The boundless Yellow Heaven Divine Smoke completely dissipated.

Along with it vanished the Five-Colored Thunderclouds and the endless Wind and Fire.

Taoist Ming Yu recalled his Celestial Warriors, and Zhuo Qingyan dispersed the Dragon-locking Light Curtain. Aside from the vast expanse of clouds being torn asunder, leaving only the great sun hanging alone in the sky, not even the chirping of insects or birds could be heard in the surroundings.

"Huh? It’s over?"

Inside Daluo Palace, the crowd of pilgrims stared at the now-empty battlefield in the sky. Just moments ago, figures had been clashing amidst rampaging wind, fire, smoke, and lightning, but now not even a trace of them remained.

Seeing the reactions of the Daluo Palace Daoists around them, everyone understood clearly that Daluo Palace had won the battle. Someone had come aggressively to cause trouble, only to smash into an iron plate—they hadn’t even managed to escape.

Some let out a long sigh of relief, while others felt it had ended too soon.

The next moment, a clear voice echoed throughout Daluo Palace. "Daluo Palace has repelled an enemy, and we apologize for frightening you all. Everyone may go to the Magic Treasure Hall to receive a free Celestial Spirit Protection Talisman as a gift to calm your nerves."

"Thank you, Sect Leader!"

"Our deepest thanks, Palace Master!"

The pilgrims were greatly invigorated, and they all bowed toward the Three Pristine Hall to express their gratitude.

Daluo Palace also sold Talismans, but not many. They mainly offered three types: the House Protection Talisman, the Celestial Spirit Protection Talisman, and the Vajra Profound Talisman. Furthermore, each type was divided into four grades: Celestial, Earth, Profound, and Yellow.

Among them, Celestial Grade Talismans were not for sale and were only gifted to the fated. Earth-Grade Talismans had a price but no market, making them extremely rare.

Only the Profound and Yellow Grade Talismans, which were drawn by the Inner Sect Disciples of Daluo Palace, could be purchased with money at the Dharma Items Department. However, the price was not cheap at all, though they were still more than enough to provide protection for ordinary people.

Now that the Sect Leader of Daluo Palace had personally made the offer, they figured he wouldn’t just give out Yellow Grade ones. If they could get a Profound Grade Talisman, it could save their life even when facing a Fierce Ghost or Fairy with nearly a hundred years of Dao Practice.

But when they excitedly went to the Dharma Items Department and received the yellow, triangular folded paper stamped with a small "Earth" character, they all stared wide-eyed, nearly going mad with excitement.

"It’s actually an Earth-Grade Divine Talisman!"

"I heard these are meticulously drawn by the Elders of Daluo Palace and contain Pure Yang True Qi! Even a hundred-year-old Fierce Ghost would be turned to smoke and dust upon encountering one!"

"This is so lucky! Luo’Er, you’re going to Yongzhou for your studies. Take all these Talismans with you; they’ll keep you safe."

"No, Father, Mother, you take them."

"Your father and I live right here in the county, barely thirty li from Daluo Palace. What kind of Demons and Ghosts would dare cause trouble here? Be a good child and put them away quickly!"

"Miss, Miss, I have a Divine Talisman to protect me now too!"

"I heard the Celestial Spirit Protection Talisman can also cure illnesses and strengthen the body. Your father isn’t in good health, so he can keep it on him to recuperate."

...

Leaving the joyous and excited pilgrims of Daluo Palace aside, the members of Daluo Palace had already returned to a quiet room in the back mountain to take stock of their gains.

"What about the Thunder Seeds?" Taoist Yan Song asked.

Gu Zhao held up three fingers. "I have three now. The fourth Thunder Seed has also begun to condense, and it’s already made significant progress."

Taoist Yi Hong stroked his beard and smiled. "It looks like we’ll be getting some new members again."

Every time he saw the newcomers Gu Zhao brought, he was reminded of the time Gu Zhao and Taoist Yan Song had demonstrated the Profound Turtle Shield and Palm Thunder in front of him.

In reality, only half a year had passed, but to him, it felt like a lifetime ago.

Gu Zhao looked around at the others. "Do any of you have friends or relatives who need to apply for a spot?"

The old Daoists all chuckled at his words.

Taoist Yi Hong shook his head with a smile. "I’ll save my spot for now. If someone from White Cloud Temple proves worthy, it won’t be too late to use it then."

Taoist Yan Song and Taoist Ming Yu also shook their heads. They had already brought Taoist Yan Ling and Taoist Ming Chong last time, so it wasn’t convenient for them to ask for more spots.

Taoist Jing Feng, who hadn’t contributed much, also shook his head. "My junior brother isn’t in a hurry either. I’ll go get him myself once my cultivation realm is high enough."

Gu Zhao couldn’t help but smile. "Has everyone become so modest?"

"Because it won’t be long," Taoist Yan Song said with a laugh. "With the Yellow Heaven Altar Master and his wife fallen, the gates to Bai Shi Prefecture are wide open. If we go in and do a rough sweep, we should be able to gather another two or three Thunder Seeds."

Taoist Yan Ling nodded. "Sect Leader, didn’t you go to Zhenwu Mountain last time? The True Martial Qingwei Sect and the True Martial Dragon Gate Sect have their own unique characteristics. You could recruit a few people from there."

Taoist Ming Yu thought for a moment and couldn’t resist saying to Gu Zhao, "Over on the modern side, the Qingming Festival is coming up. Sanmao Mountain will definitely hold a Qingming ritual, and there will surely be a practitioner of the True Dao presiding. If you’re interested, Sect Leader, you could go take a look."

Taoist Yan Song’s eyes lit up, and he nodded. "The Shangqing lineage is the most ancient, and its heritage has never been broken. How can Daluo Palace not have a Shangqing successor?"

The Dragon Tiger Heavenly Mountain’s Celestial Master’s Mansion has absorbed many disciples and scriptures from the Shangqing Sect, and it even calls itself the head of the Three Mountains Talisman. The very town where the Celestial Master’s Mansion is located is called Shangqing Ancient Town. However, Sanmao Mountain’s heritage as the Shangqing Sect Altar has never been severed.

To be honest, if Zhang Sanfeng hadn’t emerged from Zhenwu Mountain, the Maoshan Sect would probably be what people think of first when it comes to representing the Taoist Sects.

Of course, Port City cinema also played a huge role in that.

When it comes to Martial Arts, Zhenwu is supreme; when it comes to rituals, Maoshan is second to none.

Just the character of Uncle Kau alone was enough to make people equate Maoshan Sect Mages with exorcism. Speaking of which, the Taoist Sect genre has supported quite a few filmmakers.

And web novel authors, too.

At this, Gu Zhao’s interest was piqued. "We could go take a look."

His last trip to Zhenwu Mountain for the Martial Arts festival added seven or eight people to his ’warehouse of spares.’ This trip to Sanmao Mountain probably wouldn’t disappoint him either.

Having set their goals for after their return to Blue Star, everyone turned their attention back to the matter at hand.

Taoist Yan Song took out a small porcelain vial. "This is the Storage Magical Treasure the Yellow Heaven Altar Master used to hold his Yellow Heaven Divine Smoke. There’s not much left inside."

Taoist Yi Hong brought out the corpse of a Weasel and pointed to the claws on its forelimbs. "This Weasel’s claws are quite sharp. Perhaps they can be used to forge a Magical Artifact. It is an Extraordinary material, after all. Its ability to fuse with True Qi is probably better than submarine steel."

After saying this, a White Bone Lamp appeared in his hand.

Everyone’s gaze fell upon the lamp.

"How exquisite!" Taoist Yan Song exclaimed in admiration. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

Taoist Ming Yu stroked his beard and nodded. "It’s like a work of art."

"It should be exceptionally effective against Ghost Gods," Taoist Yi Hong added, then described how it felt when he was first ambushed by the lamp.

"The Yin Qi on it is extremely heavy, and it lacks any Power of Incense and Candlelight." Taoist Jing Feng, who cultivated the >, was more sensitive to Yin Qi than the others.

Hearing Taoist Jing Feng speak, Taoist Yi Hong handed the White Bone Lamp to him. "Can you use it?"

Taoist Jing Feng took the Lamp. With a stir of the Magical Power in his body, the Jade Fire on the skull suddenly flared.

"It seems I really can use it," Taoist Jing Feng said with a laugh. "If I refine it with Beiyin True Qi and empower it with Mingling Prison, I might even be able to increase its power by thirty percent."

And so, the White Bone Lamp was given to Taoist Jing Feng.