Xu Qing's public identity is that of a Corpse Driver who learned from the corpse conductors of Xiang Province, and he is the Shopkeeper of the Funeral Shop; at the same time, he also acts as the envoy of Lady Bao Sheng.
The former identity can be used by Xu Qing to conceal his identity as a zombie, as no one would suspect that a Corpse Driver who established a funeral business would actually be a zombie.
The latter identity, however, is endorsed by the County Magistrate. To put it bluntly, he is the legal person of Bao Sheng Temple, and in the eyes of Sister Jin and others, Xu Qing is the earthly envoy of Lady Bao Sheng, someone who can communicate with the deities and convey the will of the gods.
This role has many names in the secular world, such as temple priest, shaman, spirit child, Incense Holder, and so on...
Now, Xu Qing is the great priest of Bao Sheng Temple, the only person Sister Jin and others will listen to besides Lady Bao Sheng.
"Lady Bao Sheng will not always be present in the temple, yet as temple priests, whether the deities are present or not, you must uphold your duties and properly manage the temple affairs."
"The Lady has instructed me that if the temple truly encounters an insurmountable issue, Bai Xiaoxian can be sent to Cat Immortal Hall to seek the help of various immortal beings, and also the immortals from the Transmission Hall at Cat Immortal Hall will often visit the temple."
"You may also report matters to the immortals from the Transmission Hall."
Having instructed on temple matters, Xu Qing then inquired about the affair previously entrusted to Midwife Liu.
Upon learning that the famous midwives from Jin Sect regard the deities of Bao Sheng Temple as their patrons, and that they join together every full moon to Purple Cloud Mountain to recite the precious repentance of the Blood Lake and learn advanced nurturing knowledge, Xu Qing nodded in satisfaction.
He never regarded the content of the nurturing handbook as confidential; if he could rely on these midwives to accelerate the dissemination of the handbook to the world, Xu Qing would be overjoyed.
It was precisely because he was selfless back then, not caring about gains and losses, and generous to people, that he was able to gain heavenly favor, turning the nurturing handbook into a dharma artifact of merit.
Everything happened naturally, adhering to the natural laws, a realm other prestigious sects like the Celestial Master's Mansion, governed by utilitarian principles, could never reach.
Likewise, Xu Qing now is not confident that he could create a new temple system comparable to Bao Sheng Temple.
In the world of great catastrophe, perhaps only Bao Sheng Temple can continue to exist in the secular world,
because as long as there are people, the Bao Sheng Temple system will not disappear, and Lady Bao Sheng's divine power will grow stronger over time.
However, compared to the all-encompassing divine fire power, Xu Qing values the manifestation of his own Dao practice more.
No matter how prosperous a temple system is, it's like a tall building without a foundation; only with sufficient self-cultivation can this tall building stand without collapsing.
Xu Qing always understood that divine fire power and faith in deities are not everything; they are merely by-products of cultivation and can be managed but not pursued at the expense of one's own practice.
For instance, the Celestial Fox suppressed in White Cloud Cave; if in these twelve years Xu Qing had not improved his Dao practice, not studied protective divine techniques, not pursued realms beyond the Undying Bone,
then twelve years later, regardless of how prosperous he had made the Bao Sheng Temple system, how flourishing its divine fire was, it would all disappear in an instant at the hands of enemies.
"Please rest assured, Sect Leader, and also please Lady trust us; we will manage the temple affairs well, without neglect."
As Xu Qing was about to descend the mountain, Bai Xiaoxian wandered to the temple gate, making his stance clear.
Xu Qing smiled and asked, "Which Lady are you referring to?"
Despite Bai Xiaoxian's flat snake brain, it responded very swiftly, blurting out, "Naturally, it is to let both Lady Bao Sheng and Lady Qing Qing rest easy."
It's a pity Xuan Yu didn't come along with Xu Qing, otherwise, that cat would be happy for a whole day because of this sentence.
Arriving at the foot of the mountain, before the shrine devoid of spirits, the former abode of Purple Cloud Immortal had already been occupied by the Qishan Clan.
Xu Qing stepped forward and asked, "Have you set your eyes on this shrine?"
Qishan Clan stood barefoot in the icy and snowy land, unfazed by the cold, speaking with an unconcealable joy, "I noticed this shrine was uninhabited and had decent divine fire offerings, so I decided to take this vacant shrine as a place to reside..."
Seemingly afraid of being misunderstood by Xu Qing, she added, "Before moving into the shrine, I sincerely prayed to Lady Bao Sheng at the temple and received no refusal from her, which indicates she agreed to my request."
"Lady is indeed a very amiable and compassionate deity!"
"..."
Seeing the face filled with happiness of the Qishan Clan, Xu Qing shook his head helplessly.
He was engrossed in conversation with Sister Jin and others earlier and didn't notice the wish the Qishan Clan had made to him at the mountain's base.
Oh, well, the shrine was vacant to begin with, and now having a genuine mountain spirit residing in it is perhaps destiny decreed by fate.
Xu Qing proceeded to take out a pen and carving knife, saying, "Since you wish to reside in this shrine, I shall help engrave your name onto the divine tablet."
"Henceforth, you shall be both the Qishan Clan and the Purple Cloud Immortal of this mountain."
While replacing the tablet with the one enshrining Qishan Clan as the Purple Cloud Immortal, bestowed the title by Lady Bao Sheng as Mountain Goddess, Xu Qing said to the quietly waiting Qishan Clan beside him, "My name is Xu Qing, I am the great priest of this Bao Sheng Temple and the envoy of Lady Bao Sheng, henceforth we are both under the same roof conducting affairs."
"If you encounter any difficult-to-decide matters, you can head to Linjiang County, the Funeral Shop on Underground Street to find me, and if I'm not there, the Profound Jade Immortal of Cat Immortal Hall can also aid you in making decisions."
As Xu Qing finished speaking, the Qishan Clan, somewhat embarrassed, said, "I am now bound to this mountain, restricted by the earth's veins, unable to leave without obtaining the Lady's divine permit each time to possess someone, otherwise, I fear I cannot go to the city to find you, sir."