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

Chapter 223 A Clear Mirror Hanging High
"Nine-Lives Mystic Cat, Longevity Pill"

Xu Qing remained expressionless, like a still lake, showing no emotion whatsoever.

He had no attachments and nothing he couldn't let go of. In those days, apart from those funeral families that had been in business for generations, most of those who dealt in the dead were reclusive people with eccentric and withdrawn personalities.

Xu Qing was no exception, except that compared to others, he had a cat that seemed to be able to live with him for a long time.

No one knew what Xu Qing was thinking at that moment. He was simply practicing his mortuary and sew-up techniques while reviewing the deceased's memories, keeping himself mentally sharp at all times. That was all.

Apart from that, he performed the rituals for the deceased in the usual way.

The slideshow of corpses under his command continued.

Liao Jinzhong accepted the imperial edict, bowed his head, and withdrew from the main hall.

Zhao Rong, dressed in a golden robe with dragon patterns, stood under the eaves pillar outside the hall, smiling at Liao Jinzhong.

“Father-in-law, the Emperor’s health is of paramount importance to the fate of the nation. Although the elixirs from Yunmeng Mountain are excellent, we must ensure that they are absolutely safe.”

Liao Jinzhong bowed and said respectfully, "Your Highness is absolutely right. This matter is of great importance. This servant is ignorant and I beg Your Highness not to offer any guidance."

Zhao Rong smiled and said, "I've heard that Immortal Baiyun can refine three portions of elixir with one furnace. You may take one portion and have someone test it. As a prince, I should personally test the medicinal properties of the remaining two portions for my father to fulfill my filial duty. Only after two successful tests can it be presented to the emperor for my father to take. What do you think, Eunuch?"

"Your Highness is a man of both literary and military prowess, and is both filial and fraternal. You are truly a blessing to His Majesty and to the nation. This servant is in awe of you."

The scene shifts to Liao Jinzhong and Song Yunxing, one of the Seven Masters of Xuanji from the Celestial Master's Mansion, traveling together to Yunmeng Mountain to seek elixirs of immortality.

The seven disciples of the Celestial Master's Mansion each have different personalities, but Song Yunxing is the only one who is fond of worldly matters and money. Liao Jinzhong spent a large sum of money to secretly invite Song Yunxing to accompany him, so that when he takes the elixir, he can have an expert alchemist to guide him.

He was destined to be a servant, and the emperor and princes would not care about him. But a servant's life is still a life. Liao Jinzhong had finally climbed to the position of Grand Steward of the Imperial Household Department, so how could he not care about his own life?

Yunmeng Mountain is located fifty li north of Quyang County. There is a village called Bailong in the village. This village is strange. The long-lived people in the village live to be extremely long-lived, while the short-lived people live to be extremely short-lived. The former live to be over a hundred years old and reach the age of 100, while the latter die young at the age of 30.

Liao Jinzhong was baffled, but Song Yunxing had some insight. After entering Bailong Village and seeing the pale-faced, unsteady villagers, he asserted that the village was using a blood transfer method. The nobles of the clan would absorb the blood and qi of the poor to nourish themselves. As this was done, the difference in lifespan among the people would naturally become greater and greater.

"This kind of evil magic has long been lost, but I never thought it would be passed down in this small village."

Upon hearing this, Liao Jinzhong, recalling the rumors of miraculous medicines from Yunmeng Mountain, felt that the matter had become even more credible.

This village truly possesses a miraculous method for prolonging life!
At the end of Bailong Village, near the depths of Yunmeng Mountain, there is a temple with the inscription "Ruyi Temple," which enshrines a white-haired god named Yuan Gong.

The young Taoist led Liao Jinzhong and his companion into the incense hall and said, "The Taoist master is refining elixirs in the inner hall. You two laymen can wait in the front hall and must not enter the inner hall."

Liao Jinzhong looked up at the white-haired old man statue enshrined in the front hall. This statue was also very different from others. The statue of the deity was wearing shackles on his head, and nine iron chains on his limbs were like blood vessels, deeply embedded in the back wall.

On the wall, there is a copy of a mural depicting heavenly soldiers and generals capturing gods, and the nine iron chains are embedded precisely in the hands of the four golden-armored gods in the mural.

However, just as Liao Jinzhong was engrossed in watching, a figure suddenly emerged from the statue of Yuan Gong, accompanied by black mist, followed by a second and a third!

In a mere instant, eight dark figures emerged, startling Liao Jinzhong into hastily retreating. Song Yunxing, standing nearby, also drew a golden talisman for protection. Just then, anxious shouts suddenly rang out from behind the incense hall—

"This monster is trying to escape! You must all give chase and make sure it doesn't get out of the temple!"

A dozen or so people dressed as Taoist priests bypassed the wall behind the mountain and rushed out of the incense hall, chasing after the fleeing black demonic energy.

Liao Jinzhong, as if possessed, walked around the wall and only then saw the scene behind it.

A pill furnace engraved with strange runes lay on the ground. Eight of the nine chains connecting the furnace to the wall behind it were broken. The last chain, however, was blood-red and seemed to be alive, still attached to the furnace.

Before the alchemy furnace stood a white-haired, youthful-looking Taoist who was controlling it. Without any grumbling, he said, "You two are quite accomplished. Please lend me a hand and retrieve the medicinal ingredient! If you cannot retrieve it, the efficacy of this elixir will surely be reduced to less than one-tenth!"

Liao Jinzhong frowned, about to ask a question, when Song Yunxing, who was knowledgeable in alchemy, hurriedly reminded him: "This is because the black cat has escaped its restraints. If you don't help, Father-in-law, and let that cat demon escape, this longevity elixir will not be able to be refined."

Inside the coroner's shop, Xu Qing felt the familiar yet unfamiliar aura emanating from the alchemy furnace, and an unnamed fire ignited within him.

Liao Jinzhong and Song Yunxing rushed out of the Taoist temple, wanting to subdue the cat demon, but they couldn't find it anywhere. People were chasing them from all directions, but no one could catch a single trace of the cat demon.

"This cat demon is so fast that even a grandmaster couldn't catch it. How did they manage to capture it?"

Surprised, Liao Jinzhong immediately turned around and stopped a Taoist disciple, anxiously asking, "Let me ask you, since you were able to catch that cat demon before, why couldn't you catch it a second time?"

The Taoist disciple, looking embarrassed, said, "Back then, the cat demon was captured thanks to the guidance of a master and the personal intervention of our grandmaster. Now that our grandmaster is overwhelmed, we have done our best."

Outside the Taoist temple, as several people were arguing, a powerful and angry shout suddenly rang out from inside the temple—

"This is a secret technique of the Nine Heavens, cherished by the Heavenly Emperor. I am ordered to protect it, how can I allow you to use it for wicked and immoral purposes!"

Before the words were finished, a divine light suddenly shone brightly in Ruyi Temple, followed by a thunderbolt that fell from mid-air, directly piercing through the incense hall and making a loud rumbling sound.

"."

Liao Jinzhong felt his mouth go dry. When he came to his senses, Song Yunxing had already disappeared!
He was under imperial command and dared not retreat lightly. Left with no other choice, he had to seize a young boy and coerce him into going to investigate.

Only when he saw the young Taoist boy emerge from the incense hall unharmed did Liao Jinzhong dare to enter.

At this moment, the statue of Lord Yuan in the incense hall was completely shattered, and even the back wall had collapsed by more than half. Liao Jinzhong walked around the mess in front of him and looked into the inner hall.

The immortal Baiyun lay prostrate on the ground, motionless. The alchemy furnace in front of him had been smashed into scrap metal by the lightning, and the only iron chain that hadn't broken before was now broken into several pieces.

Just as Liao Jinzhong was speechless, Baiyun Shangxian, who was lying on the ground without making a sound, suddenly started coughing violently.

As the dust settled, the old Taoist priest rose from the rubble, his expression shifting rapidly.

"You old beast, you're so heartless! I've been earning incense offerings to support you, and now you're trying to ruin my plans!"

As the old Taoist priest Baiyun finished speaking, silence fell over the surroundings, and there was no response. Nearby, a Taoist disciple inquired about the old priest's injuries. The old priest replied angrily, "That old beast was merely a manifestation of incense smoke; the lightning he summoned wasn't particularly powerful. If he had truly attacked me, it would have been better!"

"I hate that old beast for being so vicious. Knowing that I was going to refine the Nine Revolutions Mystic Pill, he threw all the lightning at the furnace."

"This is a tribulation of pills, and also a tribulation of human life. It's a pity about this batch of pills. If He hadn't intervened, consuming this batch of pills would have at least extended one's life by a hundred years!"

Emperor Longping's quest for the elixir of immortality was aborted due to an unexpected miscarriage, but Liao Jinzhong's trip was not entirely fruitless.

In order to get Liao Jinzhong to speak well of him when he returned, the old Taoist priest Baiyun took the eunuch as a disciple and taught him the Ruyi Guihua Gong, a technique that steals people's power and blood.

"This technique is no ordinary art; it is a secret technique of the Nine Heavens recorded in a celestial book that my ancestor obtained when he mistakenly entered the White Cloud Cave."

"With this method by your side, you will have the opportunity to enter the realm of celestial beings."

After receiving the forbidden techniques and secret arts from the old Taoist Baiyun, Liao Jinzhong reached the Grandmaster level in just one year. However, compared to other martial arts Grandmasters, Liao Jinzhong's path of cultivation was paved with countless bones.

When Emperor Longping died and Emperor Jingxing Zhao Rong ascended the throne, Liao Jinzhong, who was very much favored by the emperor, became completely unscrupulous.

In order to break through the legendary Celestial Realm in martial arts, Liao Jinzhong used the Mirror Bureau to monitor the world and act as a divine messenger to frame people for literary inquisitions. No matter in the martial arts world or in martial arts schools, anyone who practiced martial arts and had no background could escape the old eunuch's clutches.

So, the martial arts school was running perfectly well when the eunuchs from the Mirror Bureau walked in and demanded all sorts of official documents and licenses. When they discovered the school was indeed law-abiding and couldn't find a single problem, the head eunuch simply closed the documents, made a delicate gesture with his pinky finger, and pointed directly at the weapon rack inside the school:
"Why are all the swords, spears, and halberds on the weapon racks in your martial arts school pointing to the sky? Are you perhaps plotting to assassinate the emperor?"

"You've attempted assassination! Arrest me!"

The martial arts sects had arranged a sparring session, which had been fine in previous years. But today, a eunuch from the Mirror Bureau arrived and pointed at the monk practicing the Dragon Subduing Tiger Fist, saying, "Dragon Subduing Fist? Are you trying to rebel? Do you think you can subdue the true dragon emperor?"

After arresting the boxers, they also arrested the gun-wielders: "You think you can tattoo dragons and phoenixes on your gun? This is disrespectful to the emperor, take it away!"

For a time, everyone in the martial arts world was on edge. Those who practiced Dragon Fist renamed their style Earthworm Fist overnight, and those who practiced spear techniques changed Phoenix Cry Spear to Shooting Spear on the very day they learned it.

You think that's all? You're seriously underestimating the capabilities of the Mirror Studio!
A few days later, Governor Liao went to the palace and asked for a mirror bestowed by the emperor. On the back of the mirror were four characters personally inscribed by Emperor Jingxing: "A bright mirror hangs high!"
Holding this mirror signifies the Emperor's personal presence; whether one is good or evil, a glance in the mirror will reveal all.

However, not long after the mirror was brought out, before it could be used, Liao Jinzhong arrived in Linjiang County.

Xu Qing saw Shang Shaoyang stopping Liao Jinzhong and asking him for a mirror so he could look at himself.

But who would borrow a mirror with a hammer in their hand?

There's not much to see after that. The old eunuch went to Linjiang County and experienced all the bad luck of his life. Moreover, before leaving, he encountered the most unlucky person in Tianjin.

The story of the old eunuch's sinful life has been read. The "Scripture of Salvation" gives an assessment of him as "middle grade, Earthly Rank".

There are two rewards: a Ruyi Guihua Gong manual and a Good and Evil Mirror.

Xu Qing had recently experienced the Ruyi Guihua Gong firsthand; it was nothing special. As for the Mirror of Good and Evil...
As its name suggests, this is a mirror that can distinguish between good and evil, but it has a limitation: it can only be used on dead people and inanimate objects.

Xu Qing held the mirror and shone it on Liao Jinzhong's corpse. The next moment, the mirror started yelling, "Get away from me! Don't touch me! This man's heart is so dirty, so filthy!"

"???"

Xu Qing subconsciously flipped the mirror over to face herself.

"A great philanthropist, a living bodhisattva! Incredible, incredible! Even if I were to be enlightened like this once in my life, it would be worth it, even if I were to be torn apart and shattered now!"

"."

Xu Qing frowned. How could this broken mirror be cursing people?
Who is the great philanthropist, and who is the living bodhisattva?
You've made yourself clear!
The mirror started playing dead.

Xu Qing spat and threw the useless mirror into the landscape painting.

Can't he tell whether a dead person is good or bad?

If it could reflect a living person, Xu Qing might think more highly of this mirror, but as for now...
"What the hell!"

After dealing with the gossiping mirror, Xu Qing looked at the eunuch's corpse on the cold bed in front of him.

Xu Qing didn't know whether he was a good person or a bad person, but right now, he didn't need to look in the mirror to know how utterly depraved his expression was!
That night, Xu Qing carried a bag wrapped in oilcloth and walked towards the Water Gate Bridge.

Just before leaving, Xuan Yu asked him what he was carrying. Xu Qing smiled slightly and replied, "Lamb. It's smelly and stinky, and has a fishy odor. I was just about to take it out and throw it away."

After saying that, Xu Qing walked out of the shop, but the next moment one of his feet went back into the threshold.

Turning his head, Xu Qing looked at the obedient and sensible Sun Erniang at the counter and said, "When I come back, I have something to ask you. It's about your life."

As Xu Qing walked towards the Water Gate Bridge, his expression was unusually calm.

He was thinking about something.

A disciple of Ruyi Temple on Yunmeng Mountain once told Liao Jinzhong that the cat demon's movements were eerily unpredictable, like a ghost, making it extremely difficult to capture and subdue. The only time the cat demon was subdued was with the guidance of a master; the old Taoist Baiyun followed the master's instructions and was thus able to subdue the cat demon.
If it were merely the old Taoist Baiyun who caused Xuanyu's death, Xuanyu would not be so unwilling to mention it; there must be a reason that Xu Qing is unaware of.

The old Taoist Baiyun and the people from Ruyi Temple obviously did not know Xuanyu before, nor did they know where its weakness lay. The only one who could attract Xu Qing's attention was the mysterious expert who had given guidance to the old Taoist Baiyun.

"Expert?"

Xu Qing, who had arrived at the Shuimenqiao Courtyard, was digging into the ground with a shovel.

"How tall is it?"

Beside her, the embroiderer hid in the corner, secretly watching Xu Qing fiercely hoeing the ground, and felt the whole courtyard grow colder.

Today's men are more terrifying than ghosts!
(End of this chapter)