Chapter 1

(This book is purely fictional, please do not imitate cultivation. If you unfortunately achieve enlightenment through forced cultivation, remember to bring the author along.)

In the ancient house at night, the candlelight flickered on and off, and a cold wind seemed to come and go. In the hall, a coffin was displayed, with a white cloth hanging across it, clearly indicating that a funeral was being held here.

In the courtyard of the ancient house, there were two trees, both locust trees. In the middle of the locust trees, there was a table. On the east side sat an old ghost, and on the west side sat a young man. The young man looked to be about sixteen or seventeen, wearing a green Taoist robe, his hair combed backward without a hat, his face solemn.

The old ghost smiled sinisterly at the young man, waiting for him, as if everything was under his control...

The young man did not move, his left hand gripping tighter. He lowered his head and thought for a long time, then opened the Tianjiu card and looked at it again, frowning and whispering, "Za Ba?" The Tianjiu card, also known as the Xuanhe card, is a common gambling tool in folk culture, not Pai Gow.

"Za Ba? Haha!" The old ghost seemed to know what the young man's card was, and gently lifted the bone tile in front of him, asking in surprise, "Why not Ren Dui? I remember the position of the Ren card, you are cheating."

"Only the officials are allowed to set fires, but the common people are not allowed to light lamps? You didn't cheat when you cut the cards?" The young man indicated, "Let's open the cards, old ghost."

The old ghost grunted and flipped the bottom card, "Young man, I knew you weren't honest. Fortunately, I kept a trick up my sleeve. Chang Dui! You lost."

"Not necessarily! I have Ren Dui." The young man flipped his bone tile, "Old ghost, you have Zhang Liang's strategy, I have a ladder to climb over the wall. You can cut the cards, I can move them. You can steal cards, can't I?"

"You cheated, I won't accept it." The old ghost roared, his body enveloped in black mist.

The young man said calmly, "Old ghost, if you want to gamble, I'll accompany you. If you want to set the stakes, I'll follow your lead. Since you lost, according to the agreement, eat this bowl of the first seven days' meal and be on your way. One life's grievances are settled in one life, past events are like smoke. If you refuse the wine and insist on returning as a ghost, I won't be polite."

The first seven days refer to the seventh day after the death when the soul returns home. As long as it does not see the person it is attached to, it will leave after a meal. Even if it sees them, it will only linger for a few days.

Returning as a ghost generally refers to a vengeful spirit returning home on the seventh day and staying there until the forty-ninth day when the ghost is taken away by the ghost soldiers. The mild harm caused by a returning ghost is the injury of the living by yin energy, and the most severe is possession. There are two ways to deal with a returning ghost: driving it away, which may turn it into a wandering ghost, or dispersing its malevolent energy and sending it on its way.

The old ghost laughed, "Do you know how unjustly I died? Do you know that the more grievance, the more malevolent energy? To capture me? Just you?"

The young man said without changing his expression, "Look down."

The old ghost looked down and saw that the ground was covered with Taoist talismans, with the table as the center. The old ghost was shocked, "This is impossible, you clearly kept your hands on the table."

The young man smiled, "That's right, but I also have feet."

The old ghost looked at the young man's feet, seeing that his left foot was holding a brush, drawing talismans on yellow paper, and his right foot was rolling the drawn talismans, which then flew several meters to land at his feet.

"You tricked me." The old ghost was furious, his body enveloped in black mist.

The young man extended a finger and shouted, "Quickly!"

As he spoke, the talismans on the ground emitted a faint light, ready to be unleashed. The young man said, "Old ghost, think carefully. You have no chance of winning. I have captured countless ghosts, even the most malevolent ones."

"My descendants were unfilial and poisoned me, my grievances are hard to resolve!" The old ghost sobbed, truly not daring to challenge so many talismans. Even half of them would probably be too much for him. This wasteful young man had drawn so many.

The young man slapped the table, "You old gambler, you even gambled away your daughter-in-law to a loan shark... Look at your own hands, after sixty-five years, how many fingers do you have left? Each time you vowed to quit gambling, you broke your promise. You gambled away your wife and sold your children, do you have the face to live? If you hadn't sold your grandson to a human trafficker for gambling money, your son wouldn't have resorted to such drastic measures. I, the Taoist, am merciful, but don't think I am young and easy to deceive."

"Isn't this just a delaying tactic, to trick me into playing Xuanhe cards and then draw a talisman array?"

The young man blinked, "Well, you can think that, but thinking too much won't do you any good. Anyway, you can't beat me now."

The old ghost lowered his head and laughed bitterly, the black mist around him gradually dissipating, "Enough, this life has brought disaster to my family, and I have not repented. I deserve this."

With that, the old ghost floated up. The young man pinched his fingers, and all the talismans on the ground stuck to the old ghost. He didn't trust the old ghost to keep his word. If he jumped out of the talisman array and turned against him, who would he complain to? If you go on your way honestly, I won't activate the talismans. If you cause trouble, I will scatter your soul.

...

At dawn, the young man stepped out of the ancient house. The village chief was already waiting. Seeing the young man come out, he asked, "Master, how did it go?"

"He's on his way." The young man took the towel prepared by the servant to wash his face and hands, then said, "Farewell."

"Master, take care."

The young man nodded, put on his backpack, and left the village. The backpack was a thin wooden frame, worn on the shoulders, with space inside for various items. In the rain, it could be covered with an oilcloth to protect the head, a standard backpack for itinerant Taoists and scholars.

Leaving the village, the young man drew a talisman with one hand holding a brush and the other holding paper. This talisman, called the Wind Control Talisman, allows the user to ride the wind when burned, with the duration and speed depending on the user's cultivation. After changing two talismans, the young man entered the vast mountains. This mountain is called Yunqing Mountain, the home of the Yunqing Sect, the first major cultivation sect in Dongzhou.

In Yunqing Mountain, there is a mountain called Zhengyi Mountain, the home of the Zhengyi Sect of the Yunqing Sect. A middle-aged Taoist, about thirty years old, was playing chess with an old Taoist outside the hall. The game was intense and lively. The young man, riding the wind, landed, drenched in sweat. Drawing each Wind Control Talisman required the injection of true qi, which was not as easy as it looked.

The middle-aged Taoist, without looking up, asked, "Done?"

"Done." The young man went to a well and drew a bowl of water, then came over to watch the game, "You lost."

"Go away." The middle-aged Taoist said, "I have the advantage. As long as I launch an attack, I will turn the tide."

"Right, your pieces are all being used as cannon fodder." The young man said, "Cannon six to five, using your horse to hit the car, if you dodge, I'll take your general directly."

The middle-aged Taoist looked carefully, then became furious, slapped the stone table, and stood up, "Lin Fan, a true gentleman does not comment on the game, do you understand?"

Lin Fan looked down, and the old Taoist was fuming, "Spicy chicken threads, this slap sent all the pieces flying."

The middle-aged Taoist looked down and was surprised, "Oh, what a mess, let's start over."

"Still the sect leader, still a cultivator, and you're cheating over a game of chess." Lin Fan shook his head in disappointment, "Old Zhang, let's play a round."

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