I Only Want to Lie Flat But Am Forced to Cultivate Immortality-Chapter 912 - 439: Ironclad Ships at the Gates, Hundred Ghosts Roam by Day (Part 2)

Chapter 912: Chapter 439: Ironclad Ships at the Gates, Hundred Ghosts Roam by Day (Part 2)

"..."

Nonsense!

Seeing that no useful information could be obtained, Xu Qing simply set aside the matter of this strange figure that appeared in the long river of history.

The most important issue at present is the matter of the foreigners knocking at the gate.

Xu Qing said, "We in the Middle Kingdom never take the initiative to invade, but those Western barbarians often love to kill and plunder. If we let the thieving stars into the gate, who knows how long it will take for the mountains and rivers before us to recover?"

Ascendant Fuluan frowned and said: "Sect Leader, we, who are people outside the mundane world, must not meddle in worldly disputes, especially warfare. If we do interfere, it’s not just that the heavenly laws won’t allow it; the fear is that it will damage heavenly virtue in the future, bringing about karmic fire that would consume us..."

Xu Qing chuckled softly: "Karmic fire? Let me ask you, what era is this in the world today?"

"It is an age of great calamity!"

Xu Qing’s gaze was deep: "Cultivators experience the three disasters of thunder, fire, and wind, which are considered heavenly calamities. And now, in this age of great calamity, the living beings in the world face the small three disasters, namely swords and soldiers, plague, and famine."

"These three disasters should not occur; only because of the influence of calamity, it stirs the calamity aura, bringing forth all kinds of disasters."

"When calamity arises, turbid air forms, the human heart becomes perverted, wars break out, kin slaughters kin, leading to the disaster of swords and soldiers. Without calamity, do you think the current disaster of swords and soldiers would occur?"

Xu Qing continued: "Buddha states the cycle of formation, existence, destruction, and emptiness. At present, the celestial path is severed, already at the end of the existence stage."

"If we remain indifferent, allowing the three disasters to unfold, the human lifespan will swiftly reduce to thirty. When famine arises, they will face the three-seven calamity; by then, on the seventh day of the seventh month of the seventh year, the land will be barren, and the roads filled with the dead."

"At that time, the human lifespan will drop to twenty, plague will occur, disease demons will roam in daylight, and nine out of ten households will be empty."

"Within two hundred years, the human lifespan will further reduce to ten, all-out war will erupt in the world, and within just seven days, all vegetation will turn to dust, leading to total slaughter across the world!"

When Xu Qing mentioned the human lifespan, he was not referring to an individual’s life span but the average life span of the people.

Once war breaks out, the average life span of the people will inevitably plummet.

Two hundred years later is the final deadline, an era Xu Qing has never experienced in the past.

Currently, the end of the existence stage has arrived, yet people cannot see the crisis two hundred years ahead. As the Great Luo Sect Leader, having witnessed future events, he cannot allow the calamity to unfold.

"Xu Junfang, today’s peril is not merely the difficulty faced by you and me as cultivators outside this world, but the calamity of all beings, a test from beyond the Grand Dao. If we succeed, we both will attain good results, but if we fail..."

"As long as the calamity cannot be transcended, the celestial path will never open. We cannot talk of attaining the Dao, not to mention, even trying to escape the killing calamity during the existence stage won’t be easy!"

Much of what Xu Qing said was heartfelt, with only one omission, which is the killing calamity.

The killing calamity targets only the living. Once experienced by celestial maidens, they died and transformed into female ghosts, who then no longer feared the killing calamity.

Because the female ghosts are already in a corpse-like state, and the dead will never be targeted by the killing calamity.

Xu Qing, being a zombie, similarly does not fear the extinction calamity at the end of the existence stage.

But now he cannot sit by and watch the entire world head towards its end.

The cat at the Funeral Shop, the fox at the coffin shop, the ghost at Shuimen Bridge Villa, and the vibrant disciples of the Three Religions.

Xu Qing is no longer the solitary Corpse Driver of the past; now he has a large family and business, and his ties with the secular world are increasingly deep.

It can be said that aside from his zombie self,the Three Religions are his greatest reliance and wealth.

Now, someone wants to seize his wealth. Can he agree to it?

"Sect Leader..."

Seeing Ascendant Fuluan still hesitating, Xu Qing frowned, immediately shouted, and pointed out: "Once a great sect is established, you are destined to experience the killing calamity to achieve success. You think it was merely the loss of half your life when you hosted the great formation back then, but have you considered that this is your future calamity!"

"Two thousand years ago, you feared this and that, but now with the path ahead severed, there’s only one way left, so what is there to hesitate about?"

Xu Qing was vexed, hoping for their success. If the future calamity is transcended and the celestial path reopens, it depends on how much good karma you accumulate.

This good karma isn’t merely about doing good deeds, but about what achievements you have in resolving the calamity.

At that time, those with great achievements ascend, and those with lesser achievements descend.

And like their Great Luo Sect, taking an unconventional path means they are destined to need a large amount of good karma to compensate for their faults.

In this way, even if they clash with the gods of the upper realms, they will have a legitimate reason, and at worst, they’ll carve out their own celestial mountains like Penglai, Abbot, and Yingzhou.

As the Leader of the Three Religions, Xu Qing’s considerations are far more long-term than those of the sect disciples.

He is the backbone for all, and since he is the mountain, he must stand tall and see dangers and opportunities unseen by others!

Beyond this, he must fulfill the responsibilities of a mentor, guiding disciples when needed, preventing them from being obscured by karmic obstacles.

With a few words, Ascendant Fuluan was chilled to the bone.

"Sect Leader, I..."

Xu Qing waved his hand and said: "These matters should not be spoken of externally, just like this hosting of the great formation, which was originally your own choices."

"I won’t tell you what benefits there are, nor will I mention the costs. But since you chose to believe in me, I will do my best to make this path not so arduous."

Ascendant Fuluan bowed deeply in respect, having nothing more to say.

...

At Jinggu Harbor, amidst the vast waves, an ominous iron beast revealed its large silhouette.

In the Capital City, the fifth Emperor of Great Yan, Zhu Jian, remained completely unaware.

Indeed, even if he knew that foreign iron ships had reached the doorstep, he was powerless.

Because at the moment outside the Imperial City, the remnants of the Yong Dynasty, bought off by the Huaji people and Jiliya people, had already opened the gates of the Celestial Dynasty.

The Duke Zhen had long been deceased, and most ministers in court were merely occupying their positions without action, as if the saying "wealth does not last for three generations" truly applied to all of Great Yan.