Swallowing It
The Ghost of Poverty was quite interested in matters of the Immortal Court.
Zhang Xuezhou knew very little about the affairs of the Immortal Court.
After resolving some minor troubles for himself, Zhang Xuezhou had no choice but to fabricate a story about a Immortal Court.
It's easy to make mistakes by saying too much, and to make fewer mistakes by saying less.
To minimize the chances of being exposed, Zhang Xuezhou used his lowly status as a pretext to manipulate how he addressed people.
Just like when he and Rong Tianding sold fake paintings of immortals in their early years, Zhang Xuezhou fabricated the names of the immortals, which were at least twenty characters long.
Just the fact that he said the two immortals met would take forty or fifty words to describe.
Zhang Xuezhou didn't say much about serious matters, but he repeated his name over and over again many times.
"You little fairies have it so hard! You have to memorize your names countless times every day!"
The story of sending away the poor ghost made him drowsy.
If he weren't using the treasure basin to fly, he felt he would want to lie down and figure out all the names Zhang Xuezhou had mentioned before he could determine who was involved with whom.
"What did you say the Jade Emperor of your Immortal Court was called?" the Poverty-Sending Ghost asked again.
"The Supreme One who opened the heavens, held the talisman, governed the calendar, embodied the true Dao, resided in the Golden Palace and Cloud Palace, ruled the nine heavens, governed the myriad Daos, practiced the Great Dao, and was in the Bright Hall of the Haotian, the Golden Palace, the Supreme Jade Emperor, the Great Heavenly Venerable, the Mysterious Vault High God," Zhang Xuezhou in full.
"That name is too long," said the Ghost of Poverty. "A demon as slow-witted as me wouldn't last two days as a servant in your Immortal Court!"
"You flatter me, sir. You are clearly of extremely high status and would never live the life of a servant like us," Zhang Xuezhou said, trying to appease him.
"We were just born in a good era, the tallest among the short, and by fortuitous opportunity we were able to enter the ranks of the gods. Back then, we didn't need to do the kind of work you do!"
The man who was supposed to send away the poor ghost muttered something.
He was somewhat reluctant to learn about the Immortal Court through Zhang Xuezhou, since he didn't want to recite such a long name when he met the immortals.
Of course, even now, he can't even pronounce the Jade Emperor's name fluently.
Zhang Xuezhou recited the name fluently and without confusion, making the poor ghost think that young people these days are truly hardworking and resilient.
Of course, as long as young people are willing to endure hardship, there will be no end to the hardships they can endure.
Hearing that Zhang Xuezhou had spent many years cultivating skills in the Immortal Court that amounted to nothing more than enduring the elements, he couldn't help but feel even more sympathetic towards him.
"You have no special skills, so wouldn't the risks of going down to the mortal realm be extremely high?" the ghost of poverty said sympathetically.
"I can intimidate my opponents by relying on the difference in our cultivation levels," Zhang Xuezhou said confidently, patting his chest. "That's one of our most powerful weapons!"
"What kind of weapon is this?" The poor ghost shook his head repeatedly, saying, "Cultivating realms without cultivating techniques is all for naught. Your realm's deterrent range is limited. Let alone encountering a great cultivator, even a third-rate archer can easily target you!"
"The Supreme Lord of Heaven, the Patrol Officer of Destiny, who communicates with the True Lord and manifests, oversees the Three Realms and Ten Directions, punishes good and evil, governs the seasons, assists in governing the world, receives the imperial edicts, and transmits them to the Jade Pivot and Golden Palace. He says that we servants need to be flexible," Zhang Xuezhou said, emphasizing, "Only by being flexible can we last long!"
"The Duty Officer is just a minor celestial official of the third rank. Why do you have such a long name? It gives me a headache!"
Discussing matters of the Immortal Court with Zhang Xuezhou was destined to be unpleasant; one wrong move and you'd be mentioning the long and difficult-to-pronounce name of some celestial official.
The poor ghost thought Zhang Xuezhou was too strict with the rules, but he couldn't make Zhang Xuezhou change his way of speaking and use the abbreviation. After all, rules are rules, and he couldn't forcefully change the unspoken rules that allowed these servants to survive.
"It's getting dark and I can't see the road very well, let's take a break!"
As darkness fell, the God of Poverty descended upon a riverbank and laid down a treasure bowl.
He didn't accept the Law Treasure, indicating that Zhang Xuezhou could sleep in the treasure basin, as this kind of Law Treasure could completely avoid being hunted by ferocious beasts and demonic birds.
"Does the master eat fish? I'll catch a few for you," Zhang Xuezhou, jumping out of the treasure basin.
The ghost who sent away poverty was right when he said the silver treasure bowl could travel two thousand miles a day; we had almost completed one-fifth of the journey to the Yedie River Holy Land.
The reason it is said to be nearly one-fifth is that Zhang Xuezhou did not indicate the straight-line distance when giving directions, but instead used a combination of pedestrian and horse trails to guide the way. As a result, even with the constant driving of the "poverty-sending ghost" and the "treasure bowl," the journey still could not be completed within the straight-line distance of two thousand li.
As darkness fell and visibility worsened, the road became too poor to see clearly, forcing the "Sending Away the Poor Ghost" to abandon his journey.
Zhang Xuezhou jumped into the river and said another polite remark.
"I don't eat river fish, they're too fishy and smelly," said the ghost who sent away poverty. "I prefer to eat the blood of recently deceased cultivators, and the yin creatures nourished by ancient tombs are also good food for me. If you know of any ancient tombs nearby, I could have a feast!"
The custom of sending away the "poverty ghost" was somewhat strange, and Zhang Xuezhou felt he should separate from the other party as soon as possible.
Knowing the other party's preference, Zhang Xuezhou would have definitely led them towards the Liang King's tomb, or lured them into the trap set by the Emperor Qin.
Although Zhang Xuezhou has dealt with many dangerous underground tombs over the years, he is not a cultivator who specializes in dealing with tombs, and his understanding of tombs is far from sufficient.
"You wander around and check if there are any ancient tombs. I'll catch a few fish to fill my stomach!"
Zhang Xuezhou casually gave a polite greeting, and the "ghost of poverty" actually nodded, urging the treasure bowl to search the surrounding area.
"Finally, I have a chance to gnaw on the Spirit Silk Jade Lotus Root!"
Seeing that the treasure bowl had been sent away from the poverty ghost and was hundreds of meters away, Zhang Xuezhou touched the cloth bag on his back.
Zhang Xuezhou not only obtained a set of coarse cloth clothes from Wang Shan, but also a cloth bag to carry with him.
The cloth bag contained the seal-granting divine robe, a mask, a shrunken spirit silk jade lotus root, Lesser Heaven and Earth Bag, and other items that did not fit Zhang Xuezhou's identity. All of these were placed in this inconspicuous backpack.
After several days of not getting it wet for maintenance, the half of the Spirit Silk Jade Lotus Root that Zhang Xuezhou took out had become somewhat wrinkled and smaller than before.
Lacking Law Power, he couldn't unravel the form of the Spirit Silk Jade Lotus, so he had no choice but to leave it to soak in the river.
"The Cynomorium songaricum we ate at Broken Soul Ridge was this long, but this thing is only the size of a mushroom. I wonder how much Law Power it will dispel after eating it!"
Zhang Xuezhou didn't face much risk following the "Poverty-Sending Ghost," but he needed to reach the Yedie River Holy Land before the ghost did, otherwise it would be much more difficult for him to take what he had gained.
Zhang Xuezhou was unsure how the Jade Emperor and the Ghost of Poverty communicated, but after several conversations with the Ghost of Poverty, Zhang Xuezhou was certain that the Jade Emperor had not revealed his trip to the Immortal Court to collect his reward, and that the Jade Emperor was well aware that he was the original.
But there is only one Jade Emperor. Daojun, Zhu Jiuyin, and other cultivators never watched Zhang Xuezhou's competition, nor did they have any contact with him. How could these people recognize Zhang Xuezhou's original identity?
Once the message to send away the "poor ghost" is delivered, Zhang Xuezhou will inevitably be arrested when he arrives at the door wearing the robes of the divine seal.
To reach the Yedie River Holy Land and obtain what he needs before the "Sending Away the Poor Ghost" arrives, Zhang Xuezhou needs sufficient Demon Power before he can quickly leave using the Technique Within the Clouds.
He touched the jade lotus root that was gradually unfurling in the river water, and without much hesitation, he put it directly into his mouth.
You eat raw fish?
Zhang Xuezhou frowned and chewed for a while.
Even though he was mentally prepared and was standing in the river preparing the water, Zhang Xuezhou never imagined that he would be unable to chew the half of the Spirit Silk Jade Lotus Root.
When the voice of "sending away the ghost of poverty" came, Zhang Xuezhou looked up and saw the other party hanging upside down on the floating treasure basin like a bat, looking at him.
This startled Zhang Xuezhou.
Without waiting for the ghost to ask what kind of fish he had eaten, he swallowed the tough yet incredibly elastic piece of spirit lotus root.
After waiting for several seconds, Zhang Xuezhou felt that no Law Power had been released from his body, which made him feel a little bad.