I'm Ximen Qing, living in a ghost story!

The Laoshan Taoist Temple in the south of the city has been in Guobei County for more than ten years, longer than the Ximen family has been here.

The abbot of the Taoist temple, Gu Yunzi, was said to be a disciple of the Laoshan School, and his secular surname was Wang.

When he first arrived, Gu Yunzi went around telling fortunes, but he didn't earn much money.

Until one day, he exorcised a ghost for a wealthy family in the city, which made him famous.

He accumulated funds, bought land in the south of the city, and settled down. Later, by actively cooperating with the government and county yamen to catch demons and ghosts, he made quite a name for himself.

These were all things that Qing Songzi and Ximen Qing said on the way. It is clear that this young Taoist priest greatly admires his master.

He kept bragging the whole way.

Ximen Qing, on the other hand, played the role of a suitable straight man, chatting happily with Qing Songzi.

Inside the carriage, seeing that the conversation had nearly reached its conclusion, Ximen Qing subtly inquired, "Fellow Daoist Qingsong, I've heard from some friends in the martial world that even immortals like you have varying degrees of strength. I have a friend who is at the second level of the Acquired Realm. I wonder what that level is?"

Upon hearing Ximen Qing's words, Qing Songzi was clearly taken aback for a moment. He then looked Ximen Qing up and down, and after a long while, he said seriously, "Oh? Brother Ximen, you have a wide circle of friends! To have such a friend! Reaching the second level of the Dayafter Heaven Realm is already quite impressive!"

"I'd like to hear more details!"

Ximen Qing's breathing became rapid; he had finally met someone who knew what he was doing.

"Ahem!"

Qing Songzi coughed lightly and began to explain: "Cultivation emphasizes refining essence into qi, which means cultivating magical power within the body. Some people also call it true qi or blood qi. Different paths lead to the same goal. After cultivating magical power, one enters the acquired realm. Most Taoists, monks, demons, and monsters in the world are at this realm."

"Uh-huh!"

Ximen Qing nodded, feeling the magical power surging within his dantian.

"The Acquired Realm is divided into nine levels. Nine is the extreme number, which is the stage of accumulating magical power. The first, second and third levels are the early stage of the Acquired Realm, where magical power is formed into threads. Ordinary people with ordinary aptitude need several years to cultivate magical power. Uh, like Xiaodao and that friend of Young Master Ximen, they are in this level."

Qingsongzi pointed to himself.

"The day after tomorrow, before the event?"

Ximen Qing muttered to himself, he thought he was very incompetent, but he didn't expect that this was the result of several years of hard work by an ordinary person.

This method of absorbing yin to replenish yang is great! I must learn it!

"Then, in the mid-stage of the acquired realm, one needs to condense threads of magical power into a wick to ignite the spiritual platform. At this level, one can control all kinds of magical treasures; that is the true mark of a cultivator! My master was at this level."

Upon hearing this, Ximen Qing's breath hitched. So that Gu Yunzi wasn't all that great after all! Not much better than me!

"The next three stages of the late-stage Acquired Realm require formally opening the brow gate in the upper dantian to prepare for opening the bridge between heaven and earth and forging the foundation of the Dao. This is beyond my knowledge, and my master is extremely far from reaching this stage!"

Qing Songzi's face showed longing, clearly indicating that he also had dreams.

Ximen Qing, looking at the words "Second Level of Acquired Talent" in his strength column, felt that he had a long way to go.

Silence fell over the carriage.

"Herod!"

Just then, the sound of the coachman stopping the carriage came from outside, and Laiwang's hoarse voice rang out: "Young Master! It's Young Master Zhu!"

"Oh? Zhu Xiaolian?"

Ximen Qing suppressed his thoughts, jumped off the carriage, and looked towards the roadside.

Sure enough, the Zhu family's convoy was coming from the opposite direction, with gongs and drums beating and firecrackers going off, followed by mule carts carrying a pile of gifts.

It was quite a show, completely blocking the narrow street.

The one leading the group was indeed Old Zhu, who had shared hardships with them yesterday.

"Brother Ximen! What a coincidence! I was just about to visit your residence. These are all gifts my family prepared as a token of our gratitude. What are you doing here...?"

Zhu Xiaolian forced a few smiles, which looked very strained.

"Oh, going to keep the appointment with Daoist Guyun from last night. But Old Zhu, you don't seem quite right."

Ximen Qing knew Zhu Xiaolian's character. After such a big incident last night, with his shrewish mouth, he could brag about it for a year.

Why do you look so listless?

"Ugh, don't even mention it. My dad arranged a marriage for me."

Zhu Xiaolian looked helpless.

"Huh? So suddenly?"

"Who says otherwise? I don't know which bastard spread the rumor that I have unusual tastes and like monsters like Zhang. If I find out, I'll kill him!"

Zhu Xiaolian shrugged.

"this……"

Ximen Qing patted him on the shoulder reassuringly: "Alright, you take the things to my house first, I have things to do here."

"Okay, let's go together another day! Tianxiang Restaurant is on me!"

After exchanging pleasantries, the two made way for each other.

However, they did not notice that in the crowd, an old monk wearing a straw hat was watching the scene with a furrowed brow.

"With those quacks getting involved, it's troublesome!"

Watching Ximen Qing's carriage head south of the city, the monk turned and left without hesitation.

This morning, he went to the county government office to subtly inquire about Nie Yunhai, only to find out that the case had actually been closed yesterday.

Moreover, that kid named Ximen Qing really wasn't an ordinary person; he could summon spirits and ghosts. So it seems that Qing'er's "death" really was his doing.

However, with the intervention of that old Taoist priest, even though the other party was a disgraced disciple of the Laoshan School, his martial arts skills were indeed not weak.

We need to find that tree spirit and discuss this further.

Ximen Qing had no idea that he had inadvertently escaped a calamity. A quarter of an hour later, the carriage arrived in front of the Taoist temple.

To be honest, it's not very big. It's about the same size as his family's mansion, just a three-courtyard complex with an alchemy furnace and statues of the Three Pure Ones in the center.

Gu Yunzi had been waiting in the main hall for a long time, with a red-clad female corpse beside him, which was none other than Qing'er.

"Amitabha Buddha, young friend, how have you been?"

Gu Yunzi stroked his white beard, waved for his disciple Qing Songzi to leave, and closed the door of the main hall behind him.

Before Ximen Qing could stop him, he was already locked inside.

"Thank you for your concern, Daoist Guyun."

"Alright, no need for formalities. I've invited you here, young friend, for two matters. First, regarding this corpse demon, I examined it last night. Corpse demons should have wandering souls, but this one has none. I suppose it's your doing!"

Master Guyun pointed to Qing'er's corpse and asked.

"Exactly!"

Ximen Qing nodded.

"This corpse demon has grown quite powerful; its Yin energy is equivalent to the third level of the Acquired Realm. To be able to kill it, young friend, your cultivation is quite remarkable!"

Gu Yun took a step forward and arrived in front of Ximen Qing, grabbing his wrist with lightning speed.

A surge of magical power emanated from outside, beginning to resonate with the magical power within Ximen Qing's dantian.

Ximen Qing instinctively tried to dodge, but the old Taoist priest had already released his grip.

"The second level of the Day After Tomorrow realm, his cultivation level is not much different from what I expected."

Gu Yun frowned, as if he had seen something unbelievable: "But... with your aptitude, and all your meridians blocked, how can you possibly contain magical power?"

"What does it mean when all meridians are blocked?" Ximen Qing asked after a moment's thought.

"So you're saying you have no chance of cultivating?" Gu Yunzi asked with regret and suspicion.

Ximen Qing's heart sank.

Oh no, I'm still stuck with the "loser" style! This thing is so outdated!