Controlling the Five Thunders and the Two Worlds

Chapter 213 The Qingming Festival Ritual Displays a "Miracle"

Many of the old Taoist priests have gone down the mountain, and there are still some days until Qingming Festival.

Gu Zhao didn't rush back to the modern world. Instead, he took Zhuo Qingyan and the embroiderer to enjoy a spring outing around Changping Prefecture before returning to the Daluo Palace, traveling back to the modern world, and starting his work.

During this holiday, Xiao Ya and Jiang Shishi both had touring performances and couldn't accompany him, so Gu Zhao set off alone for the first time.

……

During the Qingming Festival, it rained heavily. Braving the drizzle, Gu Zhao finally arrived at Sanmao Mountain.

Sanmaoshan was originally inhabited by the Three Mao True Lords, and now it also has three temples and monasteries.

Wanfu Palace, Wanning Palace, and Wanshou Palace.

Today is the Qingming Festival, so even though it's raining, there are still tourists and Taoist priests on the road, holding incense sticks, and starting their worship from the mountain gate.

Gu Zhao was also a tourist. He followed the crowd through the Gate of Wonders and soon arrived at the Longevity Palace located at the foot of the mountain.

The old Wanshou Palace was submerged under the reservoir. This is a newly built palace on the east side of the original site. It has been open for less than ten years and is newer than the Taishang Laojun Pavilion on Qingcheng Mountain.

But just because the temple is new doesn't mean the people are new. Gu Zhao had met Daoist Yansong at the Taishang Laojun Pavilion, so Gu Zhao wasn't in a hurry and leisurely strolled around.

Gu Zhao walked around the Wanshou Palace but found nothing.

Then he went up the mountain and came to Wanning Palace, but still couldn't find it.

Having learned from the experience at Zhenwu Mountain, Gu Zhao was not surprised at all. He arrived at Wanfu Palace at the summit before the ritual mentioned in the announcement.

This is an ancient palace. Although it has undergone modern restoration, like the Zixiao Hall on Zhenwu Mountain, the main structure is still a centuries-old building, full of historical vicissitudes.

When Gu Zhao arrived at the entrance of Wanfu Palace, he saw that the preparations for the Qingming Festival ritual were already complete. Dozens of Taoist priests stood solemnly in the square in front of the palace, dressed in their robes, braving the drizzle.

There were hundreds or even thousands of tourists and believers gathered around. Some were genuinely devout, while others treated it as a performance at the scenic spot. Some live streamers were also holding up their phones and broadcasting live.

Gu Zhao mingled among the tourists, circled around the livestreamers, and couldn't help but shake his head and sigh.

These days, being a live streamer isn't easy. Don't be fooled by the tens of millions in income that top streamers make; it's actually very difficult for lower-level streamers to earn money.

Of the ones he just watched, the one with the most viewers was a travel streamer, with a three-digit number of viewers, which was quite impressive. The one with the fewest viewers had zero viewers!
Watching him earnestly talk to himself in a live stream with zero viewers online, Gu Zhao felt sorry for him.

Just then, Gu Zhao overheard the conversation of the tourists around him.

"It's almost ten o'clock, the show is about to start!" said the person on the left.

"This isn't a performance; it's a Taoist ritual, a very formal ceremony," someone corrected.

"Okay, okay, I'm here to listen to music." The first person nodded perfunctorily. "Shangqing Daoyue, this music is quite catchy."

Another person chimed in, "I came to see the Taoist robes. Do you think anyone will ask for a photo if I change into them when I go down the mountain?"

Everyone turned around and saw that he was carrying a rather large bundle.

"Why don't you wear something and sneak in?" someone asked.

"That was my initial thought, but then I felt it wasn't quite right," the man replied.

"Damn! Of course it's inappropriate. You should be more careful. Last time, a real Taoist priest was criticized for wearing his ritual robes while shopping after a ceremony." Someone who knew a little about Taoist practices reminded him.

"I know you know a lot, but I'm not wearing anything, am I?" the man said impatiently.

“No matter how down-to-earth Taoism may be, it is still a religion after all. You can’t take it too lightly.” A middle-aged man next to him advised kindly, “You still need to show the respect that is due.”

"Don't talk nonsense. Religions are all feudal superstitions. The only one officially recognized by the state is Taoist music; the rest are dregs." The young man who said he came to listen to the music said dismissively, "What kind of rituals and ceremonies are these? Isn't it just shamanistic dancing?"

Several young people nearby laughed, and although some people around them looked at them with displeasure, they didn't say anything.

Gu Zhao was right next to them. Upon hearing this, he looked at them and said, "The Qingming Festival is a time for offering sacrifices to the deceased, praying for blessings and warding off disasters. It is a way to commemorate our ancestors and show that we should not forget history. It is also a time to yearn for a better life and to look forward to the future."

If this counts as shamanic rituals, then commemorating ancestors, making birthday wishes, and confessing your love to your crush would all be considered shamanic rituals.

The smiles shifted from the faces of the young people to those of the onlookers. "Holy crap? You bastard..."

The young man was about to throw a punch at Gu Zhao when he met Gu Zhao's gaze head-on.

"Boom!"

He felt a thunderclap in his brain, and then he fell into a daze. When he regained consciousness, Gu Zhao was nowhere to be seen.

"What just happened to you?"

"I was hoping to join you, why did you suddenly freeze?"

"That kid took the opportunity to escape."

"I saw him walk ahead, should we go look for him?"

The young man stood there, stunned, his mind flashing back to the lightning bolt he had subconsciously seen earlier, and the indifferent yet authoritative gaze he had met during their final eye contact.

"Go where?! Go my ass!" The young man suddenly swore, startling his friends.

The next moment, the young man's gaze towards Wanfu Palace and the Taoist priests was filled with piety and fervor. "Quiet down! The Qingming ritual is about to begin. Don't disturb the priests' chanting!"

Everyone:? ? ?
……

On the other side, Gu Zhao had arrived at the front of the square and saw the monks from Sanmaoshan who were presiding over the ritual.

The Five Thunder Token began to pulsate rhythmically, and a smile appeared on Gu Zhao's face.

Then he mingled among the tourists, watching the Taoist priests of the Shangqing School chant scriptures and incantations, perform hand gestures and steps, light lamps and worship, and offer prayers and petitions.

However, in the final stage, Gu Zhao walked out of the crowd and came to a relatively secluded place on the side of Wanfu Palace.

Looking up at the gloomy sky, Gu Zhao stretched out his hand to feel the drizzle still falling from the sky, and used his divine sense to monitor the progress of the ritual in the square.

Just as the ritual ended...

"Faith arises from the heavens, virtue extends to the four corners. Stop immediately, stop immediately, and leave behind nothing but openness."

Gu Zhao chanted the incantation to gather clouds, rain, wind, and thunder, and a powerful aura shot straight into the sky and disappeared into the thick clouds.

The next moment, the tourists and worshippers in front of Wanfu Palace felt their eyes light up.

The drizzle that had been falling from the sky suddenly disappeared, and the gloomy sky suddenly brightened. Everyone looked up and saw that the dark clouds in the sky were gradually dissipating, and rays of sunlight were shining down, shining on the top of Wanfu Palace and reflecting golden light.

A rainbow hung in the sky, and the dark clouds that had been hanging low turned into high-hanging white clouds. Several of these white clouds seemed to have the divine power of cranes, as if white cranes were descending from the sky.

"Wow!"

"so beautiful!"

"The weather forecast predicted rain for several days, how come it suddenly cleared up?"

"Wow, those white clouds look like cranes! Purple clouds coming from the east, cranes as auspicious omens, holy crap, this is a miracle!"

"Just like the Buddha's Light in Meishan, Sichuan Province!"

"Hahaha, that's right, and that Nantianmen cloud cluster in Shandong Province too!"

"Snapshot! Snapshot! If you don't take a picture now, it'll fall apart!"

Ordinary people didn't think much of it; they just felt the scene was too coincidental and took out their phones to take pictures and videos to record this rare moment.

Only the young man who had been momentarily stunned by Gu Zhao looked at the clouds in the sky and then at the many real monks who had just completed the ritual. His eyes revealed a sense of fear at the prospect of seeing the real world, and he couldn't help but tremble all over.

Among the many Taoist priests who had just completed the ritual, several priests of different ages, dressed in ceremonial robes, first looked up at the "coincidental" rainbow and auspicious clouds, and then all turned their gaze to a corner of Wanfu Palace.

(End of this chapter)