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

Chapter 317 Heavenly Fire Burns the Body, A Glorious Funeral (8k, Two Chapters Combined)

On the broken Yin-Yang boundary marker, ghostly flames rose in the eyes of the Ghost King Duo'e. The anger that had been suppressed to the extreme for half a year made his entire skeletal face grotesque!
"It was you who destroyed my mausoleum! You kidnapped my empress! You slaughtered my entire court! You caused me to fall from a ruler of a nation to a stray dog, isn't that right!"

"I am asking you a question, answer me!"

An overwhelming aura of resentment and evil spirits erupted from the Demon King of Many Calamities, plunging the already dimly lit Dry Bone Inn into a thick, viscous night.

Xu Qing looked at the ghostly domain that enveloped the area within a ten-mile radius and remained silent for a long time.

Just as the Demon King Duo'e's patience was about to reach its breaking point, Xu Qing finally spoke:

"Were those eunuch ghost soldiers baited by you?"

Before Duo'e Ghost King could respond, Xu Qing continued, "Indeed, you were a monarch in life and spent over a thousand years struggling in the Yin River after death, so you are not someone to be trifled with."

It would have been better if Xu Qing hadn't mentioned the eunuch ghost soldiers; the moment he did, the resentment of the entire Ghost King of Duo'e surged even more.

The area around the Yin-Yang Boundary Marker was so dense with resentment that it spawned vengeful spirits. These spirits, shrouded in black mist, circled the boundary marker endlessly, emitting piercing howls like the shrill cries of a child.

"In the past two years, my royal mausoleum has been plagued by mishaps. Each time, subjects have vanished into thin air without a trace! This shows that there are treacherous officials who want to shake up my country and the state."

To lure out this traitor, I spared no expense, using important ministers and pillars of the state as bait, which finally allowed you to reveal your true colors.

"Do you know how much effort I put into finding you!"

When the Demon King Doe spoke, almost every word was squeezed out from between his teeth, showing that he was extremely clenched his teeth.

Upon hearing this, Xu Qing understood. He reflected on himself and said, "I shouldn't have underestimated people, even if they are already dead."

"I shouldn't have been so eager for quick success. I've learned my lesson and will be more careful next time, making sure I don't reveal any flaws."

"."

The Demon King of Doe paused for a moment, and then an even more terrifying aura emanated from him.

Xu Qing's words were like adding fuel to the fire, pushing the Demon King Duo'e's anger to its peak in just a few sentences.

He forced himself to suppress his anger and said, word by word, "Before you die, I have one last question for you."

Xu Qing looked at the Ghost King, whose aura was extremely unstable, and nodded in agreement, saying, "We have been neighbors for many years. Even if we don't have romantic feelings, we still have kinship. I will give you a chance. Ask away, I'm listening."

"."

The Ghost King of Doe felt that Xu Qing's tone was a bit off. Who was the hunter? It seemed like he was the prey.
"I have only one question: What grudge do I hold against you that you would target me like this!"

Xu Qing strode to the Yinhe Boundary Marker and looked up directly at the Demon King Duo'e.

"Several years ago, the Red-Clothed Cult offered you incense, hoping to ask you to intervene in the conflict of the Underworld River and wear down the fate of the human dynasty. At that time, the Five Shadow Taoists of the Celestial Master's Mansion kidnapped the people of Tianjin and offered them to you as blood sacrifices, hoping to get the Ghost King's Tomb to remain neutral and not interfere in the conflict between the fate of Dayong and Nancuo."

"But you crave blood offerings and use them to blackmail the Celestial Master's Mansion into sending you more."

Upon hearing this, the Demon King Duo'e was taken aback, then suddenly realized and said, "I understand. You want to stand up for those ordinary people and be a righteous gentleman who eliminates demons and protects the righteous path."

"Hypocrisy!" the Ghost King Duo'e suddenly sneered. "If you truly hate evil, why don't you go and cause trouble for the Taoist priest of the Heavenly Master's Mansion, instead of coming to the Underworld River to seek trouble with me?"

"He's nothing but a coward who bullies the weak and fears the strong, greedy for the treasures of my royal tombs!"

Xu Qing raised an eyebrow and interrupted, "Who told you I didn't cause trouble for the Celestial Master's Mansion? That Five Shadows Daoist is already dead at my hands! Besides, I'm not some kind of gentleman. I'm picking on you because you've disrupted the market and ruined my business!"

"."

The Demon King frowned and asked, "What kind of business?"

"Of course it's a funeral business. I'm a funeral director in Tianjin, and those people are all potential clients of my funeral service. How can I let evil spirits like you easily devour them?"

"If all the people in the world are slaughtered by you monstrous creatures who drain the pond to catch all the fish, who will come to my shop for a funeral in the future?"

In Xu Qing's eyes, the business of the Mourning Gate is all about people. If there are no living people, where will the dead come from to be taken?
Furthermore, if the ecological cycle of life and death is disrupted, how can he follow nature and legally and sustainably collect corpses?

The more Xu Qing worked in midwifery and funeral services, the more fascinated she became by the beauty of life and death.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have chosen to establish the Baosheng Temple system and become a deity of Baosheng Temple.

However, this order of birth, aging, sickness, and death is gradually disintegrating under the influence of this defiled world.

Those blood offerings whose remains have vanished represent a destroyed ecosystem, and the Demon King of Calamity, a ghost that continues to plague the mortal world even after death, is no less a culprit disrupting the order of life and death.

"."

After hearing Xu Qing's explanation, the Demon King Duo'e could no longer suppress his anger.

The reason his Ghost King's Mausoleum was destroyed was simply because it affected the business of a funeral director.

Originally filled with rage, the Demon King of Doe felt an indescribable sense of frustration.

"Nonsense! I will grind you to dust and scatter your ashes to vent my hatred!"

At the point where the Yin-Yang boundary marker was broken, the Demon King Duo'e's body swelled and his ghostly flames soared into the sky, clearly indicating that he had completely entered a state of madness.

Ignoring the overwhelming Yin energy, Xu Qing focused his gaze and saw the towering Duo'e Ghost King standing atop the boundary marker, his body shrouded in deathly aura, causing the ten-mile ghost domain to suddenly expand, instantly reaching a radius of thirty miles.

Enveloped by the ghostly realm, all the ghosts and demons within the Dry Bone Inn bowed their heads and knelt on the ground, none daring to disobey.

At this moment, the Demon King Duo'e seemed to truly possess the status of an emperor.

"cut!"

The Ghost King extended his bone claws, drew the Emperor's Sword, and tossed it into the air!
At this moment, the Emperor's Sword transformed into an execution warrant, and Xu Qing, standing beneath the boundary marker, appeared to be a traitor being escorted to the palace.

Xu Qing looked up at the Emperor's Sword. The sword seemed to have a spirit. As soon as it left its sheath, it turned its tip around and fell straight down on his head!
This sword is extremely evil and malevolent. If a living person were to touch it, the sheer amount of malevolent energy entering their body would be enough to cause them serious harm.

Xu Qing's expression turned solemn. He immediately took out the White Cloud Taoist's magic sword and used the Mysterious Maiden Sword Technique he had learned from Xuan Yu. He did not avoid the sharp edge and met the falling Emperor's Sword head-on.

Although the Xuan Nu Sword Technique is not as powerful and unrestrained as the Tian Gang Axe Technique, it was also created by the Nine Heavens Mysterious Maiden. Its destructive power may be inferior to that of the Tian Gang Axe, but its ability to conserve magical power and its mysterious and unpredictable advantages surpass those of the Tian Gang Axe.

This sword technique is superb, characterized by its light and agile movements, flexibility, and unpredictable nature, while also possessing supreme killing intent.

As Xu Qing slashed, chopped, sliced, and cut, he became increasingly adept, even having time to unleash several streaks of sword light towards the sky above the boundary marker.

The Ghost King Duo'e hurriedly summoned a seal to defend himself. At this moment, he gradually realized that the pale-faced youth was not fighting him, but was clearly using him as a whetstone to hone his sword skills and supernatural abilities.

This is simply unreasonable!
The Demon King of Duo'e summoned his seal to block the attack, but while the sword light could be blocked, the chilling sword intent was all-pervasive.

When the Ghost King sensed something was wrong, he heard a tearing sound. He looked down and saw that a piece of the wide sleeve of his dragon robe had been torn off, revealing his jade-like white bones.

The Demon King of Doe was not alarmed but delighted: "This sword technique is the Return to Nothingness Divine Power!"

When the Ghost King looked at Xu Qing again, all the gloom in his heart had vanished. The Returning to the Void Divine Power was a true divine magic, a protective divine power!
Although he didn't know where the other party had learned the immortal techniques from, the immortal arts and supernatural powers they were using were right before his eyes, so how could he miss them?

The greedy Ghost King could no longer suppress his desires. He once again summoned the Emperor's Seal, but this time it was not for defense. Instead, he directly used it to suppress Xu Qing!

The palm-sized seal swelled in the wind, carrying immense force. Before it even touched the ground, it transformed into a cage on all sides, seemingly intent on completely imprisoning Xu Qing.

Xu Qing was not alarmed when he saw the seal fall.

Having already glimpsed the essence of the Demon King Duo'e through their previous encounters, he now has a clear understanding of Duo'e's true nature.

Its king's sword and seal are both treasures forged from the Yin energy of the royal tomb; as for the aura emanating from the Ghost King, it is the death energy cultivated by a thousand-year-old Yin ghost.

Xu Qing was all too familiar with this kind of aura.

The deathly aura of the corpse demon kills any mortal who comes into contact with it instantly.

Although Xu Qing was shrouded in the deathly aura of the ghost realm, he was not affected in the slightest and even quite enjoyed it, feeling as if he had returned to his own home.

The Ghost King was surprised and suspicious. This person did have some strange and unpredictable methods. His Ghost Domain was used to suppress living things and could also continuously devour the yang energy of living people. The King's Sword Seal, which was full of yin energy, could also control people's actions. Moreover, there was the constant erosion of death energy. Logically speaking, he should not have been able to deal with it so easily.

But the other party seemed completely unaffected, and even their movements became increasingly swift and effortless, as if they were in their element.
"Who exactly are you, and why are you not afraid of my ghost realm?"

Xu Qing chuckled and said, "I am a funeral master, and you are a withered corpse, born to be controlled by me. If you are afraid, you should surrender now. Then I can not only show leniency and leave you with a whole corpse, but also hold a top-notch funeral for you, a grand and glorious burial!"

"Sharp tongue and sharp tongue, I'd like to see how long you can hold out!"

Enraged, the Ghost King's already massive form, as large as a city gate tower, swelled even further, and in the blink of an eye, several Ghost King statues, each tens of feet tall, appeared before the broken Yin-Yang boundary marker.

The Dry Bone Inn had never encountered such a scene before. The group of ghostly cultivators were all shaken as they looked at the Ghost King's Dharma Image, which seemed to touch the sky, at the boundary marker.

At this moment, the Ghost King, dressed in an imperial crown and dragon robe, looked down over the entire Dry Bone Post Station, exuding the supreme majesty that only an emperor could possess.

Xu Qing clicked his tongue. He didn't know if his old neighbor could fight, but when it came to showing off, he was far inferior.

Perhaps only the image of the Goddess of Life Protection can overpower the opponent.
As Xu Qing was still marveling at the sight, the Demon King Duo'e had already extended his chilling bone claws and slammed them down towards his head!
The moves are simple and brutal.

Xu Qing raised an eyebrow and instantly threw out four flags: red, black, gold, and blue.

Before the bone claws fell, the four flags shot out and planted themselves in the four directions of the ghost realm.

The area where the flags landed was far beyond the coverage of the bone claws. Xu Qing originally thought that by relying on the flags in all directions, he could move freely and avoid the invasion of the Dharma Image.

However, the bone claw form remained ever-present, and no matter how he dodged and weaved, the mountain-like bone claw could always arrive above his head in an instant!

Xu Qing finally realized something was wrong.

At the same time, the Ghost King's domineering voice came from above his head.

"Within this land, all are subjects of the king! This thirty-mile-long ghost realm is my kingdom! You may destroy the royal tombs, but you cannot destroy my underworld!"

As the words were spoken, the bone palm descended, as if the Ghost King were holding the seal of the Yellow Emperor. Where the bone palm landed, mountains and rivers changed, and everything was destroyed.

When the roar echoed through the Dry Bone Station, a large pit, several feet deep, appeared in front of the Yin River boundary marker. However, when the Ghost King Duo'e raised his palm, Xu Qing was nowhere to be seen in the pit; only a single corpse hair vanished in the wind.

The Demon King Doe narrowed his eyes and saw eight youthful clones gradually emerging from the swirling smoke and dust.

At this moment, Xu Qing's expression was solemn. Although he had managed to withstand a blow by using the Dismemberment Technique, he had also thoroughly experienced the methods of the Ghost King Duo'e.

His old neighbor really does have something on him, and more than just a little!
Just by abandoning Li Shunying as bait and his self-cultivation of the Yin Kingdom's supernatural power, it can be seen that his old neighbor not only possesses the mind of an emperor, but also the strange ability to transform the ghost realm into the power of the country.

Having learned the exact strength of his neighbor, Xu Qing no longer concealed his zombie identity. Just before the bone palm was about to strike, he plucked the corpse hairs that had been refined on his body and used a Heaven-grade Dismemberment Technique to conjure nine golden-armored corpses, thus avoiding the Ghost King's long-planned attack.

Aside from the subtle changes in Xu Qing's mentality, it was Duo'e Ghost King who was experiencing more intense inner turmoil at this moment.

Upon sensing the dense corpse aura emanating from Xu Qing and the death aura that was almost identical to his own, the Ghost King Duo'e was filled with astonishment.

The other party was never a living person from beginning to end, but a corpse monster!
In an instant, the Demon King Duo'e understood many things.

No wonder Xu Qing wasn't afraid of his ghost realm, no wonder he thrived in his underworld.

So the other party wasn't a living person at all, but a demon or evil spirit similar to him!

The Ghost King, realizing what had happened, was furious. He had only thought that Xu Qing had come to "exterminate demons and monsters," but he never expected that the other party was originally a demon himself!
At this moment, in the eyes of the Ghost King Duo'e, Xu Qing's previous remarks had become utterly absurd jokes.

Ignoring the enraged Ghost King, Xu Qing took the initiative, leading his eight clones to move around the Ghost King's image.

Meanwhile, Xu Qing concealed himself within, intending to secretly accumulate power and seize the opportunity to inflict heavy damage on his opponent.

The Ghost King of Doe sensed Xu Qing's intention. Ghost flames rose in his eyes, and his Ghostly Eyes were activated, but he could not determine where Xu Qing's true form was.

"The clone technique, another form of the Returning to Nothingness Divine Power?"

The Demon King Duo'e was filled with mixed feelings of joy and worry. He was pleased that the young man who claimed to be his neighbor seemed to have received many blessings from the gods, but he was worried about whether he could truly subdue the other party with all his might.

Xu Qing sensed the Ghost King's emotional fluctuations. With a thought, he simultaneously launched the eight dismembered corpses, while his true self held the magic sword in his hand, ready to stab at the Ghost King's source at any moment. At the same time, the Scripture of Salvation was also ready to be applied.

However, just as the plan was proceeding as scheduled, nine giant cauldrons suddenly descended from the sky above the Yin Realm Ghost Domain.

Nine cauldrons descended from the sky, their surfaces inscribed with the landscapes of the nine provinces. In a single glance, they suppressed eight golden-armored corpses within the cauldrons.

The Nine Cauldrons, used to suppress mountains and rivers, were actually transformed by the Demon King Duo'e into a magical weapon for fighting enemies.

For the first time, Xu Qing felt the immense depth of a ghost's cultivation over a thousand years. If it were anyone else, not to mention the difference in their cultivation level, they would be no match for him in terms of sheer number of combat techniques! The eight dismembered corpses were suppressed by the State Cauldron and instantly transformed into corpse hair, returning to Xu Qing's original body.

The Ghost King Do'e suddenly turned around and saw that the young man behind him had already drawn his magic sword. If he had hesitated any longer, the magic sword would probably have already fallen on him.

Seeing that the opportunity had been missed, Xu Qing felt quite regretful.

If he weren't worried that the Heavenly Gang Axe would damage the perfect corpse before him, he wouldn't be so hesitant.

Ugh, this is really difficult!

"Old neighbor, let's make a deal. Don't you really want a grand funeral after you die? I'm a professional funeral director. I can handle anything from funerals for royalty to funerals for emperors!"

"I can also make paper terracotta warriors for you, even if it's the three palaces, six courtyards, seventy-two concubines, or three thousand beauties, I can make them, and I guarantee they'll be lifelike."

"Aren't you really going to reconsider?"

The Demon King of Doe's heart stirred, but not because he was moved by Xu Qing's conditions.

"Your cultivation is inferior to mine; you are only skilled in magic and supernatural powers. Now, have you exhausted all your tricks and depleted your magical power, and are trying to buy time to escape?"

Xu Qing opened his mouth but remained silent; he truly did not want to damage this near-perfect thousand-year-old ghost corpse.

He had not yet transcended a corpse with such perfectly proportioned skeleton.
However, Xu Qing's change in expression was tantamount to confirming the Ghost King's guess.

The Ghost King felt reassured and immediately laughed, "Don't worry, I will grant you a few more days to live. After I have obtained all the secret techniques of the Returning Void that you have learned, I will give you a quick death."

Xu Qing glanced at the Ghost King Duo'e and said impatiently, "You are a dead man, and I am a corpse. Neither of us can be considered alive. How can we talk about living a few more days?"

"Alright, I'm not going to waste my breath on you. At worst, I'll just take a defective product. Anyway, it's free, so I won't lose out."

The Demon King's face darkened: "What an ignorant illegitimate son!"

A son born of a concubine is a child born to a concubine. Xu Qing was immediately displeased when he heard the words "son born of a concubine": "Grandson born of a concubine, who are you calling a bastard!"

Xu Qing was never one to back down verbally. After cursing the Ghost King, he immediately switched from water zombie to hairy zombie form.

The Ghost King Duo'e guessed correctly. His cultivation was indeed inferior to that of the Ghost King, and he had indeed exhausted his magic power in the battle just now, but it was the magic power of the water zombie that he had used up.

The Water Zombie's power depends on the Unstable Black Water, the Fire Zombie depends on the Smoldering Fire Seed, while the Hairy Zombie belongs to the Wind-Leaving Guide.

Now that Xu Qing has switched to the Mao Jiang form, he remains within his body, and the hidden power of the Mountain Forest Command instantly replenishes all the acupoints in his body.

Xu Qing, whose body was covered in bulging blue corpse hair, looked at the Ghost King Duo'e. Almost at the same time that the Ghost King activated the State Cauldron, Xu Qing also activated the Li Feng Yin and summoned the Li He Feng that he had been cultivating for a long time.

"The wind has no constant direction, but the rider remains constant."

Xu Qing looked up at the three mouths on the ground, which stirred up a trend.

The next moment, alternating hot and cold winds swept across the Yin Kingdom's ghost realm. Between the cold and heat, the bone-corroding winds stirred the unchanging Yin River's energy, while the warm, spring-like winds devoured the surrounding Yin energy.

Under the influence of the cycle of birth and death of the four seasons, the ghost realm changes drastically.

The Demon King of Duo'e's vision went black, and he could no longer see Xu Qing's figure. All that remained was an endless stream of green and yellow energy!
"Spring begins with the growth of plants, autumn ends with the falling of all things. One unites and another separates, one is born and another dies."

The unhurried voices came from all directions, and the rampant winds of separation and reunion constantly stripped the connection between the Demon King of Many Calamities and the extended ghost realm outside his body.

When cracks appeared in the Ghost Realm of the Underworld, and it shrank from a radius of thirty miles to a radius of ten miles, or even three to five miles, the Ghost King Duo'e was terrified.

"You actually obtained three of the Returning to Nothingness Divine Powers!"

The Demon King of Duo'e manipulated the Nine Cauldrons to rotate rapidly around his body. Every instant, one or two of the cauldrons would shoot out, but they would miss each time and fail to harm Xu Qing in the slightest.

As the tides rise and fall, under the erosion of the Separation and Union Winds, not only will the Ghost King of Many Calamities not be able to defeat Xu Qing, but he himself will also suffer great damage.

"For thousands of years, you are the only opponent who has forced me to use all my means. To be defeated by me is not a disgrace to you."

The Ghost King spoke arrogantly, and as soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly opened his jaw, and a thick, tangible aura of Yin and death gushed out of his mouth, gathering into a dark cloud of mist on his crown.

At the very center of the mist was a thousand-year-old ghost king's inner core, spinning rapidly.

Now, apart from the Ghost Realm of the Underworld and the Nine Cauldrons, the Ghost King Duo'e has no other supernatural abilities available. The only thing he can use to fight his enemies is his Ghost King Inner Core, which he has condensed for thousands of years.

Dark light enveloped the ghost realm, and the Ghost King Duo'e, relying on his powerful magic, forcefully dispelled Xu Qing's Separation and Union Wind with the help of his inner core.

Not far from the Ghost King, Xu Qing withdrew the Wind-Leaving Guide and frowned as he looked at the 'Wu Huan' above his head.

His Separation and Union Wind technique still lacks refinement. If given enough time to cultivate it to its fullest potential, a single breath of Separation Wind could strip away the soul of a true cultivator, causing their flesh and bones to disintegrate. It could also scatter the true spirit of a ghost like the Ghost King of Many Calamities, extinguishing its life force in an instant.

The Ghost King of Do'e compressed the Ghost Domain to its limit. His gaze fell on the silent Xu Qing, and he said in a hoarse voice, "The Corpse Monster's soul cannot leave its body and cannot condense an inner core. What other methods do you have left? I don't believe you can still produce the Return to Nothingness Divine Power."

Before the Demon King Duo'e finished speaking, he saw Xu Qing produce a mountain-splitting axe in his hand, and then he felt a magical power fluctuation that was even more terrifying than the Separation and Union Wind and the Mysterious Maiden Sword Technique.

The fluctuations were beyond his comprehension.

The power of returning to the void? No! How much cultivation does this young man possess? How could he possibly unleash such a power? Even a god shouldn't have such a power!
The Demon King Duo'e could not imagine that even the gods considered this supernatural power taboo.

Only one of the Thirty-Six Axes of the Heavenly Gang has a name, and that one form is the true essence of this divine power.

This technique transcends the realm of the mundane and even the realm of immortals.

The ghostly flames leaped wildly in the empty eyes of the Demon King Duo'e, the primordial yin fire in his chest almost stopped, and large characters of danger appeared in his mind.

escape! Must escape!
The Ghost King used almost all of his magical treasures.

At this moment, Xu Qing had not yet wielded the mountain-splitting axe in his hand, but the surrounding air currents were already churning like boiling water!
Almost instantly, Xu Qing drained all the magical power of the mountain forest and stacked the Heavenly Gang Axe Technique to twenty-four layers.

Accompanied by a muffled explosion that tore through the ghost realm, the white rainbow axe shadow, with the power to split mountains and cleave rivers, carrying the momentum to destroy everything, slashed towards the inner core in front of the Ghost King!

The Ghost Realm shattered, the State Cauldron shattered, the Emperor's Seal shattered, and the Royal Sword crumbled.
The Demon King Duo'e was furious. At the last moment, he withdrew his Demon King form and took out a jade talisman, which he crushed. As the Yin-Yang Boundary Marker made a loud noise, the Demon King Duo'e's figure disappeared at the boundary mark.

Xu Qing frowned. In front of him, a deep axe mark, about half a hand's breadth deep, appeared on the broken Yin-Yang Boundary Stone.

Logically speaking, the Heavenly Gang Axe on the 24th floor, if not invincible, should at least be able to destroy one stone tablet, or even hundreds or thousands of stone tablets. However, the Yin-Yang Boundary Tablet in front of us only has a deep mark.

No wonder the Demon King of Many Calamities clung to the boundary marker between Yin and Yang.
Xu Qing suppressed his confusion and, disregarding the depleted magical power of the mountain forest, threw out a flag in a flash and chased after the ghost domain that was about to close behind the boundary marker.

He never expected that the Demon King Duo'e would dare to open the passage to the mortal world and escape into the mundane realm.

But could he let the other party escape?
He had an irreconcilable feud with this old neighbor, and he was determined to seize this opportunity to completely eliminate the threat lurking beside his bed.

Tianjin Prefecture is located on the Baisha River, which is over a hundred miles wide.

The Demon King of Doe stood silently above the river, as if deliberately waiting for Xu Qing.

Xu Qing's figure flashed in the dissipating ghost realm.

When Xu Qing saw the Ghost King Duo'e wearing a battle-damaged dragon robe, his hair disheveled, gazing absently at the human world's smoke and fire on the distant riverbank, he couldn't help but frown.

He suddenly remembered something.
The Demon King Duo'e, whose imperial crown had been lost somewhere, gazed at the mundane world, his gaze seemingly returning to a thousand years ago, when he was still the emperor of this mortal realm. But now…
The imperial crown will eventually fall, and his fate seems to have been sealed as well.

Inside the Yinhe Mausoleum, the Ghost King Duo'e, who had played the role of a monarch for a thousand years, suddenly revealed a relieved smile.

But there are still things he can't figure out.

The Demon King turned his head and glanced at Xu Qing, who was relentlessly pursuing him. He couldn't understand why this demon star kept chasing him.

"Very well, I am tired. If someone accompanies me on my journey to the Yellow Springs, it will be a blessing."

"Moreover, it's someone as eccentric as you, no less than myself."

Xu Qing looked up at the sky, which resembled a piece of crimson silk.

He grinned and said, "Old neighbor, do you want to use the natural disaster to take me down with you to ashes?"

"That won't do. I still have a use for your body."

The Ghost King of Duo'e became increasingly curious. Evil spirits fear the most natural fire disasters. How could a corpse monster with less than a thousand years of cultivation make such a statement?
However, before the Demon King Duo'e could think further, he saw the young man in white robes before him enveloped in sacred incense and merit.

Then, the crown on the young man's head transformed into a five-phoenix crown formed from incense smoke, and his blue-collared white robe transformed into a jade-like cloud-shaped shoulder piece and a round-necked, wide-sleeved shirt.
The floral vines along the hem sprout and bud, the pattern of longevity and happiness taking shape, and finally, the golden character "保" (protect) appears on the skirt.

The ghostly fire in the eyes of the Demon King of Doe suddenly expanded, and even his jawbone involuntarily opened, making it difficult to close.

His mind went completely blank; everything happening before his eyes was beyond his comprehension.

At this moment, Xu Qing gave him only a sense of the unknown. He couldn't tell whether this person was a human, a ghost, or a god.

The unknown is often the most frightening.

Xu Qing ignored the Ghost King Duo'e. In his eyes, apart from Xuan Yu, anyone who saw his Dharma form would lose the ability to speak.

Natural fire disasters are far more terrifying than lightning disasters. Once a natural fire ignites a yin fire, the fishermen and people on both sides of the Baisha River will inevitably suffer an undeserved calamity.

Under the overwhelming celestial fire, the corpse of the Demon King Duo'e will be completely destroyed.

The Heavenly Fire among the Three Calamities is not ordinary fire, nor can it be considered rootless heavenly fire. Rather, it is a 'fire disaster' sent down from the sky, solely to stir up the yin fire within the bodies of those seeking refuge from the calamity.

This fire starts at the Yongquan acupoint on the sole of the foot and burns straight through to the Niwan Palace. If one's cultivation is insufficient and the Yin fire is too strong, the five internal organs will turn to ash and the four limbs will decay in an instant. No matter how many years of hard work one has done in cultivation, it will all be reduced to nothing under the scorching fire.

What Xu Qing needs to do is to completely stop the calamity before the Ghost King of Duo'e is devoured by the Yin Fire. At the same time, he can also experience the power of the Heavenly Fire Calamity in advance, accumulating experience for future tribulations.

If all else fails, he can also use the transformation of the Fire Zombie to unleash the Divine Travel Book, abandon the corpse of the Demon King Duo'e, and return to the Underworld River.
The fire came extremely quickly. At first, Xu Qing only saw the sky shrouded in a layer of crimson silk, like the sunset glow, but the next moment, sparks began to pour down from the gaps in the clouds.

The sparks attracted each other in mid-air, gathering into small red snakes, which then danced wildly like red dragons. When they fell to the White Sand River, they had already woven a curtain of fire, covering the sky and the sun!

On the river, centered at the feet of the Demon King Duo'e, the river water steamed up, and then spread all the way to the riverbank like boiling water in a cauldron!
The Ghost King of Duo'e groaned, and the Yin Fire within his body was instantly ignited by the Heavenly Fire. Yin Fire also burst forth uncontrollably from the Yongquan acupoint on his feet!

The eerie fire had a color that was neither green nor purple, and it was quite strange.

The heavenly fire, which had not yet landed, was drawn by these yin fires and descended even faster. In the blink of an eye, the curtain of fire had already reached Xu Qing's head.

Xu Qing gazed at the overwhelming heavenly fire, and with a wave of his wide sleeves, he flung out the radiant jade ruyi in his hand, along with 100,000 incense sticks.

The jade ruyi swelled in the air with the wind, and when it reached mid-air, 100,000 incense sticks gathered into a magnificent and compassionate image, which was the image of the Goddess of Life Protection holding the jade ruyi!
The Dharma image was solemn and dignified, its whole body radiating holy light. When the heavenly fire touched the holy Dharma image formed from the incense of the blood lake, the originally menacing tongue of fire suddenly retracted, as if even the heavenly emperor had been burned on the tongue.

The smell of incense.
Sensing the familiar incense offerings and merits, the previously raging heavenly fire suddenly stopped.

Time seemed to stand still for a few moments on the Baisha River.

A moment later, the curtain of fire that had been pouring down suddenly rolled back from mid-air, like the tide receding, and disappeared in an instant!

Only a ghost king and a deity's image remained, standing silently on the river.

Xu Qing frowned slightly. What was going on with this natural disaster? Why did it retreat so soon after landing?
As the crimson sky turned white, Xu Qing turned to look at the Ghost King Duo'e, who stood motionless.

As the image of the Goddess of Life Protection faded, Xu Qing returned to his original form. He walked on water and headed straight for the Demon King of Calamities.

The latter hesitated for a moment, then said in a dry, hoarse voice, "We're neighbors."

Seeing that Xu Qing did not respond, the Ghost King continued, "According to imperial standards, does a grand funeral still count?"

Xu Qing clicked his tongue, as if he had bumped his head and was now crying out in pain; he had caught a cold from being caught in the rain and was now using an umbrella; he had been brought to court and was now trying to reason with people?
Do you have a big face or something?

"Forget about a grand funeral. At most, we'll erect a monument for you at the Ghost King's Mausoleum so people will know you exist."

Xu Qing retorted irritably, then grabbed the wrist of the Ghost King Duo'e, thinking to himself, "What a waste of all this incense offerings! He's just dreaming. Has he gone mad from being the emperor?"
"I"

Just as the Demon King was about to say something, he suddenly felt his whole body stiffen. It was a power that transcended the laws of death, a terror he had never seen before!
"you"

The ghostly flame in the eyes of the Demon King of Doe suddenly flared, but he only managed to utter one word before abruptly stopping.

At the same time, the Netherworld Ghost Eyes that had burned for a thousand years by the Ghost King of Do'e were extinguished, and now the Ghost King has become a skeleton with empty eyes.

　I've tried to write the plot as coherently as possible, about 8 words (yesterday + today). I might not be able to finish tonight's, so I need to take a nap.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)