Chapter 90: Making a Feather Fan (First Subscription Request)

As for the usage and origin of this bowl, Xu Jia had only just found out.

This bowl, truth be told, has a history. Although this realm was divided since the Qin era, it was still within the Great Chu, where an uprising broke out. There was an Evil Sect called the "Yellow Heaven Sect," which believed that the Azure Heaven had lost its virtue and the Yellow Heaven should succeed it. They started an uprising and worshipped an evil god: the "Yellow Heaven Holy Venerable."

There were no conditions to join this Yellow Heaven Sect, only a bowl of rice was required. But if you offered me a bowl of rice, I would certainly provide for your food and drink, and everyone would eat and live together.

This broken bowl was the very bowl used by the Great Libationer of the Yellow Heaven Sect, and it should correspond to "the doctrinal object of the Great Worthy Teacher Zhang Jiao of the Five Pecks of Rice Sect."

However, later on, the Yellow Heaven Sect was branded an Evil Sect, and this bowl was branded an "Evil Tool." Originally, it was not such a pitch-black bowl.

This bowl, if you put one grain of rice in it, it would become two grains, two grains would become four, four would become eight, eight would become sixteen, sixteen would become thirty-two...

If one believer offered a bowl of rice, it would become a mountain of rice; if ten believers offered ten bowls of rice, it would be ten mountains of rice...

Later, when the Yellow Heaven Sect was branded an Evil Sect, those from other Daoist sects stood up one after another and said: these grains of rice were all moved using demonic arts, transported from the government's granaries.

Later, this bowl changed hands several times and fell into the hands of Huang Muchun, who refined some changes into it. It could be used to refine dead demons, ghosts, and monsters, much like the Golden Bowl of Fa Hai.

It was just that this was ultimately a ceramic bowl, not made of gold, and it had chipped edges and broken corners, which were damaged during a magical duel, so its power was far less than before. Huang Muchun did not have the skill to repair porcelain, so it was left here.

"This bowl was once an object of the founding of a sect; it counts as a sect-protecting treasure," Xu Jia secretly thought. "No wonder it has such miraculous properties!"

You must know that in classical mythology and legends, the more mundane an object is that transforms into a magic treasure, the greater its power. It is not about how this object is refined, but how powerful the person using it is.

The alms bowl that Fo Zhu used to beg for food in the Kingdom of Shravasti became a Golden Bowl Magic Tool; the nose ring Taishang Laojun used to tether his ox became the Diamond Snare; the crown of thorns and the burial shroud of Jesus during his passion also became holy relics.

The staff that Huang Muchun used was just a piece of ordinary wood, but because Great Yu carried it to measure the mountains and rivers, it became an extremely powerful treasure that could draw upon the power of the Five Thunders and subdue the Centipede Dragon.

However, while this bowl is powerful, how to use it and how much Dharma Power it requires is another difficult problem. I fear it cannot be used lightly.

If the Dharma Power of the Golden Body from my previous life could be mobilized at will, it would not be difficult to use this broken bowl.

Although a magic treasure is good, it needs to be something that can be used daily, and one must personally refine it to be smooth and easy to use.

Just then, the water had boiled, so Xu Jia scalded the feathers of the Sparrow Spirit and plucked them.

This Sparrow Spirit, if nothing else, had extremely beautiful tail feathers, three feet long. If Xu Jia wants to practice the Great Sage Art, he must prepare the Great Sage's outfit to borrow the Great Sage's Divine Ability and magic arts.

Among the Great Sage's outfit is a "Phoenix-Winged Purple Gold Crown," which uses two such feathers as decoration; it is extremely majestic.

As for the "Golden Chainmail" and "Ou Si Bu Yun Lu," if one were to truly use gold wire to make the armor and lotus silk to weave the shoes, I fear that with my current family fortune, even multiplied by ten or a hundred, I don't know if I could afford such an outfit.

Although this chicken was large and possessed a hundred years of Daoist Practice, it was dead, and once scalded in boiling water, the feathers were still easy to pluck.

Xu Jia cleaned out the hard feathers, and he did not intend to waste the soft down either; when the time comes to process it, it can be used just the same.

The dressed Sparrow Spirit weighed at least forty or fifty catties, comparable to an adult ram. It looked more like an ostrich.

Xu Jia personally took the knife to butcher the chicken; one chicken wing alone weighed three or four catties, and the chicken claws were like two weapons.

Among the internal organs, what Xu Jia valued most was the gizzard. This item is the most delicious, and at the same time, there is a hard membrane inside called "Inner Gold," which is an excellent medicine. It is good for treating stomach and intestinal diseases; diarrhea, poor spleen and stomach absorption, all can be treated with this medicine.

At this time, he took it out and broke it open. Inside was a mass of gold sand and silver sand. It turned out that the Sparrow Spirit could already refine ordinary sand; even copper and iron objects could be digested and refined into its bones, claws, and beak. Only gold and silver could remain in the gizzard to assist in digesting food.

Apart from the gold sand and silver sand, there was also a pill. Calling it a pill is one thing, but it was more like a piece of jade, crystal clear and translucent, emitting strange Qi. It should not be a "Demon Pill," after all, a Demon Pill corresponds to a cultivator's "Holding the Pill." Although Holding the Pill is merely a state, referring to the Hunyuan being as one, it is not truly condensing a golden pill; the Zhou Tian Essence Qi and Spirit are mixed as one, guarded and not leaked.

But demons will actually condense a physical Demon Pill. This type belongs to an "External Pill," which is some rare treasure eaten into the stomach that cannot be digested, or something bred within the animal's body itself, like "bezoar" or "dog treasure." It is like a pill, but more like a "Magic Tool."

The old sow at Lan Shi Huo grew a stone in its stomach because it ate persimmons for many years, which was refined into a pig treasure, counting as a type of Magic Tool.

The same goes for when Xu Jia killed that evil Daoist; he spat out a black light from his mouth, often used to ambush people, which was also something similar to a Gu Pill.

Connecting this to what Huang Laotai said earlier, this Sparrow Spirit pecked Huang Laotai's husband, Huang Tianliang, to death and snatched a Wind Pill; this must be that thing.

Xu Jia took out the Wind Pill. The texture of this pill was quite light. When he touched it, he felt a faint wind blowing into his pores, making his whole body feel chilly, wanting to sneeze and shiver.

Xu Jia put it into the broken bowl. Inside the broken bowl was a Wind Calming Pill, which could calm the wind.

Who would have thought that once this Wind Pill entered the bowl, a phantom image would appear: a flying snake covered in brocade fur. This flying snake was covered in feathers and immediately began to fight with the centipede-shaped phantom manifested by the Wind Calming Pill.

One generated wind, the other calmed wind; as they rubbed against each other, electric sparks actually appeared in the bowl.

Xu Jia watched and exclaimed in admiration: "I thought the Classic of Mountains and Seas was a fabrication of the ancients. It seems that before the many strange beasts of antiquity were wiped out by the Saint King of the human race, they were just like this. That is how various legends or strange treasures were passed down to later generations." Xu Jia then separated the two pills; if these two continued to fight, I fear their strange power would be wasted in vain.

The Wind Pill needs to be nourished by wind; if there is a wind vent, it can be placed there.

However, the wind of Feng Shui is also wind. Placing this item in the home as a treasure to "store wind and gather Qi" will circulate auspicious Qi.

A poem says: "With the help of a good wind, send me up to the blue clouds."

Continuing to disassemble the Sparrow Spirit, he also obtained a pair of chicken kidneys and a pair of external kidneys. These should count as good things; he can give them to his old father to eat to nourish his Essence Qi, so he doesn't have to worry and strain himself studying, causing his body to become depleted.

He broke open the chicken head and found a brain, which has the function of increasing wisdom; it can be used to boil a pot of brain-nourishing soup for the foxes.

As for the chicken heart, he can eat it himself.

The rest of the chicken meat is very suitable for frying, stir-frying, braising, and deep-frying. The chicken bones can be used to boil a rich broth, combined with Ginseng, which is good for strengthening bones and marrow and increasing Essence Qi.

Soon, Hu Jinhua and the weasels came back carrying the chicken. They not only brought the chicken back, but also carried chicken eggs, picked up all kinds of bird feathers, and even packed the chicken manure in sacks, saying they were going to the Back Mountain to compost.

Although the weasels said the egg yolks would be shaken loose, they didn't actually do it because of Huang Laotai's instructions, and they were all very respectful to Xu Jia.

Seeing Xu Jia cooking the Sparrow Spirit at this time, they were full of envy.

Because the chicken meat was too old and the chicken bones were too hard, Xu Jia used the Stove God's fire-offering method, but even after boiling until dawn, it still hadn't reached the right level of tenderness.

Xu Jia instructed Hu Jinhua to process these chickens and, along with the eggs, send them to the Out-of-Body Messenger, Zhao Shendian, the Coffin-Striking-by-Lightning, Zhou Meipo, and Bei Shi Han Niu Luan Zi. Once they entered the hall, one must give people some practical benefits; borrowing rice is better than borrowing magic arts, and improving the impoverished lives of the Out-of-Body Messengers is the primary duty.

Niu Congcong had already fetched the medicine and reopened a pot to prepare the brine. These chicken feet, wings, and necks were all most suitable for braising.

The fragrance of the braised chicken spread throughout the village; the rising smoke was unique to this place.

As for the fire-tending, it was left to Sha Erzhu, and the task of gathering firewood was left to the little foxes to go to the Back Mountain to pick up some dead wood and rotten branches...

While they were braising and eating the chicken, Xu Jia began to sort the feathers.

Weaving a feather cloak is actually very difficult, and generally, white crane feathers are used; in foreign countries, emu feathers or ostrich feathers are used.

Using pheasant feathers for decoration is generally only used on hats and crowns. Of course, some inns use chicken feathers for warmth; such shops are called chicken-feather inns.

Xu Jia said: "Hu Jinhua, do you want an extra pair of wings to become a flying fox?"

Hu Jinhua did not want such a pair of pheasant wings to become a "flying fox."

"Master Xu, perhaps I once envied birds for being able to fly, but I was born a beast, and the grass and forests are my shelter. If I flew into the sky, I would lose the environment I rely on. I don't really want a pair of wings. Why not ask that Sparrow Spirit?"

Xu Jia thought about it and realized it was true; Hu Jinhua was right. But should he wear a feather cloak himself? Better not; wearing these chicken feathers makes him look neither fish nor fowl, not at all like a cultivator, but rather like a pheasant that has become a spirit...

He immediately changed his idea of refining a feather garment, and another important reason was that Xu Jia himself did not know how to weave a feather garment.

But these feathers could not be wasted; besides being able to make feather dusters, Xu Jia also thought highly of "Wind Fans".

A poem says: "With a Wind Fan and silk headscarf, amidst laughter and talk, the masts and oars are reduced to ashes and smoke."

Among the various Magic Tools of Taoism, fans are also quite famous; Taishang Laojun holds the "Yin-Yang Fan" in his hand.

Sa Tian Shi, one of the Four Great Heavenly Masters, holds a "Five-Brightness Demon-Subduing Fan" in his hand.

Zhong Li Quan, one of the Middle Cave Eight Immortals, holds a "Zhengyang Banana Leaf Fan" in his hand.

Ji Gong holds a Ruyi cattail fan in his hand.

In the god-and-demon novel *Investiture of the Gods*, there is also a tool for wielding fire, which is the "Five-Fire Seven-Bird Fan". In *Journey to the West*, Chi Jiao Da Xian also has a cattail fan, there is the Wind-Fire Banana Leaf Fan that Laojun uses to fan the flames for alchemy, and Tie Shan Gong Zhu's Taiyin Banana Leaf Fan...

Xu Jia does not seek to compare with them, but making a Wind Fan like the one Zhuge Kongming had is still possible.

This kind of fan is just right for using wing feathers; the wing feathers are not brightly colored, and this chicken demon's wings are very large, enough to refine two Wind Fans.

A fan has the meaning of "purity"; it brings a cool breeze, can extinguish the vexing heat in one's heart, and makes one's mind clear.

(End of this chapter)