The Path to Immortality Begins with the Life-Extending Lamp

Chapter 196 A Sudden Call

"We still need to prepare for a few more days. Fellow immortal, would you please stay in my Banan Prefecture for a while? That way, I can show you the hospitality of a host."

The god of dawn was invited into the carriage and sat upright to the left of Li Qing, pointing north and sincerely inviting Li Qing to the Kingdom of Ba.

Eight million Dao Zhu is a huge sum of money enough to support an entire sect. Even for him, the temporary head priest of a branch sect, it would be painful to part with it for a long time.

However, judging from the presence behind this Taoist priest, there also seems to be a being at the level of a Yin God? That chilling and despairing Netherworld is truly terrifying; it's worth spending so much resources to take the gamble.

Is it Guilang Li Qing?
Si Chen peered out of the corner of his eye at the unusual royal carriage, and a guess seemed to form in his mind.

For example, the dragon carriage and phoenix palanquin are used by nobles when they travel. They conform to the three principles of etiquette, beauty, and honor, and are a prestigious vehicle. Even the rooster of dawn himself has a phoenix palanquin.

But Li Qing's carriage was different. It was based on the Nine Hua Spirit Gold and was decorated with scrolls of spiritual paper. The scrolls were inscribed with the Six Ding and Six Jia, the Hunyuan Treasure Restriction, and the Six Nine Dharma Pearls that formed a canopy. The scrolls were strung together with the Eight Treasures of Flowing Pearls to form a curtain.

This is not something that would normally be used by living people; it is more like a talisman used in Nuo rituals, sacrifices, and ceremonies to support the images of gods and spirits.

Inside the royal carriage, there were octagonal eaves with a soul bell hanging beneath them, and paper lanterns with horses running around on all four sides, the Taoist patterns being extremely intricate.

Behind this palanquin, rows of cinnabar-painted, gilded murals depicting deities and symbols hang high. In front of these murals, a unique arrangement is made of a three-legged, six-cauldron stand, surrounded by a pond with a hundred flowers...

"It's actually a ritual altar!"

This Taoist priest Li actually combined a ritual altar with this palanquin for the deceased? Doesn't that mean that wherever this palanquin goes, an army of soldiers will arrive?

Yes, getting someone like that to take action must be quite a financial strain.

Seeing a glimpse of the whole leopard reveals the whole picture. The God of the Morning sighed inwardly, but he felt even more confident about the journey ahead.

Once this mission is successful and the scourge of the Southern Frontier is dealt with, he will be able to ask his elders in the capital to visit him. At that time, he will enter the Flame Valley to worship the Sun God, be bestowed with a laurel wreath, wear a feather robe, receive the Phoenix Vine, and be granted the authority of "Great Sage".

Da Zhu, in the entire Ba Kingdom, there are only nine such people to date!

By then, he won't be any worse than the Taoist priest in front of him.

The carriage remained silent the entire way.

After reaching a consensus, Li Qing closed his eyes and pondered. If they were to go to Huailian Yin Mountain, the battle between the two Yin Gods would definitely be dangerous.

However, he was not without means of resistance. With eight million Dao Zhu, he could use the "Eternal Regret Ghost Scissors" once or twice more!

The imperial carriage headed north, and the Candle Dragon rode the clouds, traversing three passes and mountains. When they entered the territory of that prefecture, Li Qing's brow suddenly twitched violently.

Suddenly, outside the carriage window, a mourning garment with an obscure aura hung in front of the Three Absolute Ridges. The garment was about ten feet tall, entirely pale white, and rustled loudly in the wind.

At first glance, the white-clad figure was still on the Three Absolute Ridges below, but in the blink of an eye, the mourning ghost was already pressed against the carriage window.

Only now could the two of them see clearly that it was an extremely ancient mourning garment, with a cross-collar and hem, at least a thousand years old.

"Huh? Ghosts in mourning clothes, evil spirits have broken into the front gate of Banan Prefecture? What are these priests doing?"

The Divine Candle of Dawn was both shocked and furious. He raised his right hand, and golden flames flashed as he prepared to strike down the dead ghost that dared to openly attack their carriage.

However, before Si Chen could unleash his magic, an overwhelming spiritual pressure suddenly rose up, forcefully suppressing all of Si Chen's totem power. At the same time, the mourning clothes he was wearing near the window manifested in human form.

But then they saw the mourning clothes fluttering in the wind, the sleeves like wings, the collar like a head. After flying two miles with the carriage, strands of black hair danced in the collar, and a fair hand emerged from the sleeve, transforming into a beautiful figure like a ghostly immortal.

Its appearance was that of a man with feminine features, long hair reaching its waist, and skin as white as jade and snow. It stared at Li Qing with a somewhat terrifying soul pressure, circled the carriage once, and then turned to the direction of the carriage window where Li Qing was, presenting a ghost letter with both hands.

"Is it Master Youhuang?"

"The spirit of Fengdu has come to deliver a message: the matter that Young Master Qu entrusted to you before the New Year has reached its deadline, and this is the first round of reminders..."

A spirit from the Netherworld brought news of the urgent mission from Fengdu Heaven.

"Okay, I understand!" Li Qing nodded in understanding.

He wondered why there was such a strong aura of the Netherworld, realizing it was the ghost messenger from Fengdu Heaven!
This creature is extraordinary. It came without form or appearance, and after delivering the message, it disappeared without a trace. It is a spirit from the Netherworld, which is quite strange.

Last year, Li Qing, through the introduction of the Five Ghosts General of Lingnan, joined the "Fengdu Heaven" in the Netherworld.

It was an organization mainly composed of ghosts and gods, and Li Qing had verbally agreed to the commission from Young Master Qu.

Looking further down, the letter contained his request and reward for this commission: Beneath the Yellow Springs, in the vast expanse of blue waves, our sect has nurtured for sixty years, giving birth to Yin Scales, Ghost Scales, and Violent Carp Scales. We seek someone to help capture these ferocious scales in the marshland. In return, we will offer half a harvest from the bottom of the Blue Wave Marsh as a gift…

The record on it is extremely simple, merely a task to assist in the fishing.

However, after returning from Fengdu Heaven, Li Qing was no longer completely ignorant about the affairs of the Netherworld.

Yin Scale and Ghost Scale are alright, but the Tyrannosaurus Scale is nearly ten feet long and is a ferocious creature that has already begun to advance to the level of a Ghost Shark. It is a Yin-type scaled fish in the Purple Mansion Realm.

How could the Purple Scaled Fish actually be raised beneath this vast expanse of blue water?
"It seems that these blessed lands of Yinshan in Youtian are truly extraordinary!"

When Li Qing examined the ghost letter, he didn't shy away from the oracle of the dawn god, even though he couldn't understand it either.

Just like the words of that messenger ghost, to Si Chen's ears, they were the most venomous curses and venomous words. The ghost letter was covered with densely packed ghostly scribblings, enough to make one dizzy just by looking at it.

"It's alright. This is not a vengeful ghost that escaped from Huailian Ghost City. This is... a ghost messenger sent by a friend to see me off. It has already left Ba Kingdom."

Although she didn't know how the ghost messenger had come to her door, Li Qing shook her head slightly, dispelling the priest's worries.

"Upon returning to the capital of Ba Kingdom, I will seek a quiet place for myself to meditate and make some preparations!"

Li Qing put away the ghost letter, rolled up the beaded curtain in front of the carriage window with his right hand, looked out the window at the Ba Kingdom village where smoke could already be seen from the chimneys, and made a request.

How could the sage of dawn refuse such a request?

"Of course that's possible. I also need to make some backup plans. It will take some time for Fairy Mo Ling to enter the Southern Frontier to rid the mountain people of their troubles."

"Fellow immortal, please rest well. I will leave the rest to you."

The royal chariot descended from the clouds, then retracted the "Candle" dragon, which had been relentlessly pursuing them, into the octagonal dragon-coiled pillar, and headed straight for the city...

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Day two.

Li Qing, having escaped the shackles of the Heavenly Capital from Banan Prefecture, entered the Netherworld once more after the flow of Yin and Yang energies. Even though this wasn't his first time traversing between Yin and Yang, the more Li Qing glimpsed the Dao and its essence, the more elusive and unpredictable the Gate of Yin and Yang seemed.

It is likely that only the Heavenly Capital Great Realm in the Boundless World of the Milky Way has such a pattern, which has transformed into two worlds, "Light" and "Darkness". This place is really too special!

With a few steps, Li Qing traversed the boundless darkness and entered the ruined state of Fengdu. Now, with the approval of the Ghost King of Fengdu, Li Qing stepped onto this land again. The statues of all the spirits and ghosts in the state seemed to have become kind and benevolent. The four-armed old ghost clasped his hands in prayer, the tall and thin ghost shadows stood like guards, and the two-headed ghost's smile was almost reaching his ears... There was actually a lot of respect in those ghost statues.

In front of the most magnificent ancient pavilion in the ghost city, the ghost servants at the door hurriedly bowed when they saw Li Qing enter.

"Master Youhuang!"

"Master Youhuang..."

Every lord of Fengdu Heaven has a pseudonym and never reveals their real name, but Li Qing is an exception...

He was brought to his door by the Ghost Lord of Fengdu, and he was the only Taoist in the Five Directions Immortal Sect whose connection with the You Tian clan was known to everyone, so there was no need for him to hide it.

Li Qing had no time to pay attention to them and stepped into the inner hall.

At this moment, Fengdu Ghost Lord was not in the hall; instead, sitting on the main seat was a Yin God Lord who had revealed his true form as a hanged ghost.

Hanging ghosts are the most common way to commit suicide. Most of them are filled with resentment and are very likely to become ghosts. However, these kinds of hanging ghosts have difficulty even leaving the Purple Mansion, let alone becoming Yin spirits.

Upon seeing the unfamiliar ghost king, Li Qing paused and couldn't help but take a few more glances.

It was a white-clad female ghost quietly observing a scroll of bamboo slips. She was of delicate appearance and had no overbearing air. Her eyelids were slightly bluish, and a three-foot-long white ribbon around her neck was casually wrapped around her neck like a scarf.

After staring at each other for a few breaths, Li Qing finally took the ghost letter from her sleeve and handed it to the ghost king, then casually asked:

“I have come here to deliver a message from a ghost messenger.”

"Is the Ghost King of Fengdu not here?"

The hanged ghost king took the letter, put down the bamboo slip in his hand, read the ghost letter, and then looked at Li Qing a few more times before replying, "This ten days are my shift."

"Fengdu? I don't know. Perhaps he went to Tiandu to manifest his divine power?"

"You know, he gets cheap descendants by sending dreams every day and cheats people out of their incense offerings!"

Maintaining such a vast underworld is no easy task. The name of Fengdu Ghost Ancestor is highly sought after by local chieftains in the south, the southern border of Ba Kingdom, and overseas countries.

This old ghost's method was extremely peculiar; he would appear in people's dreams, claiming to be an ancestor from a certain lineage many generations ago, which could be considered a unique kind of "descendants everywhere".

Upon hearing this, Li Qing was quite shocked. The arrogant and disdainful goddess masked man, Fengdu Ghost Lord, was actually this kind of person?
But, for the sake of continuing the family line, it's not shameful...

The queen at the head of the table picked up the ghost letter and shook the soul bell beside her. On the right side of the hall, another piece of mourning clothes fell down and transformed into a spirit ghost, escaping into the Netherworld.

"Alright, go inform Qu Xiaogui now. Wait patiently."

"If the person who entrusted you with the mission becomes unusual or a sudden change occurs during the mission, you can choose to terminate it directly. If you encounter a life-or-death situation, you can call on Fengdu and our names through the Fengdu Token, and you will naturally be able to turn danger into safety."

My name is Hanyi.

The Ghost Lord in Cold Clothes returned the ghost letter to Li Qing and gave her a brief reminder.

Li Qing nodded in agreement, and then, following the movement, he immediately saw the wall covered with mourning clothes, or rather, winter clothes.

The last day before winter, when the scorching heat of July gives way to the warmth of September, is the Ghost Festival, named for the sending of winter clothes to the deceased. It is also known as the Cold Clothes Festival and is one of the three major ghost festivals that are gradually being forgotten.

Eight hundred ghosts have been born from the cold clothes, and the whole wall is full of ominous signs. How dare this person gather so many ghost clothes in the name of cold clothes? Could it be that she has the power to "send cold clothes" in the underworld?

The eight hundred cold-clothed ghosts hanging on this shelf are truly terrifying!
Li Qing could guarantee that, among the Yin God Taoists he had encountered, Jin Yao Tai Bai would definitely not be able to withstand a round of attacks from eight hundred spirit ghosts, and that Dragon Lord was probably in even more dire straits.

No wonder the Ghost King of Fengdu shook his head and laughed without any fear when mentioning the "Heavenly Palace." It seems there are some extraordinary things in the ruins of Fengdu...

Han Yi read a book, and Li Qing stood alone in this quiet place for about an incense stick's time. Then, the female ruler raised her eyes and looked outside the palace: "He has arrived."

Sure enough, just six breaths after she uttered those words, the black-haired ghost messenger in mourning clothes strode into the hall to ask for instructions. This was a little girl of about six or seven years old, with pigtails, who ran into the palace and spoke in a somewhat childish voice.

"My lord, my lord, I'm back..."

Not long after entering the hall, she slipped and fell headfirst to the ground. The little girl immediately burst into tears.

Her crying sent chills down Li Qing's spine. The childish cry that had been echoing in the void instantly transformed into a hideous ghostly wail. The clash of these ghostly cries then evolved into an extremely vicious curse. The terrifying attack bypassed the barrier of the vital energy and landed directly in the Niwan Palace.

In Li Qing's Niwan Palace, the white bones floating on the ground suddenly lit up, and the boundless white bones began to move with a "crackling" sound. The "White Bone Contemplation" Dharma image was stimulated by the ghost's cry and immediately went berserk.

Fortunately, before Li Qing could retaliate, the Cold-Clad Ghost Lord above had already made his move.

The lady picked up a piece of osmanthus cake from the plate and stuffed it into the little devil's mouth, immediately silencing her cries.

"Don't cry!"

This winter garment embodies the longing of a mother for her deceased daughter during the Cold Clothes Festival. The Cold Clothes Goddess also liked it very much and spent a great deal of money to preserve the soul of the deceased and that pure longing and admonition. After being nurtured for three cycles of sixty years and with countless precious materials, it has come to have its present appearance.

Now, it is the most beautiful and worn garment, and also one of the most beloved pieces of clothing of the Cold Clothes Queen.

The girl in the crying clothes sat on the ground and immediately stopped crying. She picked up the fragrant osmanthus cake made by the Yin Gui of the Underworld and began to eat it in small bites. The joy on her face, contrasted with the tears that had not yet fallen, was both endearing and infuriating.

"Hahaha, the Ghost King's clothes are all so interesting!"

"The Qu family of Jiushui pays respects to Lord Hanyi."

A loud laugh rang out from outside the hall, and a figure wearing an ugly phoenix mask strode in. The first thing he saw was the weeping ghost sitting on the ground. After chuckling, he immediately bowed to the ghost king on the throne.

This Cold-Clothed Lord is no ordinary person; she is the true ruler of the underworld. Not only is she the Lord of the Underworld God's Palace, but she has also gained the favor of the Netherworld, wielding power over the Cold-Clothed Realms. Half ghost and half god, she is a true deity.

Even someone as arrogant as Young Master Qu had to bow respectfully.

"Fellow Daoist Youhuang, you've been waiting for a long time!"

After first bowing to the Ghost Lord, the young master Qu then cupped his hands to Li Qing and exchanged greetings.

"We have been waiting for quite some time now. We urge Brother Youhuang to lend a hand and help us catch the scaled fish in the Azure Waves and Yellow Springs. We will be richly rewarded when the time comes!"

(End of this chapter)