CHAPTER 572: CHAPTER 291:

The dense vitality seeped into the departing wind. Xu Qing raised his palm and noticed that the small snake of departing wind, which was previously only as thick as a fingertip, had clearly grown thicker!

"No wonder the old woman was so concerned with ’life force’ when choosing disciples. If ordinary people practiced her methods, they might face aging and death within a few years..."

Recalling the old woman’s past habit of sipping weak water to borrow power whenever she performed divine techniques, Xu Qing suddenly understood.

It turns out the power she borrowed wasn’t ordinary magical power, but life force!

"When borrowing from the weak water, one must eventually repay. I’ve noted this debt," the old woman’s words when she escaped from the Ghost Law’s grasp echoed in his mind.

"Borrow and return. If what’s borrowed is life force, then what’s owed must also be life force."

The old woman never spoke of her cultivation, but Xu Qing perceived her intentions, linking all clues together using the revolving lantern, exposing part of her true nature.

No wonder the old woman was so excited upon meeting him, and so easily agreed to repay life with life.

Someone with little to no life force, even in debt, is just like tough meat—fearless of everything!

Xu Qing recalled how the old woman exhausted a scoop of weak water before her death, spending the last of her power to set off a dud in the Jin Sect’s territory.

He thought the old woman’s dud wasn’t set off aimlessly, but he couldn’t find any clues from the revolving lantern.

A small half-scoop of weak water was used up in one go. If it hadn’t been a dud, Xu Qing wouldn’t know the extent of its power!

After collecting the departure wind, Xu Qing turned to examine the rest of the rewards.

First, the method to make Ascendant Incense, primarily using the Red Spider Lily. When lit, it has the power to soothe the mind and stabilize the soul. If used with the Scientific Instrument Spell, it can guide souls safely across the Underworld River, unharmed by ghosts.

A drop of Three Lives Stone Dew, when consumed by a spirit, allows it to retain memories of three lives, even after crossing the Bridge of Helplessness into reincarnation, the memories won’t disappear.

If a living person consumes it, it can awaken memories from past and present lives, causing one to realize latent wisdom.

This thing is useless to Xu Qing; he is a zombie, not a living person or spirit. He possesses only the memories of this life, and as long as he exists, his memories won’t fade.

Lastly, there’s the middle-grade Earth Soul Reviving Pill.

As the name suggests, the Soul Reviving Pill can summon back the soul, restoring a person who has lost their soul.

But this pill is only effective for those whose life spans haven’t ended. For those whose life spans have exhausted, it does not work.

Xu Qing’s soul and body are fused like steel, inseparable. Others might lose their souls, but he couldn’t if he tried.

When dealing with the old woman’s corpse, Xu Qing searched thoroughly but didn’t find anything valuable.

The only wooden scoop full of weak water was used by the old woman like a dud.

"Really, just tricking a white wolf with empty hands!"

Xu Qing developed a deeper understanding of the old woman’s shamelessness; the only valuable information she provided was the first edition of the Breeding Handbook stored at the County Government Office.

That handbook was written by Xu Qing himself and is considered the exclusive guide of the Bao Sheng Temple.

According to the old woman, the booklet possesses infinite merit and is the most valuable treasure of Bao Sheng Temple, as well as the most powerful Dharma Artifact of Bao Sheng Deity.

This news seemed very valuable, but Xu Qing clearly remembered the old woman saying before her death that even if he didn’t retrieve the Breeding Handbook, when the merit was complete, it would be drawn back to him by itself.

So, all the old woman spoke were empty words, trying to use this information to manipulate Xu Qing, just like many of her disciples before, into willingly sacrificing for her goals.

But is Xu Qing a kind-hearted person?

"This old woman has three thousand avatars. If all three thousand avatars used the weak water borrowing technique, doesn’t that mean all three thousand old women are running dry, nearing their end?"

Xu Qing slapped his thigh in distress!

If you want me to be the person to bear the hopes of all beings, no problem! If you send all three thousand avatars to the Funeral Shop, I’ll definitely reconsider!

Maybe I’ll agree on the spur of the moment?

When the moon was high in the sky, Liu Midwife, who had been chatting with Sister Jin, finally couldn’t resist returning to the Incense Hall.

At this moment, the Incense Hall was empty, with only a knocked-over Incense Burner lying in front of the altar.

Sister Jin was immediately anxious!

"Oh dear! Which heartless person has done this, overturning the deity’s Incense Burner?"

Liu Midwife was also worried. She just started learning from a kind teacher, and suddenly she’s gone?

Little did she know that since the old woman met Bao Sheng Deity, she had completely forgotten her, thrown into oblivion!

You must know that abandoning and seeking new things are things the old woman has done more than once over the thousand years!

Xu Qing still remembered a white fox with eight tails from Qingqiu, now wandering outside!

That fox was deceived by the old woman no better than Xuan Yu. In the old woman’s memory, she passed through Yingzhou City a few years ago and still encountered the fox.

At that time, the fox disguised as a female Divination Master, dressed in a faded Divination Robe, reading people’s fortunes at the bridgehead.

Upon seeing the old woman, the female Divination Master was terrified! She immediately abandoned her stall and fled without turning back!

Xu Qing recalled and felt puzzled. Wasn’t the fox only deprived of one tail by the old woman? Why did she limp away as if her leg was severely injured too...

Could it be that after being abandoned by the old woman, she fought with others and got injured?