Bat blood mixed with sulfur and various talisman water was splashed on his eyes.
The sensation was akin to being doused with sulfuric acid, the intense pain drilling like an electric drill, violently stirring his brain.
Song Lin could hardly confirm if his eyes were still intact.
Though the Karma Illusion Body was unreal, any injury to this body here wouldn't affect the Real World.
But the pain was undeniably real.
Yet Song Lin endured it.
Human pain, besides being physical, is also psychological fear.
With firm willpower, pain can be withstood.
Finding his method, Song Lin's distorted expression gradually smoothed out.
He focused inward, sensing the thumb-sized True Qi in his body. The cultivation technique he practiced during his time as a Taoist disciple at Xuanke Temple was called "Peace Qi Cultivation Song," and his True Qi was pale blue, belonging to Yin nature.
This method could be cultivated up to the Fetal Breathing Stage.
Xuanke Temple specialized in commanding Yin Generals and Rampant Soldiers. Upon reaching the Fetal Breathing Stage and receiving the Child General Talisman, one could summon ghosts and gods to fight for them.
Song Lin thought about this as he channeled mana to his eyes, alleviating the pain.
As time passed, he unexpectedly entered the True State.
Daoist cultivation is divided into stages like Meditation, Fetal Breathing, Qi Cultivation, Divine Establishment, and more.
The Meditation stage comprises two levels: meditation and True State. The former requires sitting meditation to achieve focus, while the latter involves constant meditation at all times. This deeper state is a prerequisite for advancing to the Fetal Breathing Stage.
"Oh? A promising talent!"
Seeing the person before him unafraid of pain and instead achieving meditation amid suffering, the Lao Mountain Taoist couldn't help but marvel. He realized he had misjudged and nearly let a promising talent slip away.
As for Song Lin's mastery of True Qi, the Taoist wasn't too surprised—he had discovered it half a year ago.
When Song Lin was young, he had once acquired a simple cultivation technique, thus successfully cultivating True Qi.
Before long, the disciple in front of him woke up slowly.
"Haha, congratulations on mastering a Divine Skill." The Lao Mountain Taoist waved his sleeve, and the miscellaneous items on the table disappeared.
Song Lin gradually opened his eyes.
He had never found the world so bright before; his eyes seemed to have undergone a cleansing.
The fleeting mosquitoes and flies outside the window, the dust on the vase, the veins on leaves dozens of meters away.
Everything was crystal clear, and the world seemed to move in slow motion.
A faint smile appeared at the corner of Song Lin's mouth—this was the Divine Skill he truly needed.
"Thank you, Taoist, for imparting the Divine Skill!"
"Right, there are a few things to remember when practicing this skill. Avoid eating dog meat and chives, don't stare directly at lightning; minor consequences include spell failure, severe ones could lead to bleeding eyes. You must take heed."
At these words, Song Lin instinctively glanced at the Lao Mountain Taoist's blood-red eyes.
Could this fellow have bled like that?
"Do you want to become my last disciple?"
"I do!"
Song Lin stayed for half a day, performed the apprenticeship ceremony, and met the other eight disciples.
Then he returned to his own bedroom.
Midnight.
Nightfall came, and a deep silence enveloped everything.
Song Lin's mind stirred, and an ancient tome appeared in the void.
The ancient tome turned to the second page, revealing the golden progress of the Karma Effect, which had risen slightly, occupying roughly 15%, like a battery that had charged another grid.
Seeing this, he roughly understood how to accumulate Karma.
Exerting influence on this world generates Karma.
By joining Lao Mountain and slightly altering the original history, his Karma had increased.
If he were to perform even greater deeds in the future, he assumed Karma would rise even more—this was his hypothesis.
Turning instead to the second page.
The second page showed his personal information.
Name: Song Lin
Stage: Meditation Stage
Daoist Realm: Half a year
Items: Perfect Causality
Divine Skill: Bat Night Brightness Skill
Simple and concise, almost minimal.
"It's time to return."
Roughly a day had passed, which likely translated to about four minutes in the Real World.
Song Lin folded away the ancient tome, his mind stirring as he consumed one Karma to materialize the Bat Night Brightness Skill.
He had looked into it beforehand; once he exited, time would continue its ordinary flow.
With the Karma Illusion Body, one could live normally, but their cultivation would hardly progress, and they might lack adaptability in the face of danger.
Crash!
Once again, the sensation of spinning and upheaval assaulted him.
The Real World
Inside a cave, Song Lin opened his eyes. The dimly lit cave could no longer obscure his vision.
Outside, footsteps kept pacing back and forth.
Zhang Jin, like a beast, wielded a wooden sword blazing with fiery fire and slashed at any suspicious bushes or areas without hesitation.
"Come out!!"
Zhang Jin's face wore a crazed smile.
The ultimate winner would still be him.
Eight years after joining, having served as a servant Taoist for all eight years, he was one of the few survivors. During this time, he had gone through four roommates.
He relied not on luck but ruthless cunning.
Today would be no different.
If he could get the She Mountain Stone Fish, he'd have the chance to advance to the Fetal Breathing Stage.
In this chaotic and lawless world, only those like him could be winners.
At this moment, a gust of wind came from behind Zhang Jin.
Turning his head, Zhang Jin saw Song Lin swinging a stick towards his head.
Zhang Jin sidestepped to evade, sneering, "Haha! You finally came out. Huh, where's the item?"
"I'll tell you once you're dead."
"Such boldness!" Zhang Jin lightly waved his wooden sword, and the sky formed a long fiery streak.
But Song Lin dodged it with ease.
"Lucky shot."
Several consecutive strikes followed, each narrowly missing. The opponent seemed to anticipate his moves, reacting in advance to everything he did.
"Dodging and hiding, is that all you've got? Come on, fight me one-on-one!" Zhang Jin shouted angrily.
"Alright."
Song Lin tilted his head to dodge the fire sword, then stepped forward and struck Zhang Jin's hand with his stick.
The stick hit the decaying skin, causing Zhang Jin to loosen his grip in pain, and then Song Lin struck his head again with the stick.
Bang!
Zhang Jin fell to the ground, coughing up blood, his wooden sword dropped, and the flames were extinguished.
"Cough, cough, Song Taoist, listen to me..."
"I won't listen!!"
Song Lin remained expressionless, striking Zhang Jin's head repeatedly, smashing his skull until brain matter spilled out.
When the stick broke, he picked up another and continued striking.
"Phew! It's over." Song Lin slumped onto the ground, his back drenched in cold sweat.
Being pursued right after transmigrating and killing someone for the first time left him feeling somewhat uneasy.
After a long pause, he stood up, looked at the sky, glanced at Zhang Jin's corpse, and took the She Mountain Stone Fish from the cave.
Next, he returned to Zhang Jin's corpse, suppressing his nausea to retrieve several medicinal recipes and five bronze coins.
The bronze coins bore runes with "Xuanke" characters engraved on both sides.
These were dharma coins, currency commonly used by cultivators, and five of them were worth a hundred gold.
Most valuable, however, was the wooden sword.
The sword, crafted from ordinary wood, bore a vermillion seal on its blade: Three Yang Thunder Fire.
This item was worth at least ten dharma coins; killing and looting were indeed the fastest ways to make money.
For beginner cultivators, spells weren't particularly effective—spellcasting required chanting, took time, and was slow to release.
At this stage, magic artifacts were more potent, which explained why Zhang Jin spent most of his savings to consecrate the wooden sword.
Having finished his tasks, Song Lin left without looking back.
In the mountain forest teeming with wild beasts, Zhang Jin's corpse was soon devoured.
Moreover, the life of servant Taoists was as cheap as paper; no one would investigate deeply.
Song Lin navigated through the forest and followed the trail back to Xuanke Temple's grand entrance.
The streets were bustling with people, and the Taoist Temple's gates were exceptionally majestic.
The passersby gazed at the Taoists in their robes with reverence, and Song Lin was met with eyes full of envy.
He sneered inwardly.
Only he understood the perilousness of cultivation.
In these three years, he had witnessed countless deaths.
Some disciples died from being used as experimental subjects by Taoists, some went mad and committed suicide, while others provoked Taoists and were beaten and maimed.
Once one received a talisman, they became part of the temple, their soul listed on the registry, destined never to transcend.
You either suffered eternally or climbed over the corpses of others to advance.
"Song Lin!"
Just as Song Lin entered the gate, someone called out to him.