I Only Want to Lie Flat But Am Forced to Cultivate Immortality-Chapter 161 - 102: Brocade Pouch, Herbal Tea_2
Chapter 161: Chapter 102: Brocade Pouch, Herbal Tea_2
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They chatted idly along the way, and once they returned to the shop, Xu Qing began to handle the Spirit Fish.
The Celestial Starfish was no ordinary fish; the blood energy contained within it was extremely rich. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be a treasure sought after by Martial Artists.
However, this kind of Spirit Fish was not suitable for cooking; it had to be consumed raw to be most effective.
Xu Qing sliced the fish from head to tail into two portions. He and Xuan Yu ate one portion, and the remaining portion was delivered to the funeral shop by Xu Qing.
Cats love fish, and foxes are no exception.
Those who came to listen to the lectures, including Daoist Yizhen, were in for a treat. Hu Baosong, much like an elder doting on his children, saved the most succulent part of the Spirit Fish for Yizhen.
"This old man loves to eat fish heads the most, they taste so much better than other parts!"
Xu Qing thought to himself, "Give me a break!"
The fish head of the Celestial Starfish was as hard as iron, arguably the toughest part to chew on.
This old man wasn’t afraid of breaking all his teeth.
"Recently at the port, it’s fishing season. Old Hu, if you want to eat fish, I can go to the port and see. Speaking of which, I do know a bit of Water Control."
Back when the female bandit from the Salt Gang, Granny Cao, was exterminated by the Waterwork Daoist, Xu Qing obtained a magical technique from her, called the Water Technique.
River salt transportation relies on water transport, which in turn relies on ships.
This Water Technique allows people to move on water as if it were solid ground, without the need for a boat.
With such a magical technique, catching fish would be a breeze.
"How many skills do you have? How come you even know Water Techniques?"
Sitting in his seat, Xu Qing smiled shyly and said, "I know a little of everything, but none of them particularly well. It’s not much."
In the following days, Xu Qing continued as usual, listening to Hu Baosong’s teachings at the coffin shop.
The Hu Yang Clan, besides their Sun and Moon Nurturing Technique, also had an ancient Abnormal Technique passed down through their lineage.
This Abnormal Technique was based on the human physique combined with the Path of Refining Form of the Fox Demon, creating a new type of Cultivation Technique.
Although Xu Qing couldn’t cultivate it, the idea behind the technique gave him great insight.
It’s said that ninety-nine percent of zombies are just walking dead before they breakthrough as Hidden Corpses, lacking the awareness to create cultivation techniques or assist their own cultivation.
The reason Xu Qing was able to practice zombie cultivation techniques was thanks to those Corpse Drivers and the cultivators from the Yin Corpse Sect.
The higher the level of a zombie, the greater its value.
Because of this, the people of the Yin Corpse Sect invested tremendous effort, spending generations to develop nurturing techniques that can cultivate zombies.
The nurturing techniques created by the Hu Yang Clan share similarities with those of the Yin Corpse Sect, both being types of Abnormal Techniques.
Unfortunately, most zombies lack wisdom; even if you placed the Corpse Nourishing Scripture in front of them, they wouldn’t pick it up to read, let alone cultivate themselves.
Xu Qing seemed to have an epiphany.
Perhaps the zombie nurturing techniques were no different from the Sixth Realm Cultivation Technique practiced by the living. By actively nurturing himself, he essentially had a cultivation technique that suited him.
However, the name of such techniques was somewhat mundane, like manuals on fast chicken farming or pig fattening, far less grand than human cultivation techniques.
"The Corpse Nourishing Scripture is a cultivation technique. If we reverse the concept, wouldn’t the Sixth Realm Technique practiced by cultivators be akin to a Nourishing Human Scripture?"
Xu Qing suddenly recalled his past experiences at the Corpse Worker Mill.
Zombies don’t understand cultivation, and the Corpse Nourishing Scripture was created by the Yin Corpse Sect.
If that’s the case, the first humans probably didn’t understand cultivation either. So who created the Sixth Realm cultivation techniques for martial arts or true cultivation?
Was it humans themselves or the mythical immortals?
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Cultivation knows no day and night, and five days passed in the blink of an eye.
When Hu Baosong first lectured, it took seven days with two days of rest in between.
This time, it only took five days for him to share everything he knew.
Yizhen had been cultivating at the Five Elders Temple for a long time and had great comprehension skills.
No matter how obscure the topic, Hu Baosong only had to explain it once or twice for Yizhen to understand completely.
Hu Baosong felt proud and delighted, but Yizhen’s quick learning wasn’t entirely good for him.
After all, once there was nothing left to teach, it would be time to say goodbye.
"Did you really remember everything?" Hu Baosong asked the scholarly-looking Daoist nun.
Yizhen nodded, her expression calm as water.
Hu Baosong suddenly felt regret. If he had taught a bit slower, he could’ve dragged it out for a few more days.
Now he had hurriedly imparted all his skills and missed the opportunity to spend more time together.
Seeing a chance, Xu Qing interjected, "I haven’t remembered everything. I still have some doubts, senior Hu. Could you perhaps enlighten me a bit more?"
"Since young Xu still has questions, I’ll lecture for another half day."
Xu Qing glanced at the cheerful Hu Baosong, feeling a bit disappointed.
Just another half day?
This old fool, being stubborn at the wrong time.
During this extra half day, though it was meant to teach Xu Qing, most of the time was spent with Hu Baosong talking to Yizhen.
He asked about her life at the Five Elders Temple, if she lacked anything for daily needs, and if the senior Daoists there made things difficult for her.
It seemed Xu Qing was the least important student there.
When Yizhen left the coffin shop, Hu Baosong stood at the door like parents seeing their daughter off to get married.
Seeing Xu Qing also stepping towards the direction Yizhen left, Hu Baosong couldn’t help but remind him, "Young Xu, where are you going? The funeral shop is this way."
Xu Qing smiled at Hu Baosong’s wary look, "I’m going to the port to see if there are any fresh fish for sale."
"If there are good fish, I’ll bring some back for you!"
"Really going to buy fish?"
"Otherwise, would I leave to become a monk at the Five Elders Temple?"
Hu Baosong blew his mustache and glared.
Xu Qing laughed heartily and then left Underground Street.
After crossing a few streets, Yizhen, who had been walking silently, suddenly stopped and turned around.
"Why are you following me, Junior Brother Xu?"
Seeing Yizhen turn back, Xu Qing raised his gaze and said, "I have some minor matters to discuss with Senior Sister, but I didn’t know how to approach you. So I followed, thinking all the way."
Yizhen was moved, their eyes met, and neither spoke further.
They walked in silence until they found a teahouse, ordered a pot of tea, and Xu Qing sat quietly watching the tea guests chat.
After a while, Yizhen couldn’t help but break the silence, "If you have something to say, Junior Brother, speak here."
Xu Qing showed a faint smile.
This Daoist nun was too aloof. If she didn’t speak up, he would’ve been the one who couldn’t stand it.
Xu Qing picked up the teapot on the table, sighed, and said, "What a pity. We only meditated for a while, and now the water in the teapot is no longer warm."
Yizhen looked up at Xu Qing and calmly said, "If that’s so, let the tea master bring us another pot..."
"Senior Sister Yizhen, do you think the taste of new tea is the same as this pot?"
"Junior Brother, just say what you want." Yizhen slightly raised her eyebrows.
Xu Qing stood up and poured the cool tea into Yizhen’s cup, sighed and said, "It’s a pity when the people leave and the tea cools.
"If we could hold the cup while the tea is still warm and feel that slight warmth, even when the tea cools in years to come, we could still remember that feeling."
Yizhen’s hand, which was about to lift the cup, trembled slightly.
"How many days does he have left?"
Xu Qing silently shook his head.
Most people ask how much longer there is, but they never mention how much time has already passed.
Whether a century or a day, the difference isn’t always that vast.
Yizhen remained silent for a moment, then suddenly stood up and walked out of the teahouse.
Watching Yizhen leaving, Xu Qing couldn’t help but clap his hands together.
Another day of playing the good man and zombie.
"Waiter, the bill!"
"Thank you for your patronage, that’ll be three coins."
Leaving the teahouse, Xu Qing chuckled to himself.
He had promised Hu Baosong he would never tell Yizhen about his remaining days.
Now, he had only bought some tea and talked about warm and cool tea, mentioning nothing about Hu Baosong’s lifespan.
How Yizhen interpreted it was her own business, nothing to do with him.