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

Chapter 282 Undying Witch Soldiers, Taiyin Refining Form

In August, the weather had turned cool, and the entire Linjiang County was shrouded in continuous rain, making the execution ground at Caishikou even more somber.

Only the familiar red banner and the colorful little flags strung together with rope added a touch of vibrancy to the gray execution ground.

However, the vibrant banners actually advertised various funeral discounts.

The colorful little prayer flags strung in front of the execution ground all bore the 'anti-counterfeiting watermark' of the coroner's shop.

As the most loyal spectator of the annual autumn execution, Xu Qing did not miss it this year as well.

He stood at the best vantage point in the execution ground, silently calculating the number of death row inmates to be executed this autumn.

Xu Qing's statistics over the past few years have shown an increasing number of people to be executed in the autumn. Especially in the last two years, the Cangyi Gang and the Red-Clothed Cult have been stirring up trouble both openly and covertly, and opportunistic criminals have taken advantage of the chaos to plunder. Under such circumstances, it's no wonder the crime rate in the Great Yong Dynasty is high!
At this moment, at the execution ground for Qiu.

Even after their tongues were cut out, members of the Cangyi Rebellion still managed to shout incoherently—

"This dog emperor is licentious and tyrannical, unable to distinguish between loyal and treacherous officials. Though we die today, millions more will rise up tomorrow!"

"You corrupt official! I swear, even at the cost of my life, to sweep away the filth and awaken the people!"

Xu Qing looked at the death row inmate who was shouting the loudest and noticed that while the man's mouth didn't move, his belly was rising and falling.

Could it be that he specifically learned ventriloquism so that he could make a tough statement on the day he goes to the execution ground?

Xu Qing clicked his tongue, surprised that there were talented people in the Cangyi Gang.

Just as the executioner was ordering the bailiffs to gag the thieves, some rebels hidden among the people suddenly joined in, shouting—

"The imperial court is tyrannical, wasting resources and manpower while showing no concern for the people's plight! Only the Cangyi Gang has stepped forward; this is a righteous act!"

No sooner had the former finished speaking than someone else shouted, "Those who carry firewood for the masses should not be left to freeze to death in the wind and snow. How can we sit idly by and do nothing? Listen to me, everyone! Why don't we join the Cangyi Group to rebel against this Great Yong Dynasty and usher in a new era!"

Xu Qing looked in the direction of the voice and saw that the people who had spoken had quickly disappeared into the crowd after shouting a few slogans, never to be seen again.

Zhao Zhonghe ordered five or six constables, along with soldiers under Wu Tingwei, to search the crowd and arrest the troublemakers.

At the execution ground, the executioner roared, "Spreading heresy and misleading the masses! You collude with foreign invaders and lead the barbarians from the south to invade our land, yet you dare to claim to act on behalf of Heaven? Executioners, it's noon, behead them!"

Xu Qing looked up at the gloomy, rainy weather. Although it was hard to tell the exact time from the weather, it was definitely not noon yet.

In other words, there's a mortuary to back them up. If it were any other time, the people collecting the bodies today would probably be in trouble.

Xu Qing looked at the lingering resentment in the execution ground and felt somewhat dissatisfied with the executioner.

According to the criminal law of the Dayong Dynasty, all executions of serious prisoners after autumn must be carried out at noon when the yang energy is at its peak.

This action is based on the principle of yin and yang in the heavens. At noon, the sun is in the highest position, the shadow on the ground is the shortest, and yang is at its peak while yin is waning.

Those who commit heinous crimes will be executed at this time, and their spirits will be scattered, leaving them no way to haunt the dead.

In addition, if due to weather changes, the sky is still dark or it is raining continuously at noon, the execution should be stopped immediately and the execution should be rescheduled on a sunny day.

This system follows the old regulations of ancient dynasties and conforms to the solemnity of the four seasons. It is similar to the executions after the Autumn Equinox and before the Beginning of Spring. Executions at other times are against the harmony of nature.

Xu Qing couldn't understand why the executioner in front of him would violate the regulations and choose today to carry out the execution.

On the execution platform, Chen Guangrui, who was accompanying Prefect Lu in overseeing the execution, couldn't help but offer another piece of advice:
"Prefect Lu, according to the regulations for autumn executions of this dynasty, any supervising official who carries out an execution before noon shall be punished with eighty strokes of the cane. If an execution is carried out despite rain and abnormal phenomena occur, the supervising official shall be dismissed and punished."

"Magistrate Chen, are you the executioner?"

Seeing that Chen Guangrui remained silent, Prefect Lu snorted coldly, immediately threw out the execution token, and shouted, "Continue the execution!"

Another row of rebel heads fell to the ground, and the gloomy atmosphere on the execution ground grew even stronger.

Xu Qing sensed something was wrong. He quickly went to the row of corpses that had just been carried off the execution ground. Without saying a word, he tore open the ochre prison uniform of one of the prisoners. He saw that the prisoner's chest, abdomen and back were covered with strange runes, and those runes were now constantly emitting an eerie aura that was completely different from the evil spirits.

Zhao Zhonghe noticed something was wrong and stepped forward to ask, "Is something amiss?"

Xu Qing tore open the ochre clothes of the three men one after another, and finally he turned to look at Zhao Zhonghe, who had a dark face and thick beard and looked like a demon god.

"Officer Zhao should know about the Cangyi Gang's collusion with the Nancuo barbarians. The Nancuo area is rife with witchcraft and is most skilled in witchcraft and sorcery."

Xu Qing pointed to the corpses covered in strange runes and said, "Officer Zhao can touch these corpses with his hands."

Zhao Zhonghe subconsciously reached out and touched it, and then he realized something was wrong.

Why are these recently executed corpses so cold?

Although the weather is cool now, even an ordinary corpse shouldn't be this cold to the touch after being left for two days, let alone a corpse that has just been carried down from the execution ground.

Even in the dead of winter, a fresh corpse will still feel warm to the touch as long as it hasn't been more than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

But the corpse in front of me had clearly not even been in the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea, so how did it become so battered?

Something unusual must be going on. Zhao Zhonghe frowned and said, "This matter is indeed strange."

After pondering for a moment, Zhao Zhonghe, unable to understand, simply shook his head and said, "Manager Xu, don't overthink it. They were no match for me when they were alive, so how could they possibly turn the world upside down after they're dead?"

Xu Qing looked at the careless Zhao Zhonghe and said bluntly, "Our dynasty's criminal law clearly states that if an execution is carried out during a period of continuous rain, resulting in the corpse exhibiting strange behavior, both the presiding official and the accompanying official will be dismissed and punished."

"Officer Zhao wouldn't want Magistrate Chen to be dismissed and investigated because of some strange occurrences involving corpses, would he?"

"."

Just as Zhao Zhonghe was about to say something, he heard a constable behind him exclaim in surprise, "It moved! It moved!"

"What are you yelling about!"

"Boss, the corpse just sat up."

Xu Qing silently put away the hand that was making the corpse-driving incantation in his sleeve and watched quietly.

"Even a chicken that just died will flap its wings a few times, so what's wrong with a dead person sitting on it? Don't be so naive!"

Although he said that, Zhao Zhonghe dared not be careless. Chen Guangrui was a rare good official in recent years. If the county magistrate was dismissed because of this matter, he would feel uneasy.

Zhao Zhonghe turned to look at Xu Qing, frowning, and said, "The Jinmen Prefecture's Demon-Slaying Captain rarely comes to Linjiang, and I don't know how to exorcise evil spirits."

Xu Qing laughed and said, "Has the constable forgotten that I am a vengeful spirit who deals with the dead?"

"Brother Xu knows exorcisms?"

"will not!"

Xu Qing shook his head in denial, but then added, "Although I don't know how to exorcise evil spirits, I have heard of some folk methods for suppressing and pressing down corpses."

"However, this method requires someone like Constable Zhao, who is vigorous, naturally fierce, and courageous, to perform it!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Zhonghe grinned and said, "What method is it? Tell me!"

Xu Qing gestured for Zhao Zhonghe to come closer.

After hearing Xu Qing's words, Zhao Zhonghe resolutely shook his head and said, "I am not cut out for shamanistic rituals. This is absolutely not going to happen!"

Xu Qing grabbed Zhao Zhonghe, who was trying to escape, and reminded him again, "Officer Zhao, are you really willing to gamble with Magistrate Chen's future?" "Even if we disregard the magistrate's future, it wouldn't be good if these corpses really underwent some strange transformation and harmed the people of Linjiang. I don't think Officer Zhao wants to see that happen, does he?"

"."

Zhao Zhonghe grimaced, feeling extremely resistant, but ultimately agreed.

On the execution ground, rows of innocent heads fell; below the execution ground, in a place obscured by the notice board, two people were pushing and shoving each other, seemingly arguing about something.

"Officer Zhao, you must hurry. When others ask, tell them you are a vanguard under the Eight Banners Marshal, sent by the Marshal to ward off disaster."

Zhao Zhonghe reacted quickly, his eyes lighting up as he said, "That's a great idea! If anyone asks about it later, I'll pretend I don't know anything! If anyone dares to make fun of me, I'll break their teeth!"

He was cursing under his breath, but as soon as he stepped out of the bulletin board, Zhao Zhonghe immediately composed himself and pretended to be sleepwalking.

On the execution platform, Prefect Lu was reading the death row inmate's charges and was about to continue the execution when he suddenly caught sight of a general with a flag on his back, dressed in theatrical costume, holding a horsewhip, walking towards the place where the body lay lying down, muttering incantations.

This dark-faced, thick-bearded general looks somewhat familiar; isn't he Zhao Zhonghe, the head constable of Linjiang County?

At this moment, Zhao Zhonghe held a red cup in one hand and a whip in the other.

He walked up to the corpses, dipping his whip in the life-giving dew condensed from the Blood Lake Dharma Realm, and chanting incantations as he sprinkled it.

"Heavenly spirits, earthly spirits, the Eight Banners Marshals display their divine might."

"."

As Xu Qing listened to Zhao Zhonghe's incantation from afar, she felt more and more that he was a charlatan who performed shamanistic rituals.

Prefect Lu vaguely sensed something was wrong, but the execution was of utmost importance, so he ignored Zhao Zhonghe's little tricks.

The yamen runners looked at each other in confusion. One of them stepped forward to ask a question, but was glared at by Zhao Zhonghe.

After pouring out the water from the cup, Zhao Zhonghe, as Xu Qing had predicted, roared and shouted angrily, claiming that the City God of the county's City God Temple and the Eight Banners Marshal had manifested themselves, ordering his vanguard officer to possess him and come to the execution ground to pray for the people and dispel their calamities.

Upon hearing this, Chen Guangrui was puzzled. This Constable Zhao usually had thick eyebrows and big eyes; he didn't seem like the type to lie or pretend to be ugly. Could it be...?
Prefect Lu frowned and rebuked him, "You're supposed to be a county constable, yet you've gone mad and made a fool of yourself at the execution ground. Magistrate Chen, as the head of Linjiang County, you're also suspected of dereliction of duty for not managing your subordinates properly!"

Chen Guangrui did not respond; his men would not tolerate any slander.

Here, Zhao Zhonghe changed into a black-robed police uniform. When he returned to the corpses of the rebels from the Cangyi Gang and reached out to touch them, the corpses were indeed no longer cold.

Looking again at the strange runes drawn on the corpse, they had turned into clumps of paste, like ink paintings drenched by rain.

Xu Qing stood at a distance, silently watching the crowd.

These corpses were tampered with by the Cangyi Gang; more precisely, they were cursed by the shamans of Nancuo using evil magic.

If Zhao Zhonghe hadn't intervened, and these corpses had been converted by him directly, the Cangyi Gang would definitely have focused their attention on him, the funeral director.

Now that Zhao Zhonghe has stepped in to break these witchcraft spells, Xu Qing can safely pocket the corpses on the execution ground.

That night, inside the City God Temple in the south of the city.

The statue of the Eight Banners Marshal suddenly shattered into pieces. Ji Lingzhou, dressed in a cloud-patterned brocade robe, sheathed his sword and said with a cold expression:

"A dead man, does he really think he can protect the destiny of the Great Yong Dynasty?"

Seeing this, Han Renshan said expressionlessly, "The Eight Banners Marshal is on the Yin River Ancient Road and cannot interfere in the affairs of the mortal world. This matter is most likely unrelated to him."

Ji Lingzhou squinted and said, "You mean that person made a move again?"

"Perhaps." Han Renshan took a deep breath and said, "Now that the various forces along the Yinhe Ancient Road are in a state of chaos, do you think that person might be content with solitude and continue to linger outside?"

"It would be good if he really went to the Yin River! I want to see just who this cowardly rat really is."

Meanwhile, at the coroner's shop.

After performing the rituals to liberate more than 300 corpses, Xu Qing received a reward of the "Human" rank, as well as a mid-grade "Earth" rank method for raising witch soldiers.

During the day, those Cangyi rebels covered in strange runes are the undead witch soldiers who are about to be raised into adulthood.

The Undying Witch Soldiers are also known as the Headless Army. In the early years, when the Eight Banners Marshals were fighting in Nancuo, they encountered a headless army of nearly 10,000 men.

At that time, the Eight Banners Marshal personally went to Zongwu Mansion to ask the Gu family's Four Symbols Taoist Soldiers to come out and fight, which is how they defeated those immortal witch soldiers.

After reading the method for crafting witch soldiers, Xu Qing gained a new understanding of the evil nature of Nancuo's witchcraft.

From the Hundred Infants Pagoda in Huangping Township; to the Yin-Yang Covenant between the Yin-Erosion Dharma King and the Eight Banners Marshal; and then to cutting off the heads of his own troops and subordinates, and using sorcery to create immortal witch soldiers.

The Nancuo shamans truly stop at nothing.

In contrast, Xu Qing's methods for raising Youchang soldiers became more moderate and upright.

Besides the unusable witch soldier raising method, Xu Qing also obtained more than one hundred Yin Yuan Pills.

These Yin Yuan Pills were all obtained from the cursed sorcerers.

However, before the magic weapon could be forged, he broke the spell.

Xu Qing held a Yin Yuan Pill in his hand, trying to absorb the pure Yin energy inside to accelerate his Undying Bone cultivation.

His cultivation has now reached a bottleneck. If he wants to continue to increase his cultivation, he must expand his capacity and break through the Undying Bone to become a Flying Zombie.

Since he couldn't increase his cultivation level, Xu Qing had no choice but to use all the Yin energy he absorbed to nourish and refine the bones in his body.

After his left hand bone was refined into an indestructible bone with the help of the dragon's blood essence, Xu Qing no longer focused on refining a single bone, but instead nurtured and refined the rest of his bones together.

Cultivation requires the accumulation of "predestined affinity"; if the opportunity has not arrived, it is difficult to break through even if a long period of time is spent.

When Xu Qing had dragon blood as a catalyst, he could quickly condense a piece of indestructible bone. However, after the dragon blood was exhausted, when he tried to condense it quickly again, he found that the progress of condensing a single bone and condensing all the bones in his body was as slow as a snail's pace.

"Opportunities for cultivation are hard to come by, and so are the masters of cultivation. Without such opportunities, one can only rely on time to accumulate experience."

It is said that it is difficult to go from luxury to frugality, but Xu Qing did not feel much of a sense of loss.

Zombies are not bound by time; as long as they cultivate patiently, they will eventually be able to refine their incorruptible bones into the legendary state of perfect truth.

As the saying goes, "Many threads make an inch, many inches make a foot; and many feet of water eventually make a lot."

As for those fortuitous encounters such as dragon blood...
It should be understood that abundant rain is not as good as a mountain spring, and a momentary outburst may not be comparable to the accumulation over many years.

"There are three stages to achieving non-destructive bone formation: the first is the condensation of bones and infusion of spirit, which is the minor stage; the second is the transformation from the extreme of death, which is the key to major success; and the last is the legendary Taiyin Refining Form, the state of returning to the true nature of the universe."
The final stage requires refining all 206 bones in the body into incorruptible bones, and bringing them all to the pinnacle of transformation from death to life; only then can the task be considered complete.

In summary, it means possessing the five elements, reaching the realm of true nature, and being indestructible through refinement.
Now that Xu Qing has a foundation in the Five Elements, all that's left is to work hard and persevere.

Only when the bones are in harmony with the five elements can the foundation of the Kui Ba be established.

This is also the only way for zombies to transcend the Three Realms and Six Paths and become immortal and indestructible.

Now, after a night of cultivation, Xu Qing's bones have undergone a subtle, almost imperceptible change.

(End of this chapter)