Unlimited employment

Chapter 140, Page 139 [Taoist Canon]

Shangqing Palace, Daozang Hall.

The cold flames of the candlelight, emitting a faint glow, illuminated the hall as brightly as day.

The steel bookshelves, five or six zhang high, require Taoist priests to use their lightness skills or Taoist arts to reach the corresponding level, reaching all the way to the top of the hall, standing like iron walls inside the hall.

These bookshelves are built in the shape of the Bagua (Eight Trigrams), with the eight trigrams Qian, Kun, Gen, Dui, Xun, Zhen, Kan, and Li occupying the eight directions. They extend outwards from the inside out, gradually increasing in size, row after row, with almost no end in sight.

Each shelf on the bookshelf is filled with Taoist books collected from all over the Song Dynasty, neatly categorized and densely packed.

It is said that under the emperor's decree, the number of books in this palace exceeded 100 million two years ago, making it the largest collection of books in the Song Dynasty and worthy of the name of the Daoist Canon.

At this moment, in the narrow gap between the bookshelves, barely wide enough for one person to pass through, dozens of Taoist priests dressed in plain robes were engrossed in reading various ancient books.

With a thinking speed far exceeding that of ordinary people, he sorted out and identified the contents of the book.

The Shangqing Palace was filled with books, but in reality, very few were of high quality and much wasted. Most of the Taoist scriptures contained various fabricated Taoist pantheons, ornate, empty, and flowery praises of the gods, as well as various speculations and conjectures about the celestial and divine realms. Only a small portion of the content was related to Taoist arts.

The task of the Taoist priests in Shangqing Palace was to remove content from ancient books that was irrelevant to cultivation and select valuable Taoist techniques.

Most of the rudimentary Taoist techniques only require a first-level Taoist to mentally deduce their value and then record them in the "Wanshou Taoist Canon".

There are also a few Taoist techniques that are either profound or difficult to understand, which must be verified by Taoist priests with higher levels of cultivation before they can be included in the Taoist canon.

At this moment, outside the third shelf of the Kun section's twenty-ninth bookshelf, the floating Green Pine Taoist put down a loose, rotten book with hemp thread, pondered silently for a moment, and a smile appeared on his lips.

Then, he controlled his body to fall from mid-air, sideways through the narrow gap between the bookshelves, and came from the outside of the hall to the center of the bookshelves.

This is a relatively open space.

In the center of a Bagua diagram placed close to the eight bookshelves is a pair of Yin-Yang fish, with a ball of serene flames floating above them.

Within the flames, words and patterns flashed rapidly, causing dizziness if stared at for too long.

Above the flames, a Taoist priest sat cross-legged, suspended in the air.

This is Huang Shang, a Daoist master at the Thunder Tribulation Realm, who was ordered by the emperor to guard the Longevity Daoist Treasury.

The young Taoist priest, Qingsong, dared not look too closely at such a master. Based on his past experience, he simply closed his eyes, approached the flames, and began to chant.

"Today we will recite a chapter of the Corpse Refining Technique. To practice this technique, one must bury the corpse in an auspicious location, nourish it with the earth's energy for three months, and then guide the moonlight to irrigate it..."

Once mastered, one can control corpses to form formations, granting the ability to fight against multiple opponents at the first level...

This technique has a unique approach to the use of Yin energy, and it is somewhat similar to the Maoshan school of thought…

As they spoke, a slender, fiery tentacle emerged from the flame and probed into the pine tree's forehead.

They delved into his mind, replicating the cultivation method of the Corpse Refining Technique, as well as his thoughts and insights into this technique.

Just before the Taoist technique was recorded and the fiery tentacles were about to detach, a voice rang in his ear.

"Enter a first-tier Dao technique and gain one minor merit point."

The emperor doesn't starve his soldiers, and the Taoist priests who worked at the Shangqing Palace could earn merit based on their contributions.

Because these merits could be exchanged for various cultivation materials, and even invited high-level cultivators to provide guidance, the work of compiling books in the Shangqing Palace was gradually taken over by some of the Great Dao lineages favored by the emperor.

Although the Maoshan Sect, to which Qingsong belongs, is one of the most important lineages in the world, his master is a marginal figure in the sect, so he cherishes this opportunity to work in the Shangqing Palace.

"After working for another two years, deducing various Taoist techniques, and broadening my knowledge, plus the merits I've accumulated, I should be able to exchange them for a few Yin-attribute spiritual items, which should allow me to successfully break through to the Wind Tribulation Realm."

Having achieved a small success, Qingsong was somewhat excited and couldn't wait to bury himself in books again to find a few more Taoist techniques.

Unfortunately, the simulations he had just performed had left him mentally and physically exhausted, and he was unable to continue working today.

"Now that I have some free time, I'll go check out the goods I bought."

After bowing to bid farewell to Huang Shang, who was still meditating in mid-air, Qing Song left the gate of Shangqing Palace.

By this time, the streetlights outside were already on.

Walking on the wide bluestone streets, from the sparsely populated inner city to the outer city, and then into the brothel street in the south of the city, the market suddenly becomes bustling.

The brothel street in Bianliang was a street that never slept, with men thronging the street and the brothels on both sides brightly lit.

In the buildings decorated with pink lanterns and red silk, exuding a glamorous and sensual atmosphere, heavily made-up brothel madams would greet customers on the first floor, while rows of girls would wave handkerchiefs and laugh lewdly behind the railings on the second and third floors to attract customers.

Some more refined brothels would arrange for girls to dance masked upstairs, play the pipa and sing songs, and play the zither and flute.

In addition, some brothels also recruited women from the Western Regions, Japan, Korea, and Persian dance halls to solicit customers, creating quite a spectacle.

Some competed in skill, others in beauty; a dazzling array of flowers captivated passersby.

It is said that in the largest brothel on this street, there was a prostitute named Shishi.

This woman has cultivated the [Golden Wind and Jade Dew Technique] to the third level, which allows every man who has slept with her to become detached from desires afterward and enter a deep state of enlightenment.

Rumors circulated that even the current emperor, dressed in white robes, had slept with her, praising her unfathomable cultivation and saying that for a third-level cultivator to engage in such a lowly profession, she must have the compassionate heart of a bodhisattva bestowing blessings upon all beings.

However, no matter how compassionate a third-tier cultivator may be, the cost of a night of pleasure is beyond the reach of a lowly cultivator like Qingsong.

He came to the brothel street this time for other prostitutes.

Amidst the decadent music filling the streets, Qingsong stopped in front of a sizable three-story building.

Immediately, a madam, though not young, still charming, came forward to greet them.

"Oh my, isn't this Master Qingsong? You've finally arrived."

"I was busy with things at the palace, so it was delayed for a few days. I heard from the young Taoist priest in the palace that my mother sent me a message a few days ago, saying that the goods I wanted have arrived?"

"Yes, yes, Miss Dewdrop has been waiting for you for a long time. Please come into the backyard."

The madam, holding Qingsong's hand, led him through the bustling prostitutes and jeering customers in the main hall, all the way to the back courtyard.

Compared to the brightly lit and bustling front hall, this place was gloomy, dark, and eerily quiet.

The madam led Qingsong through an old door and into a small room where a woman with a sallow complexion lay on the bed. The woman appeared to be only in her thirties, but she had been ravaged by illness and was barely recognizable. Even though she didn't have much time left, one could still vaguely see some of her former charm in her face.

Prostitution is a lowly profession, a lowly profession that only people with miserable lives can endure.

Not only do they have to smile in front of all sorts of difficult customers every day;
Having to take birth control pills continuously, and then having to abort if you get pregnant, will inevitably damage your health if you do it too many times.
If one unfortunately falls ill, treatment will cost money and disrupt business. Some illnesses are simply incurable, leaving them to be abandoned by the brothel and die miserably on the roadside like a dog.

In this line of work, few people die peacefully.

The woman in the room was clearly a prostitute suffering from a terrible disease and nearing the end of her life.

Because the room smelled strongly of feces and urine, the madam did not go in after opening the door, but instead covered her nose with a handkerchief.

“Dewdrop, don’t say your mother didn’t take care of you. You’re so sick, and your mother still introduced you to a client.”

"Look, he's a legitimate Taoist priest from the Shangqing Palace. From now on, you're one of his people."

Qingsong found the madam noisy, so he handed her ten taels of silver, went inside, and locked her out.

In the dim light, the prostitute named Dewdrop struggled to get out of bed and gave a fawning smile.

"Master Dao has a good eye. Don't look at me like this now, but I used to be very beautiful."

Once I recover, I'll definitely take good care of you... No, I can do it right now, my mouth is very good.

Hearing the madam's footsteps in the distance, Qingsong slowly walked to the bedside, nodded at Luzhu's appearance, and said.

"Not bad. Having been a prostitute for over a decade and slept with thousands of men, the mixed yin energy within her body is quite abundant."

As he spoke, he slapped Dewdrop on the forehead, knocking her unconscious.

Next, Qingsong pulled off the quilt, took out a set of silver needles from his sleeve, and began to insert needles into Luzhu's body.

Taking advantage of the opportunity to compile the Daoist Canon of Longevity, he learned a secret technique of [corpse raising] from ancient books a few months ago.

According to the secret technique, as long as you can find a beautiful corpse, let her be slept with by a thousand men and ridden by ten thousand men, and die from an epidemic, and then refine her using a secret method and bury her deep underground for several months, you can generate yang energy from yin, and nurture a yang energy in the belly of the corpse.

Once this energy is formed, the cultivator can cultivate with the corpse, and the harmony of yang and yang will help the yin spirit overcome the wind tribulation and break through to the wind tribulation realm.

After obtaining this technique, Qingsong began searching for the body of a beautiful corpse in the brothel district, eventually focusing on Luzhu.

What happened next was simple: he just paid a man with venereal disease to repeatedly patronize Lu Zhu, which resulted in her current state.

After months of planning, the beautiful corpse is finally almost complete.

The dim light shone on Qingsong's face, making his handsome features somewhat obscure. He looked at the dew on the bed and said softly.

"Don't blame me. Blame your bad luck. For the sake of my great cultivation, you died a worthy death."

"Yes, don't blame me. Blame your bad luck. For my great cultivation, you died a worthy death."

A voice coming from behind startled Qingsong.

He instinctively turned around and slapped his back, but missed.

In the dimly lit room, he saw only a pair of bright eyes before losing all consciousness.

"I randomly picked a small fry to attack, and I never expected to see such a scene."

"Those prostitutes don't have it easy either, and you're harming them for the sake of corpse refining—that's truly wicked."

As their eyes met, Chen Sheng's powerful will surged directly into Qing Song's sea of ​​consciousness, completely suppressing his conscious mind and planting his will deep within it.

The [Nightmare Prayer] of the Seventy-Two Earthly Fiends: It can infiltrate the consciousness of others and control their consciousness and body like a puppet.

With the spell successfully performed, "Qingsong" blinked, stretched his arms and legs, hopped around a few times, and then turned and walked towards the door.

Chen Sheng casually pointed to the bed, and a bluish-yellow light shone forth, curing Lu Zhu's illness with his medical skills.

After finishing this small task, he controlled Qingsong's body and returned to Shangqing Palace before the inner city gates closed for curfew.

The moment he stepped through the palace gate, a divine sense swept over Qingsong's body, but it did not detect anything unusual.

As they entered a narrow corridor, a mirror-shaped magical artifact appeared overhead. It analyzed the skeletal gait of the pine tree as it walked, and they passed the test smoothly.

At the end of the corridor sat a demon with keen senses, but after tasting the blood of the pine tree and inhaling its spiritual aura, it found nothing wrong.

Finally, when Qingsong placed the waist token in the slot of the Daozang Hall's main gate, the gate opened smoothly after verification, and he swaggered into the hall.

Chen Sheng had observed these defensive structures for a long time that afternoon using his "penetrating insight," so there shouldn't be any problems with them.

After entering the Daoist Canon Hall, Qingsong first searched through the Kun section of the bookshelf he was in charge of for a long time, then picked up an ancient book and pretended to read and deduce it before coming to the center of the hall, in front of the bright flame.

Without looking at Huang Shang, he closed his eyes as usual and spoke.

"Just now I recited a technique for refining corpses with raging fire. The concept behind this technique is extremely peculiar, as it uses raging fire as the method for refining corpses..."

As they spoke, a slender, fiery tentacle extended from the flame and probed into the pine tree's forehead.

In an instant, Chen Sheng's will connected with a massive collection of information.

In this state, ordinary Taoist priests are often only given the right to input information, and are completely unable to actively read information from it.

However, through his connection with the flames, Chen Sheng used the technique of "seeing through walls" to penetrate the layers of the blockade network and see the deepest secrets of this flame.

In an instant, a vast amount of information about the "Wanshou Daozang" and the insights of those who recorded the Daoist arts rushed in, overwhelming Chen Sheng's will.

When Chen Sheng extracted the "Control of the Five Thunders" technique from Wu Guang's memory, this single Taoist technique alone contained millions of characters and a large number of patterns.

The current version of the "Wanshou Daozang" is naturally even more astonishing in its content.

In an instant, the vast array of Taoist arts, divided into categories such as literature, martial arts, agriculture, medicine, astronomy, divination, alchemy, artifact crafting, talismanic arrays, incantations, seals, geomancy, etiquette, archery, charioteering, mathematics, music, chess, calligraphy, painting, gods and demons, swordsmanship, nightmares, locks, and hiding, ingenious methods of creating chambers and blood, curses, poisons, commerce, cuisine, weaving, wine, dance, painting, opera, architecture, searching, collecting, interpreting, and transformation, and the realm of consciousness, with each category further subdivided into numerous complex categories, surged forth in a chaotic wave.

What you see is simply all-encompassing.

(End of this chapter)