Becoming a Daoist Acolyte

Closing his eyes, Jiang Xuan recited the Eight Great Divine Incantations. During the first round, some stray thoughts still lingered in his mind.

But once he finished reciting the Tranquil-Mind Divine Incantation, the foremost of the Eight Great Divine Incantations, Jiang Xuan's mind settled completely. This made his subsequent recitations more focused, even carrying a trace of reverence.

Tranquil-Mind Divine Incantation, Speech-Calming Divine Incantation, Body-Purification Divine Incantation, Land God-Pacifying Divine Incantation, Golden Light Divine Incantation...

And so, with a sincere heart steeped in purity and peace, Jiang Xuan recited all Eight Great Divine Incantations once.

Then, without pausing in the slightest, Jiang Xuan began a second recitation, followed by a third...

By the time he finished the three rounds, nearly half the time it took for an incense stick to burn had passed, and the final requirement of Jiang Xuan's Daoist Acolyte advancement quest was thoroughly completed.

[ Ding, your Daoist Acolyte advancement quest ③: Sincerely recite the Eight Great Divine Incantations thirty times in a Daoist temple (30/30) has been completed ]

[ You have met the requirements to become a Daoist Acolyte. Do you wish to advance? ]

"Advance!"

This was the reward Jiang Xuan had been anticipating ever since he arrived in this world. Thus, there was not a trace of hesitation in his reply.

"Buzz!"

As Jiang Xuan confirmed his choice, a cool sensation surged forth from some unknown place, making his body and soul tremble.

At the same time, information related to Daoist arts and ritual procedures abruptly flooded into Jiang Xuan's mind, where it was understood by him.

The excessive information left Jiang Xuan's consciousness muddled for a while. Only after a long time did he come back to himself, by which point his advancement to Daoist Acolyte had formally been completed.

"Mm..."

Rubbing his head, Jiang Xuan prepared to inspect his own condition, but he did not slowly probe himself with the power of his soul.

Instead, he directly opened the game interface and checked his information through the game log.

[ You have advanced to the auxiliary profession: Daoist Acolyte ]

[ Your body and soul have undergone a baptism and received a slight improvement ]

[ You have been entered into the rolls and obtained the cultivation methods for the Tranquil-Mind Divine Incantation, Mouth-Purification Divine Incantation, and Body-Purification Divine Incantation among the Eight Great Divine Incantations ]

It was an initial profession after all—equivalent to an apprentice in reality—so the changes Jiang Xuan received were not particularly great.

Fortunately, the distinctive feature of the Daoist profession had already revealed itself—divine incantations.

"Mind-purifying, speech-purifying, body-purifying, Land God-pacifying, Golden Light, Incense-Blessing, Mysterious Essence, Heaven-and-Earth Purification... Though these Eight Great Divine Incantations are merely the eight most commonly used spells in Daoist fasting and offering rituals, they are also the most fundamental."

"But fundamental does not mean weak. Once, a Celestial Master relied solely on the Golden Light Incantation to become invulnerable to all techniques and suppress an entire age."

"And now, I have three of them."

The famed Golden Light Incantation was the fifth one and had not been comprehended by Jiang Xuan.

Yet Jiang Xuan was not particularly disappointed over missing that incantation.

There was one reason alone that kept his emotions from stirring too much, not to mention that he could obtain it in the future.

"Since I'm in the outer sect Daoist academy of the Divine Firmament Sect, as long as I don't court death myself, I won't encounter danger in the short term. Under such circumstances, choosing to cultivate the Golden Light Incantation would be a complete waste."

"What I need most right now are spells that can increase my cultivation efficiency... The assessment pressure within the Daoist academy is far too great, especially since I want to enter the Dao-Bearing Class."

Thinking of this, Jiang Xuan somewhat regretted not learning the Mysterious Essence Incantation.

The Mysterious Essence Incantation, also known as the Scripture-Opening Mysterious Essence Incantation, was the "key to Daoist resonance" among the Eight Great Divine Incantations. It could unlock the Daoist resonance within scripture collections and temporarily increase one's comprehension. It was most suitable for reciting while cultivating techniques or studying Daoist scriptures.

"Fortunately, even without the Mysterious Essence Incantation, the Tranquil-Mind Divine Incantation is still good."

It was the "anchor of the Dao heart" among the Eight Great Divine Incantations, a fundamental core spell upon which cultivators established themselves, as well as the prerequisite safeguard for all cultivation.

Daily meditation and recitation could wash away distracting thoughts, stabilize the spiritual platform, and leave the mind as still as water.

After figuring out the Tranquil-Mind Divine Incantation, Jiang Xuan turned his attention to the Mouth-Purification Divine Incantation and the Body-Purification Divine Incantation.

The former could purify verbal karma and leave a lingering fragrance upon one's tongue and lips. It could also make one's scripture recitations more infectious. At advanced levels, it could even silence others.

The Body-Purification Divine Incantation possessed the effect of cleansing the body of dust, filth, and turbid qi, allowing spiritual qi to circulate more smoothly.

Overall, Jiang Xuan was quite satisfied with these two divine incantations.

Especially when a flash of inspiration suddenly struck his mind and he thought of something, causing his eyes to light up sharply.

"If my idea really works, then the effects of the Mouth-Purification Divine Incantation and the Body-Purification Divine Incantation will be a hundred times more important than I originally imagined."

The beautiful future he envisioned made Jiang Xuan's heart pound without stop.

Only after reciting the Tranquil-Mind Divine Incantation once more did Jiang Xuan calm himself down.

Afterward, Jiang Xuan opened the game interface and looked over his overall status.

[ Player: Jiang Xuan ]

[ Age: Fourteen ]

[ Primary combat profession: None ]

[ Auxiliary profession: Daoist Acolyte ]

[ Talent: Spirit Root (Mystic · Mid) (Blue) ]

[ Cultivation method: Nine-Breath Qi-Absorption Method (Realm 1, Beginner, 109/300) (Blue) ]

[ Profession: Daoist Acolyte ]

[ Rating: Rare (Blue) ]

[ Level: 1/3 (1/300) ]

[ Attribute bonus: Slightly increases mental strength with each level ]

[ Profession skills: Tranquil-Mind Divine Incantation (Realm 1, Beginner, 0/108) (Blue), Mouth-Purification Divine Incantation (Realm 1, Beginner, 0/108), Body-Purification Divine Incantation (Realm 1, Beginner, 0/108) ]

That was Jiang Xuan's information. The difference was that a chart extended from the Daoist Acolyte profession, filled with Daoist Acolyte advancement paths.

After giving it a rough look, Jiang Xuan discovered that Daoist Acolytes had quite a few possible advancement directions.

[ Daoist Acolyte advancement paths: Shaman, Ritual Priest, Daoist (Wandering), Daoist (Dragon-Tiger), Daoist (Maoshan), Daoist (Divine Firmament)... ]

"So many Daoists..."

As Jiang Xuan expected, all of these advancements had requirements, and he had not met a single one.

For example, [ Daoist (Wandering) ].

[ Profession: Daoist (Wandering) ]

[ Advancement requirements: ]

[ ①: Cultivate the prerequisite profession, Daoist Acolyte, to completion (Incomplete) ]

[ ②: Travel through the mortal world for one hundred days, cover at least three hundred li, and visit nine villages, towns, or gathering places (Incomplete) ]

[ ③: During your travels, accept offerings from thirty-two lay devotees (Incomplete) ]

[ ④: Make a ritual banner, a Daoist robe, and a bagua, then hold an advancement ceremony in a Daoist temple (Incomplete) ]

"..."

Such advancement requirements left Jiang Xuan speechless. What left him even more speechless were the abilities gained after becoming a Wandering Daoist.

[ After advancement: ]

[ ①: Physical strength and walking endurance increase. ]

[ ②: Gain profession trait: Eloquent. ]

[ ③: Gain profession skills: Deception, Eight Characters fortune-telling, facial and palm reading, basic herbalism, prayer and disaster-averting rites, simple talismans... ]

Wandering Daoists had quite a few professional abilities, but most of them were skills for roaming the martial world. There were scarcely any practical spells among them.

Especially since Deception was actually listed first—it truly left Jiang Xuan at a loss for words.

Fortunately, only Wandering Daoists were like this. Other Daoists were far more normal.

However, Jiang Xuan also noticed the difference in advancement requirements between orthodox Daoists and Wandering Daoists.

[ Profession: Daoist (Dragon-Tiger) ]

[ Advancement requirements: ]

[ ①: Cultivate the prerequisite profession, Daoist Acolyte, to completion (Incomplete) ]

[ ②: Raise the three major divine incantations to proficiency (Incomplete) ]

[ ③: Obtain the recognition of Dragon-Tiger Mountain (Incomplete) ]

[ ⑥: Hold a register-bestowal ceremony in the main hall of Dragon-Tiger Mountain ]

"No matter which orthodox Daoist path it is, the prerequisite for advancement is to cultivate Daoist Acolyte to completion, raise the three major divine incantations to the proficient realm, obtain recognition from the sect one belongs to, and hold a register-bestowal ceremony in the Daoist temple... By that measure, the advancement requirements for a Wandering Daoist are actually the lowest."

"It merely takes some time, but it isn't difficult to complete."

Though the requirements were low, Jiang Xuan clearly would not choose such an advancement path.

At the same time, Jiang Xuan had no time to ponder so much.

"Jiang Xuan, it's time for you to attend morning class!"