The Path to Immortality Begins with the Life-Extending Lamp

Chapter 57 Entering the Corpse Cave to Cultivate Magic

The legacy of the Western Barbarian mass graves and the lingering poison of the corpse cave has long plagued Tiannan. Now, Tiannan has been established for over two hundred years and is well-equipped with soldiers and provisions. With the support of the Tiannan Temple, it has the confidence to deal with this corpse cave!

Tiannan Prefecture mobilized over 200,000 troops, drawing all its soldiers to attack the mountain. The Imperial Guard on Linyuan Mountain launched a continuous campaign for two years before finally tearing a gap in the burial mound.

Just at midnight, only two lanterns could be seen flickering in the mountains and forests. Upon closer inspection, it turned out that a paper sedan chair was crossing the Western Mang Mountains.

The jingling of bells, mingling with the cold light of the lanterns, added another layer of mystery to the already chilling Yinshan Mountain.

A cold and gloomy young man leaned against the paper sedan chair, with four faceless, rampant ghosts carrying it, their feet not touching the ground, swaying with every step, as if they had floated over the high mountain from nowhere.

In the darkness of night, the rustling of the cold wind accompanied the faint sound of scales rubbing together. If one were to catch a glimpse of it by the faint light of the two paper lanterns on the paper sedan chair, one would discover that it was none other than the mighty Danzhu dragon, hidden in the night, traversing mountains and valleys...

Li Qing sat in the paper sedan chair, holding a scroll of "The Three Elements Cauldron Cooking Diagram". While quietly studying the alchemical text and feeling the Daoist charm within, he also contemplated the chaotic white bones scattered all over the ground in his Niwan Palace.

Too many changes have happened recently!
A sudden attack by the White Bone Daoist nearly killed him, causing him to fall into the Netherworld along with the Ghost Mother. He survived several near-death experiences and eventually returned to the Heavenly Capital.

Then came You Tian, ​​Lin Yuan, Bai Gu Dao, and the Eleven Luminaries Heavenly Palace whose background was unknown!
One after another, the colossal figures in the cultivation world unveiled their identities to Li Qing.

"The temple treats me well, but only because they hope that I can control the Ghost Mother and continue the lineage."

"The White Bone Taoist's murderous intent stemmed from his greed for the Ghost Mother!"

"The Eleven Luminaries Heavenly Palace is the same..."

Recalling the recent events, Li Qing's gaze grew increasingly cold, her thoughts flickering.

How could he not see what was in it?
In this world, you can't rely on anyone else. Only by cultivating your own skills can you cut off those overbearing hands one by one!

"The White Bone Path must pay with his life for me."

Li Qing did not act recklessly on the summit of Lin Yuan Immortal Peak. He knew that even if he did make a move on the spot, Yin Zu would not be able to subdue the two Yin Gods of the same realm and would not be able to give any answer.

There's no need for them to humiliate themselves on that Lin Yuan Immortal Peak.

Let us set aside this cause and effect, and when we return to Lingnan in the future, we will only increase the consequences many times over!
A gentleman's enmity can be avenged even after ten generations, but there is no rush now.

Having been tormented by the demonic mother for six years, Li Qing possesses an almost obsessive patience and perseverance...

The young man in the sedan chair blocked the window with his right hand, and the four paper-covered figures stopped in their tracks. The red dragon behind them caught up with them, circling around the paper bridge, but no one knew where it had gone.
This is the narrow ridge southwest of the Corpse Cave. Beyond this ten-mile-long narrow pass lies the burial mountain range surrounding the Corpse Cave.

"Candle, let me test you. Do you still remember the road ahead?"

He tossed out the unripe wild fruit that he had picked from some mountainside during the day. As soon as "Candle" saw Li Qing's action, it leaped up and caught the unripe fruit in its mouth. Its bright eyes were only puzzled for a moment before it tilted its head to examine the mountain range.

The next moment, "Candle's" eyes lit up, and it finally remembered. With a flick of its phoenix tail, it rose into the wind and circled into the corpse cave under the cover of night.

A soft laugh echoed from the paper sedan chair behind, accompanied by the gentle tinkling of bells, as it slowly entered the perilous place behind the coiled dragon...

In the past, a great fire burned down the ridge, turning hundreds of acres of burial grounds into scorched earth. To this day, little has changed.

Li Qing put away the paper sedan chair, picked up the cold white lantern, and headed up the cemetery.

The old graves that he had previously dug up and hollowed out were now filled with rubble and silt. There were almost no old or empty graves left in the burial mound, and it would no longer become a breeding ground for walking corpses.

After numerous soldiers and armored men felled the mountain and destroyed the grave, the sorcerers and craftsmen who followed brought mud, sand and huge stones to completely fill in that yin land.

It is a simple and effective method!

As they walked up the mountain ridge with "Candle", Li Qing couldn't help but laugh as soon as they reached the top of the ridge.

"Candle, it seems your hometown is gone too!"

The Zhengling Tomb was also completely filled with tightly sealed bricks and stones. Li Qing tried to probe inside, but found that the entire tomb chamber was filled with sand and stones, leaving no gaps.

The Tiannan Governor's Office did a truly thorough job; the entire branch of the burial mound has been completely rid of the corpse calamity!

Zhu stared blankly at the large tomb, unable to comprehend it.

No, where's my house? How come my house is gone?

Seeing that "Candle" was standing there in a daze, and was about to dig another entrance into the sealed tomb, Li Qing shook her head and chuckled, stopping its movements.

Looking northwest from this ridge, the burial mounds sprawling across the southwestern land remain dark, and under the cover of night, the continuous aura of corpses still transforms into canopies of corpse clouds, extremely eerie.

Li Qing gave "Candle" another task!

"Let's go and meet that silver-armored corpse down in the ravine!"

As the Xuan Yin Qi circulated, Li Qing's eyes seemed to turn into the color of a dark moon as he looked towards the mountain stream below the opposite ridge. The silver-armored corpse that tore apart his paper figure back then must still be there.

The corpse haze still lingers in the mountain stream, but Li Qing is no longer the same as before.

Go and try it out on the knife!

With a swift movement, a strong wind swirled around Li Qing, transforming her into a torrent of white paper that fluttered about like a paper dragon carried by the wind. Upon seeing this, the crimson dragon's eyes lit up, and it rode the demonic wind to chase after her.

Like a dragon playing on paper, a joyful dragon's roar echoed from the corpse pit at midnight. This not only startled the wandering corpses in the various old graves, but also puzzled the fierce warriors who had just removed their armor from the various camps below the mountain...

"Where did that dragon's roar come from? Is it from the Lan family's alligator dragon warriors?" "I heard that all the fierce warriors of the Lan family who ride alligator dragons have entered the Corpse Cave to serve, in order to reduce the death penalty for their family's Purple Mansion Lord and atone for their crimes through meritorious service."

"Isn't there a need to be in such a hurry? What can they do in the dark?"

In the eastern camp of the Tiannan Prefecture army, many fierce warriors gathered around a fire, but they were all surprised.

What's the rush? It's the middle of the night!

"Who knows? If your family had a Purple Mansion Lord imprisoning you, you'd be even more anxious than they are!"

"Ha ha ha ha……"

Many brave warriors gathered around the fire in the camp, laughing and joking, while many more soldiers and armored men had already gone into their tents to rest.

Meanwhile, on the southeastern outskirts of the Corpse Cave.

The dragon was playing on the paper. Many walking corpses sensed it and looked up. In the next instant, a dark blue haze of corpses rushed towards them from the mountain stream, trying to drag the dragon down into the forest.

How could the candle withstand such an attack? The dragon's body twisted and turned, and a moment later a crimson flame covering an area of ​​dozens of feet shot down. The corpse haze came into contact with the crimson flame and immediately made a sizzling sound, slowly being melted away.

The corpse haze below seemed endless, but "Candle," which had transformed into a dragon, was no ordinary beast. Its crimson flames burned incessantly, and it actually began to struggle against the corpse haze, igniting a red cloud in the corpse cave in the dead of night.

But soon!
With a loud "bang," the silver-armored corpse that was standing up and breathing out the corpse haze in the ravine was suddenly kicked in the back of the head, and its body flew backward like a cannonball for more than ten feet.

Only when one reaches the highest level of Qi Refining can the true essence of the Primordial Qi Dao be revealed.

The silver-armored corpse, which used to be so fast that even Li Qing couldn't distinguish it with his naked eye, was now just ordinary in front of him!
"Roar……"

The roars of corpses rose from all sides, and several hairy corpses leaped and flew, sensing the blood aura of the Taoist priest who had fallen at the foot of the mountain, and immediately pounced on him.

Before it could even touch Li Qing, the talisman with its cinnabar base and ink patterns in Li Qing's palm trembled. The primordial energy within the "Cooking in a Cauldron" painting surged, and the deep ink seemed to detach from the painting and talisman, instantly transforming into three terrifying ghost hands that raised an ancient bronze cauldron.

The next instant, an unknown power manifested. Before anyone knew what had happened, the three hairy corpses lay motionless on the ground, their three heads already piled up inside a bronze cauldron, ancient words of resentment rising from nowhere...

"You big rat, you big rat, I will surely cook you alive!"

Even Li Qing hadn't clearly seen how the attack from the prophecy took effect before the three-headed corpse was beheaded. He could only secretly praise the prophecy as ingenious.

The attack was effective. The spiritual light on the "Cooking in the Cauldron Diagram" dimmed slightly. This kind of talisman still belongs to the category of alchemical texts. The prophecy is strange and contains heavenly secrets, but it does not deviate from its original purpose.

Hearing the ominous wind approaching from the front, Li Qing pushed forward with one hand, and strands of Heavenly Mansion Profound Qi seemed to intertwine and instantly wove into a protective shield around him.

ding ding ding...

The immense force of the silver-armored old corpse struck the Xuan Yuan Qi shield, but it was as if it had collided with an iron wall. The seemingly light and flowing Yuan Qi so easily blocked the armored corpse's attack.

Even more so, the recoil from above caused the corpse claws to ache.

Li Qing tossed the talisman behind him, casually hanging it on the faceless paper demon behind him. The talisman's Dao essence was not enough to support a battle at the upper level of Qi Refining.

The rampaging ghost, carrying a talisman on its back, had a pair of bruised and purple ghost hands that seemed ready to strike, but Li Qing stopped it with a single thought.

This time, Li Qing will personally slay all the corpses!
The primordial Yin Qi transformed into the Heavenly Palace Profound Origin Qi, encircling the body. Sometimes it was light and graceful, sometimes fierce and intense, sometimes tangible and sometimes intangible. Encircling Li Qing's body, it protected him, making him impervious to weapons and fire.

How could that towering, silver-armored corpse possibly exhale the corpse haze? It would be impossible for it to cover itself again.

With a flick of his fingers, Li Qing instantly gathered starlight around him, and the vast true qi and the fire in the stone condensed into a single point, like a dim star, swaying faintly in the night.

Before the tall, thin, silver-armored corpse could attack again, fifty-two dark blue stars shot out with a roar, and a series of explosions resounded throughout the mountain of corpses. Each explosion could completely destroy an area of ​​several feet in radius.

The eerie blue embers scattered everywhere, leaving behind clusters of ghostly fire embers.

Li Qing did not stop, but continued to follow the silver-armored corpse. Seeing that one walking corpse after another was surrounding him, he took a deep breath, opened his lips slightly, and released the powerful true fire in his dantian.

A stream of eerie fire was spewed from Li Qing's mouth. The fire rose with the wind, growing ever higher into the air. In a short while, it transformed into a raging inferno covering an area of ​​one or two miles, igniting the entire mountain stream at the same time.

This is "Fire in Stone," a true fire within stone under the influence of samadhi.

Li Qing used his vast true qi to drive the flames, which contained no trace of magic. Only the immense true qi propelled the flames, causing them to surge forth and ravage the mountain of corpses.

Click...

The horde of corpses was blocked by the fire, but the stench of blood still rushed in. The silver-armored figure leaped out from the rubble again, causing Li Qing to raise an eyebrow.

The silver-armored corpse truly lived up to its name. Despite the bombardment from Li Qing's Southern Sunburst, its thin yet taut silver armor only resulted in charred flesh and blood. Did it still have the strength to fight again?
However, the next moment, with a loud bang, the silver-armored corpse that had not yet pounced was sent flying backward like a cannonball!

Li Qing drew his palm and transformed it into a fist. The Heavenly Mansion Profound Yuan Qi covered the area as if it were a tangible substance, and the Fire in the Stone coiled around it. This strike was powerful enough to split a mountain.

With the near-liquid Xuan Yin Qi as the foundation, and through the transformation and cultivation of the formless Xuan Yuan Gang Qi, the life cultivation attainments of that ancient Qi cultivation tradition underwent a true qualitative change.

This is the initial strength to travel through the Corpse Mountain and Ghost Kingdom of Tiandu, and explore the Fox Ridge and Xuanyuan Tomb of Qingqiu!

All around, eerie will-o'-the-wisps flickered incessantly.

The young man, dressed in a hempen robe, approached the silver-armored old corpse step by step, exuding a strong sense of oppression. He slightly raised his right hand, using three fingers to pick up a black coffin nail, the two-inch-long nail's sharp edge aimed directly at the old corpse's brow...

(End of this chapter)