When the Golden Armor Giant once again raised his golden clubs, destroying one of his Corpse Hair, Xu Qing seized the moment when the giant's movements paused and pressed forward, slapping the giant's protruding backside.
A metallic collision like a bell striking a tripod resounded, and as the Golden Armor Giant furiously raised his club to turn and pummel the insolent person, he suddenly froze in place.
Sutra of Salvation quietly chanted inaudibly to the outside world, and Xu Qing saw thousands of people being pushed into a fire pit beside a furnace.
In the coffin-like fire pit lay a Golden Man forged from the weapons of the world.
In this workshop, there were eleven more furnaces like this!
The scene shifted, with people of later generations ordering craftsmen soldiers to melt down ten Golden Men to make money for military funds.
At that time, green flames scorched the sky, copper fluid was like blood, but within seven years, the money turned to red sand, sank into the earth's veins, and disappeared without a trace...
Thousands upon thousands of chaotic memories intertwined and appeared, and in the final moment, Xu Qing vaguely saw at the end of the Ancient Yin River Dao, a majestic man wearing an emperor's robe and crown, turning his back against the masses, in front of him was a closed bronze portal.
The words 'Ghost Gate' were written on it.
At this moment before Xu Qing, the Golden Man forged from the weapons of the world collapsed with a boom, and even the copper skeleton refined through thousands of tempers began to crumble.
Accompanied by the sound like rain of copper coins falling, the golden copper figure before Xu Qing completely disintegrated into a pile of ghostly buried coins.
These coins were neither human currency nor burial spectral currency but ghostly coins formed from accumulated yin gold's deathly qi.
Xu Qing picked up a copper plate, its touch icy and bone-chilling, filled with deep resentment. Flipping the coin, the back of the copper plate was inscribed with the words 'Netherworld Treasure'.
"Underworld hard currency?"
Xu Qing was completely speechless.
With yin and yang disconnected, unable to go to the Underworld, what use did he have for so much ghostly currency?
Xu Qing took out the Magic Mirror and wanted this mirror to see if there was anything he missed.
But surprisingly, this Magic Mirror was also a sucker for money.
"Master Xu, we're rich! Once we return to the Underworld, the ghosts from ten miles around must call us 'lord', and even those oxen and horses, Master Xu can use as many as wanted!"
"Oxen and horses?" Xu Qing frowned, as if reminded of some unpleasant memories.
"Ox-head and horse-face, laborers of the Underworld, surely Master Xu has heard of them?"
"..."
Xu Qing threw the babbling Magic Mirror into the Mountain and River Map, no longer wishing to hear the mirror's nonsense.
The Golden Men are made of a myriad of corpses, Xu Qing glanced at the rewards from the Sutra of Salvation, inside were myriad skills related to various professions - iron smelting, pottery making, weighing instrument crafting, lacquer work, even skills like grass sandal weaving and wall plastering.
There were all sorts, a myriad of hundreds of trades, Xu Qing seemed to have found many masters in their fields as teachers, and this was just the skills gathered from one Golden Man.
If all twelve Golden Men were rescued... it would not only encompass hundreds of trades, but he would have the mastery of all professions in the world.
In ancient times, there were tales of musicians Xiao Shi and Nong Yu, whose harmonies of qin and se invoked dragons and phoenixes to ascend both of them into immortals.
Xu Qing, if proficient in all professions, perhaps could become a Corpse Immortal welcomed by a hundred and thousand celestial creatures like cranes, spirit deer, unicorn dragons, and phoenixes!
Even if there were none, could his own Cat Immortal Hall not assemble a team of ascending atmosphere spirits formed by celestial cranes and spiritual birds?
With anticipation for the future, Xu Qing joyfully began to collect the mound of ghostly buried coins.
Facing tens of thousands of catties of buried coins with unknown amounts, Xu Qing couldn't be bothered to count. After collecting nearly half of the ghostly coins, he suddenly paused.
Among the pile of money, two golden clubs lay intact.
Xu Qing picked up the golden clubs, realizing they weighed thousands of catties, material not ordinary iron, seeming to be forged from the essence of weapons worldwide.
"The Ancestor Emperor confiscated weapons worldwide to forge twelve Golden Men, and precisely twelve sentinels sat at the gates of the Yin River..."
Xu Qing weighed the golden clubs in hand and looked at the ruined Heavens Peace Hall.
The Celestial Lord General stands for fairness, and the golden clubs in his hands have always been said to be the tools for justice.
An ancient saying went: Clubs strike against unjust rulers from above, unfaithful ministers from below; regardless of ruler's deviance or minister's corruption, under the golden clubs, none can escape...
Xu Qing recalled the imposing figure appearing under the Ghost Gate in the lantern scene, feeling there were still things he hadn't comprehended brewing in the Ancient Yin River Dao.
He put away the golden clubs and continued collecting ghostly treasure coins.
When only a small pile of buried coins remained in the hall, Xu Qing suddenly exclaimed in surprise.
In the bottom of the money pile, an unexpectedly and extraordinarily smooth jade plaque had appeared.
The jade plaque was neither gold nor stone, its sheen contained purple aura, inscribed with archaic script on the front, marking 'Penglai Purple Palace'.
Beyond that, it depicted palace clouds and pavilions, various strange flowers and plants, and numerous celestial birds and mythical creatures.
Clearly, it was a heavenly vista of a fairyland from overseas, no earthly artisan could replicate.
Xu Qing didn't know what use this uniquely textured jade plaque had, it looked like a credential or a plaque recording a certain place.
Taking out the Magic Mirror, it too was at a loss.
Xu Qing pondered for a moment, then suddenly had a bright idea.
If this jade plaque wasn't worldly, it must have a source!
Xu Qing went to work, removing old shoes, trying to tuck the jade plaque into the shoe filled with zombie foot odor, then used the Shoe Throwing Inquiry Technique to throw the shoe far away.
The old shoe landed and didn't topple, standing upright with its tip seemingly drawn by an invisible force, firmly pointing in a direction.