Start practicing from Mr. Fox

Chapter 147 Cultivation is about understanding human relationships and worldly affairs
"Fellow Daoist, are you aware that a river has recently suddenly gushed forth from the ground?"

"I know, the earth's veins and water vapor have changed, and it has taken the ancient waterway."

"How did you know it was an ancient waterway, fellow Daoist?"

Chen Ji was somewhat taken aback.

Even the Dragon Lord of Hutuo only learned of this matter through the Records of the Four Rivers, while the Jade Demon was more well-informed.

The Jade Demon looked at Chen Ji and chuckled.

“Jade is a stone in water. My original body was in the ancient water vein before, so I naturally know this.”

"Moreover, I am cultivating here, and I can still sense the flow of the surrounding mountains, rivers and waterways, but I have not taken form, so I have not seen them."

“I even know that the riverbed has recently changed.”

Chen Ji was also somewhat envious of these monsters who had become spirits from plants and trees.

Although his cultivation progressed slowly, his talent was exceptionally strong. He was able to sense the earth's vein fluctuations even after just entering the Dao, a skill that many Daoists could only dream of.

As the jade demon spoke, it suddenly thought of something and looked at Chen Ji.

"The river changed course before and nothing happened, but now that you've arrived, it's changed back. Did you do that?"

"It is not me, but the river god of the Hutuo River."

"Him? Why would he suddenly do this?"

"The Jade Demon asked."

"It is the West River and the North River that are vying for control of the river."

"No wonder."

The jade demon suddenly realized what was happening and looked at Chen Ji again.

"But what does the struggle for power among the river gods have to do with me, a jade demon? How could I possibly be in danger?"

Chen Ji smiled slightly.

"This would naturally be the case under normal circumstances, but things are different now. Have you ever heard of a river god in the Western River who demands sacrifices?"

The jade demon remained silent for a moment, then nodded.

“I’ve heard the villagers talk about it, but I’m not by the river, nor am I an ordinary person, so the river god shouldn’t be able to find me.”

"Does that fellow cultivator know of any demons cultivating nearby who have been harmed?"

"whats the matter?"

"The jade demon asked."

Chen Ji realized that the jade demon had lived in this place for a long time and could only get information from the villagers.

Nowadays, villagers don't know about this place unless they come here.

So Chen Ji truthfully told the Bronze Toad Demon, the Stone Mill Demon, and Lady Hongci about their experiences.

“The demons and ghosts in this area are causing great trouble, and even the City God may not be a good one, which is why I told you to be careful, fellow Daoist.”

"Is this true?"

The jade demon was shocked.

"The demon involved is with you and can explain things to you clearly."

After thinking for a moment, Chen Ji simply summoned Madam Hongci.

The stone mill demon was not by his side, but he forgot that Lady Hongci was still with him. He could explain this to the jade demon.

As the Yin energy surged, Lady Hongci revealed herself and, in a short while, recounted her experiences to the Jade Demon.

Since they were both demons and ghosts, and both had incense offerings from the local deities, the jade demon believed them to some extent.

The gazes directed at Chen Ji and the others were no longer as hostile as before, but their attitude was still not exactly friendly.

The four foxes were indignant upon seeing this.

“You are extremely rude, fellow Daoist. We tried to advise you out of consideration for our fellow Daoists, but you did not believe us.”

"Bai Ba, don't be rude."

Chen Ji waved his hand to stop Bai Ba, then cupped his hands and looked at the Jade Demon.

“It’s normal for you to want to settle down and cultivate here, so we won’t disturb you any longer. However, there is one more thing we need to tell you.”

"You said."

"I think you are capable of changing your location. If you can change your cultivation location, it would be best to do so, lest such wicked people appear among the villagers and ruin your cultivation."

"I see."

"The Jade Demon said calmly."

He then looked at Chen Ji.

"Alright, you came here out of kindness, I just don't trust you, but I can't let you make this trip for nothing."

"This is the essence of jade that I have nurtured within me. It has some spiritual energy and can also be used to make other things. You can keep it for yourselves."

The jade demon squeezed out several uniformly sized jade tablets from its body.

"Thank you, fellow Taoist."

Seeing this, Chen Ji smiled slightly, accepted the jade token, and then thanked him.

Madam Hongci also received a piece, but she had no way to store it, so she entrusted it to Chen Ji for safekeeping.

Chen Ji then led the four foxes away.

On the way back, Bai Qi asked Chen Ji, puzzled.

"Sir, this jade demon clearly doesn't accept our kindness, so why did we talk to him so much, even about the City God? Was it worth it?"

"Bai Qi, what do you think cultivation is?"

Chen Ji didn't answer, but instead said something completely unrelated.

"You can also think about it and answer together."

Chen Ji looked at the other three foxes.

Instead of riding the wind back, the man and the four foxes walked slowly back to the village.

After a moment, Bai Twenty-Three's expression hardened, and he replied.

"Sir, I think cultivation is what you need to be tested to enter the fox school."

"Anymore?"

"Anything else? I don't know."

Bai Twenty-Three shook his head, and Bai Sixteen followed suit.

"I think so too. Anything more would be like what you and Miss Bai did, which should be considered as cultivation."

"I suppose so, but it's not entirely accurate."

"What is it that you want to say, sir?"

"Cultivation is actually about understanding human relationships and worldly affairs."

"Ok?"

"Why do you say that, sir? Isn't this just how people interact in society?"

Chen Ji smiled slightly.

"You must not have practiced the Dharma of forming karmic connections, right?"

"Indeed not."

The four foxes shook their heads.

"Miss Bai once said that we lack talent and practicing this method would be of no benefit to our cultivation, so she never taught it to us."

"No wonder."

Chen Ji nodded and slowly explained to them.

"The West River's occupation of the North River system, the villagers' desire to harm the Bronze Toad Demon, and the Purple Cloud Dragon King's slaughter of demon cultivators are all examples of bullying the weak and fearing the strong. This is the way of the world."

"There are also gatherings of demons, all wanting to gain the favor of the mountain god; this is also a matter of human relationships."

"Transformation, magic, virtue, knowledge. When it comes to cultivation, everyone cultivates in the same way. So why are you different from other cultivators? In the end, it all comes down to human relationships and worldly wisdom."

"That seems to make some sense."

"Of course, otherwise why would that jade demon give you jade essence?"

"Wasn't it to thank you for delivering the message?"

"Of course not."

Chen Ji shook his head.

"what is that?"

"You are clearly fox demons, yet you live with less wisdom than a jade demon. You'll understand when you meet Muramasa."

"This……"

The four foxes opened their eyes wide, seemingly lost in thought.

After a moment, Bai Ba swallowed and asked.

"Sir, is this also the reason why Senior Huai gave us locust leaves?"

"..."

Chen Ji sighed.

"Bai Ba, you can go back and ask Miss Bai how she answers you."

"it is good."

Bai Ba nodded repeatedly in agreement, not taking it to heart.

When they returned to the village, they found that the village head and his party who had taken them to the quarry earlier were still awake and waiting at the village entrance.

Upon seeing them, they hurriedly came forward to inquire about the situation regarding the demons and monsters in the quarry.

Chen Ji then waved his hand.

“There are indeed demons and ghosts, but they are not here. The stones in the mine have lost their stone properties, which is not the work of ordinary demons and ghosts. You should not go there to mine stones for the time being.”

"understand!"

The villagers nodded in agreement. Si Hu stared at Chen Ji, belatedly realizing what it meant to be worldly-wise.

In the following days, Chen Ji led Bai Qi and the others to focus on repairing roads and building bridges.

For the first few days, before the water had dried up, the man and the four foxes did not repair the road, but instead made stone steps on the side.

Some villagers stopped to watch as they passed by. At first, Bai Qi and the others were not used to it and had to wait until they left before continuing to use their magic to make the product.

However, after two or three days, they simply ignored them completely.

At first, the villagers were amazed and would exclaim that this was the work of a deity, and that the fox spirit was truly powerful.

Chen Ji didn't care, but Si Hu was quite pleased, and even worked a little faster.

Later, the village head came to see them and thought they were being very impolite, so he forbade the villagers from gathering around to watch anymore.

Chen Ji didn't care, but Si Hu breathed a sigh of relief.

"Sir, why do I feel more motivated when they are discussing it, but now that no one is watching, I feel indifferent?"

Chen Ji smiled slightly.

Have you ever heard of a miracle occurring in front of a person?

Chen Ji explained to them, and the four foxes quickly shook their heads and waved their hands.

"I didn't, sir!"

"We are not that kind of fox!"

"I didn't say it was bad."

Chen Ji smiled slightly, indicating that they didn't need to worry.

"It's normal to have such thoughts when you're cultivating and have acquired magic. I once heard of a monkey demon in a stone who was the same way. After acquiring magic, he wanted to show off his powers in front of people."

"Oh?"

Upon hearing this, the four foxes became interested and inquired about the story of the stone monkey demon.

"That story begins in a place called Aolai Kingdom in the Eastern Continent of Divine Victory..."

Chen Ji spoke slowly.

At first, the four foxes were able to listen while doing their work, but they soon stopped what they were doing and listened attentively.

When he heard that the monkey had become an apprentice and was showing off in front of his fellow apprentices, he shouted loudly.

"Sir, you're right. This monkey demon is just like us!"

"Even their thoughts seem to be the same, wanting others to see the results of their cultivation."

"I wonder where this Bodhi Patriarch is from, that he can teach such skills. He is truly remarkable."

"Quiet down, let the gentleman continue!"

Bai Ba was the most serious and couldn't stand seeing other foxes causing trouble. After letting out a roar, he continued listening to Chen Ji tell his story.

Chen Ji glanced at the sky and shook his head.

"It's already this late, why bother with stories? Let's finish this quickly and get some rest. The weather will be better tomorrow, then we'll start preparing for work."

Seeing that the little foxes were still somewhat reluctant to part with him, he shook his head again.

"I'll tell you when we get back."

The little foxes then stopped.

The next day, the sun was even brighter than before. With Chen Ji summoning the wind and the four foxes working together, the entire ground was dried and covered with a layer of dust in less than half a day.

The village head also had people bring in loess, lime, tung oil, glutinous rice, and other supplies, which were then arranged.

With all the stones and materials readily available, the four foxes didn't need any help and immediately began paving the road, completing it in less than half a day.

After another three days of rest, all the roads in the village were repaired.

Originally, I planned to build a bridge, but now that the river course has been changed, it's much simpler and doesn't require much effort. It was completed while paving the road.

It did take some effort to build the River God Temple for Ji Ming Long Jun.

Stone and wood are readily available, so the River God Temple doesn't need to be as elaborate as those with gilded and painted coffered ceilings.

However, the temple needed a statue of Ji Ming Dragon Lord, and Song San's group of craftsmen were too busy sculpting it to have time to finish the work.
They had no choice but to search in the nearby villages.

But after asking around, I found that the local artisans only knew how to make Buddhist and Taoist statues, not dragon statues.

Especially after hearing that Ji Ming Long Jun had performed miracles, they dared not sculpt statues of him casually, for fear of offending the dragon god.

Chen Ji also asked them the reason.

The statues of deities in Buddhism and Taoism are also said to have performed miracles, so how dare they create them?

The craftsmen hesitated for a long time before explaining the reason to Chen Ji.

It turns out that those gods and Buddhas are too distant, and there are too many artisans who sculpt statues in the human world, so even punishment will not come upon them.

The God of the Hutuo River is nearby, and if the carving is not done well, trouble will come knocking.

Chen Ji couldn't say anything about the craftsman's thoughts, since it's not wrong for ordinary people to have such considerations.

Finally, he wrote another letter and asked Bai Qi to deliver it to Ji Minglongjun, asking him to think of a solution.

"Why don't you just carve one directly, sir? You and Bai Qi both know the Wall Opening Technique, so it shouldn't be difficult for you."

“It is inconvenient for practitioners to do such things.”

Chen Ji explained.

He only found out about this after Miss Bai told him about it that day.

"When ordinary people sculpt statues with sincere hearts, they can naturally enter the path of Tao through incense offerings. However, when practitioners sculpt statues, there is a cause-and-effect relationship. Unless one is a practitioner of the lineage of sculpting statues and offering incense, the connection is too deep and will only be a hindrance."

"If you encounter dilapidated statues or temples in the future, you will not need to repair the statues if you wish to. If you feel moved, you only need to offer a stick of incense."

"remember."

The four foxes nodded in agreement, and then Bai Qi went to deliver the message.

In less than three hours, they returned on the waves together with the old turtle that Ji Ming Long Jun had sent earlier.

The old turtle was also holding an old-looking statue in its arms.

"This is a statue from the River God Temple that the Dragon King built when he first arrived at the Hutuo River. It's perfect for use now."

"As long as it works."

Chen Ji accepted the statue and had the village head and villagers place it back in its place. After offering sacrifices with three kinds of animals, he felt a spiritual response in many places in the shrine and knew that this was the method of the Dragon God.

So they lit an incense stick as well.

They only approached the village head after all the villagers had finished their sacrifices.

"Now that the roads and bridges have been repaired, and the matter of the demons in the quarry has been addressed for the village head, if there is nothing else, we shall head back."

Muramasa hurriedly bowed.

"Thank you, Daoist Master..."

"It is the mountain god."

Chen Ji shook his head.

“We cultivate ourselves on Mount Sendai. If you hadn’t come to the mountain god for help, we wouldn’t have bothered with worldly affairs.”

"understand!"

Muramasa nodded repeatedly.

"Tomorrow we will bring three sacrificial animals to worship the mountain god again, to thank the mountain god for inviting the Taoist priest and the fox spirit to the village to help."

"Excellent."

Chen Ji nodded, agreeing that this person was intelligent and knew who the key was.

"besides……"

Muramasa hesitated for a few moments, then looked at Chen Ji.

"I heard from the fox spirit that the Taoist priest is their teacher, and if we want to give gifts, we need to get the teacher's permission."

"The villagers have prepared some gifts to thank the Taoist priest and the fox spirit, but they don't know how to send them."

"It's just some local specialties, nothing else."

As Muramasa spoke, he looked at several baskets and bamboo crates not far away, which were filled with dried goods, mushrooms, wild vegetables, pork legs and ribs that had been made into cured meat, and even a few earthenware jars.

"It's lard. If the Taoist priest and the fox spirit don't like it, it can be used to light oil lamps."

"We were originally thinking of sending some chickens to the fox spirits, but they're hard to carry if we kill them. We'll deliver them to the mountain god in person another day."

"Muramasa is very thoughtful."

Chen Ji nodded his thanks.

“I will accept these things for them. There’s no need to send the chicken to the Mountain God. Just leave it at the Pot Immortal Medicine Hall in Iron Gold Town.”

"We'll have someone send it over tomorrow!"

"Alright, if anything comes up in the future, just go to the Sendai Mountain God Temple to burn incense and explain."

"must!"

The village chief agreed, and Chen Ji then led the four foxes back, telling the story of the stone monkey on the way.

The four foxes were so engrossed in listening that they didn't even notice they had landed on the mountain.

It wasn't until another fox greeted Chen Ji that they snapped out of their daze and looked at Chen Ji with surprise and asked.

"Sir, aren't we going back to the pharmacy?"

"We do need to go back, but there's no rush today. Let's do a test first."

"what?"

The four foxes opened their eyes wide and thought to themselves, "Oh no!"

They were completely unprepared for the road construction these past few days.

But seeing that Miss Bai, Chen Ji, and Mr. Su had already taken their seats on the stage, he could only silently sit back down and start answering questions.

Still clinging to a sliver of hope, they had already experienced a fox-learning test in their dreams. They had told Chen Ji about the test papers, and since the teacher was too busy to set questions recently, their results should be better than the other foxes.

But I was still dumbfounded when I received the test paper.

"How can this question be so difficult?"

(End of this chapter)