Controlling the Five Thunders and the Two Worlds

Chapter 456 The Third New Year's Grand Ceremony

New Year's Eve feast.

Because those with high cultivation levels can fly, and those with low cultivation levels also have Spirit Flying Jade Talismans, the New Year Grand Ritual is a major annual ritual that only lasts one day, so all the Taoists of the Great Luo Palace returned.

The night before, all the Taoist priests returned and held a small private banquet in the backyard.

Gu Zhao sat in the central seat and took a count of the number of elders in the Daluo Palace.

There were nineteen members of the Zhengyi sect present:
Master Mingyu, Master Mingchong, Master Zhiqing, Master Zhixiu, and Master Changyi of the Celestial Master's Mansion of Longhu Tianshan.

The three masters of the Shangqing School of Sanmao Mountain are Shenhao, Hanzheng, Hanxuan, and Zhanqing.

Master Qingye, Master Xiujing, and Master Xiuming of the Lingbao School of Gexuan Mountain.

Master Jingfeng, Master Jingchun, and Master Guhe of the Fengyue School of the Mountain City.

Master Yu Zhang and Master Yu Hua of the Beidi School of Feiyun Mountain.

Master Gao Yue of the Qingwei School of Zhenwu Mountain.

Master Chongxuan of the Shenxiao School of Feiyun Mountain.

The twenty-three members of the Quanzhen sect were present:
Master Yihong of Baiyun Temple in Yandu.

Master Yansong, Master Yanling, Master Yanqi, Master Zihui, and Master Ziting of Qingcheng Mountain.

Master Jingfa and Master Yunyang of Baxian Palace.

Master Jinghong of Longmen Cave.

The Taoist Master Xuxing of Zhenwu Mountain.

Master Yuanhe and Master Yangshuo of the Chunyang Sect.

Master Huaiyi of the Jinshan School of Laoshan, Master Taixian of the Suishan School, Master Xuanyong of the Yushan School, and Master Xuning and Master Jingyi of the Qingjing School.

Master Lingya of the Ziyang School of Feiyun Mountain.

Master Xining of the Huashan School of Quanzhen Taoism of the Western Peak and Master Miaozhen of the Huashan School of Chen Zu.

Master Yuxian, Master Xindao, Master Fali, and Master Zonghua of the Nanwu School.

Five members of the Sanfeng School who attained enlightenment through martial arts:

Master Qingyuan, Master Qingwei, Master Shihang, Master Shimao, and Master Shiyu of Zhenwu Mountain.

There are also two ancient Taoist priests:
Master Fangde of the Wenshi School and Master Wuzhi of the Shaoyang School.

There are a total of forty-nine Daoist masters. Gu Zhao still has eight Thunder Seeds in his sea of ​​consciousness that he hasn't used yet, and the Mountain Illusion Flower Palace can provide a few more as expected.

The Great Luo Palace is growing ever stronger!
At this time, there were twenty-two Taoists whose cultivation had broken through the five-hundred-year threshold, making them outstanding figures among the various forces of the world.

Otherwise, the Red Moon Valley Ancestor Chi Wang wouldn't have admitted defeat as soon as he appeared, claiming it was a misunderstanding.

Gu Zhao looked around and found that Daoist Zhiqing and Daoist Zhixiu of the Celestial Master's Mansion, Daoist Hanzheng and Daoist Hanxuan of the Shangqing Sect, and Daoist Lingya of Feiyun Mountain were all close to breaking through their bottlenecks.

Once they break through again, the number of experts in the Great Luo Palace who can stand alone will approach the thirtieth!

……

The next morning was the day of the Lunar New Year Grand Ceremony.

Xu Yan from Chaoyang Island, Lu Yu from Jishen Mountain, Ziyun Jun from Wuyailing Ridge, Lu Zhengtang from Yongding River, and other demons and monsters who had good relationships with the old Taoists of Daluo Palace also came one after another.

"Whoosh-"

Several streaks of light flashed by, and it was Bai Fei who brought Li Qingshuang and Ye Yunsheng and his wife from the Wangzhou Holy Union Sect.

"I apologize for my intrusion, Brother Gu," Ye Yunsheng said, bowing slightly.

"Brother Ye's presence brings great honor to our humble abode, Daluo Palace!" Gu Zhao returned the greeting. Bai Fei looked at Gu Zhao with her beautiful eyes and exclaimed, "I truly did not expect Yun Fei'ang to cultivate demonic arts."

"But what I never expected was that he would die at your hands." Bai Fei shook her head and chuckled, then looked at the various Daoist sects of the Great Luo Palace, feeling a mix of emotions—a mix of admiration, confusion, and envy—"Is the cultivation of the Daoist lineage this fast?"

“It can’t be that fast.” Gu Zhao shook his head and pointed at Zhuo Qingyan. “Qingyan also cultivates Taoist techniques. Not only is she exceptionally talented, but she also cultivates with me. She has only been practicing for about four hundred years now.”

Bai Fei was speechless. "Don't think I don't know Qingyan's situation. When you first met two years ago, she only had a little over a hundred years of cultivation. Now, she has cultivated to this level in just two years. You still say that her speed is not fast?"

Compared to the human Taoists who came from the former site of the Great Luo Palace, Zhuo Qingyan's cultivation speed was indeed not fast.

However, compared to most cultivators of the time, Zhuo Qingyan's speed was already extremely fast, even surpassing that of Xiu Niang and Bai Ke, who practiced dual cultivation.

Bai Fei looked at Li Qingshuang again.

Li Qingshuang wasn't without hope of breaking through, but there were countless beings like her in the world, most of whom would be stuck at this bottleneck for their entire lives, exhausting their lifespan.

Even if Li Qingshuang had a chance to break through, the speed couldn't be this fast, let alone break through in a weak state after being imprisoned for more than ten years.

The cultivation methods of the Great Luo Palace are truly unfathomable!

Seeing that Gu Zhao was still trying to be modest, Bai Fei shook her head and stopped him, "The New Year's ceremony at Da Luo Palace is about to begin. There's no need for us siblings to be so polite. You go ahead and get busy. I'll take care of Madam Xue for you."

They were all renowned female experts of their time. Bai Fei sensed Xue Feishuang's presence as soon as she landed.

"Lord Baishan." Xue Feishuang stepped forward with a smile, quite surprised.

Only two elders from Chaoyang Island and Jishen Mountain in Yongzhou came, which was not unexpected. However, she did not expect that Bai Fei and Ye Yunsheng, two experts from Jiangbei, would come in person.

Although Bai Ling Mountain and the Holy Union Sect lack sufficient resources and are far inferior to Xue Shen Mountain, Bai Fei and Ye Yunsheng are not weak in their own right, and are capable of conversing with Xue Feishuang on equal footing.

Bai Fei introduced Li Qingshuang to Xue Feishuang, and Xue Feishuang also introduced Xue Bingbing, who had returned with Zhan Qing, to Bai Fei.

……

As the sun rises in the east, incense is burned at the gate of the Daluo Palace, signaling the imminent start of the New Year's grand ritual.

The magistrates of Changping Prefecture and Xiuyue County, along with other dignitaries and commoners, who had been waiting in Cuishan Town for a long time, gathered at the gate of Qinglong Mountain. Those who could afford it lit incense, while those who could not respectfully kowtowed.

The basic process is similar to the previous two New Year's rituals, except that the Taoist priests who preside over the rituals are now more accomplished, and the miracles they perform are even more extraordinary.

From Qinglong Mountain Gate to Baihu Cliff, to Zhuque Forest, to Xuanwu Lake.

From the Lingguan Hall to the Siyu Hall, to the Jade Emperor Hall, to the Sanqing Hall.

From the Twenty-Eight Mansions to the God of Wealth, the Old Man Under the Moon, Wenchang, the Medicine King, the Thunder God, and the Savior from Suffering.

At this time, the Daluo Palace not only had many old Taoist priests, but also guardian star officials, inner disciples and elders recruited from other worlds, who had also made some progress in cultivating Taoist techniques.

In the eyes of ordinary people, the Daluo Palace is already a blessed land of immortals.

In the eyes of the guests who came to visit, the Daluo Palace was already a formidable force in the world.

As long as Gu Zhao's cultivation level rises another level, he doesn't even need to reach the level of Ancestor Chaoyang or Goddess Xue Shen with ten thousand years of cultivation. As long as he has the cultivation level of Ancestor Fei Hong with seven or eight thousand years of cultivation, he won't be defeated when facing peerless masters...

The Great Luo Palace alone is enough to awe the world!

In Bai Fei's view, who knows the Daluo Palace very well, the time required is not long.

Just as ordinary people were filled with reverence and anticipation, and the thoughts of numerous guests were racing, the New Year's Grand Ritual came to its final stage.

Led by Gu Zhao and assisted by the other Taoists, they chanted the incantation for offering incense.

With divine blessing, magical power flows freely!
"The Way is learned through the heart, and the heart transmits through incense. The incense burner is fragrant, and the heart is present before the Emperor. The true spirits look down, and the immortal banners descend upon the hall. The ministers report directly to the Nine Heavens."

A wisp of incense smoke appeared out of nowhere, shot straight into the sky, and then abruptly disappeared high in the heavens.

(End of this chapter)