I forge immortality with a pagoda.

Shen Yu's Flowing Cloud Flying Boat transformed into a streak of azure light, speeding across the sky above the Lu Jing Sect, and soon hovered in front of a magnificent pavilion.

The pavilion had upturned eaves and pointed corners to the sky, with jade tiles and golden walls, making it far superior in scale to the Inner Affairs Pavilion and the Star Pointing Pavilion.

The square in front of the pavilion is built entirely of a single piece of bluestone, with landscape, flower and bird patterns engraved in relief.

The square was bustling with cultivators, some wielding their true qi, others using talismans, creating quite a lively scene.

As an elegantly designed flying boat descended from the sky, a young Taoist priest in purple robes with an extraordinary bearing stepped out, drawing the attention of many cultivators.

Shen Yu sensed these gazes and knew that the Flowing Cloud Flying Boat was too conspicuous and had attracted everyone's attention.

He composed himself and walked to the door of the magnificent pavilion.

There was a rosewood table here, and behind it were two boys dressed in Taoist robes with their hair in double buns, who were in charge of registering and making records.

Upon seeing Shen Yu arrive, the two boys immediately put down the jade slips in their hands, stood up to greet him, and looked respectful.

One of the older boys asked, "Is this venerable one here to receive the talisman from the Dao Gong Pavilion?"

Shen Yu nodded slightly, "Indeed. Thank you for your help, young attendants."

Another boy, whose face was slightly younger than his age, looked at Shen Yu carefully, a hint of curiosity flashing in his eyes. "I see that you look unfamiliar, sir, and your bearing is extraordinary. Is this your first time visiting this Daoist Cultivation Pavilion?"

"This is indeed Mr. Shen's first visit."

Upon hearing this, the boy's curiosity deepened. He looked Shen Yu up and down again and blurted out, "I suppose you must be Shen Yu, Senior Brother Shen, who has recently risen to fame within the sect!"

Shen Yu was taken aback upon hearing this, and his heart sank.

Even the boy guarding the gate of the Daogong Pavilion could recognize him?

Could it be that someone is stirring things up behind the scenes and deliberately spreading rumors?

This is by no means a good thing for him; on the contrary, it means that he has been pushed to the forefront and is now under the public's attention.

"Your information network is quite impressive. I have only been in the sect for two months, yet my slight reputation has already reached your ears. That is quite unexpected."

These words were spoken in a lukewarm tone, and the two boys immediately felt a chill, realizing that they might have said something inappropriate.

The older boy hurriedly said, "Your Excellency, please forgive us. We were too talkative."

Then, changing the subject, they respectfully said, "We need to explain the matter of receiving the imperial edict to you, so that we may not inadvertently break the rules and thus lose face for the Supreme Being."

Seeing their reaction, Shen Yu's expression softened slightly, and he raised his hand gently: "It's alright, please speak, young master."

The older boy bowed again before beginning the formal introduction.

"Our sect's Dao Gong Pavilion is where the sect elders issue various tasks, and it is also where registered disciples, outer disciples, and inner disciples receive their tasks."

"After completing the task, the disciples will receive corresponding Dao merit rewards."

"The Dao merit accumulated from completing tasks can be exchanged for various resources needed for cultivation, such as cultivation techniques, magical artifacts, and elixirs, in places like the sect's library, weapon-refining pavilion, and spirit medicine pavilion. Senior brother can check the specific exchange list and rates himself later; I won't go into details here."

"The talismans in the pavilion are divided into three grades: Heaven, Earth, and Human. Among them, the Human grade talismans are the easiest to complete, and even registered disciples usually have a chance to complete them. The Heaven grade talismans are the most difficult, and even inner disciples at the Qi Refining Realm may not be able to guarantee their completion."

"Of course, even talismans of the same level have different levels of difficulty and risk. Therefore, the amount of Taoist merit gained will vary depending on the difficulty of the mission."

Shen Yu nodded slightly to indicate that she understood, and then asked, "What if one accepts a mission but ultimately fails to complete it?"

The boy hesitated for a moment before replying, "Your Excellency, if one fails to complete the tasks described in the talisman within the stipulated timeframe, one will be subject to corresponding punishment."

"The severity of the punishments varies. If an emergency mission is not completed on time, the punishment will naturally be more severe, and a large amount of Dao merit may be deducted."

"I see. Thank you for your explanation, young sir."

"You're too kind, it's our duty."

The two boys quickly returned the greeting and then stepped aside to invite Shen Yu into the pavilion.

Shen Yu said no more and stepped into the Daogong Pavilion.

The interior space is extremely spacious, and the towering dome is painted with a pattern of stars in the sky, emitting a hazy glow.

Several enormous golden jade discs were arranged in various places, and they were densely covered with all kinds of talismans.

Shen Yu composed himself, walked to the leftmost golden list, and slowly extended his divine sense to browse its contents.

However, after just a cursory glance, Shen Yu's heart sank.

"Slaughtering all mortal beings in Qingyu City, and using their essence, soul, blood, and flesh to condense one Hundred Soul Blood Pill, will be rewarded with five minor merits, for a period of one month."

"Capture three cultivators at the Kaiyuan stage, refine them into blood puppets, and you will be rewarded with five minor merits. The deadline is three months."

"Search for the Yin Vein of Black Wind Ravine, collect the corpses of 81 newly deceased cultivators, and with the help of Yin Sha Pearls, forge a squad of armored corpse soldiers. The reward is 15 minor merits, with a term of six months."

......

Such edicts and decrees were everywhere, too numerous to count.

This is what the Lu Jing Sect, as a demonic sect, should be like.

Shen Yu had also stained his hands with a lot of blood, but issuing such a blatant edict to slaughter mortals and refine souls into puppets was not in line with his previous beliefs, and made him feel uncomfortable.

It's hard to imagine that his fellow disciples, with whom he usually associates, would all be involved in such heinous acts in the future.

He took a deep breath and recalled his past. He had never been ruthless towards his enemies. The cultivators in Qinggang Mountain had no grudge against him, yet they died by his sword.

The world of cultivation is inherently cruel, where the strong prey on the weak; it's just that the Lu Jing Sect has brought this to the forefront.

Thinking this way, the discomfort in my heart was slightly relieved.

He stopped looking at the human-level and earth-level talismans and instead focused his gaze on the heaven-level talisman at the top of the list.

Soon, one of the talismans caught his attention.

"Slay the 'Ancient Vine Demon,' a peak Qi Refining demon beast entrenched in the Damp Wood Forest, and obtain its vine core as proof. You will be rewarded with fifty minor merits, with a term of three months."

This task not only offers generous rewards, but also carries a light penalty for failure, amounting to only a deduction of five merit points.

Shen Yu raised his hand and gently guided the talisman from a distance.

As if sensing something, the jade talisman trembled slightly and then detached itself from the golden list, floating gracefully to Shen Yu's side.

Shen Yu channeled a wisp of pure true qi, and the next moment, the entire Golden List flashed with light. He then felt a subtle connection between himself and the Golden List.

"Is that all?"

He opened his palm, and saw that the talisman quickly became illusory after touching his palm, eventually turning into a mark that slowly merged into his flesh and disappeared.

Shen Yu felt somewhat uncomfortable and subconsciously activated his true qi, gathering it in his palm in an attempt to force out the talisman mark.

The talisman that had just disappeared immediately trembled, its light flashing, as if it were being repelled and showing signs of flying out of the palm.

At the same time, the connection between Shen Yu and Jin Bang began to become unstable, as if it might break at any moment.

"Senior Brother Shen, you mustn't!"

Suddenly, a hurried voice came from not far away.

......

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