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

Chapter 330 The Fatty's Strength Unleashed, Three Years After Three Years

"Mirror of the Underworld, tell me, who is the kindest person in the world?"

"Alas! Is there anyone in this world more benevolent than Master Xu? This word 'benevolence' was written for you, Master Xu!"

In the Eight Banners Marshal's camp, Xu Qing took out a mirror that could reflect the good and evil deeds of corpses in life and posed a soul-searching question.

After getting the answer he wanted, Xu Qing turned to the golden rooster beside him and said, "Did you hear that? Even the Mirror of Good and Evil says I'm a great philanthropist. Would a philanthropist like me lie to you?"

The golden phoenix glanced back and forth between the Netherworld Mirror and Xu Qing, but when it saw the young man's serious expression, it became confused.

Could it be that it miscalculated the dates, and that in the Yinhe River, these three years followed by three more years, only six months had actually passed?

Xu Qing was still comforting Jin Luan.

"As the Grand Master of the Cat Immortal Hall, I always keep my word. We agreed on a year, so we have to wait until the agreed-upon period is over before going back, right?"

"Besides, I'm going to take you out to eat in a few days. There will be an endless supply of insects. Are you really willing to give up this six-month wait?"

Jinluan shook her head.

"That's settled then! You can eat these few bushels of rice first. As the old saying goes, 'No pain, no gain.' Once we've finished the rice we brought, we'll go out to eat at a restaurant!"

Jin Luan's eyes lit up, and she asked Xu Qing, "How much rice do you have left?"

Xu Qing smiled and said, "Not much, just a dozen or so shi of food."

Yes, over ten thousand shi (a unit of dry measure).

"Really?"

"I'm a great philanthropist, would I lie to you? Mirror, mirror, do you think I would lie?"

The Mirror of Good and Evil fell silent. Xu Qing was a good person, which it could admit, but whether he was a fraud remained to be seen.
However, Mingjing could not bring himself to say anything that went against his conscience.

As Xu Qing walked out of the cemetery, he looked at the pitted and uneven ancient road leading to the stele forest in the distance.

In the past two or three years, the clashes between the Yin Shi Dharma King and the Eight Banners Marshal have become more and more frequent. Xu Qing returned to Tianjin midway and also gathered some information through the Kugu Post Station.

Zhu Huai'an's Beixiang Army had already entered the pass, and following Xu Qing's teachings, before entering the pass, they successively gathered Shuozhou, Liaodong, Hetao and other places, while resisting foreign enemies in the north. After severely damaging the Gu Liao, Edu and Beiqiu tribes, the Beixiang Army turned its swords towards the pass.

Prior to this, Zhu Huai'an had never claimed the title of king, and had always claimed to be guarding the northern frontier and defending the border towns.

At that time, Jingzhou in the south was in turmoil. The Dayong court was hesitant and indecisive. Emperor Jingxing could only subdue the rest of the wolves by eliminating one tiger first.

The military governors led by Zhu Huaian in the northern frontier were far less aggressive than the rebel army in Jingzhou. In fact, after these military governors were united, they still expended their own energy to provoke foreign enemies. With such a clear contrast between the two forces, it seemed that it was already clear who was the tiger and who was the wolf.

Furthermore, with the mysterious disappearance of Ji Lingzhou, the leader of the Cangyi Army, the Cangyi Army in Jingzhou was leaderless, and the Dayong Army, which had previously suffered more defeats than victories, suddenly achieved successive victories.

Emperor Jingxing suddenly felt that he was capable again!
During this period, the old emperor even sent envoys to the northern frontier to negotiate with the Beixiang Army, seemingly believing that the Beixiang Army could also be used by him under the drive of interests.

However, the court officials were even more worried upon seeing this, for their emperor did not even know the name of the commander-in-chief of the Northern Xiang Army.

Zhu Yong was executed.

Just based on the name alone, it should be considered a major threat.

Not to mention the rumors that the Crown Prince of Changting had fled to the north in his early years, and now many border vassal states have suddenly been unified by a man named Zhu Yong. Who dares to say that there is no connection between them?
If what they think is true, this crouching tiger, dwelling on the spine of Dayong and never baring its teeth, is more like a sword hanging over their heads. It's just waiting for the day when the tiger, lying in wait, has accumulated enough strength, to twist its waist and unleash its true ferocity!
Over the years, Emperor Jingxing has received many memorials in his court concerning the prevention and control of the "tiger menace." Do you really think he was unaware of the dangers of neglecting the northern regions?

I know! But there's nothing we can do. The national treasury has been squandered for years, and what's left is barely enough to deal with the southern rebellion. If we were to go to war with the Beixiang Army, it would be as if the Great Yong Dynasty hadn't fallen fast enough!
Moreover, he had his fortune told at the Celestial Master's Mansion, and the Celestial Master Renlu was very accurate in his calculations, saying that his Great Yong Dynasty still had at least thirty more years of national fortune.

The Director of the Imperial Observatory, who was well-versed in the principles of divination and celestial phenomena, also said the same thing: barring any unforeseen circumstances, the Great Yong Dynasty would surely have another thirty years of rule. During this period, no matter how fierce the rebels and traitors were, they would inevitably suffer divine retribution, just like the treacherous usurpers who established the new dynasty.

This is the will of Heaven. As long as the fate of the Great Yong Dynasty does not end, even if only the capital remains, there will be various rebels and rioters fighting and killing each other outside, leaving the Great Yong Dynasty a space to survive.

Thirty years. Emperor Jingxing is now in his seventies. In thirty years, he will be old and gray. Regardless of whether he can live to see that time, he will be satisfied as long as he can sit firmly in the Great Buddha Hall in the meantime.

He's over seventy years old, what's the point of striving anymore?
His children and grandchildren couldn't wait for Emperor Jingxing to die, but there was nothing they could do. The Celestial Master of the People's Village had said that the current emperor was a long-lived ruler, and who knew if the emperor would still be alive even after his son died!
Today, the once shrewd and unassuming northern tiger has finally turned its sword towards the interior. On the very day it entered the interior, the great dragon of the nation's destiny, which had been hovering over the capital of the Great Yong Dynasty, suddenly let out a long cry as a warning.

The ancient, aged dragon's roar was inaudible to ordinary people, but those who were knowledgeable in esoteric arts or possessed supernatural abilities heard this startling cry.

That day, Emperor Jingxing dreamt of being surrounded by a vicious tiger. When he woke up, he realized that the sleeping tiger behind him had already awakened.

The ancient Yinhe River Road.

King Yinshi, who had also noticed something amiss with the Great Dragon of the Great Yong Kingdom's fortune, finally stopped holding back.

In the past two or three years, Xu Qing has collected nearly half of the corpses of the two armies, and he would occasionally take those corpses to bother the Exorcist True Lord in the Bone Temple.

The True Lord exhausted himself preparing for the extermination of the demons every day, while Xu Qing was always cheerful, like a farmer who had a bountiful harvest. Every few days, he would bring hundreds or thousands of corpses to the Bone Temple to bury them.

Xu Qing didn't hide anything from the other party; the Yin energy under that bone temple was much denser than in other places, and its efficiency in cultivating ghost soldiers and generals was far greater than before.

The exorcist master repeatedly tried to persuade him, fearing that he might go astray.

However, Xu Qing said:
“In chaotic times, how can any egg remain intact? If I do not learn unorthodox methods, I will be like a candle in the dark night, or a good tree in a withered forest. All kinds of evil winds will come to me and blow on me.”

"Furthermore, does the True Lord not also practice ghost magic and supernatural powers?"

"In this turbid world, only by blending in with the world can one survive."

The exorcist master's final reply was simply: "I hope you're not one of them."

Xu Qing ran back and forth. During this time, the Exorcist True Lord wanted to teach him the Ghost-Slaying Sword Technique, but when he saw the Mysterious Maiden Sword Technique that Xu Qing displayed, the True Lord fell completely silent.

"Who taught you this sword technique?"

"A shameless old monkey."

"An old monkey?" the Exorcist Lord asked, puzzled.

"He was a white ape who guarded the Heavenly Book. He called himself Lord Yuan. I learned this sword technique from him at a great cost."

At this point, Xu Qing suddenly asked the red-robed giant, "The old female fox suppressed in the White Cloud Cave has a grudge against me. Before dealing with the Ghost Law, could you please get rid of that fox demon for me?"

"Lord Yuan, it was him!"

The Exorcist True Lord didn't respond to Xu Qing's words, but instead frowned in thought: "Master Yuan is a disciple of the Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden. Why would he pass on such sword techniques and supernatural powers to you for no reason? Could it be that he wants you to eliminate the Heavenly Fox in White Cloud Cave for him?" "That's right! The Heavenly Fox is suppressed in White Cloud Cave by the Heavenly Emperor. How could you have become its enemy? It seems that Master Yuan has ulterior motives and wants to use you as a pawn to deal with the Heavenly Fox. Is that right or wrong?"

Xu Qing glanced at the Exorcist True Lord and said irritably, "The way you're saying that makes it sound like some True Lord in the Bone Temple also wants to use me to deal with the Ghost Law. Would you say that counts as having ulterior motives?"

The Exorcist Master chuckled and said, "These things can't be confused. You care about the safety of Tianjin, and dealing with Ghost Law is protecting Tianjin. How can you say that we are using each other? Saying we are like-minded is more plausible."

"Shared ideals?"

Xu Qing clicked his tongue and said, "That's great. If True Lord helps me out and gets rid of that Heavenly Fox, then I can focus all my energy on dealing with the Ghost Law."

The Exorcist True Lord shook his head and said, "That Heavenly Fox cultivates the Nine Heavens Secret Techniques and is skilled in using the seventy-two types of Earthly Fiend Divine Powers. It is not afraid of ordinary ghost-slaying divine powers. In terms of cultivation, it is no weaker than me. Moreover, the White Cloud Cave is still sealed by the Heavenly Emperor. If we want to get rid of it, we must first break the restriction."

"But what if, after breaking the seal, I unfortunately fail to kill the Heavenly Fox and it escapes? Wouldn't you then have to hide every day to avoid being found by that vengeful Heavenly Fox?"

Xu Qing curled his lip and said, "You immortals and gods, all you do is leave behind a mess. If you can't clean it up, you just call it 'a calamity' and say that it's waiting for someone destined to face it to break it."

"Isn't this just playing with idiots? So, those destined for calamity are meant to be mocked by you?"

The Demon Exorcist's face was dark red, and he said in a muffled voice, "I have absolutely no such intention. If there were no other people available, why would I force someone to do something against their will?"

"Furthermore, even if you insist on leaving now, can I force you to stay?"

The Exorcist Lord walked to his altar, looked up at the statue that had once been worshipped by the people, and continued:

"But I know you won't abandon Tianjin. After this matter, I don't know how to thank you enough. If possible, after I pass away, I will give you all my worldly possessions!"

Xu Qing understood what the Exorcist Lord was talking about; it was nothing more than the divine treasures left behind by the Exorcist Lord, those magical artifacts belonging to him.

"I have no use for your demon-slaying magic weapons. At most, I will keep them for you and return them to you when your calamities are over."

Xu Qing was telling the truth. His zombie body wasn't afraid of ghosts, and he was very humane when killing people, always wanting to leave them with a complete corpse. If the items from the Exorcist True Lord were given to someone dedicated to exorcising demons and ghosts, they might still be useful, but keeping them for him wouldn't really make much sense.

As the two were talking, a series of explosions suddenly came from outside the Bone Temple.

Xu Qing looked up and saw that in the distance, the cold wind was blowing backward, and all kinds of energy were mixed together. Even the ghost soldiers of the Dry Bone Station scattered like birds and beasts in an instant.

The Exorcist Lord raised an eyebrow: "Is this the direction you came from? Aren't you going to take a look?"

Xu Qing nodded and said, "It's the location of the Eight Banners Marshals' tombs. This commotion... perhaps that Yin Shi Fa Wang has come knocking again?"

"No rush, let me deal with the remains here first, then I'll go and inspect them."

Xu Qing remained calm and unhurried. After burying hundreds of skeletons under the Bone Temple and collecting all the ripe fruits of the Mad General, he returned to the battle formation.

Xu Qing had long been accustomed to the constant fighting between the two armies over the past few years. In the past, it was nothing more than a battle between ghost generals and ghost soldiers. At most, the Eight Banners Marshal and the Yin Shi Fa Wang would fight each other as generals, and there would never be a general intervening in the battle between soldiers.

But once such a thing happens, it means that the two armies have reached the point where they must fight to the death.

But when Xu Qing returned to the cemetery and arrived at the army camp, he found that the entire cemetery had been ransacked, exposing the mass grave hidden underground.

Sensing the fluctuations in energy emanating from the mass grave, Xu Qing's expression suddenly turned serious.

This is the aura of the Yin-Erosion Dharma King. Looking into the pit, there are no fewer than a thousand corpses of ghost soldiers lying there.

The Shadow King broke the long-standing tacit agreement between the two armies.

Xu Qing commanded the paper figures of the straw spirits to collect the corpses from the mass grave, while he himself moved to the front of the two armies.

At this moment, a menacing aura surged in front of the tombs of the Eight Banners marshals.

Both armies were filled with murderous intent.

Xu Qing looked around and saw skeleton cavalry under the command of the Eight Banners Marshal, arrayed in a strict formation.

The Eight Banners Marshal, wearing a helmet and heavy armor, rode a skull-adorned steed with a dragon symbolizing good fortune coiled above its back, standing at the forefront of the battle with his spear held horizontally.

However, the dragon of fortune was clearly not as majestic as before.

"That chubby kid really knows how to pick his timing."

Xu Qing shook his head helplessly.

Directly opposite, in the witch soldier camp.

The Yin Shi Dharma King, with two heads and four arms, and being both male and female, floated in the dark clouds, looking down at the golden-armored marshal before him.

The male figure beside the Dharma King, with his bushy beard and angry eyes, gripped an iron mace covered with "soul-resolving artifacts" in one hand and wielded a large axe forged from Shouyang stone in the other. Every move he made exuded the heavy aura unique to the wild land.

The female form Yin Shi Po Nan is a beautiful woman with a powdered face and a skull-like appearance. She shakes a flute with an insect drum in one hand, and whimpers to summon poisonous insects like dark clouds, lifting herself up on the 'clouds'.

Holding the Yin Erosion Banner in his other hand, the skeleton shook its hand, and a black and red moon formed by Gu worms rose up.

If you don't look closely, you might mistake it for a dark wind blowing through the clouds, revealing a full moon.

But in reality, the Gu clouds and insect moons covered the sky above the Yin River.

When Xu Qing arrived at the front of the battle, he found many skeleton ghost soldiers' corpses there, indicating that the two armies had clashed more than once in a short period of time.

Jin Luan, who was hiding somewhere, rushed to Xu Qing as if she had met a relative the moment she saw him.

Judging from his still-shaken appearance, he was clearly quite frightened by the commotion before him.

Jin Luan kept muttering to herself, wanting to escape with Xu Qing!
"Look at your cowardice! A restaurant is right in front of you, and you're thinking of running away?"

"A restaurant? Where?"

Jinluan, whose view was blocked by the army, had not yet noticed the insect clouds and insect moon in the distance.

Xu Qing raised his chin, his gaze falling on the dark clouds in front of the battle.

"See those two ghosts, a male and a female, pledging their love in broad daylight? That's the cook who prepares your meals. If you want an endless supply of insects, just go to them!"

(End of this chapter)