The Twelve Trials Starting from Zero

The Taoist tradition has been passed down for two thousand years, and it is not lacking in powerful spiritual beings, but rather in spiritualists capable of controlling them. Over the past few hundred years, very few powerful spiritualists capable of controlling deities have emerged among them, and Dao Yuan is no exception.

"What's the difference between a psychic without dreams and a salted fish? Since you can get a powerful spirit, of course you should choose the best."

Su Qi grabbed the tiger tooth from the box and held it in his palm. A massive amount of witch power surged from his body, pouring into it like a tidal wave. The next moment, an extremely powerful consciousness emerged from it, like a battle blade bathed in blood and fire, fiercely cleaving through the witch power Su Qi had poured in, and slashing back in the opposite direction.

In an instant, Su Qi seemed to see an ancient and profound starry sky. A mythical beast with a body like the Kunlun Mountains, markings like the veins of snow-capped peaks, fur like white flames soaring into the sky, and eyes like a yellow moon hanging high in the sky, was leaping and bounding across the northern Milky Way. Suddenly, it turned its head and looked around. Its divine eyes were like lightning, radiating a vast and terrifying divine power like the blazing sun burning the world.

However, he remained steadfast and saw through the illusion at a glance, remaining unmoved.

"She really is a bit arrogant."

Su Qi's lips curled slightly. The stronger the spirit he was about to acquire, the happier he would be. As for situations beyond his control... that was out of the question. The moment their magical and spiritual powers came into contact, he had a rough sense of the other party's spiritual strength.

After all, although the White Tiger is one of the four sacred beasts of China and Japan, its combat power is hardly reflected in various myths and legends. In terms of antiquity, it is probably only of medium to high level among all the gods... Although it is not weak, it is still far from the top.

The next moment, for the first time since arriving in this world, Su Qi unleashed his magical power to the fullest.

boom!!

In an instant, as if a storm had swept away fallen leaves and giant waves had crashed against a sandcastle, the upward-flowing spiritual power, after a slight pause, completely collapsed, like a faint candle flame being submerged in the vast, overwhelming magical power.

"okay."

Sensing the fear and submission emanating from the other party, Su Qi released the spirit within it with a thought.

Then, a huge tiger, nearly six feet tall at the shoulder, with an exaggeratedly large body, white fur and black stripes all over its body, and extremely majestic and handsome, suddenly appeared, making the entire room seem narrow, like a large cage.

The white tiger turned its large head and looked around, its face showing a very human-like look of disgust. Then it turned its head and stared at Su Qi for a moment, then purred a few times like a big cat and lay down at his feet.

"You subdued the gods so quickly! Just how powerful is your witchcraft?"

Seeing this scene, a hint of shock flashed in Dao's eyes. In her opinion, although Su Qi defeated Dao Lian, he was defeated by Dao Yuan. His strength was at most only slightly stronger than Dao Lian. However, even Dao Yuan could not perfectly control the god, but now he was prostrating at his feet in a short moment. Considering his age, this was simply beyond reason.

"Well, just based on my feeling, it's probably a dozen or so white tigers or more than two thousand Dao Lotuses."

As Su Qi spoke, he put the white tiger back, and then put the tiger tooth directly into the pocket of his Taoist robe. He needed some time to get used to the spirit he had just obtained, and he couldn't release the original tiger spirit for the time being.

"Are you kidding me?"

Although he had witnessed what had just happened, Daorun still didn't believe what he said, because it was too exaggerated and even unimaginable.

"That's right, it was just a joke."

Su Qi didn't take it seriously. After putting away the tiger tooth, he walked up to Dao Run, looked her over, and said, "Speaking of which, how come you have more injuries on your body after just one day? Is it related to him?"

Having said that, she turned to look at Li Bailong behind her. At this moment, the talisman sealing his consciousness on his head had disappeared, and his once lifeless eyes had regained their clarity.

Dao Run did indeed have two more wounds on his body. Apart from the parts that could not be seen under the cheongsam, there was a light blue bruise on his left shoulder and a bandage wrapped around his right arm. He also had a faint smell of medicine on his body.

"It was indeed me who did it." The white dragon, who had been standing silently behind Dao Run, spoke up, his voice filled with guilt. "Last night, Miss Dao Run kindly removed the curse for me, but I couldn't accept reality and vented my anger on her. Afterwards, when those people tried to destroy me, it was Miss Dao Run who risked her life to protect me. I... I am truly sorry."

“Bai Long, you don’t need to apologize.” Dao Run shook his head and said calmly, “Compared to the misfortune you have suffered, my injury is nothing. It was the Daoist school that ruined your life, and I am also a member of the Daoist school. It is only natural for me to pay the price.”

"No! Miss Daorun had just been born at that time. My matter has nothing to do with Miss Daorun. The one who should pay the price is someone else."

"But they killed you because of me!"

“But I know very well that it was not Miss Daorun’s wish.”

Su Qi asked, "Mr. Li Bailong, do you still hate Taoism?"

"How could I possibly let it go?" Li Bailong's face turned cold, and the flames of hatred burned quietly in his eyes. "But what I hate is not the Daoist school, nor the innocent Miss Daorun, but the person who killed me!"

"White Dragon..."

Dao Run's face darkened, her eyes filled with guilt and inner turmoil. The person who personally killed Li Bailong was none other than her grandfather, Dao Zhen. However, even though she knew that what her grandfather had done was evil, she could not wholeheartedly support Li Bailong's revenge because that person was her family and because that person was doing it for her.

"Will you seek revenge?"

Li Bailong didn't answer, but instead looked at Su Qi, his eyes flashing, and said, "I heard from Miss Daorun that she was influenced by you to have the idea of ​​freeing me. I want to thank you. Then, as a member of the Daoist school, will you stop me from taking revenge?"

Su Qi shook his head. "If you do something wrong, you should be prepared to take responsibility. I won't interfere in your feud. As for whether or not you want revenge, that's up to you to decide."

"I..." Bai Long glanced at Dao Run and hesitated for a moment, but still said, "I will take my revenge! But I am not their match now, so I will wait for the right opportunity to continue my interrupted cultivation until I become strong enough to settle this grudge with my own hands."

“Is that so…” Su Qi turned to look at Dao Run, “Then Dao Run, what will you do?”

"I..." The latter paused for a moment, then said somewhat blankly, "I don't know. I want to change Taoism as it is now, I want to resolve Bai Long's hatred, but I don't know how to do it."

Having said that, he shook his head and forced a smile, saying, "Alright, let's leave this discussion here. Besides having me deliver a new spirit to you, Father also asked me to take you to the Daoist Pavilion to read the Daoist scriptures. Are you going now?"

"Understood, let's go now."

Su Qi didn't press the matter. In any case, his concern was merely out of curiosity, and he had no intention of getting involved in this dilemma involving family ethics.

After all, even an upright official finds it difficult to settle family disputes. According to the original plot, Daorun and Bailong will become lovers in the future. Whether he helps Bailong or stops him, he feels caught in the middle, not to mention that he has no right to intervene and has no need to get involved.

Afterwards, Dao Run led Su Qi through layers of security to the rear of Dao Yuan Palace, where a tall, imposing pavilion with flying eaves and bracket sets stood alone on a vast, open plain. That was the Dao Wen Pavilion, the repository of Daoist scriptures and books.

Outside, the pavilion is guarded by an army of zombies, some clad in armor and armed with modern firearms; inside, in addition to elite Taoist spirits guarding key points, a large number of Taoist ghosts patrol the area using their own characteristics, leaving no blind spots.

In addition, the first floor of the Wen Dao Pavilion is open space, while the second and third floors are divided into a large number of book storage rooms in a nine-palace layout, with various Taoist formations nested in a ring. Ordinary people who enter will find themselves in a maze and will never be able to get out until they die.

Such a dangerous place would be difficult for even Su Qi to sneak in without a direct assault or the ability to truly eliminate his own presence. Fortunately, this time he had Dao Yuan's permission to enter the Daoist Canon openly and without hindrance.

For the next three days, Su Qi spent his time either practicing with his new spirit companion or reading in the Dao Asking Pavilion.

The Taoist tradition has been passed down for over two thousand years, and the collected Taoist books total more than 36,800 volumes. They can be roughly divided into three major categories: "Tao," "Techniques," and "Miscellaneous." Each major category is further divided into four parts, which together make up three categories and twelve parts. This classification is different from the original Earth Taoist Canon's three caves, four auxiliary categories, and twelve subcategories, and is more intuitive and simple.

Considering that even if he could not delay for too long, in order to enhance his strength as soon as possible, Su Qi did not absorb all the knowledge in the Daoist Canon. Instead, he asked the administrator of the Daoist Canon to find a few books that could help him the most in the shortest amount of time to study in detail.

Among them, the "Zhi Xuan Lu," which records the insights and experiences of Taoist masters throughout history in their research on witchcraft and spiritual power, was the most helpful to him.

Chapter Twenty: Because I, Daocheng, am a Genius

This world is dominated by spirits, and super-spirits are the main means of combat for psychics in this world.

For example, Hao Asakura, despite his superb magical abilities, rarely used them in the original work. This was because he was too powerful and could simply overpower his opponents; and because his super spirit form was the most convenient and efficient, using magic in battle would be cumbersome.

Su Qi also discovered this during his days in the Daoist canon.

Among the many books in the Taoist collection, besides the scriptures which expound on the understanding of the Way of Heaven and self-cultivation, there are also miscellaneous books which record biographies and rituals. Although the category of arts does record many spells, most of them are auxiliary in nature, and the few powerful ones basically require a compatible spirit to use in conjunction with them.

For example, the most powerful Taoist magic, known as the "Five Thunder Orthodox Method," requires the simultaneous control of five divine-level spirits, namely the Five Thunder Emperors, to reach its highest level. It also requires communication with the highest god of the Thunder Department, "Nine Heavens Responding to the Origin of Thunder and Universal Transformation Heavenly Venerable," so that with a thought, ten thousand thunderbolts can strike.

As for Daoyuan's Five Thunder Orthodox Method, it is merely a castrated version of the castrated version. It does not even control a single thunder god, relying instead on the supreme treasure thunder sword of Taoism. It is far inferior to those ancestors who had the title of "Celestial Master" and could truly act on behalf of Heaven to punish and command the gods.

Therefore, it's not that the Taoist tradition isn't strong enough, but rather that the descendants are too weak.

In short, the fastest and most mainstream method to rapidly enhance combat power is the super spirit body. Su Qi's witch power is already strong enough, and he has just obtained the White Tiger to make up for the shortcoming of possessing spirit. What he lacks to strengthen his super spirit body and combat skills is precisely the understanding and experience in using witch power and spiritual power.

Now, with the "Zhi Xuan Lu", the last shortcoming has been filled.

He had been practicing in the pure white space for several months, and with his profound magical power, obtaining the "Zhi Xuan Lu" was like guarding a treasure trove and finally getting the key to open the door. All the obstacles he had encountered before suddenly became clear, and his understanding and application of spiritual and magical power increased by leaps and bounds.

We've got this in the bag.

In just three days, Su Qi gained absolute confidence in defeating Dao Yuan.

……

On the other hand, Daohe's delaying tactics had also reached their limit.

On the third day at dusk, Daohe was once again summoned by Daoshuo to meet him in a deserted alley.

"Don't tell me you haven't made him take that Three Corpse Gu Divine Pill yet."

Dao Shuo was still dressed in black, standing with his hands behind his back, his tone extremely cold.

"Please calm down, my lord. Since Dao Cheng was injured by Dao Lian last month, he has become increasingly shrewd. To avoid arousing his suspicion..."

Daohe lowered his head and explained with trepidation, but before he could finish speaking, the man in black who had suddenly turned around covered his mouth and lifted him up.

"waste!"

As the angry words fell, a sudden, intense pain, as if his soul were being gnawed by a thousand poisonous insects, exploded and overwhelmed his entire consciousness.

"Waaaaaah..."

In just a moment, Daohe's face turned red, his eyes bulged, veins popped out on his face, he was in excruciating pain, covered in cold sweat, and he was gripping the other's arm tightly, almost fainting.

After an unknown amount of time, amidst endless torment and pain, Dao Shuo finally let go, allowing Dao He, whose consciousness was blurred and who resembled a corpse, to fall to the ground with a thud.

"Hahaha……"

He lay on the ground, mouth open, drool dripping from the corner of his mouth, staring blankly ahead, like a dead fish just pulled from the river. Even his clothes were soaked with sweat, sticking stickily to his body.

"Hmph, you better remember this: if you still can't satisfy me by tomorrow, your suffering will be extended tenfold, and your family will die because of you... If that doesn't matter, then you can continue to be a piece of trash!"

As Daohe gradually recovered, Daoshuo had vanished without a trace, leaving only that cold laugh and those threats firmly etched in his heart.

He lay on the cold, dirty ground for a long time, trying to clear his mind and forget the pain he had just experienced. It wasn't until the sun had completely set and night had fallen that he finally managed to stand up and drag his exhausted body away from the alley.

……

"Why are you back so late?"

Back at his residence, Su Qi, who should have been studying at the Dao Asking Pavilion, was surprisingly still there. He was sitting on the edge of the bed, gently tossing the tiger tooth that housed the original tiger spirit in his hand.

"It's nothing..." Daohe was startled, but quickly recovered and said nonchalantly, "I was just caught by the Daoist Master and had to practice for a little longer."

"You're kidding me." Su Qi put away his tiger teeth, stood up and approached him, looking him over in his disheveled state. His expression instantly turned cold. "He couldn't hold back anymore and finally made a move on you?"

Dao He was silent for a moment, then sighed and said helplessly, "Yes, he can't hold back any longer, and I've stalled to the limit. If we don't make a move tomorrow, they will kill my parents and sister, so... let's stop here. In such a short time, even if you are a genius, you can't possibly be strong enough to fight against the Dao family."

"Who says it's impossible?"

"But……"

"No buts! I've become stronger, strong enough to defeat Dao Yuan!"

"You...you're not broken, are you?"

Looking at Su Qi's serious expression, he was filled with doubt. Although he couldn't resist the other party's request and agreed to cooperate, even enduring the torment of being devoured by ten thousand insects without the slightest complaint, he didn't believe in the other party's plan deep down. He was just prepared to die and was only reluctantly playing along with the other party's antics before he died.

"The Tao is in harmony, but humanity has its limits."

What are you trying to say?

"But I didn't!" Su Qi suddenly leaned to the side, took a step, pressed his right arm back diagonally, and spread his left palm in front of his face. His eyes, sharp and arrogant, were visible between his fingers. He said in a deep, magnetic voice, "Because I, Dao Cheng, am a genius! A super (cheat-like) genius that only comes along once in ten thousand years! Limits don't exist for me!"

Daohe was slightly taken aback. "You really have broken down."

"Don't believe me? Then I'll prove it to you right now, let's go!"

Before he could finish speaking, Su Qi forcibly dragged Dao He out.