Real World.
Song Lin woke up. It had been six days since he obtained Guang Chengzi's Qi Gong—six years in the story world.
For six years, he had been cultivating in the valley of Yunmeng Mountain, focusing on studying Qi Gong.
Occasionally, he returned to the real world to handle the affairs of the Dharma Altar Warehouse.
He quickly packed his belongings and stepped out the door.
This time, he intended to move to the house next to the Yin Yang Altar. Otherwise, traveling back and forth every day would be too much trouble.
Moreover, today was the day of his ritual to receive the talisman.
Tongshou Taoist finally had time to perform the liturgy for him.
Yin Yang Altar.
A young man approached—this was Li Xuan.
Li Xuan brushed past Song Lin, muttering under his breath, "Don't get cocky. I won't let you off the hook."
"Happy to oblige—heh!"
Song Lin retorted indifferently.
"You!!" Li Xuan's face turned pale with rage, his fists clenched tightly. Someone he used to bully now trampling all over him—how could he endure it?
"Me? What about me? The world has never been fair, has it? Haha."
Unconcerned, Song Lin ignored him and walked deeper into the grand hall, leaving behind only his silhouette.
In the center of the grand hall stood a dharma altar.
The altar was dedicated to the ghosts and gods of the four cardinal directions, the Imperial Heavens and Earth, and was covered with a sheet of yellow paper.
An elderly Taoist from the Grand Commissioner Institute held a brush in hand, writing and drawing on the yellow paper.
When he saw Song Lin approach, the Taoist glanced up and said, "Perfect timing. Press your handprint here."
"Alright."
Song Lin stepped forward and pressed his thumb in the lower right corner of the yellow paper, beneath his name and birthdate.
"Upper Immortal Official Calamity Relief Child General, twelve entities." Song Lin noticed the additional small text beneath his name on the talisman. "What does this mean?"
"The Upper Immortal Official Calamity Relief Child General is your immortal position. The number refers to the ghosts and gods under your jurisdiction," the Taoist patiently explained.
A Fetal Breathing Stage cultivator receiving the Child General Talisman was considered a moderate position. In mortal terms, it corresponded to a secondary ninth-rank official.
"I see."
Song Lin stepped aside and waited.
The liturgy wasn't as simple as merely issuing a certificate—it required the presence of the "Three Great Masters."
The elderly Taoist before him served as the Taoist Talisman Altar Supervising Master, the liturgy's host; the Referral Master, who recommended him for the talisman ritual, was Tongshou Taoist.
The last one was the Supervisor overseeing the ceremony, typically the temple master.
Of course, the temple master wouldn't come in person for a minor Taoist disciple's talisman ritual. Generally, an elder Taoist would bring the temple master's seal.
Only upon the completion of the liturgy, with the seal appended, would the talisman take effect, granting the Taoist the divine skills associated with it.
This distinguished an official Taoist from a loose cultivator—the former had formal credentials and access to the sect's resources.
At the same cultivation level, official Taoists far outperformed loose cultivators in strength.
Additionally, sect resources made cultivation easier by providing materials for refining True Qi and one's soul, particularly at the Qi Cultivation and Divine Establishment stages.
Thus, having official status was quite important.
Before long, Tongshou Taoist arrived on a cloud and affixed his private seal to the talisman.
"Wuming Junior Brother, let's begin." Unexpectedly, Tongshou addressed someone older than himself as "Junior Brother."
"Alright."
Wuming picked up the talisman, stepped into the Gang Step, and started chanting.
"'Talisman' means 'record.' The cultivator, with their Divine Room clear and righteous, gains dominion over celestial entities, subjugates demons, wards off ghosts... Officials, soldiers, countless immortals and Jade Girls, each performing their roles, guiding and serving endlessly."
"Recorded by Heavenly Officials, negated by Yin Talismans."
Wuming took out the glimmering Taoist Scripture Master Treasure Seal and stamped it lightly.
Song Lin suddenly felt his body lighten, a mysterious energy forged a connection with him.
"It's done. This is the Supreme Zhengyi Child General Protection Secret Talisman and magic talisman jade token. Safeguard the secret talisman well; it must not be lost. Hang the jade token at your waist as proof."
Song Lin accepted the talisman, and the elderly Taoist packed up the altar and left.
"Work diligently. Don't disappoint me, young cultivator," Tongshou Taoist said.
"Thank you, Taoist."
Song Lin sneered inwardly. If it had been his former self, he might have been grateful beyond measure.
Now, he saw things much more clearly. The Taoist was merely using him to counterbalance Wude, leaving Song Lin without genuine gratitude.
Still, on the surface, he pretended to be earnestly grateful.
"By the way, you can summon twelve protective ghosts and gods using the talisman. You'll need to prepare an altar in advance, and it will consume True Qi—don't forget this detail. Don't let yourself fall into a situation where you can't summon them against enemies."
Ghosts and gods could only persist for forty-nine days. Extending their life even by a single day would consume additional mana.
"What if the ghosts and gods die?"
Song Lin still had one question he dared not ask—it involved privacy.
If he summoned ghosts and gods in the story world, would his secrets be exposed?
"You think they're actual ghosts and gods?"
If that were the case, the Taoist Temple wouldn't have enough ghosts and gods to go around.
The talisman contained runes and the residual aura of ghosts and gods.
Ghosts and gods were manifested based on True Qi. The real celestial entities were enshrined in the Spirit Hall.
Summoned ghosts and gods disappeared after use, leaving nothing behind. They wouldn't expose secrets either because they were essentially spells.
Every Taoist valued their privacy, so summoned ghosts and gods were perfectly safe.
"Of course, if you want greater convenience, you can buy some corpses at the Ghost Market to cultivate ghosts yourself—about five Taoist Merits per set of bones," Tongshou Taoist added before departing.
"Tongshou Taoist seems to favor you." Wude remarked with a sarcastic tone from nearby.
"Not at all, not at all."
Song Lin brushed off the remark and headed to the warehouse.
The Taoist disciples lined up to offer congratulations and to collect supplies.
Song Lin's thoughts were elsewhere; he was preoccupied with how to acquire twelve sets of bones.
These weren't ordinary bones but ones cultivated in Extremely Yin Lands.
At a cost of five Taoist Merits per set, he needed a total of sixty Taoist Merits, but he currently only possessed five or six.
"Looks like I'll have to make adjustments here."
Song Lin glanced at the warehouse shelves and began strategizing.
Warehouse losses were a known occurrence.
A deficit of up to five percent was considered standard practice.
For instance, if one hundred ounces of poria were reduced to ninety-five, the Taoist Temple wouldn't investigate.
This applied to other resources as well.
Song Lin had calculated before: reporting losses in this manner would yield about ten Taoist Merits per month.
Even so, it would take six months to gather enough, and in the meantime, he'd have to make do with the temple's ghosts and gods.
"Wait a moment."
Song Lin remembered his story world and struck upon an idea.
The Fetal Breathing Stage allowed him to refine basic entry-level pills.
If he learned alchemy in the story world and replicated the process in the real world, wouldn't he be able to earn a large amount of Taoist Merits?
It was well known the most lucrative professions were alchemy, artifact refining, and providing Enlightenment Blessings.
After work, Song Lin visited the Grand Commissioner Institute and exchanged his remaining Taoist Merits for a copy of Simple Yellow and White Skill, then returned to the story world.
There was a stone tablet in the story world containing pill recipes—no further exchanges were needed.
The refined pills could be sold at the Ghost Market without worrying about leaks.
Previously, he had avoided practicing due to limited time. Now, faced with real-world challenges, it was finally time to learn a trade.