The Path to Immortality Begins with the Life-Extending Lamp

Chapter 232 Ghosts, Gods and Earth
"Oh? Your Majesty's malice is so great?"

Li Qing walked through the yellow sand, holding a lotus-shaped spirit lamp in her hand, and spoke softly.

Its form and shadow, projected from the depths of the dream, overlapped with the Yellow Sand Divine Realm, lingering between the realms of light and shadow, deeply embodying the principles of reality and illusion.

After the substitute puppet on the shoulder activated its substitution function once, its original adorable appearance was gone, and the true nature of the scapegoat gradually emerged. Its small face was cold and sinister, full of chilling, eerie, and unknown malice.

The aloof and yin-like young Taoist, with his malicious puppet in his palm, was so arrogant as to wantonly invade this divine realm!

Mahakala Mantra, Ecstasy Dream!

This is the second curse derived by Li Qing after obtaining the essence of the Spirit Butterfly Dream Murder Technique. It uses dreams as a medium for the curse to invade.

At this moment, under the majestic divine realm, the witch puppets are unpredictable, and the Taoist priests enter dreams, truly exempting them from all authority and divine power from the underlying mechanisms of the divine realm.

"Ridiculous!"

The God of Lishan is revered by countless people in the North and worshipped in the ancestral temples of the state. He is not a stepping stone for this so-called second-generation immortal from the South to gain seniority.

The deity glanced disdainfully at the little creature and then ignored him completely.

If He hadn't been entangled by that ferocious Xuan Turtle, even without the authority of the Dream Path, He would have had plenty of ways to pull that little guy out of the still-weak, shallow layer of the dream realm.

But at this moment, what can these insignificant insects do, no matter how much they jump around?
The God of Lishan glanced disdainfully at Li Qing, who was clinging to life in his dream, raised his hand and summoned a peachwood staff, then turned around and continued to strike at the Northern Army's guardian beast, the Xuan Turtle.

The Xuan Turtle was as massive as a mountain, making even the nearly three-hundred-foot-tall Li Shan Divine Body pale in comparison. The peachwood staff could not break through the Xuan Turtle's hard shell, and the mountain god's might could not suppress this colossal beast.

As a renowned beast-taming creature in the Northern Army, famous for its ability to suppress the formidable Yangtze River, it can keep all enemies at bay even when facing an army of thousands.

Seeing that the mountain god disdained to pay attention to him and turned to fight the black tortoise, the water god in the distance was also fighting fiercely with the general of the northern army. The divine magic blades clashed, deliberately tearing the bottom of this divine domain, causing many warships and flagships that were stuck in the yellow sand to fall back to the bottom of the river.

Such challenges occur every few weeks, usually led by two powerful Yin spirits, who fight to the death in the vast river, never letting their opponents have a moment's peace.

Li Qing was unaware of the tacit understanding between the two parties. While wandering in the depths of the dream, she unknowingly covered most of the yellow sand embankment with the gloomy ghost footprints.

At first, the noisy footsteps went unnoticed. After all, the soldiers and generals were in a life-or-death situation, and no matter how chaotic the footsteps were, they were not on the battlefield and would not distract them.

Until... Shen Bi suddenly collapsed to the ground with a dark expression during the battle, and was swarmed by the soldiers and dismembered.

One such instance would not be excessive, but as one after another, the Divine Advisors of the Purple Mansion Realm fell, their necks, hands, and feet were covered with dense ghost handprints, and beneath their corpses were chaotic black footprints, as if many unseen vengeful ghosts were hiding in the shadows, constantly hunting these Divine Advisors.

This was too bizarre. From the divine realm sands lifted up by the Xuan Turtle to the warships still floating in the river, both sides' troops were filled with fear, looking around at the unseen enemy.

Of course, some oblivious soldiers seized the opportunity to launch an even fiercer attack with their javelins and spears.

"Form ranks and push back!"

"This is the supernatural art of Lingnan, it's... one of our own."

The white-haired general carried a flag in his left hand and raised a long spear horizontally in his right, piercing through the huge body of the Bi Shen with a single blow and pinning it firmly to a broken warship.

The old man stepped across the pool of blood, his gaze sweeping over the several familiar, inhuman corpses. A hint of restraint flashed in his eyes before he turned back to exchange a glance with Li Qing, who was somewhere in the Divine Realm.

Yes, he's probably a Taoist priest from a clan in Lingnan!
The veteran shouldered the banner of the Blood Demon Marshal, forced a smile at Li Qing as a gesture of goodwill, and then ordered the armored army to advance steadily.

God of the Mountain, God of the Clear Water
Having occupied the north bank for a long time, both sides had been engaged in routine battles, and the casualties had accumulated over time.

But today, looking at the corpses of Bi Shen lying on the yellow sand and the river, one can imagine that the Northern Army has achieved a minor victory...

When the old man cast his gaze like that of an owl, Li Qing had the illusion of being stared at by a ferocious beast. To be able to take command of the flag on behalf of the general, this old man must be one of the top figures in the Northern Army.

Li Qing only exchanged glances with the old general, nodded slightly, picked up the lantern, turned around, and disappeared into the depths of the dream.

This place is dazzling with light, and within a radius of hundreds of miles, every living being has thoughts. Thoughts and desires are dreams, clear dreams, turbid dreams, beautiful dreams, nightmares. Countless thoughts and illusions intertwine, outlining this bizarre place that is detached from reality.

Li Qing walked through those dreamlike realms where shadowy figures intertwined, observing the people of the present world.

Here, the projections of ancient ghosts walk woodenly through the dream, their shadows flickering. Following Li Qing's guidance, each step they take leaves a ghostly footprint, and any attempt to intrude is met with a deadly attack.

"If the gods of the North are only at this level, then..."

Looking up at the two generals of water and fire following him, Li Qing did not speak too definitively.

If the divine assistants of the ancestral temple were only like this, he alone could probably wipe out the entire army.

From the depths of the dream, the hurried footsteps echoing in the ears of the gods and ministers were like a death warrant, leading each of them to the road to the underworld.

The methods of the gods and demons were terrifying. Li Qing hadn't even used any Taoist magic or supernatural powers yet, but a nightmare had already been cast over the heads of this divine army!
Even Elder Shi, whose heart had been pounding just moments before, couldn't help but tremble, falling silent for a moment. "Soul Dao supernatural power to control ghosts and gods? Li Qing... he really is different!"

Even among the Zhong clan, the most powerful clan in Lingnan, no one has ever used this kind of supernatural art in such a way.

The inside story is unknown to outsiders, but Li Qing now has a different opinion. He believes that all the Taoists in Lingnan are ghost tamers, and what they tame is nothing more than their strange and unpredictable techniques.

Only Li Qing himself knew that the Soul Dao Prophecy Method, which uses witchcraft, ghosts, gods, and incantations, contained many taboos and miscellaneous knowledge. Even he himself knew the "what" but not the "why." This kind of forbidden technique, which even practitioners could not predict, was the reason why the Six Heavenly Ghosts and Gods could traverse the ancient history of the former Heavenly Capital.

Seeing that the two generals of water and fire remained silent, Li Qing did not linger any longer. Her jade hand was wrapped in a dark light, and she pointed to a certain spot on the battlefield. A fatal attack followed the finger, and the divine servant who resembled the mermaid was completely unaware of the impending death!

Just as the attack was about to succeed, the little face of the witch puppet on Li Qing's shoulder turned around and bared its teeth behind it.

How could Li Qing not be alarmed by this turn of events? The mountain god in the distance was locked in a fierce battle with the Xuan Turtle, causing half of the divine realm to tremble. How could this happen?
Just as Li Qing was about to activate the substitute puppet to escape, a chilling sensation suddenly came from her ankle. It was an arm formed from the Weak Water of the Nether Spring that suddenly stretched out from an unknown place and grabbed Li Qing's right foot.

"Gotcha, little guy."

"We can't just act recklessly because we have some tricks up our sleeves!"

But a crisp sneer rang out from outside the dream, turning the Gui water into a dark spring and pouring it into the dream. It grabbed Li Qing's right foot and pulled her downwards.

As a sudden feeling of weightlessness arrived, the torrential water from the prison splashed deadly images into the Yellow Sand Divine Realm, dragging Li Qingsheng directly into the mortal world.

The Ecstasy Curse was broken in the blink of an eye, and the layers of suppression of the Yellow Sand Divine Realm instantly and completely overwhelmed Li Qing, exposing him to the gods.

"Hmm? It's just a minor path to the Purple Mansion Realm?"

The God of Lishan, looking astonished, summoned his divine domain to empower Li Qing's head, creating a buzzing sound like a torrent of water.

Previously, they thought this was a ghost or god at the peak of the Purple Mansion realm, and wanted to step in and interfere in their battle. But who could have known that this was just an ordinary Purple Mansion Daoist?

"That's not surprising!"

"The path of ghosts and gods does not rely much on itself. The ancestral temples have a well-ordered lineage, and the descendants are ambitious. During the Three Primal Festivals, grand sacrifices are held, and offerings are made without end. It is always like this, and even we gods cannot escape being affected..."

Beside her, the Goddess of Clear Water, Lord Clear Water, revealed her figure, appearing as a graceful woman, half-veiled by a light veil, seemingly hesitant to speak, like a celestial concubine.

Qingshui is seven thousand miles north of the Tianqian Pass. The goddess is the legendary deity who protects Qingshui. After the imperial dynasty held a Fengshan ceremony, a temple for the deity was built. Naturally, someone took over the position. Perhaps she was not originally like that, but her divine name is aloof and aloof, which makes the noble lady who inherited the divine position even more like the image of the goddess of Qingshui.

In a flash, this Water Lord traversed the entire divine realm, abandoning the Northern Army general who had nearly caused a devastating attack, and instead dragged Li Qing back into the divine realm, saving his several Water Gods under his command.

"You bastard, you were so cruel! You deserve to be punished!"

A goddess, even more imposing than Li Qing, appeared, moving like flowing water and mist, dodging the small claw marks of the witch puppet, and with a coquettish tone, she also struck Li Qing with a palm.

In that delicate hand, the power of heaven and earth was bestowed, like a river pouring down, intending to ruthlessly annihilate Li Qing here, to vent her anger at being torn apart by those barbarian northern soldiers who had no sense of romance.

But just as the goddess's delicate hand fell, an equally flawless jade hand reached out from behind Li Qing and unabashedly blocked the goddess's hand.

The chosen ghostly man almost never allows any woman to have any contact with him, especially that femme fatale.

Then Li Qing was seen holding a lamp amidst the yellow sand. The ghostly inscriptions that summoned souls quickly covered his entire right hand, like an endless, eerie light. It was under the blessing of these ghostly inscriptions that the Southern Dipper Life-Extending Lamp finally revealed its calamity to everyone for the first time. In the blink of an eye, the jade lotus flower transformed into a blood-red lantern. The light from that lantern was not divine light but rather a dark and gloomy darkness.

The Netherworld, originating from Qishan, descends upon this place through this blood-red lantern. The Yellow Sand Divine Realm is brutally torn apart from its center, and an even more bizarre and gloomy Netherworld finally partially reveals itself to the world.

Uncle Qingshui touched hands with the Ghost Mother, but after a moment, he immediately took several steps back. His playful banter instantly turned into a gloomy expression. He gently covered his fair hand, which was scorched by the Xuan Yin Mother's Qi, with bruises and burn marks, and his brows were tightly furrowed.

And look ahead, the ghostly man holds a lamp, and a stunningly beautiful ghostly mother stands quietly behind him, her wooden and cold gaze peering over him. That is the truly terrifying presence that makes those who hear of it shudder.

The power of Qishan Domain is being reclaimed, and the feedback received by the Ghost Mother and Li Qing is also extremely significant. The Ghost Mother, in particular, possesses a vast and boundless Xuan Yin Mother Qi, which makes all the mountain gods, water spirits, national heroes, and fierce demons take notice...

"This is... the Cui family's ghost goddess who shocked Jiangnan, arranged a ghost marriage, and whose red bridal procession stretched for miles—the Mysterious Yin Ghost Mother?"

"This is interesting!"

"Wait a minute... why is this ferocious creature transforming into the Yin God Ghost Lord?"

Elder Shi was about to unleash the magic weapon, the Golden Ruyi, to protect Li Qing, which was still hovering in the air when the Ghost Mother appeared. He paused, looking at the being who was not at a disadvantage in the fight against the God of Clear Water with surprise and uncertainty.

Sure enough, behind this Li Erlang must be a remnant of a certain ancient clan in Youtian. In the past, someone used the ghost mother who was searching for Li Qing to sweep away half of the southwest, wiping out all the places that did not obey orders.

Back when she was just a daytime wanderer, she could still make the Yin God Chu Longjun tremble with fear; now… she's actually about to become a major force…

(End of this chapter)