Xu Qing did not step forward; he stood at the entrance of the mostly collapsed tomb path, looking at his Mountain and River Cauldron from afar.
Above the cauldron's ears, there stood an unusual person wearing a ritual mask and a floral robe.
"..."
The two glared at each other, neither willing to speak first.
In the end, the Immortal couldn't hold back any longer. His eyes flared with anger as he gritted his teeth and questioned:
"Did you destroy all my plans set up within the Jin Sect's Underworld River Realm?"
Xu Qing feigned ignorance, saying, "What plans? Maybe you have mistaken me for someone else? Otherwise, why wouldn't I understand? I must tell you, I have allies in the Jin Sect, and Demon Exorcism True Monarch is my brother. Don't wrongly accuse a good person!"
At this moment, Xu Qing's magical power was only three-tenths left, just enough to escape but not secure enough to battle the Immortal before him.
The Ascendant Fuluan laughed angrily, swinging his sleeve fiercely, pointing at Xu Qing and cursing:
"You carry the aura of a Netherworld's crown prince, which I painstakingly snatched from the lion's den, all to eliminate the Ghost Law and reopen the World's Road..."
"And now you've ruined my grand plan, blocking my path. We are already mortal enemies, and there's no way to resolve this!"
"Boy, Demon Exorcism True Monarch cannot frighten me! You may be his brother, but I am also his friend. If not for his words telling me to come to Central State to help his brother out of trouble, I wouldn't even have known you ruined my plan!"
The Ascendant Fuluan was furious. He thought he had found a like-minded person who unknowingly agreed with his plans to remove the Twelve Disciples, the nails blocking the World's Road. Yet, he didn't realize that the person he helped wasn't his kindred spirit but the archenemy he'd been searching for years!
Upon hearing this, Xu Qing, who was about to take action, restrained himself.
Did the Demon Exorcism True Monarch find a helper?
Xu Qing suddenly remembered that when he came to Central State, the Demon Exorcism True Monarch had indeed told him he would seek out some old friends for help against the Corpse Demon due to old bonds.
So this unexpected variable was brought to him by that black-faced True Monarch?
Xu Qing's expression was not pleasant at the moment, but he noticed something off about the Immortal before him.
This Immortal... Why does his aura seem so unstable?
Strange.
"What else do you have to say?"
The Ascendant Fuluan didn't dare to make the first move; he was almost drained by the Nine Twisting Yellow River Array in the mortal realm earlier. Now his magical power was less than one-tenth, and besides stalling for time and leaving a mark on the cauldron underfoot, he wasn't confident in capturing the young man in front of him.
Xu Qing raised an eyebrow, simply spreading his hands and saying, "I defeated the Multi-Grief Ghost King; the Yin Deterioration Master and the Eight Banner Marshals also fell by my hands. What do you say?"
"..."
"Alright, alright, alright! Quite the fiend!"
Millennia of planning turned to bubbles; the Ascendant Fuluan felt he was about to develop a Heart Demon.
Xu Qing remained unfazed, continuing to add, "I'm just a funeral director, a close friend of the Demon Exorcism True Monarch. I slay a demon, exorcise an evil, help someone prepare a corpse—how is that ruining your grand plan? Then your grand plan doesn't seem so great if it's that easy to ruin..."
"You!"
The Ascendant Fuluan's breath hitched, and he began a moral critique of Xu Qing.
"What do you know? My scheme is to annihilate the Ghost Law, for the greater cause of the world, and to ensure the continuation of various sects and schools..."
Then, the Ascendant Fuluan rattled off a heap of classical references, preaching with "thee"s and "thou"s.
Xu Qing knew the other was stalling for time; he was stalling too.
"For the greater cause of the world, and then what? You don't expect that raising a few demons, plus a bit of scheming, could remove the Ghost Law, do you?"
"In essence, isn't it just to clear the Heaven-Reaching Road and ascend? Why pretend to be so noble? That's only human nature; even if you speak the truth, no one would mock you."
The Immortal was indignant and almost took action.
However, he then heard Xu Qing suddenly say, "When it comes to killing the Ghost Law, I'm more skilled. I cleared the Underworld River with the grand plan of exterminating the Ghost Law, and as for your approach..."
"It's crude and inferior, just won't work!"
The Immortal laughed angrily, "You're capable? What's your solution?"
"Me?" Xu Qing chuckled, "I can have Brother Demon Exorcist act as a pawn and willingly sacrifice himself to slay the Ghost Law. Can you?"
The Immortal: "..."
After hearing Xu Qing's words, the Ascendant Fuluan finally looked again at the surrounding wreckage and asked:
"Did you handle the Corpse Demon here? And set up the Nine Twisting Yellow River Array?"
Ah! What else did you expect?
Xu Qing was quite proud.
The Ascendant Fuluan fell completely silent.
His expression changed several times before he suddenly donned a smile and said in a Jin Sect accent to build rapport:
"Hey! It turns out the rising tides sank the Dragon Temple; if fellow Daoist aims to fight the Ghost Law, you should have said so earlier! Look at this mess; how awkward for me..."
By this point, the previously imposing Ascendant Fuluan visibly simmered down, his gaze even turning clear.
He looked like a stray cat hissing at passersby, suddenly given a fish; or like a barking watchdog at people, upon seeing a stranger bringing a female dog.
All the little emotions vanished.
Just a sense of losing face.
But with a little fish and a female dog, who needs face?
What's face worth anyway?
Very well! The Immortal instantly put on a friendly smile.
"I was a bit out of line just now; please don't mind, fellow Daoist. I'm not usually like this..."
Xu Qing waved a grand hand, bearing no grudges, "To err is human; who can say they've never slipped? As long as one can change, no good is greater than that."
"Now that we share a mutual enemy, that makes us friends. If a friend makes a mistake, it's understandable!"
"So, I'll forgive you!"