The Path to Immortality Begins with the Life-Extending Lamp

Chapter 141 The Ancestor Personally Instructs Immortals to Cultivate in Seclusion
What kind of person do you consider yourself to be?

Li Qing followed his master to the Immortal Peak Cloud Palace, but for several days, his master neither taught him any magic techniques nor lectured him on any scriptures. Instead, he made him compare himself to the cold pool on the mountaintop.

What kind of person am I?
Beneath the icy pool stood a handsome man with a refined and graceful appearance befitting a member of the Jiangnan aristocracy. Coupled with his near-perfect Daoist physique, he was naturally in harmony with the Dao.

On the first day, Li Qing considered himself just an ordinary Taoist priest; this was his initial humility.

The next day, he dared to say that he should be considered a Taoist priest, at least certified by the Ghost Mother...

On the third day, his pride gradually became apparent. He traveled to Tiannan, Lingnan, and the outer sea. Even the True Immortals and True Disciples of Taiyi Sects did not consider him stronger than himself at this age.

Opportunity, temperament—which aspect did he lack?
On the fourth day... Li Qing began to reflect on her experiences over the past few days, and it seemed that many of the things that happened that day had simpler and more perfect solutions.

A series of schemes, some fierce, some vicious, some insidious, and some grand, slowly surfaced in his mind.

But what kind of person should I be...?

"So you still can't reach a conclusion?"

Holding a measuring ruler, Yin Zu lingered behind Li Qing, stroking his long beard three times.

"You are sensitive, patient, hesitant, indecisive, outwardly reserved but inwardly proud, and your temperament is unpredictable; you are an fickle person!"

This evaluation doesn't sound like a positive one.

If my mind is not settled, then what's the point of cultivating the Tao?
Li Qing pursed her lips: Ancestor, you are not me, what could you possibly know?
Even Yin Zu couldn't see through everything. When he himself was stranded at sea, didn't he also miscalculate?
Seeing the little guy sitting cross-legged on the side of the cold pool, still unconvinced, Yin Zu raised the measuring ruler and struck Li Qing on the back and shoulder.

"You were precocious in your youth, and you studied poetry, books, rites and changes, thus entering the proper way of the scholar; you were fond of Liaozhai Miscellany, reading parallel prose, appreciating ancient rhapsodies, and reading the poems of previous dynasties and finding common ground in them, which led to your entanglement with the ghost book and the contract."

What you perceive as a coincidence may not actually be a coincidence.

Yin Zu saw through a part of the boy's true nature the moment he entered the mountain.

Humans are inherently contradictory beings. The more profound one's emulation of nature becomes, the more numerous and obvious these contradictions naturally become.

A person whose nature is unpredictable is a person with great spirituality!
"The changes in the primordial energy of heaven and earth have always been difficult to capture. This is an unrepeatable law. Those who practice Qi cultivation can only painstakingly memorize and circulate their Qi, creating the 'Chart of the Transformation of Myriad Qi' and the 'Law of the Great Unity of the Heavenly Cycle'..."

"Only you, after observing it several times, can replicate the flow of primordial energy, and even after advancing to the Purple Mansion, there has never been a barrier that you cannot break through."

"You are eager to learn, question, and have a tolerant heart. Your temperament is like the myriad energies of the universe—unpredictable and uncertain."

"There are advantages and disadvantages to this."

Yin Zu thoroughly explained Li Qing's special qualities.

"Ok!"

As Li Qing listened to Yin Zu's account, it seemed as if he had finally found a way through.

This kind of person has a really strong ability to learn; they can accept mistakes and quickly find a way forward!

It's easy to enter the right path, but also easy to fall into evil paths...

I was eager to listen, but the old ancestor stopped there and said no more.

"I cannot give you a comprehensive evaluation, as that would only mislead your own judgment. Only you yourself will be able to draw your own conclusions in the future..."

Yin Zu's words had just piqued Li Qing's interest when the conversation suddenly shifted back to cultivation.

Li Qing's short cultivation time astonished others, but it also made him the most unbalanced Purple Mansion Daoist among the Five Directions Immortal Sects!
Heaven have mercy, among the basic spells, Li Qing is not proficient in the Five Elements, has not cultivated Yin and Yang, and is not familiar with Qimen Dunjia. He only has one spell, the Southern Bright Sun Fire Spell, and one spell, the Profound Origin Qi.

The method of impeaching and summoning troops was merely a half-baked attempt.

The rest are all Southern Dipper prophecies, incantations, and forbidden arts of the ghost path...

If it weren't for the exceptionally high quality of his Xuan Yin Qi, and the fact that his vast Yuan Qi could make up for everything, Li Qing would be stronger than the unorthodox Daoists, but not by much!
"The Taoist system should be tailored to one's own nature. It is subject to the waxing and waning of things, and its nature is subject to change. You should follow the path of the Yin-Yang school."

"The complete 'Mountain Spirit Laws' originates from the natural laws of the Ba Kingdom in Western Shu. You must study it carefully."

"Paper Dao soldiers, six Ding and six Jia, six Ren and six Yi... let's refine the full number of Jiazi Tai Sui! Twelve of them are too small-minded, how can they be considered Daoist?"

"Your Rebirth Chariot is well-intentioned, but it is still somewhat lacking. Go and ask Chen Jin to bring you a high-grade altar to enshrine in it. By borrowing the Daoist essence of Lin Yuan, it will greatly help your progress in refining your spirit."

"Curses, killing curses, poison curses are just minor curses, enough to get by. We should focus more on the fundamental changes in vital energy."

Yin Zu knew that Li Qing had already found his own path, and he did not ask him to switch to any particular path or practice any other methods.

To perfect his path of exorcism, if he were to establish one, he would need to establish a sufficiently large army, with sixty paper emperors for each year of the sexagenary cycle, and summon eight hundred guardian spirits—nothing would be too much.

The entire southern prefecture spans three thousand miles; the spirits of the nine mountains and the ghosts of the seven waters must tremble at the mere mention of the name of the Jiazi Rampant Lord. A single imperial edict can summon a hundred spirits and ghosts to obey the decree—this is the true Rampant Way! The Southern Dipper Prolonging Life Scripture already contains extremely high-grade Southern Dipper Transformation Qi; to cultivate the Heavenly Mansion Profound Origin Qi to the point of being as responsive as one's own limbs, Li Qing must further refine his understanding of the transformations of primordial Qi.

Change is the essence of Qi. Gathering Qi can form a blade, exhaling Qi can be like a sword, and one breath can push rivers and seas... These are the Qi changes that he must master in the Purple Mansion Realm!
As for the various curses, calamity curses, and killing curses that Li Qing was fond of...

That underworld has too high a status and too much power!

Gao Daoli Qing was only a newcomer to the Purple Mansion, yet he was able to almost cause the Yin God True Man to perish under the "Eternal Regret Killing Curse".

Don't teach it any spells or supernatural powers; any supernatural power that can protect you is a good one!
So in January he observed the Dharma, in February he practiced the techniques, in March he erected the altar, in April he transferred qi, and in May he studied the scriptures…

He followed Master Yin in his spiritual practice, spending two hours a day studying and contemplating the principles of Taoist scriptures and discerning the meaning of Taoist teachings every night, without stopping for ten consecutive months.

Whenever he encountered a Daoist technique he couldn't understand, Yin Zu would not say much. He would raise his hand, crush a magic jade slip, and forcibly insert the magic seed into Li Qing's mind.

According to the patriarch, telling you to observe all phenomena means giving you a general understanding of the meaning of all phenomena, not to waste your time practicing unimportant things.

There's no faster way to scan than with a spell seed. With a snap of the spell jade slip, the fundamental meaning of this spell is directly enlightening, simple and straightforward!
After ten months of training, Li Qing received no fewer than a hundred spell seeds. If he were to exchange these spells at the Scripture Hall, he would need at least two million merit points.

This was truly an extreme make-up for the lessons he missed along the way!

Human fire and stone fire, two fires to melt the sun, we still need to find the fire method in the temple for reference;
The changes in vital energy, if guided by someone, can be traced; at least for Li Qing, gathering energy into a blade is not difficult...

Li Qing used the Taoist-level "Mountain Spirit Law" to re-establish a complete ritual for the Six Ding and Six Jia Great Rampant, involving nurturing, refining, and advancing.

The paper offerings are believed to be spiritual, and are particularly important in the three Yin periods. Every three weeks, at midnight, the royal carriage and altar are set up to offer sacrifices to the Six Ding and Six Jia spirit tablets.

A six-sided paper lantern is hung to burn eternally. A bundle of spirit paper is taken, soaked in spirit blood, and dried in the wind. White cranes, red butterflies, and paper figures are folded to serve as messengers for the deceased and to communicate with the wandering spirits.

Offerings are also made: ghostly pearls, the skins of all living beings, the spirits and demons of the soul, Lingnan soul silk, precious Yin wood materials... none are unacceptable!
And then, let's purify the spirits of Jia Chang and Fei Chang.

The Armored Corpse entered the Sun's Journey. Its paper armor, resembling dragon scales, stood majestically, capable of blocking thousands of troops. Its silver armor and corpse skin were impervious to swords and spears. This was the Silver Armored Corpse, which had once been able to contend with the Purple Mansion Daoist when it was cultivating Qi. In the future, it might not be inferior to the Silver Armored Corpse or the Golden Armored Corpse!
The silver-armored warrior roams the daytime, while the nine-foot-tall fierce general imparts his teachings.
His tiger-like eyes exuded a majestic and awe-inspiring presence, and his arms, encased in armor, possessed immense strength.

The second of the Six Ding, Six Jia, and Twelve Rampaging Kings is the Day-Roaming Rampaging King. If you look closely, you will see that each of its scales is covered with inscriptions from ancient bronze vessels. With three thousand scales covering it, it is also known as the Silver-Armored Floating Pagoda Rampaging King. It can push mountains and pound rivers, and it can easily defeat thousands of troops.

The flying spirit body is tall and slender, with its paper wings of miasma corpses spreading three zhang horizontally. At times, strips of yellow paper fall down, its former form being the flying corpse, its majestic appearance about to be revealed.

During the Five Dynasties period, under a dark moon, bones were buried in the mourning mountains, and no one gathered them up.
Resentment breeds evil, a miasma that cannot be melted away, as yellow smoke from the wings falls.

For the third powerful beast, Li Qing chose the flying beast that hadn't performed well in the previous battle.

This is a giant zombie that retains its true form as a flying corpse. Its pale body, apart from its extreme height, is indistinguishable from that of an ordinary person.

Unstoppable in its flight and descent, it can capture the spirit of people from five zhang away, exhale blinding sulfurous smoke, condense a haze of corpses, stir up eerie winds, and cause black wind disasters...

Next up is the Faceless Rascal!

The paper without face covering bears two images. The left lapel image is "Three Elements Cauldron Cooking," which represents an ancient skull-offering ceremony. The right lapel image is "Six Mountains Seal Script," which was obtained through rubbing from the underworld of Yinghai.

Two completely different talismans: one written in the style of the Human Yuan Bell and Tripod, representing the calamity of greed and rampant killing; the other written in the style of the Earth Yuan Six Mountains, representing the primordial killing intent of nature. The two talismans joined together to form a black robe, making this faceless, demon-bearing creature even more unpredictable.

In October, a grand sacrificial ceremony was held, using precious materials from the Immortal Peak of Linyuan to prepare the three-headed, day-roaming beast.

"A ruler who reigns over sixty Jiazi cycles is not so simple."

Li Qing lifted the beaded curtain of the palanquin and hung the four newly mounted "spiritual talisman diagrams" behind the altar on the soft seat of the royal palanquin, then sighed softly.

The so-called altar is a mysterious altar where rituals are performed and guardian spirits are worshipped.

This paper altar was arranged by Yin Zu, who placed a jade shrine behind the main seat in the royal carriage.

On the altar are three jade tablets, representing the sixty-year cycle of the year's ruling deity, signifying the leader of all spirits!

Li Qing applied the four cinnabar bases and hung the "Spiritual Response Diagram" with its spiritual ink patterns on the highest step of the small altar.

The image of Jiazi is that of a goddess, like a crimson painting with cinnabar as the base, in which a few ink lines reveal the exquisite beauty and ingenious mind of Linglong Chang. The simple lines depict her as if Linglong Chang were truly standing in the portrait of a spirit.

To the side are images of the Floating Pagoda General, the Shadowy Flying Corpse, and the Faceless Underworld Lord...

As soon as the four divine manifestation diagrams were hung up, Li Qing felt a change in the aura. The entire royal carriage seemed to have transformed into a Taoist temple or a domain of law, with four powerful deities protecting and ensuring its peace.

At each corner of the altar, two incense burners remain ever new, emitting wisps of purple smoke that enhance the divine atmosphere of the place.

In the tradition of talismans and talismans, the Four-Headed Purple Palace Rampaging Spirit is absolutely unqualified to be enshrined on such an altar; it is specifically used to worship the patriarchs and ancestral spirits of the immortal sects. To do so would be a great transgression!
After all, the "Changdao" is just one type of "Daoist soldier," merely someone who works under the command of Daoists.

But no one at Tiannan Temple cared about this. Li Qing treated his bodyguards better, so no one could say he had done anything wrong...

(End of this chapter)