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

Chapter 403 Where are the old friends? The fleeting nature of power.

Do you want to be an immortal?

"To become an immortal?"

"Yes, immortals!"

"Are they the immortal gods who fly around in the sky?"

"Yes, that one, Lao Zhao, would you like to consider it?"

"I'm not even thinking about it!"

What was a perfectly normal sentence to Xu Qing was not what Zhao Zhonghe thought at all.

Why don't you just tell me to rebel and become emperor, and then appoint you as a great general?
Seeing Xu Qing's serious expression, Zhao Zhonghe thought it was something important, but then this happened.

"Old Zhao, don't disbelieve me. Just look at the immortal in front of you. He's a terrestrial deity who has lived for over two thousand years."

Looking at the middle-aged man with sunken eyes, a pale face, and a perpetually unnatural appearance, Zhao Zhonghe became even more disbelieving.

"He looks like a sickly old man, either a gambler or a womanizer. He'd be lucky to live another twenty years, let alone two thousand."

Master Fuluan's pale face turned somewhat bluish; his appearance was entirely due to Xu Qing.

If his vital energy hadn't been depleted by the Great Array of Heaven, why would he have spent his days tending to the alchemy furnace to recuperate?

"Layman Zhao, you may not believe me, but this Fellow Daoist Xu is no less than a deity."

"Old Xu? A deity?"

Zhao Zhonghe finally abandoned his contempt. He frowned slightly and said solemnly, "You two must have already seen through my background. Since that's the case, I will no longer hide anything from you!"

Xu Qing and Master Fu Luan felt a chill run down their spines. Could it be...?
"To tell you the truth, I am the Jade Emperor incarnate. You two kowtow to me, and I will take you back to the Heavenly Realm to share in its glory and wealth!"

"."

Xu Qing and Master Fu Luan's faces immediately darkened. This shameless fellow, what kind of time is this? He's practically buried in the ground, and he still has the mind to take advantage of others.

The two men exchanged a glance, and almost as if by telepathy, one of them grabbed one of Zhao Zhonghe's arms. By the time Old Zhao realized what was happening, the three of them had already left the birthday banquet and arrived above the vast Baisha River.

Amidst the clouds and mist, the outline of the entire Linjiang City was faintly visible. Zhao Zhonghe stared in disbelief, speechless for a long time.

"Old Zhao, don't you want to fly around? Why are you suddenly so reserved?"

"."

Zhao Zhonghe glanced to the side and saw that Xu Qing, who had been so old and frail before, had somehow regained his youth, and his appearance was exactly the same as it had been decades ago!
"Old Xu, are you really a god?"

Xu Qing chuckled and shook his head: "I'm no god. If anyone should be a god, it should be you."

The group returned to the ground, and Master Fuluan smiled and cupped his hands towards Zhao Zhonghe, saying, "I am Xu Junfang, and I greet the Dharma Protector Marshal and the True Lord of the Mysterious Altar."

Seeing that Zhao Zhonghe was confused, Xu Qing explained, "Xu Junfang, also known as Master Fuluan, you may not know who he is, but you should have heard of him. More than two thousand years ago, there was a Taoist priest who sought the elixir of immortality from the First Emperor."

"That unscrupulous sorcerer was him."

"As for the Mysterious Altar True Lord mentioned by Fellow Daoist Fu Luan..."

Xu Qing smiled and immediately recounted the past of the Dragon Tiger Mystic Altar True Lord, as well as his affairs in the Yin River Ruins.

"When Constable Zhao had a dream of being haunted by ten thousand ghosts, it was most likely the ghost law of the Yin River. This was an old grudge from a previous life, and also the enmity of being killed and obstructing his path. That's why the constable remembered it so vividly."

Zhao Zhonghe was still in a daze. He said as if possessed, "I also remember that stick from forty-five years ago very well. Could it be that it was a magical weapon I used when I was an immortal?"

"."

Xu Qing ignored Zhao Zhonghe and instead took out a drop of Three Lives Stone Dew from the Landscape Map.

This stone dew is not ordinary dew, but a drop of water suspended in an amber-colored stone.

The water floats within, unaffected by the polluted air and unbound by the rules of heaven and earth; it is truly a unique water that transcends the cycle of reincarnation.

Xu Qing handed the Three Lives Stone Dew to Zhao Zhonghe, saying, "This drop of stone dew can awaken the true spirit and awaken the wisdom that has been in your mind. As long as you take the stone dew, you will be able to attain enlightenment in one day and will no longer be an ordinary person."

Zhao Zhonghe carefully picked up the stone dew. His expression changed, and finally he let out a long breath and said, "Old Xu, although I don't know what the Yin River is or what the Great Calamity is like, I can sense that there is something very urgent waiting for me to do."

"However, you must allow me some time. After I return and arrange my affairs after my death, I will come to find you again."

Xu Qing had no objection. The True Lord of the Mysterious Altar had no physical body and cultivated the primordial spirit. As long as a trace of his true spirit remained, he could embark on cultivation anew.

However, this also indicates that if Zhao Zhonghe wants to rebuild his cultivation, he must shed this cumbersome and mundane appearance in order to remove self-restrictions and allow his primordial spirit to exert its full potential.

"If you need to make funeral arrangements, Chief Constable, you can come to Jingxia Street to find me. If I am not there, you can ask Li Tiezhu from the paper craft shop to take care of it for you."

Xu Qing had been lusting after Zhao Zhonghe's body for quite some time.

Of course, he wasn't after the small reward from being a constable; he simply wanted to fulfill a wish he had from back then.

Time flies by.

Two years have passed in the blink of an eye.

On this day, the old and the newlyweds of the Linjiang government office gathered at the Zhao family residence. Old Xu, who hadn't presided over a funeral in a long time, surprisingly put on his religious robes again and personally performed a ritual for the old man of the Zhao family. In the grand funeral procession, the Zhao family's children and grandchildren wept, and some families who had received favors from Constable Zhao also came to see him off.

At the end of the street, in an inconspicuous corner, a tiny figure, no bigger than the palm of a hand, was standing on the shoulder of the fuluan master, looking out onto the street.

"After the True Lord's body was dissolved, so many people came to see him off, which shows that the True Lord was a person of high moral character and prestige in this life."

Master Fuluan believed that one day he would ascend to the upper realm and become a celestial official alongside True Lord Xuantan, so his words were full of flattery.

Xuan Tan Zhenjun withdrew his gaze, closed his eyes to rest, and said:

"You only know me as a constable, but you don't know that I have been in the mortal world for a thousand years. In these thousand years, I have been a peddler, a clerk, a bandit king, and a outlaw."

"These people are me, yet not me. This is a vast and uncertain journey, like a dream, an illusion, destined to vanish at any moment."

"Just like a dream, nothing more than an empty realm."

Despite saying that, when he heard his nephew Zhao Yuan's wailing, Xuan Tan Zhenjun's eyelids still trembled, and he subconsciously looked at the crowd.

It turned out that the funeral procession passed by the site of the children's examination that year, which triggered Zhao Yuan's memories.

Zhao Yuan, who was over sixty years old, began to speak: "When I took the imperial examinations, I failed many times. Although my uncle always scolded me for not being cut out for studying, he always accompanied me and supported my studies for the examinations."

As he spoke, the old man grew increasingly saddened, until a group of people came forward and offered him much comfort, which calmed Zhao Yuan down a little.

At the street corner, the True Lord of the Mysterious Altar remained silent for a long time.

Could he say that he made a bet with someone back then, saying that the Zhao family would definitely produce a scholar, so he decided to try anything to support Zhao Yuan's education?
At Wujiu Slope, in the cemetery where dozens of old friends have been buried, Xu Qing added the last shovelful of soil for Constable Zhao.

The life of Zhao Zhonghe, the head constable of Linjiang, came to a complete end, but the legend of Xuantan Zhenjun continues.

On the ancient Yin River Road, a demonic tiger burst out of the Bone Temple and headed straight for the Yin-Yang Boundary Marker.

Xuan Tan Zhenjun looked at the strange black tiger that resembled both a tiger and a leopard, and a smile finally appeared on his face.

"What are your plans for the future, True Lord?"

Xuan Tan Zhenjun said with a smile, "Back then, my virtuous brother Zheng Nan guarded my tomb here for a thousand years, and only then did he and Brother Xu avenge my great enemy. Now it is my turn to guard this place. I will wait until my strength is restored before making any further plans."

Finally, True Lord Xuantan added, "Brother Xu is an unparalleled hero. If you ever need my help, please don't hesitate to speak up. No matter where the danger is, I will be willing to go!"

Xu Qing bowed in gratitude, but before he left, he heard the True Lord of the Mysterious Altar say:
"Where did Brother Xu get that stick? How did it come to be so perfectly formed?"

Xu Qing didn't think much of it and subconsciously replied, "It's just a naturally formed dog-beating stick, probably a branch from some tree. It's nothing special."

"You really took it!"

Upon hearing Xu Qing's admission, Xuan Tan Zhenjun couldn't help but spit and curse, "It's just a broken stick. Would I, a dignified Zhenjun, possibly conceal it?"

"Here's what you'll do: hand over that stick to me for now, and let me observe it for a few days. Who knows, I might even be able to figure out its origin for you."

Seeing Xu Qing's wary expression, Xuan Tan Zhenjun immediately laughed loudly, "How could I take away someone else's beloved? It was just a joke, brother, why did you take it seriously?"

"."

Xu Qing felt that Zhenjun's personality had become even worse than when he was a constable.

In the fifth year of the Fengjing reign (1546), outside Linjiang City.

Xu Qing set up an altar and performed rituals on Ziyun Mountain, once again using the Immortal-Seeking Technique.

"All things return to the Heavenly Way, all immortals return to their camps. Tonight we bid farewell to the guest from Penglai, for another day we will renew our immortal bond."

Holding the Emperor's Sword, Xu Qing performed a series of movements, and as he unleashed the Immortal Seeking Technique, his consciousness also rose from the ground.

However, this time, with the blessing of the Underworld Emperor's Sword and eight parts of the Netherworld's fortune, Xu Qing's Immortal-Seeking Technique could sense places that were significantly farther away.

He could even vaguely sense the secluded caves of some extraordinary cultivators, while he transformed into a gentle breeze, wandering around with the energy of creation.

After passing through mountains and towns, Xu Qing suddenly opened his eyes when a vast ocean appeared in his mind!
"East Sea, Nine Bend River, Demon Orb Cave Heaven?"

Xu Qing frowned slightly. In the vision of the Immortal Seeking Technique, the Immortal Cave in the Nine Bends River did not look like a blessed land at all. Instead, it was eerie and looked like the place where demons and monsters lived.

However, Xu Qing never judged people by their background or appearance. If we were to judge people by that, he himself would be a demonic being, and all the immortals in his Cat Immortal Hall would be demons.

But when it comes to virtue, which of those famous temples and monasteries, such as the Celestial Master's Mansion and Cizhao Temple, can be considered to be truly virtuous and cultivated?
“Embroiderer, I will be traveling in a few days. This is a drop of Three Lives Stone Dew. Please keep it safe for Shiyue. If her soul ever shows signs of returning to the Dao, you must make her take this drop of stone dew in advance.”

After instructing the embroiderer, Xu Qing returned to the coroner's shop and gave Xuan Yu some more instructions.

However, plans often go awry.

Just as Xu Qing was about to set off for Jiuwan River in the East China Sea, a messenger from the capital suddenly rushed to Tianjin overnight.

The imperial guards didn't have time to say much, only that His Majesty had written a letter that Xu Qing needed to read in person.

Xu Qing opened the letter, and after reading its contents, he frowned. He immediately decided to change his itinerary, deciding to go to the capital first and then travel to the East China Sea.

The letter was short; it said that Zhu Huai'an was nearing his end and wanted to see his old friend one last time before he died.

(End of this chapter)