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

Chapter 401 Upholding Integrity and Following the Great Way

The abbot of Jingxu Temple looked utterly disappointed and frustrated.

She promised to stand up for her disciple and uphold the reputation of the Five Elders Temple, but before she could even utter a few words of condemnation, her disciple turned against her!
The abbot of Jingxu Temple glared at him and said, "You're just spoiling him. Wait until he really takes advantage of you, then we'll see if I can stop you!"

No wonder Granny Jingxu was angry. Back then, her disciple Zichen protected Hu Baosong in the same way. Later, when Zichen faced the three calamities and knew he couldn't overcome them, he severed ties with Hu Baosong, but didn't care about himself at all.

As it turned out, Hu Baosong really did leave for years and never came back.

Master Yizhen was Zichen's biological daughter. After Zichen passed away, the abbot of Jingxu Temple took Yizhen as his disciple. She was like a grandmother and a mother to him, and also fulfilled the responsibilities of a master in disciplining him.

Old Lady Jingxu was unwilling for Yizhen to follow Zichen's old path from the bottom of her heart, but she never expected that Xu Qing would suddenly appear halfway through!

The key point is that this Xu guy is also a close friend of Hu Baosong, despite their age difference.

It is said that birds of a feather flock together and people flock together.

In the eyes of the abbot of Jingxu Temple, Xu Qing had become a villainous figure similar to Hu Baosong.

However, Xu remained calm and composed. Daoist Yizhen entered the mortal world to cultivate, and together with Bai Qiuyu, they formed a bond. This friendship was probably like that between him and Xuanyu, where they had a fellow Daoist who accompanied and helped each other on the long road of cultivation.

Furthermore, many years have passed, and Master Yizhen has transformed into the appearance of an old female Taoist priest. If the other party wishes to continue cultivating here in the future, changing their identity will be an essential process.

With Qingya and Yaoguang around, Xu Qing had essentially prepared disguises for himself and his senior sister Yizhen in advance. They were just waiting for the day they would die of old age so that they could transform into Xu Ya and Xu Yao and take over Jingxia Street again.

In addition to Master Yizhen, Xu Qing also made detailed plans for the future identities of other immortals and shamanic disciples in the Immortal Hall.

As soon as the time is right, his funeral parlor on Jingxia Street can be relisted under a different name.
Xu Qing was only focused on the great cause of the funeral, and as for the concerns of the Master of Jingxu Temple, the career-oriented Xu had no intention of even considering such a thing!

"These are my junior brother's grandchildren? They're so beautiful!"

Qingya Yaoguang dared not move, feeling as if she were surrounded by natural enemies.

Bai Qiuyu, never one to shy away from a good show, exclaimed, "This nun is your grandmother! Why don't you call her Grandma!"

"."

Just as the abbot of Jingxu Temple was about to reprimand her, the fox-like fortune teller blurted out again, "And this old abbot, she is your great-grandmother. You will have to call her great-grandmother from now on!"

Faced with their natural enemy, the two golden carp readily agreed to whatever the other party said. Qingya Yaoguang kept calling her "Grandma" and "Great-Grandma," making the abbot of Jingxu Temple turn red in the face, while Daoist Yizhen was equally at a loss.

How did she, a Buddhist nun, suddenly become a grandmother?
Xu Qing, the instigator, watched with a smile. Although there wasn't a single normal human being in the coroner's shop, he felt a sense of home for the first time ever.

In just a few days, Qingya Yaoguang had acquired many treasures. Xu Qing initially didn't take it to heart, thinking they were just New Year's gifts and lucky money given to the two children.

But when the spirits of the Cat Immortal Hall and their disciples began to occasionally find money or encounter various requests for incense offerings, Xu Qing finally noticed something was amiss.

The feng shui of his Cat Fairy Hall and Mourning Gate seems to be better than before.

Xu Qing suddenly remembered what the Azure Dragon God had said.

The other party once said that the golden carp is a symbol of good fortune, gathering the dragon's luck and connecting with the nine palaces. Throwing a golden tablet to inform the three officials is a real auspicious sign from heaven, a blessing.

Such spiritual beings cannot be obtained without great merit, nor can they be nurtured without utmost sincerity.

The path to immortality is uncertain, and fortune and misfortune are unpredictable; the ways of Heaven are clear, and retribution is swift.

Xu Qing's three rescues of Jin Li perfectly exemplified the virtue of utmost sincerity, thus earning him great merit.
Looking across the world, whose family has more merit and virtue than him?

According to the Azure Dragon God, Qingya and Yaoguang's willingness to follow him was already the greatest reward they could give him after three human tribulations.

Xu Qing pondered for a moment, then suddenly called the two golden carp boys to his side.

"Qingya and Yaoguang, since you two are going to follow me to cultivate, you are considered my disciples. I will give you a Daoist name."

Qingya and Yaoguang are the original names given to the two golden carp by the Azure Dragon God. They do not have any 'master's names'. Now that they hear that Xu Qing is going to bestow names upon them, the two children are overjoyed.

"Qingya will be named Hexin, and Yaoguang will be named Ruyi. This is Hexin Ruyi, which perfectly reflects your nature of receiving blessings and good fortune."

Xu Qing's naming logic is very simple.

The funeral procession already has two cranes to welcome and send off guests, while the golden carp, which symbolizes auspiciousness and good fortune, is clearly more suitable to go to the Baosheng Temple and become its attendant.

The names of all deities must not be difficult to pronounce; they must conform to the temple's lineage and be grounded in reality so that they can be passed down by word of mouth and increase the temple's influence.

After much thought, Xu Qing decided to choose a name that suited his heart's desire, hoping to bring good fortune to the believers and worshippers of Baosheng Temple.

"Thank you for bestowing this name upon me, my benefactor."

Two childish voices rang out, and Xu Qing smiled and said, "No need to call me benefactor, just call me sir from now on."

In the following days, Xu Qing took the two children to Baosheng Temple on Ziyun Mountain and registered Hexin Tongzi and Ruyi Tongnu in the temple's register. Qishan Shi, who had nothing to do, was also conscripted by Xu Qing to guide the two children to adapt to the Baosheng business.

Xu Qing felt no guilt whatsoever about using child labor. These two golden carp looked childish, but in reality, they had lived for hundreds of years.

However, golden carp, including all dragons, mature mentally relatively late.

For a dragon, a human's lifetime is but a year.

Even if it were five hundred years, it would only be five or six years old for two golden carp.

Shi Yue, the child who protected children at Baosheng Temple in her early years, is now an old woman. Shi Yue was only four or five years old when she was born. After becoming a ghost, she has always maintained her appearance from when she was alive and has never grown up.

The three children standing together now have truly added a lot of liveliness to Baosheng Temple.

However, Shi Yue always maintained an old-fashioned demeanor, even when she was with two golden carp that were hundreds of years older than her, she still looked like a big sister with two followers.

Strangely enough, the two golden carp, who usually only listened to Xu Qing, became unusually obedient and well-behaved after meeting Shi Yue.

Xu Qing frowned again as he watched Shi Yue's ghostly aura fade away and her body become increasingly faint and transparent.

Since his last trip to the Yin River, he had noticed that Shi Yue, who had entered the Baosheng Temple system, was increasingly exuding a 'pure and transcendent' aura.

He asked his senior sister Yizhen, who told him that this was a sign that the ghosts were undergoing purification and refinement, and were about to transcend and become ghost immortals.

But now that the path to heaven is cut off, if the pure spirit ghost does not have the immortal medicine from the Immortal Transformation Pool in the upper realm to reshape its immortal body, it will only have one fate: to merge with heaven and earth.

Under the influence of the Great Calamity, the body of a ghost is ultimately unsuitable for cultivating merit.

This is precisely another manifestation of the rise and fall of the demonic path.

Xu Qing was at a loss. If he really wanted to find a solution, besides reducing Shi Yue's faith power in the mortal world and slowing down her cultivation speed, the only other option was for him to personally perform the ritual to help her pass on, or to use the Three Lives Stone Dew to preserve her memories of this life and then bring Shi Yue back to him on a chosen day.

However, it is clear that in the thriving Baosheng Temple, it would not be an easy task for Shiyue to reduce her faith.

Now, decades later, with the strong support of Emperor Zhu, Baosheng Temple has become one of the top temples in Dayan, not inferior to the Sea Goddess Temple.

"Do we really have to use the Three Lives Stone Dew?" Shi Yue's name is on the temple register. Even if she is reincarnated, Xu Qing can still find her through the Living Man's Scripture in the Blood Lake.

But by then, Shi Yue must have had new biological parents, and given Shi Yue's special status, the family she was born into must also be believers of his Baosheng Temple.

As a guardian deity who brings children and blessings, it's somewhat contrary to his divine nature for him to turn around and let someone else's own flesh and blood take him away.

"trouble."

Xu Qing frowned. It hadn't been easy for Shi Yue to cultivate to this point, and reincarnating and starting over would be even more troublesome. But when the time came, a choice had to be made.
After thinking for a moment, Xu Qing called Shi Yue over, rubbed her head, and the girl, who had been acting all old-fashioned, instantly became obedient.

"From now on, Shiyue can do whatever she wants. Don't worry about cultivation. With you here, Master will definitely solve all the problems."

Shi Yue looked up at Xu Qing, then suddenly stepped forward and hugged her master's leg.

Xu Qing smiled and reached out to pat the little girl's head again.

Despite having cultivated for so many years, Shi Yue was still just a little child who needed to rely on him.

Another half month passed in the blink of an eye. On this day, Xu Qing invited neighbors and old friends to a banquet in Jingxia Street to celebrate Boss Cheng Caiyun's 80th birthday in advance.

It was supposed to be a birthday celebration, but it was really just an excuse for neighbors to get together.

Cheng Caiyun is getting old and can't go back to Linjiang often. She also meets with her neighbors and friends less and less often. If they don't get together again, she may never have the chance again.

Xu Qing was self-aware enough not to serve as the master of ceremonies at the birthday banquet, but instead specially invited Guo Baolin's son, Guo Congwen, to host the event.

Guo Congwen is in his fifties. His father, Guo Baolin, a legendary, chubby man in the storytelling world who was no less than anyone else in his life, passed away ten years ago at the age of sixty to meet his ancestor, Guo Dongyang.

This is the meaning of "writing a thousand words a day, harming oneself even without illness".

The saying among Taoist practitioners, "When you open your mouth, your spirit dissipates; when you move your mind, your inner fire cools," also reflects this principle.

Guo Dongyang was able to die peacefully of old age thanks to the miraculous medicine given to him by Xu Qing.

Guo Baolin was prone to anger and verbal abuse, and he had no way to regulate his condition. Over time, the years he lost lifespan, which was extremely difficult to make up for.

Xu Qing heard from others that when Lao Guo was about to pass away, he didn't have time to say anything last words. The only thing he uttered was "Travels in Dongyang" and his name, Xu Qing.

Judging from his appearance, he probably wanted to pass on the baton of "enduring the zombie" to his descendants so that they could endure Xu Qing in his place and obtain the Dongyang Travelogue.
Perhaps to confirm his guess, before the birthday banquet even started, the fat man's son, Guo Congwen, came to Xu Qing and exchanged pleasantries.

After exchanging pleasantries, Guo Congwen finally revealed his purpose: "Senior Xu is a close friend of my grandmaster, and according to seniority, I should be able to address him as my grandmaster uncle."

"To be honest, my father didn't have any great wishes in his life. His only obsession was to leave the scattered belongings of my master at Rong Sheng Zhai."

"Among these items, it is said that there is an original manuscript of 'Travels in Dongyang' that was given to my grandmaster by my great-uncle. Is this true?"

Looking at Guo Congwen, who was in his fifties but clearly weak and frail, and whose days seemed numbered, Xu Qing couldn't help but pat him on the shoulder and encourage him:

"You're in your early fifties, younger than me. This world will eventually belong to you young people. This old man of mine will definitely have to make way for you. Don't be too anxious. In three to five years, we'll meet again, and then we can discuss it further."

Upon hearing this, Guo Congwen perked up considerably.

Xu Qing looked at the energetic young man in front of her, her eyes filled with satisfaction.

Young people should be energetic!

The birthday banquet began at noon.

During this period, restaurants, teahouses, bakeries, pharmacies, clinics, lacquerware shops, woodworking shops, flower markets, and painting studios were all located there.
Whether they knew Cheng Caiyun or not, almost everyone came to congratulate her.

The reason is simple: Boss Cheng is a first-rank imperial consort and also the godmother of Prince Dingyuan.

Cheng Caiyun met many acquaintances at the banquet, but most of them were young people she had watched grow up or middle-aged people.

Aside from the people from the Xu family shop on Jingxia Street, there were very few of his peers.

These days, those who live to a ripe old age are ultimately a minority.
"Uncle Xu!"

Xu Qing was having a feast with Xuan Yu, who was possessed by Sun Erniang and disguised as the Cat Granny, when they suddenly heard someone shouting in the distance.

He turned his head and saw Feng Xiaosheng, who was already in his forties, squeezing in with his wife and a child of about three years old who was incredibly ugly.

"Besides our mother, Uncle Xu is the only elder relative in our Feng family. Hurry up and pay your respects."

A woman in her thirties, with a rather attractive appearance, hurriedly stepped forward to greet him, calling him "Uncle."

Xu Qing looked at the elegant woman in front of him and was quite surprised.

It is said that a beautiful wife marries an ugly man, and a clever woman marries a clumsy husband. Xu Qing originally thought it was a joke, but after seeing it today, he realized that it was true.

"Man'er, quickly call him Uncle!"

The dark-faced child, held in Feng Xiaosheng's arms, stared intently at Xu Qing. The child seemed unafraid and, upon hearing his father's words, obediently called out.

Looking at the boy who was even uglier than his father, Xu Qing felt a strange, indescribable feeling.

"It's all thanks to Uncle Xu. If it weren't for Uncle Xu getting the temple ladies to act as matchmakers, my nephew wouldn't have met a good man."

Xu Qing continued to look at the child in Feng Xiaosheng's arms. Upon seeing this, Feng Xiaosheng chuckled and handed the child over.

"This child, like me, was born without fear of people. He didn't cry at all when the midwife was delivering him."

Feng Xiaosheng has endless things to say about his son.

He was an ugly man with a beautiful wife, so people naturally gossiped a lot. But ever since his son was born, no one has spread a single rumor.

After all, anyone who sees it would agree that the child is his own; no one else could have such a child even if they wanted to!

"What's the baby's name?" Xu Qing asked suddenly, holding the ugly baby.

"He only has a nickname, Man'er, and hasn't been given a formal name yet. Uncle Xu is very knowledgeable, and I've always wanted him to give my child a name."

Xu Qing and the incredibly ugly black baby in her arms stared at each other.

After staring at each other for a long while, Xu Qing finally spoke:

"Righteousness is the foundation of one's existence; upholding righteousness and acting in accordance with the great principles of heaven and earth; south is the direction of separation. Truly, it signifies possessing the wisdom of the south and the dignity of facing south, and it is also said that the sage faces south to listen to the world, governing with the light."

"These two characters are bright and upright, and their virtue matches their position. At the same time, they also mean to be upright in heart and to walk the great way."

"I think we should call it Zheng Nan (正南)."

(End of this chapter)