[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-living-among-all-heavens-achieving-immortality-t":3,"chapter-living-among-all-heavens-achieving-immortality-t-living-among-all-heavens-achieving-immortality-t-chapter-344":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Living Among All Heavens, Achieving Immortality Through Merit",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2323912,4545,"Chapter 344: Gu Qing Is Too Pure","living-among-all-heavens-achieving-immortality-t-chapter-344",344,"\u003Cp>Night deepened; the streets grew silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The night watchman passed before Tongren Hall, seeing the front door shrouded in darkness, tapped his bamboo clapper twice, cried, “Dry weather, watch your candles,” and turned to leave—when he suddenly sensed a shadow near the door. He lifted his lantern forward: the paint was fresh, the steps worn and dull, no one in sight—so he continued on his way.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Further ahead, lanterns hung, casting a glow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hmph!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiao Qing’s figure suddenly appeared, standing before Tongren Hall. Without caring whether the door was locked, she stepped inside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Stop, demon!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the very entrance of Tongren Hall, two figures materialized—clad in golden armor, wielding axes and whips, their bearing majestic. As they raised their hands, divine light shimmered into being.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Door gods!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiao Qing looked at the two door gods, strolled forward, and sneered: “You two petty door gods think you can stop me?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In this world, all things have spirits. The painted gods on doors have already summoned divine presence. Now their axes and whips barred her path—but Xiao Qing was unafraid. She knew these were merely faint afterimages cast down from the heavenly door gods: pure, righteous, and repelling ghosts—but if faced with a strong foe, they were nothing but hollow paper shells.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiao Qing struck out with one palm, slapping the two door gods back onto the door, then strode boldly through the gate and into the courtyard. She hadn’t eaten dinner tonight—she’d come solely to trouble Gu Qing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But as soon as she entered the courtyard, her body stiffened. Inside stood the Well God, the Bed God, and the Toilet God—three immortals lounging idly. As Xiao Qing stepped in, all three turned their heads to glance at her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This household worships so many gods?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiao Qing ignored the Well God, Bed God, and Toilet God, walking straight toward the main hall. As she stepped through the doorway, she felt several beams of intense light. She turned her head—and saw the portraits of Shennong, Bianque, Sun Simiao, and Wei Shanjun all glowing. Even a serpent demon who had cultivated for five hundred years dared not defy these great deities. The light flared, flinging Xiao Qing back out into the courtyard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Heh…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A serpent truly can laugh when silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiao Qing had never imagined Gu Qing’s home housed so many immortals—and even more astonishing, they had truly answered his call.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With these gods protecting him, Gu Qing was immune to all evil.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The divine light had stung but not harmed her, yet Xiao Qing looked disheveled. She returned to the door, clenched her fist, and pounded on it—bang, bang, bang.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Open up!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiao Qing shouted at the door.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A sound came from the back courtyard. Xiao Qing heard hurried footsteps. When the bolt slid open, a lantern rose upward. In its dim glow, she saw Gu Qing’s face—and her heart flared with anger. She wanted to scold him, but found her voice stuck. Finally, she complained: “Everyone else hangs lanterns at their doors. Why is yours pitch black? Can’t you afford candles?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oh my…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gu Qing’s whole body went numb at this topic. In today’s Hangzhou, seven out of ten houses were built of bamboo, wood, and thatch. Merchants still hung lanterns on them. Honestly, if a modern firefighter were to time-travel here and see Hangzhou, he’d have a heart attack.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Watch your candles!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gu Qing, determined not to add to the danger, was extremely cautious with fire—hence he never hung lanterns at his door.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Watch what candles? So timid and cautious!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiao Qing frowned. “I came to see how the snakes you bought are doing.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So Master Cen is worried about the snakes?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gu Qing invited her in, relocked the door, and led her to the back courtyard. As they passed the main hall, Xiao Qing glanced at the many deities enshrined inside and gave a slight sneer. In the back courtyard, she saw Gu Qing had prepared a side room: bamboo and wooden crates stacked, each pierced with holes of various sizes—and all the snakes he’d bought were inside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiao Qing opened each crate one by one. Some held wood shavings, others soil. No species was mixed. A few long snakes, having just eaten rats, lay lazily curled inside. The snakes under Gu Qing’s care suffered no neglect.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiao Qing’s expression shifted. She glanced at Gu Qing and said: “You’re quite good at raising snakes.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Impressive, right? This is the specialty of Ouyang Feng and the Ten Thousand Poisons Sect!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gu Qing smiled faintly, avoiding her question. Instead, he lifted his lantern and led her to a wooden crate. “Brother Cen, come look at this.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiao Qing stepped closer. In the lantern’s light, two snakes were entwined together. The sight made her face flush. She quickly turned her head away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To Gu Qing, this was nothing. To Xiao Qing, it was too risqué.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Today I noticed this female snake was acting strange. At night, she kept slithering around, desperately seeking a male snake, actively drawing near him, even neglecting food and drink.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gu Qing chuckled. “I brought a male snake over—and sure enough, they paired up.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he spoke, Gu Qing clicked his tongue in amusement.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’re the one in heat!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiao Qing felt every word carried hidden meaning. She felt exposed, even began questioning why she herself had been slithering so often at night. She snapped:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Huh?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gu Qing finally turned, surprised by her reaction. “Brother Cen, why are you angry?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His gaze was so pure, Xiao Qing had no reply.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What will you do with these snakes?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiao Qing asked, turning her back to Gu Qing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beneath the moonlight, her robes were thin, her figure slender. A breeze from the window made her waist appear especially delicate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was a genuine water-slime waist.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Of course, I’ll raise them slowly.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gu Qing looked at the snakes in the crates. “I won’t let them harm people, nor let people harm them. If I care for them properly, they’ll live longer than they would in the wild.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As a serpent demon, Xiao Qing could see these snakes would thrive under Gu Qing’s care. But hearing him speak this way, her voice took on an odd tone: “Do you like snakes?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Not particularly.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gu Qing lifted his lantern and walked with Xiao Qing to the main hall. He took the teapot from the charcoal fire, poured her a cup of tea, then sat down with a sigh: “In this dark world, holding onto a little warmth is what keeps you from freezing to death.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gu Qing sipped his tea, shivering at the state of the world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiao Qing drank silently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One Kun year can teach a chicken to sing, dance, and play basketball. Xiao Qing had cultivated for two hundred Kun years. When she was born, Li Shimin was still alive. Over five hundred years, she’d seen countless cycles of human rise and fall. She didn’t truly grasp Gu Qing’s “dark world”—but she thought him a warm-hearted good man.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’ll come visit you often.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiao Qing rose after finishing her tea. “Take good care of these snakes—or I won’t let you off easy!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gu Qing watched her, smiling: “Brother Cen, are you here to see me—or the snakes?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Of course the snakes… not you, not at all!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After saying this, Xiao Qing stepped lightly, swiftly crossing the street, vanishing from Gu Qing’s sight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Arrogant pride is out of fashion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now it’s all about sickly obsession…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gu Qing was teasing himself inwardly when his body stiffened. He realized—maybe arrogance was better. He turned—and saw two figures standing before the door: golden armor, majestic bearing. They stared at Gu Qing, sternly saying: “Boy, you’ve made us lose face!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You two are…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gu Qing glanced around and asked tentatively: “The door gods?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Of course!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two door gods spoke in unison, then fixed their gaze on Gu Qing: “We possess boundless divine power—but because of you, we were humiliated by a minor demon. Do you know why?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gu Qing shook his head. I thought you two were just weak.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Because you don’t know how to summon gods!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two door gods spoke together.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Originally, on this dark, windy night, a minor slip-up was nothing. The two door gods didn’t care. But inside the courtyard stood the Well God, Bed God, Toilet God—and deeper within, the sacred images of Shennong, Bianque, Sun Simiao, and Wei Shanjun—all manifesting. That made them feel utterly humiliated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gu Qing immediately asked for guidance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Our power is like the moon in the sky, shining everywhere—on grass, trees, ridges, ditches, everywhere. But moonlight shines bright on water, bright on white stones—but fails to illuminate a sewer.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The door gods said: “We came to your home—and got stuck in a sewer.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Why not look at your own fault after being beaten by Xiao Qing?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gu Qing knew every commotion out front—even if his home were a sewer, why didn’t Shennong get humiliated too?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bottom line: you’re just weak!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gu Qing mocked them inwardly, yet his face grew even more reverent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We only guide you because we see you have no selfish motives—only pure goodness.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The door gods tossed him a token. “Take this to the City God Temple. The people there will instruct you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two gods vanished, fading away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gu Qing held the token, feeling its deep, ancient texture. Its carving depicted a gate, inscribed with Daoist divine symbols. As he studied it, he cried inwardly: Brothers, clear-eyed purity really does get you ahead!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Let me get to the City God Temple…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gu Qing weighed the token in his hand, realizing this entire strange encounter was all thanks to Xiao Qing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He stood stunned for a long while, playing his shock perfectly, then bowed several times to the two door gods before closing the door and stepping inside—barely holding back his laughter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1642,"2026-06-20T17:04:27.745Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","0e473ac0df0b3578f3860d65a5aef617e935844152758f0dff70cab633693caf","living-among-all-heavens-achieving-immortality-t-chapter-345","living-among-all-heavens-achieving-immortality-t-chapter-343",449,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fliving-among-all-heavens-achieving-immortality-t-cover.jpg"]