"West Sea Demon Child, East Sea Demon Pill Cave Heaven..."
Xu Qing always felt there was some connection between the two, but for the moment, he had no way to start.
The group followed the boat, and upon reaching the water hole, the Water Burial master began chanting scriptures and performing the water ritual ceremony.
Friends and family on the boat gathered around, scattering petals, rice grains, and paper money along the way.
The younger generation of the Li Family was responsible for burning paper-made guiding boats, leading the way for the elders.
Xu Qing made connections, realizing that these guiding boats were akin to the rooster in earth burials, meant to guide souls, while other transcendence rituals were no different from ordinary magical powers.
Once friends and family completed their farewells, the final ceremony was the underwater burial ritual.
The boat carrying the remains looked identical to ordinary wooden boats, but beneath it was weighed down with pottery, bricks, and stones.
It appeared as wood, but once in the water, it immediately became an anchor.
The Water Burial master sent the boat into the water, then made a mudra, chanting the spells:
Wandering souls, where do you reside?
The three souls have long gone, and the seven spirits arrive!
Frightening and odd, graveyard mountains and forests!
Now offering the Water Mansion's mysterious chapter, dragons, fish, and turtles, protect and maintain submerged souls!
The water route is not far; one thought can ascend!
This journey to the underworld is steady and calm!
Xu Qing silently noted them, pondering that one day, when a customer seeks a water burial, he could use them.
With the spells chanted, the Water Burial master held a hammer and chisel, carving a small hole in the boat's bottom, symbolizing the opening of Heaven's gate, while also allowing the boat to sink into the intended water hole.
After all was done, the group together slid the wood boat carrying the remains into the water.
The mourning boat swayed and sailed towards the water hole, eventually sinking from everyone's sight.
A water burial has no tombstone, yet the living's emotions and thoughts are equally abundant.
On the return, the group didn't take the original water route but another, heading back to the ancestral hall.
Along the way, all on board were prohibited from speaking, fearing to disturb the Water Mansion Dragon Lord, who had come to escort the deceased's soul.
When the boat crossed the Nine Rivers Bay, the water suddenly became turbulent, Xu Qing frowned slightly, and the barely visible Water Corpse magical powers enveloped the surrounding waters, making the previously tottering large boat stabilize instantly.
Xu Qing just collected his thoughts but was again drawn by a dilapidated temple on the distant coast.
Suppressing his doubts, once the boat docked, Xu Qing finally opened his mouth to ask:
"Li Elder, I saw on the high cliff southwest of the Nine Rivers Bay, there is a small temple; which Venerable God does it enshrine inside?"
Xu Qing would have left it unmentioned, but upon mentioning, the Li Family elder immediately pulled a long face and said: "Venerable God? What kind of Venerable God is it! Who knows who our Li Family offended, to actually build a ghost temple honoring an evil deity right at our doorstep!"
The elder of Li Family was almost unable to contain his anger: "Our Li Family's ancestors almost faced extermination because of that West Sea Demon Child. Now we relocated here, generations have treated the Demon Child as a taboo, yet the temple openly worships the Demon Child."
"How can our Li Family tolerate it?"
The Li Family elder snorted coldly: "Two years ago, I ordered the destruction of the deity statue inside that temple, breaking its temple door. Whoever dares to worship will certainly be making enemies with our Li Family..."
"..."
Xu Qing didn't follow up; he instead asked: "May I ask, Elder, what is the name of the ghost temple that worships the evil deity?"
"I can't recall, it seems it's called something like Demon Heaven Temple... Listen to that name, what kind of proper Immortal would have such a name?"
Nearby, a young member of the Li Family interjected: "It's not the Demon Heaven Temple; it's the Demon Pill Cave Master Temple."
"Elder, whether it's the Demon Pill Cave Master or Fish Pill Cave Master, as long as it resembles the evil demon passed down by our Li Family ancestors, it must be an evil deity without a doubt!"
"In my opinion, that temple has something to do with the He family in River Bay..."
...
To the west of the Nine Rivers Bay, on a desolate cliff, stands a lonely broken temple.
The temple door is half broken, the teeth exposed, and with a sea breeze, it creaks and rattles, sounding eerie.
Xu Qing led the Chasing Mourning horse, stepping inside alone.
Though small, the broken temple was complete in its essentials.
To the left and right of the Incense Hall, there was even a pair of couplets inscribed.
"My destiny is inherently natural, indeed determined by me not by Heaven..."
Xu Qing looked at the crooked, snake-like calligraphy as if snakes and worms were randomly climbing, yet from the writing, he saw the rebellious spirit concealed by the owner here!
What might such an arrogant deity look like?
Filled with curiosity, Xu Qing couldn't wait to step into the hall.
In the Incense Hall, a deity's statue stood facing the north.
Xu Qing looked up, vaguely resembling a three-headed six-armed youth figure, but the deity's head had long been destroyed, leaving the broken arms and legs, still stubbornly stuck there!
"My destiny is determined by me not by Heaven?"
Xu Qing's tone was filled with inquisitiveness.
When he stepped closer, seeing the chaotic golden body and the overturned incense burner on the altar, Xu Qing's expression grew increasingly peculiar.
"My destiny is determined by me not by Heaven?"
The question lingered.
It was hard for Xu Qing to imagine that a deity capable of writing such a couplet would appear in such a shabby condition.
Though the 'Demon Pill Cave Heaven' owner differed from what he saw in his pursuit of immortality, Xu Qing could be sure this was the immortality he sought!
Xu Qing collected himself, lifted the incense burner, and holding three sticks of Spirit Incense, solemnly said:
"Young Xu Qing, wandering here. I've just seen the remarkable spiritual aura here, suggesting it is inhabited by a true god, and thus especially offer three sticks of Spirit Incense to honor the Venerable God."
Courtship is never held against anyone, even gods.
Having greeted the deity, Xu Qing let himself go, starting to search the nooks and crannies of the Incense Hall for any possible clues to hidden immortality.
With opened celestial eyes, Xu Qing scrutinized every temple wall, yet did not find any traces of the Celestial Scripture.
Xu Qing still did not give up; instead, he took out Mother and Child Needle thread, stitching the broken three-headed six-armed Divine Being statue as it was originally.
Still, no abnormality appeared.
Xu Qing furrowed his brow.
The search for immortality shouldn't be wrong; there must be an immortality here. Was it because he came too early or lacked the sincere demonstration akin to a eager student seeking wisdom, failing to earn the acknowledgment of this place's owner?
Xu Qing's character is also persistent.
The world's vastness, where can one not cultivate?
Given that there might be immortality present here, why not stay a little longer; perhaps this wild temple's owner appreciates sincerity!
Having made up his mind, Xu Qing said to himself: "Recently, I've gained a bit, if the senior won't mind the disturbance, may I please set up an abode here to quietly perceive the way of Heaven and Earth."
"..."
Meanwhile, not far from the Demon Pill Temple in the Water Mansion, a youth suddenly furrowed his brow.
Through the freshly stitched mud and golden figure, he looked toward the Demon Pill Temple, noticing in the Incense Hall, the uninvited young man indeed sat cross-legged on the ground, entering meditation and cultivation!
Being the Demon Pill Temple's master, upon seeing the other party lingering without leaving, he felt quite irritated.
"Why does my senior find a destined person so easily? But when it comes to me, it's all difficult?"
The youth dressed as a Lotus Immortal has sunk into self-doubt.
Recall, back in the day, he made quite a name for himself in the West Sea, and residents of the Nine Rivers Bay territory regarded him as a bringer of calamity from generation to generation. If not, he wouldn't have chosen the East Sea, opposite of the West Sea, to seek destined people.
Yet fate has its irony, even after arriving at the East Sea, just managing to find similarly named Nine Rivers Bay to build a temple, he still encountered the lineage of the Li Family from the West Sea!
Could this be karma?
The Li Family, after thousands of years, precisely in today's era, personally broke his golden body and shattered the temple he used to seek destined ones.
Others might have already relocated, choosing another cave.
But he, the Demon Pill Cave Master, is stubborn; the less others want him, the more he stays.
As it stands, for the past two years, not a single destined person nor even half a worshipper has come!
Finally, today, a person arrives at this temple, only to be someone already deemed a destined person by his senior years ago.
How can he reason with this!
But he, the Demon Pill Cave Master, is stubborn. The less others want him, the more he stays.
As it stands, for the past two years, not a single destined person nor even half a worshipper has come!
Finally, today, a person arrives at this temple, only to be someone already deemed a destined person by his senior years ago.
How can he reason with this!