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

Chapter 368 Seeking Immortals Among the Crowd, Team Building in the Hall

Lu Xiu, the top scholar of the Bingwu imperial examination in the previous dynasty, the eighth magistrate of Ning County, was one of the thousands of victims under the Heavenly Fox, but also the only one besides Xuan Yu who survived a near-death experience.

Having died once, Lu Xiu seemed to possess a certain quality, an unusual feeling that Xu Qing had seen in Xuan Yu, the Abbot of Jingxu Temple, and Zhao Zhonghe.

Recalling the past when the nameless old woman had gone to great lengths to find the Undying People, the Wu Clan, Chenghuang, and the Nine-Tailed White Fox, Xu Qing seemed to be deep in thought.

According to the old woman's logic, only by experiencing death can one avoid the gaze of the Nine Netherworld Corpse and the Heavenly Emperor of the Upper Realm, and thus gain the qualification to access the treasures of the Underworld.

But he always felt that Lu Xiu was not entirely the same as him and Xuan Yu.

"Heroes emerge in chaotic times; perhaps that quality is a unique blessing they possess."

The gentle and refined Scholar Lu chatted with Xu Qing for a long time. One was well-read and the other had seen countless corpses. Both of them were knowledgeable and experienced, and they got along very well.

The last person to give Xu Qing this feeling was Guo Dongyang, a storyteller from Tianjin.

"Sir, have you truly subdued the demons of White Cloud Cave?"

Xu Qing nodded and said, "The Emperor of Da Yan and I have some past ties. I am taking advantage of the situation this time. If it weren't for the incense offerings of my Immortal Hall and the fortune of Da Yan, it would be much more difficult for me to eliminate that Heavenly Fox."

"."

Is it just difficult?
Lu Xiu fell completely silent.

He suffered greatly at the hands of demons in the past. After being rescued by Xu Qing, Lu Xiu devoted himself to cultivating the Wenxin Diaolong Technique in order to save more people from this harm.

Perhaps it was because the method taught by Xu Qing was extraordinary, or perhaps it was because this technique was just right for him, but after entering the practice, his progress was like riding a fast horse, covering a thousand miles a day.

During this time, divine pronouncements often appeared in his dreams, and in his trance, he seemed to see all the words and ink on the desk in his study jumping and leaping from the pages of the books.

But when he woke up, he was left with only a dizzy head, as if those dreams were all hallucinations.
However, after the dream, his cultivation speed was noticeably faster, but even so, he still felt powerless in the face of the endless demons and monsters that emerged in this turbid world.

In Lu Xiu's eyes, the demons in Baiyun Cave were a huge, yet hidden, calamity!

For nearly twenty years, Lu Xiu traveled across the land, starting from Quyang County, using reason to subdue demons and force to vanquish evil. But in the end, he subconsciously chose to return to Quyang County.

He couldn't rest easy until the demons were eliminated. Even though his power was meager, there were still some things that needed to be done.

But now, Mr. Xu, who taught him to persuade others with reason, suddenly told him that the evil spirit that had been causing him worry day and night had been exorcised.

Moreover, it seems that Xu Qing still has some strength left, and doesn't appear to be going all in.

"Brother Lu, you are a top scholar. I wonder what your plans are for the future?"

Lu Xiu frowned slightly, pondered for a moment, and then suddenly smiled and said, "The world is vast, and there is always a place to go. Although I am weak, I am willing to be like you, sir, to subdue demons and educate people."

Xu Qing felt that these words, combined with the other person's physique, sounded somewhat familiar.

Isn't this the approach of a certain master?
"If you were to work tirelessly all by yourself, how many demons could you possibly eliminate in a year?"

Xu Qing advised, "Everything requires the right methods. Take this White Cloud Cave Heavenly Fox, for example. Without the strong assistance of humans, gods, and benevolent demons, how could this demon be easily eliminated?"

Lu Xiu was no ordinary man, and immediately cupped his hands in greeting, saying, "Please enlighten me, sir."

There is no order of learning, the master is the teacher.

Seeing Lu Xiu's earnest request for advice, Xu Qing was secretly pleased, but remained outwardly calm as he said, "There is a shrine in Jinmen Prefecture, which was founded by me and Lady Qingqing. All the immortals in the shrine are benevolent demons and good people. For example, the fortune teller behind me is a nine-tailed spirit fox that was left over from the Qingqiu Kingdom."

Lu Xiu looked in the direction Xu Qing was pointing and saw a fortune teller in the caravan trying to drum up business by predicting good or bad fortune for people.

Xu Qing continued, "A single thread cannot make a line, and a single tree cannot make a forest. In this world, the ancestral lineages of the major immortal courts are in decline. Places like Qingqiu, Tushan, and the Five Elders Temple, as well as the wandering true Buddhas and true immortals, are mostly without relatives or friends, drifting alone."

"The corrupt and turbid atmosphere of this world is self-contained. We, who seek the Way with pure hearts, attempt to cleanse the world and make the pure atmosphere descend slowly, but instead, we are scattered and never gather in one place. How can we talk about purifying the world and restoring order?"

Xu Qing was delighted to see such talent and could not contain his desire to recruit more people. His Cat Immortal Hall was in dire need of such an instructor to improve the cultural level of the entire hall's immortals.

Especially the monkeys on Monkey Mountain; if they're not disciplined every few days, they'll cause trouble.

The red-tailed monkey felt guilty towards its monkey offspring and was reluctant to discipline them, but Lu Xiu was different.

Do you not see that the corpse of the Tiger King still retains warmth?

Killing the tiger to warn the monkey is much more effective than killing the chicken to scare the monkey!
Lu Xiu composed herself and looked at Xu Qing with a serious expression.

Long before Xu Qing, he had met a man surnamed Zhu who had the appearance of a dragon and offered him a position, but he did not accept.

Now, Xu Qing's manner of recruiting talents is somewhat similar to that of the man surnamed Zhu. Lu Xiu even vaguely saw a hint of a monarch in Xu Qing, but his appearance was not that of a ruler.

Lu Xiu took a deep breath, and finally bowed deeply, saying, "If it were the court, I would be willing to follow you and contribute my humble efforts."

At Cat Fairy Hall, Guan Dazhuang and Sun Erzhuang, who are in charge of managing the mortuary, are receiving a newly made coffin from the carpenter at the end of the street.

Now, the old carpenter in Jingxia Street who was born deaf and mute has also gone blind. Fortunately, the carpenter took on an apprentice who not only took over the carpentry business but also took on the responsibility of caring for the old carpenter in his old age and seeing him off in his final days.

At the entrance of the coroner's shop, a paper horse was swaying back and forth, and on its back, a child of unknown origin was riding happily with snot bubbling from his nose.

When the jade horse shakes, it will also make a donkey-like braying sound.

We don't know how a paper horse could bray like a donkey, but the kid was having a lot of fun pulling on the rope hanging from the back of the paper horse's neck.

Underneath that paper horse, two or three children were jumping around, shouting, "It's my turn! It's my turn to ride!"

But before the child on the paper horse could get off, two tigress-like women came rushing over with brooms and feather dusters.

"Tiger! I've only been busy for a little while, and you're already running off to this unlucky place again. How did I give birth to such a troublesome brat?"

As they were talking, the feather duster was about to hit the child's bottom!
Seeing this, Guan Dazhuang couldn't help but chime in, "It's only in a child's nature to be playful, why do you have to hit him?"

However, before Guan Dazhuang could finish speaking, the woman standing to the side, holding a broom and looking menacing, pretended to swing it at him.

"Stop spouting nonsense! Don't you even know what kind of business you're in? Even if you're playful, you can't afford to kill people!"

The two women, looking fierce and menacing, launched into a verbal attack before grabbing several children by the ears and collars and leaving Jingxia Street.

Guan Dazhuang, on the other hand, wore a fawning smile, appearing meek and submissive, not daring to argue with him.

Seeing this, Sun Erzhuang couldn't help but exclaim, "They really are a pair of tigresses!"

Guan Dazhuang immediately corrected him, "I've seen tigresses before, but tigresses aren't this fierce. This must be a shrew!"

"Quickly bring down that donkey rope. If you lure those children here again, I won't stand up to argue with them."

Even a striped tiger with five hundred years of cultivation, who had survived a lightning strike, was wary of the neighborhood woman's power!

Upon hearing this, Sun Erzhuang indeed went to the paper horse and took off the donkey rope. The rope was quite obedient, climbing up Erzhuang's arm to his shoulder, and finally the loop of the rope went around Erzhuang's neck, thus returning to its original position.

Guan Dazhuang was tidying up the shop when a crow suddenly flew in from outside.

The crow spoke in human language: "The sect leader has ordered that all hall masters of the immortal families immediately depart for Yunmeng Mountain in Quyang County, without fail!"

No sooner had the crow finished speaking than Huang Xiaoliu, the messenger, rushed over in a panic, saying that Lady Qingqing had also issued a decree through the Dharma Realm, ordering all the immortals in the halls to quickly go to Quyang.

Meanwhile, in front of Baosheng Temple on Ziyun Mountain.

The once-rich young lady, Ms. Qishan, is pondering her long-planned weight loss program.

"I have a deep friendship with Sister Bai of Qingqiu Mountain, and I cannot refuse the position of mountain spirit; when the old peach tree of Taodu Mountain withered and died, it transferred the power of Taodu Mountain to me, asking me to act as the shrine priest of Taodu Mountain on its behalf, and I cannot break my promise; the mountain god of Zhaoyao Mountain was jointly elected by the mountain spirits, and although only one-tenth of those spirits remain, they are still a memory; and there is also the hairy girl of Danxue Mountain, and the mountain spirit of Beizhao Mountain." Before she was literate, Qishan Shi did not know how serious the crime of stealing the power of famous mountains and great peaks was, but after reading the Five Elders Temple classics borrowed by Bai Xiaoxian, she became enlightened and realized just how much trouble she had caused!
But no matter how much she thought about it, she couldn't bring herself to relinquish control of which mountain.

Those mountains, in the end, are all a part of her memory. Once she loses the authority over the corresponding mountain, the memories she, as a mountain spirit, has stored on the corresponding mountain will also disappear.

The Qishan clan was reluctant to part with it, but if the Path to Heaven were to open one day and the gods of Heaven were to find out that she had stolen so much power over the mountains, she would surely be punished to the fullest extent of the law.

Not only will her power be forcibly taken back, but she herself will likely be annihilated.

"It's all that little white snake's fault. I was just peacefully staying on the mountain, but it insisted on making me read some kind of book."

The more people know, the more troubled they become, and so do mountain spirits.

"Book? What book?"

Just as Lady Qishan was troubled, a man's voice suddenly came from behind her.

Qishan was so frightened that his hand trembled, and as the scroll flew out of his hand, he almost lost his soul!
After turning around and seeing the person behind him clearly, Qishan stammered:

"Books? No books, I haven't read any! Why do you walk so quietly, Master?"

Xu Qing bent down and picked up the ancient book that Qishan had thrown away. It was inscribed with the words "Records of Grotto-Heavens, Blessed Lands, Sacred Mountains and Rivers".

On a stone platform to the side, there were many bookmarks with leaves attached, books that had clearly been read many times.

"Maps of the Five Sacred Mountains, Records of Extraordinary Mountains, Kaiyuan Daoist Canon, and Manuscripts of Mountain and River Talismans"

"You, a mountain spirit, secretly looked at drawings of other mountains? And you call them majestic, precipitous, and beautiful?"

Xu Qing posed a probing question: "What's the difference between this and the boudoir books that human women read?"

"."

Qishan's face turned pale and then red.

She never imagined that this person would think of her in that way. Was she the kind of mountain spirit who couldn't resist the sight of famous mountains and great peaks?
It seems that it really is.
No, no, mountains are simply formed by the natural changes of heaven and earth. The sect leader is clearly making fun of her on purpose!

"Have you ever heard of the Goddess of Mount Tai? Famous mountains and great peaks have always revered the mother, how could she possibly be such a filthy thing as Bai Xiaoxian?"

"So it was a mirror polishing notebook."

"Polishing mirrors" refers to a form of social interaction where women in the palace would live together.

Before Qishan could respond, Xu Qing asked curiously, "How do you know Bai Xiaoxian read those filthy books? Did you read them too?"

"."

Qishan remained silent, only focusing on gathering the scrolls on the stone platform.

Seeing that the mountain spirit was easily amused, Xu Qing changed the subject, saying, "I'm planning a team-building event for the Immortal Hall in Quyang County. The other immortals are already on their way, except for you."

The Qishan clan is now the spirit of Ziyun Mountain, wielding power over the mountain, and their cultivation is related to the earth's energy.

Back when Xu Qing went to Yinhe for seclusion, the other party already weighed a thousand jin. Now that the Qishan clan has absorbed the earth energy of the entire Ziyun Mountain into themselves, their weight is probably no less than ten million jin.

Fortunately, Xu Qing broke through the flying zombie realm and gained unprecedented control over the earth's veins and energy.

Let alone one Qishan clan member, there could be ten.
Ten is too much, it's a bit too much.

When Qishan heard that Xu Qing was going to take the immortals to travel to Quyang County, she felt a little envious. But when she heard that Xu Qing was going to carry her there, her eyes lit up again.

"I am a little heavy, please don't force yourself, Master."

Xu Qing squatted in front of the stone platform and said calmly, "No matter how heavy it is, she's still a girl. Do you think I can't carry it?"

Qishan carefully climbed onto Xu Qing's solid, iron-like back, fearing that he would be crushed into the meat pie that the tomb master of Qishan hated most.

When Qishan Shi settled down, Xu Qing frowned, but then relaxed.

It was a bit heavy, but not to the point where he couldn't bear it.

At least the imposing aura of Ziyun Mountain could not affect his actions.

However, the claim of immense pressure is absolutely true!
"Is the sect leader able to walk?"

"Leave?" Xu Qing chuckled. "Have you ever thought about riding the wind and soaring ninety thousand miles into the sky?"

Before the Qishan clan could react, Xu Qing rode the mist and controlled the wind, rising from the ground.

When Qishan came to his senses, he was already high in the sky, surrounded by clouds and beautiful scenery.

Seven days later, when the moon is full, inside the White Cloud Cave.

Xu Qing, along with the immortals from the Cat Immortal Hall, a mother and daughter ghost from the Water Gate Bridge, Master Yizhen and his apprentice from the Coffin Shop, and the immortals from the Baosheng Temple, arrived at the place where the Heavenly Book was engraved.

"As the head of the Immortal Hall, I have the responsibility to spread the teachings and enlighten people. The immortal opportunities in this White Cloud Cave have been sought after by people for thousands of years, but very few have actually obtained them."

Xu Qing recounted the connection between Yuan Gong, herself, and Lady Qingqing, and then brought up the banner of the Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden.

After finishing these preambles, he finally got to the main point.

"The Heavenly Book of White Cloud Cave is divided into thirty-six kinds of Heavenly Gang Methods and seventy-two kinds of Earthly Fiend Methods. Those who are not destined to learn it cannot study it."

"You are all immortals of my Immortal Hall, sharing the same breath as me and Lady Qingqing. This immortal affinity should be considered a reward for the Immortal Hall since its establishment. Each of you immortals may comprehend it on your own. As for how much you comprehend, that depends entirely on your own abilities."

Xu Qing's plan was simple: since the Heavenly Book discriminates based on who it is, he would bring along his own kind. As long as there were people in these immortal families who were destined for immortality, they could learn some supernatural powers and techniques.

Even if a deity can only learn one or two skills, it's still a gain.

Xu Qing couldn't guarantee how much he could learn. If he missed out on some supernatural abilities, and other immortals happened to have learned those abilities he hadn't, wouldn't he be able to have his own immortals teach him those abilities through oral instruction and personal demonstration?
Fortunately, Lord Yuan, who guarded the Heavenly Book, was no longer here, and the Upper Realm could not control the affairs of the Lower Realm. Otherwise, just for Xu Qing's actions of looting the Heavenly Book with his family like he was buying a lot of goods, he would have been dragged to the Demon-Slaying Platform and beheaded ten thousand times!

At this moment, the immortals in each branch hall were even more excited than when they had just become spirits.

Huang Xiaoliu, one of the earliest disciples of Xu Qing, was the first to express his loyalty, saying, "The Sect Leader and Lady Qingqing treat me like their second parents. If the Sect Leader and Lady Qingqing do not abandon me..."

Xu Qing's eyelids twitched. He thought that this yellow wolf wanted to become his and Xuan Yu's godparents. Regardless of whether he and Xuan Yu would agree, the seniority was wrong!

If that's the case, wouldn't he be a generation below Huang Laoxu for no reason?
But the next moment, he heard Huang Xiaoliu say, "If the sect leader does not abandon me, I am willing to serve the sect leader forever to repay the sect leader's kindness in imparting knowledge and skills!"

Upon seeing this, the other immortals all knelt down and kowtowed.

Xu Qing frowned slightly, but still calmly accepted the worship of the crowd.

He is the head of the sect; if he is too humble, it will not be good.

The most unruly red-tailed monkey on Monkey Mountain is now completely convinced. It has no master and has always been walking a narrow path, relying entirely on its own exploration and cultivation.

Otherwise, it wouldn't have caused its monkey offspring to suffer for over a decade because of its journey to seek immortality and enlightenment.

The appearance of the sect leader has filled the missing teacher role. The sect leader not only provided it with protection, but also helped it rebuild Monkey Mountain. As for the education of the monkeys guarding the hall, the sect leader also invited a very refined and gentle teacher.

With such a considerate and thoughtful leader, who wouldn't respect him?

(End of this chapter)