I was forced to cultivate immortality when I just wanted to lie down

Chapter 217 The Mortal Boundary
"Gentlemen, it seems unlikely that anyone will be able to leave here alive today. In that case, why don't we have a meal first?"

Xu Qing picked up his chopsticks, tapped the table, and said in the same tone as Liao Jinzhong, "At least we should let everyone have one last full meal, right?"

"."

Even Master He couldn't help but sigh.

He regretted not having consulted a divination master to inquire about the outcome when he arrived; otherwise, he wouldn't be in this predicament now.

"It is an honor to feast with such a heroic figure as yourself. May I ask your name?"

Xu Qing glanced at Liao Jinzhong and chuckled, "Doing good deeds anonymously is a great scourge to the world. I came here to rid the people of this scourge, not to seek empty fame."

Liao Jinzhong paused in his walnut-picking, managing to hold back his outburst: "You murdered the Celestial Master's Ancestral Child, slaughtered the entire Tianjin Gang, and even targeted my adopted son. Is this also for the sake of the country and the people?"

"Otherwise? Could there be law-abiding citizens among them? That would be quite strange."

"."

Liao Jinzhong was silent for a moment, then suddenly sneered: "So what if you're a good person? So what if you're a bad person? In my opinion, all your so-called efforts to eliminate evil and serve the country and the people are nothing but self-serving and shady dealings. Otherwise, why don't you show your true colors? Instead, you're like a thieving rat that can't stand the light, only making people laugh."

Xu Qing chuckled upon hearing this, not expecting the old eunuch to be such a sharp-tongued fellow. But then again, how dare someone as shortchanged as you speak to people like that?

"My father-in-law is truly spineless and inflexible; he's tough everywhere except for his mouth."

"Why are you glaring at me, Father-in-law? Your health is the lifeblood of the Great Yong Dynasty. It doesn't matter if anyone else gets upset, but you mustn't be. Otherwise, the Great Yong Dynasty will probably be doomed sooner or later!"

"Otherwise, Father-in-law, take off your pants and let the whole world see, so you can put your mind at ease."

"Shut up!" Xu Qing's words made Eunuch Liao so angry that his mouth and nose twisted and his whole body trembled.

Xu Qing was indeed quite unethical. As a eunuch, he was a legitimate member of the palace, and no matter how aggressive he was in his speech, he would never resort to underhanded tactics.

Xu Qing, on the other hand, skipped the debate and started making personal attacks.

Liao Gonggong couldn't resist and crushed the walnuts he had taken from Feng Erye into pieces.

Xu Qing blinked, looked at the pair of walnuts, and kindly reminded him, "Father-in-law, they're broken."

"."

"Both balls are broken! You're so careless!"

"."

"The original soup helps digest the original food. I think those two kernels are still quite fresh. It would be a shame to throw them away. Eating them can help nourish the body."

"enough!"

A loud shout suddenly rang out, Liao Gonggong's hair flew wildly, and a crack appeared in the entire octagonal table.

Xu Qing reacted even faster than Liao Gonggong broke through his defenses. The two disagreed and decided to settle their differences with their fists.

The left hand of God grabbed at Liao Jinzhong's arm, but the latter shuddered and retreated. A blood-red aura blocked the death energy in Xu Qing's hand, making a sizzling sound.

"Such potent poison! I thought it belonged to some reputable sect, but it turns out you're also a practitioner of evil arts." "Oh? It seems the rumors about you using other people's lives to increase your own cultivation are not unfounded."

"You're sharp-tongued and have never tasted the power of a Grandmaster. Since you've ruined my plans, I'll use you to question the heavens today."

When the Mirror Bureau was initially drawing prisoners from the yamen, Xu Qing noticed something was amiss. He paid special attention and eventually found clues among the numerous corpses. These clues eventually connected to form a complete truth.

That is, Liao Jinzhong acquired a wicked skill in his early years, which allows him to increase his own power and energy by absorbing the power, essence, and blood of others.

This technique is quite similar to Xu Qing's Qi-Seizing and Returning to Origin Technique, but his technique is limited to increasing one's cultivation level and cannot transform one's Qi and blood.

The techniques that can absorb the life force of living people are, in a sense, no longer martial arts techniques, but rather demonic and evil methods practiced by some cultivators.

Xu Qing wasn't very interested in this technique. Although he didn't have a technique that allowed him to devour the life force of others, zombies were born with the ability to steal life force and absorb the life force of others.

However, Xu Qing had strong self-control. Even with the Corpse Raising Manual and a more orthodox path to zombie cultivation, he did not choose the path of eating raw meat and drinking blood. Even when he occasionally ate blood, he limited it to common ingredients in the secular world, such as chicken blood and duck blood.

He always understood one thing: he was different from ordinary evil spirits, and he would not do anything that would create future problems.

Evil cannot prevail over good. Although demons and monsters are rampant in the Great Yong Dynasty, on the surface, Great Yong is still Great Yong, and no evil demons or monsters have ever dared to swagger around.

Even Liao Jinzhong, a grandmaster in front of him, had to tuck his tail between his legs and act like a good dog.

They are nothing more than hypocrites.

This was the first time Xu Qing had faced a Grandmaster in a rage. As the two broke through the top floor of the ship, they had already exchanged dozens of blows in a short time. After breaking through the ship, the two took up a corner and stood on the mast, each having made their own judgment.

"A master of external martial arts, tempered with exotic poisons, and also skilled in some Yin techniques. Your learning is so diverse, it seems you've lost all hope of becoming a god and are seeking solutions everywhere. In that sense, you're no different from us."

Xu Qing looked at the old eunuch whose body was like a furnace and whose true energy was like a vast ocean.

If the manifestation of a Condensed Qi Martial Master is the protection of their body by their Qi, then a Grandmaster's Qi and blood are integrated into one, complementing each other. A Condensed Qi Martial Master's Qi is indestructible and their aura is domineering and fierce, while a Grandmaster's Qi is condensed and embraced, with internal and external Qi in one, transforming the domineering Qi that cannot be flexibly changed into a soft substance, like water, waves, rivers, and streams.

That kind of momentum is like using the human body as a vast ocean, with a bottomless valley inside, where all the waters converge, and Liao Jinzhong's words also prove this point.

The so-called martial arts grandmaster is the pinnacle and end of human cultivation. To go beyond that, one must transcend the realm of martial arts and transform from mortal to saint.

“Eunuch Liao, I am not the same as you. You exhaust all means to break through the limits of mortals, but I do not.”

Liao Jinzhong, who was about to make a move, suddenly stopped: "This is quite interesting. Could it be that you have already found a way to break through to the Celestial Realm?"

Xu Qing planted a flag on the mast and laughed, "Only martial artists need to break through to the Celestial Realm, but did I ever say I was a martial artist?"

"What do you mean?"

Xu Qing snapped his fingers crisply, and the brightly lit ship beneath his feet was instantly plunged into darkness.

"Martial artists are merely mortals; their so-called 'skills' are nothing but unorthodox methods; only cultivating immortality and achieving eternal life is the true path!"

"Eunuch Liao, would you like to see me at my peak condition on the water?"

(End of this chapter)