"Is the blogger finally dropping the act?"
"Holy cow, mass-producing Thunderstruck Wood, are we?"
"Not professional. Next time, use Peach Wood."
"Nice Palm Thunder. You can tell he's a trained practitioner. We should spar sometime. I'm skilled with the Type 81 assault rifle!"
"Didn't [@Brother Hang Takes You Flying] say the blogger was good at fortune-telling and feng shui? Why is he messing with Daoist Techniques now?"
"A bit fake. Not as good as Ruo Zong Master. At least he adds a line saying it's special effects, afraid that we'd actually believe it (facepalm.jpg)."
"I'm not worried about it being special effects. I'm worried that there's something real hidden among the fakes (crying with laughter.jpg)."
"Blogger, I want to learn this!"
"The blogger's finally gotten the hang of it. Next time, remember to film some Sword Flight. All you need to invest in is a drone (laughing.jpg)."
Of course, none of the viewers took the video seriously. The active ones were just cracking jokes in the comments, while the less active ones were simply watching for entertainment. Since Gu Zhao didn't have many fans yet, no trolls had appeared.
Gu Zhao chuckled as he watched the slowly growing number of comments, likes, and shares. Then, he saw a comment from Zhang Hang.
Brother Hang Takes You Flying: "I underestimated you. I can't believe an honest-looking guy like you has started using special effects!"
Gu Zhao just smiled without a word, already imagining the look on Zhang Hang's face when he discovered the truth behind these "special effects."
...
「Meanwhile, at Yuanfa Palace.」
Hui Bin and a few of his martial brothers were standing at the entrance to welcome the guests.
"Who's visiting this time? Even the President of the Taoism Association is here to greet them?" Hui Bin asked his senior brother softly, glancing at a middle-aged Daoist not far away.
"I heard it's an old Daoist from the Yandu Dragon Gate Ancestral Court," another Daoist, Hui Ting, said. "He's dedicated his life to visiting various Dragon Gate Taoist Temples to collect and organize the classic scriptures of the Dragon Gate Sect."
Hui Bin couldn't help but glance back in the direction of the temple's Scripture Pavilion. "We have scriptures here that Yandu doesn't?"
"Who knows? He's here to have a look," Hui Ting said. "Our Yuanfa Palace joined the Dragon Gate Sect three hundred years ago. The abbot at the time was from the Dragon Gate Orthodox Sect. The Scripture Pavilion has been preserved ever since, so there might be some unique scriptures."
"Oh!" Hui Bin nodded, feeling quite proud. "I thought the orthodox traditions of Daoism were all in Jiangnan and Jiangbei. I never expected a small place like ours to have such treasures."
Hui Ting shook his head. "We were already very prosperous during the Ming Dynasty, so we definitely have some treasures. In comparison, that Jade Toad Palace in Qiong Province is a purely modern construction."
Hui Bin added, "So is the Yellow Immortal Temple in Yangcheng!"
The two shared a smile, and then they saw several cars turn at the intersection and stop at the entrance of Yuanfa Palace.
The group moved forward to greet them. A Daoist at the very front stepped up, pulled open the car door, and placed a hand over the top of the doorframe to prevent the person getting out from accidentally bumping their head.
The next moment, an old Daoist wearing a long blue cloth robe and a Primordial Scarf stooped to get out of the car. He first thanked the Daoist who had opened the door for him before straightening up to look at the crowd.
"Taoist Yi Hong!" Everyone bowed in unison to greet the old Daoist.
"Good, good!" Taoist Yi Hong returned the greeting with a smile.
"This way, Daoist. You just got off the plane and must be tired from your journey. Please come rest in the quiet room first," a middle-aged Daoist said, stepping forward.
"No hurry, no hurry. I may be old, but I'm not frail yet," Taoist Yi Hong said with a laugh. "I told you there was no need for such fanfare, but since you insisted on having everyone greet me at the entrance, it would be rude of me not to say hello."
Taoist Yi Hong wasn't pretentious at all. Starting from the moment he got out of the car, he strolled toward Yuanfa Palace, greeting all the Daoists, young and old, who had come to welcome him.
"Blessed Infinite Celestial Venerable!" the younger Daoists bowed and greeted.
"Hello, hello," Taoist Yi Hong replied with a smile, clasping his hands in a traditional salute.
In the welcoming crowd, the bigwigs from the provincial and municipal Taoism Associations stood at the very front. The high-ranking Daoists of Yuanfa Palace stood in the middle, while junior disciples like Hui Bin stood at the very back.
Taoist Yi Hong walked along without stopping, greeting each Daoist and treating everyone equally as he passed.
But just as Taoist Yi Hong finished greeting Hui Ting and reached Hui Bin's side, he couldn't help but pause for a moment.
"G-Greetings, Daoist!" Hui Bin stammered a polite greeting.
Taoist Yi Hong stopped in his tracks. He let out a soft "Huh?" and, after carefully sensing for a moment, looked at Hui Bin with a surprised and uncertain expression.
That look made Hui Bin's heart pound. He had no idea what was wrong with him or what mistake he might have made.
'Did he hear my earlier complaints?' Hui Bin thought, terrified. 'Does this old Daoist—no, this senior—have super hearing or can he read minds?'
"Taoist Yi Hong?" A middle-aged Daoist came to the old Daoist's side, confused as to why he had suddenly stopped.
Taoist Yi Hong chuckled, reached out to take Hui Bin by the wrist, and asked with a gentle smile, "What's your name?"
"I... My name is Lin—no, my name is Hui Bin." Hui Bin almost blurted out his secular name.
"Good, good." Taoist Yi Hong had Hui Bin walk with him. While continuing to greet others, he asked Hui Bin, "Where are you from? How many years have you been a disciple?"
"I'm from Xiang Province. I've been a disciple for six or seven years, and I've been at Yuanfa Palace the whole time," Hui Bin replied.
Taoist Yi Hong nodded. "That's not too long. Why did you join the sect? Is anyone else in your family part of a Taoist Sect?"
"I just love our country's traditional culture, and I also like the tranquility and naturalness of Daoism," Hui Bin replied. "There's no one else from a Taoist Sect in my family. I'm the first."
"Mm," Taoist Yi Hong nodded. "You are a person with innate spiritual talent."
"Thank you for the compliment, Daoist!" Hui Bin hurriedly said his thanks.
"You don't have to thank me. I wasn't the one who saw it," Taoist Yi Hong said with a smile. "It must have been a master of a Taoist Sect who recognized it and gave you a truly Enlightened Protective Talisman."
At this, Taoist Yi Hong asked curiously, "There aren't many Daoists in the country with this kind of ability. May I ask who gave you the Protective Talisman? I wonder if this old Daoist might know them."
"Huh?" Hui Bin was completely baffled.
"Huh?" The crowd following behind them was also completely baffled.
Hui Bin was flustered and hurriedly denied it. "You must be mistaken, sir. No one gave me a Protective Talisman."
Taoist Yi Hong was taken aback. He turned to study Hui Bin's expression carefully and, confirming that he wasn't intentionally hiding anything, grew even more curious. "No one gave you a Protective Talisman?"
"No!" Hui Bin shook his head decisively.
Taoist Yi Hong patted Hui Bin on the chest. "Then where did the Protective Talisman inside your clothes come from?"
"Inside my clothes?" Hui Bin froze. "There's nothing inside my..."
As he spoke, Hui Bin suddenly remembered. A few days ago, a young man had indeed drawn a Five Thunders Talisman and given it to him. He had casually stuck it in the inner pocket of his outer robe and then forgotten all about it.
He hadn't washed his outer robe in the past few days, so he hadn't taken the Five Thunders Talisman out.
Hui Bin reached into his robe, pulled out the Yellow Talisman that had been folded into a triangle, and said in disbelief, "This one?"
Taoist Yi Hong took a deep breath and said with certainty, "That's the one."