Inheriting a Taoist temple, the story begins with Wu Zetian offering incense.

Chapter 161 The sword is drawn, the rain stops! [Seeking monthly votes]

Grandma Gongsun was collecting clothes when she heard this. She threw down her clothes, ran excitedly back to her room, took out her Tai Chi sword from the closet, and her face lit up with excitement.

"Taoist Master, shall we slay the dragon?"

Zhou Yi shook his head:

"It's just a guess, I'm not sure if it's right or not, I need to go to the Sanqing Hall to do a divination first."

After saying that, he took the sword and walked towards the Sanqing Hall in the rain.

Gongsun Da Niang picked up the clothes, crumpled them up haphazardly, threw them into the laundry basket, and without even opening her umbrella, ran off to the Sanqing Hall.

When she arrived, Zhou Yi was using a Bagua abacus to divine good or bad fortune.

The Tai Chi sword was drawn and placed on the offering table. Gongsun Da Niang rubbed her eyes, feeling that the sword was brighter than usual.

After the divination was over, the girl curiously leaned over and asked:

"Immortal Master, have you divined anything?"

Zhou Yi nodded:

“Last month, Grandma Ji reminded me that there would be a natural disaster near Yunwu Mountain. Last week, I divined that a fierce creature would attack Yunwu Town. I just calculated again, and now the fierce creature is hovering over Yunwu Town.”

Gongsun Da Niang looked at the sky outside, and asked with lingering fear:

"Is there really a dragon up there?"

I've never seen the Book of Changes before, so I can't be sure:
"The Taoist scriptures say that dragons have a fragrance, but the air is full of a fishy stench, so it must be a mysterious creature one level below a dragon..."

Just as I was saying this, my phone rang in my pocket.

Zhou Yi took it out and saw that it was the blind man calling. He swiped the screen to answer:

"Is something wrong, Lao Han?"

The blind man's voice was urgent:

“There’s something hovering over Cloud Mist Town. Don’t make any rash moves, or you’ll suffer the backlash. My eyes were injured because I attracted something like that, and I was entangled in a lot of karma and was hunted down for years. In the end, your grandfather helped me gouge them out and used a secret technique at an evil cultivator’s altar to get rid of the entanglement. You must not be reckless.”

Zhou Yi casually made up a lie:
"I'm eating hotpot right now, I don't have time to meddle in other people's business."

These words put the blind man at ease. He gave a few more instructions before hanging up the phone.

Putting down his phone, Zhou Yi looked down at the hexagram again:
"Slay him, and all will be well... But should I take action?"

The blind man forbade him to take action, but the divination indicated that it would be beneficial to kill him. These two conflicting interpretations left Zhou Yi somewhat hesitant.

Looking at the lightning and thunder outside, Granny Gongsun rubbed her hands together excitedly:
"Daoist Master, when are we going to make our move? Sister Zhao'er has accumulated so much merit; if I don't earn some, I'll be left behind."

Zhou Yi pointed to the hexagram:
"I'm considering whether or not to intervene."

Just as the blind man said, if the thing in the sky leaves later, there's no need to take action. If it fails, it might bring bad consequences.

Just as I was pondering this, Liu Peng from the police station called:

"Xiao Yi, I've moved your motorcycle to the corridor. The town is flooded everywhere, and many houses are submerged. Don't go down the mountain, or something might happen."

The Book of Changes asks:

"Is disaster relief needed?"

"Not for now, but if the rain doesn't stop, the whole town will be flooded tomorrow. People in low-lying areas are being evacuated. The courthouse and town school are on higher ground, so some people have already been accommodated there. We just hope there won't be a power outage, because that would make the evacuation much more difficult..."

Before he could finish speaking, the light above his head flickered and then went out.

"The power's out. I'm not saying anything more, Xiao Yi. Just stay on the mountain and don't run around during the lightning. It's too dangerous."

The entire town of Yunwu suddenly lost power, and Liu Peng hurriedly ended the call to rush off to disaster relief.

Zhou Yi glanced at the time on his phone. It was only six o'clock in the afternoon, but the sky outside was pitch black. Occasionally, lightning would flash across the sky, and all he could see were thick, mountain-like dark clouds that completely obscured the sky.

Judging from this, the rain isn't going to stop anytime soon!
Zhou Yi said to Gongsun Da Niang:
"You stay on the mountain. I'll take my sword and go down to find a suitable spot to strike."

The use of the Dragon Slayer Sword is very particular; it's not as simple as just drawing it out and stabbing it a few times in the sky. You need to find the location of the monster's rampage and then take action with the help of the people of Cloud Mist Town.

As for whether it would work, Zhou Yi had no idea, because it was just a record in Taoist classics, and he was completely clueless about it.

When Gongsun Da Niang heard that she was to be abandoned, she immediately refused:

"No, I promised my sister I would protect you, I can't break my promise!"

Her righteous and stern demeanor left Zhou Yi speechless. He patted the girl on the shoulder and said:

"Put on your raincoats, let's go down the mountain and fight this wicked beast in the sky that brings floods!"

"Order!"

Grandma Gongsun happily ran back to her room, took out the discounted raincoat she had bought in town last time, put it on, picked up her Tai Chi sword, sat on her newly bought Leopard 8, and went down the mountain with Zhou Yi to slay demons and monsters!

In the Zhenguan era of the Tang Dynasty, Wu Meiniang, who was reciting scriptures, suddenly felt a sense of unease. She got up and walked out of the Yiyuan Hall. Looking at the red glow in the west, she unconsciously thought of the Book of Changes.

Little Li Mingda, carrying a bowl of sweet fermented rice balls, arrived at the Yiyuan Hall, his little face full of pride:

"Sister Meiniang, I've learned how to cook glutinous rice balls! Please try them and see if they're delicious. Am I now qualified to do laundry and cook for the immortal?"

Wu Zetian took the bowl of glutinous rice balls and looked at it, saying:
"Of course there are! Immortal Master has never tasted such delicious glutinous rice balls before... Mingda, shall we go to the temple together to pray for the Immortal Master's well-being?"

Li Mingda naturally had no objection: "Great, great! It just so happens that I haven't yet prayed to the immortal and reported what I saw and heard today."

The two returned to the palace. Wu Meiniang placed the glutinous rice balls on the offering table, then took out the stainless steel token given to her by Zhou Yi from her bosom, knelt on the prayer mat, and began to pray for blessings.

In the world of Emperor Wu of the Western Han Dynasty, Huo Qubing had just led his army to kill a group of Xiongnu scouts and deduced that the main force of the Xiongnu might be within a few days' journey. Just as he was about to lead his army to search, he suddenly felt a sense of panic, so he jumped off his horse and sat cross-legged on the ground.

Zhang Qian and his companions were startled:
"what happened?"

Huo Qubing said:
"I feel like something is about to happen at Hunyuan Palace. You all rest here and don't worry about me."

After saying that, he took out the stainless steel token from his pocket, held it in his hand, and then placed the horse spear given to him by Zhou Yi across his lap. He sat there quietly, constantly recalling the process of killing the Xiongnu along the way.

In the world of Emperor Yuan of the Western Han Dynasty, Chen Tang, who had just completed a rapid march, dismounted and said to Gan Yanshou:
“I need to rest for a while. I feel like something has happened to my husband.”

It wasn't time for him to return to the Hunyuan Palace yet, so he had no choice but to sit down, clutching the stainless steel token in his hand and muttering the names of the alien race he wanted to exterminate:

"The Xiongnu, Xianbei, Wuhuan, Western Qiang, Southern Barbarians, Southern Yue, Wusun, Kangju, Dayuan..."

In the Kaiyuan era of the Tang Dynasty, Li Bai, who was drawing a purifying talisman, suddenly felt he couldn't continue. He simply threw down his cinnabar brush, sat cross-legged on the futon in front of the Tai Chi diagram, held the token in his hand, and kept chanting:

"Master is invincible, Master is invincible, Master is invincible..."

Princess Taiping asked:

"Master Qinglian, why is this?"

Li Bai said:

"I had a feeling that something was happening to my master, and since I couldn't go there, this was the only way I could cheer him on."

Upon hearing this, Princess Taiping also knelt on the prayer mat and began chanting sutras and praying for Immortal Yiyuan.

During the reign of Emperor Zhezong of the Northern Song Dynasty, Li Qingzhao, who was playing cards with her family, threw down her cards, grabbed her token, went into the courtyard, and began to curse loudly at the sky:

"My family's Immortal Master Yiyuan is a Primordial Saint of Limitless Primordial Chaos. You petty villains overestimate yourselves and will surely be wiped out one day, leaving no place for your burial!"

Li Hang jogged out to catch up, looking left and right at the sky:

"Sis, what are you cursing about?"

Li Qingzhao angrily flicked her whisk:
"I feel that I have offended the immortal with some filth and spittle. I don't know what to do, so I can only curse him as a sign of respect!"

At the foot of Yunwu Mountain, Zhou Yi drove his Leopard 8 to the intersection leading up the mountain and found that the area below the fork in the road was completely flooded. The entire town of Yunwu had become a vast expanse of water, just like the disaster-stricken areas online.

He parked the car on the side of the road, got out with a waterproof flashlight, locked the car door, and walked with Aunt Gongsun, stumbling along the muddy path, towards the town.

The whole town is without power right now, and it's pitch black. Only when lightning flashes across the sky can you see the neighbors struggling to move in the water in the distance.

They were struggling to move to higher ground in the town; as for furniture and appliances, those were just external possessions—survival was their priority.

Zhou Yi, holding a compass, searched for the location of the wicked beast's rampage and found that the pointer was pointing near Han Lao Er's fishpond.

The two followed the road outside the town, wading through the water towards the southwest corner of the town. The water there was deeper and the current was faster, surging towards the farmland.

Arriving at Han Lao Er's fishpond, there was a small mound. The two climbed up, and Zhou Yi drew a Tai Chi diagram on the ground and laid out several talismans.

As soon as I put it down, I could almost hear the sounds of neighbors chatting.

This is the unique warmth and everyday life of ordinary people, and it is also the heart of the residents of Yunwu Town. Their ability to chat and laugh heartily indicates that the year is good and they have hope for the future.

Now, Zhou Yi intends to use this popular support to kill the evil creature causing trouble in the heavens with the Dragon-Slaying Sword.

As soon as it was set up, Granny Gongsun stepped into the center of the Tai Chi diagram, looked up at the dark clouds in the sky, and asked eagerly:
"Taoist priest, how should we execute this?"

Zhou Yi hadn't expected the girl to be so proactive, so he pointed to the sky above and said:
"Adjust your breathing, then draw your Tai Chi sword and throw it into the air with all your might, as high as you can."

Gongsun Da Niang hesitated for a moment:

"It's too high for me to catch."

The Book of Changes says:

"No need to catch it, the sword will come back on its own."

The hearts of the entire town are united in this direction, and the swords thrown out also carry the temperament of the residents of Cloud Mist Town, so they won't hurt their own people.

Upon hearing this, Gongsun Da Niang immediately took off her raincoat, stretched her arms and legs, and slowly drew her Tai Chi sword.

Compared to when it was in the Sanqing Hall, this sword was even brighter. Gongsun Da Niang handed the scabbard to Zhou Yi, then bent over, gripped the Taiji sword, and suddenly stood up and threw it into the sky.

The gleaming sword pierced into the ink-black clouds with a whoosh.

Then, a deafening roar echoed through the heavens and earth, like the mooing of a bull, very similar to the sound in the online video of "Xi'an Dragon's Roar," only more tragic.

After the sound, the fishy smell in the rainwater suddenly became ten times stronger, and the torrential rain quickly subsided, turning from a severe downpour into a heavy rain, then into a moderate rain.

The rain visibly lessened, and the dark clouds in the sky began to drift away, the thick, oppressive clouds gradually dissipating.

At this moment, the Tai Chi sword suddenly descended from the sky and plunged straight into its scabbard.

Zhou Yi stroked the sword tassel and said calmly:

"It's done!"

(End of this chapter)