The Path to Immortality Begins with the Life-Extending Lamp

Chapter 253 The Contemporary Seekers of the Dao
"Taiyue Shangxing Sect, Taiyi Dao Sect, Qingxu Dao Sect, Sanhuang Dao Sect..."

"These four colossal beings are the Heavenly Realm of the Southern Kingdom, not just a few Yin God True Persons on the surface!"

"The leader may be ambitious, but how many eras have passed? The Yang God? That cannot change a rule that has already been established."

Li Yu, a member of the imperial clan, slowly walked over from one side of the Immortal Peak, gazing at the spirited contemporary Daoists atop the peak. The younger generation of the Five Directions Immortal Sects was becoming increasingly vigorous. The participants in the Grand Competition were only second-rate; the strongest were sitting on the viewing platform, overlooking the world!

Taiyi Dao has devoted tremendous effort to collecting the immortal bodies and Daoist forms of various prefectures in the Southern Kingdom, gathering the seeds of cultivation together in an attempt to suppress the future of Tiandu for a thousand years.

Look at the true disciples on the Taiyi Platform. The aura of each true disciple is subtly much higher than that of the true disciples of other Daoist sects. Among them, the two Daoist disciples, Xiyue and Lingxu, each possess more than one magic weapon, making them genuine Yin God combat power...

The Qingxu Dao Sect is somewhat inferior, but it is the leader in the field of talismanic arts. Unlike other Daoist traditions, the talismanic arts claim to bestow celestial talismans by heaven. Each disciple receives a different talisman after entering the Dao, such as the "Child's Talisman," "Captain's Talisman," "Daoist General's Talisman," and "Heavenly Official's Talisman."

Each immortal register contains different directions of Daoist teachings, and the precepts and taboos contained within them are also different, just like a living "Daoist scripture". However, as long as the precepts are followed and the disciples are not too bad, the Qingxu Daoist Sect has accumulated 198 Purple Mansion Realm registers and four Yin God Realm quasi-registered registers over the generations.

Even if a Yin God or True Person perishes, as long as one person inherits their Immortal Register, the Great Dao will continue and endure forever!

This art of talismans is truly like a strange and ingenious mechanism within the realm of immortals.

The existence of that one almost immortal Grand Master in the Taiyue Shangxing Sect alone is enough to make it ineffable...

The Three Sovereigns' Great Dao Sect summons all spirits, commands the gods of the nine mountains, controls the eight water deities, protects the water spirits, welcomes the fire officials, opens the mountains, the wood spirits create a cableway, and the metal soldiers wield weapons... The secret power of the Three Sovereigns' Daoist scriptures is continuous, even able to control the gods, deploy troops, and possess boundless power!
These four immortal sects, known as the "Great Dao Sects," are far more terrifying than other sects. Any one of them, if it were to fully unleash its resources, could rival a small country.

Li Yutai understood perfectly how deeply rooted the immortal cultivation accumulated in the Southern Kingdom over eight hundred years must be.

This "Dragon-Raising Lord" comes from the East Sea. Although he has a great reputation, he is clearly not very familiar with the power struggles between the behemoths of the Heavenly Capital Realm.

When the "Eleven Luminaries Heavenly Palace" was filling vacancies and selecting this person, Li Yu also made some efforts from behind. Now, given the favor of redeeming people in Lin Yuan Mountain, Sun-Luminaries Li Yu naturally has to give him some guidance to prevent him from really going down the road of no return for that "Heavenly One"!
In his view, the Eleven Luminaries of the Heavenly Palace, as the first to stand out in this world, will inevitably have to pay a bloody price if they want to carve out a niche for themselves on this earthly capital and gain a foothold.

Apart from the twin spirit gods Tianyi Taiyi, every other celestial being could become a corpse on the road.

Clearly, everyone, including "Rahu," "Yinghuo," "Ketu," and "Taiyang," understood this principle, but no one could resist the temptation, and no one believed that they would be a victim on the road to success.

"I see!"

The Dragon Lord gazed in all directions at the highest platforms, but in the end, his gaze involuntarily settled on Li Qing, and he nodded in agreement in a low voice.

He silently thought to himself, 'Linyuan Mountain in the southwest is probably not someone to be trifled with either.'

Yin Zujun, who is also a Great Master, the ruthless Crane Lord, the Tiannan Temple Master who harbors boundless schemes, and the Ghost Gentleman...

It is unknown what the Dragon Lord witnessed during his months on Lin Yuan Mountain, but at this moment, he is extremely wary of Tian Nan Guan.

Li Yu's words resonated deeply with him. A Daoist system that had already established order could not be easily shaken by a nascent Yang God. Otherwise, the Northern Kingdom, relying on that God of the State, would have already unified the capital.

The identities of the two individuals from the Heavenly Palace are already public knowledge among the higher-ups of the immortal sects. The fact that they are allowed to be here suggests that the five immortal sects have a considerable amount of information about the Heavenly Palace.

During that grand competition, on the viewing platform, one could see the various Daoist sects and immortal schools from all directions, with their true disciples standing in abundance. Half of the elites of the entire immortal era were gathered here.

A prince from the underworld who wields incantations with qi, a son-in-law from Qingqiu who masters demonic arts, and the five paths of the immortal sects, each with its own direct descendant...

"As expected of the once-in-half-century Immortal Sect Competition, these are the contemporary elites of the five Immortal Sects."

Li Qing and Qu Hua slowly moved to the edge of the cloud platform and looked down at the stage where the grand competition was taking place. In front of each of the thirteen immortal peak cloud platforms, a water screen was also hung, recording the battle in progress onto the water mirror.

Within the immortal sects, a direct disciple often has numerous subordinates, spirits, and even guardian soldiers. It is extremely rare to see such a scene of one-on-one competition of Taoist magic and supernatural powers outside.

On one side, one can wield the Five Thunders, summon wind and rain, and turn beans into soldiers... all sorts of Taoist supernatural powers are readily available. On the other side, swordsmanship, cloud soaring, mountain moving, cloud talismans... all sorts of Taoist magic are equally impressive. The Taoist seedlings in the immortal mountain display their skills on the martial arts arena, imprinting their names on the flower list.

The scholars of the academies in the prefecture below and the nobles of the country looked up at the immortals who could stir up the wind and clouds with a flick of their palms. Only at such times did they clearly understand the difference between immortals and mortals.

That is not a difference in so-called magical combat power. Warriors, sons, and national heroes... all can be cultivated through the path of the scholar-official, and they can also possess the great power to move mountains and split seas.

But if we're really talking about immortality, then after a hundred years they'll just be a handful of dust, while a casually accomplished Taoist can live a life of eternal youth, a life that is truly enviable.

The scholars who had met Li Qing once in the morning suddenly understood when they saw the Taoist standing with his hands behind his back on the four highest cloud platforms.

This seemingly invisible Taoist is indeed an extraordinary figure in the immortal sect!
"The recently renowned Ghostly Gentleman of Lin Yuan Immortal Mountain, who slew the gods of the Imperial Dynasty, is the one you saw this morning." "Of course, this is also a classmate who studied with you and me in the academy. Have you all heard of the matter of Guihua Mansion?"

Seeing that everyone was paying attention, one of the scholars from the Red Bean Academy hesitated for a moment before bowing and revealing the identity of this Li Erlang.

After all, the Li family of Guihua Prefecture also came from the academy. Two members of the collateral branch of the Li family use three-tailed yellow foxes as their beast tamers. In recent years, they have gained considerable fame in the academy and can be considered a prominent family. They must be remembered well so that no one in the academy might offend this person.

Looking up at that towering figure, higher than the celestial peaks and cloud platforms, he and his classmates seemed like mere dust on the ground, lacking even the courage to try and climb up to him...

The person at the head of the table, Li Qing, possessed such profound cultivation that his soul pressure was as vast as the ocean. No cold light or gaze could escape his perception, and he had long since recognized these former classmates.

Fortunately, the Immortal Sect Competition was more than halfway through. He greeted Daoist Qu Hua, flicked his sleeve, turned and took his leave, transforming into qi and riding the wind back to the cloud platform of Tiannan Temple.

However, in the midst of his movement, a new stream of light separated, instantly transforming into a graceful and exquisite woman who landed on the ground. With a light flick of her sleeves, she headed down the mountain to the guest residence platform to invite several scholars to come up to the platform for a chat.

Looking at the young figure who moved freely and was not burdened by fame or status, the disciples of Taiyue Shangzong unconsciously felt a greater sense of goodwill towards him.

Clearly, this Daoist Youhuang, Li Qing, was not as terrifying and aloof as rumored; his temperament was much calmer and more stable than that of Daoist Qu Hua.

However, if someone in the Purple Mansion can kill gods, and if this person attains enlightenment, would the Taoist temple on the Immortal Peak in the southwest be qualified to become the fifth "Great Dao Sect"?

Among the younger generation, there are quite a few Taoists with superb skills and boundless supernatural powers. The foundation of the immortal path, accumulated over eight hundred years, has begun to flourish in this generation. Several of the thirty-six great supernatural powers of the Heavenly Gang have been mastered by people, but there are very few who have truly fought against the Yin Gods with the Purple Mansion.

The Jade Void Daoist of the Qingxu Dao Sect possessed divine power that reached the heavens. A flying immortal talisman descended from beyond the Milky Way, and the Yin God talisman chose its master, using it to defeat the two Yin Gods who had come to covet it.

Besides Xi Yue and Bu Lingxu, the Taiyi Dao also has an unnamed Daoist disciple who was rumored to have killed the Yin God of the South Sea Merfolk Royal Court, staining a hundred miles of sea with blood...

At least on the surface, Li Qing is the third Taoist of the younger generation to have such military achievements!

Even though he relies heavily on unorthodox methods like ghosts and spirits from the underworld, who would dare to underestimate him?

Then one could see auspicious clouds swirling between the immortal peaks and cloud platforms, with the various sects of the immortal sects nodding to each other. Li Qing stood alone on the cloud platform overlooking the abyss, standing tall and majestic. There were no banners or canopies, and he looked down over the competition venue. Yet, his scale was in no way inferior to that of the other immortal sects.

Not long after, the Linglong Crazed Master manipulated the rain clouds, sweeping up the students of the Red Bean Palace, who then ascended the cloud platform of the Tiannan Temple.

The students at the academy, learning through literature and disciplined by etiquette, were guided by the scholars to the path of enlightenment. It was truly a friendship worth remembering.

Li Qing is not a Taoist master, and he would not regard his many classmates and friends as worthless weeds. Even though he has some connection with the Mu siblings among them, Li Qing no longer dwells on it.

"It has been eleven or twelve years since we parted ways. Are you all well?"

With a flick of his hand, he pointed into the void, and instantly auspicious clouds gathered, transforming into several prayer mats that floated in the air.

Friends from my youth, now guests of both immortals and mortals, gather together for such a grand event, each with plenty to talk about.

However, among the scholars of Hongdou Academy, only four or five had a prior relationship with Li Qing, so they naturally did not hesitate to accept Li Qing's invitation.

Even if scholars cannot achieve immortality, they can still be considered masters of unorthodox arts. They have achieved great success in the Six Arts and can control water and fire and wield weapons through calligraphy, mathematics, chess, and other arts. Just like the nobles of Jinling today, they can still live for one or two hundred years.

This wasn't the first time such a scholar had invited someone to cultivate immortality, and his demeanor was remarkably graceful.

However, a subtle ripple flashed in the eyes of the young lady from the Mu family, but she suppressed it and thanked the scholars and took her seat.

"It's been a long time since I've returned. I wonder how things have changed in my hometown of Jiangnan. Some of you, however, have changed quite a bit!"

Li Qing pointed to the cloud platform, where a table woven with azure clouds stood, incense burned in a silver censer, and wisps of purple smoke rose, calming the soul, stabilizing the mind, and enhancing enlightenment.

Several former students of the academy, upon smelling the fragrance, immediately calmed their tense minds. Seeing that Li Qing's features almost overlapped with those of the gentle young man from years ago, they became bolder and began to talk about everything from Jiangnan to the southern regions, from the techniques of Taoist priests to the immortal methods of longevity.

The Immortal Sect Grand Competition serves not only as an assessment and ranking of the younger generation from various sects, but also as a necessary means to unite the entire cultivation community within the Southern Kingdom.

Scholars who entered the Dao through poetry and books, and Daoists who sought immortality in Zhulu!

The Yin God Immortal who will one day control the heavens and earth, and the Three Realms Hero who can single-handedly resist an army, will be right here...

(End of this chapter)