Chapter 255: Secrets of the Earth Immortal

"Bird and beast language?"

The old Daoist Feng Huazi saw even more.

He was well-informed and experienced, and even had several friends in the Northern Border Immortal Hall, so he had a deep understanding of this 'upper language.'

This language was very ancient; as long as any of the numerous creatures between heaven and earth developed spiritual nature and had cultivation, they would naturally learn it.

Compared to human speech, it was not brilliant, and even chaotic.

But the trouble was also here; the upper language was usually filled with a large number of tongue-popping sounds and sounds imitating nature, chaotic and disorderly, without grammatical rules.

Using this language was mainly based on intention.

Simply put, it was more like gestures, using various actions to express meaning, only here it was replaced by sound.

Precisely because there were no rules, it was very difficult for people.

Those who were proficient in this language were mostly Shamans, Witches, or Immortal Halls, who gradually understood it by borrowing the possession of immortal spirits.

And the Orthodox Sect of the Mystic Sect did not allow possession by true gods, so it was almost impossible to learn.

Besides this, there was another special situation.

That was like the young man in front of him, who first obtained the divine ability to hear bird and beast language, and then learned the upper language, achieving twice the result with half the effort, and even becoming stronger.

Thinking of this, he glanced at the crowd outside the hall, walked out with large strides, and said in a deep voice, "Everyone, do not move randomly."

Li Yan also signaled, and Centurion Zheng understood immediately, ordering in a deep voice, "Guard all key passages!"

The people from the Commandant's Office were elite after all; although they were also curious about the rat monsters hidden in the hall, they obeyed orders and dispersed quickly, guarding every area of the backyard.

The Daoists in the courtyard were a bit uneasy.

They were not fools; how could they not see the intention of this move?

In the Daoist temple, there were likely secret agents of evil people.

Many people's eyes secretly looked at Feng Gangzi.

The Temple Master hadn't given an order yet, but he had rushed to take action just now, looking a bit like he wanted to kill to silence them, and as a protective Daoist of the temple, he was the most suspicious in handling the Feng Lingzi affair.

Looking at everyone's eyes, Feng Gangzi was also full of grievance and anger, clenching his fists tightly without saying a word.

On the other side, Lu San was dedicated to communicating with the rat monsters.

These two large rats were living a fairy life, eating white offerings, enjoying incense on time, their fur shiny and oily, and their cheeks bulging.

And these two had spiritual nature and were very shrewd.

They hid in the statue during the day, not making any sound, and stole offerings at night, doing it all neatly, for fear of being discovered. 【25

The restrictive spells used for protection had instead become their cover.

"Cluck-cluck-clatter..."

"Squeak, squeak, squeak!"

After a bout of communication, the two mice huddled together, not daring to move, pretending to look pitifully at the people around them.

Lu San turned his head and said, "These two little things were originally just ordinary mice. Someone destroyed the divine statues long ago, and when the divine *gang* dissipated, they entered to build a nest, which is how they managed to open their spiritual apertures."

"Apart from stealing offerings, they haven't done anything evil on a daily basis. They often listen to you all chanting scriptures during morning and evening lessons, so their temperaments can be considered peaceful..."

Lu San usually spoke very little, but this time he explained it tirelessly.

Li Yan immediately understood that Lu San had taken a liking to these two little things and wanted to save them to keep as spirit pets.

Thinking of this, Li Yan turned directly and said, "Feng Feng Shixiong Feng, I have a presumptuous request: could you spare the lives of these two little things?"

"Whatever they damaged, we will compensate for."

"No need."

Feng Huazi said in a deep voice, "This is the Daoist practice ground of Immortal Ge Xianweng, which has saved countless people; we naturally must also have benevolent hearts. These two demons have pure *qi* and have not harmed anyone, so letting them go is fine."

"Ask them clearly: what did they see?"

Lu San nodded with joy in his eyes, then turned and bent down to communicate with the two mice, his expression gradually becoming solemn and puzzled.

Afterward, he turned his head and said, "They don't know who destroyed the divine statues, but the person who stole the ritual artifacts was someone else."

"They saw Feng Lingzi enter this place in the middle of the night. He first stared blankly in front of a divine statue, then spoke to the air, acting somewhat deranged. Afterward, he smashed his own forehead with a palm and committed suicide."

Upon hearing this, Feng Huazi's expression changed instantly. "Is this true?"

Lu San nodded. "These two little things wanted to come out in the middle of the night to steal offerings, but when they discovered someone was there, they kept hiding and watched very clearly."

"Not long after Feng Lingzi committed suicide, another person entered the hall, dragged the corpse away, and then wore a human-skin mask to disguise himself as Feng Lingzi and stole the items."

As he spoke, he lowered his head and squeaked twice more.

One mouse trembled all over and moved its feet to stand under a divine statue. When Lu San saw this, he was suddenly quite surprised.

"The one Feng Lingzi was looking at was this divine statue!"

"How could it be him?!"

At this, even Li Yan was somewhat puzzled.

The divine statue pointed out by the mouse was not "Lady Fan," but her husband, "Liu Gang"!

Could there be hidden circumstances within this?

Li Yan turned and looked at the Daoists outside the hall, saying in a deep voice, "Feng Feng Shixiong Lu San, supernatural powers are suppressed inside the divine hall, but mice have a keen sense of smell. Let it see if the person who moved Feng Lingzi's corpse is among them."

No matter what conspiracy the other party had,

once the person was found, the truth would naturally come to light!

Lu San nodded, picked up the two mice, and walked toward the Daoists outside the main hall.

Li Yan did not stand on ceremony either; with a *clang*, he drew his Dust-Breaking Blade and followed behind Lu San to guard him.

The Daoists outside the hall all wore uneasy expressions.

Looking at each other, their eyes were somewhat guarded.

Especially Feng Gangzi, around whom a circle of empty space had formed.

Strangely, Lu San carried the mice and walked past each of them, but there was no abnormality, and only at the end did he squeak twice.

"That person is not here." Lu San shook his head slightly.

Only then did Feng Gangzi speak, his eyes somewhat dejected. He bowed and cupped his hands toward Feng Huazi, saying, "Master, although this disciple is incompetent, I would not dare to associate with demons and evil spirits. I ask for Master's punishment."

Feng Huazi said in a deep voice, "We will discuss this matter later."

Although his expression was cold and stern, guilt was already visible in his eyes.

As for Li Yan, he walked to the front of the two divine statues, lost in thought.

"Liu Gang" wore a *jinxian* cap, a light red robe with crossed collars and right-lapels, and a green ribbon—the attire of a Han Dynasty official.

"Lady Fan" wore a light blue plain garment with her hair in a high bun held by a cloud hairpin.

Both of them had an extraordinary bearing and stood to the left of Immortal Ge Xianweng.

Li Yan was lost in thought; could it be that the one causing trouble behind the scenes was not "Lady Fan," but her husband, "Liu Gang"?

The other party had clearly been lurking on the mountain for a long time...

Thinking of this, Li Yan spoke again: "Feng Feng Shixiong Lu, hurry and ask them if they know where Feng Lingzi's corpse was moved to."

Lu San lowered his head, asked a few questions, and pointed to the northwest side. "They only know it went to that place, entering the mountain forest."

Feng Huazi was stunned. "That is the... Daoist mausoleum..."

The shade was dense, and the vegetation was lush.

Half of a cliff was exposed, with graves arranged in dense rows; some were just upright tombstones, while others had flower-grave archways built.

The further in one went, the more ancient the tombstones were.

In the burial ground of Daoists, there naturally wouldn't be any evil things, but the environment was gloomy and the surrounding forest was deep and quiet. "The Daoists of past generations are all buried here."

Feng Huazi looked around and frowned. "Hiding a corpse in this place means they must be very familiar with the Daoist temple."

There was no suppression of supernatural powers here. Li Yan directly pinched a spell, took a deep breath, and couldn't help but twitch his eyelids.

Enduring the various stenches of corpses, Li Yan picked up a few wooden sticks from the ground and inserted them one by one in front of several tombstones, saying, "Feng Feng Shixiong Feng Huazi, these graves are all empty!"

"What?!"

Feng Huazi hurriedly pinched a *yang* spell, his eyes instantly shooting out sharp light. His expression then became extremely ugly, and he gritted his teeth, saying, "Someone, dig up all these graves!"

The Daoist temple disciples were not slow in their actions; they quickly dug up several graves and opened the coffin lids that hadn't been nailed shut one by one.

"Empty!"

"Empty!"

"This one is also empty!"

Their voices trembled, and their faces were somewhat pale.

!.

At this point, how could they not understand what had happened?

There were indeed evil people hiding within the Daoist temple,

and there was more than one!

They had all faked their deaths and no one knew where they had gone.

Even Feng Huazi was in a state of complete confusion at this moment, muttering, "How could it be like this... I clearly checked."

Li Yan said in a deep voice, "Besides these few, who else died last year?"

"There is also Feng Feng Shixiong Gu Linzi!"

A Daoist pointed to a tombstone in front of which no stick had been inserted.

Feng Huazi gritted his teeth and said, "What are you waiting for? Dig!"

At the order, the Daoist temple disciples scrambled to dig up this grave. Likewise, the coffin lid inside had not been nailed shut.

Inside lay a Daoist; the corpse was already decaying, the forehead was shattered, the clothes were disheveled, and it emitted a thick stench of death.

"It's Feng Feng Shixiong Feng Lingzi! Wuu wuu~"

The young Daoist boy from before saw this and immediately began to cry.

And Feng Huazi, at this moment, looked significantly older, his lips somewhat pale. "It is all this old Daoist's fault."

"Saying these things is useless."

Li Yan looked around and said coldly, "The disciples of the Tai Xuan Orthodox Sect all enter the sect from a young age. They must have been lured halfway. They threw away a bright future to walk the path of demons and evil."

"What kind of thing has such a great temptation?"

The Daoists looked at each other, at a loss for what to do.

"I remember now!"

One of the young Daoists said with a trembling voice, "Before Junior Feng Feng Shixiong Feng Zhao Lu Zi died of illness, he once inexplicably said a sentence."

"In this world, there really are immortals!"

…………

"Everyone, they are all here."

Feng Huazi brought over a few old classics and said in a deep voice, "The records concerning Liu Gang and Lady Fan are all in these books."

"I just checked; these have all been read by someone recently, and the one who borrowed the books and left their name is Feng Lingzi!"

Li Yan took the books and, while flipping through them, asked, "Feng Feng Shixiong, forgive me for being meddlesome, but I truly have many questions in my heart."

"Such a big thing happened in Dangyang County; why are you so indifferent?"

"Also, what secret is hidden in Dangyang? Why does it attract so many demons and evil spirits to peek at it?"

Feng Huazi was silent for a moment; he did not rush to answer but said, "I have actually long known about the Earth Longsheng Xianku you mentioned."

As he spoke, his expression became somewhat bitter. "Since the little friend is a Living Yin Messenger, there is no need to hide some things."

"When I was young, I was also very shocked to learn about the Earth Longsheng Xianku, so I hurriedly asked my Master, after all, Lady Fan is still worshipped in the temple."

"Master said that the story of the Prince of Huainan ascending to heaven with his chickens and dogs was nothing but wild talk; throughout history, very few have succeeded in ascending to divinity."

"Immortal Ge Xianweng naturally succeeded, even protecting his descendants, giving Ge Baopu the title of 'Little Immortal'; it is only because Liu Gang and his wife once followed the Immortal that they were written into the *Biographies of Immortals*..."

Li Yan was lost in thought and nodded slightly.

He only figured this matter out after going up the mountain.

The deity worshipped in the Zigaishan Cave is Ge Xuan, a disciple of Zuo Ci, who was skilled in using talismans to drive away illness for people. The world honors him as the "Taiji Immortal Duke," and he is also the founder of the Gezao Sect of the Tai Xuan Orthodox Sect.

And the one who wrote the *Biographies of Immortals* was Ge Hong, Ge Baopu.

Perhaps out of nostalgia, he wrote these people into the *Biographies of Immortals*, but clearly, their Daoist cultivation was not enough for them to become immortals and ascend to divinity.

Feng Huazi continued, "In fact, Liu Gang and his wife did not become immortals, and the two of them were not disciples of Immortal Ge Xianweng. Their master was a mysterious expert called the White Daoist."

"Moreover, according to the secret history recorded in the books, Liu Gang was once a Living Yin Messenger, and the couple worked together to suppress and kill many spirits and demons."

"Immortal Ge Xianweng studied under Zuo Ci and passed his Dao to Zheng Yin, and Zheng Yin took Ge Baopu as a disciple. Liu Gang also passed down some secret techniques, which were obtained by Zheng Yin and passed to Ge Baopu; the most famous one is the Baopu Dengshan Technique."

So that was it!

Li Yan suddenly realized.

The *Baopu Dengshan Technique* was originally the *Northern Emperor Dengshan Technique*, which had no specific requirements and could be learned by anyone in the Mystic Sect.

So the root of this technique was here!

At the same time, a chill rose in his heart.

That Liu Gang also practiced the *Northern Emperor Scripture*!

Thinking back to his own cheap master, "Gou Chengshan," who went through all kinds of hardships to obtain the *Northern Emperor Scripture* and the *Luo Feng Scripture* from the Yin Office, only to fail to build the first palace and die because of poor aptitude.

This Liu Gang was also one who ascended to divinity; although he didn't succeed, his Daoist cultivation must have been higher.

Feng Huazi shook his head. "I presume Young Hero Li has already guessed that this couple were both prisoners of the Yin Office who returned to the world of the living."

"Lady Fan appeared in the human world twice."

"First, during the Zhenyuan era of the Tang Dynasty, she appeared under the identity of 'Xiang Ao,' beheading a white turtle in Dongting, saving countless people, and taking in many disciples; the most famous one was a woman named 'Xiaoyao'..."

"Second, during the subsequent Changqing era, after the scholar Pei Hang failed the imperial examinations, he met Lady Fan on a boat. Seeing her peerless beauty, he asked his maid, Niaoyan, to help deliver a poem to express his feelings."

"Lady Fan replied with a poem: 'One drink of nectar brings a hundred feelings; when the mysterious frost is pounded, one sees the cloud essence. Blue Bridge is the immortal cave; why bother with the rugged path to the Jade Purity?' She then left, saying she was going to the deep mountains to bid farewell to her husband."

"Later, Pei Hang met Yunying and, after experiencing many hardships, married her. Only at the wedding did he learn Lady Fan's true identity."

"This matter is recorded in the Tang *Tales of the Marvelous*; 'Pounding Medicine at Blue Bridge' and 'Pounding the Mysterious Frost' originate from this. A play, *The Tale of Blue Bridge*, is still performed by opera troupes all over the Divine Land to this day."

Upon hearing this, everyone had shock in their eyes.

They hadn't expected there to be so many twists and secrets.

Feng Huazi sighed, "This couple had profound Daoist methods and could escape from the Yin Office to live freely for many years; how could they be easy to provoke?"

"And that Earth Longsheng Xianku is suspected to have been built by Lady Fan's disciple, Xiaoyao. Moreover, the formidable alchemist Yu Ji was also in Jingzhou at the time, and Immortal Ge Xianweng obtained the secret classics of the Qin and Han alchemists from his hands."

"This couple learned the techniques within, which were also used in the Earth Longsheng Xianku, secretly passing them down without end, hidden from the world."

"Ge Baopu's *Classic of Immortals* says: 'The superior scholar lifts his form to ascend to the void, which is called a Heavenly Immortal. The middle scholar wanders in famous mountains, which is called an Earth Immortal. The inferior scholar dies first and then sheds his skin, which is called a Corpse-Shedding Immortal.'"

"Naming it the Earth Longsheng Xianku is enough to prove the ambition and ability of this couple; no one who enters it ever returns alive."

"Therefore, Master warned me that as long as they do not cause trouble, we must not provoke them..."

Second update at 10:30

(End of chapter)