Chapter 44: The Immortals

"Uncle Liao, what's wrong?"

After hanging up the phone, Liao Zhong didn't hide anything. He pulled out a cigarette, lit it with a lighter, and took a long drag.

Only then did he say, "Damn it, old Gao from the Northeast snatched the peach right out from under us!"

The "old Gao" Liao Zhong referred to was Gao Lian, the head of the Northeast Region of All Comers, and also a Northeast Immortality Medium.

This white elephant was somewhat special. After the report was submitted, Gao Lian took a keen interest in it and, under the guise of research, requested that the company transfer the white elephant over to him.

Meng Fan smiled and teased, "Oh, Uncle Liao, to think someone could actually snatch a prize right out of your hands? That's a rare sight!"

Hearing this, Liao Zhong sighed and said, "What can you do? The man is an expert at spirit mediumship."

"Up in the Northeast, the various halls of the immortal mediums are all connected, and hidden behind them are god knows how many immortal spirits. What I'm afraid of isn't just that old Gao is interested in it, but that the immortal spirits behind him are."

The more famous immortal spirits in the Northeast primarily refer to the five great immortals of Northeast folklore, though there are others which we won't go into detail about here.

Ranking first is the Fox Immortal, meaning the fox, which holds a relatively high status among the five great immortals.

Beginning with the Xia Dynasty of the Central Plains, there has been folklore about Emperor Yu marrying a nine-tailed white fox, leading to foxes being revered and worshipped as auspicious animals.

People generally believe that foxes possess spiritual intelligence, can create disturbances and mischief, can attain immortality, and can even cure human ailments. The legendary "Third Grandpa Hu" is considered the representative of fox immortals and is worshipped in certain areas of the Northeast.

Second is the Yellow Immortal, meaning the weasel, commonly known in folklore as "Second Grandpa Huang."

With its graceful posture and cunning nature, it carries a mysterious aura. In Northeast folklore, the Yellow Immortal is known to repay both kindness and grudges with equal force, possessing a certain degree of spiritual awareness.

Third is the White Immortal, which is the hedgehog.

Regarded by most as a mascot for bringing in wealth and preventing illness, the legendary White Grandmother is a divine spirit evolved from a hedgehog, primarily focused on healing people and proficient in witchcraft.

Fourth is the Willow Immortal, which is the snake.

In Northeast legends, snakes are believed to possess spiritual energy and immense magical power, capable of transforming into human form and refining pills from elixirs.

Fifth is the Gray Immortal, which is the mouse.

It is one of the immortal spirits of the Northeast's Earth Immortal faith, Guardian-of-the-House Immortal faith, and Quanzhen Taoist Guardian Immortal faith,

serving as the General Guardian Immortal of Taoism for the three northeastern provinces, presiding over the various immortal clans of the region. It is primarily worshipped in Taoist temples across the Northeast and in folk immortal shrines associated with these beliefs.

"Immortal spirits, huh!"

Meng Fan pondered for a moment and tentatively asked, "Could it be that these immortal spirits actually want to cultivate a white elephant immortal?"

Hearing this, as if thinking of a certain possibility, Liao Zhong said, "You can never be too sure about that!"

"Don't look at how the Guardian-of-the-House Immortals are currently dominated by the five great immortal clans; more than a hundred years ago, compared to those other three major immortal clans, they really didn't amount to much."

"As you probably know, the white mountains and black waters of the Northeast were the dragon pulse territory of the previous dynasty. That's why the shamans of that era enshrined three immortal spirits—the bear, the tiger, and the eagle—to guard the Changbai Mountain dragon pulse."

"The Dark Bear, the Mountain Monarch, and the Gyrfalcon!"

"Among them, because the Gyrfalcon once received a personal imperial decree from a certain pockmarked emperor and carried the blessing of dragon fortune, it was the most powerful, equivalent to having successfully sought a human-like investiture."

"Of all the three hundred and sixty feathered creatures, the Gyrfalcon is the most divine and brilliant. Its nature holds the metal spirit and embraces the fire virtue, and its extraordinary material reflects the radiance of the Yao-guang star."

Hearing this, a ripple stirred within Meng Fan's heart.

Liao Zhong continued, "These are also deep secrets of All Comers; besides those in the Northeast, ordinary people rarely know about them."

"Back then, I got heavily drunk with old Gao, and it was only while chatting and joking that I learned some of these inside stories."

"After the fall of the previous dynasty, those three immortal spirits were implicated, which is why they yielded their territory and let it be taken over by the current five great immortal clans."

"However, according to the company's speculation, the five great immortal clans likely do not get along with those three former immortals. Especially when the Central Plains was sinking into chaos and those three immortals vainly attempted a restoration by propping up a false dragon, it thoroughly angered the five great immortal clans, who had just managed to firmly plant their feet."

"According to records, they apparently had a massive battle, and after that, the three major immortal clans vanished without a trace—though the five great immortal clans have never given up searching for their whereabouts."

Liao Zhong said rather mysteriously to Meng Fan, "My guess is that the one enshrined by the Gao family might just want to cultivate one such being so they have a trump card to deal with the three major immortal clans."

Meng Fan asked with some confusion, "Could it be that the five great immortal clans aren't confident enough yet?"

"Hah, those Dark Bears, Mountain Monarchs, and Gyrfalcons were originally fierce beasts that attained the Dao, naturally suppressing the five great immortal clans. Not to mention, they had even received imperial edicts and mandates from the dynasty."

"Although they suffered some backlash, after a hundred years, they should have recovered by now!"

"So, Gao Lian wanting to transfer the white elephant over is probably to strengthen their forces and be prepared for any eventuality!"

Meng Fan thought for a moment. "So we're just letting them transfer it on empty promises?"

Liao Zhong shook his head. "If it were merely old Gao's idea alone, that would be quite unlikely. After all, he is a company man, and those immortal spirits are probably just using old Gao's authority to transfer the white elephant over so they can inspect it."

"If they take a liking to it, then the next step is that the immortal spirits in the Northeast will likely have to bleed a little!"

"They'll have to cede a portion of their interests to the company, or do some other tasks for the company in exchange for this white elephant. Of course, our South China Region can also take a cut from it."

"I've heard that those old immortals are sitting on massive fortunes and have hidden away countless treasures. Slurp, just thinking about it makes my mouth water!"

Meng Fan mercilessly interrupted Liao Zhong's daydreaming. "Alright, stop daydreaming. Whether it'll actually work out is still up in the air!"

"Since it's the company's order, you should go ahead and get to work. I have things to do, so I'll be leaving."

Returning to his laboratory, Meng Fan suppressed the surging excitement in his heart.

He had just been agonizing over which avian creature to choose, and now Liao Zhong had handed him this information—it was like being handed a pillow just as he felt sleepy!

White elephant, gyrfalcon...

Birds and beasts, combined with the already modified lightning mink Silver Yuan—he could say that Meng Fan had locked onto his target synthetic materials for the Flower-Fox Mink.

He had already obtained the gene of the white elephant; all that remained was that gyrfalcon.

If he was going to choose, he might as well choose the best. They say of all winged creatures, the gyrfalcon is the most magnificent, so Meng Fan naturally didn't want to let it go. Immortal spirit or not, once it caught his eye, he was determined to get his hands on it.

When the three major immortal clans and the five great immortal clans started fighting, he would definitely have to jump into the fray to lend a hand!

However, before that, Meng Fan's best course of action would be to first synthesize the white elephant's gene with Silver Yuan, allowing Silver Yuan to gain the ability to "manifest as a white elephant" to strengthen his own side's power, before plotting against that gyrfalcon.

After all, his time spent in cultivation was still short, and he lacked the courage to face such ancient monsters that had been cultivating for who knows how many years.

Only an "immortal creature" like Silver Yuan, which had integrated the tardigrade genes, would dare to step up and take the brunt of it!

Once he integrated the gyrfalcon's gene into Silver Yuan's body, he would undoubtedly recreate the legendary Flower-Fox Mink of Mo Li Shou.