"Does this talisman truly have the power to reap souls and turn the dead into ferocious ghost soldiers?"
"Indeed, it does."
"Very well, then bring me some of those departed souls so I can see for myself. If it proves true, when you intend to hold back the Eight Banner Marshals, use incense as the signal, and I shall act. But if you dare to toy with me..."
"We are mere mortals; how could we deceive the Ghost King? However, that Zuo Zixiong is quite formidable. If we cannot overcome him, we hope that the Ghost King can lend us his aid."
After watching the ghost generals play lantern games, Xu Qing furrowed his brow slightly.
He had just promised the Eight Banner Marshals to lead Zuo Zixiong out of the Yin River, only for the Celestial Heart Sect to stage such a scene.
Xu Qing was not entirely confident in defeating the Ghost King, King Duer.
The Ghost King possessed a thousand years of cultivation, had even visited the mortal world once, and fled back to the Yin River when the Celestial Fire disaster was imminent.
For such a deeply cultivated old ghost who also cherished his life, unless Xu Qing could utterly eliminate future troubles in one strike, forming a grudge with him might affect Xu Qing's upcoming plans in the Yin River.
As Xu Qing was pondering, a wisp of incense smoke suddenly descended straight into the Ghost King Mausoleum from the northwest direction of the Yin River.
In the next moment, a rumbling noise emanated from the Ghost King Mausoleum, and Xu Qing, hidden behind an deserted grave, watched from afar as the expansive mausoleum's gateway opened.
Only to see a Ghost King with an iron-gray face, wearing a bejeweled crown and clad in a tawny dragon robe, step out from the tomb gate.
Xu Qing gazed at the imposing presence, awe-inspiring and indomitable, expressing his marvel.
Indeed, like a turtle withdrawing its head, this old neighbor was, to a certain extent, quite impressive!
Behind King Duer were over a dozen ghost generals. These ghost generals all wore black robes and mysterious armor, their eyes glowing like torches, fierce and terrifying.
However, there were no ghost soldiers following them; the whole scene looked more like a discreet inspection rather than an imperial expedition.
Soon, King Duer mounted the dragon chariot. The chariot was made of Dark Wood, covered with a canopy adorned with dangling tassels, festooned with Netherworld gems and pearls, and flickering ghost fires.
In total, there were eighteen ghost generals, with sixteen lifting the dragon chariot according to sixteen-bearer specifications. The remaining two each held a guiding musical instrument and a royal flag.
Employ a strategy of talents fully utilized, resources optimally used.
Xu Qing clicked his tongue; his neighbor was emphatically extravagant, despite having no ghosts at his command, yet he insisted on maintaining the grandeur of an emperor's procession.
The ghost generals carried the dragon chariot with silent, floating steps, as if drifting clouds traversing the earth.
Moments later, the imperial entourage vanished into the deep mist of doom clouds, and the Ghost King Mausoleum was plunged into complete silence.
Xu Qing understood that the Ghost King had received a Celestial Heart Sect incense signal, going to trouble the Eight Banner Marshals.
What he should do now was seek out Zuo Zixiong and resolve the interference of the Celestial Heart Sect's twin terrors.
But Xu Qing recalled that the twin terrors had reminded King Duer, if their strength was insufficient, they should send for aid, allowing the Ghost King to endure the pressure of the Eight Banner Marshals, to slay Zuo Zixiong.
His naive neighbor was utterly unaware of Zuo Zixiong's status in the eyes of the Eight Banner Marshals.
In the Marshal's view, Zuo Zixiong was the symbol that Dayong could still be saved, serving as a spiritual support for those soldiers who had died for the nation yet continued guarding the country's fate in the Underworld.
Should King Duer dare to harm Zuo Zixiong, the Eight Banner Marshals would likely pursue him to the ends of the earth and strip him to the bone.
Xu Qing calculated the timing; before King Duer arrived at the destination, he first visited his old neighbor's residence.
To rescue Old Zuo, he could only employ the strategy of "encircle Wei to rescue Zhao!"
Having become familiar after a first and second meeting, Xu Qing reached the back of the Ghost King Mausoleum, and followed the corridor directly to the main burial chamber, where the Ghost King's tomb was located.
Within the Ghost King Mausoleum, there were still a few guarding palace attendants, as well as a beautiful empress interred in the auxiliary coffin.
Upon spotting Xu Qing, the empress froze, saying: "Who are you to dare intrude into our palace's sleeping chamber?"
Xu Qing observed the noblewoman in ceremonial attire; judging by appearance alone, the empress was indeed regal and inviolable.
But Xu Qing immediately discerned that she was no more than a beautiful skeleton draped in finery.
He approached and said with a smile, "I am your husband's neighbor, and while he's away today, I've come especially to greet my sister-in-law."
"..."
The empress's phoenix eyes narrowed, lips slightly parted, momentarily at a loss for how to respond.
"Do you know who I am? How dare you speak so rashly? When His Majesty returns, you..."
He paid no heed to her threatening words, stepped forward, grabbed the empress's wrist, and pulled her closer.
The breathtakingly beautiful empress, looking at the pale-faced youth in such proximity, found her thousand-year dormant heart started to panic.
Though this youth was irreverent, his face was far more handsome than her own king.
After all, that skinny face of the Ghost King of Many Tribulations didn't have much aesthetic appeal.
The Empress didn't struggle, she even said with a bewitched grin, "You really have some nerve! His Majesty will be back soon, if you truly have feelings for me, you'd better hurry, or else... I can't protect you!"
Xu Qing paused, having just grabbed the ghostly woman's wrist to prevent her from escaping.
No, did I come here for an affair with you?
Xu Qing never expected that after casually grabbing an empress, she would actually become infatuated with him. What a situation this turned out to be.
"Don't worry, Empress, I'm very quick, I won't take long, I'll leave soon..."
"There's no need to be too hasty, my lord, I can handle it."
"..."
Xu Qing's eyelid twitched, and he immediately opened the Sutra of Salvation, responding, "I don't believe you can handle it!"
The next moment, the Sutra of Salvation's pages turned.
The Empress had never seen anything like this; when the Sutra of Salvation penetrated her body, reaching deep into her soul, she finally understood what Xu Qing meant.
Unfortunately, it was too late.
The empress before him had a long posthumous title, so Xu Qing picked two easy-to-remember characters and called her Empress Zhaoming.
Though Empress Zhaoming was a mother to the nation and extremely wealthy in life, to Xu Qing, her experiences were quite unimpressive, without anything particularly commendable.
The only thing that intrigued Xu Qing a bit was Empress Zhaoming's daughter, Princess Yan Ning.
Princess Yan Ning was the first corpse Xu Qing had performed salvation on when he first arrived at the Ancient Yin River Dao, she, like her mother Empress Zhaoming, was also a crimson skeleton.
After performing salvation on the Empress's skeleton, Xu Qing was filled with emotion.
Unexpectedly, due to a series of coincidences, he had even managed to save a ghostly mother and daughter pair.
One could say this was fate.
In the end, Empress Zhaoming, like the other consorts and palace attendant skeletons Xu Qing had previously saved, wore a satisfied and liberated smile, forever etched on her face.
That eerily enchanting visage didn't even require Xu Qing to apply funeral makeup.
Xu Qing had seen similar faces in the mundane world, which all belonged to young women afflicted with leprosy...
He placed the Empress's body into the Box Garden, glancing at the reward from the Sutra of Salvation: a lacquered imperial casket, with thirty-six layers of lacquer, three inches thick, indistinguishable from conventional imperial caskets. However, upon opening it, inside resembled a sleeping chamber, enough for three or five people to live daily.
Although the item wasn't of high grade, Xu Qing regarded it as a treasure.
He needed a temporary palace, and this casket perfectly met his needs.
If a Zombie King doesn't have a palace, can he still be called a Zombie King?
————————
Unfortunately, it was too late.
The empress before him had a long posthumous title, so Xu Qing picked two easy-to-remember characters and called her Empress Zhaoming.
Though Empress Zhaoming was a mother to the nation and extremely wealthy in life, to Xu Qing, her experiences were quite unimpressive, without anything particularly commendable.
The only thing that intrigued Xu Qing a bit was Empress Zhaoming's daughter, Princess Yan Ning.
Princess Yan Ning was the first corpse Xu Qing had performed salvation on when he first arrived at the Ancient Yin River Dao, she, like her mother Empress Zhaoming, was also a crimson skeleton.
After performing salvation on the Empress's skeleton, Xu Qing was filled with emotion.
Unexpectedly, due to a series of coincidences, he had even managed to save a ghostly mother and daughter pair.
One could say this was fate.
In the end, Empress Zhaoming, like the other consorts and palace attendant skeletons Xu Qing had previously saved, wore a satisfied and liberated smile, forever etched on her face.
That eerily enchanting visage didn't even require Xu Qing to apply funeral makeup.
Xu Qing had seen similar faces in the mundane world, which all belonged to young women afflicted with leprosy...
He placed the Empress's body into the Box Garden, glancing at the reward from the Sutra of Salvation: a lacquered imperial casket, with thirty-six layers of lacquer, three inches thick, indistinguishable from conventional imperial caskets. However, upon opening it, inside resembled a sleeping chamber, enough for three or five people to live daily.
Although the item wasn't of high grade, Xu Qing regarded it as a treasure.
He needed a temporary palace, and this casket perfectly met his needs.
If a Zombie King doesn't have a palace, can he still be called a Zombie King?