Chapter 310: The Six-Whiskered Golden Turtle Giant Catfish

Shunji Longwang also has his limitations; although he was obtained from Shangjie, he is merely a pond fish, having achieved his incarnation through five breaths of Qi and three drops of blood, inheriting the divine title of Shunji and realizing the causes and effects of the past.

The Mirage Essence also has his limitations; although he has cultivated for a thousand years, he is obsessed with appearances, feeling only that the human heart is sinister, or rather, that demons becoming demons is all due to the bewitchment of the human heart, a thought completely opposite to the idea in novels where demons bewitch the human heart.

This kind of thought is actually somewhat like Daoism; the scriptures say: "What Heaven confers is nature; an accordance with this nature is the Dao; the cultivation of this course is instruction." "Exterminate sageliness and discard wisdom, and the people will be a hundred times better off. Exterminate benevolence and discard righteousness, and the people will again be filial and kind. Exterminate cleverness and discard profit, and there will be no more thieves and robbers. These three, as literary embellishments, are not enough, so let there be that to which they belong: manifest plainness, embrace simplicity, reduce selfishness, and have few desires. Exterminate learning and be without worry."

It holds that if one governs people according to their original nature without needing those hypocritical virtues of benevolence and righteousness, people will not have so many crooked thoughts, because human thoughts are simple and plain at the beginning.

To put it crudely, it requires abandoning governance, abandoning education, and presenting an ancient era of wild people without governance or education.

Since no sages are promoted, no one wants to be a sage; since no one wants to be a sage, no one is troubled by fame.

Since wisdom is not developed, there are not so many conspiracies and tricks; these conspiracies and tricks will eventually rebound upon the people themselves. The more learning one has, the more one deviates from one's original nature; they are hypocritical people, people wearing masks. Therefore, Daoism pursues the "newborn infant"; the newborn infant is not influenced by these concepts of benevolence, righteousness, rites, wisdom, and morality, believing that good is good and bad is bad.

Of course, this state is only suitable for a "small country with few people," or the stage of recuperation for a large country.

But when it reaches a certain stage, this statement inevitably does not conform to everyone's interests. To conform to everyone's interests, that would mean everyone is the master, but if everyone is the master, how can anything be accomplished? A group of dragons without a leader.

If Xu Jia were here, he would certainly not argue with him; there is no need to argue. It depends on how one acts. This kind of person is only willing to believe what he wants to believe, bringing the answer to find the answer.

Moreover, this can also be considered a "dispute of principles," and disputes of principles often turn into "disputes of paths." Since he was once beheaded by Xu Xun back then, it seems he failed.

Instead, he says Xu Xun failed, and that the whole family ascending was described by him as sneaking away from this realm, abandoning himself.

Little does he know, if one had not attained the fruit and cultivated the merit, how could one ascend, and how could one have such a lofty status, with the common people loving and commemorating him?

People have ascended, and you jump out, casting aspersions; why didn't you jump out back then? It must be that the beating wasn't painful enough.

If this kind of person were hiding in a corner licking his wounds, missing the days when he could act with power and influence, that would be one thing; if he dares to stand out and sing the blues, Xu Jia would have to beat him again.

Not to mention looking up and not seeing the sun, this kind of Mirage Essence can sometimes turn into cloud Qi and block it too. What is ridiculous is that the Mirage Essence himself gains power by borrowing the brilliance of the sun and moon, yet turns around to slander the sun and moon, attempting to block the light of the sun and moon, telling people not to see, and only to believe what he says and what he has woven.

Shunji Xiao Longwang felt he could win him over, but in fact, he was completely wrong; after his mouth went dry and his tongue was exhausted, he stopped speaking.

The Mirage Essence, on the contrary, was triumphant, thinking that Shunji had been persuaded by him and was speechless. He instead advised: "If there is true salvation from suffering, it must be in the imagination. Speaking of which, why not come into my illusion? Whatever you think of, you have; whatever you dream of, you achieve."

"Inverted dreams, like dream bubbles and shadows, that is all." Shunji thought to himself: This person is not worth conspiring with, and thus left this place.

After leaving this place, Shunji thought that since he had already come, he might as well go find the thousand-year-old rhinoceros spirit. This rhinoceros spirit was a female monster who had long ago cultivated a human body; her appearance was not ugly, but rather like a fairy on the Taiyin star, the leader among the flower fairies. The other rhinoceroses were also by her side, totaling only a hundred or so, which was not many.

A wood-osmanthus tree similar to the Taiyin laurel grew tall and large, spreading out like an umbrella; the place it covered was a Blessed Land.

Just as Shunji Longwang arrived here, this Xiniu Laomu said: "Don't come looking for me either. I am a fairy of the Danggui Gong in the heavens, demoted to the mortal world to become a monster because I missed the mortal world. Your original body is merely an Immortal Pond koi; your immortal rank and divine position are not even as good as mine, so there is no need to come and teach me how to do things."

"I am just waiting for the calamity to end to return to Danggui Gong, and I do not wish to stir up trouble. Even if the world outside is turned upside down, it has little to do with me. Moreover, these juniors of mine hate humans the most; back then, they were hunted for their horns and their skins were taken for armor, and such things were not rare."

Shunji got a nose full of ash and did not want to look for that giant catfish spirit either, intending to return to Poyang.

Suddenly he heard a voice: "Brother, walk slowly."

He saw a shadow appear at the bottom of Dongting Lake; this shadow was huge, and he feared that of the eight hundred li of Dongting, five hundred li were this shadow.

The head that was revealed was like a mountain, and the catfish whiskers were like an island chain.

He opened his mouth, and the water of Dongting Lake formed a whirlpool. He said: "Old brother, wait for me."

Shunji's mind settled, he descended, and asked: "Do you know who I am?"

"I have long known you in spirit." This giant catfish said: "When you first descended to the realm, I already had a premonition, but I was only distressed that I could not see you."

"What business do you have with me?"

The giant catfish said: "I am a strange species of mountain and sea, a six-whiskered golden turtle-fish. Many years ago, a thin Daoist read the Free and Easy Wandering here and then rode the Six Qi to roam the Taixu. I heard a passage and used the meaning of this scripture to ponder and cultivate. My body gradually grew wider, until now, the entire Dongting cannot contain me." "It was fine when it was still Yunmeng, but it just so happened that one day I rolled over, triggering an earthquake, and suddenly the seas changed into mulberry fields, and the water was leaked into the ground along with the earthquake for no reason."

"I feel that you, old brother, possess immeasurable virtue, which is my opportunity to escape, so I have come specifically to ask."

"I am wide and fat and cannot fly. If I want to enter the sea, the paths of the rivers are too narrow. If I jump a few times, although I could jump into the East Sea, I fear it would cause a catastrophe. If you, brother, have a way to lift me up to the sky and enter the sea, I am willing to swear brotherhood with you, and I am also willing to take refuge in Lingbao."

Shunji saw that he was five hundred li long, three hundred li wide, and two hundred li thick, his body was pitch black, and the six golden whiskers were quite miraculous.

He thought to himself: "When I learned the Water Virtue, I heard long ago that the Cave Abyss Great Emperor had a page named Xukunzi, who was transformed from a great Cangming whale. He once cultivated in the Heaven-Reaching River of a certain Great Thousand World, and later entered the Beihai to attain Didao, becoming the leader of the world's Sea Virtue. The mother of the four seas, Pingxin Zhenhai Niangniang, once took him as a marshal. If I can subdue and take him in, it will also be a help to my virtue. I am in the South Sea, and he resides in the East Sea. If I add two more, wouldn't I be able to occupy the four seas? Having obtained the four Sea Eyes, this realm could also be considered my achievement, and the four ocean currents and sea transport would be mutually managed..."

It was just that he knew his own Dharma Power was somewhat limited, and it was absolutely impossible to move this giant catfish; he could only ask Xu Jia.

So he said: "My true self is cultivating in the South Sea; I am only transformed from Five Qi and essence blood, considered a born descendant, and the Dragon God of Poyang. Do not be anxious; I will certainly find a method for you to help you out of your predicament."

"Then many thanks, old brother."

He only felt joyous, but he could not turn over, otherwise, it would trigger an earthquake and another layer of sea waves.

Shunji returned from here, intending to find Xu Jia to ask for a strategy.

Just after he left, the Mirage Essence cursed: "Stupid fish, you go looking for him; will you not know even if he sells you later?"

"I don't care about these things. Whoever has the ability, I listen to them. None of you can get me out of Dongting, so I have to find a way myself. My body is now five hundred li long, and in the future, it will be eight hundred li. Dongting is like a drying-up puddle to me. Back then, Poyang Dragon Mother wanted to save me to subdue me, but it didn't work. Now another one has come, and I have placed my hope in him. Do not disturb my good deeds, otherwise, I will roll over and destroy this eight hundred li of Dongting."

Once he said this, the Mirage Essence also became quiet. In truth, this simple-minded big guy was actually not simple or stupid. If really pushed to the limit, this hiding place would be gone, and going to other places would also be a troublesome matter.

Shunji Longwang returned here, asked about Xu Jia's whereabouts, and went straight up to explain.

It was just that he did not mention the matter of the Mirage Essence, skipping it to avoid making Xu Jia angry, and only spoke of the matter of the giant catfish.

"A strange species of mountain and sea, a six-whiskered golden turtle-fish?" Xu Jia heard this and couldn't help but feel it was too coincidental.

It is said that Jin'ao Dao is on the back of a prehistoric strange species, a golden turtle; many rumors say it is a giant tortoise, but it is actually a fish.

Before, Xu Jia had prayed for Literary Luck for his old father and sacrificed to the Kui Star. The Kui Star has a dharma image of "monopolizing the turtle head," which is this turtle-fish. Guanyin also has a dharma image, and her mount is a turtle-fish.

It can be seen that the turtle-fish is considered a relatively high-end mount among the God Immortals. Since it is a relatively high-end mount, it is generally a divine beast of some kind, and even if it is not comparable to dragons, phoenixes, or qilin, it has a background and foundation.

It was just that those turtle-fish had never been seen this big, which made Xu Jia truly and realistically think of Jin'ao Dao and Biyou Gong.

However, upon hearing that it was in the image of a giant catfish, not a dragon-headed fish-bodied creature, he breathed a sigh of relief.

"This giant catfish dares not move randomly; if it moves, there will be an earthquake and a catastrophe. It wants us to ferry it into the sea."

Xu Jia heard the keywords "earthquake" and "catfish" and immediately thought of the Japanese legend, the Earthquake Catfish.

It is said that Japan often has earthquakes and volcanic eruptions because there is an Earthquake Catfish in the underground world of Japan; when it moves, there is an earthquake.

"It is indeed fated with the East Sea," Xu Jia decided. "I also have a way to ferry it into the sea. It requires cultivating a Magic Tool called the Naihe Bridge. This is a tool of the authority of the underworld. How to cross it, how to leave it, and how to stop on it—it is just that to cultivate the Naihe treasure, one needs to take three hundred and sixty-five bridge-heart stones from ancient bridges over a hundred years old, and find a way to refine them into a stone bridge. Crossing the Huangquan He and ferrying thousands of souls will count as completed."

"When the floods come next year, a bridge can be formed, allowing it to go to the Cloud Sea in the sky, and then drive the Cloud Sea into the East Sea to fulfill it. This is also a Merit."

"Since there is a way, then I will go and tell him." Shunji Xiao Longwang was happy when he heard this.

"Just find more people to look for the bridge-heart stones of hundred-year-old bridges."

"As the saying goes, repairing bridges and paving roads is a great Merit. Once a bridge-heart stone is taken, a bridge is destroyed and becomes unstable. If you dismantle one, you must repair one. Where can you find those three hundred and sixty-five bridge-heart stones?" Xu Jia shook his head.

(End of this chapter)