The Path to Immortality Begins with the Life-Extending Lamp

Chapter 44 Zhishanfang

South of Tiannan Prefecture.

A deep, ghostly river flows out of the prefecture. To the south of this river, the southwest mountains are high and narrow, with continuous treacherous peaks, old beasts and monsters, and sheer cliffs. To the southeast, however, lies a gentle ridge, where the various chieftain tribes live in fortified villages, mostly separated by the hundreds of feet high ravines between the mountains.

However, there are exceptions.

A thousand miles east of Ximang, crossing the Yuan River, and then two hundred miles south, lies the border between the southwestern Yaoshan Mountains and the Tusi tribe.

There are many hills of varying heights and undulating terrain, which seems to have the feel of the Lingnan landform.

These hills resemble a series of heavenly ladders reflected in the clouds and water, with thousands of steps stretching from bottom to top. This is the land on which the Poison Gu Division depends for survival!

They climbed mountains and crossed valleys to collect water from high mountains and dangerous streams, which served as a breeding ground for grains and could sustain 500,000 people.

Outside the Siling Terraces, at the foot of the mountain, stands a ten-mile-long meat processing plant.

The city walls, constructed of wooden planks, had roofs two or three zhang high. Upon entering, one felt a cold wind blowing from all directions, making one's hair stand on end. Could it be that such a high city walls were not meant for human habitation?
Then came the cacophony of shouts and curses, as a large crowd gathered around the windows of the market.

"Damn it, you rotten pig! The venison I bought from you yesterday, you told me it was from a sacred deer, a sacred deer, and this morning my master found a finger in it!"

"My head almost fell off, that plague-ridden bastard Dong..."

Clad in blue robes, the Gu practitioners, each wielding a giant centipede, a venomous snake, and a poisonous arrow, and leading a millstone-sized toad, blocked the entrance to the ten-mile-long meat market, demanding an explanation.

The figure in the window was forcibly dragged out by a giant python and slammed to the ground!
It was a wild boar demon with a pig's head and a human body, skin as black as stone, and a large tuft of red mane.

This pig demon had an especially vicious appearance, with two yellowed tusks protruding as if it had been holding a knife for many years, and its toes were twisted, barely resembling fingers.

With a swift movement, it flipped over and kicked the giant python several times. This pig demon possessed immense strength, and in just a few kicks, it created a huge gash in the python. Amidst the flying blood and flesh, the python writhed wildly on the ground in agony, clearly on the verge of death...

"Pah! What I, Zhu Thirty-Seven, sold you was venison. You saw it for yourself last night before I started cutting it."

"It's more likely that someone in your family accidentally dropped their finger while cooking. Get out, get out, don't ruin the honest reputation of Zhuxian Meat Shop in this whole area!"

"If you keep causing trouble, Grandpa will chop off your head and hang it in the curing room to cure meat."

The black-skinned pig demon pulled out a disgustingly greasy butcher knife from somewhere, its face revealing a ferocious expression. It immediately denied everything and started shoving the Gu disciples.

On one side were the Gu practitioners who were used to fighting and brawling on the mountain. When they saw the pig demon acting fiercely and even killing a giant python, snakes, insects, and centipedes bared their teeth and demanded that Zhu Thirty-Seven pay with his life.
On one side is a tyrannical boar demon who turns its back on its hostage when an unwelcome guest arrives, and it looks like a deadly fight is about to break out right in front of the meat shop.

"You bastards! Do you all want to die?"

With a snap, a long, soft-boned whip slammed down in front of the group. The immense force cracked the floor, and the violent whip wind stung their cheeks, causing them all to shudder.

Turning around, they saw a nearly sixteen-foot-tall crimson boar demon. The old boar's black hair stood on end like steel needles. It wore an incongruous black and red armor, and with one hand holding a two-foot-tall bear and the other hand gripping a soft-bone whip, it headed towards the meat shop.

"Thirty-seven, tell me, what happened?"

The old man flicked his whip, his voice aged yet powerful, and turned to question Zhu Thirty-Seven again.

"Third Grandfather, I..." Zhu Thirty-Seven's legs went weak with fear when he saw the old pig. The pig-slaughtering knife in his hand clattered to the ground, and he immediately began to kowtow.

"We simply didn't have enough venison last night, so I added a little bit of human meat to make up the weight, just a tiny bit!"

Before the pig demon could continue to argue, the bone whip was lashed out and struck Zhu Thirty-Seven, tearing the pig demon's skin and flesh from its waist and buttocks.

"You scoundrel! My Zhu Xian Meat Shop has built such a large business in the Southern Lands based on my reputation for honesty and integrity. Thirty-seven, you're ruining my family's reputation!"

The old pig was so angry he was practically spitting fire. He grabbed the reins of his bear mount and paced back and forth, utterly furious.

With each step the old demon took, the Gu disciples felt the already cracked floor tremble. This old boar demon was truly terrifying!
"Hmph, what are you all standing there for? Return yesterday's payment for the meat! Don't ruin my butcher shop's reputation."

The crimson boar demon was clearly a big shot at the Zhu Xian Meat Shop. With just a few words, it could frighten Zhu Thirty-Seven into prostrating himself and crying. It also turned around and responded to the others, showing some semblance of humanity.

"Gentlemen, what do you think of this arrangement?"

The pig turned around and pounced into the wooden window sill, picking up the money for the venison. However, it was all ordinary silver coins, with only a few Dao coins.

The expressions of the many Gu practitioners changed, and they were about to utter curses when the leader raised his hand to stop his fellow disciples from speaking. He forbade them to say anything more and instead turned to flatter the old pig.

"Good, good! The Third Master is a generous man. We thank the Third Master on behalf of our Master..."

This Daozhu, made of copper with magical patterns, is used by cultivators of the Twelve Sects of Tiannan. It is a hard currency. They used Daozhu to buy venison, but this beast used ordinary gold and silver.

What a butcher shop! What a pig demon!
The six or seven Gu practitioners picked up the greasy black money bag, their faces darkened, and they turned to leave. If this meat shop hadn't actually managed to get rare meat from the mountain to feed the Gu worms in Master's hands, they would have really wanted to kill him.

This butcher shop selling diseased pigs is the number one black market in the world...

These Gu practitioners cursed under their breath, secretly lamenting that they would never get their master's Dao coins back. How were they going to endure their master's punishment tonight?

Suddenly, a delicate and melodious voice rang out from the front of the building!
"Shopkeeper, I'd like to bring some pork home for my family. Do you have any?"

The tantalizing sound caused the eyes of the six or seven Gu practitioners to pop out, but the old pig seemed to have passed the age of lust. He didn't react much to the alluring sound, gave the black-skinned pig demon a wink to open the shop, and then led the bear into the butcher shop himself...

"No! Young lady, we have pork at home, as much as you want." The lustful Gu practitioners immediately tried to stop the woman. This meat shop of plague pigs was not a place for ordinary people like her. Did this pretty young lady not know the reputation of a human flesh shop? She was about to be tricked!
They whistled and flirted with the young woman.

"Get out! Get out!"

"A bunch of mountain barbarians, daring to block Grandpa Thirty-Seven's business?"

The black-skinned boar demon, with a still-dampened bloodstain on its back, charged out wielding a pig-slaughtering knife, kicking the two rogue Gu followers aside and standing before the woman, blocking the lustful gazes of the barbarians.

"My lady, we have all kinds of meat here, you can even take any part of my body!"

The black-skinned boar demon, drooling, accompanied the woman and actually explained the prices at the butcher shop one by one.

"I'd like twenty catties of fine meat, all cut into minced meat, with no fat on top," the exquisite woman said gently, seemingly without any fear of the pig demon.

"Ah? Okay..." The pig demon's face fell. He had never seen anyone selling meat with such demanding requirements, but seeing that it was a stunningly beautiful young woman, he kept quiet and left.

Upon entering the butcher shop, I found a piece of high-quality wild boar meat and spent the time it takes to burn two incense sticks to finely chop it.

He had just raised his head, and before he could speak, the woman said again:

"I want another thirty catties of white, fatty pork, not an inch of lean meat on it, cut it all into mince!"

"Does your family have a tyrant at home? Look at his appetite, how picky he is!"

The pig demon almost choked on his breath, but upon seeing that delicate and lovely face, he obediently went.

You're being difficult, aren't you? You can't come up with the money, so tonight, Master Thirty-Seven will make you pay with your body, hehehe...

The black-skinned pig demon brought over a large piece of solid, fatty meat and patiently began to slice it carefully. However, the filthy thoughts hidden in that pig's head were revealed on his face without any attempt to conceal them.

However, among the Gu practitioners who also had their own ulterior motives, the leader of the Gu practitioners became increasingly suspicious, his gaze constantly scrutinizing the exquisite woman.

This woman in a flowing robe? She must be from a prestigious, aristocratic family. How could she possibly come to this desolate place alone? Yesterday's rain has left the ground muddy, yet she remains untouched by the mud, her steps unblemished. This doesn't seem like a normal person…

The pig demon hurried along, cutting the thirty catties of white, fatty meat into minced meat and wrapping it in burlap. But before he could even touch it, the young woman started nagging him again.

"I need another forty catties of cartilage, finely chopped into small pieces, without a single bit of meat sticking to it."

After being tormented again and again, the pig demon could no longer bear it. He slammed the chopping board down and turned on the pig demon.

Several Gu practitioners in the distance saw the commotion and immediately pointed at the pig demon's nose, surrounding the woman with fawning expressions.

"Damn it, Thirty-Seven! I told you to cut it, so just cut it. You'll get your money back anyway. What are you gesturing for? Watch out, the Third Master will beat you again."

The black-skinned pig demon was about to get angry, but seeing that the woman was staring at him very seriously, it believed that such a lovely girl might really have a mastiff at home that would like to eat this kind of dog.

He is the dignified Thirty-Seventh Immortal Pig, with the strength to move mountains and cut through any soft bone. So what if he sweats a little?

They found several baskets of connected bones and meat, and meticulously removed them one by one, then laid them on the cutting board and began chopping them vigorously…

"Young lady, tell me the truth, what else do you want? Grandpa Thirty-Seven is really losing patience."

The pig demon stuffed the handful of cartilage pieces into a sack, dragged the three sacks out of the butcher shop, shoved aside the hyena-like Gu practitioners whose eyes were shining, and stared into the eyes of the young woman.

"It really does!"

The exquisite woman was no longer shy. She raised her head, revealing her incomparably beautiful face. She pointed her flawless jade hand into the meat shop and said expressionlessly.

"My master wants the pig's head from that old pig that just went in."

"Go!"

Ok?
The black-skinned pig demon's eyes widened in fury; was it about to cause trouble?
Finally, he was about to explode. He reached out and grabbed at the woman, determined to teach this little brat a lesson!

The next instant, a loud "crunching" sound, like soy milk being squeezed, erupted from the butcher shop, followed by a series of screams. The many Gu practitioners who had been surrounding the woman seemed to have been possessed, and they fled frantically out of the shop as if they had seen a ghost...

The old pig, who had just finished inspecting all the shops, warehouses, and stewing rooms in the meat shop, happened to hear the series of screams. With a flash, as if a chariot had crashed into him, he rushed straight out of the meat shop.

Upon returning to the front of the South Gate Shop, he looked up and was momentarily chilled to the bone.

Between the butcher shops, two faceless ghosts were frolicking. The two faceless men were extremely eerie, with one ghostly hand bruised and the other pale. They each rested on Zhu Thirty-Seven's shoulders and were actually pulling on the pig demon's body, wrestling with each other. An indescribable ghostly aura covered Zhu Thirty-Seven's entire body, and the bluish-black pig skin began to decay, as if it had developed corpse spots.

The entire pig demon had already been torn apart by the two ghosts, its bones and organs turned into a pulp and fell to the ground. Zhu Thirty-Seven's entire demon skin had been torn three or four zhang wide, but it was still not broken!

With a tearing sound, the pig demon was finally torn apart by the two ghosts, but as the ghosts released their grip, all that fell to the ground were two halves of pigskin.

The two faceless men turned their heads again and stared at the old pig!

"Hee hee hee!"

"You're going to die too!"

(End of this chapter)