"Phew—"
Opening his eyes and seeing the familiar balcony around him again, Gu Zhao couldn't help but let out a long breath. He subconsciously glanced at the apartment building across the way, but he didn't see the young lady who usually did yoga by her open window.
His second reaction was to "look" at the Five Thunders Order in his mind.
He found that not only were the Five Thunders Order, the surrounding lightning, and the Thunder Seed circling the Token still there, but he had also brought back the Innate Qi he had activated and all the Magical Power in his body.
He formed a Thunder Seal with his left hand, and a wave of righteous aura surged forth.
"Awesome!"
Gu Zhao's eyes shone. The world before him seemed to have brightened by thirty percent. At least thirty-six different ways to show off and act cool in front of others had already flashed through his mind.
'Cultivating the Dao and Refining the Heart? Showing off is what will truly smooth my Dao Heart!'
He glanced back at the wall clock. It was already past six in the evening, roughly the same amount of time he had spent in the Otherworld. Over there, it was probably almost time for dinner too.
'This isn't a time-stop type of transmigration, so I'll have to manage my time carefully, or I'll blow my cover,' Gu Zhao thought as he looked at the clock. 'Especially since people on this side could be looking for me at any moment.'
The Otherworld was clearly a bit dangerous, but thankfully, he had a cheat ability now.
He was now a Daoist who could use Cultivation and wield Magical Power. Not only did he have the Five Thunders Order as his personal cheat, but he also had an entire industrial civilization backing him up. As long as he got familiar with the situation over there, he'd be like a fish in water, a tiger with wings, a... glue...
Gu Zhao reined in his wandering thoughts and tried to practice his Cultivation. He was then forced to admit that there was indeed a difference between the two worlds.
In that world, whenever he circulated his energy for Cultivation, he would constantly absorb a substance from the surrounding environment, similar to Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi, to replenish his Magical Power.
But in this world, no matter how hard he tried to circulate his Inner Breath, the energy he absorbed from the outside wasn't nonexistent, but it felt like a leaky pipe dripping out one or two drops.
It wasn't nothing, but it was barely better than nothing.
Gu Zhao shook his head. 'No wonder Cultivation is impossible in this world.'
In other words, when he used Magic in the modern world, it would be difficult to replenish his Magical Power by absorbing Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi through Cultivation. He would either have to spend a huge amount of time letting it recover slowly or supplement it by refining the energy from food.
But it didn't matter. He could just travel to the Otherworld to "regen his mana" at any time.
Then he noticed the leather boots on his feet, as well as the silver, copper coins, and the Wood Carving in his pocket—he had brought them all back with him.
Gu Zhao went back to the living room, put the copper coins and silver ingot in a drawer, and casually placed the Wood Carving on a shelf in the entryway.
There were no Mages in the modern world, so here, the Wood Carving was just a well-made craft piece. Gu Zhao didn't give it a second thought.
Then, Gu Zhao began his experiments.
"Travel!"
"WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH!"
After several trips back and forth, and judging by the messy table and sofa in the living room now covered in dirt and grass clippings, Gu Zhao roughly figured it out. The Five Thunders Order could not only transport him and the items on his person, but it could also bring along anything enveloped by his Divine Sense.
In other words, as Gu Zhao's Cultivation progressed, the larger his Sea of Consciousness and the stronger his Divine Sense became, the more things he could bring with him.
Gu Zhao's eyes gleamed. 'Tsk tsk... True power lies within oneself. The day will come when, with a single thought, I'll bring the entire city of Yangcheng to the Otherworld, use industrial technology to reach the pinnacle, and suppress all that is evil...'
'I can't think about it anymore. If I keep going, I'll be too excited to sleep, and I have things to do tomorrow.'
'Dinner! Sleep!'
...
「The next morning.」
The first thing Gu Zhao did after waking up was to sense the Five Thunders Order in his mind, confirming that yesterday's experience wasn't just a dream.
He muttered another "Awesome!" then got cleaned up, dressed, and headed out.
"I've got a lot to do today." Gu Zhao picked up his phone and opened his notes app. Inside were a few points he had written down yesterday, listed in order of importance and urgency.
[Buy a few sets of clothes that look like historical garments so I don't stand out too much on my next trip.]
[Buy a brush, inkstone, Cinnabar, and Yellow Paper.]
[Go to the Otherworld and test which Magic and Talismans from the Tao Scripture I learned are usable.]
[Go to the nearby Xiuyue County and begin my journey of world exploration.]
[Find a way to communicate normally with the Female Ghost without having my Vitality drained.]
Everything on the list was related to the Otherworld. As for the modern world... Zhang Hang's suggestion wasn't entirely without merit.
After all, for a recent graduate, living off his parents for a bit was understandable.
Gu Zhao: (•̀⌄•́)
While paying his respects to his dear mother dozens of kilometers away, Gu Zhao bit into a char siu bao and boarded the subway heading to the City God Temple.
The City God Temple in Yangcheng was very large in ancient times and was even said to have been promoted to the status of a Capital City God Temple. Now, however, it was quite small, at least compared to the Capital City God Temples in other cities.
Regardless, a City God Temple is a historical and cultural center that has existed for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. Thus, in the half-street radius around the temple, most of the shops dealt in traditional history and culture.
For example, there were stationery shops, calligraphy and painting shops, antique shops, and jade shops.
Gu Zhao had come here with the intention of getting his ink, paper, brushes, inkstone, and historical-style clothes all in one go.
...
"What? Yellow Paper?"
Inside the Ancient Meaning Pavilion, the owner looked at the serious-faced Gu Zhao, a bit bewildered. "I have raw xuan paper, ripe xuan paper, single-ply xuan, and double-ply xuan. I have white xuan and yellow xuan. If you want Yellow Paper, are you sure you're in the right place?"
Gu Zhao asked, "Then where should I go?"
The owner snorted. "To the funeral supply street."
Gu Zhao was speechless. "The Yellow Paper I want isn't the kind you burn for the dead."
"What's it for, then?" the owner asked.
"For Drawing Talismans," Gu Zhao replied.
This time, it was the owner's turn to be speechless. "Then you shouldn't be in a stationery shop. You should go to a Taoist Temple."
Gu Zhao asked, "Isn't the City God Temple a Taoist Temple?"
"The City God Temple was mostly torn down over a hundred years ago. All that's left now is the main hall. How can you call that a Taoist Temple?" The owner pointed north, then west. "If you want Yellow Paper for Drawing Talismans, why don't you go to Yuanfa Palace or the Yellow Immortal Temple?"
Gu Zhao's eyes lit up. "They sell Vermillion Yellow Paper there?"
"At least they sell funeral supplies there," the owner replied.
Gu Zhao: "..."
The owner: "..."
Gu Zhao said, "Why didn't you mention Six Guest Temple or Guangxiao Temple?"
The owner replied, "They don't sell funeral supplies."
Gu Zhao was left speechless by the retort. People go to Taoist Temples, which focus on this life, to prepare for the next, while they go to Buddhist Temples, which focus on the next life, to ask about this one. This world was truly hard to figure out.
Gu Zhao: ╮(╯▽╰)╭
With no other choice, Gu Zhao first bought a set of Wolf Hair Brushes and a Huizhou Inkstone. Figuring he was now a successor to ancient culture, he also bought a selection of various xuan papers, as well as some Pine Smoke Ink and Oil Smoke Ink.
He then stepped outside and hired a delivery runner, asking the guy to take his things to his doorstep. Immediately after, he turned left into another shop to continue his quest for clothes!