Longevity Candle

Chapter 130 Summoning Immortal Techniques!
early morning.

Jiang Zhu and Lao Wang set up a stall together, and his first customer was himself.

The neighbor, Gou Sheng, is doing a booming business, while their place is deserted.

While they were eating noodles, Jiang Yunmeng came over, ordered a bowl of noodles, and sat down opposite Jiang Zhu.

"Did it work out?" Jiang Zhu asked.

“No, it’s just the first step,” Jiang Yunmeng said.

Jiang Zhu nodded and said nothing more.

Jiang Yunmeng was clearly not satisfied with just killing one deputy general; she set her sights on the Wang family behind him.

“Little girl, you should play with fewer insects,” Jiang Zhu said.

“But I just love these things.” Jiang Yunmeng ate her noodles without looking up. “I’ve been without a mother since I was little, and my father is gone too. These things have been with me day after day.”

"Alas, the path of Gu worms is not easy to walk," Jiang Zhu sighed softly.

"Gu worm? Gu, a worm in the belly, that's quite fitting." Jiang Yunmeng said with great delight, "Then let's call it Gu worm."

Jiang Zhu was taken aback for a moment, but didn't say anything.

"Jiang Zhu, what kind of person is my mother?" Jiang Yunmeng suddenly asked.

"Hmm?" Jiang Zhu paused for a moment. "I don't know your mother."

“You know him, Gu Qingxu said so,” Jiang Yunmeng said.

Jiang Zhu frowned slightly: "Why would he tell you these things?"

“He said you would tell me.” Jiang Yunmeng put down her chopsticks and stared intently at him: “What kind of person is my mother? I want to know.”

"What did Gu Qingxu say?" Jiang Zhu asked calmly after taking a bite of noodles.

“He told me to ask you, since you know more, and to tell you everything without holding anything back. He’s prepared,” Jiang Yunmeng said.

Jiang Zhu fell silent and quickly began eating his noodles.

Jiang Yunmeng had lost her appetite and was only concerned about her mother: "Can you tell me?"

"Since he's already prepared, there's nothing for me to hide."

Jiang Zhu said, "Eat your noodles, and I'll tell you after you've finished."

"I'm not eating," Jiang Yunmeng said.

Jiang Zhu quickly finished his bowl of noodles and called out, "Old Wang, I'm going out for a walk."

"Go quickly, go quickly." Old Wang glanced at Jiang Yunmeng and grinned.

Although she's a bit ugly, she has a good figure and is capable of bearing sons.

The two returned to the peach grove, where the workers were asleep as usual.

The old snake king poked its head out and asked, "What should we do with that royal advisor?"

"I'll find him a friend later," Jiang Yunmeng said.

She possessed many Gu worms, some of which could restrain Qi cultivators, after all, she was also a Qi cultivator.

Jiang Yunmeng looked at Jiang Zhu, suddenly feeling uneasy: "Is my mother a bad person?"

"Why do you say that?" Jiang Zhu asked.

“Because she abandoned me and my father, Gu Qingxu didn’t want to talk about it much, he just asked me to ask you,” Jiang Yunmeng said in a low voice.

"This fat cat could have kept it from you, but it still made you ask."

Jiang Zhu was genuinely surprised that the tabby cat would bring up the matter on its own: "Your mother's name is Jiang Chenxi. As for whether it's good or bad, you'll have to judge for yourself. Many things in this world are hard to define as good or evil."

“Jiang Chenxi…” Jiang Yunmeng murmured.

"She was a pitiful person, born in a village outside Yunmengze, possessing extraordinary abilities from birth, and your grandmother died because of her..."

Upon hearing about her mother's ordeal, Jiang Yunmeng's eyes reddened, and tears streamed down her face silently.

Born to bring about the death of her mother, her father raised her like a hunting dog, forcing her to venture into the miasma to gather herbs and hunt.

The entire village cursed her to die young, showing her no kinship or friendship.

Fortunately, the old elf of Yunmengze took pity on her and gave her a way out.

Later, Li Qingchen went to Yunmengze, met Jiang Chenxi, gave her a ray of light, and opened her heart.

Jiang Yunmeng was already sobbing uncontrollably, never expecting her mother's fate to be so tragic.

She was grateful to Li Qingchen for giving her mother a ray of light and a name.

When she heard that Jiang Chenxi had been sent to the Sheng Kingdom and become an imperial concubine, her face turned pale. She could imagine how desperate her mother must have felt.

She already has no relatives left. If she were to be sent to a stranger, especially one with ill intentions, she would feel utterly hopeless.

Jiang Chenxi took control of the court, but instead of attacking Ning Kingdom, she chose to rebel.

"Why is that cat still alive?" Jiang Yunmeng said bitterly, "My mother is such a pitiful person, how could he be so cruel? He is Li Qingchen's master."

Is the bond between master and disciple really that fragile?
Knowing full well that Li Qingchen was in Ningguo and that he was carrying on the legacy of Taiping, the tabby cat still plotted to destroy Ningguo.

All for that elusive and unattainable immortality!
"Sigh." Jiang Zhu sighed, "That fat cat knows we're stalling and wants to use this to force us to back down."

The tabby cat has gone mad in its quest for immortality.

They were unwilling to go to West Kunlun, and the mad tabby cat had intended to use this to force Li Qingchen.

But Jiang Chenxi broke free of control and tried to blackmail Li Qingchen?
She won't allow it!
Therefore, she became a wicked woman who brought disaster to the country, and almost all of the powerful generals of the Sheng Kingdom were killed.

It's less about waging war against Ningguo and more about handing over Shengguo to Ningguo.

Without capable generals, elite troops, and renowned ministers who can offer strategic advice, what can Shengguo use to shake Ningguo?

Unfortunately, Emperor Ning was unable to accept this generous gift.

The old snake king continued, "It was the Ning Kingdom's army, eager to make a name for themselves, who attacked your mother first, thus ruining the nation's fortune, which is why they allowed Gu Qingxu to escape."

"Life is unpredictable. No matter how meticulous the plan, it can't keep up with sudden changes." Jiang Zhu patted her shoulder: "Your mother sent you to Ningguo because she wanted you to be safe and happy."

Jiang Yunmeng remained silent. Her childhood was happy and joyful, unlike her mother's tragic one.

She has a loving father, an endless supply of peaches, and Jiang Zhu who performs magic tricks for her.

There are also Xiaobai and Xiaojin.

"He's not my biological father? My biological father was actually Emperor Sheng, who was killed by my mother?" Jiang Yunmeng murmured.

“He raised you, and you’ve called him ‘father’ for so many years. Does it even matter whether he’s your biological father or not?” Jiang Zhu said.

“He is my father, I just want to find out who my biological father is.”

Jiang Yunmeng took a deep breath and said, "Gu Qingxu is puzzled. Why don't you teach me martial arts so I can take revenge?"

"What are you thinking?" Jiang Zhu asked in return.

"You don't owe me anything. You've already made me very happy by performing magic tricks for me."

Jiang Yunmeng looked at him, her gaze unwavering: "I am content that you have pity on me, how could I be greedy?"

“This isn’t pity,” Jiang Zhu said gently. “It’s more like a big friend making a little friend.”

“Friend,” Jiang Yunmeng murmured, her thoughts drifting back to the past.

In that magic trick, he borrowed peaches and bird eggs from her, and later, he took her to see the starry sky and climbed onto the illusionist's moon.

The scenes from my childhood are deeply etched in my heart, never fading in the slightest.

“My mother should have gone with Li Qingchen. That way, she wouldn’t have suffered so much and wouldn’t have become a femme fatale who brought ruin to the country and bear such a bad reputation.”

Jiang Yunmeng clenched her fist. If her mother had left with Li Qingchen, she would have had a happy life.

Unfortunately, time cannot be turned back, and there is no medicine for regret in this world. Jiang Chenxi did not have the courage to leave Yunmengze and ultimately became a pawn.

“I finally understand why I hate Gu Qingxu, but why did he teach me cultivation?” Jiang Yunmeng frowned in confusion: “My mother almost killed him, he should hate me.”

This aversion is innate, possibly inherited from his mother Jiang Chenxi, or it may be due to his royal bloodline and the influence of the nation's fate.

After all, the prosperous kingdom collapsed because of the tabby cat, so the nation's fate would naturally reject elves.

As a member of the royal family, she was somewhat influenced by the dragon's aura, but by the time she arrived in Ning Kingdom, Sheng Kingdom had also collapsed, and that dragon's aura had long since dissipated.

"I don't know, we'll have to ask that fat cat," Jiang Zhu said.

Even if he tries to summon the spirit of the tabby cat, it might not agree to come to see him if the tabby cat doesn't want to.

Jiang Yunmeng's face was gloomy, her mind filled with a myriad of thoughts.

"Don't overthink it. As long as you're in Yigu City, that fat cat won't dare to make things difficult for you," Jiang Zhu said. "Let's talk about you and the Snake King."

"Us?" Jiang Yunmeng was taken aback and looked at the old snake king.

The old snake king said, "I want to protect you for a while, but I don't want to really get involved in the world, so I would like to ask Jiang Zhu to give me a way."

"If you don't engage with the world, how can you find a way?" Jiang Yunmeng wondered.

“There is still one.” Jiang Zhu pondered, “I can modify the Taiyin Three Souls Technique to allow you to establish a connection with the Snake King. Even if you travel thousands of miles, you can still summon a portion of his power. The stronger you are, the stronger the Snake King’s power will be.”

"I call this method—Inviting the Immortals!"

"Invoking the immortals? This is a good method," the old snake king said happily.

Invoking celestial magic is quite fitting, since it involves inviting a celestial being.

He also understood why Jiang Zhu had him act with only a single thought last night—to see how much power he could wield with a single thought, and how effective it would be to ask the Celestial Queen for help.

If one has little cultivation, even a thought will be of little use.

With a new method appearing in her mind, Jiang Yunmeng asked, "May I ask you for help?"

“It is possible, but I am mostly in a deep sleep, and I only wake up around this time of year,” Jiang Zhu said.

"Then I'm in trouble, I'll have to come to you," Jiang Yunmeng said happily.

“If you’re not an elf or a celestial master, please don’t look for me. I’m enjoying my mortal life right now,” Jiang Zhu said.

"What's so enjoyable about selling noodles with Old Wang?" Jiang Yunmeng asked, puzzled.

The old snake king was also somewhat puzzled.

"Isn't life just about three meals a day, plain and simple? Old Wang is very ordinary, just running a noodle shop, not asking for anything, that's good enough."

Jiang Zhudao.

Old Wang used to long for a son, but since the incident with Gousheng, he no longer has any strong desire for one.

If you really asked him to get married and have children, or even raise another son, he wouldn't have the desire.

Work at sunrise and rest at sunset, live a simple life, and save up for your coffin.

Jiang Yunmeng didn't understand because she was still young and had grudges to settle.

The old snake king once followed Li Qingxuan, but he was attached to the mortal world and had been in the mountains for too long. He wanted to come out and see the world.

Jiang Zhu was different from them; his peaceful days were numbered, as the elves and immortal masters could no longer tolerate him.

After leaving the peach grove, Jiang Zhu began helping Old Wang with his work.

A few days passed in the blink of an eye. On the eve of his departure, Jiang Zhu said, "Old Wang, I'm going away for a while, about a year."

Old Wang was reluctant to let her go, but he didn't mince words: "Go away, without you, I'll live at least ten more years."

"Haha, if you serve me well, I'll let you live a hundred years longer," Jiang Zhu said with a laugh.

"Wouldn't that make you a living turtle?" Old Wang glared at him. "Get lost and remember to come back early. I'm counting on you to learn the trade properly."

"Okay, I'll be back in a year."

Jiang Zhu waved his hand and stepped into the darkness.

Old Wang sighed deeply, limped to his room, and started tidying up the blankets.

Everything was fine in Yigu City, as if nothing had happened.

Jiang Wanning began inviting the Red Turban bandits and members of the Wang family under various pretexts.

Of those who arrived, some died, while others left with grim expressions.

While war raged outside, the Rong Kingdom in the south marched its troops north.

The northern grasslands, brandishing their butcher knives, marched south, intent on taking over this land.

Western countries have formed a coalition and are heading towards Ningguo.

However, as soon as the armies of the three kingdoms entered the land of Ningguo, they encountered an elite army.

Qi cultivators lead the way, martial artists assist, and the army charges forward.

The three-way war all had the same result: the invading army was utterly routed.

The Dragon Blood Serpent and the Old Dragon fell into deep thought as they looked at the battle report that had been sent back.

"Are the soldiers of Rong Kingdom really that bad?" The old dragon's face turned ashen.

“Ningguo is too strong.” The Dragon Blood Serpent said bitterly, “No wonder he’s not afraid of our northward march.”

"How did Emperor Ning die?" The old dragon frowned.

The Dragon Blood Serpent sighed, "You don't understand the mortal world. The reason why Emperor Ning died was that the people of Ning Kingdom wanted him dead, and those mountain and sea spirits wanted him dead."

The old dragon never paid attention to mortals; it was only after the dragon blood serpent promised him great benefits that he was invited to come out of the mountains.

Therefore, he did not know why Rongguo could defeat the imperial army but could not defeat the army that had split apart.

One is the court's interests, and the other is one's own interests. Can the two be the same?

The former is fine, but the latter... is really risking their lives!

"To create another Yue Wu?" the old dragon pondered.

The Dragon Blood Serpent said, "I have the same idea. Let's work together to create a batch of them. We should also invite your friends to help us. It would be best to create an army."

"A batch?" The old dragon looked at him strangely. "Are you serious? Do you know how much of an impact this will have?"

"There is no other choice. Ningguo's martial arts have reached their peak, and the path of Qi Refining has gone even further. If we throw one or two Yue Wus at them, they won't even make a splash."

The Dragon Blood Serpent said in a deep voice, "Another true dragon bloodline has descended into the world. His bloodline is even more profound than mine, and I can even feel its suppression."

Upon hearing this, the old dragon agreed, "Then let's give it a try."

Without further hesitation, he immediately sent a message to Yu Hua, relaying the news back to the mountains.

Deep in the Nanling Mountains, a blue ox suddenly rose from the ground and headed towards Ningguo.

A blue peacock flapped its wings and flew away, leaving behind a brilliant rainbow as it departed from the Nanling Mountains.

"They..." The old dragon's face was grim.

“Let those who are not of the same path go,” said the Dragon Blood Serpent. “Neither the Path of Immortality nor the Path of Following Heaven will stand by and watch.”

The old dragon sighed deeply, but said nothing more.

He once scorned the path to immortality and disdained following the way of Heaven, and instead settled in the Southern Ridge, becoming the ruler of his own region.

But now, he has chosen to stand with both factions.

However, he still believed in his heart that he was different from them.

(End of this chapter)