The Path to Immortality Begins with the Life-Extending Lamp

Chapter 41 Focused Cultivation
Lin Yuan Mountain.

With a scroll of purple jade slip in his arms, Li Qing pushed open the courtyard gate and headed back into the mansion.

When exchanging a Great Merit Iron Certificate for a spell at the Imperial Academy, Li Qing naturally chose the best and most expensive one: "The Mountain Spirit's Hidden Ballad Law".

This is a spirit-taming spell worth 28,000 Dao power, originating from the ancient Chu region, from the primitive natural mountain spirit lineage...

In the South, there is a legend that when the clouds first cleared, a mountain spirit interacted with the clouds and rain, giving birth to a descendant that was half human and half mist. In the morning, it became a clear spring, and in the evening, it transformed into rocks, bathed in the moonlight. This is what is known as the spirit of the mountains.

This is one of the most expensive healing spells in the Transmission Hall of the Imperial Academy. Many disciples of the academy cannot obtain it. When Li Qing obtained it, the face of the person in charge of the Transmission Hall visibly trembled.

Where did this kid come from? He's so good at taking advantage of people! He just casually throws out the most expensive items, huh?

But there was no other way. They could only take back the Governor's Office's merit certificate, lift the restrictions on Li Qing, and let him leave!
Li Qing's choice of this Mountain Ghost Law was not entirely due to its high price.

The Mountain Spirit Hidden Law belongs to the category of natural witchcraft and Taoist magic. It consists of four volumes: Mountain Spirit Incantation, Impeachment Record, Netherworld Communication Method, and Cloud and Rain Transformation. It can summon and impeach rampant spirits and their accomplices, making it an extremely mysterious magic.

What finally made Li Qing make up his mind was the preface of this law!

The Mountain Ghost Law classifies ghosts, spirits, evil spirits, and celestial demons as the spirits of all things, and uniquely compares mountains, rivers, plants, trees, rocks, monsters, and living beings to the essence of heaven and earth. The essence of heaven and earth summons the spirits of all things, which is in accordance with the wonders of nature.

Although it is called natural witchcraft, it is not bound by conventions. Compared with many other altar rituals and sorcery, this art is truly in harmony with the Tao!

Compared to the Paper Spirit Secret Record that Li Qing had previously obtained, it was inferior.

Upon entering the hall, Li Qing gently moved to the side of the Arhat couch, untied the jade slip, and placed it between her eyebrows.

Within the jade slip, the seed of the spell seemed to transform into a stream of azure light, directly entering the Niwan Palace.

The Shangyuan Palace is also known as the Niwan Palace, the Sea of ​​Consciousness, the gathering place of all gods, the place where the Dao unites with the Great Mystery, and the place of the spirit above the physical form.

The magical seed of the Mountain Spirit's Hidden Law, once it entered the Niwan Palace, instantly transformed into a landscape. This place was secluded and shrouded in mist, with day and night clearly defined, creating a sense of yin and yang at the boundary. The mountains were high and treacherous, making it difficult to see the sky. Fragrant herbs grew in the mountain streams, and kudzu vines coiled around the rocks. Stone orchids and osmanthus bloomed amidst the hazy mountain valleys.

Suddenly a flash of lightning appeared, and looking up at the sky, it seemed as if the heavens were angry, with thunderous clouds rolling and turning into the face of divine wrath.
Looking at that mountain again, amidst the wind and rain, shrouded in mist, the mountain spirit stands atop the peak, its majesty obscured, but one can hear mournful songs, sometimes gentle and melodious like sea maidens lamenting their sorrows, sometimes powerful and majestic, as if vying with the heavens for supremacy!
Rumble…

Thunder and clouds raged, a flash of silver light appeared across the mountains and rivers, and ten thousand thunderbolts struck mercilessly. Looking again at those treacherous mountains, tigers and leopards were their claws, dragons and snakes their teeth, eagles and roc had sharp eyes, and the wind and rain roared angrily.

The spirits of the flowing rivers, like butterflies and dragons, roam freely; the old rocks between the cliffs, carved by the wind and shaped by the rain, transform into the divine appearance of the thousand-foot mountain range!
Demons and ghosts heed the accusations, the spirits of plants and trees are summoned, and all the spirits of mountains, rivers, plants, and trees are moved—this is the Ballad of the Mountain Spirits…

The magical seed, containing a faint trace of Daoist principles, imprinted every word and melody of the Mountain Spirit Ballad into Li Qing's mind.

As he watched the illusory scene unfold, the curtain slowly fell on the mountain spirit's response to the wrath of heaven. Yet, in Li Qing's Niwan Palace, outside that corner of the white bone land, in the dark and boundless sea of ​​consciousness, another image of a mountain spirit appeared.

The insights gained from the four volumes of Mountain Spirit Laws flowed slowly through Li Qing's mind. At this moment, he could be considered to have entered the door and had a basic grasp of the Mountain Spirit Laws.
This is the terrifying aspect of the simplicity and ease of use of magic today. The superior can condense a magic seed for inheritance, and simply place it between the eyebrows to allow people to initially master the magic, saving later generations so much effort.

The development of the Immortal Path has never stopped!

With her eyes closed in meditation, and as she revisited the Mountain Spirit Law, Li Qing knew how to proceed with the Paper Spirit and Paper Demon.

Furthermore, strip away that useless cruelty, retain a trace of the bizarre, remove a trace of ignorance, preserve a trace of the strange, reduce a trace of ferocity, and retain a trace of madness!
After Li Qing absorbed the Daoist essence from the magic jade slip, the purple marrow jade fell to the ground with a [crack], losing all its divine power and becoming like ordinary jade, shattering at the slightest touch.

Li Qing suddenly opened her eyes and secretly praised the Mountain Ghost Law as truly formidable!
The advanced magic in the inner courtyard was on a completely different level from the magic in the outer courtyard. He suddenly regretted not joining the inner courtyard...

Shaking his head, Li Qing looked again at the candle licking the jade disc in the hall, and took out the Spirit Jade Ointment and the Dragon Ginseng from his storage gourd.

"Candle, come here. Take this Spirit Jade Ointment for the next few days, and then eat the Dragon Bamboo Shoots. You will then be able to shed your python form and transform into a dragon!"

"I'll stay by your side during this time!"

With a gentle beckoning gesture towards the "candle," Li Qing took out a box of spirit jade ointment from the Six Spirit Mountains. The dark jade-colored gel-like substance inside emitted a rich fragrance, seemingly refined from various spiritual ingredients, and using a water-refining method.

These demons and spirits are all different.

Anything that goes against the natural order is considered a demon. Demons are often old beasts that worship the moon, which awaken their intelligence, open their horizontal bones, and cause them to behave abnormally. They may also learn to live in towns and cities like ordinary people, or even transform into a Daoist body. They are cunning and unpredictable, and can learn demonic arts and form their own clans.

Demons are even more terrifying than ghosts, ranking alongside evil spirits. They exhibit a paradoxical coexistence of primal savagery and conventional wisdom in their individuals, making each one extremely unique. Long ago, they even fought with humanity for control of the Heavenly Capital, becoming a formidable enemy!

Now, each has its own territory: the South has the southwestern mountains, the North has the North Sea, and the Ba has the Thousand Autumn Ridge, all belonging to the demon race...

Spirits and monsters often enlighten sentient beings, but they possess their own inherited laws and principles, maintaining their original physical forms. Spirits and monsters often act as beast tamers and spirit keepers, generally coexisting "harmoniously" with humans. However, in a true life-or-death struggle, spirits and monsters are significantly weaker! Unless a master invests considerable effort and resources in their cultivation, they are truly the weakest link among demons and monsters…

Zhu is on the path of the Dragon Essence, and his aptitude is particularly good, but Li Qing still needs to put in more effort to cultivate him properly.

As he was setting the direction for his future cultivation and allowing the candle to completely transform into a dragon seed, Li Qing accompanied him to watch over him and diligently practiced his Qi. Now, he had cultivated over three hundred cycles of Qi, and it remained to be seen whether he could break through to the upper level of Qi cultivation in one go.

Only then could it be said that he had truly taken his first step on the path of immortality.

When the cycle of Qi circulation is complete and one reaches the highest level of Qi cultivation, all Qi flows through the Qi Sea and into the Dantian. With abundant True Qi, one can directly use True Qi to escape through the air, traveling a thousand miles a day. One truly possesses the appearance of being able to travel from Cangwu in the morning to Beihai in the evening, and can be considered a "divine being" among mortals.

After reaching the advanced stage of Qi Refining, one's cultivation increases further, allowing for the refining of the true Qi in the dantian, making it as solid as nectar.

At this time, the immortal can condense innate divine light and innate qi. This light and qi cover the whole body, making one impervious to swords and spears, and difficult to be harmed by water and fire. One can travel to the ends of the earth without fear of disasters and winds, and can capture earth fire by going deep into the earth's core. This is the true way to dare to be the supreme one in all directions!
Such figures are extremely terrifying, living for two hundred years, their bodies imbued with divine light, making them no ordinary mortals. There are even frequent tales of such high-ranking Daoist disciples defying day-roaming ghosts and spirits, slaying evil dragons with their swords, and other extraordinary feats!
Li Qing locked up his residence, where the restrictions were greatly strengthened, and he began his cultivation at the same time as Zhu Qiu.

It was at this time, in the Foreign Affairs Hall.

The mid-level Daoist on duty suddenly felt a chill run down his spine, as if a great terror was about to strike. The Daoist immediately summoned the magic sword from his sleeve, piercing through dozens of steps, and slashed horizontally at the blue stone outside the hall. The sword penetrated nine inches into the ground, and purple sword energy flew everywhere, blocking the approaching person.

"What are you doing?"

Looking at the figure standing before the Purple Flower Sword, the Taoist disciple frowned, clearly annoyed.

At the entrance of the Foreign Affairs Hall, a beautiful lady stood silently in place, but upon closer inspection, it was clear that she was not human! Who was this Taoist disciple who needed to summon spirits to accept missions? Such an air of superiority!
The exquisite young lady, with her swaying figure, stood silently in front of the outer hall, but she wore a disciple's life tablet on her chest, and her name was - Li Qing!

A few breaths later, a female Taoist priest in green robes rushed in from the hall.

"Senior brother, senior brother, they've come looking for me!"

The female Taoist priestess surnamed Ma hurried over, and as soon as she raised her eyes, her gaze met the cold stare of the paper lady, and she immediately felt a chill wash over her.

The exquisite and beautiful paper spirit, with Li Qing's disciple's life tablet hanging on its chest, raised its hand and handed a heavy brocade pouch to Ma Daotu, the junior guard of the Outer Affairs Hall.

"I helped your clan resolve the Shanyang ghost problem, and you need to do something for me!"

The paper spirit's voice was excessively melodious, like a haunting tune in the dead of winter, each word spoken in the name of Li Qing.

The next instant, along with that cold, hard request, another thin letter silently floated into Ma Daotu's palm.

The female Taoist priest in green stared intently at the changes in the paper spirit. After it finished conveying its instructions, she flicked her sleeve, took the two items, and nodded in agreement.

This brocade pouch contains a thousand Dao Zhu coins.

The letter contained the words of Senior Brother Li, who entrusted her with the task of helping a girl named Zhao Wan'er gain entry into the sect during the June recruitment. Senior Brother Li claimed that he had already observed her and believed she possessed considerable talent, so he asked her to keep a close eye on her…

However, when she glanced at Xinmie and looked up again, the spirit of the lady had already vanished silently into the clouds and rain, and it was unknown whether she had left.

The two Daoist disciples in the arena were immediately alarmed. They couldn't sense any trace of the paper spirit's coming and going. If the paper spirit hadn't revealed its aura, they probably would never have discovered it.

"Junior Sister Ma? That's..."

The mid-grade Daoist disciple withdrew his magic sword and looked at the female Taoist priestess Ma with surprise, unaware that she had dealings with so many people.

That spirit beast has a terrifying aura! Even if he tried his best, he might not be able to subdue it.

"That Senior Brother Li has a past with Senior Brother Ma Yuan, you know that..."

The female Taoist priest in green did not want to say more. She put away the letter of contempt and the Taoist coins, took her leave, and returned to the External Affairs Hall. However, she secretly kept the matter in mind.

We'll wait until June.

When the outer court was selecting eligible children from the prefectures and counties, this female Taoist priest surnamed Ma knew quite a few people. After greeting Senior Brother Lan from the Law Enforcement Hall, she personally went down the mountain to take the girl named Zhao Wan'er and sent her into the mountain gate.

She couldn't possibly take Li Qing's thousand coins. After Zhao Wan'er entered the Daoist Hall, she gave the coin pouch to the young girl...

(End of this chapter)