Longevity Candle

Chapter 109 Elixir of Immortality

The silver light burst forth, forcefully repelling Li Qingchen.

Blood gushed out, then stopped in the blink of an eye. A pill went down his throat, and the injury healed at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The two women beside him were already terrified and collapsed to the side.

With a flick of his wrist, a sword was drawn from the wall, and a single thrust unleashed a rain of sword light that blanketed the sky.

Although I don't know why I couldn't block a sword strike, the person in front of me is indeed a martial artist. How could he possibly contend with the immortal path?
The only explanation that makes sense is the sword in his hand!
Although it was a wooden sword, it gleamed with silver light and possessed the power of the Yin energy.

A celestial sword!
His heart burned with desire; a divine sword imbued with immortal energy was what he had always dreamed of.

"Heaven and earth are boundless, the universe borrows its power, the sword of Taiyin!"

A clear and resolute sound rang out, and the silvery light shone brightly, like an ancient moon illuminating the world.

The brilliant silver light swept away the rain of swords, proving to be no less powerful than that of the left.

Upon sensing the sword, Zuo Fang naturally dared not confront it head-on. He sidestepped, avoiding the sword's edge, and drifted backward.

Auspicious clouds rose beneath their feet, and they soared into the sky, creating distance between themselves.

This is the advantage that Qi cultivators have over martial artists.

Riding the clouds into the sky, his gaze fixed on Li Qingchen: "Who exactly are you? As a martial artist, how dare you attack a Qi cultivator? Aren't you afraid of incurring karmic retribution?"

"Taiping Dao, Peach Blossom Spring, Li Qingchen!"

Li Qingchen said indifferently, "I have already ascertained your strength. You are not worthy to be my whetstone."

"Hmm?" Zuo Fang's gaze turned cold: "Young man, truly arrogant! Taiyin—Soul Slayer!"

He absorbed the light of the moon and infused it into his sword, creating a captivating power that penetrated directly into one's soul.

"With the lamp's glow as a blessing, peace and tranquility prevail!"

Li Qingchen grasped the green lamp, and in an instant, a brilliant light, invisible to mortals, rippled through the void.

The nation's destiny, manifested by a head with sharp horns and a body like a snake, was revealed.

The light of the moon quickly dissipated, and the left side of his face changed drastically. The national fortune within him no longer protected him, and his magical power was suppressed.

The auspicious clouds beneath his feet dissipated, his body went limp, and he fell to the ground.

The longsword arrived in an instant, the peach wood sword resting against his neck.

"Who exactly are you? How can you command the dragon's energy of the nation?" Zuo Fang looked at him in horror.

Could it be that someone from the royal family knew about his actions, which is why they sent someone to arrest him?

If that's the case, the emperor could simply issue an imperial edict and send some soldiers over; why make such a fuss?
Looking at the national fortune dragon aura that was more than ten meters long and was still growing rapidly, he really couldn't understand whether he was worth using so much national fortune dragon aura.

"You were made a Qi cultivator, yet instead of protecting the world and dealing with strange beasts, you've been raising souls to commit evil?"

Li Qingchen said coldly, "Do you deserve the identity of a Qi Refiner of the Taiping Dao?"

Zuo Fang's face darkened: "It's not like I'm the only one doing this. How many Qi cultivators in the Taiping Dao haven't cultivated their souls? Didn't I learn from them?!"

"I want to increase my magical power, and this is the only way. Why don't you go after them, but instead come looking for me, a novice Qi cultivator? Do you think I'm easy to take down, or are you afraid to make a move against them?"

He didn't think he was wrong at all, and looked at Li Qingchen with a sneer: "Given the current situation, I'm just going along with the crowd."

"What a fine line, 'to blend in with the light, to be one with the dust.'" Li Qingchen laughed in anger, his heart turning cold.

The efforts of their ancestors have become so corrupted; the ambition for peace has long been distorted, and they now take it all for granted.

Zuo Fang said coldly, "Who exactly is behind you? We are all from Taiping Dao. Perhaps the people behind us know each other. If we have offended each other, I can make amends, or even give more money to the authorities."

"Hand it over?" Li Qingchen's face turned ashen. "Who's behind you?"

“Zhang Shi,” Zuo Fang said, “is one of the Seven Elders of the Way of Peace. And who is behind you?”

“Peach Blossom Spring.” Li Qingchen suppressed his anger: “You may not have heard of, or even know, the name Li Qingxuan. Let me tell you, the Taiping Dao originated from my ancestor Li Qingping. The mortal immortal path was opened up by my ancestor Li Qingxuan, and I am the new successor of Peach Blossom Spring.”

The peach wood sword slashed through the air, and a head flew into the sky, blood gushing out like a pillar, severing even his soul.

Although he had karma, it also blessed the nation's destiny and did not affect him.

Li Qingping, carrying his sword, entered the house. The two women, already paralyzed with fear, hurriedly begged for mercy upon seeing him enter: "Please, immortal, spare our lives! Please, immortal, spare our lives!"

"An immortal?" Li Qingchen frowned.

The two were stunned: "He always told us to call him an immortal."

Li Qingchen fell silent, then called out to Yun Ting: "Have these two done anything wrong?"

"They're just unfortunate people, mere playthings for Zuo Fang. They don't even dare to leave this room on ordinary days," Yun Ting sighed, feeling a sense of shared misfortune.

"You should leave now, take some valuables with you, and make sure no one finds you." Li Qingchen waved his hand: "If you are found, just say that it was Li Qingchen from Taoyuan who killed Zuo Fang."

"Yes, thank you, immortal! Thank you, immortal!" The two felt as if they had been granted a pardon and dared not linger for a moment before walking out of the room.

"Can we find the other wandering souls that Zuo Fang is raising?" Li Qingchen asked.

“Okay.” Yun Ting nodded: “There’s a wooden plaque on the left side, imbued with magic power. As long as they’re not far away, they can sense it, but…”

"But what?"

"They've started to enjoy harming people," Yun Ting said in a low voice.

"I see."

Li Qingchen found the wooden plaque, infused it with his magic power, and streams of moonlight spread outwards.

Half an hour later, two wandering spirits drifted over from afar. Upon seeing the corpse on the left side of the ground, the two spirits' expressions changed, and they quickly flew away into the distance.

"Now that you're here, don't leave."

The silvery moonlight, like chains, bound the two wandering souls and dragged them down.

"Please spare us, immortal! We are willing to pledge our loyalty to you. This is the essence I just extracted."

Without the slightest hesitation, the two wandering souls offered up their vital essence.

Li Qingchen collected the essence: "How are the people you harmed?"

"Rest assured, Immortal, we will destroy the body and eliminate all traces, ensuring there will be no evidence," the two wandering spirits said respectfully.

Li Qingchen's face turned cold, and the two wandering souls also sensed the killing intent. They hurriedly said, "Immortal, we are willing to bear the karma and extract more essence for you. We guarantee that we will not leave any clues."

Li Qingchen could no longer bear to listen. With a swift stroke of his peach wood sword, the two wandering souls turned to ashes.

Two strands of golden light of merit appeared in the void and entered his body.

"Let's go." Li Qingchen left the Zuo residence and Qiuyue City with a heavy heart.

The tabby cat shrank down and sat on his shoulder.

It wasn't until the next day that he felt a little better, and he sat down on a rock to eat his dry rations.

"My lord, what is this Peach Blossom Spring you mentioned? And who are Li Qingping and Li Qingxuan?" Yun Ting asked cautiously.

Although she cultivated the Rebirth Path, she did not know these two people, after all, she was just an ordinary person in her previous life.

"Do you know that the Way of Peace originated in Ningguo?" Li Qingchen asked.

"I know," Yun Ting nodded; that was all she knew.

"Before the establishment of Ningguo, there was Qianguo. This was the late period of Qianguo, a time of chaos, when mountain and sea spirits and immortal masters controlled the fate of the nation..."

As Li Qingchen recounted the story from back then, his eyes were filled with reverence for his ancestors.

Yun Ting listened quietly, and when she heard that Li Qingping had sacrificed himself, refused to enter the path of immortality, refused to become emperor, and started a peaceful reign, she was filled with admiration and longing.

So that's how the Way of Peace came about.

When she heard that Li Qingxuan was determined to disregard Qingdeng's advice and embark on the path of immortality despite all odds, she remained silent.

She learned about the origins of the Way of Peace and how great the two founders of the Way of Peace were.

They only wanted peace in the world and for mortals to have their own immortal guardians to deal with those evil immortal masters and spirits. But why did the Taiping Dao cultivators become like this when they arrived in Shengguo?

"Peach Blossom Spring, how wonderful," she murmured.

"I am the fourth in Peach Blossom Spring, and I will uphold the will to maintain peace," Li Qingchen said firmly.

"Four? Who else?" Yun Ting asked curiously.

“That was my great-grandmother. She perfected the Taiping Jing, but she didn’t want to enter the secular world,” Li Qingchen said.

"She's also very capable; she's able to perfect the immortal techniques of Ancestor Qingxuan," Yun Ting said admiringly.

Li Qingchen smiled, and golden light of merit appeared in his hand: "Absorbing this merit should be enough to offset your karma and allow you to leave."

Looking at the golden light of merit, Yun Ting remained silent for a moment before earnestly asking, "Could you let me walk with you on this journey?"

"Walk with me?" Li Qingchen was taken aback.

"Yes, I don't want to leave. I want to go to Ningguo with you and see if the Taiping Road there is really peaceful."

Yun Ting said wistfully, "Just one look is enough for me. Can I leave then?"

“Of course, I’ll take you to Ningguo to see the real Taiping Dao,” Li Qingchen said with a smile.

"Okay," Yun Ting replied, disappearing into his sleeve. Li Qingchen quickly finished his dry rations and continued on his way.

The tabby cat didn't interfere with him; it simply stayed by his side, letting him do as he pleased.

A month later, Li Qingchen arrived in a new city. There were no Qi cultivators harming people here, but the martial artists of the Taiping Dao had become new powerful figures.

Using the name of the Way of Peace, they amassed wealth, oppressed the people, and abducted women.

This time, Li Qingchen did not use the nation's fortune; he only used mortal sword techniques to kill these martial artists.

He was utterly disappointed with the Taiping Dao of the Sheng Kingdom, finding it even more corrupt than it had been during Ning Qinghan's time.

At that time, although the Taiping Dao was under the control of the imperial power, it was still dealing with strange and mysterious things everywhere and guarding the peace of the prosperous country.

But in just a few years, it has become a malignant tumor.

"Rottenness is contagious," the tabby cat said with a chuckle, not caring at all.

As a great elf, it is difficult for him to empathize with humans, nor does he want to put himself in their shoes or feel their pain.

Meanwhile, in the distant capital, inside the imperial study.

The elderly emperor had deep wrinkles and his eyes were somewhat cloudy.

He sought peaches of immortality his whole life, but found nothing.

He was unwilling to accept this situation; if only he could stay in power forever.

However, the previous natural disaster in the South China Sea was exhausting, not only stopping the fleets that went out to sea to search for peaches, but also forcing him to focus his energy on disaster relief.

"South China Sea, why is it a natural disaster in the South China Sea? Does even Heaven not want me to live forever?"

Emperor Sheng roared angrily, "Ancestor, you abandoned Heaven and chose the True Dragon, but has he ever favored my Sheng Kingdom?!"

The dragon-blooded serpent, hiding within the dragon's aura, almost couldn't resist slapping the emperor to death.

If I hadn't begged the spirit of the green lamp back then, would Xu Wenhe have been able to sit on this throne, or would your Xu family have been able to do so?
How many years have passed, and you've already forgotten your roots?
"His Majesty."

An old man entered the imperial study in a panic: "Greetings, Your Majesty! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"

The Dragon Blood Serpent looked at the old man with disdain. As the leader of the Way of Peace, he should at least not be on equal footing with the emperor, let alone be so panicked, kneeling and shouting "Long live the emperor!"

"Lord Dao, what's the matter with such a panic? You entered the palace without announcing your arrival?" Emperor Sheng frowned, his expression displeased.

He was confident that he had handled the Taiping Dao matter very well, far surpassing the Taizu Emperor, and had firmly grasped the Taiping Dao, making it a tool for governing the country.

What advice did the emperor have to avoid seeking immortality?
What guided the prosperous nation towards peace, allowing the emperor to bask in the glory of tranquility?

fart!

The emperor is the master of this land, the only master, and the emperor's voice can only be heard on this land!
Even the Way of Peace won't do!

"Your Majesty, something terrible has happened! Zuo Fang, a Qi Refiner from Qiuyue City, has been killed by Li Qingchen from Taoyuan," the Taiping Dao Master said solemnly.

"Li Qingchen of Peach Blossom Spring?" Emperor Sheng frowned, his eyes flashing with murderous intent: "With the nation's fortune protecting him on the left, how could this Qi cultivator from Peach Blossom Spring possibly kill him?"

"This is also what I'm wondering about. I beg Your Majesty to allow me to check the secret scrolls of the founding emperor to see if there are any clues related to Peach Blossom Spring," the Taiping Dao Master said respectfully.

Emperor Sheng frowned, pondered for a moment, and said, "Granted. Take the imperial decree and go to the ancestral secret scrolls to examine them. Report back immediately if you have any news."

This leader of the Way of Peace was specially chosen from the royal family; he was an absolutely loyal subject.

After taking control of the Taiping Dao, he collected all the secret scrolls and stored them in the Taizu Secret Scrolls. Without the emperor's decree, no one was allowed to access them.

"Yes." The Lord of Taiping Dao respectfully accepted the token, bowed, and withdrew.

The Dragonblood Serpent was thrilled: "Peach Blossom Spring's Li Qingchen? Qingdeng is back!"

After many years apart, he also wanted to see Qingdeng again.

The leader of the Taiping Dao arrived at the location of the Taizu Secret Scroll and quickly consulted the Taiping Dao Secret Scroll, focusing on the first Daoist leader, Gu Xinsheng's, notes.

Before long, he found a secret book and discovered the record of Peach Blossom Village: "Li Qingping, the leader of the Taiping Dao in Ningguo, once created Peach Blossom Village, which was destroyed by Ningguo. His descendants from Peach Blossom Village are Li Wanzhang and Li Wanfeng..."

"Li Qingxuan was born with moon-shaped eyes. She received the blessing of the Green Lantern Spirit, which led to a predestined connection with the immortals. She comprehended the path of immortality in the mortal realm, took Gu Pingsheng and Gu Xinsheng as her disciples, and taught them the Taiping Scripture. From then on, she successfully traversed the path of immortality in the mortal realm..."

"Emperor Taizu Xu Wenhe, having obtained dragon blood and the lowered eyes of a serpent, worshipped the green lamp and proclaimed himself emperor, gathering the dragon energy of the prosperous nation..."

Upon seeing the records above, the leader of the Taiping Dao's expression changed drastically.

Peach Blossom Village!
With the blessing of Peach Blossom Spring, peace and tranquility prevail. The dim lamplight illuminates the eyes, gathering the dragon's energy and national fortune, thus establishing a prosperous nation.

Given this news, it's no wonder that Emperor Sheng chose to seal it away.

He continued reading and learned that Emperor Taizu Xu Wenhe had once sent troops to Taolin in an attempt to seize control of the Green Lamp.

But by the time the soldiers arrived, Li Qingxuan had already disappeared, and even traces of her life had been erased, leaving only an ordinary peach grove.

Qingdeng and Li Qingxuan disappeared without a trace.

He dared not hesitate, and with the Taiping Secret Scroll in hand, he quickly returned to the Imperial Study and respectfully presented the scroll.

As Emperor Sheng looked at the secret scroll, his gaze gradually darkened. By the end, he breathed a slight sigh of relief.

But he was still somewhat uneasy: "Daoist Master, do you think that the Azure Lamp has truly lost its ability to command the dragon energy of the nation's destiny?"

"According to the secret scroll, the Green Lamp can only be commanded once, and it has already been used," the Lord of Taiping Dao said respectfully.

"Tell me, why did Taoyuan kill Zuo Fang?" Emperor Sheng asked expressionlessly.

"Your Majesty, I do not know," the Lord of Taiping said, bowing his head.

Emperor Sheng was silent for a moment, then said, "I am getting older and older."

"Your Majesty, the Taiping Dao has been researching the elixir of immortality day and night and has made a breakthrough. I will have them present it to us immediately," the Taiping Dao leader said hastily.

"An elixir of immortality?" Emperor Sheng said coldly, "Apart from the first one, the subsequent ones are only good for strengthening the body. Tell me, shouldn't we change things up?"

"Your Majesty, does the secret scroll contain relevant elixir formulas?" the Taiping Dao Master asked cautiously.

Emperor Sheng's gaze was icy: "How can mere mortal essence and those miraculous pills that haven't entered the path of immortality prolong life? The path of immortality is the foundation of longevity."

The leader of the Taiping Dao felt a chill run down his spine. Was this a plan to use Qi cultivators as medicine?

Even the dragon-like creature within the national destiny's dragon aura was startled by the Emperor's words.

That bastard is really ruthless!

However, if he wasn't ruthless enough, he wouldn't have been able to ascend to the throne and control the Way of Peace.

"After I return, I will immediately have someone study it," the Taiping Dao leader hurriedly replied.

"Indeed, have you found any demons in Yunmeng Marsh?" Emperor Sheng asked again.

“Yunmeng Marsh has been known for its mysteries since ancient times. Once that demon entered Yunmeng Marsh, it disappeared without a trace. I fear there may be obstacles from the immortals,” the Lord of Taiping Dao hurriedly said.

Yunmeng Marsh is home to the Nine-Colored Deer, which was also mentioned in the secret scrolls of the Great Ancestor.

"Then go with my imperial decree. Immortals? Before me, they must bow their heads!" Emperor Sheng said coldly.

"Yes," the leader of the Way of Peace replied respectfully.

Emperor Sheng said again, "Immediately investigate the whereabouts of Li Qingchen from Taoyuan. He should be on my side and help me achieve immortality."

"Yes."

The leader of the Way of Peace respectfully withdrew, but his heart was filled with helplessness and bitterness.

Look at the Taiping Dao in Ningguo, what kind of life do they live? I, the Dao Master, am afraid that one day I will be beheaded.

They're both from the Taiping Dao, but the difference is just too big!
Why didn't that damned emperor die sooner?

He cursed inwardly, wanting to add something to the so-called elixir of immortality, but he dared not.

Because he was supported by Emperor Sheng, he would be purged once Emperor Sheng died.

Not long after, a message arrived. The Master of Taiping Dao's eyes narrowed slightly, and he issued an order: "Go find Li Qingchen immediately and bring him into Taiping Dao. If that fails, kill him and take the green lamp from his body."

Compared to Li Qingchen, the green lamp in his hand is the most important thing.

In a distant mountain forest, Li Qingchen discovered a jujube tree containing immortal energy. He had just picked a jujube when a little girl grabbed him.

"Why did you steal the dates?" the little girl asked angrily. "These are my family's date trees."

"Your family?" Li Qingchen was taken aback. "You live in these mountains, do you have any family?"

"Of course I have family..."

Before the little girl could finish speaking, an elderly man with white hair and a youthful face walked over from afar and was already close in a short time: "So it's a friend who has come. Qing'er, it's just a few dates, don't be so stingy."

“Grandfather,” the little girl said, walking up to him, “but these few dates are for them.”

"Taipingdao, Qin Yu, greets young brother." The old man bowed in greeting.

"Taoyuan, Li Qingchen." Li Qingchen bowed in return.

"Are you a descendant of Peach Blossom Spring?" the old man asked with delight. "Do you know the White Crane Couple?"

"White cranes? You've seen them before?"

(End of this chapter)