Chapter 51: Curse Date (Seeking Monthly Votes)

Niu Congcong left Fox Immortal Hall early in the morning to purchase wood-chopping knives and square tables according to Xu Jia's instructions.

The various foxes went to the Back Mountain to collect spring water and wild fruits.

After Luejue and Hu Jinhua gathered the Evil Qi and refined the Spirit Generals, the Evil Qi in the mountain vanished, and the Clear Spirit Qi was revealed, making it a place of good fortune to some extent.

These spring waters and wild fruits were purely natural and unpolluted; although they were not rare spiritual fruits, they were just right for filling Xu Jia's stomach.

Many ancient practitioners lived like wild men in the mountains.

The Five Elements Pill that Xu Jia wanted to refine was an integration of the various medicinal baits that these people ate.

Among them were wild pears, wild dates, and some berries and chestnuts.

Xu Jia did not waste their good intentions and ate some of each.

While eating these wild fruits, Xu Jia thought of another benefit: "Since this Back Mountain is now under our governance, it cannot be left empty and undeveloped. Besides planting vegetables in the backyard, you can also learn how to grow medicinal herbs in the Back Mountain."

"Growing these herbs is a good business. Niu Congcong's family is in the medicinal herb trade; you only need to collect the seeds and bury them nearby."

"That Spirit General Luejue is a spirit of the Mountain God, which is perfect for promoting germination and fruit-bearing, and mobilizing the Earth Qi. Once the medicinal herbs are harvested, you can process them roughly and have him take them away. Wouldn't that be a proper way to earn money?"

Hu Du Xiu only felt his head grow large; he had just taken on the task of caring for the Ghost Infant Spirit, and now they were being asked to plant herbs. Not daring to disobey, he replied tactfully: "Master Xu, we are not vegetarians, and we have no idea how to plant these herbs—whether they like shade or sun, water or drought."

He then saw that Hu Jinhua's expression had changed, and the look in her eyes carried a threat.

Hu Du Xiu hurriedly made up for it: "But I am willing to learn—no, we are all willing to learn. Besides planting herbs, we must also learn to treat illnesses and heal people. This counts as a share of Merit; everyone will learn together... and earn Merit together."

It is only balanced if everyone learns together!

Xu Jia knew his little schemes, so he smiled and said: "You are quite clever and sensible. However, treating illnesses and saving people is indeed a righteous path. I happen to have a Lushan Curse Jujube Technique here, which is a Heavenly Physician Dao method. Come here, and I will pass it to you."

The Heavenly Physician Great Emperor is the Lushan Dharma Master, namely the Heavenly Master Xu Xun.

The Lushan Curse Jujube Technique is a method of cursing illnesses used by witch doctors or Daoist physicians, belonging to the Curse Prohibition Branch among the Thirteen Departments of Zhu You.

It uses a fresh date, blessed with incantations; after eating the date and spitting out the pit, the pit carries the disease Qi out, and one naturally recovers. It is also applicable to some ghost illnesses caused by evil spirits or Evil Qi entering the body.

It just so happened that the wild fruits offered by the foxes included wild dates. Xu Jia took one and began to explain to him: "First, exhale a breath of Immortal Qi, and recite 'Xu, He, Hu, Si, Chui' once to mobilize the Five Qi. Then, use your fingers to form a sword finger and draw a talisman on the date. Of course, Hu Jinhua also has the Disease Dispelling Incantation, which can be recited together."

To a mortal, the date looked no different, but the foxes sensed a "white light" on it, which was the light of the "Curse Prohibition" method.

Hu Du Xiu's mind turned: The Immortal Date cursed by the Great Immortal must have extraordinary effects! So he shamelessly begged: "Great Immortal, let me have a taste."

Xu Jia nodded and tossed it to him.

Hu Du Xiu caught it with both paws, stuffed it into his mouth, and swallowed it whole. He chewed and chewed; it was sour.

Then he spat out the pit and immediately opened his hind legs with anticipation to see if there were any changes...

Xu Jia:? What are you doing? You had that part bitten off by a dog while suffering your tribulation, and you expect my single date to grow it back? Do you want me to perform surgery and install a sour date in its place? Even if it's useless, it would at least look symmetrical?

Hu Du Xiu, however, had no sense of shame, which showed that his animal nature remained and he did not understand the ways of being human.

Although he felt a surge of heat in his body, seeing that the thing had not changed at all, he could not help but sigh.

Seeing him like this, Hu Delu was already clutching his stomach and laughing until tears came out: "You're killing me! My bald tail shed its Fire Poison and scab, so it might grow back, but your thing was eaten by a dog and has long since turned into a pile of dog shit. Why don't you go take revenge tonight and bite off the dog's too? An eye for an eye?"

After saying this, he looked at Xu Jia with eager eyes, and seeing that Xu Jia was also holding back laughter, he became even more rampant.

Xu Jia coughed to maintain his aloofness, ignored these two clowns, and said: "I have already demonstrated it once. I will demonstrate it two more times. Hu Delu and Hu Butang will each take one. If you still haven't learned it, then forget it; I won't teach it again."

Hearing Xu Jia say this, they immediately became focused. Xu Jia cursed two more wild dates. Hu Delu couldn't wait to eat one, and sure enough, his bald tail felt a bit itchy, as if it were about to grow fur—though he didn't know if it was just psychological.

Hu Butang's lame leg felt a bit numb and tingling; it seemed to have some effect, and yet it seemed to have none.

"Have you learned it?"

Hu Du Xiu replied repeatedly: "I've learned it!"

He immediately followed Xu Jia's posture and went through the motions to bless a wild date, but he did not succeed. So he secretly used the Disease Removal Technique, trying to muddle through.

Xu Jia shook his head and looked at Hu Delu: "And you?"

Hu Delu said proudly: "I was afraid one date wouldn't be enough, so I focused intently. When the Master was cursing the date, I sensed the rhythm of heaven and earth, and I have already learned it!"

But his method of cursing the date was different. He reverted to his original form, looking like a red panda raising its hands to scare someone. With both hind feet on the ground and his tail supporting him, he danced a strange dance and exhaled five times with a breathy sound. Yet, this curse on the date was actually successfully cast.

This was "grasping the spirit while forgetting the form."

Hu Du Xiu showed an envious expression: "You just love to show off!" Hu Butang, however, said flatteringly: "From today on, you are my big brother. Teach me well later!"

Xu Jia interrupted them and said: "Since some of you have learned it, that is good. I will tell you some key points: this curse uses the surplus Vitality of one's own five internal organs to treat illnesses."

"The key lies in the five breaths exhaled. This method has a taboo: no more than seven per day. When you collect money from those you treat, it can only be ten coins per date, and at most seventy coins per day. That is enough for daily expenses; you must not be greedy!"

Hu Delu nodded repeatedly, but said: "I want to plant more date trees in the Back Mountain."

"Date trees won't bear fruit for eight or ten years," Hu Du Xiu said. "The wild date tree you want to show off is enough. Why not listen to Master Xu and plant more medicinal herbs in the mountain?"

His tone was sour.

"Alright, stop arguing. How is the Shurangama Mantra I asked you to recite and memorize last time?" Xu Jia inquired.

"Little Fox recites it thirty times each morning, noon, and evening, and ten times before sleep, totaling a hundred times a day. But I still haven't felt any increase in wisdom."

"That's only a few times," Xu Jia said. "You will only accumulate some miraculous Curse Power after tens of thousands of times."

By noon, Sha Er Zhu arrived at Fox Immortal Hall carrying a bundle of wood-chopping knives.

There were exactly eighteen of them.

"Young Master Xu, my young master asked: are the nine square tables to be taken apart and then reassembled here?"

"Taking them apart and reassembling them takes time. Just have people carry them over directly."

Hearing this, Sha Er Zhu hurried away again.

Xu Jia then inspected the eighteen wood-chopping knives. These were iron knives used by commoners for chopping wood and grass. Although not sharp, if a person stepped on the blade, they would certainly bleed.

Therefore, for Climbing the Mountain of Knives, the main thing is to use hand strength to grip the blades, while the soles of the feet must employ a prohibition spell. Although the "invulnerability to blades and guns" talisman is a lie—if you get hit by a bullet, you will die—there is a method of circulating Qi to the soles of the feet, which, combined with the Lushan prohibition spell, can protect one from "not seeing blood." At most, it will be painful, but as long as one does not break their breath, they can climb the eighteen-layer Mountain of Knives.

The top of the Mountain of Knives is just enough to reach the Dharma Altar built from the nine tables.

Building the Dharma Altar also requires the Dharma Master to build it layer by layer, carrying the tables up one by one, then crawling out from under the tables to climb on top of them. The higher it gets, the easier it is to lose one's footing and fall.

In his previous life, Xu Jia performed this stunt when participating in official intangible cultural heritage activities.

It looks like acrobatics, but it is actually a unique skill of "Borrowing Method from Heaven" within the Great Lushan Method. The higher the Dharma Altar built with tables, the greater and more efficacious the borrowed magic and Divine Ability will be.

Xu Jia did not borrow from the Lushan Dharma Master, but only from his past life's Golden Body; building the high platform was also an attempt to see if he could connect to the signal.

As for climbing the Blade Mountain, once this method is cultivated, one can execute the "Knife Mountain Hell Method" from the Lushan Five Prisons Great Method.

The Blade Mountain Method can cause a sorcerer at the altar to feel as if they have fallen into the Mountain of Knives Hell, being sliced by a thousand knives and suffering unbearable pain; it can mobilize the Western Geng-Xin Sharp Qi to slay demons, ghosts, and evil spirits, and bestow golden armor and sharp blades upon the spirit soldiers, making them appear like heavenly soldiers and generals descended to the mortal realm.

Xu Jia directly set about building a Knife Mountain Ladder, then went to the villagers' homes himself to see if there were any bamboo or long timber, and soon selected two pieces of moso bamboo that were just right.

He bought them with Flower Money and asked the villagers to drag them back to chisel out mortise and tenon joints.

The villagers were curious: "If you need a ladder, we have them; you could just borrow one, why make it yourself? And with so many holes and knots, are you planning to climb to the sky?"

Xu Jia said: "Just do as you are told, will I be short on your Work Wages?"

After the villagers chiseled the holes, Xu Jia took a firewood knife to test the fit, and it was just about right.

Thus, he installed the eighteen firewood knives one by one.

This frightened the villagers: "Is this a torture device for the masters at the yamen? To make someone sit on it from the middle, stand the ladder up, and split them in two?"

They were trembling with fear, but Xu Jia settled the payment with them.

He personally reinforced this Knife Mountain Ladder, wrapping and binding it with straw rope and tying on red and yellow cloth strips; the knots Xu Jia tied were "Spirit Knots."

The work was rough, but Xu Jia was familiar with the process, and besides, it concerned his own safety, so he did not feel at ease letting others handle it.

While waiting for Niu Congcong to find people to move the tables over, Xu Jia was still doing preparatory work for the Knife Mountain Ladder.

"Can you really climb this?" Niu Congcong saw Xu Jia working on the ladder and tried stacking the tables himself, but by the time he reached the second one, he dared not touch the third; he knelt there, dazed and afraid to look down, clearly suffering from a fear of heights.

(End of chapter)