Day and night tour

Chapter 462 Recruiting Actors
"The actors are the true participants in this grand drama. Since you've conceived of a spectacular 'battleground,' those actors are the ones who will duel with you."
In the play, they will die just as they would in real life.

"The audience, as the name suggests, are those who have been drawn into the magic show by you."

The engineer explained, "The audience is not a real person, but their will; they are the hopeful eyes that fill the eyes when watching the play."

"So the audience just comes to watch the show? Purely to watch the show?" Zhou Xuan asked.

The engineer shook his head and said, "Recently, the gossip magazine you sent to the secret realm recorded something: Hu Guangmei, an actress from the capital, was severely criticized by her fans and relentlessly attacked by major mainstream film publications because of her role as a mistress."

The head of the film company behind the production, along with Hu Guangmei, apologized to the audience.
Hu Guangmei promised on the spot that she would play more positive roles in the future, and the film company solemnly announced that it would destroy the film copies.
Furthermore, a new murder mystery film was tailored specifically for Hu Guangmei, in which she played a wise and righteous female detective, which finally calmed the situation down.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Xuan seemed to be deep in thought.
He said, "In reality, audience preferences can influence the progress of a film, even if the film is already finished, it can still exert a great influence. So, can the audience in a movie also influence my 'Battlefield' movie?"

“Smart, Boss Xuan understands immediately.”

The engineer said, "The stagehands have built a grand play that looks incredibly realistic, and they want to use this stage as their main venue to fight and kill enemies. In this process, the role of the audience is highlighted."

The more people in the audience support the magician, the more impressive their skills are considered.
Conversely, the audience is a double-edged sword; if the audience doesn't support the magician, the magician won't receive the blessing.

After saying this, she paused and said, "However, in this small territory of Mingjiang Prefecture, it will be extremely difficult to find people who do not support Boss Xuan."

Given Zhou Xuan's prestige in Mingjiang Prefecture, he could be said to have a large following.

As mentioned before the book talk began,
Tonight belongs to Mingjiang Prefecture.

Tonight belongs to everyone who loves Mingjiang Prefecture.

The multitude now belong to the great Master Zhou Xuan.

"Boss Xuan, now it's time to see your tricks in the opera. To get actors on stage, you need to deceive them."
But if you want to invite audience members onto the stage, you can simply invite them, as long as they're willing to come.

"Easy to say, easy to say."

Zhou Xuan stood up.
He had an idea on how to trick the gourd-wielding Taoist priest and the master of escape techniques into the stage of the opera singer.
just,

"How do we deceive these Buddhist people?"

Zhou Xuan gazed at the Buddhist temple within that "spiritual realm," and thought to himself...

……

Zhou Xuan was still telling the story, the tale of the Mingjiang Zoroastrian Fire Record, still magnificent and even more exciting than the opening episodes.
However, the audience's interest in listening to the audiobooks became lukewarm.

Listening to audiobooks is a form of entertainment, and no matter how much "literature conveys moral principles," it cannot change the essence of entertainment.

The people of Mingjiang Prefecture were greatly affected by the disturbance caused by the disciples of Dunjia Mountain.

If you're not in the right frame of mind, what's the point of listening to any books?
but,

The willpower of the people of Mingjiang Prefecture rose even more powerfully.

The reason was simple: although the people of Mingjiang Prefecture had lost some of their enthusiasm for listening to stories, they were united in purpose and shared a common wish—to kill the old master and his disciples from Dunjia Mountain.

The debts of Mingjiang Prefecture must be repaid in blood.

This willpower, born of a thirst for battle, is far more potent in its killing intent than the willpower generated simply from listening to a storyteller.
The disciples of Dunjia Mountain, who had been waiting to challenge Zhou Xuan, felt as if they were sitting on pins and needles. The air, which had been invisible and intangible, now seemed to be filled with the threat of weapons.
The air condensed into a wind that lashed against their faces, stinging their skin.

Zhao Longhu was the first to lose his composure. He walked to the carriage of the gourd-wielding Taoist priest, gently knocked on the side of the carriage, and asked, "Master, the killing intent of Mingjiang Prefecture is far too strong. Perhaps we should strike first..."

"When did it become the turn of a foolish descendant to instruct us, the ancestors, on what to do?"

The words of the gourd-wielding Taoist were colder than the sharpest blades in the air.
Zhao Longhu glanced at Zhao Youting, who was still nailed to the wooden planks of the carriage, and shrank back, no longer daring to make any rash judgments. After apologizing twice, he left the side of the carriage.

However, despite the gourd-shaped Taoist priest's eloquent reprimands of Zhao Longhu, he was actually losing control of his mind and was having a secret conversation with the other Supreme Ancestors.

"I didn't expect Mingjiang Prefecture to rise to power. Fellow disciples, what are your plans?"

"Senior brother, in my opinion, we still need to wait. There are also capable people in Mingjiang Prefecture."

"King Xishan just showed off his Valley Secrets; he's a tough opponent."

"This newly crowned Fox King is no ordinary man."

"Besides King Xishan, there is also Li Changxun, one of the gods of the heavens. Yun Ziliang, who dominated the Daoist sect three hundred years ago, is also here. If I remember correctly, when Senior Brother Hulu was learning the Dao, he took Yun Ziliang as his role model, right?"

"Times have changed. Yun Ziliang is only a nobody, but he is indeed not to be underestimated."

The gourd-shaped Taoist priest didn't want to boost others' morale and diminish his own, but he still had to be wary of Yun Ziliang.

Yun Ziliang's name is not so well-known in the martial arts world, but within the Taoist sect—he is an insurmountable monument.

"In my opinion, it would be better to leave as Zhao Youting suggested. It is not a wise move for the six of us to fight this prefecture, not to mention that Mingjiang Prefecture has gained a significant advantage tonight."

"Why retreat? Let's take advantage of the fact that Mingjiang Prefecture hasn't fully gained momentum yet and charge in together."

Among the six, there were already differences of opinion, with some advocating peace and others advocating war.

However, the gourd-wielding Taoist felt that by "advocating peace," they would lose the opportunity to capture Zhou Xuan—Zhou Xuan's growth was progressing by leaps and bounds, and if they missed this chance today, it would be difficult to capture him again.

However, when it comes to war, they fail to seize the opportune moment.

These seasoned veterans, compared to their younger disciples, understood better what it meant to "fall from grace with one wrong step," and thus they were more steady and less impulsive.

They are always seeking a "sure-win" situation, and in doing so, they miss some opportunities.

"Timing, oh timing."

As the gourd-wielding Taoist priest was lamenting inwardly, suddenly a reprimanding voice came from outside the window.

"A huge sect, gathering all its strength, traveled thousands of miles, only to be holed up in a carriage for a secret meeting, and still couldn't reach a conclusion. How utterly pathetic."

"All my scheming has been in vain."

Upon hearing the shouting voice at the door, the gourd-shaped Taoist priest abruptly turned his head and asked through the sedan curtain, "Who is it?"

"Is my voice hard to recognize?"

As soon as he finished speaking, a jewel-like sign slipped into the carriage; it was the very same stargazing sign.

On the star-gazing plaque, there are still faint footprints of the gourd-shaped Taoist priest.

"Earth deities?"

The gourd-shaped Taoist priest immediately realized that, judging from the sound, the timbre of the star-gazing tablet did not quite match the earthly element.

Of course it doesn't match. Zhou Xuan had never met Di Zi; he had only met the head of Mr. Ye's gang—Di Tong.

Using his perception, the voice he attached to the star-gazing tablet imitated the eerie, ghostly voice of the Earth Child, adding his own imaginings to create the sound.

When Zhou Xuan visited Master Ye's shrine, he noticed a pattern: the paths to cultivating the divine path might be different, and all Master Ye spoke with a ghostly quality.

By grasping this characteristic, it's not easy to make the gourd-wielding Taoist priest completely suspicious.

As long as no one completely doubts him, Zhou Xuan has the means to deceive.

What is the most important thing about lying?
momentum!

Zhou Xuan immediately directed the star-gazing tablet to strike the gourd-shaped Taoist priest's face with a heavy blow.
"Snapped!"

The gourd-wielding Taoist priest was unprepared, but even if he had been, he wouldn't have dared to hide until he was certain the other party was a fake.

"Useless trash! I told you to capture Zhou Xuan, what are you doing here? You even issued a challenge. Is Zhou Xuan the kind of guy who's going to openly confront you head-on?"

“Di Zi, I’m waiting for the right opportunity.”

The gourd-shaped Taoist priest felt somewhat aggrieved, and at the same time, doubts began to creep into his mind—was this place really fake?
Is it true? The voice doesn't quite match, and the manner of speaking doesn't seem to fit either.
But to say he's faking it? Can anyone fake that kind of aura? He immediately grabbed the token and slapped him across the face.

"If Zhou Xuan were to play tricks, that might be possible—he's incredibly clever and cunning. But right now... the storyteller is here."

The voice of "Zhou Xuan" while he was telling stories is the best proof of his alibi. "No matter how capable a person is, he can't have two mouths, telling stories while impersonating someone else."

The gourd-shaped Taoist priest was calculating in his mind. In fact, he had another method to verify the authenticity: he held the star-gazing tablet and used his powerful aura to sense the aura within it.

But he didn't dare.

Despite his earlier actions of stepping on the astrolabe and repeatedly mentioning his desire to break free from the constraints of the "earth element,"

But people who are used to being dogs are like this: they can talk about their owner's shortcomings behind their backs, but when they actually see their owner, they put their tails down and don't dare to bark, showing a lot of obedience.

"You have already fallen into Zhou Xuan's treacherous trap. He is using a feint to cover up his true intentions while secretly advancing his own."

Cursing could be heard again from the stargazing tablet.

"Fell into a trap?"

"You issued the challenge, and then you just stood there waiting. Tell me, what were you waiting for?"

"Di Zi, I'm waiting for Mingjiang Prefecture to be rebuilt. Once the prefectural city is rebuilt, a 'Spiritual Realm' will be formed. At that time, the six of us brothers will be able to drag him into the Spiritual Realm. He won't be able to borrow the power of the entire city, and we can kill him like killing a dog!"

"You're just making things up! You're waiting, and Zhou Xuan is waiting too. Do you know what he's waiting for?"

An angry rebuke came from the star-gazing tablet, saying, "You and your fellow disciples, release all your senses and work together to use the techniques of the Dunjia Sect to cast a divination and see what exactly is hidden in Xiejia'ao!"
"Find out the calculations first, then talk to me, you useless piece of trash. Watching you do things is truly a torment for me."

The star-gazing plaque jumped again, slapping the gourd-wielding Taoist priest across the face once more.

"Snapped!"

The gourd-shaped Taoist priest was red-faced and furious, but dared not retaliate. Instead, he called his fellow disciples over for a private talk.

"Di Zi is not stationed in the capital; he is overseeing the battle."

"Senior brother, is that place real?"

"Can't tell the difference between real and fake."

The gourd-wielding Taoist gritted his teeth and forced out a sentence, saying, "But he told us to use our senses to see what's hidden in this Xiejia'ao area. It can't be wrong."

“Then let’s sense it and see. If we can really see something, it means that this place is indeed real.”

The six fellow disciples simultaneously released their senses, and the six tortoise shells began to pulsate continuously.

The sound of the copper coins rattling inside the tortoise shell grew louder.

Instantly, a "pattern array" appeared on the floor of the carriage.

This painting is titled "Red Water Black Tortoise Painting".

Legend has it that the founder of the Dunjia School was born in the Chishui River in the Jingchuan area, and his back armor was naturally covered with an array diagram.

This array can be used to predict destiny, know the future, and avoid death and prolong life.

However, the current Dunjia Sect focuses on formation-based warfare and is no longer as adept at using formations for divination.

They can't unleash the true power of this formation.

As the runes in the image flow,
The gourd-wielding Taoist priest only saw that the dense crowd of listeners in Xiejia'ao had all vanished.
The mountains were clear and the moon and stars were few. The six of them saw at the same time two people standing on the summit of Nanshan Mountain.

A person was wearing a tattered robe.

The other one held a rattle-drum made of cowhide in his right hand and a snakeskin whip rolled up in his left.

The two men were simultaneously watching Xie Jia'ao's carriage procession.

The gourd-shaped Taoist priest glanced up the mountain and immediately met the two men face to face, their eyes locked in a staring contest.

Just from that glare, his heart skipped a beat.

"It was them?"

The gourd-shaped Taoist priest and his six junior brothers were mostly figures above the nine-stick incense-burning level, having all reached the point of ascending to the heavens and slaying the old gods.

They didn't join forces to eliminate the "Nine Palaces" not because they couldn't, but because their ambitions lay elsewhere.

Having reached such a level, how could they not recognize the Celestial-level Otherworldly being "Heavenly Crippled Monk," and how could they not recognize the renowned "Master of Longevity"?
"That damned Zhou Xuan, so he really was waiting for reinforcements?"

"If it weren't for Di Zi's supernatural powers reminding us, all six of us fellow disciples would have been kept in the dark."

For a moment, even the gourd-wielding Taoist priests thought they had become the ones being deceived.

The "peace faction" among the six brothers lamented repeatedly—"Oh no, oh no, two more Heavenly God-level beings have arrived from Mingjiang Prefecture. What's the point of fighting anymore?"

The Eternal Life Cult Leader and the Crippled Monk are not known for their overwhelming combat power among the Celestial Gods, but conversely—they are not known for their weak combat power either.
Unlike the three celestial beings known as "Nine Palaces," "Escape Techniques," and "Heavenly Eye Taoist," who are still capable of fighting, they are not like those who are ...

If they can fight even in the heavens, it means that they are extremely capable fighters on earth.

“Senior Brother Hulu, he’s not just a Celestial God-level being… he also has helpers. Zhou Xuan also has helpers.”

This time, the six brothers' divination even extended to the nearby "spiritual realm".

In the spiritual realm, they saw a "Buddhist temple," a "Buddhist temple" from the Buddhist kingdom.

At that moment, they also saw Zhou Xuan, who was also standing in the spiritual realm, making a peace sign with the "Buddhist temple" from afar, appearing to be on very good terms with him.

"This Zhou Xuan actually has connections with the Buddhist kingdom?"

The gourd-wielding Taoist then realized that Zhou Xuan was not a righteous person at all. On the surface, he was upright and honest, but in secret, he was a scoundrel who had gotten so close to the people of the Buddhist Kingdom.

However, despite his despicable actions, Zhou Xuan has gained the support of the Buddhist people and possesses considerable strength.

"No wonder Zhou Xuan was so calm and composed, accepting the challenge from the six of us Supreme Elders so easily. It turns out he had so many tricks up his sleeve."

The gourd-shaped Taoist priest began to calculate—two celestial deities, a Buddhist temple, plus the King of Xishan, Li Changxun, Yun Ziliang, and the Peach Blossom Ancestral Tree and the Ancient Golden Bell Tree of Mingjiang Prefecture,
This lineup is undeniably magnificent.

"Senior brother, what should we do now?"

Among the Supreme Beings, some are already asking the Gourd Taoist to make a decision.

"Now, the question is no longer whether we should go back to the capital, but whether we can even get back."

The junior brothers chimed in, clearly terrified.

The gourd-shaped Taoist priest finally remembered that his ancestor, the Xuan Turtle, had appeared to him and told him not to provoke Zhou Xuan.

He also recalled the butcher's words before he left: "Tonight, Mingjiang Prefecture is a giant millstone of flesh and blood. Anyone who dares to go there will be crushed until not even bone fragments remain."

All of this has come true.

"How to do how to do?"

After dozens of thoughts raced through the gourd-shaped Taoist's mind, he finally knelt down in fear and trepidation before the star-gazing tablet on the ground, saying, "Earth God, please guide us fellow disciples through our confusion."

The stargazing plaque no longer shines, remaining as silent as a piece of earth and stone.

"Is the Earth ignoring us?"

The gourd-shaped Taoist priest was terrified, and said even more sincerely, "Lord Di, we six have committed the crime of disrespect, but we have always served the Imperial Observatory well, even if we have no merit. We hope that you will show leniency and rescue us from this quagmire of Mingjiang."

After he finished speaking, he slowly lowered his forehead and kowtowed on the ground with a thud.

"Boom!"

He was asking for land.
But the stargazing card remained unresponsive, still not answering him...

(End of this chapter)