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

Chapter 60 Fireworks Feast for the Gods, Bloodline Illusion

The Tiger King descended the mountain and easily killed the pig demon leader, demonstrating his formidable strength.

Now, the Tiger King sits leisurely on the rock, his every move exuding a sense of leisurely stroll.

Su Ji quickly realized: "Yes, the Tiger King is the king of the entire White Rock Mountain Range, and he has been so for one or two hundred years..."

Mortal emperors reign for no more than sixty years, but the Tiger King has ruled the Yang Realm of the White Rock Mountains for so long that he has probably already left his mark on every inch of the land.

The Tiger King hunted down the pig demon leader as easily as he was eating, and none of the gods had any objections.

"Phew—" After confirming the cause of the pig demon's uprising, the mountain god and spirit official breathed a sigh of relief.

However, the Tiger King's behavior was too forceful. If the Mountain God Temple were to be equally forceful, it might send a misleading signal.

So, after a moment's thought, the mountain god made some concessions on the compensation issue that had just been argued about.

"To compensate the Earth God Temple for its losses, the Mountain God Temple is willing to provide a certain amount of spiritual materials, including one portion each of the five-colored spiritual soil of superior quality, and two superior spiritual trees..."

"In order to compensate the people of Dongsang Village for their losses, the Mountain God Temple is willing to pay 300 taels of silver and mobilize some of the mountain's spiritual energy to the southern part of the Baiyan Mountain Range."

"Within the next three years, the people of Dongsang Village will be able to harvest all the spiritual plants produced in Nanshan, and other resources can also be used appropriately..."

"To make up for the incident where Zhou Wu was accidentally injured by the Day Wandering Spirit General, the Mountain God Temple is willing to compensate him as agreed, with a piece of top-grade Yang spiritual material, Blazing Crystal, with a diameter of one and three-tenths inches."

Five-colored spiritual soil is the best material for building the Earth God Temple and the Underworld, while spiritual wood is needed for door gods and spirit soldiers... Zhang and Su Ji jointly obtained a top-grade spiritual herb, Rehmannia glutinosa root.

Yan Tianchou couldn't help but exclaim, "The Earth God has secured suitable treasures for each of the spiritual soldiers. These are far superior to the treasures that the Black Tiger Demon Ghost traded with the previous Earth God!"
"The top-grade spiritual herbs, Rehmannia glutinosa root and century-old Ganoderma lucidum, are beneficial to the physical body. If one obtains a suitable bloodline and spirit cultivation technique, one can use the power of these herbs to cultivate qi and blood. They can also be used to prepare spiritual meals and refine pills for consumption..."

In fact, many cultivation methods have commonalities.

Whether it's cultivation or the path of bloodline, a healthy body is essential. The former seeks longevity, while the latter prioritizes physical strength; the focus is simply different.

As for those spiritual materials, they were also arranged in advance by the spirit soldiers of the local earth god temple.

Su Ji once learned from the local earth god that top-grade spiritual materials do not necessarily become top-grade spiritual weapons. Many people even use top-grade spiritual materials as the main material for mid-grade spiritual weapons. Being able to refine a flawless mid-grade spiritual weapon is considered to be an exceptional achievement...

Like the long staff that the local earth god seized, it is itself a high-grade spiritual material. If you want to refine it into a high-grade spiritual weapon, you need to keep looking for suitable materials to incorporate into it.

The fusion of materials is the fusion of energy and also the fusion of spiritual patterns. Once the spiritual patterns reach the point where they can be used to perform high-grade spiritual techniques, the spiritual artifact is considered a success.

However, just like Su Ji once fused a failed spiritual artifact copper coin, the spiritual patterns of most spiritual artifacts are pieced together, and even if there is room for growth, there is still an upper limit.

For example, this staff that reaches the eyebrows might become a slightly lower-quality superior spiritual weapon, but it would be extremely difficult for it to become a regular-quality superior spiritual weapon.

“Three hundred taels of silver…” Su Ji’s heart stirred slightly.

The three hundred taels of silver mentioned by the mountain god spirit official were insignificant to the mountain god temple, which possessed the entire Baiyan Mountain Range.

There's no other reason than that people live off the land and water. According to the local deity, the Baiyan Mountains even have silver mines.

This money will definitely be distributed to the affected people, and the Wu family will certainly receive some as well, but Su Ji prefers to give money to the injured members of the Wu family rather than to give them money to rebuild their ancestral hall.

As for the South Mountain mentioned by the mountain god and spirit official, it is located in the southwest direction. As it is the southernmost mountain in the Baiyan Mountain Range, its slant makes it closer to Xisang Village.

Nanshan Mountain is no more than fifty feet high, and it is covered with many hawthorn and apricot trees. Although it looks small, it actually covers at least five hundred acres.

Yan Tianchou said excitedly, "Living beings possess special vital energy. Some cultivators even regard mountains as living things that can breathe, the most famous of which is the dragon vein."

"Even if there is no dragon vein in the White Rock Mountains, the spiritual energy of the mountains is enough to make many plants become spiritual plants. For the next three years, Nanshan can be regarded as a low-grade spiritual plant garden..."

The reason why the Tiger King could live for more than two hundred years must be related to the spiritual energy of the White Rock Mountain Range, in addition to the cultivation method, and spiritual herbs were also indispensable.

Su Ji couldn't help but sigh with emotion, "The White Rock Mountains only leaked a little bit of mountain spiritual energy, yet it could turn an ordinary mountain into a low-grade spiritual plant garden. The abyss at the bottom of Seven Mile Lake, however, has many water veins and earth veins flowing through it. No wonder it has become a treasure land for cultivation in the eyes of the nearby demons and ghosts!"

The Taibai River stops flowing in this section, but the underground water veins still have a certain scale. In addition, the earth veins can also appear and disappear only briefly, which creates the wonder of the deep abyss at the bottom of the lake.

At this moment, Yan Tianchou also had more conjectures: "As the saying goes, 'A mountain is not famous because of its height but because of the immortals dwelling there; water is not sacred because of its depth but because of the dragons residing within.' After cultivators become immortals, they also need to absorb energy from heaven and earth. Perhaps the spiritual energy of the mountains and water veins is the source of the magic power of immortals and gods of strength!"

The character "仙" (xian) is composed of a person and a mountain.

In Yan Tianchou's view, this mountain is not hidden in the mountains, but rather it is the spiritual energy of those mountain ranges.

After all, earth vein spiritual energy is hard to find, and water vein spiritual energy is too deep... Only mountain spiritual energy is not only readily available everywhere, but also contains a wide variety of attributes.

Yan Tianchou continued, "The Earth God calls Xuanxian and Zhenxian Earth Immortals Earth Immortals, which corresponds to 'humans have five internal organs, and the earth has five elements, and humans and earth complement each other.'"

"The earth's spiritual energy contains most of the metal, wood, water, fire, and soil elements found in the mountains. Even if some are missing, they can be found through other methods..."

Of the five elements (metal, wood, water, fire, earth), fire is the least common, yet cultivators can find volcanoes and even compensate by using wood to generate fire.

Su Ji's heart stirred: "Perhaps there are earth immortals living in seclusion in the Baiyan Mountains, absorbing the spiritual energy of the mountains to cultivate. Earth immortals certainly wouldn't offend the mountain god temple, and might even be on good terms with the Tiger King."

"Even the deepest abyss at the bottom of Qili Lake should have some earth immortals living in seclusion, but most demons and ghosts are unaware of it..."

The Earth God only mentioned the remnants of the Earth Immortals and the God of Strength from the Taibai Dragon Clan, but did not mention the Earth Immortals themselves.

Alternatively, the local earth god might be pragmatic, having some guesses but not certainty, and thus refrain from discussing the matter.

Either the local deity is truly ignorant, or one can glean some insight from his lack of knowledge of the mysterious system.

Su Ji's heart skipped a beat: "If there really is a hermit living in the abyss at the bottom of Seven Mile Lake, then we'll have to be more careful about tonight's investigation..."

The meeting of the three temples ended prematurely because the Tiger King came down from the mountain. The Monkey King was taken away by the gods of the mountain temple, but the Snake Demon was not so lucky.

Now that the compensation was in place, the deities tacitly agreed not to mention the matter of the daytime spirits of the mountain god temple being involved again.

Seeing that the two deities from the mountain temple had left, the other deities from the city god temple were also about to depart with the results of their investigation.

The spirit general of the City God Temple sighed, "Earth God, we have been colleagues for more than ten years. How could I not know your strength?"
"Furthermore, I was truly preoccupied with my duties before, which is why I was unable to come and eliminate the walking corpses... Now that the Tiger King is by my side, you must be extra careful!"

Like Su Ji and Zhang Shi, the two sides took turns working together every day, and after more than ten years, they had long since figured out each other's temperaments.

Although the Earth God's followers are detached from worldly affairs, they are too eager for public good. The reason why the day-roaming spirit general of the mountain god temple spoke like this was because he was afraid that the Earth God would anger the Tiger King. The Earth God nodded, and then said solemnly, "I know what is important. For the sake of the people of the two villages and the overall situation of Jinfeng County, I will never do anything to provoke the tiger."

In fact, there are also human villages in the Baiyan Mountains. Although they worship the Mountain King and the Tiger King, they belong to the surrounding counties in secular society.

There is a village near the river to the east of Nanshan, which is the upstream neighbor of the two villages. The Li family caravan from Xisang Village often went there to buy goods to sell in the city.

If the two villages of the east and west were to clash with the Tiger King, the villagers might even side with the Tiger King, which is not something anyone wants to see.

After the City God Temple deities left, the two villages fell silent again, while the spirit soldiers chatted excitedly.

This time, the Earth Spirit Soldiers and the Central Stream Spirit Soldiers engaged in a verbal battle with the Mountain God Temple Gods, securing many benefits for everyone.

Moreover, the land gods will certainly offer rewards. Although they may have lost some divine power due to the "private settlement," their contributions will certainly not be erased.

The snake demon and the Wu family's spirits were all taken away, which can be considered to complete the last link in the haunting case. In addition, since this matter has caused quite a stir, there may be a result in three to five days.

Each local deity performed its duties, while the villagers of both villages became quite lively.

In the morning, a pig demon broke into the village. Although it only bumped into the Wu family ancestral hall, it still caused panic among the villagers.

After waiting for more than half an hour, some people mustered up the courage to check if the mulberry grove had been damaged, while others braved the mud and water to go and pay their respects at the graves.

The person visiting the grave was none other than Zhou Wu's elder brother, Zhou Wen.

Zhou Wen was unaware of the truth behind Zhou Wu's madness and death, but after recent events, he belatedly began to speculate.

"The Wu family raises walking corpses and colludes with demons and ghosts in the mountains... Perhaps the Wu family was behind my second brother's affair, and now they are surely getting their comeuppance!"

After Zhou Wu went mad, Zhou Wen's life also became difficult. If Zhou Wen hadn't married early, he probably wouldn't have been able to find a wife at all...

Now that the Wu family has suffered this calamity, Zhou Wen is overjoyed. After speaking at his parents' graves, he continues on his way to a more distant place.

Zhou Wu died young, so he could only be buried in a more distant place, without even a grave.

Zhou Wen remembered the location and soon arrived at a tall pine tree. He leaned against the tree, squatted down, and started talking to himself.

After talking for a while, a howl suddenly rang out in the distance, startling Zhou Wen.

When Zhou Wen got up to look, he saw streaks of fire descending from the sky, instantly killing the two pig demons, one near and one far.

Zhou Wen was so frightened that he couldn't move his legs, but after a while, his face suddenly lit up with joy, and he hurriedly ran back to the village.

Not long after, Zhou Wen summoned several of his clansmen. These people were initially skeptical, but they were overjoyed when they arrived.

It should be noted that even a pound of meat from an ordinary domestic pig can sell for eight or nine coins, while a pound of meat from a pig demon that has cultivated its qi and blood can sell for at least twelve coins.

Not to mention, the pig demons are much larger, and the two pig demons alone should weigh more than 300 jin (150 kg).

The pig demon was most likely killed by a deity. Even if it couldn't be sold, it should have been offered as a sacrifice to the ancestors and deities, and then shared among the villagers.

Moreover, not all parts of the pig demon can be used for sacrifice. Zhou Wen will definitely get the largest share, and those who help carry the pig will also get a larger share.

When the two pigs were carried into the village, the village became lively, and a sacrificial ceremony was planned to celebrate the arrival of spring rain and the surviving of the calamity at the local earth god temple.

Because the roads were slippery after the rain, Chen Dianshi and his group, along with Zhu Nanshan, stayed behind and joined the celebration.

The chef was none other than the Li family team, which was in charge of weddings and funerals in the two villages, with the Li couple, the parents of Zhongliu Shenlingbing, being the main members.

The Li couple had been preparing banquets for decades, so their skills were beyond question. When a young girl came over, they seemed to be enlightened, and listened attentively while preparing the dishes.

"So the golden toad messenger of the God of Wealth is actually the golden toad from the Zhang family!"

This morning, the Li couple remembered the words "Golden Toad Messenger" very well, and it was hard not to connect them with the golden toad that Zhang Xiaolian had found in the river.

Nowadays, Zhang Xiaolian speaks only of recipes for making money, and the couple even regards her as a chosen messenger of the God of Wealth.

"Plenty of oil...stir-fry...enhance the flavor..."

The Li couple felt as if they had opened up a new world, and when they took charge of cooking, they quickly entered their best state, even achieving the most perfect level of control over the heat in their history.

Soon, one dish after another was served. Some were for offering to the gods, while others were for Chen Dianshi and Zhu Nanshan, the "meritorious officials."

The Kitchen God enjoyed the smoke and fire when he controlled the stove fire, while other gods enjoyed delicious food by consuming the air.

Su Ji descended upon the golden toad in Zhang Xiaolian's pocket. The Li family and Zhang Xiaolian were his "believers," so they naturally did not forget to prepare a sacrificial feast for this golden toad messenger of the God of Wealth.

The moment his consciousness returned to his body, a phantom flashed through Su Ji's mind.

Su Ji's heart stirred: "The Tiger King is indeed powerful. Even the illusion of his malevolent aura can probably drive many demons and ghosts mad."

Fortunately, Su Ji's Heavenly Soul Spirit Realm was not low, so it could be considered as "filtering" it once.

Soon, Su Ji put the matter of the Tiger King out of his mind and began to enjoy the sacrificial offerings in the kitchen.

The moment Su Ji tasted the blood and flesh of the pig demon, which contained vital energy, he felt a long-lost sense of happiness. Although the food was still somewhat lacking, it was much better than the food he had eaten in the past year.

"Roar!"

Su Jitian's spiritual realm was not low, but his life soul had never been cultivated, and he was once again affected by the Tiger King's evil aura illusion.

Immediately, Su Ji felt a surge of anger and even planned to use the power of the magical toad to suppress or even completely eliminate the evil aura illusion.

Just as Su Ji was about to do so, he suddenly stopped.

In the illusion, a moon rose at some unknown time, its light shining on the mountain opposite the blood-red tiger, reflecting the dark golden toad's shadow.

Four thousand words, a little late.

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(End of this chapter)