Monster Chronicles: My Daoist Skill Comes from Mythology-Chapter 19 Ghost Valley Master Appears, Jixia Academy

World of Taiyin Refining Body.

At the valley bottom, a thatched hut.

Next to the thatched hut stood a stone tablet, much of its inscription erased.

Inside the hut, a man meditated with closed eyes, regulating his breaths.

His breaths were smooth and prolonged, his spirit moving in tandem with his qi.

True Qi circulated through his meridians, tracing a path resembling the Beidou Seven Stars, eventually converging at the Dan Zhong Acupoint, where it was stored.

The Dan Zhong Acupoint, located in the center of the chest, held the secret of Red Dragon Qi Gong cultivation: "Refinement."

Treat the acupoint as a pill furnace and refine it into a red dragon.

As he looked inwardly into himself, a red dragon the thickness of a thumb coiled within his Dan Zhong.

Over time, the red dragon slowly grew in size.

Whoosh!

Song Lin suddenly opened his eyes, a flash of red dragon light flickering in them.

He stood abruptly and walked out of the thatched hut.

Facing a massive tree that required two people to encircle, he channeled True Qi and clenched his right fist, delivering a ferocious punch.

Swish!

A crimson dragon-shaped qi shot forth from his punch.

Boom!

The tree trunk exploded under the strike, breaking in half.

Song Lin waved his hand again. Another crimson dragon, no larger than a thumb, streaked forth, coiling around a segment of the tree trunk before flying back to his feet.

That first punch was called Dragon Qi Red Emperor Fist.

The second technique was the Red Dragon Flying Star Skill, allowing one to manipulate objects from afar.

There was also the Dragon Control Technique.

Crimson light gathered under Song Lin's feet as his figure soared into the air.

When he rose about three zhang off the ground, he abruptly fell back down.

"The Dragon Qi is still too weak,"

Song Lin thought to himself.

If the Dragon Qi were ten times stronger, he could achieve true flight through qi manipulation.

At this pace, it might take several decades to reach that goal.

Cultivation alone would not suffice; pills would be necessary.

It happened that Song Lin was preparing to concoct alchemical pills, and this was the perfect opportunity.

But before this... he needed to prepare a dharma altar.

With that thought, he returned to the thatched hut and brought out yellow paper, candles, cinnabar, and other items.

These were projections from the real world, including a Child General Talisman.

He intended to set up the dharma altar and summon ghosts and gods.

Before long, the dharma altar was ready.

Standing before it, Song Lin held a talisman and chanted incantations aloud.

"Clear skies and tranquil earth, eternal longevity preserved. With the soldiers of the Way, come to my altar. Ghosts and gods shall vanish, and demons shall hide. If any defy, they shall be suppressed in the Netherworld! By the decree of Mr. Sanshanjiuhou, I command:"

"Open roads through mountains, build bridges over rivers, slay the wicked, swallow ghosts whole, arise, Rampant Soldiers!"

Song Lin scattered a handful of fresh glutinous rice.

The talisman flashed golden light.

From an unknown source, a green mist descended upon the altar.

The incense and candles on the altar burned away in an instant, as though devoured by an unseen entity.

When the mist cleared, Song Lin found himself facing a group of ghost soldiers, their hair disheveled, blue-faced with tusks, clad in tiger pelts.

A total of twelve stood before him.

Their leader, an iron-armored soldier, knelt before Song Lin along with the other ghost soldiers.

"Southern Eight Barbarian Soldiers, Mountain Hunting Troops. The First Hundred and Eight Altar Mouth Ghost Soldiers salute the Dharma Master!"

"Rise!" Song Lin said with a smile.

Each of these ghost soldiers possessed meditation-level cultivation and was indeed extraordinary.

"What does the Dharma Master command?" asked the Ghost General.

"Take five to patrol the valley and guard me. Have another four search for medicinal materials, and let the final two descend the mountain to capture people!"

"Capture people?" Two ghost soldiers licked their bright red lips, revealing ferocious grins.

Song Lin paused briefly and said, "Capture some homeless refugees. If there's bloodshed... those who prey on the weak, bully women and children, or eat human flesh may be killed."

The Rampant Soldiers were lower-altars troops, mostly vengeful spirits who perished violently. Their personalities were ferocious, with the advantage of prompt obedience but a downside of sluggishness without bloodshed to motivate them.

"Understood!"

Swish!

The ghost soldiers transformed into Yin Wind and disappeared.

Afterward, when not cultivating spells, Song Lin occasionally dabbled in alchemy.

Alchemy required refined skill and a plethora of materials.

Fortunately, he had ample resources. For extremely rare ingredients, he sent ghost soldiers to contact Ying Lian in Qin Country for assistance.

The disciples of Guang Chengzi had left behind one pill formula and two medicine recipes.

This pill formula, named Mica Ganoderma Pill, specialized in nourishing internal True Qi and broadening meridians.

As for the two medicine recipes, they needed no further mention.

Alchemy was always superior to medicinal decoctions, as the former drew upon minerals and metals, combining several materials under precise heat to create the pills.

Three more years passed.

Song Lin instructed ghost soldiers to capture able-bodied refugee men. Those who met his standards were taken as Taoist disciples; those unfit dwelt outside the valley as outer forces.

The Warring States era, rife with conflict, produced swarms of refugees and bandits like ants.

Over three years, Yunmeng Mountain's population grew to exceed thirty thousand.

Initially, it was ghosts and gods bringing people up the mountain. Later, it became new residents guiding others to settle there.

The treacherous terrain of Yunmeng Mountain meant that without the guidance of spirits, outsiders could not ascend.

But in the war-torn world, this place became a mortal paradise instead.

They called themselves Yunmeng Mountainfolk. They had no right to enter the deep mountain valleys, and whenever they tried, they encountered ghostly mazes, ending up back at their starting point.

Having relatives chosen to enter the valley was regarded as a profound honor.

Due to frequent ghostly apparitions in the nameless valley, it became known as Ghost Valley, and the immortal at the valley bottom was revered as the Ghost Valley Master.

Song Lin never expected that he himself turned out to be the Ghost Valley Master.

Beneath Ghost Valley.

In three years' time, numerous palaces were constructed.

Song Lin resided in the central Longevity Palace.

After three years of growth, there were now twenty-five Taoist disciples and 178 servants.

The disciples had consumed Hidden Dragon Breath Emission Powder and achieved meditation-level cultivation.

In the main hall, Song Lin sat in meditation before a tripod pill furnace, observing the blaze.

Two disciples stood by his side.

Song Lin hadn't anticipated alchemy to be even more challenging than expected. The heat was difficult to control, with any slight misstep producing either ash or lethal poison.

Today, he reopened another furnace for Mica Ganoderma Pills.

"Add the mica!"

Timing the heat precisely, Song Lin instructed, and two sweat-drenched disciples added the mica.

The mica melted within the roaring flames, followed by the addition of ganoderma.

Throughout the process, Song Lin formed hand seals intermittently, strengthening the flames and enhancing the medicinal properties' release.

Once all materials were added, the pill refining commenced.

Bang!

Suddenly, a muffled sound emanated from the pill furnace.

"Hmm?" Just as Song Lin assumed the pills were ruined, a refreshing fragrance wafted to his nose.

"Is it a success?"

With a sweeping motion of his sleeve, Song Lin extinguished the flames.

He carefully opened the furnace lid.

Inside lay three crystal-clear pills, sparkling like water crystals.

"Ha-ha, it's a success indeed."

Regardless of the success rate, it was ultimately a success.

From this moment on, Song Lin was officially an alchemist.

"Quickly, store them in the jade box."

Song Lin instructed the nearby disciples.

"Weii Yang, stay behind."

Song Lin pointed at another mature and composed young disciple.

"Immortal, what do you require?" Weii Yang stopped in his tracks.

"Write a letter for me and later have your family's riders deliver it to Qin Country."

Weii Yang was from the Weii State's royal family, having abandoned his noble life in search of immortality.

Upon seeing his name, Song Lin immediately decided to take him as a disciple.

But he didn't want Weii Yang's talents to be wasted, so whenever Song Lin and Ying Lian discussed state affairs, Weii Yang was tasked to read and compose on his behalf.

Weii Yang fetched a silk scroll and an ink brush as instructed.

Afterward, Weii Yang departed.

Song Lin gazed into the void, sensing the Monster Chronicles.

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His Karma Effects Completion level rose to one-tenth!

Ying Lian had been in power for nearly ten years, encountering many difficulties. When uncertain, he would dispatch messengers to consult Song Lin.

During these ten years, acting upon Song Lin's guidance, Ying Lian abolished burial sacrifices, standardized household registration, significantly increased population, relocated the capital to Liyang, and prepared for eastern conquests.

Victories in several major battles and his prophetic-like insights made Ying Lian regard Song Lin as a heavenly sage with growing reverence.

"Perhaps aiding Qin Country in uniting the world is the key to completing Karma and transcending this realm," Song Lin thought.

As Qin Country's power steadily grew, the Ghost Valley Master's reputation spread across all kingdoms.

The unusual progress of Qin Country also stirred caution among certain Qi Cultivators.

In Qi Country, Linzi City, at Jixia Academy.

An elder gazed at the night sky, his expression grave.

"The Emperor Star has shifted... an emperor in the Northwest? Impossible. Someone, investigate the origin of the Ghost Valley Master."

This elder's name was Huan Yuan, one of Jixia Academy's founders.

Although his name was obscure, the rise of the Yin Yang School in later generations would owe much to him.

He was also the strongest Innate Qi Cultivator of his time.