I Only Want to Lie Flat But Am Forced to Cultivate Immortality-Chapter 919 - 442:

Xu Qing suddenly understood: "No wonder the remnants of the Yin River Gate willingly follow the General; it’s because He has the ability to command armies."

"He not only has the ability to command armies, but He also has the power to seize all weapons and magical treasures in the world. No matter if it’s the Divine Sword in my hand or this bronze coffin, as long as you use them against an enemy as tools of slaughter, they will be controlled by Him."

"..."

Xu Qing had imagined how powerful the General, ranked first among the Twelve Gate Leaders, could be, but he hadn’t thought He would be so unreasonably powerful.

Controlling weapons, wouldn’t that render his axe and even the Ghost-slaying Treasure Sword useless?

The female fiend continued: "You needn’t despair. Although the General can restrain all weapons, He is not without weaknesses."

"The power of the Five Elements is not within His control."

Xu Qing’s heart was stirred, as if he had grasped the key to how the Celestial Maiden defeated the General back then.

"The Five Elements are the fundamental laws of the universe, not under the General’s domain. And the unyielding nature of water and fire—could it be that the Celestial Maiden relied on this law to defeat the General?"

The female fiend’s eyes were deep: "Water and fire are ruthless, it sounds simple... back then, which of the sky’s Fire Gods, Water Gods, or Thunder Generals could best the General?"

"Those immortals and deities relied too heavily on external means, using fire flags for the divine fire and various magical treasures for thunder strikes, but what the General feared least was these external instruments."

The female fiend’s tone was inexplicable: "Weapons, made of metal, can only be overcome by fire; when no one could withstand the General’s might, the Emperor summoned me to descend and assist."

"At that time, though I had mastered Fire Techniques, I was no match for the General. To break the impasse, I had to use all my divine power, even at the cost of becoming a Flying Corpse and Drought Fiend, which brought about a thousand miles of scorched earth and broke the General’s divine techniques."

"It’s laughable to say, I rendered great service to the people, but when I descended from the Celestial Maiden and was degraded to the female fiend, the people called me a wicked drought ghost."

"..."

Xu Qing was at a loss for words.

He had long heard of the Drought Fiend, and after becoming a zombie, he specifically researched the history of all zombies, including the rise and fall of the female fiend before him.

In ancient northern scriptures, the female fiend was recorded as a goddess in cyan clothing, these ancient texts even described her as ’a beautiful woman.’

But after experiencing droughts, the female fiend was described by the people and those in power as a monster over two feet tall, with eyes atop her head, naked, and moving like the wind.

There were even stories describing her as bald and ugly among ghosts.

Meaning, among monsters, the female fiend was the ugliest.

From deity to monster: her status gradually fell from "Celestial Maiden" to "Drought Ghost."

When droughts caused public discontent, the authorities, to stabilize morale, fabricated lies claiming that the droughts were caused by the emergence of the Drought Fiend, and that expelling or eliminating her would end the drought.

Over time, a custom of ’striking the Drought Fiend’ emerged among the people, which involved unearthing newly buried graves and burning the bodies as Drought Fiends to pray for rain. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

A Celestial Maiden, exiled north of Chishui, neither allowed to return to the heavens nor roam freely in the mortal world, became a monstrous villain.

Whether or not this was unjust is one matter, but for a celestial beauty who sacrificed her divine status to save humanity to suddenly become a bald, ugly Yaksha in people’s mouths—that’s unbearable!

If this could happen to the Celestial Maiden, it would be unbearable for anyone in her position!

On the way back, the female fiend had Xu Qing carry her coffin, while she walked behind with her hands behind her back, leisurely following.

Xu Qing didn’t think much of it until he shouldered the coffin and realized it wasn’t easy.

A bronze coffin, yet heavier than the Purple Cloud Mountain!

If it weren’t for Xu Qing’s immense strength from regularly training with the Five-colored Divine Stones, he wouldn’t have managed the coffin.

The female fiend, walking along, began to inquire about Xu Qing’s cultivation progress in a senior tone.

Upon hearing that Xu Qing, at a young age, had already reached the Flying Corpse level, the Celestial Maiden showed rare appreciation.

"As a Flying Corpse, with ten thousand years of cultivation, you’re about ready to transform into a Fiend. When do you plan to start?"

Xu Qing shook his head: "The Celestial Maiden and I are different. I was born a mortal, not with a celestial body; to attain the Drought Fiend fruit, I need the aid of spiritual objects to defy fate."

"For a fire-element spiritual object, it must at least be a treasure from the dawn of heaven and earth. Such items are rare in this world; how can a mere backgroundless zombie like me easily obtain them?"

Determined not to reveal Lady Bao Sheng’s identity or his ties as her disciple, wouldn’t he be just a backgroundless zombie?

"Since you have no backing, why risk offending the General and those Dharma Corpses?"

Xu Qing laughed, "Goddess, have you forgotten that I mentioned before, I come from a large family with significant resources, and the Immortal Hall houses many immortals. We regularly receive offerings from countless mortals, how could I find peace if I were to retreat in times of danger?"

"Moreover, didn’t the Goddess once selflessly sacrifice herself to protect the world? Now that I am akin to the Goddess, I naturally cannot abandon the Zombie’s honor."

Zombie’s honor?

Do zombies have such a thing?

The Water Fiend looked at the young man bearing a coffin on his back and said with sparkling eyes, "You are different from ordinary Corpse Monsters, who are trapped by their bloodthirsty nature. Only Corpse Monsters with potential to become a Kui Ba can have independent consciousness."

"What is even more commendable is that you possess a sound temperament."

Hearing the Water Fiend’s praise, Xu Qing’s eyes brightened, and he revealed his true intentions, "Has the Goddess ever taken a disciple?"

"Never, why do you ask?"

Xu Qing eagerly said, "The Goddess and I have similar paths in cultivation, if the esteemed Goddess doesn’t find this junior too dull, I am willing to follow and learn the Way of the Drought Fiend."

The Water Fiend snorted lightly, seemingly having seen through Xu Qing’s scheme, she said, "I am destitute, apart from this bronze coffin, all that’s left is the immortal garment you wear. I don’t have treasures to help you break through the boundaries of the Drought Fiend."

She paused, then continued, "Things should follow their course naturally. You don’t necessarily have to follow my path. When the opportunity arises, you may find treasures of water or wood attribute and attain enlightenment as a Water Fiend, or even become a Fur Demon."

The Fur Demon governs the mountains and forests, the master of vitality, and is the hardest path to attain amongst the Kui Ba. A zombie who reaches this stage is no lesser than the Fur Demon that the Celestial Temple’s Goddess once gave her all to eradicate.

The one and only Fur Demon, both in heaven and on earth, attained its Tao from the Fur Demon path.

The ancestor of zombies wielding the power of life while possessing a body of death and destruction, if it hadn’t later become terribly ferocious and endangered three realms, it might have achieved an even greater path.

Xu Qing did not attribute this to the zombie’s nature but rather to the Fur Demon not implementing precautionary measures in advance.

Zombies are easily affected by malignant energy in the world, but with the merit of offerings and vows designed to quell malignant energy, they can resolve the ultimate difficulty in the cultivation of Corpse Monsters from its root.

Xu Qing held the Sutra of Salvation in his left hand and the Sutra of the Living in his right, complete with both life and death. These treasures collect people’s wishes, allowing him to follow his heart and cultivate step by step without worrying about the crises that might arise above the Kui Ba realm.

This was also the reason why he insisted on establishing Cat Immortal Hall when he met Xuan Yu.

If the cultivation of Corpse Monsters is destined to be a continually intensifying poison that causes one to lose themselves, then Cat Immortal Hall and Bao Sheng Temple are his antidotes.

Everything Xu Qing did was for the disciples of the Three Teachings and for himself.

The Water Fiend was unaware that Xu Qing had already found the path to advancement to Fur Demon and Water Fiend, and she didn’t know Xu Qing’s audacity in using the merits of the Three Teachings to address changes among the Kui Ba and attempting to glimpse the realm above the Kui Ba.

Xu Qing kept his mouth shut, not mentioning anything about the Water Fiend or Fur Demon.

The Water Fiend shook her head helplessly and could only advise, "I am injured and can only help you undo the Water Technique Divine Techniques belonging to the General, as for how to subdue them..."

"It depends on you."

Xu Qing was surprised and asked, "Goddess, you lie dormant in the Dark River, how are you injured?"

"..."

The Water Fiend gazed at Xu Qing with an eerie expression.

Was it not to protect a promising junior?

"You claim to be the Daluo Sect Leader?"

The Goddess truthfully remarked, "Previously, there was a worldly cultivator in Hengzhou who eradicated the Double Ghosts of Impermanence alone. At that time, the Dharma Master’s avatar sensed changes in the Dark River and sent an avatar to eliminate that person."

"This injury was sustained when I, the Cyan Dragon Divine Monarch, and the Mirage Ship Master jointly resisted the Dharma Master."

"Afterward, the Mirage Ship Master sent a Golden Man to track me and the Cyan Dragon, I asked the Golden Man who dared to offend the Dharma Master?"

"It said it was some Daluo Sect Leader."

"..."

Xu Qing felt a weakness in his heart, never having realized that such an incident occurred when he had transcended the Impermanence Double Ghosts before.