Chapter 99: Chapter 98: A Little Shock for Taoist Yi Hong
Gu Zhao and his companions stayed in Port City for a few more days before preparing to return north.
After seeing off the Daoists from Yuanfa Palace and making plans with Yunyang to visit him in West Capital for some paomo soup, Gu Zhao finally went to find Taoist Yi Hong.
"Daoist, are you heading straight back to White Cloud Temple?" Gu Zhao asked.
Taoist Yi Hong nodded. "I’ve collected most of the Dragon Gate Classics over the past few years. All that’s left is to chant scriptures, drink tea, and rest at the temple."
"You don’t have any worldly affairs tying you down, do you?" Gu Zhao continued to ask.
"I’m over eighty, and my eyes are failing me. What worldly affairs could I have?" Taoist Yi Hong chuckled.
"That’s good. In other words, you could live anywhere," Gu Zhao said with a smile. "It wouldn’t be a problem if you lived in Yangcheng in the future."
Gu Zhao and Taoist Yi Hong chatted as they strolled, eventually arriving at the small hill behind the Penglai Immortal Pavilion. It was morning, and the woods on the hill were sparse, with no one else around.
"It wouldn’t be a problem, but you want me to live in Yangcheng permanently?" Taoist Yi Hong thought for a moment, seeming to understand. "Are you worried those Sakura People might harm me?"
"Thank you, but it’s alright." Taoist Yi Hong waved his hand and smiled. "The Cultivation Realm isn’t that mysterious. We live in a society governed by law now. They wouldn’t dare make a move within the country."
"That’s not it. This is about Cultivation," Gu Zhao said. "If you lived in Yangcheng permanently, it would be beneficial to your Cultivation. You might even be able to achieve Ascension to the Celestial Realm one day."
Taoist Yi Hong looked a bit dumbfounded. "What did you say?"
"I said, if you’re willing to live in Yangcheng from now on, you might achieve great success in your Cultivation and undergo Ascension in the Daylight," Gu Zhao repeated.
Taoist Yi Hong turned, his gaze burning as he looked at Gu Zhao.
After a moment, he finally spoke. "That Celestial Spirit Talisman and the Shangqing Great Forbidden Dragon Binding Talisman... those aren’t things an ordinary person could create. You must have had some sort of fortuitous encounter, haven’t you?"
Taoist Yi Hong had managed to cultivate True Qi. Though it was faint, he was still a Cultivator and thus more accepting of the Extraordinary than an ordinary person. Besides, he had already seen Gu Zhao’s Celestial Spirit Talisman and Shangqing Great Forbidden Dragon Binding Talisman.
Now, connecting the dots with Gu Zhao’s words, he roughly understood that Gu Zhao must have obtained some kind of special Technique or opportunity.
’A Magical Artifact passed down from a powerful ancient Daoist?’
’Or a treasure that stores Spiritual Qi?’
"I’m old. If I died now, it would be at a ripe old age. Every extra day I live is a bonus. I have no need for your things. You should focus on your own Cultivation. The task of passing down the Taoist Sect’s classics will fall to your generation," Taoist Yi Hong said, shaking his head with a smile.
"Why’s it gotta be up to the young’uns?" A raspy, teasing voice with a distinct Sichuan accent suddenly rang out. "Young folks ain’t got no experience. They get a hot head and just charge in, doin’ whatever comes to mind without thinkin’ ’bout the consequences. How can they shoulder such a heavy burden!"
Taoist Yi Hong turned to see an old Daoist in a blue Daoist Robe suddenly emerge.
"Fellow Daoist, you are...?" Taoist Yi Hong clasped his hands in a salute and asked.
"Your future colleague." Taoist Yan Song returned the salute, then casually tossed a palm-sized object to Gu Zhao.
Gu Zhao instinctively reached out and caught it. "What is this?"
"The thing you told me to research and then just tossed to me," Taoist Yan Song said irritably.
Gu Zhao looked at it and saw it was a turtle shell. He was stunned. "You figured it out?"
"It wasn’t actually that hard. You just have to probe every nook and cranny inside with your True Qi. Once your mind wills it, it just happens naturally," Taoist Yan Song said with a sly grin.
"It’s that easy?" Gu Zhao was shocked.
"Of course, it’s not *that* easy. It also depends on the material." Taoist Yan Song pointed at the turtle shell in Gu Zhao’s hand. "This thing works. I tried it with other items, and none of them worked. Not even that Cyan Feather Fan."
Gu Zhao understood. "So it requires a special material. Like how Sun Wukong’s Golden Cudgel works, but Pigsy’s Nine-toothed Nail Rake doesn’t."
"That’s right," Taoist Yan Song nodded.
Taoist Yi Hong listened to their conversation and also saw the turtle shell in Gu Zhao’s hand. "What’s special about this turtle shell?"
"This turtle shell is a real treasure," Gu Zhao said with a smile.
Taoist Yi Hong asked, "Is it for divination? Exceptionally accurate?"
"Nope." Gu Zhao shook his head and tossed the turtle shell back to Taoist Yan Song. "Senior Uncle, how about giving Taoist Yi Hong a demonstration?"
Taoist Yan Song caught the shell and then continued answering Taoist Yi Hong. "My Daoist name is Yan Song, and I’m from Qingcheng Mountain."
Taoist Yi Hong’s eyes lit up as he remembered. "That young lady, Xiao Ya, said she met a powerful Daoist on Qingcheng Mountain. That must have been you, Taoist Yan Song?"
"That would be this old Daoist," Taoist Yan Song nodded.
But Taoist Yi Hong was still confused. "How are we going to be colleagues?"
Taoist Yan Song chuckled. "Gu Zhao and I will demonstrate our ’company’s’ strength for you. Have a look first, then you can decide whether you want to join."
"See wh—"
"Gu Zhao, use Palm Thunder!" Taoist Yan Song shouted. He then threw the turtle shell into the air, and Taoist Yi Hong watched as it grew in the wind, transforming in the blink of an eye into a massive turtle shell over two meters long!
Taoist Yi Hong’s eyes went wide in an instant. "—at!?"
The next moment, he saw Gu Zhao beside him form the Celestial Thunder Seal with his left hand and a Thunder Spell sign with his right. Then, he thrust his palm forward.
BOOM!
Purple light flashed and thunder roared.
A bolt of lightning instantly struck the surface of the turtle shell, exploding in a flash of purple-gold and black light. The light slowly dissipated, revealing the shell, completely unharmed.
Taoist Yi Hong: w(°o°)w
The next moment, the huge turtle shell abruptly shrank and flew back into Taoist Yan Song’s hand automatically.
"What was that?" Taoist Yi Hong asked, dazed.
"Profound Turtle Shell," said Taoist Yan Song.
"Palm Thunder," said Gu Zhao.
Taoist Yi Hong was speechless. "..."
"So? What do you think?" Taoist Yan Song came to Taoist Yi Hong’s side. "Our ’company’s’ pretty strong, right? We can give you an, uh... an uhh..."
"An offer," Taoist Yi Hong finished for him.
"Right, an ’offer’," Taoist Yan Song chuckled. "You in?"
Taoist Yi Hong looked at Gu Zhao, then at Taoist Yan Song, and asked in a low voice, "Just who are you people?"
The power Gu Zhao and Taoist Yan Song had just displayed was on a level far beyond what a normal Cultivator could achieve. You could even say they weren’t human. It was even more outrageous than the two Talismans Gu Zhao had shown before.
Gu Zhao saluted. "Gu Zhao, a wandering Daoist of the Lingnan heritage, and a Quanzhen and Zhengyi Fellow Cultivator."
Taoist Yan Song also saluted. "Yan Song, from the Supreme Lord Pavilion on Qingcheng Mountain, of the Dragon Gate lineage, and also a practitioner of Taiyi."
Taoist Yi Hong was speechless. "You know that’s not what I’m asking."
Taoist Yan Song blew softly, and a ball of fire emerged from his breath, forming a firebird out of thin air. It circled them three times before slowly dissipating.
"The rest, of course, we can only tell you if you agree to join," Taoist Yan Song said with a smile. "The upside is that you’ll be able to cultivate like us and have a chance at becoming an immortal."
"And the downside?" Taoist Yi Hong’s eyes narrowed as he spoke calmly.
There’s no such thing as a free lunch, and good things don’t just fall from the sky. He had understood this principle long ago.
Although the two were also Daoists, their actions were shrouded in mystery. Moreover, Gu Zhao had been somewhat ruthless in his actions against the Sakura People. Taoist Yi Hong was already prepared to die for his principles should he refuse them.
"The downside is that you’ll have to start championing Righteousness and Heroism, Exorcising Demons and Evil Spirits. You’ll be facing wicked but incredibly powerful Demons and Ghosts, so there’s a risk of death," Taoist Yan Song replied, his tone just as calm.
"Hm?" Taoist Yi Hong couldn’t help but be taken aback.
Taoist Yan Song’s smile returned. "We are Daoists, after all. If we want to cultivate and achieve Ascension, we naturally need to perform Good Deeds and Accumulate Virtue, and Eradicate Evil and Accumulate Merit. But the process of eradicating evil isn’t safe, so you really do need to think it over carefull—"
Taoist Yi Hong’s narrowed eyes suddenly lit up. He cut him off, declaring, "I’ll join!"
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The Author: （づ￣3￣）づ╭♡～
