Xu Yan's heart thrilled with excitement. Cultivator!! With enhanced powers, moving mountains and filling seas would be a mere trifle. Most importantly, lifespan would be extended. Everyone wanted to live a few more years, and Xu Yan was no exception.
Uncle Ninth pondered for a moment and finally sighed, "Originally, I planned to tell you these things when you had graduated from my teachings. Do you know from whom our Taoist practices were first handed down?"
"The Three Pure Ones?"
What about the ancestors? They were merely subsequent figures. If traced to the utmost origin, it should be the Three Pure Ones—the Saint Lao Zi, the Saint Yuan Shi, and the Saint Tong Tian. Xu Yan had read many books that introduced them as such.
"Close enough."
Uncle Ninth unexpectedly nodded. "What you said before is correct. We are equivalent to cultivators. Unfortunately, the earth's spiritual qi is scarce nowadays, making cultivation difficult. Some things, your master doesn't want to tell you too early. Since you've asked, I'll resolve your doubts."
"Sorcerers, Earth Masters, Human Masters, and Heavenly Masters actually correspond to the strength of cultivators. Except for some incompetent third-rate sorcerers, a small number of sorcerers, Earth Masters, and Human Masters correspond to the qi cultivators you mentioned. Only by establishing a foundation can one reach the level of Heavenly Master.
Unfortunately, in our sect, no one has reached this realm for many generations recently."
"I observe that you've cultivated the Thunder Mantra to the second level, haven't you?"
Just as Uncle Ninth had said, Xu Yan's Thunder Mantra was indeed at the second stage.
"Keep it up and break through soon. A sorcerer is still a sorcerer. Remember the sect's rules and never let your strength obscure your true self."
Saying this, Uncle Ninth raised his hand and patted the token hanging on Xu Yan. The jade token imprinted on Xu Yan's skin, causing a burning sensation that made him nearly jump up. He pulled his clothes and exclaimed, "Master, what is this token? It's burning, burning!!"
Uncle Ninth already knew this would happen. "Haven't you been talking about merit all the time? I spent a lot of money to get this for you. With it, you'll have an identity in the underworld, allowing you to accumulate Yin virtue, which is useful for your cultivation. It's a weakened version of merit."
"The jade token merges with you. Even if ghostly officials encounter you, they will treat you with courtesy. Don't disappoint me."
Yin virtue corresponded to the underworld. Capturing ghosts and subduing demons earns merit, and the underworld naturally provided benefits. Compared to cultivation, the greater benefit of Yin virtue lay in enhancing your status in the underworld. When your Yin virtue reached a certain level, not only will ghostly officials treated you with courtesy, but they might even help you capture ghosts.
Of course, this required a certain cost, as capturing ghosts was not the duty of ghostly officials; they were only responsible for bringing the souls of the deceased to the underworld.
Did this jade token have such benefits?
So, one could capture ghosts and demons openly to accumulate Yin virtue, theoretically enhancing strength through both merit and Yin virtue?
But how was Yin virtue calculated?
Before Xu Yan could ask, Uncle Ninth left the room with his hands behind his back. He needed to find a suitable location to rebury the old master. Wen Cai and Qiusheng were unreliable, and Xu Yan was too young. Only Uncle Ninth could do it himself.
Moreover, Xu Yan couldn't leave. Ren Tingting would come to study soon.
Pulling his clothes to check, Xu Yan found that the jade token his master gave him had disappeared, truly merging with his body, becoming one.
Uncle Ninth didn't explicitly mention some of the jade token's uses, intending for Xu Yan to discover them slowly through his own research.
With this jade token, Xu Yan could not only receive courteous treatment from ghostly officials but also actively help some wandering spirits enter the underworld's cycle peacefully, sparing them from the torment of the eighteen hells, although it would deduct a significant amount of his Yin virtue.
Ordinary Taoists, even if they wanted to intercede, had no way to do so.
"Younger brother!! Younger brother!!"
Qiusheng and Wen Cai approached him, both looking up to no good, like weasels wishing chickens a happy new year with ulterior motives. Xu Yan was on his guard to avoid being pranked by them.
Both being over twenty years old and still liking to play tricks—who else would do such things? While others played tricks as jokes, they played with life, a joke Xu Yan couldn't afford.
"Speak up if you have something to say. Don't look at me like that. I'm going to make talismans. It's always better to be prepared than caught off guard."
Raising his hand, Xu Yan blocked them from approaching him.
"Younger brother."
Qiusheng and Wen Cai shamelessly approached, with sly expressions that made Xu Yan both laugh and cry. "What do you guys want to do? Just say it."
"We want to learn English with you, younger brother!!"
Since Ren Tingting was going to study with you, why not join in under the guise of learning? Studying and flirting could go hand in hand, which was the final decision reached by Qiusheng and Wen Cai.
Studying...
You're just using that as a pretext to flirt, Xu Yan rolled his eyes at his blinking seniors and made a decision in his heart. If they wanted to use me, Xu Yan, to flirt, then didn't blame me for being rude.
He didn't mind if they wanted to flirt, but using his name was too much!!
Didn't women have no such thing as fair competition?
To compete fairly for a woman? How naive you were.
"Alright."
Xu Yan raised his hand, surrendering, "But we need to lay down some ground rules. No talking out of turn during my classes, no making trouble during my classes, and no questioning me. If you can do that, I'll agree. Otherwise, I'll have to go to our master."
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