Chapter 375: Never Forget the Original Intention

Xu Jia said as much, but Hu Jinhua retreated, feeling somewhat embarrassed as she said: "I was originally just a Wild Fox Zen practitioner under the Old Crooked-Neck Tree at the Luanzanggang in Qingtian Xiang. I dare not climb the social ladder recklessly. Having received the enlightenment of Master Xu, I have already been incredibly fortunate, a blessing cultivated over who knows how many years. How could I now cause more trouble, waves, and disturb the Tai Shan Five Sacred Mountains Prefecture?"

"This little demon has never thought of wanting any special privileges, nor do I feel that because I have left the Wild Fox registry and become an Immortal Fox, I am any different from the others."

"Under this little fox's seat, there are still the Single-Testicle Fox, Quetui Hu, and Bald-Tail Fox. These were the first few, and later I took in the Blind-Eyed Fox, the One-Eared Fox... which one of them is not a wild fox?"

Upon hearing this, Xu Jia said: "Good fellow, you have even taken the initiative to classify yourself. Fine, fine, fine. Since you do not need special privileges, do not regret it later. Perhaps in the future, it will be these wild foxes you protect who blame you, for otherwise, they would have been born with a head start over other fox clans."

"To earn one's own living, to reap what one sows, and to enjoy blessings that exceed one's own abilities—is that not a form of karmic obstruction? Just like back then, even though Master Xu provided us with a place to settle down and built a Fox Immortal Hall, we still had Curse Dates to treat illnesses, never spending more than seventy coins a day, or we would grow our own vegetables and sell some melons and fruits to earn a few coins. These were already enough for our food and clothing."

Hu Jinhua said: "I educate them the same way. One cannot take these things for granted, otherwise, who knows what kind of disaster they might cause in the future, and Master Xu would still have to help solve it."

When she said this, Xu Jia was immediately alerted. Recalling his previous argument that he was not the Tongtian Jiaozhu, he broke into a cold sweat. He sighed: "Jinhua, you are also half a master to me."

"I dare not, I dare not. This little fox's cultivation is shallow; I have just always lived with such caution. I have some small experience in how to conduct myself and do things, and I dare not disobey. Perhaps they should call me stubborn."

Xu Jia nodded: "You are right. Just do as your heart tells you. However, since you have already come here, I presume you still have something to ask of me. Speak."

Hu Jinhua said calmly: "This little fox has nothing to ask for. My heart is already incomparably fulfilled. I only fear that I cannot withstand the Calamity, so I have come in advance to bid farewell to Master Xu and the others one by one, so that our acquaintance was not in vain. I have no intention of entrusting my orphans to you; after all, I have already profited enough. Another thing is the matter of the Fox Immortal Hall; it still requires Master Xu to reappoint someone, someone with reliable character."

"The only one I can trust is you. Alright, alright, stop entrusting orphans here," Xu Jia sighed. "You sound just like a stray dog. What special privileges? If you do not utilize your opportunities, how can you be reborn and change your fate? The Tai Shan Fox Examination has existed since ancient times; it is merely a path of advancement left for you by the Heavenly Court. Wild Fox or Immortal Fox is not judged by bloodline, but by the method of cultivation."

"Those like Hu Agui, who harvest Essence Qi and practice the Joyous Zen Technique, are typical wild foxes. You have long cultivated morality, so you belong to the 'Pure Fox'. Practicing to become an Immortal Fox is merely a fox that reaches the heavens, counting toward the fruit of the Heavenly Immortal path."

"Because it is too difficult to cultivate, a convenient method was opened. Just like me, pitying you all, I built an Immortal Hall. With this Daochang of the Immortal Hall, as you cultivate the path of the God Immortal, you naturally depart from the ranks of the wild foxes."

Xu Jia did not want to preach too much, but he remembered that many people were like this—feeling inferior because of their background, shackled by the poverty of the past, unable to let go, and failing to understand their own state of mind, thus unable to break through their own patterns for their entire lives. They missed many opportunities in vain. Rather than being conflicted, it is better to be open and generous.

Xu Jia said: "Go and prepare yourself. I will write a letter to Mount Tai, not just for you, but also for the sake of the law."

Since ancient times, Mount Tai has been the sacred mountain of imperial power, receiving titles from every dynasty. If this were an "atheistic world," one would not need to pay much attention to it. But this is a world of immortal cultivation, so one must be careful. Moreover, this Mount Tai is not just a mountain; it is a collection of concepts from the "mythology of the heavens and worlds."

Since one wants to implement this method in this realm, to break imperial power and break feudalism, it is inevitable to communicate with the Tai Shan Five Sacred Mountains Prefecture.

Furthermore, Taishan Daiyu gave him the responsibility of managing the demon affairs of the Jiangnan West Circuit. Xu Jia felt he had done quite well. Could he go a step further? He previously enjoyed the treatment of the Fifth Rank, and now that he is in the God Immortal Realm, could he not be promoted to enjoy the treatment of the Fourth Grade? Although the divine ranks of the Desire Realm are not as valuable as those of the Form Realm, and one automatically drops in rank—in the Form Realm, a Heavenly Immortal is only Fifth Rank, a God Immortal is Seventh Rank, and an Earth Immortal is Ninth Rank; even a mere Earth Deity is at the Earth Immortal level.

Xu Jia will not stay in this realm for long. When he ascends in the future to the Form Realm—with so many layers and so many worlds—he must find a good place to hold office. At the very least, Xu Jia does not want to serve in the Immortal Qin Desire Realm ruled by Qin Shi Huang.

With the Ancestral Dragon's temperament, he is likely already at the pinnacle of imperial power. Every immortal is just a brick; he might even start cross-realm wars to unify the Form Realm, or even go higher to unify the Formless Realm.

Where Xu Jia wants to go is likely a cultivation world like the Shushan Swordsman Biography, where there are also Heavenly Immortal fruits, and further up, there is a "Golden Immortal." In short, when he ascends, he will neither be at the bottom nor at the top.

Hearing that it was not solely for her own sake, Hu Jinhua breathed a sigh of relief and said: "Then this little fox still wants to cross the Calamity on her own. Actually, there is a high probability I will not die. Even if I do die, I can use Corpse Severance to become a Ghost Immortal. This little fox's ambitions are not that high or far; being a Ghost Immortal fox is also quite good."

"Go, go, go. Look at your ambition, wasting my blessed energy for nothing," Xu Jia laughed and scolded her. "If you die, I will bring you back to life, settling the cause and effect from before, and then we will be even. Think about it yourself. If you survive the Calamity, you will still owe me, and you will continue to work for me. The more you owe, the more you will never finish paying it off, working for me for a lifetime."

Hu Jinhua thought about it: "Then I will keep owing. I like working for Master Xu; I don't feel tired, and it's quite interesting."

A very high level of enlightenment! This is a fox that has transcended low-level interests, a fox with ideals and aspirations.

Xu Jia immediately wrote a letter and summoned his attendant and secretary, Ao Jin. This carp spirit cultivated the Dragon Path, possessed a Rao Pearl, assisted in managing the Cave Heaven, and protected the local weather, ensuring good harvests. Now, he was in charge of the agricultural production of half the Jiangnan West Circuit.

Ao Jin Tongzi arrived and was very respectful to Xu Jia: "What does Master need me for?"

Xu Jia calculated with his fingers: "How is the harvest this year? How many mu of wasteland have been reclaimed?"

Ao Jin became energetic when he heard this: "The Equal Field policy last year was very successful. Everyone's enthusiasm for farming is very high. Even though they have to pay public grain and it is distributed uniformly, the remaining rations and seeds are about the same as before. But there is a prerequisite: we set up communal canteens, so they don't have to cook for themselves anymore."

"Plus, the weather was favorable, and the remaining thirty percent is still more prosperous than before, enough to cope with a famine for about half a year."

"In addition, regarding the geographical advantages, when our Cave Heaven was completed, it blessed the surrounding lands, and production increased by thirty percent compared to last year. Of course, last year was equivalent to a bumper harvest in the past, so it was actually a relative decrease in production. It's just that our disaster situation was average, while other places basically had no harvest at all. We have taken in over a million disaster victims."

"However, because there are so many more people, if the public grain is distributed uniformly, it is actually only enough to eat for three months. Plus, we have to recruit soldiers, so we can only continue to immigrate to the overseas Luzon Dao Kingdom, letting Luzon digest some of the disaster victims."

Xu Jia asked: "Everyone is practicing Equal Field now. Based on the amount of Equal Field, is the population and acreage saturated?"

"Still a bit short. For one, we are reclaiming wasteland, and for another, we have the new crop, Sweet Potato. Land that couldn't be used before can now be opened. The pressure on firewood for cooking has increased a lot, but fortunately, we have opened large canteens and are now burning coal."

"Furthermore, there is a portion of the population that doesn't know how to farm; they are in handicrafts or have specialized skills. They are assigned to the industrial sector, which is no longer under our management, but under the Daoists of the Salt and Iron Bureau and that eunuch."

Xu Jia nodded. If those who don't want to farm are sent to farm, they would probably curse. But it's not that bad yet; the world is in chaos, and as long as there is a chance to survive, it's fine.

"Master, in many places overseas, there are three harvests a year. My father has also explored the Nanyang. The branches of the South Dragon Vein have extended to Annam, Southern Yue, Siam, Luzon... all the lands of the small dragons are very prosperous and even suitable for herding dragons."

"I suggest that we conquer these places. Let's expand south first, not north, so that the food supply will be endless."

Xu Jia tapped his head: "Those places are mostly wild, the natives are difficult to tame, and they are all tributary states of the Great Ning Dynasty. We have already gained a moment of pleasure by occupying Luzon. The other countries are not so easy to occupy. On the contrary, if we win the war within the country, these tributary states will naturally surrender and even hope to join our territory."

Xu Jia said: "Spread agricultural knowledge to those places, export farm tools, and import grain; that will achieve our goal. The native subjects will naturally become mature and tamed farmers. Not to mention anything else, let them be defined as agricultural countries, and we will transform into an industrial country. Grain is important, but if industry is developed, it won't be that important anymore. The enemy stores grain, I store guns; the enemy is my granary."

Ao Jin was a bit dumbfounded after hearing this: "This doesn't conform to morality?"

"Does what you just said conform to it?"

"It conforms to the Martial Virtue of Metal and Fire."

"Then what I just said does not conform to the Martial Virtue of Metal and Fire? On the contrary, the martial virtue is abundantly plentiful."

Xu Jia plucked a hair and blew on it. It immediately caught fire and turned to ash. From the ashes, a letter emerged. He handed it to Ao Jin: "Deliver this letter to the Taishan Golden Tripod for me. You must see Dai Yu, or Bixia Niangniang, the Mount Tai Prefecture Lord, the Hao Li Ghost Lord, or someone who can speak on these matters."

"Just hand the letter to them, and they will understand the meaning. If there is a reply, bring it back. If there is no reply but there is an envoy, bring them back as well. If there is neither, you come back alone. Be very careful with the route."

(End of chapter)