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

Chapter 312 The Golden Rooster Enters the Game, A Return to Familiar Place

Night, at the coroner's shop.

After giving instructions on all the important matters, big and small, at the Mourning Gate, Cat Fairy Hall, and Baosheng Temple during the day, Xu Qing packed his clothes and prepared to explore the Yin River again.

This time, he was already prepared to refine the remaining twelve bones.

Xu Qing needs the skeleton ghost soldiers of the Yinhe Ancient Road to help him cultivate, and he also needs a deserted place to evolve the Thirty-Six Axes of the Heavenly Gang.

This journey to the Yin River is imperative.

"How long will it take for Master Xu to leave?"

"It will take at least a year, or at most three to five years, but it won't be too long. Immortal Xuanyu need not worry. If I have the opportunity, I will definitely return to Tianjin to check on things."

Xuan Yu did not show any unusual expression. In the eyes of the demon, three to five years was no different from three to five months.

"When I'm not around, the Cat Fairy Hall will be entirely managed by Immortal Xuan Yu. I'm sure Xuan Yu can do a great job, right?"

Xuan Yu raised his chin slightly, exuding composure, and said, "Of course, Immortal Xu can go out on official business with peace of mind, and leave the rest to Xuan Yu."

Xu Qing was overjoyed. After all these years of working together, the cat fairy in front of him was now capable of handling things on her own. If she were in an ordinary family, she would be a virtuous wife who could grace the hall and cook in the kitchen.

However, as soon as Xu Qing stepped into the twin coffins, a cat's furtive paw reached in from behind.

"Xuan Yu, what do you want to do?"

Seeing Xu Qing narrow his eyes, Xuan Yu immediately withdrew his small hand and sat down in front of the coffin.

"I just wanted to see Xu Xian off."

Xu Qing could easily guess the cat's thoughts. The other party clearly wanted to see how he would manipulate the Twin Coffins. If the cat really learned the method...
Given the cat's curious nature, it might just follow him to the Underworld River the very next day!
“As the head of a hall, Immortal Xuanyu is very busy. How can he spare time for other matters? I see that Golden Phoenix is ​​idle all day long, so let it escort the immortal Xuanyu!”

Jin Luan, who was usually dull-witted and didn't seem very bright, looked at Xu Qing warily this time and refused to get close to the twin coffins no matter what.

The spirit bird's innate instincts told Jinluan that the coffin in front of it seemed to contain a strong ominous aura. If it stepped into it, it might lose its leisurely life of being waited on hand and foot in the coffin maker's shop.

When Xu Qing saw Jin Luan suddenly realize something and try to slip away, he raised an eyebrow and said unhurriedly, "If you come over, I'll take you to a restaurant, with plenty of fat worms. If you don't come over..."

"I imagine that in a few days, Abbot Jingxu and Daoist Yizhen will take you back to the Five Elders Temple and have you eat vegetarian food and chant scriptures every day!"

Before Xu Qing could finish speaking, he saw a golden rooster figure appear inside the twin coffins.

Looking at Jinluan's expression, there was not a trace of hesitation left!
Xu Qing clicked his tongue. This chicken was indeed a little smarter than before, but not by much.

The ancient Yinhe River Road.

Xu Qing returned to this barren land, but unlike before when he went alone, this time he was accompanied by a handsome rooster weighing about forty pounds.

As soon as the golden phoenix stepped out of the desolate tomb, it eagerly looked around. But when it saw the endless forest of tombstones and the skeletons exposed in the wind and sand, the golden phoenix was completely distraught!

No, where did you come from?

In this gloomy, godforsaken place, where can you find a restaurant to eat?

Jinluan didn't believe in superstitions. While Xu Qing was fiddling with the paper figures, it scratched the ground around the desolate tomb.

Apart from digging out some decaying bones, nothing else could be found, let alone insects!
Jinluan felt she had been completely fooled; this shabby place was even worse than the Five Elders Temple.

Xu Qing ignored Jin Luan, who was pacing back and forth, already extremely agitated.

After finishing his work and assembling the paper sedan chair, Xu Qing waved to Jin Luan and said:

"See this sedan chair? I made it especially for you. From this day forward, you won't need to walk on your own in the Underworld River. You can simply stay inside the sedan chair and control these straw spirit paper figures to move around."

After saying that, Xu Qing took out several bags of grains and put them in the sedan chair.

"The Yin River has no flowers, trees, or crops like rice or flour. If you are hungry, eat these grains. I also have some fasting pills here."

Jinluan stared at Xu Qing and flapped its wings in dissatisfaction.

The latter ignored him completely, and simply said, "This ancient Yinhe Road is fraught with danger. As long as you stay in the sedan chair, no one will be able to detect your presence."

"But if you wander around aimlessly..."

Xu Qing picked up a piece of rotten bone, crushed it into sand, and said, "The consequences are hard to predict."

Jinluan shrank her neck and unconsciously moved closer to Xu Qing.

Chickens like this, raised at Wulao Temple since hatching, have never been to such dangerous places.

As Jinluan gazed at the ancient Yinhe Road, a strange resistance hidden deep within her made her increasingly tense.

It circled around Xu Qing, refusing to get into the paper sedan chair no matter what.

Seeing this, Xu Qing calmly said, "As long as you listen to me, it won't be long before you have countless fat worms to eat."

"And this insect feast is more than ten times more lavish than the last time we ate at a restaurant in Flower and Bird Street!"

Upon hearing this, Jinluan turned around and got into the paper sedan chair. Her self-assured demeanor was so strong that no one could pull her back.

Once inside the sedan chair, this gluttonous, foolish chicken used its comb to pry open the paper curtain and peek out to urge Xu Qing on.

That means, don't just stand there! We're going to eat out, so hurry up!

Xu Qing was speechless.

This chicken is even more enthusiastic than him!

Xu Qing shook his head and simply followed Jin Luan's wishes, manipulating the straw spirit paper figures to carry the sedan chair around the outer perimeter of the Ghost King's Tomb.

During this period, the Ghost King's Tomb was unusually quiet; not to mention ghost generals, not even a ghost could be seen.

Xu Qing felt that something was wrong. Although he had performed the rituals to send most of the corpses in the tomb to the afterlife last time, there were still some surviving ghost generals in the main mausoleum.

So much time has passed, the Ghost King's Mausoleum shouldn't be so quiet.

Xu Qing wasn't worried about his old neighbors moving. The Yinhe Ancient Road was different from the secular world; it had clearly defined boundaries, such as the Eight Banners Marshals, the Yinshi Dharma King, and the Witch Doctors and Witches, each with clearly defined territories.

These ghosts are buried in the Ghost King's Tomb. Not to mention that they can't easily leave the Ghost King's Tomb, even if they were to be moved by carrying the coffin and the entire tomb, they would have nowhere to go.

"Could it be that something else happened in the Yin River while I was away?"

Xu Qing manipulated the paper figure and paper sedan chair back to his front. This time, he took out the paper figures again and made a new sedan chair.

The original eight-person Chuling procession has grown to sixteen. Jinluan's sedan chair landed behind Xu Qing.

To be honest, Xu Qing sent Jin Luan to the Yin River just to have an extra strategy card. As for whether this card would be useful, he wasn't sure.

In the revolving lantern of the Ghost King's Tomb, Xu Qing once saw the Yin Erosion Dharma King, who was both male and female, controlling countless Gu worms to transform into a hurricane to resist the wooden ladle Dharma form created by the Weak Water.

Those Gu worms were very strict and did not obey orders. Xu Qing could not guarantee that he would be able to deal with them effectively if he encountered them, but with Jin Luan's help, the situation was completely different.

The Golden Phoenix is ​​of unknown species and bloodline, but it seems to have been born with an extremely strong ability to restrain Gu worms.

The Gu Master who manipulated the Gu worms to harm Master Feng was unable to put up any resistance under its mouth.

Even the Insect King that Xu Qing cultivated with the help of the Thousand Insect Gu Jar was powerless against the Golden Phoenix.

Even natural enemies that restrain each other shouldn't be this powerful.

Xu Qing always felt that Jin Luan, this lazy and gluttonous chicken, had not yet fully realized her potential.

The Yin Shi Fa Wang, who is constantly fighting with the Eight Banners Marshal, can become a touchstone for Xu Qing to test Jin Luan's potential.

"The Ghost King Duo'e has become a frightened bird, and there are not many remains left to collect in the entire Ghost King's Mausoleum."

"All that's left are the Eight Banners Marshals and the skeleton army under the command of the Yin Shi Fa Wang."

Xu Qing was making plans in his mind. Regardless of whether it was the Eight Banners Marshal or the Yin Shi Dharma King, they were both highly tied to the national fortunes of Dayong and Nancuo. There are no dynasties that last for a thousand years. The demise of Dayong and Nancuo was only a matter of time, and the fate of the two forces of Yinhe was also destined to be annihilation.

Rather than watching the world be engulfed in war for decades to come, Xu Qing felt he should add fuel to the fire and accelerate the progress of the times in the Yinhe region, so that the war could end sooner.

This would not only facilitate the dissemination of the Preservation Manual, but also help the soldiers under the Eight Banners Marshal to escape suffering and be reborn in another realm as soon as possible during these ten years.

As for the remains of those skeleton cavalrymen, they will be considered as payment for their funeral. Xu Qing will take them away from the Yin River and bury them in the mortal world they longed for afterward.

Thinking of this, Xu Qing manipulated the paper figures and sedan chairs, carrying wine, offerings, and various kinds of offerings, and rushed to the residence of the Eight Banners Marshal.

The paper effigy of the spirit was light and graceful, moving like willow catkins in the wind or lotus leaves underfoot. In the rustling of the cold wind, it had already brought the passenger in the sedan chair to the outside of the Yin soldiers' camp.

Lifting the sedan curtain, Xu Qing glanced around and discovered that the once-armored and heavily armed skeleton legion had now become a group of defeated soldiers dressed in rusty armor and tattered robes, wielding broken blades and blunt weapons.

Xu Qing's eyes flickered slightly.

He understood what the scene before him meant.

These Yin soldiers are closely linked to the fortune of the Great Yong Dynasty; when the Great Yong Dynasty is strong, the Yin soldiers are strong, and when the Great Yong Dynasty is weak, the Yin soldiers are weak.
The current state of the Great Yong Dynasty is reflected every moment in the army led by the Eight Banners Marshals.

Looking at the soldiers with their rotten weapons and tattered armor, Xu Qing realized they were clearly at their wits' end.

It is conceivable that the Great Yong Dynasty is now undergoing the same changes.

However, the Eight Banners marshals and other military commanders seemed completely oblivious, still appearing as if they were preparing for battle and ready to fight at any moment.

Xu Qing stepped down from the sedan chair and came to the front of the army formation.

Upon seeing Xu Qing, the wandering and patrolling skeleton cavalry made way for him.

They recognized Xu Qing; in the past, whenever this magnanimous man came to visit, he would bring them fine wine and meat.

At the same time, the other party has the title of Da Yong and also holds the official seal of the court. How could they not respect such a person?
However, these ghostly soldiers did not know that Xu Qing's only real achievement was his tried-and-true academic title, but he was merely a scholar.

As for the official seal
Many officials died at his hands, and Liao Gonggong's purple seal is still in his hands to this day.

In short, when you're out interacting with others, you decide your own identity. Since they call him "sir," then he is sir.

Xu Qing arrived at the tomb that resembled a central military tent. Before he could even enter, an unusually tall skeleton emerged from within.

The Eight Banners Marshal's eyes gleamed with undisguised delight as he asked, "What brings Lord Xu here today?"

Just as Xu Qing was about to answer, the marshal's expression suddenly changed, and he said solemnly, "Lord Xu, you have come at the wrong time! Now the rebels and traitors are colluding with the Yin Shi Fa Wang, and the Ghost King of the Ghost King's Tomb is also causing trouble. The Yin River has long become a dangerous place for military strategists. You must return to the mortal world immediately, or your life may be in danger!"

Xu Qing was not surprised at all upon hearing this. Instead, he laughed and said, "Since we're here, let's make the best of it. Let's not talk about these things for now. Marshal, do you know what day it is in the human world right now?"

The marshal's eyes were filled with a hazy, ghostly light, indicating that he did not know.

Xu Qing replied with a smile, "Today is the beginning of the new year in the human world, a time of renewal for all things. These past few days have been the New Year in the human world, and you, sir, have added another year to your age in the Underworld!"

The marshal was equally delighted upon hearing this, but his joy stemmed not from the festive season, but from:

"Excellent! Our Great Yong Dynasty has been established for another year, which is truly a cause for celebration!"

"."

Xu Qing was speechless. Finally, he said with relief, "No matter what, the festival is worth celebrating. Today I brought some good wine, some chicken, duck, fish and meat, and even some new armor to burn as new clothes. I will burn them as a sacrifice for all the soldiers."

The Eight Banners Marshal was deeply moved. In the entire Dayong Dynasty, over the past few hundred years, very few officials had been willing to visit them, these soldiers.

In the past century, only Xu Qing and Zuo Zixiong have come to Yinhe to pay their respects.

However, Zuo Zixiong was acting on official business, while only Xu Qing truly had goodwill towards these fallen soldiers.

The Eight Banners Marshal and Xu Qing drank and chatted happily, unaware that the young man before him, whom he deeply admired, actually had the same attitude towards all corpses.

During this time, Xu Qing's gaze swept across the military camp, and he asked knowingly, "Where is General Zuo? Could it be that he also doesn't know the year or month, or that he has already left the Yin River and returned to the mortal world to celebrate the festival?"

The Eight Banners Marshal shook his head and said, "General Zuo went to pursue and suppress the rebels of the Heavenly Heart Sect. It seems that the rebels have some grudges against General Zuo. I wanted to help, but General Zuo refused my proposal on the grounds that his troops need to face the Yin Erosion Dharma King and resist the invasion of the Duo E Ghost King."

"When General Zuo left, he said that the Tianxin Sect sorcerers were nothing to fear and that nothing would happen to them."

Xu Qing frowned slightly. As far as he knew, the people who came to Yinhe from the Heavenly Heart Sect this time were not ordinary followers, but the only remaining "Double Absolute" envoys of the Heavenly Heart Sect, as well as the Holy Master of the Heavenly Heart Sect, Han Renshan, in person; in addition, Ji Lingzhou, the leader of the Cangyi Group, was also there.

Han Renshan and Ji Lingzhou are both martial arts masters. Zuo Zixiong could not possibly defeat these two, let alone the two masters of the Tianxin Sect.

Xu Qing was lost in thought when the Eight Banners Marshal suddenly asked, "May I ask who accompanied Lord Xu?"

As the marshal spoke, his gaze fell on the paper sedan chair where Jinluan was.

Xu Qing made up a story off the top of his head:
"It is a servant of my household, who escorted me along the way and took care of my daily needs. However, it is afraid of the sight of the Yin River and dared not get off the sedan chair. Marshal, you need not worry about it."

Inside the paper sedan chair, Jinluan tilted her head, looking out at the outside world through the paper quilt.

When Jinji saw the skeleton ghost soldiers, he looked puzzled.

These skeletons, it seemed to have seen them in a dream before.

(End of this chapter)