Longevity Candle

Chapter 88 They fell on the road to immortality

Chen Xuanzhi led his troops away, and Xue Wanshan and Chen Ming also kept quiet.

Li Qingxuan rested peacefully on the mountaintop, seeing off the wandering souls and comprehending martial arts.

Time flies, and Li Qingxuan is thirty years old.

The green lamp beside him shone brightly, and Jiang Zhu awoke from his deep sleep.

He saw hundreds and thousands of wandering souls. Upon seeing him, they felt fear and wanted to retreat.

Jiang Zhu concealed his aura, appearing as if he were an ordinary wandering spirit: "Don't be afraid, I just woke up, I didn't come here for you."

With a wave of his hand, the power of the Taiyin magic transformed into countless green lamps, covering the mountain peak.

“Uncle Jiang Zhu,” Li Qingxuan called out, putting down the Taiyin Green Lamp in her hand. “I am here to send off souls. The battlefield is not far away. After the soldiers of Ning Kingdom die, they cannot return to Ning Kingdom. I have come to send them off.”

Jiang Zhu nodded, noticing the rich merit emanating from her and the peach wood lamp: "You did very well. Where's Old Crow?"

"The Crow Immortal has left with Gu Yun Shen..."

A wisp of Yin energy appeared in Li Qingxuan's hand, recording the events that had occurred over the years: "The methods of the Three Souls are all contained within."

Jiang Zhu processed her memories and took the opportunity to master the Three Souls Technique: "Old Crow's supernatural powers are extraordinary. Do you want to comprehend the methods of mortals cultivating immortality?"

“Yes.” Li Qingxuan looked worried. “I still have no clue. Maybe I can succeed when I reach the martial arts level of my ancestor.”

Jiang Zhu pondered carefully: "Mortals, immortals... I'll ask Old Crow and Gu Yun Shen first."

“We don’t know where they are,” Li Qingxuan said.

"Give it a try." Jiang Zhu's fingertips glowed with the light of the moon, a ray of silver light, sacred and vast: "Jiang Zhu with the green lamp, please invite the three-headed crows, Gu Yun Shen of the Taiping Dao, to come and meet me."

The light of the moon disappeared into the void in an instant, traversing the void and vanishing to who knows where.

About fifteen minutes later, the void shimmered with the light of the moon, which transformed into silver chains that bound the three-headed raven and Gu Yun Shen, freeing them from the void.

The three-headed raven's soul body has recovered somewhat from its previous injuries, while Gu Yun Shen's soul body is weak and feeble.

The man and the bird stared at each other blankly, asking, "We really came? What's going on?"

"The method of guiding the soul," Jiang Zhu said calmly.

"Isn't the Soul-Guiding Technique for summoning wandering souls?" Gu Yun Shen frowned. "How come it brought my soul and the old crow's soul together?"

"Can't we use a living person?" Jiang Zhu was slightly taken aback. "The soul-summoning technique wasn't mentioned either. Is there any discomfort?"

"We feel fine and have met the Green Lamp Spirits." Gu Yun Shen bowed and said, "We heard your summons and thought we were being tricked and had been satiated by the old crow. Only after agreeing did we come here."

"Do I need to agree?" Jiang Zhu asked.

“Yes, but there’s a strange attraction that I couldn’t resist. It was the old crow that stopped me for a moment. After I sobered up from the blood-drinking, I finally agreed to come,” Gu Yunshen said.

Jiang Zhu nodded. It would be normal to need consent; bringing them over directly would be too domineering.

“The chains we just saw seem similar to the restraints on the fairy fox Hu Ling,” Li Qingxuan said.

"And that little fox, please come along too." Jiang Zhu sent out another sliver of moonlight from his fingertips.

The white fox's spirit was so real that it bowed and said, "Little fox Hu Ling greets the spirit of the green lamp."

"Bring the old crow back later, and I'll perform a ritual to revive him and see if he can recover," Jiang Zhu said.

“Not for now. Once I recover, the Soul-Guiding Lamp will sense it. I hope you can wait until we finish our plan.” The old crow said, “Over the years, through the Taiyin Soul Refining technique, I have recovered some of my health.”

"A plan? What big thing are you planning?" Jiang Zhu asked.

Gu Yunshen said, "I have already persuaded my elder brother to abandon Yunmeng Kingdom and use the dragon energy to impact Shuntian Dao."

"Have you found the Way of Heaven?" Li Qingxuan asked.

“The old crow’s home,” Gu Yunshen said in a low voice.

The old crow chimed in, "He wants to emulate Li Qingping and find a way out for Yunmeng."

After a moment's thought, Jiang Zhu understood his plan: "You want to give up resistance and let the Ning Kingdom's army completely occupy Yunmeng?"

"Yes." Gu Yunshen nodded and said, "Yunmeng is beyond saving. If the one from Ningguo can swallow Yunmeng, then I am paving the way for him. If not, the gentry and nobles of Ningguo will not give up their current interests. They will confront the Yunmeng clan."

"Unfortunately, I cannot contact the Longevity Path, otherwise, I would be more confident in this matter."

Jiang Zhu looked at him in surprise, and was also shocked by his audacity: "You also want to attract the Longevity Path?"

“If possible, I would like to lure them here,” Gu Yunshen said. “Anyway, I can’t survive. This cage of Yunmeng needs to be broken. It’s not enough for me and the old crow alone. If there are those who have achieved immortality, the chances of success will be much greater.”

“They won’t come,” Jiang Zhu pondered. “You said it yourself, Yunmeng is a cage. Without absolute certainty, the Longevity Path won’t easily intervene.”

The Changsheng Sect was seriously injured in the battle of Ningguo, and they will not take risks easily again.

For an ordinary person to dare to try and drive a tiger to devour a wolf is truly audacious.

Gu Yunshen sighed silently, knowing that his idea was somewhat far-fetched.

"I remembered the old dragon. He was once guided by me and was raised by me, but when I was in trouble, he chose to stand by and do nothing."

"If he had intervened back then, Shuntiandao would never have been able to so easily seize Youmingtian, and I wouldn't have lost the Soul-Guiding Lamp."

The old crow said in a low voice, "Before that, he promised to help me, and now he's helping me again. I'm not sure what he's up to."

"Then keep a close eye on it." Jiang Zhu pondered, "Do you have any leads on how to transform from mortal to immortal?"

"I have no clue yet. I know too little about the path of immortality." Gu Yunshen shook his head.

The old crow shook its three heads in unison: "I have no idea either. I'm not in my right mind and can't understand."

Jiang Zhu then looked at Hu Ling and sensed the chains binding her: "Are these chains the power of the Soul-Guiding Lamp that binds her?"

"It shouldn't be. The Soul-Guiding Lamp wouldn't harm living beings," the old crow said.

“There is also a lamp inside this Taiyin Soul Refining Stone.” Li Qingxuan took out the Taiyin Soul Refining Stone.

Jiang Zhu took it and examined the Taiyin Soul Refining Stone, his expression changing: "The lamp inside contains the power of illumination."

"What?" the old crow exclaimed in surprise, its three heads saying simultaneously, "Impossible! How could the Taiyin Soul Refining Stone seal away the power of the Candle Illumination?"

"You'll see when you look." A brilliant light emanated from Jiang Zhu's palm, dazzling and captivating.

Old Crow, Gu Yunshen, and Hu Ling were on high alert and wanted to hide, but were protected by Jiang Zhu's power and were then at ease.

Inside the Taiyin Soul Refining Stone, lights were lit and candlelight flickered. The brilliant light gathered around, forming a series of pictures.

Golden light and auspicious clouds, magnificent palaces and towering buildings, stand above the clouds, sacred and grand.

"A celestial palace, could it be a fairyland?" Li Qingxuan looked at the images, and realized that even the legendary fairyland was nothing more than this.

The old crow also looked surprised; none of its three heads recognized the scene, perhaps because they had forgotten it, or perhaps because they had never seen it before.

A new scene emerges: an extraordinaryly tall tree emerges from beneath the clouds, breaking through them, its branches and leaves boundless, blotting out the sky and shrouding the celestial palace.

"The strange tree, the strange tree that Zhang Ning saw!" Hu Ling said excitedly.

"How can the power of Taiping Yiye's illumination see the strange tree?" Jiang Zhu frowned. "Li Qingping has never been to the South." He knew where Li Qingping's ancient illumination came from, so it wasn't hard to guess.

Yao Yao died in the north, and Li Qingping borrowed merit from the grasslands. The only spirits and immortal masters he could contact, besides Tian She Nu, were from the northern grasslands.

If Tian She Nu possesses the ancient power of illumination, he cannot hide it from Tian She Nu's perception. Given his high regard for Li Qingping, he will also use the power of illumination to protect Li Qingping.

Therefore, the only explanation is the North.

Although he inherited the method of "Illuminating the Darkness," he was well aware of his own limitations and therefore did not cling to the ancient method of illumination.

Those elves and immortal masters on the grasslands are not benevolent people.

He never expected that in this southern region, the ancient Taiyin Soul Refining Stone would still contain the power of illumination.

But why is it also a lamp?

The old crow had no memory of this, and Gu Yunshen was deeply moved as he looked at the images.

The magnificent palaces and towering trees in the sky, with their boundless branches and leaves, all demonstrate that these are things that no mortal could create.

Even those ancient spirits, placed in this celestial palace, are merely embellishments.

The scene continues to unfold, and the three-headed raven appears, landing on a silver-white palace, its brilliant silver light sacred and vast, like the source of the moon.

A blurry figure in white beckoned to him, and the old crow obediently landed in the other's arms, letting the other gently stroke its feathers.

"Taiyin Youying, it must be Taiyin Youying!"

The old crow said excitedly, "O ancient, dark firefly, when will you look down upon me again?"

The figure in white released the old crow, took flight, and left the sky, never to return.

The scene shifted, and after an unknown amount of time, the magnificent palace collapsed, the strange tree also fell down with a crash, and the sacred heavenly palace turned to ashes.

An old crow, carrying a silver lamp in its beak, descends down the strange tree, and the scene ends there, transforming into a ray of golden light.

The light of candlelight!

The light was brilliant and spread, affecting everyone.

An aged voice echoed in Jiang Zhu's mind: "We have pursued the Candlelight and the Shadow of the Netherworld for many years, carrying the flame of the Candlelight, and finally ascended to the Boundless Heaven of the Moon. We saw the celestial palace and obtained the ancient Moon Immortal Stone, which can help elevate the soul. Overjoyed, we have been immersed in it for a hundred years..."

"Thousands of years later, we explored the power of the immortal stones and created the method of refining the soul. Although this method strengthens the soul and prolongs life, it cannot grant immortality. The path to immortality is hopeless. Ancient candlelight, why do you not look down on us?"

We've reached our limit in our search for wood; we're running out of time.

We will abandon our physical bodies and, as wandering souls, descend along the Seeking Tree to the Netherworld of the Taiyin, to verify what we desire: is there immortality, is there an afterlife…

"The three-headed crows will carry the Taiyin Soul-Guiding Lamp to illuminate the netherworld, helping us find the netherworld and explore the path to immortality."

Let us record this past with the light of a candle, hoping that those who come after will remember it and not take it as a method to achieve immortality, nor seek any afterlife.

The Path to Immortality!
Jiang Zhu sighed deeply: "This must be the ancient path to immortality. They pursued the illuminating light of the elusive fire and fell on the path to immortality."

The others awoke one after another, and they all received the news.

The old crow was completely bewildered: "Am I also a follower of the Path to Immortality?"

“It seems so,” Jiang Zhu said. “But you have long forgotten that the current path to immortality is not the same as the path to immortality of the past.”

The old crow was very ancient, even older than the old dragon of Nanling. In his time, it should not have been the era of killing spirits to prolong life.

They are a group of beings who purely pursue immortality.

The candlelight did not dissipate. Jiang Zhu caught the candlelight, and inside was a method, a method they had created, and one of the three soul methods of the old crow, Taiyin Soul Refining.

They studied the Taiyin Soul Refining Technique as a method for achieving immortality.

Their souls were already extremely powerful, but they still could not achieve immortality.

In their pursuit of immortality, they abandoned their physical bodies and chose to journey to the underworld.

According to their description, the Xunmu tree has branches that stretch for thousands of miles, reaching the clouds, casting its shade over the four corners of the earth, and covering the Yu Abyss below.

The tree, which connects to the boundless heavens of the Taiyin realm above and to the dark underworld below, leads them to the underworld because they cannot find immortality there.

As for what lies in the netherworld, no one knows; the old crow has forgotten that memory.

"Why would they want to destroy the Boundless Yin Heaven?" Li Qingxuan asked, frowning.

"It wasn't them who destroyed it; it was Xunmu who died and could no longer support that sky," Jiang Zhu explained.

Xunmu died young, missing his chance, and they could no longer successfully enter the Netherworld.

"They can only enter the Netherworld through the Seeking Wood method? Then weren't the Soul Guiding and Soul Ritual created by them?" Gu Yunshen chimed in.

Jiang Zhu said, "The methods of guiding souls and ceremonizing souls were not mentioned. Perhaps they forgot to mention them, or perhaps they felt that with the soul-guiding lamp, there was no need to create new methods of guiding souls and ceremonizing souls. They also had no intention of coming to the mortal world to send souls to the underworld."

"Then, is the place we send the wandering souls to the Netherworld?" Li Qingxuan asked, her face showing doubt.

"I don't know." Jiang Zhu and the old crow shook their heads at the same time.

Hu Ling also shook her head: "It's too ancient, and it's difficult to trace, unless the Three-Headed Raven can recover its memories."

"Once I recover, I might be able to remember." The old crow looked at the Taiyin Soul Refining Stone: "Besides helping the soul grow stronger and possessing vast Taiyin power, does this stone have any other use?"

Jiang Zhu examined the Taiyin Soul Refining Stone: "Can it be used to seal the ancient Candlelight Flame? Is that considered its function?"

"Yes," the old crows nodded in unison.

"If nothing has changed, I should be in the Netherworld. Is the Netherworld my home?" the old crow said again.

"We must seek an answer from the Heavenly Dao," Jiang Zhu said.

The old crow sighed, and Gu Yunshen said, "I will accompany you to search. Jiang Zhu, let's take us back."

Jiang Zhu nodded, and a ray of silver light enveloped them, sending them away.

After seeing them off, he looked at Hu Ling, and Taiyin magic power appeared in his palm, landing on Hu Ling.

The Taiyin chains that bound her quickly retreated.

Hu Ling felt relieved: "Thank you, Green Lamp Spirit."

“Now you can go back to Ningguo,” Jiang Zhu said.

"I want to continue searching for Zhang Ning." Hu Ling was unwilling to leave; she hadn't given up yet.

Jiang Zhu didn't force her to leave. He waved her away and sat down next to Li Qingxuan, his mind filled with thoughts of the Three Souls Technique and the Peach Blossom Sword Manual.

"If you want to glimpse the immortals through the mortal realm, perhaps you can start with the Three Souls Technique," Jiang Zhu said.

"The Three Souls Technique?" Li Qingxuan asked hurriedly, "Uncle Jiang Zhu, is there any progress?"

"The Three Souls Method is a method of immortality. The Taiyin Refines the Soul. Ordinary wandering souls can grow stronger to a certain extent and also cultivate. This is the path to immortality through mortal means."

Jiang Zhu pondered, "But the soul and body are one. The body protects the soul, but it also restricts it... Time is too short. I need to organize my thoughts."

(End of this chapter)