The Daoist stood on the stage, his sharp chin and monkey-like features truly caught everyone’s attention.
He shook the Magic Bell and began, "Master Huanglu cultivated for three days, Lord Danzhong ceased all matters. The White Jade Seal seals the celestial proclamation, the Purple Mist Robe attracts the imperial fragrance to return.
Two dragons rise straight to the clouds, a flock of cranes flies under the sun. The grand ceremony is complete and returns to its old seclusion, even the plants and trees of Qishan shine brightly..."
He shook his head, his eyebrows lifted in excitent, reading the ritual text with a rhythm and pitch, self-absorbed, he looked every bit the charlatan conducting a fraudulent ritual; in the Mortal World, there were many such Daoists, though few dared to shalessly deceive in large cities, they mostly tricked ignorant villagers in remote towns.
The Demon Clan invaded, people’s hearts were restless, it was an era of great contention, strange phenona were frequent, demons and monsters were stirring restlessly, even such petty Daoist frauds dared to cheat in a country’s capital?
But for now, it seed his skill showed no major flaws; generally speaking, even these Jianghu Daoist frauds needed foundational skills; professionals do professional jobs.
Because one of the main characters was a Golden Core Cultivator, it was previously agreed that the ceremony process would be simplified as much as possible, only grasping the most critical points; the secular matters need not involve the ritual Daoist, the three letters and six rituals had long gone through the motions: Engagent Letter, Gift Book, Wedding Invitation; proposal, na inquiry, divination, betrothal gift, setting the date, and welcoming the bride, now it was down to the last stage of the wedding banquet and toasting.
Because it’s a Cultivation World, there’s an additional process of verifying the Heavenly Identity hosted by a Daoist or Monk, the Buddhist ones find a bald head, the Daoist ones seek a bullnose...
The Heavenly Identity is to verify the races of the marrying parties—are they Human? Demon Clan? Soul Ghosts? Beastman? This must be clarified.
Of course, over thousands of years, this set of rules had long beco a re formality, not like when Jinxiu’s spiritual awakening first occurred, where countless demons and ghosts blended into the human world to deceive and marry.
But although the Demon Clan stopped coming, the ceremony never ceased, becoming a way for the ritual Daoists to make a living. All in all, only weddings endorsed by a ritual Taoist were considered complete and recognized, forming an unspoken norm.
"Now we have Mosquito Daoist, entrusted to judge truly for you, shaking the bell to discern true bodies, the precious mirror to verify clearly, Taishang Laojun orders quickly as by law..."
The wretched Mosquito Daoist danced around, with several Daoist boys behind him putting on a false show, much like acting; in rituals, this was quite normal, everyone had seen it often and just ignored it.
In fact, since the ritual procedures were introduced to Jinxiu Continent, due to efforts of nurous swindlers, the rituals were no longer what they were initially and beca infinitely more complicated, from just a Peach Wood Sword to now a large pile of odds and ends barely fitting on the incense table; it was a trend of sorts, with only one purpose: the harder I perform, the more money the host has to give, if it ended quickly in a few words, where would the money-making be?
Everyone understood this internally, yet no one exposed it; you fool , I fool the heavens, just to seek peace of mind.
Mosquito Daoist’s antics stopped just before the guests began to feel tired, and finally, things started getting serious. After verifying with Magic Artifacts, this ant it was ti for these charlatans to exit.
"I have the Three Pure Ones Bell, no demons can escape!"
He picked up the Magic Bell and shook it wildly, its sound was dull, far from the normal clear and pleasant sound; this was going a bit too far, was he hinting there was a demon in the audience?
Among the guests were many Cultivators, from various Cultivation Families in Sui Mo City, who could easily tell that this Magic Artifact was nothing but trash, and the bell’s dull sound was because the clapper had fallen off...
Pulling such a trick on such a joyous day was disrespectful, but for these Jianghu Daoist frauds, it was a most common way to make money, first claiming there are demons present, so they can then dispel them, otherwise how to earn money?
In the rural wilderness, this often succeeded, but pulling such stunts in Shangyu Country’s premier place, Sui Mo City, was as bold as cutting the flesh off a tiger’s head, courting death!
"There’s a demon!"
Mosquito Daoist suddenly looked sinister, taking out the Eight Diagrams Mirror, muttering incantations, biting his tongue, spitting blood onto the mirror, and waving the mirror towards the guests; imdiately, three vague demon figures appeared in the mirror!
This implication was too obvious, pointing directly at the groom and his two friends.
As he acted, the two cousins below imdiately shouted, "The demon clan is not quashed, blending into humans, marrying to undertake unspeakable deeds!"
This coordination, plus so oblivious mortals jeering, the scene beca chaotic, which was exactly the situation the cousins hoped for most. They never expected this sharp-chinned Mosquito Daoist to have such audacity, their heavy bribe was not wasted.
But uninford mortal guests were in the minority; most guests were unmoved. They were either Cultivators or had certain knowledge of the Cultivation World, seeing more deeply than what unfolded before them.
Clearly, the tongue blood wasn’t real tongue-bitten blood but beforehand sneakily placed in the mouth as a Blood Pill from ritual actions, perceptive people could even sll the faint scent, recognizing it for sheep’s blood, faking to such an extent, fearing pain and injury; this Mosquito Daoist was indeed bizarre.
And the so-called Eight Diagrams Mirror was rely a charlatan’s trick from Jianghu Taoists; the mirror handle concealed a chanism, a slight push and a layer with three demon drawings appeared from the layer inside, reflecting as if three actual demons were revealed in the mirror.
Similar tricks are like amusing children with kaleidoscope eight-view boxes, boldly playing this when all eyes are watching, thinking everyone here is as ignorant as village folk?
A guest couldn’t stand it and scolded, but it was the groom who stood up at this point.
"Ladies and gentlen, please stay calm, truth cannot be faked and fake cannot beco reality; since the Daoist says there’s a demon here, then please perform your arts to verify, and there will be a generous reward afterward."
Everyone was a bit surprised, surprised by the groom’s good temper, but since a Golden Core Cultivator had spoken, no one else present had a status as esteed as his, so they had to watch quietly; so even thought, if this scam’s mystery was exposed as a charlatan’s act, it wouldn’t be a bad joke.
There were four or five hundred guests, dozens of Foundation Establishnt cultivation Taoists, and one or two hundred minor Cultivators yet to step into the Dao. Watching one trivial clown capturing demons was a spectacle.
The wedding banquet process was sowhat mundane, the groom was steady, and his two friends were quiet, disappointing many guests who ca to see the grandeur of great Cultivation, now with an additional show, perhaps they could witness the Golden Core Cultivator’s distinctive thods?
Quite expected, which accumulated into a chorus of, "Catch the demon! Catch the demon!"
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