Chapter 01: Where Has the Demon Daoist Fled!
Great Xia Dynasty, Guangshan Prefecture, Jinyang County.
Squire Liu’s new residence, south of the city, was plagued by evil spirits.
Even in broad daylight, passing by the Liu family’s new house, one still felt an eerie chill.
Although no lives had been lost yet, the matter of the evil spirits instilled fear in people’s hearts, and Squire Liu and his family still resided in their old home, not daring to move.
The commotion surrounding this matter spread far and wide. Squire Liu offered a heavy reward and invited a young Daoist.
“Daoist Master, I hear that thing is exceedingly malevolent. Do you have the confidence to deal with it?”
Squire Liu saw that the Daoist was young and secretly felt a little unconvinced.
The young Daoist had a handsome appearance and an otherworldly aura, holding a whisk and with a spiritual sword on his back.
Although his Daoist robe appeared worn, his black hair, fluttering at his temples, gave him a uniquely carefree air.
When the young Daoist heard Squire Liu speak, he chuckled softly and said, “In my years of cultivation, this humble Daoist has subdued countless demons and eradicated endless evils. I have slain great demons, annihilated Ghost Kings, ascended to the heavens to visit immortal palaces, and ventured into the sea to explore Dragon Palaces. These are merely evil spirits; how could they possibly catch this humble Daoist’s eye?”
His tone was calm, devoid of arrogance or self-satisfaction, as if he were merely stating a most ordinary matter.
Witnessing his composure, Squire Liu’s heart trembled, and he couldn’t help but feel a surge of confidence. He nodded repeatedly and said, “Very well, very well.”
The young Daoist lowered his whisk, adopting a dignified stance.
“Daoist Master, that building ahead is mine. As long as you can clear out the evil spirits, I, Liu, will naturally offer one hundred taels of silver!”
“Wealth is but an external possession.”
The young Daoist chuckled softly and added, “After this humble Daoist has subdued these evil spirits, Squire, you may then consider your offering.”
He stepped forward, looking at the bronze-locked main gate, and tilted his head to look at Squire Liu.
Squire Liu’s hand trembled as he took out the key, but he couldn’t help but ask, “Don’t you want this old man to accompany you?”
Although he had never seen evil spirits, the haunting of his home was real, and his legs were trembling with fright at that moment.
The young Daoist said with a serious expression, “The residence is yours, and the evil spirits have come for a reason. It requires your personal resolution.”
—
The Liu Family Estate.
With no one living there, it was inevitably desolate and quiet.
It appeared rather desolate and forlorn.
Perhaps because of the evil spirits within, it seemed to possess a certain eerie, bone-chilling cold.
Suddenly, a gentle breeze swept through, stirring up fallen leaves.
The bleak autumn wind sent shivers down one’s spine.
Squire Liu’s face went ashen with fright.
“This evil spirit possesses truly profound cultivation.”
The young Daoist’s expression was solemn.
In a flash, the sky suddenly darkened!
Darkness surged forth.
They were plunged into complete silence.
“Daoist Master?”
Squire Liu asked in a trembling voice.
The young Daoist did not reply, as if he were the only one left in the darkness.
There was not a glimmer of light anywhere, only the chilling wail of the wind, whistling and rattling, and a bone-chilling cold.
*Buzz!*
In the darkness, something suddenly lit up, revealing a ferocious, hideous face!
“Ah!!!”
Squire Liu cried out loudly!
A chill instantly enveloped his entire body!
“Audacious demon!”
Just as Squire Liu believed the evil spirit would kill him, a sharp cry suddenly resounded!
In a flash, a fiery light flared!
One could only see the darkness retreat like a tide!
The young Daoist’s left hand was raised upwards, clutching a blazing talisman, like a flame held in his palm!
In his hand, the fly whisk's white strands were coiled into a ball, trembling ceaselessly.
Faintly, through the gaps in the whisk strands, one could see a black object struggling within.
"Daozhang?"
"It's nothing."
The young Daoist priest first tucked the coiled fly whisk into a cloth bag at his waist, then pulled it out again. The whisk was as before, its strands flowing freely.
The cloth bag trembled twice, then quieted down.
"The evil spirit has been captured. I, your humble Daoist, will give you a few talismans to ward off evil from your residence and purify any lingering malevolent energy. Then your mansion will be clean."
"Captured... captured..." Squire Liu's mouth was dry and his tongue bitter. Thinking of the scene just moments ago, he almost wet his pants.
"That's right, captured."
The young Daoist said this, his hand seemingly itching. His index and middle fingers stroked his thumb as he pulled out five talismans and counted them.
Squire Liu felt that the Daoist's gesture of counting talismans was somewhat similar to his own usual way of counting banknotes. He immediately remembered that he hadn't yet paid this truly accomplished master, and hurriedly pulled out some banknotes, offering them.
One banknote, worth one hundred taels!
The young Daoist smiled and nodded, then pulled out one talisman from the five and offered it.
Squire Liu's expression changed slightly, and he offered the remaining banknotes.
Five banknotes, a full five hundred taels!
"For me, your humble Daoist, expelling demons and defending the Dao is the main business. Money is merely an external possession. Squire, you are truly too generous."
The young Daoist priest reached out and accepted the five banknotes, his gaze sweeping over the official seal. It was indeed genuine paper money, beyond a doubt.
Only then did he look at Squire Liu and crack a smile.
"Squire, remember to accumulate virtue and do good deeds."
——
In the afternoon, outside the city.
The young Daoist priest untied the cloth bag and shook it forward.
Immediately, a wisp of black energy fell to the ground, rolled away, and transformed into a small beast.
This small beast's body was similar to a bear's, but no more than three chi tall, its entire body covered in black fur, its eyes crimson red, exuding a chilling evil aura.
*Whoosh!*
The small beast suddenly pounced forward.
The young Daoist, surprisingly, neither dodged nor evaded.
The small bear hugged his thigh, looked up, and in its crimson eyes, a watery, glistening light flickered.
"Daozhang Baoshou, how much silver did we earn this time?"
"Fifty taels."
The young Daoist priest sighed, "This Squire Liu is truly generous. Our old rule, a ninety-ten split. This time, your five taels of silver will be kept with me, your humble Daoist, for now... Once enough silver has been accumulated, we'll build a Daoist temple, and the woodshed in the backyard will be yours to live in."
The small bear happily nodded and eagerly said, "Okay, okay."
Not long ago, it underwent enlightenment, gained sentience, and became a disciple of this Daozhang. Unfortunately, it was always eating and never saving.
Later, the Daozhang said that as long as it paid, it could buy a plot of land within the Daoist temple. After the temple was built, it would have a place to live in the backyard, and wouldn't have to endure wind and rain on the open ground in front of the temple.
It had no money, so it could only follow the Daozhang to earn money. Fortunately, the Daozhang had always been generous, giving a full ten percent commission.
If this continued, in less than ten years, it could at least buy a latrine within the Daoist temple.
——
"Half a year since transmigrating, huh."
Daozhang Baoshou looked up at the sky, his expression dazed.
His current identity was the sect leader of Baihong Temple.
For the past half year, Bai Hong Guan’s fortunes had soared like the midday sun. As he worked to develop it, the population was already thriving.
Currently, besides him, the abbot, the temple also housed a great mountain-guarding bear demon!
Previously, Bai Hong Guan’s old abbot also possessed magical powers. A year ago, he descended the mountain to subdue demons and banish evil, only to be "banished" by a demon on the spot.
The temple’s only disciple, Bao Shou, naturally became the abbot. After eating all the food in the temple, he was forced to descend the mountain to wander.
Half a month later, Bao Shou starved to death on the roadside.
Then, the dead Daoist priest opened his eyes again and became the transmigator, Daoist Master Bao Shou.
Resurrected from the dead, Daoist Master Bao Shou inherited a portion of incomplete memories and pondered the cause of his own demise.
Someone who possessed true Daoist teachings and exceptional martial arts, yet inexplicably starved to death on the roadside – this simply made no sense.
He then concluded the reason: it was mainly because his predecessor was old-fashioned and unwilling to adapt. He took pride in being a true inheritor of orthodox Daoism and refused to abandon his identity.
He was unwilling to use his martial arts to rob people on the road, nor was he willing to rely on other skills to make a living. He simply wanted to banish evil and protect the Dao, eliminate calamities and resolve misfortunes for people, and incidentally earn a living.
But in the Da Xia Dynasty, during a time of peace and prosperity where Buddhism and Daoism coexisted, there was simply no place for evil spirits and monsters to exist.
With no evil spirits, the common people would not need anyone to banish evil and protect the Dao.
Thus, Daoist Master Bao Shou, a true inheritor of Daoism, starved to death on the roadside.
Afterwards, the transmigator Daoist Master Bao Shou learned his lesson. He went up the mountain, stole a bear cub, and enlightened it, turning it into a bear demon.
After that, there were demons in the world.
Thus, there was a need for a figure like Daoist Master Bao Shou to banish evil and protect the Dao.
In just half a year, the bear demon wreaked havoc in all directions. Daoist Master Bao Shou acted heroically, accumulated virtue by doing good deeds, and banished evil while protecting the Dao. To date, he had accumulated six thousand taels of silver.
Of course, under the guidance of an outstanding young man from the 21st century, the bear demon's actions specifically targeted those who became rich through unscrupulous means, took bribes, or broke the law.
For example, this wealthy squire had once donated money to repair a bridge, secretly cutting corners and embezzling materials.
“If I accumulate another ten thousand or so taels of silver, I can rebuild the temple and set up a formation.”
Daoist Master Bao Shou thought this, rubbing his glabella. He mused: “This Hun Dun Pearl that transmigrated with me can accelerate cultivation progress and enhance combat power. But most importantly, only by setting up the corresponding formation can its power be unleashed to its fullest!”
Once the temple is built, the formation will naturally take shape!
From then on, he would personally guard the temple, using the Hun Dun Pearl within his glabella as the core of the formation.
The spiritual energy in the temple would then be so abundant it would rival a celestial realm. Cultivating there, one could advance a thousand *li* in a day.
The spiritual energy of heaven and earth within the temple's domain would all be drawn by the Hun Dun Pearl, channeled to him, and aid his cultivation. His cultivation speed would undoubtedly increase a hundredfold.
More importantly, with the power of the Hun Dun Pearl, not only would the formation's power increase a hundred or even a thousandfold, but the might of his Daoist arts would also receive a tremendous boost.
Within the temple’s small plot of land, even if the Da Xia Imperial Preceptor came in person, he would not fear him in the slightest.
Thinking this, he put the bear demon back into his bag and set off towards a city.
But he had only taken a few steps out when shouts suddenly erupted from behind.
“Where do you think you’re going, you evil Daoist!”