The Path to Immortality Begins with the Life-Extending Lamp

Chapter 134 The Unknown Netherworld
A fleeting glimpse of brilliance on the horizon.

When Yinghuo and many high-ranking officials from various prefectures and states arrived at the scene, the gate of the newly rebuilt Cui Mansion had already been brutally smashed open, with only a gleaming official seal lying on the threshold!

"This is Governor Ding's official seal."

Prefect Guihua stepped forward and quickly picked up the official seal. He exchanged glances with the other officials of the prefecture and state, and they couldn't help but feel a chill run down their spines.

The governors of the Southern Kingdom, who were granted imperial seals and were tasked with governing the people in accordance with the will of Heaven, never parted with these seals from their lives until they entered office. How could they have suddenly fallen in front of this mansion?
At this moment, the aura of the two Yin God True Persons was no longer present in the entire Osmanthus Mansion.

"It's the underworld!"

"They have entered the gates of the underworld."

With a flick of her right hand, Yinghuo instantly captured a wisp of lingering aura from the Netherworld, desolate, ancient, profound, and eerie...

The Dark Sky.

This was a world that once overlapped with the heavens and the earth.

In ancient times, the world was divided into six heavens, each with an ancient clan guarding the Yin Mountain gate between Yin and Yang. However, these six heavens were not in the heavens, but on the Yin side of the world.

Until the chaos outside the heavens, the Netherworld shattered into rootless realms, the underworld was in chaos, and the six gates of the Yin Mountains collapsed. Only in some crevices of the Yin soil did small scriptures lead to the Netherworld.

"Is there also a portal to the underworld behind this ghostly gentleman?"

This surprised Yinghuo somewhat.

The Heavenly Palace has only found three relatively large fragments of the Underworld so far, and there is not even a single portal connecting Yin and Yang in these three regions!
As expected, of all the prominent clans with the surname Cui, only the one in Qishan remains...

This goddess, who seemed to disregard all paths, looked up at the words "Cui Mansion" and finally felt a sense of oppression.

The third clan in the Six Heavens and One Hundred Clans order, the Qishan Cui Clan, the Heavenly Ghost Clan!
"Are the demon clans from the previous era still alive?"

Yinghuo stood silently in place, her eyes filled with the intertwining of laws and principles. She tried to deduce everything that had just happened, but even with her double pupils, she could not see the cause and effect that transcended the two worlds of Yin and Yang.

Everyone thought that the vengeful ghost in the Cui family was just a day-roaming spirit, but is it really that simple to become a day-roaming spirit after only two hundred years?

In the depths of the heavens.

The enormous winged tiger tumbled down along the vortex. Governor Ding coughed lightly, rose from the ancient blue brick floor, and looked up again to find himself in another world.

The eternally dark sky, with irregular gaps like shattered glass, reflects an even more desolate and profound abyss beyond. Behind each crack, there seems to be an even more terrifying set of rules. Occasionally, fire spirits can be seen streaking through the cracks in the sky like meteorites.

Looking out over the surrounding area, the ancient buildings stretch to the horizon, with the surrounding walls undulating like dragons. Layers of yellow tiles and blue bricks connect the entire area to the foot of the sacred mountain.

"Where is this?"

"The Underworld? The Underworld within the Netherworld that has yet to be explored!"

Governor Ding pressed his right palm against his waist, but the fish-dragon sleeve pocket was already empty; he had not brought his Xuan Turtle Seal into the Netherworld.

"Roar……"

The winged tiger let out a thunderous roar that startled away the human-faced owls perched among the ruins and old tree branches, and drove away the malicious gazes from the shadows.

Suddenly, the cawing of crows, a harbinger of death, filled the air, accompanied by the fluttering of countless ghostly feathers, which disgusted everyone!

"What a terrible place, Yin Mountain in the underworld, with crows swarming the mountain and evil spirits everywhere, it is full of great evil in the Purple Palace."

This is an unknown Netherworld Domain. Such a vast domain has never been known to the cultivation world of the Southern Kingdom.
Is this Li Jia Erlang's... or that Sword Master's?
The prefectural governor felt a chill run down his spine. He lifted the sleeve of his official robe and rolled it down from his forehead. In an instant, the majestic southern official robe transformed into a civil and military robe, revealing a blue armor underneath. The left sleeve was covered with a half-sleeve robe, two octagonal hammers hung at his waist, a horn bow was strapped to his back, and a single sword was slung across his shoulder. He looked every bit the part of a divine general.

The Six Arts of the South cultivate both body and mind. Poetry, books, rites and music can scare away all evil, while divination, horsemanship, archery, swordsmanship and other skills can also slay all villains!

The governor, with his delicate features, placed one hand on the hilt of his single-edged sword at his waist and strode confidently toward the vortex behind him that was beginning to close.

Ding……

Just as the vortex, resembling black water and dark energy, was about to close, a sword light piercing through heaven and earth tore through the Xuan Yin and rushed in at the last inch.

The imposing governor, no longer able to restrain himself, drew his sword from his waist. Its cold, domineering light flashed from his sleeve, and in the blink of an eye, a white streak of light streaked across the sky. His killing intent surged, stirring up a storm, and with a single strike, he cleaved the sword light in two.

That horizontal blade cleaved the sky, while here a flying tiger greeted it with wings. The winged tiger's soul, with its pair of wind and thunder wings, resembled two goose feather blades. With a flying and horizontal charge, it was like a thunder spear being thrown out, colliding with the Taibai sword light, stirring up a terrifying air wave in this desolate sky.

The endless ruins on both sides were all blown away by it, and in a short while, the entire underworld complex became even more chaotic.

However, at the same time, scattered streaks of spiritual light from the restrictions appeared. These were some of the gardens that had not completely collapsed. The Hundred Ghosts Floating Pagoda Restriction was still effective, and the aftershocks of Yin Shen Zhenren's battle could not break through the remaining restrictions.

"Hmph, you Taoist priest, your scheme failed so you actually thought I would be your scapegoat, your stepping stone to the Netherworld?"

"A beheading in the mansion, could it be the work of the master of this place?"

Governor Ding snorted coldly, staring directly at the black-haired man standing on the ruins in the distance, while his fingertips slowly sheathed the horizontal sword at his waist.

Within this underworld, there are naturally third parties, or even more than three forces!
It seems that the Sword Lord wanted to seize this Netherworld and dragged his own people into it. He might have a certain advantage over the master of this Netherworld, but he was still wary of You Tian, ​​which is why he resorted to such methods.

A single statement can clarify one's own position.

"Ok!"

"Aren't you curious about where this enormous underworld is?"

"Such a large-scale architectural complex must have belonged to a clan that was not insignificant in the previous era!"

Taibai nodded slightly in response to the governor's accusation, readily admitting it.

At the same time, he chuckled and pointed with his sleeve at the sprawling mansions that stretched to the horizon, teasingly.

While the two were locked in a standoff, they also used their divine senses to try and find out the location of the third person.

However, throughout this entire Qishan underworld complex, apart from the howling of human-faced owls announcing death all over the mountains, there was no sign of life. Instead, one ghost after another was attracted by the commotion.

After changing into his armor, Governor Ding, dressed in a robe with both civil and military sleeves, ignored Taibai's words. Instead, he took out his horn bow from behind his back, stared coldly at the Sword Master Taibai, his aura slightly sharpened, and with a raised arm, drew the bow to its full extent, unleashing a series of deadly arrows that pierced the air.

Among the scholars of the Southern Kingdom, archery is the foremost skill. When it comes to battlefield combat, even the sword cultivators of the immortal sects must temporarily avoid their sharp edge!

At this moment, the governor drew his bow three times and shot out twenty-seven sharp streaks of light in the blink of an eye. The speed was incredible; once it was shot out, it seemed to have pierced through the limits of speed, and it could not even be caught by the naked eye. It exploded into a void ring on Mount Qi, resembling a black bracelet.

Before the sound of the arrow could be heard, its intent had already arrived; the arrow came and went, appearing and disappearing in an instant!
Naturally, Taibai was not to be outdone. In a flash, he transformed into the Taibai Xuan Sword, using the sword as his foundation and his primordial spirit as his path. He unleashed a sword beam that flew across thousands of miles to take a person's head.

No matter which way you come, I will cut you all down with a single sword!

And so, on Mount Qi, such a scene unfolded: the esteemed scholar of the capital, clad in both civil and military robes, drew his rhinoceros horn and dragon sinew bow to its fullest extent. Wherever his arrow pointed, all energies crumbled. His right hand moved swiftly across the bowstring, as fast as a butterfly fluttering. No arrow was seen leaving the bow; only the circular void passages slowly dimmed…

The sword light, originally several miles away, shifted and collided left and right. Wherever the sword light went, a deadly killing intent pursued it, clashing violently. The commotion was so great that it shook the entire You Tian-Qi Shan region. This was no longer the mortal world. The two Yin Gods had already tested each other. Even though they were still holding back some of their strength against the Ghost Gentleman who had yet to appear, the commotion of the Yin Gods' battle still made the assembled ferocious beings tremble!

The "Ox-Headed Corpse" and "Horse-Faced Spirit" that roamed the eight-hundred-mile Qishan region suddenly stopped walking. The ox-headed and horse-faced creatures, which were as big as houses, suddenly turned around and looked straight at the mountaintop of their master, spanning three hundred miles of the underworld.

The bull-headed corpse, formed from the remnants of a celestial ghost, dragged a broken funeral staff and charged up the main vein of Qishan like a chariot.

The Horse-Faced Spirit is born from the spirit of the Heavenly Ghost. It has form but no substance, and floats on the ground like a ghost. It raises a spirit banner and floats straight towards the underworld.

Halfway up the mountain, the dilapidated pagoda of evil spirits was being violently pushed against by the malevolent spirits summoned by the demons. This was the last remaining restraint on the stone pagoda, and with each push, the hundreds of ghostly pagodas on it trembled...

The more riots and chaos there are, the more the ferocious creatures bound in the eight hundred miles of the underworld are drawn to them.

Ignorant evil spirits have only two paths: to eat and to be eaten.

Food is the foundation of all things!

Amidst such a perilous tremor, in a certain underworld villa, a young man stood pressed against the wall in front of the back gate of this underworld villa.

A dozen or so "spirits" dressed in paper robes covered their mouths tightly and stood beside the young master, as if they were hiding from something, not daring to make a sound.

The shockwaves and spiritual light from the explosions in the distance reflected the shimmering images of the buildings in the Netherworld Palace Garden, making it seem as if the end of the world had arrived.

"what happened?"

Li Qing glanced at the three bone-faced owls that seemed to be transforming into Nine Nether Bone Phoenixes, raised an eyebrow at the dozen or so "immortals," and said irritably.

Just as those two entered the Netherworld, he and the Ghost Mother had already moved the entrance of the vortex to the north side of the Qishan Underworld Complex, which was the front of the mountain gate and about twenty miles away from the East Fence Garden.

Mount Qi is high and wide, and the underworld complex on the mountain is extremely large. The continuous ruins and the remaining gardens are intertwined, like a labyrinth of the underworld, isolating everything.

This world has its own rules, and even ruins cannot be destroyed by the battle of the Yin Gods. He sat here and watched the two tigers fight.

He was gambling, gambling on the terror of the "Ox-Head" and "Horse-Face" demons, gambling on the rampage of the Qishan villains!
"My lord, the land in the West Garden has been plowed, and the medicinal herbs have been planted. The messy brick piles in the Imperial Horse Stables have been rebuilt, and the side rooms inside and out have been tidied up. But…"

"Master, we haven't eaten or drunk anything for two days..."

Many of the immortals were somewhat afraid of this great master. They all looked at the old toad and urged it on. Then, the toad immortal bowed and kowtowed in a proper manner, and began to complain in a muffled voice.

Even fairies need to eat!
Especially now that they've been fighting on Yun Gui Mountain for half a month and then being dragged to the Underworld to plow the heavens for a whole day, the Netherworld has no spiritual energy left. The immortals have already become quite haggard after only one day here.

Li Qing raised an eyebrow, only then suddenly remembering that she hadn't left any food for these spirits.

How come you look like you've been fleeing famine after just one day apart?
Yes, there is no spiritual power in the Netherworld, only gloom and dark yin energy. It is indeed difficult for spirits and monsters that live on spiritual power to survive...

After only a moment's hesitation, Li Qing took out a mustard seed pouch from his sleeve and casually tossed it into the old toad's arms.

"There are quite a few medicinal herbs from the East China Sea in this bag. Pick some to fill your stomachs first. After this storm passes, I will have Linglong bring you rice and noodles."

"Go to the side room and stay there quietly. Don't reveal your secrets, or you won't be spared!"

"Here, even the spirits of the underworld must obediently pass three trials and defeat five generals..."

After bestowing the bag of old medicine upon the immortals, Li Qing coaxed and frightened the group of pioneering spirits back to the West Garden.

The underworld has restrictions, so even the spirits outside cannot detect the changes inside. But it's always good to have more rules. These immortals grew up on the sacred mountain and have some knowledge of herbs. Keeping them around to cultivate this Qishan region in the future will be beneficial!
With a wave of his hand, he dismissed all the immortals, leaving only Li Qing and the three-headed owl at the back gate of the underworld.

The three-headed owl's mask had completely transformed into a skeletal mask, and a beak had grown between its mouth and nose. It could be considered a creature of extreme yin, and its violent yin energy was not much different from that of the Ghost Mother.

"Will you all fight off those two for me?"

"Can you really do it?"

The three-headed bone owl came to Li Qing's door, volunteering to drive away the enemy for him. But among the owl clan that filled the mountains, there were only a few bone-faced owls. If they really clashed with those two Yin gods, the human-faced owl clan would be severely damaged!

"Quack quack..."

A cruel, fierce light gleamed in the three-headed owl's sinister eyes, and its noisy screeching showed no fear of the underworld god.

"Oh? You also want the Blackscale Soul Fish and the Yin-attribute Elixir from the Blessed Land?"

The longing and cruelty revealed in the cawing of the crows, after much explanation, still surprised Li Qing quite a bit.

He glanced at the owls standing in front of the back door, pondered for a long time, and finally spoke:

"I have only been in charge of Dongli Garden for a short time. We have some old herbs, but not many... The new herbs have only just been planted, and we will have to wait another five or ten years."

"If you all ask for it, I will certainly give it to you, but now is not the time."

As Li Qing was explaining, he snapped his fingers, and Linglong Chang, Jia Chang, and Fei Chang each brought out a black-scaled soul fish that was half a person's height.

Li Qing emphasized that he had some, but not much, and that the new medicine had already been cultivated in the Underworld... By refusing their requests, he whetted the appetite of the group of Underworld Owls.

The Qishan Underworld has long been thoroughly explored. Many medicine shops have either been devoured long ago due to lack of maintenance, or have never been opened to this day. The main source of food is the small medicine gardens within the various mansions, as many old owls and ghosts also need to eat.

How can one attain enlightenment without food? To achieve the pure and spiritual path by feeding on wind and dew—how easy is that?

You should know that the human-faced owl group has produced a Yin Phoenix at the Yin God realm several hundred years ago!
"Since you leaders are here, I will give you the three black-scaled tails."

With a wave of his right hand, Li Qing sent three paper shamans forward to present the black scales from the pond to the bone owl leaders.

These three skeletal owls were much larger than the first few that had come. When they folded their wings and stood on the street, they were half a body taller than many of the mansion buildings.

Seeing how generous the owner of the garden was, the three ferocious beasts became much clearer-eyed, and they lowered their heads and swallowed the black-scaled tail into their bellies in one gulp.

At that moment, Li Qing continued:

"The two Yin spirits are external enemies, and the Mountain Patrol Lord will surely drive them away. They can't cause any trouble in Qishan. Rather, let them properly cleanse the evil spirits in the mountains..."

"If the three leaders are so kind, please retrieve the corpse of that slain ghost for me. I would be extremely grateful!"

Li Qing slammed the Long-Hate Ghost Scissors in her hand together with the "Taibai" human skin painting and lowered them, then smiled and declined the three owls' invitation.

The human-faced owl is the eye that will watch over the entire Qishan Mountain in the future; we can't let these old monsters ruin it.

Besides, it would be good to let Taibai cleanse him of the evil spirits. This would not only remove some hidden dangers, but also allow the corpses of these ghosts to be directly refined into precious materials for the soul path, such as soul essence and life spirit.

Li Qing closed the backyard gate again, gently put a medicinal bait into her mouth, and sat on the futon in the main hall, slowly breathing in and out the Xuan Yin Qi.

Once his Xuan Yin Qi recovers, the Long-Hate Ghost Scissors will have another chance!

Let's see how Taibai responds this time.
(End of this chapter)