Three Trials to Join the Cult

"Abstinence?!"

Lin Nan's expression changed sharply, and he couldn't help drawing a cold breath.

"But so what? My resolve to join the cult is firm. How could women possibly interfere?"

He quickly regained his composure.

He had stopped touching women long ago. At worst, he would quit taking care of things himself too.

"Young brother, you should think this through. This is no small matter."

"Brother Huang, there is no need to dissuade me. My heart is no stone that can be turned!"

"Since you have made up your mind, come with me."

Huang Hou sensed Lin Nan's determination and was deeply shaken.

He immediately rose. The two left the temple and hurried down a narrow alley.

Before long, the view opened up before them. Amid the maze of alleys lay a spacious hidden courtyard.

"This is one of our Blessed Life Cult's trial grounds, known as the Blessed Life Courtyard. The three trials for new initiates are held here."

Huang Hou's expression carried a faint trace of fervor.

The moment the two stepped into the courtyard, they saw someone standing there.

The man wore gray cloth shoes and garments, with a black lotus embroidered over his chest. He stood upright, his face calm and peaceful.

"Huang Hou, what brings you here?"

"Elder Lai Quan, it's like this..." Huang Hou walked to Elder Lai's side and leaned close to whisper a few words into his ear.

Lai Quan first looked surprised, then turned to Lin Nan with a hint of approval.

"Since you are here for the trials, please follow me."

Lai Quan led Lin Nan and Huang Hou farther into the courtyard. Before long, they arrived at a room, and a strange smile appeared on Lai Quan's face.

"The first trial for joining the cult is called Abstinence. You must spend one night in this room. If you can endure it, you will have passed the trial."

Lin Nan nodded. With a solemn expression, he placed a hand on the door and gently pushed it open.

Click.

As the door opened, twelve voluptuous young women in thin clothing lay on the beds and floor, playing the qin and singing.

The moment they saw Lin Nan enter, the women giggled, their voices as sweet as nightingales singing in spring.

"Big brother, come over here~"

Bang!

Lin Nan expressionlessly shut the door, then turned to Lai Quan and Huang Hou.

"You call this abstinence?"

What martial artist could endure a test like this?

"Young brother, that is where you are mistaken. Emptiness is form, and form is emptiness. When pleasure reaches its utmost limit, it becomes utter transcendence. Tell me, young brother, when is your resistance to lust at its strongest?"

"After taking care of things myself, naturally."

"You can be taught. Our Blessed Life Cult painstakingly created the Twelve Heavenly Demon Dance trial. Anyone who passes it will remain unmoved no matter what seductive demoness they encounter. As the saying goes, steadfast resolve cannot be taken, and a heart of ten thousand years cannot be disturbed!" Lai Quan said gravely.

In an instant, countless thoughts flashed through Lin Nan's mind.

In the end, he let out a sigh.

"You people... you really are making me suffer!!"

The long night dragged on, and sleep would not come.

Near dawn, the sky was as gray and heavy as lead.

Lai Quan stood in the courtyard with his hands behind his back, while Huang Hou stood quietly beside him.

Both wore strange expressions as they looked toward the side room.

"Did you look into him? Are you sure he is a disciple of the White Snake Martial School?"

"Elder, it is absolutely true. Zhong Jing really did become a new inner disciple this year. He was not lying."

Huang Hou hesitated. "Could he be a planted agent sent into our cult by some faction?"

"Whether he is or not does not matter."

A smile flashed across Lai Quan's face.

"No matter which faction sent him, once he has undergone the cleansing of the Twelve Heavenly Demon Dance, baleful yin qi will naturally be planted within his body. When the time comes, he will be unable to stop himself."

Huang Hou sighed inwardly. "Indeed. Other than martial masters who have forged martial will, any martial artist who undergoes the three trials to join the cult is finished."

Those who had gone through them all knew that the three trials to join the cult were a massive trap. No matter how strong one's willpower, they would eventually become a lackey of the Blessed Life Cult.

Creak.

The door was pushed open from within. Lin Nan straightened his clothes and walked out, looking refreshed and invigorated.

Who would have thought that the Twelve Heavenly Demon Dance could even grant yin energy points?

He opened the information on the Creation Furnace:

[Usable yin energy points: 0.5.]

[Convert into proficiency?]

After battling all night, he had actually obtained a full 0.5 yin energy points.

It was practically an unexpected windfall.

Lin Nan's thoughts stirred.

"How do you feel, young brother?"

"Refreshed, clear-minded, and sickened at the sight of women."

"It seems you have understood the true meaning of the first trial, Abstinence. In that case, let us begin the second trial."

Lai Quan's smile grew wider and wider. "The second trial is called Drinking Talisman Water."

"Drinking talisman water?"

With that, Lai Quan brought over a rough clay bowl and poured water into it. Then, he drew a yellow talisman from his sleeve with two fingers and lit it with an incense candle.

The talisman paper burned into fine ash, all of which fell into the water.

"Our Blessed Life Cult's patriarch once used talisman water to treat illnesses and save many people. We of later generations should follow the patriarch's example. Drink the talisman water to enter our ranks, young brother. Please..."

Lin Nan stared at the talisman water in Lai Quan's hand for a moment, several thoughts flashing through his mind.

But he quickly steadied himself, picked up the clay bowl, and drained it in one gulp.

Hiss!

The talisman water rushed into his stomach. In that instant, Lin Nan felt threads of icy cold energy bore into his body along his meridians.

It was baleful yin qi. And unlike the baleful yin qi gained from killing demons and evil entities or eating demon flesh—

The baleful yin qi within the talisman water was like a dense net, silently spreading through the human body.

Buzz!

The [Creation Furnace] in Lin Nan's mind activated with a buzz. The furnace flames roared to life and, like blazing fire, instantly refined the baleful yin qi within his body into wisps of yin energy points.

[Obtained yin energy points +0.5]

At this point, Lin Nan was nearly certain that something was seriously wrong with this Blessed Life Cult.

From the Twelve Heavenly Demon Dance to drinking talisman water, every step was accompanied by baleful yin qi.

Baleful yin qi was something only demons and evil entities possessed, yet it had appeared in a cult's initiation trials. It was completely unreasonable.

Could humans control baleful yin qi?

Perhaps they could.

Lin Nan thought of Peng Huo and the bronze cup capable of controlling corpse souls.

Seeing Lin Nan finish the talisman water, the smiles on Lai Quan and Huang Hou's faces grew even broader, as though they were looking at one of their own brothers.

"Young brother truly acts without hesitation."

"Elder Lai, Brother Huang, there is no need for more words. Let us quickly begin the third trial."

After undergoing two trial rituals and gaining more than two yin energy points, Lin Nan could barely wait to start the third trial and fleece it for more.

"Young brother Zhong Jing, do not be impatient. The third trial is somewhat special."

Lai Quan continued, "The first trial is Abstinence, the second is Drinking Talisman Water, and the third is called Worshiping the God!"

"Worshiping the god?!"

Lin Nan's expression froze.

Lai Quan waved a hand, signaling for Lin Nan to follow him.

The two passed the side rooms and walked down the corridor until they reached its end, where a wall stood before them.

Lai Quan walked up to the wall and lightly knocked twice.

Click, click...

The entire wall split open down the middle like a door, revealing a deep, dark entrance. A flight of stairs extended straight underground from within it.

Lin Nan paused as he looked at the entrance.

"Come." Lai Quan's voice sounded from ahead of him.

Lin Nan did not linger and followed Lai Quan down.

Before long, at the bottom of the stairs, there was a platform more than ten meters long and wide. Candles stood all around it, while a wooden statue rested at its center.

It was a statue of a woman in red robes. Her face had long been weathered by time, making her features impossible to discern.

"This is the patriarch worshiped by our Blessed Life Cult, known as the Blessed Life Mother. She was never born and never dies, existing since before heaven and earth. All things and all living beings were transformed from her."

A strange expression appeared on Lai Quan's face.

"Our Blessed Life Cult reveres the will of the Blessed Life Mother. All people suffer, and only our Pure Void Homeland offers salvation. Why are you not kneeling to worship her at once?"

"Blessed Life Mother..."

Lin Nan raised his head to gaze at the idol. The candle flames around him flickered, casting wavering reflections across the ground.