Controlling the Five Thunders and the Two Worlds

Chapter 296 Dispute at the Scenic Area

"No rush! No rush!"

Gu Zhao chuckled to himself; these old Taoists' reactions were exactly the same as everyone else's.

"Qianshan Prefecture is now safe, and the Netherfire Sect has not yet arrived. If it weren't for this day or two earlier, I would have just arrived at Laoshan and hadn't even had a proper chance to explore," Gu Zhao reassured the group.
Master Tai Xian laughed heartily and nodded repeatedly, "I'll show you around!"

Feeling the cleansing effect of the lightning seed on his body, the abundance of innate Qi within him, and the subtle magical power that seemed to wield his own arms, Master Taixian felt completely at ease.

Master Huaiyi exhaled another smoke ring, which transformed into a beast that flew for more than ten steps before slowly dissipating in the breeze.

Master Xu Ning suddenly felt a tickle in his teeth and couldn't help but purse his lips. Then, several old teeth fell out, and when the others looked over, they saw new teeth sprouting.

Master Xuanyong gently pressed his hand on the stone table, and when he lifted his hand again, there was already a shallow palm print on the table.

As for Jingyi, she became even more beautiful, and her gentle and elegant demeanor made her seem like a fairy from heaven.

Just then, another group of tourists appeared. It seemed to be a large family outing. They came to the pavilion, laughing and joking, and occupied one of the pavilions and the corridor next to it. They opened their bags, took out snacks, and ate heartily.

The group wasn't in a hurry, so they continued to sit and enjoy fruit and tea. Gu Zhao continued to explain the relevant matters of the Otherworldly Great Luo Palace to them.

"The Great Ning Dynasty... the Dragon King of Ten Thousand Spirits..."

"So it turns out that Senior Brother Yihong is also an elder of the Daluo Palace, as are Senior Brother Jingfa from the Eight Immortals Palace and Senior Brother Jinghong from the Dragon Gate Cave?"

"Lou Jingou! Jiao Mujiao?" Master Huaiyi exclaimed in surprise, feeling as if the legend had come true. "The Twenty-Eight Guardian Star Officials of the Great Luo Palace have already gathered six?"

Of course, what excited them the most was accumulating merit by vanquishing demons and evil spirits, gathering malevolent energy to nourish themselves, and cultivating Taoist arts in order to ascend to immortality.

You're kidding, if you can travel through time to cultivate, how could you not ascend to immortality?

Compared to the excited expressions of Daoist Huaiyi, Daoist Taixian, and even Daoist Xuanyong, it was the women Daoist Xuning and Jingyi who were more calm and composed.

"Calm down. Where has your former nonchalant demeanor gone?" Master Xu Ning advised. "Cultivate the Tao and cultivate your mind. Don't let desires cloud your vision. Don't forget your original intention in cultivation."

"May the Heavenly Venerable grant you boundless blessings!" The three old Taoists bowed in unison. "Thank you for the reminder, Senior Sister!"

Among the old Taoist priests, Master Xu Ning was the oldest, and after activating her innate Qi, she also had the highest cultivation level. Unexpectedly, her temperament was also so peaceful.

Gu Zhao smiled and said, "It's only natural for my fellow disciples to receive such good news. Besides, eliminating evil is doing good, and subduing demons is also cultivating one's mind."

Master Xu Ning naturally wouldn't refute Gu Zhao, and nodded with a smile.

Jingyi added some more tea for everyone, and then three more girls came together from the side path of Shangqing Palace and sat down in the last pavilion to relax and eat and drink.

"There are usually not many people here, why is it so lively today?" Master Huaiyi shook his head and chuckled, then saw two children, about eight or nine years old, run up to him.

The two children, a boy and a girl, looked up at him with great interest, leaving Daoist Huaiyi completely bewildered. "Is there something you need?"

"Grandpa Taoist, could you blow another smoke ring?" The boy looked at Taoist Huaiyi expectantly. "You're so good at it!"

Master Huaiyi smiled and did not refuse, but said to the two children, "Secondhand smoke is harmful to your health. Stay away from it. Grandpa will give you a performance."

The boy pulled the girl back two steps to a stop. Master Huaiyi looked at the cigarette that was still half-finished, took a deep breath, and finished the cigarette in one gulp. Then he exhaled gently and rhythmically.

First, two plumes of smoke flew out, like two auspicious clouds. Then, one plume of smoke swirled and transformed into a galloping tiger, which caught up with the two auspicious clouds. Finally, a crane was blown out from the mouth of Master Huaiyi, and with a flap of its wings, it flew above the tiger.

After a brief pause, the two auspicious clouds and the tiger and crane vanished together, carried away by the wind.

"Wow!" The two children clapped together.

The parents of the two children didn't come over, so they couldn't see clearly from a distance, but they could roughly make out that Master Huaiyi could blow smoke rings, and they all exclaimed in admiration. The three girls, however, who were eating and drinking, looked disgusted and made disapproving remarks.

"Is it okay to smoke in the mountains? Aren't you afraid of starting a forest fire?"

"Moreover, this is a public place, and I even saw no-smoking signs on the road!"

"He's supposed to be a Taoist priest, yet he doesn't pay any attention!"

Several parents with children looked dissatisfied, but they didn't say anything. Master Huaiyi didn't care either, he just chuckled and stubbed out his cigarette.

After all, what the girl said wasn't wrong; smoking is indeed prohibited in scenic areas. He usually smokes in his room and is quite careful when he's outside. He just got caught off guard and couldn't resist.

However, the three girls did not give up after seeing Master Huaiyi extinguish his cigarette.

"He's in his fifties, and he calls himself a Taoist priest? How rude of him!"

"Secondhand smoke is everywhere, it's disgusting!"

"It's making a mess, I'll go complain about it later!"

The girls drank some water, pushed the fruit pits and snack wrappers they had just finished eating onto the table, and got up to leave.

"You didn't collect the trash!" the little girl ran up to them and accused them in a clear voice.

The little boy was unhappy when he saw Master Huaiyi put out his cigarette, but when he saw his sister run over to talk to him, he hurriedly followed. "The teacher said that when you're traveling in a scenic area, you have to clean up your trash properly, otherwise it will pollute the environment."

But the two children's words made the three women very angry.

"Go, go, go! Get out of the way!"

"That's what the teacher told you, not us!"

"The scenic area didn't say that trash must be thrown in the trash cans, you're meddling!"

The three girls ignored the child, and one of them even reached out and pushed the little boy who was blocking their way away, which angered the child's family.

"Why are you hitting me?"

"Not only do you not collect the trash, but you also resort to violence. What kind of upbringing did your parents give you?"

"You say that the Taoist priest has no manners? I think you are the ones with the worst manners!"

The three girls remained unfazed by the accusations.

Why should we collect garbage?

"Are the sanitation workers in the scenic area just sitting around doing nothing? Aren't they paid to sweep up garbage?"

"What do you old fogies have to do with how my parents raised me?"

The two started arguing. The little girl was so scared that she almost cried, while the little boy shielded her behind him.

The three girls took out their phones to record a video, but as soon as they unlocked them, they felt a lightness in their hands, and the phones flew into the sky with a whoosh.

"what!"

With a collective gasp, the three girls looked up and saw their phones seemingly being held up by an invisible hand, hovering quietly in mid-air.

(End of this chapter)