Shushan Earthly Immortal

Chapter 358 Gathering All the Earthly Fiends, Riding the Dragon Chariot (5.4K words, requesting monthly votes at the beginning of the month~)

More than ten miles outside of Fire Dragon Island, a giant crab floats on the sea.

A person was sitting cross-legged on the back of the crab.

Suddenly, the man opened his eyes, leaned forward, and reached his hand into the seawater.

In the sea, an invisible sword light silently pierced through from afar, disappearing into the person's palm the instant it touched it.

After retrieving his flying sword, Cheng Xinzhan patted the sea beast beneath him, and the giant crab swam towards Fire Dragon Island, swinging its claws.

Once ashore, Cheng Xinzhan opened the body bag, collected the crabs, and headed straight for Duobaowei.

Two months have passed since Cheng Xinzhan surrendered to Fire Dragon Island from Huangliu Island, and he is now quite well-known on Fire Dragon Island.

Every time he led new recruits into battle, his team consistently suffered the fewest casualties among the Five Guards, while slaying the most demons. Those who survived, both human and corpse, held his leadership in high esteem.

In addition, just a few days ago, he actually managed to imbue the corpse of the Three Realms Green-Faced Ghost with intelligence, which made him famous once again. It even spread to the Funiu Guard, and the Grand Protector Wei Liyang and the newly appointed Protector Miao had heard about it and wanted to recruit him to their ranks, but Tang Yusheng sternly refused them all.

So, on his way to Duobaowei, whenever he met someone, they would take the initiative to greet him.

Cheng Xinzhan arrived at the "Golden Scale Tower" of the Duobao Guard, which is the treasure-gathering place of the Li Huo Hai. Subordinates of the Li Huo Hai can exchange pearls and shells for treasures here based on their merits. In addition, under the name of Duobao Guard, there are also "Treasure Exchange Tower" for bartering, "Pawnshop" for exchanging treasures for pearls and shells and consignment, "Treasure Repair Tower" for repairing treasures, and "Treasure Auction Tower" for bidding. There are all kinds of places with a variety of options, which is why Duobao Guard ranks second in the Executive Yuan.

Jinlin Tower is divided into different shops such as magic treasures, magical artifacts, elixirs, mountain delicacies, and marine wonders. Cheng Xinzhan came to the magical artifact shop.

Although this place is called Gangsha Shop, the business list hanging up shows that the section under the Heavenly Gang is still empty, while only the section under the Earthly Fiends has entries.

He looked around and saw nothing different from his last visit; it was still the same old place. These Earthly Fiends were sold by the coin, either through merit or by purchasing them with pearls and shells, but the latter was extremely expensive.

Cheng Xinzhan had made many achievements in the past two months, especially since Tang Yusheng had shared some of the credit for Huangliu Island's surrender with him, making him the richest among the newcomers. So, he naturally chose to exchange his achievements for his own.

The eight types of Earthly Fiends are arranged from highest to lowest according to the amount of merit required:

"The Underworld Prison Demon";
"The evil spirit of filthy soil and rotten water";
"Yinxu Ghost Lamp Sha";
"The rushing tide and the dispersing clouds";
"Purple Fire Rotten Peach Curse";
"The Owl's Chilling Wind";
"Tide Moon Illusion Wave Demon";
"The Bone-Melting and Blood-Coagulating Demon".

The list contains many Earthly Fiends that Cheng Xinzhan is familiar with, and he can roughly guess their origins: "Filthy Soil and Rotten Water Fiend" should have come from Yunnan and Miao regions; "Yinxu Ghost Lantern Fiend" must have been obtained from the Xu Clan Ghost Kingdom; "Cold Owl Yin Wind Fiend" is commonly found in the demonic sects of Lianglong area; "Purple Fire Rotten Peach Fiend" goes without saying, it came from the Southern Wilderness; "Bone-Melting and Blood-Coagulating Fiend" is a specialty of the Hehuang Blood God Sect.

As for "Ben Chao Pai Yun Sha" and "Xi Yue Huan Bo Sha", they sound like local sea evil spirits.

This list also shows how close the exchanges are between various demonic sects nowadays.

Cheng Xinzhan had previously inquired about the "Lower Spring Yin Prison Fiend," which ranked first in both sales and price. It was believed that Gu Chen had found a secret realm and obtained a large quantity of this fiend. Legend has it that this fiend originated from "Lower Spring," one of the nine underground springs, a place where ancient corpses were buried, and is said to be an underground corpse kingdom. This fiend is also one of the very few fiends in the modern world that people mistake for already dead from old age. However, it has returned to the public eye with Gu Chen's help, and it is also the most nourishing fiend for Yin corpses.

Each of the Earthly Fiends on the list is priced extremely high, but their rankings are not problematic.

The top two, "Xiaquan Yinyu Sha" and "Huitu Fushui Sha," are both Sha related to Yin earth and Yin water. The importance of Yin earth to Yin corpses is self-evident, and Yin water is also widely used at sea. The third-ranked "Yinxu Guideng Sha" is a Sha of Yin earth and Yin fire. Since the Red Corpse is the most accomplished Ding fire corpse in the world today, it is not surprising that many fire corpses come to it—such as Qingbo.

The fourth-ranked "Rushing Tide and Dispelling Clouds" is the only Yang Sha on the list. It can cause waves to surge and clouds to collapse. It is extremely powerful at sea and is therefore quite sought after.

Cheng Xinzhan was naturally very familiar with the fifth-ranked "Purple Fire Rotten Peach Sha". The reason this Sha appeared in the Li Fire Sea and the reason it was popular in the Li Fire Sea were the same as the third-ranked "Yin Xu Ghost Lamp Sha", both being Ding Fire Earth Sha. Moreover, because the "Purple Fire Rotten Peach Sha" was a new Sha and came in large quantities, it was much cheaper than the "Yin Xu Ghost Lamp Sha".

The bottom three, "Frosty Owl Yin Wind Fiend", "Tide Moon Illusion Wave Fiend" and "Bone-Melting Blood-Coagulating Fiend", are all Yin Fiends that can be used by Yin Corpses. They are quite powerful for refining techniques and weapons, but their compatibility with the Yin Corpse race is not very high.

"Grandpa Lai, you've arrived! Do you see anything you like?"

When the shopkeeper saw that it was Lai Youde, he immediately bowed and greeted him with a smile.

He recognized this Boss Lai, after all, he was a rising star recently. Moreover, this man had come to see Gang Sha several times, but hadn't bought anything, which made him somewhat resentful. However, he dared not say anything. Besides the fact that this man was a genuine Third Realm expert, he also knew that this man had a good relationship with Manager Che, though he didn't know how they had established that connection.

This time, however, Cheng Xinzhan didn't just look without buying. He looked at the list, calculated his achievements over the past two months, and figured it should be just enough. So he pointed to the list and said...
"Two zhu each."

The shopkeeper's eyes widened upon hearing this. Although he was merely a minor cultivator at the second realm, while the speaker was a powerful cultivator at the third realm, he still couldn't help but whisper a reminder.

"Grandpa Lai, I've never seen anyone buy Qi Sha like this before. Usually, it starts at five zhu. And even five zhu of Qi Sha can only be used to comprehend the meaning of the Dharma, it can't be used for anything practical. And even then, comprehending the meaning of the Dharma isn't guaranteed, it's mostly just a waste of time. If you want to refine pills, practice magic, or forge weapons, you'll need at least half a liang to make it effective!"

"I'm being nosy, but I suggest you use those achievements to buy just one thing; that might be a safer approach."

Cheng Xinzhan naturally knew that what the shopkeeper said was true. However, he had more than enough time to comprehend the meaning of the Dharma with the help of the evil spirits. In addition, he had other considerations.

So he handed over his token, a smile on his face, but his voice was unmistakable, and said...
"that's it."

Seeing this, the shopkeeper could only agree, take the token, deduct merits, and then turn around to remove the curse from Cheng Xinzhan.

His hands moved nimbly, but in his heart he was filled with disdain. He thought to himself, "He really is a bumpkin from Yellow Sulfur Island. He's never seen a Fiend in his life. Now that he's climbed up to Fire Dragon Island and entered the Third Realm, he's suddenly become a nouveau riche, as if he's afraid others won't know he possesses a Fiend."

But what's the point of saving money to buy such a minor remedy? Just like those precious medicines, do you think you can have their effects just by smelling them without actually buying them? They don't even understand the principle that a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. A country bumpkin is a country bumpkin, and they act in such a petty way!
"Grandpa Lai, you're all better now."

The shopkeeper turned around, put on a smile again, returned Cheng Xinzhan's token, and then respectfully took a tray containing eight lead bottles, all of which were the smallest size, about the size of a thumb.

Cheng Xinzhan flicked his sleeve across the tray, collected the items, and then turned to leave.

As soon as he stepped out of Jinlin Tower, he bumped into Che Liangcai. He bowed and greeted him, and Che Liangcai came forward to help him up. They then chatted for a while before Cheng Xinzhan took his leave.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Back in the cave, Cheng Xinzhan, as was customary, first used the "Eight Treasures Cloud Light Cloth" to conceal himself before taking out everything from his sleeves.

Eight small lead bottles.

This was just redeemed from Jinlinlou.

Seven large lead bottles.

This was given to me by Che Liangcai just now.

This list contains one tael of "Xiaquan Yinyu Sha," one and a half taels of "Yinxu Guideng Sha," two taels of "Benchao Paiyun Sha," one tael of "Hanxiao Yinfeng Sha," and two taels of "Xiyue Huanbo Sha." Che Liangcai provided all five of these earthly evil spirits that Cheng Lixinzhan did not have on the Jinlinlou list, and in considerable quantities.

In addition, Che Liangcai also gave Cheng Xinzhan the "Filthy Soil and Corrupted Water Sha" and "Yang Stone Steamed Soil Sha" that he already possessed, and each of them weighed nearly two ounces.

The powerful and rare are the most precious and rare. Even though Che Liangcai is in charge of the Treasure Guard, the sea is not the same as the land, and the demonic path is not the same as the righteous path. These powerful and rare earthly beings are all the wealth that Che Liangcai has accumulated over the years through his own efforts and through any means of embezzlement.

Cheng Xinzhan didn't actually need to spend his merits to exchange for them, but he insisted on going to the trouble of using up all his merits today, just to cover his tracks. That way, when he unintentionally revealed the essence of these Earthly Fiends when casting spells or using magical artifacts in the future, he would have an excuse.

Then, he took out three more lead bottles, but these lead bottles were different in style from the fifteen demonic lead bottles next to them. They were more rounded in shape and had more beautiful patterns—they were exchanged from the sect.

The demon lord's methods of governing sects were all copied from the righteous sects, simplified, and modified to become his own. The demonic sect has the Golden Scale Tower, where merits can be exchanged for treasures, and the Three Pure Ones Mountain naturally has a similar institution, calling "merits" "points." Moreover, compared to the demonic sect, the immortal sect's point-earning system is more reasonable, the treasures are more clearly categorized, and there are far more varieties.

In Cheng Xinzhan's generation, Feng Jihu was a renowned expert at accepting sect missions to earn points and gold. He was even the one who accepted Wen Sukong's mission when Cheng Xinzhan entered the mountains. Later, at the Haoran Alliance, it was the same; Feng Jihu earned a considerable number of points, which he used to exchange for his Core Formation spiritual energy. However, even so, the points Feng Jihu earned were a drop in the ocean compared to Cheng Xinzhan's; Cheng Xinzhan hadn't even bothered to count how many points he actually had.

In the early stages of his cultivation, he did earn and exchange points, but the points he earned were few, enough to exchange for low-level magical artifacts and books. He couldn't afford anything valuable, so the cave stone that had accompanied him for many years was obtained from the Jiang family of Poyang Lake.

On the contrary, when the points in his jade pendant later skyrocketed and he could exchange them for whatever he wanted, he never redeemed them again.

There's a reason for this.

His first surge in points came from the discovery of the golden unicorn beneath the Zhongdu Imperial Mausoleum. However, at that time, he had already been exceptionally allowed to cultivate at the Lei Mansion, learning the magic of the Cardinal Mountain. After returning from the mission, the sect leader bestowed upon him lotus seeds, and despite these rewards, his points were not deducted.

The second time was when Bai Yujing became famous and brought glory to his sect, his points increased significantly again. However, upon his return, his sect bestowed upon him a magic sword, granted him the opportunity to audit the Sword Throwing Mountain and White Tiger Mountain, and gave him many rewards without deducting any points.

As for his later achievements, such as offering ginseng fruit pits, deciphering the Celestial Master's Seal, destroying the Wuling Demonic Sect, and even welcoming the Dragon King, he has accomplished many great things. Sect points flowed into his jade tablet like water, not to mention the daily salaries from his positions as Master of Ten Thousand Laws, Lord of Pear Snow Mountain, and White Tiger Envoy.

At the same time, the extra rewards the sect gave him after each meritorious service were immeasurable. Just the fact that he had unlimited access to the scriptures and methods of the eight veins of Lotus Blessed Land and was given the title of Master of Ten Thousand Laws was worth countless points.

Moreover, the sect never asked him to do anything or assigned him any tasks. He could go wherever he wanted and do whatever he wanted, and the mountain community always supported him.

Cheng Xinzhan was well aware of the preferential treatment he received from the sect, so he never redeemed the vast amount of points in the jade token. If he were to redeem too many, it would ultimately be competing with his fellow sect members for wealth.

The sect has an exchange pool, a treasure vault, and a secret vault. For many fellow disciples, the exchange pool, which offers high-quality items at low prices, is their only channel to obtain top-grade treasures.

Cheng Xinzhan was different. He had far more resources than his fellow disciples, and he frequently accessed treasures and secret vaults. If he needed anything important, such as Yu Gang, the visualization diagram of the Liver Palace Wood Duke, the Taiyi Salvation Method, or the pupil technique of the Left Eye Yang Palace, he would directly ask his elders for it.

Therefore, he would never allow himself to retrieve the treasures from the pool.

He knew clearly that his fate was already closely intertwined with the destiny of his sect. Therefore, he usually thought more about what he could bring to his sect, to the Daoist sect, to the righteous path, and to this land.

However, what Cheng Xinzhan didn't know was that it was precisely because he knew his limits so well, cared for his fellow disciples and was devoted to his sect, that the sect was even more generous in rewarding him.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

That said, why did they exchange points for several lead bottles this time?

Firstly, because these few dishes required a large quantity and were prepared in a short time, I had no choice but to seek help from my master.

Secondly, this matter is far too trivial. He simply wants a few evil spirits; does he really need to seek out someone of the level of a sect leader or mountain lord? That would make him seem like he's ordering around his elders, which is rather presumptuous.

After reuniting with Uncle Bao, Cheng Xinzhan learned about the insect's abilities and had the following conversation with it:
"Uncle Bao, can your 'Cart-Pulling Pill' move the brocade dragon corpse in the island-protecting formation?"

"Ah, a dragon corpse, a brocade dragon from the fourth realm, then it will need a very, very good chariot-drawing pill."

"Then how can we refine this excellent 'Train-Training Pill'?"

"Then Uncle Bao will need to consume a lot of earth evil, metal evil, and dragon evil."

"How much is 'a lot'? Che Liangcai is in charge of Duobao Guard, isn't there enough Earthly Fiends there?"

"Not enough, not enough, we need more, lots and lots more!"

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Cheng Xinzhan himself possessed quite a few earth-evil elements, including the top-tier "Huangji Zhengwu Sha" and "Dutian Liuji Sha". However, these two types of evil elements were extremely rare in Cheng Xinzhan's body. He could condense a drop of each for the insect to taste, but he couldn't take out more.

A few days ago, Tang Yusheng gave me a dish called "Yangshi Steamed Soil Evil", but the portion was very small.

In addition, there are still some remaining "filthy soil and stagnant water evil", "towering peaks and heavy rocks evil", and "lone smoke obscuring the sun evil".

There is only one Golden Sha, "Earth Lung Weaving Gold Sha"; there are two Dragon Sha, "Hibernating Dragon Yin-Yang Sha" and "Angry Water Dragon King Sha".

Cheng Xinzhan has quite a few types of Earthly Fiends, but apart from the "Angry Water Dragon King Fiend" which is quite powerful, the others are not many.

Now, Che Liangcai has supplemented three earth evils: "Yinxu Ghost Lamp Evil", "Yangshi Steamed Soil Evil", and "Xiaquan Yinyu Evil".

These were all shown and calculated by Shubao, and Shubao's answer was still not good enough.

The most crucial element in refining the Dragon-Training Pill is Earth Fiend, but the quantity is still slightly insufficient. The requirement for Metal Fiend is less than Earth Fiend, but even one instance is far from enough. Dragon Fiend is only needed for refining the Dragon-Training Pill, and we already have enough "Angry Water Dragon King Fiend."

Therefore, the remaining shortcomings can only be made up for by the sect's resources.

Coincidentally, the family also noticed something amiss with the Fire Dragon Flag, and while the flying sword was delivering the command flag, they also brought back these three bottles of Earthly Fiend. Just now, while fighting with Che Liangcai, they took the Earthly Fiend, and the command flag had already been returned to Che Liangcai.

Cheng Xinzhan used points in the sect to exchange for three Earthly Fiends.

The first one, "Fertile Fields Abundant Harvest," is an earth-elemental evil, weighing three ounces.

Just as "Heavy Clouds Obscuring the Sky" is associated with Sanqing Mountain and "Yellow Extreme Zhengwu Sha" with Juqu Mountain, "Fertile Fields and Abundant Harvest Sha" is a unique Sha of Gezao Mountain. This Sha governs fertile fields and the flourishing of crops, and is a superior Yang Earth Sha. At the same time, it is also the Yin-Yang opposite of "Dutian Liuji Sha".

This spirit is extremely rare. Besides its use in ordinary cultivation, it can also be used to nourish wasteland and stimulate spiritual roots. In rituals, ceremonies, prayers, and altar practices, it is a first-class sacred object. Precisely because of this, Gezao Mountain, which values ​​rituals and ceremonies highly, regards this spirit extremely seriously and would never give it away casually.

That is, the two Ge brothers are from the same clan, which is why they can obtain some ginseng fruit every year from Sanqing Mountain. Cheng Xinzhan knew that back then, in order to ensure that the ginseng fruit could settle down safely, the clan used a lot of this evil spirit when building Wufu Mountain.

The second one, "Turning Earth into Gold," is a dual-elemental evil, consisting of earth and metal, and weighs two ounces.

The name of this evil spirit comes from the ancient supernatural power of "turning soil into gold," but in reality, this evil spirit cannot truly transform the five elements and turn dust into metal.

This evil spirit is also a yang evil spirit, with two miraculous effects. First, it can "remove water and expel evil," making it the nemesis of "filthy soil and stagnant water evil spirits." It can compact stagnant soil and swamps, removing evil spirits from the soil. Second, this evil spirit can "generate jade and stimulate metal," stimulating the metal element, gathering soil into stone, and growing ore to produce gold.

Besides its uses in mining, mountain building, magical combat, treasure refining, and domain formation, this evil spirit also has an important function: nourishing the golden core. Although it doesn't have the miraculous effect of causing tribulation lightning to arrive earlier like the "Cool Breeze of Heavenly Gang," it can make the golden core more solid and firm, increasing the success rate of the next tribulation. Therefore, it is highly sought after by cultivators and is extremely valuable.

That is why, even though Cheng Xinzhan had enough points to exchange for the evil spirit, he did not take more, thinking that his fellow disciples might need it more.

He planned to feed some to the insects and keep some for himself, since his fourth Golden Core tribulation was only a few years away, and he wanted to strengthen his Golden Core as much as possible.

The third one, "Shouyang Red Smoke Evil," is a metal evil, weighing five taels.

As its name suggests, this evil spirit is a companion evil spirit to the copper treasure among the three treasures of money in the current cultivation world. It is a yang evil spirit. The birth of this evil spirit requires a large-scale source of red-pure first-mountain copper, and the copper mine must be located in a sunny place on high ground, tempered by thunder and fire and exposed to the first rays of the sun. Over time, red smoke will grow in the copper, which is this evil spirit. It is named so because it was first born in first-mountain.

This evil spirit belongs to the metal element, and is also close to thunder and fire, and connected to sunlight. It is a superior spiritual object for refining yang magic treasures, cultivating yang magic, and establishing yang Dao domains.

At this moment, when Uncle Bao was called out to take a look, Chong'er finally nodded in satisfaction.

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(End of this chapter)