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

Chapter 339 The Flowing Light of White Bones Temple: Seven Years to Forge the Foundation of Dao

A kind heart cannot command an army, sentimentality cannot accomplish anything, righteousness cannot manage finances, and benevolence cannot make one an official.

The Eight Banners Marshal was not benevolent or particularly kind throughout his life; the only qualities he possessed were loyalty and righteousness.

Xu Qing arrived at the Bone Temple. The Exorcist True Lord looked at the paper coffin that had been carried in and asked curiously:
"What is this coffin?"

Xu Qing snapped his fingers, and the paper coffin spontaneously combusted without wind, revealing a huge corpse sitting inside with its head bowed.

"Is that the marshal from the mortal realm? It seems the secular world is about to usher in a new dynasty."

Having lived in the Yin River for a thousand years, the Demon Exorcist Lord seemed to have long been accustomed to such things; the changing of dynasties in the human world was probably no different from the alternation of the sun and moon to him.

Xu Qing laughed and said, "If True Lord ever returns, I can also lose money to gain publicity and give you a free ride in a 64-person convoy, so that True Lord can also have a moment of glory."

Seeing Xu Qing's expression that said "you got a great deal," the Exorcist Lord wondered if he should thank him.

"In life, one is all alone; in death, one is nothing but this body. No matter how glorious one may be, one is nothing but dust to dust, ashes to ashes; one comes into this world empty-handed and goes empty-handed."

Life and death are of no great importance. The Demon Exorcist Lord is not even afraid of death, so he naturally sees things more clearly than ordinary people.

Xu Qing smiled wryly. Perhaps this was the reason why the other party was favored by the King of Hell.

The Exorcist True Lord stared at the remains of the Eight Banners Marshal for a moment and said, "These remains are quite a good meditation target. It would be a pity if you just buried them here."

"Visualization stance?" Xu Qing raised an eyebrow.

The burly man in the red robe hesitated for a moment, then took out a scroll of paintings from his sleeve and said:
"This is a painting of Zhong Kui catching ghosts. It was commissioned by Emperor Dezong and made by Dao Xuan. It was later burned in the sky and I obtained it."

"This painting is an excellent meditative image. You can use this image to sit and meditate on the skeleton. If you achieve something, your spirit will be forever strong."

Xu Qing took the authentic work by Dao Xuan and glanced at it. It was indeed lifelike. Even he, who had surpassed the most skilled painters in the area, could never have created such a painting.

A master painter of his generation, truly deserving of the title!

"This painting possesses spiritual power. I have carried it with me for many years and have also mastered the art of refining it. If an ordinary person obtains it, they will be immune to ghostly magic and evil spirits. If it is hung in a residence, demons will retreat and the house will be peaceful."

Xu Qing subconsciously pursed his lips. He wanted a haunted house. If the house wasn't haunted, he wouldn't want to live there!

The Exorcist Lord, with his keen eyes and ears, noticed Xu Qing's disdainful gesture and his eyelids twitched, feeling greatly displeased.

Countless people have wanted this ghost-catching picture, but he never gave it to them. Now that he's offering it to you on his own initiative, you're complaining!
Zhenjun recalled the time when the other party kicked his Demon-Slaying Sword like a ball at the Yin-Yang Boundary Marker.

"If you don't want it, just give it to me. I'll take it and find someone else who is destined to give it to me, and that will be the same." The True Lord was somewhat annoyed.

"Of course I'll accept it. It's a small gift but carries great meaning; it's a token of the True Lord's goodwill."

Xu Qing immediately pocketed the ghost-catching scroll.

You call this a small gift?

The Demon Exorcist's already dark face became even darker at this moment.

If it weren't for the grand plan of slaying demons, he really wanted to fry this young man in oil to see if he was lighter or heavier after draining the oil!

The underground ghost cave.

At the same three-way intersection, Xu Qing chose the tomb where the Rakshasa demon was located.

He had already wiped out the Yin energy and evil spirits inside the Five Plague Ghost Tomb, but the evil spirits remained in the left passageway.

Xu Qing felt that he was like a cleaner in some ways, going wherever there was filth and filtering out all evil and turbidity wherever he went.

"A painting depicting ghosts, a view of white bones."

Inside the tomb, Xu Qing took out the Zhong Kui catching ghost picture and meditated on it for several days. Finally, he comprehended a visualization method from it.

"To guess people's hearts before they die, and to observe their bones after they die, is the method of ghosts and gods: the observation of bones."

Xu Qing looked at the remains of the Eight Banners marshal.

When a person sheds their skin, they are nothing more than 206 bones, blood, flesh, dirt, hair, and intestines; but when they put on clothes, they can have 18,000 different appearances.

The so-called beautiful face is nothing but a bloodstained skull, and the gorgeous red makeup is nothing but a murderous knife.

Xu Qing gazed at the white bones, contemplating the spirits and deities. He saw beyond the surface to the inner essence, recognizing the robust and muscular appearance of the Eight Banners Marshal in his lifetime. He also saw the radiant light emanating from the white bones, like a piece of bright jade.

There is no self, no person, no sentient being, and no life span.
Xu Qing, who has collected tens of thousands of skeletons on the Yinhe Ancient Road, has made far greater progress in his visualization of the White Bone Temple than ordinary people!

Even for those with extraordinary comprehension, it would take at least several years to progress from the contemplation of impurity to the contemplation of white bones. To reach the contemplation of white bones regenerating flesh would require at least ten years, while the ultimate state of the contemplation of white bones radiating light could only be comprehended by those with divine comprehension!
Xu Qing came from the funeral industry and was used to seeing life and death. Now, in just a few days, he had achieved a state of perfect harmony with the bone structure and cultivated the radiance of the white bones to a state of complete unity.

"The bones are in harmony and flow smoothly; the gift from the Exorcist Lord is truly substantial."

Xu Qingzhi was aiming for perfection and had been dedicated to refining all 206 bones in his body. Although almost all of these bones had reached the state of indestructibility, he had not yet achieved a state of perfect unity between his spirit and his flesh.

Simply put, the speed at which the cultivation of the Undying Bone technique exceeded the original level of mental control, failing to achieve unification.

Now, Xu Qing's mind is perfectly at peace, and his body, though seemingly indestructible, is in harmony with his spirit, achieving a state of unity.

"So this is what a perfect feeling is."

Xu Qing sensed a glimmer of an opportunity to transcend the flying zombie and anchor himself against the Kui Ba.

Kuiba is a type of being transformed from the exhaustion of divine power of celestial beings, born as a demon.

For example, Nüba was transformed from the Heavenly Maiden Guixu. She had red hair and wore green clothes. Wherever she went, the land turned red for thousands of miles.

Another type is zombie cultivation, which is a transformation of corpse monsters. Celestial maidens are born with the bones of celestial beings, and their bones are in harmony and flow. However, ordinary zombies who cultivate without perfecting their bones are rare in the world. They cannot even achieve the harmony and flow of their bones, so they cannot be said to have evolved into demons.

From the moment he refined the first piece of unyielding bone, Xu Qing had the opportunity to ignore the realm of perfection and step into the realm of flying zombies.

Flying zombies are equivalent to immortals, but they will never reach the realm of Kuiba in this lifetime.

Further on, the three main bones, each cultivated to increase the zombie's cultivation limit, Xu Qing himself possesses three types of transformations. If the threat from White Cloud Cave had not always existed, he would have chosen to refine all three bones from the beginning, rather than only obtaining one type of transformation.

Each transformation means a need for a new type of magical power, and the refinement of the three main bones allows each part to hold the magical power reserves required for a transformation.

Equivalent to backup energy.

If Xu Qing does not achieve perfection, even if he were to evolve into a Ba by chance one day, he would only be a flawed Ba. This is like the female Ba transformed from a celestial maiden, who, no matter how hard she tries, can hardly take another step closer to the level of a Hou.

Hou, the ultimate form of zombie.

Because of the imminent crisis at Baiyun Cave, Xu Qing's initial thought was simply to lay a foundation and attain the Kui Ba realm.

Unexpectedly, the changes in the Yin River were swift, and coupled with the natural restraint of the Salvation Scripture on corpses, he refined two main bones in just seven years. Even the only remaining Huangting skull bone now has the potential to be refined.

"People say that seven years is a critical juncture. Taoists believe that everything changes every seven years, so they borrow life from heaven by using the Seven Star Lamp. Funerals are held on the seventh day after death, because seven days is the cycle of a person's soul's reincarnation."

Xu Qingxin had some insights.

The so-called unity of heaven and man, returns in seven days.

All living beings in the world undergo a small cycle every seven days, which perfectly matches the cycle of the heavens.

Now that he has attained enlightenment in seven years, it can be said that his spiritual path has been perfected by nature!
Cultivation knows no time; Xu Qing sat upright in the tomb, observing the white bones to prove his path.

As Huang Ting was refined, the entire tomb chamber burst forth with brilliant light, shining brightly. Deep in the tomb passage to the north, the black tiger, which had been lurking in the Xuan Tan Zhen Jun Temple, suddenly opened its eyes and growled in fear.

Outside the Ghost Cave, inside the Bone Temple.

The Exorcist Lord stood at the entrance of the Ghost Cave, watching the radiant light emanating from it. Those unaware of the situation might mistake it for the appearance of a mysterious treasure or a rare and precious artifact.

"What's that kid up to now?"

The Exorcist Lord had a feeling that ever since he chose Xu Qing as his accomplice, he had always had the illusion that things could get out of control at any moment.

"Disorder breeds monsters, was my choice of him right or wrong?" Inside the Ghost Cave, Xu Qing's head shone with a divine halo that lingered for a long time.

With the Yellow Court Skull residing in the Jade Capital, the refining of this bone signifies that Xu Qing has already refined all 206 bones in his body. Furthermore, due to the White Bone Flowing Light View, his entire body has attained the state of perfect harmony, reaching the ultimate state of unyielding bones.

Xu Qing opened his eyes and exhaled, the yin energy as sharp as a biting north wind, causing frost to form in the tomb chamber.

Upon standing up, all the bones in his body felt rounded and unified, like an unyielding rock, impervious to water and fire.

Only at this moment could he truly be considered to be beyond the Three Realms and Six Paths, and outside the Five Elements and Ten Categories.

Xu Qing felt an unprecedented sense of unity. This realm seemed to no longer belong to the Undying Bone realm, but he had not yet survived the Heavenly Fire Tribulation, so he could not be considered a Flying Zombie Black Fiend.

"This seems to be a kind of transcendent perfection that exists independently of all realms."

Xu Qing was puzzled, so he simply stopped thinking about it. He suppressed his thoughts and looked up at the skeleton in front of him.

At this moment, the Eight Banners Marshal's body was covered with spider web-like cracks, as if a gust of wind would cause him to scatter into a pile of dry bones.

Xu Qing pondered for a moment, then turned and put the skeleton in front of him into the miniature garden.

In fact, he had made two other promises before.

First, to erect a monument and write an inscription for the old neighbor, the Ghost King Duo'e, so that future generations would know his name; second, to bring back the abandoned remains of the Eight Banners Marshal to the secular world, so that they could return to their homeland.

However, before placing the remains of the Eight Banners Marshal into the miniature garden, Xu Qing did not forget to remove the severed finger that had been reattached to the other's hand, and then attach a paper thumb to reattach it.

This severed finger is part of the remains of Yama, the King of Hell, and was also made by that terrestrial Nuo Immortal.

Now, Xu Qing already possesses three-tenths of the Emperor's Profound Qi!
"The Nuo Immortal may return at any time; if he sees that all the Yin River chess pieces have been removed..."

I doubt they'll be too happy.

As soon as Xu Qing appeared at the Bone Temple after leaving the Ghost Cave, he saw the Exorcist Lord standing at the entrance of the passage, scrutinizing him from side to side.

"Are you practicing righteous or heretical teachings?"

After observing for a while and finding nothing amiss, the Exorcist Master finally couldn't help but ask the question that had been building up for so long.

Xu Qing blinked and answered irrelevantly, "I have already cleaned up the evil spirits and yin energy at the bottom of the Ghost Cave for you, True Lord. There is no need for you to thank me."

"."

The Exorcist Lord was even more confused. The aura emanating from the Ghost Cave was completely different from any evil spirits or ghosts, but it was definitely not the kind of fluctuation that righteous law should have.

But if you were to say that Xu Qingxiu's evil magic is true, he can also sweep away all the filth and turbidity, restoring clarity to this place.

Such methods do not seem to be possessed by evil sects.

There must be a demon in the abnormal situation.

The Exorcist Lord could sense that Xu Qing was unusual, but he couldn't figure out what kind of monster he was.

"Fine, I won't ask about your background or past. As long as you are willing to walk the righteous path and help me to eliminate evil, then you are a good person."

A good person? Who, me?

Xu Qing was immediately displeased.

"You can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want. I'm not a good person!"

"."

The Exorcist True Lord took a deep breath and said in a low voice, "A thousand years ago, the Mysterious Altar True Lord also said something similar. He said that he was not a saint and did not deserve the title of 'good,' but in the end, he died in the great calamity in order to prevent the arrival of an evil world."

Upon hearing the name of Xuantan Zhenjun, Xu Qing's heart suddenly stirred.

"What kind of deity is Xuantan Zhenjun?"

"He's a complete brute!"

The Exorcist Lord snorted coldly and said, "I have been slaying ghosts for a thousand years. No one understands ghosts better than me. If you had listened to my advice back then and endured hardship, I would not be in such a predicament today, unable to even find a helper."

Xu Qingqi asked, "Is this your reason for seeking me out? How can you be so sure I'm not a reckless fool?"

It's no wonder Xu Qing was curious. He had only known the Demon Exorcist for a short time, so how could the other party approve of him so much?
"Are you a brute?" The Exorcist Lord looked at Xu Qing as if he had heard the biggest joke in the world.

Do you know how to write the character "莽"?

Xu Qing glanced at the burly man in red robes who was mocking him, and said with a deep look in his eyes, "It was changed from the character '葬' (zàng, meaning burial)."

"."

The Demon Exorcist True Lord's laughter stopped abruptly. He snorted and ignored Xu Qing's nonsensical truth, saying to himself, "Back then, when Ghost Law was at the height of his power, True Lord Xuantan, knowing he was no match for Ghost Law, still bravely faced death."

"The True Lord said that he may not have as much experience as some others in slaying ghosts, but in this great calamity, there must be someone who takes the lead. The True Lord is doing this for the gods and Buddhas in heaven to see, this is the greater good!"
Although the True Lord is reckless, he is still far superior to me!

Xu Qing remained silent for a moment, then suddenly asked, "When does the True Lord intend to fight Ghost Law?"

The Exorcist Lord understood the meaning behind these words. Although Xu Qing was asking when he would fight, the subtext was that the other party was already prepared to lend him a hand.

"No rush. Aren't you going to deal with the Heavenly Fox of White Cloud Cave? How can I let you have any worries? Foxes are best at illusions and bewitching people's minds. The White Bone Temple is just right to deal with such supernatural powers and spells. You should focus on cultivating this method. Once you have mastered it, go and use that Heavenly Fox as a whetstone."

"Furthermore, if you can't even defeat that old vixen, how can you expect to help me destroy Ghost Law?"

Xu Qing was deeply moved; this big man was far more upright in his dealings with others than the white-haired monkey.

The former involves some degree of personal connection, while the latter is purely calculated.

"True Lord, there is no need to worry. The White Bone Contemplation is not difficult to cultivate. I mastered it during my seven days in the Ghost Cave. It should be no problem to deal with mere illusions."

Seven days?

The Exorcist Lord stared at Xu Qing as if he had seen a ghost.

A prodigy, an absolute prodigy!

"Seven days, ha, so-so," the Exorcist Lord said with a sneer.

After a brief chat, Xu Qing cupped his hands in greeting to the Exorcist Lord, then turned and left the Bone Temple.

This seclusion lasted for more than a year, while Xu Qing had been in Yinhe for nearly nine years.

If we include his time in the mortal world, it has been more than twelve years since he used the Immortal-Seeking Technique in Mingyue Stream to seek immortal destiny.

The art of seeking immortality ranks among the heavens.

This supernatural power can be used once every twelve years, which corresponds to a full cycle of twelve years.

There is a quota for all the opportunities to become immortals in the world. Every twelve years, a ritual can be performed to establish an altar and conduct ceremonies to communicate with heaven and earth and find out where one's immortal destiny lies.

Although a century has passed, Xu Qing did not immediately travel the world in spirit to seek immortal opportunities.

Baiyun Cave has a celestial fox and contains a celestial book; Taihua Mountain has a secret cave with the Heavenly Gang Axe Technique carved on the cave wall; and there is also a red-tailed monkey on Jiwa Mountain in Zhongzhou, who once encountered a natural boulder hidden under a waterfall, with a cave under the boulder, where the same staff technique was carved on the cave wall.

These opportunities for immortality are all traceable. Xu Qing plans to explore them all, and after removing the obvious ones, he will use the Immortal-Seeking Technique to search for other opportunities.

Now, Xu Qing plans to go to the Yin Corpse Sect.

He received confirmation from the Exorcist Master that the Yin Corpse Sect was indeed a place where drought demons lurked.

Xu Qing didn't know if this place would also be considered a place of immortal destiny, but he decided to go and search for it anyway. If he found nothing, he could eliminate one of his concerns.

　Happy Mid-Autumn Festival everyone!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)