Chapter 417: The Ginseng Child

Xu Jia's first glance was drawn to those two gifts.

The national gift porcelain fired during the founding of Dongda, and the great cauldron cast for the tenth anniversary of the founding.

Ordinary people cannot see it, but there is most certainly national fortune upon them.

It is just that this national fortune is not a dragon.

The True Dragon is already dead.

The feudal old dragon has also been slaughtered.

What is upon this is a golden chicken.

The porcelain is a Jun-red large vase, a vibrant Chinese red.

The cauldron is a small brass cauldron, the color of a golden five-pointed star.

The red and yellow color scheme, which many say is ugly—the color scheme of tomato-fried eggs—is actually the proper color that the working people love to see.

These two treasures, placed in the temple, are worthy of "suppressing the luck," and can even serve as treasures to guard the temple, without needing any extra ritual refining.

It is just that the cauldron must be brought out separately during the annual sacrifices to be worshipped together.

The second thing that attracted his attention was this Earth Immortal, Wang Jianguo.

Although Xu Jia did not consider Earth Immortals to be anything special in that other world, in this world, he had to give twelve points of respect; after all, he had come this way himself back then and knew how difficult it was—the difficulty of cultivation was simply at the level of Hell.

He stepped down from the altar and said, "Since a guest has come, the guest is the priority; there is no need to offer me a stick of incense."

Having said this, Xu Jia said to Li Rentai, "Later, find a piece of good wood, take that Voodoo Wood, and find him for some wood core. In Tiandi Dian, use bright red to make the Register Position, trace the characters in gold, write the Register Position, and place these two ritual vessels in the orientation of the vase on the left and the cauldron on the right. Tend to the Incense Fire diligently and do not be negligent."

The Voodoo Wood had been beaten back to its original form by Xu Jia, purged of its Witchcraft Curse Power, and now served as a "Spirit Root of Heaven and Earth" within the San Francisco Cave Heaven Blessed Land.

The outer corresponding body of that Voodoo Wood had been chopped down and had now been transported over, intended to be used as a main beam for the reconstruction of the Daochang in San Francisco.

As for the branches and such, the disciples did not let them go either; after all, they were all top-tier materials for the art of Voodoo curses. When refined into Magic Tools, they could be used for the Bi Yan Suppression Technique, or carved into images to act as substitutes to deceive ghosts.

He then recited, "These two items are precious and have extraordinary significance; I cannot be stingy and must provide a return gift."

The valuable treasures on Xu Jia's person were all in the other world, so he could only provide some pointers based on "Daoist lineage inheritance."

"I have met True Person Xu."

Guo Zhanghai, behind Wang Jianguo, said excitedly, "The interface True Person gave me last time was truly remarkable. Every day I enter the Dharma Realm to kill monsters, gain experience, and increase my attributes; my cultivation has indeed improved a lot. I even killed a regional big boss, and the items from the Dharma Realm actually manifested into reality and became Magic Tools."

Xu Jia smiled slightly, "This is your good fortune; it is not due to my merit. It is just that this is, after all, an external object, and its upper limit is extremely low. It was refined by me using the Divine Nature of the American Hell Demon God, and blessed with the Lingbao Daoist Register. When your soul's Dharma nature and Divine Nature are on par, this object will lose its effect. It is roughly only around the Earth Immortal level; it is better to cultivate and prove it yourself. Otherwise, if you only increase Dharma Power without increasing Daoist Practice, you will sooner or later suffer from Qi deviation."

"But my comprehension has also improved; this is truly a remarkable stroke of luck. This time, the disciple specially made a rubbing and took photos of the true classic scriptures left behind by True Person Guo of Tiesha Mountain back then, and personally entered the Changbai Mountain Dharma Realm to catch a small Ginseng Child to offer to True Person."

Having said this, he presented a flower pot. In the pot was a ginseng plant, with a red string tied around it, hanging a square-holed coin made of gold.

This ginseng could indeed not move in reality, but it had a hundred years of Daoist Practice and had transformed into a Ginseng Child in the Dharma Realm.

Guo Zhanghai first caught it in the Dharma Realm, then started from reality and dug up this hundred-year-old ginseng. Because it had spirit, this ginseng did not "lignify," but instead transformed into "Immortal Medicine," which, like Lingzhi, belonged to the "Immortal Grade."

It was just like the Lingzhi pony in Xu Jia's other world, though the Lingzhi pony could already move its main body slightly.

Xu Jia said slightly, "This little fellow's cultivation was not easy; why bother catching him? I don't need him, and if my disciples cut him up to refine pills, it would be another sin."

He immediately untied the red string and pointed at the Ginseng Child: "Release!"

The little ginseng slowly escaped into the interior of the flower pot, shivering.

Xu Jia handed it to Li Rentai: "Put it into the Cave Heaven Blessed Land. This kind can also be considered a Spirit Root of Heaven and Earth, which can purify the American demonic atmosphere."

"Yes."

"True Person has indeed already cultivated to Pure Yang." Wang Jianguo noticed Xu Jia's Pure Yang Dharma Power and sighed in his heart. Although there were God Immortals and cultivators over in Dongda, they were all holed up in Cave Heaven Blessed Lands, in Turtle Breath Hibernation; some even sealed themselves in jars or coffins, buried deep underground, waiting for the next great age of cultivation to arrive.

Some of them had attained Didao in the Ming Dynasty, and the youngest had attained it in the late Qing Dynasty.

After the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China, it could be considered the End of Dharma Era in the true sense. After the End of Dharma Era, there were only those who barely managed to cultivate to Earth Immortal; not a single one had cultivated to Yang Spirit.

Xu Jia said slightly, "You just told people not to call you True Person, but Comrade Jianguo, so why are you calling me True Person now? Just treat me equally and call me Xu Jia; I dare not act arrogant."

When Wang Jianguo heard this, he did not feel surprised, only thinking to himself: This person is indeed a target worth winning over.

He then nodded and said, "Then I will be bold and call you Senior Brother."

He then asked directly, "Did Senior Brother come down from the Immortal World?"

Xu Jia shook his head: "Not the Immortal World, but the Desire Realm—the Desire Realm Six Heavens, each with its own dimension."

"In this realm, the ratio of the influence of the Dharma Realm to the material world is roughly 1:10. Material rules account for ninety percent, and the Dharma Realm accounts for one layer. Further up, it might be 1:9, 1:8, and so on, but it is basically dominated by material rules, with Dharma Realm cultivation rules as an auxiliary—that is, a low-magic world in the general sense. The Form Realm is ascended to from the Desire Realm; matter and this kind of Dharma Realm might reach 1:1. The power of the mind can influence reality and cover reality, meaning everyone can possess the power of cultivation. If the mind moves, matter moves. It is analogous to the legendary Heavenly Kingdom, Buddha Kingdom, or the Immortal World in the general sense, where God Immortals are everywhere."

Xu Jia said, "I have only obtained an opportunity now to cultivate in another Desire Realm, and because of this Tongtian Temple, after cultivating to Earth Immortal, I possess the ability to descend with a Divine Thought."

"If one has already ascended, then it won't work; that is the separation between heaven and man."

Wang Jianguo heard this and was thoughtful: "Can we go to that other world?"

"Spirit wandering might be possible, but the physical body cannot."

Xu Jia did not have the intention of keeping secrets and only said, "The proper method is through the underworld, but the underworld only accepts people after death. Moreover, in this world, the souls of ordinary people are not accepted; only the souls of cultivators or those with great fortune will be accepted."

"So that's how it is." Wang Jianguo thought and said, "If it is not difficult for Senior Brother, I would like to spirit-wander to experience that other world."

"This requires some preparation; it's not something you can just go to whenever you want." Xu Jia said, "And the Primordial Spirit can leave the body for at most seven days. If you don't return within seven days, you'll have to wait for next time. I also need to make preparations for reception in that world; otherwise, spirit-wandering across realms without an anchor, I fear you will get lost."

Wang Jianguo was slightly regretful, but he also understood that this was not traveling through an illusion and that making full preparations was appropriate. He said, "These are all extra requests I have made. As for the specific matters, we can hold a small meeting later. Now, the most important thing is that confirming you, Senior Brother, can truly descend to the altar is already a certainty."

Xu Jia immediately said, "That is fine. Although these are all your disciples and mine, it is still a case of many eyes and ears. Why not go to that villa area to talk? That villa area was originally my Daochang for cultivation, residing on the San Francisco Dragon Vein. In recent years, the disciples have planned it into a convalescent hospital, becoming a villa area for the rich. It is rented but not sold, and many wealthy people have moved in. Now that it has connected to the Demon God Dharma Realm Manor, the disciples cultivate the Divine Path and purify the Dharma Realm Blessed Field, which already has a bit of the feel of a Cave Heaven Blessed Land."

"It just so happens that I have obtained an opportunity from the Dharma Realm, and even from the higher-level Heavenly Mansion, which can help in constructing this kind of Cave Heaven Blessed Land. It is even more beneficial for cultivators like you whose Daoist Practice has been difficult to advance for many years. It is just right to demonstrate it for you to see, to see if Dongda can replicate it upon returning, while simultaneously overcoming the problems within it. After all, I have only obtained the method for constructing a Small Spiritual Vein; I have no clue about the Small, Small-Medium, Medium, Medium-Large, Large, and Super-Large ones above the Small..."

It was not that Xu Jia had no clue; the Small ones were actually not much different from the Micro ones, just requiring more manpower and higher strength. If one applied the formula, it could be done. A Small Spiritual Vein, no matter how small, was actually equivalent to a "Foundation Establishment Spiritual Vein" in Xianxia novels, corresponding here to the late stage of Human Immortal, or even cultivation infinitely close to the Earth Immortal level.

But in the end, "human power is limited." Like that kind of truly, truly large mountain range, even if it were just a small mountain range of fifty or sixty miles, constructing it would require a massive amount of manpower and material resources, and the losses would outweigh the gains.

But this thing had to be mastered.

Xu Jia led Wang Jianguo, Guo Zhanghai, and the rest of the Dongda delegation, along with his core disciples, toward the San Francisco villa area.

This villa area was divided into inner and outer circles; the inner circle had long been set up with arrays, while the outside was the convalescent center and the villas for the rich.

Only by investing large amounts of money into Tongtian Temple could these people exchange for the opportunity to rent a villa in this convalescent center.

For the rich, apart from the methods of maintaining youth brought by breakthroughs in modern technology, traditional methods of preserving youth and health could not be left behind. Use them all on me; whether it is the Great Method of Blood Exchange or the injection of cerebrospinal fluid, this convalescent hospital must always find a good place to adapt and recover.

Not to mention anything else, the Spirit Machine overflowing from this Blessed Land—even if these wealthy old fogies just breathe in one extra mouthful of air here, they extend their years and feel refreshed.

"This formation has a novel idea; it is the Swallowing Sea Spiritual Mechanism, borrowing the Water Qi from the sea to increase the Life Qi, hiding the wind and gathering the water, yet it is merely this." Wang Jianguo saw through the mystery.

Xu Jia nodded: "That is indeed the case. When I built this villa back then, in the foundation, there were 888 catties of gold cast into a Gourd. Now that they have built this manor, they have made another eight-ton gold Gourd, and in each of the eight directions, they have made small Gourds of 888 catties."

"Wicked capitalists," Wang Jianguo thought to himself.

Eight tons of gold—he had never even seen such an amount, and it was actually the Feng Shui formation base of this Blessed Land?

"This place is surrounded by the sea on three sides and backed by a mountain on one; it is the trend of the America Dragon Vein entering the sea to absorb water. The water it absorbs is stored in these gold Gourds. Gold and water generate each other, which is Heaven One."

Xu Jia was also the chief designer here, so he spoke quite proudly: "Eight small Gourds plus one large Gourd makes nine Gourds, which is the limit; any more would lead to decline. Now it is just right, always at its peak."

"This is a Dragon Pearl."

Xu Jia pointed to a large circular disk with white marble pillars on it, on which rising dragons were carved. Inside the dragon mouths were real Flood Dragon Dragon Pearls, and he said: "I obtained these by slaying the evil Flood Dragon of Poyang in that heavy world. The Gourd formation in the foundation is the root, and this is the surface. That one is for absorbing the Water Qi from the sea, and this one is for intercepting the Earth Qi of the America Dragon Vein. There are twelve of these pillars."

"Are there that many Flood Dragons over there?"

"They aren't exactly numerous; there is a nest in Poyang, only about two hundred of them. I do not know about other places, however."

Wang Jianguo nodded: "That is still a lot. In the early days of the founding of the nation, although we killed many dragons, those materials have all been used up. The dragons now have all been incorporated into the land; we only occasionally get some Dragon Scales or draw some dragon blood to use, but we cannot kill them to take their pearls."

"Moreover, this Blessed Land is too expensive; it is not like real famous mountains and great rivers, which are natural Blessed Lands."

Xu Jia sighed: "There was no other way. The laws over at Dongda are too strict. America here counts as the outer realm of the Heavenly Demons. It took a lot of effort to carve out this piece of territory to conform to a Daochang of the Eastern cultivation world, rather than some alienated Daochang like a Tian Tang, Pure Land, or Exorcist Holy Land."

"This is an altar, used for praying to heaven and earth. The disciples also occasionally come to offer sacrifices to me, and they can exchange items between the two worlds, but the quantity cannot be too large."

Finally, the group entered a garden designed according to Eastern gardens, covering about several dozen mu, but upon entering it, the design was similar to a Western manor castle. This was the anchor point for anchoring the Dharma Realm Hannibal Dharma Realm Manor.

This Dharma Realm Manor had already become a Pure Land Blessed Field, with a Ghost Immortal under Xu Jia presiding over it, and the Voodoo Wood Spirit Root had also taken root within it. It overlapped with this garden in reality, causing the Dharma Realm energy here to overflow into the real world, achieving the effect of a "Blessed Land." Practicing here for one day is equivalent to practicing for ten days outside. If one adds the Lingbao Register Method, it can be one day equivalent to three months outside, which is one hundred days.

A hundredfold cultivation speed is merely comparable to the effect of the Fox Immortal Hall Dharma Realm in the other world.

Moreover, the people here generally have extremely poor aptitude. The people over there have an aptitude of 1, so a hundredfold cultivation really makes it 100; the people here might be 0.01, so a hundredfold cultivation is only 1.

Over there, it takes a year or two to achieve the fruits of the Human Immortal Early Stage, while here it takes ten or twenty years.

Wang Jianguo sensed carefully and was surprised again: "It is actually even more suitable for cultivation than the Changbai Mountain Blessed Land, even several times more so. The Changbai Mountain Blessed Land has the blessing of the Changbai Mountain Earth Vein Spirit Machine, but although this place also intercepts the America Dragon Vein, it is not a natural Blessed Land and Cave Heaven after all. Can artificial Feng Shui construction actually reach this level?"

(End of this chapter)