Chapter 424: Black Mother

Black Mother appeared as an old woman in black, with a kind expression. However, wearing a black mink coat made her temperament appear fierce.

Black Mother was not a benevolent deity in her early years; she was a bear spirit who loved to eat humans. After attaining the status of an Earth Immortal, she comprehended the Black Wind Method, moving about as a mass of black wind, and thus was called Black Mother.

The reason she was able to come ashore was that she was subdued by the Northeast Quanzhen True Person Guo. The position held by that Northeast Quanzhen True Person Guo back then was the same as Xu Jia's: both were "General Administrators of the Earth Office Yamen appointed by the Five Peaks Prefecture," in charge of the Earth Office Thunder Department Yamen. It was just that the demon affairs of the Jiangnan West Circuit were under Xu Jia's jurisdiction, while the demon affairs outside the pass were under his.

It was just that the demons outside the pass did not submit to the teachings of the Daoist schools and basically belonged to the "garrisoned" category. Although True Person Guo left behind a lineage at Tiesha Mountain, his descendants basically failed to hold it, and it was instead occupied by the various demons, leaving only a cluster of the Ancestral Court where a Daoist temple still remained. The other caves and waters on the mountain all became various types of Yao Caves, where all kinds of demon immortals were worshipped.

If this were the era of Heavenly Master Zhang, these would be the types of guys whose altars would be smashed and temples destroyed; they would have been dealt with right at their doorsteps, with no way to resist.

After True Person Guo attained Feathered Ascension, Black Mother once made a deal with the Jurchens, becoming the representative of the demons outside the pass. She was willing to assist the Bald-tail Old Li, the black flood dragon, to transform into a dragon again, and accompanied a large number of demon immortals to enter the pass along with the Jurchen Eight Banners, flourishing in demonic arts during the late Ming Dynasty and early Qing Dynasty.

Therefore, there is the saying of "Demon Qing" for the Qing court, and it even continued into the Republic of China era, where there was still the saying of the "Ten Demons Disrupting the Nation."

Therefore, although the state religion of the Qing court was Shamanism, it also brought in Tibetan Buddhism; it was for no other reason than that the Esoteric Buddhism of Tibetan Buddhism had a knack for subduing the Outer Path.

After Black Mother entered the pass, the territory under her jurisdiction was Shanxi. She caused a plague to flourish in Shanxi, and then manifested as a savior, using vinegar to treat the plague and spreading her own faith.

Of course, the history of people in Shanxi eating vinegar is long-standing and did not start because of Black Mother; she simply reversed cause and effect to bolster her own myth.

Because of this, many novels say that "Hu San Taiye" and "Hu San Tai Nai" are the top leaders of the demon immortals in the Northeast.

In fact, that is not the case; Black Mother is the true representative and the real decision-maker for the demons outside the pass.

So much so that the common people also know that whenever there is a demonic incident in the home that cannot be resolved through ordinary means, they will devoutly go up the mountain to beg Black Mother to act as the mediator to settle it.

This pika spirit was cajoling Black Mother, and the old woman saw through the intention at a glance: "The current government is not like the original one. Who do you think the Changbai Mountain military restricted zone is restricting?"

"That black flood dragon was beaten to death, and its Dongfu was occupied. What kind of little schemes do you have that can withstand those missiles?"

Black Mother sneered: "You haven't been staying in an ancient cave deep in the mountains the whole time, have you? You don't even watch the TV news? You really think that just because you have a little cultivation, you can do whatever you want..."

The pika spirit gave a sheepish smile: "That's not it. In the seventies, my Dongfu already had an antenna installed. I do watch the TV news, and I do study the policies. Thinking back to when the area outside the pass was flourishing, we also silently contributed our efforts..."

"Those who didn't contribute are already gone." Black Mother sighed and said: "Back when the Rakshasa country provided aid, we followed orders to learn the Rakshasa language, Rakshasa script, and studied science and logic, all just to have our Primordial Spirit leave the body to steal the secrets of the Rakshasa country... At that time, I also felt that so many years of cultivation seemed to really have meaning and great Merit, not a wasted life... I was hoping for the merit of following the dragon, and that there would be a day to achieve a positive result."

"Back when we were exploring the resources in the wild lands outside the pass, I also contributed my efforts, and it is still vivid in my mind. How did it become like this outside the pass in just thirty years..."

Seeing that Black Mother was still reminiscing about the past, the pika spirit couldn't help but say: "There's no way around it, the wind direction has changed. Even the Rakshasa country has gone down the wrong path; we can't follow them and go wrong too."

Black Mother shook her head and only said: "I do have some sources regarding this Spirit Vein matter. After all, my Daochang is right here on Tiesha Mountain, and this Temple Guo Zhenren Zhanghai can be considered as someone I watched grow up; nothing can be hidden from me." "Do not think about taking action at the government's side, otherwise, not only will you die, but you will also bring a fatal disaster upon the demons outside the pass."

"The source of this comes from overseas, and it actually has a connection. That overseas lineage is actually named Tongtian Temple," Black Mother said. "You and I, as demon immortals, banded together back then by invoking the name of Tongtian Jiaozhu, compiling a Lineage from the Yin Shang, through the end of the Warring States, Qin, Han, Wei, Jin, Sui, and Tang... establishing various successive sect leaders."

"Haichao Lao Zu, Jin Bifeng, Chimei Lao Zu..."

"Although we copied and compiled it from the lineages of storytellers and novelists, we actually did have a sect leader during the Ming Dynasty, namely Jinhua Jiaozhu. It is said that Jinhua Jiaozhu's Daochang was on Jin Shan."

"But doesn't Jin Shan refer to that sun-drenched Golden Mountain in Tibet?"

"Who says it can't be San Francisco?" Black Mother said: "When Zheng He made his voyages to the Western Oceans, Jinhua Jiaozhu followed the ships... This Tongtian Temple is precisely established in San Francisco, and this is exactly the Karmic Connection I spoke of."

"If you want to find this Spirit Vein Method, it won't work here in Dongda; you can only go find that overseas Tongtian Temple."

Black Mother said: "You pika spirit, you have small cleverness and a small perspective, but it is hard to accomplish great things. You need to find Guo Zhanghai to handle it."

"Guo Zhanghai is already walking together with the people from the Imperial Observatory. If we make contact, wouldn't we be accused of having ulterior motives?"

"That is why you need someone harmless to go and build a Karmic Connection."

Black Mother said: "Old Pika, this Guo Zhanghai captured a descendant of the Ginseng Immortal of Changbai Mountain in the Dharma Realm and sent it over to America. This is a layer of Cause and Effect. You take my token and go visit the Ginseng Immortal."

"That old guy isn't dead yet!" The pika spirit was startled: "I thought he had been captured by the powerful and wealthy to refine into Undying Medicine."

"Even if you were killed to extract your demon core, he wouldn't be killed."

"Have you heard the saying that 'Ginseng kills without effort'?" Black Mother said: "He is the one who has fared the best among the demons. He has already become an Academician, and his medical skills have the ability to extend life. Pulling out a single hair of his is worth more than your life."

"Then where is he?"

"Harbin Institute of Technology," Black Mother said: "Go find him..."

The pika spirit had also once obtained a degree, but although he was an Earth Immortal, he did not have "Omniscience." At the very least, physics and mathematics—things involving the Great Dao—if he didn't know them, he didn't know them. His political intuition was also quite average. Furthermore, his Merit was insufficient, his learning was incomplete, and his wild nature was hard to tame; being able to get into a regular undergraduate program was already quite good.

The demon he envied most was actually the Qinling panda. That thing hadn't even gone to school, but just because it fabricated a rumor that its ancestor was the mount of Chiyou, it managed to get a government-funded position. He had managed to get into an undergraduate program, yet he still didn't have a position.

Now hearing that the Ginseng Immortal had even become an Academician, he felt even more deeply struck: "How can the gap between demons be so large?"

(End of chapter)