At the foot of Dragon Tiger Mountain, inside the Sixth Division of the Tao Boy Court at the Celestial Master Mansion.
Lei Jun, clad in a standardized gray Taoist robe, sat in the main hall, swaying his head as he recited Taoist Scriptures together with the other gray-robed Tao boys.
As a transmigrant, he had arrived in a world completely different from Blue Star.
A world where immortals and demons rose side by side, gods and monsters appeared everywhere; here, cultivators soared through the sky and moved mountains and seas.
*Honestly, Lei Jun thought his luck wasn't half bad.*
Not long after crossing over, he had become a disciple of the Celestial Master Mansion.
The Celestial Master Mansion had always been one of the Three Sacred Lands of the Taoist Sect, and served as the ancestral court of the Taoist Talisman branch; the Current Celestial Master was also one of the top figures in the sect, leading by example.
But it was just the beginning.
Because right now, Lei Jun was still a newly initiated Tao boy, not yet undergone the Transcension Ritual nor received the Talisman-bestowed, and thus unqualified to be called a true disciple of the Celestial Master Mansion.
In this world, the Celestial Master Mansion set up eight divisional Tao boy courts at the foot of Dragon Tiger Mountain. Tao boys like Lei Jun, newly recruited, spent most of their time here.
Currently, everyone attended collective practice twice a day, morning and evening.
Morning practice involved recitation of Taoist Scriptures and various rules and regulations.
Instructors guided them through basic cultivation during the morning session.
In the afternoon, they engaged in personal activities. Most chose to go to the Hall of Steward to get chores, aiming to accumulate merit.
Evening practice focused on collectively studying foundational Taoist texts.
Luckily, although Lei Jun and the others could only be called Tao boys, not Taoists, the Tao Boy Court of the Celestial Master Mansion—as a Sacred Cultivation Ground—had already begun imparting basic Taoist Laws to lay their foundation.
On this particular day, after completing their morning cultivation and finishing lunch, Lei Jun and a few Tao boys headed to the eastern Talisman Paper Building.
The task they received from the Hall of Steward today was to help trim talisman paper.
The Taoist Talisman Sect commonly used spirit talismans. Besides the creator's own cultivation and the Talisman Scriptures, materials like the Talisman Brush, Talisman Ink, and Talisman Paper also affected a spirit talisman's power.
Even the most basic yellow paper used by disciples of the Celestial Master Mansion was custom-made.
Not only did sourcing materials and papermaking require specialized workshops, the splitting and trimming also required the hands of Tao boys like Lei Jun, not ordinary folk.
"Too bad, the talisman paper we cut can't be used by ourselves." There was constant sighing and groaning among them.
Lei Jun heard but didn't respond, focusing intently and swiftly slicing the yellow paper with absolute precision.
Another Tao boy remarked, "Just work hard on cultivation, and keep accumulating merit—once we undergo the Transcension Ritual and formally become disciples, we'll be able to craft talismans ourselves."
The Taoist Talisman Sect emphasized dual cultivation of essence and life, placing more value on physical cultivation first; in simple terms, 'life' referred to the material body, 'essence' to the spirit and mind, so cultivation here began with strengthening the body.
Though Lei Jun had only recently started, his body was already filled with True Qi and robust flesh, diligently training in Taoist martial arts—neither ordinary men nor demons could get near him.
He could even activate any spirit talisman handed down by a master if he had one.
But without the Transcension Ritual or the true inheritance of the Talisman Scriptures, Lei Jun and the others couldn't craft talismans themselves. Nor did they know any higher Taoist divine skills.
*Did this count as being a temp apprentice?*
*Even after crossing over into the cultivation world and joining the ancestral court, you still had to study hard and pass the test before you could get certified on the job...* Lei Jun shook his head, neatly stacking the trimmed talisman papers.
Going by the novels he'd read in his previous life, he currently only counted as an outer disciple or miscellaneous disciple.
The gap between Tao boys and Taoists lay right between the Tao Boy Court at the foot and the main mansion halfway up the mountain.
One day, after entering the main mansion to undertake the Transcension Ritual, receiving a master, a Taoist name, and a generational rank, only then would a Tao boy officially become a Taoist, truly inheriting the legacy of the Celestial Master Mansion.
That was what Lei Jun used to read about in Blue Star novels: inner disciples or direct disciples.
As for the next level of Talisman-bestowed, that was not something the little Tao boys had to worry about yet.
Midway through their work, a skinny gray-robed teen burst into the Talisman Paper Building, full of fire.
The others asked curiously, "Zhang, didn't you get a chore to go out of the mountain for merit? Why are you back so soon..."
The skinny Tao boy started cutting paper too, "Don't even mention it, my luck is just shit!"
He said he didn't want to talk about it, but couldn't help himself, "I went out to Qingxi, fifty li outside the mountain, heard rumors of demons causing trouble, so I ran there thinking about slaying demons and saving folks—"
You could make a bit of incense money while you were at it; when you got back, you might even get a reward from the Tao Boy Court.
But...
"Right under our Celestial Master Mansion's nose, what kind of monster would be so damn clueless?" Lei Jun asked as he kept slicing paper.
"Tell me about it!"
The skinny Tao boy stopped mid-action, "Wasn't any demon—just some petty thieves pretending to be monsters, scaring and robbing people!"
He looked devastated, "Goddammit, I finally got my hands on an Evil-Repelling Talisman, and it got totally wasted!"
All of them paused in their work, sympathizing with the skinny Tao boy's grief,
"What a damn shame!"
For this bunch, unable to craft talismans themselves, any spirit talisman from the Hall of Steward had to be exchanged for 'hard-earned merit' they'd saved up.
Sometimes, there were luckier tasks with better perks.
The elder masters in the sect, though they had their own direct disciples, would occasionally select Tao boys or pill boys from the court for special chores.
If you satisfied them, you might get a reward—spirit talisman or a spirit pill.
Also, if you caught their eye and built a good rapport, it was an edge for you later on.
These kinds of tasks were rare, with fierce competition; coming across one was pure luck.
As they chatted, a commotion suddenly erupted downstairs.
A voice drifted up from the window,
"Elder Du is holding a talisman-crafting ceremony, and needs to select Tao boys?! For real?"
"Keep it down, you want the whole Dragon Tiger Mountain to hear you?"
"Right, right, it's first come, first served—let's go!"
"No clue if Elder Du will pick us..."
Everyone in the building was wide-eyed.
Just now, they were discussing this kind of thing—and now the golden opportunity had arrived?
"Could it be fake news?"
Next to Lei Jun, someone instinctively licked their lips, craving it all the same.
Zhang slapped his hands together, "Let's just go see for ourselves!"
The rest dropped what they were doing, too.
*At that moment, a glowing orb suddenly appeared in Lei Jun's mind.*
Then, writing began to float up in his consciousness,
[The elder opens the altar, choosing Tao boys. All cheer and rush to compete, but misfortune leans on fortune, fortune lies within calamity, upheaval is coming.]
No one else noticed the change in Lei Jun.
The boys—with faces full of excitement—rushed outside, scrambling to get ahead.
After the glow faded in Lei Jun's mind, three strange lots emerged, each inscribed:
[Moderately good lot, don't join the crowd. Focus on your own tasks. After the chaos, head to the elder's cave mansion to help heal the wounded: gain a Fifth Grade Opportunity, move quietly, no worries behind, auspicious.]
[Perfectly neutral lot, don't join the crowd. Wait for the right moment. After the chaos, go to Ganoderma Terrace, obtain a Sixth-Rank Opportunity, but attracting envy and trouble, hidden dangers, average.]
[Moderately unlucky lot, join in the selection, maybe get chosen. But before gaining anything, you'll face catastrophe, get stuck in mortal peril, injuries or death likely, ominous.]