In the morning, the misty springs of the Three Tunnels.
Chen Yun pulled Zhang Jiwen along to come here.
The Tiger Lord didn't even glance at Zhang Jiwen but instead showed extraordinary warmth to Chen Yun.
The man and the tiger chatted idly for half an hour before Chen Yun, at the right moment, interjected, "Uncle Tiger, I've heard that you once subdued the Six Demonic Kings and the Eight Commanders of Ghosts alongside the Celestial Master. Your spiritual attainments are so profound that it's hard to believe."
The Tiger Lord was flattered and said, "The Six Demonic Kings and the Eight Commanders of Ghosts are of no consequence."
Chen Yun blinked and said, "You have been battling demons with the Celestial Master for over seven hundred years. I'm sure there are no demons or ghosts left in the Qing City Mountains now."
The Tiger Lord sneered and roared, "You brat, don't come here with any ulterior motives today. Be straightforward and tell me, why have you come here?"
As the saying goes, "People become wise as they age." The Tiger Lord has been endowed with spiritual intelligence for hundreds of years, and his wisdom is not inferior to that of a wise person.
Chen Yun decided not to play with ambiguous hints anymore and directly said, "Recently, the Celestial Master gave me a deity general. With this deity general at hand, none of my subordinate spirit warriors have been recruited. Therefore, the junior wants to seek advice from Uncle Tiger about where there are lonely souls and wild ghosts, as well as mountain spirits and monsters in the vicinity, in order to subdue and recruit them under his deity general's command."
Zhang Jiwen had been listening to the conversation between the man and the tiger, but since no one paid him any attention, he looked extremely bored and kept messing with the grass roots.
Yes, Zhang Jiwen is still a child. Although his cultivation level is high, his temperament has not fully settled down yet.
The Tiger Lord pondered for a moment and said, "The demons and ghosts around Qingcheng Mountain are endless. Although I have subdued the demonic kings and ghost commanders with the old Taoist, this Qingcheng Mountain is at the border between the human world and the spirit world. Therefore, there are so many holy beings here, and their purpose is to guard Qingcheng Mountain, preventing powerful demonic kings and ghost commanders from causing chaos and doing evil in the human world."
Chen Yun's eyes brightened, "Uncle Tiger, what do you mean...?"
The Tiger Lord nodded slightly, "As long as you stay away from these sacred temples, it's easy to find demons and ghosts. As for the mountain and river spirits, this is a bit difficult. The second son of the Du River has been sweeping around for years. The mountain and river spirits are either captured under his command or all destroyed."
The Second Son of the Guan River is the God of the Second Son.
The 'Guan River' mentioned here does not refer to the modern Guanyang River in western Guangdong, but rather the Guanshan County in Sichuan.
According to the legends, Li Bing was the governor of the Shu region during the Qin Dynasty. During his term, he led the people to build the Dujiangyan Irrigation System, whose merits have been enduring for over a thousand years.
In the folk tales of Sichuan, it is said that in this grand engineering project, his son, "Er Lang," assisted his father in removing the piled stones, eliminating water monsters, and channeling the Min River to form the Dujiangyan Irrigation System. This has been a great achievement that has made the Chengdu Plain prosperous for thousands of years, and hence he is revered by the people as a deity.
This is the Erlang Shen of the popular worship.
The Taoist Erlang Shen refers to Zhao Erlang, not Li Er Lang.
According to the "Records of Longcheng," during the Sui Dynasty, there was a person named Zhao Yu who lived in seclusion on Mount Qingcheng to study Taoism. At the end of the Sui Dynasty, he was appointed as the governor of Jiagang Prefecture in Sichuan.
At that time, an old dragon caused chaos and became a great pest to the region.
Zhao Yu held a knife and plunged into the river. He dived into the water and engaged in fierce battle with the old dragon. In the end, Zhao Yu held the dragon's head with his left hand and his knife with his right, splashing through the waves and emerged victorious.
Therefore, the people of the state revered him and worshipped him as a deity.
Later, he abandoned his official position and retreated into obscurity, and his final destination is unknown. However, he was said to have "appeared" a few times during the flooding of the Jialing River, causing people to worship him as a deity.
Tang Taizong learned about this from the reports of local officials, so he immediately awarded him the title of General of Brave Valor and built a temple for him at the mouth of the Guan River.
Later, during the An Lushan Rebellion, when Emperor Xuanzong fled to Sichuan, he further enshrined him as the Marquis of Red City.
That is why he is respectfully known by the world as "Zhao Erlang, the True Deity of Divine and Supreme Power."
This Zhao Erlang is also the prototype of the Erlang Shen in "Journey to the West" and "The Great Compilation of Immortals."
As for the legend of Yang Erlang, it was during the Ming Dynasty. Nowadays, the term "Erlang Shen" specifically refers to Zhao Erlang.
Chen Yun blinked and said, "If I can't find mountain spirits, it's no problem, Uncle Tiger. Tell me where there are slightly more powerful lonely souls and ghosts, and I'll go collect them."
The Tiger Lord carefully recalled, "I remember that about ten li west of the Guanjiang Erlang Temple, there is a small hill. That place is exactly at the border of the human and spirit realms. There is a city of the dead, which guards three hundred fierce soldiers from the underworld. Guanjiang Erlang loves talent and has not yet used thunderous methods against them. He only wants to recruit them to his side with tolerance. If you can take these fierce soldiers under your wing before Er Lang gets to them, it might become a good assistant."
At this point, the Tiger Lord shook his head, "With your current cultivation level, it's quite difficult to gather these fierce soldiers. Unless you perform some rituals and spells."
Chen Yun asked, "Wouldn't using thunder magic work?"
The Tiger Lord sneered and said, "You can use thunder magic to blow them up, go ahead. But if you want to recruit them, only performing rituals and spells will work."
Chen Yun had an idea in mind, "Thank you, Uncle Tiger, for not sparing your teachings."
...
On the other side, in the City of the Dead.
This is an area of desolation, gray and desolate, as if it were just nightfall.
The surrounding soil is barren, and there is not a single blade of grass. The soil underfoot is a deep bloody red, which is very terrifying.
In front of them was a small city with a wall that was three to fifty meters long and stood no more than two to three meters high.
There were no towers on the city wall; only two small bastions.
Each of the four soldiers on the wall had hollow eyes and wore black armor.
The city gate was almost the same on both sides, with only two soldiers each.
The wall was also covered in the terrifying blood red color like the soil around it.
Suddenly, one of the soldiers on the bastion had an abnormal blood-colored pupil.
Following that, it threw its long spear at a certain ripple in space with all its might.
The next second, a golden light flashed at the ripple, and the spear was shattered into pieces.
Immediately, the golden light became increasingly intense, and a team of immortal soldiers emerged from it.
The leader was a young general.
He was handsome and dignified, with ears hanging down and eyes shining. He wore a cap adorned with three mountains and a flying phoenix, a robe in light goose yellow, boots with coiled dragons, and an embroidered jade belt with eight treasures. A bow shaped like the new moon hung at his waist, and he held a trident spear with three points and two edges in his hand.
By the side of the young general, a large dog as white as an elephant followed.
On the shoulder of the young general stood an iron-beaked eagle.
The mount of the young general was a dragon foal, all snow-white with no spots or marks.
The person who had come was Zhao Erlang, the True Deity of Divine and Supreme Power!
Behind Zhao Erlang were several hundred silver-armored deity generals and soldiers, their weapons shining with cold light.
Among them were a series of deities, including the King of Chujiang, the King of Golden Horse Loyalty, the King of Saintly Loyalty, and the Great King of Holy Sovereignty. There were also some deities who had not yet been incorporated into an organization, such as the Seven Sages of Meishan and numerous other local deities.
The King of Chujiang here is not the King of Chujiang of the Ten Palace of the Damned.
The term "attendants" refers to an official position. Initially, attendants were low-ranking officials or eunuchs close to the emperor. By the Song Dynasty, the position of an attendant gradually evolved into that of a close imperial advisor who could meet with the emperor at any time. Officials such as academicians of the Hanlin Academy and ministers of the six ministries were also known as attendants.
Of course, the term is still used today to describe minor government officials.
That is, the King of Chujiang in the attendant position may sound scary, but in reality, he is a minor deity in Zhao Erlang's army, not a supreme deity.
In addition, it is necessary to mention the title of "local deity" or "grass-root deity."
