulation, Xu Jia did not want to interfere too much. Last time, the Yushan City God wrote to the Xi'an City God, but there was no response. He did not know when the Lishan Sect would come to settle the matter of the snake monster Liu Ruyan.

Xu Jia was not short of such a disciple. No matter how much Karmic Connection there was, or how good the aptitude, it was mostly exhausted anyway. If the Lishan Sect did not care, Xu Jia, as the one in charge of monster affairs in the Jiangnan West Circuit, would have to manage it once the Monster Affairs Office was established.

Not to mention the thoughts of these youths, Xu Jia had finished explaining a set of methods for struggle, which could be considered teaching. However, the commoners felt it was very impressive but few truly understood it. Some even defined Xu Jia's remarks as dangerous, like the Yellow Heaven Sect of the previous dynasty, or the current Longevity Sect and its ilk; at most, they called this "Tongtian Sect" or something similar.

A seed of daring to struggle against gods, Buddhas, ghosts, and demons was planted in the hearts of the commoners. If nothing else, Guiyu Po Hua Ban Furen felt as if struck by thunder and lightning: If people do not fear ghosts and gods, how can ghosts and gods exert their power? And how can they obtain Incense Fire offerings? She had just thought Xu Jia was someone worth relying on, but now she felt Xu Jia was a dangerous person who despised everything—more dangerous than the Poyang Dragon King or the Longevity Sect.

Xu Jia ignored this and simply wrote two Dharma decrees, one for Yuan Jiangjun and one for Ao Jin.

By granting the Rain Branch Wind Voucher, it was the act of a True God, so there was no fear of being beheaded like the Jinghe Dragon King for violating a decree.

On these decrees, Xu Jia stamped his seal, specifying the location, time, when to spread clouds, when to raise wind, when to strike thunder, when to drop rain, how many inches and points, how many hao and li of rain should fall, and when to stop the rain, gather the cloud Qi, and reveal clear skies.

This was because Xu Jia had calculated that Dexing and Yushan were already due for a natural rain, but natural rain has no restraint, so he let Yuan Jiangjun and Ao Jin Tongzi use this as a wager to compete, to see whose rainmaking art was superior and had more control.

After giving the decrees, both went to prepare, and Xu Jia also withdrew his troops and horses, thus dispersing the Jiao Ritual altar.

The commoners, however, were unwilling to disperse. Two scholars stepped forward to ask: "How will we know who won and who lost?"

Xu Jia then stated the measurements he had decreed, saying: "If you want to verify it, you only need to prepare a large vat to catch the rainwater, then measure and weigh it, and you will know whether it is accurate or not."

Having said this, he left the crowd, and within a few steps, he was already ten-plus zhang away.

The commoners were filled with awe, and some knelt on the spot.

The two youths who had been in the tree earlier saw this: "Big brother, the master is running away, let's chase him!"

Like monkeys, they scrambled down the tree and started running, chasing in the direction of Xu Jia.

Twelve and fourteen-year-old boys were at their wildest, running with the wind, shouting: "Master, wait for us, wait for us."

However, Xu Jia seemed not to hear them and just kept walking forward. The two youths dared not slacken and kept chasing.

After chasing for a good while, suddenly the figure disappeared. They looked left and right, but could not see where he had gone.

The two youths were deflated: "Is this Immortal unwilling to accept us?"

"Or is our sincerity not enough?"

One of them, the older fourteen-year-old, said: "I heard that when scholars seek a teacher, they must bring cured meat. Could it be that we didn't bring a gift!"

"Do Immortals also want cured meat?"

"Don't temples also collect Incense Fire money? I heard that for the Jiao Ceremony just now, the incense, paper boats, and lanterns and such amounted to one or two hundred taels of silver."

The two sighed at having missed an Immortal opportunity and were just about to turn back to look for other Daoists when they smelled a fragrance.

They had run for a while and watched the excitement for a while, so their stomachs were already hungry; even if they went back now, their grandfather and grandmother probably wouldn't have prepared food for them, as they usually had to fend for themselves.

Smelling the fragrance at this moment, they couldn't help but go in search of that scent.

Searching along the way, they saw an old man setting up a stall by the side of the road about seventy or eighty zhang away, with a large steamer placed on it; the fragrance was wafting out from the steamer.

The two went toward the stall, and the younger one lifted the lid to take some without even putting the old man in his eyes.

The older one knocked his hand away: "We just heard that master talk about the struggle; do you really want to make things difficult for an old man? Since we have decided to seek a master and learn arts, we must first conduct ourselves properly."

While speaking, he was secretly looking at the old man selling steamed buns.

According to storybooks and novels, this kind of old man who appeared inexplicably on the side of the road must be an expert in disguise, testing people.

But the old man did not show any expression of transformation, only saying indifferently: "What would you two young gentlemen like to eat? I have steamed buns and meat buns here..."

"Steamed buns are one wen each, meat buns are two wen each."

The two youths felt their pockets, not having a single coin, but the fragrance was very strong...

"We don't have any money."

The old man's expression changed: "Get out, get out, get out! If you don't have money, why are you crowding around? Don't block me from doing business!"

The younger one's temper flared: "Old coffin, what did you say? Do you believe I'll flip your stall?"

The slightly older one hurriedly pressed him down: "Apologies, elder, we are truly hungry. Could you be kind and spare us two steamed buns?"

"Spare you two? Am I supposed to drink the northwest wind?"

The old man spoke harshly; seeing that the older one was also becoming restless, looking left and right to see if anyone was around, as if he wanted to beat him up, he hurriedly changed his tone: "I know you were just chasing an Immortal, right?"

"If you pay for my steamed buns, I will tell you where the Immortal went."

"Old coffin, didn't I say we don't have any money!"

"If you don't have money, you can earn it!" the old man said: "You two have hands and feet, why are you begging for food from someone like me who is sixty or seventy years old? Aren't you afraid of being laughed at if word gets out?"

Having said that, he took two axes from under the steamer and said: "I need a load of firewood to steam these buns. If you chop two loads of firewood, I'll count it as ten wen per load, enough to buy ten steamed buns here."

The older one was thoughtful, believing this was a test, so he agreed.

What kind of good person hides two axes under their steamed bun stall? "Big brother, a load of firewood can sell for twenty or thirty wen on the market; this old coffin wants to buy ours for ten wen!"

"Second brother, we were just chasing the master, but he suddenly disappeared, and then we saw this old man. Don't you think there's a problem?"

"Ah? Big brother, what do you mean?"

That's right, this must be a test.

The older one said with a wise face.

"Big brother is indeed smart, seeing through everything. Let's go chop wood quickly!"

Their actions... but to outsiders, it looked a bit strange.

"Why are these two talking to the air? And still giggling?"

"Let's go, these two are probably bewitched! I've heard that on this wild road, there are often spirits that bewitch people and take them into the fields to harvest their essence... these two youths are at the age when their initial Yang is developing, and they are the most craved by those female spirits."

Xu Jia had long known the thoughts of these two youths; after all, they were still mortals. Once they stirred their desires, it triggered karma in the Dharma Realm, and since they still had some luck and destiny on them, Xu Jia also felt it was not bad, just needing some polishing.

Therefore, he led them and used Hu Jinhua's Illusion Technique to trap them in an illusion.

This illusion was much gentler than the terrifying illusion previously given to Xiaopangdun in the Three Sovereigns Ten Thousand People Umbrella.

The two stood still in place, spinning in circles, as if playing a virtual reality game, chopping trees within the illusion.

After chopping, the two couldn't carry the loads, so they carried the firewood together to the old man.

"Eh? Was this river here when we were chopping wood just now?"

"It doesn't seem so. How did a river suddenly appear?"

The two were worried about crossing the river when they suddenly saw a single-log bridge appear not far away, so they headed toward the single-log bridge.

The single-log bridge was very narrow, and the two shuffled across, only to hear a "plop" sound.

The younger one was puzzled: "What fell?" "The axe the old man gave you just fell." The slightly older one said: "That old man is very likely an Immortal in disguise. We delivered the firewood but didn't return the axe to him; I'm afraid there will be some trouble."

"Ah? Doesn't that mean I won't be able to become an Immortal?"

The second brother panicked immediately and then looked at the big brother's axe...

The big brother thought for a while and said: "How about this, I'll give you my axe..."

"That wouldn't be good." The second brother was startled and felt deeply ashamed: "I see this river water doesn't seem deep, and I used to catch fish and shrimp, so my swimming is okay. I'll jump down and find the axe."

Just as he finished speaking, he saw bubbles gurgling on the water's surface. Yuan Jiangjun, who had just been seen fighting, emerged from the water with a kind smile: "Honest young man, did you drop this golden axe, this silver axe, or this ordinary axe?"

The two youths were startled. They saw that the golden axe was shining brightly with treasure light, as if forged by the sun deity in the heavens, with a Golden Crow soaring upon it.

The silver axe had mysterious light contained within, carved with runes, truly extraordinary.

As for that ordinary axe, it was just a truly ordinary axe.

The two swallowed their saliva and looked at each other, but this time they had learned their lesson: this must also be an Immortal's test.

So the second brother said: "It's that ordinary axe!"

"What an honest good child! As a reward, I will give you this golden axe and this silver axe as well."

After the River Deity finished speaking, he sent the three axes flying, straight toward the two's crowns.

The two were scared out of their wits, seeing the golden and silver axes suddenly turn into two golden and silver Flood Dragons, carrying them up.

"My firewood!"

The two Flood Dragons flew with them for a while and then threw them down.

It was a Rotten Peach Mountain, and the two were confused: "Where did this bring us? Is this still Dexing?"

The two explored carefully and saw an octagonal pavilion in the peach forest, with two people playing chess inside, one wearing white clothes and one wearing black clothes.

The two approached, only to hear one say: "Brother Ke Han, the last time we played was five hundred years ago!"

"Brother Qingtong, this time let's see who is the winner!"

Five hundred years? Are these two Immortals?

The two men's eyes lit up, and they knelt down immediately: "Two Immortals, please take us two brothers as your disciples!"

Those two Immortals sneered: "You still have a sixty or seventy-year-old grandmother at home with no one to support her; how can you go off to learn immortality with us?"

Having said that, they flicked their sleeves, and the two men stood up.

Immediately after, they ignored them and went back to playing chess on their own.

The two men were afraid of losing their Immortal fate and dared not leave, so they watched from the side; in an instant, the stars shifted and the world changed, and they did not know how many years had passed.

When this game of chess was finished, the two Immortals saw that the two of them had not yet left, so they sighed and said: "Ignorant fools, ignorant fools!"

Having said that, they rode away on a crane.

Only two cups of tea, drunk while playing chess, remained on the seat.

The two men sighed: "I fear we truly have no Immortal fate; we had better go back and support our old grandmother..."

"Big brother, this tea the Immortals drank must be Immortal tea; let us taste it too."

The two did not care whether it was stained with saliva, and gulped it down; they only felt a heat in their lower abdomens and became quite strong.

Just as they were about to go down the mountain, they saw that their axe handles were broken, leaving only the axe heads.

The two went down the mountain and asked a passerby, only then learning that the Flood Dragon had sent them to Wuling Taoyuan.

The two walked for another month or so and finally arrived at their old home in Dexing; just as they wanted to ask which one won the battle between the River Deity and the others, the passersby knew nothing, and only a few old people heard and sighed: "That was a matter from a hundred years ago."

"What? A hundred years ago?" The two hurried back home, only to see that the house had changed its appearance, and strangers were living inside...

For a moment, sorrow rose from their hearts, as if a lifetime had passed...

For a time, they were friendless and kinless, but the village head heard of their situation and treated them both like ancestors, inviting them home to be supported; in the following years, he arranged wives for them, and the two became self-reliant, later building their own house; fifty-some years later, the two remained young, while their wives were already white-haired and on the verge of death.

"Old man, you talked about becoming an Immortal your whole life; actually, you drank the Immortals' tea, you have already become an Immortal, you have attained Longevity, but I am still a mortal, I will still grow old... and die..."

The two men's faces and conditions were still as they were in their youth, yet their grandsons had grown to be as old as they were...

Thus another fifty years passed.

Their children's generation also began to pass away, and the two had sorrowful yet numb expressions... after their children died, it was the turn of their grandsons, and after their grandsons died, it was the turn of their great-grandsons...

The two suffered in their Longevity and sought ways to die many times, but they could not drown by jumping into a river, nor could they die by hanging...

The Emperor heard that they possessed the art of Longevity and asked them about it, but they could not answer.

The Emperor was respectful at first, but later, seeing they had no Dharma Power or Divine Ability, he ordered people to cut their flesh to eat, to refine into pills of Longevity.

The two had their flesh cut on the first day, and it grew back on the second, but the Emperor ate human flesh and not only failed to attain Longevity, but died not long after.

Thus they were treated as monsters and imprisoned in the heavenly jail.

Who knows how long it was, a new dynasty was established, and there was a general amnesty; the founding Emperor also heard of their story and specially summoned them to see him, but he already knew the fate of the previous Emperor who ate their flesh, so he did not do that, only ordering them to continue seeking the Dao and the Immortals, to ask for the Undying Medicine.

These two also wanted to find the Immortals, but only to ask the Immortals to lift the curse of immortality from their bodies.

Thus another unknown number of years passed.

The world knew there were such two people, whom the King of Hell would not take, who had lived for eight hundred years. They were auspicious omens, they were the old ancestors.

Only, the longer they lived, the more their hearts died and withered.

Until the point where nothing could cause a ripple in them.

Suddenly, everything dissipated, and what appeared before them was the scene from when they bought steamed buns back then.

The old man smiled and said: "Have you two cut enough firewood? To trade for my steamed buns?"

Seeing this, the two knelt down hurriedly: "Please, Immortal, lift our art of immortality."

The old man laughed: "It never existed to begin with, so how can there be talk of lifting it or not? You had just returned from cutting firewood and smelled the fragrance of my steamed buns."

"Ah?"

Having said that, the old man opened the steamer, and one could hear the roar of dragons and tigers; inside were steamed buns and stuffed buns.

"You two have returned from cutting firewood, just eat a few steamed buns to satisfy your hunger!"

Only then did the two realize that the eight hundred years of time were but a dream, a hallucination, and now their stomachs were still rumbling with hunger.

So they swallowed their saliva, picked up the steamed buns and stuffed buns, and began to bite; they shed tears while eating, not knowing why, they were just that moved.

When they were full and could eat no more, they saw the old man smile: "You two, having eaten the Nine Bulls and Two Tigers, from now on you shall have the Nine Bulls and Two Tigers Strength."

Having said that, he vanished like smoke, and the two knew he was an Immortal God, so they returned to their village, first supporting their old grandmother, then learning and practicing martial arts; not long after, their grandmother died, and it happened to be a time of great chaos in the world; the two possessed the Nine Bulls and Two Tigers Strength and soon raised a rebellion, sweeping across the world in a mere ten years.

Only, the friendship of the past was gone; for the sole throne of the Emperor, the two turned against each other as enemies, yet neither could do anything to the other...

Finally, they reached a stalemate for fifty years, one in the south and one in the north, each growing old and frail; only then, as they grew older, did they grow more nostalgic, thinking of their youthful friendship... and died with regrets.

After the two died, they suddenly jolted and woke up, only to find themselves still staying in the same place...

"Is this reality, or is it another layer of illusion?"

They thought the first life of seeking the Immortals was real, but then they became emperors in the second life; they thought being emperors was real, but then they returned to the very beginning.

Just as they were shocked, they heard a song: "The world all knows that being an Immortal is good, but only fame and glory cannot be forgotten! Where are the generals and ministers of ancient and modern times? A pile of desolate graves, grass has covered them. The world all knows that being an Immortal is good, but only gold and silver cannot be forgotten! All day long they only hate that they have not gathered enough, and when they have plenty, their eyes are closed. The world all knows that being an Immortal is good, but only a beautiful wife cannot be forgotten! When the husband is alive, he speaks of love every day, but when he dies, she follows someone else. The world all knows that being an Immortal is good, but only children and grandchildren cannot be forgotten! Foolish parents have been many since ancient times, but who has seen a filial child or grandchild?"

The two hurried to chase after him, and seeing it was a lame Daoist, they said hurriedly: "Immortal, please stay!"

That lame Daoist said: "I am not an Immortal, just a traveler in the red dust."

"If you are not an Immortal, how can you speak the words of an Immortal?"

"This song of mine was taught to me by Ancestor Subhuti of the Xieyue Sanxing Dong on Lingtai Fangcun Mountain; he is the true Immortal!"

The two looked at each other, then said: "I fear this is another layer of illusion..."

"What if it is another test from an Immortal? Wouldn't we miss it again?"

The two then inquired about the location of the Immortal mountain and began their long journey of seeking immortality; thus they traveled across the oceans, climbed over the Three Mountains and Five Peaks, and finally found the Immortal mountain and visited the ancient site.

Only, when they arrived with great difficulty and saw the Ancestor, they discovered that the Ancestor was exactly the same as the old man who sold steamed buns in the previous life.

The Ancestor said: "Shall I teach you two the arts of seeking Immortals and divination, and of dispelling evil and avoiding misfortune?"

Although the two enjoyed longevity and long life in their first lifetime, they felt it was painful; after attaining absolute power in their second lifetime, they were again pained by not having attained longevity.

Thus they asked, "Can one attain longevity like this?"

"Cannot, cannot."

The two then said, "Seeking Immortals and divination is not as good as being one's own master; we won't learn, we won't learn!"

"Then shall I teach you to chant the Buddha's name, recite scriptures, pay respects to the Truth, and summon the Sages?"

"Can one attain longevity?"

"It is like scooping the moon from the water, or viewing flowers through the mist."

"Chanting the Buddha's name and reciting scriptures is not as good as having real skills; we won't learn, we won't learn, we won't learn!" The two shook their heads.

"Then how about I teach you Zen meditation, observing precepts, and fasting?"

"Can one attain longevity?"

"Cannot, cannot."

The two said, "We won't learn, we won't learn; meditation and Zen are not as good as wielding a staff and practicing boxing. Ancestor, do you have anything else to teach me?"

"You won't learn this, you won't learn that; you are reaching for the stars, ambitious but talentless, with high standards but low abilities. Someone come, throw these two out for me!"

The next moment, the two brothers were flung one hundred and eight thousand li away.

This place was a romantic destination, a Joyous Kingdom; the kingdom was filled with fox spirits, all practicing the Joyous Dharma; from the kingdom's ruler down to the commoners, all were women, and thus they constantly enticed passing men and merchants.

When the two arrived at the Joyous Kingdom, they lingered there; the Joyous Kingdom's ruler recruited the two as her male concubines, and thus every day they engaged in clouds and rain, with boundless joy.

Three years passed in this manner, and the two exhausted their oil and withered their lamps, dying.

Opening their eyes again, they were unexpectedly back at that same steamed bun stall.

(End of chapter)