"Uh..."
"Shenxiao Nine Heavens Thunder Control Skill..." Chen Mo tried to answer.
"And what Technique does the Celestial Venerable cultivate?"
"The Supreme Nine Heavens Jade Pure Great Brahma Purple Tenuity Profound Capital Thunder Jade Scripture."
Upon hearing this, Lin Su Ya looked deeply at Chen Mo and then said, "What exactly did you do in the Celestial Venerable Hall just now?"
"Uh, nothing much, just burning incense and bowing." Chen Mo's back was drenched in cold sweat.
He was an ordinary person, transported to such a ghostly place.
Even with a system, survival is still a troublesome matter.
"Anything else?"
"Also touched the Celestial Venerable's statue." Chen Mo thought for a moment and said.
"Where are you from?"
"A small village in Nanyang County falling by the river."
"Date of birth, what's your name?"
"June 7th, the fourth year of Kai Rong, Chen Hong." Chen Mo raised an eyebrow as he spoke.
Kai Rong, the late emperor's last era name when in power.
"I'm asking for your real name; Chen Hong's lifespan has already ended." Lin Su Ya glared at Chen Mo.
"Chen... Chen Mo."
Upon hearing this, Lin Su Ya flicked her finger, and a strand of True Qi shot out.
Chen Mo instinctively tried to block it but found the strand of True Qi merely cut off a lock of his hair.
Lin Su Ya lightly pinched the air, and with her fingers, she captured the lock of hair, then pinched her left hand with three fingers.
"Pff..."
Not long after, a mouthful of fresh blood spewed out from Lin Su Ya's mouth, startling Chen Mo.
Lin Su Ya didn't care about the blood that was spat out, she looked deeply at Chen Mo with extremely surprised eyes, until Chen Mo felt uneasy from the gaze. Then Lin Su Ya said:
"Your heavenly secret is obscured, even I cannot see through it. It seems you do indeed have a connection with the Celestial Venerable, but you are definitely not a disciple of the Celestial Venerable..."
As she spoke, Lin Su Ya suddenly changed her tone and said, "Would you be willing to apprentice under me?"
Chen Mo: "..."
"Who might the Immortal Lady be?"
"Shenxiao Sect, Lin Su Ya."
"State Preceptor?!"
Chen Mo was shocked, he didn't expect the woman in front of him to be Lin Su Ya.
However, after a moment, he was no longer surprised.
Without a moment's hesitation, he raised his arms and bowed: "Master."
Following that, he was about to kneel down and kowtow.
In TV dramas, isn't apprenticeship supposed to involve bowing three times and kowtowing nine times?
But just as he was about to kneel down, he was supported by a force.
Lin Su Ya said, "Be more casual, Shenxiao Sect doesn't have such formalities..."
Chen Mo nodded.
"In my lifetime, I have taken in three disciples, you are the fourth. The eldest and second disciples died in the previous anti-Buddhist campaign, so before you, there is only one senior sister left." Lin Su Ya said.
"Her Highness the Empress?" Chen Mo said.
Lin Su Ya nodded slightly and then said, "Originally, according to the rules of Shenxiao Sect, when I take in a disciple, a state ceremony is required. But given your current identity, it's obviously not suitable, and your true identity must remain secret..."
"In that case, I will inform the Empress later to bring you to the Purple Cloud Temple. From now on, you will follow me to cultivate at the Purple Cloud Temple. This way, your true identity will not be easily discovered by others." Lin Su Ya said.
"I will listen to Master's arrangements." Now Chen Mo practically entrusted his life to Lin Su Ya and decided to do as she said.
...
When Chen Mo changed his clothes and carried the prepared dinner to the Purple Cloud Temple.
He had just given the dinner to Cai'Er.
Wang Ying's mocking voice rang out: "Good for you, Chen Mo, you were actually noticed by the State Preceptor. Not only did she remove your slave status, but she also allowed you to join Purple Cloud Temple. You've got some ability indeed."
Wang Ying's eyes were filled with envy.
"It's already done?"
Chen Mo was surprised at how quickly Lin Su Ya moved.
While considering whether to give Wang Ying a cold shoulder.
Lin Su Ya appeared.
Wang Ying's face immediately showed an ingratiating smile and called out to the State Preceptor.
Lin Su Ya ignored him.
Instead, she called Chen Mo to the Celestial Venerable Hall.
"Master, what's wrong?"
Seeing Lin Su Ya's peculiar look at him, Chen Mo asked in confusion.
"The Empress values you so highly, when I asked her for you, she refused." Lin Su Ya said.
"Uh... Disciple is unaware." Chen Mo said.
"Although the Empress refused, she also allowed you to take the nights off from Weiyang Palace. At that time, just come to Shenxiao Temple." Lin Su Ya flicked her duster, and a token appeared in her hand.
Lin Su Ya handed the token to Chen Mo, saying: "This is the identity token of a Shenxiao Sect disciple, with this token, you can freely move about the entire Imperial Palace except for Tai Chi Hall."
"Thank you, Master."
The token was made of wood, with an overall color of green.
On the token, the characters of the Great Song Dynasty were carved - "Dao."
"Then tonight, you shall begin with Cultivating the Heart."
Lin Su Ya flicked her duster.
Chen Mo's vision blurred, and he found himself on a mountaintop. As he gazed outward, the sky was blue, and the mountains and seas were vast, bringing a sense of indescribable relaxation.
"This is my Mental Realm.
Dao divides into Body Cultivation, Cultivating the Heart, Transcendence, Mental Realm, and Heaven and Man. Originally, you were to start with Body Cultivation, but your heart is filled with Evil Qi, which is harmful to you, so you should start with Cultivating the Heart first..."
Lin Su Ya's figure appeared in front of Chen Mo, she then said: "Come, first learn how to meditate..."
...
Yonghe Palace.
Inner hall.
Steam and mist, in a bathtub about a zhang wide, filled with rose petals.
There was no one around.
Suddenly, the water surface filled with petals rippled, and a graceful head emerged from the water, followed by the neck, collarbone, and fragrant shoulders as white as White Jade...
The beautiful face exuded an enchanting allure, the long and fair neck showed a touch of elegant solitude, a drop of crystal-clear water slid down from the neck and dripped into that...
"I have something interesting, would you like to hear it?"
A voice sounded outside the bead curtain.
"Speak." The person in the bathtub raised their arm and then stepped out, their perfect and voluptuous body, as white as jade, radiating tempting allure that made one parched.
"The master looked into that little eunuch's files, guess what?"
"He was still a slave in the morning, but by the evening, he became a Daoist of Purple Cloud Temple."
"You mean that little eunuch is suspicious?"
"Not excluding this possibility. Joining Shenxiao Sect is simple, but entering Purple Cloud Temple is not so easy." The voice paused, then continued, "The master said, if there's a chance, you may want to interact with that little eunuch."
"That's not very easy, concubines in the harem interacting with eunuchs attracts gossip."
"What are you afraid of, he's a person with no roots. Moreover, the master only said if there's a chance."
"Well... I'll give it a try."
...
Shenxiao Temple.
Not sure if it's an illusion or what.
During meditation, Chen Mo noticed that his cultivation speed increased significantly.
Within the Mental Realm, Lin Su Ya recited the Dao Scripture of Shenxiao Sect — "Lingbao Immeasurable Salvation Upper Grade Wonderful Scripture."
The dead can be saved.
The living can also be saved.