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

The courtyard of the guest rooms was unusually quiet.

At this time yesterday, there were already young Taoist boys sweeping the courtyard, but today there is not a single person in sight.

Yu Yan extended his divine sense, carefully scanning the front courtyard, main hall, and side hall.

nobody.

At least there was no one in the front yard.

He frowned and walked along the corridor towards the backyard.

Sure enough, as they approached the backyard, they could finally hear some voices faintly.

Yu Yan stopped and extended his divine sense.

Everyone gathered here early in the morning, still half asleep and groggy, unaware of what was happening.

The little mute boy stood at the very back of the line, his shoulders hunched and his head bowed, looking like he was easy to bully.

In fact, he is indeed easy to bully.

After all, he was still a child, not to mention malnutrition. He belonged to the most vulnerable group among the vulnerable. How could he not be bullied among these people?

Just now, one of the bearded men blocked his view, turned around, and gave the little mute a ferocious smile, which frightened him so much that he took two steps back.

However, before he could do anything, two young Taoist disciples walked through the crowd.

They were expressionless, holding trays crammed with porcelain bottles.

One of the young Taoist boys cleared his throat, stepped forward, and raised his voice:

"Today I will lead you to ascend to the Dao. Take the elixir and follow me."

After saying that, they went to the left and right and began distributing pills to the people in the group.

One for each person.

When it was the last row's turn, the little mute boy saw the two Taoist boys walking over.

He reached out his hand and opened his mouth, as if to ask where the older brother who had given him wild fruit yesterday had gone.

But just as he received the pill and was about to ask about it, the bearded man next to him suddenly patted the little mute on the shoulder.

In that moment of hesitation, the young Taoist had already walked past.

Then the little mute's elixir was snatched away by the bearded man, leaving only his hand hanging in mid-air.

The pill that was supposed to be given to him is gone.

"What are you looking at?"

The bearded man lowered his head, lowered his voice, and his eyes held a clear threat.

"If you dare tell anyone, you'll be in big trouble."

The little mute boy opened his mouth, but ultimately no sound came out.

He lowered his head, looking at his toes, his shoulders trembling slightly, tears welling in his eyes, but he forced himself not to make a sound.

It was the same before.

The lingzhi mushrooms and wild fruits that the young Taoist brought, which should have been distributed to everyone, were all snatched away by the bearded man.

He dared not resist or complain, fearing that something might happen and thus he would lose this precious opportunity to become an immortal.

Therefore, he could only eat the grass in the Taoist temple.

Those wild grasses growing in the corners of walls and cracks in rocks are bitter, hard to chew, and will hurt your throat when you swallow them.

But at least they won't starve.

Until yesterday.

Yesterday, that older brother suddenly appeared out of nowhere, not only stood up for me, but also gave me that precious Ganoderma lucidum.

Although the taste was indeed mediocre, it was the first time since he came to the temple that he hadn't eaten grass roots.

Although strictly speaking, the taste of Ganoderma lucidum is similar to that of grass roots.

But he was the first person in the temple, besides the abbot, to be kind to him.

Why remove the abbot?

Because the abbot took him to ascend to heaven to see his parents, he naturally ranked first in his heart.

I don't know why, but I didn't see that older brother in this line today.

The day I was about to ascend to heaven has vanished somewhere.

Seeing that the little mute boy was keeping his head down and not speaking, the bearded man withdrew his gaze with satisfaction, glared at the people who were looking over, and then turned and walked away.

He walked to the side, eagerly opened a porcelain bottle, poured the pill into his mouth, chewed it, smacked his lips, his eyes shining, and then secretly hid another pill in his bosom.

"I'll give this one to my mother when we get back, then she won't die from her illness."

Thinking this, the bearded man turned and glanced at the little mute boy who had his head down.

"Hmph, what are you doing seeking immortality at such a young age? Even if you ascend to immortality, you'll never see your parents again. Rather than letting you waste this elixir, you might as well give it to me."

"Everyone, keep up! If we miss this opportunity, we'll have to wait a long time for the next one."

At the boy's shout, the procession in front began to move.

The little mute boy followed the crowd forward.

Just as he passed the bearded man, he was grabbed by him.

"Little brat,"

The bearded man leaned closer, his eyes fierce.

"Be careful on the road, don't gossip, or I'll have ways to kill you, understand?"

The little mute boy remained silent.

The bearded man frowned slightly, then squeezed his arm harder, making it ache.

"Did you hear me?"

The little mute boy winced in pain, gritted his teeth, and nodded emphatically.

The bearded man finally released his grip with satisfaction, patting his head like he was patting an obedient dog.

Yu Yan hid in the shadows and saw everything that happened clearly.

His eyes were lowered, and his grip tightened.

"Ugh, why even bother saving this scum? He should just die."

"They had nothing to do with me to begin with. From beginning to end, I was just trying to make up for the mistake I made with the little mute girl."

The group wound their way up the road inside the temple, and surprisingly, there was a road behind the temple that led directly to the top of the mountain.

It took about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn before we finally reached the top of the mountain.

Yu Yan, who was hiding behind, looked up and his pupils contracted slightly.

This area has been carved into a huge platform, several meters square.

In the center of the platform stands a large bronze cauldron, which is more than two people tall.

The tripod has three legs and two handles, and its body is decorated with intricate cloud patterns and crane designs.

Flames roared beneath the cauldron, burning bright red, yet there was no firewood to be seen, and the source of the fire remained a mystery.

The smoke from the cauldron rose and billowed, gathering into a wisp of mist in mid-air that lingered for a long time.

Directly opposite the large cauldron are stone steps leading upwards. At the end of the steps, there is a futon.

A person sat cross-legged on a futon.

The man was dressed in a gray-white Taoist robe, holding a snow-white whisk. He had white hair and a youthful face, with his eyes slightly closed, and his aura was as calm as water.

"Hmph, all pretentious."

Yu Yan did not sense any fluctuations in the other party's spiritual sense, which meant that this guy had not yet released his spiritual sense.

Perhaps they didn't care, or perhaps they thought the mountaintop was safe.

But this gave Yu Yan an opportunity to take advantage of the situation.

The chance to severely injure him in one fell swoop.

Everyone stopped in their tracks, even their whispers ceased, and no one dared to utter a sound.

The two young Taoist boys who were leading the way walked to the front of the group, bowed deeply to the abbot, then turned around and loudly gave the order:

"Everyone, sit around the cauldron, facing the abbot. Be quiet and do not make a sound."

Everyone immediately did as instructed.

The crowd dispersed, searching for suitable seats. Some tried to push forward to get closer to the abbot, but were stopped by the stern gazes of the young Taoist disciples. Others stepped back, consciously joining the back of the line.

The little mute boy stood there, somewhat bewildered.

He didn't know where to sit.

Just as he hesitated, a hand reached out from the side and suddenly pulled him back.

It was that thick beard again.

The bearded man dragged the mute boy to the back, pinned him to the ground, and said in a low, menacing voice:

"Sit here quietly and don't wander off."