[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-commanding-the-five-thunders-across-two-worlds":3,"chapter-commanding-the-five-thunders-across-two-worlds-commanding-the-five-thunders-across-two-worlds-chapter-23":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Commanding the Five Thunders Across Two Worlds",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2363151,4620,"Chapter 23","commanding-the-five-thunders-across-two-worlds-chapter-23",23,"\u003Cp>“This talisman is really been opened?” someone asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hui Bin instinctively clenched the talisman.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yi Hong Daoist nodded, “Yes, but its power has already faded—probably gone completely in another one or two months, which is why I assumed some high cultivator gave it to him a year or two ago.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hui Bin exhaled in relief, yet felt a tinge of disappointment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“So an opened talisman only lasts one or two years?” another asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yi Hong Daoist pointed at him, “Greed blinds men—one or two years is already excellent. Wood from peach or jujube trees, bronze, jade—those might last longer, but opening them takes far more time and effort, delaying your cultivation.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The man bowed his head in shame, not daring to ask again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet even so, many hearts had already begun to stir.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though this talisman’s protective effect would last only one or two months, that didn’t mean the young man wasn’t powerful—he’d simply drawn it casually and handed it to Hui Bin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If he’d taken the time to properly open it, wouldn’t a one- or two-year duration be effortless?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yi Hong Daoist, old and sharp, glanced around and knew exactly what they were thinking—he regretted having spoken too plainly, overpraising the young man.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’ve been too lonely,” Yi Hong Daoist sighed inwardly, then added, “This young man is close to nature, young yet deeply attuned to the Dao—a natural-born cultivator. If you find him, notify me immediately.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Of course, of course.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Absolutely, absolutely.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Such a young man might be from a renowned family.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“He drew the Five Thunder Talisman so skillfully—he might be a Daoist initiated by Longhu Tianshan.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If he ever returns to Yuanfa Palace, we’ll call you right away.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Some had thought to check surveillance footage, but quickly abandoned the idea.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Why? Even if they identified his face from the footage, they had no manpower, resources, or information to pursue further—could they really go to the police and say, “This man can open talismans—he’s a natural-born cultivator, please help us find him”?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even religious people now spoke of traditional culture and believed in science—no spreading feudal superstition, please!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Good then,” Yi Hong Daoist chuckled, “We’ve had our tea and heard the story—let’s go browse the scripture hall.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes, yes!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“After you!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gu Zhao had no idea what was happening at Yuanfa Palace, nor that his useless Five Thunder Talisman, still faintly lingering on vermilion and yellow paper, had been mistaken for a protective charm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After hanging up with Zhang Hang, he was about to cross into the other world to continue his cultivation when he received another call—from his mother.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Son! Have you found a job yet?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Still looking?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No longer.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Wonderful!” came a joyful shout from the other end.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gu Zhao: ???\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This weekend, come back to Rongcheng with me,” said Gu Zhao’s mother, Li Man—a woman of decisive action.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gu Zhao asked, “Is something wrong with Grandpa and Grandma?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No,” Li Man replied. “One of my best friends’ sons is getting married—she invited me to the wedding.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Won’t Dad go with you?” Gu Zhao asked instinctively.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If your father were going, would I be bringing you?” Li Man snorted. “Don’t we deserve our own couple time?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gu Zhao, “...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Clean yourself up nicely—outshine the groom!” Li Man ordered. “Always bragging about how tall, pale, handsome, and married to a rich white beauty she is—how proud she is!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That’s your friend...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Plastic friend! My son’s taller, paler, and handsomer than hers—and yet...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Man sighed here, unable to hide her worry, “...but he spends all his time cultivating the Dao. If I hadn’t found normal study materials on your computer, I’d have thought those summers in Rongcheng corrupted you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gu Zhao was stunned. “You went through my computer? How did you know my password?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“79531—metal, wood, water, fire, earth. What’s hard about that?” Li Man said dismissively.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gu Zhao: Σ(っ°Д°;)っ\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Man ignored his embarrassment and continued, “Oh, by the way—there are those online services for hiring girlfriends. Why don’t you interview a few these next few days? Pick one with great looks to bring back. If you’re shy, I’ll pick for you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If you pick for me, I won’t go!” Gu Zhao snapped.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then you pick yourself?” Li Man asked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I won’t bring a girlfriend—how about I seduce the bride at the wedding?” Gu Zhao declared fiercely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ssshh—” Li Man was stunned. “I think I saw a similar question in your study materials!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gu Zhao felt his face burning, his hands trembling. “You read all of it?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Not yet,” Li Man admitted honestly. “There’s too much.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Here, Li Man’s joke carried a faint undercurrent of concern: “I noticed your study files have more 2D content than 3D—don’t turn into one of those fat otaku from Sakura Country!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gu Zhao took a deep breath and spoke plainly: “Mom, I’m normal. I’ll find you a perfectly normal daughter-in-law.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Good,” Li Man sighed in relief. “I always said your grandfather and father married normally—your line isn’t cursed against this!” She added, “Hurry up—I can’t wait to go shopping and get my nails done with my future daughter-in-law.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After hanging up, Gu Zhao wiped the faint sweat from his forehead.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Talking to his mother felt more tense and thrilling than fighting ghosts recently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No wonder Dad’s completely under her thumb,” Gu Zhao sighed. “These days, even mooching off your parents isn’t easy.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With that thought, he checked the time, then went downstairs to the tea restaurant, bought a pound of braised beef, and packed a braised pork knuckle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gu Zhao noticed that, perhaps due to years of low-fat diets, He Xiuniang’s family and the white fox both preferred stronger flavors—five-spice roasted chicken was far more popular than poached chicken.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Perhaps influenced by his mother’s hometown tastes, Gu Zhao himself favored Sichuan and Hunan cuisine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Gu Zhao crossed into the other world, carrying the two food parcels out of the forest, he saw He Xiuniang standing beside the big tree at the village entrance, occasionally rising on her toes to gaze toward him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A pure white fox lay on her shoulder, its tail swaying gently, brushing her hair, yawning with bored indifference.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The setting sun behind the village cast golden rays through the scattered rooftops’ rising smoke and gaps in the surrounding trees, bathing the girl in a warm orange halo—like a cozy, colorful 2D painting.\u003C\u002Fp>",1060,"2026-06-21T06:19:08.116Z",1,"Qwen3.5 397B","8eabac9f1f6cf1a917b24f440cd12add236e85772a23e92af992c9f664fe6739","commanding-the-five-thunders-across-two-worlds-chapter-24","commanding-the-five-thunders-across-two-worlds-chapter-22",141,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fcommanding-the-five-thunders-across-two-worlds-cover.jpg"]