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

Chapter 260 I'm not Death, but I want to try

Days continued to pass, but compared to before, Xu Qing had an additional task: to travel to the Yinhe Ancient Road every few days to record the changes in this barren land.

Being mindful of potential dangers even in times of peace, Xu Qing, while paying attention to the changes in the mortal realm, also kept a close eye on the dynamics of various forces within the Yin River, as the Ghost King's Tomb is an entrance to the Yin River in Tianjin.

Xu Qing had never been adventurous before, and the example of the dead Wenchang Emperor was still fresh in his mind, so he was unwilling to delve into the Yin River to investigate.

But that doesn’t mean he had no other way to get information about the Yin River.

The desolate ancient river path is still chilled by the wind and sand.

Xu Qing stood in front of a tomb, gazing into the distance at the thick fog and sandstorm.

This fog is not the ordinary fog that changes from water and dew, but a ghost fog generated by dark and evil energy. If a mortal accidentally walks into it and gets trapped by the fog, he will be helpless and unable to call for help. Even if he manages to break free by chance and gets the fog inside his stomach, he will get a serious illness even if he doesn't die.

Just as Xu Qing looked up into the distance, the sound of horses' hooves crushing dry bones suddenly rang out from the thick fog. A group of skeleton cavalrymen clad in tattered armor emerged from the fog. The leader's saddle was adorned with ferocious beast patterns, and his empty eye sockets burned with eerie green phosphorescence. He was none other than the Eight Banners Marshal who commanded all the armies during the founding of the Great Yong Dynasty.

Xu Qing had a wide social circle and had interacted with this marshal quite a bit in the past two years in Yinhe.

He held the title of Grand General of the Yongzheng Emperor and was knowledgeable about the rise and fall of the Yangshi Dynasty. Everything he spoke of was extremely tempting to the Eight Banners Marshal.

As a founding father, the Eight Banners Marshal was very concerned about the situation in the Great Yong Dynasty. Xu Qing, catering to his interests, and the two reached a tacit understanding. Xu Qing brought news about the Great Yong Dynasty to the Marshal, and in exchange, the Marshal told him about his experiences deeper into the Yinhe Ancient Road.

Xu Qing was adept at handling affairs. Whenever the Eight Banners Marshal's cavalry appeared, he would prepare incense, fruit, and various kinds of wine.

After several encounters, these ghost soldiers and generals got used to the presence of Xu Qing, this 'human'.

A group of ghost soldiers sat together in twos and threes, drinking and smoking incense, their military discipline already showing signs of laxity.

Xu Qing felt that in a few years, the obsession of this ghost army would be completely eroded by him, and it would eventually become a speck of historical dust on this ancient Yinhe River Road.

The ghost army exists because of its obsession; once that obsession disappears, even the most powerful steel torrent will crumble.

"It is rumored that the power of the northern frontier garrisons was unified by one person, who was the only son of the Prince of Changting. The Prince of Changting was loyal to the Dayong Dynasty and committed suicide at the mouth of the Baishui River to prove his loyalty. After Emperor Longping passed away, Emperor Jingxing ascended the throne and ordered the pursuit and killing of the Prince of Changting's heir, intending to exterminate him completely."

The heir of the Prince of Changting, deeply resenting Emperor Longping's excessive pressure, fled north and disappeared without a trace. Unexpectedly, he has seized the opportunity to rise up, instigating a rebellion within the Zhenbei Army and now aiming his sword at the fate of the Dayong dynasty.

Xu Qing recounted the events of the Zhenbei Army truthfully. Before the Eight Banners Marshal could finish listening, the porcelain wine cup in his hand was crushed to pieces.

Is the Great Yong dynasty doomed to perish just like that?
The Eight Banners Marshal's chest heaved like a bellows, and in a short moment, his murderous aura intensified.

"."

Xu Qing was somewhat taken aback. He had only stated a few words based on the facts, but he hadn't expected that it would indirectly help the Ghost General break through the barrier.

However, he thought about it and felt relieved. The strength of a ghost is mostly affected by its resentment and obsession. Getting angry can make a ghost stronger, which seems reasonable.

It's estimated that it won't be long before this Eight Banners Marshal's strength will leap forward again.

It's true that the crueler reality is, the more incompetent the descendants of the Great Yong Dynasty are, and the greater the resentment of their ancestors becomes!
but
Xu Qing turned his gaze away from the Ghost General and onto the wine cup in his hand.

Once the Great Yong Dynasty is truly destroyed, the Eight Banners Marshals will surely sense it. At that time, no matter how powerful this ghost army is or how strong the ghost general is, it will turn into withered bones and sand, and completely disappear from this barren place.

Grass has roots, and water has a source. The reason why the Eight Banners Marshals existed was because of the national fortune of the Great Yong Dynasty and their obsession with the Great Yong Dynasty. If the Great Yong Dynasty were to perish, they would truly be like rootless duckweed, and they would no longer have their 'Dao' in their hearts.

To put it bluntly, the lifespan of the Great Yong Dynasty is the lifespan of this ghostly army. As long as the Great Yong Dynasty exists, they will not perish; they are truly an immortal legion.

In his final moments, Xu Qing could fully foresee that the time when the Great Yong Kingdom was about to fall would be the time when this ghostly army was at its strongest.

They cannot affect the fortunes of the mortal dynasties, but they can burn out their last wisp of flame on the ancient Yin River Road.

Xu Qing was very fortunate that he had not formed a grudge against this army that was closely tied to the Great Yong. At this critical juncture, anyone who attracted the hatred of the Eight Banners Marshal would likely not have a good ending.

Sure enough, the next moment Xu Qing heard the Eight Banners Marshal say, "Wherever the iron hooves of the Great Yong reach, all is royal land. Although I am a subject, I cannot fight in the mortal world. Therefore, I should sacrifice this body to cleanse the remnants of the Yin River for the king!"

"The Yin-Erosion Dharma King and I were sworn enemies in the mortal world. Even if the Great Yong Dynasty were to face a life-or-death crisis, I would still kill him on the Ancient Yin River Road, so as not to fail the late emperor's high expectations!"

Xu Qing silently wished the Yin Shi Dharma King well. Although he had never met this Dharma King before, he could tell from the fact that the Dharma King had not been at a disadvantage in his hundreds of years of fighting against the Eight Banners Marshals!
It should be noted that the Ghost General is backed by the national fortune of the Great Yong Dynasty. The Yin Shi Dharma King has been able to roam freely in the Yin River Ancient Road without being captured by the Eight Banners Marshal. This ability alone is something that no ordinary Ghost King can achieve.

"I have heard the Marshal mention the name of the Yin Shi Dharma King several times. I wonder who this person is?"

The indigo cloak behind the Ghost General fluttered in the wind. He glanced to the south, his hoarse voice filled with hatred: "At the foot of Yinshan Mountain, in the land of Nancuo, there are the kings and shamans of those barbarian sorcerers, the great shaman Yinshi Ponan, and the Pangzan Dharma King."

"King Pangzan was the king installed by Nancuo. He was extremely despicable and shameless. When I was on my southern expedition, how could Nancuo be a match for my Eight Banners soldiers? King Pangzan knew he was no match for them, so he abandoned the capital and fled south. I led my army to pursue him for thousands of miles, but I was unfortunately cursed by the shaman Ponan, a subordinate of the king."

"Those who are afflicted by Gu will live and die together with the one who cast the curse. When one Gu withers, the other will die. If the afflicted person suffers the pain of being cut with a knife, the other person will feel it as well. When I discovered that someone was afflicted by Gu, the Gu poison had already penetrated deep into their heart."

The Eight Banners Marshal's eyes blazed with ghostly fire; even though hundreds of years had passed, he still couldn't let go of the matter.

"When I saw that this curse could not be broken, I begged the national teacher to use the same method against the curse. At that time, I happened to have the sacrificial inscription of King Pang Chan of Nam Tsang. The blood-written inscription was written by Pang Chan when he became king, using his blood to sacrifice to heaven."

I ordered the divine messenger to fetch the inscription written in blood from the side, give me a mouthful of his own blood, and quickly return to the capital so that the Imperial Preceptor could perform the ritual and incantation.

Xu Qing asked curiously, "What kind of curse did the Imperial Preceptor cast?"

"I don't know. Not long after the Swift-footed Officer returned to the capital, I died in Nancuo. However, my soldiers might know about this." The Eight Banners Marshal turned to the vanguard officer who was still drinking wine and washing his bones, and asked, "Ah Shi! What curse did the Imperial Preceptor cast back then?"

"Reporting to the Marshal, it is the Yin-Yang Coexistence Pact. After the Marshal died, the Dharma King of Nancuo Pangzan and Yinshi Ponan also came to the Yin River."

"."

This move left Xu Qing in awe!

He had always thought that the Yin Shi Dharma King was one person, but he never expected that there were two people, and that they were two dead people who had lived and died with the Eight Banners Marshal.

These are truly sworn enemies, no wonder the Eight Banners Marshal's obsession runs so deep. "Marshal, do you and the Yin Shi Dharma King still live and die together?"

The Eight Banners Marshal shook his head and said, "The traitor and I are both dead, and the curse of living and dying together has been broken. Now we are all ghosts wandering on this ancient Yin River Road."

I never expected this ghostly handsome guy to have such a good sense of self!
Xu Qing pondered to himself, "Nan Cuo is still alive, but I wonder if the Dharma King Pangzan and Yin Shi Po Nan also exist because of Nan Cuo's national fortune."
He had a deep feeling that even when the Great Yong Dynasty was destroyed and the Eight Banners Marshals were completely wiped out, the Yin Shi Fa Wang might not necessarily disappear.

Even if Nancuo is destroyed one day, it's not certain.

After all, Yin Shi Po Nan was a great shaman in life, and after the death of a great shaman, he would certainly not have only a dead end as an escape route like the Eight Banners Marshal.

However, it is still uncertain who will emerge victorious. With him providing the Eight Banners Marshal with intelligence on the Great Yong Dynasty from time to time, the Ghost Marshal's resentment will only grow stronger. It remains to be seen whether the Yin Shi Dharma King can withstand this pressure.

Xu Qing, always eager for a good show, figured that if the Yin Shi Fa Wang died, he could at least collect his body; if the Dayong Dynasty fell, the body of one of the Eight Banners Marshals might also be his.

Tsk, it seems like he's getting away with nothing.

Besides transmitting information to the outside world, Xu Qing also learned from the Eight Banners Marshal about the distribution of power within a thousand miles around the Ghost King's Tomb.

The Yinhe Ancient Road was formed along the river that leads to the underworld. These rivers are connected to some rivers in the mortal world, but they are not in the same dimension.

According to the Eight Banners Marshal, there are twelve deities guarding the gates of the underworld, collectively known as the Twelve Gatekeepers. These people are all traditional conservatives who forbid anyone from attempting to open the path to heaven.

As for the rest, they were all radicals, such as the Lu Tu Nuo Immortal who chased after the two children, Tian Long and Di Ya, and Hu Baosong's Hu Yangling, who were all 'traitors' who wanted to open up the Heavenly Road.

The Ghost King of Ghost King's Tomb is a subordinate of the Twelve Gatekeepers, 'Ghost Law'.

They were called a retinue, but they were really just gatekeepers.

Further in is the Yin Corpse Sect.

Xu Qing finally understood that those who didn't want to open the Path to Heaven were all evil spirits and ghosts. These kinds of underworld creatures would love for the human world to become hell, as for the Path to Heaven.
Evil spirits fear divine punishment the most. They have no hope of surviving the tribulation. Even if they manage to survive the lightning calamity, the heavenly fire and the fierce wind will surely block them from the path to heaven.

In that case, they might as well join the conservatives. As long as the wronged souls and wandering ghosts of the living world cannot enter the underworld, then the living world will eventually become their paradise.

Xu Qing asked the Eight Banners Marshal about the extent of the Ghost Law, who commanded all the ghosts. The Eight Banners Marshal replied, "Unfathomable!"

"The Wangxiang, the Plague Demon, and the Yin Ghost are all subordinates of the Ghost Law. It can be said that no ghost in the Yin River Ancient Road can escape the control of the Ghost Law. Even the Ten Kings of Hell in the underworld are probably no more than this."

"Could it be a ghost or immortal?"

The Eight Banners Marshal looked at Xu Qing, his eerie ghostly fire flickering erratically: "It is not a single ghost, but an emperor among ghosts formed from countless ghosts such as chang ghosts, mountain ghosts, water ghosts, vengeful ghosts, evil ghosts, hanged ghosts, headless ghosts, and starving ghosts."

"The hanged ghost uses a rope to cause people to die unjustly; the starving ghost eats indiscriminately, causing people to die with their bellies ripped open; the headless ghost begs people to turn back, borrowing their lives to harm them; the water ghost chokes people's lungs. These tricks of the ghost realm are like toys in the hands of the Ghost Law, and it is no exaggeration to say that they can be used at will."

The Eight Banners Marshal said with considerable apprehension, “I once observed the Ghost Law traveling from afar. Its size was more than a hundred feet. When I looked up from my horse, it merely glanced at me, and I felt that all my ghostly arts and supernatural powers had been learned by it.”

"It was born to be the emperor of the demon race!"

Xu Qing grinned upon hearing this.

Zombies are also ghosts. According to the Eight Banners Marshal, the laws of ghosts are limited to Yin-type magic. No matter how many skills a zombie has or how absolute control it has over Yin-type magic, it cannot suppress other magic.

Xu Qing has a wide range of knowledge. In addition to the Yin-type spells that zombies themselves know, he has also mastered all the variations of hairy zombies, black zombies, and fire zombies. Furthermore, the spells he obtained from the "Scripture of Salvation" are not only related to the Yin-type profession.

The Divine Travel Book that Yuan Gong passed on to him is also not included in this list.

The only difference between Xu Qing and Gui Lu right now might be the accumulation of their Taoist cultivation and supernatural powers.

Gui Lu has lived for countless years and replicated the abilities of countless ghosts, while Xu Qing has only exorcised about ten thousand corpses at most. These gaps still need to be bridged.

Xu Qing, mindful of potential dangers even in times of peace, made a grand vow to himself: since the souls of the dead in the mortal world could not return to the Netherworld through proper channels, he would become a smuggler and help all the corpses he encountered to be reborn in the afterlife.

With the path to heaven blocked and the underworld sealed off, Xu Qing's actions have already violated the laws of heaven. If word gets out, not only will heaven not tolerate him, but the underworld will also blacklist him.

Only the dead and their families would feel grateful to Xu Qing.

But Xu Qing wasn't afraid. He had already smuggled so many souls across the river. Regardless of the new Heavenly Laws or the rules of the Underworld, he was enough to die ten thousand times on the Demon-Slaying Platform!

Xu Qing had given up all hope. He had become a zombie, neither human nor ghost. All he wanted was a place to live. What crime had he committed?

Aside from himself, could he really just stand by and watch those lost souls wandering the mortal realm, without anyone to guide them, their souls scattered and gone? Xu Qing isn't a Yama, the Bodhisattva of Hell, who saves all living beings, nor is he a Grim Reaper who takes souls, but he simply couldn't do it!
He used to be someone who only needed to eat his fill and had no family to worry about, but now, after seeing so many fleeting moments and so many joys and sorrows, Xu Qing walks through the mundane world again. When he looks back, he finds that there are many people standing behind him.

Can he stop and stop walking?
Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva has given up his duties, and the gates of the underworld have been completely closed. Even if these people are dead, they still need a place to go.

To be born and to die is the ultimate truth of heaven and earth.

The Celestial Master's Mansion has powerful backers and is high above others, so they don't have to worry about finding a way back. However, ordinary people can't afford the Celestial Master's Mansion's money for the salvation ceremony. Xu Qing gave them a cheap way back. If he were to fear the wrath of Heaven and give up halfway, not only would those behind him look down on him, but he himself would also look down on himself.

"What is there to fear from a mere gatekeeper ghost?"

Xu Qing was not affected by the Eight Banners Marshal; the fact that the other party was afraid did not mean that he was afraid.

He wasn't alone; all those corpses behind him were living, breathing people!

Ghosts are the manifestations of the dead, so the advantage lies with the dead against ghosts!

Xu Qing returned to the coroner's shop and immediately increased the discounts. He didn't care about making money; he just wanted to help more people pass on to the afterlife.

On that day, for some reason, a colleague in the Tianjin funeral industry had a persistent twitching right eye.

(End of this chapter)