The Path to Immortality Begins with the Life-Extending Lamp

Chapter 185 A Few Things About Lin Yuan

Linyuan Immortal Mountain.

Flying Waterfall Taoist Temple.

Three or five Taoist disciples in blue robes quickly climbed the mountain along the cloud-pavilion and water steps in front of the Thousand Waterfalls of Liufeng Peak.

Winter has passed, and the south is gradually warming up. The person in charge of Feipu Peak posted a request in the outer courtyard, inviting the Taoist disciples of the outer courtyard to cut "joint bamboo shoots" and collect "original fungi" in the bamboo forest.

The bamboo of Xianfeng produces shoots in spring and winter. One can trace the new shoots from the bamboo roots in the forest and pick the tender shoots. Although they cannot be called spiritual treasures, they are still a mountain delicacy that has been fully nourished by the spiritual energy of Xianfeng. They are sweet and slightly cold in taste and can slightly benefit one's qi. For the Daoist disciples in the outer courtyard who are still practicing qi, they can be considered a good medicine.

After consulting with the Daoist Master "Youhuang," the various officials of the Daoist temple finally opened a convenient door for the Daoist disciples in the outer courtyard.

After all, the entire Feipu Daofu (Flying Waterfall Taoist Academy) originated from the Lin Yuan Outer Courtyard, so this bond of kinship is indispensable!
Several Taoist disciples then went into the Works Department to retrieve the magical hoe, and only then did they take orders and carry out their duties within the Taoist residence...

Beside the Thousand Sails Waterfall, red flowers and green fruits bloom year-round, green vines climb the cliff, and orioles perch on branches, making it seem like a wondrous fairyland.

This Daoist abode is unique in the entire Lin Yuan Immortal Mountain, and only Youhuangzi can reside there.

The temple made many choices regarding this matter. In the past, it took half a century to open the mountain, and four Purple Mansion monks were invited to preach, so that it could be used as a place for Li Qing to cultivate after he returned to the mountain.

Master Chen Jin of Tiannan Temple is as serene as the Supreme Being, acting without acting, and naturally knows how to win over this Ghost Prince who has already subdued the Ghost Contract of the Underworld!

Those who lack a stable career lack a stable mind!

The Flying Waterfall Daoist Temple, with its clouds and waters flowing down, a thousand waterfalls cascading down, has consumed countless resources. The initial investment of spirit jade, precious rocks, and refined plant materials alone amounted to tens of millions, enough to support several Purple Mansion Daoists in their dedicated cultivation, and also to keep Youhuangzi's heart at that time...

This place is also the only Daoist abode in Lin Yuan Immortal Mountain that is open to Daoist disciples. Other Daoist abodes in the Purple Palace either have their own disciples to manage or have gathered a large number of disciples. How could it be the turn of these Daoist disciples from the outer court?

Only the Flying Waterfall Dao Mansion could handle such a task of caring for spiritual plants and excavating the medicinal garden.

The three or five disciples stood still, watching the water-repelling golden crystal beast slowly emerge from under the waterfall. As the beast came ashore, the water-repelling light barrier slowly dissipated, and the girl on its back turned her head and spoke in a clear voice.

"There are 90,000 spiritual bamboos in the Dao Mansion. They are half a Jiazi old. Each branch produces a single stalk, and three branches produce a single bud. They may not be easy to harvest."

"I'm afraid it will be hard for you all!"

Zhao Wan'er flipped off the water-avoiding golden crystal beast and pointed to the bamboo forest on the back peak.

He and the officials in charge of the Daoist temple had a rough estimate of the quantity of the spiritual bamboo shoots, and they could then simply compare the total amount harvested to know the progress.

However, harvesting these bamboo shoots requires considerable effort; it's not a simple matter.

The old ox that avoided the water led the way, while three or five Taoist disciples in green robes carried spirit hoes and headed towards the spirit bamboo grove...

In the first winter after the establishment of the government, the Thousand Waterfalls Peak should also have its first harvest!

Li Qing only glanced at the affairs of the Dao Mansion before leaving them to the other officials to handle. At this moment, he had already entered the Netherworld.

Youtian, the territory of Qishan.

Inside the small cottage on the eastern fence atop the mountain.

All the ghosts, gods, immortals, and even the two old owls gathered around the garden.

In the small pool, black scales leaped and splashed water.

These are a thousand Yin Scale seedlings obtained from the ruins of Fengdu, which can be considered as Fengdu Heaven's support for this Lord of the Underworld.

For the old ghost who has existed in the Netherworld for hundreds of years, the thousand-tailed Yin Scales may not be much, but for Li Qing and for the Qishan Domain, which has drifted to who knows where in the Netherworld, the seedlings of the thousand-tailed Yin Scales are truly something to look forward to.

Heaven have mercy, how many plants and spirits are left on Mount Qi?
Over the centuries, they had long been devoured by these wretched old owl ghosts, and perhaps only a few remained in those courtyards due to the protective barrier of the Hundred Ghost Pagoda.

This vast network of underworld complexes already occupies a large portion of Qishan!
The thousand two-finger-long scaled fish in the pond will soon become abundant soul fish flesh and blood, which can nourish the souls of ghosts and spirits!

“As expected, Lord You did not deceive us. There are indeed treasures in this underworld, but most of them are newly planted. Just like these soul fish, they won’t even fill a gap in your teeth without some years.”

Several old owls, who had been summoned to Tiandu to help Li Qing in battle, were now invited to his mansion to see his three-step-out-three-step-out Netherworld Abode.

Apart from the two rows of side rooms on the north and south sides and the imperial horse stables, the rest of the West Garden was leveled and turned into a medicinal herb garden. The West Garden medicinal herb garden, which was only two or three acres in size, was not very big, but it was full of green seedlings and had a touch of greenery.

The Central Four-Way Garden is slightly smaller, but the flowers are in full bloom. The black soil has just been plucked, and there are bluestone paths connecting the four courtyards. It is roughly an acre of flowers and herbs. In the lotus pond on the side, there is a waterside pavilion, and fish leap in the water below. It is quite a vibrant place.

"Isn't this fishpond a bit too crowded?" the old owl asked in a hoarse voice, tilting its head to look at the small pond, but it felt more and more that something was wrong.

This pond is so small, yet thousands of small fish are crammed together in one place, along with a dozen or so two-foot-long black-scaled adult fish, all piled up in one continuous layer. It's probably difficult for them to even eat.

The two old owls exchanged a cold, vertical gaze with their round heads, both feeling that this Daoist Master of Youhuang probably didn't know the art of raising fish and was likely to spoil this pond of fish.

"This lotus pond is too small. It's more like a waterside pavilion and scenic pond, and can only support a maximum of six hundred Yin Scales."

"The lotus pond is anchored at its four corners and has stones suspended in all eight directions. There is a complete set of protective barriers that define the six elements within the pond, and these barriers cannot be arbitrarily destroyed to expand its area!"

Cui Ying walked to the edge of the lotus pond, parted the lotus leaves, scooped up a handful of clear pond water, and said with understanding.

The Netherworld Yinshan Blessed Land is much more troublesome than the Heavenly Capital Immortal Mountain in the mortal world. All the metals, stones, plants and trees in the mortal world decay here, and even the Yin-attribute spiritual objects in the Netherworld are extremely difficult to manage.

To raise yin-scaled fish, ponds must be dug; similarly, to nurture ghostly beasts and cultivate precious medicinal herbs, gardens must be opened to protect against external winds, fires, rains, and ice disasters.

The Qishan region is dominated by numerous manors built for those who have entered the underworld, making further expansion even more difficult.

"Ok!"

Li Qing nodded slightly in agreement.

"I've taken a look. In the southeast of Qishan, besides Dongli Garden, there are several other residences with complete Hundred Ghost Pagoda restrictions. If possible, we can connect those residences, obtain land deeds from the Underworld, and plant the scale seeds and various precious medicines in those estates. What do you think?"

The distribution of the underworld in Qishan is different from that in the present world.

Some are divided into four courtyards, each resembling a traditional Chinese mansion, spanning several acres, with farmland, pavilions, and manor houses all within walls. Others are north-south facing residences with east-west spanning courtyards, but with a fishpond in front and a medicinal herb garden behind, all loosely enclosed by high fences…

Just as the deceased, who is said to be a descendant of ghosts and spirits, would have their burial record in the underworld document detailing their birth date, where they resided in the netherworld, how many houses they owned, how many acres of land they owned, how many fishponds they owned, how many old trees stood in front of their door, and how many paper servants they were summoned.
A single contract for the underworld corresponds to a region of the underworld, much like the layout of a "paper manor" burned during the funeral in Tiandu, encompassing everything.

“It is feasible, but when it comes to actually traversing all the prefectures and gardens, we have very few people at our disposal.”

"The vengeful ghosts wandering the streets are a huge problem..."

Hearing that everyone had gathered together, Linglong Changzhu covered her neck with her right hand and slowly walked out of the East Garden.

But her words hit the nail on the head!

Li Qing had too few troops at his disposal. Even after leaving Dongli Garden, wandering ghosts would attack him from time to time on the streets.

To subdue the underworld, one must first subdue the ghosts of Qishan.

But we can't just leave these scaled creatures with nowhere to live, can we?
While the group hesitated, the two owls grew impatient, their hoarse voices, like raven heralding death, uttering in a deep, ancient whisper:
"If all else fails, we can stand guard for Lord You in the southeast..."

They and the owls have always been relatives of the Cui family of Qishan, traveling back and forth between the underworld and the mortal world to deliver messages and perform rituals. If Qishan had fallen, it would have been fine, but now that the lord of the manor has taken up residence, the problem is unsolvable. At worst, they can just pick up their ancestral crafts again!
Moreover, the thousand-tailed Yin Scales and the sacrificial grain flowers and herbs in the mansion are truly tempting.

The two skeletal owls volunteered, their voices hoarse, and how could Li Qing and the others refuse? Wasn't this exactly what they had been waiting for?
So the gentlemen joined forces and devised a grand plan. Linglong Chang held the banner, the ghost god Cui Ying held the sword, and Li Qing held the Southern Dipper Longevity Lamp. They led the crowd of madmen to support them, and used the golden pages of the underworld book in the Niwan Palace to activate the laws and restrictions of the Hua Mansion's vermilion gate, and then they went to the underworld one by one.

The first to be affected is the underworld directly opposite the East Fence Garden. This underworld is surrounded by high walls on both sides, and a black skeleton in the middle is always standing on tiptoe to spy on the ghosts, gods and passers-by.

Li Qing had long tolerated this scoundrel. Holding a lamp in his left hand, he pushed open the mansion gate. The ghosts inside stirred, but before they could attack, the "Five Wei Hand Seal" appeared from afar. The "Wei" shaped seal for suppressing ghosts suddenly disappeared in mid-air, spinning in the void. All the evil spirits stopped abruptly, as they were pierced and nailed to the void by the invisible Five Ghosts Nail Head Technique.

Just as Cui Ying and the others caught up, they saw fire from the stones and fire from the human world scattered everywhere. The two colors of fire swept in and burned away all the evil spirits in the mansion.

Li Qing, walking briskly without stopping, rushed into the courtyard and collided with the black skeleton coming towards him. He immediately used the Soul Summoning Divine Power and the Five Peaks Hand to knock the black skeleton to the ground with a backhand. The Five Peaks Divine Power and the Ghost-Suppressing Nail Head were used, and Li Qing's hand fell down to cover the monstrous creature.

One of them lit a lamp and blew out the candle, then took out a ghost-skin paper and compared it with the longevity lamp and the black skeleton. In an instant, the candlelight illuminated the shadow of the person, and the paper sealed the soul. The originally fierce and terrifying skeleton immediately transformed into a lifelike "ghost painting".

The great terror that once terrified him is now easily extinguished with a flick of the wrist.

But Li Qing did not stop. He traversed the underworld in a few strides, communicated with the Qishan Underworld Contract, obtained the land deed, and then hurriedly rushed to the next underworld...

At the summit of Mount Qi, in the southwest corner, there were only four or five usable underworld residences. Li Qing and his horde of madmen subdued them one by one, and indeed found a spring pool in one of the underworld residences.

So, Li Qing looked around the underworld and mentally communicated with the page of the Qishan Underworld Contract that shimmered with golden light in the divine palace.

Under the main deed, the four underworld land deeds were printed in four pages. Li Qing pondered for the time it takes to drink several cups of tea, and after hesitating for a long time, he finally began to try to weave the ghostly talismans into them.

Unlike the natural and wondrous changes of the ghost book and the underworld contract, this was Li Qing's deliberate guidance. He intended to unite the various powers and restrictions of the underworld into one place, making all the underworlds one and gathering them into a vast manor...

(End of this chapter)