Longevity Candle

Chapter 3 Prosperous Incense Offerings, Immortals Arrive Naturally

The Seven Star Sword Technique, inspired by the Big Dipper, is incredibly versatile and exquisite.

There are even speculations that he absorbed the power of the Seven Stars to cultivate.

This is just speculation.

Yan Nanxing was merely a martial artist who cultivated his blood and qi, transforming it into true qi. He couldn't even draw upon the power of heaven and earth, let alone the power of the Seven Stars.

This gave Jiang Zhu an idea: could he use the method of absorbing the essence of the sun and moon to absorb the power of the seven stars?
He tried sitting cross-legged, but gave up after a moment.

They couldn't even sense the power of the Seven Stars.

"If true qi circulates in the meridians, can magical power work?"

He then tried to mobilize the magical power within his body and circulate it according to the Seven Star Sword Technique.

Initially, it remained still, but after three to five attempts, the magic power finally began to circulate.

It was a bit awkward and slow, but thankfully there was no pain or abnormality.

Gold and silver magic swirled around his fingertips, transforming into a tiny sword light.

The sword light whistled away, shooting into the white clouds, piercing a hole in the clouds, and then flew off to an unknown destination.

His magic power was completely depleted, after all, he only had a trace left.

When the time came, he returned to his slumber under the dim light.

He felt that he stayed a little longer, but because it was so short, the feeling was not obvious.

The abbot of Baiyun Temple, Yan Nanxing, died, and his seven disciples celebrated wildly.

No one mourned Yan Nanxing; they all wished he would die sooner and trample on his corpse to vent their anger.

Yunhe did not reveal Yan Nanxing's confession, and they drank themselves into a stupor.

After a hangover comes parting ways and a struggle over the distribution of wealth.

They drew their swords against each other, ready for the victor to take all.

Having lived in Baiyun Temple for many years, Yan Nanxing taught them basic martial arts to help them cultivate internal energy and improve their physical strength.

Yunhe stepped forward: "Why fight to the death? This Taoist temple is so magnificent, and some parts are even inlaid with jade. If we each take some, we can all have a good life."

“That’s right.” The six people exchanged glances and agreed to the suggestion.

They entered the Taoist temple and began to take out the inlaid jade, gold, and silver artifacts.

Moments later, they all vomited blood and collapsed to the ground.

Yunhe stepped forward, his expression cold: "I'm sorry, senior brothers, I have no choice but to do this."

"You..." The six were furious, but powerless to resist, filled with despair.

“I really want you to leave, but you need money and valuables, which will ruin the layout of the Taoist temple and make it less magnificent. The immortals will not like a dilapidated Taoist temple.”

"Are you crazy? The quest for immortality is a lie. Have you forgotten our years of relationship?"

"When you were unconscious, I carried you into the house and took good care of you."

"You were hungry late at night, so I sneaked into the kitchen and found you some steamed buns."

They played the emotional card, their eyes full of pleading.

“He saw the immortal before he died. He may have just been deceiving me, but I have to take a chance even if there is only a sliver of hope. If it doesn’t work out, I will take the money and go down the mountain.”

Yunhe drew Yan Nanxing's longsword, which had not been sheathed for many years, saw off his six senior brothers, and became the new abbot of Baiyun Temple.

Seven more graves appeared on the back mountain, but one of them was the tomb of the abbot of Baiyun Temple, and he was the only one who was known.

After dealing with these matters, Yunhe carefully searched the Taoist temple and found that apart from the inlaid gold, silver and jade artifacts, there were only some small gold and silver items on the high platform.

Although it's less, it's enough.

He found the Seven Star Sword Manual and began practicing martial arts.

Once he felt he could protect himself, he carried his sword down the mountain and opened the mountain gate wide.

He also bought seven children and took them as his disciples.

After pondering for a long time, Yunhe had someone make a statue in the likeness of Yan Nanxing, and honored him as the Great Immortal of White Clouds.

Yan Nanxing has not descended the mountain for many years, and very few people have seen him.

Even if someone finds out, he can say that he was simply fulfilling his filial duty.

Although Baiyun Temple is high, there are too many people in this world who want to find peace of mind.

The higher the mountain, the more it demonstrates their sincerity and the steadfastness of their faith.

Of course, although there are few such people, it is a good start.

The aroma of incense filled the Taoist temple.

With the flickering of the green lamp, Jiang Zhu awoke from his slumber once more and saw guests offering incense inside the Taoist temple.

Although not many, there were still dozens of people.

Yunhe, leading seven disciples, stood to the side, a smile playing on his lips. Jiang Zhu, unaware of what was happening, was only surprised; someone at Baiyun Temple was actually offering incense?

Could it be that there really are immortal masters or Taoist priests, and spirits from the mountains and seas have taken up residence here?

He floated down into the Taoist temple, saw the statue of a deity, and was astonished. It was the abbot of Baiyun Temple.

He didn't know that the abbot of Baiyun Temple still clung to a sliver of hope, expecting to become an immortal through faith.

He saw a faint golden light on the statue, and the air was filled with the scent of sandalwood.

The power of incense!

He tried to see if he could absorb the incense offerings.

But he failed. The magic power within him strongly resisted the incense offerings, and instead tended to extinguish them.

Withdrawing his magic, he floated to the back mountain and saw the tomb of the White Cloud Temple Master.

He practiced the Seven Star Sword Technique in front of the main tomb of Baiyun Temple.

The cold wind blows, the grave is desolate, and the wind howls as if telling of his unwillingness and obsession.

"Eternal Immortal Baiyun, I offer incense and faith as a sacrifice, please guide this lost disciple on the path of immortality."

After the guests left, the voices of Yunhe and his seven disciples lingered in the Taoist temple.

Jiang Zhu floated back again, looking at their prayers with a dazed expression.

It turns out, it was just a different person seeking immortality in a different way.

Before Yan Nanxing died, he sent Yunhe over and told him his own words.

He was just saying it casually, he didn't expect it to be passed on to Yunhe, and he actually believed it.

The numerous unmarked graves on the back mountain correspond to several of his fellow disciples; was he the one who killed them?
Jiang Zhu only pondered for a moment, without getting caught up in it.

He had no interest in participating in the struggles at Baiyun Temple; none of them were good people.

He sat cross-legged in meditation, absorbing the essence of the sun and moon, accumulating magical power, hoping to one day be like Jingwei, able to travel freely.

Another period of deep sleep.

For some reason, the world suddenly descended into chaos.

But Yunhe was delighted. The world was in chaos, and more people were seeking divine protection. Every day, pilgrims flocked to the area.

Although the White Cloud Immortal did not bless them, they still insisted on coming, as if offering incense here would put their minds at ease.

Yunhe didn't care about all that; every day he would lead his disciples to pray for the arrival of the immortals.

Unlike before, his seven disciples did not hate him; on the contrary, they genuinely respected him.

It's not that I believe in the existence of immortals, but rather that Yunhe has given me too much.

Yunhe did not seek wealth, only incense offerings and immortality, so he gave most of his wealth to his disciples.

As the incense offerings grew more and more abundant, Yunhe became increasingly convinced that he would receive divine intervention.

As the sun and moon pass by, time flies by.

Yunhe began to question whether the abbot of Baiyun Temple had lied to him.

He cursed loudly in front of the main tomb of Baiyun Temple, saying that he had ruined his life.

But when it came to giving it up, he was unwilling.

Now that the incense offerings are so abundant, what if the immortals really need incense offerings and suddenly appear after I give them up?

He persisted, unwilling to give up at the last minute.

Jiang Zhu watched all of this unfold, and sighed softly, "Who can say for sure what the path to immortality will be like?"
Time flies, and before Jiang Zhu knew how much time had passed, he awoke again.

Now, the magical power within him has reached the thickness of a chopstick, allowing him to stay outside for three and a half hours.

Yunhe is old and has white hair, but he is still quite strong because of his martial arts training.

He once again led his disciples in praying for the arrival of the immortals.

Jiang Zhu continued practicing his swordplay in front of the grave as usual; he had already mastered the Seven Star Sword Technique to an excellent degree.

Suddenly, a loud and far-reaching cry of a crane came from afar.

Two white cranes flapped their wings and flew across layers of white clouds to reach the Taoist temple.

They hovered above the main hall, seemingly very interested in the incense burning inside.

They chirped and sang, their voices suddenly becoming rapid and sharp.

The crowd inside rushed out of the hall, and Yunhe angrily shouted, "Where did this wild crane come from, disturbing my quest for immortality!"

He was furious, so he grabbed a long bamboo pole and angrily drove it away.

After years of seeking immortality, he seems to have become somewhat neurotic.

(End of this chapter)