Junior sister, I really need to control you.

At noon, in the open space in front of the Xuanzhen Temple.

Mu Xiaoyu was sweating profusely.

Her linen Taoist robe was almost completely soaked with sweat, and strands of hair hanging down from her forehead and temples clung messily to her cheeks and forehead. Even the ground was covered with traces of sweat.

Li Yinsheng stood to the side, holding a thin bamboo stick upside down in his hand.

Whenever Mu Xiaoyu made a slightly distorted movement, or her breathing became slightly off, he would immediately use a bamboo stick to press on her acupoints or joints to help her adjust her movements or regulate her breathing.

The next Shaoyang Dao Examination will be held at the end of next year.

Li Yinsheng didn't expect Mu Xiaoyu to achieve any good results in the next Shaoyang Dao Examination.

The Shaoyang Dao Examination is a competition between young disciples of the Daoist temple and young disciples of the lineage above. Even when he had twenty years of cultivation, he was only at the C-level. How much more so for his junior sister who had just entered the sect yesterday.

But... his cultivation level is different now.

Although he had cultivated for fifty years and reached the eighth level of the Qingxuan True Scripture, he was not considered particularly powerful among the many Taoist temples, and he had only received the reward once.

If he can receive more rewards in the future and his cultivation level increases, even reaching the True Person realm of over a hundred years, he might be able to train his junior sister more quickly.

Even if the next Shaoyang Dao Examination is too close, given her age, she can still participate in the Shaoyang Dao Examination two years from now, which will be just the right time before she is too old.

If you achieve a Grade C rating, you'll receive a reward of thirty years of cultivation. If you achieve Grade B, the reward will skyrocket to eighty years.

If it can reach Grade A...

Li Yinsheng shook his head, dismissing the somewhat absurd idea.

No matter how well I can train Junior Sister Mu in the future, I need to start working hard now!

The Shaoyang Dao Examination is only open to disciples under the age of twenty. My junior sister is already fifteen this year, so we must make the most of every second!

Mu Xiaoyu, who was practicing her boxing and breathing exercises, had no idea what Li Yinsheng was thinking. She only felt that every part of her body was sore and aching.

Although with practice, a warm current, about the thickness of a chopstick, flows through the body, providing some relief to the affected areas, it's only a drop in the ocean, and the body still aches and pains more and more.

But she really didn't dare to stop.

Although this handsome senior brother never spoke in a fierce tone or with a fierce expression, what he said was truly terrifying—fifty lashes with a rattan cane!

And now he's holding a thin bamboo stick in his hand. Hitting someone with a bamboo stick... it should hurt just as much as hitting someone with a rattan cane, right?

The more Mu Xiaoyu thought about it, the more wronged she felt.

She never wanted to cultivate immortality, but her parents kept saying strange things like, "We can only feel at ease once you're on the mountain, and we can go all out," and they coaxed her up here.

When she came, her parents lied to her, saying that the mountain was full of delicacies such as fresh bamboo shoots and mushrooms, as well as delicious wild game. They also said that the food eaten by immortals was incomparable to that in the royal palace. Only then did she reluctantly agree to go up the mountain.

However, to be fair, the pickled bamboo shoots last night were indeed quite delicious.

The bamboo shoots are fresh, crisp, tender, and fragrant upon first bite, with a subtle sweetness. After chewing a few more times, the crisp and tender bamboo shoots seem to melt in your mouth...

And the wild honey is even clearer and brighter than the oil at home. As soon as you open the jar, more than a dozen kinds of floral fragrances rush into your nose, even more fragrant than the garden at home when it is in full bloom.

She only ate a little last night, and her mouth felt as sweet as if she had been drinking spring water all night long; the floral fragrance on the tip of her nose seemed to linger until morning...

But it's still not worth it! And even if it's delicious, it's just pickled bamboo shoots and wild honey! We have all kinds of delicious food at home!

"Waaaaah, Daddy, Mommy, where are you? I want to go home! I want to go home so badly!" Mu Xiaoyu cried out in her heart.

Thinking of going home, she couldn't hold back any longer. She mustered her courage, stopped punching and breathing exercises, and turned to look at Li Yinsheng.

So what if I get beaten? It hurts, and so does practicing martial arts! What if I get beaten up and expelled from the temple? Then I can go home!

When she was a child, her family hired a female tutor to teach her to read, and that's how she drove the tutor away.

If she couldn't recite her lessons well, her hands would be slapped. But even after being slapped, she still wouldn't recite. In the end, the teacher got so angry that he went to say goodbye to her parents.

Then she realized that the teacher had gone easy on her when he hit her hand with the ruler; her parents' hands hurt much more than the teacher's!

"Hmm? Why did you suddenly stop, Junior Sister?" Li Yinsheng looked at Mu Xiaoyu and asked with some confusion.

Mu Xiaoyu caught her breath for a couple of moments, then put her hands on her hips, adopting a resolute expression: "Senior brother! I really can't practice anymore! Hit me if you want!"

After saying this, Mu Xiaoyu stretched out her left hand, her palm clenched, waiting for the bamboo stick to fall on her.

She was still quite uneasy. Although she had been beaten before, the teachers were all women who weren't very strong, so the beatings on her hands didn't hurt much.

Her father was strong, but when she cried a couple of times, he would hit her hand less hard.

Senior brother is a cultivator, so his beatings must hurt more than Daddy's, right? Mu Xiaoyu held her breath, closed her eyes tightly, and turned her face away.

The hard bamboo stick rested gently on her palm.

Mu Xiaoyu was stunned for a moment, her eyelashes trembling as she opened her eyes and looked at Li Yinsheng.

"Junior sister, what are you saying? You haven't violated any of the temple's precepts, why would I hit you?" Li Yinsheng smiled gently at her.

"Junior sister must be tired from practicing, right? Just tell me directly, there's no need to hold it in. Cultivation is about balance; if you're tired, take a break."

Looking at that handsome, refined face bathed in sunlight, smiling warmly at her, Mu Xiaoyu couldn't help but slow her breathing.

It turns out that Senior Brother Li is actually a good person. I was afraid to tell him that I was tired before, so he made me keep practicing...

Oh right, I sneaked a bite last night, but my senior didn't punish me. So, he's clearly a really good person; I misunderstood him.

Thinking about it carefully, her senior brother was still the most handsome person she had ever seen in her life. Someone so handsome couldn't possibly be a bad person, right?

The thought grew in her mind, and Li Yinsheng appeared even more handsome in Mu Xiaoyu's eyes...

Li Yinsheng looked down at his junior sister, who was only up to his chest, with a warm smile on his face.

"Junior sister, go rest for a while, drink some water, take a Qi-nourishing pill, and come back to continue practicing."

Half a cup? Tea?

Mu Xiaoyu stared wide-eyed at Li Yinsheng—what a despicable and wicked senior brother!

"Senior brother, can we rest a little longer?" Mu Xiaoyu tried to struggle.

"Then let's add a cup of tea," Li Yinsheng said.

"A little longer?" Mu Xiaoyu pressed her advantage.

"After you've rested well, practice for another two hours, then you can rest for half a cup of tea," Li Yinsheng suggested.

"Senior brother, what should I do if I want to cry?" Mu Xiaoyu asked, sniffling.

"Your break timer has already started," Li Yinsheng said calmly. "Crying also counts as time."

……

After half a cup of tea.

Li Yinsheng sat cross-legged on the futon, meditating. Mu Xiaoyu leaned forward and asked, "Senior brother, besides steamed buns and pickled bamboo shoots, is there anything else to eat in the dining hall?"

"There are also two side dishes and a lot of dry food," Li Yinsheng said.

"Aren't we supposed to be cultivators? Why is our food so meager? We don't even have enough for four dishes and a soup..."

Mu Xiaoyu outwardly showed some grievance and disdain, but secretly swallowed hard.

There weren't many dishes, but the pickled bamboo shoots were absolutely delicious. She had never tasted such fresh bamboo shoots, whether in the Prince's mansion or in the best restaurants in her own county.

The other two side dishes should be pretty good too, right?

"After a cultivator achieves success in their cultivation, although they cannot always live on dew and drink without eating, the amount of mortal grains they need will decrease as their cultivation progresses."

"From eating once a day to eating once every two or three days, then to eating once every four or five days, and even once a month. Therefore, the vegetarian rooms in various Taoist temples are all simplified," Li Yinsheng said.

Of course, in those Taoist temples with many disciples, there are still quite a few people in the dining room every day, and there are even cultivators who are specifically responsible for cooking.

"Where did the food in the dining room come from? Did you make it, senior brother? Or did the other senior brothers and sisters make it?" Mu Xiaoyu asked curiously.

"Other senior brothers and sisters?" Li Yinsheng smirked. "Junior sister, you've been here for two days now. Have you met any of the other senior brothers and sisters?"

"No," Mu Xiaoyu shook her head, then puffed out her cheeks and said, "Whether it was yesterday or today, Senior Brother, you've been dragging me to cultivate. I haven't had time to wander around the temple. How am I supposed to see the other senior brothers and sisters?"

"I forgot about that." Li Yinsheng slapped his forehead, showing no remorse.

"Junior sister, right now, in terms of disciples, there are only the two of us in the temple. If we include the elders, there is also a senior uncle. However, the senior uncle is recuperating from her injuries. I will take you to pay your respects when she is feeling better."

"What about the other senior brothers and sisters? Aren't they in the temple now?" Mu Xiaoyu tilted her head, somewhat curious, but then quickly swallowed and changed the subject.

"Let's not talk about that now, senior brother. If the food in our dormitory isn't made by anyone, then where does it come from? Last night... last night that jar of pickled bamboo shoots was really delicious, I finished it all, is there any left?"

Li Yinsheng spread his hands and said, "That's all. My master is a True Person... he used to be a True Person, so he doesn't eat grains. I usually eat very little, so the temple has very little food stored in it."

"As for where it comes from... my Xuanzhen Temple belongs to the Zhengyang lineage, which also includes dozens of other Taoist temples, one of which is called 'Baoguang Temple'..."

"Baoguang Temple?" Mu Xiaoyu interrupted. "Sounds like it sells treasures?"

Li Yinsheng gently tapped Mu Xiaoyu's head, making a "thump" sound, signaling her not to interrupt: "It sells treasures, but it's not just about selling treasures."

"Under the Zhengyang lineage, many Taoist temples have their own specialties. Some are good at alchemy, some are good at crafting magical artifacts, some are good at drawing talismans, making incantations, taming spirit beasts, cultivating spiritual herbs, and some are even good at dual... cough cough..."

"In short, many Taoist temples have a special skill that allows them to sell their products and earn money through talismans..."

"Oh, this so-called talisman money is money issued by the Taihao Immortal Sect for cultivators. You can think of it as ordinary silver notes. It is used by the entire Zhengyang lineage and even other lineages."

"What does that have to do with the food in the vegetarian room? Was that food bought with talisman money?" Mu Xiaoyu's goal was very clear, and she continued to ask.

"That's right." Li Yinsheng nodded. "Those Taoist temples that sell their own specialties will definitely only sell the good stuff within their own temples. People from other temples will have to come and ask for it in person if they want it."

"For example, if you want good magical artifacts, you have to go to the Forging Furnace Temple and the Edge-Breaking Temple; if you want good elixirs, you have to go to the Cultivation Smoke Temple and the Lead Water Temple; if you want yellow talismans and precious talismans, you have to go to the Guardian One Temple..."

"However, the various Taoist temples under the Zhengyang lineage are scattered. If it is to obtain superior treasures, then it is no big deal to make a trip. But if you have to go to several temples no matter what you want to buy, it is really inconvenient."

"Coincidentally, Baoguang Temple has the most unique location among all the Taoist temples under the Zhengyang lineage. It is located in the very center and is relatively close to all other Taoist temples."

"Therefore, those Taoist temples would bring their ordinary ritual implements, elixirs, talismans, and other items to Baoguang Temple to set up a shop for easy sales."

"Cultivators who want to buy ordinary items will go to Baoguang Temple, but only those who want superior items will go to the Taoist temple that makes these things."

"Oh... so Baoguang Temple is a market? So it sells everything, including food?" Mu Xiaoyu suddenly realized.

"That's right. Other Taoist temples in Baoguang Temple rent shops where cultivators who want to sell their practice works or other things set up stalls. It's a mixed bag."

Li Yinsheng said, "So they not only sell low-level magic weapons and pills, but also various side dishes, snacks, and even cosmetics."

"Of course, these things that have nothing to do with spiritual practice are very cheap," he added.

"Do you still have snacks and treats? Are they cheap?" Mu Xiaoyu's eyes lit up.

Li Yinsheng thought for a moment and said, "Do you remember the Nourishing Yuan Pill you took last night? One Nourishing Yuan Pill costs about three or four talisman coins, which is already considered extremely cheap among pills."

"But a jar of those bamboo shoots from last night only costs one talisman coin. The Nourishing Essence Pills you ate last night could buy dozens of jars of pickled bamboo shoots."

"Wild honey is more expensive because it's sometimes used to make low-quality honey pills. One talisman coin should be enough to buy three or four jars..."

"Wow! So cheap?" Mu Xiaoyu exclaimed in surprise. "That jar of bamboo shoots would sell for at least tens of taels of silver in my family's mansion, and my mother would buy honey for hundreds of taels. Talisman coins are really valuable..."

She immediately became excited: "Senior brother, when are we going to Baoguang Temple? How about we buy some snacks and treats? The side dishes are so delicious, the snacks and treats must be just as good, right?"

"The delicacies sold at Baoguang Temple are indeed rare treats for ordinary people, and quite cheap for cultivators, but..." Li Yinsheng looked at her with a smile, "Junior Sister, how many talisman coins do you have?"

Mu Xiaoyu froze.

For the first time in her life, she was shocked to realize that people can indeed lack money.

"I...I don't have a single talisman coin..." Mu Xiaoyu lowered her head, but immediately looked up again, her watery eyes wide open, clutching the hem of Li Yinsheng's clothes.

"Senior brother... um... could you... could you give me some talisman money? I don't need much, ten... no, five! Just five will do! Please, senior brother..."

"Heh..." Li Yinsheng chuckled, took out a pale yellow talisman no bigger than a thumb, "This is the talisman money. This one represents one hundred talisman money. It's for you."

"Next time I go shopping at Baoguang Temple, I'll take you with me. You can buy whatever you want."

Although Xuanzhen Temple had declined, he was not completely penniless. Every now and then, he would go into the mountains to look for medicinal herbs or other valuable items.

Moreover, when other Taoist temples don't have enough disciples, they also hire people to do odd jobs, such as cultivating medicinal fields, herding spirit beasts, and tending the furnace. He was also a veteran worker.

Over the years, he has saved money by living frugally. In addition to buying himself some personal belongings, he has also saved up more than 20,000 talismans, making him relatively wealthy among his peers.

Therefore, giving his junior sister a hundred talismans as pocket money was nothing to him.

Moreover, with the thirty years of cultivation brought by his junior sister, it will be much easier for him to earn talisman money in the future.

If he hadn't been worried that giving his junior sister too much talisman money might lead to her being scammed by unscrupulous vendors at Baoguang Temple, and since she currently doesn't have many other uses for talisman money besides buying snacks, he wouldn't have only given her one hundred.

"My senior brother is the best person in the world!"

Mu Xiaoyu cheered. In her eyes, Li Yinsheng, who had been repulsive and looked like a monster, suddenly became incomparably handsome, otherworldly, elegant, and dashing.

But the instant Mu Xiaoyu accepted the talisman with both hands, the resounding sound of a great bell that he had heard yesterday suddenly echoed in Li Yinsheng's mind, and the scroll unfolded before his eyes, revealing new pale gold characters.

Lord of the Cave Heaven: Mu Xiaoyu

The will to cultivate oneself: The four essentials of cultivation are "Dharma, wealth, companion, and place," with "wealth" being the most important!

However, as the saying goes, "With money, you can go anywhere in the world; without money, you can't even take a step." This principle also applies to the world of cultivation.

The master of the grotto-heaven has just begun his cultivation. At this time, his food, clothing, shelter, and cultivation pills are all provided by the Taoist temple, so he spends very little. It is a good time to save money and he should accumulate talisman money as soon as possible.

Please do everything in your power to accumulate as much talisman money as possible within one year. This cultivation journey will only last for one year, after which it will be closed.

The standard for measuring the ambition of this cultivation is the current amount of talisman coins possessed by the Lord of the Grotto-heaven, but each reward can only be claimed once, and duplicates cannot be claimed repeatedly.

Cultivation Rewards:

Receive 1,000 talismans and be rewarded with one year of cultivation.

Receive 3,000 talisman coins and a reward of three years of cultivation.

Receive 10,000 talismans and be rewarded with ten years of cultivation.

Receive 30,000 talisman coins and a reward of 20 years of cultivation;

Receive 100,000 talisman coins and be rewarded with 30 years of cultivation.

Receive 300,000 talisman coins and a reward of 50 years of cultivation.

Current savings in talisman coins: 100 coins

Li Yinsheng stared at the pale gold characters in front of him, his mind racing.

This task is time-limited to one year, and the requirement is savings—meaning that if you earn the money but spend it, you have to save it all up again.

However, a cultivator who has just begun their practice has very little magical power, and may not even be able to master a practical spell in a year.

As Jin Zi said, new disciples who are just starting out in cultivation only need to focus on cultivation for the first year, or even the first two or three years, and do not need to worry about things that cost money, such as magic tools and talismans, so their expenses are extremely low.

However, correspondingly, new disciples usually have no means of obtaining talisman money.

For a novice disciple to go into the Hundred Thousand Mountains to search for something of value is tantamount to suicide, and no one would hire them to work at other Taoist temples.

In this way, one can basically only rely on the small amount of pocket money that one's own Taoist temple distributes each month—some temples can give hundreds of coins, but most only give forty or fifty coins per month.

A cultivator who has been cultivating for just over a year is already doing very well if he has a few hundred talisman coins in his entire possessions, which is not even enough to reach the first tier.

This is quite normal. Who would start thinking about making money in their first year of cultivation? That's as absurd as asking a baby who has just learned to talk and walk to work for money.

But... what does it have to do with Li Yinsheng, who has been saving money for more than ten years, that his junior sister, who has just started cultivating, doesn't have the ability to earn money?

Li Yinsheng recalled his savings.

Unfortunately, he was still a little short of 30,000, so he could only help his junior sister reach the goal of 10,000 talismans first and receive the corresponding reward.

Each target's reward can be claimed once. If I give my junior sister 10,000 talismans first, the rewards for the first three targets combined would be...

Fourteen years!