Cultivating for a hundred lifetimes to ascension

Time slipped by unnoticed, and before long, eight years had passed.

In the Demon Suppression Hall at the back mountain, the Earth Soul Altar was chilling with ghostly energy. The hollow silence was oppressive, and the surrounding stone walls were punctured with densely packed holes. Each hole contained a pitch-black urn, sealed with palm-sized yellow and red talismans.

Whoo-whoo!

The countless Sealing Ghost Altars vibrated ceaselessly, struggling as faint wails of ghosts and howls of wolves emanated from within, echoing through the cavern. The air swirled with ghostly Yin Sha thick enough to almost take form, while layers of dark frost crept across the ground, so cold it penetrated to the bone.

Yet, at this moment, the center of the Earth Soul Altar was encircled by a reddish glow about a yard in diameter, opening up like a lotus flower.

This fire was yin in nature, still and tranquil, yet it emitted a faintly sacred aura, and sitting cross-legged at the heart of the lotus was a tall and heroic-looking young man.

Hiss!

The surrounding Yin Sha and Karmic Fire made a sizzling sound upon contact, instantly devoured and refined, becoming fuel to nourish the Spiritual Fire.

After an indeterminate amount of time, accompanied by a long exhale echoing in the cavern, the reddish glow on the ground rapidly receded, flickered upwards into the air and condensed into a lifelike Red Lotus. It shot into Zhao Sheng's forehead like lightning and became a mark of Red Lotus Flame.

Zhao Sheng's skin gradually returned to a pale color, and he opened his eyes, emitting two beams of divine light that pierced the darkness around him. The sounds of ghostly wails in the air abruptly ceased.

With a thought, the Hundred Lifetimes Book emerged from his Soul Sea. Following this, the Book Pages flipped open, and a stream of information quietly flooded into his mind:

Name: Sanbao (Zhao Sheng)

Life Span: 16/106

Realm: Qi Refining Perfection

Profession: Second Order Alchemist, Second Order Talisman Master, First-level Artifact Refiner,

[Constitution:]Gold and Fire Dual Spirit Roots (Earth-level), Body Rejuvenation (Earth-level)

[Talent:]Phase Shifting (Earth-level)

[Skill:]

Cultivation Technique: Red Lotus Karma Fire Scripture (skilled), Star God Thousand Heart Technique (Small Success), Heavenly Human Four Forms (Small Success), Golden Crow Burning Sky Technique (Master)

Hundred Arts: Taoist Skill(...), talisman(...),Alchemy（...）,Artifact Refining（...）

"To have only achieved Qi Refining Perfection at sixteen is somewhat unsatisfactory! Qingyang Mountain, after all, is but a First-tier Spiritual Land, the density of Spiritual Energy is ultimately low." Zhao Sheng muttered to himself as he rose to his feet.

Then he walked to the stone stairs beside the cave, stepped onto them, and swiftly vanished from the top of the cavern after a rapid ascent of a hundred steps.

The Demon Suppression Hall features two special structures, the Earth Soul Altar and the Corpse-locking Well.

The Earth Soul Altar is for sealing ghostly creatures, while the Corpse-locking Well is for suppressing zombies. These two spots are forbidden lands in the Back Mountain of the Soul Comforting Temple, and are not open to outsiders, being used only by the temple's cultivators for Cultivation.

Leaving aside the Corpse-locking Well for now, the Earth Soul Altar is divided into upper, middle, and lower three layers, each sealing ghosts of different Daoist capabilities. The deeper one goes, the more profound the cultivation of the sealed ghosts, and the more calamitous they are to the world of the living.

Zhao Sheng, having achieved Perfection in Qi Refining, usually cultivated on the second layer, where centennial ghosts were sealed—most of them were Fierce Ghosts and Evil Ghosts.

The Cultivation of the Red Lotus Karma Fire Scripture is very special, where cultivators nourish a Red Lotus of Karma Fire by continuously purifying ghostly Yin Sha, then use the Karmic Fire to refine nature's Spiritual Energy and cultivate a unique type of Fire Spirit Power.

It can be said that any Cultivator who has cultivated the Red Lotus Karma Fire Scripture is regarded as the nemesis of all ghostly creatures and Yin Souls.

People like Zhao Sheng are known as Red Lotus Walkers, who have always been the main force of the Demon Extermination Hall of the Heavenly Dao Sect, always committed to vanquishing demons and exorcising ghosts.

…

Upon exiting the Earth Soul Altar, a chubby-faced young man with a round figure immediately approached, shouting hastily, "Big senior brother, something bad has happened! Our business can't go on anymore."

Zhao Sheng raised his hand to stop him, asking in a deep voice, "What's the hurry, Zou Qi? Calm down and explain the situation clearly first."

Zou Qi swallowed his saliva and said carefully, "The 'black market' we set up has been discovered by the debt-collecting ghost, Shen Bian, and he's going to report it to the Capital Court. Now we're in deep trouble. Big senior brother, please think of something!"

"And I thought it was something terrible. Just a black market—let him go ahead and report it. If the black market is gone, we'll just set up another one," said Zhao Sheng, completely unconcerned.

Seeing how unconcerned the big senior brother was, Zou Qi felt relieved, but he still couldn't help worrying, "But what if the Capital Court latches onto the black market and it gets traced back to us?"

Zhao Sheng smiled and said indifferently, "Have you never heard the saying 'the law does not punish the masses'? Besides, with the Master here, that old Capital Court cannot touch us."

In the eight years, many changes had taken place in the Soul Comforting Temple, unbeknownst to everyone.

In recent years, Bao Chen's position as the temple sacrifice had grown ever more secure, while Zhao Sheng had gradually become the undisputed big senior brother in the hearts of the temple's many young Taoists.

As for the likes of Wu Shengshen and others, with Zhao Sheng applying a bit of tactic, they suffered a thorough defeat after a few bouts. By giving them a taste of both carrot and stick, all the Daoist Children became wholeheartedly loyal to him.

Thus, while Zhao Sheng's Cultivation progressed rapidly, he led a comfortable life for seven years.

However, a year ago, a new arrival at the high position in the Soul Comforting Temple caused a sudden shift in the situation.

The man's Dharma name was Yuan Yang, and by surname, he was from a secular Shen family, with Shen Bian being one of his grandsons who transferred to the Soul Comforting Temple with him.

Previously, Yuan Yang was a Foundation Establishment Realm elder stationed in the Cangnan Prefecture Temple. Later, due to his aging body and decline, he had to step down from this position.

Originally, he should have retreated to the Elder Council to cultivate and nourish his nature. Who would have thought that with age, Yuan Yang's heart still yearned for power so fervently? He voluntarily offered a large bribe and was lucky enough to secure the position of Capital Court in a county temple and was eventually assigned to the Soul Comforting Temple.