Cultivating Immortality Through a Hundred Lifetimes: I Possess the Heavenly Book of Merit

"Foolish child!"

Seeing his hesitation, the young Taoist immediately put on a stern face, flicked his whisk, and spoke in a more serious tone.

"Now that you've entered the immortal path, you should wholeheartedly pursue the Dao. What are mere material possessions worth? When you attain enlightenment, turning stone into gold will be as easy as turning your hand. This is the first test. If you can't even see through this, what are you even seeking to become an immortal?"

Yu Yan suddenly realized and nodded quickly: "The young Taoist is right, I was foolish."

As he spoke, he untied the bundle, revealing a few changes of clothes, some dry food, loose silver coins, and a pig-slaughtering knife that was carefully wrapped in old cloth but could not hide its heavy outline.

He took out the few pieces of silver and a few copper coins and handed them to the young Taoist:

"This is all I have. This is all my possessions. Daoist disciple, after attaining enlightenment, can you truly turn stones into gold?"

The young Taoist took it, weighed it in his hand, and a flash of dissatisfaction crossed his eyes, but he quickly concealed it and looked Yu Yan up and down.

Then his gaze fell on the long, narrow package in Yu Yan's bundle.

"Hmm? What is that?"

"Young Daoist, as a cook, it's perfectly reasonable for me to carry a butcher's knife with me, isn't it?"

The young Taoist nodded slightly, but quickly raised his chin again, pointing to the butcher's knife.

"In this tranquil place, any iron weapons or bladed weapons that exude excessive killing intent must be surrendered to avoid offending the spiritual energy of the ancestral master."

The murderous intent... This butcher's knife only killed a few domestic pigs, so how could it offend a master who has achieved great cultivation?

"This, young disciple, this knife was passed down from my master, it's my livelihood, and I really can't bear to lose it. Could you please keep it for me for now?"

As Yu Yan spoke, he lifted the tattered cloth from the knife, and the next moment a stench filled the air.

He stepped forward, holding the knife, only to see the arrogant young Taoist suddenly take a few steps back, whether out of fear or disdain, it was unclear.

"How dare you! I cultivate a pure and immaculate body; how can I allow such a filthy thing to come near me? Remove it immediately!"

"Young Daoist, how could this be filthy? This is my means of livelihood. If I fail to cultivate immortality and run out of money, this will at least provide me with a way out."

Yu Yan continued to argue.

The young Taoist priest looked angry.

"These are the rules of the temple. If you are unwilling to abide by them, then you may leave the mountain."

Without saying a word, Yu Yan turned and left, leaving the young Taoist boy stunned.

So decisive?

Is this butcher's knife really this person's life?

Ugh, this is such a hassle.

Seeing that Yu Yan showed no sign of stopping, the young Taoist frowned, staring at Yu Yan's back. His expression changed several times, and just as the other was about to disappear from sight, he finally spoke:

"Sigh, seeing how determined you are to seek immortality, I can't bear to let such a promising talent as you miss the Ascension Ceremony."

"Fine!"

He raised his head and sighed in a mature and aged manner.

"Alright then, I'll allow you to hide that pig-slaughtering knife in the mountains. If you fail to ascend to immortality in the future, you can retrieve it."

Yu Yan smiled inwardly, turned around, and bowed to the young Taoist boy in thanks.

"Thank you so much, I'll go hide it right away."

The young Taoist didn't speak, but closed his eyes and waved to Yu Yan, signaling him to hurry back.

Holding the knife, Yu Yan pretended to find an inconspicuous fir tree nearby, rummaged around in the grass under the tree, and made a burying motion, but in reality he hid the butcher knife in his bosom with a rag and quickly returned.

"Hidden well?" the young Taoist asked.

"It's well hidden," Yu Yan replied respectfully.

The young Taoist stared at him, sniffed, and the faint scent of ape still lingered in the air, but there was no way to determine when the scent had been left behind.

"Let me tell you this clearly: if you bring a weapon that could kill into the Taoist temple and the abbot finds out, you will be expelled from the sect immediately."

His tone carried a warning.

"Not only will you pay the price, but I will also be implicated."

"Therefore, absolutely no mistakes can be made!"

The young Taoist stepped forward and instantly reached for Yu Yan's waist.

Yu Yan made a hand seal in his sleeve, ready to retaliate at any moment, but fortunately he did not sense any killing intent from it and stopped himself.

Snapped--

The Taoist boy changed his movement trajectory and placed his palm on Yu Yan's chest.

However, the boy's height meant he had to stand on tiptoe to do this, which looked somewhat strenuous.

But this kid is really cunning.

"Don't try anything funny, understand?"

Yu Yan finally behaved himself and didn't say anything. He just nodded, took out the pig-slaughtering knife, and hid it under the cedar tree under the watchful eye of the Taoist boy.

"Okay, come with me."

Seeing this, the young Taoist priest took a deep look at the place where the knife was hidden, then turned around and pushed open the temple door that emitted a warm light.

The gate did not lead directly into a courtyard, but rather into a secluded passageway with dim yellow oil lamps lit on both sides.

The air smelled of a mixture of incense and some kind of old wood, which wasn't pleasant.

The young Taoist priest led the way, his steps as light as a cat's.

Walking through this long corridor, Yu Yan could only hear the sound of his own footsteps.

After walking about a hundred steps, a square courtyard appeared before us, much larger than it appeared from the outside.

The towering outlines of the surrounding palaces cast dark shadows in the night.

A broken wind chime hangs from the eaves, occasionally emitting a few dry, soft sounds in the breeze.

The moonlight here seemed to be mostly blocked by some force, with only a thin halo of light falling, making the courtyard seem particularly gloomy.

Even more strangely, his divine sense, which he had secretly released, was subjected to more obvious suppression and interference here, as if it were stuck in a quagmire, with its detection range sharply reduced and its perception becoming blurred.

"Judging from this, they're really not simple."

"The temple complex contains numerous halls and pavilions, and is densely covered with layers of array formations and restrictions."

The young Taoist stopped in front of an ordinary wooden door, his tone serious, more like a warning.

"In some places, one wrong step can lead to annihilation. If you don't want to lose your life, you'd better stay in the room that has been assigned to you and don't wander around."

"Your daily meals will be delivered to you. You may only follow me to listen to lectures or do your homework when I come to visit. Remember, you must not wander off without permission."

He said this with a forced smile, so stiff that it sent chills down one's spine.

"Understood, thank you for your guidance, young Taoist."

Yu Yan bowed and responded.

The young Taoist nodded and pushed open the wooden door:

"Go in. Inside are fellow cultivators like you, seeking immortality and enlightenment. Get a good rest tonight; tomorrow will be arranged."

Inside the door was a large, shared room with a long row of earthen beds along the wall, where many people were sitting or lying sparsely.

The room had no windows; only a few leaks in the roof allowed a few pale rays of moonlight to barely illuminate the interior.

The figures on the kang (a heated brick bed) were mostly sitting cross-legged in various postures, but all had their eyes closed, as if they were meditating.

However, their sitting posture was very awkward, crooked and slanted, their hands were placed haphazardly, and they were snoring. It was more like they were asleep than practicing meditation.

As soon as I stepped inside, I was hit by a strong musty smell. It didn't smell like a place where so many people lived. Everything about it felt strange.

"Let's see if Old Zhang's grandson is among this group first."

Yu Yan took out the portrait given to him by Old Zhang and began to compare it with the people on the kang (a heated brick bed).