Chapter 104: Chapter 97: The Number One Paparazzo in the Martial World!
Translator: 549690339
What is an immoral shrine?
It refers to indiscriminately built, non-standard temples and shrines.
Such shrines are often built by those with ulterior motives or malevolent beings, to accumulate wealth, disturb people’s minds, and gather the power of faith in incense!
Some even demand that their followers sacrifice live animals, such as cattle, sheep, young boys, young girls, and young women!
The so-called “gods” they worship are not acknowledged by the earthly kings, nor are they granted by Heaven and Earth, so they are referred to as “evil deities.”
Xu Yang thought about the gray monster he encountered at Silver City Institute of Technology, as well as the powerful gray hand that was forced to retreat by Elder Wang. He was puzzled: “Master Luan, since it is a City God Temple, it is a formal and legitimate shrine. How did it become an immoral shrine?”
“In ancient times, the temples of City God, Land, Mountain God, River God, and so on, were indeed all formal temples. These Yin deities were granted by Heaven and Earth, enjoyed the incense of the people in their jurisdiction, and bore the responsibility of protecting the region.”
Luan Haiping said: “However, since more than 500 years ago, spiritual aura has been depleted, especially after experiencing the era of breaking superstitions, many Yin gods’ golden bodies were destroyed, temples were leveled, and those left are neglected.”
“Yin gods rely on the power of faith in incense and spiritual aura to survive.”
“Once the incense and spiritual aura are cut off, and the golden body is shattered, the Yin gods naturally dissipate… Conversely, the Yin gods that can survive in the world have mostly transformed into evil deities, which are no different from malevolent beings.”
Yu Yang suddenly realized and asked: “Has this issue been resolved?”
Luan Haiping shook his head and said with a bitter smile: “The City God Temple is full of dangers, and it has already shown signs of turning into a Ghost Realm. We temporarily have no solution to break this, so we have to find a way to seal it.”
Xu Yang thought…
Wouldn’t it be solved by killing the evil deity inside?
However, when he remembered the terrifying scene of the gray hand obliterating Liu Shishi’s Ghost King, he realized that it was not as easy as it seemed.
At least, he is not capable of doing it right now.
However, if he does have the power, then the so-called “City God Temple ruins” seem to be a pretty good place to gain merit points and level up.
Night has fallen.
Luan Haiping stood up to leave and said with a smile: “Friend Xu Yang, I will be stationed in Silver City for a while, I hope we can stay in touch.”
“Of course, of course!”
Xu Yang escorted Luan Haiping outside, saying: “Master Luan, should I drive you?”
“No need to trouble yourself, I have already informed the Spirits Management Bureau’s Wu City branch, and they will send someone to pick me up… By the way, Xu Yang, have you registered for this Daoist Skills Competition of Daoist mages?”
Xu Yang: “…”
Daoist Skills Competition?
He had never even heard of it!
But that’s normal.
He’s only been cultivating for a short time, so it’s quite expected for him not to know much about the martial world’s matters.
Luan Haiping continued: “With your strength, you can definitely participate in the Qi Refining Realm assessment, and you might even have a chance at winning the championship. I’ve heard that the Daoist Association has spent a lot of money on the competition and is offering many treasures as rewards.” “Really?”
Xu Yang’s thoughts began to race.
This could be an excellent opportunity to learn about the martial world and even the hidden history behind the dispute between Jingming Sect and Lu Shan Sect.
He asked: “Master Luan, to be honest… I have been self-studying cultivation for years, and I am not very familiar with the martial world. May I ask how I can participate in this Daoist Skills Competition?”
Luan Haiping was surprised and looked at Xu Yang more carefully.
Self-studying cultivation?
Did Master Xu not guide him?
If this is indeed the case, then Xu Yang’s talent is truly terrifying… At the age of 22, he has reached the ninth level of the Qi Refining Realm and has a high level of mastery over Daoist talismans. According to the information Luan got from the Supernatural Affairs Bureau, Xu Yang may have also mastered the rules of Thunder and the rule of water element!
“It’s a pity… This young man holds the Supreme Purification Seal. He is destined to inherit the Jingming Sect’s legacy; otherwise, if we could recruit him into Maoshan Sect, we might have another invincible expert a few decades down the road!”
He sighed in his heart.
Luan Haiping took out a phone and said: “Let’s add each other as friends, and I’ll send you the registration link.”
In today’s society, everyone is keeping up with the times.
Even monks and Daoists use phones now.
Xu Yang took out his phone, and they exchanged contact information. Luan Haiping sent a link, explaining: “This is the internal website of the Daoist Association. The link I shared with you will allow you to register. Ordinary people cannot access it. The official website has detailed registration and assessment procedures for you to study.”
The Spirits Management Bureau’s vehicle arrived and took Luan Haiping away.
Xu Yang returned to the funeral shop and opened the link Luan Haiping sent him.
As the link jumps, a website called “Mage Net” enters Xu Yang’s view.
Xu Yang carefully browsed the site and found that “Mage Net” is a subsidiary of the Da Xia Daoist Association’s official website. The site has many exciting news stories about martial world affairs.
These news items cover a wide range of topics.
One talked about a Dragon Tiger Mountain expert’s son being caught in a prostitution scandal, with photos leaked.
Another showed a video of a person being defeated in a debate and pinned to the ground, beaten up.
He even saw a news report about a Daoist practitioner having an affair with a martial arts Grandmaster’s wife, and the consequential video of the practitioner being caught in the act by the Grandmaster.
Xu Yang randomly clicked on several videos, and he was left dumbstruck!
Holy crap!
Is this the martial world?
It’s quite different from what he had imagined…
He scrolled to the comment section and found that all the news comment sections mentioned a name – Fang Wei!
From the comment section, Xu Yang learned that Fang Wei was known as the “number one paparazzo in the martial world.” He had no fixed residence, and no one even knew his true appearance, claiming to be a descendant of “Baixiao Sheng.”
The amazing thing about this person was that he always managed to dig up some bizarre and hidden news.
Logically, the “participants” in these news stories were all martial masters, including some who had reached the “Entering Dao Realm” level and were martial arts grandmasters. With their highly sensitive senses, these experts could detect even the slightest disturbances.
This in no way exaggerated the phrase “autumn wind does not move; the cicada first perceives.”
But…
These participants had no idea when their pictures had been taken.
The comments in the comment section were mixed in their opinions of Fang Wei. Some insulted his ancestors, claiming that his habit of exposing people’s secrets was immoral, while others called for martial artists from all around the world to join forces and hunt him down.
Others, however, praised him for his skill.
They claimed that Fang Wei was a descendant of “Baixiao Sheng” whose ancestors had mastered this skill, and it would be a shame to lose such a legacy.
“This Fang Wei is quite interesting,” Xu Yang couldn’t help but laugh.
However, he soon encountered his own gossip.
As he refreshed the webpage, a new piece of news appeared on the page.
The headline read: Shocking! The conflict between Lu Shan Sect and Jingming Sect on Daoist lineage continues, and Supreme Sage Qingxu’s disciple Xu Zhiyuan emerges in the martial world!
Xu Yang’s eyes flickered as he opened the news.
The news was also posted by Fang Wei.
At the beginning of the article, Fang wrote a brief introduction to Xu Yang’s grandfather and his life. Xu Yang only now learned that his grandfather’s Daoist title was “Qingxu,” and he belonged to the “Qing” generation of the Jingming Sect.
Then, the article vaguely mentioned the “lineage struggle” of that year.
Fang claimed that although the Lu Shan Sect had won the “lineage struggle” that year, they had failed to obtain the “Supreme Purification Seal.” Thus, the “Heavenly Master’s Seal” could not be formed by combining the two seals.
Therefore, over the years, the Lu Shan Sect had been searching for the whereabouts of the “Supreme Purification Seal.”
Moreover, Fang mentioned in the news that a Lu Shan Sect outer elder had died and a Divine Realm Supreme Sage had been severely injured.
“The deceased outer elder must be the one killed by Liu Shishi.”
“As for the Divine Realm Supreme Sage…” Xu Yang thought of what Wang Defa had said a few days ago, and his heart couldn’t help but race. Was it the result of Wang Defa’s intervention?
Wang Defa was so powerful that he could severely injure a Divine Realm Supreme Sage?
In the end, Fang reported that the Lu Shan Sect had spent a great deal of money to hire experts from the Asura Sect. They had invited Asura Sect assassins to kill the disciple of Supreme Sage Qingxu, Xu Zhiyuan, with the intention of regaining the “Supreme Purification Seal.”
Upon reading this, Xu Yang could not help but frown!
Asura Sect?
He had never heard of it before…
However, just by hearing its name, he could tell it was no ordinary sect.
He glanced at the comments section. Because the news had just been posted, there were only a few comments. Xu Yang posted a comment asking, “Any big brothers here can tell me what’s the background of this Asura Sect? Are they very powerful?”
After leaving the comment, Xu Yang found the registration link for the “Daoist Dao Technique Conference” mentioned by Luan Haiping.
Upon clicking the link, a form appeared, which required information such as name, cultivation level, sect, special Daoist skills, mobile phone number, etc.
Not wanting to reveal his real name, Xu Yang thought about it and wrote “Northwest Hammer King” in the column for name.
“Cultivation level: Qi Refining Realm Ninth Layer…”
“Sect…Jingming Sect.”
“Skilled in Daoist skills?”
Xu Yang thought for a moment and wrote down the two words “Fire Method.”
After filling out the form, he clicked confirm. A message appeared on the screen, notifying him that his registration was successful and advising him to keep his phone available. It also mentioned that he could download the “5th Da Xia Daoist Dao Technique Conference” spell test sheet from the website on his own.
Following the instructions, Xu Yang downloaded the “spell test sheet.”
The test sheet accurately recorded the date of the “5th Da Xia Daoist Dao Technique Conference.”
“Examination time: July 11th (Lunar May 24th) to July 13th (Lunar May 26th), 2023 (Water Rabbit Year)?”
Xu Yang had visited the Ghost Market the day before yesterday.
It was July 2nd, Lunar May 15th.
Glancing at the time on his phone, it was now 1:18 a.m. on July 4th.
“Isn’t there just one week left before the Daoist Technique Conference?”
Xu Yang looked back at the form.
“Test location: Changan Zongsheng Palace?”
“Examination schedule… written exam? Drawing talismans? Ghost-catching?
Praying for rain, arranging clouds, setting up lightning?”
“The final item is a spell battle?”
When Xu Yang opened the written exam content, he was instantly dumbstruck.
The written exam included: the Yi Jing Bagua, Liu Yao (hexagrams), selected parts of Yin-Yang and Five Elements, and parts of Daoist collections such as the Dao De Jing, Chuangzu, Liezi, Guanzi, Qingjie, and Baizibi…
“Damn… As a half-training Daoist cultivator, how am I supposed to understand all this? Can I withdraw now?”