Monster Chronicles: My Daoist Skill Comes from Mythology
Chapter 57: Granting the Grand Commissioner Talisman, Mystical Sect Task

Chapter 57: Chapter 57: Granting the Grand Commissioner Talisman, Mystical Sect Task

The Dharma Transmission Hall within the Grand Commissioner Institute.

Song Lin stood in the center, surrounded by six others.

The pale-faced, cold-tempered man in the middle was Shi Yinhua, the youngest disciple of the Jiuyou Taoist; the red-haired man on the other side was Chi Yang.

The Three Heroes were actually all present.

At this moment, Chi Yang was staring at him in utter disbelief.

The other two were unfamiliar to him.

Everyone was clad in green Taoist robes, with Primordial Cloths tied on their heads. The robes were oversized, with sleeves that draped down to the ground.

These were formal Taoist robes, rarely worn outside due to their impracticality.

Song Lin hadn’t expected this to be a centralized liturgy.

In front of the crowd stood a dharma altar. Before the altar stood the three great masters: the Chuan Du, Referral Master, and Supervisor.

The Supervisor was the Jiuyou Taoist. The ever-changing dharma pattern embellishing his forehead, shifting between dark and light, waxing and waning, confirmed his identity.

He wore a golden Taoist robe embroidered with the Five Elements and Eight Diagrams, decorated with auspicious beasts and birds, its intricate patterns outlined with gemstones and threads of gold and silver.

The dazzling robe was almost blinding to look at.

It resembled the Child General Talisman, but in a far more intricate form.

No need for redundant elaboration here.

In simple terms, the process of a liturgy involves offering sacrifice to the heavens, informing the Immortal Gods in the Heavenly Court and formally recording one’s name in their celestial system.

"The talisman certifies officials across the Three Realms, governs cosmic fortune, oversees all ranks and classes, judges sins and blessings, appraises merits and faults, weighs good and evil, recording it in celestial registers..."

The white-haired Chuan Du Taoist held a magic sword, chanting incantations.

This man appeared to be the Dean of the Capital Management Courtyard, the second-ranking figure of the Taoist Temple, and a disciple of Jiuyou. Curiously, he looked even older than Jiuyou.

On the dharma altar were the talismanic certificates for everyone present.

Each certificate detailed entries such as their name, seniority, birthdate, zodiac, astral constellation, and position.

The three great masters then stamped each certificate with the Dutian Great Master Seal, Summoning Supervisor Seal, Yellow God Seal, and so on—this signaled the near conclusion of the ritual.

Half of each certificate was handed over to the individuals, while the other half was burnt as a sacrificial offering to the heavens.

At the same time, all Taoist Temples under the Southern Sect of the Sacred Might Dao from Yin Mountain now held records of their information.

Song Lin glanced at the "Supreme Three Five Grand Commissioner Scripture" in his hand, finally feeling a weight lift off his heart. After so much toil, this Chapter of his life was finally complete—he had officially advanced from a Taoist disciple to a full-fledged Taoist.

For now, it was the Grand Commissioner Talisman. Next would come the Alliance Power Talisman, the Five Thunders Talisman, and many more to follow.

A long path still lay ahead.

At this moment, Song Lin noticed that his position, recorded beneath the talisman’s name, had changed. Previously, it had been something like "Calamity Child" in charge of twelve people.

Now, it read, "North First Official supervising Qi Eater officials—120 people."

This meant he could now command 120 Rampant Soldiers.

Adding the dozens of paper figures, he now had roughly 200 laborers.

Previously, there had been about 3,000 Moon Cultivators on the lunar surface, most of whom served as laborers, repairing the moon every three days.

Song Lin planned for the Rampant Soldiers to work tirelessly day and night, ensuring basic maintenance.

At this moment, Master Jiuyou began to speak.

"First of all, congratulations to everyone."

"Thank you for your generosity, Master Jiuyou."

"Ahem..." Master Jiuyou coughed a few times before continuing, "To be a Taoist is not just to enjoy privileges; you must also complete Mystical Sect tasks and accumulate merit to ascend in rank."

"Although advancing to higher talismans heavily depends on cultivation, there are rank advancements as well."

The Grand Commissioner Talisman corresponded to eighth or ninth grade.

Having just received their talismans, everyone’s initial position was secondary ninth grade, allowing them a monthly stipend of eight units of Taoist Merit, one Feather Transformation Pill per year, and one free Refinement of Taiyin Qi annually.

The Grand Commissioner Talisman could theoretically advance to official eighth grade, allowing for better rewards, though with fewer privileges outside their own Taoist Temple.

"A Taoist must accumulate at least ten units of yin merit from Mystical Sect tasks each year," he added.

Mystical Sect tasks are the responsibilities within the Taoist Temple, including alchemy, artifact refining, collecting materials, and even demon extermination.

"Moreover, if your yin merit reaches a certain level, the temple will correspondingly advance your position."

Beyond the temple’s Mystical Sect tasks, there were large-scale rituals such as the Luotian Great Jiao, the Rain Praying Ritual, and the Demon Suppression Jiao. These inter-temple events were key opportunities for Taoists to quickly gain fame and fortune.

No need to elaborate further here.

The individuals proceeded forward one by one to receive seals, swords, tokens, flags, and talismans—minor items imbued with spiritual power that enhanced their effectiveness in officiating rituals.

The six then departed.

Returning to his quarters, Song Lin did not immediately resign from his position in the alchemy room to focus solely on cultivating within the Inner Sect.

Instead, he stayed and continued assisting Ziyuan with alchemy.

...

Three days later, at his residence.

In the secret chamber, light from moonlight power flowed as Taiyin energy filled the room.

Song Lin sat atop a Moon Brick, as lustrous as sheep-fat white jade.

The Taiyin Bone Mirror floated before him, clearly illuminating his bones and meridians.

The Moonlight Power of Taiyin was slowly being absorbed by his True Qi.

After a long time, the Moon Brick disintegrated into ashes.

Only then did Song Lin open his eyes, a faint moonlight flickering within them.

Name: Song Lin

Realm: Qi Refinement Realm

Taoist Realm: 23 years (1/2000)

Divine Skills: "Lao Mountain Five Skills," "Guang Chengzi’s Qi Gong," "Taiyin Secret Technique," "Peace Xuanke Refining True Qi Technique," "Fire Transformation Technique"...

Items: ...

"One cultivation session equals one two-thousandth progress. Roughly two thousand days to completion—there’s still room for improvement..."

With his experience from the world of storytelling, coupled with the assistance of the Bone-shining Mirror, his speed was several times that of others.

"However... one cultivation session requires seven Moon Bricks. To reach the two-thousandth progress, that would require at least 14,000 Moon Bricks."

Upon arriving at this calculation, Song Lin truly grasped the importance of resources.

Refining Moon Bricks required large amounts of agate, clam pearls, gold, silver, and other materials; the quantities involved made it difficult to conceal.

Song Lin decided to wait for an opportunity to request time off and venture out for an "experience journey."

In the following ten days, Song Lin continued refining Qi in reality, occasionally visiting the Moon Cultivation World to inspect the Rampant Soldiers repairing the moon.

After the recent Weiyang Palace upheaval, the Taoist disciples from the Door of Wonders now had full control over the Han Court.

The remaining five witches had been in hiding as if dead, with occasional reports of their movements beyond the Great Desert.

Thus, the court was preparing to deploy troops against the barbarians.

Meanwhile, Taoism was thriving among the common folk.

All in all, everything was part of an intricate layout, with all forces secretly amassing strength.

Perhaps when the next Seven Stars in a Row phenomenon coincided with the Heavenly Dog devouring the sun, the war would begin in earnest.

Aside from occasional visits, Song Lin primarily focused on real-world cultivation during this period.

His progress in Qi Refinement had advanced significantly, exhausting his entire stockpile of Moon Bricks.

...

The Master Mansion of the Grand Commissioner Institute, North Manor.

Before the dharma altar of the Spirit Hall.

Ziyuan and Song Lin stood by the blood pool, watching as the Dog-headed Taoist’s skin continually absorbed the fresh blood.

"How is Master’s condition?" Ziyuan asked nonchalantly.

"The temple master’s body remains strong."

"Does he often cough?"

"Hmm." Song Lin was puzzled, thinking it preposterous for a Taoist of this level to take a mere cough seriously.

Ziyuan picked up a bottle of pills, uncorked the wooden stopper, and poured its contents into the blood pool.

"To be honest, Master is gravely ill and likely won’t live much longer." Ziyuan crouched down, inspecting the Dog-headed Taoist like a piece of art, muttering, "Completely muddled... and didn’t even appoint a successor beforehand."

Song Lin remained silent, his heart churning with shock.

In such a place with powerful troops at the ready, hearing such words from Ziyuan gave him a sense of being plunged into a brewing storm—one that could shatter him to pieces with a single misstep.

Whoosh!

At this moment, blood from the pool surged skyward.

The Dog-headed Taoist revived, his crimson eyes snapping open as murderous intent soared to the heavens!