The Path to Immortality Begins with the Life-Extending Lamp

Chapter 140 The Former Family
"For two years, no more resources have been allocated to other Daoists, but no one has been sent to repair the magic array either?"

Upon returning to Linyuan aboard the celestial boat, Li Qing's first destination was naturally the cultivation residence from before.

Pushing open the courtyard gate, one finds the courtyard already piled high with a thick layer of fallen leaves. Ever since the day "Candle" transformed into a dragon, the protective barrier of this small courtyard was destroyed by lightning in the rain and has never been repaired.

Now that he has attained the Purple Mansion and returned to the mountain, he should be qualified to open a Daoist mansion on Lin Yuan Immortal Mountain. However, for now, he can only clean up this small courtyard and get through this period of time...

On the summit of Lin Yuan Immortal Peak, many disciples from the Purple Mansion Academy gathered with the red-robed true disciples and immediately began preparing for the ceremony of the true disciple's ascension and the ritual of becoming a Daoist.

"Teacher, are you going to take Li Qing as your disciple?"

Bai Qingye landed behind Zhu Zifu, grabbed Bai Long's sleeve, pulled him up, and secretly hid behind the Ancestral Hall, whispering to each other.

Li Qing is the first Daoist to enter the Qi Refining stage in three years and the Purple Mansion stage in three years, and to hold the True Inheritance Ceremony and the Purple Mansion Dao Foundation Ceremony at the same time. He can be called the youngest Purple Mansion Daoist in Tiannan Prefecture!
If Li Qing had followed the abbot's lineage, all the effort the Myriad Laws Hall had put in would have been wasted.

"Go away, why are you meddling in things that don't concern you!"

"He has already proven himself to be a Purple Mansion Daoist, how can I possibly have the face to accept a Purple Mansion Daoist as my disciple?"

"Go ahead and collect it if you want."

The head of the Bailong Courtyard looked at his apprentice with the eyes of someone looking at a fool; he couldn't teach him either.

If Bai Long could barely understand a small part of the annotations to the "Nan Dou Yan Ming Jing Shu - Middle Volume", then the "Nan Dou Yan Ming Xia Volume" made his eyes dizzy. He really couldn't teach this method!
"Me? Really?" Upon hearing this, Bai Qingye raised an eyebrow and turned to go down to the outer courtyard to discuss it with Li Qing.

He almost lost his temper and picked up a golden jade ruyi, ready to hit her.

"Oh dear, oh dear, you're doing this... I know, it's for your own good, isn't it?"

"Not to mention Chen Jin taking over Lin Yuan Immortal Peak, that Ding Shan Daoist also relied on his ancestor to refine a Yin Mansion into a world within his palm, which probably means he has some kind of entrustment to him!"

"All the true disciples in the temple say that the Wanfa Academy is so prestigious that they wouldn't even get a single hair's worth of it..."

The female Taoist priest took two steps back, and her seemingly disrespectful banter actually struck a nerve with the head of the compound.

As the patriarch passed away, the five branches of Tiannan Temple were to be divided into various lineages. The abbot resided at Linyuan Immortal Peak and took charge of the main branch of Tiannan Temple. The Taoist Dingshan, having accumulated much knowledge, opened the blessed land of Corpse Mang and was greatly valued.

But cultivation is always like rowing against the current; if you don't advance, you fall behind. He couldn't possibly retreat from this large courtyard where there was no way to advance further.
With this retreat, his disciples and followers will truly be stabbing him in the back!
"Hmph! This is not something you should worry about. The patriarch has already made his own decision."

"Especially you, don't wait until Li Qing has long since attained the foundation of the Purple Mansion, and then you still have to call him brother."

"If you continue to be so lax in your cultivation every day, don't blame me for slapping you!"

The head of the academy glared at the disciple and immediately began to berate him.

Young and promising talents, with better aptitude and stronger connections, will be promoted and given opportunities, and their future achievements will be immeasurable.
True cultivators of the Dao are mature and prudent, and are relied upon as those who spread the Dao. They should also ensure that the Daoist sect is safe and secure!

Now is the time of transition between the two sides, and Bai Long will naturally not have any disloyal thoughts. He trusts the vision and methods of his ancestor and will never be too biased towards any particular lineage.

If that's the case, after the Patriarch passes away, he will naturally be able to reclaim what he deserves through his own means. Why make wild guesses at this moment?
The most urgent task is to prepare the ceremonial ceremony for Li Qing...

In Linyuan Mountain.

It was much livelier than usual.

Below the mountain stream, a cold pool now stands, where the six Purple Palace Dragon Spirits offered by the Five Streams Dragon Palace reside. They serve as both guardian dragon beasts and spirit servants...

Above the abyss of the earth's veins, a pill-making workshop and a weapon-making hall were established, where nine large furnaces were cast to promote the way of pill-making and weapon-making.

In the valley of the immortal mountain, the spiritual fields and medicinal gardens of the fence have been expanding. The spirit deer and blue oxen are used to turn the soil, the skylarks are used to sow the seeds, and the fish and dragons bring rain to the mountains. Usually, the five academies of the temple are hired to manage the spiritual fields, so that the spiritual materials of the whole mountain can be guaranteed.
In recent years, Tiannan Prefecture has undergone tremendous changes. The four courtyards of Linyuan have removed the corpses from the cave, suppressed the mountains, divided the local chieftains, and cleansed the Yuan River. It can be said that it has shown the world's great signs!

In just a few years, more than a dozen people have emerged who have reached the highest level of Qi cultivation. People in the mountains are also suggesting that more places be opened for the true disciples.

After nearly ten days of busy work atop the Immortal Peak, the elites of the five academies were finally gathered to begin the grand imperial conferment ceremony.

"Brother Dao, do you know the inside story?"

"I don't know. I only know that someone seems to have attained the Purple Mansion outside the mountain. Some time ago, the academy masters and true disciples traveled back and forth in celestial boats to bring back the monks who had been stranded outside. Perhaps it's because of this?"

"Yes, that's the matter. The True Transmission Ceremony and the Taoist Coming-of-Age Ceremony will be performed simultaneously..."

About a hundred core disciples of the Five Academies, all at the upper level of Qi Refining, gathered here. Some had not received any information, while others knew little about it.

Those who have connections behind the scenes, even if they know the whole story, remain tight-lipped and unwilling to say more!

Nine tolls of the morning bell echoed from Mount Linyuan, six dragons played in the water, and cranes cried out in the sky. Beside this sacred mountain, the water was crystal clear, reflecting the banners fluttering atop the mountain. Nine hundred and ninety-nine purple incense sticks stood in the mountain area, adorned with five-colored canopies and banners every ten steps. Thirty-three yellow incense sticks stood before the hall, with boys striking chimes and Taoist priests striking bells on either side. The ancient Taoist sounds were faint and ethereal, like celestial chants, enveloping the vast expanse of Mount Linyuan within.

The yellow clouds were vibrant, and the purple smoke and clouds resembled a yellow dragon chasing a purple dragon, circling the mountain three times, lingering among the palaces, towers, and crowns of precious trees.

This was no ordinary ceremony; even the investiture ceremonies of Taoist priests throughout history had never been of such scale, and the entire Lin Yuan Immortal Mountain was alarmed.

"Since the establishment of Linyuan, we have respected the 'Theory of the Transformation of Primordial Qi', which states that one Qi gives rise to ten thousand Qi. We are the only people who have been in charge of the world. We have been in charge of the mountain for two hundred and forty-eight years and have passed through five generations."

"There is a second son of the Li family, named Qing. Born in Jiangnan, he formed a profound connection with the Dao and entered the Lin Yuan Mountains. For three years, he endured hardship and cultivated diligently, traveling a million miles, and finally won the heart of one man..."

"Immediately perform the True Transmission Scarlet Ritual and Purple Palace Dao Ritual, applying both simultaneously, bestowing upon the title of True Transmission in Red Robes, and further honoring the ranks of Purple Robe Daoists, so that all under Heaven may rejoice together with those of the One Primordial Qi!"

Abbot Chen Jin, with her elegant appearance and Taoist demeanor, stood on the Chaotian Stone, which was entwined by a thousand-foot-long gourd vine at the Immortal Peak, to bestow ordination upon the fourteenth surviving Purple Mansion abbot of the temple.

Becoming a Daoist in the Purple Mansion is the ultimate goal for many Daoist disciples.

The hundred or so Taoist disciples in the arena remained silent, listening to the solemn and majestic sound of the Taoist bell, and looking up at the new Purple Palace.

For this ancient Qi Refining lineage, each Purple Mansion Daoist almost represents a newly opened "Dao Mansion," representing disciples and the status of a mansion.

In the battle of the Western Wilderness Corpse Cave, two Purple Mansion Daoists of the Imperial Expeditionary Academy perished. In the conquest of the Southwest Demon Mountain, Daoists also fell. In short, the Tiannan Temple, with its relatively small population, has always been in a stagnant, in-between state, and each Purple Mansion Daoist is hard-won.

This is due to geographical and moral constraints.

Just as the Taoist disciples were all perking up, wondering which academy this Taoist priest might be the head or abbot of,

The main character has finally appeared!
Only at the canopy of the mountain gate did a tall and slender Taoist priest approach with light and agile steps. This person wore a seven-star crown and a Taoist robe, with a small green silk sleeve underneath the wide sleeve of the cloud robe. The rolled-up inner sleeve revealed that this Taoist priest was a rather casual person.

His cloud-like robes swayed, and his footsteps left no dust. When the Taoist's gentle face appeared, most of the disciples from the four academies were filled with doubt.

"This person looks unfamiliar! If he's not a true disciple of any of the academies, could he be an outsider disciple of that old Taoist priest?"

There have always been precedents of Taoist practitioners taking on disciples outside the mountains and then returning to the mountains in search of them.

"No, he is my fellow Daoist from Lin Yuan Mountain."

"Outer Court Daoist Disciple!"

A dignified-looking Taoist disciple in blue robes narrowed his eyes and spoke with certainty, silencing the doubts of his fellow Taoists beside him.

If you look closely at this person, you will notice that his throat is trembling slightly, which means he has suffered a considerable shock.

“Brother Lin Jiao is right, this is indeed a fellow Daoist from my outer courtyard.”

Not far away, an outer court disciple wearing a blue robe with a steward's title sighed with a slightly bitter expression.

This is Lan Yang from the Outer Court's Enforcement Hall. Although the Lan Clan of Tiannan had some entanglements over the years, they ultimately escaped unscathed. Lan Yang often interacted with fellow Daoists from the four academies.

But, Li Qing, how could he have returned in the form of the Purple Mansion?

These two Daoist disciples, who had some dealings with Li Qing, turned to look at each other, utterly shocked. They could even see the helplessness and despair in each other's eyes...

At this moment, Li Qing, who was at the head of the table, had already received the set of clothes from the abbot. With everyone watching, he really didn't know what to say, and there was nothing to say.

With a flick of his right hand, he pocketed the two sets of clothing, one red and one purple, then bowed to all the figures above and below Lin Yuan before falling silent.

"Well……"

"If we take the sexagenary cycle as the limit, Li Qing is the first true disciple among the fifth generation disciples, and also the first to reach the Purple Mansion level."

"For the next year, you will stay here with me and cultivate diligently on this sacred mountain."

Just as the grand ceremony was about to conclude, an aged voice rang out from the Ancestral Hall, marking the end of the ordination ceremony.

Even if teaching is tailored to individual needs, it still requires teaching. To put it bluntly, Yin Zu knew that the education in Tiannan was of little use to Li Qing.

But this is how cultivation is. Qi cultivators eat the clouds and consume the qi, gather together to build huts, and form few master-disciple relationships. They become fellow Daoists, carrying on the principles of their respective paths, thus revealing their pure and true nature!

Concealing the faults of one's own relatives and friends, and sharing the same interests, makes one not a good sorcerer in the long run...

(End of this chapter)