The Path to Immortality Begins with the Life-Extending Lamp

Chapter 7 There are fellow disciples at the foot of the mountain

Tiannan Prefecture governed nine counties, and outside these counties, it also divided up a prefecture and three directly governed states.

Lanfeng Prefecture is the prefecture city located in the southeast of it.

This prefecture was far more prosperous than any ordinary county, and was abundant in wine, women, wealth, and power.

"If you ask which city in Fengzhou is the best in terms of wine, women, wealth, and spirit, then the wine goes without saying. It is undoubtedly the best restaurant in the city, with its mellow and delicious wines. If you can imagine it, you can drink it!"

"Beauty is something even immortals envy, and after a good drink, one can move on to the Green and Red Garden; wealth is something the common people neglect, but there is the Zhao family's money shop. This atmosphere is the arena of my Fengzhou."

"Many important figures in the capital have frequented the octagonal arena in Fengzhou for a game!"

"What a pity! Have you heard about the monsters appearing in that arena...?"

Before even entering Lanfeng Prefecture, at the tea stalls along the main roads in the suburbs, there were "know-it-alls" who would point out the latest happenings in the city and discuss current events with passing customers, earning them a copper coin or two.

The lively hawking brought back memories of Li Qing's childhood in Guihua Mansion in Jiangnan. He ordered a pot of tea and sat down for a while.

"That arena has hosted everything from cricket fighting, cockfighting, dog fighting, bullfighting, to dragon-tiger fights. A few years ago, the prefectural magistrate brought a three-zhang-long (approximately 10 meters) pot-bellied alligator dragon from the southern chieftain's tribe and held a dragon-tiger fight with the prefectural government's exotic black tiger. It was a big deal, with many nobles placing bets and creating quite a stir."

"A while ago, an old black dog appeared in the dogfighting arena. It killed hundreds of beasts in a hundred days, even tigers and wolves fell to its jaws. Rumor has it that it was about to become a demon. But what's even more terrifying is that a few days ago, the old dog went on a rampage, slaughtering the entire arena guards before escaping. It was a truly bloody scene!"

"Distinguished guests, sir, fellow villagers, unless you have urgent business to attend to, please do not linger in Lanfeng County during this period..."

Most of the idlers at the teahouse were just repeating hearsay, but they could still recount the whole story of the dog demon.

However, what surprised Li Qing even more was that in this prefecture city under Tiannan Prefecture, wine, women, wealth and power were so rampant. There were fights between wolves and tigers, as well as fights between humans and tigers and fights between lions and tigers. In fact, the arena was a property under the name of the prefectural magistrate.
Because this arena has caused so many deaths, this is no simple matter.

Surely this prefectural magistrate could mobilize several thousand troops? In addition, the prefecture and county must have supported some folk sorcerers, yet they still had to seek help from Tiannan Temple, which shows how corrupt the situation had become.

Li Qing couldn't help but wonder if the dog demon was so ferocious that he'd made a wasted trip.
He gathered more information from various parts of the city, and the general consensus was that the news was largely accurate. With that in mind, he decided not to waste any more time and headed straight for the arena in the west of the city.

The Nalanfeng Colosseum is modeled after the architectural style of the ancient Northwest Kingdom. It surrounds a central courtyard and covers a vast area. The entire structure is made of high-arched stone. When you arrive at the Colosseum, you feel a wild and desolate atmosphere. It is ancient and desolate, which is refreshing.

However, the area around the beast arena was under complete martial law at this moment, and the troops from the state had all been mobilized to maintain order. As soon as Li Qing approached the magnificent building, several armored soldiers immediately blocked his way. Fortunately, the man in brocade robes on the high platform in the distance caught a glimpse of the newcomer's blue Taoist robe and immediately recognized him. He stopped the many armored soldiers, greeted him with a smile, apologized repeatedly, and led Li Qing towards the Lü family mansion in the city while explaining the situation.

The original magistrate of Lanfeng Prefecture was surnamed Lü. He was transferred from Qingping Prefecture, which is located in the southwest, and has been in Lanfeng Prefecture of Tiannan Prefecture for more than ten years.

The prefectural magistrate was in charge of the military affairs of a region, but in this era of divine manifestation, the various sects and prefectural officials were only subject to the supervision of the four circuits of the Southern Kingdom and were directly responsible to the Southern Kingdom court.

With the capital city above them and the high-ranking masters from the sacred mountains pressing down on them, the prefectural, state, and county magistrates who commanded local troops no longer held such high status. They could only seek wealth and status, and in their spare time, they established some businesses, such as this fighting arena belonging to the Lü family...

This collateral descendant of the Lü family was particularly adept at reading people's expressions. He inadvertently revealed everything that the Taoist priest wanted to know, but he didn't mention anything that shouldn't have been revealed. From his words, it seemed that the magistrate Lü, who had caused the trouble, was the one who had suffered all kinds of grievances and hardships.

"My young lady is also seeking enlightenment in the temple. Her name is Lü Qingshu. I wonder if you know her?"

The young man from the Lü family was indeed knowledgeable; he led Li Qing towards the Lü residence with neither servility nor arrogance, seemingly trying to elicit information...

At this moment, all the servants in the Lü residence were driven away by the returning young lady, while the prefectural magistrate, Lü Can, was pacing anxiously back and forth.

In the main hall, a woman in a blue Taoist robe and a crown sat in the main seat, leisurely sipping her tea.

"What should we do? What should we do?"

"That day, the dog demon escaped after eating people. My soldiers couldn't find any trace of it and were worried that it might harm the people of the state. In their anxiety, they sent a request for help to Tiannan Temple..."

Prefect Lü Can looked flustered and paced back and forth in circles.

He was out of his mind that day and forgot that Nan Guan was a powerful figure in the Southern Kingdom, on par with the Prefectural Governor. If Nan Guan were to hold him accountable for the crime of raising a demon, he would at least lose his official position, or at worst, his entire family would be executed!

"Okay, okay, I'm getting dizzy from all this spinning."

"If you ask me, Father, you should give up this position as a prefect. It would be much better for you to stay home and be a wealthy man."

The woman in green was speechless. Only now did she realize that it was truly bizarre that he had been able to serve as a prefectural judge for over ten years.

She learned that something had happened at home and rushed back from Lin Yuan Mountain day and night, but she never expected that her father would be so clueless.

But what's the use of worrying now that things have come to this?
"My dear daughter, you must help your father. The lives of our whole family depend on this!" The magistrate looked at his daughter with a sorrowful expression, forcing a smile.

His eldest daughter had always had some influence at the Nanshang Temple that day, so perhaps he could get away with it?
"They've all been assigned to the Foreign Affairs Office, there's nothing I can do about it. It's too late to rush back now, and someone else might have already taken the assignment."

"These are all minor matters. The important thing is to kill that dog demon before it causes any trouble in the city."

Lu Qingshu picked up four long red needles with her fingertips, gesturing as she spoke while frowning.

The best course of action is to deal with that dog demon as soon as possible. Right now, we're so worried about Nan Guan's attitude that we can't eat or sleep and are thinking about nothing.

Besides, in her opinion, who in Tiannan Temple would be so idle as to hold a grudge against a mere prefect in the mortal world? And why would they offend an inner disciple who was about to advance to the middle stage of Qi Refining?

Lü Can's actions were purely self-inflicted fear... However, the prefect was still filled with unease. A sudden thought flashed through his mind, and he stepped forward, saying again:
"Qing Shu, isn't your cousin cultivating among the various chieftain tribes and already a mid-level beast master?"

“He has always admired you. Why don’t you go ask him for help on behalf of your father? If you give the word, he will definitely come to help you day and night.”

Lu Qingshu's cousin also had the opportunity to enter the Daoist path more than ten years ago and became a disciple of the chieftain's witch lineage. A few years ago, the three-zhang-long alligator dragon was delivered to the Lanfeng Beast Arena by him, which made him extremely famous.

That guy has lived in the land of witches for a long time and has picked up the habits of the southern lands. He's not exactly upright, but otherwise he's alright!
However, these words made Lü Qingshu so angry that he stood up abruptly.

"What is that guy? A down-on-his-luck fellow who practices mountain sorcery. How could he be called a mid-stage Qi Refining cultivator? You want me to find something on him?"

“I, Lü Qingshu, am the only future support for the thirty-two members of the Lü family. Instead of thinking about crooked ways, you should sell that dilapidated arena and get more Dao coins to guarantee that I can reach the middle level of Qi Refining in a year or two.”

"Lü Can, how could you say such a thing? I think you're really senile!"

As a dignified disciple of the Tiannan Sect, the top student of her class, any attempt by her to show even the slightest bit of respect to that down-and-out was an insult to her! An utter insult!

At that moment, she almost couldn't resist throwing her living father into the lotus pond to wake him up!

While he was still excitedly scolding his father, the gates of the mansion on the other side had already been quietly pushed open.

The servants in the Lü household, all female, were particularly an eyesore and had long been coldly chased away by Lü Qingshu. Seeing that there was no one around, the Lü family's son led Li Qing slowly into the Lü household, but little did he expect that as soon as they approached the main hall, they would witness this scene of scolding their father in the hall...

The tall woman kicked over the armchair, stepped on it, and held four flying needles in her palm, her pretty face full of murderous intent.

The middle-aged magistrate in red robes stood frozen in place, his hands tucked into his pockets like a quail, looking utterly innocent as he was being scolded.

This bizarre turn of events left even the collateral descendants of the Lü family completely bewildered, their mouths agape, unable to utter a word, let alone Li Qing, who had already cultivated true qi and possessed keen hearing and sight.

"Cough cough cough cough!!"

The prefectural magistrate was scolded by the woman and was also startled by the arrival of Li Qing and his companion. His face turned red, he felt helpless and almost choked on the spot.

"Oh, Master, Miss, the Taoist priest from Tiannan Temple has arrived with his mission."

Startled, Magistrate Lü coughed repeatedly. The young man from the Lü family quickly realized what had happened and introduced the Taoist disciple beside him, thus glossing over the awkward moment.
Upon receiving another wave from Lü Can, the Lü family member who had been leading the way quickly bowed and retreated outside the hall, giving the space to the three of them.

The escape of the dog demon from the arena was, to put it bluntly, a matter for the Lü family. When asking for a favor, one should always have the proper attitude.

Lan Feng Tongpan-Lu Can immediately invited Shangdao to take a seat. Just as he was about to call the servants to serve tea, he discovered that the beautiful maids had already been chased to the backyard by his eldest son. So, he simply got up and served tea to Li Qing himself...

"Which year are you in, fellow Daoist? You seem a bit unfamiliar."

Lu Qingshu barely suppressed her anger, waved her right hand to put away the flying needles, but had some questions about this rather gentle and handsome Taoist disciple.

This man has an extraordinary bearing, how come I have never had any impression of him before? Is he really a Taoist disciple in the temple?

"Li Qing. I'd say... the class from four years ago!"

Li Qing hesitated for a moment before answering truthfully. Tiannan Temple holds a civil service examination every three years, selecting approximately thirty to fifty people each time.

The latest batch of people entered the Dao less than half a year ago. It is a bit fast to go from entering the Dao and cultivating essence to the lower grade of Qi cultivation in three years. It is a bit slow to go from the lower grade of Qi cultivation in nine years. Lü Qingshu entered Tiannan Temple six years ago and now has a total of 150 cycles of Qi circulation. He is considered to have above-average talent. He saw that Li Qing was unfamiliar and was not a fellow Daoist of this batch, so he asked this question.

Ghostly Gentleman - Li Qing?
Upon hearing Li Qing sign up, Lü Qingshu couldn't help but think of that nickname. Looking at the man with a refined and elegant demeanor, she realized that the nickname was indeed correct.

The reputation of exorcising ghosts as if they were spirits had resounded in the ears of these groups of Taoist disciples for years, and today, they had finally seen a living person.

Who would have thought that Ghostly Gentleman Li Qing was only at the lower level of Qi Refining?
That makes sense. After three or four years of cultivation, no matter how strange one's identity is, one's cultivation shouldn't be so illogical, right?

"Junior Brother Li, oh, I see. I've often heard the rumors about your ability to exorcise ghosts and spirits!"

"My name is Lü Qingshu! Prefect Lü is also my father. I must first thank my junior brother for coming down the mountain to help me."

This female Taoist priest was quite forthright. She first cupped her hands in thanks, then got straight to the point, recounting the origins of the Lu family's commission.

The black dog originally belonged to a poor family in the prefecture. Both of the elderly people in the family had passed away, and the only old dog and the down-on-his-luck scholar depended on each other for survival. When they finally ran out of rice to cook, the scholar couldn't bear to harm the old dog, so he had no choice but to sell it for a few bites of food.

For some reason, the old dog grew stronger and stronger as it moved around the prefecture. In just a year and a half, the dying black-skinned old dog grew to look like a leopard, with glossy fur, a strong body, and sharp teeth. People in the city often said that this dog was about to become a spirit.

The magistrate Lü Can had a penchant for collecting strange and unusual creatures in his arena, and he captured the black dog and brought it into the arena as well.

Then came the countless animal fights. The old dog, having fought a hundred beasts in a hundred days, perhaps tainted by ferocious blood, grew increasingly uncontrollable, even the lions and tigers in the arena gradually becoming no match for it. But who would have thought that after becoming the arena's ace, the black dog would suddenly kill more than ten guards and escape…

"Hmm, where could it be hiding? Has the scholar's family been searched?" Li Qing glanced at the file. The old dog was intelligent; surely it couldn't escape the black dog's original owner.

"We've searched. That scholar died of illness last winter. The old house is surrounded by weeds, and there haven't been any signs of him coming or going for a long time."

Lu Can shook his head bitterly and sighed deeply. If that dog demon had really committed a major crime in the prefecture, then his term as prefect was truly over...

(End of this chapter)