Controlling the Five Thunders and the Two Worlds

Daluo Palace, before the Lunar New Year.

Gu Zhao was welcoming the old Taoist priests who had returned from various places.

"Life in southern Xinjiang is indeed much more difficult than in the Central Plains."

"However, now that the road is almost fully completed, caravans will be able to travel directly from Yazhou Jing'an Prefecture to Qingqiu Mountain in the southern border region."

"Most of the demons and monsters on the road stay indoors, and some people even lend a helping hand."

"Besides Xiong Wuji, the Red-Haired Ghost was also killed, but this time it was the Lord of Qingqiu who made the move. The Heavenly Fox Ancestor has already returned to the mountain."

"Naba Tianjun is a Bashe snake. Seeing that things were not going well, he fled to the East Sea."

“But the southern border is a remote and desolate place. Although there are many evil people there, I have only found one person who has become a demon. I feel that something is not right.”

"It definitely exists, it's just hidden."

Aside from the Taoist priests who were still traveling in the five states of Jiangnan, the first to return were the old Taoist priests who had gone to the southern border, led by Taoist Master Yanling and Taoist Master Zhiqing.

They followed the Celestial Fox Clan northward from Qingqiu Mountain, carving through mountains and valleys, building roads and bridges.

As practitioners, they were much more efficient than excavators and tunnel boring machines. They completed a road stretching tens of thousands of miles through the mountains in just half a year.

While they were efficient in road construction, they also continued their work of exorcising demons and monsters.

Besides the Celestial Fox Clan, several friends were also invited to the Qingqiu Mountain Demon Extermination Conference that day. The old Taoist priests followed them on their journey through the Southern Frontier. In addition to finding another demon, they also took the opportunity to eliminate many evildoers.

Gu Zhao understood their contribution very well, because the evil energy they provided alone was enough to condense four thunder seeds for him.

Not only that, they also brought back two experts.

They encountered both of these people while they were clearing mountains and building roads. One of them was a bat spirit who was sleeping in a secluded cave when Master Yuanhe almost cleaved her in two with a single sword strike.

The two fought a fierce battle, and Fu Ming'er was no match for her. However, she herself did not possess any malevolent energy. Daoist Yuan He not only held back at every turn but also kept apologizing. In the end, the two stopped fighting and made peace, turning enemies into friends.

Because he destroyed the other party's cave, Master Yuanhe invited the other party to join the Daluo Palace, promising her the position of female earth bat among the twenty-eight guardian star officials.

The other one looked like a child, but his magical power was actually higher than Fu Ming'er's. He was also encountered by the old Taoists while they were repairing the road, but he took the initiative to come to them.

“Fellow Daoist Yin has been operating underground for many years. He sensed our activity in opening up the mountain and building roads. Out of curiosity, he came up to watch. After learning about our purpose, he even took the initiative to help.”

Yin Dalong was a spirit of an earth dragon. He was kind-hearted and soon became friends with the old Taoist priests. Over the course of several months, he listened to their teachings and felt that he had gained a great deal. He took the initiative to request to join the Da Luo Palace and take on the position of Zhen Shui Yin.

Besides these two, there were also many kind-hearted demons, ghosts, and mortal sorcerers who were willing to join the Daluo Palace. Although they were not as skilled as these two, they were quite talented and were all brought back by the old Taoist priests to participate in the Daluo Palace's New Year Grand Ritual.

"Welcome, welcome!" Gu Zhao led everyone into the Daluo Palace, where the Taoist priests who remained there entertained them.

Then he was greeted by people returning from Jiangbei.

"I never expected that Shenxiao Mountain, which felt like a fairyland, would be so powerful. I never imagined that the master of that fairyland would fall into demonic possession." "What I never expected was that we were all prepared to fight him like guerrillas, but he just disappeared."

The Taoists who returned from Jiangbei kept discussing the strangest things they had encountered recently, the most bizarre of which was the explosion of the demonic realm of Shenxiao Mountain and the disappearance of the Shenxiao Holy Lord.

"Wasn't it still here two days ago?"

"That's right, I don't know why he suddenly disappeared. Could it be because of us?" Master Mingyu guessed. "But he didn't come looking for us either."

"Perhaps the Demon Ancestor has something for him to do," Master Qingyuan guessed.

"I'm not entirely sure, but at least we've found another demonic realm. Did Brother Jingfeng also find a demon in Anzhou?" Daoist Shenhao nodded, looking at Daoist Jingfeng. "They've both crossed the Cangjiang River!"

The three major rivers in the Central Plains, from south to north, are the Wanling River, the Yuan River, and the Cang River.

They used to struggle to even cross the Wanling River, but now they can traverse the Central Plains, cross the Cangjiang River, and travel to the north of the Central Plains.

“The north bank of the Cangjiang River is more desolate, and the people are fierce, which is consistent with the Great Wilderness of the North,” Master Jingfeng replied. “Unfortunately, the north bank of the Cangjiang River is a vast area, and I have not yet finished exploring it, nor have I ever traveled to the Northern Wilderness. There must be demonic cultivators there as well.”

“They suddenly disappear, and the wider the area, the harder they are to find,” said Master Jinghong.

"Then let's build more temples and monasteries to force them out," Master Mingyu said with a smile. "Speaking of which, the number of Taoist temples in Jiangbei is almost catching up with the number in Jiangnan, isn't it?"

"We've ravaged Jiangnan several times, and many demons and monsters have gone into hiding. On the contrary, the Xuanwei Divine Sect and the Lingfa Court in Jiangbei turn a blind eye, leaving the people trapped by demons and monsters, unable to escape," Daoist Shenhao sneered.

The Daluo Palace also gained a reputation in Jiangbei, and many monks who joined the Daluo Palace followed in the footsteps of the old Taoist priests to Jiangbei.

It must be said that although ordinary disciples of the Great Luo Palace do not have the Thunder Seed and cannot directly eliminate evil and absorb evil energy, they are also cultivating their state of mind by doing good deeds and accumulating merit by eliminating evil.

In the process of eliminating evil, his state of mind improved and his cultivation level increased accordingly. Although he was far less efficient than the old Taoists, he still made real progress, and two of his disciples even broke through their shackles.

These two disciples have now become idols of all the disciples of the Daluo Palace. As pioneers of the Daluo Palace, they crossed the river to the north and each established a Taoist temple, thus spreading the Taoist tradition.

Of course, now that the Grand New Year Ritual is being held at the Daluo Palace, they have returned with the old Taoist priests.

Besides the elders and disciples who crossed the river to the north, Daoist Mingyu also brought back two people, one in yellow and one in white, who were the two women who had received them at Shenxiao Mountain that day.

"This is Xu Shuyao, and this is Shao Youjun," Master Mingyu introduced. "They are welcoming envoys from Shenxiao Mountain, who have come to visit Daluo Palace."

The Holy Lord of Shenxiao has gone missing after falling into demonic possession, throwing Shenxiao Mountain into chaos. Wen Youhe stayed on the mountain to oversee religious affairs, while the two women came to Daluo Palace, hoping to find out the secret of the Holy Lord's demonic possession and his possible whereabouts.

After all, the secret of the Heavenly Demon's Descendant was unearthed by the Daluo Palace, and the most active in exorcising the demon were also the Taoists of the Daluo Palace. The Divine Firmament Saint Master disappeared after the two old Taoists went up the mountain, which is very likely related to the Daluo Palace.

The two women still find it hard to believe that the Divine Firmament Saint Lord has fallen into demonic possession, so they try to find him through the Great Luo Palace and ask him in person what exactly happened.

"Welcome, welcome!" Gu Zhao also ushered everyone into the palace.

Dozens of streaks of light flew in from the west; these were the returned Taoist priests from the western countries. (End of Chapter)