The Path to Immortality Begins with the Life-Extending Lamp

Chapter 23 The Scholars Present the Law
As the commotion in the camp gradually subsided, the sky began to lighten with the first light of dawn.

Only then did the soldiers with dragon-shaped armor dare to slowly approach the camp...

"This……"

The headman, looking out in the morning light, involuntarily swallowed, forcibly suppressing the fear welling up in his chest.

What a scene this is!

The ghost's blood stained the entire camp, and unknown, eerie patterns were everywhere. There was a corpse ghost with its body folded into flesh flowers, and here there was a ghost skull hanging high with blood intestines wrapped around its neck. Even the pool of blood foam seemed to be moving.

The warhorses and camels of the Qun Ce team each exhibited distinctly different signs of death.

Overnight, this military camp was transformed into a living hell!

Amidst the shock and disbelief of the crowd, only a young man in a robe, carrying a ghostly lamp, slowly walked out from the hazy morning mist into the Blood Prison.

"came back?"

The young man, bathed in the cold white candlelight, nodded slightly and flicked his left finger. In an instant, the three paper objects transformed into three streams of light and returned to his sleeve.

This seemingly casual question actually made these Dragon Banner warriors fearful and dare not speak, yet they revered it as if it were a deity!

clack clack...

The armored soldiers moved in unison, knelt on one knee, and bowed with their hands clasped in respect:

"Master Jijiu!"

"I wait……"

However, before the words of reverence could be uttered, the figure in the mist finally approached and waved to stop everyone from speaking.

"No need to say more!"

"This camp is already abandoned; let's burn it down!"

"Our supplies and wagons are almost completely destroyed. How about we retreat from Western Mang and rest for ten days in a nearby fortified city?"

Li Qing looked around at the armored soldiers. His originally gentle question sounded like an absolute and unyielding order to the people present.

How could Zhu Jia dare to hesitate even slightly?
They managed to find two barely usable, dilapidated donkey carts in the pile of miscellaneous items outside the camp. They tied them to the heads of the few wolves that had fled early on and were lucky enough to survive, and managed to make two wolf carts.

Then set the camp, stained with ghost blood and its remains, ablaze it all...

One day later.

Nanchong County in the northern part of Ximang.

Two old wolves, each the size of a water buffalo, were struggling to pull two wooden carts, which were piled high with jagged teeth and animal hides, making it difficult for the gray wolves and the carts to bear the weight!

Pedestrians on the road were also surprised, watching the group of armored soldiers marching from a distance with vigilance.

“Master, Nanchong is only sixty or seventy li away from Ximang. It is an important town in the south. There is always a battalion of soldiers, the Tiger and Bear Warriors, stationed in the military headquarters in the mountain city. All kinds of supplies are full.”

"Perhaps we can capture these two vehicles and use them to earn military merit?"

"But...after that, do we have to go back into the morgue? Our warhorses are all dead!"

Bai Du held the reins in his palm, restraining the fourteen-foot-tall black wolf. He put the little girl from Zhao Laodao's family on the wolf's neck, left half a step behind, and asked Li Qing questions as he walked.

If it were said that he and his recruits had already amassed enough spoils with these two cartloads, that would be enough to give them a proper account, but he was no longer in a position to make decisions about the outcome.

"Of course!"

"I have slaughtered all the ghosts in the southeastern branch of this mass grave, and I have not found any particularly troublesome old corpses. I might as well rest for a while, and then go into the southeast again to burn the entire ridge of that branch to the ground."

"Now that we have gathered enough merit to open the mountain, you can all return to the Dragon Festival in glory, and I too shall return to the mountain!"

Li Qing turned his head and glanced at the armored soldiers.

Not to mention the large tomb he had been spying on for so long, which may have already nurtured armored corpses, an armored corpse that, once handed over to the Lingnan Corpse-Driving and Ghost-Controlling lineage, would fetch at least five thousand Dao Zhu.

The hundred ghosts were wiped out overnight, and all evil spirits within a hundred miles were cleansed. If we retreat now, wouldn't we be giving away the opportunity to those who come from behind?

Upon hearing the words of the Daoist master and gazing at the city walls on the horizon, Bai Du and the old Daoist Zhao were also filled with excitement.

If they could join forces to achieve a great feat of felling mountains and destroying ridges, the resources they would receive would be equivalent to ten years of hard work!
Last night, the Shangguan priest performed a blood sacrifice for a hundred ghosts for them... Such confidence was enough to make them harbor unwarranted ambitions.

So the soldiers entered the city, and the three giant wolves that looked like water buffaloes immediately caused quite a stir. These hundred or so seasoned soldiers found the county magistrate's training ground and directly and domineeringly took up their positions.

Junquhou Baiyangshu led several armored soldiers to the independent military headquarters of this important southern town to exchange military merits. When the two wolf spirits carried the mountain-like horde of slain soldiers in front of the military headquarters, even the fiercest warriors among them couldn't help but be shocked.

He wondered to himself, "Whose general is this, so brave and fierce?"
While the soldiers on one side were checking military merits, Zhao Laodao stood in front of the barracks, his expression hardening. Finally, he quietly slipped into the barracks of Bai Du, the commander of another division...

"What? Old Zhao, are you trying to drag us into this?"

Bai Du, who was enjoying hot soup and meat with several of his confidants from the Bai clan in the barracks, and drinking strong liquor, was immediately startled by the old Taoist's outrageous request.

He admitted that the old Taoist priest had some ability and a few deadly methods, but to so blatantly instruct him, a dignified county magistrate and commander of a separate department, to commit murder and robbery, was he going crazy?
"Bai Sima! The head priest of the Shangguan Temple has certainly mistreated you all quite a bit."

"Search the mountains and destroy graves; wherever there are evil spirits or vengeful creatures, the High Priest will protect you. He will also teach you the Five Taming Techniques of Jackals from the noble families and academies of Jiangnan..."

"Hmph, are you comfortable handling such a huge karmic debt?"

Old Daoist Zhao's face immediately darkened, filled with gloom, and he was definitely not like an ordinary person. This was an old Daoist who had spent half his life at the bottom of the cultivation world!

The old Taoist priest gave a slight bow towards the barracks of Li Jijiu in the distance, then sneered:

"I know that Chief Priest Li is practicing the Lamp Technique, but my enemy is most skilled in the Stone Fire Technique, which is comparable to a spiritual fire and has unparalleled power!"

"Hmph, how can such magic be allowed to remain hidden?"

“If Commander Bai is unwilling to act personally, then borrow a squad of armored soldiers from this old Taoist! Please draw powerful bows and crossbows, and under cover of darkness, launch a surprise attack on that county. Shoot that man to death with a hail of arrows, and you can retrieve the Fire in the Stone technique and offer it to the Chief Priest…” “Hmm? Commander Bai!”

Old Zhao, however, had a well-thought-out plan: to use one enemy to devour another. He himself could not take revenge, but he wanted to use the power of the dragon-shaped armor and weapons to win the favor of the Shangguan priest.

Such a mindset is truly cunning and calculating!

The constant use of "Sacrificial Chieftain" and "Sacrificial Chieftain" in his words truly put the Dragon Banner Sima, Bai Du, under immense pressure, causing his expression to shift unpredictably.

Damn old Taoist priest!

"Hmph, how confident are you? Don't try to steal a chicken and end up losing the rice instead."

Bai Du hesitated for a long time, but the armored soldiers on both sides, emboldened by the alcohol, were eager to show off in front of the high priest!

Left with no other choice, he had to forcibly restrain these people and throw the problem back at them.

"Don't worry, he's just a folk sorcerer. His lineage is incomplete; he just happened to acquire a fire technique..."

"Give me ten armored soldiers and ten powerful crossbows. Taking advantage of the current state government's recruitment drive, I will lead the way for you, pretending to be someone from the state to inspect the recruitment situation at the county's sorcerer's office. When he shows up, fire a barrage of arrows and crossbow bolts, and there will be no way out!"

Old Zhao's face was fierce, and in the flickering candlelight in the room, he looked as deep and sinister as an old ghost.

No wonder everyone says that there isn't a single good person among those wandering sorcerers and village shamans!
The soldiers were chilled to the bone just from hearing about his vicious scheme. Did he intend to kill people with his every move?

"Alright, I'll have Xiao Yi and Bai Chu go with you, and bring the best crossbows and the sharpest arrows from the army."

"Old Taoist, if you succeed, we'll definitely treat you to a celebratory drink; but if you mess it up, hmph..."

Bai Du's expression turned solemn, and he threw down his cup and cried out.

Sure enough, that very night a troop of armored soldiers accompanied the old Taoist priest as he borrowed horses from the county magistrate and headed west, leaving the county...

In the following days, those dozen or so people still did not show up again.

Li Qing was unaware of and paid no attention to anything outside the window.

At this moment, he was using his true qi to refine and nourish the life-extending lamp. Now that the lamp's protective spells were in their initial stages, it needed to be further refined with true qi. This was also the reason why he planned to rest in Nanchong County for ten days.

Today, Li Qing's true qi is strong, and his magical artifacts are complete. His life-extending lamp, black coffin nails, paper figures, and paper sedan chairs are already a combination of offense and defense. With such wealth, he can rival those veteran blue-robed Taoist disciples.

The only thing lacking is that I don't yet have any powerful spells!

"That's fine. If we can completely reduce that southwestern branch to ashes this time, we might have several thousand merits, enough to exchange for the first volume of the 'Southern Dipper Life Extension Method' at the head of the academy. It contains accompanying spells."

This life-extending lamp has branches such as the life-saving incantation that shortens a person's lifespan and the fire-inducing method that burns the body. The three volumes of the Southern Dipper Life-Extending Method together constitute a complete Yin God Daoist method.

Even the first volume of the Longevity Lamp Technique is sufficient for the Foundation Establishment stage of the Purple Mansion.

Logically speaking, only blue-robed disciples are qualified to exchange for a portion of the Daoist techniques. But this "Ghost Prince" owes his life to several Purple Mansion Academy leaders back then; he's already in debt for many years. Do you think you can hold him back on such a trivial matter?
Just as he was pondering how to proceed with his cultivation, there was a sudden knock on the door.

Li Qing composed herself, looked up, and could immediately feel the rapid, pounding heartbeats outside the door.

"come in!"

With a flick of his sleeve, the door opened by itself.

Old Zhao, Bai Du, Xiao Yi, Bai Chu, Bai Yangshu... all the core figures among the Dragon Guards were present. They all seemed a little unnatural as they walked. Upon seeing Li Qing, who was sitting at the table grinding spiritual ink, they all knelt down on the ground with a few quick swishes.

"Ok?"

Li Qing raised an eyebrow, puzzled.

At this moment, Old Zhao, who was at the very front, spoke.

"The old Taoist priest had an enemy who mastered the art of 'Fire in Stone' and suppressed the county for more than ten years. This time, the old Taoist priest was also killed by him and came here to fill the corpse pit."

"Fortunately, we encountered the Venerable Daoist, which gave us a chance to turn things around. In the past few days, the old Daoist led the Dragon-Slaying Armored Soldiers and used crossbows to assassinate that sorcerer..."

"This technique of 'Fire in Stone' should naturally be offered to the Chief Priest!"

The old Taoist priest's voice and expression were so poignant that they truly moved those who heard and saw him to tears. Had the soldiers not witnessed his cunning and ruthless nature before, they would have fallen for his trick.

Isn't this old Taoist Zhao utterly shameless?

Spark in stone?
Li Qing, however, became interested and stood up to take the bamboo slips from Zhao Laodao's hands, and then stood up to greet the crowd.

"Why bother, gentlemen?"

"Since that sorcerer was rampant in the county and also plotted against Supervisor Zhao, then his death at Supervisor Zhao's hands can only be blamed on his inferior skills..."

Once you've entered this world of cultivation, there's no such thing as right or wrong, only success or failure!

After offering words of comfort, Li Qing opened the bamboo slip that was neither gold nor jade in front of everyone.

Neither gold nor jade, but as blue and black as steel, enduring through the ages, this is a fine bamboo slip made from top-grade spiritual bamboo! Such a bamboo slip was quite extravagant hundreds of years ago, before jade slips even existed.

It should be noted that the technique of nailing the black coffin was only recorded in fur; the White Bone Observation technique was merely recorded in ordinary bones...

The bamboo slip was about six inches long, its color a deep blue-black, made of nineteen pieces of spirit bamboo and gold and silver threads. It was inscribed with three hundred and fifty-nine spiritual characters, invoked from the fire within the stone:

The Tao divides into three realms, the heavens have three lights, and fire also has three aspects: the first is fire in the sky, the blazing fire of heaven, born from emptiness; the second is fire in wood, the fire born from the yang thunder descending upon wood; the third is fleeting, like a dream, a spark born from a flint...

Samadhi fire, fire in stone.

"It's actually a secret technique of the Fire Path?"

Li Qing raised an eyebrow and looked at Old Zhao with a strange expression.

"You've really given me a great gift this time, Supervisor Zhao..."

(End of this chapter)