The Path to Immortality Begins with the Life-Extending Lamp

Chapter 239 An Unexpected Visit

Inside the Hanlin Pavilion, people moving between the upper and lower floors circled the central cloud ladder, and couldn't help but glance sideways at the study on the fourteenth floor.

In front of the study and the literary mansion, many scholars gathered in small groups, some leaning against the spiral staircase and corridor, others huddled on the side of the platform, whispering and pointing at what had just happened in the study.

"What's going on in the pavilion? Why are so many scholars gathered in the study on the fourteenth floor?"

The scholars of Hongdou Academy had just arrived from Jiangnan and were unaware of the strange occurrences in this land of nine mountains and eight rivers. However, upon entering this treasure pavilion, they saw that within the circular tower, several floors were filled with people discussing the study on that floor, which naturally surprised them.

"Did you just arrive?"

Several people on the thirteenth floor witnessed the major event on the floor opposite. They glanced at the other people indifferently, then looked at the floor opposite with a hint of envy and said, "Just now, a cultivator entered the study on the fourteenth floor and ordered a book on gold-flecked paper worth seven million Dao Zhu. It can be said that he spent a fortune."

It should be known that this golden flower paper is the first-class among calligraphic works. Even imperial edicts and official documents are all written on this golden flower paper. A single sheet of golden flower paper is worth more than a thousand pieces of gold, and it is also a treasure that many Taoist priests can use for their prayers and petitions.

“Seven million… Dao Zhu?” The scholars who arrived later looked at each other, finding the number hard to believe.

Even the lowest denomination Dao Zhu from the Southern Kingdom is forged from the refined mithril and spirit gold of the East Sea. One zhu can be melted down to make a magic-breaking crossbow bolt. Dao Zhu is both spirit gold and an extremely rare strategic reserve. Even the scholars of many aristocratic families usually only have a few hundred or so Dao Zhu in their hands and dare not use them lightly.

"Who would have such a grand gesture? Could it be that a true master from the Daoist sect has appeared?"

The scholars who had just come at the invitation of the Immortal Sect's Grand Competition were immediately taken aback, looking in surprise and doubt towards the fourteenth floor of the Treasure Pavilion where the crowd was gathered.

But with so many people, what can you even see?
Which scholar-official in this prefecture and county wouldn't want to get up close and admire the immortal who is said to have the longevity of Peng Zu? If one could catch his eye, not to mention a chance encounter with the immortals, even receiving a wonderful technique would benefit one for life!

Just as the wandering scholars on all levels of the pavilion were eagerly anticipating what was to come, the head of the study emerged from the crowd gathered around the scholars in the study's offices. Looking at the throng of scholars filling the multi-level circular hall, he said with a wry smile:

"Gentlemen, there is no need to look any further. That... Venerable Master has already left just now."

In the South, it is often said that humans, ghosts, and immortals are revered together, but clearly, the immortal cultivators of the Xuanmen who live long lives and the ghosts and gods of the underworld who have long lifespans are the supreme paths that the people of the South, from all thirty-six clans, admire.

Even noble families and powerful clans consider it an honor to send their disciples to the immortal sects. The number of immortal cultivators in a clan also foreshadows the rise and fall of the clan.

Most Taoist priests above the Purple Mansion level have achieved great success in their cultivation, making it truly rare to see their immortal countenance.

Has this person also quietly departed today?

"Master?" Some aristocratic scholars keenly caught the message revealed in the words of the scholar in charge of the study, and asked with a hint of surprise and doubt.

"Supreme Person" is a respectful title among Taoists for those with higher virtue and power, who have more than enough foundation in the Purple Palace but have not yet formed the Yin Spirit.
A mere Purple Mansion cultivator can casually squander millions of Dao Zhu? It seems this person must be either a core member of an immortal sect or a direct descendant of a major sect.

"Does Steward Xu know who this immortal cultivator is? I've heard he's quite ambitious, planning to empty your entire study!"

Among the acquaintances, many were curious and even more eager to know the identity of that immortal cultivator, teasing and urging the scholar in charge of the study.

"Sigh! You shouldn't try to force it. Whether you have a destiny to become an immortal depends on your innate talent and aptitude. If you don't have a destiny to become an immortal, you can't force it."

The seemingly pedantic person in charge of the study was actually quite open-minded. He had heard about the black-bearded scholar's experience of seeking immortality in his youth. In a good mood after just closing a huge order, he couldn't help but offer some advice.

"That one isn't from the Daoist sect, so he can't help you. It's fate that the disciples of your clan don't have the innate talent. There's nothing wrong with constantly cultivating the Four Classics and Five Arts and being a down-to-earth member of the gentry!"

"That's a high-ranking immortal from Tiannan Prefecture, someone quite rare... surnamed Li?"

The person in charge patted the black-bearded scholar on the shoulder, shook his head slightly, and then waved to disperse the many onlookers, breaking their enthusiasm for watching the excitement from the thirteenth or fourteenth floor of the pavilion. Only then did he excitedly return to his study.

With his storage bag filled with provisions equivalent to seven million taels of silver, he could receive half of the profits. But even this legal half of the profits would almost double his net worth.

The disparity in resources between the Immortal Sect and these minor aristocratic families in the prefectures is too vast; even a slight leak could change their fate!

While the head of the study was still immersed in surprise, Li Qing had already strolled around the market and was about to return to the temple.

However, as he passed the last ancient street in the market, Li Qing couldn't help but feel a jolt in his heart. As he passed through this ancient street, his terrifying soul pressure swept across the shop at the very back of the street, and with just a superficial glance, he spotted a slightly yellowed bone fragment on the counter.

"Huh? This is..." The bone fragments looked familiar, having turned yellow and black over the long years, but the ancient inscriptions on them seemed to proclaim the extraordinary nature of this object.

Li Qing stopped and crossed the entire street, turning her gaze to the bone fragments on the counter of the shop at the end of the street.

A distance of a thousand feet was meaningless in front of this cultivator at the Foundation Establishment of the Purple Mansion. On the withered black bone fragment, the three ancient seal characters "Qinglian Temple" could be faintly seen!
"Is it an ancient Buddhist concept that shares the same origin as the 'White Bone Contemplation'?"

The White Bone Temple had helped Li Qing a great deal before he entered the Purple Mansion, granting him early access to the Soul Dao authority to command the Paper Demon, but now it could no longer help him.

After establishing the foundation of the Immortal Purple Mansion, the next step is to condense the Yin Spirit. Once the Yin Spirit emerges, it signifies the entrustment of one's life. It is a primordial essence that can roam between the illusory and the real, the yin and yang, far more terrifying than any visualization or divine thought. When the Yin Spirit leaves the body, the Yang Spirit roams the heavens, and a single thought can travel hundreds of miles, enough to make any visualization pale in comparison.

"I never imagined that such an ordinary market could harbor such a hidden gem. However, let it remain hidden away in a corner, waiting for its destined owner!"

Li Qing never had much desire to possess the various opportunities, big and small, that were not closely related to her own life. She would only glance at them briefly before turning into clouds and flying away without lingering...

Having obtained 100,000 sheets of "Golden Flower Spirit Paper" from the Southern Kingdom in the market, I can take advantage of this time to further refine the "Royal Carriage of Rebirth," strengthen and reorganize the originally imperfect magical restrictions, and replace the original spirit paper.

This royal carriage is not merely a means of transportation for Li Qing, but also his paper altar and his heavy war machine.

The Rebirth Carriage and the Life-Extending Lamp are ritual implements that Li Qing has gradually refined from scratch since he began his cultivation. They are most suitable for his cultivation and should not be easily discarded.

In the final few weeks, Li Qing quietly refined the Rebirth Paper Restriction. The Rebirth Carriage had reached this stage, with more than six hundred restrictions, which was already in the category of high-grade magic artifacts. Each of these restrictions was mixed with Primordial Restriction, Altar Restriction, Paper Spirit Restriction, Yin Yang Restriction, and so on, making it extremely complex.

With spirit gold as bones and paper as body, all rampant spirits obey his commands and all ghosts tremble in fear.

If he wants to go any further, there will be many difficulties. All the legal restrictions and combinations that will be used in the future will need to be explored by Li Qing again. This difficulty is no less than starting his own lineage.

This is also why magical treasures are so rare in the cultivation world today. Only when various magical restrictions are combined to the extreme can a magical artifact be created with restrictions that resemble a divine wheel, thus having the potential to be upgraded to a magical treasure.

At this moment, Li Qing had only adjusted the many restrictions, mainly the Yin-Yang Breaking Escape and Hunyuan Altar Techniques. After adjusting them to more than 760 restrictions, he could no longer find a way forward. In the remaining days, he only refined the spirit paper a hundred times, tempering it into red flower gold foil, adding a few more gold decorations and red wrappings to the royal carriage, and also adding more profound foundation.

The Dao is called the Law, and the talisman is the prohibition. It is one of the fundamental principles of the Heavenly Dao. But how difficult it is to extract a few Dao essences and talismans from the vast universe, refine them into the prohibition, and achieve the perfect state of the artifact.

The Rebirth Carriage is different from the Life-Extending Lamp. The latter is the prototype of the life-extending magic treasure of the "Southern Dipper Life-Extending Scripture," with a clear path that yields benefits when followed step by step.

However, the Rebirth Carriage is merely a replica of the ancient treasure "Rebirth Sedan Chair." The path ahead is unclear. If one wishes to truly refine it all the way to the level of a magic treasure, one must still carefully study and comprehend the "Rebirth Sedan Chair."

"I heard that the sedan chair that traverses the realms of Yin and Yang fell into the hands of Lady White Bone and is no longer in the White Bone Path of Lingnan?"

"I'm afraid there might be some changes in this matter..."

Li Qing gently lifted the palanquin shaped like gold foil and red paper in his palm, and looked it over. He had poured most of his heart and soul into this magical artifact over the past ten years of his cultivation, and a sharper look appeared between his brows.

Regardless of what powerful backer Lady White Bone has found, he must get his hands on that "rebirth sedan chair" and examine it closely.

He poured so much effort into the Royal Carriage of Rebirth, and it was the cornerstone of the Paper God Altar Dharma; Li Qing simply could not abandon it.

Even if he had to fight that White Bone Lady, he would definitely "borrow" it to figure it out!

After calming down a bit, Li Qing put away the increasingly "divine" royal carriage, pushed open the palace door, and walked out.

The time spent on the ritual of refining the forbidden law and the ascension of the royal carriage exceeded thirty days, which had already taken up most of Li Qing's reserved leisure time.

In just a few days, the Immortal Sect Grand Competition will begin. At that time, Li Qing will face the Dao disciples and second-generation disciples of various Immortal Sects and Great Dao Sects. Almost every one of these figures possesses a magic weapon. Even someone like Bu Lingxu has two or three magic weapons in his hands. If someone like Taiyue Qu Hua has a considerable number of Yin gods and fierce ghosts at his command, he will not be far behind.

These second-generation immortals and core Dao disciples are probably no weaker than a mere Yin God or heretic; winning a place on the Flower Ranking is no easy feat...

As Li Qing emerged from the palace, his brows furrowed with a slightly more solemn air, exuding a more dashing air than usual. But as soon as he entered the residence where he usually took short breaks for cultivation, a red crane spread its wings and landed in the courtyard, carrying a book in its head, projecting a solitary message.

"Is Fellow Daoist Youhuang in the mountains? I wonder if I may bother you..."

(End of this chapter)