The Path to Immortality Begins with the Life-Extending Lamp

Chapter 105 Daoist Techniques and Power

Three cups shared, and all grudges vanished?
The two Zifu involved exchanged glances through the wine pot on the table in an instant.

On one side is a renowned hero of the East China Sea, who was ambushed and killed, and is filled with resentment; on the other side is a long-ruling sea general, who has lost his footing and is now untamed.

However, with the mediation of the Seven Star Treasure Pavilion in Lixu Continent, the two of them toned down their arrogance to some extent.

If Marquis Wang wants to gain a foothold in this territory, he can give this old man a way out. As for the little Pei Daoist, there will be plenty of time to deal with him in the future. His most urgent task is to find a place to stand!
Just give them a chance.

Pei Jiu, unaffected by the lightning magic, remained calm, yet the arrogance deep within his eyes grew even stronger.

Pei Daoren has always entered the Dao through chivalry. Now he is not far from reaching the Purple Mansion Foundation. Once he breaks through, the Dao lineage of Chaojiang Prefecture in the East Sea will have a leader. At that time, he will call on his friends and invite fellow disciples to help him. He will definitely chop off the head of this thief and have it as a snack.

Only in this way can he offer sacrifices to the lives of the thirty-seven farmhands he had raised from childhood!

But today, he really doesn't have that ability.

The two were secretly competing, but their faces remained solemn.

Then, the Taoist Pei got up, took the wine pot, and after pondering for a moment, walked straight toward Marquis Wang's desk.

Upon seeing how cooperative this Taoist Pei was, the young Taoist behind the Ninth Elder immediately showed a hint of trepidation and secretly cheered.

This disguise was discreet enough, but it still didn't escape the Ninth Elder's discerning eye. The old Taoist merely glanced at the Taoist from the side, and the latter immediately began to look away.

While many Taoists were focused on Pei Jiu and Wang Hou, the interaction between the two, who looked like grandfather and grandson, was noticed by Li Qing, whose mind was elsewhere!
"These Taoists from the Seven Star Pavilion were just given a little hardship by Master Guan a few days ago, so they're generally quite dissatisfied with Pei and Guan, aren't they?"

What's causing his sudden agitation?

Li Qing glanced at the young man without making a sound. Suddenly, their eyes met, and they were both noticed by each other. They quickly looked away at the same time, both of them extremely nervous.

In an instant, Li Qing gathered her wandering thoughts and sat down at the side of the table, no longer having any intention of probing, and focused her attention back on the focus of the scene - Pei Jiu, the Taoist.

He didn't want to attract trouble everywhere.

Pei Jiu, holding a wine jug, strode up to Marquis Wang. Though his intention was to offer a toast and seek peace, the two men—one expressionless, the other turning away—looked anything but respectable.
"Hmph! You want to settle your scores with alcohol, but you can't even utter a single good word?"

Old Ghost Wang sneered, then slapped the wine that Pei Jiu had poured into the cup back into the opposite direction, pushing it back in front of Pei Daoren, and said with a stern expression.

"You drink this one."

"drink!"

Old Ghost Wang used his power to intimidate others, and several Purple Mansion Daoists beside him also watched Pei Jiu closely. Everyone wanted to know whether the two of them could resolve their grudges, even if it was just a superficial reconciliation.

This involves the prestige of the Seven Star Pavilion of Lixu Prefecture, and the ambition of Wang Hou, a powerful figure who has crossed the river to conquer the seas of various countries.

But Pei Jiu, seemingly at the very center of this vortex, was completely ignored by everyone, regardless of his willingness or his choice...

"it is good!"

Pei Daoren glanced at Wang Hou, raised the wine cup, tilted his head back, and drank it down.

This move was extremely bold and without the slightest hesitation. Having come this far, Pei Jiu was no fool. How could he not distinguish between strength and weakness?
A true man is one who can stretch and shrink!

"Not enough, continue." Old Ghost Wang leaned back in the tiger-backed jade-tooth chair, arms crossed, and sneered as he stared at Taoist Pei, who was holding the pot.

This statement is nothing short of a condescending insult!
However, the Taoist Pei didn't seem to care at all and filled the cup again, raised the glass goblet, and drank it down in one gulp.

For him, such insults were nothing. From a chivalrous hero of the East China Sea to where he is today, he has experienced much more suppression, contempt, disdain and cold looks. No one's journey is smooth sailing; there is only the willingness to accept defeat.

Losing once is no big deal; he can always win it back.

After drinking the second cup of sweet dew wine, Pei Jiu casually tossed the glass jade cup aside, shattering it on the ground. He then waved his right hand and summoned the Cloud Palace Maiden from the jeweled palace.

"Elder, your glass cup is far too stingy! Guards! Bring a golden goblet for Marquis Wang!"

As if drunk, Pei Daoren suddenly recalled the scene of his first time entering this Lixu Prefecture.

That year, he was just like Li Jun, at the upper level of Qi Refining. Curious, he followed the fleet, traveling around the world, and came to this unfamiliar overseas immortal sect land.

The Ninth Elder was not so old back then. It was at that first banquet that he lured and killed seventeen groups of traitors from various countries without shedding a drop of blood, and only then did he transform Lixu Continent into the number one immortal city overseas over the past hundred years!

"That's right."

The Ninth Elder stroked his white beard, nodded gently, and then explained softly to Marquis Wang:
“When Pei Xia’er first entered the kingdoms, he was still quite young and inexperienced, so he was, well… a little more green than this young Taoist.”

The old Taoist pointed at Li Qing, as if reminiscing about the past. When he looked at Pei Jiu, how could he not see his own ambitious self in Pei Jiu's eyes?
"Sigh! Please do me a favor."

Seeing that even the Ninth Elder of the Seven Star Pavilion had shown such genuine emotion and humbled himself, Wang Hou finally calmed down, let out a cold snort, and watched as Pei Daoren filled the golden goblet.

As the saying goes, old grudges can be settled with a cup of wine!
From that moment on, Wang Hou said nothing more, took the wine cup, tilted his head back, and drank it down.

He had already achieved most of his goal on this trip. His fleet, known as "Danghai," with over a thousand men, had lost its foothold in the East China Sea and needed a place to settle down.

The overseas nations would be a perfect breeding ground for them.

"Good! Great good."

The Ninth Elder rose from his seat, raised his wine cup, laughed heartily, took a few steps forward, tugged at Pei Jiu's sleeve, and then chatted and laughed with Marquis Wang.

“Pei Jiu’er, with this first cup of wine, your grudges with Fellow Daoist Wang are all settled. However, I still need you to lead the Xuan Gu Immortal City Sea Market. Many ship owners are also watching your performance.”

"You should offer your second cup of wine to Fellow Daoist Wang. From now on, we should each keep to our proper place when we meet. As the saying goes, no friendship is formed without a fight!"

These two top figures in the Purple Mansion clashed openly and secretly, using Pei Jiu as their pretext. In the midst of their tug-of-war, they drank two more cups of Sweet Dew Wine.

After several rounds of drinks, on the Cloud Palace, maidens performed dances, boys played drums, and musicians sang, creating a scene of pure joy.

Pei and Wang returned to their seats. After the song ended, Old Ghost Wang and the others could no longer contain themselves and bowed to the Ninth Elder, asking:
"What exactly is the connection between Peng Kingdom and Taiyi Dao, as you just mentioned, fellow Daoist?"

"In your opinion, fellow Daoist, in which country should we establish our Daoist temple?"

The Tokaido region has two prefectures: Asahi Prefecture in the north and Rinchuan Prefecture in the south. Asahi Prefecture is governed by the Tai Xuan Sect of the Yunlu Daoshu, while Rinchuan Prefecture is the residence of the Taiyi Sect of Baichuan Chaohai.

The Tai Xuan Sect is alright, but it's a minor sect among the Five Mountains of Talismans, with only one Yin God, making it one of the weakest immortal sects, alongside the Tiannan Temple of Lin Yuan Mountain in the Southern Lands.

But the Taiyi Sect has four Yin Gods on equal footing, making it one of the leaders of the immortal sects!

Behind the Dragon Lord of Chaojiang Prefecture, there was the figure of the Taiyi Dao... The unintentional words of the Ninth Elder of the Seven Star Pavilion were related to this Dao, which really made Wang Hou and others feel like they had a fishbone stuck in their throats.

"That guy from Pengguo? Hard to say, hard to say! It all stems from the internal strife caused by the gambling match at Taiyi Dao Jiangzhen Peak..."

The Ninth Elder shook his head and, with a mixture of concealment and ambiguity, recounted the inner workings of the sect. Upon hearing this, many Daoist practitioners from the Purple Mansion Sects raised their eyebrows, eager to uncover the secrets of this leading sect of immortals…

Just then, the young man from the Purple Mansion behind the Cloud Palace bowed to the other Daoists and took his leave, leading the palace maids who had finished their performance out together.

As he approached Li Qing's seat, the young Taoist gently patted Li Qing's chair and glanced out towards the palace.

Li Qing was immediately startled, but soon, seeing that the young Taoist was polite and that the Taoist Pei beside him was also calmly whispering words of comfort.

"It's alright. I have already confirmed your identity with the Ninth Elder of the Seven Star Pavilion. As a member of the Five Directions Immortal Sect traveling here, you are also a distinguished guest among the Three Immortal Sects overseas."

"Go then!"

Therefore, Li Qing also followed the Taoist's example and excused himself from the banquet.

No one cared how a junior from the Purple Mansion realm who didn't even have a seat throughout the entire event, and a kid who hadn't even attained the Purple Mansion realm, would interact with each other.

The Cloud Palace and Treasure Pavilion seemed to be a space of their own. Pushing open the flower gate at the Cloud Platform, one after another, beautiful palace maids and servants emerged from the courtroom. Only Li Qing and the Taoist priest walked to the very end.

"Which immortal mountain are you from, fellow Daoist? That bandit cultivator didn't harm you, did he?" After leaving Yunque, the young man closed the palace gates of his Purple Mansion and stood on the seven-story treasure pavilion, looking around as he casually asked.

Li Qing, unaware of the meaning, bowed and replied, "Greetings, fellow Daoist of the Seven Star Immortal Sect."

"You come from Lin Yuan Mountain and Tian Nan Temple, aboard this black ship to travel to various kingdoms, wishing to pay homage to the Beast Taming Immortal Sect..."

Upon hearing Li Qing's words, the young Taoist nodded, appearing to understand: "Yes, the Beast Taming Sect has some dealings with the various sects of your Southern Kingdom."

In reality, he didn't know much about Tiannan Temple either. Tiannan was far away from overseas, and the Tiannan Temple and Liuling Mountain, these southwestern sects, had almost no contact with overseas.

However, having the identity of a disciple of the Five Directions Immortal Sect is enough.

After all, in the eyes of the disciples of the three sects, the flourishing of the immortal path in the Southern Kingdom was only due to the fact that the three immortal sects entered the Southern Kingdom to spread the Dao in the recent ancient times.

Tracing back, they can be considered to have the same lineage.

While talking with Li Qing!

Sure enough, beneath the treasure palace, one banana leaf after another slowly rose up. On each of the six banana leaf magic artifacts stood two Taoists wearing seven-star Taoist robes. The least skilled among these twelve people were high-level Qi Refining disciples who had cultivated protective divine light, and there were even four Purple Mansion disciples.

Eleven or twelve Seven Star Taoists arrived carrying swords, their aura as cold as frost, intending to execute a decapitation technique!

This sudden turn of events immediately made Li Qing's heart clench. Instinctively, the Heavenly Mansion Profound Qi seemed to coil around him like a spirit snake, protecting its master. In his sleeve, he immediately formed a hand seal.

The young Taoist priest immediately noticed, glanced at Li Qing, and, unconcerned about the little movement in his sleeve, continued to speak to himself:

"The East China Sea has its own rules, and the overseas regions have their own balance. I don't know if this old ghost Wang is blinded by greed or if he really thinks he's some kind of dragon crossing the river."

"The sea routes of the various countries were opened up by my lineage. Our ancestor has been in Xuangu Kingdom for 168 years, opening up immortal cities and establishing sea markets. Even within the sect, no one has dared to break the rules and touch it."

"This maritime territory of the nations has no need for dragons crossing the river, old ghost Wang? This great dragon still wants to cross the river? Hmph, I won't allow it!"

This Taoist priest was only about ten years older than Li Qing. Perhaps he was still young and inexperienced, but his temperament and speech were completely different. He was a direct descendant of a celestial sect and a scion of a powerful family. With every move he made, he held the fate of the region in his hands.

"I have laced the wine in Master Pei's hand with the Soul-Severing Pill of the Hunyuan Sect. If he drinks three cups with that old ghost Wang, his divine palace will darken and his dantian will be sealed within half an incense stick's time. Both dantian will be sealed at the same time, and his spiritual consciousness and magic power will be completely sealed."

"The Flying Swallow Dharma Boat below is now under my control. Daoist Pei has contributed greatly to the construction of this Xuangu Immortal City."

"I will personally make him kill that old devil Wang!"

"Fellow Daoist, you ultimately have no vested interests in this place. It would be truly impolite to witness bloodshed at the banquet. Please follow the servant to the fourth-floor pavilion for a while. I will come to pay my respects again afterward..."

The Taoist in green smirked and sneered. He flicked the magic sword in his sleeve and led the dozen or so Seven Star Taoists into the Cloud Pavilion through the side gate of the Treasure Palace.

That precious palace has always been protected by forbidden structures, with hidden chambers on both sides. It only needs an elite group of Taoist priests to lie in ambush on either side. Once the signal is given by throwing a cup inside the palace, they can kill everyone cleanly...

He watched helplessly as the Taoist priests, each wielding a Seven Star Sword, passed by Li Qing and slowly walked into a small cloud pavilion on the left.

Li Qing placed his hand on the storage gourd, unable to summon the Six Ding Six Jia Divine Chapter from his sleeve. He merely glanced at the distant dawn sea, where the sun was slowly rising from the horizon!

As the classics say: The Way clarifies the direction, the Law establishes the foundation, the Techniques establish strategies, the Tools accomplish tasks, and the Power governs people.

With the power of the Seven Star Pavilion, if Marquis Wang wanted to establish himself in the seas of the various kingdoms, he would have no choice but to bow his head and attend the banquet.

The Ninth Elder is old, and he cannot suppress the Marquis of the Danghai by himself, but this powerful figure from the East Sea must be suppressed.

If this person cannot be suppressed, the Ninth Elder's lineage will no longer be qualified to govern Lixu Continent! They will have to return to their sect and let someone capable take over!

Therefore, they had no choice but to rely on the "law" that all the nations and seas jointly abided by, the "power" of the Seven Star Pavilion, and Pei and Guan as "tools," and to use the "technique" of killing the pigeon.

"This is the Way!"

As Li Qing gazed at the shimmering sea, he seemed to see, through the light, a pair of large, ancient hands hidden behind the scenes, manipulating this island, a pair of hands that were proficient in Taoist magic and weaponry.

A maidservant was holding an incense burner on the eaves. She had been standing quietly a few feet away from Li Qing, seemingly to lead the distinguished guest down from the Seven Star Pavilion.

But clearly, this distinguished guest had no intention of leaving, so she held the incense burner and quietly accompanied Li Qing to the side.

until...

Half an hour later!
The gates of the Cloud Palace were pushed open, and a dozen or so Seven Star Daoists, carrying magic swords on their backs and two huge shrouds in their palms, stepped out.

Following closely behind was the old Taoist priest, whose back was so frail that he could hardly straighten, yet even a sick tiger could still subdue all beasts.

Three or five Taoist priests followed behind the old Taoist, slowly gathering on the seven-story cloud platform.

Among them were Pei Jiu, whose cuffs and chest were stained with blood; the increasingly silent Daoist; the Flying Needle Daoist under Marquis Wang; and the arrogant Seven Star Pavilion Daoists...

Everyone followed the Ninth Elder with light steps, remaining silent and trembling at his every word and action!

No one knew what this old man, with one foot in the ground, was thinking, and no one dared to test him anymore.

After all, the person who first tested the waters is now wrapped in a shroud.

The Ninth Elder sighed and looked up at the three towering ships in the distance, where more than a thousand bandit cultivators were being held captive.

"Wang Daoren of the East Sea, known as the General Who Sweeps the Seas, is a capable man who roams freely throughout the East Sea region... To be frank, I am old and frail, and I am definitely no match for him!"

"But I have more than five ways to crush this Taoist Wang at will."

This confidence stems from his four hundred years of cultivation experience, from the favorable location and human resources he laid out for a hundred years in Lixu, and from his mastery of all Taoist methods, techniques, and tools.

Having strong magical skills doesn't necessarily mean being truly strong, and having high Taoist cultivation doesn't necessarily mean being truly high.

The Way, the Law, and the Technique are all indispensable; just like in a wooden bucket, the shortest plank often limits all its achievements!
"Pei Xia'er, I once said I would pave a smooth road for you. Is this road smooth enough?"

The old Taoist chuckled softly, then turned to look at Taoist Pei behind him.

How could Pei Jiu not be alarmed?
More than a hundred years ago, also in this place, the Ninth Elder of the Seven Star Pavilion first arrived here and lured and killed powerful figures from all sides of Lixu Continent. At that time, Pei Jiu was an observer.

But at this moment, he experienced it all again: the arbitrary purge of challengers by the leader of the Immortal Sect.

The old ghost Wang who had put so much pressure on him was reduced to ashes with a flick of his finger in front of this old Taoist priest!

"I, Pei, thank you, Ninth Elder."

Thinking of the cause and effect, Pei Jiu, despite his chest injury, bowed deeply to the old Taoist priest, expressing his heartfelt gratitude.

"Ok!"

"I'll take your ten million Dao Zhu. There's no need to book the Dharma Boat with the Seven Star Pavilion; it's too time-consuming."

"You may take the medium-sized magic boat of that bandit cultivator, the Flying Swallow Magic Boat! Consider it a reward for your years of hard work."

Small flying boats would cost tens of millions, but a flying swallow-shaped magic boat the size of fifty feet would cost the Seven Star Pavilion nearly thirty million. Even if it was a captured item, it could be converted to about 60% of that price.

"My dear grandson, send some craftsmen to teach Pei Jiu how to pilot the magic boat. With this magic boat, traveling between the two seas will be much easier in the future."

"As for those pirate ships, you can take over their command..."

With a casual gesture, the old Taoist priest divided the fleet belonging to "Lord Wang" into several parts. The magic boats belonged to Taoist Pei, and the soldiers were all taken into his service. Among the Purple Mansion under Lord Wang's command, the lives of Taoist Lü and Taoist Flying Needle were still preserved.

But I'm afraid those two Taoist priests have just changed masters...

Li Qing stood silently to one side, watching as this aging "sick tiger" Quan Yushu easily dismantled a massive fleet and effortlessly seized its richest provisions.

Here, the Taoist priest who transcends the mundane is the most precious treasure!
(End of this chapter)