Chapter 192: The Rite of Talisman Bestowal

Time swiftly passed in Pan Yun's studies, and the September talisman-bestowal examination officially began; the academy granted all students leave, as the instructors had to descend the mountain to supervise the exams.

With Miao Zhen and Miao He helping her, Pan Yun found a trick for washing clothes—using spiritual power made it quick, and once done, she gave herself a holiday, joining her classmates as they descended the mountain to join the festivities.

Of course, they could not enter the Celestial Master's Mansion, so they wandered the streets or leapt onto nearby rooftops to tiptoe and peer inside.

Unfortunately, the interior of the Celestial Master's Mansion had some unknown array in place; aside from occasional flashes of colorful magical hues, nothing could be seen.

The talisman-bestowal examination lasted three days, and results were announced the same day each candidate finished.

Although the Celestial Master's Mansion publicly claimed it did not control the number of talisman recipients—as long as one's cultivation base and moral character met the standard, they would be granted the talisman—

Pan Yun believed this was merely an excuse the Celestial Master's Mansion gave to the outside world; if they didn't limit the number, given the number of people she'd seen capable of Dao cultivation, the world would be flooded with Daoists.

Yet even though these Daoists received the talisman and gained recognition from within the sect, without an official license, they were not recognized by the imperial court and still had to pay taxes and perform corvée labor.

Chen Ziwu was lucky—he passed this examination.

Moreover, not only did he gain the status of a Daoist at the Celestial Master's Mansion, but he was also exempt from imperial labor service, because, "I'm a native of Fengyang; the Taizu Emperor issued a special decree exempting all Fengyang natives from corvée."

Pan Yun: "Did the wealthy Jiangnan families relocated to Fengyang all end up ruined and dead?"

Chen Ziwu's proud, self-satisfied expression instantly turned crimson with anger. "What are you talking about? They're all doing fine."

Yet his expression betrayed unmistakable guilt.

Pan Yun didn't care. She nodded. "Good, then."

Chen Ziwu fell silent for a long while; his pride and guilt vanished. He spoke softly: "Life for the native people of Fengyang is hard too. Though they're exempt from corvée, for some reason, their lives grow harder every year. In recent years, Fengyang has suffered repeated floods, and every household has emptied its grain stores."

Pan Yun: "Didn't the imperial court send relief grain?"

"A drop in the ocean," Chen Ziwu said. "Only the Taizu Emperor still remembered old ties. Now, it's the fourth generation. He's never even visited Fengyang—how could he care about it?"

Pan Yun nodded thoughtfully, murmuring: "So how much affection does the current emperor truly have for other, more distant branches of the imperial clan?"

Chen Ziwu's eyes widened. "Y-you—you what?"

Pan Yun glanced at him. "What's so surprising? You don't understand why Fengyang's people, though exempt from corvée, still grow poorer? Because their taxes, levies, and hidden expenses have increased!"

"Where did that money go? At least a third flowed into the imperial family," Pan Yun patted his shoulder. "Relief grain is a drop in the ocean because the state treasury is empty. Why is it empty? Because there are too many parasites—overt ones, and covert ones."

"The emperor's vast clan network is the overt parasite. Aren't you a Daoist? How can you not have realized this?"

Pan Yun looked at Chen Ziwu, stunned into silence, shook her head, and walked away.

Chen Ziwu came to his senses only after a long while and hurried after her. "Why are you telling me this?"

"What's the point? I just saw you were clueless, so I told you," Pan Yun waved her hand. "I just spoke a truth—do you think I have some agenda? What goal could you possibly help me achieve?"

Chen Ziwu stopped. He remained silent for a long time, for he was just a commoner—he truly could not help Pan Yun achieve anything.

He watched her small figure walk farther away, her shadow stretching longer, growing larger, until it formed a mountain pressing down upon him.

He felt as if his entire twenty-odd years had been wasted—he saw the world less clearly than a little girl.

After the talisman-bestowal examination, those who passed remained to receive the talisman.

Most of those who failed also stayed to observe the ceremony.

Even if they couldn't receive it themselves, seeing others receive it gave them motivation—they'd come back next year!

This time, students from the academy were also allowed to attend the ceremony.

Pan Yun, of course, didn't miss this spectacle—she also intended to use the opportunity to sell off the talismans she'd accumulated over this period.

During this time, she asked her senior brothers and sisters who returned for the exam; they too faced difficulties finding employment after graduation.

Only a rare few, those who could live alone without family burdens, could retreat into remote mountains to focus on cultivation. The rest had to support themselves, their families, and were weighed down by obligations.

Besides returning home to farm and occasionally cultivating, they took on various tasks: performing rituals, exorcising ghosts, eliminating demons, fortune-telling—anything to earn a little.

Supporting a family cost money. Buying cultivation resources cost money.

Why do Daoists always call themselves "poor Daoists"?

Because Daoists who don't stray from the path are genuinely poor.

Whether performing rituals, exorcising ghosts, or eliminating demons, talismans are used—and even fortune-telling often requires them.

When someone comes to you for a fortune reading, they always seek something: safety, wealth, love, or offspring.

Each desire has a corresponding talisman. And according to several senior brothers and sisters she'd fought fiercely with, talismans are graded.

The same "safety talisman"—if drawn by Xuanmiao, it's worth twenty taels or more; if drawn by them, it's worth at most four or five taels, or as little as a few hundred copper coins, depending on the customer's wealth.

Indeed, Daoists are flexible—they can price a talisman according to the customer's means.

There have even been times they gave them away for free.

These are expenses incurred for customers. Then there are those they use themselves.

The talismans they use themselves are high-quality ones—after all, only when their lives are at stake do they resort to using talismans.

For exorcising ghosts and eliminating demons, the most commonly used talismans are the Thunder Talisman and the Speed Talisman.

The former strikes them down; the latter is for escape.

After learning this, Pan Yun drew mostly Thunder Talismans and Speed Talismans. She tested them—her talismans were no worse than Xuanmiao's.

How many Daoists came to observe the talisman-bestowal ceremony?

Several thousand. If even a hundred of them bought talismans from her…

Pan Yun cackled.

!. ead

Miao Zhen and Miao He shuddered, staring at her in alarm. "Little Master, what scheme are you hatching now?"

Pan Yun forced a smile off her face. "What scheme? My schemes are all righteous."

Miao Zhen and Miao He looked unconvinced.

Pan Yun pulled out two talismans. "After the ceremony ends, you two test these two for me—I'm going to sell talismans."

Miao Zhen and Miao He each took one, not objecting, but asked: "Where will you test them? Selling talismans openly inside the Celestial Master's Mansion seems inappropriate."

Pan Yun lowered her gaze, thought for a moment, then said: "Then sell them secretly."

The talisman-bestowal ceremony involves praying to Heaven, solemnly announcing to the celestial realms: "Now, 【name】 has renounced worldly desires, halted wrongdoing, severed evil roots, cultivated the Dao, ascended from mortal to immortal, from beginning to end, first through the precept talisman, then attaining true enlightenment." Only then are their names inscribed in the Celestial Bureaucracy, granting them divine rank and office.

Originally, Pan Yun was to receive the talisman before assuming the role of temple attendant.

There are three ways to receive the talisman: the first, as in this case, is passing an examination—this is how most Daoists obtain it;

the second, like Zhang Liuzhen and others, is through bloodline inheritance—born destined to receive it;

the third, like Pan Yun, is a rare case: recognized directly by the Immortals, granted the talisman and divine office without examination.

Long ago, before the Celestial Master's Mansion held such power, the talisman-bestowal ceremony was only for its own Daoists on Long Hushan.

Later, the imperial court entrusted the Celestial Master's Mansion with overseeing all Daoists; the ceremony expanded first to the entire Zhengyi Sect, then gradually to Daoists of other lineages.

Of course, even now, many still privately reject the Celestial Master's Mansion and the talisman-bestowal ritual.

Pan Yun believed Wang Feiyin was one of them—otherwise, why would he have merely written a letter to the Celestial Master's Mansion? When they didn't reply, he showed no concern.

As if whether the Celestial Master's Mansion acknowledged her or granted her the talisman didn't matter at all—he'd become temple attendant anyway.

If Zhang Zi had not aggressively pressured the Sanqing Mountain sect on behalf of the Zhang family, she would have spent the next several years quietly cultivating on Sanqing Mountain, never coming to Long Hushan.

If the top beam is crooked, the lower beams will be too. Wang Feiyin held the talisman-bestowal ritual in low regard; Pan Yun viewed it with indifference.

Yet when she saw Zhang Ziwang and others clad in magnificent five-dragon-embracing-Taiji ritual robes, solemnly fasting and performing rites, she grew serious, lifting her head to watch intently.

The clouds above gradually changed; in everyone's sight, the white clouds faded, then turned colorful, like a faint, drifting ribbon stretching across the sky above them.

It was an auspicious sign—the heavens acknowledged these Daoists.

Even Pan Yun felt stirred, murmuring: "Truly moving…"

Miao Zhen and Miao He were equally moved, clutching their chests. "When we complete our training, we must receive the talisman too."

Pan Yun nodded slightly.

Though being granted the talisman by Long Hushan made her seem beneath them, who cared? She was recognized by the Immortals—and that ribbon of cloud was beautiful.

Pan Yun activated her Five Orifices Heart, clearly seeing that when the ritual ended and the clouds faded, they didn't scatter with the wind—they dissolved into invisible streams of qi that settled upon the Daoists seated below in meditation.

Each Daoist was enveloped by a thread of qi, which she saw rapidly absorbed; their cultivation base slightly increased, and they seemed to form a new connection with Heaven and Earth—as if they'd signed a covenant.

It was fainter than when she received her temple attendant status, yet unmistakable.

(End of Chapter)