The Path to Immortality Begins with the Life-Extending Lamp

Chapter 159 The Initial Decision of the Ten Mountains
Chu Longjun sighed softly, rose from the golden throne, cupped his hands to the guests from all directions, and smiled apologetically.
However, someone on the Five Dragon Fangs Great Ship suddenly shouted:

"How dare I?"

"Lord Chu is a man of great talent and his reputation has long been known throughout the land. This grand banquet is held so that we brothers can gather together and mentor the young men below..."

"It is already a great favor that you have invited so many guests and friends to give the younger generation of Tiandu Nandi an opportunity. This general must see who is being insatiable and trying to swallow an elephant?"

As the hearty laughter began, a powerful aura suddenly surged into the sky from the Dragon Tooth Ship on the east side, shattering the seats and tables on both sides. A powerful figure from the South China Sea, nearly ten feet tall, led his men out, surrounded by many wandering knights. They roughly lifted the clamoring Taoists like quails and threw them into the water below the Dragon Tooth Ship.

This was a powerful cultivator who had reached the pinnacle of the Purple Mansion Foundation stage. He wore armor and a short shirt, with a cloak draped over his shoulders. He was guarded by seven or eight Purple Mansion heroes. He looked like a formidable figure, and the guests on both sides quickly avoided his imposing presence.

"The surging waves are ever-changing, and the South China Sea has no bounds. This is the sea-riding general - Temurang."

Someone exclaimed in surprise, revealing the person's background.

The Southern Kingdom of Tiandu inherited the ancient aristocratic clan system and the lineage of the Six Ancient Sects and the Ghostly Temple, dividing the great cultivators who did not belong to the Five Directions Immortal Sects or the Human Daoist clans into two systems.

One is inherited from the ancient Qi of the Six Heavens, and is worshipped by local ancestral ghosts and ancient priests. All spirits and demons are called officials and have titles. Those who have cultivated to the point of reaching the Purple Mansion Perfection or even the Yin God are called Generals for men and Madams for women!
Above are Lady White Bone, Lady Jade Face, and the Five Ghost Generals, all of whom are Yin spirits and ghosts from Lingnan Road... Below are Lady White Plum from Qingqiu Mountain and several Yin judges from Lingnan Prefecture.

These beings, residing in various prefectures of Lingnan, wielded immense influence. Naturally, this indirectly led to the weakening of the foundations of the five immortal sects in the southern Lingnan region!
One type is a wandering cultivator who resides in the cultivation world of the South, yet remains on the fringes of various paths, possessing extraordinary supernatural abilities. They are often recommended by local gentry families in various prefectures and districts.

For example, the Lord of Longze, Wuxi Longjun, the General Who Strikes the Waters and Patrols the South China Sea, Tiemutang, and the newly promoted Five Poison Ancestor of Tiannan can also be considered to have barely squeezed into this category...

But clearly, the General who struck the water came all the way from the South China Sea to show his support, with the aim of upholding the Dragon King's majesty.

"Hmph! The Ten Directions Dao Techniques, a single scroll of great divine power—even the Five Immortal Sects wouldn't dare to possess such a feat. What kind of Tom, Dick, or Harry dares to interfere?"

"I'm the first to disagree!"

After Tie Mutang spoke, one after another, heroic figures stepped forward, sneering and mocking him.

In a sense, Chu Longjun's prize was prepared for his fellow disciples and friends.

Why should we, as brothers, treat you all equally at this banquet?
If you treat us fairly, isn't that the greatest injustice to our brotherhood?

Seeing his friends from all over the world protecting him so much, Chu Longjun smiled wryly and made a compromise. He ordered the dragon palace soldiers to first retrieve the "bad guest" who had been knocked into the dragon swamp, then help him onto the dragon boat, warm him up, and invited heroes from all over the world to the dragon palace island.

Yuan Shou then inquired of the various distinguished guests from the Purple Mansion who were beginning to take their seats on the jade steps. Many of them were people that Li Qing and the others had seen at the banquet on the ship years ago, including the solitary guest, Master Qingmu, the ghosts and gods of various clans, and the underworld judges of the prefecture...

"Hey~"

"Why go through all this trouble and burden Lord Chu and the other cultivators?"

"At the end of this Dragon Ze Ice Path lies the Ten Directions Battlefield, the decisive battleground. If anyone has neither a challenge nor a formal invitation but wishes to participate, come and fight under my command first!"

The first to lose patience was the Purple Mansion Daoist, who jumped off the dragon boat and stepped onto the starting point of the Dragon Marsh Ice Road. With a flick of his sleeve, he drew a Purple Cloud Sword, its sharpness surging into the thousand-foot sea of ​​clouds.

"Come on, anyone who wants to pick peaches!"

This sword cultivator blocking the way was like stirring up a hornet's nest. Among all the cultivators here, who wasn't an old hand who had traveled the land of Tiandu for many years? Who didn't have some skills? Among fellow cultivators, the method of cultivation was the most important, but supernatural powers were hard to concede.

Without resorting to violence to determine who is superior, neither side will admit defeat.

Immediately, streams of energy rose up, and with one step, they entered the icy path over the water, truly intending to teach this person a lesson and see just how capable he was, daring to spout such arrogant words.
Immediately, those with invitations and those without challenge letters all stepped onto the icy path, causing chaos among the guests and cultivators. Even some old cultivators who had lived for four or five decades tried to sneak in.

"Aren't you Old Ghost Zhao from Qiqiao Mountain? You shameless old man, you must be over three hundred years old by now. How dare you try to take a seat from a young person?"

Many Purple Mansion Daoists rushed into the icy road and saw that the Purple Cloud Sword Cultivator had already started fighting with someone. Immediately, some of them began to have wicked thoughts, wanting to be the first to enter the battlefield island.

However, the old cultivator from the Purple Mansion who was walking at the very front had his background exposed on the spot!

"Nonsense, how can you slander someone's innocence out of thin air?"

"I am only 180 years old this year. It's just that I have been too diligent in my cultivation, which makes me look older. Go away, go away, don't get in my way!"

The hunchbacked old man flicked his sleeve and, without turning his head, shouted at the troublemakers behind him, but his pace quickened even further.

On this icy road stretching ten thousand feet across the Dragon Marsh, the Daoist essence of Gui Water flows ceaselessly. Just stepping onto it, the bone-chilling cold penetrates the body of every Daoist, making one dare not linger.

The Purple Cloud Swordsman was indeed quite skilled. He drew his sword and struck three times, knocking the reckless troublemaker off the dragon's swamp. Others followed up, and the scene became chaotic with a series of clanging sounds.

Jin Zhenchuan of Liuling Mountain, He Wu, the Ghost Princess of Lingnan, and the two Qi Refining Daoists all stood up. They were all stunned by the sudden change in the scene, but before they could move, a powerful and heavy soul pressure enveloped them!

"No rush, let's see..."

Li Qing raised his right hand, his fingertips gleaming with a ghostly light, stopping the actions of several fellow Daoists. Unconsciously, he activated his Yin Eyes, peering beyond the chaotic aura of the group of guests, and was startled by the several auras as bright as the sun.

Sure enough, the few Daoist masters holding the invitations lost their patience!

On one side of the dragon's lair, a shadow that obscured the sky descended, carrying a monstrous aura. With a single strike, it shattered half of the icy path on the water, and the unstoppable dragon's might directly hurled hundreds of people behind it into the water.

The sounds of splashing into the water rose and fell, and even the Purple Mansion Daoist could not avoid it, falling into the icy water and being drenched to the bone.

Even more terrifying was that as soon as the Taoists fell into the water, the water of the Dragon Marsh seemed to transform into a steel-like surface, embedding the group of cultivators into it.

Despite the surging waves, even the few Daoists in the Purple Mansion could no longer break free. They could only rise and fall with the waves, looking quite pathetic!
Jin Nancan and the others looked around again and saw a black dragon with four ferocious horns, its head hanging down, comparable in size to a large ship. The violent aura it exhaled was enough to make anyone dare not change color.

This is a dragon at the upper level of the Purple Mansion realm, and it is not a river dragon or a water dragon, but a sea dragon born from the four seas. It is twice as large as the dragon prince Jiao Jing in the Five Streams Dragon Marsh!
"hold head high……"

The desolate and vast roar of the sea dragon sent chills down the spines of the many water dragons and serpents in the Dragon Marsh, causing them to turn their heads and look toward the broken ice path.

"Look, that's the Dragon Tamer, the number one dragon tamer in the East Sea."

Someone exclaimed in surprise and pointed at the top of the terrifying dragon's head. In the center of the four horns pointing upwards, a young man dressed in green robes with taotie patterns stood with his arms crossed and his gaze looking down.

"There's more than one person."

There were quite a few wandering knights on the Dragon Tooth Ship, and they immediately pointed out the figures on the latter half of the icy road.

"With golden hair and a swaying body, and six tails exuding heavenly fragrance, she is Ya Jun, a fox spirit from Qingqiu Mountain."

"The Yellow Springs cannot ferry those who have lost their souls, and worldly vanities cannot rise above the depths of the Weak Waters; that is the Weak Waters supernatural power of Yang Jue of the East Sea."

"..."

Those Daoist disciples who held the invitation had already embarked on the icy path leading to the decisive arena. Looking around, they were truly annoyed.

The proud Dragon Lord stood atop the dragon's head, looking down at the clowns below, his brows slightly furrowed. "Lord Chu has spent a fortune to use his divine powers and magic as a prize to enhance the grand banquet, but that is not meant to satisfy your greedy desires."

"Now that the grand banquet has begun, there are rules and regulations. Anyone who dares to disturb the Three Venerable Ones' enjoyment..."

"Hmph, think it over carefully!"

The Dragon Lord spoke in a low voice, but his will was heard by all the guests, which greatly shocked them.

A dragon from overseas soared into the sky, like an insurmountable chasm blocking the path of all, making them dare not utter another word!

After bowing to the three figures on the high platform once more, the enormous dragon body twisted and immediately surged towards the Ten Mountains Island. The participating Taoists, who had already received the challenge, also snorted coldly and followed after it, each unleashing their magical light.

Those Taoist priests who harbored wicked intentions were left stranded in the icy waters of the Dragon Marsh, unable to escape...

"Sigh, how did things turn out like this?"

"However, one thing is true: our Qingping Grand Banquet has its own rules and regulations, and absolutely no one should act rashly! Gentlemen, come ashore and witness the initial clash of the ten mountains, and you will all understand..."

Chu Longjun sighed softly, then with a flick of his right hand, he broke through the Dragon Taming Technique of the Dragon Tamer and pulled the hundreds of troublemakers aboard Dragon Island.

Not far away on Dragon Lake Island, five phoenixes carried a chariot suspended in the clouds. Beside them, women held swords and fairies rode incense. It was Princess Su who had opened a viewing platform for herself, with the prefects and governors of various prefectures sitting beside her.

Who doesn't remember Princess Su? Back then, she was dissatisfied with the court's order to "marry into" Wuxi, so she directly fought with the dukes and marquises in the capital of Jinling. She even beheaded several of their sons and threw their heads into the street to feed the dogs.

Such a noblewoman truly terrifies them!

To this day, the so-called "marriage alliance with the Southwest" is neither harmonious nor kinship-based. Although the Five Streams Dragon Palace and the Hua Su Dao Mansion stand on either side of the Dragon Lake, they have always gone their separate ways. How could they dare to get too close to the Dragon Lord in front of Princess Su? They had no choice but to come to the Hua Su Dao Mansion to pay their respects to Princess Su first.

"His words are evasive and his methods are inconsistent, causing his friends and followers to become disloyal and alienated. How can he then act as a benefactor and bestow favors?"

"Who would dare to confide in someone like that?"

Princess Su, sitting proudly in her phoenix carriage, heard the commotion in front of the central dragon island and smiled disdainfully.

Chu Longjun is a man of great spirit but not chivalry, generous but ungrateful. Once he holds a banquet and sets the rules, he should have a plan. He only wants to enjoy the praise from all sides. Does he really think everyone is a block of wood and can't see through his methods?
Even in the officialdom of various prefectures and states, Chu Longjun's method of wanting both was not considered clever!

How could the prefects and governors below dare to echo the disdainful words of the Dragon Lord in the Dragon Marsh? They could only stand frozen in place and vaguely reply with a single sentence.

As soon as Princess Su's tone softened, an official immediately spoke up:
"Princess, the throne on the Central Dragon Island is ready. The grand banquet is about to begin. Would you like to go there and watch the battle between the ten mountains for some amusement?"

Officials of all ranks in the southwest bowed and looked at Princess Su with a hint of hope.

"Alright! Let's go take a look. Surely many of you have your children here as well?"

"Let's see which young master performs the best!"

The woman in the phoenix carriage chuckled and tossed out a cloud of light from her sleeve. The vast expanse of cloud dragon energy swept across the sky, with smoke and clouds rising and azure energy soaring. Before long, another dragon roar resounded, and thousands of scales of light gathered beneath the water's surface, tearing everything apart within the swirling water curtain.

It resembled a blue dragon from the vast sea, dormant in the Dragon Marsh, soaring into the sky with its thousand-foot-long body, raising clouds and flying together, stirring up boundless winds and waves, riding on fiery clouds.

The more than thirty officials on the island felt their feet lighten, and in the blink of an eye, they appeared above the sea, atop the Cloud Dragon Peak.

Princess Su, accompanied by her sword attendants, stood at the very front of the dragon's head, riding the wind and the air, her robes fluttering, truly like a banished immortal descending to earth.

But everyone in the South knows that the Li family of Jinling is a descendant of the Azure Cloud Dragon.

Gathering the countless dragon scales of the Azure Sea Dao Soldiers, they combine to form the Azure Sea Hidden Dragon. This is an unparalleled external divine power. It was created by Princess Su on the day she established her foundation and attained enlightenment, using hundreds of millions of precious materials to refine this supreme Dao weapon. It was nurtured by the Li family clan with all their might, and it is an unparalleled technique capable of fighting against Yin God True Persons.

A thunderous dragon roar resounded throughout the prefecture, and a thousand-foot-long azure dragon swept through the clouds, its aura even stronger than that of the three deities on Dragon Lake Isle. This immediately startled all the Taoists on the Five Directions Dragon Tooth Ship, who all stood up straight and looked up.

"Who is it this time?"

"Oh...it's that clan lady!"

In the southwestern prefectures, when Princess Su traveled, she was always accompanied by a majestic blue dragon that seemed to pave the way across the universe. With the pomp and circumstance of the royal family, all the cultivators would naturally recognize her.

As soon as the Azure Dragon appeared, Lady White Plum of Qingqiu Mountain was the first to rise and greet it. Both were female Taoist priests and had the cultivation of a half-step Yin God. However, Princess Su, who had the background of the Southern Kingdom's royal family, truly possessed the means to fight against Yin Gods, and even more than one!
Even when Bai Mei Niangniang faced Princess Su, she had to nod and lower her head.

The Dragon Lord and the Qilin Ancestor made no airs; as the Azure Sea Cloud Dragon approached, they slowly rose to greet it...

However, Li Qing had no time to pay attention to the Dragon Palace Isle at this moment.

At this moment, the underwater waves were surging, and the ice path was also split in two, with nearly half of it collapsing. All the various Daoist sects had already used their escape lights to rush to the surface of the Dragon Swamp.

"Come on, let's follow them!"

With a flick of his right hand, Li Qing manifested the Five Peaks Handprint from his Xuan Yuan Qi. The vast, dark hand descended from the sky and covered the Dragon Fang ship. With a single gesture, it instantly drew everyone into its palm.

Immediately following was an endless gloom. Linglong Chang, who was mainly cultivating the "Mountain Ghost Laws", had already entered the realm of "field" cultivation and had refined the Cloud Rain Peeling Ghost Realm into a true Dharma Domain.

This gloomy domain first covered an area of ​​several miles, and then immediately contracted rapidly to one place. After the entire domain was compressed into a thin line that could not be seen from the future, it seemed to transform into a "divine rope" that stretched straight into the distance!
The five massive hands grabbed everyone and made contact with the ghostly threads. In an instant, they traversed a range of over ten miles, joining the many Taoists who were participating in the battle, before disappearing into the vast crowd of people escaping in the light.

"The field manifests over a hundred miles, creating a mustard seed world within itself. In the blink of an eye, it can reach anywhere within the field."

"Is this a field technique? And there's a ruthless person hiding behind it?"

"who are they?"

Li Qing and the others remained on the third floor of the Dragon Tooth Ship for a long time. After the incident below, and after the various paths had gone far away for several dozen breaths, they made their move. This made the onlookers think that they were also people who had not been challenged.

But who knew!
"Hmph, Jin Nancan and Xu Yuan from Liuling Mountain. Zhao Li and He Wu from the White Bone Path."

"There is another person who is..."

Among the three decks of the ship were several disciples of the Southwest Immortal Sect, who had just met Li Qing and his group.

The gathering of disciples from three different immortal sects naturally attracted attention. Upon hearing someone ask again, they immediately revealed everyone's background.

"As for that unfamiliar Purple Mansion... have you ever heard of Gui Lang Li Qing, the man from Lin Yuan Mountain in the south?"

"Twenty days ago, I heard that the Five Poisons Sect in Tiannan gave that old poison master a sound thrashing. He's no ordinary person!"

(End of this chapter)