New concept of the mysterious way to ascend to immortality

Chapter 70: Holy Light Tolerance and [Anti-Law] Lending (Subscription Request)
In the exclusive chapel of [Yuyuan], Yuan Zhu met the manager here, an old man who called himself [Holy Light Temple Priest].

The man wasn't one of those white, localized people like the one working in the Shengguang Department of the Second Municipal Hospital. Instead, he was an elderly, authentic Running native. He had his hair tied in a bun with a simple wooden hairpin, wore a vintage robe, and sported a goatee, giving him a rather sage-like demeanor.

Inside the Western-style church, in addition to rows of benches for listening to doctrines, behind the innermost pulpit hangs a huge church symbol, a huge circle with an equilateral triangle inscribed in it.

Below the temple symbol is an altar with a tablet of [Mirotian Supreme Taihuang Shengguang Taoist Master] and a brass incense burner filled with incense ash.

Yuan Zhu was stunned, feeling like he'd come to the wrong place. Could this [Holy Temple] have been taken down by some Taoist cultivator? They'd taken over the temple and were engaging in some other heretical activity?
"Why are you standing there? Why don't you say hello to the temple keeper when you see him?" Chen Yi pushed Yuan Zhu, signaling him to pay attention.

"Hello, grandpa!" Yuan Zhu bowed politely and greeted the old man.

The old man stroked his beard and nodded lightly. Without even looking at Yuan Zhu, he said to Chen Yi, "What brings you here? It's almost time for lunch. Don't delay my lunch."

Chen Yi dragged Yuan Zhu forward and whispered, "Bring out your letter." Then he looked at the old man and said, "This guy wants to join the Holy Hall. Here's the letter of introduction. I'll bring it to you and see if he's suitable. Is there any chance for him?"

The old man glanced at the envelope handed to him, but without reaching out to take it, he asked directly, "Did you bring the money?"

"Huh?" Yuan Zhu was stunned. Was it so direct? So he asked, "How much?"

The old man didn't expect Yuan Zhu to be so straightforward, so he looked at Chen Yi and asked, "Who is he to you? I'll charge you 3 yuan. Do you think it's appropriate?"

Chen Yi replied, "Not at all. Let's stop haggling. Just a flat price of 1.25, okay? Last time, I got it down to 500. This time, to show my sincerity, I'll give you an extra ."

"This..." The old man looked hesitant.

Chen Yi retreated to advance: "How about this, you reduce the price by another 1500, and I will provide the sacrifice?"

"Not right! Not right! If you come to offer sacrifices, it will seem that I am not pious. That's it. Young man, come with me. Let's test whether you have a connection with [Tai Huang Daozhu]?" The old man beckoned Yuan Zhu, motioning him to follow.

Yuan Zhu, who hadn't been able to get a word in at all, looked at Chen Yi. "You made this deal so quickly! You didn't even give me a chance to speak." Also, is this the place where the [Holy Light] is taught? The more I listen, the more it seems off. Why does this [Tai Huang Dao Zhu] sound so bizarre?

"Let's go, follow me. Didn't I tell you? Master Huang Tiandao, one of the [Eight Holy Kings], is the [Master Taihuang Shengguang Dao]." Chen Yi quietly pointed at the tablet and pushed Yuan Zhu forward.

He quickly lowered his head and asked in a low voice: "Is it reliable? Why do I feel something is wrong? Also, is this price too exaggerated?"

"My tuition was over 20,000 yuan a year, and after four years of graduation, I only received the most basic training in [Transcendental Knowledge]. You can get started with [Holy Light] for one-eighth of the price, and you still think it's too expensive? This is the internal price!"

Yuan Zhu: "But I'm a little panicked. It doesn't feel like I'm learning Holy Light. Are they going to pull out my bones and burn my Dao bones?"

"What are you thinking? This is Running, the New Federation, the territory of the old people of Huangtian. Even if the [Holy Temple] comes here to preach, it must first pay homage to the [Master of Holy Light]. This is the most solid and righteous Taoist tradition on the West Coast! If you practice anything else, you are a heretic."

At this time, the old man urged: "Hey, what are you two young lovers doing? Are you going to have lunch or not?"

"Come right up, come right up!" Chen Yi pulled Yuan Zhu and followed.

At this time, the old man had already taken out a row of frogs from a jar and hit the brain stems of the frogs with his knuckles. The speed was incredibly fast, accurate and fierce. The frogs that originally wanted to jump around were beaten so hard that their spines were broken and they became paralyzed on one side of their bodies. They lay on the table and twitched violently.

"Come here. If you want to join the Holy Gate, you must first test your compatibility. Although normal people can pass, there are always a few weirdos with impure blood and high deviation. If you really don't test anything and just pour the holy light into your body, you're likely to be burned to death on the spot. It doesn't matter if I pick up some merit for free, but if the investigator from the Security Bureau sues me for manslaughter, it will be troublesome for me to pay compensation." The old man seemed to have had a similar experience, and he was full of resentment when he spoke about it.

"Is there such a thing?" Yuan Zhu looked at the senior student, waiting for answers.

Chen Yi: "It's not like there aren't aliens in Duling. Some orphans who are half-alien and unaware of it will be burned to death if they can't touch the [Holy Light]. This is called 'sinful bloodline.' There are also some direct descendants whose parents have been exposed to other spiritual systems. Once they clash with the [Holy Light], they will also be burned to death. This is called an attribute conflict. Don't panic, Duling has special rules. If no one has practiced a transcendental system within three generations, the fourth generation's bloodline pollution will be automatically cleansed to a safe value. This is called 'the grace of a gentleman will decline after three generations, and will be cut off after five generations.'"

"What if we don't know if there are any ancestors with special abilities?"

The old man urged, "Isn't this a test for you? Come on, stretch out your arm and let me inject it."

The old man clutched a paralyzed, twitching frog in his left hand and a silver needle in his right. He asked Yuan Zhu to stretch out his arm. Seeing the exaggerated scar on the inside of his wrist, the old man exclaimed in surprise, "Oh? I can't believe you're already tired of living at such a young age. Are you cultivating the Holy Light for excitement?"

"It's a misunderstanding. It's all a misunderstanding. Hiss!"

Before Yuan Zhu could explain, the old man had already jabbed a needle into his wrist, and red blood oozed from the needle hole. It looked like the needle had gone in more than a centimeter, and it was extremely painful. It wasn't like acupuncture, where you find a precise acupoint, but rather a random insertion.

At this time, the frog in the old man's other hand suddenly croaked miserably, and its eyes began to glow from the inside, as if a light bulb was lit inside its body, illuminating the blood vessels on its abdomen and back clearly. Its eyes also began to spray out holy light, a full foot in length!

However, the frog's lighting level was not high. Instead, a large amount of holy light condensed on the silver needle in the old man's right hand, and continuously passed through the silver needle into his arm.

Yuan Zhu could clearly feel the stinging pain from the vinegar on his wound, which then spread through his flesh and blood, moving along his blood vessels and nerves towards his forearm. The stinging and burning sensation was intense wherever it passed. Fortunately, it wasn't too extreme and was bearable.

[Ding ding ding...] The Great Wilderness Immortal Scripture issued a "pollution warning" on time, but it was then effectively defended and did not cause any pollution.

The old man lowered his head and looked at the flesh and blood illuminated by the holy light, as well as the winding blood vessels reflected on it, and uttered a strange and puzzled sound: "Huh...?"

Yuan Zhu quickly asked, "Why? Is my physique not suitable for Holy Light?"

The old temple keeper said, "Not really. Your body is behaving normally, and the color of the Holy Light is pure, indicating that there's no contamination in your body. You're an excellent Holy Light embryo. However, your body seems a little sluggish. I've been injecting Holy Light into your blood vessels for so long, yet your capillaries haven't stained at all? Those white devils are calling you 'Holy Light Intolerant.' If you continue practicing like this, you'll probably go bankrupt."

Yuan Zhu calmed down and concentrated his energy: "Little Latiao, please lower my [Firewall] a little bit. I want to experience the feeling of being polluted."

Elf: "Okay, I'll lower it a little bit. You should also pay attention to safety. After all, this is an 'evil pollution source' and it will pollute your body."

Yuan Zhu: "Isn't this the pollution effect you're looking for?"

[Dididi...]

The [Great Wilderness Immortal Scripture] went berserk once again. This time, the old man, who had already replaced the second frog in his left hand, made another strange sound: "Huh? What's going on? How did you suddenly become tolerant again?"

Yuan Zhu looked down and saw the outermost capillaries on the inside of his forearm had been dyed a bright silver by the holy light, giving it a slightly fluorescent feel. This was the second time he had been contaminated by a transcendental power, following the contamination from the shadow.

"Are you feeling any discomfort, especially mentally? Are you experiencing depression, palpitations, a heaviness that makes you feel breathless, or a sense of impending doom and calamity? Or are you experiencing inexplicable sadness, negativity, despair, or suicidal thoughts?"

Yuan Zhu shook his head: "No, it's just extremely painful." "That's understandable, I'm just old and can't hold the needle steady, my hands are shaking the whole time." The old man nodded in satisfaction, "Your physique is fine, be prepared and come back in three days. Let's go, I still have to go eat."

The senior student beside her said sweetly, "Thank you, old man."

The old man nodded, pulled out the silver needle, and threw it on the table. He then threw away the frog in his hand, which had been squeezed dry and shriveled into a pile of dead flesh, and picked up another one and lit it, starting to replenish the holy light.

According to the senior, the old man had already condensed [Soul Crystal] within his body, so he hadn't used [Stigmata] to ignite the frog just now, but had simply grasped the frog with his bare hands and started emitting light. Therefore, the Holy Light consumed by the opponent could be replenished by the third frog, recharging the Soul Crystal.

"Now that we've registered, let's go. I'll treat you to a meal." Chen Yi pulled Yuan Zhu, who was still pressing on the wound to stop the bleeding.

After leaving the church, he asked, "Why wait three days?"

"Of course, we're giving you time to raise the money. If you can come up with the money today, we'll get it done for you this afternoon. This is a holy temple, so what materials do we need? The offerings that require money to prepare outside are plentiful in the academy, and we simply can't use them all."

Yuan Zhu: "I have the money. But is this price fair?"

It was too much of a joke to just hastily decide everything, throw out 1.25 directly, and then use the Holy Light to strengthen a dragon.

Senior: "Whether the price is fair depends on your choice. In my opinion, this is the best deal, but not the cheapest. If you're looking for a better deal, you can insist on being a believer of the Holy Church for ten years, or have your parents join the church ten years in advance. That way, you'll receive a free entrance test. As long as you surpass the other competitors, you can join the school run by the Holy Church and receive education and training. After about two years, you'll be able to undergo the Stigmata Ceremony."

"It's almost free, and the [Holy Temple] also provides food. But the price is that after graduation, you have to serve the Temple for 10 years. It's like the Temple is paying for your time, your life... In comparison, spending money can solve 90% of the problems. And the more money you spend, the smoother your subsequent advancement. Even if your background is not clean and you can't pass the background check, you can still become a legal monk. As long as you keep the cost around 1, it will be the most cost-effective. If it exceeds 1.5, it will be a bit of a loss."

Yuan Zhu: "Legal cultivators? Does that mean there are also illegal ones?"

The young lady nodded. "The Holy Temple is so large, and the people within are mixed. It's not uncommon for corrupted monks and illegal uninitiated monks to appear. Furthermore, while the [Holy Light] may appear sacred, it's actually an extremely dangerous and overbearing supernatural energy with a high tendency to corrupt. Uninitiated monks who obtain the 'Stigmata' through illegal means are more susceptible to subsequent deception and corruption due to the impure (evil) [Holy Light] they first infuse into their bodies. Because of this, these uninitiated monks are more likely to be seduced and corrupted during their subsequent practice. They become wanted persons and are the primary targets of the Security Bureau's pursuit."

Yuan Zhu: "Is Holy Light easily corrupted?"

Chen Yi: "Of course! Do you think it's more satisfying to treat yourself as firewood, burning your life, enduring pain, and releasing a small amount of holy light? Or is it more satisfying to treat all living beings as firewood, setting fire to others and illuminating myself? Fallen monks burn others too much, their souls become distorted and twisted, and they drift towards the camp of the [Fallen Seal King]. Even those orthodox monks with clean backgrounds are easily corrupted. And with the 'Fallen Stigma' obtained through illegal channels, wouldn't it be as easy to slide into the ditch as breathing?"

"What is the [Fallen Seal King]?"

Senior: "One of the Eight Holy Kings. One of the eight independent sources of Holy Light within the Holy Light system. The Holy Light within a Fallen Monk will naturally connect to the source, the Fallen Seal King. While still a member of the Holy Light system, if they are completely corrupted, their souls distorted and corrupted... they become the priority hunting targets of other Holy Monks. This is because the 'Soul Ashes' of a Fallen Monk are of extremely pure quality, comparable to spiritual elixirs for cultivation. So don't try to save money by casually accepting unfamiliar 'Holy Light Infusions'."

"Then why not expel the [Fallen Seal King] and his fallen monks from the [Holy Temple] system?"

"Nominally, they can be expelled, but fundamentally, they are still under the power system of the Holy Light. No matter how we try to clarify the relationship, it won't change that. If the Holy Light system existed alone, it would be possible to divide the factions. But in this world, there are many other 'power systems' outside of the Holy Light system, and it's not even possible for the Holy Light system to split up. With so many competitors outside, the Holy Light system is forced to stand together and accept the situation."

Yuan Zhu thought for a moment and then said, "I spent so much money to strengthen the Holy Light, is it just to be a little safer?"

The senior student replied, "Safety is secondary. The biggest advantage of strengthening your Holy Light in our academy is your identity. Your strengthening is carried out under our supervision, supervised by professional clergy, and it will be registered and submitted to the Security Bureau. Therefore, you are a legal and compliant registered user. In the future, you can go to other [Holy Temple] branches to find and purchase [Holy Seals]. Those wild monks, lacking an identity, must spend a lot of money to buy Holy Seals on the black market, and their choices are even fewer. You can ask other Holy Temples in Running. Not only are the inspections strict, but they generally charge fees of 2 or more."

Yuan Zhu finally felt a little better: "Why is the [College] so cheap?"

"That's just for you. Since you have this letter, we're considered acquaintances, so you can get the internal price. You're strengthening the Holy Light, and you're also burning garbage, so you deserve encouragement. For outsiders, the academy's strengthening fee starts at 3. Come on, I'll make a small commission from this deal, and I'll treat you to a nice meal. By the way, when can you raise the money?"

Yuan Zhu: "It can be done tomorrow. Are you still providing consulting services?"

"Of course, it's free, and lunch is included. Let's go to the cafeteria together. The braised frog cubes there are quite delicious."

"Okay, I'd also like to consult [Anti-Law]." As a part-time employee of [Maomao King], Yuan Zhu is very interested in becoming an Anti-Law Demon God like [Maomao King].

He can definitely do it. In human form, he can burn the holy light and burn himself; in tiger demon form, he can practice [anti-law] and target the Mao Mao King!
The two of them walked slowly towards the nearest cafeteria. The young lady commented, "[Anti-Law]? I wouldn't recommend it. You should focus on cultivating the promising career of [Holy Light]. [Anti-Law] is like [Law Command], both of them work for others. However, upon the death of [Law Command], all achievements will be handed over to [Pale Law], while if you sign a good [Anti-Law], you can still keep some. The advantage of [Anti-Law] is nothing more than a sudden ascension. It allows you to gain power beyond your own limits in the shortest possible time, but all this comes at a price."

"That's not right!" Yuan Zhu retorted, "Isn't it said that [Anti-Law] is the opposite of [Law], replacing the Pale Law with one's own body and taking the extraordinary power for oneself?"

"???" The young lady was shocked when she heard that and stared at him like he was a fool. "You mean becoming the [Anti-Law Demon]?"

Yuan Zhu nodded and looked at her expectantly: "Yes!"

"But you are just a mortal!" She couldn't understand how a newcomer who hadn't even entered the door could be so arrogant as to ask about the pros and cons of the [Anti-Law Demon]?
"..." Yuan Zhu also realized that with his current status, he wasn't qualified to consider this. "I'm just curious. I want to understand the advantages and disadvantages of the [Anti-Law System]. Other systems have obvious side effects, but what about the flaws of the [Anti-Law]?"

Senior: "It's not a flaw, but in my opinion, the 'Anti-Law' you mentioned has a fatal disadvantage. That is, the 'supernatural power' that the Anti-Law God and Demon nurtures and proliferates in the Law Mode, although it belongs 100% to you, you can't directly call upon it. What's the point of becoming stronger like this?"

"What? You can't use the power created by [Anti-Law]?"

Senior: "That's right. [Anti-Law] is also known as 'Demon God Loan' or 'Anti-Law Loan'. It usually selects mortals who meet their requirements, signs a contract, and grants them power, allowing them to ascend to heaven overnight. In return, they can either serve the Demon God or freely use this power to do whatever they want. However, they must regularly hand over a portion of their 'power' as interest..."

"Think of supernatural power as money, and the [Anti-Law Demons] as banks. They're experts in lending and increasing value. Their goal is to lend out power, cultivate selected clients, and have them pay higher interest rates, which continues to expand over and over again. The power of [Anti-Law]'s increased value can be enormous, like a vast pool of funds, and it's 100% controlled by the [Anti-Law Demon]. The only problem is that the Anti-Law Demon can't directly absorb this power to become stronger, but they can do whatever they want with it."

"[Anti-Law] can't become stronger directly? What about indirectly?"

Senior: "Of course it's okay to do it indirectly. The power accumulated by [Anti-Law] is so immense that it can be used to hire people or strengthen contractors to act as thugs. It's like a wealthy boss paying to injure or kill someone... but the power isn't in your own hands, which is somewhat unsafe and inconvenient. The [Anti-Law] I'm talking about is on the contractor's side, which can suddenly gain powerful power out of thin air. However, this requires signing an [Anti-Law Contract] with the demon god. Fair terms are better, but if the terms are harsh, it's like owing a loan shark. The interest will compound and you'll never be able to pay it back, and your soul will belong to the other person."

Upon hearing this, Yuan Zhu was initially disappointed. This [Anti-Law] was too restrictive. But he soon cheered up again. This [Anti-Law] still had room for maneuver, and he thought of two solutions!
The first option is for the Tiger Demon to emulate the Furry King and continue to act as the Anti-Law Demon, lending Shadow Pollution to himself and others. This way, he can simply cleanse himself and freely control the power of shadows through Anti-Law. As for the price? There's no price at all. I owe the Tiger Demon, and I'll let him collect the debt.

On the other hand, [Tiger Demon] continued to lend money to others and earn [shadow interest]. He could not use the family fortune he accumulated, but he could leave it to Yuan Zhu to inherit!
The second method is for Yuan Zhu to lend money on behalf of the Tiger Demon to lend [Shadow Pollution]. The disadvantage is that humans cannot use shadows, but the advantage is that it can quickly grow and increase in value through [Anti-Law]. The money earned can be spent on the Tiger Demon, allowing the Tiger Demon to quickly become stronger through the 'shadow interest' he earns.

But in essence, he, Yuan Zhu, is the owner of this [Power of Shadow] and has 100% ownership, which can reversely check and balance the [Tiger Demon].

Although he didn't have the stupid idea of beating himself, he had to be on guard against the [Great Wilderness Immortal Scripture]!
The Tiger Demon is the Immortal Scripture's Boss Template. Who knows if there's a backup plan? What if I frantically draw the Tiger Demon's shadow power, use it to lend out and earn money to multiply, and then return it to feed the Tiger Demon?

It's like transferring [Boss Template's] assets to yourself bit by bit, then returning them to [Tiger Demon], or even giving more. What if [Xian Jing Lao Deng] resurrects one day and tries to take over?

Hey, sorry, your ownership is mine now!

"Sure! We can do this [Anti-Law] thing." Little Latiao also popped up, excitedly saying, "As long as it could threaten [Dahuang Laodeng], she would be the first to give her full approval."

(End of this chapter)