A Thread of Hope

"It's a shame that the Daoist priest's mention of 'sincere prayer for a son' just now really lowered Lingbao Temple's prestige in my heart..."

Li Qingyun suppressed the urge to ask, "Is your temple's 'sincere prayer for a son' even proper?"

Then, he reached into his robes and fumbled around for a moment, pulling out a token. The token was black and gold, about half the size of his palm, with carvings that looked like the lines of a talisman, emitting a faint aura of authority.

Along the edge of the token, there was a line of small text: "Maple Mountain Lingbao Temple, Lu."

"Senior Brother, please verify this token!"

Li Qingyun intended to hand the black-gold token to the young Daoist priest.

The young Daoist priest, however, smiled slightly. With a light lift of his palm, the black-gold token transformed into a stream of light and landed in his hand.

After holding the token and examining it carefully for a while, the young Daoist priest nodded, confirming its authenticity.

However, a hint of disdain and mockery flickered at the corner of his lips.

"The mountain gate has an order: anyone holding a Lingbao Temple Dao Affinity Token may join the temple. However, Junior Brother, you are the ninth person to enter the temple with Uncle-Master Lu's Dao Affinity Token this year. It must have cost you quite a bit, hehehe..."

When mentioning the person behind the Dao Affinity Token, the young Daoist priest's tone clearly became much colder.

"Follow the mountain path to the summit. Someone will be there to receive you."

The young Daoist priest tossed the token back to Li Qingyun, then leaned to the side slightly, gesturing for him to start climbing.

His expression was one of utter indifference, too lazy to even ask Li Qingyun's name.

Li Qingyun didn't mind. He smiled, tightened the bundle on his arm, and then stepped forward.

He had some idea of how the black-gold token in his hand came about!

It was the day after he, a man who had sex nine times in one night, lost his primal yang. Marquis Qinghe had gone out and spent a large sum of money to buy this Dao Affinity Token from "Maple Mountain Lingbao Temple, Lu."

Possessing a Dao Affinity Token was equivalent to having a transcendent identity.

Although Li Qingyun lacked so-called cultivation aptitude, with this identity, if he remained somewhat sensible, he could live out the rest of his life in relative peace.

Since he couldn't stay at the Marquis's manor, escaping to a mountain gate guarded by an expert would at least keep him safe from the harassment of demons and strange monsters, generally ensuring his life.

Dying of old age in a Daoist temple decades later, reaching the end of his natural lifespan, was not an entirely unacceptable life.

He had to acknowledge this favor from his cheap old father.

It was probably also the last bit of help he could borrow from the Marquis's manor.

Controlling the rhythm of his breathing, he slowly ascended the steps.

Li Qingyun's heart was filled with thoughts of the black cat Yuanbao, whose fate was uncertain, and his own future, which held little hope for a cultivation journey. He couldn't help but feel a sense of melancholy.

Then, for some reason, he recalled some of the folk legends about Maple Mountain Lingbao Temple:

Over a hundred years ago, this place wasn't called Maple Mountain, nor was there a Lingbao Temple. One day, a Daoist priest descended from the heavens, slew a demon lurking in the mountain's belly, and then built a hut here. Gradually, it developed into the Lingbao Temple with its sprawling pavilions that existed today...

Li Qingyun had collected many supernatural secrets from folklore, but he always felt that this world was mysterious and bizarre, vague and indistinct, and that ordinary people could hardly glimpse the truth in their lifetime.

"By joining Lingbao Temple, perhaps I can get closer to the true secrets of this world..."

After climbing a section of stone steps, white mist billowed behind him, becoming increasingly hazy and obscuring the scenery below.

Even the figures of the young Daoist priest and Yin Xunshan were no longer visible. The pervasive mountain mist acted like a wall, separating the mountain from the world below into two different spaces.

Just then, from within the vast white mist, Yin Xunshan's voice, filled with jest and mockery, drifted up from below the mountain.

"The old servant is here on behalf of Madam and the heir to wish Young Master enlightenment and truth, and longevity through sitting and forgetting..."

Li Qingyun's footsteps faltered. He turned to look down into the fog-shrouded depths, a faint cold glint flashing in his eyes.

Achieve enlightenment and truth, with hope for longevity...

That old servant was clearly mocking him openly!

"Are they so certain that I, Li Qingyun, can only die of old age in the temple, achieving nothing?"

"Heh, if I truly achieve enlightenment and truth, the first sword strike I unleash will be..."

He smiled faintly, shook his head, and after his breathing eased slightly, he continued his climb.

After being drained by Cui Wan'er's essence-draining, this body's blood and qi were depleted, making him as frail as an eighty-year-old man, too weak even to climb a mountain.

It was a pity that no one would investigate the truth of the matter except him.

Surrounded by white mist, Li Qingyun felt as if he were walking in a painting.

Although he was sweating profusely and breathing heavily, his heart grew calmer and more detached, as if he had been cleansed by the invisible Dao rhythm of the mountain path.

As he neared the end of the stone steps, he suddenly felt something and stopped to look down.

Behind him, heavy mist obscured the view, cutting off the mortal world. He could no longer see any noise and bustle.

Looking up, golden radiance dispersed the white mist, revealing a tall mountain gate above. Once he stepped through it, it would be another world.

He was filled with emotion, and the pent-up feelings in his heart had an urge to be expressed.

So, after a moment of thought, the poem from his previous life slipped from his lips:

"Wind and snow press me for three to five years, I laugh at the wind and snow, light as cotton. No one supports my lofty aspirations, I will step to the mountain peak myself..."

What he spoke were his true feelings and his ambitions.

He was still unwilling to give up, even though he had long been branded as cultivation trash with no aptitude.

"Although my third young master is considered 'deposed,' stripped of everything, and has no hope of returning to the manor, if you really think about it, aren't I also out of a cage now, free to roam the heavens and earth!"

Everyone in the Marquis's manor had already stopped expecting anything from him and kept their distance.

In a few more years, the common folk of Qinghe County would surely forget him, their charitable third young master.

With a mortal body from this world and a soul from another, he felt like a wandering lone goose.

Solitary and without support, his future unknown.

"But, I still have 'lofty aspirations' in my heart!"

The mountain path was long, steep, and slippery.

Li Qingyun tightened the bundle on his arm, panting, and continued to climb.

As he stepped over the last stair, his feet felt lighter, and he was on level ground. His vision suddenly brightened.

The white mist that had been shrouding everything dispersed, revealing a magnificent and grand mountain gate.

Three characters were inscribed above the gate: Lingbao Temple.

The calligraphy was elegant and unrestrained, shimmering with golden light and imbued with a certain Dao rhythm.

His gaze lingered on the golden characters for a moment.

He felt a bit worried, as the golden characters seemed to carry significant "gold content," as if conveying some hidden meaning.

Just as his mind was wandering, two Daoist priests in green robes, one fat and one thin, emerged from behind the tall mountain gate, each holding a horse-tail whisk.

The moment their eyes met, the faces of the two young Daoist priests broke into warm smiles, making him feel at ease.

At the same time, their gazes swept over Li Qingyun's bundle three or four times in an instant.

"Junior Brother, are you here with Uncle-Master Lu's Dao Affinity Token? Come, come, I am Qingfeng, and this is Mingyue. We are responsible for receiving new disciples!"

The plump Daoist priest, fair-skinned and with small, squinting eyes, introduced himself as Qingfeng. He looked quite young.

However, Li Qingyun felt his smile was too worldly and slick, not like a Daoist cultivator, but more like a rich country bumpkin.

The other, the slender Daoist named Mingyue, had an immortal-like bearing at first glance. But looking at the smile on Mingyue's thin face, Li Qingyun couldn't help but think of the cunning old shopkeeper at the money house in Qinghe County.

"Li Qingyun, greetings to you both, Senior Brothers. I am fortunate to have received Master Lu's Dao Affinity..."

Li Qingyun's expression turned serious, and he stepped forward to bow respectfully.