Controlling the Five Thunders and the Two Worlds

Chapter 304 The various Taoist temples are thriving with incense offerings
Just as Gu Zhao went into seclusion to eliminate evil, more and more rumors began to circulate on Blue Star.

"Recently, the incense at various Taoist temples has been very prosperous."

At a meeting of the Office for Supporting the Exchange of Taoist Culture, the host introduced, "The Mengyuan mining disaster was the source. Although the rescued miners all signed confidentiality agreements, they still went to Taoist temples to offer incense and fulfill their vows afterward."

Ordinary people who experienced that event firmly believe that there are gods in the world.

What? You're saying that "Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio," "Journey to the West," "Investiture of the Gods," and other similar works are fantasy novels by ancient people?
Nonsense! These are clearly authentic documentary records!
Although they signed a confidentiality agreement because we live in a technological society where metaphysics is not readily apparent, they cannot speak of it verbally, but their actions cannot help but reveal it.

So, in addition to going to Taoist temples to burn incense and fulfill vows, most people also asked for Taoist peace charms for themselves and their families, invited the statue of Laozi to their homes, and began to read the Tao Te Ching and the Huang Ting Jing on weekdays. Some young people even bought Taoist scriptures such as the Taiyi Jinhua Zongzhi and began to study them.

Although they still keep it a secret from their relatives and friends, their relatives and friends are not fools!

If it were only a portion of the people who were rescued from the mine disaster and ended up like this, it could be a far-fetched explanation that the accident caused their brains to suddenly malfunction, leading to mental problems and making them act strangely.

But the problem is that all 132 people have ended up like this!
This inevitably raised doubts, and coupled with the silence of the rescue team and rumors of Taoist priests appearing at the scene, more and more people around them believed that there might be a mystical element involved.

The host sighed, "Even in the office on the other side of the mine, there's a statue of Laozi."

Everyone was speechless upon hearing this.

"This is the price we pay for asking the Institute of Dynamics for help."

"Actually, after the Berkeley incident, I knew that this matter could not be kept secret. It was just a matter of sooner or later, and whether it spread widely or spread to a small area."

"Actually, this is not a large-scale spread, but only a small-scale transmission."

"Yes, actually there were more witnesses to the Berkeley incident, but it was still suppressed in terms of public attention."

The host nodded, "After all, most people don't believe it because they haven't seen it with their own eyes. They just treat it as an urban legend to ride the wave of popularity. If there's no follow-up, the hype will gradually fade away."

"But then the Laoshan incident came out." Someone shook his head with a wry smile. "The Laoshan incident involved Mr. Gu personally recruiting people and making a public display of his abilities."

The Taoist office contacted the three girls and their extended family afterward and learned what had happened.

The girl specifically emphasized that the two children received wooden plaques as gifts.

However, once the people in the office learned what the person who did it looked like, there was no further follow-up. They also instructed the three girls not to spread the word, and instead of confiscating the two wooden plaques, they told the family about the effects of the plaques so that they would be more careful in the future.

"But similarly, the incense offerings at Laoshan suddenly became very popular, and some wealthy people said they would donate to expand the original Taoist holy sites on Laoshan, such as Shangqing Palace, Taiping Palace, and Mingxia Cave."

Zheng Hongsheng, who was sitting at the head of the table, suddenly tapped the table. "Did they receive some news?"

The people in the conference room looked at each other in bewilderment.

"The Heavenly Gang Talisman and the Vajra Mystic Talisman have been distributed to many frontline personnel."

"The news of the Mengyuan coal mine incident was indeed not kept under tight enough control."

"Although the Berkeley incident occurred abroad, many wealthy people also have access to overseas channels."

After analyzing the situation, everyone concluded that "it cannot be ruled out that they obtained information through certain channels or deduced some information from clues." "Moreover, Daoist Huaiyi, Daoist Xuning, Daoist Xuanyong, Daoist Taixian, and Daoist Jingyi have also left Laoshan."

Zheng Hongsheng said calmly, "Keep an eye on them and don't let them disturb the research center."

"Okay." Someone took notes.

Another person joked, "With Calvin's example as a precedent, I believe rational people wouldn't dare to act recklessly."

Everyone laughed upon hearing this, saying, "Master Dao is very experienced and prepared well in advance."

"The Taoist temple's donation for expansion..."

"Take it! Build it!" Zheng Hongsheng sneered. "It's better than donating it to schools in the United States or buying villas in wildfire-affected areas!"

The topic ended there, and no one cared. Under the weight of power and personal superiority, wealth was practically useless. Zheng Hongsheng was worried that they couldn't distinguish between the big and small kings and would make things difficult for themselves.

His current concern is on another front: "Where has the promotion and support of Taoist culture progressed?"

"The promotion and publicity are proceeding in an orderly manner, because Taoist culture itself is gradually flourishing along with the country's rejuvenation. We have added Taoist-related content to the traditional culture courses in high schools, and we have also added Taoist practice methods to the elective courses in universities."

"Regarding support work, we have given certain preferential treatment to the funds allocated to Taoist temples in various places, and adopted the latest subsidy standards for persistent practitioners to ensure that they have no worries about their livelihood."

Although Zheng Hongsheng was not entirely satisfied, he still nodded, "Let's take it slow, we can't rush it."

Some people lamented, "Those in the office who know the inside story are all cultivating themselves, but unfortunately, none of them seem to have much talent."

Some people shook their heads, "Among the old Taoist priests who have worked hard in the Taoist temple for decades, none of them have bad character or talent, and they are all sincerely seeking the Tao. But even so, Taoist priests who can cultivate the so-called inner energy are still extremely rare."

This time, Gu Zhao brought five accomplished Daoist practitioners from Laoshan. At this rate, it won't be long before he takes all the Daoist practitioners in the country away.

Someone chuckled, "So that's why we're only now preparing to increase the number of people we need for cultivation."

Someone probed, "Actually, it's not just Taoist priests in our country who have developed magical powers..."

Zheng Hongsheng shook his head and said, "I have talked to Daoist Mingyu about this. It's not that they are against outsiders, but if you are not a true Daoist, you will not have any advantage if you go there."

When everyone heard this, they couldn't help but look at each other.

Zheng Hongsheng continued, "Given the magnanimity of Daoist Yihong and Daoist Mingyu, they wouldn't lie about this issue, so there must be some secret we don't know about."

Sitting next to him, Chen Yao smiled wryly and said, "There are many secrets we don't know."

Zheng Hongsheng, however, is optimistic: "We've already overcome the most difficult first step, and things will only get better from here on out."

Upon hearing this, everyone nodded in agreement, and some even began to dream about certain plots that could only appear in online fantasy novels.

(End of this chapter)