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

Chapter 302 The Cultivator of the Square Inch, A Pure Spirit Away from the World

As the year draws to a close, even the usually quiet Jingxia Street has become lively.

Early in the morning, when the heavens were still dozing off and unwilling to open their eyes, a golden rooster suddenly crowed in the street below the well.

Xu Qing, who was laying out paper and grinding ink, unconsciously stopped what he was doing.

The excited crowing of the rooster sounded somewhat familiar.

In the coroner's shop, upon hearing the rooster crow, the Dream-Eating Gu suddenly sprang to its feet and fell from the counter to the ground.

Because the insect was so fat, its round belly bounced a few times when it landed on the ground, resembling jelly.

Before the dream-eating worm could think, it almost instinctively began to frantically pupate towards Xu Qing.

When a golden rooster appeared in front of the mortuary, the Dream Eater was terrified. It used all its strength to jump onto the coffin lid in front of Xu Qing before the golden rooster could rush over.

When the rooster, weighing around 40 pounds, saw the insect, its eyes immediately lit up with a green light.

The way it looked was like a diner who hadn't eaten meat for a whole year seeing a Manchu Han Imperial Feast.

But before it could get close, Xu Qing, with quick eyes and hands, seized its fate by the throat.

The clucking stopped abruptly.

Xu Qing casually tossed the golden phoenix into a corner, as if it were a piece of trash, and afterwards he disgustedly wiped his hands on his clothes.

This chicken isn't as heavy as before, which shows that it has successfully lost weight during its stay at the Five Elders Temple.

The latter showed no anger whatsoever. The golden-feathered rooster trotted over to Xu Qing, and the chicken even displayed a fawning, dog-like demeanor.

Xu Qing smacked his lips. He had quite a few small animals in his coroner's shop, but they were all able to fend for themselves. Only Jinluan, that stupid chicken, not only did not work, but also ate more than anyone else!
He's busy these days and doesn't have the energy to take it to the flower and bird market every day to look for insects.

"Where is Master Yizhen? Why aren't you at the Five Elders Temple? What are you doing here?"

"And another thing! That insect is a pet kept by the Xuan Yu Immortal family, so don't even think about it!"

Jinluan withdrew its gaze from the fat, white worm with a hint of regret, and then began to cluck incessantly.

Xu Qing was fluent in the language of birds and beasts. He heard Jin Luan complain that the Five Elders Temple was closed off all day long and only had grains and rice, with no other delicacies.

Finally, the rooster, weighing about forty pounds, spread its wings for Xu Qing to see, implying that Master Yizhen had mistreated it and starved it to thinness.

Xu Qing's eyelids twitched as she watched.

I'm wondering where you've lost weight?
Although this silly chicken weighed almost 70 pounds when it first stayed at his place, it was no longer a chicken, but a Maitreya Buddha with chicken feathers.

If placed in the Tianxin Sect, they could all be considered Maitreya descending to earth, or the future Buddha secretly descending.

Xu Qing ignored Jin Luan's complaints and asked directly, "Master Yizhen has also come to Tianjin?"

Jinluan nodded repeatedly.

In its eagerness to find Xu Qing's free meal ticket, the greedy rooster flapped its wings and flew ashore before the ferry at the dock even reached the shore.

Master Yizhen is currently on his way.

Xu Qing asked his senior sister what business she had in Tianjin.

Jinluan then said that the abbot of the Five Elders Temple wanted to see him.

Who? Who wants to see me?

Xu Qing, who was writing a couplet, trembled and asked in surprise and doubt, "Why does Yizhen's master want to see me? Am I that familiar with her?"

Jinluan explained that the old abbot would occasionally hear Yizhen mention him in the abbot's quarters, and it would also reminisce about the bitter past and the sweet present, missing the days at the coroner's shop. Whenever the old abbot fed it coarse rice and grains, it would express its longing for Xu Qing.

Over time, the old abbot naturally developed a strong interest in Xu Qing, which Jinluan attributed to his appreciation and the effect of his kind words.

After saying this, Jinluan puffed out her chest, as if she wanted to claim credit and receive a reward.

Xu Qing resisted the urge to kill a chicken during the New Year. This wasn't appreciation; it was clearly an elder's attempt to find out what he was capable of because he was afraid that the younger generation would be "corrupted" by outsiders!

"What is the level of cultivation of your abbot?"

Jinluan looked bewildered. The old Kun Daoist was always unassuming, and it really didn't know what kind of skills that old woman possessed.

Xu Qing shook his head and stopped thinking about it.

He possessed the art of deception, a divine power so potent that it could even fool an old woman of unknown identity. He wasn't worried that the abbot of the Five Elders Temple would discover anything amiss.
What Xu Qing was worried about was the romantic entanglements Hu Baosong had caused back then. After all, in Yi Zhen's words, Hu Baosong was half his teacher, and Yi Zhen was nominally his half senior sister.

What if that old Taoist priest blames Hu Baosong on him? How wronged he would be.

"That old fox was happy to get away with it, kicking the bucket and washing his hands of all his old grievances. Now look what's happened, he might even drag me down with him."

Just as Xu Qing finished writing a couplet, a female Taoist priest appeared outside the door, a figure he hadn't seen in a long time.

With a dignified bearing, cool and aloof eyes, yet possessing a unique charm, Master Yizhen stood gracefully outside the shop door.

"That old fox's daughter is quite pretty."

Xu Qing looked up and saw that Daoist Yizhen was carrying a wooden box on his back and was giving him a faint smile.

"Junior Brother Xu, I bow in respect."

"Did you come alone, senior sister?"

Xu Qing put down his brush, got up and went outside the shop to look around.

"What are you looking for?" Master Yizhen asked, somewhat puzzled.

Xu Qing breathed a sigh of relief and turned around, saying, "I heard from Jin Luan that your master is coming to test me, which made me quite nervous."

Master Yizhen was somewhat puzzled and said, "Performance evaluation? My master did say he wanted to see you, but what does that have to do with performance evaluation?"

Seeing that there were no outsiders around, Xu Qing spoke more casually. He blinked and said with a hint of sarcasm, "Even an ugly daughter-in-law has to meet her in-laws. You've never made any friends outside. If your master hears about me, he'll definitely come looking for trouble."

"."

The female Taoist priest blushed slightly upon hearing this, but her expression was more one of bewilderment.

She gave Xu Qing a meaningful look, then untied the wooden box from her back, placed it on the coffin lid covered with couplets, and cleared her throat, saying:

"Junior brother, please don't joke about your senior sister, or the consequences will be unpredictable."

The consequences are unpredictable? What consequences could there be?
Xu Qing felt that Yi Zhen was acting strangely today. In the past, when he joked with this senior sister, she would just laugh it off and occasionally scold him, but she would never really take it to heart.

But why did you suddenly say something like that today without any context?

Xu Qing simply assumed that it was because they hadn't seen each other for a while and her senior sister was a little reserved, so she didn't take it too seriously.

He then looked at the wooden box that Yizhen had placed on the coffin lid, and his eyes lit up as he said:

"Hey, Senior Sister, you're here, but why did you bring a gift?"

"."

Yi Zhen hurriedly stood up, reached out and pressed his hand on the wooden box, and stammered, "What gift?" Xu Qing blinked again: "Today is the 26th of the twelfth lunar month. The end of the year is just around the corner. Didn't Senior Sister come to pay her respects for the New Year? If she's paying her respects, then she must have a New Year's gift, right?"

Upon hearing this, Yi Zhen blushed and said somewhat embarrassedly, "Time flies in the mountains; I was unaware that the year was drawing to a close."

"Senior Sister, have you never celebrated any worldly festivals at the Five Elders Temple?" Xu Qing asked in surprise.

"Never."

"."

Xu Qing clicked her tongue and said, "Senior Sister, have you forgotten what Master Hu said?"

Master Yizhen raised an eyebrow.

Her irresponsible father did say one thing.

At the time, Hu Baosong said that Xu, the young man from the coroner's shop, was no ordinary person, but that young man was very cunning. You could listen to what he said, but you couldn't believe it completely.

Yizhen still doesn't understand the meaning behind that statement.

What does it mean to listen but not believe?

If we can listen, why can't we believe?

Yi Zhen thought Xu Qing was about to solve the mystery that had troubled her for so long, but the next moment, the other party spoke up: "Master Hu once said that fox clan cultivation requires entering the world. Whether it is Qingqiu or Hu Yang clan, the reason why they were once strong was because heaven and earth were still interconnected, and others were wary of the immortal affinity gathered by Qingqiu and Tushan."

"Just like the Five Elders Temple where Senior Sister is located, the Five Elders Temple has a strong foundation and a lineage of immortals. Senior Sister was born in the temple and thus had this destiny."

“But if Senior Sister wants to go further, she must enter the world.”

Master Yizhen agreed with this and said, “I naturally understand this principle. To be honest, Junior Brother Xu, I came down the mountain this time at the request of my master to enter the world for cultivation.”

“It’s just that my master used to be worried about me traveling alone, so she never let me go far away.”

Xu Qing nodded and said, "In this age of great calamity, even immortals who descend to earth cannot protect themselves. Your master's worries are not without reason."

"But why did Senior Sister's master allow her to leave the mountain and enter the world?"

Master Yizhen smiled gently: "Because my master accompanied me down the mountain."

"."

Xu Qing paused for a moment. He used his Qi Observation Technique to look around, but did not find any strange figures.

"When did you learn to joke around, senior sister?"

Seeing Xu Qing looking around nervously, even the usually dignified Daoist Yizhen couldn't help but laugh out loud.

“I never lie or joke. Actually, my master has been here all along, and she must have heard everything my junior brother said just now.”

"."

Xu Qing was completely silent.

This time, he focused his senses again and searched the surroundings. Inside and outside the coroner's shop, apart from Daoist Yizhen, he still couldn't find a single living person.

If you eliminate all possibilities, then the most unlikely place becomes a possibility.

Xu Qing's gaze fell on the wooden box that Daoist Yizhen had placed on the coffin lid.

The wooden box stood upright on the coffin lid, measuring only a little over two feet long and one foot wide. Yellow talismans were pasted on the outside of the box, but there was no sign of any energy emanating from it.

When Master Yizhen saw that Xu Qing's eyes were fixed on the wooden box, he immediately cupped his hands and bowed, saying, "Junior Brother Xu has helped me a lot and was also someone my father approved of before his death. Master really doesn't need to be so cautious."

Before Yizhen finished speaking, the talismans pasted on the wooden box suddenly rose without wind. Then, the characters on the talismans emitted a faint blue light and then hovered in the air in a pattern similar to the Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams, protecting the wooden box inside.

With a slight creaking of wooden mechanisms, the wooden box lid opened like a door, and a tiny figure stepped out.

The little woman radiated a soft, white light. She looked like an old woman with white hair and a youthful face. More importantly, the aura emanating from this little old woman was extremely pure and upright, completely unlike the cultivators of this era!

Comparing himself to the old woman was like comparing a bloodthirsty demon who kills without blinking an eye to a virtuous believer who consumes pure energy to help the world.

However, Xu Qing soon discovered something unusual. The pure energy on the other party's body seemed to be unwelcome by this world. So the old woman used talismans to set up a kind of filter array to gradually peel away the pure energy mixed in with the turbid energy and bring it into the body.

In a daze, Xu Qing even had the feeling that the other person was a green plant growing from the mud, aloof and independent from the world.

The last time he felt this way was when Yang Chunfu's master, the Taoist priest Ge who practiced on Henglu Mountain.

As Xu Qing was sizing up the abbot of the Five Elders Temple, the tiny old woman, barely a hand's breadth tall, was also scrutinizing him.

Finally, the old abbot spoke first: "This humble Taoist is Jingxu, you rascal..."

Jingxu frowned, the words of admonition on the tip of his tongue, but he swallowed them back: "Fine, since you've been somewhat well-behaved, I won't hold it against you."

Xu Qing replied reservedly, "Senior is kind and patient with juniors, which shows that he is a kind and approachable person. Naturally, he would not hold a grudge against a junior like me."

The abbess of Jingxu Temple looked at Xu Qing with a somewhat unfriendly gaze. She had heard everything the other party had said!
Poor apprentice, she was innocent and naive, yet also a girl who valued loyalty and affection.

But this young man in front of her is eloquent and has an unusually thick skin. Who knows when her apprentice will fall into his trap?

The last time she felt this way was decades ago with Hu Baosong.

When that old fox first seduced Zi Chen, he was so sensible and polite that even she was kept in the dark.

By the time it was discovered, Zi Chen was already pregnant and had become a married woman.

Whenever Jingxu thinks of this, he feels angry.

No wonder this kid has Hu Baosong's approval; birds of a feather flock together.

However, Abbess Jingxu suppressed her dislike and changed the subject, saying, "Your shop is too gloomy and not conducive to righteous cultivation."

"This is a business, not a place for cultivation," Xu Qing said with a smile. "Besides, my business mainly involves collecting corpses and handling funerals, so it's normal for it to have some gloomy atmosphere."

Next, Abbot Jingxu asked Xu Qing about his place of origin, date of birth, and various other miscellaneous questions, making it seem like a household registration check.

Master Yizhen, who was standing to the side, hesitated several times before speaking, but his master ignored him.

Xu Qing had already prepared for these things. After dealing with them casually for a while, seeing that the other party was about to ask more questions, he immediately interrupted:

"Senior, you have come from afar and must be tired from your journey. You should rest early."

The abbot of Jingxu Temple nodded and said, "It is time to rest, but I cannot stay here. The air here is too polluted, and I do not like to stay here for long."

Xu Qing chuckled and said, "The coffin shops on the street are the quietest; you may rest there, senior."

After much persuasion and managing to fool Master Yizhen's master, Xu Qing finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Who would have thought that this little old lady would be hiding in a small box?

However, Xu Qing sensed that the little figure might not be the old woman's true form.

It looks more like something akin to a primordial spirit.
(End of this chapter)