The Path to Immortality Begins with the Life-Extending Lamp

Chapter 94 "Yinghai" and "Fangzhang"

"The Qinghua Treasure Tree belongs to the Qingmu genus. It is warm and gentle in nature and can harmonize the body's energy and regulate the five elements."

Li Qing spent four days reviewing all the alchemical texts, elixirs, and anecdotes in the four-story pavilion of the East Garden, as well as the past accounts of the Underworld. He finally gained some understanding of the Underworld.

The Four-way Garden contains water lilies, seven-star flowers, camellias, and spirit fruits... most of which are beneficial and can be prepared into medicines.

Several soul-scaled creatures in the pond are born from the netherworld; they are delicious and can be cooked and eaten.

The Qinghua Treasure Tree in the center of the East Garden is laden with fragrant fruit!

At that moment, Li Qing took an old bamboo from the garden and built a figure-eight ladder. Holding a jade mallet, he climbed the ladder to look down at the precious tree and knocked the green fruits off the tree one by one.

Below, thirteen paper servants, who had already been re-refined for Li Qing in preparation for his service, now held up sheets of ten-eyed spirit paper in their arms, arranging them to the side, catching every single spirit fruit that fell from the tree onto the spirit paper in their arms, and wrapping them up tightly...

He first needed to collect all the spiritual herbs in the underworld. According to the alchemical texts left by the former underworld master, Cui Ying, these herbs were the raw materials for alchemical pills that had circulated in the Qishan underworld. They could be used by cultivators from Qi Refining to Purple Mansion, Night Travel to Day Travel, and even by immortals, yin spirits, and ghost lords.

Even though the underworld is now mostly destroyed, there is still enough left for Li Qing and the Ghost Mother to use together!
They picked the green fruit from the precious tree, instructed the paper effigy boys to wrap it in spirit paper, and sent it into the first floor of the high pavilion.

Li Qing then dug up the medicinal roots in the garden and picked all the fully ripe Seven Star Fruit and Spirit Fruit.

These old herbs have been neglected for hundreds of years. Even though most of them were wasted, there are still many incredibly old herbs. At this moment, he has already harvested several Jade Mist Roots that have been processed for five thousand years.

While Li Qing was carefully tending to the underworld, the Ghost Mother, carrying a bronze mirror, a spirit hairpin, a powder box, and holding mourning clothes and quilts, stood by the hanging flower gate of the East Garden, staring intently at Li Qing.

Under the eerie gaze of the Ghost Mother, Li Qing, who was tidying up the clumps of overgrown purple bamboo with a silver axe, suddenly felt a chill down her spine, thinking that the ghosts in the underworld had not been cleaned up properly.

Turning around, the scene he witnessed truly left him speechless, both amused and exasperated!

"Let's go! The north side of the mansion is the main direction, and the east side is the most prestigious; they should be used by you and me..."

Shaking his head, Li Qing parted the overgrown purple bamboo, put away his silver axe, and led the Ghost Mother into the four-story pavilion.

On the ghost book and the contract, the area of ​​the palace under their names was expanded again. Naturally, the East Garden became their main residence. According to etiquette, the two should also move into the Flower Viewing Pavilion in the East Garden.

On the first floor, there were many alchemical cauldrons and other artifacts, and on the wooden shelves to the side were the various medicinal fruits that Li Qing had separated using bamboo baskets and jade boxes.

The second floor is a space for quiet contemplation, while the third floor is the main room of the palace!
The many precious jade slips and talismans in the study on the third floor had already been put away by Li Qing, making it look quite clean. Ghost Mother followed behind Li Qing blankly, moving her only remaining possessions into the main room of the East Pavilion.

At this point, the East Garden was completely occupied by Li Qing and his companion.

Upon entering the bedroom, they saw the Ghost Mother standing blankly in front of the altar, seemingly unsure how to sit down.

Li Qing sighed helplessly, took the various items from her hands, and then laid out the warm couch, straightened the red dressing table, and pulled out the rose chair...

Then he took out the soul bottle and tapped it on the incense burner. Immediately, wisps of soul energy appeared, as eye-catching as incense, adding a touch of vitality to the warm room.

This place is different from the front courtyard. This is a mansion with a complete set of magical restrictions. In addition, the former mansion master, Cui Ying, set up a barrier to isolate the inside from the outside, which can already be regarded as a Taoist temple.

Li Qing arranged everything for the ghost mother, trying to make the room similar to the east wing of the front yard so that she wouldn't feel unfamiliar. She also hung the winter clothes in the wardrobe and laid the pale white mourning cloth on the bed.

He even tried to throw away the sacrificial mourning cloth several times, but each time the Ghost Mother held onto a corner of the cloth, preventing Li Qing from letting go.

Before and after death, the family's belongings will still be indispensable. Li Qing can't force them to change their ways. If he really angers this person, he will only be asking for trouble!

After this incident disrupted the plan, Li Qing only had a brief exchange with the Ghost Mother before returning to the garden to dry the many spirit bamboos for later weaving into purple spirit bamboo strips. She also ground and mixed the various medicinal fruits in the garden into a paste, which she then used to make medicinal pills...

The Dao of alchemy requires discerning the properties of medicinal herbs and understanding their principles. However, the Dao of alchemy was not prominent during the Six Heavens Ghost and God era, and the alchemical texts and medicinal techniques in this underworld were not particularly sophisticated. He had studied the basics of alchemy during his three years of cultivation, so mixing some medicinal ingredients was not a problem for him.

Consuming elixirs and breathing in the vital energy is the way of immortals!

Superior medicine can prevent death, middle medicine is good at prolonging life, and inferior medicine can also nourish one's nature.

It took Li Qinghua nearly ten days to blend the medicinal properties of these pills. In each of the rows of gold and agate cabinets, four pills were sealed in each wooden box.

This cinnabar is emerald green and clear, occasionally dotted with silver specks, as if morning dew and flowers and fruits have blended together. It is full of spiritual charm. One pill can induce changes in the body's energy channels and is equivalent to ten days of arduous cultivation.

Savoring the essence of the bait, Li Qing nodded repeatedly in satisfaction.

He is aware of the difficulties he is currently facing in his spiritual practice!

If we're talking about the primordial energy of the Zhou Tian, ​​it's already quite vast. The profound Yin energy in his dantian is even more concentrated, almost surpassing the liquid state, showing signs of forming the foundation of the Purple Mansion.

"But this regenerated ghost spine is still continuously generating pure Yin energy. The spine is the great dragon of the heavens, connecting the divine palace above and the dantian below. If I do not completely subdue this great dragon, how can this profound Yin Qi be preserved?"

Li Qingxiu cultivates the Dao of Primordial Qi, which governs the Primordial Qi. He should use the Primordial Qi to subdue all the Qi in the Inner Heaven and generate the Profound Yin Qi. This Profound Yin Dao is the foundation of his Purple Palace.

But now this Ghost Spine is too extraordinary. Perhaps it was taken from a ghost in the Underworld by the Ghost Mother and grafted onto Li Qing to prolong his life.

"I need to strengthen my foundation, cultivate my nature and prolong my life, and subdue this ghost spine with a more powerful innate Qi. Then the foundation of my Purple Mansion will naturally be formed."

Li Qing needs to nurture his life force to a level far exceeding that of ordinary people in order to truly achieve perfect Purple Mansion Foundation Building.

Naturally, his Purple Mansion Dao Foundation will become even more solid and firm!
The principle is very simple, but putting it into practice is not easy at all.

"However, this is not a bad thing. The stronger the form, the stronger my life force will be."

Since he began practicing Qi cultivation, Li Qing has increasingly experienced the benefits of a robust life force. He had faced numerous life-and-death perils with the Ghost Mother, which only strengthened his life force. Now, he has not been negatively affected by the Xuan Yin Qi for a long time.

"I will use all the elixirs among them and strive to establish my foundation in the Purple Mansion before returning to the East Sea. At that time, I will first return to Jiangnan..."

With a soft sigh, Li Qing swept most of the bait pills into his mustard seed pouch, leaving only a few types of Yin Spirit Dew and Soul Form Pills, which were bait medicines made from other Netherworld flowers and were exclusively for use by ghosts and gods.

Having stayed in the Underworld for twenty years, Li Qing was also somewhat anxious. She took the dozen or so cups of spiritual dew and elixirs up to the third floor. When she finished her work and looked again, the Ghost Mother was no longer in the pavilion, and she did not know where she had gone.

Li Qing placed various pills and spiritual dews on the display windows. If the Ghost Mother saw them, she would enjoy them.

After everything was finished, he let out a long sigh and climbed the carved staircase to the top floor of the pavilion.

On the fourth floor of the pavilion, there is only one pavilion, one kiosk, and one hanging courtyard, with a flower railing woven from spirit vines. Looking out, one can see six or seven mansions and gardens in the surrounding area. These mansions and gardens are in varying degrees of damage, and there are quite a few ghosts wandering around them.

However, Li Qing no longer had enough time to deal with the miscellaneous matters outside the Underworld.

He must first return to the mortal world, board Pei Jiu's ship, and head to the Beast Taming Immortal Sect in Fangzhang Land, so that he can return to the Southern Kingdom as soon as possible.

"Then let's explore them one by one after we reach the Purple Mansion..." Li Qing was already close to touching the threshold of the Purple Mansion. For him, the Purple Mansion was no longer something unattainable. With a little effort, he could naturally achieve it.

After taking one last look around the underworld, Li Qing's thoughts shifted, and after a moment of dizziness, she opened her eyes again to find herself in the Peng Kingdom's Yuanxin Island in the Sea of ​​Nations.

Within the manor, the aura of the two Purple Mansions, like spirit candles in the night, was clearly displayed in Li Qing's mind.

The Taoist priest had returned a few days ago. During these days, Pei Jiu had also knocked on the door of Li Qing's courtyard to urge him to come in. Seeing that there was no response and that Li Qing's aura was suppressed, everyone was afraid that Li Qing was still in seclusion, so they patiently waited.

The long-closed courtyard was now wide open, its cold, clear aura, like a cold moon, soaring thirty-three feet into the sky.

Soon, a chivalrous sea warrior at the upper level of Qi Refining hurried to the courtyard and met the gaze of the young man standing in front of the gate.

"Lord Li, you've emerged from seclusion? The two gentlemen have been waiting for you for several days. When will you be able to depart?"

The chivalrous man cupped his hands in greeting and conveyed an inquiry on behalf of the two Purple Mansion Ship Lords.

"I am truly sorry to have troubled you all. I have finished all my business and am ready to depart at any time!"

Li Qing bowed to the chivalrous man and responded loudly.

The two exchanged only a few words before the chivalrous man hurriedly left, clearly to deliver a message.

The ship in the East China Sea has been here for a whole month, and Li Qing can feel that even the gentle "candle" on the ship is becoming increasingly impatient.

Clearly, everyone has been getting impatient waiting!

Sure enough, a few hours later, the bell in the manor rang loudly, and at the hour of Shen (3-5 PM), all the Daoist soldiers and cultivators on the ship began to set off on command.

The two Purple Mansion ship captains stopped in front of the manor. When they saw Li Qing come out, they nodded slightly, gave an order, and set off for the shore of the island bay.

"We will set off immediately, stop in the center of those kingdoms, and then head straight for the overseas abbot's land, where the Beast Taming Sect is located."

After Pei Jiu finished counting the troops, he instructed everyone to go and launch the ship first, while he and Li Qing and the others leisurely lagged behind.

The sea area of ​​the various kingdoms is less than 10,000 miles away from Fangzhang's land, or rather, this sea area exists solely under the protection of Fangzhang's Three Immortal Sect.

Furthermore, by exchanging the precious gold of the Southern Kingdom for local precious materials in the central region of these kingdoms, they could then head directly to the "abbot's quarters".

Legend has it that the abbot's land was originally just a large island, but a true immortal used his skills to reclaim land from the sea, transforming it into a continent.

There are three immortal sects on it. The first is the Hunyuan Sect, which first revered the primordial energy and is the head of the three sects;
The first is called the Seven Star Pavilion, which is full of people who are proficient in all kinds of magic and all kinds of arts. They are skilled in spirit boats, barriers, alchemy and artifacts, talismans and traveling merchants.

The last one is the Beast Taming Sect, but apart from its dealings with the Southern Kingdom, the Beast Taming Sect is only the youngest among the three immortal sects in terms of controlling various beasts!
"At that time, Brother Guan will accompany Young Friend Li to the Beast Taming Immortal Sect, while I will go to the Seven Star Pavilion myself."

"But... Brother Guan, are you really going to go to the Beast Taming Sect to exchange for another mirage dragon to raise?"

While talking to Li Qing, Pei Jiu couldn't help but ask the Taoist priest for confirmation again; this was the sixth time he had asked for confirmation.

Over the years, the fleet has accumulated a considerable amount of resources. If he joins the Seven Star Pavilion, he could secretly spend ten million Daozhu to purchase a small flying boat, the Treasure Shuttle, which might save the lives of all the crew members at a critical moment.

However, the pipe man wanted to raise another dragon beast, which Pei Jiu found somewhat puzzling.

The key is that the pipe master is just a rogue cultivator who raises spirits and manages waterways. You are not a beast tamer, so why are you raising so many dragon beasts?

Pei Jiu felt heartbroken every time he watched that money-devouring sea dragon fish eat.

In just ten days, the dragon whale would consume thousands of zhu of spiritual food and blood in one meal. During festivals, it would also need to purchase spiritual pills. By the end of the year, it would have spent hundreds of thousands of zhu. This sea beast was truly too expensive to keep!
For decades, it has hardly fought any battles, but it eats a lot. Isn't this like raising a pampered old man?

“Hmm! Young friend Li is going to the Beast Taming Sect to find a beast taming cage. I am also preparing to raise another mirage dragon beast taming. You and I can go together.”

The pipeman nodded in agreement, exchanged a glance with Li Qing, and nodded in agreement.

He obtained a rare bronze book in the Underworld of the Sea, a soul-path artifact with 630 forbidden restrictions.

After refining the bronze book, the Taoist priest pondered for a long time. He mainly cultivated water-related arts, supplemented his studies with dragon-taming techniques, and also mastered wind-based techniques for protection and combat...

Although he has now established the foundation of the Purple Mansion Dao, he is, after all, from a humble family in the East Sea, and his knowledge is extremely diverse. If he wants to make further progress in the future, he will inevitably lack the energy.

Fortunately, he has only been cultivating for less than two hundred years and has obtained a Soul Dao artifact. He can use the Soul Dao bronze book to master the control of spirits and protect himself, sort out what he has learned, discard many miscellaneous minor techniques, use various beasts to protect himself, and concentrate on cultivating water magic. Isn't that wonderful?

Moreover, he already has experience in raising a fully-fledged dragon beast, so he should be able to master this skill!
However, Pei Jiu did not think so. He still believed that the cost of raising such a dragon beast was too high and could easily affect the supply of resources needed for his own cultivation.

Pei Jiu was truly shocked to see his fellow Daoist, who had entrusted his life to them, betting everything on two beasts.

Seeing that the Taoist priest looked resolute, Pei Jiu wanted to persuade him again.

Li Qing, standing to the side, finally understood what Captain Pei was subtly plotting, and chuckled softly, saying:

"The Naba Sea Dragon Whale is considered to be of outstanding combat power in the sea battles of the Purple Mansion. However, raising that huge sea beast is indeed extremely costly, and many Beast Taming Daoists dare not take the plunge."

"The Mirage Dragon should be much better. It loves the clear air of clouds, enjoys eating sparrows, and is skilled in cloud and rain illusions. The mirage air nourishes the soul, greatly benefiting the generation of Daoist essence. I suppose that's what Guan Chuanzun was after, right?"

Mirage dragons are an extremely rare species of dragon! How could this pipe man have such a way of doing things?

The miscellaneous books on entering the Dao at Tiannan Temple were more widespread than the casual conversations circulating in the prefecture. It was this unorthodox book on mirage dragons that resonated so deeply with Daoist practitioners.

The Taoist priest's eyes immediately lit up, and he looked at Li Qing as if he had found a kindred spirit.

“Young friend Li, you truly understand me! Indeed, I wish to tame a mirage dragon, gather clouds and rain, and refine mirage energy. This will complement my cloud and water illusion techniques and also benefit my soul cultivation…”

On their way to the ship, the two Taoists discussed a wide range of common knowledge, from raising beasts and understanding the Dharma to the foundation of the Purple Mansion Dao, insisting on determining who was superior.

One was concerned about his own path to enlightenment, coupled with the longing of the young men of the East Sea for the legendary dragon tamers since childhood; the other was worried about his fellow Daoist's future and offered kind advice.

However, just as they approached the ship, they immediately heard two soaring dragon roars, one large and one small.

With a single flip, "Candle" whipped up a whirlwind and swooped down from the horizon. The powerful wind swept over them, and several Dao soldiers were thrown to the side. The enormous six-crowned dragon head kept rubbing against Li Qing. It had been so long since they had seen each other, it really missed her terribly.

The dragonfish in the bay, with its dragon-like body emerging from the water like a half-island reef, calls out to the pipe people!
How could Pei Jiu possibly explain such tender care?

With a loud laugh, Guan Dao descended into the sea on a cloud, took out a spirit pill, and fed it to the dragonfish. The dragonfish happily spat out a jet of water that shot into the sky, its tail slapping against the waves, creating a towering whirlpool in the bay...

(End of this chapter)