The Path to Immortality Begins with the Life-Extending Lamp

Chapter 6 The Pact of the Underworld Attacks Through Dreams

Winter has not yet ended in the mountains of Linyuan, and the moon shines coldly on the small dwelling.

In the southwest of the mountains, the moonlight shines down on the small courtyard, casting the withered jujube trees into twisted, menacing shadows.

In the stillness of the night, only a mournful tune softly echoes around the trees; no one is seen, only the ethereal sound is heard.

The mournful melody, sometimes a soft whisper, sometimes a gentle murmur, sometimes a flowing stream, sometimes a sharp object screeching against the windowsill, the ghostly tune sometimes near, sometimes far, soon rose from the room bathed in the cold white candlelight!

Li Qing was leaning against the side of the Luohan couch, fast asleep, reclining like a deity. If one were to look closely at the paper candles on the table, one could see streaks of golden mercury-colored longevity talismans flickering and dancing within the wicks.

At this moment, some strange force was distorting the space, and the candlelight suddenly began to flicker. The candle flame and wick burned much faster than before, and as the eerie melody approached, the cold white candlelight dimmed instantly.

Even more terrifying, in the interplay of light and shadow beside the couch, a gloomy ghostly figure suddenly appeared, lying on the couch. The deep, unsettling darkness formed its skirt, its limbs were exposed like a corpse, and its pale, eerie profile was accompanied by half a skeletal, hideous ghostly face. Half-alive and half-dead, the ghostly mother's death appearance conveyed the malevolent intent of the vengeful spirit.

Those pale arms stretched out, and before they even touched Li Qing, frost began to form on his green robe. The ghostly vengeance was meant to drown him and drag him into the Yin Tomb, so that they could sleep together in the afterlife!
Suddenly, as if sensing something, Li Qing's eyelashes trembled, and she was about to open her eyes when the terrifying yin-yang ghost face suddenly twisted to an angle no human could reach, and pounced on her face...

"Crack!!"

The half-burnt life-extending paper candle burst into flames, instantly illuminating the entire room as bright as day. The phosphorescent seeds hidden beneath the candle were also ignited, and with a whoosh, like fireworks exploding, the scattered phosphorescent flames quickly set most of the room ablaze. The scorching heat even made Li Qing's skin sting, finally pulling him back from his nightmare to the real world.

But... that's not a dream!

Li Qing suddenly sat up from the burning bed, panting heavily. She casually brushed off the frost that had formed on her body with her sleeve, and with a single finger, she made a fire control spell, drawing the raging phosphorescent flames back into the paper candle. She didn't have time to care about the devastation in the room. She simply held the half-burnt paper candle in her hands, quickly pushed open the door, and headed towards the main hall.

There were also many well-prepared longevity spirit papers! After refilling the half of the longevity spirit candle, and even mixing the precious blood of the Yang-type Mountain Lord into the lamp oil and storing it in the paper lamp, Li Qing finally let out a long breath and slumped down on the Southern Dynasty rose chair with lingering fear!
Damn it, the influence of the underworld contract is becoming more and more frequent. The abbot once said that only if I cultivate my Purple Mansion and establish an Everlasting Lamp for myself can I be completely unaffected by that underworld marriage contract.

But the head of the academy had no idea that they had never driven away that young lady from the Cui family. She had always been by Li Qing's side and had always lingered in Lin Yuan Mountain!

"Can Foundation Establishment in the Purple Mansion really completely eliminate that terrifying thing?"

Having just awakened from that eerie nightmare, Li Qing wondered what would have become of her if it weren't for the life-extending lamp. Would she have drowned in the nightmare, transformed into the Ghost Mother, and become a local legend a hundred years later?

Even the usually aloof Li Qing couldn't help but feel disheartened about his future path. How could he not feel depressed and isolated, chasing after that tormenting nightmare year after year?

Once this nightmare began, Li Qing could no longer fall asleep. Sitting alone by the candle table, her mind churning, she took out the paper figure, which was about nine feet tall, and mechanically refined the spirit seal with her true qi again and again...

"The head of the academy once said that neither the Ghost Mother's Netherworld Contract nor the Tushan Demon Contract is entirely aimed at killing the person being affected."

"Even when the hanged ghost was right in front of me, and the mountain god was threatening... that Sister Cui might not necessarily be after my life!"

"Perhaps, things will change even better after the Purple Mansion is formed?"

How could Li Qing possibly concentrate on cultivation? A series of distracting thoughts flashed through his mind. However, by the time dawn broke, he managed to calm his mind. But at this moment, he could no longer sit still.

The Paper Spirit Secret Record also contains a set of paper lamp refining techniques, which may be able to be used to quickly refine the life-extending spirit candle into a life-extending magic lamp. Unfortunately, the paper spirit path lacks some spiritual blood in the introductory "spirit-igniting" technique, specifically yin-attribute spiritual blood!

With a sudden thought forming in his mind, Li Qing immediately rolled up several sheets of spirit paper and paper lanterns from the table. Without even having time to clean up the lingering smoke in the side room, he rushed towards the Outer Affairs Hall as soon as it was just dawn, wanting to find out if there was anything related.

Perhaps mid-grade and high-grade Dao disciples possess Yin-attribute spiritual blood, but the inner circle is beyond the reach of a low-grade Dao disciple who has only been cultivating Qi for half a year.

He had only been practicing Taoism for a short time, his cultivation was too low, and he had no family background to help him in Tiannan Prefecture. The name "Ghost Prince Li Qing" only attracted a little attention, nothing more.

In life, you can only rely on yourself!

The man in green robes, carrying a lantern, ascended the green steps through the forest. Although it was not yet early spring, the scenery was no different from the late autumn when he had gone into seclusion. Only many old trees had lost all their leaves, and the man in green robes carrying a cold, gleaming lantern added a touch of eeriness to the mountain landscape.

Li Qing pushed open the door of the Foreign Affairs Hall, and the morning breeze carrying the chill of the mountains rushed in, startling several young Taoist disciples who were warming themselves around the charcoal stove.

It's understandable that the disciples and servants, who haven't yet developed true qi, were warming themselves by the fire. Li Qing didn't disturb them further, but instead pulled the door shut and strode to the mission hall, which was filled with talismans, and began searching for what she wanted.

However, how could those young disciples dare to mistreat the Daoist master? One of the girls, who looked somewhat familiar, was wearing a brocade robe and was trembling as she quickly followed.

"Brother Li, are you looking for a ghost mission?" Ghost Master Li Qing is particularly skilled at exorcising and capturing ghosts, and has gained some fame in the various prefectures and counties of Lin Yuan. Even the servants in the External Affairs Hall have heard of him.

However, Li Qing ignored her and only left a "No!" before looking up to search for the unprocessed task tokens.

The girl missed her target, which caused the young disciples who were warming themselves by the fire in the back of the outer hall to cover their mouths and chuckle.

That "ghostly gentleman" is absolutely unapproachable; you might as well be haunted if you anger him. Honestly, why bother with such a strange person? It's a thankless task!
But the girl was not discouraged. After hesitating for a while, she softly uttered a sentence:
"Senior Brother Ma is no longer in the External Affairs Hall. Before the New Year, Senior Brother Ma successfully broke through to the upper level of Qi Refining, entered the Inner Academy, formally became a disciple, and received the title of Blue-robed Inner Disciple..."

She knew that Ma Daotu had received a great benefit from this Senior Brother Li that day, and it seemed that some trouble had been left behind. However, Ma Daotu was very shrewd. He entered the inner courtyard and found a backer. If someone from the outer affairs hall were to settle scores later, it wouldn't be easy to go and get him across two courtyards...

The young girl had been observing and learning from the horse-riding apprentice for nearly a year. She knew that if the guards wanted to get ahead, they either had to work hard and cultivate their qi sense in their spare time, achieving oneness with heaven and man and completing the Qi cultivation; or they had to abide by the rules of the Outer Affairs Hall, keeping a small amount of "fire loss" between each entry and exit, and with more resources, if they weren't too dull, they could eventually generate their own essence and qi.

It seems that someone like Senior Brother Li, who can take on mid-grade or even high-grade missions, is naturally someone they should try to win over.

If Li Qing could slip out some good stuff during the mission, it would be enough for them, the Daoist disciples, to enjoy. Even that Daoist Ma had a chance to change his fate because of it, didn't he?

"Oh?"

The girl's words instantly captivated Li Qing's attention. That Ma Daotu had actually broken through to the upper level of Qi Refining and entered the inner courtyard to wear blue robes. Was it the effect of the Mountain Lord's spiritual blood? That guy was able to change his fate at such a young age; he was indeed extraordinary.

This news stirred Li Qing's emotions and made him lose all patience to search one by one.

"I'm looking for quests involving spirits or monsters of the Yin element, such as zombies, water ghosts, mountain goblins, or... anything will do."

Li Qing coughed lightly and turned to look down at the girl.

The latter also made full use of the skills of the guard boy, as if he had a photographic memory, and immediately described the tasks such as the rat infestation in Xifeng County, the mountain demons disturbing the people in Beili, the terrifying giant python in Ershui, and the chaotic burial mountain in Ximang.

Li Qing carefully considered this mission. The rat infestation was definitely not a small-scale one. Although it was only a mid-grade mission, his true qi was only sixty-four quarters, which meant he could only activate the Fire Erosion Technique five times. He definitely couldn't solve it in a short time.
A mountain demon is causing trouble for the people. There will be a reward for finding its tracks. He has to search all over the mountains for the old demon's tracks, but he is not good at sensing, tracking, or using movement techniques.

The giant python of the Nianshui River, is it probably a water anaconda? Naval warfare is certainly not Li Qing's forte...

Looking around, all that seemed to be the old county of Ximang, which had been destroyed two hundred years ago, and the mass grave outside the city? He had heard of the mass grave in Ximang before. It was a task issued by the Tiannan Prefecture. Regardless of whether the walking corpses were removed or not, as long as one carried out the task of removing corpses with the prefectural army, one could get three Dao coins every ten days. It was a good place to get by.

However, it is said in Tiannan Prefecture that the most heinous crimes are punished by being filled into a stone cave. The mass grave in Ximang is no small evil spirit; it is a corpse mountain of the Yin realm!

“No, there’s another mid-grade mission. It was sent from Lanfeng Prefecture last night. It seems that there’s a vicious dog in the city’s beast farm that has become a demon and has killed many people. Even the wandering sorcerers in the prefecture can’t catch the vicious dog.”

The quest is of medium quality. The ferocious dog is said to be as tall as a person's waist, no weaker than a tiger or leopard, and extremely vicious. Everyone admires Senior Brother Li's exorcising skills, but if you want to get rid of such a monster...

"Senior Brother Li, how about that rat..."

"I'll take this one!" Li Qing thought for a moment and made up her mind before the young Taoist could say anything more.

At this point, his true qi was just beginning to form. With the combination of the fire-corroding technique and phosphorescent fire, and with a paper effigy at his disposal, he was quite confident of success. Just to be on the safe side, Li Qing decided to prepare two fire talismans before descending the mountain.

Moreover, black dog blood is one of the most common materials used in the "yin ink" of making paper dolls for spirit incantation. Black dog blood that has become sentient is truly like a pillow arriving just when you're feeling sleepy.

So he took over the task of dealing with the black dog spirit in Lanfeng Prefecture. Li Qing only brought two fire talismans and a long sword to the talisman hall in front of the mountain gate, just in case.

He got up at dawn, took on the mission, and purchased talismans and soldiers. By the time Li Qing came down the mountain, the sun had already risen and the morning glow had disappeared. At this moment, the Jin Nan ferry was nowhere to be seen. Li Qing was too lazy to wait. He found a corner of the riverbank, pushed his usual bamboo raft into the Yuan River, and used his old trick again to propel the bamboo raft across the river with his true qi.

This action caused the disciples guarding the mountain at Tiannan Temple in the distance to twitch at the corners of their mouths.

This Yuan River connects to the ancient kingdom of Xijue, which is hundreds of thousands of miles away. In the past, due to war, tens of millions of people in that ancient kingdom were wiped out in one day, turning the entire Yuan River into a river of blood. The Southern Kingdom alone retrieved hundreds of thousands of corpses downstream. It was also because of this chaos that the Southern Yuan River, which ranked third in the Southern Kingdom, became teeming with water ghosts. No one came to draw water from it anymore, and many counties and prefectures along the river even moved to new locations.

Ordinary disciples would not, dare not, and are not capable of crossing this abyss river alone. Those who dare to cross the abyss river are either true disciples of various academies or Daoists of the Purple Mansion. Ordinary disciples, only the Ghost Prince who is avoided by all evil spirits, has the courage to do so.

(End of this chapter)