The Path to Immortality Begins with the Life-Extending Lamp

Chapter 3 Guanzhong Dui Ling Fa

"Hey, Junior Brother Li is back!"

"Come on, quickly bring up my finest green tea."

As soon as Li Qing returned to the mountain and stepped into the Outer Affairs Hall, the Taoist priest in charge of receiving him greeted him with a chuckle.

Ten days passed, and while Li Zhong was still on his way, the news of the Mountain Lord's execution had already been secretly relayed back to the External Affairs Hall. Which of the several mid-to-high-ranking Daoist disciples in the External Affairs Hall didn't have their own thoughts? They were all waiting for their good junior brother who had executed the Mountain Lord to return to the mountain!

The Tiger Mountain Lord, who can refine all his followers, if he could take over the task of presiding over that beast and handle the yang-quality tiger blood, tiger bones, tiger skin... tsk tsk tsk.

"Junior Brother Li, let's skip the formalities. Your low-grade task of slaying wild ghosts was a dereliction of duty by the Wenfeng Hall. This time, we'll make them pay dearly."

"As for this place, I have already reassessed it and adjusted it to a high-grade difficulty level. The corresponding rewards and cultivation points will be provided in full."

“That mountain lord is a treasure trove. He even asked my junior brother to transfer some of his spiritual blood to me. We've dealt with each other before, so this is definitely worth more than you can ask for.”

The Taoist priest from the Outer Affairs Hall had a sallow complexion and a thin build, but he was a genuine senior mid-grade Taoist priest with a body full of true qi that was not far from the high-grade level.

This wasn't the first time he had handled a task entrusted by Li Qing, dealing with the distribution and exchange of Dao Gong and Dao Zhu.

That's definitely enough!

Although this mountain lord is a treasure trove, the most useful things are its tiger skin and its yang-quality spiritual blood. But Li Qing really doesn't want to give these two away to the Foreign Affairs Hall so easily.

That tiger skin, impervious to water and fire, could probably be used to craft magical artifacts. And the Yang-quality spiritual blood—the very word "Yang" is enough to show how precious it is.

At this moment, Li Qing gently held the teacup in her right hand, took a sip, and remained silent. Facing Ma Daotu, the only person she had some connection with in Lin Yuan Mountain, she found herself in a difficult position.

"Good junior brother, just trust your senior brother this once."

"Although the Yang essence blood is very beneficial to your vital energy, as I know, you are more Yin than Yin, and your cultivation is not very compatible with this Yang essence blood."

"If you were to give that yang essence blood to your senior brother again, and you had gazed upon the Southern Dipper Longevity Lamp Technique several times, and your senior brother were to give up half of his life's cultivation to help you obtain that lamp technique, what do you say?"

Seeing that Li Qing did not move, Ma Daotu became somewhat anxious.

Although he still looks like he's in his thirties, he's actually close to fifty. Even though he's handled many commissions in the External Affairs Hall and accumulated some wealth, he still has little confidence in breaking through the Zhou Tian line.

But today, a glimmer of hope has arrived. If aided by the Yang-quality mountain lord's blood, along with many old medicines to strengthen essence and regulate qi, it may be possible to successfully fill the 360 ​​cycles of true qi before the essence and qi decline, and with the circulation of qi throughout the body, one can attain the highest level of qi cultivation.

At that time, after refining protective qi, choosing some Taoist techniques, receiving the blue robes, and becoming an inner disciple of the academy, one will no longer be an ordinary person...

After many years of searching, he finally found this great medicine. If Li Qing is willing, he is truly willing to give it his heart and soul to her!

The other mid-to-high-grade Daoist disciples in the External Affairs Hall were not present today, and the servants in the hall had also been silenced by his threats and inducements, so the news of Li Qing's return to hand over the mission had not yet spread.

At this moment, Ma Daotu was like an ant on a hot pan, anxiously pacing around in circles.

Li Qing also pondered that the death of the mountain lord was purely due to good fortune. Firstly, the young lady of the Cui family happened to appear in his dream, and then he bumped into the mountain lord, which allowed him to use the haunting dream to directly sacrifice the tiger mountain lord.

But he himself might not always be so lucky. Having cultivated for so long, he still doesn't possess a single, truly useful magical artifact. Could the danger of the mountain lord possibly reappear?
If he keeps begging for help like this every time, he'll probably die from the backlash of that ghost marriage contract in no time!
This near-death experience served as a stark reminder to Li Qing that this was the remote Tiannan Prefecture, not his peaceful Guihua Prefecture in Jiangnan. Moreover, he had already embarked on the path of cultivation, a different road altogether, and his fate was no longer in his own hands…

"You don't need the latter half of the Life-Extending Lamp Technique yet!"

"I do recall that before the new year, a high-ranking Daoist disciple who specialized in the Paper Spirit Secret Records passed away in the External Affairs Hall. His Paper Spirit Secret Artifacts were on display for auction for a while, right?"

Li Qing's eyes flickered slightly. Before entering Tiannan Temple, he was the second son of a papermaking family in Guihua Prefecture of the Southern Kingdom. After cultivating, making spirit paper became one of his specialties.

He had once glimpsed that complete set of paper spirit artifacts and was amazed at the time. It was a finished artifact that a high-ranking Daoist had refined for over a hundred years, and it would be excellent for protection.

However, even with all his wealth and the complete corpse of the mountain lord, he might not have enough for such a complete set of paper magic artifacts.

Paper Spirit Secret Tool?
Ma Daotu's smile froze, and he quickly searched his mind for information about the paper spirit artifact. Paper Dao? Who cultivated the paper Dao? For a time, he had no clue about such an unorthodox magical artifact.

Just as Ma Daotu was in a panic, fortunately, the female servant on the other side saw the opportunity and immediately handed him a secret record of external affairs and accounting.

"Got it, got it, Junior Brother Li." Ma Daotu took the accounting record, turned to the page of the Spiritual Treasure, but his joyful expression did not last long before it suddenly disappeared.

The original records show that in Han Daotu's paper spirit treasure trove, there was originally a white funeral banner, six blue flame paper lamps, four paper figures, and a white paper sedan chair... But in these successive accounting records, it is unknown which Daoist disciples manipulated things, replacing those unorthodox paper Daoist artifacts one by one as "add-ons".

Were those Taoist disciples reincarnated pig spirits? Even the most unorthodox magical artifacts come in sets!

Sell ​​them piece by piece? Good heavens, is that something a human could even think of?
However, the art of papermaking is truly obscure in Tiannan. While there are certainly no practitioners of papermaking within the temple, it's impossible to find more than two in the four courtyards of Tiannan. In the Outer Affairs Hall, no one has paid any attention to this secret art for over a year.

"But... that set of paper spirit artifacts, perhaps they were bought up one by one? Now only a paper sedan chair and a paper figure are left."

The original complete set of Paper Spirit Treasures should have contained thirteen magical artifacts of various sizes, covering many wonderful uses. Now, however, only a paper sedan chair remains, and even the paper figures carrying the sedan chair are not enough to form a pair.

How can this be good?

Many thoughts flashed through Ma Daotu's mind in an instant. This Li Qing, nicknamed Ghost Gentleman, was different from ordinary people. If it really came down to force, he might not be able to curse that guy, let alone dare to get involved with that terrifying evil spirit. But the Mountain Lord's Blood was a great medicine that was rare to see in the mortal world of the prefecture for hundreds of years!
Seeing that Li Qingdao's disciple was losing interest and was about to slip his task payment into his sleeve and leave, Ma Daotu suddenly had a flash of inspiration, as if he had remembered something, and quickly said:
"Wait, junior brother, good junior brother!" "Although the paper spirit artifact is incomplete, there are some other stories about the remains left by that high-grade Dao disciple back then."

"Do you know that this paper spirit technique is not a Tiannan Dao technique? This technique comes from Lingnan Prefecture, Lingnan - Paper Efficiency Technique."

"Although the paper spirit artifact is incomplete, the heavy weapon that can traverse clouds and mist - the spirit paper sedan chair - is still there. Among all the paper artifacts, this is the most precious one."

Ma Daotu's expression suddenly changed, sometimes excited, sometimes solemn. With a gritted tooth, he revealed another secret.

"If you transfer the essence of the Mountain Lord to me, Junior Brother, I only need three cups. I will risk the reputation of stealing property from the academy and hide the only copy of the 'Paper Spirit Secret Record' from Han Daotu's remains in a paper container, and sell it to you for Dao coins. How about it?"

"That record contains the complete method for refining paper spirit artifacts. Senior Brother Han, who passed away in meditation, used this record to refine the entire set of magical artifacts!"

Ma Daotu knew that if he didn't act quickly, once the other mid-to-high-grade Dao disciples got news of Li Qing, he, a mere mid-grade Qi Refining cultivator, would find it difficult to compete with them.

Why not steal from the guards and take a gamble by walking a tightrope?
Upon hearing his outrageous words, Li Qing involuntarily raised an eyebrow, somewhat incredulous.

Although the ritual implements are precious, the Outer Affairs Hall suffers from frequent "fire losses," making the path arduous. As a result, the Taoist masters above turn a blind eye to it.

However, techniques and magic are different. The magic in the temple is an absolute forbidden zone that can only be obtained through the Taoist practice in the Transmission Pavilion. Only techniques and magic are the only paths that Tiannan Temple monopolizes.

"Senior brother, have you gone mad? How can you teach the Taoist secrets and techniques of the temple privately? That would be punishable by being burned alive!"

Li Qing suppressed his excitement, but reason prevailed in the end. His face immediately darkened. He didn't want to risk his life. He rolled up all the items in his sleeve, took his leave, and got up without even taking another sip of the Lao Shan green tea.

Ma Daotu was also flushed with irritation, as if he were drunk. He stood in front of Li Qing and pressed down on her sleeve with one hand.

"Shh, there's more to this than meets the eye."

"Junior brother, please come with me for a moment to speak..."

That mid-grade Daoist disciple, whose true qi was condensed and whose strength was comparable to that of nine oxen and two tigers, was pulled off a stumble by Li Qing. He exchanged a glance with several Daoist disciples and temporarily sealed off the area outside the outer hall, then led Li Qing into a separate room.

Half an hour later.

After waiting impatiently for a long time, Li Qing was almost getting restless when Ma Daotu hurriedly came down from the third floor, carrying a grayish-white mustard seed bag, and entered the pavilion to meet her.

This paper spirit secret technique should belong to the private remains of the old Taoist disciple who passed away in meditation. Since the descendants of that Taoist disciple Han never embarked on the path of Taoism again, this set of paper Taoist secret records was neither added to the Scripture Transmission Pavilion nor disposed of in any other way. It was simply placed in the storeroom of the External Affairs Hall.

Ma Daotu and the Taoist priest above casually suggested putting it into the storeroom, and they sent the paper spirit secret techniques and His Highness's paper spirit secret artifacts from the Outer Affairs Hall's storeroom away together. If they were to investigate later, they could simply say it was due to carelessness and that it was sold off cheaply.

Even if a thorough investigation is conducted, it will not affect Li Qing, the buyer.

By then, Ma will likely have become a high-ranking Daoist disciple. There are only about forty high-ranking Daoist disciples in the temple, and his reputation will be enough to shake the prefecture and county. As long as he insists that it was an accident, can he really be punished to death?
Thus, through this fortuitous encounter, Li Qing exchanged the Mountain Lord's spiritual blood for a copy of the "Paper Spirit Secret Record" and a complete paper artifact - the Flower Paper Sedan Chair!
This is the first magical artifact he has acquired in the four years since he entered the Taoist path.

“But junior brother… this matter is between you and me, so don’t tell outsiders. If things go smoothly, perhaps the academy won’t even bother to investigate.”

"If I, your senior brother, can take this opportunity to cultivate to the highest level of Qi and be bestowed with the crimson robe, I will never forget your great kindness!"

After exhausting his words, Ma Daotu finally got his wish. He was filled with pride and immediately made a promise to Li Qing, then ordered the few Daoist disciples who had not yet cultivated Qi to lead Li Qing to secretly leave through the back door.

However, after a brief separation, a deep surprise flashed in Ma Daotu's eyes as he extended his left hand, which had been tucked into his sleeve.

Logically speaking, he was already a seasoned mid-stage Qi Refining cultivator, with true Qi covering his entire body, making him virtually immune to all diseases. However, after merely tugging at Li Qing's sleeve along the way, frost appeared on his left palm, stained with a rich, profound Yin energy...

"What a pity about Junior Brother Li!"

Everyone knows that humans and ghosts are on different paths, and how can ordinary people bear the consequences of a ghost marriage or a contract with the dead? Although this Junior Brother Li is aloof and solitary, he is still a good person. I wonder if he can get through this.

With a soft sigh, Ma Daotu's face lit up with joy. He put away the three cups of Yang-type spiritual blood and turned to head towards the back of the hall.

At this moment.

Da da da……

Two Daoist disciples pushed open the door of the Outer Affairs Hall and hurried up. The one in green was about the middle stage of Qi Refining, while the one in blue was already the upper stage of Qi Refining.

"Ma Yuan, you're quite dishonest, you've intercepted Daoist Master's men."

"And what about Li Qingren?"

The two Taoist disciples who were also in the outer hall looked grim and questioned him in deep voices. This Taoist disciple Ma had actually intercepted all of their disciples and eaten all the food himself; he was truly inhuman.

"Hahaha, my two senior brothers don't need to waste any more time. Junior Brother Li's Yang Blood Elixir has all gone to me, Ma."

Ma Daotu, full of vigor and high spirits, laughed heartily a few times, then turned and left. He would wait until Ma Daotu reached the upper level of Qi Refining; at that point, who would be the senior brother and who would be the junior brother would be another story…

(End of this chapter)