I am an immortal in heaven and earth

Chapter 378: Heavenly Immortal Tribulation
Ao Jin took the letter and spit out a ball of water. The water condensed into silk, and the silk was woven into a long thread. The long thread stretched out and dyed the clouds into a tent. He jumped onto the tent and rose slowly. Then there was a ball of colorful clouds in the shape of a fish and a dragon in the sky.

It forms images in the sky and shapes on the earth. Ordinary people with mortal eyes cannot understand the mystery. Only those who know how to look at the Qi can know whether the changes in the clouds and Qi in the sky are a blessing or a disaster, and whether the one who formed the image is a fairy, a god, or a demon passing by.

Ao Jin originally did not have the ability to move with the clouds and traces, so he also borrowed the "cloud energy". As the saying goes, clouds follow the dragon and wind follows the tiger.

After sending Ao Jin to Mount Tai, Xu Jia talked to Hu Jinhua about calamity for a while. The theory of calamity is originally a concept of time, which is used for training in China.

The Jade Emperor Sutra says that the Jade Emperor went through 124,800 kalpas, and each kalpa was 129,600 years. According to this calculation, to become the Emperor of Heaven, one would have to cultivate for at least 16.174 billion years.

Of course, spiritual practice is not simply determined by the length of time. When one reaches the point where “creation, existence, destruction and emptiness” are all undiminished, that is, the concept of “immortality of gold nature”, time is no longer meaningful to one.

Just like in the Desire Realm, there are tremendous changes caused by thousands of years of time. In the Form Realm, it may take tens of thousands of years. In the Formless Realm, everything is relatively constant with few variables. If you don't have a thought, time will not pass, let alone higher realms.

These unfinished disasters of cultivation are all personal tests. Only major events that sweep the entire world and affect the fate of all living beings are truly "disasters".

Disaster and luck are combined, to be precise, there are three yuan and nine cycles, one yuan makes one Jiazi, and three cycles make one yuan. These 180 years are a turnover cycle of the entire world's breath.

Xu Jia said: "Jinhua, can my current strength resist the entire calamity?"

Hu Jinhua said, "Master Xu, other little foxes may not know, but why do you feel that you are fighting against the great trend of disaster? Why aren't you a part of it?"

"How many people imagine themselves jumping out of the Three Realms and not being in the Five Elements? However, the changes in the Zhoutian have enveloped everything. Whether we are not included in the calculation or we are included in the calculation is actually not important. This is not something that can be changed by our personal will."

"The laws of nature are constant. They do not exist for the sake of Yao and do not perish for the sake of Jie." Xu Jia nodded and said, "I am talking about the general trend of humanity. The historical cycle is like this. It is said to be three hundred years, but three hundred years is considered a long-lived dynasty. Few can survive two hundred years. Fifty years of upswing, fifty years of downswing, fifty years of wind and rain, fifty years of broken mountains and rivers, fifty years of rebuilding the world, and so on and so forth."

"But what does all this have to do with you? Do you want to be an emperor? Do you hope to rule for thousands of years? The great wish you made has some connection with this, but it is definitely not such a deep connection. Our thoughts and spirits, and our faith in Taoism, can just continue. I don't believe that everything can be accomplished in a hundred years."

"If I were a mortal, maybe death would be the end of everything, but I am practicing, and I want to see the day when I can achieve results."

"Then stay in the world for five hundred years. Maybe it will work. It's impossible that it won't work in five hundred years."

"Five hundred years is too long." Xu Jia really wanted to accomplish something within a hundred years, or even within sixty years, but he also understood that this was impossible.

The two chatted for a while, and then a bell rang from the mountain. It was the New Year's bell.

At the foot of the mountain, all kinds of fireworks transported from Wanzai and Lidu were shot towards the sky. It looked very gorgeous. Because of the development of the firearms industry, fireworks masters were gathered together and became "gunpowder masters", specializing in the research of gunpowder and explosions...

But studying these things is too depressing, so fireworks masters still prefer their old ways, and the ancestor they worship is none other than Tiangang Monkey King.

So just from the fireworks, Xu Jia could sense an atmosphere of exorcism and dispelling evil.

However, the entire New Year, from the preparations before the New Year to after the New Year, and all the way to the Lantern Festival, is a complex and grand sacrificial ritual.

These include getting rid of the bad luck, offering sacrifices to the dead, sending off gods, inviting gods, receiving wealth, and welcoming blessings. Even children will learn to say auspicious words, and even every dish on the table has a meaning.

No matter how poor a family is, they will still have some meat to eat during the New Year.

The governance of Jiangnan West Road was relatively good. Not to mention the little black pig, almost every household raised one.

Because of the experience of breeding with the bull demon Kui Qing, when they opened a pig farm, they directly brought in a boar demon for breeding, and it turned out to be the most promising offspring of Hai Sanniang.

Hai Sanniang is an old sow who can no longer bear children, but she still represents the power of "fertility". An old sow giving birth to nine puppies in one litter is no joke.

Among the twelve zodiac signs.

The Rat already has Kan Yin Five.

The cow has Kui Qing.

The dragon has Prince Xun.

Snake has Chang Yu.

Pig has Hai Sanniang.

But in addition to these, there are also rabbits, chickens, sheep and horses under its rule.

The only thing missing is the tiger demon, and the monkey demon has never been seen.

Xu Jia wanted to make a talisman according to the earthly branches and zodiac signs, and make a talisman for the twelve earthly branches and zodiac guardians, but then he thought that even if he didn't establish it, there would still be such a saying, so there was no need to force it to be perfect, it would definitely be perfect in the future, and besides, his own six Dings and six Jias were already perfect, so these external responses were not that important.

Incense and offerings formed a cloud of auspicious light, and in the Dharma Realm, it turned into an endless flow of banquets, endless food and endless drinks. All the souls in the Dharma Realm, even the hungry ghosts, were able to have a full meal at this time. The lonely ghosts who had not received incense all year round were also able to eat their fill at this time.

Three feet above, local gods also got a feast and enjoyed a year's reward. Xu Jia saw the City God of Yushan County, the Night Wandering God, and even Luejue, the mountain god of Jijuezi Mountain who was conferred by himself.

The fox fairies, yellow fairies, white fairies...all kinds of fairies who have set up their own fairy temples, each have their own halls piled with offerings and filled with incense burners, looking very happy.

Xu Jia looked up from a high place and saw the whole place was red. Everyone was in high spirits and full of vitality, as if they had endless energy.

"So this is the situation, no wonder." A thought came to Xu Jia's mind.

"No wonder there is so much resentment in later generations. When the family is having fun, they have to work overtime and take time off. In the past, when life was so hard, we never had to live like this. Now that life has gotten better, we have to work even harder like cattle and horses."

Even in the feudal slavery era, the lower class people were given a chance to breathe, to be able to have fun with their families, to have children and to gather together to ensure the continuation of life.

Xu Jia shook his head in his heart and said to Hu Jinhua beside him: "During the New Year, you can't rest, and there will be more emergencies. After this period is over, you can relax a little."

"In fact, the New Year is a festival for people. We just watch the fun. Chickens, ducks, pigs...are all afraid of the New Year. It doesn't matter if we take a break or not."

"Why not? During the Chinese New Year, the cattle shed should also have stickers wishing the livestock safety, and the guard dog should also have a bowl of rice to reward it for its hard work in guarding the house for a year. It has survived another year and entered a new year."

"We should celebrate now. Slaves are no longer slaves, prostitutes are no longer good women, widows and widowers are no longer numb and heartless people waiting to die. Don't we all have a bright future?"

Xu Jia opened the Dharma Realm, and surrounding the Sanqingshan Taoist temple were balls of light, faint but numerous, like fireflies, or sparks from the crackling of charcoal, or a candle in the wind, flickering, more like the blinking of stars in the sky.

"This is?"

"This is hope, blessing, and wish." Xu Jia said: "When the lights of thousands of houses are brightest in the Dharma Realm, it is also related to my great wish."

These rays of light rushed towards Xu Jia and Hu Jinhua, and some also rushed towards ordinary people who were engaged in creative work.

Gradually, these rays of light turned into a circle of flame behind the head, emitting bright light.

The spark between Hu Jinhua's eyebrows became even hotter, and balls of fox fire jumped on his tail. The flames attracted by Zhu Rong's Fire Qi Curse were originally just flames, but now they had the meaning of brightness and brilliance, making his image seem warmer and brighter.

"The monks call this merit, and they can cultivate a golden body of merit. They are so fervent and sincere, and they are grateful for this change from the bottom of their hearts. Would you be willing to turn them back to their original form?"

"These are not permanent. We can only progress, not retreat. Now we are moving forward, so there is no problem. But we can't always be grateful for a meal." Hu Jinhua hesitated and said, "So will the gods take the initiative to send disasters?"

"I don't know, but rulers are all like this, they reward people for their merits. When you work non-stop for a month, the money you earn is only enough for food, not even enough for rent or travel. This is the most common situation, and only a few people can escape this state. At that time, as long as you give a little reward, you will gain the most sincere love."

Xu Jia said: "If everyone is rich, there will be no desire for productive labor, and society will stagnate. Therefore, this is not a disaster sent by the gods, but mostly a man-made disaster."

"Individuals and the collective are always contradictory and unified. I can't satisfy everyone. I heard a saying: If you want to be rich, serve the rich and think what the rich think. If you want to be famous, speak for the poor."

"Will there be any changes after becoming famous?"

"Nothing will change. Not changing is the best, because the more you do, the more mistakes you make, and the less you do, the fewer mistakes you make."

Xu Jia converted these light phases, and the flames immediately devoured himself completely. If it weren't for his pure yang spirit, he would have been burned to charcoal: "The people's wishes are also the people's grievances. There is a saying that goes, the higher you hold it, the harder it will fall. If such bright and blazing hope turns into disappointment, these angry flames will devour everything. It is very easy to manipulate this disappointment and anger, as long as you cover it with a layer of deception."

Hu Jinhua suddenly felt her fur getting hot, and her whole body was about to be burned by the flames and turned into a ball of charcoal.

"This is my great calamity as a celestial being." Xu Jia said calmly, "It was already destined when I made the great wish."

Hu Jinhua wanted to say something, but couldn't. "I'm clearly doing good deeds, how could it become a great calamity for you? Isn't it said that if you want to cultivate into a celestial being, you should do 1,300 good deeds? That's enough anyway."

"Is that enough? I spread cultivation to ordinary people. The karma created by ordinary people is also partly my fault. The greater the magical power, the heavier the karma. Is my influence on this world good or bad? Has it broken the balance and caused the entire order to collapse, leading to an endless struggle like the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period?"

"The struggles of ordinary people are life-and-death, let alone the struggles of cultivators. Everyone will come up with a set of theories by then."

Hu Jinhua said: "So we need to continue the tradition and follow the right path."

"Is my path necessarily correct? I am not sure. Or, will the correct path necessarily lead to success? Will justice necessarily triumph over evil? Will the working people, with their large numbers, definitely triumph over the privileged minority?"

"After all, I don't have the confidence to survive the disaster."

(End of this chapter)