The Path to Immortality Begins with the Life-Extending Lamp

Chapter 75 Inner Realm Refining Spirit, Wearing Plain Clothes

When Li Qing entered the main hall of the manor, he heard a clear, cool laugh, like a secluded orchid in a deep valley.

Inside the main hall, the chivalrous cultivators sat obediently to the side, standing up to listen attentively to the words of the Taoist priests in plain clothes.

On that table, six bushels of medicine, jewels, gold, silver, and spices were piled up one after another.

Ten dou make one hu, so six hu of offerings would be an enormous amount of provisions!
Li Qing had never heard of any lineage that specifically targeted powerful and influential families to force themselves to preach the Dao, earning six bushels of treasure for each lecture. How was this any different from robbery?
Would the powerful families of this place tolerate someone like him?

Upon entering the main hall, one sees three female Taoist priests, their eyebrows unadorned and their makeup absent. They sit high on the guest seats, standing out like cranes among the crowd. Their Taoist voices are melodious, and even before they utter a word, an air of elegance and grace emanates from them…

"Has it been refined into a high-grade Qi Refining level protective divine light?"

Li Qing was led to a seat in the hall by a wandering Taoist priest, but when he saw the female Taoist priest at the head of the group, his eyebrows involuntarily rose.

There were five sects of immortals outside the mortal realm in the Southern Dynasties.

These are: the One Primordial Qi Dao; the Yellow Court Inner Landscape Refining Spirit Dao; the Azure Stone Ingestion Golden Elixir Dao; the Elixir Cauldron Celestial Immortal Dao; and the Three Primordial Talisman Teaching!
These five immortal sects comprise twelve schools in total, with only one sect from each of the three ancient lineages of Qi Refining, Spirit Refining, and Golden Elixir passing down through generations.

Inner cultivation of spirit, Dongchuan Chaohai Taiyi Dao; One Primordial Qi, Southwest Linyuan Tiannan Guan; Cangshan ingestion of elixirs, circulating Taiyue Shangxingzong.

These three schools are also known as the ancient Taoist lineage outside the secular world.

The alchemy tradition has three schools, claiming to be the orthodox lineage of celestial immortals; the talismans are divided into five mountains, each claiming to be the direct lineage of the five directions. This is the mainstream of the immortal path in the Southern Kingdom today!

There is also another one... Six Spirits Mountain. It can be considered half of the Golden Elixir Cultivation Dao and half of the Spirit Refining Dao lineage, and it mixes the Five Controls and Dragon Taming methods. Its foundation is sufficient, but unfortunately it is never recognized by the Five Immortal Sects and can only be considered a major side sect!
However, those who advocate refining protective qi and divine light before foundation building are none other than the Qi Refining and Alchemy lineages.

Only these two paths, when one reaches the upper level of Qi Refining, possess sufficient foundation to refine primordial Qi and precious light...

It seems that on the black ship that Li Qing encountered, there were six or seven people at the upper level of Qi Refining, but none of them had cultivated that kind of divine light!

"Could it be that there are some extraordinary lineages overseas as well?"

Li Qing had almost never heard of anything related to overseas affairs. The only thing he had heard of was that when the Southern Dynasty was founded, it received the complete Five-Taming Technique from the Overseas Beast Taming Immortal Sect, thus becoming a powerful nation with ten thousand chariots and dominating the southeast of the capital.

It halted the great momentum of peace and prosperity of the Northern Capital Dynasty!

Looking again, the leading female Taoist priestess was faintly shrouded in divine light, as if covered by a thin layer of ethereal mist, but Li Qing could clearly sense the terror of that light.

The many wandering knights and Taoist priests present were also deeply wary of the female Taoist priest.

The three female Taoist priests remained as elegant and articulate as ever. When they saw Li Qing enter the hall and take his seat, they merely nodded slightly in acknowledgment and continued to recite the Six Virtues of Plain Clothes and the Way of Descent to Truth.

The four elements combine to form the constellations, and purple smoke rises above and below amidst the three pure clouds.

The entire text is filled with praises to the True Primordial Essence, interspersed with the Dao of Inner Realm, chanting of the Jade Scripture, and refining the spirit and preserving the organs. The underlying principles seem to originate from the same source as the Inner Realm Spirit Refining - Taiyi Dao Sect...

After all the Taoist rituals were performed, the Taoist in plain clothes stood up, gently tapped the jade chime, as if he had finally completed the ritual of transmitting the Tao, and then raised his hand to put the six bushels of treasures into his mustard seed bag.

The Pengguo Suyi Dao was originally a disciple of the Taiyi Dao who abandoned his lineage and fled overseas to establish himself. He used the "Huangting Suyi Dao Wenzhang" to spread among the noble families and monopolized the right to interpret the Dao in Pengguo!
The Plain Robe Dao also has four Purple Mansion Daoists who are skilled in the ancient Daoist tradition of refining the inner realm, making them powerful among all the kingdoms.

These six bushels of warm jade treasures can be considered a different kind of visiting card, and the Taoists in plain clothes really accepted them without any qualms!
"A fellow Daoist from the South?"

After picking up her sleeve pouch, the leading female Taoist priest suddenly turned around, removed her veil, and looked at Li Qing, who was sitting in a grand chair, gently stroking her teacup, seemingly watching a show.

The woman immediately recognized the innate Qi within Li Qing's body!
Among the various schools of thought in the South, the Golden Elixir School and the Primordial Qi School are the most difficult to conceal.

Those who practice the Golden Elixir Daoist practiced alchemy and consumed qi, and their spiritual aura far surpassed that of ordinary people. One could see them surrounded by a misty aura.
The One Yuan Qi Dao is an ancient lineage that was revived after being severed for a thousand years. Once one has mastered the Qi Dao, their Qi mechanism seems to form its own small world.

Each Qi cultivator possesses a unique flow of Qi, outwardly observing the heavens and earth, inwardly harmonizing with the cosmic cycle, constantly adjusting their own patterns of change. They have their own understanding of the primordial changes of the heavens and earth, and this extraordinary phenomenon manifests precisely within the cosmic Qi...

Like Li Qing, whose primordial Yin Qi is like a gentle, flowing river, he is no ordinary person. Even if he remains an observer, he cannot help but attract attention.

On that day, the two Purple Mansion Daoists were in great pain when they saw his Xuan Yin Qi! The two ship owners, who came from unorthodox sects in the East China Sea, might not be able to see through Li Qing's background at a glance, but the plain-robed Daoists, who were also from the Inner Realm Refining Spirit Dao, would definitely recognize him.

"I have never met any friends in this Penghu Kingdom."

Li Qing didn't respond, but leaned back in the armchair and gently sipped her tea.

On this black ship, Li Qing was merely a passerby. Once he entered the Beast Taming Immortal Sect, he would have to disembark and find his own way back. He had no knowledge of Peng Kingdom whatsoever, and naturally did not want to bypass the many heroes and directly contact the Plain-Clad Path among them.

“Your Excellency, please speak frankly with us. Lord Li was on his way to the Beast Taming Immortal Sect, so he should not have any dealings with you, Daoist Su Yi!”

Seeing that there were more people in the manor, the chivalrous man at the upper level of Qi Refining became more confident and stopped the female Taoist priest from probing him.

Everyone knows that this black ship travels overseas, often carrying many treasures from the South to exchange with the Li family of Peng Kingdom. The Plain-Clad Daoist was naturally somewhat tempted, and before the black ship's cultivators had even settled in, someone had already come to probe them. Six bushels of treasures were a small matter; what else might the Plain-Clad Daoist want? Would they intercept the ship? Or perhaps target the manor?

Zhao, the steward, was undecided at first, but after Li Qing and the others gathered, the manor now had three high-level Qi Refining cultivators, so they were no longer at the mercy of others!

"Heh, speaking frankly?"

"You are not qualified to listen to honest advice, nor do I have the authority to speak frankly."

“If the Dao Lord has given an order, he will naturally go directly to your ship owner. There is no need for you and me to rack our brains here and engage in endless speculation.”

The female Taoist priest removed her veil, and although her words were rude, they were not overbearing. She merely glanced at the powerful cultivator on the sea before turning her gaze directly to Li Qing.

In her youth, she also practiced Taiyi Dao in Dongchuan Prefecture, but this lineage declined in power and suffered disaster, so she retreated overseas.

It is rare to see a fellow practitioner from the South again, and he is one of the Twelve Righteous Monks, whose attitude is quite different from that of ordinary people.

"How could you leave Tiannan Prefecture and come to this desolate overseas land? I also cultivated in Dongchuan when I was young. Why don't you come into the Suyi Mountain Sect and study with me? That way, we can fulfill our duty as hosts."

The female Taoist priest, surnamed Yan, slightly raised her sleeve and pointed towards the city. Before long, another Dharma lineage token was delivered to Li Qing's palm.

The purpose of this trip was nothing more than an invitation from the Suyi Dao of the Five Directions Immortal Sect - Inner Realm Refining Spirit Branch to the One Yuan Qi Dao - Qi Refiners.

The Plain Clothes Daoist Token, about half the size of a palm, was cast from Nine-Hua Spiritual Gold. It was inscribed with the image of the Golden Palace of the Central Heaven Taiyi Divine Palace, surrounded by cloud-patterned purple talismans, and even faintly exuded extraordinary magical intent.

Overseas nations - Plain Clothes Order.

The gift of the token was presented upon their return, and the disciples were invited to join them. This was a long-standing custom of the Five Directions Immortal Sect, a very formal etiquette, representing the respect that the Plain-Clad Daoist held for the Tiannan Temple!

The female Taoist priest bowed and presented the token, then left with two disciples dressed in plain clothes.

"I will now enter the mountain gate to invite you. A carriage will soon come to fetch you. Please wait a moment, fellow Daoist!"

The next moment, the female Taoist priest swept up her disciples and shot straight into the sky with a wisp of emerald sword light.

The people in the manor were left looking at each other in bewilderment.

Wasn't this guy in plain clothes here to freeload? Why is he leaving things hanging like this?
Many Taoists who were unaware of the situation thought that the Taoist nun in plain clothes had taken a fancy to this Lord Li and wanted to invite him to spend a warm night in the boudoir and preach about Yin and Yang in her flesh!
One after another, burning and narrow gazes were cast upon him, and the playful behavior left Li Qing speechless.

Li Qing was not as naive as them. He had once cultivated with the Taiyi disciples in Dongchuan Prefecture. He possessed a pure and radiant divine light, and his sword energy soared to the sky with a sharpness no less than that of the Purple Mansion. Even in Tiannan Temple, he was a figure who was waiting to become a true disciple. So what was he dreaming of?

Li Qing was aware of the reasons behind the words of the disciples in plain clothes who preached in the flesh behind the doors of aristocratic families.

It's nothing more than that some of the female Taoist priests under her tutelage are skilled in Taoist arts, but their paths are difficult to follow. They also have powerful backgrounds and magical abilities that are beyond the reach of ordinary people. They can use special means to control the legitimate sons and daughters of many high-ranking families for the Taoist temple, thereby securing huge benefits for the Suyi Temple in this country and gaining a more exalted status and resources for themselves.

Both the orthodox path and the unorthodox path are ways; people of the same ilk may not share the same fate, and they are all simply finding a way for themselves...

But why is it that the Plain-Clad Daoist has such a close relationship with the Taiyi Immortal Sect of Dongchuan Wanghai? What are they planning to do? Are they setting up a separate branch, or do they have other schemes?

Unexpectedly, his identity as a disciple of Tiannan Dao would lead to new acquaintances overseas. Li Qing's eyes only darted away for a moment, not wanting to lose face for Tiannan Temple. The next moment, he flicked his sleeve and threw away the plain-clothed Dao token.

As soon as the primordial energy was struck down, the aura of Dharma power on the token transformed into a white cloud sleeve, which was fluttering towards the mountain gate of Yuanxin Island and Suyi Temple.

Since you have extended an invitation, it would be presumptuous of us to simply wait for a long welcome that stretches for miles.

With a flick of the bamboo slip in Li Qing's sleeve, the five demon soldiers lifted the paper palanquin. The clear sound of bells echoed as the paper palanquin moved as if it were on the road to the underworld. The five demons shifted and moved across the manor, vaguely heading towards the path of the white-clad figure.

The sedan chair was led by Jia Chang, followed by Xing Chang around the palanquin. Fei Chang cleared the way in front of the flower-paper sedan chair. The exquisite figure stood silently in front of the five-emperor curtain of the palanquin. Accompanied by the sound of copper bells, it left the manor in a dozen breaths, making all the people in the manor very strange.

However, only the two chivalrous rogue cultivators at the upper level of Qi Refining looked at that figure with increasing apprehension.

His body is filled with primordial energy, making him impervious to swords and spears. He can command paper soldiers with a mere gesture. Protected by a dragon seed, he now displays such a powerful weapon as a bridal sedan chair...

This Lord Li's sleeves seemed to be a bottomless pit, from which he could always pull out new things, each one more astonishing than the last.

Moreover, isn't that a human skin shaman? Or a funerary paper sedan chair? The skill displayed by this Taoist priest from the South doesn't seem as pure and naive as he claims to be. He's more like a powerful figure from the Great Guan Sect!

No wonder the two captains both admired and feared him. Once the captains left, probably no one could stop him from "seizing the ship".

"Tiannan Temple, the Taoist priest in white? It seems we must tell the old man this news as soon as he returns..."

(End of this chapter)