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

Chapter 24 Physical Body and Spirit, Appearance in the Toad Palace

As night deepened, Su Ji wasn't in a hurry to send the gold in a dream, so he chatted with the local earth god for a while.

The reason it was described as casual conversation was because Su Ji was "off work," and even if it involved soul cultivation and walking corpses, it wasn't considered official business.

After showing off his "achievements," the Earth God casually tossed the Soul Cultivator toward the Zhou family's gate.

While the soul cultivator was puzzled, a glimmer of hope rose in his heart. But before he could mobilize his magic power to escape, two guardian spirit soldiers appeared on his left and right.

The next instant, the two guardian spirits gently pushed the unfortunate soul cultivator into the underworld dungeon of the Earth God Temple.

Immediately, Su Ji felt a strong sense of security.

Within the two villages, not only did he and Zhang patrol day and night, but a host of spirit soldiers, including the door gods, well gods, and millet gods, were also on standby at all times, and the local earth god was like a stabilizing force.

As for the Wu family walking corpse, it is currently trapped in the grave with its limbs locked, so there is no need to worry too much.

Su Ji, on the contrary, became curious about how this walking corpse differed from what he had imagined.
In his mind, walking corpses were called zombies, and the most famous zombie, the drought demon, could even bring about a great drought.

Even in some preconceived notions, zombies are mostly hopping monsters that can not only turn people into zombies by sucking their blood, but also have endless lifespans.

However, given his identity as a "reincarnated cultivator," directly asking him would inevitably reveal his true identity, so he sought confirmation indirectly.

"Lord Earth God, this walking corpse should be an ancestor of the Wu family. The previous Lord Earth God went to great lengths to hide it. What was his purpose?"

It's even possible that the resources the previous local deity acquired through trade with the mountain demons could be used on this walking corpse.

Su Ji's question was clever, so the local earth god didn't think much of it and replied naturally and casually:

"You should also know that walking corpses have neither heavenly souls nor human souls; they only have spirits that instinctively use earthly souls as a medium to absorb evil power."

"Walking corpses are not within the six realms of reincarnation, and the behavior of spirits is affected by evil energy, requiring the yang flesh and blood of living beings to alleviate their pain."

"If any walking corpses break into a household, they will at least bite and kill livestock, and at worst, slaughter the people..."

"Therefore, the cultivators reached a consensus that once they discovered traces of walking corpses, they must eliminate them as quickly as possible."

"But in the eyes of demons and monsters, walking corpses are a very useful tool. Demons use them as henchmen, and monsters use them as protectors..."

"Low-ranking deities have little influence over the mortal world. The reason the previous local deity was able to deliver 'black money' to Dongsang Village was probably because he used the power of this walking corpse, which is comparable to a demon general."

After a person dies, their two souls, one from heaven and one from earth, scatter between heaven and earth. Once incense offerings and prayers appear, they will converge along the two souls to the place where the human soul is located.

Just like the ghosts living in their hometowns, they enjoy the sacrifices of their descendants by relying on the power of the earth's spirit. Those who die far from home all seek to return to their roots for this reason.

"Soul Spirit?"

Su Ji couldn't help but feel a pang of doubt. In addition to the three souls, the human body also has seven spirits.

The human soul can give birth to the life spirit, the celestial soul can give birth to the nature spirit, and the earth soul should give birth to the soul spirit.

The human soul and spirit are born from the interaction between heaven and earth at birth and possess autonomy;
The Heavenly Soul and Spiritual Nature are cultivated by cultivators of the Cave Profound Realm and are controllable.
The earth spirit is like a "guest house" of the body where a new spirit is born. It can even be said that the earth spirit and the human soul have no subordinate relationship.

In this way, walking corpses cannot transform into new walking corpses by biting people, nor can they be born with the ability to live forever.

At this moment, Yan Tianchou suddenly spoke up: "The seven souls are called Corpse Dog, Hidden Arrow, Sparrow Yin, Devouring Thief, Non-Poison, Purifying Filth and Stinky Lung, which are also among the objects of Taoist cultivation."

"Perhaps the spirit born from a corpse is uncontrollable, and people will kill it as soon as they see it; but if it is a spirit cultivated, it should be able to be suppressed or tamed by the human soul and life spirit."

Those who can cultivate the Soul Spirit must consider the possibility that the Soul Spirit may become disobedient or even devour its master.

Yan Tianchou further deduced based on current knowledge: "The Dongxuan lineage cultivates the Heavenly Soul and Spirit, and can mobilize the power of heaven and earth with Xuan Qi; the Dongzhen lineage cultivates the Human Soul and Life Spirit, seeking longevity and the immortality of the true spirit; the Dongshen lineage accumulates merit to become a god..."

"The demon race cultivates the power of bloodline, and humans also have martial artists who refine their bodies. They are mostly those with strong physical bodies, and what they cultivate should be the spirit... This walking corpse of the Wu family may have been a martial artist in his previous life."

Of course, doing business requires the protection of martial arts practitioners. Su Ji had visited the Wu family many times to absorb various wealth and spiritual energy, and had encountered several people with vigorous blood and energy.

However, Su Ji was a day-roaming spirit soldier whose magic power came from the earth's yang energy, so he didn't take the abundant blood and qi that the yin spirits avoided like the plague seriously.

At this moment, seeing that the time was ripe, the local earth god finally revealed his purpose.

"Golden Toad, although the walking corpse in the Wu family's ancestral tomb is bound by chains, it is still a major hidden danger. I wonder if you are willing to remove it, so as to add a touch of color to your path of wealth."

Judging from the aura emanating from the walking corpse and the power to overturn the grave, this walking corpse possesses a formidable physical body, likely placing it at the upper-middle level of the demon general category.

The Earth God is currently concealing his identity as a high-level cultivator, and with the Earth Spirit Official's strength alone, it's really not easy to deal with this living corpse.

Therefore, the Earth God found Su Ji, who had cultivated the intermediate-level divine power [Golden Toad Transformation] to a minor level.

If the Golden Toad could add another legend about slaying walking corpses, it would not only earn the people's gratitude but also demonstrate its extraordinary power. The Earth God's suggestion was quite good, as it both helped Su Ji and eliminated a potential threat to the local people.

However, after some deliberation, Su Ji reached an agreement with Yan Tianchou and chose to give up this opportunity.

When it comes to matters concerning the future, Su Ji can still find ways to deal with risks by planning slowly.

Fighting the walking corpses, even with the help of the local temple, could cost Su Ji his life if he made the slightest mistake, which is not in line with the essence of the "survival path" of the Heavenly Strategist.

Moreover, even if the Golden Toad kills the walking corpse in its battle with the walking corpse, it cannot demonstrate the power of the divine Golden Toad.

This matter could even affect Zhang Xiaolian's impression of the divine toad. Having an extra walking corpse in her dream is not a big deal, but if it affects the mysterious energy of the toad in her dream, then it would be a loss.

After explaining these points, Su Ji added, "...My goal is to become the God of Wealth. Fighting and killing don't suit my image, and I don't want people to come to the Zhang family's courtyard because of this."

If news of the golden toad slaying the walking corpse spreads, discerning people will suspect that the little girl from the Zhang family took the golden toad from the river. This would not only disrupt the peace of the Zhang family courtyard but could also attract unscrupulous people.

The local earth god was somewhat prepared and was not surprised by the outcome. He said nonchalantly, "In that case, I will report the matter of the walking corpses to the City God Temple. Tomorrow, a spirit official or spirit will come to help us get rid of the walking corpses."

The power of the local earth spirit official alone is insufficient to kill the walking corpses without causing any damage. Therefore, we should ask the spirit officials or spirit generals under the command of the city god to lead their troops here.

Just as there are civil and military officials in the secular world, there are also spirit officials and spirit generals among the gods. Spirit officials are mainly responsible for political affairs, while spirit generals are responsible for eliminating evil spirits.

After saying this, the Earth God took his leave. He did not continue to fly into the sky to cultivate, but went to the Earth God Temple's underworld dungeon to interrogate the unfortunate Wu family soul cultivator.

Su Ji then placed the gold beans in a prominent place in the Zhou family's home as planned, and then began to send messages in dreams.

The Zhou family owns a house and land. In addition to more than ten acres of mulberry trees, they also have seven or eight acres of farmland, making them a well-off family in the village.

When the old man surnamed Zhou returned home on the seventh day after his death, Su Ji also discerned something from the paper boys and girls, paper oxen, paper horses, and paper sedan chairs.

Today, Su Ji still used the same rhetoric, praising Zhou Lan's filial piety before mentioning the matter of sending gold.

Before concluding, Su Ji reminded him, "A grand funeral does not mean the matter is over. If you want your ancestors to enjoy more offerings in their hometown, you will need to visit them often."

In the homeland of Wusheng, paper boys and girls, paper oxen, paper horses, and paper sedan chairs can all move with the help of incense, making the wandering spirits very happy.

Once the incense offerings begin to weaken, the spirits cannot even maintain a complete scene after their death. As the incense offerings continue to weaken, it becomes difficult to even command young boys and girls.

At this time, many spirits, even if their lifespan has not yet ended, will choose to enter the cycle of reincarnation as soon as possible.

After the matter was over, Su Ji had left behind three "seeds," taking the first step on the path to wealth.

The next step was simple in some ways, but not so simple in others. After returning to the Zhang family courtyard, Su Ji had no choice but to bite the bullet and enter Zhang Xiaolian's dream.

After a moment of confusion, Su Ji transformed into the physical form of a golden toad on the altar.

Because Yan Tianchou left behind a spiritual intelligent clone, Su Ji was happy to "idle" his cultivation in the real dream world. Now that he has arrived, the memories of the past few days flood his mind.

After placing the figurative golden toad on the altar, Zhang Xiaolian lost all interest in playing around and merely watched with curiosity as Yan Tianchou's clone manipulated the toad's movements.

Until yesterday, Zhang Xiaolian seemed to have discovered something special, glancing at the figurative golden toad one moment and then at the moon outside the window the next.

Unbeknownst to them, a dark golden phantom of a toad appeared within the seemingly ordinary moon...

Immediately, Yan Tianchou spoke up to remind them: "The Moon Palace is also known as the Toad Palace. Zhang Xiaolian must have connected the Golden Toad with the Toad Palace, which caused the Toad Palace phantom to appear in the moon."

"If we can deepen the connection between the Toad Palace and the Golden Toad, we might be able to obtain a new Golden Toad body."

"The second golden toad body is located in the moon, which may be of great use to comprehend the Minor Yin-Yang Method, and may also be of great help to the cultivation of the Soul Spirit."

While Su Ji was pleasantly surprised, a sense of wonder also arose in his heart.

He knew that the moon was closely related to the Way of Yin, and even a slight manifestation of its mystery could greatly benefit him.

As for the relationship between the moon and the spirit, he, who was just a programmer in his previous life, had never heard of it.

Immediately, Yan Tianchou mobilized the information in the database, displaying it as text while simultaneously reciting:

"The Soul Spirit Emperor is in charge of the Soul Spirits of the Nine Heavens and oversees the records of cultivators. His divine position is guarded in the Moon Palace, the City of Luminous Beauty."

Su Ji was startled. Although he had never come into contact with immortals and gods in his previous life, the fact that he was able to travel to this world proved that the information was somewhat credible.

The Soul Spirit, which is suspected to be related to the cultivation of the Golden Toad's physical body, is something Su Ji values ​​highly.

He now needs to lie low in the two villages, East and West, for fear that his large size will expose his whereabouts, which is why he has no intention of cultivating demonic techniques.

If a demon race cultivates the seven souls, there is a high probability that there will be a soul spirit that does not grow in size. If one is willing, wouldn't it be possible to selectively cultivate one or two of them first?
(End of this chapter)