The Path to Immortality Begins with the Life-Extending Lamp

Chapter 27 Nandou’s life extension
Upon returning from the Foreign Affairs Hall, Li Qing carried with him a huge amount of Taoist merit.

Six months ago, he had to be very careful to find a way to visualize, and he slowly accumulated 200 practices. Now, with so much material, his future is bright!
No wonder the old Taoist disciple in the Outer Affairs Hall had red eyes; he was going to complain to the Inner Court Abbot, demanding that the double Taoist merit task be canceled in the future…

After leaving the outer hall, Li Qing followed the blue stone steps toward the highest palace at the end of the mountain.

This is a twenty-three-story Cloud Pavilion, which can overlook almost the entire outer courtyard. The Hall of External Affairs, the Hall of Hearing the Wind, the Hall of Law Enforcement, the Hall of Entering the Dao, the Hall of Works, the Hall of Transmitting the Dharma... all the halls and palaces are within the view of this Cloud Pavilion.

However, if one has not yet reached the pinnacle of Qi cultivation, it will take considerable effort to ascend to the top of this cloud pavilion.

As Li Qing raised his true qi and climbed up the circular staircase to the Cloud Pavilion, he saw a purple-robed Taoist standing with his hands behind his back, looking out over the abyss from the viewing platform on the top floor of the Cloud Pavilion.

"Greetings, Head of the Academy!"

Upon seeing the purple-robed Taoist, Li Qing's heart tightened, and he immediately stepped forward and bowed.

This is the head of the Tiannan Outer Academy, a Daoist of the Purple Mansion level.

The five courtyards of Tiannan Temple each have a head of the courtyard who also leads a number of courtyard officials. Although they are all Daoist priests of the Purple Mansion, there are differences among them.

The head of the academy must be a Purple Mansion Foundation Establishment cultivator, while the head of the academy must be a true disciple in red robes who has achieved Purple Mansion Foundation Establishment!
The woman in purple robes standing before me was the only one to emerge victorious from among the many true disciples of the temple when the four inner courtyard leaders were still in their prime, thus earning the position of outer courtyard leader.

"You refused the Entry Hall's action; your rebellious words in the Entry Hall were also recently submitted; crossing the Yuan River privately is not allowed within the temple, and I have lost count of how many times I have received complaints from the disciples guarding the mountain..."

"Li Qing!"

Upon seeing Li Qing, the purple-robed head of the academy turned his head and pointed with his sleeve, shoving aside all the accusations against Li Qing that had been submitted by the academy.

Li Qing looked at the pile of orders and remained silent, only slightly lowering her eyelids.

"However, you've been doing quite well lately!"

"The true qi is abundant, and the spiritual light is faintly visible. The progress is quite fast."

Seeing that Li Qing remained silent, the purple-robed headmaster stopped pressing him. He flicked his sleeves, turned around, and walked into the main hall. However, as he walked, he added a word of approval.

Li Qing became alert and quickly followed the head of the academy.

With a wave of her hand, the ancient jade scroll made of many pieces of yellow and white jade floated into her palm.

The first volume of the Southern Dipper Longevity Scripture!
This is a Yin God-level Daoist technique that the old guys in the inner courtyard personally prepared for this Ghost Prince - Li Qing, making an exception for him!

Li Qing, who entered the mountain to cultivate with the Jiangnan Dao Dan Shu - Yin's letter of invitation, also had such a special destiny, so he naturally enjoyed many preferential treatments.

However, this "Southern Dipper Longevity Scripture" appears to be a legitimate scripture left behind by the ancient Taoist tradition, but in reality it is an even more ancient lineage of prophecies and apocryphal texts. Many of its doctrines are truly heretical, and there are no Taoist priests practicing it in the temple.

This jade slip is not a "spell seed" refined using modern methods, but rather a jade slip book written using ancient methods, with jade pieces replacing bamboo pieces.

Hundreds of exquisite jade fragments, as thin as cicada wings, were used to engrave the Dharma meaning within them into spiritual characters, their Daoist secrets subtly revealed, making them seem unlike ordinary objects!
"Twenty thousand merits!"

The head of the purple-robed academy stretched out two jade fingers and waved them gently in front of Li Qing, then announced a number that almost made him faint.

How many?

Li Qing's expression suddenly changed, and she stared at the head of the academy in disbelief.

He now suspected that the head of the academy might have first ascertained how much skill he possessed before deliberately setting an arbitrary price.

He had already exchanged for a small portion of the first volume of the "Southern Dipper Longevity Scripture" and only spent a little over three thousand Dao power. According to his calculations, he could completely acquire the first volume of the Longevity Scripture by spending at most another five or six thousand Dao power.

It's another Taoist technique, but it's only the first volume. Ten thousand Taoist skills would be the maximum, right?

"Why are you looking at me like that? The price was set by that old man from the Wan Court, it's not like I'm making things difficult for you."

The woman in purple robes spread her hands, looking helpless.

All of this had nothing to do with her. It just so happened that Li Qing was in the outer courtyard, and the outer courtyard's Transmission Pavilion was not qualified to store "Taoist techniques" at the Yin God level, so she, as the head of the courtyard, had to keep them safe on her behalf.

Moreover, the "Nan Dou Yan Ming Jing" is an unorthodox Taoist practice that no one cultivates. In recent years, the former head of the Wan Fa Yuan has also slightly reviewed the Yan Ming Jing and made comments and annotations on this Taoist practice.

The law should not be lightly transmitted, and the Way should not be sold cheaply.

It seems that a senior Purple Mansion like the Head of the Ten Thousand Courts has devoted so much energy to annotating and explaining this matter. Who else can enjoy such treatment? It wouldn't be an exaggeration to give him more than 20,000 merit points!
Li Qing understood this principle, of course. Her expression shifted between pale and flushed several times before she finally reluctantly allowed the head of the academy to forfeit the 20,000 merit points she had just acquired. In doing so, she took the first volume of the "Southern Dipper Longevity Scripture" into her grasp.

After receiving the disciple's life token, Li Qing quickly put the scroll, which was about the height of an elbow, into his sleeve. Without saying anything more, he simply bowed slightly and then took his leave.

Absolutely decisive!

This made the head of the academy even more annoyed. He thought to himself that Li Qing was really hateful and the old folks in the inner courtyard were also very troublesome. Did they all have the audacity to treat her as a tool?
Just as the woman in purple robes was sitting on the throne at the head of the hall, arms crossed and secretly annoyed, a series of powerful laughs suddenly rang out from behind the hall.

"Hahaha, how old are you? Were you still a Daoist disciple? Why are you getting so angry with your future junior brother?"

Then an old man, also dressed in a purple robe with cloud patterns, appeared. He had a flowing beard and a jeweled crown. He held a jade plate with his palm facing upwards. In the center of the plate was a scroll of jade scriptures. He laughed heartily and strode over with the stride of a dragon and the gait of a tiger.

As fellow Daoists of the Purple Mansion, the moment this old man appeared, the void in the entire hall seemed to distort for a moment. It was an illusion caused by the innate Qi reaching a certain level and intertwining with the six celestial Qi in the void!
But without a doubt, this fully demonstrates the old man's power.

The First Court of the Inner Court, the Chief Justice of the Court of Ten Thousand Laws - Bai Long!

He was the undisputed second most important figure in Tiannan Temple, second only to the temple's master. He was also revered by many Taoists as the head of the temple.

"Teacher, you still have something to say?" "If you really value that brat, just take him to the court!"

"Why have you left me in this outer courtyard, making me a messenger all day long?"

Is the head of the Wan Court actually the teacher of this head of the outer court? Judging from the tone of this purple-robed female Taoist priest, their relationship is extremely close.

However, the purple-robed head of the academy didn't seem to be too fond of that ghostly young man, Li Qing...

Hearing his disciple's complaints, the old man chuckled and stroked his white beard. After placing the first volume of the "Southern Dipper Longevity Scripture" on the table, his expression suddenly changed.

"Why are you talking so much!"

"You're not happy about keeping an eye on them?"

The old man shoved the unruly disciple away from his seat, sat down directly on the side of the table, spread out the scroll of "Southern Dipper Longevity Scripture," and pulled out a talisman pen made of shimmering jade marrow from somewhere. He immediately began to work on the unfinished annotations.

This only fueled the purple-robed female Taoist priest's dissatisfaction, and she inwardly grumbled:
You old fogies are just afraid that Ghost Lang-Li Qing will lose control of his cultivation and destroy your inner courtyard, right? But aren't the disciples of the outer courtyard human too?

It's fortunate that our patriarch accepted the mission from the Dan Shu Yin family of Jiangnan, taking on such a hot potato. The ghostly affliction on Li Qing is still unresolved!

"Hmph, teacher, I think you should just pass on the Life-Extending Scripture to that guy as soon as possible and let him go back to Jiangnan Road on his own. The Ancestral Master is about to die, and if that Ghost Mother goes out of control again, you won't be able to control her!"

"Even if it's not enough, it's enough for the temple to gain a good reputation for donating scriptures."

This female Taoist priest was not confused at all; on the contrary, she was more clear-headed than most of the Purple Mansion Taoists.

Gui Lang-Li Qing, behind whom is a terrifying and vengeful ghost that came from Jiangnan and swept across twenty-three prefectures and counties.

Back then, it was a great scourge that caused hundreds of ghosts to pass through the area and wiped out the six ancient ghosts that had been occupying old temples and ancestral halls in various prefectures and counties!

We finally managed to subdue her... We were hoping that the little guy would cultivate the Southern Dipper Life-Extending Serpent and turn around to control that vengeful ghost.
Stop daydreaming, old man!

"you……"

"You damned bastard, how come we can't control him? The four heads of the inner courtyard plus the abbot, how could we not control him?"

Before Bai Long, the head of the Bai family, had even finished writing the first annotation, his talisman brush nearly broke from the anger of this disobedient son. He truly felt the offense of this scoundrel of a disciple.

"And Bai Qingye, can you please stop talking like a funnel all the time?"

"How did you know about the patriarch? Is this something you can just casually reveal when you're angry with someone?"

The head of the compound was so angry he was practically jumping out of his skin. If this bastard weren't also half a great-great-grandson and half a disciple, he would have loved to slap her against the wall.

"I'm warning you, loose lips sink ships. You'd better watch your words and actions..."

At this moment, the head of the academy was truly alarmed by this disciple and repeatedly warned him.

"Oh"

The latter realized he had said the wrong thing and dared not utter another word, standing obediently to the side to endure the scolding.

The name of the Tiannan Patriarch is unknown, but many disciples remember that his surname was Yin, the Yin of the Jiangnan Danshu Yin clan.

Master Yin is the only towering white jade pillar and the purple-gold beam that spans the sea at Tiannan Temple. From the highest level of the temple to the youngest disciples, everyone in the temple enters the path by revering the deeds of Master Yin.

If the news of Patriarch Yin's impending death were to spread, what chaos would ensue? It might even cause the collapse of the Immortal Mountain of Lin Yuan. How could they be so careless with their words?
That head of the outer courtyard, Bai, is in a bad situation. He's brought trouble upon himself and got a severe lesson...

Li Qing was completely unaware of what had happened at the Yuntai Palace.

At this moment, he had already returned to the mansion. In a corner of the main hall, the crimson dragon was coiled up on the side, quietly lying beside him, licking the Dragon-Taming Jade.

Li Qing hung up the spirit lamp, lit the incense burner, and began to organize her recent gains.

The fact that over 20,000 cultivation points were taken away before he could even enjoy them was quite a headache. However, once he had the first volume, "Nan Dou Yan Ming," in his possession, things were different.

Li Qing laid the two bamboo slips from his sleeve on the table. One slip was made of spiritual bamboo and contained the "Fire in Stone," a secret method for nurturing spiritual fire. The other slip was made of spiritual jade and contained the first volume of the "Southern Dipper Prolongation Scripture."

This complete first volume of the Longevity Scripture is based entirely on the ever-burning life fire, practicing the way to avoid death and prolong life, and is further supplemented by three magical techniques.

Stealing lifespan and diminishing life force, this is the curse of the evil star to avert death;

The method of controlling the blazing sun and gathering the sun's brilliance, the method of separating the stars, is called the Crimson Sun Southern Bright Path;

The final step is the core supernatural power. After each person's innate Qi is perfected and their magical power is initially formed, every orthodox lineage teaches its disciples a protective supernatural power first.

The path to immortality is vast and boundless, the foundation of all paths, consisting of two elements: Qi and Light. At the highest level of Qi cultivation, one may develop either罡气 (罡气 is a type of internal energy) or 神光 (神光 is a type of divine light), thus almost completely transcending the mortal realm.

With a surge of boundless vital energy, one can roam freely above the clouds; with a wisp of Taibai divine light, one can fly across the five lakes and four seas.

Only at this point can one be called a celestial being.

Therefore, the "Southern Dipper Longevity Scripture" has two fundamental supernatural powers: one is the Southern Dipper Separation and Union Light, and the other is the Heavenly Mansion Mysterious Primordial Qi.

The ancient path of Qi cultivation is nothing more than grasping Yin and Yang and the Five Elements, understanding the Three Powers, distinguishing the Six Qi, and observing the changes of all Qi in the universe, so as to naturally cultivate primordial Qi!

(End of this chapter)