The Path to Immortality Begins with the Life-Extending Lamp

Chapter 10 Filthy Dao Artifacts
Chunyu Ye is at the middle level of Qi Refining. Although he does not cultivate Qi, his dantian spiritual power has already circulated more than half of the body. Combined with the swarm of poisonous bees and insects, he is truly a dangerous person.

Lü Qingshu was also about to enter the middle level, with a profound and abundant Qi throughout her body, and she was skilled in using flying needles to manipulate objects, making her no ordinary person.

As for Li Qing, his Qi circulation was only about sixty quarters. After summoning paper figures and activating the minor fire-corroding technique a few times, his true Qi would be almost depleted. How could he possibly fight against them like this?
The two former military officers were stung to the ground by the rotting corpse bees in a single encounter.

The two assumed he had some strange methods, but Li Qing knew his own shortcomings, so how could he use his weaknesses to attack his strengths?
Phosphorescent flames burned eerily, blocking the only entrance to the dark room. Green flames rose, making the temperature of the entire secret room so high that it burned one's skin.

Chunyu Ye's insect magic was thus restricted. Even though they were poisonous insects of a different species, they were naturally afraid of those clusters of flames. Even this veteran insect master could not persuade the peaks to do this moth-to-a-flame thing.

Faced with their complaints and cold rebukes, Li Qing remained silent.

With a snap, the Red Willow Whip unleashed its true energy, like a green dragon probing the sea from within its sleeve. A fierce wind brushed against the face, narrowly missing the Insect Master's robes before crashing to his feet.

The whip cracked the floor, sending the phosphorescent flames flying everywhere. The two men were startled and retreated hastily, cursing under their breath.

The paper lady figure, with her colorful red and green silk body, held a white paper lantern and placed it in front of Li Qing. Before the phosphorescent flames could even touch the paper lantern, they instantly turned into green flames and were swallowed up by the candle.

With a slight sway of her flowing sleeves, she revealed a sharp edge like a steel blade, cleaving the headless, scurrying poisonous centipede in two.

"I'm waiting to perform the hand seals and fold paper, but what about you? What are you waiting for?"

Li Qing sneered and clapped his hands. Shearing the spirit papers flutter out from his sleeves, they stacked and intertwined in an instant, transforming into three blank paper lanterns that floated up.

As soon as the phosphorescent light on the Flame Life Candle held by the paper figure flickered, the two Phosphorescent Seeds were instantly activated, igniting the three paper lamps in an instant.

Suddenly, thick smoke billowed and green flames rose. The three paper lanterns, imbued with spiritual essence and touched by phosphorescent fire, transformed into eerie green fireballs, chasing after Chunyu Ye like will-o'-the-wisps devouring people...

Another loud explosion followed.

The suicide attack's "ghost lantern" exploded, instantly turning the swarm of bees and insects into nothingness. The entire dark room was covered by the scattered afterglow, and Chunyu Ye, caught in the explosion, had nowhere to hide, his entire right arm covered in phosphorescent flames.

"what!!"

The arm had just been engulfed in emerald flames when the flesh and blood dissolved instantly, leaving only the embers spreading on the scorched, blackish-yellow arm bones—a truly cruel sight.

Even Lü Qingshu, who was further away, had her clothes stained with the phosphorescent flames. If she hadn't acted quickly enough to tear off her green robe in advance and cover it with her true qi to shield herself three feet in front of her, she probably would have followed in the footsteps of the Insect Master.

The two captains who had been stung unconscious were instantly devoured by the azure flames, turning into charred corpses in a gruesome sight.

By this time, Li Qing's three phosphorescent seeds had been completely exhausted, and his Qi of the Heavenly Cycle was now less than half complete.

He concealed a fiery talisman within his sleeve, then stealthily retreated behind the paper figure, letting out a cold laugh:
"A Mushishi? Its true form is indeed fragile!"

Folding paper into a lamp, its phosphorescent light turning it blue, and then using true qi to drive the paper lamp in a suicidal attack—this was a little trick created by Li Qing, not even worthy of being called magic.

However, in this narrow, yet still filled with the embers of phosphorescent flames, this seemingly ordinary trick was enough to kill any Daoist who had not cultivated a protective aura.

No one could escape the attack of that "ghost lantern" in this confined space.

At that moment, a "ghost fire lantern" fell, and the temperature in the entire secret room rose sharply. Even breathing was so hot that it burned one's throat.

But the group paid no attention to such a trivial matter, instead focusing their attention on their opponents!

Chunyu Ye endured the pain and twisted off the charred arm. The intense pain almost made him faint, and he had no intention of refuting the young Taoist's provocation.

Despite the excruciating pain and helplessness, he somersaulted past Lü Qingshu and was about to rush into the inner room.

Lu Qingshu was also dissatisfied at this moment. She flicked her flying needle and pierced through the insect master's legs, pinning him to his knees. She then turned and stared coldly at Li Qing.

"Were you just trying to kill me too, Li...Qing!"

He did have spirit candles and paper lanterns that could control fire, but he himself almost perished in those phosphorescent flames.

What a wicked devil, Li Qing! He's truly so insidious!
"The basic flame manipulation skills learned in the temple are enough to control that mortal fire. Many of the phosphorescent flames have already avoided the position where Senior Sister was standing just now."

"If Senior Sister had stood still, all the flames would have avoided that direction and passed right by her."

"I'm afraid that my senior sister has never trusted me."

Before Li Qing could even look directly at Lü Qingshu, he took out a brand-new blue Taoist robe from his mustard seed bag and tossed it over.

Pointing again to that "pure land" untouched by the azure flames, it was indeed the area where Lü Qingshu had been standing that was the blind spot where the phosphorescent fire was shooting out.

But each time, she dodged it...

"You guy!"

Lu Qingshu was almost unable to catch her breath after being rebuked by those words, but Li Qing's words were indeed true, and the phosphorescent fire had indeed avoided her.

However, the fire was so raging at the time, how could she dare to gamble on the character of this mere fellow disciple?
At the very least, he should have said something before casting the spell!

He snorted coldly, which calmed his anger somewhat. With a wave of his hand, he instantly took Li Qing's Taoist robe and draped it over her, covering her tall, fair figure.

Just then, the insect master groaned and knelt down. Before he could control the insect swarm or prepare the beast-sacrificing pouch, the young Taoist quickly caught up in two steps, flicked his sleeve with the True Qi of the Eight Trigrams of the Dragon, and snapped his neck with a single palm strike.

Seeing Li Qing's resolute and ruthless nature, the female Taoist priest who was still trying to find fault with him immediately shut her mouth, only secretly sighing in her heart, "What a heartless and cold-blooded young Taoist priest!"

Even she herself hadn't expected to be so decisive in killing this insect master.

"Actually, I'm very curious, why were you so certain that Chunyu Ye was behind it?"

"Just because he's from the South?"

Lu Qingshu dodged the embers on the ground, made a hand seal, and instantly retrieved the flying needle that had pierced the insect master's feet. Through the strange paper figure, she asked Li Qing a question.

He guessed it right! His keen intuition is truly worthy of the nickname "Ghost Boy"!

"Confident? Do people like yours need to be confident?"

Li Qing raised an eyebrow and chuckled softly.

He simply didn't believe that the Prefect Lü's family chose to take action because they trusted his judgment enough.

In this kind of officialdom, regardless of whether Chunyu Ye is the person behind it or not, he can't escape being called the culprit, right?

"Heh, Junior Brother is indeed a remarkable person!"

Upon hearing Li Qing's blunt words, Lü Qingshu finally couldn't help but shake her head and chuckle, offering no rebuttal.

With a flick of his finger, he deftly lifted the beast-taming pouch and mustard seed bag from Chunyu Ye's waist.

This beast-taming bag alone would probably cost at least 1500 zhu in Lin Yuan Mountain.

Tiannan Temple has no special methods for raising beasts, and this beast-taming bag that can hold living creatures is even more priceless and unavailable!

When Li Qing saw the female Taoist priest pick up the two bags, the corners of her mouth turned up so wide she couldn't suppress it. How could she not know that the female Taoist priest had gotten something good? She was secretly grumbling to herself.

"Woooo..."

Suddenly, a muffled groan could be heard in the dark corridor of the room.

Anyone else?
Li Qing's eyes turned cold in an instant. The paper figure carrying a lantern, its toes barely touching the ground, seemed like a ghostly spirit, drifting into the deep, dark room.

Just as she stepped into the inner room, what she saw made Li Qing pause slightly.

The stone chamber was about the size of a room, with precious candlesticks made of whale oil hanging on the four sides of the dome, illuminating the space as if it were daytime.

The phosphorus explosion that just occurred only affected the dark room outside; it had little impact on the inner room.

"That is?"

The paper figure stepped forward, flicked its water sleeves, and instantly severed the curtains. The black gauze curtains, numbered 39, fell down one by one, revealing a strange "array".

The first thing that came into view was a burly beast with a weak and feeble aura, its flesh and bones pierced by rows of black iron chains, lying helplessly on the black coffin.

The weak, muffled whimpering sound came from the black dog spirit.

"Is this some kind of ritual?"

The paper figure and Li Qing approached the black coffin ritual site cautiously, one on the left and one on the right. Surprisingly, there were no traps here!
"really!"

Before the ritual platform stood a jade platform about three feet high, upon which lay a sheet of black paper, covered with over a thousand inscriptions that looked like scribbles.

It seems that Chunyu Ye often looked at this strange piece of paper, the whole black paper had begun to fade.

Li Qing skimmed through the unorthodox secret record, then looked at the black chains, the coffin, the dog blood, and the black curtain...

His pupils immediately dilated.

Hearing footsteps approaching from behind, he activated his true qi and instantly stored the unorthodox secret record into his mustard seed pouch!
"What did you find?" Lü Qingshu walked slowly from the outer room, her steps unsteady, and curiously examined the layout of the inner room.

The finest candle, refined from whale oil from the East Sea, burns with a delicate fragrance and can illuminate the night for more than three months; the intricately carved lotus lantern from jade from the Southern Mountains, the chains of black iron, and the black coffin made of dark wood…

How could Chunyu Ye, a recluse, be so extravagant?
Looking again at the black dog spirit that seemed to be performing some kind of sacrificial ritual, Lü Qingshu probably knew how that guy got his wealth.

"This guy was willing to do anything! He deserved to die!"

Although I don't know what kind of ritual it was, I suppose it was just some kind of unorthodox or unorthodox secret technique!

Li Qing, however, was unable to calm down. With her back to Senior Sister Lü, she turned her gaze to the barely breathing black dog.

"Damn it, this dog demon's essence is corrupted, its blood energy is so depleted?"

"That idiot Chunyu Ye is such a waste of talent!"

Immediately afterwards, the Taoist in blue robes rushed forward, his true qi surging, and as if venting his anger, he smashed the messy set of ritual objects.

He then took out a vessel, performed a hand seal, and it turned out to be a blood-drawing spell?
Lu Qingshu thought to himself that this junior brother must have taken a fancy to the black dog's spirit blood, which was why he accepted the dog demon's commission.
Indeed, black dog blood is a common material used in many exorcism and unorthodox spells, let alone a black dog that has become a spirit.
Seeing that the black dog seemed to have been drained of its life force, and hearing the young Taoist's rather resentful and complaining words.

Lu Qingshu felt that she was being too greedy. The mid-grade insect master's entire fortune was in her hands, and the mustard seed pouch and beast taming bag were right under her nose.

This poor junior brother only wanted that black dog demon, and now he can't even pick up a single dog hair!
Should I not be in the way of this?

Taking advantage of the young man's blood-drawing, Lü Qingshu slipped away as if her feet were greased. She left behind only the words, "Junior brother, please continue with your business; I'll go and take care of the aftermath!" and then vanished.

She'd better carefully sift through Chunyu Ye's mustard seed bag and beast-taming pouch to see what good stuff is inside...

Unexpectedly, as she retreated, Li Qing, who had her back to her, also breathed a sigh of relief.

Black coffin nails.

Judging from the way this black dog looks like its life force is about to be drained, could it be that this vile magical artifact is about to be completed?

Even the most ordinary finished ritual implement costs at least 1000 baht, and those of slightly better quality command even higher prices.

With a sliver of hope, Li Qing decided to give the old dog, who was teetering between life and death, a quick death.

They took only a vial of its most precious heart's blood and began searching the corpse.

"Inside the chest and abdomen?"

The paper figure beside him flicked its flowing sleeves, tearing the corpse apart and taking out a three-inch black nail.

These black nails resembled a twisted spine, with numerous unidentified bone patterns naturally formed, yet they also seemed harder than refined iron, causing dizziness and headaches with just a glance.

The Filthy Ritual Implement - Black Coffin Nail!
However, before Li Qing could even feel happy, an even bigger surprise followed.

In an instant, the paper spirit's eyes suddenly began to move, its pupils, which resembled spirit beads, darting around uncontrollably.

The life-extending paper lantern he was holding fell to the ground with a pop.

Before Li Qing could react, the paper figure stained with dog blood instantly went out of control and rioted.

A sudden, curved crack appeared on her pale face, and layers of red and green wrinkles fell off as if shedding skin. Her increasingly pale body was covered with dense, ghostly scribbles that resembled tadpole-like patterns, constantly moving up and down, a truly terrifying sight!
This……

Li Qing immediately began to perform a hand seal, trying to activate the spiritual seal within the core of the paper spirit. However, the thought she sent into the paper spirit seemed to sink into the ocean without any response.

Damn.

He suddenly remembered that the opening of the Paper Doll Manual stated that the Paper Spirit Secret Technique should not be tainted by evil spirits or attract demons.

This black dog blood shouldn't be touched!
This time, the paper figure transformed, as if it wanted to drain the essence and blood of the entire black dog spirit. Its two flowing sleeves were stained with blood, turning a dark red color, like two blood-stained whips being swung around.

Is it about to devour its master?

The changes in the paper spirit were still emerging, and even Li Qing felt a slight tremor in her heart at this moment.

"Something's not right with this paper figure. An ordinary paper figure could never undergo such a change."

However, no matter how puzzled he was, this was not a suitable place for him to investigate.

With a surge of true qi from Li Qing's sleeve, the willow whip extended, like a serpent emerging from its hole, fiercely gripping the neck of the paper spirit of the lady. With a movement of true qi, it instantly flung the paper figure out from in front of the black coffin.

Ignoring the strange changes the paper spirit had undergone, he stepped forward, unleashing the True Qi of the Eight Trigrams of the Dragon from his sleeve, and struck the top of her head with a palm, forcefully shattering the violent, ghostly talismanic patterns.

Then, with a hand seal, he dispersed its spiritual energy, folded it into a thin piece of paper, and then threw it into his mustard seed pouch.

This little thing, it even dared to devour its master...

About half an hour later.

Judge Lü and his soldiers were still arguing with the sorcerers.

boom……

With a thud, the emaciated corpse, so withered it was practically nothing but a dog's skin and skeleton, was thrown in front of Chunyu's residence.

Clearly, this is the "dog demon"!
No one had any more words to argue about it.

They all raised their eyes and looked at the Taoist priest in blue, as if they wanted to know more details from him!
Li Qing glanced at everyone casually, picked up the paper lantern with its eerie candlelight, and headed out.

"Please wait a moment, sir. Could you perhaps inform Chunyu of this..."

A sorcerer they had never met before suggested that the Taoist disciple be detained for further questioning. The sorcerer's household had been caught red-handed, unjustly implicated; what were they to do?

Chunyu Ye, you bastard, you've got us all in deep trouble!

"The only task the temple received was to kill this dog demon, and you only killed this dog demon, nothing more."

He had no desire to get involved in the power struggles within the state capital; that would be utterly uninteresting.

Ignoring everyone's attempts to persuade her to stay, Li Qing gently picked up the life-extending paper lantern, and with a swaying step, disappeared into the night in the blink of an eye.

All the changes in Lanfeng Prefecture City will not have much to do with him; he has only gone down the mountain to complete a mid-grade Daoist disciple mission!

Under the cover of night, he needed to get out of the city before the curfew in Nalanfeng City, and look up at the moon's coordinates at this moment; there was still time.

As they passed through the city gate, the soldier on duty seemed to want to offer a friendly reminder, but upon seeing Li Qing's Taoist robe and the paper lantern glowing with an eerie candlelight, fear ultimately prevailed, and he swallowed his words of advice, staring awkwardly at the ghostly figure...

However, Li Qing had not yet left Lanfeng Prefecture.

Then a fierce figure blocked his way!

"Junior brother, are you leaving all alone without even saying goodbye?"

Lu Qingshu slowly emerged from the darkness ahead, still wearing that ill-fitting blue Taoist robe, and chuckled lightly as she teased.

"Otherwise what?" Li Qing glanced at the female Taoist priest, asked a question, and headed southwest without looking back.

Seeing this, Lü Qingshu pouted, instinctively feeling that the Taoist was boring, and stopped joking with him.

He simply took out a golden Ganoderma lucidum, about the size of two palms and filled with a misty spiritual energy, from his sleeve, and with a flick of his wrist, tossed it toward that indifferent figure.

"There are quite a few good things in Chunyu Ye's mustard seed bag, including two disciple life tokens from the Six Spirits Mountain in Qingping Prefecture!"

"Look at you, you've made a wasted trip, your true qi is almost depleted. Hmph, at least you won't say that your senior sister is bullying you."

"Golden Lingzhi is a rare spiritual object from the Ba Kingdom in the Western Wilderness. The Southern Kingdom and the Ba Kingdom want to establish friendly relations, and this is a rare item that can only be obtained from the Ministry of Revenue..."

The female Taoist priest crossed her arms, looking down at Li Qing with an air of pity for her junior brother.

“A five-hundred-year-old golden Ganoderma lucidum, ground into thin slices daily, can be boiled in water as a supplementary treatment to greatly help you increase your Qi throughout the body.”

"Remember, please make sure the reply to the request from the temple is well written!"

With a haughty tone and a few words of advice, the female Taoist's figure slowly disappeared into the darkness...

Li Qing stood there, holding the golden Ganoderma lucidum from Ba Kingdom wrapped in gold foil in his palm.

"understood!"

Regardless of whether Lü Qingshu heard her or not, Li Qing nodded and turned to face another direction...

(End of this chapter)