Controlling the Five Thunders and the Two Worlds

Chapter 160 The Exorcism Ritual of the Old Taoist Priest from the Mountain City

Mountain city, a certain village.

Gu Qi drove Gu Zhao here, accompanied by several other timber merchants and a local guide.

We live in an internet society now, and the villagers have become more knowledgeable. It's no longer an era where vendors can just walk into the village and find cheap things.

Nowadays, guides usually take several business owners from different regions into the mountains to find goods. If they find something good, the business owners will bid on it on the spot, and the villagers will sell it at their discretion.

"Like chasing mountains in the Northeast or sea in the Southeast?" Gu Zhao asked with interest.

"Yes, but what we're looking at is of higher value." Gu Qi explained to Gu Zhao, "Huanghuali and Xiaoye Zitan can be artificially cultivated or imported from overseas, but Jinsi Nanmu is truly not available abroad."

Rosewood and sandalwood take about ten years to mature, while trees that are a hundred years old are considered old wood. However, golden nanmu takes a hundred years to mature, and if you want the golden threads to be translucent and beautiful, two or three hundred years is not too much.

There are indeed planting bases for Phoebe zhennan in China, but there isn't a single mature tree left. Not to mention whether there are any wild trees left, even if you found some, you couldn't cut them down.

So now they're looking for old materials from mountain villages in the southwest, buying them, processing them, and then selling them. And these materials have to be in small, scattered pieces; if they're well-preserved, they're considered protected structures.

Led by the guide, the group entered the mountain village. Gu Zhao looked around and asked, "You had your accident in this very village last time. How dare they come back?"

Gu Qi grinned. "It's not the same group of people; even the guide has been changed."

Gu Zhao laughed. "You've got guts! Those villagers are alright too?"

“There’s nothing wrong in the village.” Gu Qi shook his head. “I remember those particularly eerie places were mainly some forest paths.”

The group arrived in the village, where they were greeted by the villagers, who then led them on a tour of the old and new houses in the village.

Gu Zhao asked, "You've investigated several times already, are there still any fish that slipped through the net?"

Gu Qi smiled and shook his head, "There are a few that slipped through the net, but the rest are basically..."

"Do not sell!"

"It's too cheap. I think this is something the emperor uses. It should cost at least ten million."

"I heard that it sold for over 100 million at that Hong Kong auction. My old piece of timber is this big, it should be worth at least 50 million, right?"

Gu Qi said to Gu Zhao, "Besides the age and condition of the wood, the value of golden nanmu also depends on its preservation and the quality of the golden threads inside. Not all golden nanmu is worth tens or hundreds of millions."

Gu Zhao was speechless. "Then why did you come?"

“In business, what if they come to their senses and decide to sell?” Gu Qi replied. “If the price is right, we can still make a profit, and furniture and ornaments made of Phoebe zhennan wood are also a good thing to display.”

Gu Zhao nodded and followed behind Gu Qi, treating it as a sightseeing trip.

"Where is that rather eerie place?" Gu Zhao asked.

Gu Qi pointed to the back of the village, "There's a cluster of abandoned old houses in the back, in a shady spot in the mountains. Many people get sick after coming out from there."

"I'll go take a look." As soon as Gu Zhao finished speaking, he saw a group of people coming to the village entrance. The outermost group seemed to be some respected villagers, while the middle group consisted of Taoist priests dressed in brocade robes and holding banners.

"It's that grove of trees behind that connects to the ancient village."

The middle-aged man at the head of the group explained to the Taoist priests, "Ever since a small earthquake last year, that area has felt very eerie. Every villager who goes in comes out sick. Last time, it even knocked out several bosses who came to the village to inspect the nanmu wood."

"The village suspects that the earthquake stirred up some kind of evil spirit from underground. We would appreciate it if you Taoist priests could take a look and see what's going on and whether you can suppress it back." As the middle-aged man spoke, he met Gu Zhao and the others. The two groups looked at each other and remained silent for a moment.

"Ahem!" The middle-aged man coughed twice, then led his men away, saying, "You can continue, continue."

But all the bosses were intrigued.

We live in a technological society, and it's not only daytime, but there are also people all around, so no one is afraid; instead, their curiosity is piqued.

After making a few inquiries, they learned what had happened. Although it seemed a bit eerie, the illness itself didn't frighten them. Instead, they followed the group with great interest, ready to watch the spectacle.

The villagers were asking for an exorbitant price, so we couldn't buy the wood. But watching the Taoist priest perform a ritual was enough to make the trip worthwhile.

Gu Zhao mingled among them and looked at an old Taoist priest dressed in a bright yellow brocade robe who was surrounded in the middle.

The old Taoist priest was short, with a wrinkled face and an ugly appearance, but he had a serious expression and sharp eyes. He looked into the mountains behind the village, a strange light flashing in his eyes, and then shook his head, looking slightly disappointed.

He was accompanied by four young Taoist priests, two men and two women, all dressed in yellow Taoist robes. They held a flag in one hand and a cloth bag on the other, the contents of which were unknown.

Sensing the unusual movements of the Five Thunder Tokens and the new Thunder Seed in his sea of ​​consciousness, Gu Zhao never expected that he would encounter another old Taoist priest with magical powers.

"Who says it's difficult to cultivate Taoism in modern times? I think it's quite simple!"

The group followed them out of the village and into the forest behind the mountain. There was only one winding path leading to the back. Although there was no miasma in the forest, the trees overhead were dense and there was little sunlight, so everyone felt a chill.

"Something feels off!"

"Even though I'm wearing thick clothes, I still feel a bit cold."

Winter had arrived, and the mountains were even colder. Even though everyone was wearing thick down jackets, they still felt the bone-chilling cold seeping into their bodies through the gaps.

Gu Zhao also sensed the faint yin energy emanating from the mountains and forests.

This is not a wicked technique created by evil cultivators, but rather a terrain formed by a coincidence of natural circumstances, similar to a situation Yun Yang had encountered before.

The old Taoist priest stood in the woods for a long time, looking around before saying to the middle-aged man, "It's not some kind of evil spirit. It's just that the earthquake affected the surrounding terrain, making it difficult for miasma to escape. It's mixed with the rotting animal and plant corpses in the forest, and coupled with the cold environment, anyone who comes here will get sick unless they are a strong, healthy man with very strong yang energy."

The middle-aged man opened his mouth slightly, somewhat surprised and disappointed, "Ah? It's not something dirty!"

"You good-for-nothing, where are there any dirty things now?"

The old Taoist priest sighed, "Let's deal with the evil spirits in this forest first, then you can submit an application to the higher-ups to have some trees in this forest cut down so that it can see more sunlight."

The middle-aged man nodded blankly, and then he saw the old Taoist priest directing the four young Taoist priests beside him to begin making arrangements.

They planted flags and banners, set up the altar, lit candles, and took out ritual implements.

A wooden chime, a bell, a small drum, and a pair of gongs.

Four young Taoist priests took their positions and began chanting scriptures and playing ritual instruments.

The old Taoist priest held a jade tablet in one hand and a candle in the other, walking back and forth along the mountain path. His internal magical power circulated, and he actually managed to dispel a lot of the surrounding yin energy.

(End of this chapter)