Becoming an immortal and ancestor begins with the golden toad spitting out money.

Chapter 13 Cultivation Plan: Upgrading and Transformation

The words spoken by the Earth God are all profound truths quoted from the Daoist scriptures.

Those originally profound and obscure characters quickly became easy to understand after the local earth god's explanation.

Previously, the Earth God's annotations on the "Minor Yin-Yang Method" only made many spirit soldiers envious.

Now, the Earth God has expanded on the concept of "mysterious energy" based on the Daoist scriptures, reaching the level of "scripture transmission." Su Ji was deeply moved and regarded the Earth God as a teacher who imparted knowledge and skills from the bottom of his heart.

After the discussion ended, Su Ji, in order to prevent the local earth god from turning away and refusing to pay his respects again, explained in advance: "All the things of the past life are now just passing clouds. In this life, I am fortunate to have the earth god imparting knowledge and answering my questions in the Dongxuan lineage. At least I am considered half a master."

Although they are not formal teachers, they are still learning from each other and have benefited from each other's teachings.

"Thank you, Earth God..." Su Ji bowed to the Earth God again, and the Earth God indeed sat still and accepted the bow.

Immediately, the relationship between the two sides made substantial progress.

As Su Ji was pleased, his demeanor became much more natural, and after a few words, the conversation turned to the word "immortal".

Does mastering the basics of profound martial arts equate to becoming an immortal?

The local deity was taken aback at first, and then, unusually, fell silent.

After a long while, the Earth God sighed softly: "We cultivators of the Cave Profound Realm have a lifelong wish to become immortals. Even someone like me who has cultivated high-grade magic doesn't have much confidence in becoming an immortal."

This statement suggests that the concept of the Earth God aligns with that of the Heavenly Mandate.

However, the local earth god then said with some contradiction, "Now that you've said what you said, Golden Toad, I have some more thoughts on this as well."

"In the eyes of many, those who possess extraordinary abilities are immortals. Low-grade spells can kill demons and ghosts and affect dreams, while mid-grade spells can harm people... Perhaps at the beginning of the rise of the immortal path, we cultivators were what are known as human immortals."

For a soul, even a low-grade spell is not weak.

However, if one possesses a physical body, one's essence and spirit can even harm low-level demons and ghosts. Therefore, it is generally believed that only mid-grade spells can harm people.

Su Ji then realized that the difference between having a physical body and not having one was so great.

The Black Tiger Demon Ghost may have only sent out monster snakes at the level of demon soldiers, but in reality, even spirit soldiers would have difficulty killing the monster snakes, given that they possessed physical bodies.

If he were a toad who was completely unaware when the door god's spirit soldier stepped down, he might have only felt a weight on his back.

It was precisely because he was able to sense the spirits of the gatekeepers through the Heavenly Mandate that he endured immense pressure; the more he knew, the more terrified he became.

At this moment, the Earth God said with some emotion, "Nowadays, we are just cultivators on the path of immortality, and can only be called myriad spirits. Only cultivators who have gone through tribulations can be called immortals."

"However, Xuanxian and Zhenxian are merely Earth Immortals. Above them are Celestial Immortals, who are on par with the Heavenly Gods. Perhaps in the eyes of Earth Immortals, Celestial Immortals are the true 'immortals'..."

On his way out of the underworld of the Earth God Temple, Su Ji's mind was still replaying everything that had just happened.

Whether discussing metaphysics or immortality, it gave him a profound understanding of the world and had a great impact on his mind, even causing him some anxiety.

"Human Immortal, Earthly Immortal, Celestial Immortal... The path to immortality is indeed so long!"

Fortunately, Yan Tianchou's words popped up at just the right time.

"The crisis of the haunting case has been resolved, and under the guidance of the local earth god, the cultivation has also gotten back on track."

"Because the mysterious and profound energy requires both affinity and enlightenment, the concept of enlightenment is too abstract, but affinity may be present at the City God Temple Fair next month."

"To obtain the Dharma, one may need a certain level of strength, and may also need to pay a sufficient price."

"Regarding improving strength, the training plan for the next stage has been finalized..."

"To obtain the resources needed for exchanging for auspicious connections, you can borrow divine power from the Earth God by mortgaging money. It is recommended that you set aside some time to find money..."

As Su Ji looked at the texts displayed on the Tianchou platform, his anxiety suddenly lessened considerably.

He was not alone; compared to other cultivators, he at least had a Heavenly Mandate Token.

Even if the Heavenly Calculation can't provide the comprehension required for the Mystic Skill, it can help him deduce various things and may even inspire him.

Just then, he arrived in the air and looked at the increasingly familiar Dongxi Er Village, and the last trace of anxiety in his heart disappeared.

The reason he thought that mastering the profound arts meant becoming an immortal was because his vision was too narrow.

The reason why the Earth God believes that the Earth Immortal is the true immortal is because the Earth God is already a highly accomplished cultivator.

With his current abilities, even with the help of the Sun-Wandering Spirit Weapon, he could only fly to a height of a few dozen feet. Any higher and he might encounter a gale blowing from the heavens.

The so-called celestial beings are as unattainable as the sky. He had only just arrived at the East and West Villages from the river; thinking too much would be pointless. Grasping the present moment was enough. With these thoughts in mind, Su Ji smiled more. After thanking and bidding farewell to the local spirit soldiers on duty, his thoughts became more complex.

Only after he cultivated his Heavenly Soul and Spirit did he gain the ability to mobilize the power of heaven and earth.

Before this, Yan Tianchou was able to absorb golden energy to help him use the [Transformation into a Golden Toad] supernatural power, and it seems that he can also regard Yan Tianchou as a spiritual being.

However, Yan Tianchou probably lacks a Heavenly Soul, and can only use his Heavenly Soul to perform supernatural powers.

Otherwise, Yan Tianchou, who could be considered an "extra" advantage, might have already abandoned him and gone solo.

...Could it be that everything we drink and eat is predetermined?
While expressing his feelings, Su Ji specifically asked Yan Tianchou, "Now that I have cultivated a Heavenly Soul and Spirit, how much has it improved your divination abilities?"

If Yantianchou is an artificial intelligence system program, then Su Ji's Heavenly Soul becomes a hardware device like a mobile phone or computer.

If the equipment is upgraded, the program may run faster.

As expected, Yan Tianchou soon displayed a message: "After the Heavenly Soul has cultivated its spiritual nature, Yan Tianchou has the foundation for upgrading. It may take another six hours of preparation before it can be upgraded."

Even programs in internal testing must first be created through programming. Since Yantianchou has not yet released a new version, no notification has been issued.

"Upgrade!" Su Ji was delighted, but then felt a little speechless.

It turned out that Yan Tianchou wasn't as bad as he thought; it was actually him who had been holding Yan Tianchou back all along...

On second thought, he felt relieved: "That's fine too. Let's grow and improve together. After I become an immortal, you will also be a first-generation immortal-level intelligent program!"

The local deity once said that some people may have only entered the realm of profound arts, yet they can comprehend mid-level spells; others may be on the verge of becoming immortals, yet they don't even know a single spell.

Clearly, Yan Tianchou's ability to deduce the low-level supernatural powers [Transformation into a Golden Toad] and [Golden Toad Spitting Money] using his Heavenly Soul, which has not yet acquired a spiritual nature, can even be described as a miracle.

Now that he possesses the Heavenly Soul and Spirit, the Heavenly Calculation has begun to be updated and upgraded. As long as sufficient computing power can be provided, deduce intermediate-level divine abilities should not be a problem.

In the following period, Su Ji let Yan Tianchou fully prepare for the upgrade and replacement, and he seriously began touring.

He was initially excited, but before long, he found himself swimming in an ocean of yang energy, cultivating the "Minor Yin-Yang Method".

It should be noted that the energy of the Sun-Wandering Spirit Soldiers comes from the sun, but it is not sunlight, but rather the yang energy generated when the sun's rays shine on the earth.

These rising yang energies formed an ocean of yang energy where the wandering spirits and celestial souls roamed freely.

The changes between sunlight and yang energy are incredibly wondrous. Su Ji gained a great deal simply by sensing these changes.

More than five hours had passed before Yantianchou finally issued a reminder: "Preparations are complete. Yantianchou can be upgraded at any time, which is expected to take one breath."

Su Ji, who was cruising by plane, slowly came to a stop, and then very seriously chose to agree.

Suddenly, the Heavenly Token transformed into the shape of a bamboo token. As each character decomposed into a point of light, the bamboo token vanished.

The next instant, countless black and white spots appeared before Su Ji's eyes. As the black and white spots coalesced, a luminous token, white on top and black on the bottom, appeared before him.

At the same time, a fleeting voice suddenly rang in Su Ji's mind.

"The basic logic of Yantianchou has been upgraded from 01 'binary' to black and white 'yin and yang', thus stepping into the level of all things spirit."

In fact, when Su Ji first saw the door gods and spirit soldiers, Yan Tianchou began to deduce how to communicate with the souls, but he had not succeeded.

Only now, after the upgrade and replacement of the Heavenly Calculation, has it emitted a mysterious sound and color that only the soul can hear, through the "Yin Yang Yi".

This was not the first time Su Ji had come into contact with the mystical sounds and colors. When he looked at the ball of light of the "Minor Yin-Yang Method" bestowed by the Earth God, a detached voice had sounded in his ear.

"Yan Tian Chou, you've finally evolved from the silent film era to the sound era!" Su Ji was delighted and couldn't help but tease Yan Tian Chou.

Yan Tianchou, however, corrected him very seriously: "According to the correct statement, it should have evolved into the Spirit Law Era."

Spirit is the spiritual level of all things, and law is magic that includes supernatural powers.

Su Ji finally found someone to talk to, and began to bombard him with questions, from trivial matters like whether Yan Tianchou was male or female, to major issues like the time required to cultivate into an immortal.

Yan Tianchou said without any fluctuation: "Yin Yang Yi is both Yin and Yang; the Spiritual Body is neither Yin nor Yang."

"Based on the current situation, you may become an immortal within thirty years, or you may never become an immortal in your lifetime."

Su Ji then became more serious, ceasing his teasing of the artificial intelligence of the Tianchou, and instead began to talk about his gains over the past five hours.

(End of this chapter)