I Only Want to Lie Flat But Am Forced to Cultivate Immortality

The well was incredibly cold, filled with a malevolent aura of resentment, and even after many years, the corpses inside remained undecomposed.

Xu Qing observed carefully and saw seven corpses, with six standing rigidly in a circle, their hands all in a lifting position. The well water just covered their chests, while in the hands of these six corpses stood a County Magistrate's corpse, preventing it from being submerged in the murky well water.

Upon sensing the opening of the stone seal, the well's evil energy seemed to find an outlet and began rushing towards the wellhead in a frenzy.

Xu Qing frowned at this sight, unconsciously releasing the restrained corpse energy from his body.

As the aura of Xu Qing at the wellhead was detected, the restless Yin Evil Qi, eager to gush out, immediately calmed down and retreated back into the well.

Xu Qing looked down again and found that the County Magistrates, who had been standing steadfastly in the well, were now all kneeling, heads lowered, in a submissive stance.

Those malevolent energies began whimpering, swirling around the well walls as if pouring their grievances to Xu Qing.

Feeling their sorrow, Xu Qing circled around the wellhead, starting to chant a soul-retrieving incantation.

Xuan Yu held incense in one hand and white wax in the other, following closely behind Xu Qing, beginning to walk circles.

"Green protects the soul, white serves the spirit, red nourishes breath, black connects the blood, no other souls come, no dead souls leave, listen to my incantation, fragmented spirits enter dreams... Heaven's gate opens, Earth's gate opens, the golden sparrow transforms its spirit body, the wandering soul returns to see its body, a thousand miles' soul-retrieving symptom, quickly return to your true nature!"

After circling the well nine times, it seemed to completely boil, innumerable black water mixed with the cadaverous malevolent energy bursted out of the well, and in a fleeting moment, the County Magistrates in the well were expelled outside.

At the same time, from the deep, unknown bottom of the well, a lost soul transformed into a golden stream of light, leapt out of the wellmouth.

It was a small sparrow made of condensed golden spiritual light. As it flew out of the well, the little golden sparrow fluttered around Xu Qing, like a child lost without its home!

Standing before the corpse held up by all the County Magistrates, Xu Qing raised an eyebrow and said, "Stop circling! See if this is your body?"

The little golden sparrow came to the corpse, glanced at it, then dismissively shook its head before flying back to Xu Qing.

"Then take another look at these six."

The little golden sparrow flew before the six County Magistrates' corpses, and when it saw one of the bodies, it dived down repeatedly but was inevitably blocked by the rigid corpses upon contact.

Xu Qing had a hunch but feared making a mistake. To be cautious, he took out several corpses from the Box Garden.

Among them were Baiyun Daoist's, County Magistrate Xiao's, and a few bald monks.

The little golden sparrow circled a few times, then flew back to Xu Qing.

Quite the picky one!

Xu Qing glanced at the sky, realizing if they delayed any further, the little golden sparrow would find it even harder to return to its soul.

After pondering for a moment, Xu Qing suddenly smiled and said, "Come, come, come over here. Aren't you disdainful of these bodies not being original? I have a way to help you find your true body."

The little golden sparrow, hearing this, fluttered its wings excitedly and flew to Xu Qing.

"Hold still. Do you see that corpse?"

Xu Qing pointed to the body held aloft by the other County Magistrates. As the little golden sparrow turned its head and its attention fell on that corpse, the zombie behind it, acting less than human, suddenly launched a sneak attack!

"You're being too picky! Having a usable corpse is good enough, yet you're being so choosy..."

Xu Qing grabbed the little golden sparrow and directly smacked it into the only lifelike body before him.

This body, held up by the other County Magistrates, was slightly cold, but its limbs were still as supple as ever, and a bit of warmth would make it no different from a living person.

The little golden sparrow, caught off guard, merged with the corpse on the ground, causing the body's throat to emit its first breath of warmth.

Xu Qing fed it a Ten Thousand Spirits Pill and some Qi and blood-nourishing pills, then took out a warm jade and placed it on the body, ceasing any further interference.

The little golden sparrow was a soul of one of the County Magistrates from the well, but it had had its body swapped by Yang Mingchun's soul-exchanging technique, which explained why it couldn't merge into any of the corpses despite desperately crashing into one of them upon returning.

The body the little golden sparrow once inhabited no longer belonged to it.

After Xu Qing understood this, he guessed that the body protected by the County Magistrates was indeed the true body of the little golden sparrow post-soul exchange.

The only mystery remaining for Xu Qing was why the other County Magistrates had always chosen to preserve the 'little golden sparrow' as the sole survivor.

With these questions in his mind, Xu Qing proceeded to consecrate the corpses of the County Magistrates one by one.

In life, these corpses had similar stories, most being scholars who studied in hardship or talented gentlemen who passed the imperial exams, appointed as County Magistrates in Ning County.

But unfortunately, none of them served for more than three or five days before their bodies were seized by Yang Mingchun, drowning in the deep well.

After ten years of hard study, finally passing the imperial exam, becoming a regional officer, only to lose their body, official title, and their families turned into enemies' subordinates within a few days.

The resentment of these County Magistrates was understandable, which was one reason their bodies remained preserved in the deep well for years.

The resentful malevolent energy in this well had grown exceedingly dense, and if not for Xu Qing's control, within a few years, the County Magistrate's residence would have become the largest Haunted House in Ning County!

During the consecration, Xu Qing sensed the intense reluctance emanating from the bodies. It was as if these corpses were being forcibly taken by the Sutra of Salvation, unwilling to cooperate, yet unable to resist, clearly full of resentment.