The Path to Immortality Begins with the Life-Extending Lamp

Chapter 32 The Ghostly Plague of Shanyang
Coming from the east of Shanyang County, the sense of division became even stronger!
In the surrounding villages and towns of the county, it was difficult to find even a single person. White banners fluttered everywhere, and new graves were hastily buried in the woods, revealing a desolate scene everywhere.

But east of Shanyang, there is a memorial archway every three li and a temple every five li. In front of the Lingpaimen Temple, the incense is always burning brightly, and you can often see villagers rushing back and forth, kowtowing and praying in front of the Ma family temple. There are also blue oxen nearly ten feet tall carrying carts of grain piled up like hills to the east.

There were numerous shantytowns, with smoke rising from chimneys, vehicles crossing the roads, and all industries thriving.

It was as if the people here were completely unafraid of the ghostly calamity!
This is because this is the territory of the Ma clan of Shanyang. Nearly 40% of the people with the surname Ma in Shanyang County are from this clan. Naturally, the Ma clan of Shanyang occupies a vast area and even has two townships that belong exclusively to their clan.

The Ma clan ancestral hall enshrines a ghost or deity, and some clan members practice Taoism at Tiannan Temple and Liuling Mountain, making them veritable local emperors.

This vast fertile plain belongs to the Ma family and is protected by the ancestral spirits of the Ma family.

In every village and town, every household was dressed in white mourning clothes, and the fields were filled with new graves; guards had vanished.

However, the eastern part of Shanyang still looked like a paradise. The common people in the various villages of the county had long since entered the Ma family ancestral hall to worship and avoid disaster. In the shantytowns, people received porridge during the day and prayed to the Third Master Ma at night to ask for a temporary end to the ghostly calamity.

As Li Qing led the "real dragon" in the eyes of many villagers through the eastern part of Shanyang, he was filled with mixed emotions.

Despite the wary gazes from the shadows in the village, Li Qing's eyes lingered on the altars filled with incense sticks, his expression inscrutable.

This is a private, illicit ritual, which is not tolerated by the imperial court...

"I, Ma Ziqi, as the patriarch of the Ma clan of Shanyang East Township, pay my respects to the Venerable Daoist!"

Li Qing's extraordinary appearance, accompanied by a dragon, naturally alarmed the spirit in the ancestral temple long ago. In addition, the villagers from all directions were alarmed and rushed to report the appearance of a great dragon.

The Ma family of Shanyang naturally wouldn't arrive too late. Li Qing had only gone halfway when a fast horse came to greet him from a short distance away.

Following the light cavalry was a carriage, made of sandalwood and lacquered in vermilion, extremely luxurious, as if to welcome distinguished guests...

At this time, the Ma Clan Ancestral Hall was located.

The old shamans of the Ma family clan were anxiously discussing matters with the elderly man in official robes sitting on the grand chair, showing the respect due to juniors.

Those who revere the gods and spirits, and who can see ghosts and spirits, are called witches if they are women, and shamans if they are men.

However, the prerequisite is that you must have gods or spirits to serve! A shaman without anyone above him can only be called a sorceress or a master...

At this moment, all the shamans of the Ma clan showed expressions of worry.

“Ancestor, first there was the ghost skinning people, which had a wide impact, and many people in our clan also suffered.”

"This time, another disciple in blue robes has arrived from the Upper Temple, riding a dragon and a snake. Ancestor, why don't you calm down and cooperate with that Daoist to get rid of that skinning demon?"

"Let's dismantle the village altar first..."

For three hundred years, the worship of this Ma San Tai Ye has been stuck in the realm of night wandering. In recent years, however, he seems to have developed an obsession. Under such ghostly afflictions, he has openly manifested his power in various villages, relocating villagers and demanding offerings. He has also privately set up an altar, causing the people of the villages to kowtow and pray every day, hoping to break through the realm of night wandering as soon as possible.

In the realm of ghosts and spirits, the manifestation of yin spirits is called night wandering, and their starting point is on par with that of a superior Daoist disciple;
Until one's merits and virtues are greatly advanced and one's physical body becomes stronger, one can be unafraid of the sun's essence fire and the outer winds, and float freely in the sky for hundreds of feet. At this time, one has reached the Sun Travel Realm and can compete with the Purple Mansion Daoist.
If one goes further, with years of offerings and sacrifices, the pure spirits of the underworld will achieve enlightenment and develop all sorts of incredible supernatural powers. At this point, male ghosts can be called generals, and female ghosts can be called ladies. Having opened their own underworld realms, they can stand shoulder to shoulder with the true spirits of the underworld…

The Northern Yin Road is a smooth road, but such unscrupulous means are not only despicable but also transgress the rules!

The old man's face turned pale, but he snorted coldly:
"You brat, what do you mean by 'reset'?"

"The people of all the villages are prostrating themselves in the ancestral hall. Have I failed to protect the 100,000 people of Shanyang? Or have I committed crimes and rebelled? He's just a yellow-haired brat, a snake that hasn't even transformed into a dragon yet. Is there any need to be so afraid of him...?"

"In my Shanyang territory, hmph."

"Let's wait until he's pledged allegiance to me before we talk about anything else!"

After the death of this patriarch of the Ma family, he became a ghost with a strange obsession: an obsession with officialdom!
He spent his entire life as a county magistrate, but even after death, he was still required to advance further, becoming a prefect, and even his daily actions were conducted in an official tone.

"What else can he do? Report to the prefectural capital and have me killed?"

After giving the Ma family's shamans a good scolding, the old man calmly sat down in the armchair and picked up a teapot in his right hand, playing with it lightly.

But if you look closely at his left hand, which was constantly making small movements in his sleeve, you'd be to say that he wasn't as confident as he appeared!

The blue-robed Taoist from Tiannan Temple, accompanied by a half-dragon, was indeed somewhat uneasy about the newcomer. His unauthorized altar was, to put it bluntly, a lewd and perverse ritual deserving of a visit to the execution platform!
But if you really ask him to kill that skinning demon, he doesn't have much confidence either. That mindless wild demon is fierce and ruthless. What should he do?

Seeing the old man's reaction, the shamans in the room, each occupying a seat, immediately fell silent.

Many old shamans sent three urgent letters to Ma Yuan. The ghostly calamity in Shanyang was only one reason. Another reason was that they wanted the Venerable Shangguan, who had finally reached the upper level of Qi Refining, to return and properly punish this old ancestor.

This old devil is fearless, but the two clans of the Ma family don't want to be implicated by him!

Before long, the arena fell into a long wait again, as time ticked by...

Then, a flurry of footsteps began to echo in the courtyard.

The old man, dressed in official robes, leaned back slightly, raised his head high, and looked down at his nose, displaying the demeanor of a dignified elder.

Then, before he could fully immerse himself in the role of the clan patriarch, the clan elder outside the door called out without any sense of propriety.

"Oh no, oh no!"

"Ancestors, elders! That... that Venerable Shangguan inspected the eastern part of Shanyang, saw the newly erected altars in the temples, and then returned to Shanyang County."

"Even my grandson can't keep him here!"

Ma Ziqi, the patriarch of the Ma family's East Ancestral Hall, a man of absolute authority, was bowing deeply before the elders of the clan, his face filled with bitterness.

This poor performance will likely result in a lesson for them.

Sure enough. Ding-dong...

Suddenly, a dark cloud descended upon the Third Master Ma, who was sitting high on the grand chair. In his rage, his face, full of ghostly features, was revealed. He was indeed a blue-faced, ghostly ghost!

The most cherished teacup on the table was casually swung and smashed into the forehead of the Ma clan elder. In the next instant, a long line of blood gushed out from his forehead, and blood gushed down.

"Trash!"

As the teacup shattered on the ground with a crash, the patriarch of the Ma clan, disregarding the scalding tea, immediately stepped forward, knelt down, and begged his ancestor for forgiveness…

The many shamans were already used to it and remained silent, sitting on one side or the other, letting Master Ma vent his emotions.

Even though ghosts and spirits differ from ordinary vengeful spirits, having developed into spirits and embarked on the path of the Northern Yin, a ghost is still a ghost. They are inauspicious beings of the Yin and Yang, belonging to those whose fetal spirits are incomplete.

Those obsessions from their previous life will become infinitely stronger, and their already terrible emotions and desires will be intensified and become uncontrollable... just like now!
"Passing by his own home without entering, does he really not want to pay homage to the Ma family of Shanyang? It seems this little brat does have some ambition after all."

"Hmph, then I'll see what kind of trouble these mere mortals can accomplish in Shanyang!"

The murky eyes of that dead old man, Grandpa Ma, glanced around the mansion, gave a cold snort, and disappeared from the Ma clan's ancestral hall. Even the clan's oldest shamans could not find a trace of him...

Meanwhile, in Shanyang County.

The county officials, led by a sorcerer, a Taoist priest in blue robes, and the county magistrate, searched the main street of the city.

This insect master, draped in a blue ribbon, was clearly inferior to the one from Lanfeng Prefecture; even the county magistrate, skilled in calligraphy and etiquette, was far from proficient when faced with a true ghost.

However, the middle-ranking Taoist disciple in blue robes from the Foreign Affairs Hall had cultivated a unique internal energy and possessed exceptional martial arts skills. After this investigation, he became a pivotal figure among the county government officials.

“The county government issued a notice previously, and most of those who could go have gone to the eastern countryside, where they are under the care of Master Ma and are also warned by shamans…”

"Those who have no other options might still be gathered in the west of the city?"

The magistrate of Shanyang County took out a weather forecast, wanting to find out how popular the county was at the moment.

The day before yesterday, it rained, and countless ghostly figures waded through the water, making their way into Shanyang County. These ghostly figures were terrifying; with a wave of their hand, they could tear open the flesh of a young man, peel off his skin, and leave him to die in excruciating pain...

They had been causing trouble for a day and a night, and in desperation, they evacuated the people, which led the thugs to this north alley...

After a night of fierce fighting, the entire county town is now so quiet. I wonder what has become of the people who were still lingering in the county!
This lowly county magistrate has encountered such a ghostly affliction; his career has come to an end.

He sighed deeply, but there was nothing he could do. Even if he, the county magistrate, was not very capable, he still had to lead his men to bury the robbed victim.

"So the ancestral spirits of Dongxiang just refuse to take action?"

"He accepts all offerings but does nothing; is he trying to cultivate his own power or something else?"

The Taoist priest in blue looked grim. He took out a lacquered tinderbox from his mustard seed bag and immediately began to summon the ancestral spirits and ghosts of the local area.

This fire starter is a magical artifact of the Daoist arts, about five inches tall and as thick as a thumb. The Daoist disciple had previously used the fire starter to burn away the human-skin ghost in a great fire, and the group found a sealed secret chamber and hid there.

Upon arriving at the west side of the city, the western ward that the county magistrate had originally prepared for the commoners and tenants of the various villages was now deserted.

The only good news so far is that no bloody corpses have been found everywhere. As long as people are alive, there is hope, and his future record as a county magistrate will have less ink to write about...

"The Skinning Ghost is a type of ghoul, and it has a physical form, so you can avoid it by keeping the doors and windows closed!"

In the South, ghosts are divided into two categories: corpse ghosts and yin ghosts. Corpse ghosts are often corpses or objects that have become part of one's possessions and have a tangible form. Yin ghosts, on the other hand, are mostly intangible spirits that manifest under the protection of yin energy.
"That human skin monster was truly bizarre. It came through the rain, and the moment it touched an ordinary person's limbs, it would cause excruciating pain as if the skin were being peeled off. The flesh and skin there would instantly split in two, tearing apart..."

"As for the human skin lantern, it seems to resemble a flying head, so it's not particularly strange. Perhaps it can be used to keep watch for the ghosts behind the scenes?"

While searching the market town in the west of the city, the group also began to compare the details of the skinning demon.

Alas... If it weren't for the ancestral spirit of Dongxiang, Ma San Taiye, sending a message to all the villages in a dream, perhaps Shanyang County could have organized and mobilized the shamans and sorcerers of each village to find the skinning demon behind the scenes much earlier, preventing it from causing such harm.

But now, Shanyang County is practically a shell of its former self, while Dongxiang has simply closed its doors and is minding its own business. What can they do?
He was grumbling.

Suddenly, the gate of the West Mill creaked open, and everyone turned around warily.

At that glance, everyone was immediately horrified.

Three figures, who had not been there before, were now quietly standing outside the gate: a lady in white and two shorter men in white. Just then, the three of them turned around simultaneously.

Surprisingly, they have no face!

The two people in white had no faces or eyes, and the slightly taller lady had even more bizarre makeup, clearly the kind of makeup for a dead person.

The man in white didn't even have a face, but everyone could feel his chilling gaze and the bruised, ghostly hands that were the color of a drowned infant...

"There's a ghost!" The county officials were terrified and screamed in panic.

Before the Taoist disciple could even unwrap the fire-tinder ritual implement, a huge six-crowned dragon head peered in from outside the courtyard wall.

He hissed and greeted everyone.

Then another clear voice rang out.

"So, this is where you are!"

(End of this chapter)