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

Chapter 441 The key to war is strategy; victory is achieved in a single battle.

Inside and outside the imperial city, gunpowder smoke and ubiquitous cold weapons created a chaotic mess.

Xu Qing saw that the foreigners were brazenly clamoring that their naval artillery force had arrived at the mouth of the Tianjin Strait, and that the era of firearms dominance had arrived.

However, the next moment the foreigner grabbed his own neck, and countless flying insects flew out of his mouth. As soon as the swarm came into contact with sunlight, they turned into ashes in an instant.
This is the Divine Erosion Technique that Xu Qing obtained from the Pope. This technique does not create things out of thin air, but rather summons a kind of Divine Erosion larva that exists on the edge of 'hell' and uses turbid qi and yin evil as its breeding ground.

These insects live by relying on turbid and yin energy, and they can also sense the similar aura produced when evil thoughts arise in living beings.

When it senses this aura, the God-Eating Insect will choose a host and continuously influence and amplify the host's malignant nature, attempting to use it as its fertile ground for survival.

However, this aura is only similar and not the real turbid and yin energy. When the Divine Devouring Insect discovers that the malevolent energy of humans is inedible, it will become completely frenzied and then devour the flesh and blood of its host, transforming into an adult flying insect to continue searching for suitable soil to survive.

This Western secret art is similar to a branch of esoteric Buddhism, what foreigners call black magic or necromancy. In China, it would be considered the most despised heretical and evil practices.

Ignoring the soldiers blocking his way, Xu Qing continued walking straight toward the palace where the descendants of the Zhu family resided.

Whenever rebels blocked the road, whether they were soldiers with knives and halberds or foreigners with muskets and iron guns, they would turn into mummies and lie on the ground before they could even get close.

Outside the main hall, the stench of blood from insects bursting open in the scorching sunlight shot straight into the sky.

In a short time, the entire imperial city was shrouded in blood.

When no one dared to go any further, Xu Qing arrived at the palace where the descendants of the Zhu family lived.

At this moment, a heavily injured eunuch was blocking the front of the palace. Behind the eunuch was the empress, who had already died from drinking poison, and the princes and princesses who were holding wine cups and weeping bitterly.

"General Duan, it looks to me like you're planning a rebellion!"

Before the palace, the fully armored general sheathed his sword, his gaze passing over the eunuch before him and landing on the prince hiding behind him.

"Eunuch Li, His Majesty has passed away. I was only trying to protect the Crown Prince. As for rebelling, Eunuch Li, forcing a member of the imperial family to commit suicide by poison, isn't that also rebellion?"

With bloodshot eyes and trembling body, Eunuch Li said, "This is His Majesty's decree. If we cannot escort His Highness out of the capital, we must end this immediately. We must not allow His Highness to fall into the hands of barbarian rebels."

The general surnamed Duan frowned and said, "Our Great Yan has not yet been defeated. Why is Eunuch Li so disheartened? Here's what we'll do: entrust the prince and princess to me. After I quell the rebellion, I will support the crown prince to ascend the throne and continue the destiny of our Great Yan."

Just as Eunuch Li was hesitating, a young man swaggered into the hall.

"Who are you?"

Looking at the tense atmosphere in the hall, Xu Qing glanced around and said, "I have been entrusted by the Emperor to escort the Zhu family bloodline out of the capital."

When Xu Qing saw the princes and princesses behind Eunuch Li, he immediately felt relieved; thankfully, he had made it in time.

"You say the Emperor's decree is the Emperor's decree? I think you're probably a traitor colluding with foreign rebels!"

Xu Qing ignored the general's words and walked straight towards Eunuch Li. There were soldiers from the Great Yan Dynasty around him who wanted to stop him, but they found that their bodies were completely unresponsive.

"Father-in-law, are these children all descendants of the Zhu family?"

Eunuch Li was filled with doubt and surprise, but due to the other party's supernatural abilities, he could only believe that the young man in front of him was a master invited by His Majesty.

"Your Highness, this is the current Crown Prince, and this is Princess Yanning."

Xu Qing nodded, then looked again at the woman who had died by drinking poison in front of Princess Yan Ning.

"I will handle the Emperor's funeral arrangements on his behalf. The Empress's remains should also be laid to rest and buried with the Emperor."

After saying this, Xu Qing began to prepare the woman's body for burial in front of everyone. Once the woman's face was no longer grotesque and terrifying, paper figures were used to carry the coffin.

"Sir, are you truly an old friend of my father's?"

Outside the capital, the former crown prince Zhu Yi couldn't help but ask a question.

Xu Qing smiled and said, "I am not an old friend of your father, but an old friend of your great-great-grandfather."

"Great-grandfather?"

Zhu Yi's eyes widened, his face filled with disbelief.

"Sir, if you recognize your great-great-grandfather, wouldn't he have lived for over a hundred years?"

Xu Qing chuckled but did not answer.

An old eunuch who had accompanied Zhu Yi out of the palace suddenly asked, "Sir, with such supernatural powers, you must be able to easily quell the chaos in the world."

Xu Qing put away his smile and said, "After the Yong Dynasty, there should not have been a Zhu family dynasty. The Zhu family defied fate and ruled for five generations, which is already the limit of destiny."

“You have lived in the imperial family since childhood, how could you not know that since the founding emperor, none of the Zhu family’s descendants have lived long and died peacefully?”

"."

Zhu Yi and his sister were speechless.

Since his great-grandfather, no one in the Zhu family has lived a long life, and even the descendants are few and far between.

By the fifth generation, the Zhu family descendants were already struggling to continue their lineage.

Even Zhu Yi was only born because Zhu Jian made several trips to Ziyun Mountain in Tianjin to pay homage.

The incompetence of Zhu's descendants was a major reason for the instability in the court and the resulting turmoil.

“Even those who cultivate themselves and defy fate often suffer from five afflictions and three deficiencies. When I forcibly changed the fate of my ancestor Zhu, I also suffered from karmic obstacles.”

"However, since I could not control that karmic obstacle, I had no choice but to impose all the consequences on the Zhu family."

“I promised your ancestors that I would protect one branch of the Zhu family bloodline so that it could continue. Now is the time for me to fulfill my promise.”

Zhu Yi murmured, "Grandfather Taizu foresaw this day long ago. No wonder my grandfather became a monk. Before he did, he said that the Zhu family's rule was not a blessing, but a curse."

"."

Upon hearing this, Xu Qing retorted irritably, "Does Zhu Qian think that becoming a monk will eliminate his karmic obstacles? If your great-grandfather hadn't had such ambitions back then, the Zhu family bloodline would probably have been extinguished long ago!"

"Don't try to act innocent after getting the benefits!"

"As for your grandfather," Xu Qing thought of Zhu Qian, who hid in Gujue Temple, spending his days eating vegetarian food, chanting Buddhist prayers, and asking Buddha for protection, and said incisively, "He was just afraid of dying!"

When Zhu Qian was still the emperor, he asked Chen Liuer of Gujue Temple about the divine retribution against the Zhu family.

At that time, Chen Liuer, who was a high-ranking Buddhist monk, pointed out a desperate solution to Zhu Qian: to abandon everything and become a monk in order to resolve his karmic obstacles and prolong his life.

Now that the Zhu family has withdrawn at the opportune moment, it's possible that Zhu Qian, who had become a monk, might turn around and return to secular life to become a wealthy man.

These are all things that can't be said for sure.

"Sir, you are a living immortal. May I ask when this chaotic world will be settled? And who will rule the land in the next dynasty?"

Xu Qing glanced at Eunuch Li, who had asked the question, and said, "Heaven has sent forth its killing intent, and chaos is destined to reign in this world. The next few decades will be turbulent years, and the scope of this calamity will extend far beyond the Great Yan."

"The four directions of heaven and earth, even foreign territories, will be beset by calamity."

If you ask who can hold onto the throne...

Xu Qing smiled faintly and said, "There may be incompetent emperors who declare themselves kings, but it's probably hard to find a true emperor!"

The Great Yan Kingdom's destiny has been lost, and the dragon veins of the world have been severed. From now on, even those who have mastered the art of slaying dragons will face a situation where there are no dragons left to slay.

Not far from the capital, Xu Qing and his party saw a military force from the north, carrying banners bearing the character "Yuan," heading towards the capital.

"Which army is this?" The crowd moved aside, and Eunuch Li was momentarily stunned as he looked at the soldiers and officers whose military bearing was completely different from that of the Great Yan.

Xu Qing's expression turned strange as he deduced the Qimen Dunjia.

The theory of destiny is truly mysterious.

Even if the times change, the person destined to face calamity will still appear.

Xu Qing looked towards the capital city, where the grass python was coiled, and the people outside the city wielding python-slaying broadswords were already approaching.

"In just half a month, those who wanted to ride the dragon have changed their minds three times. How could the wars in the secular world have suddenly become so severe?"

Xu Qing performed another deduction, and this time he saw the root cause that caused the war to spread so rapidly.

"The entrance to the Yin River?"

Xu Qing crossed the boundary between Yin and Yang and saw the source of all the killing intent: an ancient and strange being with a bronze head and an iron forehead, resembling a ferocious beast.

Besides the strange man, Xu Qing also saw the remaining four sect leaders from Shu, Cangzhou, and Beiyan gathered together.

That ancient and strange person was none other than the 'Master of Soldiers', who held the first position among the twelve leaders of the Yin River Sect.

Although Xu Qing knew that the calamities of the mortal world were related to the leader of the Yinhe Sect, he did not expect that the leader, who held the first position, would have the ability to mobilize all races in the world to cause war and chaos.

"After the calamity of war, less than one in ten people will survive, and the trend of evil rising and good declining will be strengthened like never before."

Xu Qing instantly understood.

His annihilation of most of the leaders of the Yinhe Sect has alarmed the other demons who were fighting independently. Knowing that they could not defeat the numerous disciples of the Da Luo Sect by themselves, the demons naturally chose to band together for mutual support and fight against the enemy.

Previously, the White Bone Bodhisattva and the Corpse Buddha were the beginnings, but the fact that the two demons were still forcefully eliminated by the Great Luo Sect after they gathered together completely ignited the survival instinct of the remaining demons.

With nearly half of the Yinhe Gate leaders and the Bingzhu (the leader of the army) in first place, this battle looks like it won't be easy to win.

For the first time, Xu Qing felt like he was facing a tangled mess and had no idea where to start.

With so many corpses, which one should we begin the ritual of sending them to the afterlife?
Otherwise, we should cut the Gordian knot.

As for whether he can cut through it or not, that depends on how fast Xu Qing's blade is!

However, with five or six sect leaders gathered right now, even if he could truly eliminate them, he would still need to gather five or six Nascent Soul Realm True Persons to preside over the counter-enhancing formation.

"Mind Connection, Master of Pure Emptiness"

Xu Qing calculated that even if he brought the Master of Jingxu Temple into the Great Luo Sect, there would still be three short.

"We can't let the Cat Immortal Hall handle the affairs of the Great Luo Sect."

Although Xu Qing managed the three religions, he never allowed them to be directly involved in their affairs.

He would not easily send immortals such as Xuan Yu and Bai Qiuyu to help unless absolutely necessary.

In times of chaos, it is always necessary to have some strength to fall back on. If all strength is used up at once, how will the disciples of the three religions cope with the changes in the future?
After much deliberation, Xu Qing decided to lead several existing sect leaders to visit various places to see any reclusive masters who might exist. Even if it meant forcing himself on them, he was determined to get his hands on their bodies!

Whether the world is in chaos or not is entirely up to the Great Luo Sect to decide!
Xu Qing refused to entrust his fate to others; he only trusted his own choices.

To save the world, we must first stop the fighting.

The key to war is to devise a strategy; victory can be achieved in a single battle.

In a short time, Xu Qing had already come up with a solution.

The calamities of war do not lie in the change of dynasties, but in the calamity itself.

Baosheng Temple is in charge of marriage and procreation, while Cat Fairy Hall protects all families, ensuring favorable weather and abundant harvests.

The Daluo Sect was founded to resolve natural disasters and prevent any crises that could overturn the secular world.

As the leader of the Great Luo Sect, he must resolve the issue of the Lord of War, who controls the power of war and slaughter in the Yin River, and he must also end the influence of the calamity on the mortal world from its source.

In the seventh year of Yongning, the Great Yan dynasty collapsed overnight.

In the same year, the remnants of the Yong Dynasty attempted to rely on foreign barbarians to restore the Great Yong Dynasty.

The following year, Duan Hongchang, a general of the Great Yan Dynasty, joined forces with the Beiyang Army to completely eliminate the remnants of the Yongzheng Emperor. Afterwards, Duan Hongchang went to Gujue Temple, attempting to coerce the emperor and rebuild the Great Yan Dynasty.

However, when Duan Hongchang arrived at Gujue Temple, the huge temple had vanished into thin air, leaving only an empty, white space!

When Duan Hongchang's plan failed and he was about to leave, a soldier found a wooden plaque at the foot of an ancient tree at the mountain gate.

It contained only a few Zen sayings:

Drawing water with a bamboo basket, though no water is retained, the basket remains clean;

Life is like a flowing river; those who cling to things suffer, while those who let go find peace of mind.
This should be interpreted as: "To claim kingship and ancestorship is ultimately an illusion; to fill a bamboo basket with water leaves no trace."

Duan Hongchang looked at the ruins of Gujue Temple, which were even smoother and cleaner than his own face, and knew exactly what the other party was referring to.
This was to tell him that he couldn't find the person, and his plan to become emperor was destined to fail.

Duan Hongchang was furious. He immediately smashed the wooden plaque with his palm and ordered his men to set the temple on fire.

"General, there's no temple here, how can we burn it?"

Duan Hongchang roared, "If there's no temple, then burn the mountain! Burn this entire mountain down!"

Meanwhile, in Tianjin.

Inside the Great Luo Sect, Chen Liuer, who was consulting Xu Qing about the physical flow of Buddhist teachings, suddenly uttered a Buddhist chant.

"My sins, my sins."

"what happened?"

Chen Liuer smiled bitterly and said, "I have broken the precept against speaking too much. Because of the coup in the capital, I had to move away from the temple and live in seclusion. I was resentful, so I left a Zen saying at the temple gate under the guise of enlightenment."

"But unexpectedly, it was precisely because of this Zen saying that trouble was caused, resulting in all the plants and living things in the mountains suffering an undeserved disaster. This is a great sin."

Xu Qing shook his head, not taking Chen Liuer's words to heart. Although he, Xu Laojiang, was a benevolent man, he would not feel guilty for the sake of plants, insects, and rodents.

Having performed rituals for the deceased for over a million people, he had long since passed the stage of being sentimental.

Even if a deceased friend is about to pass away, he will at most perform a Buddhist ritual to fulfill their last wishes. As for making them weep bitterly, that is absolutely out of the question.

"Chen Liuer, you must carefully study the Buddhist supernatural powers I teach you. You must know that simply chanting scriptures and reciting Buddha's name cannot save the world. Only by possessing supernatural powers can you help those in need and compassionately guide them."

Chen Liuer nodded and said, "This student will keep in mind your teachings, sir."

After settling the Zhu family lineage and teaching Chen Liuer supernatural powers, Xu Qing led Xin Yuan and others to Shu and Cangzhou, hoping to find more like-minded people.

The Wuyi people of Shu, and the Chenghuang people of Cangzhou.
Xu Qing was indiscriminate in his hunger, and he abducted anyone who was virtuous enough, whether they were witches or demons.

Whether the other party is willing or not is completely outside his consideration.

As for the sense of belonging to the Great Luo Sect, it's like an arranged marriage; it can be cultivated slowly after the wedding night.

Those who have been through this are the most qualified to speak on this point.

(End of this chapter)