The pilgrims and cosplay performers standing beneath the side hall's eaves and at the entrance to the Three Pure Ones Hall all gasped in unison.
Who could have guessed that the Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Limitless Demon Subduing Array set up by Qingliang Temple was more than just a dozen people walking around? Its momentum was actually this terrifying.
"Daoist Master Li Jin Dan's skills are truly profound. He can even summon thunder! Impressive, impressive. If I'd met you thirty years ago, I would definitely have taken the three Daoist Masters as my teachers."
A man in his fifties, dressed in a suit and sporting slicked-back hair, exclaimed in amazement.
Ni Jun, chairman of West Capital Department Store, was a longtime patron of Qingliang Temple. Whenever the store renovated its interior, added or removed counters, or brought in new brands, he would ask the temple's Daoist Masters to make a few calculations, ensuring the department store's feng shui wouldn't hurt business.
In recent years, online retailers had flourished and taken many customers away from West Capital Department Store. Now it could only just stay afloat by relying on tourists from other regions, which still left the chairman deeply worried.
He had come to Qingliang Temple today to book a ritual performed by a Daoist priest, hoping to turn his luck around. He also wanted the Daoist Masters to figure out which lines of business could make him a fortune.
"Dad, isn't this a scam? Why do I see a speaker?"
The young man standing beside Chairman Ni stared beneath the eaves. He had clearly heard the thunder coming from there just now. Looking closely, he could faintly make out the distinctive mesh covering of a speaker.
"Don't talk nonsense! Watch your mouth, or you'll bring trouble on yourself!"
Chairman Ni raised a hand as if to threaten him. He had absolute faith in the Daoist Masters of Qingliang Temple and wouldn't tolerate anyone questioning their skills—not even his own son.
Seeing the old man about to hit him, the young man muttered resentfully, "Hmph! Fine, I won't say anything!"
The pilgrims standing beside the chairman of West Capital Department Store all gasped in astonishment, as though such wondrous Daoist arts truly existed in the world. They had witnessed it all with their own eyes.
A potbellied man with a balding crown, who had his arm around a mistress young enough to be his daughter, shook his head smugly. "See that? Learn something? The Daoist Masters at Qingliang Temple aren't like those lying charlatans. They've got real skills."
Beauty anchor Dong Keyan had fallen silent long ago. She stared, wide-eyed, at the strange sight in the plaza. She was certain she hadn't just seen movie special effects: Second Daoist Master Li Jin Dan of Qingliang Temple had really made a talisman burn on its own and conjured a Taiji symbol in midair.
Great Daoist Master Zhao Wendao, who had come over earlier to steal the spotlight, said nothing more. Instead, he sat back and watched the spectacle with an air of leisurely confidence.
In his view, once Li Jin Dan performed the "Daoist arts" Qingliang Temple had carefully devised, there could be no suspense left in this contest. That bold psychiatrist was nothing but a clown, and his humiliating defeat would only make Qingliang Temple famous.
Wisps of white mist rose from the cracks between the paving stones. They swirled slowly with the steps of the eighteen Daoist priests, as if Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi were converging to form an array for vanquishing demons.
Several bolts of lightning struck the incense burner in front of the Three Pure Ones Hall, frightening the spectators inside into retreating as one.
The camera assistant pointed his lens at the plaza too. The footage he captured sent waves of astonished cries rippling through the livestream.
"Belikov: It's real, it really is Daoist magic! This is incredible!"
"Xiling Apostle: Wasn't this supposed to be a scam? How can it be real?"
"shiromoku: Tell me these are special effects! They're special effects!"
"Single Dog: I really wish I could be there!"
"tan180°: I've arrived! It's absolutely amazing!"
Dong Keyan couldn't help worrying. She was starting to have doubts herself. Could the three Daoist Masters of Qingliang Temple really be extraordinary people? Didn't that mean Li Bai could be in danger?
A touch of concern crept into Goddess Yan's eyes.
The eighteen Qingliang Temple Daoist priests forming the array, led by Second Daoist Master Li Jin Dan, crossed back and forth, then circled at a brisk pace, weaving around one another like blossoms twining around a tree. Their formation looked quite impressive. Suddenly, they shouted in unison and flung out talismans, which instantly burned into wisps of green smoke. They chanted incantations that echoed loudly across the plaza, and the spectacle grew more and more terrifying.
Everyone held their breath, as if the Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Limitless Demon Subduing Array might unleash its power at any moment and blast the traditionally dressed young man at its center into oblivion.
Great Daoist Master Zhao Wendao and Third Daoist Master He Xunxian no longer looked relaxed. Their expressions had turned grave.
An ordinary person should have crumbled under the immense pressure of the forming array and surrendered by now. Yet their opponent remained perfectly calm.
The two grew increasingly uneasy, fearing the young man had already seen through their trick.
Surrounded at the center, Li Bai remained composed and motionless. Suddenly, he drew the Three-foot Green Edge Sword, swept it around himself, and casually sheathed it again. The dragon's roar of the blade cutting through the air lingered long after.
The Little Lin Temple in another world had once sent a whole group to chant sutras, hoping to convert Great Demon Li to Buddhism. In the end, they had only been wiped out in a fit of exasperation. These stinking, bull-nosed Daoist priests were dreaming if they thought they could do any better.
The Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Limitless Demon Subduing Array came to an abrupt halt. The eighteen cultivators, all skilled in Daoist arts, stared dumbfounded at the hilts left in their hands, their century-old peachwood swords gone.
Li Jin Dan froze as if struck by the Immobilization Technique, still holding his casting pose. His lips trembled as he stammered, "M-my peachwood sword!"
Damn it! Those were genuine century-old peachwood swords!
Each one had been handcrafted by an old master and refined according to ancient methods. They had cost over ten thousand yuan apiece. In an instant, 180,000 yuan had vanished into thin air.
Everyone watching outside the array dropped their jaws in unison.
What happened to the Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Limitless Demon Subduing Array? What happened to those amazing Daoist arts?
The old hen had turned into a duck—how had eighteen Daoist priests suddenly become Jedi? Anyone who didn't know better would think their sword hilts were about to shoot lasers.
Third Daoist Master He Xunxian's eyes nearly bulged out. Those were clearly blunt sports props, so how could they be so sharp? He had cut through eighteen swords in a row. Even though they were wooden, he shouldn't have been able to slice through them as effortlessly as grass stalks.
In Dong Keyan's eyes, Li Bai had drawn his sword, swung it, and sheathed it all in one fluid motion. He was impossibly cool. Her gaze grew hazy, and her heart fluttered like a startled fawn.
Li Bai was only a psychiatrist, yet she hadn't expected him to be so skilled with a sword too.
The livestream chat instantly exploded.
"Selling a Pair of Cute Girls: What just happened? That sword was so fast!"
"Meow Hero: A swordsman! He's a real swordsman! I finally saw one in person!"
"This Old Man's Maiden Heart: I want to become his disciple! Take my knees!"
"Li Bai's Demoness: My Young Master, mwah!"
Qingyao Demoness, who had sneaked into the livestream, joined in the commotion.
Li Bai looked at the crestfallen Li Jin Dan and the eighteen Daoist priests, who were at a loss. He shrugged and said, "Go on!"
He had assumed that Qingliang Temple, since it attracted so many rich and powerful people, would at least know a few halfway decent spells. He hadn't expected them to be playing with either magic tricks or high-tech gadgets.
Apart from the special device for holding the talismans and the trick for shooting them out, making a talisman burst into flames out of nowhere was something even a middle school chemistry teacher could do with ease.
Looking carefully at the sky above the plaza, one could faintly make out transparent threads crisscrossing overhead. As for the barely visible Taiji yin-yang pattern, it was probably made from some kind of conductive, luminous material. It wouldn't have been difficult to make high-voltage arcs leap between the lines either.
As for the incense burner struck by the lightning, it had simply been placed there to take the hit.
Even without computer-generated special effects, modern technology was more than capable of creating effects that looked like immortal magic. Clearly, Qingliang Temple had put a lot of effort into it and spared no expense.
The "Daoist arts" of Qingliang Temple looked miraculous, but once you saw through them, they were nothing more than a combination of magic tricks and high-tech gadgets, with a few little tricks involving physics and chemistry thrown in. They were mostly for show and had no power to harm anyone.
As for whether they could really vanquish demons, that was just wishful thinking.
As the saying went, you couldn't catch a tiger cub without entering the tiger's lair. The three Daoist Masters of Qingliang Temple had clearly put a lot of thought into devising these tricks. No wonder so many rich and powerful people fell for it. Compared with the charlatans who only knew how to deceive people with words, the priests of Qingliang Temple were practically PhD-level con artists.
But no one had expected that a paper tiger was still just a paper tiger. With one sweep of Great Demon Li's sword, everything had been exposed.
"Jin Dan, step aside!"
The abbot of Qingliang Temple, Great Daoist Master Zhao Wendao—the most senior of the three Daoist Masters—could no longer stand by. He cleared his throat and strode into the plaza, his robes fluttering in the breeze.
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