The Path to Immortality Begins with the Life-Extending Lamp

Chapter 200 The So-Called Huailian

While the priest and the female Taoist priest were having a good talk, Li Qing didn't say much. He raised his wine cup and leisurely poured himself another cup. Even though the priest mentioned Li Qing's name several times, he remained in a meditative state, looking down at his nose and contemplating his own thoughts.

He didn't dare to make a guarantee so easily!
Even Si Chen, the god of prophecy, only dared to take the gamble because Li Qing herself wanted to see the Yinshan Ghost City that still existed on the land of Tiandu, and because Si Chen offered eight million Dao Zhu as a reason.

In the present world of Tiandu, there is the Yinshan Blessed Land, and Li Qing has also entered one of them, the Yinghai Yin Mansion overseas!

Even though it was a Yinshan blessed land that had sunk into the sea and was abandoned, Li Qing still discovered the life-bound treasure of the three generations of King Mu of Yingzhou - the Everlasting Regret Ghost Scissors.

That Ghost Scissors was Li Qing's biggest trump card since he entered the Dao, and its importance was even comparable to that of the Ghost Mother behind him.

Huailian Yinshan seems to be more famous!

Li Qing had some guesses in his mind. He didn't think that one Yin Mountain couldn't accommodate two Ghost Lords. The three hundred miles of locust trees connected the blessed land of Yin Mountain. It was probably possible to open a few more Yin lands and still be able to support them.

The thing that caused the two Yin spirits to fight to the death must be that Ghost Ancestor's "weapon".
We will enter Yinshan under the name of the Kingdom of Ba; the rest can be discussed later.

Just as Li Qing was pondering this, she realized that the wine pot on the table was empty. The sage of dawn and the nun Mo Ling in the distance had just reached a consensus and both turned their gazes toward her.

"Fellow Daoist Li, Fellow Daoist Mo, if it's possible, how about we set off immediately?"

Having finally reached an agreement with the female Taoist priest, the Divine Prayer of Dawn stood up and asked both of them at the same time.

He had prepared everything for this trip, and it was time for him to enter the blessed land of Yinshan as soon as possible.

"Is this Mo Xianyou's disciple? Why don't we keep her in our sect for now, and come back to retrieve her after we've finished dealing with our business?"

Seeing that Fairy Mo Ling was exchanging glances with the girl beside her, the God of Dawn immediately understood their worries and wanted to share their burdens.

Upon hearing that she would be left behind halfway, the girl immediately became unhappy, got up and followed Mo Ling beside her, clutching the hem of her clothes and whispering warily:
"Master, you just killed those lecherous scoundrels in the state capital of Ba a few days ago, how can you leave me here?"

"In my opinion, this red-robed priest is untrustworthy. Who knows if he has any connection with the powerful families of this prefecture? Besides, we have thieves from the Heavenly Palace chasing us from behind. We should head to the Southern Kingdom as soon as possible and seek refuge with the Three Emperors Great Dao Sect..."

The girl named Xu Ling was extremely vigilant, and her wariness of the cultivators from the Ba Kingdom was immediately apparent.

The various factions within this cult are so sordid and unpleasant, and she dislikes this place intensely. It's easy to imagine that if Fairy Mo Ling were to linger in the Yinshan Blessed Land, she would definitely not fare well if she stayed here!

It would be better to go directly to those two million Daozhu and leave as soon as possible.

Of course, Daoist Mo Ling knew this principle, but her sect had been destroyed by the imperial dynasty, and she had long been a wandering Daoist with nowhere to rely on. It was said that the Jade Spirit Sect and the Three Emperors Great Dao Sect had the same origin, but the two were separated by 100,000 miles and had never crossed paths. How could she go to seek refuge with empty hands?
Currently, the two of them have very few magical artifacts and supplies left, and they may not even be able to understand the official documents of the Southern Kingdom. They must at least earn a foothold in the world.

How could their whispered conversation escape the ears of all the cultivators in the Purple Mansion? The beautiful nun Mo Ling and her disciple had come from the Northern Kingdom, which naturally attracted some fools who didn't know their own mortality. After killing several young noblemen with flying needles, they had offended the powerful clans of Baqiu. They really shouldn't have gotten involved with the Sun God Cult any further.

But the God of Dawn wouldn't let it go. He was heartbroken that the little girl had been knocked onto the table of bad guys and said, "Little girl, we must speak with our conscience!"

"Previously, the various tribes of the Southern Frontier had a falling out with you two. I risked offending everyone to suppress them and clear your names. How can you still look at me like this now?"

The problem arises because of these black-and-white little kids. If a child of this age doesn't have a good first impression of you, they're likely to hold that prejudice for a long time.

But the interactions between people, involving mutual benefit, are never that simple.

Upon seeing the grudge between the two, and after listening carefully, Li Qing roughly understood what had happened.

Both master and disciple were beautiful. When they traveled to the Western Capital of Ba, they naturally attracted many admirers. It is likely that the female Taoist priest's superb skills made this priest want to borrow her supernatural powers.

However, these two, master and disciple, also had a grudge against the Heavenly Palace.
What terrible things must the eleven celestial luminaries of the Heavenly Palace have done? Their infamy is known everywhere—in the Southern Kingdom, the Netherworld, the Ba Kingdom, and beyond…

After pondering for a moment, Li Qing, who had been indifferent, suddenly showed a change in expression:
"Since we are both fellow cultivators on the path of immortality, why don't I leave my beast here to keep this junior sister company?"

"If you two wish to go to the Southern Kingdom to join the Three Emperors Great Dao Sect, you may travel with me at that time, heading east along the Yuan River, first entering the Southern Kingdom's Tiannan Prefecture, and then heading towards Jiangnan and Jiangbei!"

Since the two of them have a grudge against the Heavenly Palace, then Li Qing should give them a good push.

After all, the enemy of my enemy can barely be considered a friend.

Moreover, those who are targeted by the Heavenly Palace probably have just as many secrets as I do, right? Whether it's befriending them or usurping their positions, it's bound to be a good deal!

But then Li Qing waved his hand, and the octagonal dragon pillar flashed out the window, instantly transforming into a terrifying red dragon over eighty feet long. Its six horns faced the heavens, resembling a divine crown. The dragon had five horns, and the dragon had no feet. Judging from the thick, reddish-glass scales on the dragon's body, it was probably already beginning to transform into a jiaolong (a type of dragon).

"The candle is very obedient. Why don't you let it accompany you? If you feel that the people here have ill intentions, you can have it take you directly to Lin Yuan Mountain in Tiannan Prefecture!"

"It knows the way back."

Just as the candle was wondering what was going on, it suddenly heard Li Qing send it a message, instructing it to keep an eye on the little girl.

The crimson dragon raised its head, its two enormous eyes peering through the cloud pavilion, causing a huge gust of hot wind to blow in, making the Qi-cultivating priests inside the pavilion unable to stand steadily. The beaded curtains, lampstands, and other items were directly ignited by the dragon's breath.

Finally, Zhu and the little girl named Xu Ling met each other's eyes. The girl was pure of heart and seemed to have the ability to see through people's minds. She saw through the clarity and doubt in the red dragon's eyes at a glance. Why would she be afraid of this "Zhu" dragon who was also inexperienced in the world?

"Ah? Lin Yuan Mountain in the South? Oh, okay."

The little girl and her master exchanged a glance, then looked together at Li Qing, the Taoist priest.

If the Three Sovereigns Sect is unwilling to take us in, Master, how about we go and visit Lin Yuan Mountain?

Although I've never heard of such a sect, this person must be quite important to be a distinguished guest in Ba Kingdom.

Thus, the trip was finally decided in the Cloud Pavilion. The three Purple Mansions would go to Huailianyin Mountain together. The little girl had an octagonal dragon pillar tied to her chest with a rope. With the Purple Mansion dragon seed as a guarantee, she felt very at ease.

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The task was finalized at Chenshi (7-9 AM), and before noon, the three of them had already set off.

The three leaders did not bring anyone else with them. They simply boarded a golden feathered raft belonging to the Sun God Cult and headed southwest of Tiandu. Although there were high mountains in the western capital, it was quite different from the southern country. The mountains here were devoid of trees, covered only with dark green grass and rocks. Birds and beasts were becoming increasingly rare, while the five poisonous scaled insects were particularly abundant.

Traveling westward from the southern border of Ba Kingdom, crossing the Lu River, and traversing barren lands, the golden feather finally landed on a dark patch of earth!
It was unclear when, but the flying boat seemed to have entered another world. The sky was now filled with dark clouds, and a continuous, gloomy aura rose from the depths of the earth's veins, transforming into mist and haze that ascended to the heavens, eventually becoming a canopy of ghostly clouds. This place was formed by the feedback of extremely yin earth veins, similar to a ten-thousand-year-old version of the Western Wilderness Corpse Cave in Tiannan Prefecture.

As Jin Yu paused in the dim world, the Divine Blessing of the Dawn, who had been struggling to control the flying boat, ignited a divine fire crow. A huge firework shot into the sky and transformed into a totem of a nine-headed phoenix, its light lingering for a long time.

"From Banan Prefecture, the Sun God Zhu-Sichen, carrying a messenger from Baqiu, has come to pay homage to the Jade Spirit Ghost Lord and request an audience with the Sixth Ghost Lord!"

This call, imbued with profound spiritual energy, was delivered with a deafening roar, as if the heavens and earth were being created. It caused both Li Qing and the nun Mo Ling to simultaneously disperse their auras, and they both looked in astonishment at the red-clad divine priest at the bow of the ship.

This guy had this trick up his sleeve!

The sound was like the roar of a lion, and this move at close range was truly unexpected, shattering all the magic power in one's body.

After the sage who sang the morning prayers spoke, auras immediately arose in the dim surroundings, like corpses awakening in a graveyard. After looking at the phoenix totem in the sky, they merely cast their gazes but dared not make a move.

"understood."

"come in!"

Two voices rang out simultaneously from the distant Black Mountain. The Yin Spirit Grass, several meters tall, lay prostrate on both sides of the dark earth, leaving a path for them to reach the Yin Mountain.

A single word caused a change in the plants and trees of the blessed land; this was the response from the two ghost kings.

Li Qing raised an eyebrow, having made some judgment about this blessed land of Yin Mountain. Was there also an endless expanse of Yin Spirit Grass growing here? Li Qing had once asked the immortal in the underworld to plant an acre of this Yin Spirit Grass in the West Garden Medicinal Garden. Its seeds could be used to make incense, which greatly benefited the underworld.

"This Yin Spirit Grass is like a tree, over ten feet tall. Its seeds are a dark purple color. If it is refined into Yin Nether Incense, it can be considered a top-grade product."

Li Qing casually picked a bunch of grass seeds, secretly evaluating them as he followed the two toward Yinshan.

The God of the Morning, with a majestic gait, walked at the forefront, surveying this blessed land of Yin Mountain. He then explained to the two in a deep voice, "Throughout history, the land of Tiandu has had blessed lands of Yin Mountain, such as Haoli, Huailian, the City of the Wrongfully Dead, Xuanfu Black Mountain, and Yinghai, which gather countless ghosts and are known as the Land of Returning Souls... But now, the only Yin Mountain that still exists is this Huailian Ghost City."

"That Ghost Ancestor was an ancient being who spanned six eras to the present day, but now he has also vanished. This is the irretrievable power of time!"

Time is something that cannot be traced back. Even the most powerful god cannot make a big splash in the vast expanse of ancient history.

Now that two new ghost kings are in power, it remains to be seen whether Huailian Ghost City can continue to exist.
The three of them crossed the Guangwo Plain and entered the Yinshan Mountains, which stretch for three hundred miles. Suddenly, Li Qing stopped in his tracks.

"Huh? What's that noise?"

My son has entered the battlefield to fight for our country, not seeking fame or fortune, but urging you to return soon...

Heaven is filled with dread, earth is filled with dread, for I have a crybaby in my family…

No, don't go into the tomb...

The noisy, cacophony of malevolent wails echoed in Li Qing's ears; they were the sounds left behind by the spirits who had died violently on the land of Tiandu.

The wounded soldiers who died on the battlefield wrapped in horsehide; the sickly infant less than 100 days old;

A scholar who died of tuberculosis, filled with sorrow and indignation; his entire clan perished, leaving only half a skull of white bones;

Even elderly women who have lost their productive capacity are sent to their graves by their children to pay respects...

The spirits of those who died violent deaths were buried in various parts of Yinshan Mountain. In the vast, dark Yin soil stretching for hundreds of miles, a locust tree was planted on each piece of land where these spirits were buried. Perhaps this is the origin of the Ghost City of Locust Trees.

"What? There's no sound... right?"

When the Divine Blessing of the Dawn suddenly heard Fellow Daoist Li speak behind him, he was first stunned, and then belatedly felt a chill run down his spine.

Could it be a ghost?
Li Qing suddenly remembered that they had not opened their Yin Eyes, so they could not see the unformed Yin Spirit, nor could they hear or understand its ghost language.

This is an ability that Li Qing acquired after mastering the Ghostly Script and Ghostly Symbols; it is called "Tong You" (通幽).

"They're just some unformed remnants of evil spirits. It's nothing, let's continue."

Shaking his head to dispel the distracting thoughts, Li Qing gestured for the two to continue forward.

In the Huailian Yinshan Mountains, it is truly a place where all souls return to silence. Planting locust trees on the burial ground of the spirits is not to suppress ghosts, but to nurture the spirits and dispel their lingering resentment.

The calamities of war that lead to tragic deaths on the battlefield, the five wounds that cause premature death from tuberculosis, the despair and resentment that leads to being abandoned by the world, and the great resentment that causes all spirits to seek life but die—that is the origin of the six directions of misfortune!

As long as all living beings and spirits exist, the realm of ghosts will never disappear.

The lingering resentment of the dead souls echoed in her ears, and the cacophony of sounds relentlessly assaulted Li Qing's mind. At this moment, Li Qing could only sigh softly and silently recite the "Scripture of Salvation".

No wonder Yin Zu entered Huailian and then left on his own. The place where all souls returned to the west is now the only place in Tiandu.

All spirits seek immortality, and the immortal path values ​​life. How can one bear to see the spirits of Tiandu have nowhere to go, turning into lonely ghosts, either harming people or being injured by a hundred spirits?
The heavens and the earth must have yin soil!
Li Qing felt a tightness in his chest, unable to express the many things he wanted to say. It was a feeling of sympathy for others of the same kind, and a state of melancholy over the passing of spring and autumn. Fortunately, this was nothing to Li Qing, who had experienced the oppression of the Ghost Mother in the past.

As the three ventured deeper into the Yin Mountain, the ghostly whispers grew increasingly intense. Some even turned their resentful gazes toward Li Qing, whispering the most vicious curses into his ear.

These ghosts are spiritless and abandoned by the entire world. Even ordinary vengeful spirits cannot see them. Today, Li Qing is the only being who can interact with the heavens and earth.

The lingering ghosts and remnants that have gathered here in Yinshan have existed for over a thousand years. At this moment, everything weighs heavily on Li Qing's shoulders.

Look at that infant spirit with its empty eyes, climbing onto Li Qing's instep, baring its teeth in anger. That ghost floated down and landed on Li Qing's shoulder, sitting alone. Behind it, a tall, thin shadow stepped on Li Qing's back. In that instant, thousands of years of ghosts ascended onto Li Qing's body, like the Taiyin Ghost Mountain pressing down on him...

"A naturally gifted young man?"

"Tsk tsk tsk, I'm afraid we've come to the wrong place. The accumulated remnants of countless dead souls over the years are going to crush people!"

(End of this chapter)