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

Chapter 31 A Loose Cultivator of the Cave Profound Realm, A Word of Enlightenment

Master Zhu, whose real name is Zhu Nanshan, is from Hutan Village, Jinfeng County.

When Zhu Nanshan was nine years old, he picked up a translucent stone on the mudflats. He thought it was a piece of jade and happily took it home.

The village elders told Zhu Nanshan that it was just a very ordinary piece of jade, rarely seen by the lake, but common in the mountains.

Zhu Nanshan treated the piece of miscellaneous jade as a rare treasure, carrying it in his pocket every day, until one day he had a dream in which he learned that the piece of miscellaneous jade actually contained a profound skill.

However, this profound skill seems to be somewhat incomplete. Not only is it difficult to cultivate, but progress is also very slow. Zhu Nanshan has been cultivating for more than 20 years, but he still has not become a true Dongxuan Master.

Even so, Zhu Nanshan was a Dongxuan cultivator.

While his fellow villagers were still playing, he began to record his dream experiences little by little, and it took him more than three years to cultivate his Heavenly Soul Spirit.

While his fellow villagers were fishing and farming, he had already become a well-known junior cultivator, and even the village elders treated him with great respect.

Zhu Nanshan had also considered joining a Taoist sect, but while looking for a way in, he suddenly discovered that the sect only accepted children under the age of twelve or thirteen who were exceptionally talented, and did not accept rogue cultivators like him who were already adults.

The blow left Zhu Nanshan depressed for a few days, but he gradually came to terms with it and, compared to others in the village, he was already living a carefree life.

Since then, Zhu Nanshan has begun to study methods to deal with demons and ghosts, and has also made friends with some martial arts figures. With the security he has, he has become bolder and has driven away more demons and ghosts. His reputation has spread far and wide.

It should be understood that not all demons and ghosts are doing bad things. Some are doing it out of spite, and some are even in the right... We cannot simply exterminate all the demons and ghosts in the City God Temple and the Earth God Temple.

Not all deities are as public-spirited as the Earth God. For example, in the case of the Black Tiger Demon, even though the Black Tiger Demon was dead, many deities in the City God Temple still dared not get involved in karma.

As a result, Zhu Nanshan became a mediator between demons and ghosts and the common people... and also became Master Zhu who defended the interests of the surrounding people.

Zhu Nanshan had done his homework before being invited to eliminate the walking corpses.

In his view, the ghost story was probably caused by the village's ancestors sensing the existence of the walking corpses and having to warn them through dreams, which caused panic in both villages.

As a result, Zhu Nanshan believed that the walking corpses had at most just advanced to the level of corpse generals. Otherwise, they would not only be haunted, but even if a few people in the two villages did not die, livestock should have been killed by the walking corpses.

It was this information gap that caused Zhu Nanshan to misjudge the strength of the walking corpses. Due to his carelessness, one of his friends in the martial arts world died and the other was injured.

When the county officials arrived, Zhu Nanshan knew he should remain neutral and observe. However, he never expected that there was an underground palace beneath the walking corpse's tomb, which allowed the walking corpse to escape a calamity.

Even though the officials sealed the exit of the underground palace with wood and stones, he knew that as long as the walking corpses retained most of their strength, even if those wood and stones were truly useful, the walking corpses could still dig through the soil and reach the surface.

It just so happens that tonight is the night of the full moon on the fifteenth of February, and the walking corpses will only become more bloodthirsty. If the walking corpses really escape from the underground palace, they will probably be the first to come looking for him.

However, if he left directly, he would feel guilty if some villagers were killed by the walking corpses tonight, so he went to the local temple to consult the oracle.

The purpose of divination is both to find peace of mind and to learn from the gods about the current state of the walking corpse.

If the walking corpse is severely burned by the oil, the government can simply wait one more night and bring in oil to burn it to death.

If the walking corpse still has the strength to crawl out of the grave, then that would be troublesome...

"It's more than just troublesome. The coffin blocked the pouring oil, and the walking corpse only suffered minor injuries. If we really let the walking corpse absorb the moonlight, it will surely become a zombie king tonight!"

In order to get Zhu Nanshan's attention, the local deity claimed that the walking corpse was very likely to become the Corpse King.

Even in his psychic state, Zhu Nanshan's legs trembled slightly. If he hadn't been so composed, he probably would have been too frightened to continue in his psychic state.

"Lord Earth God, the walking corpses are so powerful that even the government offices can only rely on kerosene. What can I do?"

If someone hadn't died today due to the walking corpse, the government would have remained inactive, only reporting the news to the Imperial Observatory of Yuzhou, waiting for the talented and extraordinary people recruited by the imperial court to come.

When someone dies, things change. If the county government continues to do nothing, the people will complain loudly.

The Earth God solemnly said, "Your abilities are indeed insufficient, but I am here. As long as you set up an altar and perform a ritual, I will use my divine power to invite the Thunder God to assist you!"

Divine power is the currency among gods, and its uses are numerous. With enough divine power, one can even summon divine soldiers to descend from the heavens.

The Thunder Gods belong to the Heavenly Court and do not care about the karma of the Mountain Lord. As long as someone sets up an altar to explain the cause and effect and offers the corresponding divine power, they can get the help of the Thunder Gods.

“Lei Bu Ling Jun!” Zhu Nanshan’s eyes lit up.

Even if Zhu Nanshan were a minor cultivator, or even a mage, he could not possibly summon the gods and spirits of heaven and earth for assistance without a medium.

True Xuanmen (mystical arts) masters possess magical titles and can summon divine power using talismans; masters with profound knowledge can also draw divine power using divine tokens; and masters of considerable prestige can even borrow divine power by virtue of their connections…

Zhu Nanshan could not meet any of these conditions; he had only fantasized about the power of performing rituals in his dreams, but had never experienced it in reality.

"If I can get the help of the Thunder God, I will definitely be able to help the people of this place get rid of the walking corpses!"

Zhu Nanshan made a solemn promise, and in addition to what he had just mentioned, there was another reason: to avenge his deceased old friends in the martial arts world.

A cultivator of the Dongxuan realm might forget their experiences in a dream, but at this moment they are actively communicating with the manifested deities, and they will not forget these spiritual memories after waking up.

This is the result of the joint efforts of both sides, something that most ordinary people can only dream of. Many temple keepers use this method to know the wishes of the deities they worship...

After Zhu Nanshan woke up, his earlier panic subsided. Before nightfall, he confidently went to discuss the ritual with the village elders. Su Ji finally had a chance to speak with the local earth god: "In my haste, I forgot about the effects of divine power. I just wonder how much divine power will be needed to exorcise the walking corpses this time?"

As far as Su Ji knew, he could receive thirty strands of divine power per month, while the Earth God could receive one hundred strands of divine power per month.

The Earth God shook his head: "This battle is still unresolved, and I don't know how much divine power it will require..."

As the local earth god recounted his story, Su Ji couldn't help but gasp in astonishment.

In response to the requests of cultivators throughout the land, the Heavenly Court specially established a number of Spirit Lord positions.

However, because the Heavenly Court is too far from the human world, the Spirit Lord can only manifest an avatar through the altar.

Even so, the appearance fee for a Heavenly Lord's avatar is at least three hundred strands of divine power, and each subsequent spell requires at least one hundred strands of divine power.

Lei Bu Ling Jun is more skilled in killing, and the appearance fee for his clone is as high as five hundred strands of divine power, while a single spell requires one hundred and twenty strands of divine power.

After a battle, the local deity might lose one or two years' worth of divine power and stipend.

The Earth God couldn't help but sigh: "The position of Heavenly Lord is a lucrative post. Many people even give up the opportunity to become divine soldiers in order to obtain this position. Now, in order to preserve my status as a high-level cultivator of the Cave Profound Realm, I have no choice but to expend some divine power..."

Even though the Thunder Spirit Lord's clone is only at the Spirit General level, it is still the nemesis of all evil spirits. The Earth God can be said to have paid for peace of mind.

Watching Zhu Nanshan running back and forth to set up the altar, Su Ji couldn't help but sigh, "Zhu Nanshan, by using your divine power, Earth God, to invite the Thunder God's clone, you can certainly boost your own prestige. It's a win-win situation."

Previously, Zhu Nanshan was just a wandering sorcerer, and his title of sorcerer was only known among the common people.

If Zhu Nanshan were to summon the power of the Thunder Lord's clone tonight to kill the walking corpses, cultivators would probably all have to address him as Master Zhu.

Then, Su Ji suddenly smiled and said, "When Zhu Nanshan openly summons the Thunder God's clone, the two of us can assist him in secret, which will save some divine power."

Not to mention that most of the spirit soldiers still need to guard the two villages, even if some spirit soldiers did go to help, it would be difficult for them to pose much of a threat to the Wu family's great corpse general.

The local deity misunderstood and shook his head: "There will be many people around later, so it's best not to expose your golden toad form."

At this critical juncture, it's better to avoid trouble.

Su Ji simply pointed, and the setting sun shifted slightly.

Immediately, even the usually aloof local deity was dumbfounded.

Even if Su Ji only moves the sun by a fraction of an inch, that would be an earth-shattering divine power, and even a god-king would probably not be a match for Su Ji.

The thought was too terrifying, and the local deity immediately dismissed it. After a brief sensing, he learned the truth.

"I see!"

The Earth God breathed a sigh of relief, but still looked at Su Ji with surprise: "This mid-grade spell is not something that can be found in a real dream... and you said you had no contact with the Dongxuan lineage in your previous life?"

This sentence not only shows the local deity's understanding of Su Ji, but also exposes a problem.

"Lord Earth God, do you really not know about the mystical arts that arise naturally and form their own system?" Su Ji was surprised.

The local earth god was taken aback at first, then exclaimed in shock, "Mystic arts? I was wondering why this spell was so strange. Not only was the way it was cast unusual, but it was also difficult to detect. So this spell is actually the legendary mystic arts!"

Zhu Nanshan did not become a disciple of Taoism, nor did the local earth god.

The Earth God's "Minor Yin-Yang Method" was obtained through a transaction of divine power. Most Taoist practitioners simply exchanged knowledge with each other without any sectarian distinction.

If we're really going to be serious about it, the Earth God is also a self-taught, unorthodox cultivator.

The so-called mystical arts were only heard about from other sources by the local earth god. As for the profound system involving the true transmission of the Cave Mystery, the earth god had never even heard of it.

"this--"

Su Ji then realized that the local earth god was not joking, and quickly recounted what he had learned from Zhang Xiaolian that day in a philosophical manner.

For a moment, the Earth God was in shock, then deep in thought, and then suddenly realized what was happening.

At this moment, Zhu Nanshan had just persuaded the village elders and officials, and they were trying to gather the necessary items for the altar. It would take at least another quarter of an hour, but that didn't stop Su Ji from discussing metaphysics with the local earth god.

"The system is self-contained, the profound energy arises naturally, the mysteries are inherent, and the mystical arts are born spontaneously..."

The local deity has endured countless hardships to reach this point, and now, upon hearing Su Ji's words, it is as if a sudden enlightenment has been bestowed upon him.

However, the mysteries that the Earth God comprehended were extremely complex, and even if one wanted to organize them into a system, it would not be something that could be accomplished in a short time.

Even so, the Earth God still let out a heavy sigh: "A true teaching is contained in a single sentence, and the mystery is revealed in a single sheet of paper. Now, thanks to the Golden Toad's words of enlightenment, I truly have hope of becoming an immortal!"

The greatest challenge for cultivators is tribulation, which often eliminates more than 90% of those undergoing tribulation, not to mention how many cultivators at the Cave Profound Realm fall before they can even approach immortality.

Only then did the Earth God realize that surviving the tribulation was not entirely due to luck. If all his mysteries were pieced together, the probability of surviving the tribulation and becoming an immortal would naturally be very low.

The previous term "Xuanmen cultivators" has been changed to "Dongxuan cultivators," since only those with a sect can be called Xuanmen.
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(End of this chapter)