The Path to Immortality Begins with the Life-Extending Lamp

Chapter 167 Weighing Bone Structures
"This is……"

Zhong Qingzi raised his hand to block, but felt that his body was surrounded by darkness and he was bound everywhere. A buzzing sound seemed to suddenly rise in his ears. His mind was blocked in his Niwan Palace, and he stood frozen in place.

The Taoist was horrified and was about to use his magic weapon, but the protective divine light had already been broken.

The fifty-four coins of the Southern Dipper constellation are arranged in the shape of the Dipper constellation. In the square hole of each coin, a ray of starlight suddenly rises, as thin as a gossamer thread, and is bathed in fire. It passes through the hole, binding it like a net, hindering its magical power, and imprisoning it in place.

With the net of heaven closing in and the lifeline of the Southern Dipper binding his body, Zhong Qingzi suffered another injustice.

"go with!"

The bamboo staff that Zhong Qingzi was holding suddenly slipped from his hand and fell into the air. As if it had a spirit, the staff moved horizontally and vertically, striking the string of flaming coins.

How could Li Qing, who was far away, give him any breathing room?

The Yellow Turban Warrior pushed mountains and tumbled seas, unleashing an unparalleled, powerful yellow light, like the universal light of heaven, which crashed directly into the demon-slaying bamboo staff with a thunderous roar.

Princess Su of the Southern Kingdom gifted Li Qing three golden beans to the Yellow Turban Warrior. Just now, this warrior withstood more than a dozen consecutive blows from the bells and chimes, yet remained standing, demonstrating his truly extraordinary fighting prowess!
With a single, successful strike, Nan Dou and Qian Hua joined forces to lay a net of starlight to bind and trap the Zhong family's son, making it impossible for him to move.

To date, Li Qing has revealed five or six magical artifacts, and each one is of medium to high quality. How can this not be astonishing?
Tiannan Temple has always been austere, so how could it have produced such a grand display for its true disciples?
But then Li Qing moved swiftly, appearing before Zhong Qingzi. Unfazed by the Five-Colored Dan Sha Yanluo, he waved his hand to disperse the Xuan Yuan Dragon Python, then formed a sword incantation with his fingers, drawing out all the Xuan Yuan Qi in his body. Using the technique of gathering Qi into a blade, he raised his finger and pointed it out.

puff! !
A beam of white light shot through the air from a distance of a thousand feet. Any evil spirits or protective energy seemed to be made of paper before this white blade, shattering at the slightest touch.

This strike pierced through the Dan Sha Yan Luo and collided with the falling divine bamboo hat. The thousand-foot-long blade of energy was shattered inch by inch, and the hat itself dimmed, revealing a visible crack.
The Divine Bamboo Hat was crafted from a divine tree in Lingnan. Similar to the Seven-Star Lotus Crown, it is a defensive treasure, but not a combat treasure. Although it is powerful, its strength lies in the emanating shimmering light it emits, not in its physical form.

With Zhong Qingzi bound, how could he not suffer a great loss if he forcibly resisted Li Qing's Xuan Yuan Qi Blade?

Fortunately, in the few moments of delay, Zhong Qingzi had managed to find a moment to catch his breath. He gathered the few magical powers he could muster, raised his right hand, and with a snap, countless ghost-slaying blades were thrown from his sleeve. After swirling in the air for a few breaths, they slashed down at the money-bearing threads that bound him.

Ding-dong...

Before the demon-slaying flying blades could take effect, the light of the Big Dipper fell from the sky, illuminating the Fifty-Four Luminaries Southern Dipper coin. Together with the star-thread net, they met the dozens of crescent-shaped demon-slaying flying blades head-on.

"how is this possible?"

Zhong Qingzi's pupils contracted, shocked by the light of the Big Dipper.

He knew it was a top-grade crown-shaped magic artifact, but he really didn't expect that its defensive power would be as thick as the stars. Even the Thirty-Six Demon-Slaying Flying Blades couldn't break through its defense.

When they entered the mountain, their imposing presence was overwhelming. Yet, even now, the Netherworld Ghost behind Li Erlang has not yet appeared. Instead, they are about to exhaust all their methods.
This expedition to destroy the mountain is truly going to become a joke...

Having reached this point, Zhong Qingzi had no other choice. He reached for the scroll at his waist with his only remaining movable right hand, and his expression grew increasingly cold.

That Taoist priest is full of strange and mysterious things. His prophecies are bizarre, and he has a lot of magical artifacts. So far, he has not caused any real harm to Li Qing.

Although the Ghostly Sect is inferior to the Five Directions Immortal Sect, it is by no means that much worse.

In the blink of an eye, Zhong Qingzi had already thrown out the scroll. On the Western Iron Mountain, the world lost its color, and gusts of cold wind and black mist swirled, making it almost impossible to open one's eyes. Amidst the raging cold wind, a distorted shadow slowly appeared.

A majestic and ancient aura soared into the sky, as if the Ghost Festival had arrived, and the gates of the underworld had been opened wide, allowing something extraordinary to enter the mortal world!

On the Ten Directions Iron Mountain, those engaged in fierce battle, those who were stationed there, and those who were idly watching all turned their gazes toward the Western Iron Mountain.

Between Longze Island and the island, many ghosts and gods had already stood up, looking at the water curtain with slightly cold eyes.

This is one of the rubbings of the ancient Lingnan treasure "Zhong Kui Catching Ghosts", but even so, it still possesses three or four tenths of the original power!

The Zhong family of Lingnan, who were known for their ghost-catching skills, possessed this "Zhong Kui Catching Ghosts Picture" and three rubbings of it. They used it to cure the ghost problem in Lingnan for hundreds of years. The ghosts were terrified, and even the Five Ghost Generals and Lady White Bone of the Yin God Realm had to give way.

Today, the ghost-catching picture has reappeared.

"In terms of magical combat, Zhong Qingzi has actually already lost!" You Riyou Yinpan said, shaking his head.

To be forced to such a state by someone with a higher level of cultivation, resorting to the most precious treasures to win, is hardly the act of a hero.

"Your argument isn't necessarily true, especially when it comes to magical artifacts!"

"Li Erlang's Seven-Star Lotus Crown... if I remember correctly, it is a treasure of the Seven Star Pavilion, an overseas immortal sect, and can only be refined by a senior elder."

"The Yellow Turban Warriors are capable of moving mountains and crossing seas. It takes sixty years to forge one of them, costing millions of talismans. Not just anyone can afford that."

"The White Bone Path's magical artifact - the Myriad Souls Banner, needless to say..."

"Um, is this person really a Taoist priest from Tiannan Temple, or a member of the imperial family from Jinling?"

There were quite a few chivalrous Taoists who had traveled all over the country at the banquet. Tie Mutang, a powerful figure from the South China Sea, listed the names of the various magical artifacts with a puzzled look.

In the end, even he himself was puzzled: how could the top-tier secret magical artifacts of various immortal sects and cults all appear in the hands of such an unknown nobody?
"That's right, for someone like him, cultivation level doesn't mean anything."

"The gods of the Northern Kingdom only cultivate the divine path. Those descendants of ancestral temples, once they enter the Purple Mansion, can even engage in fierce battles with the abbot-level figures through the ancestral temples..."

The same applies to the realm of ghosts.

The Netherworld Ghost behind Li Erlang hasn't made a move yet? You have the Ancestral Map to capture all the ghosts under heaven, but I have a ghost god in the underworld behind me!

The competition between these two elements certainly added a touch of excitement to the banquet.

Behold the Western Iron Mountain, where a fierce wind howls, darkness descends, and the sun is obscured. Only behind the raging wind, the light is distorted, and the terrifying body of the Ghost-Slaying Venerable in the picture is hidden behind the gale curtain.

Li Qing felt an overwhelming pressure, his breath came in a chill, and the transplanted, parasitic ghost spine on his vertebrae even trembled with fear.

"Great Lord Zhong Kui!" Li Qing couldn't help but exclaim softly.

Zhong Kui catching ghosts is a matter of course, stemming from absolute restraint based on the principles of Tao and the will of Heaven.

Looking at the distorted and blurry figure behind the wind curtain in the distance, Li Qing took a deep breath to clear his ears and eyes, and raised his right hand, showing no fear whatsoever.

He couldn't discern the true strength of Zhong Kui's divine form, and the fourth method of the Demon Star's Life-Saving Curse—the Paper Doll Substitute Death Method—might not even be of any use. At this moment, he dared not gamble!

Then they heard Li Qing suddenly begin to chant a ghostly tune, calling out and reciting:

"Cui Ying of Dongli, appear and help me!"

Upon receiving this summons, Cui Ying, a ghost god who was originally leading his immortal children to dig for medicinal roots in the East Fence Garden of the Underworld in the You Tian Qi Shan region, suddenly felt dizzy.

When they reappeared, they were in another world.

The ghost god Cui Ying, with his handsome appearance and flowing immortal robes, was a pure and spiritual ghost after being refined. His aura was also close to the foundation of the Purple Mansion. He had just arrived in Tiandu and saw Li Qing, who was on high alert.

Before I could even ask a question, a deadly sense of crisis suddenly rose from behind me.

Surprised, Cui Ying knew perfectly well that this was because Li Qing, the current master of Dongli Garden, had run into trouble and was dragging her down with him!

He quickly turned around, pushed with his left hand, and with a flick of his fingers, used the Five Ghosts Nail Head Technique to suppress the attack. With a flick of his right sleeve, the sound of a sword rang out, and a plain white silver sword was thrown out.

when……

However, after the two collided, the Five Ghosts Nail Head Technique struck the large hand behind the wind curtain, like a mayfly trying to shake a tree, producing no effect whatsoever. On the contrary, the magic sword collided with the yin wind, producing a shrill sound that completely tore apart the yin wind curtain.

Finally, the terrifying Dharma form behind the veil of wind—the Great Venerable Zhong Kui—was revealed without a doubt. With a leopard's head and piercing eyes, an iron face and a bushy beard, his appearance was extraordinary and feared by all ghosts. He wore a red robe stained with the blood of the common people, and stood on the underworld to protect all living beings!

As soon as the image of Zhong Kui appeared in the world, he stretched out his right hand, which was as big as a palm fan, and instantly covered several miles to capture Cui Ying in his palm.

"Li Qing, you..."

The ghostly Cui Yingfang was taken down with a single palm strike, her curses still lingering in the wind. She must have been furious at Li Qing for using her as a scapegoat.

"..."

When Li Qing summoned Cui Ying, he thought she could at least put up a fight, but to his surprise, she was captured in a single encounter. Wasn't this a disgrace to the prestigious Qishan Yu?

The image of Zhong Kui was truly terrifying, and coupled with his suppression of ghosts, it was difficult for anyone other than spirits and ghosts to subdue it.

"In the past, there was a bird bird. The old owl turned into a bone phoenix and lived in the north of Qishan Mountain. It lived for more than a thousand years."

"Guardian of the Underworld, Bone-Faced Gentleman of Qishan, please grant our request, Chief!"

Faced with the threat of the Great Venerable Zhong Kui, Li Qing remained calm and summoned the chief of the Qishan Human-Faced Owls, which were several human-faced owls with beaks that had grown their armor and were half-step into the Bone-Transforming Phoenix realm.

"Jie Jie Jie!"

"It is a call from the present world."

"Has the new lord of Qishan finally come to find us?"

"Count me in..."

From the darkness, a noisy, hoarse wail arose, and the owls hunting ghosts throughout Qishan simultaneously received a plea for help.

Since the collapse of the Netherworld, this generation of human-faced owls has never set foot in the mortal world again, and the legend of the human-faced owl has been lost in the Heavenly Capital.

"Is it the call of the heavens and the earth? Lord Qishan, would the old owl possibly request a spot?"

Just as this vortex in the dark expanse appeared, a hoarse voice, the most ancient and weathered of all, rang out. It was a terrifying old owl, nearly nine hundred years old, rising from its black wood nest at the northern end of the Qishan Domain. With a spread of its jet-black wings, the shadow it cast stretched for miles, resembling the legendary Kunpeng.

The owls, originally summoned by Li Qing, were immediately displeased to see their ancestor blocking the way and trying to seize the spots to play in Tiandu. They sharpened their teeth and claws... But it was too terrifying. Among the many owls, it was like an eagle among sparrows...

"Can!"

As soon as Li Qing agreed, three human-faced owls, each several tens of feet tall, emerged from the vortex above their heads. They had golden roc claws and black eagle bodies. The owls' human faces resembled those of the Guhuo bird, and their facial armor and bone structure seemed to be transforming into the body of a phoenix.

As soon as the three-headed owl appeared, it rushed towards the divine form of Zhong Kui, and the two interfered with each other, which actually restricted the movements of the "Zhong Kui Catching Ghosts" painting.

At this moment, Li Qing's ten fingers flew, forming forbidden hand seals, displaying the secret power of the Southern Dipper in the High Heavens, and using the Three Powers to balance the Dipper...

However, the vortex of the Netherworld had not yet closed.

Suddenly, a giant claw, larger than the three owls combined, stretched out, black flames raging, its aura overwhelming. It passed over the three owls that were circling and disturbing it, and with a powerful Bone Phoenix Seal, it landed on the Dharma image of Zhong Kui, directly blasting it back several steps.

"May Lord Qishan be well!"

The enormous monster, as large as a hill, slowly emerged from the vortex. It greeted Li Qing with a greeting, using the ancient official language of the Heavenly Capital.

This is a relic of the previous era. Eight hundred years ago, it was a little raven that traveled between the Six Heavens and the Heavenly Capital, carrying paper and delivering messages.

The world changes, and the little thing from back then is now the only old monster left in Qishan. It never imagined that it would have the chance to set foot in Tiandu again.

"Hmm? Okay!"

Li Qing raised an eyebrow, sensing the terrifying changes in energy within the dark vortex, and almost made a mistake in the hand seals she was performing.

There are owls of this level in the Qishan region? This is already worthy of being called a half-step Yin God!

Originally, Li Qing only wanted to summon a few owls to block the Dharma image so that he could fully unleash the final spell.

This terrifying old monster who suddenly appeared really startled even himself!
However, this is also good. With such a powerful monster helping us, we have a better chance of success.

In the distance, the image of Zhong Kui shook its body, and the Yin energy transformed into soul-hooking chains that hung down from its arms. With a flick of its right hand, the Xuan Yin Ghost-Slaying Blade was formed.

With just two steps, he slashed away several skeletal owls to the left and right, then fiercely clashed with the enormous monster, and an even more terrifying battle began...

Just then, Li Qing's hand seals were finally completed, and he finished the final loop before Zhong Qingzi could untie the restraints.

And then, high in the sky, stars appeared, the six main stars of the Southern Dipper resembling a dipper handle, hanging high in the sky, with six strands of starlight hanging down and penetrating into the body of the bell and chime.

The starlight bound him, and the sharp star threads, like fishhooks, pierced through his protective divine light and flesh, directly affecting the six most important bones.

First, the skull; second, the ribs; third, the arm bones; fourth, the spine; fifth, the hip bones; sixth, the leg bones…

At this moment, the Southern Dipper high in the sky serves as its balance, with bells and chimes hanging from it, and Li Erlang to the west.

Li Qing raised her hand, pinched the six star threads between her five fingers, then tapped the seven-star lotus crown above her head, drawing upon the power of the Big Dipper.

The three powers are positioned with the heavens as the balance, and we shall see whose fate is heavier and whose fate is thinner on either side of the balance!

"The Southern Dipper prolongs life, and the scales measure destiny."

"This is probably the only spell I can use to break through your defenses, fellow Daoist. If it fails..."

Gazing at the bell and chime, Li Qing felt helpless. The difference in their cultivation levels was truly an insurmountable chasm; his spells, techniques, and incantations were almost all unable to break through this person's defenses.

Only the Soul Path and Life Path spells in the Southern Dipper's Life Extension Technique can directly affect this person.

If we really can't defeat this person, we'll have no choice but to risk revealing our trump card and summon the Ghost Mother!

High in the sky, the stars serve as a scale. One side hangs a bell and chime, while the other descends to the Ghost Lord. This is a life-or-death technique, gambling with one's life and soul. If the six star threads successfully weigh the victim, the victim's fortune will be damaged and their lifespan shortened immediately.

Zhong Qingzi was well aware of the strangeness and terror of this kind of magic. By this time, he had given up struggling. The Southern Dipper Star Silk cut through his flesh and blood, directly connecting to the six white bones and his life soul.

The spell has been cast and cannot be reversed unless the caster is killed!
But this is even more difficult...

"The Southern Dipper Prophecy Book, the art of measuring destiny by bone structure? I remember that the Great Master Yin Zu also received a similar curse in the North Sea, didn't he?"

After a sigh, Zhong Qingzi turned to look at the image of Zhong Kui, who was wielding his blade like a storm, constantly clashing with the Bone-Faced Ancestral Owl. He sighed deeply and said bitterly:
"This technique is beyond my resistance; I have lost."

As soon as he finished speaking, a jade talisman in his sleeve shattered, and his name disappeared from the Ten Deadly Battlefield Barrier.

He has already admitted defeat!

"Oh?"

Li Qing raised an eyebrow and threw out the golden bean again. The Yellow Turban Warriors joined forces with the Ancestral Owl and finally, after Zhong Qingzi stopped his actions, they scattered the image and restored it to the "Zhong Kui Catching Ghosts" picture.

With just two steps forward, Li Qing swept his arm around the rubbing of the divine image and sealed it directly into his sleeve.

"No, this divine diagram is not my personal artifact, but is managed by the clan on behalf of the people."

"If you wish to choose, fellow Daoist, you may select from the other three items..."

Zhong Qingzi struggled against the immense dragging force from the heavens, knowing that once his feet left the ground and his fate was sealed, he would be finished.

However, the painting "Zhong Kui Catching Ghosts" was not something he could decide on his own.

"It doesn't matter. It's not a magic treasure. How precious can it be?"

Li Qing, however, was not intimidated at all. He had already acquired more than one of the top magical artifacts from various immortal sects, so one more would not be a problem.

Moreover, this "Zhong Kui Catching Ghosts" picture seems to be very compatible with Li Qing's magic spell system. If Heaven gives it to him and he doesn't take it, he will suffer the consequences!
"I will take this picture. If you cannot explain it to me, then have the elders of your noble family come to find me."

Li Qing remained expressionless, pulled out the Southern Dipper Star Silk, and the Fifty-Four Luminaries Southern Dipper Coin immediately fell to the ground, turning into ordinary iron scrap.

It's a bit of a pity that I couldn't fully unleash that forbidden technique, but this place is definitely not a place for a death match...

"The outcome is decided. You may leave now."

(End of this chapter)