Chapter 376: The Great Tribulation of the Heavenly Immortal

Ao Jin held the letter and spat out a ball of water; the water condensed into threads, the threads wove into a ribbon, and the long ribbon stretched out, dyeing the clouds into a canopy. He leaped onto this cloud canopy and slowly ascended, and in the sky, there appeared a cloud of colorful mist shaped like a fish-dragon.

Patterns form in the heavens and shapes take form on earth. Ordinary people, with their mortal eyes and fleshly bodies, do not recognize the mysteries within. Only those who know how to observe Qi can discern the changes in the cloud Qi in the sky—whether it is fortune or disaster, whether the one forming the image is an Immortal, a god, or perhaps a demon passing by.

Ao Jin originally did not possess the ability to ride the clouds and trace his path, but he borrowed the "cloud Qi," for as the saying goes, clouds follow the dragon, and wind follows the tiger.

After sending Ao Jin to Mount Tai, Xu Jia spoke to Hu Jinhua for a while about the concept of Calamity. The theory of Calamity is originally a concept of time, and in the Central Plains, it is used for tempering.

The Jade Emperor Scripture states that the Jade Emperor passed through 124,800 Calamities, and each Calamity is 129,600,000 years. Calculated this way, to achieve the status of Heavenly Emperor, one must cultivate for at least 16.174 billion years.

Of course, cultivation is not judged solely by the length of time. Once one reaches the state where "Formation, Abiding, Decay, and Emptiness" cause no loss—which is the concept of "Golden Nature Incorruptible"—time loses its meaning for them.

It is like the Desire Realm, where there are still the changes of seas turning into mulberry fields caused by the passage of a thousand years. In the Form Realm, it might take ten thousand years, and in the Formless Realm, it is relatively constant with few variables; when not a single thought arises, there is no rotation of time, let alone higher realms.

These unfinished cultivation Calamities are individual tests. Only the great events that sweep across the entire world and affect the fate of all living beings are "Calamities" in the true sense.

Calamity and Luck are combined; to be precise, it is the Three Primes and Nine Fortunes. One Prime is one sixty-year cycle, and three Fortunes make one Prime. These 180 years are a single cycle of the world's breath.

Xu Jia said: "Jinhua, with my current power, can I resist the great trend of Calamity and Luck?"

Hu Jinhua said: "Master Xu, I don't know about other things, but why do you think you are resisting the great trend of Calamity and Luck? Why aren't you a part of it?"

"Many people imagine themselves jumping outside the Three Realms and not being within the Five Elements, but the changes of the universe encompass everything. Whether we are outside the calculations or within them is not actually important; this is not something that can be shifted by our individual will."

"The Heavenly Dao is constant; it does not exist for Yao, nor does it perish for Jie." Xu Jia nodded and said: "I am talking about the great trend of human affairs. The historical cycle is just like this. They say three hundred years, but three hundred years is already a long-lived dynasty. Very few can even survive two hundred years. Fifty years of climbing, fifty years of decline, fifty years of precariousness, fifty years of shattered mountains and rivers, fifty years of rebuilding the universe—it repeats endlessly like this."

"But what does all this have to do with you? Do you want to be an emperor, hoping for a thousand generations? The great vow you made has some connection to this, but it definitely won't have such a deep link. Our thoughts, spirits, Daoist traditions, and beliefs just need to continue. If everything could be finished in a hundred years, I wouldn't believe it."

"If I were a mortal, perhaps death would end it all, but I am cultivating, and I want to see the day when there are results."

"Then remain in the world. Five hundred years, and perhaps it will be done. It's impossible that it couldn't be done in five hundred years."

"Five hundred years is too long." Xu Jia truly wanted to complete some things within a hundred years, or even within a sixty-year cycle, but he also understood that this was impossible.

The two chatted for a while longer, and the sound of a bell came from the mountain; it was the bell of the New Year.

At the foot of the mountain, various fireworks transported from Wanzai and Lidu were shot toward the sky. It looked very brilliant. Because of the development of the firearm industry, the firework masters were all gathered together and became "Firearm Masters," specializing in researching gunpowder and studying explosions...

But researching these was too depressing, so the firework masters still preferred their old trade. The Ancestor they worshipped was none other than the Tiangang Great Sage.

Therefore, just from the fireworks alone, Xu Jia could also sense an atmosphere of exorcising demons and clearing away bad luck.

However, the entire New Year, from the preparations before the New Year to after the New Year, all the way to the Lantern Festival, was a complex and grand sacrificial ritual.

This included clearing away bad luck, sacrificing to the ancestors, sending off gods, inviting gods, receiving wealth, and welcoming good fortune. Even children would learn to say auspicious words, and every dish on the dining table even had a symbolic meaning.

Even the poorest families would cut a piece of meat when the New Year arrived.

The governance of the Jiangnan West Circuit was still quite good. To say nothing else, just those little black pigs—basically every household raised one.

Because there was the experience of the bull demon Kui Qing breeding, when they opened the pig farm, they directly brought in a male pig demon to breed; it was the most promising offspring of Hai Sanniang.

Hai Sanniang herself was Lao Zhupo and could no longer give birth, but she still represented the power of "fertility." A sow giving birth to nine in one litter is no laughing matter.

Among the Twelve Zodiacs.

The Rat already had Kan Yinwu.

The Ox had Kui Qing.

The Dragon had Xun Taizi.

The Snake had Chang Yu.

The Pig had Hai Sanniang.

But besides these, the Rabbit, Rooster, Sheep, and Horse also existed under his rule.

The only ones missing were the tiger demon and the monkey demon, which had not been seen.

Xu Jia had the intention to create a Register method according to the Twelve Earthly Branches and Zodiacs. He wanted to create the Twelve Yuan Chen Protectors of the Earthly Branches, but thinking about it, even if he didn't establish it, such a concept already existed. There was no need to force completeness; it would surely be complete in the future. Moreover, his own Six Ding and Six Jia were already complete, so these external responses were not that important.

The Incense Fire sacrifices formed clusters of auspicious clouds and light. In the Dharma Realm, this transformed into an endless flowing banquet, with food that could never be finished and wine that could never be drained. All the souls in the Dharma Realm, even the hungry ghosts, received a full meal upon receiving this breath at this time. The lonely ghosts and wild spirits who did not receive Incense Fire throughout the year also ate their fill at this time.

Three feet above, the local gods also received a Taotie feast, enjoying the rewards of a year's labor. Xu Jia saw the City God of Yushan County, the Yeyou, and even the Mountain God of Jijuezi Mountain, Luejue, whom he had personally enfeoffed, among them.

Those Fox Immortals, Yellow Immortals, Bai Xian... and various other Immortal families who had established Immortal Halls, all had their halls piled high with offerings and their Incense Burners filled, looking very satisfied.

Xu Jia looked down from above; it was a sea of red. Everyone was full of joy and filled with the Qi of growth, as if they had endless strength.

"So this is the state of things, no wonder." A thought arose in Xu Jia's heart.

"No wonder there is so much Resentment Qi in later generations. When it's time for family reunions, people still have to work overtime and have their leave adjusted. In the past, during such bitter days, it was never like this. Now that life is getting better, people are instead working harder like oxen and horses."

Even in the era of feudal slavery, there was a time for the lowest classes to catch their breath, to have family joy, and to give rise to the thought of family lineage and gathering together, so as to ensure the cycle of life.

Xu Jia shook his head in his heart and said to Hu Jinhua beside him: "During the New Year, you cannot rest; there are more emergencies. After this period passes, you can be slightly more relaxed."

"Actually, New Year and such are festivals for humans. We just watch the excitement. Those chickens, ducks, and pigs... they are all afraid of the New Year. Whether we rest or not doesn't really matter."

"How can it not matter? During the New Year, the ox pen must also have 'Six Livestock Peace' posted, and the watchdog must also be given a separate bowl of full rice to reward it for guarding the house diligently for a year, surviving another year, and entering a new age."

"We should celebrate even more. Those who were slaves are no longer slaves from now on; those who were prostitutes are now turning over a new leaf; the widowed, the lonely, and the solitary are no longer numb people waiting for death. Everyone has a bright and brilliant future, don't they?"

Xu Jia opened the Dharma Realm. Surrounding the Sanqing Mountain Daochang were clusters of light, faint yet numerous, like fireflies, or like sparks popping and crackling from burning charcoal, or a candle in the wind, flickering, or even more like stars in the sky blinking.

"This is?"

"This is hope, it is blessing, and it is also a wish." Xu Jia said: "When the Ten Thousand Families Fire is most intense in the Dharma Realm, it is also related to my great vow."

These rays of light rushed toward Xu Jia, and also rushed toward Hu Jinhua, and some also rushed toward the ordinary people who were creating and laboring.

Gradually, these rays of light transformed into a wheel of flame Light Appearance behind his head, shining brightly.

The spark between Hu Jinhua's eyebrows also became more intense, and balls of Fox Fire leaped on his tail. The flames absorbed by the Zhurong Fire Qi Curse were originally just flames, but now they had a sense of brilliance and splendor, making his image appear warmer and brighter.

"Monks call this Merit, which can be used to refine a Merit Golden Body. They are so fervent and sincere, thanking this change from the bottom of their hearts. Would you be willing to turn them back to their original forms?"

"These are not constant; one can only advance, not retreat. Now that everyone is forging ahead, there is no problem, but people cannot always be grateful forever just for a meal." Hu Jinhua hesitated and said: "So will the gods actively bring down disasters?"

"I don't know, but rulers are all like this. They exhaust the people with rewards. When you work continuously for a month, and the money you earn is only enough to eat, or even not enough to pay rent, travel, and this is the most common situation, and only a small number of people can escape this state, then at that time, just a little reward will gain the most sincere love."

Xu Jia said: "If everyone were wealthy, there would actually be no desire for productive labor, and society would stagnate. Therefore, this is not so-called divine disaster, but mostly human-made."

"The individual and the collective are always contradictory yet unified. I also cannot satisfy everyone. I heard a saying: if you want to have money, serve the wealthy and think what the wealthy think; if you want to be famous, speak for the poor."

"After becoming famous, will there be any change?"

"There will be no change at all. Not changing is the best, because doing more always leads to more mistakes, and doing less leads to fewer mistakes."

Xu Jia transformed these Light Appearances, and suddenly the flames engulfed his entire body; were his Primordial Spirit not pure yang, he would have been burned to charcoal: "The wishes of the people are also the grievances of the people. There is a saying that goes well: the higher one is lifted, the harder one falls. If such bright and scorching hope turns into disappointment, these flames of anger will devour everything, and manipulating this disappointment and anger is very easy, as long as one covers it with a skin of deception."

Hu Jinhua suddenly felt her fur heating up, and her whole body felt as if it were about to be burned away by the flames, turning into a lump of charcoal.

"This is my Heavenly Immortal Tribulation," Xu Jia said calmly. "From the moment I made my great vow, it was already destined."

Hu Jinhua wanted to open her mouth to say something, but she could not: "This is clearly doing good deeds, how could it turn into your Heavenly Immortal Tribulation? Isn't it said that to cultivate as a Heavenly Immortal, one must perform one thousand three hundred good deeds? Speaking of which, that should be enough, right?"

"Is it enough? I distribute cultivation to ordinary people, and the karma created by ordinary people also has a part of me in it. The greater the Divine Ability cultivated, the heavier the karma becomes. Is my influence on this world good or bad? Have I broken the balance, thereby causing the entire order to collapse and fall into endless struggles like in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States period?"

"The struggles of ordinary people are already life-and-death, let alone the struggles of practitioners; by then, everyone will have developed a set of theories."

Hu Jinhua said: "Therefore, the Daoist lineage must be continued, and one must walk the correct path."

"Is my path necessarily correct? I am not sure either. Or perhaps, will the correct one necessarily succeed? Will justice necessarily triumph over evil? Because the toiling masses are numerous, will they necessarily be able to defeat the minority of the privileged class?"

"In the end, I do not have the confidence to overcome the tribulation either."

(End of this chapter)