Inheriting a Taoist temple, the story begins with Wu Zetian offering incense.

Chapter 188: Daoist Technique Exchange Begins! [Seeking Monthly Tickets]

The world of the Southern Song Dynasty, Taiping Town, Taian Prefecture, Shandong Province.

Xin Qiji held his sword in a defensive stance with one hand. Several companions quickly pulled the corpse on the ground aside and saw an official document in the deceased's satchel, so they took it out and began to examine it.

The more they looked, the more horrified they became, and their hands trembled slightly.
"Brother Tanfu, we...we seem to have gotten ourselves into trouble!"

Xin Qiji and his companions planned to visit a bandit leader who ruled the mountains. By chance, they encountered a carriage bearing the flag of the Jin Dynasty outside Taiping Town, escorted by a group of Jin people. In a moment of impulsiveness, the group rushed over and began a massacre, killing a seemingly pampered man inside the carriage.

After receiving the official letter from his partner, Xin Qiji frowned as he looked at the Jin script on it.
"The deceased was actually Su Baoheng, the Minister of Works of the Jin Dynasty. Why did he bring so few attendants?"

Xin Qiji had reviewed his own life and had also gained a broad understanding of the major events from 1161 to around 1200. He was particularly impressed by Su Baoheng, the Minister of Works of the Jin Dynasty.

Su Baoheng was a Han Chinese from Yunzhong. When the Jin army swept across the Liao Kingdom, he surrendered to the Jin Kingdom along with his father, Su Jing, and began to serve as an official under the recommendation of Wanyan Zonghan.

In 1161, when Wanyan Liang launched a major southward campaign with the intention of destroying the Song Dynasty, Su Baoheng was building warships and forming a navy in Tongzhou. He was pursued by Li Bao, a Song Dynasty naval general who was leading his army north, and was wiped out at Chenjia Island, which is near modern-day Qingdao. Except for Su Baoheng, the entire Jin Dynasty navy was annihilated.

At that time, the entire Shandong province was in rebellion. Although Su Baoheng lost his entire navy, the emperor's favor was not diminished. After Emperor Shizong of Jin ascended the throne, he was appointed Minister of Justice and ordered to pacify the righteous men who rebelled in Shandong.

He used the promise of forgiveness and high-ranking positions as bait to recruit the rebel army. Xin Qiji's comrade-in-arms, Zhang Anguo, was recruited at that time and became a high-ranking official in the Jin Dynasty.

Unfortunately, before he could even take office, Xin Qiji stormed into his camp, kidnapped him, and then escorted him to Lin'an, a thousand miles away, where he was beheaded.

After reading the official letter in his hand, Xin Qiji understood the whole story:

"Su Baoheng came to Shandong to find shipbuilders and supervise the construction of Chenjiadao naval port. I never expected that he would fall into my hands... Let's see if there are any valuables left in the carriage. If not, let's leave to avoid being discovered by the nearby garrison."

After killing a Minister of Works as easily as chopping melons and vegetables, he still had the mind to look for valuables. His friends thought they were brave enough, but compared to Xin Qiji, they seemed like greenhorns who had just learned to walk.

They rummaged through the carriage and found some gold and silver, several family letters and official documents from the imperial court, as well as the seal of the Minister of Works of the Jin Dynasty.

Xin Qiji put the letter and seal into his backpack:

"This item is of little use to us, but we can take it to Hunyuan Palace to present to the Immortal Master, hoping that he will bestow more supplies upon us, so that we will have a better chance of success after the uprising."

After looting all the money, Xin Qiji and his party mounted their horses and galloped towards Dangshi Village.

Tomorrow is the day to go to Hunyuan Palace. Xin Qiji plans to bring the 1,000 shi of grain given to him by Dang Huaiying to Hunyuan Palace, and then move it there when he establishes a base later. This will save time and boost morale at the same time.

Who wouldn't be excited if a stack of grain appeared out of thin air?

One of the partners suggested:

"I've heard there's a Liangshan Marsh near Yuncheng, with an island within it that's easy to defend and difficult to attack. Why don't we go and occupy it, establish a foothold there? What do you think, Brother Tanfu?"

Xin Qiji said:
"This place, surrounded by water on all sides, seems easy to defend and difficult to attack, but in reality it is just a cage. I think the Marquis of Champion's suggestion is better. We should occupy the Yimeng Mountains and make it our base. When heroes rise up all over the world, that will be the day we make our name!"

The Yimeng Mountains are vast, with rivers, hills, and expansive land, which could be used to train the militia while cultivating fertile fields to achieve self-sufficiency.

Two years later, Wanyan Liang will inevitably launch a major southward offensive, and large numbers of rebel armies will once again emerge in various parts of Shandong.

At that time, we will publish a proclamation denouncing the Jin Dynasty, listing all its crimes, and gain recognition. The Han people of the north will surely flock to join us. As long as we can withstand the Jin Dynasty's encirclement and suppression in the early stages, our strength will grow like a snowball.

The people of the northern lands have long suffered under foreign invaders. From the Liao Dynasty's occupation of the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun to the Jin Dynasty's rampage, they have longed for centuries for a Han Chinese hero to appear and save them from all this.

When Yue Fei reached Zhuxian Town, the people of the north were overjoyed, and within a few days, hundreds of rebel armies emerged in Hebei and Shandong to respond to Yue Fei's army.

Once Yue Fei led his army across the Yellow River, the road ahead would have been smooth. However, twelve imperial edicts arrived one after another, and the river became an insurmountable barrier for Yue Fei's army.

It wasn't until two hundred years later, when Xu Da and Chang Yuchun led their armies across the Yellow River, that the people finally saw the heroes who belonged to the Han people!

While Xin Qiji and his companions were on their way, Zhou Yi was sitting in a room in the Hunyuan Palace, holding a black notebook and carefully examining the newly appeared Taoist magic exchange section.

He held his breath and stared intently at the pages of the black notebook, which displayed lines of skill names, exchange requirements, and skill descriptions.

Skills are divided into four categories: blessing, combat, defense, and buff.

He first looked through the blessing category, which mainly included things like warding off disasters, curing illnesses, prolonging life, improving health, bestowing blessings, and changing one's luck. For example, for prolonging life, one tael of merit could help a person extend their life by one year, and from the second year onwards, the merit consumed would automatically double.

Both healing and physical fitness are ways to enhance the body; one treats illness and the other strengthens the body. The prices are relatively equal, and each treatment consumes five coins of merit.

The specific amount of merit required for warding off disasters, bestowing blessings, and changing one's luck is not specified; it only states a minimum of three coins, and it is estimated that the amount may increase depending on the circumstances.

"I feel like this little bit of merit I have won't be enough to save many people!" Zhou Yi felt that the price was unreasonable. It was a pity that this matter was not under the jurisdiction of the price bureau, otherwise he would have filed a complaint.

There are many combat-related Taoist techniques, such as sword control, which allows you to control a sword to move freely within a five-meter radius around you, consuming one coin of merit per second.

There's also the Divine Speed ​​Technique, which allows you to run faster than the human body can, but it also consumes merit points. The price is the same as the Sword Flight Technique, one coin of merit points per second, which is even more outrageous than outright robbery.

Defensive spells are similar, such as Earth Shield, which summons a one-meter-thick shield from the earth to block in front of the body, consuming two coins of merit every ten seconds.

There is also a Water Escape Technique in the water, which allows you to swim freely underwater. For the first five minutes, you earn one coin of merit every ten seconds. After five minutes, you earn two coins of merit every ten seconds. After ten minutes, you will consume four coins of merit every ten seconds until the Water Escape Technique ends.

Finally, there are the gain classes, which are quite fancy.

For example, there is a skill called Super Training, which can be redeemed for one coin each time. Each session lasts for half an hour and can increase the gravity experienced by the body by 10%, up to a maximum of 100%.

This method can train running, heart rate, lung capacity, etc., and it does not require deliberate training. As long as you can complete daily walking, running, and jumping, your body can be strengthened rapidly, which is much more convenient than weight training.

Zhou Yi thinks this can be placed in the battle menu.

In future fights, you can secretly add a bunch of gravity training to your opponent... A sudden application of 100% gravity will definitely make your opponent scramble and panic.

After looking through all four skill slots, Zhou Yi didn't find the Sword Flight and Five Thunderbolts he was looking forward to; they were all relatively basic skills, which was a bit disappointing.

Even so, he couldn't exchange them at will... He still needed to find ways to earn merit points; having no merit points was more painful than having no money.

The battle in Ningxia on Zhao Xu's side is almost over, and hopefully some merit points can be accumulated.

Xin Qiji has just executed the Minister of Works of the Jin Dynasty, so he probably won't have any more merits for a while. He should be encouraged when he comes next time and hopefully continue to work hard.

With no wars raging in the Kaiyuan world for the time being, Gongsun Da Niang and Li Bai can only focus their efforts on improving people's livelihoods.

In the Yuan Emperor's world, Chen Tang will need more than a month to reach Chang'an. Once he arrives, he should be able to accumulate some merit points, since Shi Xian and Kuang Heng are both valuable experience points.

As for Liu Ao, he is only a fifteen-year-old teenager. Hopefully, Tom Cruise can use his talent for persuasion and some modern gadgets to make this young man obedient... Correcting the teenager's physical and mental health, he can at least gain some merit rewards, right?

The world of Emperor Wu has just experienced a victory. I wonder if the Battle of Dingxiang in May will happen again in the second playthrough. I hope there will be another battle. Time is running out for the Xiongnu, so we must cherish it.

The next focus of merit is the Zhenguan era.

Although Li Weigong moves very slowly, he advances one step at a time and will eventually reach the Northeast. He doesn't even need to go to Liaodong; he can simply stay in the rear and oversee things.

With Minister of War Li Ji also present, the two military geniuses joined forces, along with Su Dingfang, the greatest general in territorial expansion, and even if they slowly wore down Goguryeo, they could still take it down.

Historically, during Li Shimin's personal campaign, Li Daozong came up with a brilliant idea: to lead 5,000 elite troops to attack the Goguryeo capital, Joseon City. Unfortunately, Li Shimin thought it was too risky and did not agree to the plan.

Now that there's no emperor to keep them in check, Li Jing and his two companions can experiment with tactics like rapid infiltration and surprise attacks.

After reviewing all the worlds, Zhou Yi felt that the merits were still very limited, and he thought that new people should be added.

Considering that Chai Rong had not yet appeared, Zhou Yi suspected it was a problem with his name. Since Chai Rong had been called Guo Rong his entire life, the name of the Hall of Longevity should be changed.

He arrived at the Hall of Longevity and added the name of Emperor Shizong of Zhou, Guo Rong, after the name of Emperor Shizong of Zhou, Chai Rong.

If Chai Rong doesn't come, let's see if Guo Rong comes!

Besides Chai Rong, Zhou Yi also considered other candidates, such as Liu Bang, the number one rogue of the Han Dynasty, who had a lot of merit waiting to be unleashed.

And then there's Ying Zheng. Bringing Ying Zheng in his youth and providing him with some correction and support during the First Emperor's growth would bring in a ton of merit.

The late Eastern Han Dynasty was a time of great upheaval, a time when one could both accumulate merit and save the people—this was a must-have.

The Ming Dynasty could also give it a try. If it happens to be the Ming Dynasty during its Northern Expedition, the merits would be just as great. It's just that the Ming Dynasty's literati are a bit hard to deal with. It would be best to bring Confucius with us then.

The Ming Dynasty scholars revered Confucius, so let's have the 1.9-meter-tall old master drive a chariot and teach them a lesson.

Just then, I heard the sound of footsteps outside, like high heels clicking on a stone slab.

Zhou Yi muttered:
"Didn't they say Mei Niang wasn't allowed to wear high heels? Why is she... wait, Mei Niang hasn't come back yet, so who could it be?"

(End of this chapter)