The Path to Immortality Begins with the Life-Extending Lamp

Chapter 19 Demolishing Mountains and Graves
Suddenly, thick smoke billowed from the southeast of the gloomy Western Mang Mountains, turning half the sky crimson, as if a great fire had struck.
However, Tiannan has tried methods of attacking mountains before.

"really……"

The numerous soldiers, fully armored and with iron chains in their hands each holding a bear or tiger, gazed at the fire that had not yet fully spread before being extinguished by the turbid, corpse-like aura, and sighed inwardly in regret.

That is to say, the outer perimeter can still ignite such a large fire that affects hundreds of acres. In the very center of the Western Wilderness's chaotic burial mountain, surrounded by corpse spirits, it is even more difficult to launch a fire attack.

The fierce warriors of the Southwest, wielding tigers and bears, were even more formidable than the Iron Pagoda. Armored and powerful, they wielded their spears, piercing the pale, limp corpse that had just emerged from the soft black soil to launch a sneak attack. With a powerful thrust of their arms, their muscles and bones roared, as if the thunderous cries of tigers and leopards echoed. With a single movement, they ruthlessly shattered the wandering corpse into several pieces.

These soldiers, whose heavy full armor alone was nearly half again as tall as that of ordinary soldiers, restrained their ferocious tigers with thick iron chains, and one couldn't help but sigh.

"What a pity, we should have had a battalion of the Southwest Warriors to launch a fire attack from the outside and encircle them."

"Those old corpses are extremely hateful; a single breath of their corpse energy can extinguish a raging fire, and ordinary armored soldiers are simply no match for them!"

As the fierce soldier lamented, he punched the ancient tree beside him.

This act of shame and anger, with its powerful force, ruthlessly snapped the ancient tree that two arms could not encircle. The ancient tree, which was over ten feet tall, fell down, and was only lightly blocked by his long spear before crashing to the other side.

Strong and brave, that is the essence of the "scholars" of the South.

From armored warriors, fierce warriors, and junior warriors to national heroes, the strongest among them, the national heroes—high-ranking officials and generals—were capable of fighting any Yin God True Person.

"What can we do? We don't even have enough manpower for a frontal assault, let alone the outer perimeter?"

"Even the governor doesn't dare to hope to completely eradicate this corpse cave. Heaven knows how many people this demonic cave has swallowed up generation after generation. We can only hope that the Taoist brothers of Tiannan Temple can lend a hand and kill those few corpse generals, that would be a great blessing..."

The guard beside him shook his head helplessly. Seeing the firelight in the distance growing dimmer, he mounted his black-armored bear and, as he passed by, patted his brother's shoulder armor before charging towards the collapsed ancient tomb ahead, wielding a large spiked club!
There are only a little over a thousand such fierce warriors in the entire Tiannan Prefecture. They alone are really not enough to suppress this chaotic burial cave.

All we can do is gaze at the dying embers and sigh in vain...

Meanwhile, outside the Corpse Cave.

The Dragon Banner soldiers followed closely behind the fire, patrolling the mountains, skinning and beheading the monsters forced out by the fire, and taking the teeth and breaking the bones of the old corpses to count off their battle merits.

The fire spread for no more than a day or night, and just as it reached the main branch of the Western Wilderness, it mysteriously stopped.

The forests were scorched and barren. After a night of rain, the old corpses underground began to wander.

The grayish-white, emaciated, and sluggish walking corpses; the hairy corpses with bodies as hard as iron and leaping like the wind; the wandering corpses that could not be stopped by mountains and rocks and came and went freely...

Many armored soldiers drew their iron bows and crossbows, chasing and killing the corpses. However, it seemed that this icy rain had brought about a new change, and the number of old corpses in the mountains and forests seemed to be increasing visibly.

The two squads of armored soldiers at the front were running out of arrows, and seeing that the number of zombies was increasing, they blew the whistle and slowly retreated to join the troops from other directions.

Only Li Qing, wielding a crimson and blue demon-slaying whip that had coiled around the head of a huge demon wolf, gazed at the almost completely extinguished fireline on the horizon with a somber expression.

Even from half a mountain range away, he could still sense the heavy, murky aura of death.

"No wonder the vegetation in the Chaotic Burial Mountain of Western Mang is so lush and gloomy; it turns out that water and fire are not in harmony!"

It seems that a spiritually powerful old corpse has already been born in this corpse pit, capable of fighting against Taoist priests and soldiers...

Ding-dong!
A series of iron arrows whistled through the air as numerous knights on the mountain ridge, their bows and horses moving in perfect harmony, piercing through the zombies and monsters that emerged from the scorched earth and ashes.

The Dragon Banner warriors drew their spears and crossbows and pursued the raging fire, achieving considerable success.

"Unfortunately, our mounts are all ordinary horses. These rocks have just been scorched by the fire, and now it's raining. They can hardly withstand such changes!"

One of the soldiers lamented that the Dragon Seal Guards were a newly established unit of soldiers, and the camp's military supplies were only enough for clothing, armor, and weapons. Moreover, the Southern Kingdom had never produced warhorses, and the number of ordinary warhorses that could be allocated was already very small.

They would rather get soaked in the rain themselves than let their only thirty-odd strong warhorses be lost in vain!

As the armored soldier was still sighing, several exclamations rang out behind him.

The fire at the foot of the mountain had just passed, and the ground was scorching hot. The sky was overcast and drizzling, as if the sky was about to collapse. Whistles sounded from all directions, and the various armies were about to converge. It was chaotic, and for a moment, it was really hard to tell which was in front and which was behind.

Just then, a huge monster, its face obscured by the smoke of the fire, leaped down from the charred wood on the ridge.

In an instant, the armored soldiers cried out in alarm and fired their crossbow bolts in unison, but the bolts struck its charred skin with a clang, sparks flying everywhere before bouncing off one by one.

It seems to be impervious to swords and spears?
This giant monster leaped twice and charged straight into the crowd of dragon-striped soldiers. Standing upright, it was about ten feet tall, and its arms swung like giant pillars, which was extremely terrifying.

Several armored soldiers raised their spears to thrust, but were struck by the giant monster's two punches, which struck first. The immense force sent three of the soldiers flying, their chests and spines shattered, their armor mangled, and their bodies twisted as they lay on the scorched earth, instantly losing their lives.

"Get out of the way!"

"That's a mountain spirit. Damn it, a mountain spirit that big, could it be a monster that feeds on corpses?"

The Dragon-Slaying Sima, Bai Du, roared from afar, his voice growing ever closer. Before the last note had even finished, his scaly horse darted forward, already upon the mountain spirit. With spear in hand and a sudden thrust, his twelve-foot-long spear pierced the mountain spirit's chest, sending the towering creature tumbling and rolling away.

"That's... the Stone Skin Technique?" The military commander, arriving late, caught sight of the pale yellow keratin that even the military commander-in-chief, Bai Du, couldn't penetrate with a single spear thrust, and exclaimed in surprise.

"Someone, put the padlock on!"

"Let's trip them up for now..."

Just as he was about to order the armored soldiers to bind each other with iron chains and to use blunt weapons to kill the mountain spirit,

A beam of light flashed behind everyone's heads and collided head-on with the 10-foot-tall, slovenly monster. It then pierced through its right chest, leaving only a fist-sized blood hole.

A roar suddenly rang out, and the monster immediately rolled around on the scorched earth in pain, blood flowing all over the ground. The hearts of the soldiers who had just been hanging in suspense finally settled down.

Fortunately, we have the chief priest here this time!
The young man, dressed in a simple cloth robe, dragged the head of a black wolf, which was nearly chest-high, slowly walking from behind the still-burning forest, pointing at the mountain spirit that was still struggling on the ground.

"A mountain spirit that has become a monster by eating corpses and has acquired the Stone Skin Technique must be at least three hundred years old! What incredible vitality!"

"Lock them in chains, break their arms and legs, and drag them back to their cages."

Li Qing flicked his finger to retrieve the black nail, then tossed the Yin Bone Wolf in front of Sima-Bai Du, ordering everyone to subdue the mountain spirit.

The black coffin nailed into its stone skin, creating a large hole, breaking several ribs, and injuring its lungs. Although not fatal, it was enough to make it faint for a short time.

With six lantern offerings, one chief priest can be assembled!
As the military commanders mobilized and the armored soldiers wielded their chains and hammers, Li Qing picked up the black coffin nail and approached the giant wolf, gently wiping the bloodstains on its fur.

The lone wolf that buried bones was still alive, lying prone on the ground, its pale eyes trembling incessantly, yet it dared not make a move.

"Your scaly horse is truly not suited for land warfare; its charging power is no different from that of an ordinary horse?"

"Why not get rid of this ungrateful wretch!"

Li Qing raised her right foot and gently stomped on the wolf's head twice more.

The Bone Wolf often lives in dark and desolate places, living and feeding alone. Unlike ordinary jackals, its bones are huge and hard, its body is particularly strong, and its limb joints often have bone spurs sticking out. Its eyes are white, and it is extremely good at chasing the dead and can compete with corpses for food.

"But this thing is poisonous in both its saliva and teeth, so we must be extra careful!"

Having been chased halfway up the mountain by that Taoist priest and nearly skinned alive, the lone wolf was now being trampled on the head. Naturally, it was furious, but it was truly too weak to resist. It could only tuck its tail between its legs, droop its head, and resign itself to its fate.

Bai Du was still sitting on the scaled horse, silently switching the ghost-headed spear to the other arm and loosening his right hand, which had been numb from the shock... He still thought that the giant wolf was one of the sacrifices prepared by Li Jijiu.
Hearing that the Taoist priest from the upper temple was going to give him the wolf beast, he was naturally excited, but... he didn't know how to tame a jackal.

"Ah I?"

“Lord Li! But I don’t know how to control jackals…”

He had only learned the most basic Five Arts of Taming. Taming a scaled horse or a blue ox was not a big problem, but taming a tiger, a bear, or a jackal was not something that could be learned so easily.

Upon hearing this, Li Qing raised an eyebrow, glanced around at the several armored soldiers around him, but his expression remained unchanged, and he spoke in a deep voice:

"I need mountain spirits and monsters, I need lots of them!"

"I will teach you the Five Arts of Taming, to control jackals and wolves, to hunt down the dead, and to roam freely through the corpse pit. In return, you will serve me by capturing thirty-six demons. This is the fair exchange. What do you say?"

What else could it be? Of course, it's fantastic!

They were summoned here precisely to "fill the corpse pit."

In just two days, four soldiers have already perished; this was the inevitable fate of the Tiannan soldiers.

Before Bai Du could speak, the armored soldiers on both sides stepped forward, knelt on one knee, cupped their hands, and bowed, saying:

"I dare not disobey even unto death!"

These fools are actually so perceptive today? This left Sima Baidu completely incredulous: Are they going to rebel?
As a military commander, he didn't kneel down. He simply dismounted, his face solemn, and stepped forward to touch fists with Li Jijiu to show that they were comrades-in-arms.

"I am willing to serve you, fellow Daoist!"

It should be noted that these armored warriors, led by Bai Du, already possessed strength comparable to a low-level Qi Refining Daoist disciple. Their power penetrated through their bones and muscles, and they could handle even ordinary walking corpses and monsters without Li Qing having to lift a finger.

By enticing them with benefits and engaging in equivalent exchanges, we can avoid falling into the trap of cause and effect and achieve twice the result with half the effort.

Thirty-six spirits are not so easy to gather!
Amidst the mountain spirit's feeble howls, the group stared at the giant wolf feigning death and reached a consensus.

"My lads, let's first put those few monsters needed for the sacrificial ceremony into cages and send them down the mountain to avoid this rain!"

As for the walking corpses that slowly emerged from all directions on the ridge...

Li Qing picked up the paper lantern that emitted a cold, white candlelight. Two pale paper figures stained with blood were already standing guard on either side, while one person was positioned behind them, and they headed down the mountain...

(End of this chapter)