The Ghost Pill sensed something was wrong and tried to spin around and escape, only to find a strong, insatiable pull emanating from the young man, like an endless abyss, drawing it to him.
The Ghost King's Inner Pill was like a middle-aged man making a break for the door, just a step away from freedom, only to be dragged back inside by his fierce wife, who then slammed the door shut.
The entire world's color tone seemed to turn grayscale in that instant.
The Ghost King Pill, being a thing of utmost yin, was filled with dark, sinister Evil Qi. Initially, as the yin energy entered the bone, there was little effect. But when the surging mystical yin broke through the barrier of the spine's base, it was like floodwater bursting through a dam, channeling through the spine to the central nervous system at the crown of the head!
Xu Qing felt malevolent thoughts and hostility growing in his heart and immediately furrowed his brow.
When he sensed his mind slipping and his meditative state about to break, Xu Qing's heart stirred slightly, and he promptly employed the Immovable Technique to clear away all distractions.
The Immovable Technique, ranking high among the Earth-ranked methods, is an excellent cultivation technique for the heart and mind.
Long-term practice not only steadies the practitioner's heart like still water and makes them immovable like a mountain but also shields against the erosion of illusions, suppresses disturbances from Heart Demons, and keeps the mind clear and tranquil, preventing any loss of self.
When the Ghost King Pill hovered above Xu Qing's head, settling from its prior agitation, strands of pure yin essence flowed like a stream onto the crown of Xu Qing's head and descended along the spine, continuously cleansing impurities and nurturing the entire vertebrae.
Meanwhile, beneath Xu Qing, the Ghost King's body emitted mystical energy, which gathered below him and rose inch by inch, assisting the Ghost Pill in saturating his spinal joints.
In the mortal world, the cycle of spring and autumn continued, cold and heat alternating.
Inside the Funeral Shop, there was a mysterious black cat that loved to sit in front of the coffin, staring blankly at it.
At the Shuimen Bridge Villa, there was a female ghost who loved singing "The Pavilion of the Moon," praying day and night for her master's safe return.
In the sunless world of the Ancient Yin River Dao, the Golden Simurgh had lost its crowing instinct; it spent every day listlessly guarding the tomb entrance, counting the grains of rice in the bag.
One thousand one hundred and one grains, one thousand one hundred and ten grains...
Wait, last time, what was it after one thousand...
The already not-so-smart Golden Simurgh became even more foolish.
The Golden Simurgh spent its days counting rice, only lifting its head sharply when subtle sounds occasionally emerged from inside the tomb, watching the sealed door with anticipation.
Upon failing to see that familiar figure, it would dejectedly lower its head again, nestling back into the pile of rice bags to continue counting rice grains.
Outside the communal grave, the Eight Banner Marshals and the Feng Shui King have battled over a hundred times, yet neither side could claim victory.
The shadowy figures around the skeletal post station came and went, the exposed tortoise back of the Bixi was even covered again by windblown sand, yet the traces hewn by the Heavenly Ax on the broken stele remain unchanged.
One day, suddenly, the silence deep within the tomb was broken by the sound of heavy objects collapsing.
The Golden Chicken, responsible for guarding the tomb entrance, immediately raised its head, staying motionless as it stared at the tomb door.
Though it did not particularly like Xu Qing, sometimes holding a grudge against that 'demon of the evil path' for not doing anything proper, after these years of companionship, particularly through the unfamiliar territories of the Ancient Yin River Dao 'living side by side,' its feelings had reached a stage where a day without seeing him meant losing its appetite.
This rice, it truly could not eat another day's worth!
Deep within the communal grave, at the bottom of the mass grave pit.
After enduring three years of cold and heat, Xu Qing suddenly moved his fingers, then slowly straightened his spine, and a sound like the chime of gold reverberated beneath his skin as his bones moved.
At a certain moment, Xu Qing opened his eyes; to his perception, the outside world seemed as if it were yesterday, with seemingly no changes.
Rising to his feet and jumping down from his place, he turned to see that the once pristine white jade skeleton of the unintended Ghost King had lost its former luster, transformed into a weathered relic like the ancient bones of a bygone era.
Without Xu Qing's presence, the once indestructible Ghost King's skeleton promptly collapsed into a heap of decayed bones and white ash.
Xu Qing paid it no mind, standing on the land of the Yin River, his eyes reflective and glowing.
At this moment, Xu Qing, in the earth of the communal grave, was already connected to the land, understanding the difference in density of the earth vein's yin energy; the feng shui energy pulsing between the graves; the faint activities from thousands of pits and the entire graveyard stele forest within fifty li, all formed in his mind.
The yin wind brushed the steles, the ghostly tomb earth, and even the murmurings of the lonely ghosts whispered like the lines on a palm, clear and indistinct.
With a mere thought, the spine crafted by the Undying Bone emitted a deep buzzing sound. Wherever his foot tread the earth veins, places where yin qi accumulated, ancient tombs lay hidden, where stone coffins and heavy sarcophagi were concealed, where treasures were buried deep in funeral objects...
All appeared in his mind like a map.
"The celestial spine connects to the Netherworld, and upon its completion, one can survey the four directions and discern the source of the earth veins..."
Xu Qing felt the changes in his body, and his sense of the land deepened once more.
Zombies have an affinity to earth; if they have a second life, the land would be their mother.
Xu Qing opened his eyes again, looking at the pile of decayed bones before him.
He once promised his old neighbor to carve the name of the Ghost King on a stele and place it outside the Ghost King Mausoleum for people to remember.
After some thought, Xu Qing properly gathered the scattered bones, intending to pick an auspicious day to bury his old neighbor back into the mausoleum.
Leaving the mass grave, as Xu Qing opened the tomb passage, a flash of gold dashed towards him!
Xu Qing slightly furrowed his brow, caught the flash by the neck with a practiced hand, and casually tossed it aside like garbage.
The Golden Simurgh wasn't bothered, still running back eagerly, asking when they could return to the Jin Sect.
"Return to the Jin Sect? What for returning to the Jin Sect, didn't you say a few days ago you wanted to come to the Yin River with me again, and now, after just a few days, you want to go back?"
Xu Qing began with a series of questions.
The Golden Simurgh, eyes crossed, raised its voice several pitches.
A few days? Perhaps those few days of yours ran a bit long!
The Golden Simurgh said nothing much, it ran to its pile of rice bags, pointed with its wing at the small hill of rice grains and said:
"One grain a day, I've counted, it's at least three years—do you know how I've managed these three years?"
Three years?
Xu Qing's face changed; he raised a finger and calculated, discovering it was indeed three years as the Golden Simurgh noted!
At this time, Xu Qing felt like he had overslept, checked the water clock—no more water left!
Fortunately, he had anticipated this, although the time exceeded his expectations by more than half, he was not overly surprised upon recollection.
Three to four years, within his twelve-year secluded cultivation period, wasn't even a third.
Once his mood calmed, Xu Qing looked at the indignant Golden Simurgh, shaking his head with a sighing laugh: "You! It's said the Yin River lacks sun and moon—you can't have calculated the days accurately. I just used the mortal almanac to calculate; it's only been three months on this Yin River!"
The Golden Simurgh widened its eyes, full of disbelief.
"Three months? Do I look like a fool to you?"
Xu Qing raised an eyebrow, pointing towards the rice bags in the corner.
"Judging by your appetite, you eat at least five jin of rice a day. Those leftover rice bags weigh barely five hundred jin; by no means does it surpass three months!"
Not awaiting the Golden Simurgh's contemplation, Xu Qing, with a reverse hand, retrieved the nearly ten thousand jin of rice sacks into the Mountain and River Map.
Silently musing within, how the chicken has eaten so little in three years, it must be preoccupied with something.
Recalling how light the Golden Simurgh felt when tossing it, and observing the noticeably slimmer Golden Chicken now.
Xu Qing felt a little remorseful.
"I promised you if we were going out to eat, we certainly would!"
"Can't we not go? I want to return to the Five Elders Temple."
"No way; as the Sect Leader, my word is binding."