Unorthodox methods, cultivating immortality relies on rich women

Shen Qingzhou didn't stay at the orphanage for long. After lunch and while Daidai took a nap, he took Xiaoqiu back to the firm.

Jiang Xinyue felt a little embarrassed when she saw him come back so early; she was making a cake in the rice cooker.

"I didn't see anything else to do, so I just wanted to find something to keep myself occupied," she quickly explained.

"It's okay, don't be nervous."

Shen Qingzhou waved his hand, "There aren't that many rules at work here, and there's not much to do anyway. Just do your own thing when you're free."

Since Jiang Xinyue arrived, the firm has finally become more lively and has been cleaned up and made spotless, all thanks to her.

The most crucial point is that they don't even get paid. With such a reliable and efficient worker, what else could he possibly complain about?

"Mom, let me see." Xiao Qiu curiously leaned closer.

"It's not ready yet, wait a little longer. Did you enjoy going out today?" Jiang Xinyue asked softly.

"It's not fun," Xiao Qiu said honestly.

"Then stay home obediently from now on, and Mommy will play with you, okay?"

Okay.

Xiao Qiu rummaged around on the stove, looking at the rice cooker on it. She sniffed the air and could already smell the sweet aroma of the cake.

At this moment, Jiang Xinyue seemed to remember something, wiped her hands on her apron, and took out the notebook with the pink cover.

"There's a Mr. Jiang who lives in Riverview Garden. He says he has a child who cries at night and wants to invite a truly skilled master to come and take a look. The fee is very generous. Would you like to take the job?"

"what?"

Shen Qingzhou was a little surprised; it was the first time he had ever seen someone post such a request for help.

"Sure, where did you find all these orders?"

"I found it on the Guigen Forum."

"The Guigen Forum? What's that for?" Shen Qingzhou asked curiously.

"This is a forum under the Religious Affairs Bureau. It's membership-based, and only registered members of religious affairs offices can log in. However, there is also a forum for visitors, where most people share their experiences in spiritual practice. Quite a few people also post requests for help with paranormal phenomena..."

Shen Qingzhou thought to himself, "This sounds just like the 'private' little website I usually use to boost my spirits."

It wasn't surprising that he had never heard of the website before.

Because he cultivated alone and rarely communicated with so-called fellow practitioners, he knew clearly where he was headed after he glimpsed a part of the essence of the world.

How did you find out about this forum?

"My dad told me that he used to collect and compile folk culture. Later, he wanted to digitize it, so he scanned and entered the data into an electronic library and organized it to share on the Guigen Forum. That's when he came into contact with the forum, and I logged in using his account..."

"Back to the roots...back to the roots..."

Although Shen Qingzhou rarely interacted with like-minded people and practiced unorthodox techniques, it did not mean that he was completely ignorant of Buddhism and Taoism.

Both Buddhism and Taoism have offered core interpretations of the concept of "returning to one's roots."

The Buddhist saying "Returning to the origin, the nature is one; expedient means are many" comes from the Surangama Sutra. Returning to the root means returning to one's true nature, realizing one's true nature, and returning to the origin of life. It is the ultimate goal of spiritual practice, and all things ultimately return to oneness.

The core quote from the Taoist classic *Tao Te Ching*, "All things flourish and then return to their root. Returning to the root is called stillness; stillness is called returning to one's destiny; returning to one's destiny is called constancy; knowing constancy is called enlightenment," signifies that all things return to the original Tao, returning to their original simplicity and authenticity. This is the fundamental law of the universe and of spiritual practice.

Both schools take "returning to the root" as the ultimate direction of their spiritual practice, aiming to return to the origin and realize the unity of all things.

So the word "returning to the root" sounds as funny as "big root," but it wasn't chosen randomly.

"I'll take this order. You can contact the poster first, and also send me the forum address so I can check it out."

Jiang Xinyue immediately sent the forum address to Shen Qingzhou before contacting the poster.

The order acceptance process is very standardized. After logging in with your member account, click the "Accept Order" button below the post, fill in your contact information, and wait for the other party to contact you.

Once the operation is completed, the post will be automatically marked as "order accepted" to prevent multiple orders from being accepted.

If a request for help is posted by a member account, the member can also view the registration information of the person accepting the request, including their Taoist name, ordination master, lineage, religious position, etc. Guest accounts do not have the right to view this information.

Shen Qingzhou clicked on the forum address and found the interface to be very simple. However, a glance at the section names opened his eyes. Judging from the names alone, it did not seem like a proper religious forum with an official background.

Clicking on sites with names like "[Buddha's Teachings]" or "[Jade Emperor's Chanting of Sutras]" reveals that the former is a forum for interpreting and exchanging Buddhist scriptures, while the latter is a forum for discussing and annotating Taoist classics.

Most posts in the area have no viewing restrictions and can be viewed by anyone.

Under Buddhism and Taoism, there are further subdivisions such as Han Buddhism, Southern Buddhism, Chan Buddhism, Pure Land Buddhism, as well as many other schools such as Zhengyi, Quanzhen, Lingbao, and Qingwei. The classifications are clear and detailed, making it a vast database of Buddhist and Taoist classics.

In addition, there is a forum called "Da Hua Shen Xian" (大话神仙), which is a common communication area for both Buddhism and Taoism. However, only members with real-name authentication accounts have the permission to browse and post.

What he found most interesting was the "Altar Front Secondhand Goods" section, which was essentially an online market for Buddhist and Taoist ritual implements and materials, with a wide variety of items.

Prayer beads made from jujube wood struck by lightning a century ago, Buddhist amulets carved from sandalwood from the old mountains, money swords woven from Han Dynasty Wuzhu coins, as well as various Buddha statues, statues of the Three Pure Ones, statues of the Jade Emperor, and even statues of Western gods are all available for sale.

Shen Qingzhou watched with great interest. The unorthodox magic he practiced often required various obscure materials, and this place was a good place to find them.

There is another book called "Rural Archives," which contains folk tales, folk customs, local news, and intangible cultural heritage records from all over the country. Shen Qingzhou casually flipped through a few pages, and the contents were bizarre and fantastical, like reading a collection of strange tales.

Finally, there's the "Idle Talk" section, which is a chat area for ordinary users.

Shen Qingzhou not only found the plea for help from the night-crying man that Jiang Xinyue had just mentioned, but also unexpectedly came across the plea for help from the haunted house that Shen Wenjie had bought.

He clicked in to take a closer look and discovered that the problem had been handled by several different people, but none of them had been able to completely resolve it.

In addition, there are pinned posts such as "Top Ten Haunted Houses" and "Three Deadly Places," which list long-standing industry problems that have remained unsolved for many years.

Besides these, requests for help such as opening a business for blessings, religious ceremonies, feng shui consultations, weddings and funerals, and exorcising evil spirits have generally been accepted, but the feedback from those who sought help is mixed.

Some praised the master, saying he was powerful, strong, kind, and good at life.

Some also criticized these masters as pure charlatans, all show and no substance, good to look at but useless.

This is so interesting.

Shen Qingzhou borrowed Jiang Xinyue's membership account and logged in.

I randomly clicked on the "Talking about Immortals" section and found a post titled "Auspicious Purple Qi Comes from the East" by a netizen named "Master Chen Shen".

I burst out laughing on the spot; the room was full of female internet celebrities dressed in purple who were flirting with the wrong image.

The Taoist priest certainly has good taste; purple is the most elegant color.