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

Ximen Qing's guess was correct.

The old Taoist priest Guyun truly harbored no ill will towards him. On the contrary, he was eager to recruit him into the Laoshan Taoist sect.

The reason is a long story.

When Master Guyun was young, he was a wealthy young man from Qingzhou Prefecture who loved seeking immortality and asking questions. His secular surname was Wang, and his given name was Wang Qi.

Wang Qi doesn't read Confucian classics, nor is he content to be a spoiled brat like Ximen Qing, indulging in debauchery and debauchery. Instead, he prefers to seek the Dao and pursue immortality.

But he had gained nothing until one day, when he climbed up Laoshan Mountain and encountered a white-bearded sword immortal.

The other person stood above the heavenly light and asked him if he was truly willing to cultivate and shed the mortal world.

Wang Qi was very excited and quickly affirmed.

So he was accepted into their household.

The White-Bearded Sword Immortal didn't become his master, but instead took him in as a servant, making him chop wood and carry water every day.

At first, he thought it was a test from the sword immortal and took it very seriously. But for seven months in a row, the sword immortal seemed to have forgotten about him.

"At that time, I was restless and arrogant, and I was used to being pampered. I became like Lord Ye who loved dragons but was terrified of them. I didn't understand the principle that cultivation begins with cultivating the mind. Now that I think about it, it's too late to regret it."

Gu Yunzi... or rather, Wang Qi, recalled the past with a hint of regret in his eyes.

However, he failed to notice the knowing look on Ximen Qing's face as he listened to the story.

Wang Qi, a Taoist priest from Laoshan, possesses the ability to walk through walls.

Isn't this just the story of "The Taoist Priest of Laoshan" from *Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio*? It's exactly the same!

But why are you suddenly reminiscing about the past? What does that have to do with me?

Gu Yunzi, standing before him, paid no attention to Ximen Qing's gaze and continued speaking to himself.

Being young, he didn't know what a test was, so he couldn't hold on.

He found the white-bearded swordsman and expressed his thoughts.

The sword immortal did not try to stop him, nor did he take away the wall-penetrating technique he had secretly learned; he simply told him to leave the mountain.

Wang Qi thought he had gotten a good deal, and after descending the mountain, he told everyone he met that he had encountered an immortal and learned magic.

He even wanted to demonstrate his wall-penetrating ability in public, but just as he was gloating and preparing to show off his skills, his wall-penetrating ability failed him, and he crashed into the wall, becoming a laughing stock.

That incident was a huge blow to him.

Some people think he went mad in his pursuit of immortality, and even his wife left him.

However, he knew that he had indeed studied in Laoshan for seven months and had learned magic techniques.

He rushed frantically towards Laoshan Mountain, wanting to return to the familiar Taoist temple, but no matter what he did, he couldn't find any trace of the temple's existence.

He settled down at the foot of the mountain and stayed there for five years. Every year he would go up the mountain to look for the old mountain gate, but he found nothing.

As he grew older, he felt that this was probably how his life would be.

But it was at that moment that a sword pellet and a scroll of Taoist scriptures appeared before him.

"I am a disciple abandoned by Laoshan, but my master did not abandon me. He allowed me to walk outside the mountain as a disciple of Laoshan Dao to select talents for the sect. However, over the years, I have failed my master's trust and have not been able to find a single person who meets the requirements. Until yesterday, I discovered you."

Gu Yunzi looked at Ximen Qing in front of him with a complicated expression.

"I can see that there are no traces of cultivation techniques on your body, but there are active fluctuations of magical power within you, and you can even use exquisite rituals and spells to summon the souls of the dead for questioning."

"What does this prove?" Ximen Qing asked curiously.

"Usually, such people are either demons who have been possessed by evil spirits and have started their own cultivation, or geniuses who are exceptionally talented and self-taught."

"Then I am..."

"At first, I thought you were a reincarnated master of a heterodox sect, which is why I addressed you as 'young friend,' but now, based on what I know of you, you are neither!"

With deep disappointment, Gu Yunzi said, "I don't know where you learned those rituals. Your physique is not suitable for cultivation. Even if you cultivate magical power within your body, it won't change that."

"So certain?" Ximen Qing retorted.

"Heh, kid, what do you think cultivation is? And what does talent even mean? There are billions of beings in the world, but even in the Shu Mountain sect, which produces countless sword immortals, there are only a few thousand disciples! The spiritual root for cultivation depends first on the meridians, then on the life soul, and third on the physique. Only when all three are complete can one cultivate. This old Daoist is already considered favored by the Heavenly Dao. Countless people like me seek immortality, but how many can truly embark on the path of cultivation!"

Seeing Ximen Qing's indifference, Gu Yunzi shook his head slightly.

"So, besides the meridians, is there none of them that I can find acceptable?"

"Hmph! Your life force is dim, a sign of an early death. Your constitution is peculiar, with abundant yang energy and strong yang fire. Ordinary little ghosts would be burned to death if they were near you. However, such rich yang energy is also a great tonic for vengeful ghosts and ghost kings. Perhaps this is the reason for your early death. In any case, you should live a peaceful life as an ordinary person in this life. You can make a living by using that soul-summoning technique."

Gu Yunzi composed himself, carefully examined Ximen Qing's face, and gave him a fortune reading.

This old Taoist priest is really something.

Ximen Qing pondered to himself.

The original owner of this body was indeed destined to die in his thirties.

However, this also proves that the old Taoist priest was right; he really didn't have much aptitude for cultivation.

Damn it! I was actually planning to learn how to walk through walls, after all, it's for stealing kisses and groveling... ugh! It's the perfect way to escape, save your life, and even commit murder and robbery.

It seems there's no chance now; from now on, we'll have to rely on gacha pulls.

As for accumulating magical power, for the time being, we can only rely on his passive skill "absorbing yin and replenishing yang".

Hmm, something's not right!

This path of cultivation sounds like it's quite exhausting for your kidneys.

Could it be that I'm going to create a brand new cultivation sect in this world? Should I call it the Joyful Union Sect?

Ximen Qing was having a brainstorming session when Gu Yunzi, thinking he was discouraged, felt a pang of sympathy and couldn't help but say:

"Ahem, although this old Taoist priest misjudged, you did me a great service yesterday by helping me kill the Naked Cult's Gu Master. So, I'll give you three talismans, each containing my sword energy—a full-force strike of the fifth level of the Acquired Realm, capable of annihilating any evil spirit. With your abundant yang energy, you'll likely encounter many demons and monsters in the future. How about this, I'll do you a favor and allow you to buy talismans from my temple. These are special supplies I provide to the prefecture; you can't even buy them in the county. You'll enjoy a 20% discount, how about it?"

"Well……"

Ximen Qing's eyes widened. A 20% discount? Who could resist that?! Are you the legendary 20% discount immortal?

Not to mention that this talisman really can deal with ghosts! Money is the last thing that Master Ximen lacks!

This trip wasn't entirely fruitless!

"Master Guyun, talking about money is vulgar! I'll buy all the talismans you have! Also, are you selling those sword pellets that shot out sword energy the other day?"

Gu Yunzi's face darkened. He flung open the palace door, pulled out a stack of yellow talismans from his robes, stuffed them into the man's arms, and shoved him out, saying, "That's all! You've been given a thousand taels!"

"Hey, hey, hey, stop pushing! Taoist priest, this is a round number! You didn't skip the discount, did you? You should be honest, Taoist priest!"

boom!

Looking at the tightly closed gate of the temple.

Ximen Qing touched the stack of talismans on his chest, a smile playing on his lips. Although the process had been somewhat tortuous, he finally had some power to protect himself.