The Path to Immortality Begins with the Life-Extending Lamp

Chapter 14 War is Imminent
Since returning freely from the Hall of Law Enforcement, Li Qing has been completely unaffected by the so-called Lin family.

Li Qing really liked a line of wild poetry:
The green snake hidden in the sleeve is bold and fearless, roaming the four seas and even invading the capital!
Having mastered supernatural powers and wondrous techniques, one is like a chivalrous hero from all corners of the world, carrying a three-foot-long sword, no longer bound by any constraints.

After returning, I slept soundly through the night.

The next day, Li Qing continued to practice her breathing exercises morning and evening, and practiced her magic day and night, cultivating the White Bone Contemplation.

At noon, Li Qing lit incense and lit candles, sat cross-legged on the couch, and then had another thought. In the Niwan Palace, there was another change.

Within that small space of spiritual consciousness, in the endless darkness and the deepest part of the realm, there was only a pure land, about sixteen feet in circumference.

Here lie pink skeletons, half-alive and half-dead, a place where terror and beauty coexist; their mere existence seems like a desecration of life.

Although the skeletal beauty still bore the resemblance to the "Miss Cui" from a distinguished family and a prominent clan of the previous dynasty, she no longer possessed the terrifying chill that had gripped her spine with just a glance.

At this moment, this is simply a visualization of a beautiful skeleton!

"It seems that the strange events of that day were indeed just a coincidence."

Li Qing's many thoughts sank into the Niwan Palace. He followed the visualization method of white bones, contemplating the white bone beauty to eliminate all desires, and contemplating the white bones of the beauty to subdue all fears.

Thoughts flowed into the visualization of the skeletal beauty, endlessly cycling through the mind, as if trying to imprint it firmly into the soul. Each time the image of the half-skeleton, half-beauty was drawn, it was a stimulation to the mind.

In the vast land of Tiandu, no sect has escaped the influence of the Hundred Schools of Thought. Even the White Bone Temple, which afflicts the mind, strains the muscles and bones, starves the body, and exhausts the spirit to cultivate the mind, shares some similarities with ancient practitioners, constantly excavating the deepest power within the human body.

With such rigorous practice, all thoughts quickly dissipate.

Illusory appearances are nothing but white bones.

When a single thought is exhausted, a piece of white bone will appear. Just like Li Qing at this moment, there are thirty-six wisps of thought in his Niwan Palace. When the thoughts are burned out, thirty-six pieces of white bone will fall in his Niwan Palace.

Looking at the skeleton, if you peel away the skin, there are only 206 bones. Looking at the skeleton, the skin and flesh are nothing more than 108,000 forms.

What Li Qing needs to do now is to visualize the white-boned beauty, and with each thought, a piece of bone will be born, until countless white bones are born. At that time, the Niwan Palace will be boundless and vast, and with each thought, mountains of corpses and seas of bones will appear, a terrifying and immeasurable sight.

Until the countless white bones rise from the sky, Li Qing breaks free from this attachment and delusion, and sees that the countless white bones are nothing more than beautiful women. In the blink of an eye, he can control life and death as he pleases and attain perfect enlightenment.

However, the actual practice is not as simple as imagined.

At least, Li Qing was exhausted and weary at this moment, and could only lie down and rest to recuperate.

The practice of refining the spirit through visualization differs from that of cultivating qi and alchemy. One should contemplate the inner and outer landscapes of the Upper Clarity, focusing on the qi of all the gods, reciting two or three volumes of the Yellow Court Classic, and contemplating these gods to attain immortality.

This consciousness is ethereal and subject to many taboos. If one engages in visualization, one's mind becomes weary and requires many more days of cultivation to regain sufficient energy and vitality, and to fill one's mind with contentment.

Like Li Qing's contemplation of the white bones, which is an extreme practice, excessive fear and torture, the spirit is completely damaged. He must concentrate his spirit for three days before he can perform a single contemplation.

Otherwise, it would offend the gods...

After completing the visualization, I leaned against the curtain, feeling like an immortal reclining on a Luohan couch. I practiced breathing exercises while sleeping, smelled the incense, and rested for a short while to dispel all fatigue.

I was fast asleep, in a state of blissful, dreamless sleep.

The restrictions placed on the mansion suddenly began to ripple.

Suddenly, two official seals, one after the other, were simultaneously placed into the residence marked "Guiwei".

The seal and letter were used for transmission and were placed in the courtyard for protection.

This is the proper way to communicate in a Taoist temple!
It seems that Lin Ruhu broke the rules that day and trespassed into the cultivation "dojo" to knock on the door, so the owner of the mansion and dojo was bound to be furious.

After all, no one wants others to be watching them while they are cultivating!

Li Qing leaned against the couch, the candles glowing brightly, the incense burner emitting smoke, and she opened her eyes in an instant.

He simply sat up, flicked his sleeve, and the two command tokens flew out from the ripples in the void of the mansion's restrictions, landing in his palm.

These two items are a rather valuable letter made of fragrant paper, bulging and heavy; the other is a jade talisman for communication from the mountains.

Upon opening the incense letter, one sees a roll of paper stacked several layers high. Upon seeing the familiar handwriting, Li Qing's expression suddenly changed. Just as he picked it up, several ordinary silver notes fell out from it.

However, they were four silver notes from the South, each worth a thousand taels of silver...

Dear Brother, I hope you are well.

My younger brother was clever and gentle in his youth, respectful, courteous, and tolerant, and he was fond of quiet contemplation. Before he even reached adulthood, a great tragedy befell him, forcing him to flee to a distant land. Alone and forlorn, how could I not pity him? Looking in the bright mirror in the high hall, his hair has turned white; gazing southwestward, he loses his appetite, thinking only of his wanderer longing for home…

Brother, you have been fortunate enough to obtain a minor post in the prefectural army. I am now entrusting this letter to you by wild geese. Since our parting years ago, we have lost all contact, and letters have become difficult to exchange. I wonder if you are well, my brother?
Enclosed is four thousand taels of silver for your use. I earnestly hope you will take good care of your health, diligently cultivate yourself, and have a smooth journey on your path to immortality. Upon receiving this letter, please promptly return home to comfort your family!
~~~~~
This is a family letter from Guihua Prefecture, one of the four prefectures in Jiangnan. It seems that only officials of the rank of 1,000 shi or above in the Southern Kingdom's court are qualified to use such a letter.

"It seems... my brother has finally achieved his wish and entered the government of the prefecture!" Li Qing sighed inwardly.

The atmosphere in Jiangnan is different from that in this southwestern corner. There is less emphasis on secular arts, but there are academies like Hanlin Academy and Hongdou Academy, where literature flourishes and the six arts of a gentleman are cultivated.

Those skilled in painting can make mountains sway and rivers overflow with their brushstrokes; their poetry and calligraphy are passed down through generations, their writings are naturally perfect, their talent and spirit are so vivid that a single book can bring peace to the world.

Those who are skilled in ancient rites can regulate the auspicious, inauspicious, military, guest, and festive occasions, and their words can command the mountains and rivers and regulate the void.

Those skilled in divination and numerology can calculate and predict events, causing the heavens to unleash deadly attacks and the earth to shake and stars to shift; those adept at archery and horsemanship, those of high talent and virtue, hold high positions in the imperial court, wielding power and influence over the nation…

Li Qing was also particularly skilled in the Five Imperial Examinations and the Six Scripts among the Six Arts.

In my youth, when I was young, I accepted an invitation from scholars of the prefecture and state to visit the ancestral home of the Cui family, a prominent clan of the previous dynasty, by candlelight.

Unexpectedly, he happened to obtain the handwritten "Ode to Lament" hidden in Liangjiao. Li Qing was impressed by the talent and virtue in the text and lamented that the family, which had been a prominent clan for thousands of years, had no descendants to pass on to the family and could not be regarded as close friends. What a pity!
However, after midnight, the scholars returned to search for him, but could not find him.

The search party followed the Qinhuai River, and finally, at midnight, they found the young man sleeping soundly with his back to his fan and knees drawn up, under the dilapidated gate plaque of the Cui residence.

Even more horrifying, the young man was holding a bronze marriage contract, the subject of which was Li Qing and the eldest daughter of the Cui family who had died two hundred years ago...

That night, a hundred ghosts carried a sedan chair, and the ghostly procession paraded through the streets. Ghostly figures loomed over the thirty-three neighborhoods, and eerie whispers continued throughout the night. A chilling gloom permeated the surrounding area, as if the underworld had opened up and was freely roaming the human world. Most of the Osmanthus Mansion was terrified, and even the Six Directions Purple Mansion, though gathered, was still helpless.

Fortunately, the half-spirited Prefect Yin from the capital intervened and suppressed the evil spirits. The Li family then gathered sorcerers and shamans from various villages, carrying a letter from the Yin family, to send Li Qing to Tiannan to obtain the Taoist magic "The Long-lasting Lamp of the Six Offices of the Southern Dipper" from the ancient temple. Only then were they able to avert disaster and prolong their lives.

It has been four years now!

Four years of solitude, haunted by a curse, half-dead and struggling countless times, the gentle young man of yesteryear has long since transformed into a young Taoist priest who exorcises ghosts and prolongs life...

At this moment, I suddenly received a letter from home. Separated by three prefectures and thousands of miles, memories of the past instantly flooded my mind, and a myriad of sorrows welled up like a tide. But when I actually picked up my pen, I found myself speechless.

Just as the stalemate was at hand, the communication jade talisman beside them began to flash with spiritual light once again.

"On the day of Guiwei, Minister Li, the Outer Court issues an edict summoning all Daoist disciples to the Daoist Hall by the time of Shenshi (3-5 PM)!"

However, the outer court of Linyuan issued an edict to recall many Daoist disciples and children.

Shen Shi?

Pushing open the window, Li Qing looked at the sky again; it was only an hour before Shenshi (3-5 PM).

Is the order from the hospital urgent?

After putting away the letter, Li Qing stared at the four silver notes, unsure how to reply.

The Li family had only been in power for a few generations, and in Jiangnan Prefecture, they were merely a respectable clan. Four thousand taels of silver was not a small sum for this family.

Unfortunately, once he entered the path of the immortals, it was a different world, and his pursuits were no longer the same. He no longer needed these gold and silver items!

Sitting upright on one side of the desk, Li Qing pondered for a long time, then sighed softly. He took out a piece of spiritual paper and wrote a reply.

There was not much explanation, only a message: "All is well, do not worry!" He tore off a corner of his Taoist robe and put it with the four silver notes. With a folding trick, he resealed it into the new envelope.

Li Qing sighed softly, a hint of sorrow in her eyes. She tucked the letter into her sleeve, pushed open the courtyard gate, and walked out...

By the time of Shenshi (3-5 PM).

Lin Yuan Outer Courtyard.

The five generations of outer disciples and novice servants gathered in the entrance hall where they had originally come up the mountain.

There were originally forty-seven people in Li Qing's class. Apart from two... the scoundrels he had just banished to the medical ward, the rest are all here.

An elderly, righteous Taoist priest with white hair and beard was on the high platform, passionately encouraging the other Taoists.

"Now that I am about to be promoted in the outer court of Lin Yuan, the Transmission Hall has been filled with several volumes of Taoist teachings, many spells, elixirs, artifacts, talismans, and spirits."

"This is precisely the time for you to sharpen your knives, to seize the opportunity to leap like fish and dragons..."

Tiannan Temple, wishing to cleanse the four directions, bestowed upon each courtyard a magical artifact such as a demon-slaying talisman, a demon-exorcising sword, and a fire-making cart.

Furthermore, the Six Harmonies Qi-Discerning Pill is available to help those young servants who have not yet formed true Qi to quickly cultivate innate Qi.
The Yellow Sprout Pill can help Taoist practitioners' innate vital energy sprout, greatly enhancing their practice.

All the ritual implements, talismans, and spirit-taming items are provided by the inner court. All that is needed is for the practitioners within the temple to diligently practice and purify themselves of evil spirits...

However, upon suddenly hearing of such a large-scale commotion within the temple, Li Qing had some new guesses in his mind.

All five academies of Lin Yuan were opened up, and even many techniques and skills that were originally only accessible to those who entered the inner academy and became disciples of the temple were made available. Even independent cultivators from the common people could register in the outer academy.

It seems that the conflict about to begin is no small matter!
"Could it be related to the changes in the north?"

Before Li Qing entered the Daoist path, he often heard in Jiangnan that the Northern Kingdom was magnificent, had conquered and destroyed many demonic mountains and evil lands, and had conferred titles on the gods of mountains and rivers. It was the first imperial dynasty since the Five Dynasties, and seemed to have the heroic spirit to once again rule the capital!
Therefore, the Southern Kingdom and the Western Shu Kingdom of Ba had no choice but to form a marriage alliance...

Following this logic, there is indeed a good chance.

Just as Li Qing was making her guesses, the old man suddenly changed the subject.

"You have cultivated for four years and gathered here. Now you shall receive the order from the temple and be given the Ghost-Slaying Talisman to thoroughly cleanse the waters of all evil spirits along the banks of this Yuan River."

"With this, I can gain merit and embark on the true path of cultivation as soon as possible!"

In that moment of hesitation, the old man turned his anger on them.

Gazing at the various prayer mats where most of the attendants had not even cultivated true qi, the many Daoist disciples below were utterly speechless.

"Old Master, most of our generation of Daoists haven't even mastered True Qi, yet they're talking about cleansing the Abyss River?"

"Is the temple afraid that there aren't enough water ghosts underwater, and they want to add another forty or so?"

The boy in the temple is not a folk "corpse retriever" who grew up by the Yuan River. He has no true qi, no magic, and is not familiar with water magic or incantations. Isn't this a joke?
Even Li Qing, when she truly began to descend the mountain to undertake various commissions, only had complete confidence after mastering the Fire Erosion Technique and refining the Ghost-Slaying Whip...

"Pah, pah, pah! What nonsense are you brats spouting?"

Upon hearing this, the old man immediately glared at him, scolding him repeatedly with a look of utter disappointment.

"The temple bestowed upon us the Demon-Slaying Talisman and the Soul-Binding Lock; what could ordinary little ghosts possibly fear?"

"Besides, although the Yuan River is dangerous, the Ba Kingdom in the upper reaches of the Western Shu Kingdom is surrounded by the Yuan River. Every year on the Lantern Festival, they pay tribute to the Sun Bird to drive away evil spirits. The prefectures of Tiannan, Qingping, and Lingnan also regularly cleanse the great ghosts in the Yuan River. You can board the treasure ship, arrest ghosts along the banks, and cleanse the Yuan River. What is there to be afraid of?"

The Ghost-Slaying Talisman and the Soul-Binding Rope are both extraordinary magical artifacts.

The former is refined by repeatedly tempering blood and sun, and only requires a weak amount of true qi to activate, its ghost-slaying qi is enough to tear apart ordinary evil ghosts;
The Soul-Binding Rope is a legendary technique used by the Zhong family of Lingnan to control ghosts. Once it sticks to a ghost, it locks it in place, and evil spirits cannot escape. The temple spent a great deal of money to bring it in.

How can one become useful without experiencing wind and rain?
These little guys, relying on the temple's provisions every day, are slowly being raised to the Qi Refining stage, and each generation will only be worse than the last.

Just the other day, that Lin family boy and that Li boy got into a fight.
Back then, Tiannan Temple established its sect in the southwest through daily battles, not by raising pigs!

After much deliberation, the old man's expression hardened, and he immediately gave the order:
“Li Qing, you are the most accomplished among this generation, having already traversed one-third of the path of the Zhou Tian Yi Qi. You, as the senior brother, must take the lead on this journey!”

This young man, Li, has nearly 120 cycles of Qi in his body. Coupled with his identity as the Ghost-Slaying One, he is certainly qualified to be the senior disciple of this year. It is his turn to take the lead.

But the latter suddenly opened his eyes, looked around at everyone and was speechless. He then suddenly stood up from the prayer mat, turned around and left.

Amidst everyone's astonishment, she paused on the porch, turned her head back, revealing a face as cold as frost.

"Do you want me to play house with them?"

"I have no reason to protect them, nor any reason to be respected by them..."

Since he began cultivating, Li Qing has faced life and death several times. However, he has not yet refined his natal magic weapon, the Life-Extending Spirit Lamp. How could he have time to play such a ghost-catching game with them?
Once he had gathered enough spiritual materials, Li Qing would travel to Ximang County, where a massive corpse cave contained ghost foxes, shady corpses, corpse demons... and everything he needed.

At that time, the accompanying Tiannan Prefecture army will borrow the Xuan Yin Shou technique to refine the Life-Extending Spirit Lamp there!

He had no interest in playing those boring tricks in this courtyard... until he was devoured by the Netherworld Contract, drowned in the mansion, and transformed into a true ghost prince.
(End of this chapter)