The Path to Immortality Begins with the Life-Extending Lamp

Chapter 234 Life and Death

"The Six Heavens Sect's absolute forbidden weapon from the Ghost Era could even kill a True Yin God, how could he..."

Li Qing! How could he possess a forbidden artifact of this level?
Elder Shi and the great general of the Northern Army both looked terrified.

To know that such a forbidden weapon, capable of instantly killing even a Yin God in the True Realm, originally belonged to at least a Ghost God Lord who had reached the limit of the Yin God Realm, or even... a former Heavenly Ghost.

No wonder Li Erlang was able to banish both Yin God Immortals to the Netherworld in Guihua Mansion; with such a weapon, it all makes sense...

At this moment, the six-day-old ghost that had vanished seemed to be baring its fangs again through the hand of this ghostly man, Li Qing, and telling future generations about the so-called 'ghosts and gods' that spanned the long ages!
"The damage to the corpses of the soldiers is indeed somewhat related to me."

"Later, I, Li, will set up an altar to summon the souls of the generals, gather their soul essence to refine their life force, and grant them an extra lifetime in the underworld. I wonder if this will be enough to make up for it?"

Li Qing did not overlook the corpses of the generals who died in his place and whose bodies were never recovered.

On one hand, he re-bound the Blood Demon Domain of Everlasting Hatred, wrapping the strands of eerie ghost hair back around the Everlasting Hatred Scissors, concealing the killing intent of this ancient forbidden weapon. On the other hand, he surveyed the battlefield inside and out, nodding and promising his comrades-in-arms.

After all, it was thanks to the bodies of nearly sixty soldiers and divine assistants that Li Qing's fatal wounds were completely transferred, which allowed for the second round of sudden attacks.

The gap between the Purple Mansion and Yin God realms is almost insurmountable. If it weren't for the Jade Spirit Heaven-Mending Technique, Li Qing would have been humiliated and even severely injured.

It wouldn't be unreasonable to spend some money afterward to gather the souls of the dead for them.

Looking around at the surrounding wilderness, Li Qing rarely revealed his claws and teeth. He met the eyes of Qing Shuibo, who was clutching his severed arm, and showed no sign of backing down.

Li Qing flipped his palm and put away the Long-Hate Ghost Scissors. Then, he made a hand seal and faced the Ghost Mother who was holding the head of the Mountain God upside down on the vast river. He summoned the Jiazi Great Rampant, intending to directly seize the body of the Mountain God.

The mountain god's body was as heavy as a billion jin (a unit of weight), and only with the power to leave the mountain could the hordes of demons barely lift it, making it difficult for it to walk back to the south bank of the Yangtze River.

The headless mountain god's body, with its surging divine blood, poured over the group of rampant corpses, making them appear even more malevolent.

"Your skill lies in using forbidden artifacts from the past, but you'd better not touch this divine body of Lishan."

"The fifty-four deities of mountains, rivers, and lands are the fixed number in the imperial dynasty's pantheon of gods. If even one is missing, the emperor will absolutely not tolerate you..."

The goddess of clear water had a strange expression. When she saw the clueless stranger, she put the pressure on the general of the Northern Army.

The current conflict between the Northern and Southern Dynasties is still at a limited stage, consisting of nothing more than a routine confrontation between two temples and a unit of the Northern Army.

However, if one of the Northern Dynasty's deities were to perish, and even its original divine body were to be obtained by the Southern Dynasty, the capital of the Great Zhou Dynasty would not let the matter rest. It is likely that another great war would break out on this formidable river.

But these threatening words had no effect on Li Qing. How many great wars had the Northern Dynasty launched in the past? The number of Yin Gods who had fallen in the Great Dao Sects of the Immortal Clan had exceeded double digits.

It is worth mentioning that at the height of the fighting, it was rumored that the "Emperor" in the north was so anxious that he couldn't sleep for a hundred days, and his eyes were bloodshot.

The Northern Dynasty had its own imposing presence, and the Southern Dynasty had its own sharp edge. At this moment, when such words were spoken, the generals couldn't help but sneer.

The young Taoist priest paid no heed, holding the Southern Dipper Spirit Lamp in his hand, and with a flick of his finger, summoned the "Rebirth Chariot," which crashed into the group of demons carrying the divine corpse. In the blink of an eye, billowing green smoke appeared, but after the smoke dissipated, the chariot and the demons disappeared from everyone's sight.

Li Qing stepped contemptuously onto the misty river surface, drawing the terrifying blood-red light to slowly merge with the Ghost Mother.

"How could I possibly spit out the 'great medicine' that I went to such lengths to obtain?"

"The goddess seems to be a bit too sore loser..."

Stepping forward slowly, Li Qing took the head, still dripping with crimson divine blood, from the Ghost Mother's hands. He held the head, its eyes wide open, in front of him and shook it gently, then smiled silently.

The complete corpse of the Yin Spirit True Realm has many wonderful uses.

Perhaps it can help the Ghost Mother achieve the true position of the Yin God Ghost Lord, and it can also combine with some forbidden techniques in the "Southern Dipper Prolonging Life Scripture" to allow Li Qing to rapidly increase his cultivation and magical power.

After all, in the eyes of some "evil cultivators," high-ranking deities are also a powerful medicine!
The gods are even older than the era of ghosts and spirits, so why did they cease to be active so early?
Such undisguised prying and greed are not at all like the Taoists of the Five Immortal Sects of the Southern Kingdom. Perhaps it is the ancient ghost clans that have been passed down for generations that have begun to emerge from the mountains.

With a complex expression, the Goddess of Clear Water reattached her left arm, which had been severed by the Ghost Scissors' blade. She coldly glanced at the many generals and commanders on the battlefield before turning and fleeing north of the great river.

Since things had come to this, she said no more, lest she incur resentment. The usual battle between the two armies had unfortunately run into an ambitious and ruthless leader of the Ghost God Sect, which caused her to suffer a severe setback. What could she possibly do?
They could only retreat back to the Northern Dynasty, leaving the Minister of State in the ancestral temple to prepare to replace the mountain god.

Since the God of Lishan perished and his original divine body was never recovered, it is feared that the spiritual veins of Lishan will dissipate and its Daoist essence will dissipate in a short time, leaving it desolate. We should find another spiritual mountain to bestow a new mountain god upon him to make up for the loss...

As the aura in the arena slowly receded, the mountain god fell, and the Blood Demon Domain of Everlasting Hatred disappeared after only a dozen breaths, the various forces that had been confronting each other in a pincer-like formation began to make a move.

The first to fall beside Li Qing was the general of the Northern Army. This general, who carried a bow and spear and had a sword hanging at his waist, exuded a desolate aura of a snow-capped mountain. The imposing presence of this national hero who suppressed the region made Li Qing feel quite awe.

Not far away, the Xuan Turtle, with its fierce head held high, came rushing over, splashing the waves. It had been banished to the bottom of the lower reaches of the great river by the divine realm and was only now returning upstream. Although the Xuan Turtle was fierce, its speed was really quite poor.

Elder Shi of the Three Emperors Sect was also filled with mixed emotions, and he descended to the river surface using the Water and Fire Escape Light.

"I am Pei Yan of the Northern Army."

"I am truly grateful for your help, fellow immortal. May I ask your name?"

This general surnamed Pei had a natural and elegant demeanor. He came from the Pei clan, one of the noble families of Jinlin. There were five such families in the capital of Jinling that could produce national heroes comparable to Yin Shen Realm experts. Even the Li family clan paled in comparison to them.

At this moment, he gazed intently at this young man with a refined and elegant air, feeling a certain desire to befriend him, but at the same time, his wariness grew stronger. This formidable pass was a crucial strategic location for the nation, not a place that some ghostly or divine clan could casually roam. Was this Old Master Shi being rather reckless?
General Pei nodded and smiled at Li Qing in greeting, but then turned to look at the people coming from behind.

Elder Shi arrived riding on a two-colored cloud, his heart also shrouded in a deep gloom.

This Li Erlang is hiding his true strength far too well. He harbors a sharp blade in his heart but never shows it to anyone. How many years has it been since the Ghost Mother appeared in the world? How could he already possess the strength to assassinate a Yin God True Realm cultivator?

Even Elder Shi himself could only manage to hold his own against the Yin God True Man and escape unscathed; to turn the tables, he would need the right timing, location, and people...

"Tiannan Temple - Youhuangzi".

Ignoring the strange looks from the crowd, Li Qing connected with the Netherworld Contract of Qishan in Youtian, summoned the Ghost Mother back to Youtian, and sealed the mountain god's head inside.

At that moment, he tossed the "Zhong Kui Catching Ghosts" painting from his waist into the air.

In the blink of an eye, a chilling wind rose from all sides, and a dark aura rolled in, covering the sky. The Zhong Kui statue, which was only thirty feet tall, was immediately summoned by Li Qing. With an iron face and red beard, wearing a red official robe, one hand was wrapped with a soul-catching rope, and the other hand was forming a hand seal with two fingers. His tiger-like eyes were majestic, and he looked around the water in all directions.

That place is where many soldiers sacrificed their lives.

Li Qing stepped on the Dipper, turning the Southern Dipper Spirit Lamp back to the azure color of the morning star, with blue representing the power of longevity. On the other hand, he silently chanted the soul-summoning technique he had obtained from a rogue cultivator in the East Sea.

He wanted to summon the spirits of the more than sixty brave warriors and soldiers of the South whose bodies had been destroyed.

The Taoist priest performed a ritual, and the great image of Zhong Kui spread his large palm to gather the scattered remnants of spirits, protecting them in his palm. Later, Li Qing would use soil from the underworld and wood to nourish the souls to make memorial tablets and build temples for them. He would then use the profound yin energy to nurture and refine their spirits. After half a century, the remnants of the spirits would be able to return to their original state, making them among the best spirits in the Yin God Temple.

This is not a particularly rare technique. In the Heavenly Capital Realm, where the traces of the Six Heavenly Ghosts are indelible, there are far too many similar Yin-world techniques.

The only difference is that the resources for establishing temples in the underworld are extremely scarce these days. Even the major clans in Jinling struggle to support a temple... But Li Qing is not lacking in resources. In theory, as long as he is not afraid of being the first to act, he could even open another "City of the Unjustly Dead".

As Li Qing silently summoned the spirit, the generals and gatekeepers from all sides rushed over. Upon hearing the name of Youhuangzi from Nanguan that day, they were all intrigued and asked questions in a low voice.

General Pei frowned as he recalled the intelligence he had gathered about the Southern Kingdom. Only then did he realize that this was the Immortal Sect of Tiannan Prefecture in the southwest.

Before the noisy horde of generals could even approach, Elder Shi flicked his sleeve, casting seventy-two water and fire talismans that formed a barrier, sealing off most of the river. He then turned and whispered to the silenced crowd:

"Do not disturb him!"

"Li Erlang borrowed the bodies of your comrades to die in their place, and now he is summoning their souls and will build a real Yinhuang Temple for them. This back and forth is a cause and effect that will be passed down for ten thousand generations."

"Let's observe his actions first, and refrain from making any noise."

Elder Shi had seen much of the world, and even if a true disciple of one of the Five Immortal Sects were to die unexpectedly, his Great Dao Sect would have similar means to restore their three souls.

If the myth of reincarnation and rebirth is nothing but a myth in the Heavenly Capital Realm, then extending one's lifespan for another lifetime is not without its own way out.

Therefore, the concept of ghosts and gods does not have a very good reputation in the current Heavenly Capital, but there are also many "ghosts and gods" in various immortal sects because of this.

After Li Qing collected the souls of the generals into the "Zhong Kui Catching Ghosts Picture" and then infused them with a stream of profound Yin Qi to nourish their spirits, he raised his head again, and thousands of eyes in the arena were all turned towards him.

"Should we retreat first?"

Li Qing had no intention of showing off in front of them, as the pursuits of humans and immortals were different, and there was no need for it.

He turned to ask the general and Elder Shi a question, but his movements were swift. He took a step and instantly traversed several miles, landing back on the rear warship. He nodded to Fairy Mo Ling and greeted her again.

This back-and-forth was enough to cause a world-shaking change in the entire Heavenly Capital cultivation world, which deeply shocked Fairy Mo Ling.

She had long known that Li Qing was capable and that the Ghost Mother behind him was no pushover, but she never expected that Li Qing would dare to dance on the edge of a knife, risking his life at any moment, and hunting down even the Yin God True Realm cultivators as prey!
After pondering for a long time, Fairy Mo Ling finally sighed softly and bowed to Li Qing:
"Brother Dao's methods are truly remarkable, but... it's best not to do this too often. A wise man doesn't stand under a dangerous wall. Please cherish your path!"

This statement was not just empty rhetoric; it was based on Fairy Mo Ling's personal experience of witnessing the sect's destruction.

In the past, her sect also had a Dao Seed with the talent to transcend realms, but if you walk by the river often enough, you're bound to get your shoes wet. If she were to slip up, this fellow Daoist…

Li Qing clearly took this advice to heart. He exchanged glances with the many generals and old Taoists who were stunned on the river, and then turned his head and chuckled.

"I know."

"But if I don't show my strength like this, I'm afraid some unknown hothead in the immortal sect might fall into someone's trap and have their eyes on me."

"This time it went smoothly. With the mountain god as the great medicine, my Dao foundation is probably nearing complete integration..."

Li Qing glanced meaningfully at the old Taoist priest, a subtle smile playing on her lips.

Perhaps the various immortal sects are unaware that his underworld is named Qishan, but it is likely that many have already begun to have designs on it.

A forbidden weapon is most threatening when it is not drawn, but first, you must let the surrounding wolves know that you have such a weapon in your hands.

Otherwise, all those little devils from the immortal sects would come knocking on my door, scheming and clinging to me one after another, which would be quite a nuisance...

(End of this chapter)