Chapter 36: Lan Shi Huo, Hai Sanniang

Lan Shi Huo is a valley surrounded by three mountains. Because many persimmon trees grow there, every time the ripening season arrives, the persimmons that cannot be picked begin to fall and rot, often filling the air with flies, no less than a dry latrine, so it was given such a name.

After the persimmons rot and clog the area, miasma is bred, and mosquito bites are often more fatal than other dangers. Added to this is the foul stench that rushes straight to one's crown, which is also quite toxic, so the common folk rarely come here.

It is no wonder that the Lao Zhupo hides here to avoid people catching her. By hiding here—pigs themselves like to eat filth—she does not mind the stench of this place, nor does she fear the bites of mosquitoes. With so many persimmons ripening, it is natural food and an excellent dwelling.

Hu Jinhua himself also disliked the smell of this place, so he called upon the rampant soldiers to stir up a wind to disperse the odor. At this time, the sky had already brightened, and mountain mist was rising. Sunlight could not shine in here, making the path even harder to see.

Hu Jinhua let out a strange fox cry, the sound echoing in the empty Lan Shi Huo, as if communicating with something.

Before long, a group of black pigs came over, oinking and grunting.

These were all offspring sired by the Lao Zhupo and the wild boar king in the mountains. They fed on rotten persimmons, and when there were no rotten persimmons, there were also some fresh grasses, insects, and the like.

They especially liked to eat snakes and poisonous insects. There were many poisonous insects and snakes here, but they could not bite through their hides.

The leading black pig seemed to have Eight Character eyebrows, and its skin and flesh were all wrinkled; these were the characteristics of a domestic pig, but it also had the bristles and tusks that only wild boars possess.

This pig grunted and made a sound, meaning to let Hu Jinhua sit on its back.

Hu Jinhua could not understand pig language, but he already had a friendship with the Lao Zhupo and recognized this pig; it was the first of the Lao Zhupo's descendants to become a spirit and gain wisdom.

Thus, he no longer maintained the image of an old woman, transformed into his Miscellaneous Fur Fox form, and sat on the pig's back. What a picture of a fox riding a pig!

Seeing the fox sit on its back, this black pig with Eight Character eyebrows walked back, and Hu Jinhua followed them together into the depths of Lan Shi Huo.

After walking for nearly an hour, they arrived at a rock cave. This was a slanted mountain body that had blocked many large trees, forming an "eave" from the sharp edges of the rocks. The Lao Zhupo's descendants had cleared away the soil and stones, turning it into a rock cave.

One could see a huge black Lao Zhupo lying on her side at the rock cave; she looked to be nearly two zhang long, and even while lying down, the height of her belly was about as high as an adult man.

With every breath she took, the mist in the mountains entered her nose.

"Lao Zhupo, I've come to see you!" Hu Jinhua jumped down from the black pig's back and spoke.

The Lao Zhupo's eyes and brows also had Eight Character wrinkles; it was an effort just to open them, let alone get up. She grunted, "Old Fox, if you call me Lao Zhupo again, I will flip my face. Call me Hai Sanniang."

"I am not your offspring, why should I call you Mother?" Hu Jinhua said again, "But I should tell you, I don't go by Old Fox or Spotted anymore; I have a name, called Hu Jinhua, which an Immortal helped me choose."

"Immortal?" Hai Sanniang sneered, "You've caught a delusion. Would an Immortal take a fancy to you? If he took a fancy to you, he would have taken a fancy to me."

She was actually about the same age as Hu Jinhua; Hu Jinhua had lived for over fifty years, and she had lived for over sixty. However, in terms of deep Dharma Power, this Lao Zhupo had escaped into the mountain forests early on, encountered some opportunities, and practiced diligently, already possessing a hundred years of Daoist Practice.

She had a talent from birth: she was good at eating, good at digesting, not picky, ate fast, digested fast, and excreted fast. The stinking and rotten persimmons of Lan Shi Huo entered her mouth and were refined into Essence Qi.

Later, she accidentally practiced breathing and swallowed mist and miasma, and actually gained something from it, so she tried hard and realized the art of "Serving Qi."

She no longer went to find food herself, just lying here, breathing in and out, swallowing the mountain forest miasma and foul Qi into her belly, reaching the realm of Bigu and eating Qi. These Miasma Qi were poisonous, and because she ate too many persimmons, she developed stones. Although her refining ability was powerful, over time, she still grew a "pig treasure," simply cultivating it into a fleshy tumor. The stone inside the tumor became something like a "Demon Core."

This object could turn into a black light to strike people and was highly toxic. If it hit someone, even if they didn't die, their muscles and bones would rot, and medicine could not cure it.

Moreover, after Bigu and Serving Qi, the Lao Zhupo's body became increasingly massive without eating or drinking, as if she had obtained the "spiritual energy of mountains and rivers" and was growing in the direction of being "as big as mountains and rivers."

If it weren't for the fact that pigs are not as convenient as foxes at transforming, and she was very disappointed in humans, she would have long since transformed and learned to be a human.

But thinking about it, if she transformed, she would just be a fat person with difficulty moving; after all, she hadn't stood up or turned over in many years.

Seeing that she didn't believe him, Hu Jinhua hurriedly explained, "This is true. The Immortal pointed at me, and I gained thirty years of Daoist Practice. The Immortal also passed me cultivation methods and pointed out the mistakes in my original practice. Now that I have gained benefits, I thought of you, yet you mock me, which is very heartbreaking."

Hearing him say this, Hai Sanniang was somewhat moved, but she wouldn't believe Hu Jinhua so easily, so she said, "Since you have the cultivation method, you could just hide in a deep mountain cave and practice with your head down. Why would you think of me?"

"You don't know about this. This is a method of practicing while entering the world: increasing wisdom, accumulating Merit, establishing temples and societies, and receiving Incense Fire. In the future, one can achieve the true fruit of a God Immortal and be revered by ten thousand people, which is much more refreshing than being a demon."

"It's just that my Dharma Power is low, and it's hard to expand and develop for a while. I thought of you, Lao Zhupo, to practice together, reveal divine miracles, accumulate believers, and establish a small temple in this Lan Shi Huo as a foundation. Wouldn't that be wonderful?"

"These days, I have only established a Fox Immortal Hall, and I can already travel through the Dharma Realm. With the Daochang assisting in practice, one day is worth ten days of the past. If you are willing to follow me, I will introduce you to the Immortal and accept you as an outer disciple."

The Lao Zhupo thought for a moment and said, "I always feel that there is no such thing as a free lunch. I previously thought my master was wholeheartedly good to me, and the offspring I gave birth to were all sent to good families to be fostered. Later, I realized that I was just a tool for giving birth to piglets, and my sons and daughters were destined to be eaten the moment they were born."

"I will not leave Lan Shi Huo. You talk about some Daochang, but this place is my Daochang. I practice quite fast here. If you want me to accumulate some Merit, I am clearing the miasma and the mud of rotten persimmons here for years; isn't that Merit?"

Hu Jinhua said, "But who knows that this is a good deed you are doing? When the Miasma Qi of Lan Shi Mountain is gone and the mud of rotten persimmons is gone, that will be your great tribulation!"

"If you follow the Immortal's method and promote a little of what you have done, so that villagers can enter the mountain to pick persimmons when the miasma dissipates, adding to their income, then you will have immeasurable Merit and save countless lives. This is a win-win situation: gaining blessings and aiding practice."

"As for a free lunch, naturally it is not. How about this, look at this!" Hu Jinhua unleashed the Mountain-Roaming Rampant. As soon as this Rampant appeared, it made the Lao Zhupo, Hai Sanniang, widen her eyes: "What kind of Ghost Sha is this?"

"This is the art of Protector Dao-soldiers taught to me by the Immortal. I have just started practicing it, and there are only a few. They can detain souls, forbid cats and dogs from barking, explore the Dharma Realm, stir up wind, gather mist... By the time I have refined one hundred, even that Hu Agui will have to be caught by me for judgment."

The Lao Zhupo figured it out: "In other words, it's not that you came to find me, but the Immortal behind you told you to find me?"

Hu Jinhua did not expect the Lao Zhupo to think of this, so he nodded: "Exactly. The High Immortal intends to subdue all demons, establish order, and regulate Yin and Yang. Hai Sanniang, your Dharma Power is high, and you are unique in Qingtian Xiang, and you haven't done anything harmful to heaven and reason."

Hearing this, the Lao Zhupo only said, "An Immortal is not an Immortal; I will only know when I see him. I already know about this matter. If you have other candidates, go find them first. If they agree, it won't be too late for me to agree."

Hearing this, Hu Jinhua knew that the Lao Zhupo still refused to believe him and dared not be the first to act, only wanting others to be the vanguard while she just watched.

"This time I came to invite you; next time it will be you begging me." Hu Jinhua snorted coldly and left Lan Shi Huo.

The Lao Zhupo didn't care at all, just lying on the ground, continuing to breathe in and out, absorbing the foul Miasma Qi of Lan Shi Huo.

(End of this chapter)