Shushan Earthly Immortal

Chapter 362 Changing Generals, Fierce Tortoise and Vicious Serpent

"Live."

Huang Laosan replied.

Upon hearing this, Cheng Xinzhan's heart sank. Earth fire, in contrast to heavenly fire, belongs to Yin, specifically Ding fire. However, it is also a fire vein on the sea, fire in water, and in contrast to the ocean, it belongs to Yang.

Such a fiery cave, with yin within yang and isolated yang surrounding yin, is perfectly suited as the resting place for the Ding fire corpse, which embodies the principle of yin giving rise to yang. If this fiery cave were large enough, it could even serve as the place for the red corpse to unite with the Dao.

Undersea fire veins are extremely difficult to detect under normal circumstances due to the suppression and obstruction of the ocean, unless they are underground volcanoes that even the ocean cannot suppress. However, once an underground volcano erupts, it means that this is a place where water and fire are intertwined and yin and yang are in harmony, and it is often occupied by a dominant power.

For example, the location of the Yellow Sea Dragon Palace.

The fact that a living underwater fire cave is hidden beneath Huangliu Island is indeed the worst news imaginable.

"Have you explored the fire veins thoroughly?"

he asks.

Huang Laosan could guess what Cheng Xinzhan was thinking, so he answered.

"The Yin Corpses are afraid of heat, so most of the miners are former residents of Yellow Sulfur Island. They notified me immediately after they found the ley lines. However, after the fire leaked out, the Crimson Corpse immediately noticed and came to the scene, then leaped into the sea of ​​fire."

"My men said that the Crimson Corpse was extremely happy after it came out, and everyone present was rewarded. But at the same time, the Crimson Corpse sealed off the scene, forbidding anyone from entering the fire cave or leaving the mine, and then the news stopped coming out."

"The Red Corpse must have asked the people present and found out that I was also in the know. He quickly summoned me, told me to keep my mouth shut, and appointed me as a protector to take charge of Changshan Guard."

Cheng Xinzhan listened and knew that Chi Shi was extremely happy, which meant that this seabed fire vein should indeed be able to support Chi Shi's Dao integration.

"Did Red Corpse say what he's going to do next? Is he going to move the headquarters of the Sea of ​​Fire to Yellow Sulfur Island?"

Cheng Xinzhan asked again.

Huang Laosan then answered,

"He didn't say anything. The Crimson Corpse just said that the Fire Sea was in a turbulent time, and told me to focus on my work, appease the Changshan Guards, and that I would be rewarded if I did well."

"Then he asked me to appoint a successor to the head of the Sulfur Mining Guard and told me that mining on Huangliu Island and the surrounding islands should be stopped for the time being. After the ban is lifted, the duty of the Sulfur Mining Guard is to go out and search for mineral veins at sea, which is somewhat similar to the Faqiu Hall. In any case, the mines around Huangliu Island are not allowed to be touched."

"Nothing else was mentioned."

"Okay, I understand. Then you just do your job well and manage your subordinates. We'll let you know when we need you."

"As ordered."

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.

“My benefactor.”

Just as Cheng Xinzhan finished speaking with Huang Laosan, Wu Qingbo's voice rang out again in his heart.

"what happened?"

he replied.

"Red Corpse discovered an underwater fire vein beneath Yellow Sulfur Island."

Uncle Qing said.

"I know this."

Cheng Xinzhan replied.

"Our benefactor has keen eyes and ears."

On the other side, Wu Qingbo was not surprised and continued,
"Just now, the Crimson Corpse summoned me. He wants to take advantage of this turmoil and the island's lockdown to reorganize the island's structure, eliminate suspicious individuals, and reassign manpower."

"He wants to build a new academy outside the original three academies, called the Imperial Envoy Academy, and appoint me as the Grand Imperial Envoy to lead this academy, with a position equivalent to the Grand Protector and the Grand Steward."

"He intends to place all the fire corpses and fire demons under the Li Huo Hai regime into this courtyard, which should serve multiple functions such as personal guard, supervision, execution, reward and punishment, and emergency response."

Cheng Xinzhan was puzzled upon hearing this, and then said,
“You haven’t been serving Fire Dragon Island for long. Even if you have made outstanding contributions, how could such a trusted army let you be their leader? Besides, a large number of Yin Corpses have recently escaped. He should be more wary of you.”

Wu Qingbo replied,
“The Crimson Corpse did mention this to me. He described this underwater fire vein to me. The fire vein is very extensive. It should be a huge underwater cavity fire cave, containing many earth-fire treasures and spiritual objects, and even some true evil spirits, but he didn’t go into details.”

"His idea is to connect Fire Dragon Island to the underwater fire cave, drawing the earth's yin fire energy to the surface. He plans to use this fire vein to transform Fire Dragon Island, integrate it with his own Dao domain, and even achieve Dao unity here, thus reaching the fifth realm. At that time, the spiritual energy of Fire Dragon Island will rival that of Earth Yin Island, becoming a sacred place for the cultivation of Ding Fire corpses throughout the world."

"And he will do his best to help me overcome the remaining three Heavenly Tribulations, and teach me the Four Realms Techniques to help me reach the Four Realms. At that time, I will be second only to one person and above ten thousand people on Fire Dragon Island."

After listening, Cheng Xinzhan said,

"With such a favorable location and generous rewards, I think that Ding Huo, who is a rogue cultivator, would indeed find it hard to refuse."

"Yes."

Wu Qingbo responded and continued.
"Moreover, he did not completely trust me. Although he promoted me to Grand Envoy, he also appointed two deputy envoys in the Imperial Commissioner's Office."

"One is the head of the Imperial Household Department, Xian Guixiong, who was originally in charge of rewards and punishments. He is an Earth-Fire Corpse with a Five-fold cultivation. He followed the Crimson Corpse before it entered the sea and is an absolute confidant."

"There is also Shi Mengyang, the leader of the Crimson Flame Guard of the Protectorate. His seniority is second only to Wei Liyang, and he arrived earlier than Tang Yusheng. Moreover, he is a true Dinghuo Corpse with the cultivation of the Fourth Cleansing, and he is also deeply trusted by the Crimson Corpse."

Upon hearing this, Cheng Xinzhan said,
"It seems that this wave of zombie escapes has awakened the Crimson Corpse, and he wants to build a team that is completely loyal to him. If it is composed entirely of fire zombies and fire demons, it can certainly resist most of the external temptations, if not absolutely."

"If he suddenly obtains such a fire cave, and it is indeed as he says, with a wide range and abundant spiritual energy, then it will be a great help to him in completely subduing these fire corpses and fire demons."

Wu Qingbo agreed, and then said,
"He is still summoning fire corpses one after another, but it is estimated that he will only summon those at the third level. After he finishes his instructions, he should personally lead us, the future Imperial Envoys, to take a look at the fire cave."

"Okay, then keep an eye on the situation inside and be careful."

"Yes."

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.

The island is under lockdown for seven days.

A series of appointments and adjustments have been made.

The Elders' Council was loosely organized; aside from a few individuals being reassigned to leadership positions at the hall level, the rest remained largely unchanged. The Council of Affairs underwent significant reorganization, with the Grand Steward being transferred out, along with some elite members. Those remaining were renamed the Security Guard. Their responsibilities plummeted from encompassing all matters of reward and punishment to solely patrolling and maintaining order within the seas, resulting in a dramatic decline in their status.

Duobaowei, formerly ranked second, became the first-ranked guard in the Court of State Affairs, and Che Zhangshi was promoted to the new Grand Zhangshi. In addition, the newly established Cailiuwei's leader was transferred away and replaced by the former deputy leader.

The rest are changes at the level of hall masters and other leaders, which don't have a significant impact.

The changes to the Guardian Court were also significant, with the number of guards reduced from five to three. Wei Liyang, leading the Ruyin Guard, remained the Grand Guardian; Tang Yusheng, leading the Funiu Guard, became the Second Guardian; and Huang Tianzhi, leading the Jailu Guard, became the Third Guardian.

The core of the Prison Guard was the Changshan Guard whose leader had fled. Many people were puzzled that Huang Tianzhi, a surrendered general, could become one of the Three Protectors, and they despised the name Prison Guard. Such flattery might be common under the Demon King, but it was extremely rare in the Three Corpse Sect.

Some of the three Yin Corpses from the Three Realms secretly went to the Crimson King, hoping to compete for the position of Third Protector, but without exception, they were all scolded and turned away by the Crimson King. Thus, everyone realized that Huang Tianzhi's becoming the Third Protector was not accidental; this old man had unknowingly become a favorite of the Crimson King.

Then the Crimson Flame Guard and the newly established Drought Demon Guard were disbanded. Some of their elite personnel were taken away by the two guard commanders, while the rest were assigned to guards such as the Yin Guard, the Funiu Guard, and the Prison Guard.

Of these people, the majority volunteered to join the jailer guards, each loudly proclaiming their desire to be the Divine Lord's pawns. This pleased the Divine Lord greatly, and with a stroke of his pen, he bestowed numerous benefits upon the newly established jailer guards. The generosity of the rewards made the other two guards envious.

The biggest and most surprising change in this adjustment was the establishment of a new Imperial Commissioner's Office outside of the Three Offices. Just from the name, one can tell the status of this office.

This academy is also divided into three guards, and the guard chief is called the Imperial Envoy. The first Imperial Envoy was the original chief of the Drought Demon Guard, Ding Shi Gao Xiu of Liu Xi, and Miao Jianlong.

Everyone felt it was only natural, given the level of cultivation at the Sixth Level. For the Yin Clan to reach that level was incredibly difficult; aside from the Divine Lord, only the Grand Elder was second. Moreover, everyone had witnessed the Grand Envoy's divine troops descending from the heavens to destroy Hulu Island. Many believed that in a real fight, the Grand Elder might not even be a match for the Grand Envoy.

The other two guards are led by Shi Mengyang, the former chief of the Crimson Flame Guard, who was transferred from the Protectorate, and Xian Guixiong, the former chief of the Rewards and Punishments Guard, who was transferred from the Executive Council.

Furthermore, everyone noticed that the entire Imperial Envoy's Office was composed entirely of fire corpses and fire demons, with not a single human among them. Moreover, these fire corpses and fire demons were all elites from the previous three offices. Therefore, among the four offices, the Imperial Envoy's Office had the fewest people, but it was also the purest, and naturally, its combat strength was the strongest.

Everyone could immediately discern the closeness or distance between them, but no one was surprised; they accepted it quite naturally. Everyone also understood that once the area beyond the sea of ​​fire grew larger, a feudal system would certainly be implemented. At that time, the Imperial Envoy's Office would be the "collection of imperial troops," and the head of the imperial envoys would become the future "mining supervisors and tax commissioners," no different from the current Demon King's Kingdom.

I've heard that the Underworld Sea is already doing this.

These are the major changes; then each department will make its own adjustments.

For example, in Funiuwei, the former deputy head of Faqiu Hall was promoted to head because the head of the hall defected. Also, because the guardians of the corpse house could not be moved easily, and Faqiu Hall no longer had three guards, Liu Jushui, who had repeatedly performed outstandingly in the battle to expand the sea and seize the island, was transferred from the Hucong Hall to take over as deputy head.

The former head of the Escort Hall voluntarily retired during this wave of events, preparing to focus on dealing with the impending tribulation lightning, and recommended that the deputy head, Lai Youde, succeed him. In addition, two more Golden Core cultivators defected, so the remaining Golden Core cultivator was promoted to deputy head.

The head of the True Yin Hall remained the same, but due to the defection of three Golden Core cultivators, including the deputy head, the position of deputy head was taken over by the only remaining Golden Core cultivator.

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.

On that very day, shortly after the appointment was made, Cheng Xinzhan's token beeped. He picked it up and listened; he heard Tang Yusheng's urging voice coming from inside.
"Hurry up and go to the Attendant Hall to take your seat. Who told you to hide away in your cave and have it easy!"

"Come here, come here."

Cheng Xinzhan responded with the token in his hand, but his eyes did not leave the burial mound in front of him.

After seven days of keeping the corpse alive, there was already some movement; the burial mound was shaking, and the corpse inside was about to emerge.

The "Mysterious Netherworld Consciousness Method" is much faster than the "Primordial Spirit Embryo Method" for dissecting corpses. Moreover, judging from the corpse of this serpent, Cheng Xinzhan could not have been considered a proper qi-eating demon cultivator in life. It must have had the habit of consuming blood food. The blood and stench of the corpse were quite strong, and the yin energy was also heavy. In this respect, it was far inferior to Zhong Yuan.

Therefore, both to overcome the bottleneck in the second life of this corpse's cultivation and to prevent the corpse from losing control due to excessive resentment after waking up, he specially recited the Taiyi Salvation Sutra for several more days and used the Big Dipper Water Mantra to cleanse the demonic energy from its body; otherwise, it would have been even faster.

Cheng Xinzhan put away the token. He had already figured out Tang Yusheng's personality. He knew that although Tang Yusheng appeared fierce, he was actually very protective and lenient towards his subordinates. So, it wouldn't hurt to delay a little longer.

Dust settled on the burial mound, and a sharp, pincer-like beak emerged first, followed by a pair of crimson eyes, then hook-like claws, and finally the entire tortoise body emerged, its snake-like tail standing upright, its two snake pupils gleaming eerily.

The turtle's eyes and the snake's pupils all stared at Cheng Xinzhan, which was quite eerie. Cheng Xinzhan didn't care and met their gaze, thinking to himself that the last Yin Corpse that he had awakened with the Xuanming Consciousness Technique had twelve eyes when it opened.

"I have met my benefactor and thank you for your life-saving grace."

Sheyu prostrated itself in greeting, its tortoise and snake heads drooping to the ground. Its voice sounded like a sinister young male voice, somewhat too effeminate.

"No need to be polite."

Cheng Xinzhan said, then asked,

"How much of your memories from your previous life did you retain? How much of your magical power did you possess in your previous life?"

Upon hearing this, She Yu was momentarily stunned, his four eyes revealing a mixture of confusion, doubt, excitement, bewilderment, resentment, and delight. He then closed his eyes in thought, and when he opened them again, his pupils were like ancient, cold abysses, unfathomable. He then slowly spoke…
"My Lord, I can't remember most of what happened before I died, except for the cause of my death. I was attacked when I was in the womb, and I was seriously injured and died. My spirit died young, and my primordial spirit dissipated."

"As for magical power, I just examined my inner core and found that I must have survived five tribulations in my previous life, which caused my demon core to flourish. Now, my physical body is withered and my inner core is covered in dust. I only have the magical power from the three cleansings I had before my death."

Cheng Xinzhan nodded, then asked,
"Do you still remember your name?"

She Yu thought for a moment, then looked confused again before shaking his head.

Upon seeing this, Cheng Xinzhan said,

"That's good, then the past and present lives are finally severed. As for avenging the grudges of the past life and settling old scores, there's no rush. Don't overthink it. Whether you died unjustly or deserved to die in your past life is still uncertain and has nothing to do with you now."

"Now, I will give you a new name and teach you the Taoist method of corpse cultivation to help you regain control of this body."

"Yes, please bestow a name and a law upon me, my benefactor."

Because his memories of his past life were so few, just a few fragmented pieces, Sheyu had little to do with the grudges from his past life. What he felt most at the moment was the joy of being reborn. However, due to the habits of this body, even this immense joy was subconsciously hidden by him.

Cheng Xinzhan thought for a moment, then said,
"Now that we are on Fire Dragon Island, I will still give you the surname Huo. Among my subordinates, there are three corpses who have already awakened their spirits. You are the fourth, so I will give you the surname Ji. Your previous life was Sheyu, a water beast, and you also had the appearance of a tortoise and a snake, so I will give you the surname Zhenwu."

"How about I call you Huo Jizhen?"

"Thank you, my benefactor, for bestowing this name upon me."

Cheng Xinzhan walked up to the tortoise, touched its head with his fingertip, and a burst of spiritual light emanated from his fingertip. At the same time, he said...
"I see that your whole body is filled with stagnant Yin energy. Even with the Taiyi Qinghua Dharma and the Big Dipper Technique, I have not been able to completely eliminate the venomous side of your lingering resentment from your past life. As a result, you are still affected in this life, with a cold heart and a chilling voice, and you have the appearance of a fierce tortoise and a vicious snake."

"Therefore, I cannot completely allow you to continue your cultivation according to the methods of the demon cultivators of your previous life. I will now transmit to you the orthodox method of the Taoist Taiyin Refining Form, among which there is a method called the 'Pure Soul Empty Spirit Embracing Light Mysterious Chapter', which can use the light of Taiyin to illuminate your mind and prevent it from being disturbed by resentment and evil spirits. In addition, it can also cleanse the toxins and foul smells accumulated in your body from your previous life's cultivation."

"Thank you, Lord, for bestowing this law."

Huo Jizhen kowtowed again.

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.

After tidying up his cave dwelling and erasing all traces, Cheng Xinzhan went to the Funiu Guard's office. Just as he sat down, Wu Qingbo's voice came from inside.
“My Lord, there is a hidden paradise inside the fire cave.”

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(End of this chapter)