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

Chapter 321 Appetizer, Divine Relics
Ever since Xu Qing emerged from seclusion, he felt as if he had been starving for decades. He longed to suck the flesh from every skeleton ghost he encountered. Even if he couldn't scrape off many pieces of meat, just tasting a bit of meat would be wonderful.

Xu Qing understood his own condition. He wasn't truly bloodthirsty or hungry right now; bloodthirst was a zombie's instinct. The real reason he was hungry was due to the emptiness of his magical power.

After three years of cultivation, the day the great dragon of his spine took shape, he almost exhausted his magical power, but at the same time expanded the magical power that his body could contain, and even his cultivation level increased by nearly a hundred years.

When applied to a zombie, this lack of magical power manifests most directly as hunger.

So much so that Xu Qing's eyes lit up when he saw the patrolling skeleton soldiers in the camp.

Skeleton corpses are naturally tasteless when chewed, but the Yin Essence Pills obtained after the ritual are very effective at 'suppressing hunger'.

The patrolling skeleton soldiers felt a chill run down their spines. Even though they had transformed into ghosts, they still inexplicably felt that something unclean was wandering around nearby.
Xu Qing urged himself to use the Immovable Technique to eliminate all distracting thoughts.

Even so, upon seeing the imposing golden armor and skull of the Eight Banners Marshal, Xu Qing couldn't help but reveal an 'appreciative' look.

The method of immobility can suppress evil thoughts, but it cannot suppress a person's heartfelt love for something.

Faced with a perfect corpse comparable to the Ghost King's neighbor, who could remain unmoved?
The Eight Banners Marshal was used to it; every time Lord Xu saw him, he always had the same expression. Even if the other party tried to hide it, the appreciation in his eyes could not be concealed.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have discussed the deal with Xu Qing to save Zuo Zixiong's life and allow him to leave Yinhe safely.

Deep down, the Eight Banners Marshal always felt that from the moment he met Xu Qing, or from the moment Xu Qing saw him, he had already lost something.

Besides Xu Qing, who hadn't touched a corpse in three years and was starving, the Eight Banners Marshal also noticed Jin Luan beside him, whose eyes were also green and who had lost weight.

The marshal was deeply moved that even a bird could be so loyal, and that it had become so haggard from worrying so much while its master was in seclusion.
However, just as the Eight Banners Marshal was bowing his head and exchanging pleasantries with Xu Qing, the golden rooster with its eyes glowing green suddenly attacked, flapping its wings and pecking at the Marshal's neck!
Xu Qing reacted quickly, pulling the suddenly frantic Jin Luan back down before the Eight Banners Marshal could make a move.

"This chicken."

The marshal's eyes blazed with ghostly fire. All ghosts despise roosters, let alone a chicken spirit with a certain level of cultivation and overflowing with scorching yang energy.

If it weren't for Xu Qing's sake, the Eight Banners Marshal wouldn't have made an exception to let Jinluan into the military camp. Even so, the two agreed on three rules: the golden rooster could enter the camp, but it must not crow, and it must not do anything like leading ghosts away or wandering around.

Xu Qing squinted at Jin Luan, who shrank her neck and stood still obediently.

"Marshal, please don't be offended. My chicken is a bit unusual; perhaps it has seen something extraordinary."

"Something unusual?"

Xu Qing nodded, and at the same time activated his Qi Observation Technique, but he couldn't detect anything unusual about the Eight Banners Marshal.

He thought for a moment and said, "If the Marshal trusts me, he can let Jinluan and the Marshal take a look."

The Eight Banners Marshal remained silent. Although the Xu official in front of him was ostensibly the military doctor he had hired, he had never actually practiced medicine. His daily work consisted mainly of collecting the remains of fallen soldiers.

Xu Qing held the impatient Jin Luan in one hand, always smiling as he looked at the Eight Banners Marshal. He even had time to take out two walnuts that had been polished by Xuan Yu and play with them.

Asking a rooster to treat a ghost, especially such a large rooster, is no different from an old Chinese medicine doctor wielding a large cleaver to perform craniotomy on Emperor Wu of Wei.

After a moment of silence, the Eight Banners Marshal sat down in front of the tombstone and said, "Lord Xu is a military doctor. If I don't trust Lord Xu, who can I trust? Today, I will also undergo bone-scraping treatment."

"You golden rooster, go ahead and do as you please!"

Xu Qing released the golden phoenix, and in the next instant, the chicken, as if it had been kept in a separate coop for several years and suddenly saw a pretty little hen, rode on the neck of the Eight Banners Marshal and began to peck.

The ghostly light in the Eight Banners Marshal's eyes flickered, and all the soldiers around him cast strange glances at him.

Only Xu Qing frowned slightly, quietly watching Jin Luan tap back and forth on the neck bone of the Eight Banners Marshal like a woodpecker.

After each few pecks, the chicken would lean in close and listen intently.

The Eight Banners Marshal was on the verge of exploding with rage, but the young man in front of him was calmly playing with walnuts, completely unconcerned about his life or death.

In Xu Qing's eyes, the cemetery was filled with dead people, so no matter how Jin Luan tried to heal them, things couldn't get much worse. On the contrary, if Jin Luan could actually bring people back to life, he would feel a sense of unease and fear.

Xu Qing realized that his own cognition was changing silently and was gradually transforming into the thinking unique to zombies.

The living fear death, but he fears the day he might suddenly come back to life.

"too frightening!"

Xu Qing patted his chest, as if he had thought of something extremely terrifying.

The Eight Banners Marshal felt a chill run down his spine. He was about to ask what was so terrible, whether he really had a terminal illness.
The next moment, he felt a strange sensation on the back of his neck, as if his soul was being extracted.

Xu Qing narrowed his eyes and saw a 'worm' about the thickness of a fingertip and a foot long being pulled out from the back of the neck of the golden-armored general in front of him!
Before Xu Qing could speak, Jin Luan had already tilted her head back and swallowed the worm as if she were sucking up noodles.

Not content with just eating the Gu worms, the Golden Phoenix lowered its head and pecked repeatedly with a series of "bang bang bang" sounds. Compared to the previous half-minute of empty air, this time it was able to peck out silkworm eggs the size of silkworm cocoons from the crevices of the bones almost every time.

As the last insect egg was swallowed into its crop, Jinluan, like a diner who dine and dashed, jumped off the Eight Banners Marshal and went straight to Xu Qing's side without looking back.

Although the appetizer was small, it was truly appetizing.

Jinluan now truly believed Xu Qing's offer to take it out to a restaurant.

Xu Qing opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say.

He never expected that fast food would be delivered to his door as soon as he left the cemetery.

The Eight Banners Marshal twisted his neck and felt refreshed.

However, the next moment his face darkened and he said, "When they were fighting in the mortal world, Nan Cuo was used to these underhanded and vicious methods. Now, so many years have passed, and even in the Netherworld, this Yin Shi Dharma King is still the same, resorting to childish tricks. It's truly laughable!"

When the Eight Banners Marshal was on a southern expedition, he died from the Yin Shi Fa Wang's Tong Sheng Gu curse.

Therefore, he has always deeply hated Gu worms. Now that he has transformed into a skeleton ghost, he thought he would no longer be harmed by Gu worms, but he never expected that there are Gu worms in this world that can restrain ghosts.

"Putting aside personal grudges, what do you think of the Yin Shi Fa Wang's use of Gu poison?"

"For example, could a ghost cultivator like the Ghost King Duo'e, whose bones are as hard as diamond and jade marrow, possibly deal with him?"

Aside from the Ghost King Duo'e, Xu Qing had never dealt with any other powerful 'overlords' who dominated the Yinhe Ancient Road. Now, his old neighbor, the Ghost King Duo'e, had become the obvious tool for measuring the strength of the other neighbors.

After a moment of contemplation, the Eight Banners Marshal said in a low voice, "In terms of using Gu poison, the Nan Cuo family is the best in the entire mortal world."

"And in these hundreds of years, when it comes to who is most skilled in using Gu, the Nan Chuo people regard the great witch Yin Shi Po Nan as the most respected."

"As for the Ghost King Duo'e, although he has fought with me, he has never revealed his true strength. However, in my opinion, the Ghost King Duo'e is the ghost cultivator who is most deeply hidden and has the highest cultivation in the Yin River. Otherwise, how could he have existed in the Yin River for thousands of years?"

"But now it seems that I was narrow-minded and underestimated the Yin River."

Xu Qing raised an eyebrow and asked, "What makes you so sure, Marshal?"

Even the usually fearless Eight Banners marshals showed some apprehension.

"Lord Xu has remained secluded at home, so he probably doesn't know that the Demon King Duo'e has been eliminated by a master!" "My scouts have gathered intelligence on the Dry Bone Post Station. Rumor has it that the master who slew the Demon King is a righteous cultivator from the mortal world. His cultivation is profound, and he is probably close to the Nascent Soul realm."

"."

"so smart?"

“Extremely impressive! The situation in the Yinhe River is currently turbulent and unpredictable. We do not yet know the purpose of that expert. Lord Xu, if you do not have any urgent business, please try to stay in the camp and do not go out alone, in case of any unforeseen circumstances!”

"Tsk, that's terrifying!"

"Lord Xu, there is no need to panic. As long as I and the soldiers are here, we will surely ensure your safety!"

Xu Qing breathed a sigh of relief.

According to the Eight Banners Marshal, the Yin Shi Fa Wang was not difficult to deal with.

He glanced at the golden rooster beside him; the golden phoenix, having finally eaten meat, was clearly in much better spirits.

Xu Qing felt that with today's meal as a foundation, he could at least keep the golden rooster willingly following him for another three years.

"By the way, I haven't thanked Lord Xu yet."

The equally tall Eight Banners marshal rose and bowed deeply to Xu Qing.

Xu Qing readily accepted the gift on Jin Luan's behalf.

This gesture of respect is not excessive.

Without the Golden Phoenix, which has an innate ability to restrain insects, these Gu worms, which can devour the power of their host and continuously strengthen themselves, would eventually drain the body of the Eight Banners Marshal and at the same time erode the fortune of the Great Yong Dynasty connected to the Yin River.

The Gu worms that managed to remain undetected by the Eight Banners marshals must have an extraordinary origin. It's unknown what price the Yin-Erosion Dharma King paid to achieve this, but unfortunately, he encountered the Golden Phoenix.
After bowing, the Eight Banners Marshal laughed and said, "I was wondering the other day why that Yin Shi Fa Wang was suddenly so brave and dared to fight me to the death. It turns out he wanted to put the Gu worm on me."

Upon hearing this, Jinluan suddenly became excited again and shouted at the Eight Banners Marshal.

"This chicken... could it be that the Gu worms on my body haven't been completely cleaned out yet?"

The Eight Banners Marshal was filled with doubt and uncertainty.

"Marshal, you're overthinking it." Xu Qing glanced at Jin Luan and said calmly, "This chicken just wants the Marshal to work harder and engage in more close combat with Yin Shi Fa Wang so that it can have an endless supply of worms to eat."

Jinluan looked at the Eight Banners Marshal with expectant eyes, as if he were looking at his own rice bowl.

"."

The Eight Banners Marshal looked at the two chickens and the young man in front of him, both of whom were drooling over his body, and he didn't know what to say.

Chickens love to eat insects, which is understandable, but Xu Qing's purpose...
The Eight Banners Marshal shook his head. As long as Xu Qing was willing to stand on the side of Dayong and oppose Yin Shi Fa Wang, he would be a comrade-in-arms. As for his future purpose, it was not important at the moment.

"Speaking of which, what about the chickens that Lord Xu raises?"

The Eight Banners Marshal suppressed his thoughts and instead inquired about Jinluan's origins.

Xu Qing smiled. He knew the Eight Banners Marshal's intentions and the methods of the Yin Shi Fa Wang.

"Does the Marshal intend to use the Golden Rooster's power to deal with the Yin-Eroding Dharma King's Gu worms?"

"If we could get this help, that would be wonderful!"

The Eight Banners Marshal frankly stated his intentions.

Xu Qing feigned hesitation, and after a moment nodded in agreement, saying, "I can lend the Marshal a hand, but there's one thing I must make clear: this golden rooster is raised by a friend, and whatever I do, I must ensure its safety first."

"I understand. I would be extremely grateful if Lord Xu would lend a helping hand."

"I have known the Marshal for many years. We are close friends, if not intimate confidants. Helping each other with a small favor is nothing."

Xu Qing had originally planned to use Jin Luan as a trump card to deal with Yin Shi Fa Wang.

The true form of the Yin Shi Dharma King was formed by the fusion of the remains of the Pangzan Dharma King and the great witch Yin Shi Po Nan after their deaths.

The two are androgynous; the Dharma King is skilled in killing, while Phra Ngang is skilled in controlling Gu. When they are together, they make up for the Gu Master's weakness in close combat, while also increasing the Dharma King's means of combat on the battlefield.

It was precisely this kind of perplexing change that allowed the Yin Shi Fa Wang and the Eight Banners Marshal to remain enemies for hundreds of years without ever being defeated or killed.

Xu Qing had already planned to seek cooperation with the Eight Banners Marshals.

The Yin Shi Fa Wang's ghost soldiers and Yin troops were of great use to him, especially after he learned that refining the remaining main bones would require two corpses no less powerful than the Duo E Ghost King, Xu Qing became even more interested in the Yin Shi Fa Wang.

Now, before he even came to the door, the Eight Banners Marshal took the initiative to ask for cooperation, which was exactly what Xu Qing wanted.

"By the way, Lord Xu, I haven't seen General Zuo for a long time. I wonder if he is doing well?"

"All is well! Everything is perfectly safe!"

Xu Qing spoke with certainty.

Zuo Zixiong is currently lying in the coffin of immortality, sleeping like a child. How could he be at peace?

"Lord Xu is truly a man of integrity!"

"Hey, we're all neighbors, it's what we should do."

"Neighbors?" the Eight Banners Marshal asked in confusion.

Xu Qing laughed and said, "The so-called separation between Yin and Yang means that although the mortal world and the Yin River are separated by a distance that mortals cannot cross, they have always been adjacent, just like the living and the dead. They seem to be incompatible, but in fact they are only a step away. If you really think about it, aren't they just neighbors?"

“Excellent, that is very insightful.”

"I originally thought that the secular world was becoming increasingly distant from me, but Lord Xu's words have cleared the clouds and brought me much joy."

The Eight Banners Marshal was still pleased with himself, unaware that the last person Xu Qing regarded as a neighbor had already turned into a pile of rotten bones.

After meeting the Eight Banners Marshal, Xu Qing sought out scouts in the army to inquire about news of the Yin River.

He had not left seclusion for three years, and he thought that the disappearance of the Ghost King Duo'e would have a great impact on the outside world, but he never expected that the overall layout of the entrance to the Yin River would not have changed much.

With the backing of the Ghost Law, even if others knew that he had been defeated and killed, not a single ghost dared to rashly invade the Ghost King's Tomb.

Aside from the Ghost King's Tomb, the only change that Xu Qing cared about was the movements of Ji Lingzhou of the Cangyi Group and Han Renshan, the Holy Master of the Tianxin Sect, as well as news about the divine relics.

(End of this chapter)