Netherworld Painted Skin Scroll

Chapter 395 Immortals Bestowing Official Titles
Zhao Qi, lying on the ground, was so shocked that he stood motionless like an ice sculpture. Li Wuxiang glanced at him and said in a low voice, "You'd better not go back to Ranshan in the future."

He chased after Zhao Qi—Zhao Qi walked wildly and aimlessly in the wind and snow, only saying after rushing down a gentle slope, "I'm such a useless piece of trash!"

Li Wuxiang sighed: "He's not a bad person at heart, we should be happy."

"What's there to be happy about?! You're such a useless piece of trash, you don't even dare to do evil! You only dare to hide in the mountains!"

As it turned out, Zhao Qi underestimated himself.

He could do more than just hide in the mountains; he could actually establish his own school of thought.

The third illusion is early summer, but this time the two did not appear in Jinshui, but in another unfamiliar town.

The town's layout is somewhat similar to Jinshui, nestled against a mountain. However, this mountain is much larger than Bishan, with a continuous range of peaks, some of which are even hidden in the clouds.

There are rivers in the town, more than one, and a dense network of them. White-walled, black-tiled buildings are scattered among these waterways, and people row small boats back and forth on the water. The two found themselves in a grove of trees, where cicadas chirped incessantly, and the sun rose high in the sky, casting its intense light.

The sudden change from cold to warm made Zhao Qi gasp for breath, almost choking. He glanced into the distance through the woods: "This isn't Jinshui."

"Yes, you should be somewhere nearby, either far or near."

"Can't you just come to my side?"

Li Wuxiang raised his hand and pointed to the town outside the forest: "I need to borrow the luck of humanity, so we can only appear in places with many people, or rather, places with many people closest to you. Now it seems you've left Jinshui and haven't returned to Ranshan—this isn't near Ranshan, is it?"

Zhao Qi glanced at the town in the distance: "I don't know, I haven't been down the mountain for long... Ah, wait a minute."

He looked up at the mountain again and nodded: "It's not near Ran Mountain. The mountain isn't right."

"So do you think you're still looking for your master, or you met your master and ran away?"

“Sigh, I really don’t want to think about the past anymore, it’s so painful.” Zhao Qi punched a tree next to him. “Let me think… When I was looking for Zhao Kui, I followed the clues all the way, but the clues stopped at Jinshui. If I hadn’t found him in Jinshui, I might have gone back to Ranshan. But since I didn’t go back, I must have met my master or know how he is doing.”

"So... I didn't go back with him."

Li Wuxiang nodded: "Change it again?"

Zhao Qi glanced at the town a few more times: "Why don't we go in and take a walk? I'm hungry, and more importantly, I've been living like a savage for too long."

Li Wuxiang completely understood. He had been in this world for almost a year, but had spent no more than three months living in towns, spending the rest of his time in the mountains and fields. In his previous life, he loved to occasionally escape the city and find a quiet place to lie down for an hour or two—that was a luxury for him.

But now he also feels that he has been living like a savage for too long. Otherwise, he wouldn't have told Zhao Qi before that he wanted to build a town near the Sword Sect's base.

The town was quite lively, and the people seemed to live a more prosperous life than in Jinshui, with a strong sense of everyday life. Zhao Qi's suggestion struck a chord with him, and he said, "Okay. Anyway, it's just an illusion. Let's go get something to eat."

Once you enter the town, you'll know you've come to the right place.

The town was both lively and festive—lively in the sense of bustling crowds, reminiscent of the streets of Deyang. Festive in the sense that the people here seemed genuinely happy, their faces beaming with smiles as they walked and did things, as if it were a holiday.

In this way, the two outsiders became completely inconspicuous. After walking for a while along the sun-baked dirt road by the river, they learned that this place was called Gaiyuan, which was located in the heart of the Central Plains. It was far from the Thirty-Six Sects and the Six Departments of the Mysterious Sect. The largest force in the vicinity was a rogue sect called the Shanghe Sect, but it was more than two hundred miles away from Gaiyuan.

The distance is neither too close nor too far. However, three years ago, a major road from the Shanghe Sect's dojo to Gaiyuan was blocked by a landslide. Neither side could spare the manpower to build a new road, so the connection between this place and the Shanghe Sect was severed.

At first, the people of Gaiyuan were terrified, feeling isolated and without protection in these mountains. But after a year, they found life had become easier and more comfortable than before, realizing that not having to pay tribute to the Shanghe faction was actually a good thing. Two years later, everyone was doing better than before, so they all hoped that one of the mountains along that road would collapse again, so that the Shanghe faction would forget about this place forever.

The two pieced together the whole story from bits and pieces of information they overheard in street food stalls. The locals mentioned these things because they were talking about the important event of a nearby immortal master taking on a disciple.

They sat under the awning outside the food stall, wanting to order, but the owner said there wasn't much to order; they just cooked whatever was caught that day, and it depended on how much they wanted.

Li Wuxiang and Zhao Qi hadn't used any money in a long time, so they didn't have any on them. But Zhao Qi had a dagger at his waist, with a brass hilt. Li Wuxiang took the dagger from under the table, dug out a piece, and placed it on the table, saying, "Let's go with this price."

The plump proprietress took it in her hand and weighed it in her hand, then said cheerfully, "Okay, please wait a moment."

She went into the shop, put away the copper ingot, and then went into the kitchen. A short while later, she came out with a net and a fish basket, crossed the road, went down to the river, found a spot with abundant aquatic plants in the bend, scooped some out with the net a few times, then turned and called out, "Do you eat river shrimp?"

Li Wuxiang and Zhao Qi couldn't help but laugh: "Food!"

The proprietress scooped up a few more nets and then asked, "Would you like some fried small fish?"

Zhao Qi said, "That works too!"

After a while, she asked again, "What else would you like to eat?"

Zhao Qi asked, "What else can we salvage?"

"There are also a few plump female crabs weighing three ounces each!"

Zhao Qi said, "That's about it, that's enough!"

The proprietress came back carrying a dripping net and basket, saying, "There are three dishes now. I'll also give you some wine. Please wait here."

She walked into the kitchen, and the aroma of cooking wafted out, followed by the sounds of food being thrown into hot oil and spatulas clattering. Less than fifteen minutes later, she came out carrying a plate of stir-fried river shrimp with tender scallions, saying, "Sorry to keep you waiting. I'm the only one left in the shop. This shop is about to close down, so I didn't prepare much food."

The river shrimp were first coated with a thin layer of flour and fried, then stir-fried. They smelled delicious when they were placed on the table. Zhao Qi wiped his chopsticks on his sleeve, picked up a shrimp, and bit into it with a loud crunch. He hadn't had anything good to eat in a long time, so he didn't say anything.

But Li Wuxiang then realized that the proprietress's cheerful demeanor was not because she had accepted the copper coin from earlier, but because of something else.

Why? Because after she said that, she didn't seem to be in a hurry to leave, and there might have been a hint of anticipation on her face—she might not have wanted anyone to ask, but she was definitely looking forward to it.

Li Wuxiang asked, "Your skills are quite good, why are you no longer operating?"

"My grandson is going to the mountains to cultivate immortality," the proprietress immediately said. "Aren't you from town? Haven't you heard?"

Zhao Qi pricked up his ears as he ate.

“My brother and I heard that the road here was blocked, so we bought some salt to sell here. But we found that you don’t need any. We got lost and encountered a tiger, so we spilled all the salt.”

“We don’t lack salt here; we have well salt. The youngest grandson of the Huang family, who makes salt, is also going to the mountains to cultivate immortality.”

"Oh..." Li Wuxiang sighed, "Do you lack pots, pans, hoes, shovels, and the like here?"

"It's not that we're short of them, but it's hard to say. The blacksmith's son here was supposed to go to the mountains to cultivate immortality, but the immortal said he was too old and wouldn't accept him anymore. Now, Li the blacksmith probably doesn't even have the mind to work anymore."

"Sigh, doing business is really tough. Is there anything you need here?"

Zhao Qi was getting increasingly anxious. The moment he heard the phrase "going to the mountains to cultivate immortality," he immediately thought that Li Wuxiang might actually be in the mountains himself. But Li Wuxiang kept circling around the topic and wouldn't ask!
He looked up at Li Wuxiang, only to see Li Wuxiang glancing at him with a smile, as if telling him not to rush.

Zhao Qi could only continue eating shrimp. When he heard the proprietress speak, she wasn't as enthusiastic as before: "We don't lack anything. Gaiyuan has everything. I'll go get you some small fish."

The small fish and river crabs were quickly prepared, in about fifteen minutes. However, the small fish weren't cooked as carefully as the river shrimp. It wasn't a problem if the small ones weren't gutted, but a few that were as long as a finger weren't gutted either, so they were all fried together and sprinkled with salt. The river crabs, on the other hand, were quite large, but the claws weren't cleaned properly, and the sides were dark and grimy.

The proprietress wiped her sweat with her apron as she brought the food over. After setting it down, she was about to leave when Li Wuxiang said, "Your shop's food is really good. It's a pity it's not open."

The proprietress sighed, "Alas, what can I do? My grandson is going to the mountains to cultivate immortality."

“Cultivating immortality? My brother and I have heard a lot about cultivating immortality. We can’t mess around with this. There are a lot of people who use this to cheat and swindle.”

The proprietress frowned: "We're not ripping people off here, we're doing—"

Li Wuxiang interrupted, "Hey, boss lady, your grandson is going to cultivate immortality, so why is your shop closed?"

The proprietress opened her mouth, as if she were choked by a breath. Li Wuxiang quickly said, "Why don't you sit down and rest? It's so hot, and you've been busy in the back—it's a drafty place here, and there's no one else around, so you can cool off." "I'm not hot," the proprietress said. "My health is much better than before; I've taken some kind of magic pill."

Having said that, she pulled over a stool and sat down, staring at Li Wuxiang's mouth, seemingly hoping that he would stop interrupting and ask a question that would satisfy her.

Li Wuxiang then asked, "Immortal pill? What kind of immortal pill?"

The proprietress immediately said, "It was given by a mountain immortal. You're new here, so you don't know, but every household in Gaiyuan has eaten the elixir given by the immortal."

Taking a breath, he immediately continued, "The immortal here isn't a swindler. Many years ago, he was cultivating in the mountains when he suddenly fell asleep. While the immortal was asleep, there was still an emperor in the world. When he woke up a few days ago, he found that three thousand years had passed. The immortal came down to inquire about the state of the world now, and after inquiring, he said that people in the world are really suffering. He was kind-hearted and couldn't bear to see us suffer, so he gave every household in the town an elixir."

Li Wuxiang was stunned: "Is there really such a good thing? What does the elixir look like? Is it golden?"

The proprietress tilted her head back and laughed: "You guys think it's a magic pill because you've never seen one before. Actually, the magic pill is pitch black and tiny, only about the size of a thumb. My family gave it to me, and what do you know? I was sick for many years, and after taking this magic pill, I was cured in about ten days—look at me now, can you tell that I used to be lying in bed every day, my feet were even rotting from lying down?"

As she spoke, she kicked off her wooden clogs and showed Li Wuxiang her feet. You could see that her feet were still slightly swollen, and there were signs of healing after the ulceration; even her toes were slightly blackened. But judging from her appearance, she was indeed much better than before.

"I can't believe it, I really can't believe it! How could that immortal be so kind?"

Li Wuxiang and Zhao Qi exchanged a glance, realizing that the dark, elixir she spoke of was actually a marching pill. He had eaten that while he was in the furnace. This marching pill wasn't even a proper elixir; it was merely a spiritual food with some medicinal properties.

However, the people of Gaiyuan used to lack medical care and medicine, so many of their ailments were probably not serious at their root, mostly due to long-term malnutrition—excluding this chubby one, of course. Li Wuxiang believed she may have previously had diabetes, which had led to some serious complications.

"Even immortals have the character 'human' in their name, so they don't just give away nothing. Immortals want to take on disciples. We all know this perfectly well. When immortals give us pills, it's partly because they're kind-hearted, and partly to let us know that they are true immortals. Otherwise, why wouldn't they give one to everyone? It's because they want to take on disciples. After giving the pills, they left and only returned a month later, saying that they now want to take on disciples."

The proprietress caught her breath. It was hot, and she was overweight and had a history of illness; she was already feeling a bit tired after talking so much. But fearing that Li Wuxiang would ramble on and on, she quickly continued, "As for apprentices, we don't accept adults, only children. Only those who have just been weaned, those who don't understand much yet. They say children this age have good temperaments—my grandson was just weaned, and Li the blacksmith's child is five years old this year, but neither of them will do."

"The immortal said that whoever takes in a child is destined for immortality, and he'll bestow upon them another elixir. To date, he's taken in over fifty children in town—isn't that strange? So many children in our town are destined for immortality?"

Just as Li Wuxiang was about to speak, the proprietress immediately answered her own question: "If you think about it carefully, it's not surprising. Why isn't it surprising? It's because the feng shui here in Gaiyuan is good; it's a blessed land. If it weren't a blessed land, why would the immortals have cultivated here back then? When they slept in the mountains, the surrounding area was filled with immortal energy, and the children born from them all had good aptitude."

"That's why I said my shop is closing down. The child has been sent to the mountains, and we all have to move there too. The immortal said that the child will study Taoism in his cave during the day and only return to rest at night. What kind of Taoism will he study? He will study silent meditation—we can't talk to the child after he comes back! Why can't we talk to him? Because proper practitioners are ordained. Do you understand what being ordained means?"

Neither Li Wuxiang nor Zhao Qi intended to reply.

"Receiving the ordination certificate means that the immortals have registered these children's names in heaven and placed them in the ranks of immortals. However, they are still mortals and their cultivation is not yet sufficient to ascend to heaven. When they achieve enlightenment, the whole family will benefit and ascend to heaven together. My grandson received the ordination certificate and was placed in the ranks of immortals. He was even given an official position in heaven. The immortals said that he was appointed as the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue. We don't know how high a position this is, but the immortals said that after this position is granted, he will truly be an official in heaven. During the day, when we are learning the Dao from him, we are mortals and his disciples. But when we return to sleep at night, we will be in front of the officials in heaven."

"The reason for practicing silent meditation is this: Heavenly officials cannot speak to mortals, and we cannot speak to them either. If we do, we will be revealing heavenly secrets and be removed from the list of those above, and our spiritual practice will be ruined. If a child can't help but speak to us, we must serve him and not speak. We must treat ourselves as his servants or maids. Only in this way can we secure our position as officials."

"Tell me, how can you not go? What if other families are jealous that your child has a higher official rank than theirs, and they deliberately try to provoke him into talking? Once he starts talking, it won't work!"

Li Wuxiang and Zhao Qi were still laughing, but their smiles were forced. They felt the sunlight suddenly turn cold, and a chill permeated the town.

The child, given an official position, became the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, and was unable to speak—the two immediately thought of "Refining Taiyi"!
Someone is practicing Taiyi in these mountains!

Li Wuxiang glanced at Zhao Qi and asked, "What does that immortal look like? Someone once read my brother's fortune and said he also had a connection to immortality—does he resemble my brother a bit?"

The proprietress frowned, glancing at Li Wuxiang and then at Zhao Qi, seemingly finding him disrespectful to the immortals. She shook her head, saying, "I don't know. The immortals came with their faces covered, meaning that if mortals saw them, it would be considered an offense, and bad for them."

Is it a man?

"Which one are you asking about?"

These words made Zhao Qi's heart pound: "How many immortals are there?"

"Two of them. One of them was a male immortal who came down. He said there was also a female immortal in the mountains."

Zhao Qi immediately asked, "Immortals must all be very young, right?"

The proprietress laughed: "What a question! Immortals have been asleep for three thousand years. Is it a matter of age? It's that immortals look and sound young!"

"You're right. My brother and I also want to see the immortals. Where in the mountains are they?"

The proprietress smiled again. But this time she kept her mouth shut and shook her head slightly: "This is not something you can talk about. If you have a special affinity for the immortals, then go and look for them."

Her smile was smug, as if she had gotten revenge for Li Wuxiang's constant interruptions.

Li Wuxiang nodded to Zhao Qi: "Let's go, let's go find it ourselves."

Before the proprietress could say anything more, the two women had already stood up from the table and quickly walked away.

Finding the immortal's approximate location isn't difficult. According to the landlady, the immortal has been accepting disciples for some time, but the disciples haven't been formally accepted into his monastery yet. Since the family members from town are going to live and serve him in the mountains, houses need to be built there.

The two of them drove around the town for a bit and found the road into the mountains. It used to be a small path, but now it was a wide road made up of tire tracks. There were a few people driving their cars and carrying packages along the road into the mountains.

The two sneaked into the woods by the roadside and walked further in, and Zhao Qi looked unhappy again.

“We think we’ve found the right person this time,” he said. “The man looks young, and he sounds young too, it must be me. But who is the fairy? My God, it can’t be Xue Baoping, can it? I said before that if I’m not in Jinshui anymore, I’ll definitely take her as my disciple. Perfect, she has no parents, and you said before that she might go astray… It can’t be her!?”

After saying this, he looked at Li Wuxiang with concern: "Or, I suggest... let's change to another illusion."

Li Wuxiang glanced at him: "Why?"

"If she goes astray, can you bring yourself to do it?"

"I don't need to take action. I'm here to help you this time."

"Huh? What if she kills someone or does something bad, and you don't care?"

"I don't care. This is an illusion; it's not good to meddle in too many things."

Zhao Qi was silent for a moment, then frowned: "Li Wuxiang, is this really an illusion? If it's an illusion, then we don't need to worry about it, right?"

"Yeah, that's why I don't care."

"You... sigh, never mind, I'll just be blunt. If you insist on going, and I end up corrupting Xue Baoping, or hitting or scolding her, don't be upset. Even if you are upset, you can't hold it against me!"

Li Wuxiang smiled and said, "I told you, it's an illusion."

Relieved, Zhao Qi walked a little further and then said, "Could it be Zhao Kui?"

"No. Zhao Kui has the Myriad Transformations Formula, which can capture children and take them in. Only those without that formula need to build a dojo in the mountains because they can't take children practicing Taiyi around, and they also need the support of the nearby townspeople. In this illusion, Zhao Kui probably didn't succeed, and you got his method. Your idea has come true, and you're going to establish a sect here."

Li Wuxiang was half right.

It's true that Zhao Kui wasn't refining Taiyi, but that doesn't mean Zhao Kui wasn't in this mountain.

The two walked along the path into the mountain, and after nearly an hour they saw a mountain peak. Halfway up the mountain, there was a stone platform that resembled the eaves of a flying eagle, but it was much wider.

Beneath the stone platform lies a valley surrounded by a stream, where the townspeople of Gaiyuan are building houses.

This stone platform seemed almost naturally designed to be used as a cave dwelling for cultivators. After the vegetation on the platform was leveled, a naturally formed cave could be seen on the adjacent mountain wall. Scaffolding had been erected at the cave entrance using bamboo, and timber and other materials had been transported up there, suggesting that they were planning to build a gateway to the cave.

On the side of the stone platform closest to the cliff, there was a clay sculpture. The lower half was embedded in a stone pier, while the upper half was a ceramic figure, looking remarkably similar to the kind of half-body statue from where Li Wuxiang had come from. And this half-body statue was instantly recognizable to the two of them—it was the likeness of Zhao Kui, so lifelike, as if a living person was inside, only covered with clay on the outside!

……

Today's count is 6100. I'm just letting you know in advance that this is a short side story, not a long one.

(End of this chapter)