Deep within the stele forest mass grave, Xu Qing sat cross-legged before the vast pit of the dead.
The pit before him was the resting place for the Eight Banner Marshals' soldiers and war horses after their demise. Even after these soldiers and horses turned into skeleton Yin soldiers and left the burial pit, the area still remained unaffected by the Yin energy. It did not collapse and was even more solid and reliable than ordinary graves.
Xu Qing was well-versed in feng shui, especially the feng shui of Yin Residences.
With a single glance, he could discern this was a vast grave connected to the fortune of the Dayong, similar to the costructs of the Imperial City.
"A mass grave, yet it condenses into an imperial city atmosphere. No wonder the Eight Banner Marshals stationed their camp here."
Xu Qing raised his index finger, flicking out a sharp claw, etching a deep claw mark into the seamless and solid wall of soil.
But the next moment, the claw mark restored itself as if he had scratched the surface of a lake rather than a wall.
Xu Qing instantly realized this grave was the underworld imperial city for the fallen soldiers of Dayong, and as long as Dayong's fortune remained, the grave would remain undamaged.
In other words, once Dayong's fortune wore out and the Imperial City was taken by another, the mass grave would collapse, and beings like the Eight Banner Marshals who relied on Dayong's fortune would lose their existence's meaning.
Xu Qing looked at the resilient wall of soil that restored itself, suddenly thinking of Zuo Zixiong, buried in the soil.
"Zuo Zixiong's existence likely also revolved around his loyalty to Dayong..."
Alas, Xu Qing would never allow Zuo Zixiong to return to Dayong.
His identity at the Funeral Shop had already been revealed to him. To Zuo Zixiong, Xu Qing was at least a Martial Arts Grandmaster hidden in the mundane world.
Over the years, so much had happened in the Jin Sect. Many sent by the Dayong Imperial Court had met their end here, including grandmasters and the true heirs of the Celestial Master's Mansion.
If Zuo Zixiong revealed his excursion to Yin River and his removal of the Celestial Heart Sect's dual masters, not only would the Imperial Court and Celestial Master's Mansion focus on him, but the Celestial Heart Sect would also pursue him relentlessly.
"Tsk..." Xu Qing shook his head. Fortunately, he only promised the Eight Banner Marshals to help Zuo Zixiong leave the Yin River alive, without specifying when he would leave or when he would awaken.
Zuo Zixiong was significant, but if there was a chance he could become an enemy and a threat in the future, Xu Qing would not choose to fulfill his loyalty.
The land of Dayong cannot accommodate a Zuo Zixiong.
Xu Qing had no time to worry about a general serving a decaying dynasty. He was struggling for his own survival, the road ahead was filled with thorns, and an old vixen was watching him hungrily at the end of the path. He had no energy to concern himself with others' dignity.
Amid the swirling Evil Qi in the mass grave, Xu Qing stood up and walked to the most densely concentrated area of the pit.
Now, he had refined two hundred and three bones, yet the three main bones—Heavenly Pillar, Yellow Court, and North Sea—within the twelve important bones remained unmastered.
The Heavenly Pillar is the fulcrum of the backbone, opening the gates to the ethereal, connecting to the source of the earth veins; the Yellow Court is the position of the skull, the nexus within the Divine Mansion; the North Sea is the root of the sacrum, the location of the Immortal Foundation.
Without mastering these three bones, he would ultimately find it difficult to reach the perfect state of the Undying Bone.
"Old neighbor, you better give some strength and don't let my long wait be in vain."
Before Xu Qing, the skeleton frame of a Ghost King as tall as a city gate lay with its head lowered, seated on the ground.
The Many Tribulations Ghost King was a skeleton ghost cultivated over millennia, this skeleton frame being the fruit of its cultivation through absorbing Yin energy over the centuries.
Xu Qing looked up at this near-perfect skeleton.
Its texture was like White Jade from Kunlun, pristine and flawless.
If tapped lightly, it sounded like a metal chime, clear and resonant.
Aside from its flawless appearance, the White Jade skeleton contained the purest and most pristine Yin energy and a dormant Ghost King's Inner Pill.
Xu Qing contemplated the beautifully patterned skeleton and finally focused on the Many Tribulations Ghost King's left hand.
The Many Tribulations Ghost King's body, all of bone, yet on the bone claw, there remained one finger, flesh intact, that had resisted decay for a millennium.
"The severed finger of the Yanluo Emperor..."
Xu Qing extended his sharp claws, using great effort and applying the technique of the Butcher Dissects the Ox, to sever the disconnected finger at the root joint of the Many Tribulations Ghost King.
"Ghost Dao celebrates as life's doors; Immortal Dao cherishes life, Ghost Dao values end; Immortal Dao always auspicious, Ghost Dao always ominous..."
Xu Qing held the severed finger, reciting the Sutra of Salvation, but there was no response.
He did not give up, instead crafting a paperman as tall as the Many Tribulations Ghost King according to the dimensions of the severed finger.
Yet this paperman had one missing index finger on the left hand.
Xu Qing attached the Yanluo Emperor's severed finger, once again invoking the Sutra, yet still received no response.
"Indeed, bodies too damaged cannot be redeemed."
Regretfully, Xu Qing stored the severed finger in the Box Garden.
The owner of this finger was truly a sanctified Immortal. Whether he was the Yanluo Emperor as claimed by Ascendant Fuluan, Xu Qing could not confirm.
For several days, Xu Qing sat in meditation in a half-lotus position atop the Many Tribulations Ghost King's skull, the size of a millstone.
Xu Qing observed the White Bone, and the aura surrounding him grew increasingly silent.
This grave was a natural ground for nourishing corpses, and while observing the White Bone, Xu Qing continually drew upon the Yin energy contained within the bones.
As the markings on his Heavenly Pillar bone began to glow softly, Xu Qing also faced the backlash of the Ghost Pill beneath him.
Ordinarily, resisting the intrusion of a Ghost Pill during meditation would be impossible, but Xu Qing was in the critical phase of condensing his Heavenly Pillar spine, needing Yin essence. The Yin Evil Qi from the Ghost Pill was not harmful to him; instead, it was like a sheep walking into a tiger's mouth, a starving tiger finding food!