The Path to Immortality Begins with the Life-Extending Lamp

Chapter 271 Heavenly Ruins Dragon Palace
The ethereal light broke through the sky from the north of Tiandu, finally crossing the territory of the Great Zhou Dynasty and approaching the East Sea.

Han Yijun casually tossed Li Qing down from the cloud, looking down at the bruise on his palm caused by the Xuan Yin Root Qi, but his eyes showed no concern.

"The Heavenly Gods and Earthly Deities of the Imperial Dynasty are inherited from ancient times and are contrary to the Six Heavenly Gods and Demons. However, they have already gained momentum. Before they attain enlightenment, it is best to avoid them."

The gods of the Northern Dynasties flourished, establishing the five ranks of official positions, governing the emperor's domains, and managing the Three Mountains and Five Peaks, as well as the Hundred Rivers and Four Great Rivers. They had become the main protagonists of the Great Dao in this world.

Even though the spirit lords of the underworld who inherited the legacy of the Six Heavens still held taboos, they absolutely did not want to collide with this behemoth.

Unless... the Netherworld can truly reopen, and the Netherworld Soul Path can be repaired once again, the situation will be different.

"I know!"

Li Qing nodded in agreement. With a wave of his sleeve, Liu Yun sent Yuan Shi's energy sinking into the void, instantly transforming into a cluster of auspicious clouds that lifted the two of them up.

The pantheon of the Northern Dynasties was enormous, much like the God of Lishan, who was tricked and killed by Li Qing with the help of the Southern Kingdom at the battlefield of the Heavenly Barrier. People could be easily pulled out from within the Divine Palace of the State to fill the vacancies.

If we really have to confront them head-on, everyone has to think it over carefully!
When it came to that imperial dynasty, Li Qing didn't want to engage in any verbal sparring. He simply nodded slightly to the man in cold clothes and then made no further comment.

After a few breaths of silence, the auspicious clouds drifted gently, and the two lords landed on the sea. Further ahead, they would enter their destination – the East Sea. However, Li Qing still did not know who this Cold-Clothed Ghost Lord was who he claimed to be accompanying on a funeral journey, or why he insisted on bringing him here.

Seemingly sensing Li Qing's doubts and suspicions, Han Yijun lowered his eyes and glanced at Qingyun beneath his feet before turning his gaze eastward toward the vast sea.

"The Qilin is the chief of all beasts, the Phoenix is ​​the head of all birds, and the scaled dragon is the most revered... This East Sea has been the sacred origin of scaled aquatic creatures since ancient times."

Have you ever been to the Dragon Palace deep within the Heavenly Ruins of the Sea?

The vast blue waves reflect the sky's surface, while a torrential downpour of red rain falls from the heavens. The surging waves push and swell, tearing the boundless seaside into pieces.

In the East Sea Dragon Palace, where the tides rise and fall, the Dragon Palace governs the five seas and hundreds of rivers, establishing a separate order outside the Heavenly Capital, which continues uninterrupted. It is another kingdom outside of human morality, and a forbidden land that mortals can never touch.

Speaking of dragon palaces, Li Qing had been to the underwater dragon palace in Wuxi Longze once, but it was nothing compared to the dragon palace in the East Sea.

Gazing into the distance at the deep sea, Li Qing slowly shook his head. He had indeed never been in contact with the East Sea Dragon Palace, and there was almost no information about the depths of the East Sea.

The Ghost Lord in Cold Clothes lowered his eyelids, raised his fair hand, and caused the soul bell on his wrist to ripple. [Ding-a-ling] The secret power of the Ghost Sacrifice invaded the sea surface, and the tides parted on both sides, separating a road in the middle of the vast sea.

"Among the six ancient clans is Qishan. Now that you have entered the palace and become its ruler, show your face in the underworld on behalf of Qishan."

The Ghost Mother, Xuan Yin, was originally a descendant of the Cui family, a lonely soul summoned without undergoing ancestral temple rituals. She possessed consciousness but lacked wisdom. Therefore, the will of Qishan placed the ghost contract into the Cui family of Osmanthus, creating Li Qing's destiny of half praising ghosts and gods and half seeking immortality.

Having received blessings, Li Qing also obtained the law.

"That old azure dragon is an ancient relic from the previous era. Fengdu Heaven still has a forbidden artifact in its hands, which was entrusted to it by the Heavenly Ghost of the past!"

The Ghost King once again brought up another purpose of this trip: not only Fengdu Heaven, but also Taiyin Heaven and Beiyin Heaven, before the battle to shatter them, he entrusted the treasures to this old dragon, the only remaining Yang God in Tiandu.

This journey eastward was both a farewell to the ancestral spirits and an opportunity for the remnants of the Netherworld to reclaim their forbidden treasures.

Han Yijun nodded meaningfully at Li Qing's identity, then unleashed his supreme power, carrying a cluster of auspicious clouds, and headed straight for the heart of the East Sea.

A mysterious light shone brightly, arriving in the Zhou land. The tides rose and fell, and thousands of waters separated. Dragons, whales, and serpents were captured by the chaotic sea, while fish, shrimp, and turtles fled in panic.

The Northern Yin Way is divine and spiritual, and is called the Lord of the Underworld, also known as a "ghost god". When a ghost god of such a level, whose life soul is so refined as to be like a Yin god, manifests above the heads of all living beings in the East Sea, the essence of the Lord of the Underworld is enough to make the hearts of countless living beings tremble with fear, as if the dark clouds of death are entangled and staining their lives.

Who has disturbed my waters?

The force of the sea division had just spread when a shout, accompanied by thunderous fury, rose up. The boundless black sea surged with towering waves, thunder and lightning, splitting the water and reaching the sky. Amidst the exploding waves, one after another, colossal sea monsters suddenly revealed themselves. Their scales were like crystal, their manes like silver needles. As their bodies turned, they churned the sea and broke through the waves. With just their aquatic species' immense power to overturn rivers, they could forcefully stir up the sea.

It's a dragon's offspring!
Li Qing was startled and looked around. He saw sections of gnarled dragon bodies swimming and rolling in the dark vortex. Their claws and teeth were ferocious, their scales were powerful, and their vertical pupils were cold and sharp. These sea dragons, which were hundreds of feet long, were chasing the dark light across the sea.

At the deepest part of those great waves, a pure-blooded dragon with horns of wind and thunder on its head perched on the coral reef. Arcs of lightning flashed continuously in its cold golden eyes, taking in the vast expanse of waves.

The true dragon was enraged, lightning flashed and thunder roared, and waves rose in the vast sea. Such a dragon species is known in folklore as the Dragon King, a being worthy of having a temple built!
With a blank expression, Han Yijun unleashed a surge of eerie light, shattering all obstacles. Neither wind, water, nor the secret power of thunder could withstand it.

The four dragons roared, churning the waves and stirring up storms, perfectly embodying the name of the innate aquatic species. The entire sea seemed to be awakened by the dragons in that instant, and the raging floodwaters from all directions pressed in, trying to completely annihilate Li Qing and his companion.

"Humph!"

When they reached the most dangerous point, the Cold-Clad Ghost Lord glanced back coldly, and with a flick of his finger towards the sea, a deep, dark curtain descended from the sky. Terrifying gloomy energy transformed into black snakes that rolled and writhed. Above this thick, dark curtain, pale, mournful figures hung in the void.

A multitude of dragons shook the sea, blocking the way forward; eight hundred mourners in mourning clothes came to carry the coffin!
In the strange phenomenon of the funeral procession, each white-clad figure was a spirit ghost. Eight hundred mourners entered the sea, their chilling and mysterious power reaching the heavens. Black mist spread, rolling like a dark tide, crushing the white waves for thousands of miles, infecting all the seas.

Even more astonishingly, beneath the dark sky, a majestic divine body suddenly rose, its height unreachable and its appearance indescribable. A colossal hand, capable of blotting out the heavens, descended, instantly suppressing the raging torrents. The once violent waves were subdued by its sheer force, compressed into a mirror-like pool. Only a few ripples that hadn't yet dispersed transformed into fine raindrops, creating gentle ripples. Beneath the still turbulent waters, the dragon-like beasts that had been so rampaging were now either sunk to the bottom of the sea or floated belly-up with the current.

Han Yi Jun is first and foremost a commanding ghost of Fengdu Heaven, and one of the most formidable and fierce ghosts in the underworld!
Even when visiting the Dragon Palace, they would never bow and offer congratulations like immortals, uttering eloquent poems. The various lords could come and go as they pleased, allowing no one to offer any guidance.

"I am going to enter the Dragon Palace today. You must not get in my way."

A chilling warning voice leaped above the sky-covering black mist, and at the same time, it quickly disappeared along with the gradually receding funeral procession.

In just seven or eight breaths, the momentum of the dragons rushing to the sea was completely shattered. Only the sea surface remained calm, while the red rain continued to pour down from the horizon. The pure-blooded dragon king, who had been subdued by that attack or had thought of something, had a thoughtful look in his originally cold vertical pupils. After his golden pupils trembled for a moment, he swept his tail and disappeared without a trace in an instant.

The battle between the two forces, which caused a dramatic shift in the heavens and earth, came and went swiftly. It seemed as if they had only exchanged two blows, yet it also seemed as if there had been no actual clash...

Both being at the Yin God realm, Li Qing couldn't see through or understand the battle between these two.

Some dragon lords, in a fit of rage, unleash thunder for miles around, their Yin spirits manifesting and binding the void for miles around. This is the threshold of Yin spirits' combat power. But in this sea area, coiled dragons strike the water, stirring up storms and waves, overturning rivers and seas for more than ten thousand miles!

The methods of the Cold-Clad Monarch were even more bizarre. The Yin Spirit reflected the extraordinary phenomenon of the Dharma Body, which was as tall as the sky. This was beyond Li Qing's current knowledge. He did not know whether this was a law or a technique, or whether the Yin Spirit was meant to be like this. All he could feel was that the Dharma Body was wrapped with a terrifying will that made his hair stand on end.

Ghosts and spirits have always been incomprehensible and uncontrollable beings. They are inherently sinister and resentful, and each has its own unique quirks. Almost every ghost and spirit has different obsessions, making them extremely difficult to deal with.

In recent days, the comings and goings of powerful figures who never show themselves in the world have become more and more common in the East China Sea. Even a pure-blooded true dragon with a domineering body nearly a thousand feet long, a being capable of overthrowing a country, is feeling somewhat tired.

One after another, it's really hard to keep up...

The Dragon King of the sea was furious, but when he encountered the manifestation of this ghostly lord, he ultimately gave up and let the ghostly light mercilessly traverse the East Sea, heading towards the central Dragon Palace.

Two incense sticks later, the turbulent currents in the four seas subsided, and a white rainbow streaked across the sky from below the red clouds. Amidst the divine radiance, the roar of a dragon could be faintly heard. Before long, a valiant man descended from the clouds.

This person was nine feet tall, with skin as white as frost, and wore silver scale armor. The most peculiar thing was that there were two silver horns about an inch long on each side of his forehead and temples, and electric arcs that occasionally jumped on the dragon horns.

This is a dragon offspring who has attained enlightenment, an ancient demon dragon son who ranks alongside immortal spirits and ghost lords!
"what happened?"

Deep in the sea, whales lie prone, black dragons hang in the air, and on the coral mountains, there are dizzy, upside-down dragons hanging haphazardly. The sight of these stiff "dragon corpses" is truly shocking.

It should be known that the dragon race's dominance over the vast East Sea relies on its various dragon species, such as the qiu, chi, and jiao, to govern the seas. This is how their prosperity has endured. Such a large-scale event is bound to alarm the dragon princes of all sides.
"Reporting to...Reporting to my lord, there was a malevolent force causing havoc earlier. King Yaojiang questioned the person responsible, and after the battle, this happened..."

Within a few breaths of the young man's question, a whirlpool rose from the depths of the water. It turned out to be a giant tortoise, several miles in size, cutting through the water and reporting in a deep, booming voice everything that had happened.

A powerful demon from the underworld roamed the seas and clashed with King Yaojiang. His dragon sons and grandsons were affected, which is why this scene occurred.

"Hmm? Fierce and malevolent?"

Where is King Yaojiang?

The young dragon prince reached out and swept through the void, capturing the lingering chilling magical intent within. However, the secret power of the ghost sacrifice was too cunning. When his large hand swept it away, wisps of black energy danced wildly, seemingly trying to infect the owner of the large hand in reverse.

The black mist rolled and intertwined with the dragon lightning in the palm. The tiny wisp of residual magic intent took so long to be worn away, which shows how terrifying the master behind it is. If I'm not mistaken, this is a fierce spirit ghost that is almost at the top level of Yin God!

After the passing of the Cang Ancestor, the demon bloodline of the North Sea, the merfolk of the South Sea, and the ghosts and gods of the Netherworld all gathered before the Dragon Palace's distant moat. This fiend was probably one of them.

Where is King Yaojiang?

What was the Yaojiang Dragon King doing, letting his dragon sons and grandsons lie scattered all over the ground?
However, when asked about this Dragon King, the old turtle had half its body hidden under the sea surface, and its eyes were constantly darting around.

What could it say? Could it be that Lord Yaojiang failed to defeat that ghost and god, and simply waved his sleeves and ran away?

At this moment, it could only remain silent.

"Alright, I understand!"

"Go to the Yaojiang Water Palace nearby and send someone to bring these young men back to the palace to recuperate. I have examined them and believe that they were all injured by the You Tian Soul Dao. They can recover by taking the Night-Shining Pearl from the palace and nurturing them for a few days."

Without the old dragon needing to say more, the young dragon prince roughly understood the situation here. After all, the dragon king was half a generation older than him, and it wasn't his place to say anything. He could just clean up this mess and be done with it.

Just as he finished giving his instructions and was about to turn away, the dragon prince seemed to remember something and turned back to warn him:
"If any powerful cultivators from outside enter the East Sea in the next few days, the various water bureaus need not stop them; let them go to the Sea Ravine Heavenly Ruins on their own."

"Once they enter the Dragon Palace and meet the kings, dragon princes, and imperial princesses, they will naturally learn what rules are..."

(End of this chapter)