CHAPTER 204: CHAPTER 122: HUNDRED INFANT TOWER, OLD ACQUAINTANCE

People guard against tigers, and tigers guard against people. The same goes for interactions between humans and immortals.

Thus, when immortals manifest their powers, there must be a Galloping Immortal Disciple to serve as a bridge.

Galloping Immortal Disciples are messengers who reside between Yin and Yang. Only with their mediation can humans overcome their fear of immortals and accurately convey each other’s intentions.

Xuan Yu, with nearly four hundred years of cultivation, communicates effortlessly with humans and doesn’t need a disciple to relay messages.

However, to ensure the prosperity of Cat Immortal Hall’s incense offerings, it’s inevitable to possess a Galloping Immortal Disciple for external manifestations.

But Xu Qing, as the Grand Sect Leader of Cat Immortal Hall, is too busy to perform the duties of a Galloping Immortal Disciple.

After all, he is the owner of Cat Immortal Hall, enjoying dividends every year and taking pleasure in toying with immortal matters in his spare time—that’s his true role.

Therefore, to ensure smooth operations, Xu Qing found two "Galloping Substitutes" for Xuan Yu.

One is Sun Erniang from the Yin Corpse Sect, and the other is Princess Yan Ning from the Ghost King Mausoleum.

Princess Yan Ning was originally a skeletal beauty. Although she had a face that could ruin nations, her body was merely bones.

This type of Galloping Immortal Disciple is only suitable for nighttime activities. Ordinary people wouldn’t easily notice, but if she appeared during the day, she might scare off the person needing help before completing the task.

Sun Erniang, however, is different. After some embellishment, this female zombie looks no different from regular people and is suitable for galloping tasks in various situations.

After Xuan Yu possesses Sun Erniang, she can help manage the shop and handle galloping tasks without Xu Qing having to personally involve himself.

Currently, Xu Qing takes Sun Erniang’s body out from the Box Garden, and Xuan Yu eagerly possesses her to start dealing with the tasks of rescuing the sheep.

Meanwhile, he sits on a clean stone surface, chatting idly with Daoist Huang.

The black crow, with its enthusiastic nature, perches on the head of a large sheep, helping Xuan Yu maintain order among the flock.

It’s not unusual for crows to mimic human speech, and the sheep aren’t afraid; they simply follow it to the creek for a drink.

Watching the diligent Xuan Yu by the creek, Xu Qing lazily remarked, "Daoist Huang, your life as an immortal seems pretty comfortable. You don’t need to handle galloping tasks yourself, yet the work gets done."

Daoist Huang replied, "What are you talking about, Daoist Xu? This is the work of Cat Immortal Hall. I wouldn’t take credit for it in Yellow Immortal Hall."

Daoist Huang stood up, crouching slightly with a long tobacco pipe in his hand, equal in length to his own body.

Lighting the pipe, a spark dropped into the bowl.

After a few puffs, Daoist Huang felt his tongue go numb and his mind dizzy.

"I must say, this old geezer’s tobacco is quite potent."

Sticking out his tongue, Daoist Huang sat beside Xu Qing, feeling as if he’d reached the peak of his life.

"Rest assured, Daoist Xu, from now on, the matters of Cat Immortal Hall are the matters of my Yellow Immortal Hall. This time’s incense offerings as well—I won’t take a penny from it."

Incense offerings hold significant meaning for immortals. They not only enhance their cultivation but can also be used to craft Incense Treasures.

However, their major role is to deal with tribulations on the path of cultivation.

Within the Five Elements and throughout the Nine Netherworlds, whether human, ghost, or spirit beast, any being that reaches a certain level in cultivation will attract tribulations.

Be it lightning strikes, wind erosion, or self-immolation—failing to overcome any of the Three Disasters or Five Tribulations results in complete destruction.

Incense offerings, however, can reach heaven and reduce the difficulty of tribulations for spirits and demons.

If the offerings are abundant, they could even waive the costs, allowing one to become a deity walking in the mortal world, essentially guaranteeing immortality.

These facts aren’t secrets among immortals. They’re the centuries-old conclusion drawn by generations of immortal ancestors. If they were useless, why would so many immortals dedicate themselves to the pursuit of incense offerings?

Xuan Yu evidently understands this; otherwise, this cat wouldn’t be so eager to establish the Cat Immortal Hall and involve Xu Qing.

Cats are naturally lazy; they wouldn’t be in a rush unless under extreme pressure.

"Xuan Yu already has four hundred years of cultivation, less than a hundred years away from the Five-Hundred-Year Tribulation..." Xu Qing thought about his own progress. The cultivation needed to become a Golden Armored Corpse also requires five hundred years.

In other words, the day he evolves into a Golden Armored Corpse will be the day he gets struck by lightning.

It seems like starting Cat Immortal Hall might have been a bit late...

For the first time, Xu Qing felt a sense of urgency as if he’d entered a bridal sedan but hadn’t finished dressing up.

In "Corpse Talk," there are records of Golden Armored Corpses enduring lightning tribulations. It says that throughout ancient and modern times, fewer than one in a hundred zombies can become Golden Corpses under thunder and fire.

But among those zombies, none had used incense offerings to withstand tribulations.

Understandably so; most zombies lack human consciousness and wouldn’t proactively do good deeds to gather incense offerings.

After pondering for a moment, Xu Qing suddenly asked, "Daoist Huang, you have extensive connections. Have you heard of the Child-Giving Temple’s Rescuing Mother?"

"Rescuing Mother?"

Daoist Huang shuddered upon hearing this, instantly sobering up from the tobacco fog.

"Not only have I heard of her, but I’ve also dealt with her. That widow is not to be trifled with!"

Xu Qing curiously asked, "Your Yellow Immortal Hall has so many descendants; are you really afraid of just one widow?"

"It’s not about whether she’s a widow or not. You don’t understand—she’s a very unusual widow. She has no in-laws, no husband, but gave birth to a stillborn child with the deity worshiped at the Child-Giving Temple. That stillborn is now locked in the Hundred Infant Tower behind the temple..."

Xu Qing frowned. The Rescuing Mother described by Daoist Huang seemed to have subtle differences from the information he obtained from the shepherd’s lantern show.