Chapter 264: The Tribulation of Founding a Sect

These two Daoist priests were covered in a foul stench and, having nowhere to vent their frustration, had no choice but to return to the city.

Yet, this smell was something that could not be washed away no matter what. Even the waiter who brought the hot water was pinching his nose.

At this moment, the innkeeper gave an idea from across the window: "I have heard that the Back Corpse Craftsmen in the outskirts of the city use feces to wash away the corpse stench on their bodies... Why don't you two Daoists try this method?"

"Feces-clear" is the liquid from the top layer of fermented excrement in rural latrines.

It is extremely filthy and foul, but in traditional Chinese medicine, it is used to process licorice, resulting in "human-middle yellow."

It is also a strange and peculiar medicinal ingredient.

The two Daoist priests were filled with hatred upon hearing this: We two cultivate pure Immortal methods and do not touch dust; we naturally avoid filth. If we truly used this "feces-clear" to bathe, it would stain our Daoist bodies and spiritual light, and our lives would be ruined.

They immediately retorted: "The innkeeper's heart is too wicked; how could you come up with such a putrid idea?"

The innkeeper touched his nose and said: "Do not be angry, two Daoists. I will ask around again, but since this smell is so disgusting, how did you two get it on you?"

"We went out of the city and encountered a Yellow Immortal spirit on the road." They said nothing of how they had tried to harm a little fox for no reason to take its fur for money.

"So that is how it is, a Yellow Immortal spirit..." The innkeeper thought to himself: There is only one place nearby with Yellow Immortal spirits, which is the Tian Liang Huang Xian Miao. This Yellow Immortal Temple has been here for many years; its Incense Fire was thin for a period, but it has slowly recovered in recent days.

The Yellow Immortal there has recently begun presiding over weddings and funerals, lending tables, chairs, bowls, and chopsticks—all sorts of household items—to the surrounding villagers, and its reputation is decent.

How could these two Daoist nuns from out of town have provoked them for no reason?

Yellow Immortals are the most vengeful; could they follow the scent to his inn to take revenge? The innkeeper thus developed the urge to drive them away, but he had always run his business by opening his doors to guests and had never chased anyone off.

He asked around, and a storyteller who sang ditties in the inn lobby every day offered an idea: "Fifteen miles outside the city, there is a Fanyin Valley, and in the valley, there is a Di Gou Quan. The water there is pure water. Many wealthy families in the city send people specifically to fetch water from there, for no other reason than to bathe. That spring has a supernatural quality; it is said there is a spring god beneath it. Why not let them go to the Di Gou Quan to bathe?"

The innkeeper then relayed this to the two Daoist priests.

The two Daoist priests deliberated for a moment: "In this wilderness, it is still not good for us two women to bathe. Can the innkeeper go and fetch some?"

"That will cost another two taels of silver."

The two did not have much money left and still needed to buy clean clothes to change into.

After all, there was no refining technology here for making Qiankun Bags or Wish Rings. They could not carry spare clothes with them.

Back in the day, when Tang Seng went to the Western Heaven to fetch the scriptures, he even had Sha Heshang carry the luggage.

The two had no choice but to leave the city and inquire about the way to the Di Gou Quan.

They were also afraid that someone might peek and see their bodies, losing their purity, so they waited until dark to enter the water to bathe.

After dark, the villagers returned to their homes. Although this area was already governed by Xu Jia and had few ghosts or monsters, one never knew when one might accidentally violate some taboo by wandering around aimlessly.

The two of them descended into the spring to bathe, not knowing that this was the Daochang of Jingchi.

Xu Jia had long ago put out a warrant for these two, and all the halls knew that these two Daoist priests were no good.

Although this Jingchi cultivated the Avatamsaka Dharma, he had also received a Register from Xu Jia.

It was just not appropriate to do anything sneaky, so he waited until the two were bathing and had left the water pool.

Following that, Hai Sanniang and Lao Zhupo made their appearance.

This Lao Zhupo, who had previously been paralyzed on the ground, was as large as an elephant. Her Daoist Practice was even deeper than that of Hu Jinhua. She swallowed Miasma Qi and ate countless rotten persimmons, obtaining a "pig treasure" that had some power. Now, having obtained the Register method, she had become a "Persimmon God." She not only managed a patch of persimmons but was also the "Feces God." That is correct; the villagers believed the Feces God was a monster with a pig's head and a human body, likely because for families raising pigs, the toilet was the pigsty.

In any case, this Hai Sanniang, though she now had a demon status, also possessed a Divine Nature; she cultivated both nature and life.

She rushed to this place and released a fog of Miasma Qi, and also deployed a hundred Buyu Chang. These Chang were refined from the souls of her descendants—those wild boars that were often killed by hunters.

The image of Hai Sanniang was like the Great Boar Mountain God in Hayao Miyazaki's *Princess Mononoke*, only she was not quite as terrifying.

Once the Miasma Qi was spread, Ling Yun Daoren and Yilei Daoren immediately sensed it and hurriedly put on their clothes: "Senior Sister, have you noticed? We are being attacked by monsters frequently, yet the local villagers say these monsters have already been subdued. I fear they are being directed by someone!"

"They are indeed entangled with these monsters, birds of a feather."

Hai Sanniang was not deaf. Hearing this, she said in a muffled voice: "You two nuns, our Dao Lord Heavenly Master could have dealt with that snake demon according to the law, but out of consideration for the face of your Lishan Sect, he wrote to you to handle it yourselves. Yet you, thinking we were afraid of your Lishan Sect, dared to push your luck, insult our Dao Lord Heavenly Master, and even harm the innocent!"

"A monster is a monster. Even if you learn to act like humans, you are still beasts in human clothing. You think that by putting on an act and doing a few good deeds, you can obtain Incense Fire and Licentious Sacrifice, but you do not know that a leopard cannot change its spots. You shit-eating pig-woman, along with that farting Yellow Immortal, are all the same trash. You have cultivated for hundreds of years and still cannot leave behind shit, urine, and farts!"

Hai Sanniang was furious, for what they said was true. Cultivating immortality is about cultivating the intent of purity and obtaining the true marvelous Qi. Shit, urine, and farts are all low-level things that should be expelled from the body, yet they treated them like treasures, accumulating them in their bodies to cultivate Dharma Power. It was the most low-class of all, the side-door of side-doors.

Thus, she spat out her pig treasure. This pig treasure transformed into a streak of yellow light, carrying miasma poison, and struck toward the foul-mouthed Yilei Daoren like lightning.

Although Yilei Daoren had her vision obscured by the miasma, their sect was located in the Qinling mountains, so they also had some similar spells that could dissolve miasma poison. Ling Yun cultivated the Wind Method, which could blow away the miasma even more effectively.

But at this moment, the Buyu Chang had formed a formation. The fog and miasma were blown away, only to bounce back like cotton. Unless the Buyu Chang soldiers were destroyed and Hai Sanniang was killed, it would not stop.

The pig treasure miasma pill was about to strike Yilei Daoren's head in an instant when suddenly, a jade pendant on her neck shone with light. It was a Lingguan protective talisman, which used the Lingguan's Dharma Power to block the miasma pill.

Even so, a wave of fishy, foul-smelling Qi still made her dizzy and broke her out in a cold sweat.

"Lao Zhupo, I told you, you alone cannot handle these two nuns. These two nuns have real skills."

Huang Pipo's voice sounded now near, now far.

This caused the two Daoist priests' expressions to change: "Two more monsters!"

"Two Daoists, my grandson had no grudge against you two. He only used a transformation to sell the vegetables he grew to earn a few coins. Why must you call for his death and attack him?"

This time it was Hu Jinhua. She was seen holding a "Wind Calming Pill," which was precisely meant to restrain Ling Yun Daoren's Wind Method.

"Three monsters now!"

At this time, the Luejue Shen also appeared. He was, to some extent, a legitimate Mountain God, personally enfeoffed by Xu Jia. Moreover, having been beaten by these two Daoist priests, he also held a grudge. In his hand, he held a bowl, and inside the bowl was a centipede.

This was the Centipede Gu refined by Xu Jia after he had beheaded the Yushan Wulong and used its evil Qi to nourish centipede eggs.

It was only because Xu Jia no longer had use for this method later that he gave it to Luejue. After this centipede hatched, they killed each other, and only this one was successfully refined.

Luejue sometimes possessed this centipede, a method known as the "Second Primordial Spirit."

One could see that this centipede had an iron back and wings, and an extraordinary appearance, as if it were a strange beast from the primordial era. This Centipede Gu flew out of the bowl. To say nothing else, Liu Ruyan was naturally restrained by this flying centipede.

In Lu Xun's *From Hundred Plant Garden to Three Flavor Study*, the beauty snake was sucked dry of its brain marrow by a flying centipede.

Jingchi stood to the side and said, "Amitabha. A few fellow practitioners, do not commit the sin of killing and stain my solemn pure pool."

"Rest assured, we will naturally not commit the sin of killing. We have long since turned over a new leaf. We will only let these two nuns suffer some hardship, a small punishment to serve as a warning."

"You dare!"

"Two Immortal Nuns, do not be afraid. It is only physical pain. Do not resist; if we accidentally kill you, wouldn't that be our sin?"

Ling Yun Daoren opened her mouth to release wind, but the flying centipede rose against the wind; it was the least afraid of wind.

Yilei threw out a thunder talisman, but Hu Jinhua held Xu Jia's Seven-Star Wish-Fulfilling Rod in her hand, diverting the lightning and striking it elsewhere.

Xu Jia now possessed the Golden Flood Dragon Sword and the Silver Flood Dragon Sword, so this strange weapon was no longer very suitable; Xiaopangdun was not a combatant, and Chen Gongming used heavy weapons, so it could only be given to Hu Jinhua to use.

The next moment, Huang Pipo transformed into her original form and lunged over, but instead of going straight for the face, she seized the opportunity to perform her fart technique.

Hai Sanniang once again unleashed her miasma pill, hitting the mark in one strike and striking Yilei's face; the Lingguan protective talisman was about to unleash its power, but it was defiled by Huang Pipo and could not resist, instantly bruising her face black and purple.

The Daoist Yilei let out a miserable shriek and fell backward.

Ling Yun bit her tongue tip and brought out her protective Dharma treasure, a Starry Cloth; with her Human Immortal Dharma Power, she could not hold this treasure for long.

Yet, it had the power to set up an array and release lightning in an instant; Luejue released a flying centipede, which was immediately collected by the cloth.

"Good treasure!" Hai Sanniang charged with her true form, ramming like an elephant, intending to break this cloth.

Once, twice, three times.

Ling Yun's Dharma Power was exhausted, and a surge of counter-flowing Qi rose up, stuck in her throat.

The next moment, she was poked in an acupoint by Hu Jinhua with the wish-fulfilling rod and also fell unconscious.

"What now? What now?" Huang Pipo said, "I thought these two stinking hags had some real skill, shouting about slaying demons and eliminating devils, yet they have so little ability."

"If the four of us hadn't attacked together, how could we have won?" Hu Jinhua said, "Don't talk big, bring the mud."

Hai Sanniang then brought up a lump of filth, and Hu Jinhua smeared the filth over the ears, eyes, nose, and mouth of the two Daoist Priests, only then feeling satisfied.

This was called the "Sealing Orifice Technique."

It originally came from mountain spirits that had become monsters, bewitching people, making them eat leaves and filth, and using mud to cover their eyelids and seal their ears so they could neither see nor hear.

It belonged to pure demonic arts, not the heterodox paths that Xu Jia taught.

"Alright, just move the two of them into the cave; as for this Starry Cloth..."

Huang Pipo wanted to take this Dharma treasure, but the treasure had a spirit and refused to fall into their hands; although there was no Human Immortal Dharma Power to nourish and support it, it possessed the power of starlight itself, turning from solid to ethereal, still guarding the two Daoist Priests so that they could not be seized.

"Never mind, we have completed our mission."

Hu Jinhua said, "Starve them for two days; on the third day, someone will naturally come up the mountain to gather herbs and rescue them."

"By the way, do you know the whereabouts of that snake demon?"

"She seems to have hidden in the water; we need to ask Turtle General, or perhaps Ao Jin Tongzi."

A moment later, the mist dispersed, and only Jingchi returned to the pool, sighing and reciting Amitabha.

Hu Jinhua soon arrived at the Xin River, where a large green fish delivered a water-avoiding Pearl, and she followed it into the water, passing through the barrier to reach the Dharma Realm Water Mansion.

She saw Ao Jin holding the Rao Pearl, harmonizing the Spirit Machine of the Water Mansion, while Turtle General was learning with an open mind; this was the orthodox path of becoming a god.

It was just that Ao Jin held something back and did not teach everything.

"Senior Brother Jinhua, why have you come to my Water Mansion?"

"I came to ask you about a snake demon."

"A snake demon?" Turtle General said, "Junior Brother Jinhua, let us step aside to speak."

Turtle General invited Hu Jinhua into a side chamber and set up a Water Origin barrier, then said, "My wife, Huaban Furen of the Guiyu Pozi, has a secret friend in her boudoir, a white snake spirit. Could it be that she has committed some offense?"

Hu Jinhua said, "It doesn't count as much, but because of this one matter, many complications have arisen; small matters turn into big ones, big ones into disasters, and disasters into Calamity; once the Calamity is inescapable, everything just turns to dust."

Turtle General was startled: "Could it be a Love Tribulation?"

"Exactly," Hu Jinhua sighed, "Speaking of which, for us foxes cultivating to become Immortals, the Love Tribulation is the most terrifying. This creature is a snake demon, and she also has a background, coming from the Lishan Sect. She has a three-lifetime Love Tribulation, entangled through past lives. Originally, this would be nothing, but in this life, her husband has a master-disciple Karmic Connection with our Master. Perhaps this is the Calamity of founding a sect. However, the Master is also strange; he actually instructed me to blow this Love Tribulation up and stir it into a mess. The master-disciple Karmic Connection has already become thin after he refused it twice; it only lacks a third refusal to be completely severed."

"It is just that if the fortune of our founding sect is not handled properly, it is easily damaged."

"Sure enough, two nuns came, and as soon as they arrived, they didn't distinguish right from wrong, saying we were an Evil Sect, teaching heterodox demonic arts, and insulting the teacher."

"They want to defile the reputation of our orthodoxy, yet they come from a famous orthodox sect and hold the banner of righteousness."

"Once this bucket of filth is dumped on us, it will be hard for us to ever turn things around. As for us demon-kind, it will be hard to find another with such great compassion as Master Xu to enlighten us."

"Killing them would only confirm that we are heterodox, so we can only let them become heterodox themselves, breaking the Golden Body of the famous orthodox sect, to preserve ourselves. But in doing so, we will completely offend the Lishan Sect to death."

"Lishan is far away in the land of Changan; if we offend them, so be it. At worst, we just won't go there in the future."

"Maintaining the orthodoxy is what matters most. Junior Brother Jinhua, just say what you need my help with; I will be the first vanguard."

This was the moment to show loyalty and earn merit. Although Turtle General heard it was a Love Tribulation and would offend the Lishan Sect, his eyes still shone, feeling it was a rare opportunity.

(End of chapter)