Chapter 1: Exorcism

  (This book is purely for reading, please do not imitate or practice. If unfortunately you successfully cultivate it, remember to bring the author along.)

  The old mansion at night, the candlelight flickered on and off, and the dark wind seemed to be there but not. In the main hall, a coffin was placed, with white cloth hanging horizontally, obviously this place was holding a funeral.

  In the old mansion, there were two trees in the courtyard. One was a pagoda tree and the other was also a pagoda tree. Between the two pagoda trees stood a table. An old ghost sat facing east, while a young man sat facing west. The young man looked like he was only sixteen or seventeen years old, wearing a green Taoist robe, with his hair combed back, not wearing a Taoist hat, and his face looking solemn.

  The old ghost smiled secretly as he watched the young man, waiting for him, as if everything was under his control...

  The young man didn't move, his left hand clenched even tighter, and he bowed his head in deep thought for a long time. He flipped open the Tianjiu card again, furrowed his brow, and whispered: "Mixed eight?" The Tianjiu card is also known as the Xuanhe card, a common gambling tool used by the people, not to be confused with Pai Gow.

  "What's going on? Haha!" The old ghost seemed to have known what the young man's tile was all along, and lightly lifted up his own bone tile in front of him, asking with great surprise: "Why isn't it a human pair? I remember the position of the human tile, you're cheating."

  "Only officials are allowed to set fires, but the common people are not allowed to light lamps? You're cheating by cutting cards!" The young man gestured: "Deal the cards, old devil."

  The old ghost hummed and flipped over the bottom card: "Young man, I knew you weren't honest. Luckily, Uncle left a hand, long pair! You lost."

  "Not necessarily! I'm with the opponent." The young man flipped over his own tiles: "Old ghost, you have Zhang Liang's strategy, I have a ladder to climb the wall. You can cut cards, and I can move them. You can steal cards, can't I?"

  "You framed me, I don't accept it." The old devil roared with anger, his whole body spreading a dark aura.

  Young Master said leisurely, "Old ghost, you want to gamble, I'll accompany you. You set the stakes, I'll follow. Since you lost, according to our agreement, eat this bowl of Seventh Day rice and be on your way. The grudges of a lifetime are settled, past events are like clouds and smoke. If you want to toast but not drink, drink the penalty wine instead. Even if you want to turn back, Master Dao won't be polite."

  The seventh day is when the deceased's soul returns home on the seventh day, as long as they don't see the people they miss, they will leave after eating a meal, even if they do see them, they will only linger for a few days.

  The return of the evil spirit usually refers to the vengeful spirit returning home on the seventh day after death, lingering in the house and not leaving until the 49th day when the ghost is taken away by the god of death. The harm caused by the return of the evil spirit can be minor, causing yin energy to harm the living, or severe, resulting in possession by the ghost. To deal with the returning evil spirit, there are two methods: driving it away, which may cause it to become a wandering ghost, and releasing it, which means dispersing its malevolent energy and sending it on its way.

  The old ghost laughed and said: "Do you know how unjust my death was? Do you know, the heavier the injustice, the heavier the resentment. Want to capture me? Just rely on you?"

  The young man said calmly: "Take a look down."

  The old ghost looked down and saw that the floor was covered with Taoist talismans, all centered around the table. The old ghost was shocked: "This is impossible, you've been keeping your hands on the table the whole time."

  The boy smiled: "That's right, but I still have legs."

  The old ghost looked at the young man's feet, his left foot held a brush and drew symbols on yellow paper, his right foot crumpled up the drawn symbol paper, and the symbol paper flew out several meters away and fell beside him.

  "You dare to humiliate me!" The old devil was furious, his whole body surging with black energy.

  The young man stretched out one finger and shouted: "Hurry!"

  As soon as the words fell, all the talismans on the ground emitted a faint glow, containing but not revealing, accumulating momentum for release. The young man said: "Old ghost, consider it yourself, you have no chance of winning. This Taoist has collected countless ghosts, and even the most ferocious ghosts have been seen before."

  "My ungrateful descendants, they poisoned me to death! My resentment is hard to quell!" The old ghost wailed. He really didn't dare to mess with so many talismans, even if it was just half of them, he was probably no match for them. This good-for-nothing kid actually drew so many.

  Young man slammed the table and said: "You old gambler, you've lost your daughter-in-law to usury... Look at your own hands, after 65 years, how many fingers are left? Every time you swear to quit gambling, but repeatedly relapse. You've lost your wife, sold your son, and still have the face to live on? If it weren't for you wanting to sell your grandson to human traffickers for gambling money, your son wouldn't have taken such a drastic measure. I, as a Taoist priest, show mercy and spare your life, don't think that just because I'm young, I can be bullied."

  "Aren't you just stalling for time, tricking me into playing the Declaration of War card and then drawing the Symbol Array?"

  The young man blinked his eyes: "This... you can think about it too, but thinking too much won't do any good. Anyway, you can't beat me now."

  The old devil hung his head and sighed bitterly, the black air on his body gradually dispersing: "Forget it, this life brought disaster to my family, no thought of repentance, should have this retribution."

  After finishing speaking, the old ghost floated up, and the young man pinched his fingers. All the talismans on the ground were stuck to his body. He was not at ease that the old ghost would speak and count as a matter of course. If he jumped out of the symbol array and turned against himself, who could he reason with? You honestly go on your way, I won't activate the talisman. If you make trouble, you can only scatter your soul.

  ……

  At dawn, the sun rises, and the young man steps out of the ancient mansion. The village elder has been waiting on one side, and upon seeing the young man come out, asks: "Immortal Elder, how is it?"

  "He's gone." The young man took over the towel prepared by the servant and washed his face and hands, saying "Goodbye".

  "The immortal walks slowly."

  The young man nodded and left the village with his luggage on his back, which was a thin wooden frame, carried on both shoulders, and could hold various items inside. In rainy weather, it could also pull out an oilcloth to cover the top of the head, which was the standard luggage for travelers and scholars.

  Out of the village, the young man flipped his hands behind him, one hand holding a brush and the other holding paper, drawing talismans into shape. This talisman was called the Wind Control Talisman, and during its burning period, the user could ride the wind to fly. The duration and speed depended on the individual's cultivation.

  Halfway through, he changed two talismans, and the young man entered the vast mountains. This mountain was called Qingyun Mountain, where the first great sect of Eastern Continent, Yunqing Gate, was located.

  In the mountains of Yun Qing, there is a mountain called Zheng Yi Shan, where the Zheng Yi Sect of the Cloud Clear Gate is located. A middle-aged Taoist priest in his thirties was playing Go with an old Taoist outside the temple, both sides were fiercely competing, and it was quite lively. The young man had already landed with a big sweat on his head, as each of these Wind Symbol paintings required the infusion of true energy, not looking so easy after all.

  The middle-aged Taoist priest didn't even lift his head and asked: "Is it settled?"

  "It's settled." The young man went to the well on one side, drew a bowl of water and walked over to look at the chessboard: "You lost."

  "On one side, go." The middle-aged Taoist said: "This is an advantage. As long as I launch the attack, it will necessarily turn into a victorious situation."

  "Yes, your pieces are all being used as cannon fodder. The young man said: 'Cannon six flat five, borrow your horse to beat the car, you want to dodge, directly take your old general.'"

  The middle-aged Taoist looked carefully for a while, got very angry, slapped the stone table, stood up and said seriously: "Lin Fan, watching chess without speaking is a true gentleman, do you understand?"

  Lin Feng lowered his head and saw that Lao Dao was a black thread, Spicy Chicken Noodles. This palm strike sent all the chess pieces flying.

  The middle-aged Taoist looked down and exclaimed in surprise: "Oh dear, how can this be good? Let's start over."

  "Still relying on luck, a chess player's win or loss depends on the skin. Lin was annoyed by Tie's incompetence and shook his head: "Old Zhang, let's play another game."