Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio, but Thunderbolt Taoist Sect

A mirage is a market located in the sea, like a small island standing on the water. Merchants from all directions come here to sell all kinds of rare and exotic treasures, and you can even see monsters and gods here, not just "people".

However, the abundance of goods also leads to a mixed bag here. There are rare and precious items in the market, but there are also counterfeit and inferior goods. Since both sellers and buyers may not be human, it is difficult to seek redress if you are cheated. When it comes down to it, it all comes down to who has the bigger fist and who has the stronger backing.

However, this situation is now rare. In bustling cities, powerful deities often mingle among the crowds. Most people only have a few classic images of the various deities. If they were to change their clothes, it's not certain that anyone would recognize them.

Those who know of the existence of mirages, apart from places like the Great Rakshasa Kingdom where they are geographically close and treated as ordinary markets, are mostly people who come to bump into me or encounter powerful beings. Whether they are demons or cultivators, they all yearn for a celestial being to guide them.

If one offends a traveling immortal because of their poor eyesight, it would be a great loss. Therefore, people are more careful when dealing with those who seem extraordinary but whose background is unclear.

For example, right now, at a stall displaying many strange trinkets, there is a handsome young man with white hair and dressed in white. He has no attendants or companions with him; he simply stands in front of the stall examining the jade flute in his hand, which is enough to attract attention.

The city is near the Great Rakshasa Kingdom, and with all sorts of monsters involved, there is no shortage of people with peculiar appearances. White hair and a youthful face are not considered particularly special here, but anyone passing by the stalls will glance over here.

Judging by his appearance alone, he was a young man with striking features, clear blue eyes, and long eyebrows that reached his temples, exuding youthful vigor. However, his white hair and aloof demeanor suggested that his true age was not so simple.

Although it was all white, the white clothes were decorated with many gold accents, and there were decorative shoulder pads on both shoulders. There was also a piece of armor in the same color on the left shoulder, as if it was ready to go into battle at any time.

Wearing a tall, silver-white crown, with his hair tied in a topknot, and carrying a sword bag, he was likely a member of the Taoist sect. However, compared to most people's understanding of Taoists, this person was far more ornate. For example, his towering Taoist crown was semi-transparent, with a crystal-like texture, and his clothes were layered and no longer resembled Taoist robes.

More than a wandering Taoist priest, he is like an immortal.

"Have you taken a good look, sir? This flute is not made of ordinary jade; it is made of cold jade dug from the far north. You see, I even placed a handkerchief on it here because anyone who handles it without some skill will shiver from the cold."

The stall owner also had a peculiar appearance, like a rat that had come to life. He couldn't figure out who this customer in front of him was. There were many people dressed in fancy clothes, but he had never seen this person's style before.

Although you can't tell his background, you can tell from his overall demeanor that he's no ordinary person. Since he's taken a liking to your goods, of course you have to flatter him.

"It is indeed a fine piece of jade."

The person in front of the stall, Jian Feidao, held a handkerchief in his hand, examining the flute in his hand that looked like an ice sculpture. The things in the mirage were indeed peculiar, almost completely different from the outside world.

Tian Shanzi disliked dealing with people and was somewhat afraid of crowds. The market was bustling with noise and people soliciting customers everywhere. He hesitated for a long time but still couldn't step in, and the investigation came to a standstill.

In Haishi, there are all kinds of people. It's hard to tell whether someone is good or bad just by looking at them from a distance. You have to get to know them better and communicate with them in depth. Considering that he also needs to cooperate with Tian Shanzi, Jian Feidao was chosen to come here.

"Before coming to Haishi, I had already heard about its prosperity, but why is one street blocked off?"

Although it's called a market, Hai Shi is as large as a town. If you get tired of walking around, you can even find resting restaurants and inns on another street.

However, when Jian Feidao arrived, he found that one of the paths was blocked, preventing others from entering.

"You mean that street? Something happened there before. I don't know who was so ungrateful as to offend the Third Prince of the East Sea. They're still looking for him."

The city is theoretically neutral and no one can interfere with it, but this sea area is still within the East China Sea, and the Dragon King of the East China Sea is the most untouchable being. It's a mystery why he was so ungrateful as to provoke the Third Prince of the East China Sea.

"The Third Prince has been investigating for a long time. That villain is still causing trouble and injuring people in the sea market, but he just can't be found. So, the people from the Dragon Palace got angry and bought up that area, planning to search every inch of it."

"What if the person has already run away?"

Jian Feidao didn't quite understand the logic behind this. What was the point of encircling the land? The entire city of Haishi was so big. What if the other party had already run far away? Even if you dug up the land, you still wouldn't be able to find them.

He was able to confirm that the person was still in the mirage thanks to Tian Shanzi's previous attack. How did the Third Prince determine that the person who ambushed him was still there?

"Who knows? After all, they are gods, they must have some powerful magic weapons."

Jian Feidao eventually bought the flute. He asked the people around him for directions, hoping to find some unusual places.

The atmosphere in the city was too chaotic, and the system's enemy detection function was somewhat unreliable. Most importantly, the person was wearing a cloak and a mask, dressed in a very classic mysterious persona, and slipped away so quickly that Tian Shanzi couldn't recall any obvious characteristics of the other party.

If the other party seems to know Tian Shanzi and runs away as soon as they see him, that's not enough. We can't just look around and see who else would run away as soon as they see Jian Feidao, can we?

"They were all extremely arrogant last time, but this time they all became cowards."

It seems that the gods in the world of Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio have a considerable deterrent effect on illegal transmigrators. When illegal transmigrators from other worlds cause trouble, the more chaotic the better, and the bigger the commotion, the better. But when they come here, they either try their best to integrate into the locals or hide in a corner, cause trouble, and then hide back after taking a taxi.

Speaking of which, I wonder how the Third Prince's injuries are. Perhaps we should go back to that street and see if we can run into him again and exchange some clues.

By the way, ask him how he determined that the person was hiding on that street.

"When that bastard ambushed me, he scraped off many of my dragon scales. The scales had some flesh and blood attached to them, and my body was also stained with dragon blood. He was an outsider and didn't know that these things were covered with dragon energy. He probably didn't know how to process them into usable materials. I followed the residual dragon energy back here."

Although Jian Feidao had never met this Third Prince, as the son of the East Sea Dragon King, he could easily identify "immortals from beyond the realm" like Jian Feidao and Tian Shanzi. After all, their cultivation systems were different, and to those in the know, he was a walking signpost, and they could recognize him at a glance.

Therefore, as soon as Jian Feidao walked in, the Third Prince immediately realized that this person was the same kind of person who had saved him before. Without Jian Feidao needing to say anything, he was warmly invited into the Dragon Palace's party.

Having been ambushed and seriously injured, and suffering such a loss within the East China Sea, the Third Prince felt he had lost face. After recovering for a few days with his powerful regenerative abilities, he immediately chased after the aura of the dragon scales he had dropped to capture the person.

Unexpectedly, this bastard actually dared to return to Hai City. Realizing this, the Third Prince immediately sent people to seal off the surrounding area and dig three feet into the ground to find him.

"Ha, that fool only knows that dragon scales are good stuff, but he doesn't know how to use them, and he carries them around like treasures. Dragon stuff isn't so easy to get."

Although his injuries hadn't fully healed, he had specifically explained the situation to his father and was granted permission to lead the Dragon Palace's soldiers out to investigate. Now that he had run into Jian Feidao, he refused to believe he couldn't get his revenge this time!

This method of finding people is quite similar to the aura left by his own attacks, Jian Feidao thought. If the illegal transmigrator is a modern person, his understanding of dragon scales is that they are all kinds of high-quality materials. The other party may simply have taken the dragon scales with him as a rare material, thinking that he would use them later. He did not expect that the victim whose dragon scales were scraped off could find him through this connection.

Dragon scales are on a dragon's body, and they don't fall off naturally; they're forcibly scraped off after someone insults them. It's quite logical to be able to find someone based on this.

"By the way, I wonder where Immortal Tian Shanzi is now? I left in a hurry last time and didn't have a chance to properly thank you for helping me return to the Dragon Palace."

After a brief exchange, he discovered that this otherworldly immortal named Jian Feidao was not as averse to communication as Tian Shanzi. He was even willing to sit down and drink tea with him at his invitation. Although he had a cold and aloof demeanor and seemed unapproachable, he was actually easy to get along with.

"Tian Shan Zi prefers quiet places and dislikes crowded areas, so he did not come to Hai Shi with me. However, once we have a clear target, Tian Shan Zi will make his move. On the sea, Tian Shan Zi has the greatest advantage."

With the Heavenly Fan in hand, the opponents have no way to escape. They are mainly concerned about the people around them and are afraid of harming innocents, so they have been restrained in their attacks. If they were to get serious, the Heavenly Fan alone could stir up a storm at sea, and its power is no less than that of the Third Prince's previous battle.

"Besides blocking the streets, does the Third Prince have any other methods? If you need help, Wudao Sword - Sword Not Dao is willing to assist."

"I have a question, but I'm not sure if I should ask it?"

"Please speak, Third Prince."

"Are you two immortal masters from the same sect?"

Last time, Tian Shanzi introduced himself as Dao Feng Tian Shanzi. The person in front of him is Dao Jian Jian Fei Dao. One is Dao Feng and the other is Dao Jian. They sound like they are from the same sect and of the same generation.

"Tian Shanzi and I are indeed both members of the Daoist sect, but we belong to two different schools and our masters are not from the same lineage."

He roughly understood what the other person meant; it was simply that the two people's titles sounded very similar, making people think that they were of the same generation and equally famous.

As for seniority, it's really hard to say whether he or Tian Shanzi are related.

After the interlude, they talked about finding someone. The Third Prince could pinpoint the enemy's whereabouts to a specific street based on the dragon scales he had lost, but he couldn't get any more detailed information.

The other side has many hiding places and is used to using underhanded tricks. They sent people to clear out and surround the street just to ensure that the target could not escape. The rest is just a matter of searching bit by bit.

Given that both sides had some methods that differed from the world's style, Jian Feidao felt that this wouldn't work. He should use some methods to force them out. As for the other side revealing their true colors, let alone the aura of dragon scales, the system could immediately lock onto them, leaving them with nowhere to escape.

At this point, the other side is probably on edge. If they can make some unusual moves, they might be able to get the enemy to come out.

Has it ever snowed in a mirage?

"……No."

The Third Prince was somewhat bewildered by the question. Mirage is located on the East China Sea. Such a small island does not meet the conditions for snowfall, and it does not even have four seasons.

"If it snows, that would be unusual, wouldn't it?"

"If the immortal has a way to make it snow here, that is indeed unusual."

He realized that the other side knew there was no snow in Haishi. The person who injured him had stayed in Haishi for a long time and must be familiar with the climate there. Now that he was besieging them with his troops, if any abnormal weather occurred, regardless of whether the snow had any other purpose, they would realize something was wrong and choose to escape to avoid it being a trap.

"Please, Third Prince, point me in the right direction."

……

"What the hell? Where did all these shrimp soldiers and crab generals come from?"

Realizing that he might not be able to defeat Tian Shanzi, he didn't have time to think about where these so-called legitimate systems got a Xiantian person as their host. He tried his best to persuade his companion to make a quick escape, but before he could even leave the house, he found that the entire street had been sealed off.

Now they're in trouble. They're completely surrounded by the shrimp soldiers and crab generals of the Dragon Palace. If they show their faces, they'll be instantly killed. There's no way they can escape.

"How did the Third Prince know we were here? The trap he set up wasn't in this area..."

He was the one who injured the Third Prince. If it weren't for Tian Shanzi's intervention, he might have been able to kill the Third Prince directly. At that time, the East Sea would be in chaos, and they would have been able to relax for a while.

He was there to kill, and he knew very well that the other person was too injured to chase him. He had run back for his life. How did the Third Prince know that he had returned to Haishi?

"Tsk, why not just kill them all?"

Seeing their companions cowering in fear, the other couldn't stand it anymore. They weren't good people to begin with; their main mission in this world was to cause trouble and disrupt the world's original order. They were just some roadblocks; they could just fight their way out.

"If it weren't for your nagging, we would have left long ago, and we wouldn't be stuck in the road."

He repeatedly emphasized that this was a tough opponent, and the other party simply wouldn't believe him. It took a lot of persuasion before they finally agreed to leave Haishi and go to other places. If this person had cooperated, they would have left Donghai long ago and started a new plan.

"Me, being fussy? You're clearly the coward."

The city is home to all sorts of races, making it the perfect place to fish in troubled waters. Besides, they've been here for a while, and their base has been painstakingly built up; they're not about to give it up so easily.

And even now, he still doesn't understand why his companions think they can't beat the other side. They're not afraid of the Third Prince, so why would they be afraid of a legitimate transmigrator fighting alone?

"Why can't you understand? That guy wields the Dao Feng Tian Fan, and we're at sea right now. If he comes with the Third Prince, one wave of the fan and we're both done for. Do you know the Banana Leaf Fan? Ever heard of a tornado destroying a parking lot? That's its power!"

The Third Prince, a dragon, is only good at summoning wind and rain. That thing is mainly intimidating, and it's not a problem to consciously dodge it. This one is different. The fan attack can hit people accurately, and it doesn't just have a fan, it also has a sword.

A single sword strike from a Xiantian person could slice through a mountain; even if they had skin of copper and bones of iron, they couldn't withstand it.

"Didn't you say that guy named Fan was a socially awkward person? With so many people gathered outside, how could he possibly come?"

"..."

That makes some sense.

"Charge out and finish this quickly."

Even without the Heavenly Fan, so many soldiers who are clearly from the Dragon Palace must have been known to the Dragon King of the East Sea. They injured his son and have special identities; dragging this out could easily attract other deities.

They can still fight in the sea, but if they summon all the heavenly beings, then it will be really troublesome if the heavenly soldiers and generals surround their path. They don't have the ability to cause havoc in the Heavenly Palace.

Just as the two were about to make their move, snowflakes suddenly began to fall from the sky. They had been in Haishi for so long, but they never knew it would snow here.

This place is just a small island in the sea. At most, it will rain heavily when it gets cold. There are no conditions for snow.

"What the hell is this?"

"No, we have to get out of here!"

Regardless of how the snow was formed, whether by magic or a magical artifact, its unusual nature clearly indicated it was aimed at them. The two disregarded the possibility of revealing their location and randomly chose an opening to rush out, causing chaos in the army formation.

As one of them said, they were able to fight the Third Prince of the East Sea to a standstill, and dealing with these shrimp soldiers and crab generals blocking their way was as easy as cutting melons and vegetables. They quickly broke through the encirclement and headed out of the sea market.

Unfortunately, they alerted the enemy. They used their special abilities to run away, but there were still pursuers behind them. Finally, when they reached a small cliff, they heard the sound of a flute.

"...Where did that flute music come from?"

At first, he doubted that he had misheard, but when he had time to stop and rest, he realized that it really was the sound of a flute.

Who has the leisure to play the flute here? Especially in a place like this?

Meanwhile, someone was already waiting for them on the cliff edge.