My Demonic Cult's Holy Maiden

Qi Yu smiled and said, "I used to have academic titles, but they were revoked due to some events, and I am now barred from participating in the imperial examinations for life!"

The three old men looked at each other, all seeing the surprise in each other's eyes.

“Young man, since you can’t become an official in the court, why don’t you join the state religion? They’re recruiting, you can give it a try!” an old man said with a smile.

State religion?

Taoism?

The Dayun Dynasty established Taoism as its state religion, giving Taoism an extraordinary status within the dynasty.

Because Taoist priests can refine elixirs, those elixirs are very magical, capable of bringing the dead back to life.

The people of the Dayun Dynasty held Taoist priests in high esteem, even regarding them as living deities.

Qi Yu stroked his chin thoughtfully, "Taoism!"

He didn't want to become a Taoist priest because of his father; he had some reservations about it.

However, he remembered what his father-in-law had told him: only Taoist practices could solve his problem.

I've done everything I could; now all I can do is wait.

If you have nothing to do, why not go check out Taoism?

After bowing to the three old men, Qi Yu walked towards the Temple of Longevity!

……

Changsheng Temple was the only Taoist temple in the Dayun Dynasty. Relatively speaking, Changsheng Temple was very large, and Qi Yu could see the Taoist temple standing on the mountaintop from afar.

The number of people in Taoism is small. I heard that the entire Taoist community, including all the leaders, has less than sixty people.

Sun Guyuan, whom Qi Yu met in Jiangzhou City, was the junior brother of the Taoist leader.

Walking down the street, Qi Yu noticed that many people were heading towards the Changsheng Temple, and each of them was carrying incense and candles.

Most of them were women, and they were all going to Changsheng Temple to offer incense.

When Qi Yu arrived at the foot of Changsheng Temple, he finally understood the true status of Taoism in the hearts of the people of Dayun Dynasty.

At the foot of the mountain, two sheds were set up, and several Taoist priests dressed in blue robes and wearing topknots sat inside.

Meanwhile, on the outskirts, the people of the Dayun Dynasty lined up in long queues and entered the tents one by one.

Qi Yu watched from afar for a long time before realizing that these Taoist priests were treating the people and telling their fortunes.

Qi Yu felt somewhat bewildered. How could a materialist like himself possibly believe in something like fortune telling?

He only looked for a while, then wanted to walk up the stone steps in front of him to see the Temple of Longevity.

Before he could even step onto the stone steps, a Taoist priest stopped Qi Yu and bowed in greeting.

"Esteemed benefactor, if you are here to offer incense, please use the side path!" the Taoist priest said with a gentle smile.

Qi Yu looked to the side and sure enough, there was a small path.

"Why can't I take the main road, but have to take the side road?" Qi Yu asked.

"You misunderstand, benefactor. These stone steps were paved with crystals from the Lieyang Mountain in the Eastern Arctic by the sect leader. It is difficult for an ordinary person to climb three steps," the Taoist explained.

Qi Yu was speechless. Why did this sound so fantastical?

But if that's what they say, then forget it. Listen to advice and don't do anything reckless.

Following the Taoist priest's guidance, Qi Yu walked onto the path and then climbed towards the Changsheng Temple.

After climbing for about ten minutes, we finally reached the top of the mountain and saw the magnificent Changsheng Temple.

At the main gate, Qi Yu saw many people coming to burn incense and couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

I came up here without bringing anything with me. Won't that seem abrupt?

"Brother, could you give me three incense sticks?" Qi Yu stopped a young man who was offering incense.

The young man glanced at Qi Yu, then nodded generously and gave Qi Yu three incense sticks.

Qi Yu, holding three incense sticks, entered the Taoist temple along with the other people who came to offer incense.

The Taoist temple enshrines the statues of the Three Pure Ones, which is the same as in China.

After kneeling in worship, the people, guided by the Taoist priest, lit incense and placed it in the large cauldron in front of the Taoist temple.

After offering incense, Qi Yu considered his visit to the Taoist temple complete and prepared to return home.

Just as he reached the door, a Taoist priest came over and bowed to Qi Yu.

"Please wait a moment, benefactor. The sect leader is looking for you and invites you to the temple for a talk!"

Qi Yu frowned. The head instructor? What did he want with him?

I heard that this leader is also a grandmaster, and he usually doesn't see any worshippers.

Despite his doubts, Qi Yu followed the Taoist priest into a small courtyard.

The yard is large and lush, filled with many plants, mostly medicinal herbs.

An old Taoist priest with white hair was watering medicinal herbs in a field of medicinal plants with a wooden ladle.

"Master, we have brought Benefactor Qi!" The Taoist priest who brought Qi Yu raised his hand, bowed, and said respectfully.

The leader put down the wooden ladle, then took a towel from a Taoist priest behind him and wiped himself before looking at Qi Yu.

Qi Yu bowed in greeting, but didn't know what to say.

"Young man, would you like to become my disciple?" the leader asked with a gentle smile.

Qi Yu suddenly raised his head, and the two Taoist priests beside him also looked at the leader in shock, and then at Qi Yu.

Becoming an apprentice?

The leader of the sect has no disciples. If he takes Qi Yu as his disciple, then after the leader's death, Qi Yu will succeed him as the new leader of the sect.

Qi Yu himself was also a bit confused. The topic had changed too abruptly and suddenly.

The first question is whether you are willing to become an apprentice?

This is the head coach!

The Great Yun Dynasty established Taoism as its state religion. The head of Taoism possessed power second only to the emperor. Most importantly, Taoism had many followers in the Great Yun Dynasty.

Not only in the Great Yun Dynasty, but also in other countries, there are followers of Taoism.

Although Taoism has a small number of members, it is not weak.

Because Taoism has millions of followers!

This old Taoist is now the head of the sect, the person with the highest status in Taoism, and an existence that countless believers look up to.

It seems like I got incredibly lucky to be accepted as a disciple.

Qi Yu, however, did not want to become a Taoist priest, nor did he want to become an apprentice.

He witnessed his mother's heartbreaking expectations from his past life, which ultimately led to his mental illness.

All of this was because of that irresponsible father who went to learn martial arts and become a Taoist priest, and then never came back.

Therefore, Qi Yu was somewhat resistant to Taoist priests.

Qi Yu raised his head, looked at the leader, and said, "Thank you for your kind words, leader, but I have no intention of becoming a Taoist priest."

The leader smiled slightly and said, "Being my disciple doesn't necessarily mean becoming a Taoist priest. Besides, this is your father-in-law's wish."

Qi Yu was slightly taken aback. Father-in-law? Su Chengying?

"Does the leader know my father-in-law?" Qi Yu asked in surprise.

The leader nodded and smiled, "Your father-in-law joined Taoism when he was young. So, in a way, he was my junior brother."

“Your junior brother has already written to me about your situation. You may not know this, but only orthodox Taoist practitioners are qualified to study the ‘Treatise on Marrow Cleansing’ and the ‘Western Flow Canon’.”

Qi Yu was speechless. What's the point of doing that?!

Currently, this is the only method that can solve my problem with internal energy.

You could become a Taoist priest...

"If that's the case, then this junior would rather not practice martial arts!" Qi Yu bowed and then turned to leave.

"You don't care about yourself, so what about your wife? Does she not care if she dies?" The leader's voice came from behind.

Qi Yu frowned, turned to look at the leader, and asked, "What does the leader mean?"

"Haven't you noticed that the internal energy within your body is becoming increasingly difficult to control? If this continues unchecked, what will happen to your wife who shares your bed? Haven't you thought about that?" the sect leader said.

hum!

These words struck Qi Yu like a bolt from the blue, leaving his mind reeling.

Careless!

Your own internal energy won't harm you, but it's different for others!

My true energy is so weak that even a third-grade cultivator couldn't withstand it. Su Yue is only an eighth-grade cultivator. The true energy I released unintentionally would definitely freeze her!

"Your wife used her own internal energy to help regulate and channel your internal energy. Otherwise, with your physique, your meridians would have been severed long ago due to the outward release of a large amount of internal energy."

Qi Yu looked at his arm, frowning. Really? He couldn't feel anything!

The instructor looked at Qi Yu, smiled, and said, "Your talent is excellent, you could even say it's monstrous. You are the most talented young man I have ever seen."

"The true qi you gain from circulating it once is ten times or even a hundred times that of an ordinary martial artist. Moreover, the true qi in your body forms its own cycle, so even if you don't consciously meditate or cultivate, the true qi will increase on its own."

"If you hadn't practiced the cultivation method incorrectly, you might already be at the second rank, or even the first rank."

"For ordinary people, rapid advancement in cultivation level is certainly a good thing, but it's different for you because you've practiced it backwards; your true energy is flowing in reverse."

"The faster your true energy grows, the more true energy flows backward, and the faster it is released outward."

"When the speed at which you release your energy outwards cannot keep up with the speed at which your true energy increases, your meridians will burst."

Qi Yu's mouth was slightly open. He could always feel that his true energy remained at a stable level, neither increasing nor decreasing.

At first, I thought it was because I was not talented enough, so my cultivation speed was slow.

But to my surprise, the opposite was true; my cultivation speed was very fast.

Su Yue transferred that true energy away.