I cultivate the Purple Mansion Golden Elixir Dao on Earth

More than ten days later.

Minjiang City is located at the confluence of the river and the sea, and has been a vital transportation hub with numerous boats and ships since ancient times.

Since a century ago, this place has been an oriental metropolis, and in recent decades it has become one of the world's top three economic megacities. Skyscrapers stand side by side, and giant ships and cruise ships are countless. From the outer ring inwards, land is almost priceless. Ordinary people can hardly settle down and buy a home here even if they spend decades. As a result, many young people waste half their lives, which becomes the resources for the operation and prosperity of this metropolis.

However, Minjiang City, despite its prosperity, is somewhat different from other metropolises in the world. While it has vast tracts of land that are incredibly valuable, it also has large tracts of land that are abandoned and vacant, neither used for growing crops nor for building houses. They are simply left there, waiting to be developed in the future.

So even in such a bustling metropolis, there are still desolate settlements in the suburbs, overgrown with weeds and yellow trees, and divided by shallow streams and rivers. Most of the villagers have moved to the city, leaving only some buildings that are almost ruins, which still retain a trace of human life.

At this moment, in the suburbs of Minjiang City, the slanting sunlight cast long shadows.

Lin Yu stood outside a dilapidated and shabby Taoist temple, about an acre in size, with white bricks and black tiles. He looked up at the pine branches peeking out from inside the temple and smiled slightly.

The gate of the Taoist temple was ajar, but it was quiet both inside and out, with neither worshippers nor Taoist priests.

However, the ground at the entrance was very clean, which contrasted sharply with the piles of pine needles under the surrounding walls, showing that there was a hard-working person maintaining this scene.

"I've spent over ten days traversing mountains and rivers, searching for the most suitable place for cultivation. I've looked all over Minjiang City and its surroundings... and this is it."

These words came to Lin Yu's mind, so she took a step forward and pushed open the door.

Above the gate of the Taoist temple hangs a plaque with three large characters written in simplified Chinese:

Baiyang Temple!

……

The sun sets in the west.

Jiang Song sat quietly on a stone bench in a corner of the courtyard of Baiyang Temple. A dark green pine needle slowly fell and landed on the scroll in his hand, "The Essentials of Wuzhen Tongcan Baidan Chixuan Zhiyao," which he had been reading for several hours and occasionally annotating with his pen.

This book is of unknown origin, handwritten, and the text and paper inside are yellowed, even the name on the cover is stained... and the characters "Bai Dan" don't quite match up.

However, the contents of the Taoist book were so intimidating that Jiang Songjing spent most of the day reading it.

Jiang Songjing pulled her gaze from the Taoist book, glanced at the sun that was gradually turning red, and then placed the scroll of Taoist books and the pen in her hand on the stone table.

He gathered up a few strands of hair that were sticking out of his turban, picked up a broom that was lying askew to the side, and swept the pine needles and dust on the bluestone ground of the Baiyang Temple courtyard.

In the sweltering summer heat, few pine needles fell to the ground; instead, there was mostly dust and apricot leaves and berries blown in from outside the courtyard.

Although she cleans every day, sweeping away the accumulated dust and grime is not an easy task for Jiang Songjing.

The broom bristles made a hissing sound as they rubbed against the ground. Jiang Song listened to the sound and his mood calmed down.

Gradually, the contents of the Taoist books I studied today, and the years I spent in the Baiyang Temple, all turned into quiet memories in my mind.

Jiang Songjing, whose Taoist name is Qiu Jing, is twenty-four years old. He was raised by an old Taoist priest at Baiyang Temple since he was a child.

According to the old Taoist priest, back then, Baiyang Temple didn't have electricity, and they could only use kerosene lamps at night. One rainy night, he had just lit the lamp when he heard heavy knocking coming from outside the temple. When the old Taoist priest arrived at the door, he only saw a baby crying loudly in swaddling clothes.

From then on, the old Taoist priest took him in at the temple and gave him a name using his own surname from when he was still in the mortal world.

It is the name Jiang Songjing.

The old Taoist priest, whose Taoist name was Yunfu, regarded Jiang Songjing as a disciple of the Baiyang Temple. From a young age, he taught him the ancestral lineage of the Baiyang Temple, saying that the Baiyang Temple originated from the Xuanzhen Tao, and later, the lineage of Xuanzhen had a master named Yinjue who founded the Jinling School. Several generations later, the Jinling School had a master named Yuanfu who came here to open a temple and teach, which became the Baiyang Temple. Therefore, the Baiyang Temple was indeed the true lineage of Xuanzhen and the true lineage of Taoism.

Master Yunfu further stated that there is a consistent generational naming system from the Jinling School to the Baiyang Temple—

"Yin and Yang form the primordial origin, the two polarities converge. Nature and life unite to unravel the elixir, the profound truth seeks the emptiness. Auspicious energy arises from the cloud-covered hill, the rosy light illuminates the green pines. The ultimate method of Heaven and Earth lies in the transformation of appearance and concealment."

According to this generational lineage, the two of them are respectively the 21st and 22nd generation disciples of the Jinling School and the 18th and 19th generation successors of the Baiyang Temple.

The old Taoist priest Yunfu also said that Baiyang Temple had a history of two hundred years and had once received a plaque personally bestowed by a previous emperor, along with talismans inscribed by the Supreme Celestial Master. It was an extremely prominent Taoist lineage in Songjiang Prefecture. Unfortunately, with the passage of time, especially the ravages of war, Baiyang Temple gradually declined and became unknown to the world, turning into a dilapidated Taoist temple. Although it is still registered as a formal Taoist temple in the state, it has become a zombie organization that can only survive by receiving state subsidies.

However, even so, Baiyang Temple still maintains its quiet and cautious practices, adhering to the principles of Xuanzhen Daoist cultivation, and will never be tainted by worldly trends like Tianyi Daoist Temple—Master Yunfu often emphasized this point.

In Jiang Songjing's childhood memories, the old Taoist priest would become animated whenever he talked about Xuanzhen Taoism, and would sigh with regret when he talked about the current state of Baiyang Temple, his expression filled with endless regret and decline.

At that time, the image of Yunfu holding a Taoist book and standing in the Baiyang Temple, sighing "Xuanzhen... Alas, Xuanzhen!" was Jiang Songjing's most profound memory of his childhood in the Baiyang Temple.

At that time, he grew up with Yunfu and regarded the old Taoist priest's every word and action as divine, and he also believed these statements without a doubt.

At that time, the area around Baiyang Temple had not yet completely declined due to the rapid urbanization of Minjiang City, and villagers often came to Baiyang Temple to burn incense and request religious services.

Although profits were meager, and Baiyang Temple belonged to the Xuanzhen lineage, focusing on internal alchemy and lacking the flamboyant style of Tianyi Dao in talismans and rituals, Master Yunfu was inherently warm-hearted, charged low fees, and would even offer free prayers to the poor who couldn't afford them, giving them peace of mind. Furthermore, nine out of ten Daoists were doctors, and Master Yunfu also worked as a part-time barefoot doctor in the area, so the old Daoist and Baiyang Temple were highly respected in the neighborhood.

Even though Jiang Songjing was wearing a Taoist robe that was still excessively long despite being tailored, he was still respected by the uncles, aunts, and grandmothers. He was called "Little Taoist Master" and "Taoist Master Qiu Jing" all day long. This instilled a sense of self-respect in young Jiang Songjing, making him unwilling to bring shame to Baiyang Temple or to disgrace the Xuanzhen Taoism that Master Yunfu revered every day. So when Master Yunfu performed rituals, he would often stand quietly to the side, holding the ritual implements for hours on end, his posture extremely serene and proper.

So, although Jiang Songjing ate vegetarian food in the temple and grew up wearing robes left by her elders, she was always happy.

Because he was young at the time, Jiang Songjing only had one word in his heart: faith in Yunfu, faith in the Fa, faith in Baiyang Temple, and faith in Xuanzhen Dao.

But later, things gradually changed.

Because Jiang Songjing went to school and received compulsory education.

All the way through junior high and high school.

Before even getting into university, Jiang Songjing's attitude towards the illustrious past of Baiyang Temple, as described by the old Taoist priest, had shifted from unwavering belief to skepticism, and finally to complete disbelief. She even felt that the old Taoist priest had been deceived by his master, and that this shabby and desolate Taoist temple had haunted her for life!

After all, anyone with a modicum of common sense would understand how utterly absurd this legend is simply by glancing at the simplified Chinese characters on the plaque hanging above the door—without even needing to enter the temple to see its shabby courtyard, the sparse incense offerings, or the old, yellowed books in the storeroom.

Furthermore, even the glimpses of the world that one can see during compulsory education are far more fascinating than anything that this small temple and those yellowed and smelly old Taoist books can offer.

The respect and praise he received from the villagers when he was young paled in comparison to the expensive sneakers, the latest cell phones, and the seemingly mundane topics they discussed that were like foreign languages ​​to him… they were so insignificant, so rudimentary, so unworthy of mention. Furthermore, to these young boys and girls, Jiang Songjing's identity and poverty were merely sources of amusement, not a sign of respect.

Furthermore, as time went by, fewer and fewer villagers remained around Baiyang Temple. Some went to the city, some died, and those who stayed behind became increasingly disillusioned with Taoist practices and rituals.

Therefore, the opportunities to perform rituals at Baiyang Temple became fewer and fewer, and the time that Master Yunfu spent sighing and reminiscing in Baiyang Temple became longer and longer.

The gloom that had accumulated in Jiang Songjing's heart grew deeper and deeper.

The strong sense of self-esteem he developed from being valued by adults too early in his childhood has now turned against him, causing him to feel resentment and anger.

So, it was the same night, but not a rainy night, but a moonlit night.

That night, the bright moonlight shone down, and he stood under the pine tree, looking at the old Taoist Yunfu standing at the door of the back house, his words tumbling out in knots.

Yunfu, the old Taoist priest, had just fallen asleep when he was woken up by him. He was hunched over, wearing a tattered coat, and yawning.

But upon hearing Jiang Songjing's voice, which trembled like scattered pine needles, his previously hunched posture immediately straightened, and his lips tightly sealed shut, leaving only a straight line.

"...Taoist magic is fake, Taoist priests are all liars. I don't want the name 'Qiu Jing' anymore... My classmates at school laugh at me, calling me 'little bull-nose' or 'from martial arts novels'—I don't want to be 'Qiu Jing,' and I don't want to be a Taoist priest! I am Jiang Songjing, I want to go to university...and after graduation, I'll make a name for myself!"

"I'll be working and earning my own money while I'm in college, so I won't need to live in the Taoist temple. That's why I won't call you Master anymore... But you raised me, so in my heart, you're like my father. That's why I'll come to the Taoist temple to see you often... If I can establish myself in the city, I'll bring you here to live with me in your old age. Is that alright?"

Jiang Songjing looked at the old Taoist priest whose body was half-submerged in the moonlight, feeling uneasy.

The old Taoist priest leaned halfway against the shadows inside the room, his face expression obscured by the moonlight; only the wrinkles on his right cheek, illuminated by the moonlight, resembled deep ravines.

The old Taoist priest Yunfu narrowed his eyes further, his expression still blank, but he managed to squeeze out a few words that rolled like pebbles from his throat:

"I cultivate the Xuanzhen Dao and have long since become a monk... I have no offspring."

After saying this, the old Taoist priest Yunfu returned to his back room and closed the door tightly.

Now, Jiang Songjing can no longer remember how long she wandered aimlessly in the courtyard of Baiyang Temple that night, nor how she fell asleep or where she slept.

He only remembered that a few days later, a stack of bills, some in small change and some in large bills, totaling 35,221 yuan, appeared on the desk in his dormitory, covering his tuition for all four years of university. Seeing the money, he burst into tears, grabbed it, and left his dormitory. He went to kneel before the old Taoist priest Yunfu, who was sweeping the courtyard, but the old priest helped him up, smiling warmly.

"What is it, believer?"

From then until she graduated from university, Jiang Songjing lived in the school dormitory most of the time. But she would still go back to Baiyang Temple for a short stay whenever she had a holiday.

However, every time Jiang Songjing returned to Baiyang Temple, the old Taoist Yunfu would never utter a single word about Taoism or metaphysics in front of him. Jiang Songjing felt guilty and never brought it up.

Each time he returned, he would only help with the affairs, sweeping, cleaning, planting vegetables, cooking, and tidying up. The old Taoist priest, Yunfu, silently accepted this. The two were like a father and son who didn't care about each other's affairs, yet they lacked any real father-son relationship, always quietly getting along in the Baiyang Temple.

Sunrise and sunset, month after month, year after year. Life at Baiyang Temple was as peaceful as still clouds during his occasional short stays, but Jiang Songjing's life outside Baiyang Temple was undergoing a sudden and dramatic change.

When Jiang Song first entered university, he was ambitious and had a broad vision. At that time, the world seemed infinitely vast to him, but he had already stepped onto the first step. As long as he climbed up step by step, he would eventually be able to reach out and grab the clouds in the sky.

Even though the university he attended wasn't outstanding, even though his academic potential wasn't high, even though... even with so many "even thoughs," he still believed he was unique.

But reality is slowly changing his perception.

Compared to when she was confined to the Taoist temple, Jiang Songjing was much freer after starting university. She could buy and wear whatever clothes she wanted, choose fashionable and convenient smartphones, and enjoy gourmet meals in addition to those from the school cafeteria and the Taoist temple.

However, all this freedom, choice, and enjoyment requires financial support. So, from her freshman year, Jiang Songjing worked off-campus every week to earn living expenses while also balancing her studies, barely making ends meet.

At first, because everything was new and exciting, Jiang Songjing was able to blindly rush forward with her enthusiasm. But as the novelty wore off and those things that she once regarded as dreams turned into "reality," all the fantasies faded and peeled away, leaving only a pale and tired background. This made Jiang Songjing realize how unstable the foundation beneath her feet was, and how illusory and unreliable those steps that seemed to be climbable were.

—In the end, he was just an orphan who was born with nothing and walked in this world empty-handed, without father or mother!

So what does he have to compete with his peers who have a strong family background, good family connections, good parental relationships, and good upbringing?

Relying on a second-rate diploma that's worthless in today's market environment?