Longevity Candle

Chapter 86 A Green Lamp as a Blessing, Illuminating the Bewilderment (10,000 words, please subscribe)

The old crow swiftly flew out of Yunmeng Marsh, transforming into a long silver rainbow that disappeared into the horizon.

His body grew enormous, and his wings obscured the figures of the two people.

As it flew over a human city, it swooped down quickly, leaving the two behind, before flying away into the distance.

Nine-colored celestial light arrived on clouds, followed closely by a wondrous celestial deer, its eyes filled with fury.

It guarded the Taiyin Stone for hundreds of years, but could not find it no matter what it did. Unexpectedly, it was taken away by the old crow.

Li Qingxuan and her companion also left quickly, using the mortals as cover so that the Nine-Colored Deer could not detect them for the time being.

Without using a sword, but dressed differently, they galloped away on horseback.

In the distance, lights occasionally flashed across the sky; two elves were locked in combat.

Li Qingxuan was worried that Old Crow's injuries would be even more serious after this battle.

Before they could worry for long, a colossal creature came from the south, blotting out the sky and raising a dark cloud.

The nine-colored celestial light quickly dissipated, returning to Yunmeng Marsh without looking back.

Relieved, the two headed towards Qiuyue City with peace of mind.

They traveled for three months and returned in just two months, constantly on the move, temporarily abandoning their mission of sending away wandering spirits.

First, he went to Peach Blossom Tavern to let them know he was safe, then took the green lantern with him before returning to Peach Blossom Grove.

The old crows had been in the peach grove for days, and with their three heads, they were fighting fiercely over a jar of peach blossom wine.

"Senior, are you injured?" Gu Yunshen asked with concern.

"Who are you?" The person in the middle looked him up and down suspiciously.

The one on the left raised its head and said, "Who can hurt me?"

The right side of the head snorted, "I am the best in the world."

"It's gotten worse, as expected."

Li Qingxuan sighed softly. Although the help came quickly, the Nine-Colored Deer was quite powerful. The old crow was already injured, and although they fought briefly, the old crow was still hurt.

She took out the Lunar Stone and examined the lamp inside: "Is this an illusion, or the real thing?"

“It should be an illusion, the illusion of the Soul-Guiding Lamp,” Gu Yunshen said. “Let’s search his memories to see if there is any information about this stone.”

“His memories are too jumbled and chaotic. Why don’t you take a drag?” Li Qingxuan suggested.

Gu Yun Shen remained silent for a moment, then hesitated before extending his arm.

Just as he was about to feed it, a beam of light arrived from afar, and Immortal Master Yuhua stopped him: "This is the Taiyin Soul Refining Stone, which contains the Taiyin Soul Refining Technique. Back then, the evil spirits of Yunmeng Marsh were affected by this stone."

"Then how do we obtain the Taiyin Soul Refining Technique?" Li Qingxuan asked.

“The spirit of the ritual,” said Immortal Master Yuhua. “As for the lamp inside, it is not an illusion.”

"Not a phantom? There really is a lamp sealed inside?" the two exclaimed in surprise.

"No one knows exactly what kind of lamp it is," said Immortal Master Yuhua.

"Not a soul-guiding lamp?" the two asked in confusion.

Master Yuhua shook his head: "No, neither the Great Spirit of Nanling nor the Immortal of the Underworld Crow know what kind of lamp it is, but we can be sure that it is not an illusion."

"Then this lamp must possess immense magical power, right?" Gu Yunshen asked.

"I don't know, but it must have great power to be sealed by the ancient Taiyin Soul Refining Stone."

Master Yuhua said, "But no one can take this lamp out, not even the Netherworld Crow Immortal back then. You must not have any unrealistic fantasies. This Taiyin Stone can help you cultivate the Three Souls Technique, so make good use of it."

Having said that, a golden cloud rose from beneath his feet, and he rode away on it.

Li Qingxuan took out the green lamp, and the Taiyin Soul Refining Stone emitted wisps of moonlight, which disappeared into the green lamp.

She was performing the ritual of worshiping the spirits under the green lamp, which left Gu Yun Shen bewildered. Was his method of worshipping the moon wrong?
Is the true way to worship the spirit not by worshipping the moon but by worshipping a green lamp?
Within the Taiyin Stone, a silver ray of light entered Li Qingxuan's brow, transforming into the Taiyin Soul Refining Technique.

“You can also try visualizing the green lamp; its name is Jiang Zhu,” Li Qingxuan said.

Without hesitation, Gu Yun Shen devoutly kowtowed to the green lamp, and the Taiyin Soul Refining Stone once again emitted a silver light that entered his brow.

Taiyin Soul Refining Technique!
Living beings can refine their souls to nourish their own souls and prolong their lives.

Wandering souls can grow stronger with the help of the Taiyin Immortal Stone, and then they can cultivate themselves, thus gaining the ability to transcend Yin and Yang and interfere in the human world with their soul bodies.

It can also control wandering souls, thereby nurturing and strengthening them.

But the premise is that one's own strength is not surpassed by the wandering spirits.

However, there is a drawback: it requires the soul to reach a certain level, and ordinary mortals cannot cultivate it directly.

"The Three Souls Technique has been completed, and this journey is now complete," Gu Yunshen said.

"Are you leaving?" Li Qingxuan asked.

Gu Yun Shen nodded: "I still have many things to do. I will come to discuss them with you again after I have gained some insight into the immortal realm through the mortal world."

"Take care," Li Qingxuan said.

"Immortal Crow, would you like to travel with me?" Gu Yunshen invited.

The old crow glanced at him, then flew down to his shoulder: "You smell good, I'll go with you."

Li Qingxuan sighed softly, "Take good care of him. This Taiyin Soul Refining Stone will be helpful to him, so take it with you."

"Leave it to Jiang Zhu, Jiang Zhu," the middle-headed man shouted.

"Then stay here." Gu Yunshen bowed and slung his sword case over his shoulder. "I hope you can clear a path for the wandering souls of the world."

“I will do my best, and I hope you can do it too.” Li Qingxuan took out the peach wood lamp: “Take this lamp with you. Jiang Zhu gave it to you. He has already sensed your presence.”

"If he returns, please thank him for me."

Gu Yun Shen took the green lamp and left with the old crow. There were still many things for him to do in Yunmeng.

Li Qingxuan remained in the peach grove, continuing her life of sending away wandering souls, practicing martial arts in peace, and accumulating merit.

Her martial arts skills improved once again, but she still had no clue about the Taiyin Three Souls Technique, the path of cultivation for mortals.

"Where exactly is the path of mortals?" Li Qingxuan asked blankly.

With her future uncertain and fewer and fewer wandering spirits in the vicinity, she decided to go out and travel to various places to help other spirits.

Of course, with her wearing a human skin mask and the golden snake, she would only be mistaken for a member of the Chang family from Qiuyue City.

She was like a spirit detached from the world, or a worldly traveler, merely delivering souls without interacting with people, at most buying some food.

She witnessed the clan seizing land and oppressing orphans and widows. She wanted to draw her sword, but a wandering swordsman beat her to it.

The wandering swordsman turned around and looked at her with a smile: "I am a member of the Way of Peace. The young master said that you do not need to interfere in the mortal world. Just walk your own path. If you enter the mortal world, you will disrupt his plans."

Li Qingxuan remained silent for a moment before continuing her journey.

The young master he spoke of was none other than Gu Yun Shen, who had already sown the seeds of his ambition for peace and prosperity in Yunmeng.

But we can't use the name Yunmeng now, and Taiping Dao is also the representative sect of Ningguo. "No matter how difficult the road ahead may be, I will continue the path of my ancestors and keep going."

Under the cover of night, she caught a ray of moonlight: "Our ancestors brought the path of immortality into the mortal world, making people realize that immortals are spirits and immortal masters, not real immortals. They are also obsessed with immortality, and they bring disaster."

"Gu Yunshen's idea is to bring the path of cultivation into the mortal world, to use the immortal path to fight against the immortal path. Although the nation's fortune is strong, the price to pay is too high, and it will also be used by the immortal path."

She has come a long way and is no longer the naive young girl she once was. She has pondered many things and gained many insights.

Gu Yun Shen didn't have the time or energy to explore the path from mortal to immortal, so he sought her out.

It seems that achieving immortality through martial arts is now a viable path.

But without merit or talent, how can an ordinary person ascend to immortality through martial arts?
Unless, of course, the elves and celestial masters lower their gazes.

But who would lower their gaze to mere mortals like Jiang Zhu?

She took out the page of the Taiping Sutra and looked at the handwriting on it. In a daze, she seemed to see a young swordsman carrying a sword box on his back, heading towards an unknown distance.

"The road is beneath your feet."

She suddenly remembered Jiang Zhu's words, grasped the green lamp, and headed north in the moonlight.

She was no longer confused; her inner energy surged, and she made progress once again.

"Without seeing the path to immortality, how can one become an immortal? I must seek out the true path to immortality in order to find the way forward."

The immortal path is desolate, with only a green lamp for company, sending souls to the netherworld and listening to the stories of wandering spirits.

Although most of their stories were quite ordinary, they still gave her a lot to think about.

In almost every part of Yunmeng, there are members of the Taiping Dao who are enemies of the clans, risking their lives to assassinate core members of the clans, which in turn provokes the clans to launch a large-scale manhunt for the Taiping Dao members.

However, they still did not consider joining the army and heading north to resist Ningguo. In their view, it was nothing more than changing the emperor.

Time flies, and three years have passed in the blink of an eye.

She arrived in the north, where war raged in the distance, corpses littered the land, and countless wandering souls scattered in all directions.

Another group of wandering souls are near the cities occupied by Ningguo. They can't return to Ningguo and have nowhere else to go.

"Yunmeng is a huge cage that locks up all wandering souls, preventing them from leaving."

Li Qingxuan looked up at the sky and seemed to see an invisible barrier.

A white figure rushed over; it was the fairy fox, Hu Ling, who once looked down upon the mortal world.

"Why haven't you left yet? I once warned you as a wandering spirit that Yunmeng is Shuntiandao's territory." Li Qingxuan looked at the white fox, her brows furrowing slightly.

“I can’t leave now,” Hu Ling sighed. “Zhang Ning is dead. He broke a taboo.”

"You've attracted the attention of Shuntiandao?" Li Qingxuan's expression changed slightly.

“No.” Hu Ling shook her head: “He read a page of peace and tranquility and went to an unknown place.”

"A peaceful chapter unfolds, nothing special. So what is this unknown land?" Li Qingxuan asked, puzzled.

“I don’t know either. I’ve been searching for him, but I can’t find where his soul went. After I tried to perform a ritual to appease his soul, I found that I was being targeted.”

Hu Ling spoke in a low voice. Moonlight chains rose from her body, piercing her body and locking her soul. The ends of the chains connected to the void, with no end in sight.

“What is this…” Li Qingxuan looked at the Moonlight Chains in fear.

"After I die, I will remain in Yunmeng forever, just like any other wandering soul. However, I still have a long lifespan."

Hu Ling said, "In fact, wandering souls, and even the people of Yunmeng, are all like this. I once asked Gu Yunshen to send a dying person out of Yunmeng. After that person died, the wandering soul was brought back to Yunmeng by the Moonlight Chains."

"Is there a solution?" Li Qingxuan asked.

“I thought that gathering the three souls would be enough to break the bondage, but it can only send away ordinary wandering souls, not free myself,” Hu Ling said.

"I'll give it a try." Li Qingxuan took out a peach wood lamp, which emitted a dim, yin-like light.

The moonlight chains on Hu Ling's body rattled, causing ripples in the void that spread far and wide.

The Moonbeam Chains showed slight cracks, but ultimately did not break.

The yin light emanating from the peach wood lamp dimmed, and Li Qingxuan put the lamp away, shaking her head slightly: "It can't be solved. Jiang Zhu might be able to help."

“Perhaps I can find him after I die,” Hu Ling said. “It has no effect on me now.”

"Why are you still so fixated on Zhang Ning? Have you not let go of what happened back then?" Li Qingxuan asked.

“I also inherited Taiping’s ambition. I love the carefree, war-free Peach Blossom Village. At first, I didn’t know how to cherish it. Only after losing it did I regret it.” Hu Ling said in a low voice.

Li Qingxuan sighed softly, "The beautiful Peach Blossom Village can never be returned to. You can establish a new Peach Blossom Village."

Hu Ling paused for a moment before returning to the previous topic: "After Taiping Yiye entered the South, Zhang Ning saw a unique scene there. It was a strange tree whose name he did not know. He only saw its roots, which were like mountain ranges, stretching endlessly."

"Why can't I see it?" Li Qingxuan asked, frowning.

“It must be the residual power of the Candlelight from the Taiping Yiye that was triggered by Zhang Ning. He is the one chosen by the Candlelight.” Hu Ling said in a deep voice, “When he came to Yunmeng, the Taiping Yiye was also touched by bandits, but they did not obtain the power of the Candlelight. Only he saw it.”

Li Qingxuan was stunned. Was Zhang Ning the person chosen by the Candlelight?

“I will continue to pursue him. By the way, I suspect that Tuolong has joined the Longevity Path or the Heavenly Path, otherwise he would not have deliberately led the Ning Kingdom army there.”

Hu Ling said coldly, "I now realize that what they fear is the lingering power of the Candlelight on the Page of Peace."

"Then why did they leave Father and the others behind?" Li Qingxuan frowned.

"The blood feud of Taoyuan." Hu Ling looked at Ningguo: "If the emperor of Ningguo really succeeds, how stable will his country be? If he also takes Yunmeng, the fate of the country will change in ways that no one can predict."

When the two countries are united, the nation's fortunes will expand like never before.

“They dare not come out, but you who bear the blood feud of Taoyuan will seek revenge for generations. Li Wanzhang always manages to escape danger on the battlefield, with someone helping him to take the blows. In my opinion, it is all a miracle.”

Hu Ling sneered, "I don't believe there's no trace of them behind this."

"Alligator Dragon, why did you join them?"

"Li Qingping has terrified them, both for immortality and for destroying a peaceful era."

It's not just the Longevity Path and the Heavenly Path that are afraid; how many living spirits and immortal masters are not afraid? Will there be another Li Qingping in the world?

"Are they eavesdropping on our conversation right now?" Li Qingxuan asked with concern.

"No, they don't dare to directly spy on me. They think that Taiping Yiye is still on me and are still wary of Taiping Yiye's power. They don't know that Taiping Yiye has lost its power of illumination."

A dense golden light of merit rose from Hu Ling's body and entered Li Qingxuan's body. He then took out a wooden tablet with the Taiping Dao inscribed on it: "Take it. Also, take this Dao certificate. It is a forgery, but it can keep us in the dark for a few months. Find a path for the mortals, take over from Li Qingping, and continue on this path."

Li Qingxuan bowed respectfully, carried the sword case on her back, and walked towards the wandering souls of Ningguo in the distance.

The countless wandering souls, lost and desperate, longed to return to Ningguo and their homeland, but the moonlight held them captive, preventing them from leaving no matter how hard they tried.

The peach wood lantern that was being held aloft caught their attention, illuminating the darkness and the wandering spirits.

"With the green lamp as a blessing, peace and tranquility prevail. It illuminates the darkness, dispels confusion, and guides us to our final destination..."

One by one, the green lamps rose, shining so brightly and dazzlingly in the darkness.

(End of this chapter)