Chapter 17 Five Links What is a human immortal? Human immortals are the second below the five immortals. Those who practice Taoism do not understand the Great Dao. They get a method from the Dao, and a technique from the method. They have faith and determination, and they will never change. The Qi of the Five Elements will mix and combine by mistake. Their physical body is solid, and the epidemics of the Eight Evils cannot harm them. They are more at peace and have fewer illnesses. This is called a human immortal. Recalling the description of "human immortals" in "Zhonglu Chuandao Ji", Tao Tie attached even greater importance to the Five Ghosts Moving Technique he had just acquired. After all, according to the description of [Information Fragment 2], if one practices the Five Ghosts Moving Technique to the extreme, one can obtain the method from the technique, and trace the truth from the method to achieve human immortality! With the ability of [Knowing Everything] to sense his own information fragments, Tao Tie can know his mastery of various skills and his practice progress at any time. He has full confidence that he can practice the Five Ghosts Moving Technique to the extreme. Based on these, Tao Tie can be said to have reserved a place as a human immortal. However, Tao Tie quickly suppressed all thoughts in this regard. There are five immortals in Taoism: heaven, gods, earth, humans and ghosts. The heavenly immortal is the highest, the ghost immortal is the lowest, and the human immortal is only slightly more noble than the ghost immortal.

As one who knows everything, one should have lofty ambitions and aim to become a celestial being. A mere immortal was not enough to keep Tao Tie's mind shaken. Tao Tie quickly adjusted his mindset and without wasting any time, he immediately incorporated the "Five Ghosts Moving Technique" into the "Taotie Visualization Method" and then triggered the information fragments. [Skills: Taotie Visualization Method + Five Ghosts Moving Technique] [Information fragment 1: The five ghosts are the five plagues.] [Information fragment 2: Spring plague Zhang Yuanbo, summer plague Liu Yuanda, autumn plague Zhao Gongming, winter plague Zhong Shiji, general manager of middle plague Shi Wenye.] [Information fragment 3: Burn the five plague paper figures into ashes, mix with flour, and shape into dough figures. One person holds a ladle and a pot, one person holds a leather bag and a sword, one person holds a fan, one person holds a hammer, and one person holds a fire pot. Offer them in front of the statues of the five plague gods for 49 days and eat them.] [Information fragment 4: If you encounter a shaman who worships the Five Plague Gods and performs a Nuo play to bless them, you do not need to offer them for 49 days, you can eat them immediately.] "Five ghosts, five plagues, and paper figures." Quickly extracting the key points from the information fragments, Tao Tie shifted his focus to the five paper figures in the azure storage bag. He completed the 100-day foundation-building and grain-refining into essence. Even though he had not yet truly started practicing the Taiyi Five Elements Guiding Form Refining Technique and had not yet produced the first bit of magic power in his body, by expending some of his energy, Tao Tie was still able to use strange objects/magic tools such as the storage bag normally. With a thought, Tao Tie took out five paper figures from his azure storage bag. They are the size of a palm and each one looks very different. The images are also different. One held a ladle and a pot, one held a leather bag and a sword, one held a fan, one held a hammer, and one held a fire pot. On the back of the five paper figures, the five big characters "Spring", "Summer", "Autumn", "Winter" and "Mid-term" are written in a font similar to flower, bird and insect seal characters. These echo the contents mentioned in the information fragments one by one. After looking at the five paper figures over and over for a while, Tao Tie put them back into his storage bag. After thinking about it, he put in the belongings left by his original owner, forty-seven strings of copper coins, and two sets of clothes.

"I have no money left." After the release, Tao Tie sighed. Because gold and silver have many uses in spiritual practice, their value is much higher than Tao Tie's previous life. According to the market price, one tael of silver can be exchanged for five strings of copper coins, but in fact one tael of silver can often be exchanged for six to seven strings of copper coins. One string of copper coins is worth one thousand coins. One penny can buy a large piece of sauce cake, which is equivalent to the purchasing power of to 2 RMB in Tao Tie's previous life. To do a simple conversion, the taels of silver that Tao Tie received a month ago is equivalent to 15 to RMB. After studying in the missionary academy for a month, I paid for the tuition (five taels) + accommodation fee (two taels) + consulting fee (five taels). The remaining three taels of silver out of the fifteen taels were all spent on the huge pit of medicinal food. Originally, three taels of silver were not enough to cover the cost of medicinal food for a month. Fortunately, Tao Tie completed the 100-day foundation-building ten days after entering the missionary institute, and obtained the three benefits that disciples deserve, and could buy medicinal foods at a discount. Otherwise, how could Tao Tie buy a month's worth of medicinal food with just three taels of silver! The four elements of spiritual practice are Dharma, wealth, companions and place. Tao Tie doesn't need to worry too much about the Dharma. With [Knowing All Things], the various supports provided by the Dayong Dynasty to grassroots practitioners, and the Missionary Academy, there will be no shortage of ways to obtain the methods of practice. There is no rush for couple and earth to think about it for the time being. The most important and urgent issue that needs to be solved right now is money! The forty-seven strings of copper coins left by the original owner could support life for a while. However, after Tao Tie really starts to practice the Taiyi Five Elements Guiding and Refining Technique, his expenses will inevitably increase dramatically. With only forty-seven strings of copper coins, I guess they wouldn't last even half a month. "So, I must find a source of income as soon as possible after I start practicing." Tao Tie thought about it in his mind, and then took action. In a flash, another three days passed. During these three days, the changes in Li Zeyuan, the wharf manager of the Shahe Gang, attracted a lot of attention. Especially Xiuxiu, the personal maid of Mo Yuhan, the eldest daughter of the Shahe Gang. The original Li Zeyuan exuded a temperament that was a mixture of self-confidence and inferiority from the inside out. He is stingy and mean, but also self-important, and always has an inexplicable sense of superiority. In short, this is a very awkward person. It was precisely because Li Zeyuan was not magnanimous enough that Xiuxiu looked down upon him from the beginning to the end. If it weren't for the eldest lady's assignment, she wouldn't bother to go to this small pier every now and then. I really don’t know what the young lady is thinking. Since there are special people or things in this small pier, or special things may happen, why not just send a trusted person to take over everything? By then, any movement on the dock will not escape the eyes and ears and control of the eldest lady.

As for letting her show off and run around? Now the rumor is spreading in the gang that she is blind and has set her eyes on Li Zeyuan. However, Li Zeyuan... No one knows what happened at the dock that evening when the porter who didn't want to be a salted fish came back, which made Li Zeyuan so shocked. He was completely changed. He had a sinister temperament and would get into fits of rage at any time. He would beat and scold his subordinates and criticize the porters harshly. Even the look he gave her no longer concealed his lust and malice. Fortunately, after several requests from her, the eldest lady finally agreed that she would not be sent to the small pier from today onwards. Thinking about this in her mind, Xiuxiu walked out of the dock happily, determined never to come here again. Not only is it boring, it can also easily affect your mood. Li Zeyuan, with a face so gloomy that water could drip out of it, stood by the window of the duty room, looking at Xiuxiu's back from afar, his eyes filled with deep malice, and desire and anger intertwined in his heart. After watching for a while, until he could no longer see Xiuxiu's back, Li Zeyuan left the window and sat behind the desk. After a moment's silence, Li Zeyuan opened a drawer at hand and took out a group sculpture carved from twisted tree roots from the secret compartment. "Do you think you are the only one who has found the opportunity? You lowly porter!" Li Zeyuan's face showed a sinister look, and he murmured silently, "You are not the only one who found the opportunity! I have it too! And that teacher from the missionary academy who dares not show his face, you also have to wait for me! It won't be long before I can also be promoted to the seventh rank, or even the sixth rank, or the fifth rank!" The mainstream ways of spiritual practice, such as Confucianism, martial arts, Taoism, Buddhism, and witchcraft, each have different systems and different realm divisions. In fact, there was no strict and unified level distinction at the beginning. When two practitioners meet, they have to fight to know who is superior and who is inferior. Later, Taizu of the Dayong Dynasty came out of nowhere. He not only innovated the atmosphere and established the Tianchao, but also learned from hundreds of schools of thought, and practiced Confucianism, martial arts, Taoism, Buddhism, and witchcraft. He mixed different systems and realms of each school and formulated a hierarchy that could clearly distinguish who had a higher realm and who had a lower realm. Taizu of Dayong Dynasty referred to the official hierarchy system he established. He first incorporated the system of mountain and river gods and city gods, land gods and underworld gods that were conferred by the Heavenly Dynasty into ninth-grade white edicts, eighth-grade red and white edicts, seventh-grade red edicts, sixth-grade gold and red edicts, fifth-grade gold edicts, fourth-grade blue and gold edicts, third-grade blue edicts, second-grade purple and blue edicts, and first-grade purple edicts. Then he unified the Danding School and the Fulu School of Taoism. It encourages Taoist practitioners to practice alchemy internally and use magical talismans and spells externally. According to the ranks of gods corresponding to the personal soldiers and generals that can be commanded by the magic talismans, the Taoist monks, who originally had only five vague ranks of Taoist boy, Taoist priest, Taoist chief, Zhenren and Zhenjun, were divided into quasi-monks who entered Taoism but not yet entered the ranks, and monks who entered the ranks of ninth, eighth, seventh, sixth, fifth, fourth, third, second and first ranks. Later, Taizu of the Dayong Dynasty further extended the nine-grade system from Taoist monks to Confucianism, martial arts, Buddhism, and witchcraft. From then on, the cultivators of the Dayong Dynasty, regardless of whether they were Confucianists, martial artists, Taoists, Buddhists, or witches, were divided into quasi-cultivators who had entered the Tao but not yet entered the rank, and cultivators from the ninth to first rank. Liuxian County is just an ordinary small county within the Dayong Dynasty, and the Shahe Gang is just an ordinary small force within Liuxian County. It is natural and appropriate for Li Zeyuan, a ninth-rank martial arts practitioner, to become a dock manager. There's nothing strange about it. The strange thing is, what exactly is the sculpture of twisted tree roots in Li Zeyuan's hand? Not only did it give Li Zeyuan full confidence that he could be promoted to the seventh rank and take revenge on the missionary instructor who had embarrassed him three days ago, it also allowed Li Zeyuan to "peek" into the realms of the sixth rank and above! Mo Yuhan, the eldest daughter of the Shahe Gang, also wanted to get the answer to this question. She was very curious about what the sculpture of twisted tree roots in Li Zeyuan's hand was, and why her master had warned her so seriously before she left Jingling Mountain:

Don't underestimate it, and don't think about snatching it. Just treat it as a reference to reflect the situation of robbery energy. By observing the state and experience of the holder, one can indirectly understand the state of the calamity energy growing in the surrounding area. The Shahe Gang’s main sources of income are river shipping and wharf operations, both based on the Yudai River. Mo Yuhan was naturally extremely concerned about the disaster situation in Yudai River. So after descending Jingling Mountain and returning to Liuxian County, Mo Yuhan vigorously sorted out the affairs within the gang while keeping an eye on Li Zeyuan who was holding the sculpture of the twisted tree roots. Last time there was a water ghost at the dock, Mo Yuhan reacted so strongly. On the one hand, she did want to use Li Zeyuan as an example to warn the old men of the Shahe Gang and the other managers. On the other hand, she also wanted to test whether Li Zeyuan was like her master said, that after owning the twisted tree root sculpture for so long, his character had changed drastically and malicious intent had grown! After more than a month of continuous observation, Mo Yuhan discovered many strange things about Li Zeyuan, such as his awkward personality and behavior. Mo Yuhan also discovered that Li Zeyuan's character had changed drastically after he suffered revenge and humiliation from the porter who entered the missionary house three days ago. The distortion and malice in his heart were almost impossible to suppress, and he had no intention of hiding anything. It seems that in Li Zeyuan's view, he is invincible as long as he holds the sculpture of twisted tree roots! Even if I am not invincible now, I will be able to achieve this in no time. At that time, anyone who dares to disobey him, anyone he dislikes, and anyone who has offended him will all die! Such a change is indeed huge. It should be noted that through Xiuxiu's "beauty trap" and through Xiuxiu's observation and testing, Mo Yuhan knew that over the past month, Li Zeyuan had always been thinking of showing his loyalty to her, always thinking of using her as a backer, and even thinking of marrying Xiuxiu! And now, what is Li Zeyuan’s attitude towards Xiuxiu? From Li Zeyuan's eyes that reveal his lust and malice, we can tell that Li Zeyuan is definitely not thinking about marrying Xiuxiu now. It was definitely rape first and then murder! Watching Li Zeyuan's every move through the water mirror of the "Circular Light Technique", Mo Yuhan couldn't help but feel murderous towards Li Zeyuan. Kill Li Zeyuan, and then throw the twisted tree root sculptures into the Yudai River, and let the twisted tree root sculptures find the next host on their own like the azure storage bag. Wouldn't that also allow us to indirectly understand the disaster situation of the Yudai River? I think it should be possible. Li Zeyuan, who had no idea that the eldest lady of the Shahe Gang had already decided to kill him, bit the tip of his right index finger and forced out a drop of blood. Blood is divided into ordinary blood, essence blood, and heart blood. One drop of heart blood is worth a hundred drops of essence blood, and one drop of essence blood is worth a hundred drops of ordinary blood. Even though Li Zeyuan has already entered the ninth rank of martial arts practitioner, is strong and energetic, he cannot force out too many drops of blood in a short period of time. If that happens, it will seriously corrode the foundation and deplete the body. Controlling this drop of heart blood as thick as mercury to evenly smear the sculpture of twisted tree roots, a gray-black light flashed across Li Zeyuan's face, and the murderous intent and malice in his heart became more intense. In the blink of an eye, the twisted tree root sculpture completely absorbed the blood that Li Zeyuan had smeared on it and returned to its previous black appearance. It doesn't look noticeable at first glance, but it looks weird upon closer inspection! Li Zeyuan looked as if he had taken an elixir. His face flushed, his eyes bulged out, and he looked extremely excited. The aura on his body rose and fell like the tide, and then suddenly rose to a new high. Eighth grade!

It's that simple. Li Zeyuan squeezed the sculpture of twisted tree roots hard, grinned coldly, revealing a mouthful of white teeth shining with a cold light. He didn't see that as he grinned, a phantom appeared behind him. Rat-like, pig-like, monkey-like, snake-like It looks like a toad... (End of this chapter)