Longevity Candle

Chapter 80 The Green Lamp and the Dark Crow

Three ravens lay on the oxcart, their three heads drooping.

Their eyes were filled with confusion, as if the word "sky" had stirred up lost memories.

He stood up, having lost some interest in the peach blossom wine: "I'm going to sleep now. Bury this wine in the ground, and I'll drink it when I wake up."

"You want to enter a state of slumber?" Li Qingxuan asked. "Is it to digest the merits you've accumulated in the past?"

“I don’t do good deeds. I spend most of my time in slumber. Oh, by the way, here, take this.”

Suddenly, the middle head opened its mouth and spat out a round pearl: "This is a pearl given to me by a spirit from the South China Sea. I don't remember when she gave it to me."

"South China Sea Spirit? The South China Sea is very far from here." Li Qingxuan took the pearl and felt the moonlight was magnificent and vast.

"Remember my words, never send away any more wandering souls, unless you don't want to live in Yunmeng anymore."

The three-headed raven yawned: "By the way, if you need to tame the snake king, wait until the immortal behind you wakes up. There's an old geezer in the Southern Ridge who's quite domineering..."

He muttered something, then gradually fell silent.

Li Qingxuan stared at him in astonishment; he had fallen asleep standing on the oxcart.

She picked up the three-headed raven, thought for a moment, and took him back to the tavern.

As night fell, the family of three sat at the table.

Li Qingxuan placed the three Dark Ravens in the room and recounted his instructions: "Father, Mother, I don't want to give up."

“Then let’s continue to illuminate the wandering souls,” Li Zhu said.

"But what if those immortal masters, Taoists, and spirits of mountains and seas come looking for trouble?" Li Qingxuan asked worriedly.

Li Zhu smiled and said, "Back then, our ancestors were born in a chaotic world. Those mountain and sea spirits, immortal masters and Taoists, didn't they just pretend not to see us?"

“The new nation has just been established. Even if it can’t defeat the Ning Kingdom, it can still hold out for several decades. With the merits accumulated over these decades, the immortal path will not touch you,” Li Meng also said.

“The Immortal Master Path exists; it lies dormant in prosperous times and becomes active in its later years. You too can do good deeds in prosperous times and lie dormant in its later years,” Li Zhu said.

He wasn't worried about that problem.

According to Jiang Zhu, with all his merits, even immortal masters, Taoist priests, and spirits from mountains and seas are unwilling to provoke him.

No matter how angry they were, they couldn't possibly disregard the potential losses and harm Li Qingxuan.

Their long lifespans gave them opportunities to vent their anger, such as by digging up graves and whipping corpses to exact revenge.

Moreover, they didn't want Li Qingxuan's path to immortality to be cut off like this.

Having guarded it for over a hundred years and seen the hope of immortality, how could we give up because of a few words?
Li Qingxuan was relieved and then spoke her mind: "The Three-Headed Crow spends most of its time in slumber. He has also seen the Soul-Guiding Lamp. I suspect that he may have some connection with Jiang Zhu."

"Once Jiang Zhu wakes up, let him see the Three-Headed Crow," Li Zhu said thoughtfully.

They won't deliberately pursue them, but they won't avoid those who come knocking on their door.

Li Qingxuan nodded, and after finishing her meal, she once again grasped the green lamp and went to illuminate the wandering souls.

However, she became more careful, avoiding the Chang family's territory and sending away the wandering spirits in the distance.

She inlaid the pearl into the peach wood lamp, its power of Yin energy vast and almost inexhaustible.

Three years later, Zhang passed away.

Li Qingxuan's family buried her in the location she designated and guarded her grave for three months.

The three-headed crows awoke, staring at Zhang's grave, their three heads filled with confusion: "Why was she buried in my family?"

"Your home?" Li Qingxuan was taken aback.

Zhang instructed that she should not come here at midnight or on the night of the full moon, perhaps because she did not want her to disturb the Three-Headed Crows?

"Never mind, it's all the same whether she sleeps or not." The left head muttered, "It must have been you who agreed, otherwise she wouldn't have been able to find a place to rest."

"It must be you. You're the only ones who don't care about the Land of Slumber," the middle head retorted.

The three heads started fighting again.

Li Qingxuan was already used to it and pulled him aside.

She looked towards the distant mountains and forests, where wandering spirits also drifted, carrying a jar of peach blossoms, using their lightness skills to walk on the grass.

The three-headed raven seemed to have forgotten the previous instructions and did not stop them.

His brain is severely damaged.

After sending away the wandering souls once more, she looked at the power of merit within her body and prepared to sit cross-legged to cultivate. The true energy within her body was almost transformed into true essence.

Three crows cried out from the peach grove. She hurried back to the peach grove, only to find a handsome young man in white.

"Caw!" The three-headed crows cawed, turning to look at Li Qingxuan: "They're looking for you."

Li Qingxuan was puzzled and politely bowed, "May I ask who you are? Why have you come to find me?" "I am Yu Hua, the Immortal Master under the Great Spirit of Nanling," the white-robed youth said calmly. "I already know about your matter. You are an immortal from the distant Ning Kingdom."

"Yes." Li Qingxuan nodded: "Are you here to stop me from sending away the wandering soul?"

"The Great Elf is keeping an eye on the Dark Raven Immortal. Now that he has chosen you, the Great Elf would like to invite you and the immortal behind you to make a trip to the Southern Ridge."

Immortal Master Yuhua said, "Yunmeng is different from Ningguo. If they do not know the rules, continuing like this will bring them great trouble. As for the matter of the wandering soul, you may continue."

"Big trouble?" Li Qingxuan frowned.

“Following the will of Heaven, the immortals behind you should know this,” said Immortal Master Yuhua calmly. “I will wait for you in the Southern Ridge. Immortal Mingya knows our abode.”

Having said that, without waiting for Li Qingxuan's response, he rode away on a cloud and disappeared into the horizon in the blink of an eye.

"Follow the way of Heaven."

Li Qingxuan murmured to herself, "Our ancestors mentioned the Way of Following Heaven. Is Yunmeng their territory?"

But surprisingly, he didn't stop me from sending away the wandering soul, and even let me continue?
She suppressed the matter and decided to wait until Jiang Zhu woke up before discussing it further.

She built a wooden house in the peach grove, and planned to stay there permanently if she had nothing else to do.

He lived alone in the peach grove, practicing martial arts by day and ferrying souls by night, living a carefree life.

Before she knew it, she had turned twenty and was already a graceful young woman. Her inner energy was so profound that it often shocked the Three-Headed Dark Crows, who were amazed that a mortal could cultivate martial arts to such a level.

But after his initial amazement, he went back to sleep.

Time passed slowly, the candlelight flickered, and Jiang Zhu awoke from his slumber to a sky full of stars.

Standing in the peach grove, he felt as if he had returned to Peach Blossom Village, and his heart was filled with endless emotions.

"Wandering spirit, you smell so good."

A strange sound rang out, and three heads emerged from behind, looking at the suddenly appearing wandering ghost and swallowing hard.

"Would you like to have a bite?" Jiang Zhu asked calmly, without any fear.

The three-headed raven possessed considerable magical power, but it was still inferior to his.

"No." All three heads shook their heads in unison. The left head said, "I just feel a kind of aura of our own kind."

"The same kind?" Jiang Zhu frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Neither a spirit of mountains and seas, nor a Taoist immortal," said the person in the middle.

Jiang Zhu was stunned. He was originally just a wandering spirit under a green lamp, not a mountain and sea spirit born of heaven and earth. It was just that both spirits and mortals regarded him as a spirit.

Could it be that I am another immortal being?

“Uncle Jiang Zhu.” Li Qingxuan walked over quickly. She had been cultivating. “This is the Three-Headed Nether Raven, a guy with a broken brain. He can’t remember who he is. He said he once saw a soul-guiding lamp that could send away wandering souls.”

"Have I seen it before? What is a soul-guiding lamp?" The three heads were completely bewildered; he seemed to have truly forgotten.

Jiang Zhu frowned slightly, his finger pointing at the void above the three-headed crows' heads. The Taiyin magic power entered his body, but he could not find anything unusual.

The three heads yawned, languid and tired, and after a moment they began to snore; he had fallen asleep again.

Jiang Zhu was shocked. Wasn't he worried that he might harm him?

"Uncle Jiang Zhu, let me tell you about what has happened over the years. I've learned the art of snake control, and I need to tame the snake king..."

Li Qingxuan knew he didn't have much time left, so she recounted the important events that had happened over the years.

Li Wanzhang also mentioned the fairy fox.

"You need the Serpent King? The Great Spirit of Nanling wants to see me?" Jiang Zhu pondered, "I didn't expect that this Yunmeng Kingdom is actually the place where Shuntiandao is located. Now that I'm in Yunmeng, I should indeed pay a visit to the host."

Elves don't make enemies easily. Since the other party has come to us and has a relationship with the Three-Headed Raven, they should be friendly.

It follows the way of Heaven and acts in accordance with Heaven's will, unlike the path of immortality which seeks to kill spirits to prolong life.

Li Qingxuan grabbed the three-headed crows and shook him awake forcefully: "Crow Immortal, let's go to the Southern Ridge."

"What's the point of going to Nanling? The old guys there have terrible tempers," said the three-headed crow.

“Have you forgotten Master Yuhua again? He invited us to the Southern Ridge,” Li Qingxuan said.

"Jiang Zhu?" The three-headed crow tilted its head and looked at Jiang Zhu: "When did you arrive?"

Jiang Zhu: "...Just arrived."

"Your magical power is remarkable. I didn't even notice your arrival. Are you a great elf or a celestial master?" the three-headed raven asked curiously.

Jiang Zhu remained silent. "You forget things way too quickly."

Li Qingxuan hung the green lantern on the neck of the middle of the three-headed crows, and Jiang Zhu took her away on a cloud to the Southern Ridge.

(End of this chapter)