This Taoist Master is too Frivolous

Xu Yang exclaimed joyfully, “Tomorrow I’ll offer Elder Brother Cui dozens of additional cannons!”

In the mortal world, any “divine power” is a priceless treasure, a secret paragon of a sect!

Even with the resources of the Spirits Management Bureau, they have only obtained the “Dark Emperor’s Water Fist” after many years!

Yet, Lord Cui offered an entire sequence of the Daoist’s 108 divine powers. How could he not be delighted?

Lord Cui also felt a thrill of satisfaction!

For a being of his level, acquiring the Daoist heavenly constellations and earthy evil 108 divine powers wasn’t particularly difficult. Not to mention there was a collection in the treasure vault of Fengdu City, even if there wasn’t, he could demand these from the high-level Daoists!

All he needs now is to transcribe a copy of the Daoist’s 108 divine powers to exchange for several dozen cannons…

This was such a profitable business deal!

Both of them felt they had made a killing.

Lord Cui even felt a tad guilty. With a shift of his divine intention, he passed a message into Xu Yang’s mind. “This is the practice method for the Dark Emperor’s Water Fist. I have already translated it for you. You can understand it. Although it’s only a minor divine power, one can never have too many Daoist powers.”

Xu Yang paused to understand, then laughed, “Thank you, Older Brother Cui.”

“We are brothers, there’s no need for such formalities.”

The two of them raised their cups in a toast and enjoyed their drink and dishes.

Not until nightfall did Lord Cui’s incarnation fade, morphing back into a command talisman that fell onto the table.

Xu Yang put away the talisman and shouted, “Waiter, bring the bill!”

The one in charge of this private room was a young boy in uniform with a rather immature face, probably seventeen or eighteen years old.

Xu Yang had just overheard him on the phone outside the room.

It seemed that his grandmother at home was seriously ill and needed money urgently.

The waiter brought the bill into the room and said, “Sir, including the drinks, your total consumption today is 49,083 dollars. For good luck, you only need to pay 48,888 dollars.”

Xu Yang casually took out five bundles of cash from his storage space. “No need for the change, it’s your tip. Go and find a rock outside. I’m in a good mood today and will perform a magic trick for you.”

The boy was puzzled.

But the customer is always right.

Moreover, Xu Yang had just given him a tip of over a thousand dollars!

He immediately left the restaurant and started searching.

However, as Wu City was recently revamped, not to mention rocks, even cigarette butts were cleaned up. So the boy had to run all the way to the old residential area where he lived. There was a pile of rocks beside the green belt in the community due to recent construction work.

“This…”

Looking at the rocks before him, the boy was silent again.

The gentleman just said he wanted a rock but didn’t specify a size… He thought for a moment and picked three rocks from the pile.

One was small, slightly larger than a thumbnail.

One was medium, about the size of an egg.

The other was slightly larger than a clenched fist.

He ran back to the room, panting, “Sir, I’m unsure of the size of the rock you need, so I picked three.”

Xu Yang observed the boy all this while.

He also noticed that though he had run a long way, the boy was not out of breath. A scan with his divine intention left him impressed: “The boy has a good constitution… he’s a promising candidate for martial arts.”

He took the rocks and asked, “What’s your name? How old are you?”

The boy replied, “I’m Jiang He, 16 years old.”

“16?”

Xu Yang frowned, “Aren’t you supposed to be studying? Why are you working here?”

Jiang He explained, “It’s the summer vacation and I came out to find work to earn tuition fees.”

Xu Yang asked again, “The Martial Arts Academy in Wu City is enrolling students now, aren’t you interested in going to see?”

“The shop is too busy, I can’t leave.”

Lowering his eyes, Jiang He added, “Moreover, my grandmother fell sick… I have to earn money to support the family from now on.”

Xu Yang could clearly feel the shift in Jiang He’s emotions as he spoke.

Every family has its problems.

Not wanting to intrude further, Xu Yang placed the three stones on the table, and with a smile, said “fetch me three bowls”.

The boy found three bowls, and Xu Yang placed them over the stones in turn. Without any elaborate moves, he just tapped each bowl with his fingers. “Guess what’s under the bowls?”

After much contemplation, the boy cautiously guessed, “Stones?”

Xu Yang let out a hearty laugh and walked out of the room.

The boy was left gazing at the inverted bowls on the table, looking puzzled.

Why was the gentleman laughing?

Weren’t there stones under the bowls?

He’d seen a trick like this online. It seemed to be a performance called “Three Immortals Return to the Cave”. However, that trick involved a chopstick, two bowls and three small balls, and the guessing game was about which bowl the ball was in, not what was under the bowl.

He approached and lifted the bowls.

The boy stared in amazement, his eyes filled with disbelief. A touch of yellow was reflected in his eyes.

By the time he reacted and picked up the three rocks to chase after Xu Yang, the latter was long gone.

…

Under the street lights.

Xu Yang strolled along the bustling street, whistling cheerfully.

He was elated with his achievements tonight.

108 Daoist divine powers…

What kind of power would I have if I completely mastered all the skills, forming the divine golden elixir?

“The famous Great Saint of Even Heavens, according to legends, mastered the 72 transformations, which are actually the Daoist’s 72 Earth-Devil Skills. If I am able to successfully cultivate all 108 Daoist divine powers, would I not surpass the Great Saint?”

Xu Yang did not return home but walked all the way to the vicinity of the Yellow River Bridge in Wu City.

It was only slightly past 9 in the evening.

Yet, it was incredibly quiet beneath the Yellow River Bridge…

This would have been unthinkable before.

Every night, many anglers would come to fish here, and young couples also enjoyed exploring the nearby copses.

But now, everyone knows that the night is fraught with danger; very few dare to venture out of the city at night.

In fact, even the night markets, KTVs, and entertainment venues within the city have taken a considerable hit.

In other parts of Xi Xia Province, it was bearable as the local ghosts were manageable under Xu Yang’s rule. I heard that these days, once night falls in other cities, the streets are almost deserted. The government has even issued a notice reminding residents to lock their doors once it gets dark!

Xu Yang arrived at the banks of the Yellow River.

Xu Yang began walking towards the center of the river, his feet stepping on top of the water surface.

When he reached the middle of the river, Xu Yang sat cross-legged on the water.

“Dark Emperor’s Water Fist…”

Xu Yang closed his eyes, carefully pondering the cultivation method of the “Dark Emperor’s Water Fist.”

The “black water” here does not refer to the “black water” in “black and white rivers”, but to “Weak Water”.

As we all know, rivers usually flow from west to east, as it says in the song!

Legend has it, however, the Weak Water flows from east to west, against the natural flow of rivers. It has an extremely corrosive effect; if a person falls into it, their flesh and blood will dissolve instantly, leaving behind only a skeleton. Furthermore, nothing can float on Weak Water; even a feather would sink into it!

The “Dark Emperor’s Water Fist”, named after “black water”, draws from the nature of the “Weak Water”!

Once this divine power is successfully cultivated and a Daoist talisman is formed, the cultivator will gain an understanding of the essence of “Weak Water”, enabling them to imbue their strength with a fraction of the power of “Weak Water”. If their enemy fails to defend themselves, they could obliterate their enemy’s strength in an instant.

Xu Yang rose from his sitting position to start practicing, after contemplating for a while.

Having already understood the “water element path” and also having gained the heaven-given divine power “Rain Invocation”, he quickly began to cultivate the “Dark Emperor’s Water Fist”. Within a short period of time, he had some understanding of it.

Xu Yang stopped his boxing practice. Seeing the pale morning light on the horizon, he checked his phone and was surprised, “Is it dawn already? Have I really been training for so long?”

A phrase suddenly popped into his mind—Time flies when cultivating!

He felt like he had only practiced briefly, but he had actually spent eight or nine hours… If he were to practice more profound arts in the future, won’t he lose track of days, months, or even years?

With these thoughts in mind, Xu Yang opened his system attribute panel.

[Name]: Xu Yang

[Age]: 22 years old

[Daoist Arts]: Divine Ascension Scripture

[Daoist Skills]: Fire Manipulation Skill (divine power), Water Manipulation Skill (divine power), Wulei Rules (divine power), Paper Cutting Skill (divine power), Earth Escape Skill (divine power), Dream Creation Skill, Land Spirit Skill (divine power).

[Martial Arts]: Land Flight Skill (mastered), Soul Searching, Disguise Art, Eight Forms of Famous Sword Skills (mastered), Great River Sword Manual (third layer)

[Divine Powers]: Rain Invocation, Flame Spewing, Mountain Shaking, Turning Stone into Gold, Communicating with the Netherworld, Dark Emperor’s Water Fist.

[Cultivation Level]: Early stage of the Divine Transcendence Realm.

[Spiritual Instruments]: Supreme Purification Seal (Daoist artifact), Large Iron Hammer

[Meritorious Value]: 13,000 points.

[Storage Space]: 100 cubic yards

On the system attribute panel, under the [Divine Powers] column, the words “Dark Emperor’s Water Fist” had appeared. But in the Zifu and Shihai in his mind, there was no divine power talisman… indicating that he has only just begun to understand this divine power and is still a long way from mastery.

Expectedly, there was a small “+” icon after “Dark Emperor’s Water Fist”.

This means that Xu Yang can directly upgrade and perfect this divine power by using “Deep Blue Addition”.

“With the remaining 13,000 merit points, let’s give it a try…”

Xu Yang tried clicking on the small “+” icon.

“Ding!”

“Meritorious Value -10,000, Dark Emperor’s Water Fist +1.”

“Holy crap!”

Xu Yang exclaimed, eyes wide open, “10,000 at a time… How is this different from being robbed?”

However, the vast amount of “practice experience” that appeared in his mind made him feel as if he had been practicing the “Dark Emperor’s Water Fist” for several years… Considering this, he felt somewhat relieved.

After that.

He began researching the three divine powers recorded in the Divine Ascension Scripture!

These three powers are all part of the Daoist’s 72 Earth-Devil Skills, one of which is called “Banish God”!

“Banish God” implies the ability to command divine spirits.

Of course, not all divine spirits can be commanded – usually, it’s just minor yin deities like Land Gods and Mountain Gods… This divine power is widely passed down within many Daoist schools. Most of the methods Daoist schools use to control yin spirits and malevolent beings have evolved from the “Banish God” power.

For example, the “Ghost Talisman”.

And the Lu Shan Sect’s “Order to All Gods of the Five Directions and Ten Lands” method.

The second divine power recorded in the Divine Ascension Scripture is “Entering Water”, and the third one is “Summoning Clouds”.

“Entering Water,” once mastered, allows one to move freely underwater, unaffected by water. It’s equivalent to the Water Avoidance Skill. After understanding this, Xu Yang confidently said, “With my achievements in the path of the water element, I can master this Entering Water divine power without relying on the system.”

What really excited him was “Summoning Clouds”.

In films and TV dramas, mythical beings could summon auspicious clouds with a wave of their hand, and then fly by stepping on these clouds. This is the “Summoning Clouds” divine power.

If he mastered this skill, he would be able to fly without reaching the Spirit Refining Realm.

“Divine powers are difficult to cultivate, and I have no clue about Summoning Clouds… If I want to master it quickly, I must gain more merit. I should go and ask Feng Zhaoqing about any challenging mysterious cases in the neighboring province and city. I can gain merit and promote the Xi Xia Ghost Market at the same time, attracting more yin spirits to Xi Xia Ghost Market!”