The Path to Immortality Begins with the Life-Extending Lamp

Chapter 190 The Abyss
In the entire southern prefecture, from eighty-year-old elders to toddlers, everyone speaks by word of mouth about how the Yuan River originates in the westernmost reaches and extends south to the vast ocean, making it the number one ghost river in the capital.

But upon closer examination, this Yuan River is quite unusual!

The river, hundreds of feet wide, surges with the force of mountain floods, flowing from west to south, crossing the two prefectures of Tiannan and Qingping, before entering the vast South China Sea.

In fact, how vast is Tiandu? The source of this Yuan River is far from the westernmost end of Tiandu; at most, it is just the confluence of the water veins of the western mountains.

Furthermore, while the Yuan River is indeed dangerous due to the presence of water ghosts, it is far from being as lifeless as the rumors suggest. The chieftain's Gu practitioners often roam around the Yuan River, but they simply dare not approach the water.

It was only in the last hundred years that the Southern Kingdom called on the mountain people from all directions to move away from Yuanhe. Before that, even though ghostly disturbances were frequent, the people of Tiannan still relied on Yuanhe to survive for hundreds of years, and it was by no means a barren land.

But right after the Yuan River flowed into the Cangming Sea in the South China Sea, the scourge of the water ghosts seemed to vanish into thin air. It was unknown whether this was because the giant beast of the Cangming Sea was too ferocious or something else...

Li Qing stepped onto both banks and opened his Yin Eyes to observe the aura. He could already see shadows roaming in the water, their malicious gazes constantly peering at the surface.

Those were not swimming fish, but vengeful ghosts!

“Look, Lord Li, beneath the deep streams of the Yuan River, there are also traces of water ghosts. They are numerous and difficult to subdue at this time.”

Judge Chenxiang held the reins with one hand, reining in his sleigh, and led a group of fierce warriors in rattan armor.

There were about two hundred rattan-armored warriors, clad in green rattan armor, wielding short weapons, and carrying light crossbows with poisoned arrows at their waists. These rattan-armored warriors did not practice the Five Elements of Charioteering, but only valued archery and chess skills. They were adept at running through the forest, climbing hundred-foot cliffs with their bare hands, and moving with lightning speed. They could chase tigers and leopards and repel mountain demons. They were special armored warriors from the southwest.

Following the armored soldiers, howls rose and fell, as the wolf cavalry caught up!
In the past, Bai Du, the military commander of the Dragon Tooth Army, received the Five Arts of Taming Jackals from Li Qing, which enabled him to establish a wolf cavalry unit.

For six years, they have fought in the south and north, exhausting their wealth to build up their current force of a hundred cavalrymen. With jackals as claws and long spears as teeth, they pursue the fleeing enemy and chase the fleeing enemy northward. Grass stalks fly around them as they speed along the mountain road, yet their footsteps are almost silent.

The old wolf beneath White Poison sniffed the familiar scent, its nose twitched, and it immediately tilted its head incredulously, scrutinizing the culprit who had dragged it out of the mountain of corpses.

However, before the wolf could even bare its teeth, its master slapped it twice on the ears. How powerful was that warrior, capable of shattering mountains and splitting rocks? The two slaps jolted it awake, and the master pulled on the reins and rode off.

You stupid wolf, you never learn, do you...?

Two battalions of armored soldiers, along with various Dharma lineages, all rushed over, precisely to follow the Venerable Daoist Shangguan in investigating the ghostly affairs of the Abyss River.

"Recently, the number of water ghosts in this area has been increasing."

"Under the seaweed and among the sunken ships, ghostly figures lurk, their numbers several times greater than before!"

"This is only the upper reaches of the Yuan River. If the situation spreads throughout the entire Yuan River region, the impact will be..."

The Purple Mansion of the Spirit Butterfly Sect slowly followed, pointing a finger into the Abyss River. There, azure phoenix butterflies danced gracefully in the wide river channel. Fluorescent powder scattered from the phoenix wings of the spirit butterflies as they fluttered up and down, making it impossible to grasp their pattern.

However, its speed was extremely fast. In just a few breaths, it had already crossed most of the river channel, leaving only a faint glow on the water mist.

"Please observe, Venerable Daoist!"

With a flick of her finger, Cai Die'er pointed to the Yuan River, where a phoenix butterfly swayed gently, using fluorescent powder to create a dreamlike scene. Immediately, the forms of water ghosts leaped out from beneath the river amidst the fluorescent light.

Pale, malevolent spirits, their seven orifices oozing pus, some swollen, others resembling water monkeys, these densely packed ghostly creatures, as numerous as tadpoles in the water, all maliciously peered towards the riverbank.

The person in charge of the Spirit Butterfly Sect is a very perceptive person. Whether it is the struggle between the major sects of the unorthodox sects, the conflicts between local clans, or the affairs of the Abyss Ghost, she has grasped the advantages and disadvantages and determined her own position, but she never speaks directly about it.

The mountain torrents in the southwest are raging. Knowing that the Yuan River is teeming with evil spirits, why didn't she stop the old ancestor from releasing the floodwaters that day?
Li Qing's dark eyes swept across the valley, ignoring the many armored cultivators. With a flick of his right hand, he instantly enveloped the ten miles of sky with dark clouds and cold mist. A chilling wind, seemingly from nowhere, whipped the banners of the armored soldiers' ranks, causing them to flutter loudly.

The surrounding area was shrouded in mist and darkness, with an invisible pressure of the soul flowing around, which condensed into streaks of pitch-black, ghostly runes. These runes were twisted and eerie, and even a glance at them made the cultivators dizzy and their spirits shudder.

The sound of footsteps echoed along the riverbank, extremely rapid, as if something was running wildly across the water...

Tap tap tap... Tap tap tap...

The cultivators in the state fell even more silent, but the footsteps seemed to become even more hurried, as if they were enraged.

"Huh? That's it!!"

A sorcerer looked up and saw black footprints in the abyss river, so numerous that they almost covered the entire river for miles.

Those pitch-black ghost footprints were too eerie. This was a carrier of curses, which embodied the manifestation of curses, war, violent death, torture, resentment and other spells. If someone were to glimpse it by chance, they could foresee twenty-three miserable ways they would die.

With each additional pair of those dark, ghostly footprints, the flow of the Abyss River slowed further, as if the forbidden curse from the underworld was trying to freeze the river.

The countless ghostly figures underwater vanished in the blink of an eye at the touch of that footprint, turning into streams of turbid currents that swept away the swollen old corpse and the skinned water ghost without exception.

This is too weak. These are not vengeful ghosts, but "Chang" ghosts, which are "ghost slaves" created by the people who were devoured by vengeful ghosts.
"It seems there really is a source."

Li Qing narrowed his silver eyes slightly, raised his right sleeve and moved, the Five Directions Suppressing "Wei" Ghost Seal instantly transformed into flowing dark water, and the deep black color instantly covered Li Qing's right arm.

Before the cultivators could even guess what he was going to do, they saw Li Qing's five fingers transform into claws, and nine thousand-foot bolts of lightning fell in response. With a flash of lightning, the dazzling cold light immediately filled the world and filled everyone's vision.

Half a breath later, the thunder was deafening, frightening the wolf spirits and jackals on both sides of the gorge into lying on their tails and trembling!
The thunder magic was faster and more powerful than the ghost curse. With a single thunderclap over several miles of water, it scattered the river ghosts in the blink of an eye, sending them away in streams of turbid water.

In a single strike, the waters stretching for four or five miles were completely emptied. The dense, ghostly footprints, along with the lingering turbid energy, transformed into a wisp of black smoke that swirled around Li Qing's fingertips.

"The turbid and obscure energy that originates from the same source acts as an accomplice to ghosts; these are merely ghost slaves!"

Li Qing flicked the wisp of ghostly black energy with her fingertips and murmured to herself.

Among the vengeful spirits, there are often some powerful ones who can transform weaker spirits into "Chang" ghosts to serve them. Some terrifyingly powerful spirits can even divide their own abundant Yin energy into countless Chang ghosts.

Clearly, the seemingly dense swarms of water ghosts in this abyss river are all from the same creature, and it has likely devoured even the original spirits native to this section of the river...

"Ghost?"

"Ghost slave?"

The Taoist priests behind him exchanged startled glances, but they were not shocked by the water ghost, but by the Taoist priest from Tiannan.

Dark clouds and ghostly mist sealed off ten miles, and elusive ghostly footprints traversed the abyss river. This invisible and intangible curse was already chilling enough, but then came the lightning spell that covered a thousand feet.

Refa!

Is he the leader of the Five Streams Qingping Banquet - Daoist Youhuang of Tiannan Temple? Several Daoists of the Purple Mansion seemed to realize something, and immediately straightened up, following Li Qing's gaze to look at the wisp of black energy at his fingertips.

Such a powerful ghost, capable of giving rise to water spirits as "accomplices," is most likely not something from the Yuan River; perhaps it truly came from upstream!

Li Qing's eyes flickered for a few moments. She flicked the wisp of black energy from her fingertip, and the eerie curse energy immediately dispersed into densely packed ghostly symbols. After being reassembled in the void, they transformed into a row of ghostly footprints that searched all the way down from the north bank of the Yuanhe River.

He sensed the ghost's presence; the ghostly footprints that appeared out of nowhere were about to wander and seek out their master to attack.

"Gods, Wood Spirits, and the Warlocks, along with all the armored warriors of the state, go and release the floodwaters!"

"Natural disasters are immense and beyond human control, but it is always the right way to vent them in all directions. Let's not let them drag on until they lead to man-made disasters."

"As for the remaining two, please come with us..."

Li Qing glanced at the various factions behind him and abandoned any intention of making polite plans here. Once the old ghost at the source was captured, everything would be resolved.

Ignoring what the two Purple Mansions might think, Li Qing drew upon the Heavenly Mansion Profound Yuan Qi to lift them up, and immediately ascended into the Abyss River, following the ever-growing trail of ghostly footprints...

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The Yuan River flows south for only a few dozen miles, where the river suddenly widens and forms a bay. The bay is filled with water, forming a deep pool, so deep that even a spiritual eye cannot see the bottom.

However, just as the footprints stepped into the deep bay, Li Qing immediately sensed a deep, resentful aura.

This resentment is different from the resentment of death that usually comes from the violent deaths of living beings. It is clearly based on that gloomy energy and is a resentment that has been carefully refined.

In other words, it was a ghost or deity that knew how to cultivate?

Seeing the Ghost Seal step into the Abyss River, Li Qing waved to stop Qingyun, then flipped his sleeve to take the Soul Banner without clothes into his palm. He stared at the Abyss River below, his eyes revealing a coldness.

"Gentlemen, it's just a water ghost, no need to make a fuss!"

"I cast a Black Heaven Death Curse to trace back to the source. The three of us will lock this abyss river and work together to capture and kill that great monster. If all goes well, the water monster will also dissipate..."

Li Qing pointed a finger at the water, intending to get Cai Die'er and Ding Biejia to help.

It was nothing more than a daytime water ghost. Even though its combat power would increase by half a level when it was in water, it couldn't cause any big trouble in the hands of the three of them.

The hundred-foot-high cloud descended, level with the water's surface. At such close range, all three could almost feel the coolness of the churning water below.

The two unorthodox masters and the clan's Purple Mansion exchanged a glance, realizing that now was not the time to make excuses.

Who could have predicted that this Taoist priest, Li, would act so decisively, relying on his cunning?
With a single blow, they annihilated the ghost slave, seized the water ghost's energy, and led their men to trace the ghost's lair. Within half an hour, they found the ghost's nest and immediately began their attack!
'You, a Taoist from the immortal sect, are highly skilled and daring, protected by numerous treasures; of course you fear nothing.'

The two of them muttered to themselves, their hearts filled with bitterness.

This colorful butterfly's combat power surpasses that of the three spirit butterflies. The Dream Butterfly Dao is mysterious and indescribable. The Crimson Flame Phoenix Butterfly spits out demonic fire, while the Ghost Face Butterfly can drive away ghosts and devour spirits. If they could find a good place to fight each other, it would be worthwhile.

But what do you mean by making me fight in the water?
Ding Biejia was the same. He had a good grasp of wind and fire magic, as well as two usable magic weapons, but capturing water ghosts in the water was no easy task!
"Venerable Daoist, why not first prepare a golden silk net, sink it to the bottom and surround the area..."

Ding Biejia's expression changed several times, just as he was about to admonish Li Qing.

Suddenly, the two Venerable Ones' minds jerked violently, and they turned around in unison, only to see a series of figures appear behind Li Qing's cloud platform in the blink of an eye.

The woman at the head of the group was exquisite and beautiful. As soon as she appeared, a chilling rain began to fall for miles around.

Behind it was a silver-armored...corpse? A faceless man, a strange man with wings on his back, and...

In short, there were as many as twelve strange figures on the cloud platform, and nearly half of them were Zifu Qi.

Before that Prefect Ding could finish speaking, Li Qing made a hand seal, closed his eyes, and began casting the Youyou Death Curse, ignoring the man completely.

Linglong Changzhu raised a silver axe magic weapon and pointed it at the water. In an instant, the Cloud Rain Ghost Realm sealed off this Ghost River. The eleven Chang gods jumped into the water and sank into it silently.

You should know that one of the attack methods of Linglong's predecessor, the Skin-Peeling Demon, was to turn clouds and rain into swamps, and many Skin-Peeling Demon slaves attacked from that rain.

Therefore, this paper spirit is unusually good at fighting with water, and naturally even weaker with fire!

As soon as the demons sank into the water, they immediately darted in like fish, passing by the disgusting, swollen floating corpses and heading straight for the true form of the water ghost.

"You, go directly to the center of the hour of Zi (11:00 AM), and do not let that great monster destroy the Ghost Realm."

"You, go and block the way!"

Linglong Changzhu lifted the twelve-foot-long silver axe with one hand and directly commanded the two Taoists to step forward and attack.

Prefect Ding raised an eyebrow, about to explain, when the woman from the Spirit Butterfly Sect, surrounded by spirit butterflies, landed in the southern part of Yuanhe.

Cai Die'er was meticulous. The moment Linglong Changzhu appeared, she knew that this was not a "human"!
The spirit butterflies are masters of smelling fragrances and stealing their essence. On the twelve wicked gods, they could only smell yin energy and the scent of incense.

Furthermore, in the narrow confines of that Linglong Changzhu's eagerness, they only sensed the primal malice of the Changgui clan towards living beings. That Linglong Changzhu was probably just looking for trouble!
It's easier to deal with the King of Hell than with his underlings; that's just how it is.

As soon as the statues returned to their places, huge waves immediately began to surge in the water. The once calm harbor was now filled with waves that rose dozens of feet high. The waves were now deep and murky, and with a casual glance, one could see the water corpses that had been soaked in the murky water, and the stench of the fish followed immediately.

Snap, snap!
As soon as the wave rose, hurried footsteps sounded from the bottom of the water. The water ghost hidden there seemed to have been hit where it hurt, and immediately jumped up, roaring and hissing, causing the water to surge and three more waves to surge in succession, each wave higher than the last. Even the three-foot-tall water ghosts that emerged from them leaped out of the water and attacked the group.

"scold!"

Before the wave arrived, Cai Die'er and Ding Biejia successively summoned their magical artifacts. The red butterfly fluttered and swayed in the sky for a few breaths before a torrent of demonic fire rained down from above, crashing violently into the huge wave.

Here, Prefect Ding unleashed his eight hundred forbidden treasures' magic sword, slashing horizontally through the air, generating a hundred-foot-long sword light that tore the group of ghosts in half with a single blow.

The two men made their move, breaking through one wave, but each subsequent wave was stronger than the last.

However, before the head of the turbid river arrived, a huge object fell from the sky. It was the silver-armored general who leaped and threw it. His ten-foot-long silver armor body and arms shook the heavens and earth. He swung and splashed water for thousands of miles, and then slashed down with a leaping strike.

Jia Chang's body was filled with boundless Yin energy, and his unparalleled strength broke through the air waves a hundred feet high. Shaped like a mountain axe blade, it struck down and shattered the three layers of waves, causing the floating corpses to scatter in all directions...

(End of this chapter)