Controlling the Five Thunders and the Two Worlds

Chapter 217 The Old Taoist from Northwest China
"Do you know me?" Master Jingfa asked curiously.

“My name is Gu Zhao, a friend of Yun Yang,” Gu Zhao replied.

"You are Gu Zhao?" Master Jingfa stood up and said with a serious expression, "Hello, hello. Yun Yang told me about you. You are a successor of the Shangqing Tianxin Sect. You have very high magical power and are extremely powerful."

Last year, Yun Yang returned with five million from the Hong Kong incident and shared Gu Zhao's skills with his martial uncle, praising Gu Zhao to the skies and emphasizing that the effects of the Heavenly Gang Talisman were indeed astounding.

Therefore, Master Jingfa knew Gu Zhao, and now that they met, he naturally showed him respect.

"How did Yun Yang praise me?" Gu Zhao asked.

"You can draw the true Heavenly Divine Talisman. Daoist Yihong praises you as being comparable to the ancient high Daoists." Daoist Jingfa raised his hand in a gesture of respect as an equal and said honestly.

"You're too kind, Daoist Master," Gu Zhao returned the greeting, then heard Daoist Jingfa ask him, "How is Yunyang doing lately?"

“Very good,” Gu Zhao said. “My cultivation has improved, but I have been thinking of you and want to bring you to Guangzhou.”

“I won’t go. I’m not used to the South.” Master Jingfa shook his head and waved his hand to refuse. “I can cultivate in the North just the same.”

Before Gu Zhao could say anything more, Master Jingfa introduced the old Taoist priest beside him to Gu Zhao, "This is Senior Brother Jinghong, who is also a true Taoist."

"Greetings, Daoist Jinghong!" Gu Zhao greeted.

Master Jinghong fit Gu Zhao's preconceived notion of an old man from the Northwest: his skin was tanned dark from the scorching sun, and his face was deeply lined with wrinkles from the sand and dust of the Northwest.

However, their expressions revealed a simple and unpretentious nature, and their eyes held a firmness unique to Northwest China.

"Greetings, fellow Daoist!" Master Jinghong returned the greeting, his voice slightly accented, his smile warm. "Have you eaten yet?"

"I've eaten, I've eaten." Gu Zhao nodded repeatedly. "I ate my fill before going up the mountain."

"You've eaten your fill!" Master Jinghong said with a smile. "Since you've come all this way, let us show you around."

Gu Zhao subconsciously replied, "I strolled all the way up here."

Master Jinghong waved his hand, "Some places are closed off, so tourists won't be upset."

"Oh, okay then." Gu Zhao nodded, having no objection.

Then, Daoist Jinghong and Daoist Jingfa led Gu Zhao down the path.

Despite being in their sixties or seventies, both of them moved with remarkable agility and grace, climbing ladders and iron chains with a light and effortless gait.

Gu Zhao followed behind the two down the Jade Emperor Pavilion and past the Taibai Hall, chatting as they walked down the mountain.

They had just been resting and watching Gu Zhao go up, but now they saw Gu Zhao coming down with two Taoist priests, which greatly surprised them.

It's important to know that the Longmen Cave Taoist Temple is largely uncommercialized. It doesn't sell incense or religious items, nor does it offer fortune-telling services. Although the temple is located within a scenic area, the Taoist priests there are primarily focused on their own spiritual practice and will not speak to tourists unless asked.

Therefore, tourists often feel that the Taoist priests here are very aloof.

At this moment, I was quite surprised to see a young tourist and two old Taoist priests coming down the street, chatting and laughing.

"Do they know each other?"

"Could it be that those two old Taoist priests saw that this guy was quick and wanted to take him as a disciple?"

"Hahaha!"

Gu Zhao and his companions paid no attention to the tourists' gossip. Led by two old Taoist priests, Gu Zhao toured the ancient buildings on the mountain, learned about their historical heritage, and then visited a Taoist temple that was not open to tourists, where he saw several Taoist priests practicing Taoist music.

The Taoist temples and music in Northwest China are different from those in the South. Gu Zhao even saw cymbals, xun (a type of ancient Chinese wind instrument), and suona (a type of ancient Chinese wind instrument)!
Upon seeing Daoist Jinghong and Daoist Jingfa, several Daoists came up to greet them. One of them even handed his suona to Daoist Jinghong, saying, "Uncle-Master, play a tune for them."

Upon seeing the suona in his hand, Master Jinghong's eyes lit up, and he looked at Gu Zhao, "Would you mind if I played a tune?"

"Of course I don't mind!" Gu Zhao smiled and shook his head. "I'm all ears."

"Hahaha!" Daoist Jing Hong laughed loudly, then gestured to Gu Zhao, "We happen to have guests coming from the south."

Then he raised the suona in his hand and said, "You guys cooperate and play a piece for the guests. If we don't play the suona, it won't sound good. Let's play a piece called 'Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix'."

"Alright!" Several Taoist priests greeted Gu Zhao and nodded with smiles. "Dong dong dong!" The sound of drums rang out first.

"Clang, clang, clang!" The cymbals followed closely.

"Woo woo woo!" came the sound of the xun.

"Beep beep beep!" The suona horn sounded.

It must be said that the sound of the suona is truly majestic and resonant, with strong penetrating power; once it begins to play, all other sounds fall silent.

It was quite obvious that when Master Jinghong played the suona, he also used his internal Qi, which made the suona's penetrating power stronger.

Even after achieving mastery of Qi cultivation, Gu Zhao could still feel the music piercing through his eardrums and resounding in his mind, as if his head was filled with the echoes of the suona.

……

When the piece ended, Master Jinghong, still feeling unsatisfied, handed the suona back and then smiled at Gu Zhao, saying, "I've made a fool of myself!"

"The Taoist priest plays the suona so well!" Gu Zhao gave a thumbs up and exclaimed, "If you infuse it with magic power, it's a sonic attack!"

Master Jinghong smiled smugly, and then led Gu Zhao to continue their tour.

Master Jingfa wasn't very good with words, but he stayed by my side nonetheless.

After visiting two more places, Master Jinghong asked Gu Zhao, "Aren't you in a hurry to leave? Why don't you stay overnight?"

"I'm not staying here." Gu Zhao shook his head. "I have an appointment tonight, I'll leave after I finish my business."

Today is the last day of the holiday. Xiao Ya and Jiang Shishi have just finished their performance and asked if they could go back. Gu Zhao promised to go back to Yangcheng tonight to have dinner and go shopping with them, so naturally they couldn't stay overnight at Longmen Mountain.

"Oh, young people are all very busy these days." Master Jinghong nodded understandingly, then added, "Later, we'll stand up for you and waive your parking fee."

The old Taoist priest was so kind and simple that Gu Zhao waved his hand and laughed, "No need, I didn't drive."

Master Jinghong glared at him, "Don't drive! How did you get here?"

Longmenshan is far from the city center, with the nearest county seat being 50 kilometers away. The only public transportation is a non-profit village bus service, and it's difficult to get a ride in this small town. If you don't drive yourself, you basically can't get there.

"I flew here."

"Flew over?"

Gu Zhao checked the time and felt it was about time, so he said to the two, "Both of you are kind-hearted and have achieved great success in Qi cultivation. I would like to invite you to join the Guangzhou Taoist Research Institute to slay demons and monsters and uphold justice on behalf of Heaven."

Master Jinghong and Master Jingfa were completely dumbfounded.

Then they saw Gu Zhao swiftly and lightly tap their foreheads.

……

A moment later, the two of them still looked at Gu Zhao with complete bewilderment.

Gu Zhao was also bewildered and couldn't help but ask, "Do you... understand?"

Master Jinghong stared at Gu Zhao, "Are there really immortals in this world?"

Master Jingfa swallowed hard and stammered, "Actually, I'd also like to go to Guangzhou."

Gu Zhao laughed heartily and said to Daoist Jing Hong, "Whether there are immortals in the world depends on whether you can ascend to heaven."

Then he said to Daoist Jingfa, "The environment in Guangzhou is also quite nice. I will be waiting for you, Uncle-Master, in Guangzhou."

After saying that, Gu Zhao said to the two of them again, "I have an appointment tonight, so I won't stay overnight. See you in Guangzhou."

Gu Zhao cupped his hands in greeting to the two, then soared into the air, waved his hand to cast an invisibility spell, and disappeared from the sight of Daoist Jing Hong and Daoist Jing Fa, riding the wind away.

As they watched Gu Zhao disappear into the sky, the two exclaimed in unison, "My God!"

(End of this chapter)