Cultivating Immortality from the Book of Life and Death

Chapter 243 Accumulating Merit and Doing Good Deeds. (Second Update!)

Wanshan Temple, side hall.

The apricot-yellow curtains hung low, concealing the statues in the shrine.

Outside the tent, on the left and right, there was a bronze tree-shaped candlestick with a dozen or so lit candles inserted on it, casting a dim yellow light that hazy over the entire palace.

In the center of the candlesticks is a huanghuali wood altar table with carved cloud patterns. On the table are several plates of fresh fruits, their colors vibrant, as if they had just been picked from the branches.

Below the hall stood a bronze incense burner, taller than a person, decorated with thunder patterns of mountains and pavilions. Inside, countless incense sticks were inserted, their scarlet tips flickering as blue smoke filled the hall, like clouds and mist, obscuring the figures in the air.

Amidst the strong scent of incense, Shentu Jinghai suddenly awoke and subconsciously glanced around.

Inside the spacious side hall, neatly arranged prayer cushions were laid out.

On each prayer cushion sat a figure, all with solemn expressions. Judging from their attire and appearance, they were all members of the caravan. They stared intently at the figure on a rather exquisite brocade prayer cushion under the offering table.

Shen Tu Jinghai frowned. He remembered that he had just followed Senior Lu out of the room, and then... and then he inexplicably appeared here!
He couldn't remember anything that happened in between.

If I'm not mistaken, I must have been bewitched!

Now, where is this place?
Just then, a familiar voice came from the brocade cushion: "...As the saying goes, the retribution for good and evil follows like a shadow."

"Those who seek celestial immortality should perform 1,300 good deeds, and those who seek earthly immortality should perform 300 good deeds..."

"...Do no evil, do all good..."

"Therefore, a virtuous person speaks good words, sees good things, and does good deeds. If one does three good deeds a day, Heaven will surely bestow blessings upon him within three years..."

Shentu Jinghai immediately looked up and saw a middle-aged cultivator in a blue robe and golden crown, holding a whisk that appeared out of nowhere in one hand and a book with an old and blurry cover in the other. He was sitting upright on a brocade cushion, looking around the hall, and loudly explaining the importance of "accumulating virtue and doing good deeds".

After a brief look at the middle-aged cultivator in blue robes and a golden crown, Shentu Jinghai recognized him as Miao Yi, one of the cultivators responsible for guarding the "B" shaped carriage, whose cultivation level was at the sixth level of Qi Refining.

The other party must have been misled too!

Most of the other cultivators around were in the same boat...

Just then, a cultivator dressed in dark gray, with two short swords hanging at his waist, suddenly stood up and said in a terrified voice, "Fellow Daoist Miao, where is this place?!"

"Why am I here?"

Shen Tu Jinghai immediately turned his head to look at the cultivator who had spoken. It was Wang Wu, who, like Miao Yi, was a rogue cultivator in charge of the "B" class vehicle...

Snapped!
The next moment, the whisk in Miao Yi's hand struck Wang Wu directly on the head!

Wang Wu's head exploded like a ripe watermelon, scattering red and white blood all over the ground. One eyeball, still retaining a bit of its former luster, rolled to the ground, dragging blood as it rolled to a spot not far from Shen Tu Jinghai before slowly coming to a stop, its pupil gradually dilating.

Miao Yi's deep, authoritative voice rang out: "Disrupting the evening class order deserves death!"

Evening class?

This is the evening prayer session at Wanshan Temple!
Shentu Jinghai frowned. This Miao Yi's cultivation was only at the sixth level of Qi Refining, but the attack he just made was something even he couldn't do.

Unsurprisingly, this should be the rule of this Wanshan Temple: no matter how strong a cultivator is, if they haven't reached the Foundation Establishment stage, they will surely die if they are hit by that whisk!

While he was pondering rapidly, he heard Miao Yi speak again: "Our Wanshan Temple, mindful of the sorrow and resentment that fills the world today, takes accumulating virtue and doing good deeds as its guiding principle, and emphasizes opening the gate of all virtues to bless all living beings."

"Though the world is full of evil, if one holds good thoughts, it is like the light shining everywhere, creating a clear and peaceful mind..."

"What I will be talking about tonight is how to do good deeds!"

"This humble Taoist priest will begin with a question..."

At this point, he pointed at Shentu Jinghai and said, "If you were traveling and encountered a bully oppressing a weak woman, what would you do?"

A bully oppressing a weak woman? Shen Tu Jinghai's brows did not move. If he really encountered such a trivial matter, he would not even bother to give it a second glance.

However, this is the Wanshan Temple, and judging from what Miao Yi just said, he clearly intends to guide people towards goodness...

Thinking of this, Shentu Jinghai immediately replied, "Of course, I would help those in need when I see injustice on the road!"

"I will teach that bully a lesson and save that vulnerable woman..."

Before he could finish speaking, Miao Yi's gaze suddenly turned incredibly cold.

Shen Tu Jinghai immediately felt a chill run down his spine, and a sense of dread crept over him, but he didn't know which of his words had gone wrong.
At this moment, an elderly cultivator in a yellow robe turned around and glared at Shentu Jinghai, saying, "Wrong!"

"You've ruined that woman's life!"

"By teaching that bully a lesson, you were just showing off your power."

“Once you leave, that bully will definitely retaliate against that woman even more severely!”

"This approach will not solve the problem at all."

As he spoke, the cultivator in the yellow robe turned to look at Miao Yi and continued, "Daoist Master, the answer to this question should be to directly kill that weak woman!"

"The bully bullied that woman because she was easy to bully."

“Even without this bully standing up for her, there would be other people and things that would oppress that woman in the future.”

"Only by killing that woman can we ensure that no one will be able to bully her again!"

"Only in this way can the problem be solved once and for all!"

Upon hearing this, Miao Yi immediately praised, "Excellent!"

“It is better to teach a man to fish than to teach him to fish.”

"I've been teaching for so long, and I never imagined that someone would still be so confused about such a simple question, confusing good and evil. They're just blockheads, utterly hopeless!"

Then, he looked at Shentu Jinghai again and said coldly, "I have one more question for you, so I'll give you another chance."

"You are taking a walk along the river and happen to see someone fall into the water. What should you do?"

※※※

In the dilapidated palace, Zheng Que looked at the familiar Book of Life and Death before him and noticed that several new names had appeared on it.

He glanced at it briefly, not paying much attention, then turned to the second page of the Book of Life and Death, looked at the record of the ghost bride, and decisively said, "Luo Fuyu."

As soon as the words were spoken, the figure of the prince in a phoenix coronet and embroidered robe immediately appeared in the rising mist.

Luo Fuyu glanced around to confirm his surroundings, then quickly knelt down and bowed, saying, "Greetings, Your Excellency!"

Zheng Que nodded slightly, then opened his palm, which bore the character "令" (command), and pointed it at Luo Fuyu.

The next moment, Luo Fuyu's body was filled with rising yin energy, her robes and veil fluttered wildly, and her jade pendants jingled all around her.

The ghost bride's cultivation had reached the peak of the [Scissors Prison], while the ghosts Zheng Que had killed during this period were only at the seventh or eighth level of the [Tongue-Pulling Prison]. Therefore, Luo Fuyu's yin energy did not increase much before it came to an abrupt end.

However, despite the small improvement, Luo Fuyu was greatly encouraged.

She could clearly sense that if she had continued in that state for just a moment longer, she could have broken through to the [Iron Tree Prison] level!
Is this a reward given to me by that lord on the Dan Chi platform because I completed the last mission?
At this moment, Zheng Que spoke up, saying, "That human cultivator is currently trapped in the Wanshan Temple on Danqiu Peak of Yaotai Mountain."

"Go quickly and rescue him!"

(End of this chapter)