The Path to Immortality Begins with the Life-Extending Lamp

Chapter 76 The Former True Disciple of Taiyi
The bridal sedan chair and paper palanquin, riding the changing light and shadows and taking advantage of the four seasons, traversed the mountains, forests, and marshes, heading straight for the center of this large island.

There were no other entanglements on this trip; it was simply an invitation from the Taoist in plain clothes to the Qi cultivators of Tiannan!
Having taken the Dao Token into his hand, Li Qing boldly rode in his paper sedan chair. With soldiers and horses marching and the sedan chair clearing the way, his Xuan Yin Yuan Qi was no longer concealed. He was like a cold moon pushing forward, surrounded by a chilling wind, causing passersby to suddenly feel a slight chill all over their bodies, saying that it was a gust of evil wind...

It was at the Suyi Mountain Gate, a hundred miles away!
Yan Danling, a female Taoist priest in plain clothes who had just returned from the manor outside the island and was preparing the welcoming ceremony for the mountain within the lineage, suddenly raised her hand and stopped the disciple who was about to set off.

"Senior sister... what's wrong?"

The twelve Taoist priests in plain clothes had just set off on their palanquins and carriages when they were suppressed by the divine light of the descending gods. They were puzzled for a moment and looked up at the female Taoist priest.

"No need to go. That fellow Daoist from the Southern Kingdom has arrived. You all just need to go to the mountain gate to welcome him in!"

Yan Danling pressed her right hand down lightly, then changed the subject, instructing the disciples in plain clothes to wait at the mountain gate.

The Suyi Dao sect has only been established for nineteen years. Although it has achieved some good results in this land of various kingdoms, it has never had any direct contact with other members of the Five Immortal Sects of the Southern Kingdom!
Since the Taoist priest has accepted the order from the Plain-Clothed Taoist lineage, it's always a good thing that he can come...

A man in plain clothes walked beneath the mountain gate.

Five paper-carrying soldiers and horses, carrying paper-flower sedan chairs, stopped here. Linglong, the paper-carrying god, accompanied the sedan chair and exchanged glances with more than ten plain-clad Taoist priests in front of the mountain gate.

This sight caused the group of Qi Refining cultivators in their lower-middle stages, dressed in plain clothes, to freeze instantly!
The paper bridge was entirely white, with a flower railing as its frame, paper banners hanging down as a canopy, ancient five-emperor coins woven into a curtain, a bronze ceremonial bell hanging above, and two paper lanterns hanging on either side.

Such paperware is extraordinary, and can be considered a top-tier artifact among the Five Immortal Sects.

Not to mention the arrival of the paper-wielding soldiers, those six pairs of piercing, stern eyes were enough to captivate anyone!

A young man leaned against the sedan chair, his right elbow casually resting on the corner of the flower railing, looking at the Taoist priest in plain clothes in front of him with a bored expression.

The twelve Taoist priests in plain clothes consisted of seven at the middle level of Qi Refining and five at the lower level of Qi Refining. If this arrangement is followed, the scale of the Plain-Clothed Taoist sect doesn't seem to be very large.

Even at Linyuan Mountain, if a Taoist from outside the mountain were to visit, even if they were fourth or fifth generation disciples of the upper-level Qi Refining stage, there would be at least four upper-level Qi Refining disciples among the twelve Taoists, and the rest would be at least middle-level Qi Refining disciples.

Because if one hasn't achieved mid-level Qi Refining before the age of thirty, they're not even qualified to enter the Lin Yuan Inner Academy...

By this calculation, excluding the pioneers of the Purple Mansion Dao Foundation Realm, the scale of the Plain Robe Dao is even less than that of an inner courtyard of the Tiannan Temple.

This mountain gate and Taoist temple, however, is filled with verdant pines planted on the slopes, winding paths leading to secluded spots with lush bamboo, moss-covered cracks in the bluestone where flowers bloom, and towering pavilions and trees in this blessed land.

It took a lot of planning to build such a magnificent temple!
"Brother Dao, please come with us into the mountain."

The leader, a Taoist in plain clothes, subconsciously took a deep breath and walked around the ten-foot-tall flying beast, avoiding the air currents created by its wings, before approaching the paper sedan chair.

With the flying beast in front and the armored beast carrying the sedan chair, the seemingly sentient and exquisitely beautiful beast cast its gaze down, putting immense pressure on these Taoists!
It was as if the person sitting in the paper sedan chair and palanquin was not a disciple of the Five Directions Immortal Sect, but a ghost lord who sat high above the ancestral temple.

"Can!"

The young man in the sedan chair nodded in response. In the next instant, Leng Ling's Yuan Qi surged forth, transforming into a whirlwind that swept away the paper figure and sedan chair in one fell swoop into his sleeve.

Mastering the six qi, his transformations are boundless, making his sleeves seem to contain the universe, truly astonishing all the cultivators present.

Today, Li Qing changed into a simple black robe, casually tying up her dark hair with a wooden hairpin, which made her look even more unruly.

As the various sects entered the Suyi Mountain Gate, Li Qing immediately noticed the array patterns covering the massive protective stones.

That's a protective barrier, the first line of defense within the temple's gates.

The white-robed Taoist temple was ethereal, reflecting the red clouds. It didn't take long to enter the Taoist temple where they resided. There, they saw a continuous stretch of palace buildings, all built with red bricks and green tiles, and carved windows and pavilions with light on the top and dark on the bottom.

It had only been half an incense stick's time since we entered the main hall through the mountain gate, yet the incense in the four cauldrons in front of the temple was still burning brightly, and the red and purple candles on the side were also burning extremely well.

Surprisingly, some believers even brought their servants and maids to the temple to chant and listen to the Taoist teachings along with the white-robed Taoist disciples. However, the believers from Penghu who fasted and bathed in this white-robed temple also gained a lot.

After all, this is a genuine lineage of cultivation. Not to mention anything else, it can ward off evil, prolong life, improve appearance, and ensure good health—it's said that every request is answered.

But this was the first time Li Qing had ever seen this tradition that combined teaching and observation, and he found it very strange!

With the disciples carrying incense, flowers, and ritual implements leading the way, the purple smoke from the temple wafted out, paving the way for the temple. Inside, deer and beasts sang softly, peacocks flew south, and various birds and magpies alighted on the green-tiled palace eaves, creating a scene of "a hundred birds paying homage to the phoenix."

This scene only made the believers in the forecourt even more astonished, and they racked their brains to see what was going on!
However, this Suyi Dao only opened the front view; the back gate was a cultivation ground, and no one was allowed to enter casually. They could only make wild guesses.

"It is the immortal sect within the Southern Dynasty, where a venerable Daoist has entered the rear Daoist temple!"

"Layman, let's stop our practice here for today. The process of expelling the old and taking in the new must be done step by step..."

The Taoist priest in plain clothes in the front hall and the lay Buddhist in the main hall gave each other careful instructions, but at this moment everyone's attention was focused on the immortals from the Southern Dynasty. The Southern Dynasty was founded on the Six Arts, and "chariot" was the symbol of the four arts: rites, music, archery, and charioteering.

A single chariot, with military salutes, drums beating and spears striking, five chariots clashing, and a bow drawn in the left hand, can traverse a hundred miles in a single day.

The power of a chariot is the power of the emperor, a power that even the nobles of Peng Kingdom dare not imagine!

Of course, it would be an honor for her and others if someone from the Southern Kingdom's Immortal Sect could visit them and the Plain-Clad Daoist of Peng Kingdom.

"Wearing simple clothes is a wonderful way to cultivate one's spiritual nature. It is a way to achieve immortality."

"Guards, bring the nine-foot-long jade pendant that the Yan Kingdom offered as tribute. I wish to present it to the Suyi Temple to encourage the people's hearts to turn towards the Dao..."

Perhaps this is the benefit of combining teaching and observation. The Taoist scriptures are profound, and when combined with the manifestation of sainthood before people, they can almost completely conquer a region from the root of human nature.

Although it may sound unpleasant, many major sects have followed this orthodox path and successfully passed on their traditions, thus earning the right to call themselves untainted by worldly affairs...

For a Daoist like Li Qing, who had reached the pinnacle of Qi cultivation, the commotion ahead was naturally within his sight. However, he showed no sign of anything amiss on his face and continued to slowly make his way to the actual Daoist temple with several Daoists in plain clothes.

Yan Danling, the female Taoist priest who had extended the invitation to Li Qing, was already waiting in front of the dojo. Seeing that the Qi Refining cultivator had indeed come to the appointment, she cupped her hands and smiled:
"We have been waiting for you for a long time, fellow Daoist. Please!"

The two Qi Refining Stage 1 cultivators walked side by side into the hall, where they were greeted by a variety of delicacies, including Jiushan White Tea, Qingxi Spirit Fruit, rare snacks, medicinal dried meat, and more, all of which were presented on the table.

As the group chatted, they learned the origin of the Plain Clothes Road!
Originally from the previous generation of Taiyi Dao, there was once a peak with true disciples. However, due to the passing of the peak master who was half-existing in the Yin realm, the peak became deserted. To make matters worse, one of the true disciples committed a sin, which led to the Immortal Peak Daoist Temple being taken away by the sect...

Enraged, this disciple seized his elder's magical artifact, stole the scriptures and provisions from the peak, and led his fellow disciples away from Taiyi, causing quite a scene.

They crossed that deep, vast sea and entered the various kingdoms. A dozen or so cultivators started their own temple, the Plain Robe Taoist Temple, and now nineteen years have passed!
If that's the case, then the Plain Clothes Dao can be considered a very orthodox branch of the Yellow Court Inner Landscape Refining Spirit lineage.
Moreover, if Taiyi Dao had let them leave without pursuing the matter, it would probably have been a mess over a single immortal peak!

Without knowing the full picture, Li Qing could not offer any comment.

He couldn't possibly join this female Taoist priest in blaming Taiyi, so he could only raise his teacup, take a sip, and praise the sweet aftertaste of the white tea.

The two of them explained their reasons in the course of their questioning and answering. Su Yi went to the manor outside the island to collect the "annual grain" as usual, and only then did she meet Li Qing.

This one inexplicably arrived overseas and is currently searching for his way home...

The two men's conversation was neither particularly warm nor cold, until the teacup had been filled with tea for the fourth time.

Suddenly, a rosy glow appeared on the horizon, and as Li Qing and his companion chatted and laughed, two Taoist priests suddenly appeared at the entrance of the main hall.

Both of these Taoist priests were extremely young, appearing to be around twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old at a glance.

However, Li Qing and Daoist Yan stood up at the same time and bowed to the two Daoists of the Purple Mansion.

"I heard that Junior Sister Yan had a chance encounter with a disciple of a celestial sect and they had a very pleasant conversation, so I returned to the temple to meet this junior brother."

The man standing in front was dressed in extremely luxurious clothes. His robe was made of purple and gold silk wrapped in cloud patterns and was called the "Descending True Robe". When he saw Li Qing, he nodded and smiled.

However, the oppressive aura emanating from this Daoist Master Li Qing in plain clothes far surpassed that of Pei Jiu and Daoist Man, and was comparable to that of the head of the Bailong Academy.

This former true disciple of the Taiyi Dao has actually become a figure at the Purple Mansion Upper Foundation stage!

However, the extraordinary abilities of this Daoist Master in plain clothes go beyond that.

Unlike Tiannan Temple, which is only a small temple with a history of just over two hundred years, Taiyi Dao has eleven immortal peaks, and each peak master has a cultivation level of more than the Purple Mansion Foundation. There are four Yin God True Persons alone.

The true lineage of Taiyi Dao not only requires achieving the Purple Mansion realm within sixty years, but some peaks even require an immortal body and Daoist physique, etc...

This Daoist Master in plain clothes possessed a pair of illusory eyes capable of seeing auras.

At that moment, the brief conversation between Li Qing and Junior Sister Yan suddenly appeared in the illusory vision of the Dao Lord. As the two chatted and laughed, Li Qing seemed to be suppressing another discontented will within her body.

He stared at Li Qing with growing astonishment and uncertainty. How could this man possess such a powerful aura of death?
"Hiss! This junior brother... he's probably quite famous in the Southern Kingdom, isn't he?"

Possessed by a vengeful ghost? Isn't that something the Zhong family, who raise ghosts in Lingnan, like to do?
The Zhong family of Lingnan had a particular fondness for selecting a vengeful ghost for their children and nephews when they were young, so that they could outwit and outmaneuver the ghost during their cultivation journey, until they could eventually control it...

Thus, the surviving members of the Zhong family have an incredible ability to withstand pressure, which has given the White Bone Sect, who cultivates ghost talismans, in a real headache!
But the one before them was clearly even more extreme; a vengeful ghost at the upper level of the Day Travel Realm was directly entangled around him.
"Junior brother, your brows are slightly furrowed, and your aura is somewhat stagnant. It seems you've been tricked and your luck has been somewhat damaged?"

(End of this chapter)