Damn it, has my sect violated the Heavenly Law? And even alarmed the four elders of Daxia?!

Daxia, Baiyun Temple.

Zhang Qingfeng, President of the Daoist Association, was holding a teacup with goji berries, scrolling through his phone with a worried expression.

On the screen, the headline of a financial news article seemed particularly jarring to him: "'Cibei Group' Plans to List in Hong Kong Next Year, Potentially Becoming the World's First Buddhist Concept Stock."

"Alas..." Seeing this, Zhang Qingfeng sighed deeply, feeling that even the goji berries in his cup had lost their sweetness.

"Nonsense, this is utter nonsense! Those monks next door have almost turned their Karma boxes into POS machines, and now they want to go public and ring the bell?"

"What about our Dao? Purity and non-action! But if we continue to be so non-active, this Old Daoist Priest will have to take his disciples and grand-disciples to stick screen protectors under the overpass!"

The more he thought about it, the angrier he got. He casually opened a Daoist exchange group, forwarded the news, and added a sentence:

"Fellow Daoists, this Old Daoist Priest has had an epiphany! We also need to keep pace with the times and create some income-generating projects! Such as 'online consecration,' 'AI fortune-telling,' 'online blessings,' and so on..."

"Strive to make the Daoist sect bigger and stronger!"

As soon as these words were out, the group fell silent for about half a minute.

Then, a young Daoist priest weakly replied: "President, last month you live-streamed drawing talismans online and the platform banned you for seven days for 'suspected feudal superstition'..."

Zhang Qingfeng's face instantly collapsed, and he almost choked.

Well, it seemed his Daoist sect was destined to continue its non-action... Just as he was disheartened and preparing to close his phone to avoid seeing it, there was a "bang bang" at his office door.

"Come in."

After he spoke, the door was pushed open, and two men, dressed in casual clothes, with tall and straight figures and stern faces, walked in.

The sharp aura about them made Zhang Qingfeng, who was used to grand occasions, feel a sudden jolt in his heart.

Hiss... This situation, something isn't right!

"Excuse me, are you President Zhang Qingfeng of the Daoist Association?" The man leading the way spoke, his voice without a ripple.

"This Old Daoist Priest is he, and who are you two?" Zhang Qingfeng stood up, an alarm bell ringing in his heart.

This aura, they were definitely not ordinary people!

"Kunlun Squad of the Daxia Supreme Decision-Making Department." The leader took out a red-covered ID from his in my arms, showed it to him, and then continued: "By order of the superior, you are required to cooperate immediately."

"Cooperate? How to cooperate?"

"Is it to cooperate with an investigation?!"

"I... I will definitely cooperate!"

Hearing this, Zhang Qingfeng's mind went blank, and he immediately started to panic.

"Damn it, could it be that some blind Daoist priest was out there swindling people and got caught as a typical example?"

"Or was it discovered that I climbed over the wall to read overseas Daoist forums last time? It shouldn't be!"

Just as Zhang Qingfeng was trembling and frantically guessing the reason, the man continued to speak.

"President Zhang, the superior requires you to assemble, as quickly as possible, all Daoist practitioners nationwide who have in-depth research on 'Pill Dao,' which is the art of Alchemy."

The man's words were like a thunderclap, exploding in Zhang Qingfeng's mind.

"What the hell??"

"Al-Alchemy?" Zhang Qingfeng was dumbfounded.

Big brother, what era is this? Still Alchemy?

Nowadays, the so-called Alchemy in the Daoist sect is either making some health pills or a philosophical speculation. Who still truly believes that Immortal Pills can be refined!

What is the country trying to do? Could it be that they are preparing to eliminate feudal superstition again, starting with his Daoist sect?

It's over, the Daoist sect might not be preserved!

"Yes, Alchemy." The man in black repeated, his tone leaving no room for doubt.

"Remember, we need the most top-notch, those with solid theoretical knowledge, and preferably with practical experience."

"Once the list is drawn up, we will screen them."

"This is the highest level of instruction, execute it immediately."

Looking at the other party's emotionless eyes, Zhang Qingfeng swallowed all ten thousand "whys" that were on the tip of his tongue.

He had no doubt that if he dared to say "no," he might be in for a tea session the next second.

Helpless, he could only tremblingly agree.

"Yes! Mission accomplished!" Zhang Qingfeng snapped to attention, saluted, then realized he was a Daoist priest and awkwardly changed it to a bow.

Over the next three days, the entire Daxia Daoist sect experienced an unprecedented storm.

A supreme directive from the Daoist Association headquarters was conveyed through various channels to ancient temples deep in the mountains across the country.

Countless Daoist Masters who were meditating, lecturing, or even live-streaming, received this inexplicable yet extremely serious order.

As the President of the Daoist Association, Zhang Qingfeng personally made several phone calls to notify people.

And on the other end of the phone, one by one, his old acquaintances were stunned after receiving the call!

"Hello? Old Zhang? What the hell? The country wants to find Alchemists? Are you crazy or am I crazy? You probably ate too many health supplements, didn't you?"

"Qingfeng, we are all honest and law-abiding people, we haven't done anything illegal, have we? Don't scare me, my heart isn't good!"

"I'm telling you, my knowledge of Alchemy is all from books, I'm just a theoretician! I don't have the real stuff! Lead and mercury are poisonous!"

"Is the President drinking fake alcohol?"

"The Pill Formula left by my Grandmaster's Grandmaster, those are all for treating diarrhea, can that even count?"

"..."

To all these excuses, Zhang Qingfeng only replied with one sentence: "This is a national order! You must come! Consequences are at your own risk if you don't!"

Thus, although everyone was utterly confused, no one dared to neglect it.

A nationwide "Daoist Alchemy Expert Census" was swiftly launched.

After layers of screening, ultimately, eighteen Daoist Elders, including Zhang Qingfeng, whose combined age exceeded a thousand years, were "invited" from all over the country to the capital.

They were taken onto a special vehicle with completely blacked-out windows, drove for a long time on labyrinthine roads, and finally stopped at a suffocatingly heavily guarded underground base.

When Zhang Qingfeng and a group of white-bearded Old Daoist Priests, dressed in flowing Daoist robes, walked into a spacious conference room, everyone felt their legs trembling wildly.

Because, in the conference room, Four Elders were already sitting there quietly.

The moment he saw these Four Elders, Zhang Qingfeng felt his breathing stop.

Although he had only seen these few on the news, he could never mistake their iconic faces in this lifetime.

The Daxia Supreme Decision-Making Layer, the Four Supreme Elders!

"Thump."

An Old Daoist Priest from Wudang Mountain, nearly ninety years old, seeing this situation, his legs went soft, and he almost couldn't stand firm.

And in Zhang Qingfeng's mind, only the thought of impending doom remained.

This setup, were they going to wipe out the Daoist sect in one fell swoop?

What heavenly law did we break that required these four to personally come and judge?

All the Daoist Priests bowed their heads, silent as cicadas in winter, and the atmosphere in the conference room was so quiet that one could hear heartbeats.

"Daoist Masters, no need to be nervous."

Finally, the Grand Elder, sitting in the main seat, spoke.

His voice was gentle, yet carried an undeniable power.

"Today, we have invited everyone here for a matter concerning the nation's destiny and the future of our Daxia, which requires everyone's wisdom."

Nation's destiny? Future?

The Old Daoist Priests looked at each other, even more bewildered.

What connection could we, a group of reclusive practitioners, have with the nation's destiny?

The Grand Elder did not keep them in suspense. He motioned to his secretary to distribute a document to every Daoist priest present.

"Everyone, please look at this information."

Zhang Qingfeng tremblingly took the document, which was just a stack of ordinary A4 printed papers.

He focused his gaze and saw the title boldly written — "Overview of Basic Alchemy Theory."

His eyelids twitched, and he quickly looked down.

"Drawing Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi as fire, refining the essence of medicinal materials, guided by Divine Sense, harmonizing the power of Yin and Yang Five Elements, condensing the medicinal power matrix..."

"Below a second-grade Medicinal Pill, such rigor is not required, but above a second-grade, the resonance between 'Spiritual Qi' and 'medicinal power pill patterns' must be emphasized..."

Zhang Qingfeng only read a few lines and felt his worldview being repeatedly rubbed on the ground.

He recognized every word in it, but combined, they seemed like a heavenly book from another world.

What is a "medicinal power matrix"? What are "medicinal power pill patterns"?

Where did the country find such unorthodox information?

Isn't it a bit too unorthodox?

"This... this..." A Daoist Master looked at it, his lips turning pale, feeling greatly shocked.

"Grand Elder, forgive this Old Daoist Priest's ignorance, but such theories are unheard of, simply... simply fantastical!"

"Yes, this completely exceeds our scope of knowledge about Pill Dao!"

For a time, whispers rose and fell in the conference room, and all the Daoist Masters' faces were filled with shock and bewilderment.

They could understand the content on it, but precisely because they could understand it, they realized how vast the difference was compared to the Alchemy they mastered!

The Grand Elder listened quietly, his face showing no change in expression.

He cast his gaze towards the oldest Old Daoist Priest in the corner who had remained silent.

This Old Daoist Priest was from Longhu Mountain, his Daoist name was Xuan Chen, and he was one hundred and two years old, a living fossil of the contemporary Daoist sect.

At this moment, Daoist Master Xuan Chen was staring intently at the document in his hand, his withered body trembling slightly.

But in his cloudy old eyes, an unprecedented light burst forth.

"Daoist Master Xuan Chen." The Grand Elder slowly spoke: "You, have you seen something?"

Upon hearing this, everyone's gaze instantly focused on Daoist Master Xuan Chen.

Daoist Master Xuan Chen did not answer. He merely stretched out his slightly trembling hand, pointing to the content in the document, his lips moving, murmuring in a voice almost like a dream.

"Wonderful... simply wonderful!"

"So wonderfully ineffable..."

"This method... perhaps can truly refine Immortal Pills!"