The Path to Immortality Begins with the Life-Extending Lamp

Chapter 211 The Six Curses of Black Heaven
"Fellow Daoist Li, what just happened?"

As soon as Li Qing left Chenxiang Prefecture, Fairy Mo Ling and her disciple came to greet him. The eerie and sinister Great Black Heaven Curse, filled with the aura of the primordial heavens, was equally chilling even from half a prefecture away. And the only person in the entire Tiandu region who could use such a curse was Li Qing.

Perhaps someone has angered this Taoist priest Li again?

But Li Qing shook his head, unwilling to mention the matter, and instead invited Fairy Mo Ling and her disciple to visit Lin Yuan Mountain again.

"They're just some annoying, mundane things; there's no need to bother with them!"

"Fellow immortal, how about we rest for a while in the Lin Yuan Mountains? Although the four circuits and eighteen prefectures of my Southern Kingdom are much smaller than those of the Northern Dynasty, they are still quite remarkable..."

The imperial dynasty to the north reigns supreme in the capital. In terms of scale, it is more than three to five times larger than the Southern Kingdom. However, in terms of actual strength, the Southern Kingdom is only slightly weaker than the Northern Dynasty!
Although the name of the Five Immortal Sects divides the Southern Immortal Path into five lineages, the scale of this Xuanmen Immortal Path is extremely large. In addition to the Qingqiu Demon Path, the Six Spirits Mountain Beast Taming Path, the Lingnan Zhong Clan Ghost Taming Path, and so on, the Southern Xuanmen has fifteen unified Yin Shen Dao families, plus local clans that worship ancestral spirits and ghosts, and two humanistic academies...

Even the imperial dynasty to the north lacked sufficient confidence when vying with this seemingly harmless southern dynasty.

Fairy Mo Ling had long heard of the Southern Dynasty and knew of the extraordinary nature of this other world.

"How could I refuse your invitation, fellow Daoist?"

Fairy Mo Ling nodded in agreement.

There's no need for any coy formalities like asking three times or declining three times. Since Li Qing wants to invite her to join the temple, and she doesn't object, she might as well go and make contact first.

Since the destruction of the Jade Spirit Sect, she has not been able to cultivate in peace for a long time. On her way south, she has either attracted bees and butterflies or been hunted by enemies, and has ended up taking many lives along the way.

What moved her most was what the Jade Spirit God said: Li Erlang had a considerable grudge against the Eleven Luminaries Heavenly Palace.

The enemy of my enemy is, of course, my friend!

The group, understanding each other without words, boarded the Hunyuan King's carriage and set off for Lin Yuan Mountain...

The soul-stirring sound of bells rose from outside Chenxiang Prefecture.

[Ring ring] [Ring ring]

As soon as the faint, melodious sound of bells rang out, all the Taoists in the state who heard it looked up and gazed eastward, knowing in their hearts that the Venerable Taoist of the Immortal Mountain of Linyuan was about to leave.

This man was decisive and efficient. He traveled westward, captured the evil spirit of Yuanhe, traced it back to its source, and quickly resolved the source of the ghostly calamity. He also quelled the internal strife in the state with a single word, ensuring that the Chenxiang Ding family and the three unorthodox sects would never dare to cause trouble again.

The royal carriage traveled eastward, with mist clearing the way and the breeze serving as its steed. It left Chenxiang Prefecture and then turned onto the banks of the Yuan River, heading towards the Immortal Mountain of Lin Yuan.

Just as Li Qing and the others had traveled only three hundred miles from Chenxiang Prefecture, a dream butterfly suddenly appeared, fluttering from the Land of Illusion. The butterfly, about the size of a palm, drew an arc in front of the distant mountains and covered more than ten miles in an instant, landing directly on the windowsill of the royal carriage.

Only then did Li Qing and Fairy Mo Ling awaken from their reverie and look around in a daze.

The surrounding landscape had completely changed at some point. The bright blue sky had turned into night, with starlight shining on the earth. Giant, glowing mushrooms rose from the darkness, as if one had entered a bizarre dream world.

"This is... the Realm of Illusion?"

Li Qing sat upright on the royal carriage, raised an eyebrow and glanced at Mengdie who had landed behind the curtain. Seeing that Fairy Mo Ling was about to make a move, he raised a finger and pressed down, stopping her action.

Before the female Taoist priest could raise any questions, a sudden thud of hurried footsteps sounded from outside the royal carriage. The footsteps were sometimes rapid, like a messenger announcing death at midnight, and sometimes slow and deliberate, like a ghost emerging from a coffin, sending chills down the spines of those who heard them.

However, when Xu Ling and Mo Ling looked up, the void was completely blank. Even with their spiritual eyes, they could not see any figures. There was only a series of messy, dark ghost footprints randomly stepping around the royal carriage, as if some invisible ghost was protecting them.

Although the scene was extremely eerie, it inexplicably gave people a sense of peace!

"Is it that the true disciples of the Ding family's Taiyi sect can't swallow their anger, or..."

Attacks that manipulate reality to construct illusions are among the most advanced forms of illusion magic.

Li Qing frowned, immediately showing some displeasure. If that Taoist Taiyi kept testing him like this, then he really couldn't blame him for showing no mercy!
As the aura of the Great Black Heaven Demon Curse grew increasingly dense and its killing intent intensified, a captivatingly alluring female voice suddenly rang out from above the Dream Butterfly:

"This is a dream, a dream realm connected to a certain layer of the illusory world of the Milky Way."

"Ding Sansheng used the illusory pill in his hand to connect with the illusory world, but he only knew how to do it and not why. It was nothing more than the power of a magic weapon."

"What do you think of my technique of killing in dreams, Lord Li?"

Pollen fell from Mengdie's body, and the figure of Lingdie Sect Master - Caidie'er - slowly emerged from it. This surprised Li Qing. Did that seemingly insignificant female cultivator from the unorthodox path have such abilities?
Unlike ordinary illusions, the spells of the Dream Path are rarer and more bizarre.

"Dream" is both real and illusory, and no one can fully explain it. Even in the six realms of desire in Buddhism and Taoism, it overlaps with the dream world.

The "Dream Entry Technique" centered around the Dream Butterfly isn't particularly outstanding in direct combat, but it becomes quite terrifying when used in behind-the-scenes battles.

Unfortunately, Cai Die'er was just a rogue cultivator from Tiannan, and her cultivation level was still too low.

Today, taking advantage of the day that this Lord Li is about to leave, she mustered up the courage to volunteer herself, also hoping to avoid the flaws of her original body and bring her dream-entering technique to its fullest potential, to see if she could catch the eye of this ghost gentleman.

"Oh? The art of killing through dreams?"

Upon hearing this news, Li Qing suddenly realized something. He flicked his finger at the "butterfly" in his dream, narrowed his eyes, and immediately unleashed a torrent of soul pressure, attempting to crush the dream with the soul power of the "White Bone Contemplation" he had visualized in his Niwan Palace.

The overwhelming soul pressure, towering and majestic, descended upon the dream with the force of a celestial being, as if spring rain had fallen upon this illusory world. As the soul pressure landed, it immediately sprouted into seeds, some growing into towering trees, others into exquisite and wondrous flowers, bizarre and fantastical. The immense power was assimilated into the dream in the blink of an eye, no longer under Li Qing's control.

If it were any other cultivator at the Purple Mansion Realm, once they were pulled into the dream, they would be stripped of all their magical power, like lambs to the slaughter.

This is an extremely terrifying spell, and its only weakness lies in the caster himself.

"What does Sect Master Cai Die mean by this?" Li Qing was unaware of Cai Die's intention in suddenly revealing her trump card.

Is this a show of force, a desire for further cooperation? Or is there another reason?

"The Dream-Entering Murder Technique is a spell I created after a hundred years of cultivation. Although it has some drawbacks, it can still be considered a top-tier spell in the immortal sects!"

Cai Die'er's dream body lifted the beaded curtain and uninvitedly sat in the royal carriage.

If one cultivates techniques without understanding the proper methods, it will ultimately be a heretical path. Even though she refined three spirit butterflies at the Purple Mansion Realm and established a foundation for an unorthodox path, she could no longer make any further progress.

Anyone who embarks on this path of spiritual practice, who wouldn't want to take it a step further?
The Purple Mansion Daoist has lived for sixty years. However, her lifespan will be reduced by one level because she is a practitioner of the unorthodox Spirit Butterfly Technique. It is really difficult to achieve immortality after practicing unorthodox methods for so long.

Having mastered the art of the Spirit Butterfly, she wanted to sell herself to a celestial sect to secure her future path. However, entering a celestial sect was not easy. Originally, her only way out was through the Three Saints Daoist of the Chenxiang Ding Clan. But now that Li Qing had suddenly appeared in Chenxiang Prefecture, her first choice was naturally replaced by Li Qing.

"If I were to offer this technique to the second young master of the Li family in exchange for a path to cultivate the true Dharma, would you find it acceptable?"

Of all of Cai Die'er's possessions, only her decent appearance and her powerful Dream Dao technique are worth mentioning.

She didn't think that her physical appearance was worth anything in front of this Daoist Youhuang, but the art of entering dreams might have that value!
Just as Li Erlang had used the Great Black Heaven Demon Curse several times, and could use the ghost footprints as a medium for the Black Heaven Curse, then using "dreams" as a medium to allow the Black Heaven to enter dreams should also be a very suitable technique for him.

After all, the same spell can have vastly different values ​​in the hands of different people! That was the only way she could recommend herself.

"The art of entering dreams, you've bestowed it upon me?"

Li Qing raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised by the courage of this unorthodox female cultivator.

Fairy Mo Ling and Daoist Xu Ling, who were standing to the side, also turned their gazes to the dream form of the colorful butterfly.

A rogue cultivator trying to join a sect of immortals?
There are many wandering cultivators like this in both the Southern and Northern Dynasties, but most of them don't receive much respect. How can their self-created spells compare to the accumulated scriptures and teachings of various immortal sects, passed down for generations? Immortal sects have mountains of scriptures, yet wandering cultivators can hardly even obtain a basic method for entering the Dao—it's truly tragic…

Surprisingly, Li Qing was genuinely moved by this "dreamlike technique." After a moment's thought, he nodded and said:

"Hmm...okay!"

"What kind of Taoist practice do you want? The Taoist practice that suits your inherent nature and character."

"I happen to possess a Dragon Palace Daoist technique called the 'Seven Absolute Frost Dao,' which can be cultivated all the way to the Yin Spirit Realm. If it doesn't suit your path, I can also go to the Transmission Pavilion to exchange it for another Daoist technique that is not restricted from being passed on..."

The Lin Yuan Scripture Pavilion does not lack spells related to dream manipulation; Li Qing remembers one spell called "Like a Dream".

But the reason why Cai Die'er came to our door today is due to a different kind of fate!
Originally, Li Qing intended to find the second major incantation medium for the Great Black Heaven Curse to be "blood magic," which would be a curse made by staining blood, hence the Black Heaven Blood Curse.

The sudden appearance of the colorful butterfly was like a jolt for Li Qing to awaken from a dream.

He's not some kind of supernatural being, so why should he focus on how the incantation is expressed?
A medium? There is no better medium than 'dreams'. It is neither real nor unreal, half true and half false; it can be called a realm beyond the realm of law!

For Li Qing, who has never had time to cultivate his "field," this can serve as a significant supplementary means.

"But the value of your spell is far less than that of a scroll of Taoist magic, unless..."

"This humble Taoist priest wants your fundamental seed of magic!"

The fundamental seed of magic must be extracted by Cai Die'er from the Dream Butterfly Dao Foundation. This seed, imbued with Daoist principles, contains the inspiration and thoughts she had when she created the Dream Entry Technique. This would save Li Qing a lot of effort and allow him to directly glimpse the most fundamental laws of the Dream Entry Technique.

However, for a butterfly with a foundation in the Purple Mansion to extract a seed of magic, the difficulty and cost would be considerable!

"Really? Really?" Cai Die'er could no longer contain herself, her face turning pale with shock at these words.

The Seven Absolute Frost Dao is not some common Taoist technique. It is an absolute ice-based Taoist technique established by Lord Chu of the Five Streams Dragon Palace using his ability to control water. Many of his dragon sons have practiced it, and it has a great reputation in the southwest, second only to the ancient Taoist techniques of various families.

She felt that she was already incredibly lucky to be able to exchange her dream-entering technique for a Purple Mansion Dao technique, but who knew that Li Qing would actually give her an even better chance.

Cai Die'er almost couldn't resist choosing the "Seven Absolute Frost Dao" directly, but unfortunately, the frost-based Dao technique was not compatible with her cultivation. Her three natal spirit butterflies were "Dream Butterfly", "Ghost Face Butterfly" and "Fire God Butterfly", so she should cultivate the fire Dao technique or the soul Dao technique.

"Come with me to Lin Yuan, and you will be appointed as the headmaster of the Flying Waterfall Daoist Temple. I will then choose a path of cultivation for you. Fellow Daoist Cai Die, please extract and refine a seed of a spell for me..."

Once you've entered the Daoist temple and are officially registered, you're considered half a Daoist of Lin Yuan. When an order is issued from the Lin Yuan Immortal Peak, you must accept it unconditionally, but you also gain the right to learn certain cultivation techniques.

This is also a path!
With a flick of his right hand, Li Qing sent the seven-inch-tall puppet performer leaping off his shoulder and down his wrist into the dream world. The dream world, which had been perfectly integrated, was instantly ripped open by the puppet, creating a huge portal that directly connected it to the real world.

This magical artifact-level substitute spirit puppet is no ordinary object. It was once the natal treasure of the Jade Spirit God, and it could go anywhere in heaven and earth. If it weren't for the fact that it was protecting the "Yellow Spring Umbrella," it would never have ended up in Li Qing's hands.

In an instant, the dream constructed by the Dream Butterfly shattered, and a female cultivator dressed in rainbow-colored robes stood on the other side of the cliff. Three spirit butterflies were dancing around her dress. She was not surprised to see the spell broken, but simply bowed slightly to Li Qing.

Is this the true face of the Lord of Dreams?

Master Mo and his disciple exchanged a glance. Just moments ago, they had witnessed the work of this Li Erlang, who was willing to exchange a complete scroll of Daoist teachings for that rogue cultivator.

Even though the Dreamlike Technique was somewhat peculiar, in the eyes of her master and his companion, it was far less important than a Taoist art. Li Qing's actions seemed to show some favoritism towards this girl!
When the female cultivator Lingdie entered the royal carriage, the four of them rode together in one carriage, which finally became a bit crowded.

Li Qing didn't care. With a snap of his fingers, the carriage rode the wind and immediately traversed mountains and valleys, riding the wind and clouds away.

"The temple also possesses dream-based magic, and its quality is quite high."

"To be frank, I originally had other options for the second great incantation I was about to refine, but Fellow Daoist Cai Die's appearance has shaken my choice."

"The two words 'fate' and 'destiny' are truly wondrous. Therefore, I have a deep understanding of them and am willing to lend a helping hand to you, fellow Daoist, for the sake of this predestined destiny!"

This assistance was something Li Qing naturally had to explain to Cai Die'er beforehand. It wasn't because her dream-entering technique was so precious, but because the timing of her appearance was perfect, giving Li Qing's "Six Curses of Black Heaven" a better option.

The method of entering dreams is far less valuable than any other Taoist technique, but the karmic connection between these two is worthwhile.

Upon hearing this, the female cultivator immediately understood, bowed gently, and began to promise Li Qing that if anything was accomplished, she would be willing to die for him...

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The royal carriage traveled eastward until it reached the vast plains of the southern lands. The flow of the Shenyuan Ghost River became increasingly gentle. Looking across the river, a majestic immortal mountain that seemed to reach straight into the sea of ​​clouds stood there. This place was called Linyuan Mountain.

The path of spiritual practice is like walking on the edge of an abyss; a slight misstep will lead to a plunge into the bottomless abyss. This is the origin of this mountain, and it also serves as a warning to all those who follow the path of Tiannan Temple: uphold the Three Jewels and restrain yourselves.

Just as the four of them reached the mountain gate, two familiar figures happened to be slowly descending the stone steps of the Lin Yuan Mountain Gate.

At this moment, Li Yu, the fourth son of the imperial clan, was leading the Dragon Lord of the East Sea away from Lin Yuan Mountain with his hands behind his back.

Previously, Crane Lord had gathered several Yin Gods to intercept Mars and Jupiter, successfully capturing the Dragon Lord. The Heavenly Palace had no choice but to ask Sun God Li Yu to go to Lin Yuan and make several promises to Yin Zu and Crane Lord before they could redeem the person today.

Coincidentally, before they even left the mountain, the two of them ran into the ghostly man, Li Qing, who had returned to the mountain, at the mountain gate.
"If I remember correctly, this is the second time I've met this person."

Li Qing carefully examined the member of the imperial clan dressed in a robe with four clawed dragons. He had seen this person before on the day he descended the mountain before the Qingping Grand Competition. And today it was the same person again.

Are the royal families of the Southern Kingdom so closely connected with the Guanzhong Temple?
And then there's... Lord Huanlong. He just fought this person during the Qingping Grand Competition. How come he's met him again in Linyuan Mountain today?

The six people passed by sideways. Just as Li Qing was looking at the two people with suspicion, her pupils immediately shrank, and her eyes turned ashen. She was so surprised that her dark pupils appeared on their own.

That's... a luminous jade?
Golden flames flow, the sun? A cold osmanthus tree resembles jade, the moon?

Li Qing, who had once held the Purple Jade-Ji Du, would never mistake that the prince of the royal family and the Dragon Lord were openly wearing the Heavenly Palace's Jade!
A bad feeling immediately welled up in my mind. Are there so many people from the Heavenly Palace in the Southern Kingdom? Could it be that the temple is also having an affair with the Heavenly Palace?

The Eleven Luminaries Palace had just stirred up trouble in the Ba Kingdom and was at the height of its fame.

The fickle-minded Li Qing immediately felt a great threat. Once this thought arose, the idea of ​​escaping from Lin Yuan Immortal Mountain began to linger... At the same time, Fairy Mo Ling and her disciple stood stiffly in place, their magic shuttle treasures already tucked into their sleeves.

Sun-Yao - Li Yu, this is one of the Heavenly Palace thieves who captured her and her master back then!

A faint killing intent had already settled upon him. Looking around, Li Qing was surrounded by people who had grudges against the Heavenly Palace. Even Li Yu was secretly surprised. After hesitating for a moment, he simply smiled kindly at the group and left Lin Yuan.

Gazing at the two figures, Fairy Mo Ling gathered her magic power in her sleeve, about to unleash her magic weapon, when she suddenly felt a weight on her hand. Looking down, she saw that it was Li Qing's substitute spirit puppet, pouting and tightly holding her arm, preventing her from making a move.

"These two are of extraordinary status, I must... allow me to consider this further!"

The royal family of the Southern Kingdom are not people you can kill casually.

After the two people left, Li Qing stopped and looked at their backs. In the past, he had been ravaged by the Heavenly Palace, so he instinctively regarded the terrifying Heavenly Palace as his hypothetical enemy.

But if even the princes of the Southern Kingdom and the Dragon-Raising Lord, who possessed some prestige, were people from the Heavenly Palace...

Seeing Li Qing standing still with his expression changing, how could the old ancestors on the Immortal Peak not know that he was probably thinking the wrong thing again?

A desolate sigh rose from the void, enveloping Li Qing and the others.

"Foolish child, come to the Immortal Peak!"

(End of this chapter)