...
Lu Xiu, top scholar in the Bingwu year of the previous dynasty, the eighth County Magistrate of Ning County, one of the many victims under the Heaven Fox, but also the only one besides Xuan Yu who went through a death ordeal and survived.
Having faced death once, Lu Xiu seemed to possess a certain quality, a kind of unusual feeling that Xu Qing had also seen in Xuan Yu, Master Jingxu, and Zhao Zhonghe.
Recalling how the nameless old woman once went through great lengths to seek out the Undead People, Witch lineage, Cheng Huang, and the Nine-Tailed White Fox's past, Xu Qing was lost in thought.
According to the old woman's logic, only those who have experienced death can avoid the gaze of the Nine Netherworld corpses and the Celestial Emperor from the Upper Realm, thus qualifying to encounter the Netherworld's treasures.
But he always felt that Lu Xiu was not entirely the same as him and Xuan Yu.
"In chaotic times, heroes emerge, perhaps that quality is their unique destiny..."
The gentle Scholar Lu and Xu Qing talked a lot; one had read extensively, while the other had examined countless corpses. Both were knowledgeable, and their conversation was very congenial.
The last person to give Xu Qing this kind of feeling was the Jin Sect storyteller, Guo Dongyang.
"Did sir truly subdue the demons of the White Cloud Cave?"
Xu Qing nodded and said, "The Great Yan Emperor and I have some past ties. I also used this opportunity to act; without my Immortal Hall's incense and the Great Yan's fortune, it would have been much more difficult to eliminate the Heaven Fox."
"..."
Was it just difficult?
Lu Xiu fell completely silent.
He had been deeply harmed by demons in the past, and after being saved by Xu Qing, Lu Xiu dedicatedly practiced the Wenxin Carving Dragon Technique to save others from such harm.
Perhaps Xu Qing's teachings were extraordinary, or perhaps this cultivation technique matched him perfectly. After entering the path, his progress was like riding a fast horse, advancing by leaps and bounds.
During this period, divine words often appeared in his dreams; in a trance, he seemed to see all the words and ink marks jumping off the books and papers at his desk.
But when he woke up, he was left with a dizzy head, as if those dreams were mere illusions...
However, after those dreams, his cultivation progress noticeably accelerated, yet despite this, he still felt overwhelmed by the ever-emerging demons in the Five Filthy Evil Worlds.
And in Lu Xiu's eyes, the demons of White Cloud Cave were a great hidden calamity waiting to erupt!
For nearly twenty years, starting from Quyang County, Lu Xiu traveled the mountains and rivers, subduing demons with reason and force. But in the end, he subconsciously chose to return to Quyang County.
Without eliminating demons, his mind could not be at peace; even if his strength was limited, some things needed someone to do them.
But now, Mr. Xu, who taught him to subdue others with reason, suddenly told him that the demonic calamity he worried about day and night had already been eradicated.
And judging by the looks of it, Xu Qing still had strength in reserve, unlike someone who had destroyed the boats and sank the ships.
"Brother Lu, with such talent, what are your plans for the future?"
Lu Xiu frowned slightly, pondered for a moment, then suddenly laughed and said, "The world is vast, there's always a place to go. Although my strength is limited, I am willing to be like sir, subduing demons and enlightening people."
Xu Qing felt a sense of familiarity with these words coupled with the other's demeanor.
Isn't this the path of Confucius?
"Relying on your own strength alone, without rest, how many demons can you eradicate in a year?"
Xu Qing advised, "Everything requires ways and methods. Just like the Heaven Fox of White Cloud Cave, if not for the cooperation of benevolent immortals and demons, how could the demonic monsters be vanquished so easily?"
Lu Xiu was no fool; he immediately cupped his hands and asked for advice, "I ask Mr. Xu to guide this student."
In the pursuit of learning, the wise becomes a teacher.
Seeing Lu Xiu's sincere request for guidance, Xu Qing was inwardly pleased, but maintained an expressionless face and said, "Jinmen Prefecture has an Immortal Hall founded by me and Lady Qingqing. Within the hall, all are benevolent immortals and good demons, such as the fortune-teller behind me, who is a nine-tailed spirit fox that survived from the ancient Qingqiu Kingdom."
Following Xu Qing's finger, Lu Xiu saw a fortune-teller in the caravan taking the opportunity to conduct business, predicting people's fortunes and misfortunes.
Xu Qing continued, "A single thread doesn't make a rope, a single tree doesn't make a forest. In today's world, the ancestral lines of various Immortal Courts are declining, like Qingqiu, Tushan, the Five Elders Temple, and those wandering true Buddhas and true immortals, most are lonely without relatives, drifting alone."
"In the evil world, vile energy forms on its own, while we of pure heart seek the Tao, intending to cleanse the universe, yet those lowering the pure energy are scattered, never gathered in one place, so how can we uproot chaos and establish harmony?"
With talent at hand, Xu Qing was eager to find able men. His Cat Immortal Hall desperately needed an instructor to improve the entire hall's cultural standard of immortals.
Especially the monkeys at Monkey Mountain, who constantly cause trouble without discipline.
The Scarlet-Tailed Monkey feels guilty towards its descendants, reluctant to discipline them, but Lu Xiu is different.
Do you not see the Tiger Monarch's body is still warm?
Killing a tiger to warn the monkeys is much more effective than killing a chicken to scare the monkeys!
Collecting his thoughts, Lu Xiu looked at Xu Qing with a serious face.
Even before Xu Qing, he had met a Zhu surnamed man with a dragon-like aura who extended an olive branch, but he did not accept it.
Now, Xu Qing's attitude in recruiting talents was somewhat similar to that of the Zhu man, and Lu Xiu even vaguely saw some traits of a Monarch, though it was not quite like a Human Monarch.
Lu Xiu took a deep breath, finally cupping his hands and bowing deeply, "If sir has a temple, I am willing to follow sir and contribute a small portion of strength."
...
At the Cat Immortal Hall, Guan Dazhuang and Sun Erzhuang, who were overseeing the Funeral Shop, were receiving new coffins made by the carpenter at the end of the street.
Currently, the old carpenter who was born deaf and mute in Underground Street had also become blind. Fortunately, the carpenter took on an apprentice who not only inherited the business but also took on the responsibility of caring for the old carpenter in his final days.