Invasion Myth: Starting with the Schoolteacher

Chapter 808 The Taoist Priest Takes Flight
The Book of Shinto, which had been considered a fragment, now revealed its true terror—it took off without warning.

"The true essence of Taoism lies in helping the world." Bai Suzhen once commented, "The lofty ideals of this practice are no less than those of Lishan."

Compared to the arduous cultivation of traditional meditation and qi practice, the "Book of Divine Path" is like having a cheat code—curing diseases can increase cultivation, refining pills can increase cultivation, and even sorting out the earth's veins and floods can boost cultivation.

What's even more ingenious is that this "mass line" approach perfectly complements the free medical services offered by Baoantang.

So, while other cultivators were still suffering in their caves, "drinking the wind and dew," Master Mao was already leading his apprentices on a journey through the streets and alleys.

Today I'll cure Grandma Zhang's rheumatism, tomorrow I'll exorcise evil spirits from the Li family's boy. With each patient I heal, my spiritual power grows stronger; with each calamity I quell, my primordial spirit becomes clearer.

Recently, after quelling the floods in Jiangnan, the old Taoist's cultivation has increased dramatically, and he is about to break through the "Guarding One and Returning to the Spirit" realm.

By combining the essence of heaven and earth with the principle of "guarding the oneness," the spirit returns to its proper place, achieving unity of body, mind, and spirit.

The corresponding external alchemy realm is Qi Refining and Spirit Transformation.

But who would have thought that Master Mao, an old Taoist who had spent most of his life cultivating without ever getting close to the threshold of Taoism, had moved Xu Xuan with his sincere Taoist heart and thus managed to cross the Heavenly Gate and enter the Tao?

Theoretically, the growth potential is limited, and you can't succeed without changing your foundation.

However, ever since the Baoan Hall was officially established and expanded, the old Taoist's cultivation level has become abnormal and has risen accordingly.

Although it can't compare to the overpowered abilities of a certain White Lotus Heavenly Demon King, nor to the chosen ones born by destiny like the "Three Heroes and Two Clouds," its rate of cultivation growth has already left orthodox sword cultivators like Yan Chixia scratching their heads in disbelief.

Xu Xuan specifically consulted Bai Suzhen about this matter.

“It is the power of his vows that is being rewarded.” A wisp of golden light swirled around Bai Niangzi’s fingertips. “The merits he has accumulated from healing the sick and saving lives, and the divine favor he has gained from sorting out the earth’s veins, are all helping to enhance his cultivation.”

The person then fell silent.

This technique is practically a protagonist's template!

Gathering in groups to cultivate merit and accumulate points, one can also level up quickly by doing good deeds.
Are you cultivating immortality or forming a righteous path?
It can only be said that high-level cultivation methods all have the characteristic of leading to the same goal, and this thing is somewhat similar to my own White Lotus Method and the orthodox Pure Land Method.

Therefore, there is some truth to Zhuangzi's saying that every drink and every bite is preordained.

This connection was established at some causal point.

It's like a combination of Fire and Thunder (噬嗑) and Wind and Thunder (益): good fortune hidden within misfortune, opportunity found amidst danger.

The fire raged fiercely, and the thunder roared deafeningly; their encounter was bound to cause conflict and obstruction. But there was also the other side: the wind fueled the thunder, and the thunder stirred the wind, creating a powerful force in their synergy.

The sixty-four hexagrams of the I Ching truly encompass all things in the universe and the infinite possibilities of human life.

Even Xu Xuan, a demon from beyond the realm, benefited greatly from it despite only grasping a small part of its essence.

Back to the topic.

The Baoan Hall's wealth accumulation began on a rapid, unstoppable path during Lei Huan's time. This included control of the Taihu Lake area, the excavation of the Dragon Palace's secret treasures, and the "demolition projects" of demon caves across various regions.
It has gold and silver jewelry, minerals, fisheries, forestry, animal husbandry and other resources.

The amount of money they've secretly earned over the years is simply astronomical.

The problem is that most of this wealth is "shady".

It is well known that if a large amount of precious metals and assets flood the market in a short period of time, it will lead to currency devaluation, as well as price volatility and speculative trading, resulting in increased volatility in derivative prices and even amplifying systemic risks.

Leaving aside the distant future, the livelihoods of people in the Jiangnan region will suffer a catastrophic blow. When divine retribution falls, the instigator will undoubtedly die.

In his previous life, Xu, who was an ordinary college graduate, had some basic financial knowledge.

In addition, given the special circumstances under the feudal system, the allocation of secure assets and the power struggles would occupy most of Baoantang's energy.

This is the most troublesome quagmire during the transformation of an underground organization; getting involved would be like picking up a sesame seed and losing a watermelon.

Fortunately, Xu, who was good at fighting, was flexible in his thinking and vision, and decided to seek a method from within the feudal system.

After all, with wisdom that has been ahead for thousands of years, there are always many ways to deal with things.

The "Five-Year Development Plan for the Jiangnan Region" bears the shadow of the "Equalization of Transportation" in the Han Dynasty, incorporates the routines of the "Market Exchange Bureau" in the Song Dynasty, and even copied the hedging strategy of a Nobel Prize-winning economist.

They also developed Song Youde as their trump card.

But the gears of fate always seemed to be turning at Xu Xuan's fingertips.

Who would have thought that the dignified governor of Yangzhou would walk right into a trap, handing over the flaws in the entire Yangzhou administrative system?

This "generous gift" came at such a perfect time that even Xu Xuan couldn't help but suspect that this world was already prepared to watch a grand fireworks display.

Those ill-gotten gains finally had a place to circulate. The Dragon Palace treasures could be laundered under the guise of government-run pharmacies, and the output of spirit ore could be legitimately circulated through the Grand Canal. "Finally, we can act a little more freely."

Looking down at the bustling city of Yangzhou, one of the nine major prefectures, Yangzhou was like a ripe fruit, slowly falling into his clutches.

This fulfills the oath made in Guobei County back then—to use a demonic body to walk the righteous path and to sort out the chaos in this world.

Continue to build up strength.

Continue weaving the net.

When the momentous day arrives, the world will finally understand: should we be overjoyed or terrified by this long-awaited change?

The lights of thousands of homes in Yangzhou flickered on and off for a moment, as if in some tacit response.

The stars in the sky twinkled and dimmed, as if another celestial destiny was about to descend upon the world.

The great era is truly upon us.

After receiving all the property and land deeds, Xu Xuan began to arrange the specific details.

The matter in Yangzhou was an unexpected bonus; for now, we'll leave it to Zhuge Yu and Master Mao.

He himself wanted to take advantage of the time before leaving Jiangnan next spring to completely settle the last few major matters.

For example, Yun Zhongjun, who is hiding in Yunmengze and doing who knows what.

If this scoundrel is not eliminated, it will be like a thorn in our side!
So, should we go in and take another look?
This bold idea piqued his interest.

However, it is a place where the conflict between humans and demons continues, so only treasures containing human fortune can exert their super powerful effects.

The magic weapon in my hand
Xu Xuan suddenly couldn't sleep in the middle of the night and started taking stock of his treasures.

The magical artifacts lined up in front of the candlelight looked just like secondhand goods at a night market stall.

"It doesn't seem like that much."

The only treasures that Buddhism can offer are the brocade kasaya and the original Ksitigarbha Sutra.

One is a multi-functional Buddhist treasure obtained through back-end manipulation by the Pure Land School; the other is a scripture insight casually given by a Bodhisattva.

It's perfectly suited for self-defense; even the Yin-Yang Dharma King's Life and Death Mystic Light couldn't penetrate this inner armor.

The magical treasures of Taoism include the Dongting Mist Umbrella and the Gui Water Yin Thunder, among others.

The former is a magical artifact crafted by Miss Bai using the power of the 800-li Dongting Lake as material, combined with a broken umbrella from West Lake, and refined with the great supernatural powers of the Taoist sect.

Stealth attacks are hopeless and disadvantageous, but they also lack any killing power.

The latter is standard equipment, a product of Xiaoqing's recent arduous training in minor supernatural abilities; its power ceiling is not high, and its floor is very low.

As for demonic arts and vicious magical weapons.
The hilt of the Victorious Evil Sword, the Fish Intestine Sword, the Thousand Poisons Soft Red Sand, the Yellow Sand Demon Fire, the Dragon Transformation Staff, and so on. There are many types, and their power is not bad.

They raided several of the Demonic Sect's strongholds and seized a great deal of equipment.

But the evil spirit is not truly evil, and its power is insufficient. Only a tiny, hair-sized spike remains, utterly useless.

While the Fish Intestine Sword is indeed extremely fierce, it requires specific scenarios and a specific destiny to unleash its full power.

The Myriad Poisons Soft Red Sand is someone's favorite, crafted with the utmost effort by the master of the Western Demonic Sect. Its effects are exceptional, but unfortunately, it has somewhat unorthodox properties.

After counting them, although there are many precious treasures among them, there is no single, definitive, divine weapon.

It's shabby, so shabby.

The dignified White Lotus Saint Father, the vanguard of justice, the nemesis of evil, the number one healer in Jiangnan, and the head of the Bao'an Hall peacekeeping organization, how come he only has such a small amount of treasure?

After thinking it over, I started to consider borrowing treasures again, hoping to exchange them for some good stuff by showing my face.

There was even a slight urge to follow Lao Shen's example and issue a wide call for heroes.

As the saying goes, those who follow the right path receive much help. Our three-year period has come to an end, and theoretically, we can now launch a similar joint operation.

So, the first exorcism tournament of Bao'an Hall?!

(End of this chapter)