Monster Chronicles: My Daoist Skill Comes from Mythology

The void shimmered, filling the room with a golden glow.

Song Lin's Nine-Transformation Indestructible Body has broken through to the Fifth Transformation.

His current defensive power is comparable to a top-grade Dao Artifact,

To put it simply, even if he stood still, an attack from someone in the Purple Mansion Early Stage would cause no harm, attacks from the Middle Stage would be reduced by 80 percent, and those from the Late Stage diminished by 50 percent.

He has also successfully mastered the Middle Returning Pill Method, which applies to levels between the Fourth and Sixth Transformations.

"The cultivation techniques from the Two Jungles only reach the Core Formation Realm. Should I confront them directly to obtain the subsequent techniques?"

Song Lin pondered to himself.

But he quickly dismissed the thought.

Not worth it, and the priority right now lies elsewhere—he must find someone from the Yin Spring Palace and secure an alliance with them. This way, he'd have at least two Thunder Tribulation Masters on his side.

Thunder Tribulation Masters are among the top five existences within the Taoist School.

Having elders overseeing things would make his position much firmer.

Zhi Xin's attitude indicates that Wu Qingxuan may be unreliable, and perhaps the two Supreme Elders are far more trustworthy than Wu Qingxuan.

Even though Song Lin wasn't sure what exactly had happened, it's clear that this person couldn't be trusted.

After meditating briefly, Song Lin stood up and took a Five-Transformation Qi Storage Pill, heading to Mingxing Peak.

He was ready to deliver the pills to Zhi Xin.

Zhi Xin had yet to transcend the Fire Tribulation. After the Fire Tribulation, he would become a Thunder Tribulation True Person, and once he crossed the Thunder Tribulation, he'd reach the Thunder Tribulation Perfection or even the Perfection of Tribulation Crossing as a True Person.

However, given his current physical condition, it was doubtful he could overcome the Fire Tribulation.

Song Lin took to flight, heading toward Mingxing Peak.

At Mingxing Peak, Song Lin descended slowly and spotted a group drinking wine—they turned out to be old acquaintances.

Master Mei Hua, Earth Evil, Heavenly Slaughter, and two cultivators dressed as stewards, likely acting as deputies for Earth Evil and Heavenly Slaughter.

Song Lin greeted everyone one by one, then found a seat for himself.

"Ah, such humiliation! This time it's the Elephant Clan from the Evil Islands; they're asking us to bleed again." Earth Evil sighed, a mix of anger and helplessness in his expression.

"Isn't it always this way? Taoist, you still haven't gotten used to it?"

Heavenly Slaughter chuckled. As the Yunzhou Master of the Black Prison Prefecture, he usually only detained people from the Taoist School—rarely demons.

And whenever there was one, it was merely some powerless little demon.

"If only we had the strength, we'd certainly show them some spine."

Earth Evil lowered his head and took a gulp of wine.

"We lack the strength, but doesn't the Heavenly Masters have it?"

Zhi Xin subtly implied.

It all boiled down to softness—the Taoist School lacked courage when facing powerful demons and had no choice but to compromise for peace.

The Taoist Alliance is wealthy, and demons are formidable.

The wealthy purchase tranquility with their riches, knowing full well that such actions strengthen their adversaries—but it's a necessity.

"Besides, in the event of war, the ones suffering the most would undoubtedly be us. If the Heaven and Earth Xuanmen Alliance declined, they wouldn't stand a chance against other alliances. Presumably, this move is meant to preserve their strength."

Master Mei Hua suddenly interjected.

Hearing this, Song Lin started to understand the situation.

It turns out the Heaven and Earth Xuanmen Daoist Alliance had a covert agreement with the Demon Clan to exchange resources for peace; otherwise, a demon invasion would place unbearable pressure on the alliance.

These resources would be provided under the guise of loans—but everyone knew the demons would never repay them; it was merely a facade.

The group silently drank their wine, each harboring a smoldering sense of injustice but unsure of where to direct it.

"Relax. If Heaven and Earth Xuanmen is like this, do you think other alliances are any better off?"

There was no other choice—it had been this way for thousands of years.

The Demon Country was powerful; the Human Clan was frail.

If not for power struggles within the Demon Country, which deterred them from launching unified attacks on the Human Clan due to fears of internal losses, Wu Country would have been obliterated long ago.

Even so, the Human Clan continued to be harvested by the Demon Country periodically.

The demons were inherently superior in individual strength, and with their Unity as the Demon Country, their cultivation was overwhelmingly powerful.

At that moment, Earth Evil suddenly turned to Song Lin and said:

"The Taoist Alliance distributes the demons' demands to the Taoist School. The Taoist School then distributes these among the jungles. This is a collective strategy, so you'd better accept your fate and fulfill your assigned tasks as required."

"What tasks?"

"This time, we've been assigned the Elephant Clan. The Elephant Clan isn't particularly bloodthirsty; they mainly desire cultivation materials, especially pills, which makes them easier to deal with."

"Alright. Anything else?"

"There might also be demands for boys and girls—that will depend on how the Taoist School negotiates with them."

"Understood."

Song Lin said emotionlessly, yet his mind was actively calculating.

Suddenly, he asked, "Does this happen periodically? Doesn't anyone within the Taoist School object?"

Zhi Xin chuckled, "Of course there are objections—but everyone's grown accustomed to it; nobody bothers to speak up."

Everyone present had their grievances—and more dissenters existed within the wider Taoist School community.

After all, the Taoist School wasn't completely controlled by the Heavenly Masters.

But the majority of the elite cultivators remained loyal to the Heavenly Masters.

"By the way, Song Lin, could you spare some time to refine a pill for this old man?"

Master Mei Hua asked.

For experts proficient in Divination Skills like himself, their greatest difficulty was insufficient Primordial Energy. Witnessing Zhi Xin recover so quickly, Mei Hua couldn't help but feel tempted.

"Of course, I'll personally deliver it when the time comes."

Earth Evil and Heavenly Slaughter both expressed similar desires, or suggested introducing him to friends in need. Song Lin agreed to all of them, promising delivery and only charging the cost price.

This is how one cultivates connections.

Soon after, Song Lin planned to visit Lang Xiao of the Yuzhen Taoist School for an exchange of experiences, thus broadening his networks and spreading his reputation.

In truth, many of the pills they required could be refined by Luu Yunsheng and others; Song Lin was merely delivering them personally to build goodwill.

Soon, the group dispersed, leaving only Song Lin and Zhi Xin.

"This old man knows what you're considering. Could it be you believe those dissatisfied with the Taoist School can be leveraged?" Zhi Xin laughed.

"Not quite. I'm somewhat aware of my own limitations."

Had it not been for the Yin Fu Two Jungles and Saint Might having irreconcilable enmity, no amount of persuasion from Song Lin would win their loyalty.

Applying the past tactics used against Taoist Temples to jungles would be preposterous.

Still, this dissatisfaction toward the Taoist School might offer opportunities for manipulation.

The two idly conversed, with Zhi Xin mentioning news about the Yin Spring Palace.

"It's been confirmed—the Yin Spring Palace descendants haven't faced danger; they may be in hiding."

"In hiding?"

"Indeed. They might even be observing Xiangling's current situation. It's likely they're still watching and waiting."

Zhi Xin explained.

This indicated that the Yin Spring Palace harbored no hostility—otherwise, they'd have already launched an attack.

"Understood."

Song Lin took his leave.

He planned to enter closed-door cultivation.

Currently, the Nine-Transformation Indestructible Body was at the Fifth Transformation, and advancing to the Sixth Transformation would require a million years.

He needed to learn the methods of the Treasure Pill and Rejuvenation Pill as soon as possible.

The Furnace of Eight Trigrams could cut the required time in half. For body-refinement treasure pills, there was the Green Jade Dew Pill; consuming a Five-Transformation Jade Dew Pill could be equivalent to ten thousand years of cultivation.

Once the Sixth Transformation was reached, his defensive capabilities would rival those of a Basic Acquired Spirit Treasure, and his Divine Skills would be greatly enhanced. Among the Human Clan, few could match his physique—though the situation among the Demon Clan remained unclear.

Improvements in alchemy techniques also hastened the pace of achieving Three Flowers Gathering at the Top.

For now, as the fictional world remained relatively uneventful, he would focus on reality.

...

Along the coast of the Heaven and Earth Xuan Sect's Taoist Alliance, at the Yuzhen Taoist School's base.

A fishing village.

Knock, knock, knock!

A hunched, ragged beggar knocked on the door.

Creaaak!

The door opened, revealing a plainly dressed young pregnant woman.

"Please help me, kind lady. I am dying of hunger—spare me some food."

The beggar was young, appearing around fifteen years old. Seeing his pitiable state, the woman let him inside.

The house was quiet, with only the woman and her eldest son asleep on the heated brick bed. Her husband had gone out fishing, leaving her to tend the home and nurture her pregnancy.

She served the boy a bowl of noodle soup.

The boy happily slurped it down, his clear eyes fixed on the woman. Smiling, he said:

"Thank you, kind lady. You are truly a good person. I've begged from dozens of households along the way, but no one would spare me anything. This is wonderful—I wish to repay your kindness."

The woman tidied up the tableware.

"There's no need for repayment."

Suddenly, the woman felt a chill in her chest and looked down. A blade tip had pierced through.

Turning her head, she saw that the boy had transformed.

The beggar's pupils had turned into golden vertical slits, his face shedding filth to reveal strikingly handsome features. His tattered clothes shifted into an opulent aristocratic outfit.

"You… Gou Dan, run!" The woman's voice weakened as consciousness faded. She hadn't expected that her act of kindness would lead to her demise. Her final thought was to warn her son.

The boy raised a finger, and the eldest son was immediately decapitated. The woman collapsed with a wail of despair.

"Tsk tsk, I hear that good people, like you, have especially delicious hearts."

The boy dug out the woman's still-beating heart and devoured it in a few bites, a blissful expression spreading across his face.

"What a pity—your kindness was your downfall."

Looking disdainfully at the corpse, the boy sneered.

Suddenly, a Yin Wind swept through.

A shadow appeared at the door.

"Saint Heir, prepare to meet the Taoist School's envoy." The shadow spoke.

The Elephant Clan's Saint Heir regained his dignified demeanor, casting a cold glance at the corpses on the ground.

"Inform the Taoist School to come clean up the mess."

"Understood!"

...…

(Today's update totals ten thousand words.)