Chapter 90

Dressed in a red bridal gown, riding a piebald horse, with plum blossom needles hidden in her sleeves.

Xu Qing did not care what he was dressed as; right now, he only wanted to leave this thousand-year-old ancient tomb as quickly as possible.

The living have their paths, and the dead have their roads.

Although the Ancient Path of the Yinhe is the cradle that nurtures these yin ghosts, it is simultaneously the prison that binds them.

Earlier, Hu Baosong had told Xu Qing something.

He said that Liu Youdao had good luck; taking advantage of the moment when the Yang Fire sealed the tomb, he cleverly stole a twin coffin out.

Yang Fire is also known as Heavenly Fire. Xu Qing had originally only half-understood this matter, thinking it was an object from beyond the heavens that had descended, and even if it wasn't meteoric iron, it was at least heavenly lightning.

But when he performed the salvation ritual for Chu Yu and saw her memories, he learned of some secrets unknown to ordinary people.

Among them, some secrets were too ancient, to the point that even in the memories of Chu Yu, this thousand-year-old female ghost, they were merely legends.

Among these legends was the origin of the Ancient Path of the Yinhe.

It is said that this ancient path was once a passage carved out by the diversion of the River of Oblivion in the Underworld ten thousand years ago.

Later, the river water returned to its original course, but this ancient riverbed remained.

At that time, many yin-path practitioners and demons discovered that this ancient path was rich in yin energy, resembling the netherworld, and was very suitable for cultivation. Consequently, these people, or rather, these unclean things, all swarmed in to occupy territory.

This situation continued for several hundred years until the Ancient Path of the Yinhe was carved up into dozens of regions, at which point it tended toward stability.

The Hu-Yang Ancient Tomb, built by Hu Baosong's ancestors, was one such place of cultivation.

However, after so many years of evolution, many ancient tombs have been taken over by later arrivals, becoming the habitats for these yin entities.

Currently, the Princess Tomb where Xu Qing is located is on the edge of the inner perimeter of the Ghost King's Mausoleum, while the Ghost King's Mausoleum itself is on the edge of the Ancient Path of the Yinhe.

Even on the edge, a group of thousand-year-old ghosts are holed up; if it were the inner perimeter, one can only imagine how many old monsters are entrenched there.

Riding the Crown Prince's horse, he galloped all the way. Only after rushing out of the tomb and arriving at the Mandarin Duck Pit at the tomb entrance did Xu Qing look back at the gloomy, seemingly endless tomb passage of the Ghost King's Mausoleum.

Looking up outside the burial mound, the Ancient Path of the Yinhe stretched out, no one knew how wide, and wound on for no one knew how many miles.

Even if Xu Qing used the Qi-Gazing Technique and looked into the distance, he could not pierce through those layers of yin clouds.

A bone-chilling wind blew over the riverbed. On it, the massive skeletons of ox-headed humans and horse-headed humans were half-buried, along with the skeletons of many unknown, strange fish scattered everywhere. Some had already weathered away, while others had been arranged into strange shapes in the riverbed, seemingly as road signs or landmarks.

Looking at the desolate graveyard, Xu Qing felt his own insignificance all the more.

Although zombies have no lifespan, if one truly experiences a thousand or ten thousand years, even if he can withstand the erosion of time, it is hard to guarantee he can avoid the harm of others.

Take these thousand-year-old yin ghosts for example. According to Hu Baosong, when Liu Youdao first set foot in the ancient tomb to steal the coffin, Heavenly Fire descended, but that Heavenly Fire was not the meteoric iron or fire lightning Xu Qing had guessed, but a thousand-year tribulation.

Combining this with Chu Yu's memories, Xu Qing learned that the Heavenly Fire originated deep within the Ghost King's Mausoleum and spread for a hundred miles; it was triggered when the Ghost King underwent the thousand-year tribulation.

All practitioners seek to seize the creation of heaven and earth and encroach upon the mechanisms of the sun and moon. If one possesses five hundred years of cultivation, heavenly lightning will descend to punish them. After another five hundred years, there is the descent of yin fire to burn the body.

These taboos regarding cultivation have been passed down since ancient times, and are even recorded in many secular biographies and miscellaneous accounts.

Xu Qing had originally thought the three disasters were merely ethereal legends, but when he saw the Heavenly Fire spreading across the hundred-mile graveyard from the eyes of Princess Ningyan, he was suddenly awakened.

It turned out that these ethereal things had already appeared on the path ahead of him without him knowing.

Ten years of cultivation achieves an Iron-Armored Corpse, a hundred years achieves a Silver-Armored Corpse, and five hundred years of cultivation makes a Golden-Armored Corpse.

"Being a Corpse King is truly not easy!"

Xu Qing took a deep look at the graveyard that had been burned by the yin fire.

To the naked eye, the graves still stood in rows without any traces of burning, but in the vision of the Qi-Gazing Technique, the land in the distance bordering the Ghost King's Mausoleum presented a gray, withered, and decayed color.

These Heavenly Fires were triggered from the Ghost King and had a very wide reach. Now that the Ghost King's Mausoleum is so quiet, it may well be related to the previous Heavenly Fire.

Although Chu Yu had neglected her own cultivation to maintain her beauty, she had not reached the full cultivation level, and thus did not need to face the tribulation.

But he, Xu Qing, had no anxiety about his appearance.

"Xuanyu has nearly four hundred years of cultivation. If she cultivates for a few more years, she might also have to face the tribulation."

"She is knowledgeable and experienced; perhaps after returning, I can learn from her. There might be a solution."

While lost in thought, the piebald horse had already carried him to the front of the Mandarin Duck Tomb.

Xu Qing flipped off the horse. He flicked his finger lightly against the horse's belly, and the piebald horse transformed into a streak of five-colored spiritual energy, escaping into the Mountain and River Painting Scroll.

He stepped toward the only remaining twin coffin. Lu Ping's corpse was still quietly kneeling inside. At this moment, her head was bowed, and her body was facing Xu Qing perfectly, looking exactly like a loyal maidservant respectfully welcoming her master home.

Xu Qing looked around and found the coffin lid scattered not far away.

Retrieving the coffin lid, Xu Qing looked at the twin coffin before him but did not intend to enter immediately. He closed the coffin lid, clasped his hands together, and used force to pull the coffin out of the burial pit.

Xu Qing tried to store it into the Mountain and River Map, but there was no reaction.

He did not know if it was because the twin coffin occupied too much space, or if the Mountain and River Map could not contain magic treasures with spatial transport functions.

Seeing that he could not store it, Xu Qing simply carried the twin coffin on his back. Then, he activated the Qi-Gazing Technique, found a direction where the yin energy was slightly thinner, and began to run at full speed.

The disappearance of Princess Ningyan would sooner or later be discovered by other yin ghosts in the Ghost King's Mausoleum. If this coffin were left in its original place, it might allow the subordinates of the Ghost King's Mausoleum, or even the Ghost King himself, to follow the coffin and find some clues.

If this coffin truly had the ability he guessed—to transport items back and forth—the ghosts of the Ghost King's Mausoleum might even use it to reach his shop.

One must know that the coffin currently in the Mortician's Shop had already had its layers of seals removed by him, and he had never come into contact with profound formations or restrictions, so how could he defend against a visit from the other side?

By then, perhaps he would be petting his cat, eating a candle, and humming a song, only to be suddenly kidnapped by a group of yin soldiers borrowing the path!

To whom would he go to reason then?

Carrying the coffin, he arrived at a place twenty miles away from the Ghost King's Mausoleum and found an inconspicuous grave among a group of wild, desolate tombs.

He casually performed a salvation ritual for the remains lying inside, and after obtaining a trivial life skill, he put down the twin coffin and buried it in the pit.

After dealing with the coffin, Xu Qing took out feng shui suppression objects and buried them around the empty grave, forming a Yang dwelling layout that was diametrically opposed to the Yin dwelling style.

In this way, this grave became a 'cursed house' in the eyes of yin entities.

Returning to the grave and sealing the tomb door, Xu Qing pondered for a moment and still felt it was not appropriate enough. Not fearing the trouble, he immediately directed the puppet to dig a secret chamber behind the grave.

He dug out the buried twin coffin and changed its location again. Afterward, Xu Qing took out several jars of filth that suppressed yin evil and set up a pitfall in the main chamber of the grave. He did not put any spikes or mechanisms inside, only some 'Heavenly Sunflower Water' and 'Human-Center Yellow' and other thin, watery things.

Finally, Xu Qing dug out a corpse from the box garden, placed it in the main tomb chamber, and created signs that it had already been opened and looted by someone.

Only after doing all this did he feel at ease entering the twin coffin.

Closing the coffin lid, Xu Qing looked up at the coffin space, about a yard in circumference, and fell into deep thought.

Earlier, when he was consuming Corpse-Nurturing Pills to cultivate in the Mortician's Shop, he had inadvertently emitted dense yin energy. However, when that yin energy touched the walls inside the coffin, there was an inexplicable suction force that absorbed most of the pure yin energy he had leaked.

"Could it be that the coffin's characteristic of moving objects requires yin energy to trigger?"

Xu Qing's heart stirred, and he immediately mobilized the yin-spiritual energy within his body, causing it to pour into the coffin continuously.

The familiar suction force came, and the runes engraved inside the twin coffin flickered with a faint light. When all the runes lit up, Xu Qing's vision blurred, and the coffin lid that had been in front of him had already turned into a gray-white grave.

Turning around, Xu Qing's eyes brightened; he saw that the twin coffin's lid had returned to its correct orientation, just as before.

Pushing open the heavy coffin lid, the long-lost light fell upon him.

"Meow?"

In the Mortician's Shop, Xuanyu, who had been waiting bitterly for a long time, widened her eyes, her mouth slightly agape, her cat face filled with shock.

Since when did the coffin in the Mortician's Shop become a wardrobe?

And why was there a bridal gown inside?

Raising her head to look at the young man in front of her wearing a phoenix coronet and a ceremonial robe, Xuanyu asked suspiciously:

"Is Immortal Xu getting married?"

"."

Xu Qing was stunned upon hearing this. Afterward, he looked down at the bright red bridal gown on his body. Even though his skin was thick enough, he could not help but blush under the reflection of the red silk.

"What nonsense are you talking about? I'm a grown man, who would I be marrying?"

"But I've seen the clothes Immortal Xu is wearing before. Those are clothes only worn by young ladies from wealthy families when they get married."

"Do you think I look like a young lady from a wealthy family?"

"Hmm." Xuanyu came to Xu Qing's side, extended her front paw, and tentatively hooked the hem of the skirt dragging on the ground.

She looked up at Xu Qing and said, "I once grew up accompanying a young lady from an official's family. After she put on these clothes, she married to a place very, very far away. They said that there, the four seasons are like spring and it never snows."

"I didn't follow her, and since then, I have never seen her again."

"Although Immortal Xu is not a young lady from a wealthy family, I have heard that when a man marries into a wife's family, it also counts as getting married."

"Will Immortal Xu also marry into a family very, very far away?"

"."

Xu Qing looked down at the cat with a serious face and was somewhat dazed.

Xuanyu's tone had been calm from beginning to end. It seemed that in the eyes of a long-lived species, the people they met were all hurried passersby; after a long time, even if someone they were familiar with left, they would become accustomed to it.

"If I really were to go to a distant place, what would Immortal Xuanyu think?" Xu Qing asked curiously.

Xuanyu blinked upon hearing this and said, "Immortal Xu is not an ordinary person. I imagine you can also live for a long time. We will eventually have a day to meet again."

"Have you never thought about going with me to travel the world and wander everywhere?"

"The outside world is too big. I took a look once before, and since then I returned to Jinmen and never had the thought of going out again."

"Lady Qingqing has profound magic power; surely she wouldn't suffer a loss outside?"

Xu Qing felt that the little cat in front of him was hiding a big secret. His eyes lit up, and he subconsciously tempted Xuanyu to reveal her past experiences.

"." Xuanyu looked up at the gossiping young man and said with some regret, "People have slips of the hand, horses have stumbles, and cats are the same. I was born with nine lives. When I was in Jinmen, I never suffered any damage. I only went out once, and I lost one life."

"The outside world is too dangerous. Immortal Xu had best not travel far easily."

Xu Qing couldn't help but ask, "You are an immortal with profound cultivation; what kind of thing could you have encountered to lose a life?"

"Does Immortal Xu want to seek justice for me?"

Xu Qing pondered for a moment and nodded.

"If possible, Immortal Xuanyu's enemy will definitely die before me."

In Xu Qing's eyes, as long as he lived long enough, he could outlive Xuanyu's enemies.

Xuanyu seemed not to have heard the subtext in Xu Qing's words. She was quite moved and said, "In that case, I cannot tell Immortal Xu even more. They are very powerful. If Immortal Xu goes to stand up for me, it is very likely you will be like me and lose a life."

"."

Xu Qing had nothing to say. How many lives did he have left?

Right now, he only had this half-life left.

Seeing this, Xu Qing stopped asking. Just as Xuanyu said, his cultivation was still too low. Since the other party was unwilling to mention these things, he would leave it to time.

Both he and Xuanyu were the type who could live a long time. After a hundred, a thousand, or even ten thousand years passed, those enemies might have already turned into corpses.

He was proficient in the art of locating graves and geomancy, and had the Corpse-Seeking Formula and the Purple Star Astrology. At that time, he didn't believe he wouldn't be able to find the corpses of those adversaries.

He didn't dare to fight them while they were alive, but once they were dead, wouldn't they be at his mercy?

"Why is Immortal Xu laughing?" Seeing Xu Qing's sinister smile, Xuanyu felt that his smile was even more terrifying than the enemy who had once plotted against her life.

"I am not laughing at others, I am just laughing at the lack of strategy of those who offended me, and the lack of wisdom of the enemy who harmed you. If I were your enemy, I would definitely pursue you for thousands of miles to find your tracks, just to cut the weeds and eliminate the roots, leaving no future trouble."

Xuanyu's breath hitched, and she inexplicably felt a chill rising from the soles of her feet, rushing straight to her forehead.

"Immortal Xu, please don't make such jokes."

Xuanyu's soft, silk-like fur stood up involuntarily. She turned her head to look at the tightly closed door of the Mortician's Shop, only then did she heave a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, she had now established a hall, had a group of immortals as eyes and ears and helpers, and had Immortal Xu's company. She imagined there shouldn't be any accidents.

Relieved, Xuanyu sat on the ground, her tail just circling around to block her front paws, which were placed together.

"Speaking of which, Immortal Xu stayed in the coffin for a very long time..."

Xuanyu was right about this. Before closing the coffin, Xu Qing had promised to come out in the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, but she had waited for three full incense sticks, yet she hadn't seen him come out of the coffin.

Although humans can calculate time, most of the time they are not punctual.

They are either a bit fast or very slow.

This was the experience Xuanyu had summarized over the years of dealing with humans.

The official's daughter who once had a bond with her had said before getting into the sedan chair to get married that it wouldn't take long before she would come back to visit her.

As a result, she waited for many years, until she reached an age that ordinary people couldn't live to, before she left in disappointment.

There was another time when the son of the restaurant proprietor said he was going to join the army. Before leaving, he made a promise that he would return in three years.

Unfortunately, three years later, Xuanyu waited for the proprietor for a long time, but she didn't see the other party's figure appear outside the restaurant.

It wasn't until many years later that an official runner delivered a blood-stained final letter and some death compensation money.

Xu Qing happened to turn around to lift Lu Ping's corpse out at this moment, so he didn't notice the fleeting look of loneliness on Xuanyu's face.

In his eyes, Xuanyu had always appeared to be fearless of the changes of time. For him, this was the direction he was moving toward. As for how he would recall today's past in the future, that was unknown.

"Xuanyu, this is a gift for you. From now on, she is your disciple. You can give her a Daoist name for walking the world. It's best if it's more imposing and domineering. How about Sun Erzhuang?"

(End of this chapter)