If, under normal circumstances, a child went missing, Celestial Master Lu might not care, but that child happened to be his 'cousin.' He would take him out to play whenever he had time and always treated him with food and drink like a little ancestor.
Having formed a deep bond, there's a chance that this child could become one of the highest quality nine-root vessels in the future. How could he just sit idly by?
Upon hearing the news, Celestial Master Lu immediately ran to a secluded place, took out the Celestial Master Treasure Mirror for divination, but all he saw in the mirror was a yellow sky…
With no solution from divination, Celestial Master Lu could only return home, and it was precisely because of this accidental disappearance of his 'cousin' that he accelerated the execution of his plan.
Just three months later, all forty-nine members of the Tian family were lying in blood pools.
While Celestial Master Lu, dressed in a Daoist robe, held a bell in one hand and a blood-stained sword in the other, performed the summoning ritual for the entire family of forty-nine in the prepared altar in the main house.
It seemed he was afraid that any survivors from the massacre would leak the news of what he had done!
After extinguishing those shapeless resentful souls, Celestial Master Lu suddenly transformed into an unprecedented Nine Shadow Celestial Master of the Celestial Master's Mansion.
But his shadows were all intensely black, while the extra shadows of previous Celestial Masters from the Celestial Master's Mansion were mostly blue and red.
The Sutra of Salvation continued to turn pages, mostly depicting Celestial Master Lu abolishing the righteous path, ordering all Daoists to cultivate in unorthodox ways.
During this period, the Celestial Master's Mansion also used the treasure mirror to discover many 'good candidates' with shadow spirit root vessels.
The Seven Stars of Xuanji, the spiritual child in front of the hall, the transmission mage...
Thus, the entire Celestial Master's Mansion fell into becoming a den for raising evil Daoist demons.
And Celestial Master Lu transformed into the national church's revered Celestial Master.
Unfortunately, he encountered Xu Qing.
The revolving lantern ends.
The evaluation of the corpse is grade inferior, and the reward is a heretical immortal technique, also called the Imprisoned Immortal Art.
In folklore, some people use the essence of a celestial woman to break immortal techniques, while others coat stolen low-level Celestial garments with filth, preventing Celestials from returning to heaven.
All of these are included in this category.
Xu Qing had a sudden inspiration but didn't use filthy objects to practice the heretical arts of imprisoned immortals. Instead, he innovatively refined a 'binding immortal rope' containing a million incense offerings from the merits of Bao Sheng Temple.
This rope gathers merit, and by chanting the Bao Sheng incantation, it can bind anything at will.
Even if an Immortal comes, they must consume the massive million incense offerings to break free from the bondage.
Things become extreme; Celestial Master Lu was born with such integrity, yet he mixed righteous and evil techniques, falling into heretical ways.
While Xu Qing, a wicked zombie, instead mixed evil techniques with righteous ones, comprehending true divine techniques!
This anomaly of yin and yang, the inversion of good and evil, is not something that can be explained in a few words.
Returning to the chaos within the Celestial Master's Mansion.
Before retrieving the Yellow Sky Banner, Xu Qing had a sudden idea and took out the long-unseen Mirror of Karma.
Among the corpses he had dealt with, this Celestial Master Lu was amongst the top three worst.
Xu Qing was curious about what new insults the usually foul-mouthed mirror would use upon seeing such pure quality.
Unexpectedly, when the mirror saw Celestial Master Lu's corpse, it was uncharacteristically silent for a moment.
"You like to talk, why are you silent today? Don't tell me you're broken..."
Just as Xu Qing was about to inspect the mirror thoroughly, the mirror finally spoke:
"Today, I only want to curse people, nothing else!"
Seeing Xu Qing deliberately hold the mirror to Celestial Master Lu's body, the Mirror of Karma anxiously said, "Xu, don't go too far! You should at least find someone decent for me, not bring filth before me, you're so disrespectful!"
"I want good people! Nine generations of virtuous people! Look at what you've brought back!"
Xu Qing raised an eyebrow and slammed the haughty, picky mirror face down onto the corpse.
"Xu, do you want me dead or alive?"
"Xu! You're going too far!"
"Take me off quickly, I'm tainted now!"
"Hey, Xu Master, don't leave!"
...
Zhongzhou, Taiping Temple.
Zhang Pingsheng felt that Xu Qing was indeed a miraculous healer. That malignant tumor of Da Yan, the calamity of the Celestial Master's Mansion, which no one could cure, was not only removed by Xu Qing but also healed all patients tormented by epilepsy.
He even retrieved the thirty-five malevolent swords left behind by the ancestor Celestial Master, what else could he be but a divine healer?
"Brother Xu's righteousness, I truly don't know how to thank Brother Xu..."
This expression of brotherhood made Xu Qing feel quite uncomfortable inside, thinking you're a real person who founded Wudang hundreds of years ago. Though you chose to retrain because you couldn't ascend, you're still someone from centuries past. Why act fresh and young?
"If you really want to thank me, don't just say it. I see your health preservation techniques are not bad, and also that Tai Chi sword technique..."
Xu Qing, being a zombie, had very thick skin.
In a matter of a few days, he learned all of Zhang Pingsheng's self-created Tai Chi health preservation and Tai Chi sword techniques completely.
"I still have Pure Yang Ultimate Skill; it was my foundational cultivation technique back then. Brother Dao if you are interested to join our Orthodox Dao..."
Pure Yang Skill, what is that?
Xu Qing resolutely shook his head; he, being a zombie utterly steeped in yin, why would he learn some Pure Yang magic technique...
"I already have my affairs, thus cannot go elsewhere, but if I ever meet someone suitable for this technique, I could introduce them to you, Brother Dao."
Zhang Pingsheng's eyes lit up, about to bow in gratitude, when he heard Xu Qing say, "Of course, Brother Dao, if you ever meet someone in need of funeral services, do introduce them to me, my funeral shop is quite professional..."
"Of course, of course."
Zhang Pingsheng was just about to brush it off, but as luck would have it, he saw the old Daoist from Taiping Temple stroll past the entrance.
Hey! Isn't this just the right candidate?
The relationship between the old Daoist and Zhang Pingsheng isn't too bad; Zhang often runs an alchemy furnace to treat the body of that old Daoist, delaying aging.
But alas, mortals have their limits; the old Daoist, despite being a monk, lacked the temperament for cultivation, and his root bone was quite ordinary. It's already great fortune to be so spry with a full set of teeth at this age.
If this old Daoist can, upon reaching the end of his years, receive such a dignified send-off handled by a figure like Daoist Xu, it would undoubtedly be a fortunate event.
Xu Qing also saw that old Daoist and suddenly asked, "I haven't inquired yet, Brother Dao, about where the old Temple Master of Taiping Temple was originally from? What's his secular name..."
Zhang Pingsheng replied, "That old Daoist's surname is Tian, and his secular home is supposedly near Xiangyin. He was brought to Zhongzhou by the abbot of Taiping Temple in his early years and took root here."
Xu Qing seemed to have understood something; now he roughly grasped the meaning of the yellow sky in the Celestial Master's Treasure Mirror.
...
After parting with Zhang Pingsheng, the matter of the Celestial Master's Mansion was reluctantly put to rest, but Xu Qing's search for immortal destiny in Zhongzhou was far from over.
The earlier immortal-seeking technique indicated that the immortal fate was within Taiping Temple, yet several probings by Xu Qing found no trace of any immortal fate in this worldly temple.
If the sole inheritor of the Celestial Master's Mansion and the sect-creating real person from Wudang decades ago, Zhang Pingsheng, were the immortal fate here, it would truly underestimate the immortal-seeking technique.
Though Zhang Pingsheng has methods of immortality, he hasn't personally achieved Dao fruit or the ultimate Dao.
The only immortal fate could only be within that Taiping Dao Field still in the Yin River.
Earlier, when Xu Qing attempted to explore Taiping Dao Field, Ascendant Fuluan, an Immortal disrupted his plan, forcing him to temporarily leave the Yin River and handle worldly affairs instead.
During this time, Xu Qing wasn't rushed or anxious, he practiced divine techniques and Daoist arts in an orderly manner, comprehended the transformation of the Flying Corpse, guided the Galloping Immortal cultivation, and incidentally resolved the malignant tumor of the Celestial Master's Mansion.
It wasn't until the interchange of the four seasons and the rotation of the celestial years, exactly a year later, that he returned to Zhongzhou territory.
The obliteration of the first among the twelve gates of the Ancient Yin River Dao was a substantial affair that disturbed the Three Realms and Six Paths. With the Heaven-Reaching Road severed, the Upper Realm's deity could not meddle in the affairs of the Lower Realm, but local demons of the Yin River or hidden experts were bound to come and spy.
Xu Qing could not guarantee if other first gates might come to investigate. To be prudent, it would be better for him to immerse himself in cultivation, wait for his magical power to recover, let the stir diminish, before seeking the immortal fate once again.