145Chapter 125: Daoist Talisman in a Hemp Bag (Fourth update!)
Translator: 549690339 |
Master Huang’s enthusiasm caught Xu Yang by surprise.
There were two buses, the one in front was almost full, Xu Yang got on the latter.
On the bus, in addition to representatives from various Daoist sects attending the “Daoist Convention,” were the “Examiners” Xu Yang had met in the “Ziyun Tower” the day before, including Master Huang, making there nine in total.
As soon as Xu Yang got on the bus, everyone stood up, including the “Examiners”, each of them addressed Xu Yang as “Master”.
“Master Xu!”
“Just a day has passed and already Master Xu has entered Daoism, how enviable!”
“And moreover, you entered Daoism through the power of thunder. In recent years amongst the various Daoist sects, I suspect only Master Xu has managed this?”
Xu Yang naturally couldn’t ignore such enthusiasm.
He gave each of them a fist and palm salute, exchanged a few pleasantries before sitting down.
At this time, the bus started moving.
The two buses started leaving Zongsheng Palace one after the other. On the bus, Master Huang stood up and said: “Ladies and gentlemen, the place we’re going to next is an abandoned school in Zhuyu Village. The third test of our Daoist Convention will be held there.”
Zhuyu Village is one of the townships under the jurisdiction of Zhouzhi County. Situated south of the Qinling Mountains and north of the Wei River, in recent years it has seen strong growth in agriculture and tourism. Mainly growing kiwi, it is the largest kiwi production base in the country!
The bus left the Louguan Temple scenic area and headed towards Zhuyu Village.
Master Huang began to explains the rules for the third test of the Dao convention. He said: “The third test of the Daoist Convention is ghost hunting. The host, Zongsheng Palace, has trapped 108 Yin spirits within the testing site. Within the specified time, whoever catches the most and the highest level ghosts will get the highest score.”
“For this third test, you’re not allowed to bring any personal Daoist artifacts or talismans. We’ve arranged for items such as peach wood swords, chicken blood, black dog blood, donkey hooves, yellow talismans, talisman pens and such. Everyone entering the test site can pick any two items.”
Upon hearing this rule, Xu Yang immediately raised a question and asked: “Master Huang, what about our own artifacts?”
Master Huang replied with a smile: “Master Xu, you can leave your artifacts outside the testing site. If you’re worried, you can entrust them to me temporarily.”
Leave it with you? Hell no!
Xu Yang sneered in his heart. You are the last person I would trust!
He contemplated for a few seconds before saying: “My artifacts are rather valuable, and I don’t feel comfortable leaving them with anyone. I’ll keep them with me and promise not to use them, would that be okay?”
“Um… ”
Looking troubled, Master Huang replied: “Master Xu, the rules for the Daoist Convention weren’t set by me. Moreover, do you believe I would covet your artifacts? Yuanxuan Daoist Temple may have only been established for 30 years and have the shortest history among up and coming Daoist sects in Da Xia, but in terms of wealth, we could definitely rank in the top five!”
This wasn’t an idle boast.
Yuanxuan Daoist Temple was funded by the chairman of the Xiangjiang Daoist Association. Built in Yue Province, the place had more Daoist followers and wealthy people than other areas, alongside Yuanxuan Daoist Temple’s own financial prowess, they had accumulated quite a wealth in these years.
Xu Yang shook his head and replied: “I can give you my talismans and artifacts, but there is something I must have with me. If it’s not possible, I’d rather withdraw.”
“What is it?”
Master Huang wanted to press on.
However, sitting next to him, “Master Morris” from Maoshan Sect quickly interrupted, smiling: “Rules are made for people, not people for rules. With Master Xu’ s cultivation level, he surely won’ t cheat. We’ 11 handle it when we arrive at the testing site.”
After Xu Yang had spoken, another Daoist practitioner began to speak.
He was slightly older, around thirty years old, dressed in a Daoist robe. Although he had not yet entered Daoism, a faint Daoist aura emanated from his body, obviously not far from ‘entering Dao’, only lacking some understanding of ‘Dao’.
On the chest of his Daoist robe was an embroidered word ‘Dragon’ which indicated he must be a Daoist practitioner from Dragon Tiger Mountain.
He asked: “Master Huang, Master Morris and all other masters, those of us who are participating in the test are all still in the Qi Refining Realm and the ongoing Daoist test is set for those in the same realm. Now that Master Xu has entered Daoism, is the competition still fair?”
After that, he saluted Xu Yang, adding: “I apologize, Master Xu, I mean no offense.”
Could you be any more obvious with your complaints?
Upon receiving such direct criticism, Xu Yang was at a loss for words, but he was also quite curious about it.
If he were to compete in ghost hunting with his ‘entered Dao with the power of Thunder’ level of power it would be outright bullying, wouldn’t it?
Then Master Huang said: “In previous Daoist Conventions, there have been breakthroughs on the battlefield. Master Xu had his breakthrough after finishing the written and talisman drawing tests, so he naturally can participate in the following competition.”
Since Louguan Temple and Zhuyu Village are both located in Zhouzhi County and adjacent to each other, they are not too far. The bus soon drove into Zhuyu Village.
But the bus did not stop, it drove straight into a mountain village.
This village, although quite large in size, didn’t seem to be inhabited. The “Master” from Zongsheng Palace explained it was because the farmland around the village was designated for kiwi planting, and two cold storage buildings were constructed in the village. Additionally, a “village of small wealth” project had resulted in the entire village being relocated to a residential complex near the township government.
The bus finally stopped at the entrance of the village’s primary school.
The school was rather extensive, but it was not heavily occupied. There were only four buildings, with the tallest being four stories high.
The entire school was surrounded by an iron fence.
Xu Yang got off the bus and saw that on the wall every distance held a Daoist talisman and the wall was lined with ink threads. The lines of ink intersected vertically and horizontally, creating a large net.
Inside the school, it was brimming with Yin energy. Particularly within those buildings, the Yin energy was intensely thick.
Yin spirits close to the wall attempted to escape, but the red Daoist light emitted from the ink lines pushed them back.
At the school gate, several sedans were parked. Some Daoist priests from the Zongsheng Palace arrived early. In the company of Master Huang and several other candidates from the examination panel, they made up a total of 38 ‘candidates’ who had gathered before the gate.
The candidates handed over the Daoist artifacts and talismans they carried.
Xu Yang pondered for a moment, brandished his hand and took out the hammer and the Thousand-year-old Thunderstruck Peachwood Sword which he promptly handed over.
“Hisss!”
“A Thousand-year-old Thunderstruck Peachwood Sword?”
The Daoist from Dragon Tiger Mountain who had the sharpest vision exclaimed in surprise: “Master Xu possesses this kind of Daoist artifact? This peachwood sword, with some time, could quite possibly evolve into a magical treasure…”
Xu Yang remained silent, instead asking: “Do I have to remove all the talismans attached to my body?”
Master Morris from the Maoshan Sect, who had meant to make things convenient for Xu Yang, saw that other ‘candidates’ were watching, and thus nodded.
Xu Yang looked at the table where the other candidates had handed in their talismans, totaling less than 200. He pondered for a moment, then said, “If so, could the fellow Daoist from Zongsheng Palace help me get a sack… no, two sacks?”
“What do you want the sacks for?”
Master Morris was puzzled.
The others also looked confused.
Xu Yang said sheepishly, “Well… I’ve been having trouble sleeping lately, so, to pass the time when I can’t sleep, I draw talismans. So, I drew a bit…a lot…”
The atmosphere suddenly became quiet. Sacks were hard to find.
However, the people from Zongsheng Palace managed to find two large plastic bags, printed with the words ‘Urea’ and ’50kg’.
Xu Yang accepted the bags gratefully: “Thankyou very much…”
Someone from Zongsheng Palace joked, “Master Xu, are these two bags enough?”
“If I pack it tightly, there should be enough room.”
Xu Yang waved his hand and took out all of his Dao talismans from his storage space. In an instant, a small mountain of symbols piled up in front of him.
He didn’t bother with sorting them.
He randomly grabbed a handful of talismans and stuffed them into the urea bag. His actions were as casual as if he were stuffing straw into the bag!
Most people had never seen a urea bag before.
In rural areas, people often store these bags to hold wheat or rice… Sometimes they are also used to store grass to feed rabbits or chickens.
When using this type of bag to store grass, one has to first put in a layer, then step on it hard several times before putting in the next layer. This way, more grass can be packed in.
Storing Daoist talismans…
The principle was the same.
Xu Yang packed some talismans into the bag, stood on them, and then continued to pack.
The masters and candidates around him were dumbfounded by the sight.
Especially the ” masters “, all of whom had ‘ entered the Dao realm’, their vision and perception were far superior to ordinary people. They could feel the power of the talismans with ease and recognize them just by seeing them…
“Movement talisman, Diamond talisman, Divine strength talisman, Exorcism talisman, Suppress Evil and Break Malevolent Energies talisman… My God!”
Master Huang was utterly shocked!
These talismans, the least valuable among them would be the ‘Exorcism talisman’. Yet even this kind of talisman sells for tens of thousands of dollars each, no problem there… especially when the talisman is stamped with a ‘Supreme Purification Seal’.
As for the Diamond talisman, Movement talisman, Divine strength talisman, and Suppress Evil and Break Malevolent Energies talisman, their value was even higher.
They could sell for tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars.
How would you feel seeing someone packing money into bags and stomping on them with their feet to fit more in?
After finally packing all the Daoist talismans, Xu Yang placed the two stuffed plastic bags at the school gate, saying, “Look after these bags for me… Don’t lose them!”
Having said that,
he walked forward and picked out a talisman brush and a thick stack of talisman paper from the items prepared by Zongsheng Palace for the contestants. He asked, “Since you do not allow us to bring in personally made Daoist talismans, does that mean if I draw them on the spot… I would not be breaking the rules bring them in?”
PS: Chapter four is here, and for someone who’s not very good with their hands, my hand is about to break from all the writing. It’s now 2:35 in the morning, I’m going to sleep now. Everyone, remember to vote when you wake up in the morning and see this chapter!