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

Chapter 346 A Peerless Good Cat, A Thousand-Year-Old Evil Fox

On the way back to Jingxia Street, crows began to circle and follow Xu Qing after he had only walked a few steps. After passing one or two streets, three or five weasels hopped and skipped behind him.

This means that if you go to the mountains and forests outside the city, you will be accompanied by all kinds of beasts, and you will not be disturbed.

When Xu Qing returned to the familiar Jingxia Street, he was followed by no fewer than seven or eight kinds of small animals.

Crows are the guides to the hall, and weasels are the scouts to deliver messages. Several gray rats with shiny fur also scurried out from the cracks in the doors of the surrounding shops and from the grass. On the eaves of the buildings on one side, willows flicked their red tongues and scurried silently.

The neighbors had already turned off their lights, and Xu Qing was walking alone, but she was not lonely at all; instead, she was surrounded by a lively and bustling scene.

Xu Qing had not returned for several years, and given the quiet of the night, he did not restrain the various immortals who came forward to greet him.

"Little Six, how has the branch fared since I left?"

Huang Xiaoliu, already a seasoned immortal, patiently reported on the work of his shrine.

In short, thanks to the efforts of all the temples, their various indicators have changed year by year. Nowadays, the private treasuries of the temple managers alone amount to no less than a million incense offerings.

The incense offerings at the main temple have reached a staggering ten million!

Not to mention that the immortals had never been so wealthy, even Xu Qing was secretly astonished.

Who could have imagined that during this decade-long window of opportunity for dynastic change, the Immortal Hall would develop to its current state?

"It's all thanks to the sect leader's skillful management. Without the sect leader, there would be no branch like this today. In Xiao Liu's eyes, the sect leader is like his second father and mother, a saint-like figure; without the sect leader..."

Xu Qing glanced at the yellow weasel with its honeyed lips and interrupted, "This hall belongs to me, and also to all the immortals. Besides, these past years while I've been away, it should be Immortal Xuanyu who has been managing this hall for me. You should be saying these things to Immortal Xuanyu."

Above their heads, a white crow, leading the group, circled and landed on a monkey's shoulder, speaking in human language: "Every year at the sect's gathering, Little Six would flatter Lady Qingqing. Lady Qingqing, like the sect leader, said she'd save those words for the sect leader to say."

Xu Qing continued talking with the immortals without stopping. When he was about to reach the coroner's shop, he saw a girl in black rush out of the shop but then stand in the middle of the road staring at him.

The girl was none other than Xuan Yu, the immortal who single-handedly supported the entire Cat Immortal Hall when he was away.

Xu Qing waved his hand to the side, and Huang Xiaoliu, who was as shrewd as a man, immediately understood and issued the sect leader's decree, ordering all the immortals to return to their respective positions.

Once the streets returned to their tranquility, time seemed to rewind to the moment when Xu Qing was about to leave the gang.

Just as Xu Qing smiled and was about to take a step, the little girl in the black dress suddenly lifted her skirt and ran towards him.

When she reached the middle of the run, the black dress fell to the ground, and a black blur, like a swallow returning to its nest, flew into the young man's arms.

"."

Xu Qing raised his hand to stroke the fur of the black cat in his arms, and said in a rare gentle voice, "You've worked hard all these years."

Xuan Yu simply rubbed against the young man's chest, and although he didn't say anything, the trembling snoring in his throat conveyed all the words he wanted to say.

When they returned to the coroner's shop, Xuan Yu once again adopted a distance-avoiding demeanor.

Xu Qing looked at the cat sitting elegantly on the coffin lid and thought the lingering warmth in his arms was just his imagination.

"Xu Xian's family seems to be a little different than before."

"What's different? Do you think I look much older than before?"

Xuan Yu shook his head: "The taste is a bit different. It seems that Xu Xian's cultivation has deepened."

Cats often identify humans not only by their appearance, but also by their scent and smell.

Xu Qing went to the basin and used the power of the water demon to summon a pool of clear water. After washing away all the makeup on his face, he regained his appearance from more than ten years ago.

Xuan Yu said thoughtfully, "Is Immortal Xu learning from humans?"

Xu Qing chuckled and said, "I am just a human, why would I need to imitate? It's just that human lifespans are generally short, and cultivators who want to live in seclusion in the mortal world must eventually undergo some kind of transformation."

Xuan Yu stared at Xu Qing, but ultimately didn't expose the other party's little trick.

"Xu Xianjia has been traveling around these years, and he must have encountered many interesting things."

Seeing Xu Qing's smiling face, Xuan Yu changed the subject and suddenly said, "Maybe we even encountered a white cat, an orange cat, or a calico cat."

"."

Xu Qing chuckled and said, "Besides wandering ghosts, it's not easy to find a living person in the Yin River, so where would a cat come from?"

"Speaking of leopards, I did meet one, but we were incompatible. The moment I saw it, I inexplicably found it annoying. In the entire Yin River, only Jinluan could get along with it."

In the coroner's shop, the candlelight flickered red, and a stiff body and a cat conversed under the stars and moon, recounting their experiences in the Underworld River and beyond over the past ten years.

"Does Master Xu still remember the White Fairy who cultivated in the Hundred Herbs Cave of Yuehua Mountain?"

"That giant white python? How could I not remember? When you and I were weathering the lightning calamity, I even sought its advice. Back then, I called it 'senior.'"

Xu Qing felt a mix of emotions. Bai Xiangu was a great demon from a thousand years ago, and her cultivation was probably more than a thousand years old. Moreover, she was the only immortal in the Tianjin immortal circle that Xu Qing had not recruited.

Xuan Yu said with some excitement: "The little white fairy of Baosheng Temple was originally related to the white fairy by blood. A few years ago, the little white fairy survived the five hundred-year calamity and returned to her hometown in glory, which made the python fairy of Yuehua Mountain very envious."

Originally, Fairy Bai lived a secluded life and was unwilling to engage in worldly cultivation. However, after learning that Little Fairy Bai had survived a calamity in just over ten years, she sought me out, wanting to separate a branch of the Moonflower Mountain immortals and add it to the Medical Hall.”

Xu Qing frowned slightly. Bai Xiaoxian was an outer deity of Baosheng Temple, and also managed the medical clinic.

The incense at Baosheng Temple is different from that at Maoxiantang.

A single wisp of incense from the Blood Lake is equivalent to a thousand wisps of ordinary incense; even the incense from the Cat Immortal Hall is worth between one and a hundred.

Otherwise, Bai Xiaoxian's cultivation would not have progressed so rapidly.

However, since Baosheng Temple is involved in matters of protecting and nurturing life, the responsibilities involved are naturally greater than those of ordinary temples.

Therefore, Xu Qing was always extremely cautious when choosing a deity at Baosheng Temple.

To this day, Baosheng Temple only has two deities, Shiyue and Bai Xiaoxian, who are the guardian spirits of childbirth.

Shi Yue was learning to read and write from the embroiderer, but now, more than ten years later, this little girl has probably passed the elementary school stage and may already be able to stand on her own.

That being said, even if you cultivate confidants from a young age, it's still nothing more than this.

"Those immortals."

Before Xu Qing could voice his doubts, Xuan Yu said slyly, "Xu Immortal, rest assured. After Bai Xiangu told me about this, Sister Jin, Gu Zixu, and I selected immortals with both virtue and talent. During this time, I also asked Senior Sister Yizhen to set up an illusion as a test."

"In the end, out of hundreds and thousands of python immortals on the entire Yuehua Mountain, only two passed the test. Five others, although virtuous, were more interested in the incense offerings and merits of the Baosheng Temple than in performing acts of protecting the fetus and ensuring its health."

Xu Qing watched as Xuanmao meticulously handled all the affairs of the Immortal Hall and Temple, only to realize that Xuanyu had far exceeded his expectations over the years.

This cat has probably never had a moment of peace in all these years.
“The Immortal Xuanyu doesn’t actually need to go through such hardship.”

Xuan Yu suddenly stopped talking, looked at the human it had raised, and said:
"It's not hard work. Xu Xianjia doesn't need to worry about the White Cloud Cave. Xuan Yu will always protect Xu Xianjia!"

"."

Xu Qing was speechless.

This isn't his worry; it's clearly that the cat has been on edge for over a decade!

Xu Qing felt inexplicably annoyed. Although he had always regarded the White Cloud Cave Heavenly Fox as a threat, he had never felt resentful.

But now, he felt that the old fox's sins were greater than those of people who had broken the heavenly laws!

(End of this chapter)