The Path to Immortality Begins with the Life-Extending Lamp

Chapter 2 Perilous Encounter with the Mountain King

While the dozen or so local militiamen were still stunned, only a few old hunters immediately raised their bows, drew them to their full draw, aimed at the tiger's mouth, eyes, nose, and other orifices, and swiftly launched the arrows.

With a flick of his right sleeve, Li Qing whipped up a roof beam several feet away, and leaped up like a swallow, instantly creating distance between himself and the fierce mountain lord.

"Run!"

"Aren't all the women and children in the village in the ancestral hall? Hurry up and lead them to the south gate of the village... No, first find a cellar and hide properly."

As his true energy surged, Li Qing's long whip swept up several village men who were still in a daze, and threw them several feet away in one go. He dodged the mountain lord's attack with a flash, raised his palm with the Eight Trigrams of the Dragon, and pushed several old hunters onto the roof of the multi-story row of houses with one hand.

Even before he had mastered true qi, Li Qing was renowned for his skill in eliminating evil spirits. However, he was only good at exorcising ghosts!
If he, a mere Daoist disciple who had just reached the lower stage of Qi Refining, were to actually defeat this mountain lord, which was over ten feet in size and comparable to a war chariot, he would surely die instantly.

In that instant, Li Qing mentally counted the cards he could use: a self-made life-extending paper lamp, which was not up to standard; a hundred-year-old fire willow whip, which was also not up to standard; and the Swimming Dragon Eight Trigrams Palm Technique... That was it.

"What kind of scumbags are Wenfeng Hall in the Guanli quest log? This is supposed to be a light shoveling of wild ghosts in the mountains?"

Speechless and choked with emotion, Li Qing, in a flash, either dispersed the local militia or pushed them onto the roof of the three-story row of wooden houses, temporarily saving these mountain people. However, he himself was quite frightened by the two pounces of Tiger Mountain Lord.

This mountain spirit is already capable of summoning and releasing its accomplices, and can also stir up the yin wind. It has probably been a spirit for a long time, and no one knows which mountain it came from.

Such a powerful monster is usually only subdued by experienced Daoist disciples who have reached the highest level of Qi Refining. For a novice Daoist like Li Qing, who has just cultivated True Qi, to encounter it would truly be a matter of life and death.

Seeing the master in a perilous situation, the old hunters on the roof immediately drew their hunting bows again. Although the old hunters were skilled archers, they were only using light and soft hunting bows, not the iron-rimmed bows used by the army. The hunting arrows were hardly a threat to the mountain king. Instead, they annoyed the mountain king so much that he lunged onto the roof and nearly smashed the old hunters' heads open.

Fortunately, Li Qing reacted quickly. He covered the long whip with his true qi, pulled it with force, and twisted it around the mountain tiger's hind legs. Using the terrain, he pulled the ferocious tiger down, and its claws tore a visible, ferocious tear between the wooden buildings of the fortress.

After all, he had spent three years refining his essence into qi, and with true qi cultivation as his foundation, he truly possessed the strength of an ordinary tiger. If it weren't for him restraining the mountain lord, this thousand-strong stronghold would have been devoured by the mountain lord before dawn!

Great monsters that have become sentient are the first evil creatures that must be eliminated in all prefectures and regions, whether in the South, the North, or the Western Qiang.

The moment he pulled the mountain tiger down, Li Qing casually tossed the paper lantern high into the air, hanging it on a beam to the side. He then unleashed a powerful palm strike, channeling the true energy of the Eight Trigrams Dragon from his sleeve. The strike hit the tiger's lumbar spine, but it felt as if he had struck metal or stone. Instead, the impact forced Li Qing to retreat, making it difficult for him to maintain his offensive.

"Get out of here by following the roof beams!"

Using a clever trick, he disarmed the willow whip, preventing the mountain lord from using it to retaliate. The Taoist then shouted in a deep voice, ordering the old hunters to quickly retreat.

With one hand wielding a long whip, moving back and forth between the trees and eaves of the village, Li Qing's other hand did not stop at all. He made a hand seal to activate the cold flame of the paper lantern, turning the white flame into seven arrows, which were shot one by one at the mountain lord.

This was completely unexpected, igniting the fur around the mountain lord's head. The cold flames exploded, and the phosphorescent seeds hidden within grew rapidly in the wind. In the blink of an eye, they transformed from cold light into green flames, just like burning white phosphorus. Suddenly, white smoke billowed up, obscuring the clouds and moon, covering the entire tiger's head. The mountain lord was so frightened that it rolled around on the ground and roared loudly.

黎卿暗是知晓自家奈何不了那般凶物了，双眸微眯，眼见那白烟熏目，绿焰爆燃，抽动那柳鞭一甩，卷起虎爪一只，将那山君一脚踹下北寨崖壁。

At the very least, we must protect the elderly and weak in this stronghold. With such a commotion in Mengshan Stronghold, once the smoke signals are lit in the stronghold, perhaps the Tiannan Dao followers from other places can arrive in time...

However, the scene changed in an instant. The mountain lord roared and its tiger tail, which was like a steel whip, swept across and actually grabbed Li Qing's right leg. With a "whoosh", Li Qing and the tiger fell down the several-zhang-high stone wall together.

Rumble…

The mountain lord crashed down from the rock face more than ten meters high, let out a low roar, and, ignoring the embers of the ghostly flames still burning on its head, pounced on Li Qing again. The mountain lord's tiger skin was already extraordinary, and the blazing flames only burned off a tuft of fur, making it difficult to penetrate and damage its flesh.

This time, Li Qing was so shocked that he saw stars. The willow whip was just a fake magic tool for exorcising ghosts, and the paper lantern was still on the stone wall. He only had time to forcefully raise his true qi. When he was hit by that huge object, he was instantly sent flying several feet away like a cannonball.

Li Qing's only life-preserving skill was this Eight Trigrams Dragon Palm, but how could it be a match for the Mountain Lord, who was comparable to a high-level Qi Refining cultivator? Upon the collision, he immediately felt a sweet taste in his throat, and blood involuntarily spilled from the corner of his mouth.

"Cough cough! I've been having such bad luck lately."

"Cough, cough, cough!"

"Sister Cui, could you... could you help me?"

The young Taoist priest, his face ashen, sat half-sitting on the forest floor. Suddenly, with a solemn expression, he turned his head and made a hesitant request, seemingly addressing something unseen.

This request seemed to evoke the Jiangnan folk tune from a dream at dawn, causing the temperature in the forest to drop considerably.

Click...

Like the moonlight shrouded in clouds, the mountain tiger, which was still pouncing, was suddenly twisted into a spiral "tiger" like a twisted rope, and crashed to the ground with a loud bang.

In the blink of an eye, a cold wind swept by, and the ferocious creature that had been devouring people was now lifeless.

Only the young Taoist remained seated, his pale face smeared with tiger blood. His breathing was rapid, and his gaze darted between the clump of twisted branches and the empty wilderness. In the end, it seemed he found nothing, and all his pent-up emotions turned into a long sigh.

"I owe another life-saving debt. I was planning to untie the marriage contract once I had completed my cultivation, but now, alas, the debt keeps piling up, how am I supposed to untie it..."

However, Li Qing was not one to mince words. The mountain lord, a high-level Qi cultivator, possessed abundant Yang blood, making it a treasure for cultivation. The tiger skin was undamaged, making it quite valuable. The tiger meat was fragrant and could be eaten to refine essence. Although the tiger bones were cracked, they would still be of great use.

He immediately took a wine jar from his sleeve, released the blood of the beast, summoned the village's brave men, and they dismembered the mountain lord that very night...

Ten days later.

To the right of Tiannan Prefecture, in front of Linyuan Mountain.

It was the triennial ascension ceremony of Tiannan Temple. All the good young men and talented people from the counties and prefectures of Tiannan Prefecture had gone through three rounds of screening to select those who were destined for the Dao. These individuals were then recruited as Daoist children in the temple to serve as practitioners and would enter Linyuan Mountain.

At this moment, on the great river in front of the mountain, a blue-robed Daoist disciple at the upper level of Qi Refining stood at the bow of the ship, telling the thirty or forty future junior brothers and sisters about the magnificent past of Tiannan Shangguan.

"I have been in Tiannan Prefecture for 248 years, and the Abbot has been clearing mountains and dominating the western frontier for over 200 years..."

"It's also because you're lucky. My Shangguan is different from the academies of other prefectures in the Southern Kingdom. It inherits one of the oldest Qi cultivation lineages. Moreover, sixty years ago, a scholar from Jinping Prefecture fell in love with a fox spirit from Tushan. As the saying goes, a fox spirit loves a talented scholar. That scholar was invited to Tushan to be her son-in-law, and he became famous throughout Jiangnan. You've all heard about him since you were little, haven't you?"

"There's also a junior brother in our temple. Rumor has it that he was impetuous in his youth, making reckless promises. His beauty captivated the Ghost Mother, and he was once betrothed to her by a marriage contract. Hehe, such an extraordinary person joined our temple a few years ago..."

The "senior brother" at the bow, a high-level Qi Refining cultivator, wore a blue robe, a gourd at his waist, and a cyan-gold magic sword. He was an inner disciple who had studied under a master in the academy and was a core disciple with the potential to break through to the Purple Mansion realm.

At this moment, he was singing to these naive young men and women about the antiquity and wonder of Tiannan Shangguan, which instilled in them a sense of belonging to all paths from a young age.

After all, these kinds of supernatural tales always fascinate naive young boys and girls.

But those young boys and girls were at an age where their imaginations ran wild, and then a series of questions were thrown at them in reverse: What is a Ghost Mother? Is a Ghost Mother beautiful? How handsome must that senior brother be to win the Ghost Mother's heart? What happened later? Did that senior brother also go to the Underworld to become a groom?
These repeated questions left the Taoist disciple at a loss for words, secretly regretting that he shouldn't have brought it up.
How would I know if that ghost mother was beautiful or not? That was a karmic entanglement with the underworld that none of the academy masters could erase. Honestly, if I had seen her, would I still be standing here alive?

As the Taoist priest remained silent, a pretty young girl pointed at him from the side of the boat and said with dissatisfaction, "Fourth Uncle, you're lying again. You said that the Yuan River is full of water ghosts and that only the Golden Nan Treasure Ship can cross it. Look, how come that person crossed it in a small bamboo raft?"

"You little rascal, this is no joke! The Yuan River is terrifying..."

The senior brother in blue robes quickly stepped in front of the spoiled aunt in the house and repeatedly warned the many disciples and servants.

"I'll say it again: after entering the temple, no one is allowed to leave this Yuan River in private, unless they have achieved the upper level of Qi cultivation and can transform their true Qi into protective aura, otherwise!"

Just as he was about to tell the story of the Yuan River to scare the little ones, the blue-robed Taoist glanced out of the corner of his eye and happened to see a figure in green standing alone at the bow of a half-zhang bamboo raft, moving on the waves. The terrifying story that was about to come out of his mouth was like an undigested piece of steamed bun, stuck in his throat...

Gan!
"It's him!"

The blue-robed Taoist immediately opened his Dharma Eye and saw that the Taoist Li Qing was moving on the raft. The cold white Yin Qi around him was several times more concentrated than the spiritual Qi of heaven and earth. Even the shadowy water ghosts under the Yuan River seemed to be avoiding the plague god above.

If it were Li Qing, then he would have nothing to say. Even a fierce ghost comparable to a high-level Qi Refining cultivator would be like a quail in front of that guy.

This guy has used this supernatural power to take on many missions to exorcise ghosts and bring disaster over the years. Unfortunately, the Book of the Underworld and the Yin Contract actually shorten one's lifespan. All the resources and cultivation he had gathered were wasted on half of the Longevity and Brightness Method...

Every sip and every bite, isn't it all preordained by Heaven? Ordinary people can only envy it!
"But that senior brother is so handsome!" The little girl on the treasure ship was still unconvinced and wanted to find another reason.

I bother!

When the blue-robed Taoist saw his niece looking like such a pig, he immediately became furious.

"Let me tell you young ladies, the first ironclad rule for female Taoist priests in the temple is: you are not allowed to approach Li Qing! You are not allowed to approach Li Qing!"

"That guy is a demon who's been betrothed to a ghost mother. Anyone who dares to mess with him will be in for half a year of bad luck!"

“Especially you, Lan Qingyu, if I find out you dare to mess with that guy, I'll break your legs.”

This blue-robed Taoist priest revealed such a fierce appearance for the first time, which really shocked this group of Taoist disciples. At the same time, the dashing figure of the green-robed youth crossing the Yuan River alone on a bamboo raft was also deeply imprinted in their childhood memories!

"Lan Yang, I'm going to tell my great-grandmother that you've bullied me."

The girl burst into tears on the treasure ship, causing chaos throughout the entire vessel. This noisy scene marked the end of the annual Tiannan Temple Ascension Ceremony...

(End of this chapter)