The Path to Immortality Begins with the Life-Extending Lamp

Chapter 188 The Ghost River of the Abyss
Before the North Cliff of the Thousand Waterfalls, Li Qing stood there, holding a scroll of spiritual jade slip, stunned.

The admonition of Abbot Chen Jin still lingered in my ears.

"I can give you the second volume of 'Southern Dipper Prolongation of Life' right now. As for this third volume, no one can annotate it anymore. You can study it carefully after your understanding of the Dharma is unified and your foundation of the Dao is perfected!"

"The Southern Dipper prolongs life, and the heavenly prophecies are methods to manipulate the secrets of heaven and destiny... But those who manipulate the secrets of heaven are also caught up in the changes of the heavenly forces, and the slightest carelessness will lead to the destruction of their path and their own death..."

“If you hadn’t subdued the Ghost Mother and gained the approval of the Ancestral Lord, this third volume, ‘Prolonging Life in the Southern Dipper,’ would still have remained shelved.”

The "Southern Dipper Longevity Scripture" is a forbidden and obscure Taoist text, uncultivated and devoid of any magical seeds.

The progress of the instruction was not originally aimed at obtaining those few Daoist cultivation points from Li Qing. Since he had already expressed his interest and made the request, Chen Jin granted it to him.

However, the admonitions contained therein are indispensable.

Li Qing naturally understood the reasoning behind it; many of the spells in "Nan Dou Yan Ming" were forbidden spells that touched upon strange laws.

For example, the method of using candles to illuminate the shadow wall, when Li Qing used it, seemed to be nothing more than that.

However, if Li Qing harbors wicked intentions, there was once a sorcerer known as Hehuan who was skilled in the art of shadow painting murals. He would gather beautiful female cultivators from all over the place and place them in the murals. The flowers would be shy and ready to be picked, and none of her sects, schools, or the various prefectures of the Southern Kingdom could find any trace of them.

For hundreds of years, it has harmed countless people, and it was only after the old monk died that the Hundred Beauties Painting was discovered...

Such a bizarre technique, silently creating a realm of illusion, would be utterly terrifying if used for evil purposes!

For example, the art of extending lifespan by standing on a candle, the method of measuring fate by weighing bones... all of these are forbidden methods with sinister and cursed motives behind them.

"I know!"

Li Qing nodded slightly, flipped through the rather thick Linghua jade slip, put it into his sleeve, muttered to himself, and then headed towards the Dao Mansion.

Since the abbot has even handed over the second volume of the "Southern Dipper Longevity Scripture," Li Qing naturally has to do his best for this prophetic Daoist method, which is worth nearly a hundred Dao merits.

Upon entering the Daoist temple, Li Qing first headed towards the main hall, flicking his right sleeve to hold the "Primordial Chaos Royal Carriage" in his palm.

Within the royal carriage, the Twelve Divine Demonic Symbols appeared, their dazzling light outlining the shapes of the twelve demonic gods. These twelve symbols swept towards the main hall of the Daoist temple, and immediately the vermilion, purple, and yellow incense sticks in the branch altars of the Daoist temple shrank by half, their spiritual energy instantly being drawn away.

The old Taoist priest in the hall hesitated, then put down his laurel wreath and quickly followed him out.

"Master Dao... what is this?"

This branch altar was established less than a year ago. The old man of the law ordered him to perform rituals and sacrifices on the first and fifteenth of each month, as well as on the three festivals and four seasons. This allowed the spiritual energy within to reach a certain scale. Before long, the spirits of the twelve paper gods could be summoned by the disciples and followers of the Taoist temple.

How can we give up halfway at this point?

Li Qing turned his head, nodded, and explained to the old man who had heard the sound:
"The old Taoist priest has done his best!"

"However, I have urgent business to attend to in the capital. The Twelve Rampaging Gods have been injured for a long time and have not yet fully recovered. I need to gather their spiritual essence from the altar..."

At present, no one in the Flying Waterfall Dao Mansion needs to lead the Six Ding and Six Jia Paper Gods to protect the Dao and descend the mountain. The preparation of this branch altar is not urgent. However, Li Qing is now entering the capital and venturing into the southwest, and urgently needs this force.

After briefly informing the old man, Li Qing put away the royal carriage and turned to head out of the mountain!

He already knew the cause and effect of the events leading to the sinking abyss.

The description of the Ghost River in the temple differs from the legends. According to the legends in the various prefectures of Tiannan, the Ghost River was formed eight hundred years ago when the Heavenly Demons caused chaos. An ancient kingdom was destroyed, and the corpses floated for millions of miles along the Ghost River to the South China Sea. The corpses sank into the Ghost River, causing disaster.

However, the bamboo slips given to Li Qing by the abbot contained a significant discrepancy. The ghost story of the Abyss did indeed originate from the chaotic world of the Heavenly Demons eight hundred years ago, and it was indeed related to that ancient kingdom that had perished. However, the flood of water ghosts in the Abyss River occurred five hundred years ago, which was also inconsistent in terms of time.

Moreover, when Yin Zu entered the southwest, he traveled up the Yuan River and saw a ghost city south of the Ba Kingdom in western Sichuan. The old magistrate of the city came out and treated him with courtesy, telling him about the old stories of the Western Capital.

No one knows the specifics of their conversation, but from then on, the great demons that slaughtered cities and destroyed villages never appeared again in the 100,000-mile-long abyss river. Smaller demons gathered in the water veins, which were difficult to control for a while, but could be eliminated in a cycle...

Tiannan Temple has been cleansing the Ghost River for several years, but has never discovered any great calamity that could cause the death of a heretic in the Purple Palace.

The Yuan River is now suffering from disaster again, which may be related to that ghost city upstream! Having made this decision, Li Qing glanced at the One Yuan Great Dharma Boat moored at the peak, shook his head and sighed softly, and finally rode away on a cloud and wind.

He needs at least two Purple Mansion Daoists, who must be Daoists of one of the five directions of the Immortal Sect: Qi Refining, Golden Core, Pill Cauldron, Spirit Refining, and Talisman, plus more than ten high-grade Daoist disciples, in order to fully control this ship.

The Dharma Boat is not an easy vessel to steer. Back in the day, the two Taoists, Pei and Guan, from the East Sea, also experienced quite a few twists and turns when piloting the Flying Swallow Dharma Boat.

The future of Feipu Daofu is a long and arduous journey!

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The next day, a palanquin, its silhouette swaying, appeared from the clouds and mist. The palanquin seemed to ride the wind, stirring up a vast expanse of hazy fog. The soul bells jingled as it traveled through the southwestern mountains and wilderness, traversing desolate mountain paths. Its shimmering, primordial light and the dimly lit hexagonal lanterns with their upturned eaves seemed otherworldly, more like the legendary "rebirth palanquin."

Just as the ghostly mist swept in and the imperial carriage came from the east, a bright crimson color suddenly appeared from the clouds.

Suddenly, a strong wind swept through the swirling mist, parting the fog to reveal a vacuum. Li Qing, who was leaning against the railing in the palanquin, immediately raised an eyebrow and steered the palanquin into the void.

"Candle, you're being silly again!"

His helpless shout carried a hint of indulgence.

After the clouds parted, a huge six-crowned dragon head descended from the sky, with red scales, six horns, and a fiery mane. It had no feet and was surrounded by flames in the clouds. This was "Candle" after undergoing two transformations.

The six-horned Crimson Dragon of the Purple Mansion Realm has a long, legless body and a red mane that is eighty feet long. Crimson flames flow and swirl on its back and tail mane, and with the slightest twist, a wave of hot breath rushes towards you.

The dragon's head descended from the clouds, its two golden vertical pupils wide open, scanning the trail of the palanquin.

How come we can only hear their voices but not see them?
However, before the red dragon could find Li Qing's whereabouts, a beam of light descended upon it, striking the six-crowned dragon head with a sharp thud, causing it to see stars.

"You idiot."

Li Qing pointed at the eighty-foot-long dragon body of "Candle" and immediately laughed and cursed.

"Candle" truly lived up to the ancient Dragon-Raising Wall. Upon entering the Purple Palace, its dragon flames soared to the heavens, their heat palpable even from miles away—the fundamental dragon fire of the Crimson Dragon clan. And its eighty-zhang-long dragon body after only two molts was even more astonishing.

After all, among demon cultivators and spirit tamers, more is better and bigger is more beautiful. An eighty-foot-long dragon body is almost as big as those direct descendants of the Dragon Palace.

With a flick of her finger, Li Qing subdued the Candle Dragon, and then turned her gaze down the mountain.

And here, beneath this desolate hill, stands a majestic prefecture. In the south, there are three prefectures: the southeastern region, bordering the southern chieftains, is called Lanfeng Prefecture; the northernmost region, connecting to the heart of the southern kingdom, is named Liuhuang Prefecture; and in this far western borderland lies a prefecture called Chenxiang!
It was in this state that the Purple Palace, due to the flooding of the mountains, flowed south to divert the floodwaters, diverting the chaotic flow into the Yuan River. Unfortunately, just as the water was being diverted, a great ghost suddenly appeared in the water, sweeping the Purple Palace and the sorcerer into the bottom of the Ghost River in one fell swoop, where they fought and devoured each other.

The soldiers fought with all their might, risking their lives, and finally managed to snatch back the old Taoist's head—a truly tragic and heroic feat!

"We've arrived. Shall we come down and take a look?"

Li Qing leaned against the soft seat of the palanquin, constantly fiddling with a token in his hand.

He glanced disdainfully at the state, and the next moment he saw the radiant light of the Hunyuan Huagai, and a palanquin soaring through the clouds and across the blue sky.

Auspicious clouds filled the distance ahead as the royal carriage arrived from the east. But behind the clear clouds, crimson clouds rolled in, revealing a dragon soaring high in the sky, appearing and disappearing intermittently.

The morale of Chenxiang Prefecture was low, and cultivators from all sides were filled with anxiety. The city was sealed off and the streets were deserted, making it seem like a far cry from a dignified prefecture.

This is the far west of the world, Chenxiang Prefecture!
Logically speaking, this is the most distinctive prefecture in Southwest China, and also the former capital of Tiannan before it was ruled by the Southern Kingdom.

Chenxiang Prefecture has Taoist traditions, schools of thought, and sorcerer's mansions; in theory, its strength should be quite formidable.

In the Southwest Left Path, there are the Spirit Butterfly Sect, the Wood Spirit School, the Divine Travel Sect, and a sizable Taoist mansion!
The cultivators from all sides of the state joined forces. There were two Purple Mansion cultivators and hundreds of Qi Refining cultivators. Normally, even the wild demons in the southwest dared not approach this place. But who could have known that such a great change would happen today?

The celestial phenomena in the state changed; suddenly, a dragon's roar was heard, and auspicious clouds spread and rolled for a hundred miles.

At this moment, everyone knew that someone had finally arrived at Mount Linyuan!
(End of this chapter)