The Path to Immortality Begins with the Life-Extending Lamp

Chapter 52: With the attainment of the Dharma, one can come and go freely.

Li Qing was helplessly trapped in this underworld, although his energy circulation was much faster in this yin land.

But it's truly not free!

This courtyard is only this big. Li Qing meditates and cultivates every day. He can walk around the courtyard in the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea. The rest of the time is spent pondering the three-legged bronze cauldron.

"The Book of Wei - The Big Rat" is one of the introductory classics for scholars in the academy. Li Qing was particularly good at the Four Books when he was young, and now he is even better at it.

Li Qing had long since memorized the Book of Songs, which was etched into his very bones. But at this moment, what he wanted was not the emotions expressed in the words, but rather to record the ancient history behind the inscriptions on the bronze vessels.

The hand seals and techniques are observed through the mind.

Big rat, big rat, don't eat my millet! I've cared for you for three years, yet you never look after me.

I will depart from you, and go to that land of bliss. Land of bliss, land of bliss, may I find my place there…

Li Qing seemed to see the silent resentment of the many farmers in the fields, their faces full of bitterness, their trousers rolled up as they worked hard in the fields every day.

"Big rat, big rat, please stop eating my millet! I have supported you for years, yet you still want to take away my only stored grain. Don't you care about my life or death?"

It was an old farmer who knelt before a burly figure, not daring to raise his head to meet the gaze of the clan elder.

But this was the grain he had saved for who knows how long, the grain he wanted to leave for his grandson's wedding! How could it be taken away like this?
But those people were too cruel! He vowed to take his family of five away from here, away from this land that offered no hope to the common people...

"Big rat, big rat, please stop eating my wheat! That's my family's food for this year! I've fed you for years, and you won't even leave me a way to survive?"

This time it was a middle-aged man in coarse clothes who threw himself in front of the soldier's right leg, trying to protect the last of his family's food supplies for the year, which were their lifeline for getting through the winter!

Without this little bit of food, how could he and his family of three survive the winter?

Damn it, I swear, I must take my wife and children and leave this land, this land that's rotten to the core...

"Oh, you big rat! You big rat! Please stop eating my rice seedlings! They are our last hope!"

This time, only one boy remained. His old man dared not look directly at the high and mighty adult, and his father dared not defy the noble scholar.

But now he's all alone!

The family of five gave him their hope for survival, and that's how they ended up keeping him alive.

The boy, who was no more than five feet tall, suddenly raised his head and stared directly at the nobleman, gripping the pitchfork in his hand even tighter.

"You're determined to cut off my path to survival!"

But he would never retreat any further; they had already retreated to the very end.

The boy mustered all his strength to thrust out the pitchfork, and then, a flash of blood appeared, and drowsiness suddenly overcame him.

The tender head fell with a thud into the field, its body collapsing and crushing the rice seedlings that had sprouted from the seeds left behind by his father and grandfather before they starved to death...

My consciousness is becoming increasingly hazy, and my resistance is truly futile!
Just as those eyes were about to close, one after another, teenagers rushed out from the countryside. They were ragged, thin as bones, and filled with boundless hatred!
"Whether I obey or not, I'll die. I'm not going to live anymore!"

"Kill kill kill."

"Slaughter every noble family in the streets, slaughter every corrupt official in the country!"

The hoarse shouts of battle rose into the sky, and heads and bodies fell into the fields, staining the clear water and rice seedlings.

His grandfather's compassion and his parents' loving care ultimately became the breeding ground for this young man's impetuous spirit, which nurtured his fearless killing intent.

Good for killing!
Li Qing's divine sense probed deeper and deeper into the cauldron, as if he were actually there. He walked through the blood-stained rice fields, crossed the corpses scattered everywhere, and followed the footprints of resistance.

Until, after an unknown period of time, the boys from Sifangtian Township transformed into valiant warriors and soared into the sky.

The armored soldiers kicked open the palace gates and found a group of lavishly dressed dignitaries feasting amidst the food cauldrons.

Looking up, where were the nobles? They were nothing but greedy rats with rat heads, hardened front teeth, and eyes as small as green beans.

You big rat, you big rat, I will surely kill you!
This three-legged bronze cauldron is used to cook the heads of that clan. The inscription on this cauldron, named "Big Rat," is only for killing you!
Li Qing suddenly understood. The many strange phenomena vanished like dreams and bubbles, transforming into ninety-six spiritual characters floating in the air. Only then did he truly grasp the essence of this bell and tripod.

Li Qing took down the crimson spirit paper and spread it out between the three cauldrons. He then splashed the prepared spirit ink onto the cauldron, made a hand seal, and activated the incantation. The three sacrificial animals above and the three elements below danced and swirled.

The mysterious spiritual ink moved towards the bronze cauldron, seemingly transforming into dragons that swept through every crevice, until finally, with a "plop," the ink spilled down.

On the originally vermilion spirit paper, a black three-legged bronze cauldron appeared, with the head of a king in the center of the cauldron. His eyes were wide open, and he was extremely violent, as if he died with his eyes open.

But beneath that three-legged bronze cauldron, three pairs of even more resentful, fierce, and evil ghostly hands arbitrarily lifted the cauldron.

The aged ghost hand was filled with resentment, the burly ghost hand was violent and ferocious, and the slender ghost hand was overflowing with murderous intent and malice.

Against a backdrop of crimson blood, with deep spiritual ink as the image, the ninety-six characters of "Wei Feng - Big Rat" are engraved on it, with three ghosts holding a cauldron, the cauldron cooking up boundless killing intent.

The Three Elements Cauldron Cooking Picture is complete!
"What a prophetic image, what a talisman! A family of five, destroyed by one evil spirit, three demons join forces, a giant rat is cooked in a cauldron, what a deadly trap, what a cycle."

Li Qing clapped his hands and laughed. He saw that the Daoist essence had entered the diagram on the three-legged bronze cauldron. The cauldron was completely rusted, and layers of verdigris peeled off, turning into a pile of dust in an instant.

But this vermilion paper and black ink, with the talisman perfectly formed, not only verified the strange technique of peeling skin to make paper, but also allowed him to master that unprovoked method.

Li Qing took the scroll of cinnabar talisman diagrams, carefully rolled it up, and manipulated it in four ways to transform it into a perfect scroll of cinnabar talisman, which he then put into his sleeve!
The explanation of characters and symbols is meant to convey the human spirit and continue the tradition. Even a single word from a classic text can stir up resentment in Li Qing's heart.

Holding onto this pent-up resentment, Li Qing took more spirit paper and used the art of creating paper shamans to continue making four more faceless paper shamans. These paper figures had no face, no eyes, no blood, no flesh, no bones, and no form; they possessed only a lingering resentment and a sheet of paper.

The four paper figures had just been completed when Li Qing took command of them. They went out along the four connecting corridors, climbed up the four roof ridges, and repaired or moved the missing or leaking blue bricks and yellow tiles.

With the help of the paper effigy, standing atop the yellow-tiled roof, looking around, Li Qing was astonished to see this scene.

He was standing on a majestic mountain, and the entire mountain was part of this mansion.

Leaving aside the distant ones, let's talk about the nearby ones. Right outside the garden behind him to the east, there is a main courtyard with three pavilions, a waterside pavilion, and winding corridors. It occupies a vast area, and especially on the pavilions, there seem to be rare treasures, gleaming with golden light...

"what?"

“These east and west wing rooms are far too cramped. Once I reach the Purple Mansion level... once I have refined my Qi, I will lock and reinforce the passageway in the back garden, and then explore the main courtyard on the east side.”

"Could there be some great treasure up in that attic?"

While a vengeful ghost may be terrifying, it might also be a ghost bead or a useful monstrous beast!

Who knows?

As he was repairing the roof with the help of the four paper strips, gazing into the distance, his thoughts wandered.

Suddenly, one of the paper figures seemed to have been attacked and fell headfirst off the wall into the courtyard.

Li Qing was startled. She raised her hand and made a hand seal, immediately turning the other three paper tigers into paper wrappers and putting them into her sleeve.

Soon, Li Qing heard the jingling of bells, accompanied by hurried footsteps approaching the small courtyard.

Li Qing seemed to be able to feel the terrifying aura. He immediately shuddered, held his breath, and pressed his ear against the wall. The sound came from afar and approached. He seemed to hear footsteps stopping in front of the courtyard gate on the other side of the wall.

The terrifying presence lingered for a long time, until the ghost in the east wing... Cui's young lady walked slowly to Li Qing's side, her face expressionless as she stared at the vermilion gate.

Jingle Bell……

The bell rang even more rapidly, but whose territory was this? The Ghost Mother was not to be outdone. She raised her jade hand high through the vermilion gate, and a strange, distorted magical intent swirled around her hand as she struck out with her palm!
Both sides attacked the vermilion gate simultaneously, yet their attacks failed to cause the slightest ripple.

The air was silent and still...

This gate was originally set up by the underworld to separate the residences of various ghosts and gods; even a vengeful ghost of the Yin level might not be able to break through it.

The two vengeful spirits stood separated by the vermilion gate, neither able to do anything to the other. After a dozen or so breaths of silence, the sound of the bells lingered and slowly faded away.

The Ghost Mother glanced at Li Qing unconsciously, then turned and slowly returned to the east wing.

Li Qing is indeed a troublemaker. This is the third vengeful ghost he has attracted. It seems that the bell-shaped vengeful ghost is extremely terrifying, daring to bare its teeth at the Ghost Mother!

Looking at the ghost mother who seemed to follow some rule of the underworld, Li Qing felt extremely helpless and also leaned against the wall out of boredom, looking up at the broken sky.

"If only we could go back! You Tian is too terrifying. He can still come knocking on our door even in our own territory!"

This prophecy came true. Li Qing immediately felt dizzy and disoriented. When he came to his senses, he was already in the western suburbs of Liuhuang Prefecture...

Huh, what's this!

Only now did Li Qing realize that the ghost contract had fallen into his Niwan Palace and transformed into a golden book of ghost talismans, with spiritual light constantly emanating from each of the talismans.

At the same time, as one of the masters of this covenant, he can also be considered the "successor" of the Netherworld Palace.

Naturally, one can freely enter and exit that Netherworld Palace.

"Ah! A candle."

"I forgot the candle!"

Looking at the lush grass and flying birds in the countryside, Li Qing suddenly remembered the "candle" he had left in the southern suburbs of Liuhuang.

Is this guy trying to exorcise demons for people?
Li Qing cast a spell to connect with the Five Chariots Totem, and saw that there seemed to be a response from it. Immediately, he threw four pieces of paper from his sleeve, summoning the paper sedan chair to come.
Four ghosts carried the sedan chair, with the faint sound of copper bells. Ancient five-emperor coins and white wax ropes were strung together to form the sedan chair curtain. As it moved, only the paper figures could be seen tiptoeing, as if stepping on nothing, taking a step several feet away. In three or five steps, they would directly transform into the ghost sedan chair, crash into the forest, and disappear from sight.

Before long, they appeared in the south of the city, and within the seal, the candle's aura was already leaping with joy.

"I didn't expect this guy to be so well-behaved!"

I just hope no victims come knocking on the door later, saying that the "candle" ate someone; that would be a real disaster.

Li Qing's mind was still wandering involuntarily.

The soldiers patrolling the road glanced around and their pupils immediately dilated. They saw a ghostly sedan chair swaying faintly through the woods, and a cold, aloof Taoist priest leaning against the railing of the paper sedan chair, his left elbow hanging out of the window, his hand supporting his chin, lost in thought.

Before they could even give the order, the four ghosts carrying the sedan chair turned around and disappeared...

When Li Qing's ghost sedan chair landed on the southern suburban road, he saw the red dragon coiled up under a large rock, its eyes lowered and tail tucked in, looking extremely cowardly.

Just as Li Qing was about to tease it, she suddenly saw the Taoist figure sitting cross-legged on the blue stone, and his entire body straightened up instantly in the sedan chair.

"Grandpa... Minister Li of the Outer Court pays respects to Grandpa Yin."

(End of this chapter)