I'm a thankful fox in Tokyo

Chapter 71 Refining Qi and Becoming God
This huge archway stood like a mountain not far ahead. There were gusts of cold wind all around and no light at all. Up and down, left and right, east and west, the direction was unclear.

Everything we experienced on the road was different from the legend. There was no Sanzu River, no prematurely dead children piling up stones on the mudflats, and no red spider lilies blooming on the road to the underworld.

Fortunately, Sakura and I all have this golden light on our bodies, so we can see the road clearly.

Sakurada Wakako looked at the group of kittens covered in faint golden light following her and Sakura who was walking in front with a vigilant gait leading the way, and she felt more and more grateful to Higashino Yu.

If it weren't for him, I would never have been able to walk through such a dark road to the underworld.

She quickly attracted some attention as she wandered in front of the pass. Soon, several ghost officials in black and red uniforms came over.

They held chains, water and fire sticks in their hands, had ferocious faces but were dignified, and walked in an orderly manner.

One of them came closer and glared at him:

"How dare you! Where is this lonely soul——"

"Hey, wait."

As he was about to tie the chain in his hand, he was interrupted by another officer, who frowned and asked, "Brother Zhang?"

The officer called Brother Zhang pointed at the faint golden light on Sakurada Wakako and the cats around her and spoke in a low voice.

"Shen Yan, you just took office and you don't know. This golden light is not ordinary. I will report to the judge and then make a decision. You wait here and watch her. Be polite."

The officer left in a hurry after saying this. He had just entered Youdu and had not gone far when he met an old official with a round face, wearing a green robe and with a very friendly demeanor.

Why is this person here? He rubbed his eyes and saluted quickly: "I greet Wei Pan."

"Oh? Zhang Qian, you are on duty at Ghost Gate today, right? Just right, let me ask you, did you encounter an old lady and some cats?"

"Reporting to Judge Wei, that's right."

"Is she protected by golden light, so that the evil wind cannot harm her body and the evil spirits cannot hurt her soul?"

"Wei Pan is a divine fortune teller!"

Sure enough, it came!

After hearing this, Wei Zheng knew that he was right. He was overjoyed, walked back and forth, stroking his beard, and then stopped.

"Take me there quickly!"

Several officers were waiting, and soon they saw him come back, accompanied by a senior official in a green robe.

"Greetings, sir." The officers saluted one after another, then came to Zhang Qian and asked, "Brother Zhang, who is this judge?"

"You don't even know the famous Judge Wei of the Ministry of Rewarding Benevolence?!" Zhang Qian scolded in a low voice.

The officers begged for mercy: "We have only been in office for a short time, and we are not as knowledgeable as Brother Zhang, so we don't recognize him."

"Do you recognize it now? Stand still!"

Wei Zheng came to Sakurada Wakako, looked at her carefully, and nodded.

Without saying a word, he stretched out his hand, took out a brush and a book from thin air, and wrote a few simple strokes on them.

Then he said:

"I am Wei Zheng, the judge of the Underworld's Rewarding Department. Mr. Sakurada, you fell into a lowly occupation during your lifetime, and you are a wandering soul from an island nation. According to the rules, you should be sent back this time."

"But considering that you did many good deeds during your lifetime and have not committed any evil deeds after your death, and that you have been saved by the disciples of Taiyi Jiuku Tianzun, you may be allowed to be reborn nearby, thus avoiding the suffering of traveling all the way."

"I will ask the Great God Huangquanjin to send an envoy to explain."

"Are you willing?"

Sakurada Wakako had never heard of what the god in front of her said, but she could understand it.

Is it because of Higashino-kun?

Sakurada Wakako thought to herself and bowed down, "Thank you, great god."

"If you want to thank someone, thank that disciple of the Heavenly Lord." Wei Zheng said, and then ordered the ghost messenger Zhang Qian: "Take the person to the Wangxiang Terrace first, and let the Heavenly Lord of Rescue protect you. You can do whatever you want, and it's okay to give him some time."

"You don't have to go through the process. You can be reincarnated after drinking Meng Po soup. Now that humanity is broken, cats and humans should follow the path of humanity."

After he finished speaking, he turned into a stream of light and hurried away, apparently heading straight for the Yama Palace.

The other officers looked at each other in bewilderment. "Brother Zhang, this is against the rules, isn't it? What if the King of Hell blames us?"

Zhang Qian patted their heads and said, "With Wei Pan here, even if King Yan Luo blames me, he won't blame you or me."

Then, he smiled at Sakurada Wakako and said, "Please come in, old lady. I have been a ghost messenger for so many years, and there are only a few hundred people who have been reincarnated so smoothly, including you. You are really lucky."

Sakurada Wakako just responded with a subtle smile, and then followed the ghost into the gates of hell.

The road ahead was filled with strange sights, including towering palaces, mountains of swords and forests of knives. From afar, one could see ghosts suffering under the cliffs, their shrill cries sounding as faint as the whimpering of the wind.

Arriving at Wangxiangtai, under the guidance of the ghost, Sakurada Wakako stood on this unfamiliar building, looking at the night view of her hometown of Kyoto in a trance.

Those country roads and ancient temples and shrines were exactly as Dongye-kun had said, without any changes at all.

Is that the Golden Pavilion?
It is as beautiful as it was back then, except that it looks a little tacky after being covered with gold foil. I guess the Bodhisattva would not want to see this scene.

All she saw was her hometown, and Sakurada Wakako felt a little sad for a moment.

Roses are blooming everywhere, it feels like the road to my hometown.

The old lady inexplicably thought of this poem. Now that she was separated from the Yin and Yang and was on the road to the underworld and about to be reincarnated, she actually had a chance to take a look at her hometown.

Thank you, Higashino-kun.

Sakurada Wakako hummed a nursery rhyme from her hometown, and the kittens surrounding her stayed quietly beside her.

Sakura also looked up, and the dark Sakurada family was reflected in the cat's eyes.

The driver quickly took Higashino Yu to his apartment in Ayase-cho.

Before getting off the bus and leaving, Higashino Yu still shamelessly asked for the contact information of Jinguji Hiiragi Kagami.

She was resting with her eyes closed at that time. Dong Ye Yu thought that she probably would ignore him and might even become a clown, but he didn't expect that she really gave it to him.

However, Her Majesty the Witch's expression did not seem very happy at that time.

After saying goodbye to the enthusiastic bodyguards, Higashino Yu went to Saburo to have a drink or two and bought a bowl of ramen to take away.

I returned home and turned on the light switch in the entrance hall. The dim light illuminated the dark room. The furnishings were simple, the atmosphere was cold, and the TV was turned off.

It was the time when the Komei Taikoden was broadcast, and it seemed that Xiuji had not returned yet.

Dong Ye Yu looked at the time and it was almost eleven o'clock. He stretched, finished his ramen in a few mouthfuls, and prepared to wash up and start practicing.

At this moment, the previously chaotic system finally returned to normal.

[This gratitude rating: A-B. 】

[Reward: Shangqing Lingbao Dongxuan Zhenjing: Refining Qi and Transforming into Spirit. ]

Dong Ye Yu took a deep breath, took out the method from the system space, and looked at the heavy jade slip in his hand with mixed feelings.

It's been eight years, Atong, do you know how painful it has been for me to be stuck in level for eight years?
I was so anxious before I got it, and I was even more excited after I got it!

Open the book!
Dong Yeyu quickly used his spiritual sense to refine the jade slip, and the jade slip immediately turned into a stream of light and entered his mind.

Refining Qi and transforming it into spirit is the second step of the great way.

Volume 1 of Huanzhen Ji states: "The middle gate is to refine Qi and transform it into spirit, replenish the Yin in Li and form Qian." This stage is already a high level of inner alchemy, with essence, Qi and spirit complete, Yin spirit emerging and golden elixir formed.

There are not many people who have achieved success in cultivation in ancient and modern times. As long as they succeed, they can basically be called human immortals. Even if they die at the end of their lifespan, they can easily switch to ghost immortals with the help of their clear and spiritual yin spirit.

(End of this chapter)