The Path to Immortality Begins with the Life-Extending Lamp

Chapter 244 Timely Support

"Li...Qing?"

The Taoist Taixu murmured and pondered the name, but he couldn't recall any immortal sect with a powerful cultivator surnamed Li who was skilled in the art of entering dreams with one's primordial spirit.

As Taixu asked his question, a sudden flash of inspiration emerged from the depths of his memory. The light originated from the hazy depths of his dream, and its brilliance grew stronger and stronger until it pierced through Taixu's sea of ​​consciousness, shattering all illusions.

Only pale blue paper butterflies fluttered and danced in the depths of the Great Void's memory. After swirling and circling three or four times, Lingying's figure took shape from the dream.

"This is……"

Upon seeing that figure from his dream, the Taoist Taixu's hand gesture, which had just been raised to his chest, instantly transformed into a sharp sword finger.

Deep within that dream, there appeared to be a Taoist priest in brocade robes surrounded by spiritual light. As this Taoist priest wandered in the night with a lamp, his true form and image were reflected in the sea of ​​consciousness in the void.

This was no Taoist priest at all. It was a savage and sinister white-skeletal dragon, a dense array of soul-summoning hands, and an extremely rich and profound Yin energy.

Who exactly is this person?

Just as the Taoist Taixu was feeling suspicious and wary, he saw the hazy, brocade-clad Taoist in the dream suddenly raise his right hand. It was an arm completely stained with a deep, dark color, made entirely of black jade, and it was prying open the supreme laws in the gap between reality and illusion.

The next instant, a piercing cracking sound was heard. The Taoist Taixu's vision went black, his mind was stinging, and his body went limp, causing him to fall behind the wall.

Senior Brother Chen, who was leaning against the earthen wall in the distance with both legs broken, had been watching Master Taixu closely. When he saw Master Taixu suddenly collapse after being inexplicably stunned for a few moments, he could only sigh and close his eyes helplessly.

Taixu has reached its limit; we have no more fighting power left...

When the Daoist arrived, he was nineteen years old, full of vigor and high spirits. Only now did the terrifying nature of You Tian reveal itself to them through the various gruesome deaths of his fellow disciples.

Before the long sigh had even subsided, a young voice, tinged with frivolity and coolness, suddenly rang out from not far away.

"My Taoist skills are not proficient, so I can only enter your dream in such a crude way. I hope you will forgive me, fellow Taoist!"

Li Qing spoke in a loud voice, tinged with apology, and with a swing of his right arm, which was colder than most people's, he directly supported the limp body of the Taoist Taixu from behind.

Using dreams as a medium and the Mahakala incantation as its core, Li Qing's technique is a perfect curse-killing technique. What gentle method of entering dreams could there be? It can only brutally break the boundary between dreams and the real world.

Just as Li Qing entered the arena, thick clouds surged, and the Xuan Yin Qi formed auspicious clouds that rolled for ten miles. Paper soldiers and horses waved banners and held spears. A one-horned ghost general, seemingly a mountain ghost released from its cage, had a majestic and terrifying true ghost form that was forty-seven feet tall. The single horn on its forehead was burning with crimson flames, making it look extremely ferocious.

However, this evil spirit had a respectful expression between its brows, and at this moment it obediently carried the carriage of rebirth on its right shoulder, and then landed in this desolate underworld.

"Unicorn, do you know where this realm is, the underworld? And who is its ruler?"

Li Qing lifted Tai Xu with his right hand, stopping him from falling. After looking around, he threw out several strands of red, white, and yellow light from his sleeve, which struck the three dying Taoists. Then he turned to ask the one-horned ghost general in ghost language about the reason.

In the ghostly realm of Youtian, there exists a set of chilling laws governing the ghostly path. Among the various underworlds, many old ghosts have sought refuge in "Fengdu Heaven" for mutual support, for humans have their own way of life, and ghosts have their own path of ghosts.

However, even the One-Horned Ghost General was not entirely clear about the situation. With his blood-red eyes like copper bells, he fiercely surveyed the surrounding shadows, swore an oath to the ghosts in the darkness, and then shook his head from side to side.

"Lord, I do not know either..."

The One-Horned Demon will be born on a small island in the southeast of the Netherworld, a few miles in circumference. After devouring all the other ghosts and spirits born in that Netherworld, it will use that small island as its core and often roam the hundred miles of the Netherworld, feeding on the lonely souls and spirits floating in the void.

But he never actually left that Netherworld Island for hundreds of miles. After the six heavens shattered, natural disasters such as wind blades and fire rain often came from outside the boundary. That small Netherworld Continent was still a place where he could find a place to survive.

It can be considered a guardian ghost with a sliver of land to cling to, not a wandering predator.

Therefore, Li Qing's question made the one-horned ghost general shake his head vigorously...

The Taoist priest took over, turning the tables and using paper soldiers and horses to roam the earthen Taoist formation. When he moved the few Taoist priests that couldn't be put together intact to the front of the Rebirth Chariot, Senior Brother Chen, whose mind was still clear, couldn't help but ask in surprise.

"Who...fellow immortal...are you?"

While the Taoist priest surnamed Chen was still frantically asking questions, the Faceless Rampant Lord had already silently stopped in front of the Taoist priest lying on the side of the earthen wall. He looked down at the person in front of him, and simply placed the bruised ghost hand of the wronged dead on his shoulder. The two of them immediately disappeared from the spot.

The Five Ghosts Shifting Technique!

As one of Li Qing's favorite paper spirits, its advancement was particularly noticeable, and it was now no different from a real day-roaming ghost judge.

Nowadays, the faceless madman no longer carries any talismans behind him, but is dressed in a paper mourning garment that resembles mourning clothes. The three talismans, namely "The Big Rat Cooking and Killing", "The Landscape of the Sea and Mountains", and "Zhong Kui Catching Ghosts", are bound in the scroll at his waist, making him look like a "ghost master".

From the shadows on all sides, a series of explosions rang out. It was General Jia Chang who had pulled his arms out with all his might. With a single tug, his massive arms, powerful enough to move mountains and seas, uprooted a crystal fungus that was more than ten feet long and used it as a giant club to sweep across the land.

The Flying Corpse General, arms crossed over its chest, hovered motionless in the dark sky, endless corpse smoke continuously gushing from its orifices and mouth and nose, instantly transforming into a canopy of corpse haze that blotted out the sun, almost a reappearance of the Western Mang Corpse Cave of yesteryear.

Three or five wandering demons pounced on the daytime wandering ghosts in the shadows. Immediately, black energy surged from those ghosts, and they were directly possessed and controlled by them, fighting against the other ghosts instead...

The Jiazi Paper God has sixty forms, each with its own unique methods. The "Chang" refers to those who recruit and subjugate followers. Each of the sixty "Chang" has its own unique methods and techniques, retaining its original origins. Compared to the changgui (a type of ghost) and daobing (a type of soldier), they are naturally more rampant and agile.

Linglong, the master of the madness, pointed a finger at the dark sky, covering the cloud and rain ghost realm for thirty miles, and summoned a swarm of madmen to slaughter hundreds of ghosts. At the same time, she filled the four "Southern Dipper Longevity Lamps" arranged side by side on the carriage shaft with the ghost blood lamp oil from the Sun Travel Realm.

"Thank goodness you ran into my master, otherwise, you would all be dismembered, your throats slit, or burned to a crisp..."

"Only my master's longevity lamp ritual can forcibly prolong your lives. If you all survive in three days... remember, each person will receive 300,000 taels of silver as compensation for the ritual materials, not a penny less."

The Southern Dipper Longevity Scripture is undoubtedly the foremost technique for survival, and even Linglong was only now truly witnessing its incredible power for the first time.

These three Taoist priests, who were almost sentenced to death, were actually saved by the secret power of the Southern Dipper Longevity Ritual. Their remaining essence and blood flowed backward, new blood and vital energy were generated in their essence palaces, their primordial spirits returned to their lower palaces, and their dimmed three souls were stabilized once more. However, these four lamps were quite expensive. The human skin paper used to make the lamps was painstakingly obtained by her using the skinning of the Day-Wandering Demon. The master was generous, but these creatures had to be returned double!
Given this situation, how could Senior Brother Chen not understand?

Although the newly arrived troops exuded an evil aura from top to bottom, their Taoist rituals and practices were undeniable, and the four life-extending lamps were clearly meant to provide them with the utmost protection.

Perhaps a powerful cultivator from one of the immortal sects has arrived?
When Senior Brother Chen and Daoist Taixu looked closely at Li Qing, they were dumbfounded, as if they had seen a ghost.

This person who came was extremely young, probably no older than thirty, and his cultivation level was only at the upper foundation of the Purple Mansion realm. Yet he dared to come alone to help them.

Having been reborn from the dead and received great karma from Li Qing, the two naturally couldn't possibly look down on his low cultivation level. However, at this moment, they still couldn't help but feel a slight sense of disappointment.

Apart from losing both legs, Senior Brother Chen still had nearly half of his magical power remaining, and his consciousness was quite clear. After being thrown onto the paper horse by the Faceless One, he managed to turn his body and immediately turned to tell Li Qing about the situation of this desolate underworld.

"In this Netherworld, there is a vengeful ghost lord of the Yin God Realm. He has three ghost heads, and when the three heads bite down at the same time, he once shattered our Dharma Boat and Dharma Altar, and even suppressed and killed the Elder Altar Master."

"These soul plants in the domain can absorb people's divine sense. The longer one stays there, the more one's divine sense is damaged, and one becomes extremely exhausted..."

"Fellow Daoist, we should leave this place first!"

Now is a time to race against time, so he and his companions naturally didn't waste any words and concisely told Li Qing the two most important clues.

The Yin God-level Lord of the Underworld is a three-headed ghost that is even stronger than the Five Ghosts General in Lingnan. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for it to destroy the mid-grade Dharma Boat and Dharma Altar despite the support of more than a dozen Purple Mansion Daoists. This is the Qingxu Dao Sect's pioneering Dharma Boat, which is armed to the teeth!

They had no right to force Li Qing to rescue them, but with a way out ahead, they couldn't very well let Li Qing retreat first. So they told Li Qing the information and the best course of action, and let the Taoist priest choose for himself.

"Really? A three-headed demon?"

The Taoist's unhurried voice rang out, making Taixu and the other man even more anxious.

A young Taoist priest dressed in a cloud-brocade robe slowly approached, flipped his palm, and gently pinched two bait pills that exuded a pure and spiritual Taoist charm. He then gestured towards a certain place in the eastern part of the Netherworld.

"Oh, is it that one?"

As Li Qing looked in that direction, sure enough, on the desolate soul grass in the distance, a terrifying three-headed ghost king stood with his arms crossed. His head was divided into three parts, each resembling a shriveled, skinned skull. On the dark yellow, shriveled ghost head, there were still bits of flesh and blood dripping from the corners of his mouth, probably... the remnants of the Daoists who had been eaten alive!

Its flesh-colored, shriveled head was completely hairless, like a corpse that had just crawled out of a rotten coffin. Compared to it, the One-Horned Ghost General could be described as robust and handsome, a reincarnation of Lanling.

This creature is truly hideous and terrifying, enough to send chills down the spine of any living person.

However, the Taoist Li Qing who came into the dream showed no fear in the face of it. He leisurely handed over two pills of only average quality, and his words were quite relaxed.

His pills were far inferior to the elixirs of the various immortal sects, but they were still pills made from the fruit of the Azure Spirit Treasure Tree, a Netherworld Plant from the Eastern Fence Garden. After taking them, they could dispel the gloom and corruption in the Netherworld and also slightly replenish some magical power.

This pill can only be found in the Qishan region, and it is an essential food for traveling through the Netherworld!
"There are only five of you left in the expanded altar of the Qingxu Dao Sect..."

Seeing the two accept the pills without hesitation and swallow them, Li Qing grabbed at the air with his right hand, and the altar in the Rebirth Carriage instantly lit up. The Six-Nine Primordial Law Restriction supported a huge canopy, and countless talismans kept moving within the barrier.

The old ghosts of the Netherworld are far more terrifying than the Yin Gods of Heaven. Their unknown tricks and the survival-of-the-fittest, cult-like advancement system ensure that these ghostly things will never have a low ceiling.

Even though Li Qing underestimated the enemy and made a mistake, he still activated the Rebirth Altar immediately, not daring to be negligent in the slightest.

This palanquin and the altar within it represent the culmination of Li Qing's hard work since he entered the Dao. Unlike the magic boats in the immortal sects, which require consideration of cost-effectiveness, the palanquin of rebirth has been filled with tens of millions of various resources, covering almost all of Li Qing's opportunities and treasures. It should be able to withstand this old ghost for at least a few rounds.
The old wooden box, bleeding profusely, had somehow appeared in Li Qing's palm. Inside was his greatest source of confidence - the Everlasting Regret Ghost Scissors!

A chilling malice instantly rose from Li Qing, startling Chen Daoren and Taixu Daoren back to their senses. Only then did they begin to calmly confront Li Daoren.

"Yes, Senior Brother, the fact that you were able to ask this fellow Daoist to rescue someone means you must possess extraordinary methods, methods powerful enough to contend with the old ghost of the Yin God."

An ancient treasure passed down through generations? Or a forbidden artifact left behind by an ancient clan?
Perhaps it was the elixir that dispelled the gloomy aura of the Netherworld from corroding the Great Void, or perhaps he had caught his breath and calmed down. In that instant, the Great Void Daoist understood everything and placed all his last hope on Li Qing.

The three-headed corpse demons in the desolate wilderness were also stung by the tyrannical malice of the Long-Hate Demon. Their three terrifying, ugly, and greedy withered heads turned around at the same time. Their deep eye sockets were empty, but their chilling gazes fell on Li Qing.

What kind of monster is that?

Dragonspine Corpse? A Soul-Summoning Ghost? A Ghost Mother? Or perhaps a person from the mortal world...?

The aura emanating from the Taoist priest in the distance was too mixed, with a strong ghostly aura and a strong human aura, the two intertwined, making it difficult for it to distinguish.

But... it doesn't matter, at least I can eat a few bites!

The three-headed ghoul stiffly turned its head, its decaying bones cracking incessantly. But with this movement, the Netherworld, which was like an underground world constantly emitting a faint glow, was immediately overwhelmed. Many soul grasses and crystal fungi fell down in swathes, and Linglong Changzhu's Cloud and Rain Ghost Realm was squeezed and deformed in the blink of an eye.

The current Linglong Chang is no longer comparable to the one of the past. She has peeled the skin off the mountain god to make paper clothes. With the blessing of the altar, her Cloud and Rain Ghost Realm is in no way inferior to the Yuan Magnetic Heavy Domain of the Three Emperors' Dao Child. She has truly touched the edge of the Yin God Realm's combat power.

But the old ghost had just stretched out its withered claws, and the ghost realm was already struggling so much?

Li Qing narrowed his eyes slightly, raised the life-extending lamp he was holding in his left hand, and the secret power on the royal altar was enhanced. In the blink of an eye, the Dao of Stars and the Dao of Fire intertwined and formed fifty-four star points on the side of the life-extending lamp.

This star grows as soon as it enters the sky, initially dazzling. As it soars into the heavens, the star grows larger and larger, while the starlight fades, and the rough, dark red material, like a meteorite, becomes more and more obvious, hovering and moving to meet the great terror head-on.

The instant the two touched, an extremely dazzling light exploded, and a violent wave of high-temperature air surged out. Fifty-four consecutive cracking sounds almost pierced the hearing of everyone, nearly causing them to lose their hearing.

The series of explosions completely crushed the surrounding area of ​​the underworld into a huge rift valley!

The Southern Bright Fire Star, blessed by the altar, might be somewhat cumbersome in combat with cultivators, but when it comes to attacking such a ferocious creature, it's comparable to a powerful weapon from the sect...

(End of this chapter)