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

Chapter 318 A Death Omen Above One's Head, A Sliver of Imperial Fortune
The Demon King Do'e died in a confused state; he had too many questions he wanted to ask and too many answers he wanted to know.

For example, where does the young man who claims to be his neighbor actually live? Is the other person a god or a ghost? Who is his teacher?
And whether his empress was 'alive' or dead, and if she was truly dead, what was the other party's purpose in stealing her remains?
Does his neighbor have some kind of unusual fetish?
Unfortunately, as the will-o'-the-wisp in his eyes went out, all of this remained unanswered.

At this time, in Linjiang County.

Bai Qiuyu, a fortune teller, is setting up a stall on the street near the well.

In front of her, a boy with a shaved head was arguing with her.

"Your fortune telling was inaccurate, give me back my sugar figurine!"

"Don't worry, there must be something wrong with the feng shui of this place. Let's go somewhere else, and I'll do another feng shui reading for you."

Whether or not someone is a sugar person is not important; Bai Qiuyu mainly wants to prove himself.

How could she, a dignified white fox from Qingqiu, not be able to foresee the fate of a mere child?

Bai Qiuyu ran from the coffin shop to the opposite street corner and raised her hand to calculate again.

Even though she strained her fingers until they sparked, she still couldn't figure out the second possible outcome.

According to the divination, the child in front of me, surnamed Chen and named Liu'er, is indeed a dead child.

Moreover, the child died seven or eight years ago when he was still an infant.

Having already calculated twice, Bai Qiuyu hesitated for a moment before reluctantly taking out the sugar figurine hidden in her sleeve.

Chen Liuer pulled hard several times before finally snatching the sugar figurine back.

Just as Bai Qiuyu was feeling utterly defeated, the poor monk who had been lying in the corner enjoying the cool air suddenly removed the tattered fan covering his face. He straightened up, pointed the fan at Bai Qiuyu, and said with a smile:

"A person should have perseverance. Why did you stop calculating after only two attempts?"

Bai Qiuyu glanced to the side and saw the little bald boy who had just argued with her running up to the poor monk, taking the banana leaf fan from his hand, and using it to fan himself while eating a sugar figurine.

The cicadas continued to chirp at the alley entrance. Bai Qiuyu explained, "You can't ask more than three times. I've already done two calculations for him today, so I won't ask a third time."

The poor monk laughed and said, "You're quite particular."

Bai Qiuyu sighed. It wasn't that she was particular, but she had learned her lesson the hard way. She had been limping for several months before she recovered from her injury.

From then on, she became extremely disciplined, and the words passed down from generation to generation were not without reason.

"Where does the master live in seclusion? Could this young monk be his disciple?"

The poor monk shook his head and waved his hand, saying, "Hey! I'm not a master. As for where I cultivate in seclusion, I, as a monk, have never been picky about where to go."

I'll treat even the most lavish banquet halls as my Buddhist shrine; a tattered straw mat spread out becomes a fine meditation cushion. Where in this mundane world isn't a place of spiritual practice?

"I am a monk," the poor monk chuckled, "The road is everywhere, whether I look up or down; I can sit down anywhere and be before the Buddha."

"If you ask me where I practice my spiritual cultivation, I will say that every place in this world is a place for spiritual cultivation."

Bai Qiuyu was taken aback upon hearing this, and then began to ponder the monk's words.

After telling the poor monk about his place of seclusion, he looked kindly at the child who was eating a sugar figurine and fanning him.

"As for this little monk, he is not my disciple yet. But when he grows up, he might become my disciple."

A monk and a fortune teller were chatting idly at the entrance of the alley. However, at this peaceful moment, a layer of crimson silk suddenly covered the sky where the sun was high in the sky. Then, countless fire snakes danced wildly and finally turned into an all-encompassing curtain of fire that fell to the east.

That's the direction of the Baisha River.

Chen Liuer forgot to eat the sugar figurine. While rummaging through his heart's desire, he stared intently at the sky, exclaiming in surprise and wonder, "Master, look! The sky is on fire! The sky is on fire!"

Xin Yuan looked towards the horizon, her expression suddenly becoming serious.

Bai Qiuyu's hair stood on end, and the fox's fur instantly bristled.

"It's heavenly fire!"

Xin Yuan stood up, feeling extremely unhappy.

Which heartless wretch, if he wants to transcend tribulation and escape disaster, should go to that desolate place. How dare he deceive us and come here to do evil!
However, just as Xin Yuan was worried that the heavenly fire would harm innocent people, the eastern sky, which was covered by a curtain of fire, suddenly shone brightly!
It was a majestic statue, hundreds of feet tall, formed entirely from immeasurable merit.

Chen Liuer stared in disbelief and exclaimed, "The Goddess of Life Protection! The Goddess of Life Protection has appeared to us!"

What's meant by "guaranteeing raw or cooked"?

Xin Yuan had never heard of the taboo name of Baosheng Niangniang.

He gazed at the magnificent and sacred image that seemed to illuminate the heavens, and for a moment he felt as if he had encountered a great Buddhist master descending to the mortal world.

Only Bai Qiuyu's attention wasn't on the Dharma Image's identity; she exclaimed in astonishment, "This incense..."

Her junior sister Xuan Yu also received a considerable amount of incense offerings from running the Cat Immortal Hall, but the incense offerings before her were clearly different from ordinary merit incense offerings. Bai Qiuyu clearly sensed that the power and status of the incense offerings before her were much higher than ordinary incense offerings.

In the blink of an eye, the boundless power of incense, containing the faith and wishes of countless living beings and carrying the merits of preserving life, has already met the merciless heavenly fire with the power to burn mountains and boil seas!

Accompanied by the sounds of flames burning and wind raging, the image of the Goddess of Life Protection radiated boundless merit and brilliance.

In an instant, the raging flames and burning winds swept back. Anyone who didn't know better would have thought that the image of the Goddess of Life Protection was the burning ember, and the heavenly fire was the hand that touched the ember.

The fiery curtain in the sky dissipated, but the image of the Goddess of Life Protection remained for a moment before turning into shimmering specks of light and disappearing.

"No way, this can't be! How could this be?"

"Is this still the defiled and evil world? How could there be such a virtuous deity in the mortal realm?"

For a fleeting moment, Xin Yuan thought the great calamity had passed and the path to heaven had been opened. However, when he came to his senses, he was still that poor monk, poor in body and poor in Dharma, poor in every way.

Looking down at Chen Liuer, he was still that little kid with the candy figurine and bubbles coming out of his nose.

"I've never seen anything like this before!"

Xin Yuan subconsciously raised her hand, making a divination gesture.

He was extremely curious about who the owner of this Dharma image was.

However, as soon as he made a divination gesture, the female fortune teller beside him changed her expression drastically and said, "Wait! Wait a minute, wait until I'm far away before you do the divination!"

Bai Qiuyu had suffered the same fate. Back then, there was a huge stele of merit at the imperial mausoleum outside the capital that stood straight up into the sky and was stuck in the throat of the heavens during a tribulation!
She was curious at the time, and she did some calculations. But the lightning tribulation ended up hitting her head right afterward!

Having learned from past mistakes, Bai Qiuyu immediately reacted when she saw Xinyuan making a finger gesture.

Xin Yuan watched as the female fortune teller, who had run halfway out, turned back to pick up Chen Liuer, and then sprinted a hundred meters to the coffin shop, slamming the shop door shut behind her, remained silent for a long time.

His gaze hesitated, and his hand, which was about to make calculations, rose and then fell again.

Meanwhile, inside the coffin shop.

Bai Qiuyu put Chen Liuer down, wiped the non-existent sweat from her forehead, and said with relief, "Luckily, I ran fast."

Chen Liuer wasn't afraid of the female fortune teller who had abducted him. He looked curiously at the furnishings in the coffin shop and asked, "Does Aunt know the owner of the coffin shop?"

As Bai Qiuyu led the child into the courtyard, she replied, "You mean Xu Qing? Of course I know him; this coffin shop belongs to him."

"Then Auntie must know where he went!"

"I don't know. He has been away for almost a year, and even I don't know where he is."

As the two talked, they arrived at the backyard, where Daoist Yizhen was standing under the peach tree, looking at something.

Peach Sister sat on a peach tree branch, holding a book and looking down.

Bai Qiuyu held Chen Liuer's hand and said, "You play here for a while. Don't rush to find that monk, or you'll get into trouble."

Chen Liuer couldn't understand what the other person meant by "bad luck," as his attention was completely focused on the tea table under the peach tree.

On the tea table, there stood a tiny old lady, no bigger than the palm of your hand.

Ordinary people cannot detect the primordial spirit of the Abbot of Jingxu Temple. Bai Qiuyu did not pay attention to Chen Liuer's reaction. She looked at the little old woman with her brows furrowed and her little hands clenching, and felt a sense of unease.

Bai Qiuyu's heart was pounding. She asked Daoist Yizhen, "What is Senior Jingxu doing?"

Yizhen replied, "Master is performing divination."

Why use divination?

“Just now, a virtuous cultivator forced back the heavenly fire with immeasurable merit. Master was curious about his origins, so he consulted the oracle.”

"."

Bai Qiuyu's expression changed drastically. Just as she was about to speak, thunderclouds suddenly gathered above the coffin shop, and then a bolt of lightning suddenly struck down!
Finished!

Bai Qiuyu's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, was completely dead. She was determined that she could not escape the divine punishment of the Primordial Spirit True Person who had spied on the secrets of heaven.

At this moment, the instigator, Abbess Jingxu, also had a sudden change in expression. The lightning came without warning. She wanted to escape, but then she remembered the group of juniors beside her.

We cannot retreat! We have no choice but to fight!
However, at this critical juncture, a towering peach tree suddenly rose from the ground, its open canopy like a canopy, sheltering the entire coffin shop.

When the thunderclouds dissipated, Peach Sister was still shaken. She glared at the abbot of Jingxu Temple who had summoned the thunder and said angrily, "Why did you summon thunder? My 100,000 offerings and two years' salary are gone!"

Feeling guilty, the abbot of Jingxu Temple could only speak kindly and promise to make amends in the future, ensuring she wouldn't suffer any loss in vain. Only then did Tao Sanmei relent. However, it wasn't that Tao Sanmei had truly calmed down; rather, she suddenly remembered that the abbot before her was a Nascent Soul True Person.
Street corners and alleyways.

Unable to suppress his curiosity, the monk Xinyuan raised his hand to perform divination, but the next moment a thunderous explosion resounded from the coffin shop.

Monk Xinyuan's eyelids twitched. He saw the lightning, which was clearly fiery, and also the towering peach tree formed from the golden light of merit.

He silently withdrew his hand, which he had been trying to use for divination, and then strolled over to the coffin shop.

A knock sounded at the door, and soon the female fortune teller opened the shop door. Chen Liuer excitedly ran to the mad monk and started gesturing and talking.

When they heard the name "Little Old Woman," Monk Xinyuan was taken aback, and Bai Qiuyu was equally surprised.

This child is quite insightful; he was able to see the hidden primordial spirit of the Master of Jingxu Temple.

Monk Xinyuan muttered to himself, "Chen Liuer's description is exactly like that of a Yuan Shen Zhenren. How could there be so many talented people in this small town of Tianjin?"
"That thunder just now..."

The mad monk blinked and asked curiously.

"That was the little brat's calculation; it has nothing to do with me."

Bai Qiuyu's face was full of regret when she talked about the little boy.

She tried everything to guard against the monks, but she never expected that she couldn't guard against the old Taoist nun in the shop!
"Master, do you still want me to do a reading?"

Bai Qiuyu raised an eyebrow and asked.

"Alas! How could I, a monk, possess the ability to divine? I am merely a poor wandering monk, and I was just joking with you, Auntie."

"Speaking of which, Aunt, is there any food here? I am a monk who is not picky about meat or vegetables. I don't mind steamed buns, pickled vegetables, or fish and meat."

Bai Qiuyu glanced at the raving mad monk and said irritably, "There's no food, but there are plenty of coffins. Master, would you like some?"

"Oh dear! This monk doesn't have that kind of luck. He can't even handle half a mouthful, let alone a whole bite!"

After performing the ritual to deliver the remains of the Demon King Duo'e on the ancient Yin River Road, Xu Qing turned around and returned to the location of the Yin-Yang Boundary Marker.

He stood at the broken boundary marker, looking down at it.

The Yin-Yang Boundary Marker, which had been buried deep inside, was now completely exposed. Although the broken part of the marker was still missing, at least the base of the marker could be seen.

"This is... a turtle shell?"

In the giant pit that had been ravaged by the Ghost Realm, the Separation and Union Wind, and the Heavenly Gang Axe, a tortoise shell pattern with a radius of nearly twenty miles was revealed.

Xu Qing took out the tortoise shell used for divination and compared the two. In the exposed area in front of him, there was a diamond-shaped pattern every five miles, and these patterns were exactly the same as the cracks on the tortoise shell.

If the base under the boundary marker is indeed a tortoise shell, how big would that tortoise be?

It should be noted that the cracks in tortoise shells are mostly made up of five central pieces and four pieces on each side, which is twelve cracks in total.

"Sixty li"

Xu Qing then looked at the stone tablet that was completely exposed at his feet. Even though most of the stone tablet had been broken off and only the base remained, it was still over a hundred feet tall.

Legend has it that the dragon has nine sons, each with a different nature. During the time when King Yu was controlling the floods in ancient times, there was a beast in the East Sea named Bixi, who was the sixth son of the ancestral dragon.

It resembles a tortoise but has a dragon's head, a ferocious appearance, teeth like rows of halberds, and the strength to carry three mountains and five peaks.

Bixi is unruly and loves to stir up waves. He often carries the Three Mountains and Five Sacred Peaks to travel across rivers and seas, causing the rivers, seas and lakes to overflow, resulting in the suffering of living beings.

When King Yu was on a tour of inspection to the Si River, he saw dark clouds pressing down on the city, and floods raging to the sky. As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but suffering and despair.

King Yu felt sorry for Bixi, but at the same time he admired Bixi's ability to move mountains and fill seas. He thought that if he could subdue Bixi, he could not only save lives, but also reform Bixi and help control the floods.

Later, Bixi submitted and indeed assisted King Yu in dredging the nine rivers and connecting the four major waterways, thus quelling the floods and bringing peace to the people.

Yu remembered his merits, but feared that his wild nature would resurface and wreak havoc on the world, so he collected stones from Kunlun and carved celestial script on a stele, which he then used to weigh down the stele.

This stele weighs a tremendous weight. Although the Bixi (a mythical tortoise-like creature) possesses boundless divine power, it cannot move freely and can only lie prostrate beneath the stele, no longer causing harm.

Xu Qing was very familiar with the Bixi carrying a stele, as there were Bixi tombstones or Bixi tomb guardian beasts in the funeral industry.

Those guests from wealthy families mostly liked to use this stele.

In Xu Qing's memory, Yu Qian, a former Qing official who had stood up for Consort Xiang and appeared in the emperor's dream, lived in a bixi-shaped tomb after his death.

"Could the Deity's Tomb that the Heavenly Heart Sect is searching for be the location of this Bixi tombstone?"

Xu Qing's expression was strange.

This tombstone has existed in the Yin River for thousands of years and was once considered by people to be the boundary marker separating the Yin River from the mortal world. But who would have thought that such a conspicuous boundary marker, which is passed by countless ghostly cultivators every day, would be the tombstone of a god?

"If this is a tombstone, then the burial mound should be."

Xu Qing calculated the number and distance of the cracks on the tortoise shell, and finally his gaze fell on the bone temple where the exorcising deity was enshrined.

"I see!"

Xu Qing clapped his hands in amazement.

This feng shui arrangement is truly ingenious!

Suddenly, Xu Qing remembered something and abruptly turned his head to look in the direction of the Ghost King's Tomb.

"The Ghost King's Tomb is not far from here, which corresponds to the direction the bixi's head is facing."

In a short while, Xu Qing understood the details of the Yin-Yang Boundary Marker, and at the same time, he had more admiration for the Ghost King Duo'e.

His old neighbor was also very lucky; his mausoleum was built right on the turtle's head.

No wonder the Yin energy in the Ghost King's Tomb is so dense, and no wonder the Ghost King Duo'e has been able to stand in the Yin River for thousands of years without falling.

Having clarified the connection between the boundary marker, the royal tomb, and the Zhenjun Bone Temple, Xu Qing's confusion vanished instantly.

What follows is his own business.

He had chased after his neighbor's body all the way to Baisha River, and it took him a lot of effort to send him off.

At the same time, he also received a reward from the Salvation Sutra.

Xu Qing disappeared behind the boundary marker, and when he reappeared, he had arrived at the Eight Banners Marshal's residence.

He sat cross-legged in his tomb-style tent, tallying up the money he had earned from today's funeral procession.

A supernatural power of the underworld, ranking as a low-grade Heavenly rank.

A cauldron representing mountains, rivers, and the state, depicting the eight scenic spots of Yinshan: Ghost Gate Pass, Naihe Bridge, Stripping Pavilion, Looking Homeward Terrace, Evil Dog Ridge, Broken Money Mountain, Blood Pool, and Meng Po Post Station. It is ranked among the middle-grade Heavenly Rank and can refine all things.

It possessed a trace of imperial aura, but it wasn't the purple aura of an emperor; rather, it was a wisp of hazy, mysterious energy.

Just as there are emperors on earth, there are also emperors in the underworld.

This is a wisp of imperial fortune that resides in the underworld.

Xu Qing looked at the imperial aura, pondered for a moment, and then merged it into himself.

It is only a wisp of imperial fortune, which does not mean that he will become the emperor of the underworld. The greatest use of this wisp of fortune for him is that it is in perfect harmony with the supernatural powers of the ghost realm in the underworld.

With this wisp of imperial fortune, when he unleashes the power of the Yin Kingdom, he will possess a larger territory in the Ghost Realm, and his influence on those who enter the Ghost Realm will also be greater.

The Imperial Profound Qi is different from the Imperial Purple Qi that Xu Qing gave to Zhu Huai'an. The latter is only of the Human Grade, while the Imperial Profound Qi is of the Heaven Grade.

As soon as Xu Qingcai merged the profound energy into his own body, he noticed the ominous star above his head throbbing wildly.

The Emperor's fortune is in the underworld; the living are forbidden from living.

At the same time, the realms of Yin and Yang.

Ghost Law, the Eight Banners Marshal, the Yin Erosion Dharma King, and even the other twelve sect leaders and Nuo Immortal cultivators all looked up at the Yin River sky.

The Milky Way, where no stars or moon are ever seen, suddenly revealed a death omen star, which remained for several breaths before disappearing completely.

"The omen of death is about to move, and fate is about to change. It is hard to say whether it is good or bad."

In the mundane world.

Ordinary diviners can only perceive the changes of the Ziwei star, but not the changes of the Death Star. However, those with profound Taoist cultivation and those who are truly skilled in Taoist practices can detect the changes of this star, which is inherently obscure and unclear.

On the same day, the entire world was filled with thunder and lightning.

No one knows why there was so much thunder on this day; only the later record in the "Records of Disasters and Anomalies" states:
In the fourth month of summer in the eighth year of Jingxing, the celestial phenomena suddenly changed.

At that time, the sky was cloudless and the sun hung high in the sky. Suddenly, a thunderbolt fell from the heavens, and the sound of tearing silk reverberated throughout the surrounding area.

Its light was a mix of purple and white, like dragons and snakes leaping and bounding. From the capital region to the border towns, from the Yangtze River and Huai River region to Longyou region, strange thunder was seen on the same day, but no rain fell.

The Grand Historian Sima Qian said: This is a sign of the disorder of the celestial order, a confusion of yin and yang, truly a sign that Heaven is weary of the decline of virtue and prosperity.

(End of this chapter)