Chapter 271: Nine Palaces Immortal

Chen Liuxian's soul left his body and flowed into the Dharma Realm; he only felt the heavens spinning and the earth turning, not knowing where he had arrived.

He only vaguely remembered a large python, so he saw everything as a snake; once a thought arises, the Dharma Realm manifests ten thousand illusions.

It was just like a mortal dreaming—dreaming of snakes hanging from trees and snakes swimming in the fields—and then, upon returning home, there was a large snake on the bed.

Not to mention the Demon Qi that Liu Ruyan had left on him, which was now coiled around him just like that, transforming into a large white snake wrapped around his body.

"Help! So many snakes! So many snakes!"

Chen Liuxian was panic-stricken, running further and further away from his body.

Yet he saw a large ship of mist sailing over, and on the ship were solemn and majestic soldiers.

"Help me!"

These were the Patrol Soldiers; as the Patrol Soldiers turned their heads to look, Chen Liuxian's heart instantly turned cold—he saw that the ship was made of paper and the people were made of paper, so he turned and ran again.

Little did he know that the paper boat was actually crashing straight toward him.

Chen Liuxian felt a moment of trance, only to find himself already among the paper figures; he wanted to move, then looked down and saw that his own hands and feet had also turned into paper.

When he tried to call for help again, he could no longer make a sound.

He was simply taken away by the Yin soldiers and eventually landed in an unknown illusion, where he saw a mirror; as the mirror shone, a voice came out: "I shall be bitten to death by mad dogs!"

It was the very vow he had just made; just as he was startled, his feet suddenly stepped into empty air, and he fell into a bottomless pit. A pack of ferocious wild dogs ran out and began to tear at him, biting first at that Spirit Root, that pellet.

"Ah—ah!"

Chen Liuxian was in agonizing pain, feeling as if his soul had already scattered, when the vicious dogs suddenly vanished.

He saw a public hall, with a bright mirror hanging high, a Ghost Judge, a City God, a Yeyou, and many minor ghosts...

"Who is the person below the hall?"

Chen Liuxian had already been shocked several times; seeing the public hall, he realized he had died and fallen here to the City God for judgment, and he immediately felt aggrieved.

"My Lord, I am wronged; I died a wrongful death!"

"Bang!"

The Startling Wood struck down, and the City God remained expressionless.

The Yeyou shouted angrily: "Answer whatever the City God asks you! Of the people who come here, eleven out of ten say they died a wrongful death. Dead is dead; do not make any more noise! Otherwise, I will record a mark, and in your next life, you will be reborn as an ox or a horse."

Chen Liuxian was startled and had no choice but to give up, slowly accepting the fact that he was already dead.

"Commoner Chen Liuxian."

The City God opened the Civil Register, first looking for the White Register, but it was not there; then he looked for the Red Register, but it was not there either. Since there were no imperial relatives or nobles here, there was no Yellow Register; there was only the Green Register, which represented Buddhist and Daoist practitioners—this represented those who cultivate, but none who had had their names struck from the Death Registry.

Finally, he found the entry for Chen Liuxian and saw: Chen Liuxian, Form Realm Nine Palaces Immortal Register (practiced the Three Hundred Great Precepts, has Three Thousand Good Merits, and also cultivates the Spirit Treasure Scripture; rank is Nine Palaces Perfected Person)... having undergone three hundred kalpas, has already passed two hundred and nineteen kalpas, with eighty-one kalpas remaining... frightened to death on the spot by the Lishan-registered snake demon Liu Ruyan revealing her true form. Yang Lifespan: 20/102.

The City God stroked his chin and secretly thought: No wonder that Spirit Treasure Heavenly Master said there was a Karmic Connection; it turns out this Chen Liuxian is actually a Nine Palaces Immortal who has descended to the world to undergo a Tribulation.

Liang Tao Hongjing's "True Spirit Rank Chart" divides Immortals into seven ranks: Jade Purity, Upper Purity, Supreme Ultimate, Great Purity, Nine Palaces, Cave Heaven, and Great Yin.

Great Yin is the lowest, belonging to the category of Ghost Immortals and Ghost Gods; Cave Heaven is next, belonging to the category of Earth Immortals and Earth Deities; once one reaches the Nine Palaces rank, one is already considered to be in the category of God Immortals. As for Great Purity Immortals, they are already considered to be in the category of Heavenly Immortals and Heavenly Gods.

Thus, the City God knew that this fellow probably could not die; as long as he could return his soul within seven days, he could continue his cultivation.

So he said: "Take him down and lock him in the Wrongful Death Prison."

This death was also a kalpa and a tribulation; once he passed through it, he would be one step closer to restoring his Immortal rank.

Chen Liuxian's physical body was still on the boat, but the water spirits moved it and returned him to the ferry landing.

By the time dawn broke, someone immediately discovered him, but he was stark naked, which was a huge loss of face, having been seen by everyone.

Although he had been scared to death, he had harvested Essence, and when he died, he had used his cultivation to lock in his Essence Qi and Spirit, so he had not yet gone cold; he had fallen into a state of Fetal Breath similar to hibernation. If his soul did not return within seven days, he would die all the same.

It just so happened that Yilei and Ling Yun, two Daoist Priests, were planning to leave this place to visit Longhu Mountain and request assistance; they had written to Longhu Mountain before but received no response, so they decided to go themselves, taking the waterway to Yingtan, which was not very far.

Just as they arrived at the ferry landing, they saw a crowd of people gathered; they stepped forward to look and saw Chen Liuxian: "Lecher!"

"Is he dead?" Yilei and Ling Yun were originally ashamed and angry, but they soon discovered something wrong—this person had already lost his soul. "Could it be that our Junior Sister has already fallen into the demonic path? Seeing us with him like that, did she fly into a rage and snatch away his soul?"

After all, it was a fleeting romance, and the two Daoist Priests had been struck by Wind-Flow Magic and had spent the previous night in loneliness; seeing this "wronged lover" now, they naturally could not bear it. Thus, they spent some Flower Money to pay a boatman to dress Chen Liuxian and send him to the medical clinic.

When Chen Liuxian returned to the medical clinic, he gave Li Dafu a fright; he had seen this pulse before.

It was exactly the same as Xu Jia's—it was the condition of Lost Soul False Death.

Chen Liuxian was his apprentice and was quite clever and bright, but unfortunately, he had married early. Li Dafu had long ago seen that this wife was not a mortal; he had tested her several times and realized she was a snake demon, and he had hinted at it vaguely several times, but unfortunately, Chen Liuxian did not pay attention. Later, when Xu Jia pointed it out to his face, he still would not listen.

It was naturally a barrier of "seeing but not perceiving, hearing but not understanding," which led to today's disaster. He sighed in his heart and said to Ling Yun and Yilei: "This student of mine is beyond saving, unless we can obtain the help of that Earth Immortal True Person."

"This is a condition of lost soul, coupled with shock and fear, which has damaged his Kidney Soul. Within seven days, if his soul cannot be found, his Essence Qi will leak away, his breath will cease, and his life will be lost."

"Alas... how could such a thing happen?"

The two Daoist Priests heard this and said: "Why go and beg that so-called Earth Immortal True Person? You don't know his background; you might think he is a good person, but he is actually the most sinister and cunning. We two have also cultivated since childhood and have some ability. Doctor, you just prepare some incense, candles, and paper money, and a large rooster; just watch us perform the ritual to summon his soul back."

Li Dafu looked at the two of them and asked curiously: "Are you two old acquaintances of my student?"

Ling Yun blushed: "That is not the case; we just met, but we have always been compassionate, so it is naturally good if we can save him."

Yilei was surprised: "Senior Sister, didn't you say you wanted to kill him? Now that he is dead, we can just leave him be."

"I was just speaking in anger at that time. How can a practitioner casually commit the sin of killing? Besides, this matter cannot be blamed on him; he is also innocent. It is all the fault of those demons and evil gods, and also the fault of our Junior Sister!"

"We will save him and then leave, go to Longhu Mountain to bring reinforcements, tear down his temple, break his altar, and then drag our Junior Sister back to Lishan."

Yilei also could not describe what she was feeling; she could not call it hatred, and she could not get past the hurdle of love in her heart; she only felt there was some kind of special complex.

Yet she did not know that the Romantic Fairy had already entangled the Wind-Flow Red Thread of the two of them with Chen Liuxian. One man, two women, and one demon—now the Love Tribulation was being passed from one to another, a chaotic mess.

Waiting until the incense, candles, paper money, and the large rooster were bought, by the time dusk arrived and every household had closed their doors, the two Daoist Priests began the ritual. Ling Yun was steady and left her body to pursue the soul, while Yilei was more frivolous and stayed here to protect the physical body.

The two of them bowed to Lishan Old Mother, and then bowed to the Old Mother's nine sons—Gouchen, Ziwei, and the seven stars of the Big Dipper—and requested the protection of the star fates. Only then did they chop off the rooster's head, sprinkle the blood to draw a circle, and place seven Life Lamps around the edge of the circle.

Chen Liuxian lay inside the circle, with a red thread tied to his little finger, and the other end tied to Ling Yun's little finger.

A moment later, Ling Yun's spiritual consciousness left her body and arrived in the Dharma Realm. She saw a large rooster leading the way, with seven floating bright lamps illuminating the surroundings, and a red silk thread stretching forward, not knowing where it led.

Ling Yun sat on the large rooster, and suddenly the large rooster began to run like an ostrich, surrounded by heavy mist.

Very quickly, Ling Yun arrived in another layer of space; here, a bright mirror shone brilliantly, appearing like a moon, and a troop of Military Officials marched in formation under the moonlight, blocking the path ahead.

"Ghost soldiers borrowing the path?" Ling Yun did not dare to force a crossing, feeling only a terrifying, chilling cold.

At this moment, a tiger-headed commander among the troops turned his head: "Who goes there? How dare you trespass into the Dharma Realm of the You Ming within the Jade Mountain Administration's territory?"

The next moment, one of the seven protective lamps extinguished, and Ling Yun hurriedly steered the great rooster to fly up, intending to cross over this patrol of ghost soldiers.

"What kind of demonic person are you? Do you not know that you must report in advance if you are going to leave your body at night?"

However, Ling Yun plunged headlong into the mist and extinguished another protective lamp, only then managing to shake off the patrolling ghost soldiers.

Only then did she see a massive gatehouse; at the city gate stood two great generals, and these two great generals were leading a giant beast—it was the Suanni locked at the city gate, a type of dragon-blooded lion.

The two generals were the Gold Lock and Silver Gate Great Generals under the City God, essentially security guards, preventing wild ghosts from breaking in and ensuring evil ghosts did not run out; this city gate was the Inner City, a place of Blessed Fields and blessed dwellings, where Ghost People whose Yin Life had not yet ended lived.

Ling Yun immediately used a spell and extinguished two more lamps to blend into the crowd.

The two great generals felt something was amiss and scanned the area; the Suanni they rode did the same, and they spoke: "There is the scent of a Living Soul!"

They immediately dispatched ghost soldiers from the city gate to investigate, scaring Ling Yun so much that she hid in a corner and dared not move, though her mount, the great rooster, flew out.

It was immediately pounced upon: "So someone is performing Soul Summoning, but having entered my City God's city, without the City God's command, how could you be allowed to summon it out?"

Their cultivation was not up to par, and performing rites required asking the City God; these two Daoist Priests had previously offended the Yushan City God, so he would not grant them convenience; otherwise, the Lishan Sect still had some face, and it would not have been difficult to walk openly into the City God Temple.

At the very least, when Xu Jia entered and exited the City God Temple, he did not encounter even the slightest difficulty.

Seeing that there was no further abnormality, Ling Yun finally dared to move and blended into the City God's official residence, where the Twenty-Four Offices were located, with the Yin-Yang Department at the head, specializing in the judgment of ghosts.

But before she could follow the red thread to the Wrongful Death Prison to find Chen Liuxian, she heard a shout: "Audacious!"

(End of this chapter)