Longevity Candle

Chapter 55 The Green Lamp Once Stole the Nirvana Flame (Seeking monthly votes and to continue reading)

"After a phoenix dies, it can be reborn from the ashes. Its physical form will not change, but the reborn phoenix is ​​a new spirit with no memories, taking the place of heaven and earth to be conceived anew," the old spirit explained.

"Could it be immortality?" a white fox exclaimed excitedly.

The old elf shook his head: "No, without memories, the soul is different, how can it be immortality? It is merely a phoenix being conceived anew."

"That phoenix, could it have undergone nirvana?" Jiang Zhu frowned.

"Back then, I could sense that she was already very old. If she hadn't been able to live longer, she would have passed away."

Her rebirth will take a long time; it's unknown when she will be born.

"Without memories, even if it were conceived, how could it possibly ask about the Green Lamp?"

"When I arrived in the West, I was thrown down by the phoenix, while she left with a fragment. That fragment might guide you to find out about the Green Lamp."

"But where are the fragments?"

"I don't know. Phoenix Nirvana will definitely find a hidden place to avoid being found," the old elf said.

Yao Yao frowned, slightly unwilling: "Not even a single clue?"

“Perhaps I have no connection with that green lamp, but because we are both spirits of green lamps, the flame of candlelight retreated,” Jiang Zhu said.

The old elf asked, "When do you wish to obtain the Candlelight?"

"Let's do it now," Jiang Zhu said, as he didn't have much time.

"Qingping, take the green lamp and come with me to fetch the candlelight," the old spirit said.

Li Qingping picked up the green lamp and followed him.

The five white foxes also took Yaoyao with them and went together.

Upon returning to the mountain, the old elf's magic permeated the entire mountain, creating a peaceful and serene atmosphere far surpassing that of the Jingwei bird.

The fire illuminating the mountainside, which had been raging, became very docile and no longer sought refuge.

A dazzling flame appeared, and Li Qingping seized the opportunity, mobilized the dragon energy, and took the green lamp down.

The hot wind reappeared, and brilliant light emanated from Li Qingping's body, seemingly unaffected by the heat.

Jiang Zhu successfully caught the dazzling light. The crimson energy wave became violent again, but it could not harm Li Qingping. Like rivers flowing into the sea, it merged into the green lamp.

The old elf withdrew his magic, and a strange suction force came, pulling the old elf directly into the crimson wave of energy.

"A country bumpkin!" Li Qingping exclaimed in shock.

The five white foxes and Yaoyao had just activated their internal power when the hot wind spread out and blew them away again.

Just as Jiang Zhu was about to circulate his magic power, a faint phoenix emerged from the crimson aura, and the dissipated magic power directly caused Li Qingping to faint.

An invisible force emanated from the green lamp, pulling him back and causing him to fall into a deep sleep prematurely.

The old elf could no longer maintain his human form and revealed his true form: a strange tree resembling a poplar, with lush foliage that blocked out the sky, and seven black fruits hanging from it.

"I spent my whole life dismantling him and placing him beside you, so that you could ensure his well-being. Why then do you want to put him back together?"

The phoenix glared at the old elf; she remembered this power.

"You still retain the memories from back then?" the old elf exclaimed in shock. "Why would you do this?"

"I don't know." A hint of confusion flashed in her phoenix eyes. "My memory tells me that I can't let him put them together."

"What would happen if they were combined?" the old elf asked.

"I don't know." The phoenix was even more confused. She didn't know why she did this; it seemed to be instinct?

“You can’t stop it now. I’ve observed that your power has weakened. He just needs to wait, and the flame of the candle will return to the green lamp.”

The old elf, having said this, suddenly looked at the blue lamp: "Is he the blue lamp among the fragments?"

He suddenly felt a chill in his heart. The phoenix was more ancient than him, a spirit from the same era as her, so it should be an old fellow.

That seemingly ordinary green lamp now exuded a sacred aura, as if it had merged with heaven and earth, or as if it had distorted this space, making it blurry and difficult to see clearly.

A wisp of golden flame emanated from the green lamp, engulfing the crimson aura. "I remember now, I remember!" The phoenix suddenly went mad, charging towards the green lamp: "It was you! You stole my Nirvana Fire! Give me back my Nirvana Fire..."

She was extremely frenzied, and her remaining magic power slammed into the green lamp, only to be swallowed up by the brilliant flames that escaped.

The flames continued to spread, but the old elf dared not linger and sped away into the distance.

The branches spread, carrying away the siblings and the white foxes.

"Go back and tell Little Nine-Tailed Fox not to approach the Green Lamp, and not to disturb it." The old elf saw the white foxes off.

They bowed to each other from afar and left quickly.

The old elf materialized into human form, his face unusually grim.

"Was that Feng's remnant? What did you talk about?" Yao Yao asked, taking Li Qingping from her.

She wanted to record useful information so that she could tell Jiang Zhu when he woke up.

The old elf gazed into the distance with a complicated expression: "I don't know, but I think you'd better discard him."

"Abandon? Impossible! Jiang Zhu is my family!" Yao Yao refused without hesitation. She then asked, "What exactly did Feng tell you?"

The old elf was silent for a moment: "Qingdeng stole Feng's Nirvana Fire, so Feng dismantled Qingdeng. Moreover, judging from what she said, Qingdeng should be with me."

“That’s impossible! You’re in the far west, before the Jiangzhu Kingdom originated. It’s not as ancient as you are,” Yaoyao said.

"That might be the previous Green Lantern Spirit. He stole the Nirvana Fire and should have acquired the Phoenix's power. The previous Green Lantern Spirit was reborn as him."

The old elf guessed.

"What will happen to the Phoenix without the Nirvana Flame?" Yao Yao asked.

"I don't know. It may have died completely, or heaven and earth may give birth to a new phoenix." The old elf shook his head.

“Jiang Zhu doesn’t have the memories of the previous generation of Qing Deng; she’s a new spirit. Feng is gone too; the grudges are long over,” Yao Yao said.

The old elf gazed at the distant blue lamp, which was still releasing flames that melted the mountainside.

Surprisingly, the terrifying heat did not spread out.

Suddenly, he felt a pang of fear, as if something was watching him from the flame of the lamp.

"I'll go first, Qingping. I'll wait for you in Qian Kingdom." The old elf dared not linger. His unease grew stronger, and he immediately transformed into a streak of light and left.

Once they were far from Peach Blossom Village and back within the territory of the Qian Kingdom, the old elf finally breathed a sigh of relief, and his unease dissipated.

He made up his mind that he would never see the Green Lantern Spirit again.

Shaking his head, he felt that Feng's words were problematic. Since his birth, apart from seeing the phantom of the green lamp in the fragments, he had no real objects around him.

Why did Ke Feng say that she would keep the green lamp by her side?
Could it be that an elf took the blue lamp away from him?
Only an even more ancient elf watched him, taking the blue lamp away before he even noticed it.

Yao Yao gazed at the green lamp, then looked at Li Qingping: "Since you promised to go to the West, then don't go back on your word."

“Sister, I don’t want to go to the West.” Li Qingping looked towards Qian Kingdom: “I want to enter the mortal world.”

"Where is the Immortal Path?" Yao Yao asked.

“If I truly become emperor and the world is at peace, I will abdicate and go to the West to cultivate immortality,” Li Qingping said.

“Alright, since you’ve made up your mind, then let’s do it.” Yao Yao said, “I have to stay with Jiang Zhu and won’t be able to be with you.”

"Sister, you need to take good care of yourself. You're already sixty-three." Li Qingping looked at her with some heartache; her sister was getting old.

"To spend the rest of my life with the lamplight."

Yao Yao left the peach grove and headed towards the place where the green lamp was.

Li Qingping remained silent for a moment, then bowed deeply and murmured, "If there is an afterlife, I will always serve you by my side, sister."

He left and never looked back.

(End of this chapter)