My words have become law; I truly have no desire to display my divine power before others.

Besides, it's never a bad thing to hear different opinions. As for the person in charge... if they really feel it's inappropriate, it's not too late to make a decision after meeting them in person.

Seeing his son's insistence, Zhou Yongfu remembered that his son was usually quite steady and not a troublemaker.

After hesitating for a moment, he thought that Master Yunhe was highly skilled in magic, and if he were really a fraud, he would have nowhere to hide in front of the master.

He could just send him away then, to avoid damaging the father-son relationship. He reluctantly nodded.

"Very well, since you invited this guest, I shouldn't refuse you too much."

Let's have a family dinner and invite them to join us.

I also remember... sending someone to inform Ningbixuan, requesting that you, Master, take the time to attend."

He deliberately added the last sentence, the intention of which was self-evident—to let real people verify the goods.

Zhou Wenxuan's heart tightened, knowing this was a crucial test, but since things had come to this point, he could only agree: "Yes, son will make the arrangements immediately."

When the news reached Ningbi Pavilion, Master Yunhe Wu He was meditating in front of the small statue of the evil god.

Upon hearing that the eldest son of the Zhou family had brought back two "extraordinary people" and was going to host a banquet to invite him to "see" them, a disdainful sneer curled at the corner of his mouth.

"That reckless brat, he's brought two thugs from who-knows-where, and he thinks he can establish himself in the Zhou household?"

He chuckled softly, "Fine, it just so happens that the 'master's' need for 'resources' has increased recently, and the rift between the Zhou family father and son can be used to our advantage."

"I'll go and get rid of those two arrogant fools, and while I'm at it, I'll make that old bastard Zhou Yongfu even more dependent on me..."

A sinister glint flashed in his eyes. He stood up, straightened his Taoist robe, flicked his whisk, and addressed the boy standing to the side, whose eyes were slightly vacant.

"Go and tell them that I will arrive shortly."

As dusk fell, the banquet hall of the Zhou residence was brightly lit.

The dishes were more lavish than those at the restaurant yesterday, but the atmosphere was somewhat awkward.

Zhou Yongfu sat in the main seat, with Master Yunhe to his lower right and Zhou Wenxuan to his lower left.

Ye Qingfeng and Chi Yangzi were seated in the guest section, a position that was not low in rank, but clearly not in the core area.

Zhou Yongfu sized up Ye Qingfeng, who was dressed in a simple blue shirt and had a calm, even somewhat youthful, expression.

He glanced at Chiyangzi again, whose clothes were now a little neater but still showed signs of weariness, and his brows furrowed even deeper.

These two people... no matter how you look at them, don't seem like the extraordinary people and eccentrics that their son described as having "extraordinary speech and knowledge" and "amazing mysterious methods."

The younger one, in particular, was no different from an ordinary scholar, except for his calm demeanor.

Compared to the otherworldly, ethereal Master Yunhe with his flowing beard, the difference in their abilities is immediately apparent.

His dissatisfaction with his son grew, feeling that his son was still young and easily deceived.

However, he still maintained proper etiquette, raising his glass and saying, "Gentlemen, you have come from afar as guests. Wenxuan holds you both in high esteem. Today's banquet is simple and not worth mentioning. Please accept my humble invitation."

Chi Yangzi responded casually, raising his cup and downing it in one gulp. He smacked his lips and said, "Master Zhou, you're too kind. This wine is quite good."

Ye Qingfeng simply smiled slightly, raised his glass in greeting, and took only a small sip.

Master Yunhe, Wu He, observed the two men with a cold eye and found nothing unusual about their behavior.

The older Taoist priest, in particular, was somewhat crude in his speech and manner, and his contempt for him was even greater.

He put down his wine cup, lightly draped his whisk over his arm, glanced at Ye Qingfeng and the other man, and said calmly.

"I've heard that you two are extraordinary travelers, well-versed in feng shui and geomancy. What insightful opinions do you have regarding the current predicament of Black Mountain Town?"

His tone was clearly accusatory and condescending.

Chi Yangzi chuckled and wiped his mouth.

"I wouldn't call it insightful, but this town is shrouded in an evil aura, with gloom hanging over every house. In some places, the yin energy is so heavy it's almost dripping water. Anyone with eyes can tell at a glance that this is not a good place."

As for the predicament... hey, if you haven't found the root cause, just sprinkling chicken blood at the door won't treat the symptoms, it'll just be giving the root cause a tonic!

These words were barbed and pointed, directly targeting Master Yunhe's "chicken blood to ward off evil spirits" method.

Zhou Yongfu's expression changed, and a cold glint flashed in Master Yunhe's eyes.

"Oh? From what you're saying, Daoist Master, my method of 'protecting the household and securing the home' is actually wrong?"

Master Yunhe's tone turned cold.

"I wonder what wonderful method you have to resolve this 'Earth Vein Yin Stiffness' calamity?"

Could it be... that he also knows how to refine the "Evil-Breaking Golden Needle" and set up the "Nine Yang Locking Yin Grand Array"?

He deliberately used these seemingly profound terms to intimidate and expose the other party's "lack of expertise."

Chi Yangzi scoffed, "What Golden Needle Formation? All that fancy talk. When I, this old Daoist, exorcise demons, I always go straight to the source!"

Wherever evil resides, strike it down! Pretending to be supernatural or engaging in mystification is nothing but a smokescreen for evil deeds!

"Insolence!" Master Yunhe finally lost his temper, slammed his hand on the table, and pointed at Chiyangzi.

"You charlatans are ignorant of your own limitations, presumptuously discussing righteous doctrines and misleading people!"

"Master Zhou, it seems your young master has indeed been deceived by a treacherous person!"

Zhou Yongfu's face darkened, and he rebuked Zhou Wenxuan: "Wenxuan! Look at the kind of people you've invited! So arrogant and disrespectful, daring to offend a true master!"

Zhou Wenxuan was sweating profusely and was about to explain himself.

Ye Qingfeng gently put down his chopsticks at that moment.

Whether someone is a true person or not is not determined by their name or words, but by their actions and their principles.

Ye Qingfeng's voice was not loud, but it clearly reached everyone's ears.

"Since Master Zhou has doubts, why not let the two of you demonstrate your abilities and distinguish the truth from the falsehood? True gold fears no fire."

That makes sense, and Zhou Yongfu was speechless for a moment.

Master Yunhe, enraged, laughed instead.

"Very well! True gold fears no fire! Since you won't shed a tear until you see the coffin, I, this humble Taoist, will open your eyes to what true immortal magic is!"

He stopped trying to hide it and decided to use swift and decisive measures to scare away these two clueless swindlers.

At the same time, it further consolidated his supreme position in Zhou Yongfu's heart.

He stepped back a few paces and stood in the open space of the hall, muttering incantations, rapidly waving his whisk, and treading with strange steps.

A chilling aura began to emanate from him, and the candlelight in the hall flickered on and off without any wind.

"Five directional spirits, heed my command! Move without hindrance, manifest before you! Hurry!"

With a final, fierce shout, Master Yunhe bit his tongue, spitting a mouthful of blood mist onto his whisk!

In an instant, the light in the hall seemed to dim for a moment, and five blurry, distorted, gray-black shadows, somewhere between reality and illusion, appeared out of thin air around him!

They emitted silent shrieks, stirring up gusts of cold wind that swirled in the hall!

One of the shadows suddenly lunged at a display case with precious jade carvings not far away.

The over one-foot-tall white jade Guanyin statue suddenly flew off the lattice.

It steadily "floated" above Master Yunhe's outstretched palm and hovered motionless!

"The Five Ghosts Moving Technique!" Zhou Yongfu exclaimed in shock, his eyes filled with awe and fear.

This method is simply miraculous!

Zhou Wenxuan's scalp tingled at the sight. Although he knew the other party was an evil cultivator, such bizarre magic was truly terrifying.

Master Yunhe, holding the floating jade Guanyin, looked at Chiyangzi and Ye Qingfeng with a smug yet slightly ferocious expression.

"How about it? Can your tricks of manipulating the void and controlling spirits compare to this? If you know what's good for you, get out of the Zhou residence immediately, or else..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but the threat was obvious.

The five gray figures also turned towards Chi Yangzi and his companion, exuding a sinister aura.

Zhou Yongfu was so frightened that he quickly said to Chi Yangzi and the other person.

"You two...you should leave quickly! Don't make things worse for yourselves!"

He was completely stunned by Master Yunhe's move.

Zhou Wenxuan also looked nervously at Ye Qingfeng and the other person, his palms sweating profusely.

The old Taoist priest Chiyangzi spat and stood up, his face showing no fear, but rather full of contempt.

"A mere trick, yet you dare to show off your meager skills before an expert? Watch as this old Taoist priest exposes your evil magic!"