Returned

"Huff—"

When Gu Zhao opened his eyes and saw the familiar balcony beside him again, he could not help letting out a long breath. He subconsciously looked toward the residence across from him, but did not see the young woman doing yoga by the open window.

His second reaction was to "look" at the Five Thunder Token in his mind.

To his surprise, not only had the Five Thunder Token, the lightning around it, and the Thunder Seed circling the token remained, but even the Innate Qi he had activated and all the Mana within his body had come back with him.

He formed a Thunder Seal with his left hand, and a surge of Righteous Qi burst forth from his body.

"Awesome!"

Gu Zhao's eyes gleamed brightly. The world before him seemed three parts brighter, and at least thirty-six scenarios for showing off his holiness before others had already flashed through his mind.

Cultivating the Tao and tempering the heart? Showing off was what kept his Tao heart flowing smoothly!

He looked back at the clock on the wall. It was already past six in the evening, roughly the same amount of time he had spent in the other world. It also seemed to be nearing dinner time over there.

"So it's not the rule-based kind of transmigration where time stops. I'll have to manage my time carefully, or it'll be easy to give myself away," Gu Zhao thought as he looked at the clock. "Especially when someone here could come looking for me at any moment."

That other world was clearly somewhat dangerous, but fortunately, he had obtained a golden finger as well.

He was now a Taoist who could cultivate and wield Mana. Not only did he have the Five Thunder Token as a portable cheat, he also had the foundation of industrial civilization. Once he became familiar with that side's situation, he would surely be like a fish in water, like a tiger with wings, like glue—

Gu Zhao stopped his wandering thoughts and tried cultivating. Then he had no choice but to admit that the two worlds really were different.

In that world, as long as he circulated his energy in cultivation, he would continuously absorb a certain substance akin to the primordial qi of heaven and earth from his surroundings, replenishing his Mana.

But in this world, no matter how hard he circulated his inner breath, the energy he absorbed from the outside could not be said to be nonexistent, but it felt like one or two drops leaking from a water pipe.

It could not be said to be nonexistent, but it was better than nothing.

Gu Zhao shook his head. "No wonder cultivation is impossible in this world."

In other words, when he used spells in the modern world, it would be difficult to replenish his Mana through cultivation and absorbing the primordial qi of heaven and earth. He either had to grind it out through sheer time, or replenish it by eating and refining food.

But that was fine. He could always transmigrate to the other world to restore his mana.

Then he noticed the leather boots on his feet, as well as the silver, copper coins, and wooden carving in his pockets. They had all come back with him too.

Gu Zhao returned to the living room, put the copper coins and silver ingot into a drawer, then casually placed the wooden carving on the entryway shelf.

There were no mages in the modern world. Here, the wooden carving was merely a well-made craft item, and Gu Zhao did not care in the slightest.

Then Gu Zhao began his experiments.

"Transmigrate!"

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh whoosh whoosh!"

After several transmigrations, along with the table and sofa in the living room being left in a complete mess of mud and grass clippings, Gu Zhao roughly figured it out. Aside from taking him and the things on his person, the Five Thunder Token could actually bring anything enveloped by his divine sense through the transmigration as well.

That meant that as Gu Zhao cultivated, the broader his Sea of Consciousness became and the stronger his divine sense grew, the more things he would be able to bring.

Gu Zhao's eyes shone brightly. "Heh heh... when mighty power returns to oneself, I'll be able to bring all of Guangzhou into the other world with a single thought, climb to the summit through industrial technology, and suppress all misfortune..."

"I can't think about it anymore. If I keep thinking, I'll be too excited to sleep. I have things to do tomorrow."

"Eat! Sleep!"

Early the next morning.

The first thing Gu Zhao did after getting up was sense the Five Thunder Token in his mind, confirming that yesterday's experiences had not been a dream.

After saying "Awesome!" once more, he cleaned himself up, washed, dressed, and headed out.

"I have quite a lot to do today." Gu Zhao picked up his phone and opened his notes app. Inside were several items he had written down yesterday, listed in order of importance and urgency.

[Buy several sets of clothing resembling ancient garments, so I won't stand out too much when I transmigrate again]

[Buy writing brushes, an inkstone, cinnabar, and yellow paper]

[Go to the other world and test which spells and talismans from the Taoist Scriptures I have learned can be used]

[Go to the nearest Xiu Yue County and begin my journey of exploring the world]

[Find a way to communicate normally with the female ghost without having my vital essence drained]

They were all matters related to the other world. As for the modern world... Zhang Hang's suggestion was not entirely unreasonable.

He had only just graduated, after all. It was understandable to mooch off his parents for a while.

Gu Zhao: ()

While offering his greetings to Mother, who was dozens of kilometers away, Gu Zhao bit into a barbecue pork bun and boarded the subway for the City God Temple.

Guangzhou's City God Temple had been enormous in ancient times. It was said that it had later even been elevated to the Metropolitan City God Temple, but by now it had become very small—at the very least, it could not compare with the Metropolitan City God Temples in several other cities.

But no matter what, a City God Temple was a historical and cultural center that had endured in a city for hundreds or even thousands of years. Thus, the shops spreading out from the City God Temple through the surrounding half of the street mostly dealt in traditional historical culture.

For example, stationery shops, calligraphy and painting shops, antique shops, and jade shops.

Gu Zhao had come here intending to gather brushes, ink, paper, inkstones, and ancient-style clothing all in one trip.

"What? Yellow paper?"

Inside Guyi Xuan, the owner looked at the solemn-faced Gu Zhao, somewhat bewildered. "I have raw xuan paper and processed xuan paper, single-layer xuan paper and laminated xuan paper, white xuan paper and yellow xuan paper. You want yellow paper? Did you come to the wrong place?"

Gu Zhao asked, "Then where should I go?"

The owner snorted. "Funeral Street."

Gu Zhao was speechless. "The yellow paper I want isn't the kind used for burning."

"What is it for, then?" the owner asked.

"Drawing talismans," Gu Zhao answered.

This time, the owner was speechless. "Then you shouldn't have come to a stationery shop. You should go to a Taoist temple."

Gu Zhao asked, "Isn't the City God Temple a Taoist temple?"

"The City God Temple was torn down over a hundred years ago. There's only one main hall left now—how does that count as a Taoist temple?" The owner pointed north, then west. "If you want yellow paper for drawing talismans, why don't you go to Yuanfa Palace or Huangxian Shrine?"

Gu Zhao's eyes lit up. "They sell cinnabar and yellow paper there?"

"At least they sell funeral supplies," the owner replied.

Gu Zhao: "..."

Owner: "..."

Gu Zhao said, "Why didn't you mention Liuke Temple and Guangxiao Temple?"

The owner answered, "They don't sell funeral supplies."

Gu Zhao was left speechless by the retort. At Taoist temples cultivating this life, one saw off the next; at Buddhist temples praying for the next life, one asked about this life. This world truly made no sense.

Gu Zhao: ╮(╯▽╰)╭

With no other choice, Gu Zhao first bought a set of wolf-hair brushes and a Huizhou Inkstone. Thinking that he would be a inheritor of ancient culture in the future, he also bought some of every kind of xuan paper, along with Pine Soot Ink and Oil Soot Ink.

Then, after leaving the shop, he called an errand runner and had the young man deliver everything to his doorstep. Right after that, he turned left through the entrance and continued shopping for clothes!

Thanks to fellow Daoist Please Do Not Disturb While Reading for the 2222 reward.

Thanks to fellow Daoist Rogotariveros for the 100 reward.