Free Web NovelChapter 341: Chapter 340: Emperor Bao’an, Red Dust Immortal
"The captain, first officer, air marshal, head flight attendant..."
Zheng Hongsheng held the file. "And due to the necessary procedures, quite a few people in logistics and the control tower also learned the truth and had to sign NDAs."
Zheng Hongsheng set the file down and sighed, "More and more people are finding out."
Chen Yao shook his head in resignation. "It’s just like that incident on the Mongolian Steppe. Once we asked the Daoists to take action, some limited exposure was inevitable. And that’s not even counting all the Celestial Spirit Talismans and Vajra Profound Talismans we’ve distributed."
The Vajra Profound Talisman’s protective, life-saving abilities are far more useful in modern society than the Celestial Spirit Talisman’s effects of promoting health and dispelling evil, which is why they have been distributed to more front-line personnel.
But with so many Vajra Profound Talismans distributed, accidental discoveries were bound to happen, no matter how well they were concealed.
"One time, a holder entered the water for a rescue. The Vajra Profound Talisman is waterproof, but he accidentally discovered the Talisman hidden inside his work ID when he was drying it out."
"Another time, the concealment on the outside of a holder’s ID badge got worn down and frayed during their work."
"And another time, quite coincidentally, a holder got home from work, and his five-year-old son accidentally broke his ID badge, revealing the Vajra Profound Talisman inside."
The people in the office found it hard to imagine what must have gone through those people’s minds—what they must have been thinking—when they saw the yellow Paper Talisman hidden inside.
They probably thought it was some high-tech device developed by the state, like a plasma-electromagnetic barrier or a pure energy shield, only to discover it was a legendary Talisman from the Taoist Sects.
Talk about having your worldview shattered!
Of course, after having their worldview shattered, they would be filled with curiosity. They’d then become fascinated with the culture of Taoism and would consciously or unconsciously let it show in their daily lives, influencing those around them.
Now, tags and speculation about "Daoists," the "Extraordinary," and "Immortals" were multiplying online. Even the video from Berkeley had been dug up again.
"And then there’s the recent airliner incident." The presenter switched on the large screen. "There were simply too many things that didn’t make sense. Many passengers realized something was off after the fact and started noticing the inconsistencies.
Then there were the rescue personnel on site. Although they didn’t personally see Gu Zhao and Taoist Qingyuan appear, they witnessed the plane’s entire descent. If they hadn’t been under direct orders, they would have been too afraid to even approach the aircraft."
"Even..."
The presenter brought a photo up on the large screen. "Even though the plane was still over a thousand meters in the air, and Gu Zhao and Taoist Qingyuan only appeared to speak with the captain for a very short time, someone still managed to take a picture."
In the photo, the circling airliner was clearly visible. Suspended in mid-air near the plane’s nose were three figures. The image was blurry due to their rapid movement, but an old man in Daoist robes and a person in a security uniform could still be identified.
In contrast, Gu Zhao, dressed in ordinary clothes, was so nondescript that he drew less attention than the other two.
"But since this is the only photo of it online, most people still think it’s been Photoshopped."
The presenter continued, "But some have also connected Taoist Qingyuan to the Berkeley Thundercloud, the Mongolian Mine Disaster, the Lao Mountain Rainbow, and the ’Celestial Master’s Mansion gone mad’ incident, because Daoist elements appeared in all of them."
"And that security guard..." The presenter hesitated.
"What about the security guard?" Zheng Hongsheng couldn’t help but ask.
"A lot of people are saying that security guard is actually a Red Dust Immortal from the parking lot at the foot of East Mountain, and that he’s waiting for the return of Emperor Ye," the presenter said hesitantly.
Everyone: ???
...
"They’ve finally shown themselves!"
Although it was dismissed as a Photoshop in its home country, this single photograph capturing Extraordinary Beings was now being displayed on the main screens in the conference rooms of every major nation’s agency for paranormal research.
Huaqi, Sakura Paste, South Korea, Mao Bear, Gaul, Mi Qi, Weimar...
Every nation of any significance and ambition had established its own agency after the Berkeley incident, dedicated to gathering intelligence on Extraordinary events and individuals, both at home and abroad.
To be honest, in the past, a Cultivator couldn’t win in a straight fight against a bullet, and their skills in subterfuge were no match for a professional assassin’s. Aside from their air of mystery, there was nothing particularly special about them. Once that mystique was stripped away, they wouldn’t have attracted the attention of any major figures.
Many powerful figures who lacked deep-seated connections and had risen to power through elections hadn’t even known that Extraordinary Beings—or Cultivators, as they were also called—existed!
But after the Berkeley incident, everything was different.
But to this day, the Extraordinary Beings they had managed to find could only use their Magical Power to produce effects similar to Hypnosis, or to make people weak and fall ill. Killing someone directly was a difficult feat for them, let alone destroying a building with a single bolt of lightning.
"So why is it that only the Daoists of Celestial Xia can reach this level?"
"They can fly! They can use Thunder Techniques! They can create rainbows and rescue people from a mine shaft hundreds of meters deep! And now, they’ve managed to safely bring down a plane that was flying at a thousand meters with its door blown off!"
"Look at the aircraft’s flight attitude! It’s as if someone is holding it up and gently lowering it. I seem to recall a similar scene in a Superman comic from Huaqi Country?"
"Fiction becoming reality."
"Yep. Huaqi does the imagining, Celestial Xia makes it happen. Sounds about right."
"This is no time for wisecracks!"
"I heard Huaqi has already identified a few individuals. I wonder if this Daoist is one of them?"
"The shot was taken from below, so we can’t see their faces. No way to confirm."
"But we can confirm that Celestial Xia’s Extraordinary Beings aren’t limited to just Daoists. We don’t know the background of that young man, but why is there also someone in a security guard’s uniform?"
"Could this be what they talk about in Celestial Xia’s legends—’masters hidden among the common folk’?"
"But to go so far as to be a security guard? Does he not care at all about beautiful women, power, or wealth? Does he not care for any form of luxury? Is he some kind of Ascetic?"
The appearance of the Daoist and the young man was something they could still wrap their heads around. But a third figure in a security guard uniform popping up out of nowhere completely blew their minds.
This meant that any random person on the street in Celestial Xia could be a top-tier Cultivator. How were they supposed to conduct their investigations?
For all they knew, the old man they were casually questioning on the street corner could be the very target of their investigation!
"It looks like someone on the web in Celestial Xia recognized the security guard." One of them said, skimming through a report. "They’re saying he works at the parking lot at the foot of East Mountain and that his Cultivation has reached a realm called ’Red Dust Immortal’."
"What kind of realm is that?"
"Uh, I don’t know. But judging by the way they talk about it, it’s a very, very powerful realm."
The group stared at each other, dumbfounded. Finally, one of them voiced the question weighing on all their minds, "Don’t tell me the netizens in that country all know about the existence of Extraordinary Cultivators, and even know the secrets of their cultivation?"
"What!?"
