Brother Dao Took the Entertainment Industry by Storm, Fans Beg Me Not to Kill Anymore

Chapter 778: "Dragon" Officially Starts Filming! The Protagonist Zhou Zhiyi - Ghost-Slaying Celestial Master

In July, Hong Kong generally gets bright very early.

By the time everyone had finished arranging all the prepared items, the sky was already fully bright.

However, the sunlight at this hour wasn't scorching yet. When it hit the body, it only carried a faint warmth. Paired with the morning breeze and the quiet stillness of the remote block, it actually gave people a slightly chilling sensation.

At that moment, in front of the film set building on the opening ceremony stage, the master tilted his head up, gazing at the increasingly bright sky while forming hand seals with his fingers. Everyone else on site stood motionless below the stage, waiting for the optimal moment to begin the ceremony.

Opening ceremonies on the mainland were usually kept simple—set up an incense altar, offer some fruits, peanuts, and sunflower seeds, then have everyone participating in the production take turns bowing, paying respects, and taking a group photo. That was basically the entire process done smoothly.

Although everyone still observed a few Feng Shui taboos in this regard, most people didn't place much importance on this aspect. For them, offering incense was just going through the motions. There was no need to delve deeply into Feng Shui or be particular about the timing. It was all about maintaining a sense of ritual.

Moreover, most opening ceremony promotions nowadays were primarily aimed at showcasing the popular actors and billing rankings, so as to lay the groundwork for subsequent production promotion in advance.

But this opening ceremony was different. After consulting with the Association's requirements, Zhuang Hongyi had made it especially formal. He specially invited several partners from Hong Kong to participate and pay attention to the overall progress of the "Dragon" production team.

Since the subject matter itself carried a hint of "evil energy," a stronger sense of ritual "power" was needed to ease everyone's mindset and suppress the "malicious spirits" that might arise during filming. Additionally, because the production team was working with people from the Tianshi Association, who specialized in exactly this kind of content, Xiao He was participating for the first time in a very formal and comprehensive "Feng Shui version" of an opening ceremony.

First of all, there were already some considerations regarding the participants. Those whose elemental attributes clashed were temporarily absent. Secondly, the placement direction of the incense altar and the orientation of the worship were all done according to Feng Shui principles. As for the invited master himself, he also had to perform a series of metaphysical rituals on site.

This entire process progressed layer by layer—purifying the venue, calming the spirits, praying for blessings—all present and complete. The rules were numerous, and the atmosphere on site also became solemn accordingly. No one dared to make noise or joke casually, let alone violate taboos by casually discussing matters of ghosts and gods at such a time.

Although everyone still observed a few Feng Shui taboos in this regard, most people didn't place much importance on this aspect. For them, offering incense was just going through the motions. There was no need to delve deeply into Feng Shui or be particular about the timing. It was all about maintaining a sense of ritual.

Although it had been five days since arriving in Hong Kong and Xiao He had been diligently studying some hand seals of the Tianshi Taoist methods in the previous days, he couldn't tell if it was because others had "true skill" or because of their own psychological reasons. He always felt that when they imitated these hand seal movements, they lacked that ethereal, immortal-like aura of a true enlightened master.

This troubled Xiao He greatly. Every day, whenever he had free time, he would practice hand seals, and from time to time, he would seek advice from the Teacher who had come over from the Association, checking his hand gesture issues.

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Coincidentally, since we're on this topic, we have to mention the protagonist of "Dragon," that young Celestial Master named "Zhou Zhiyi."

Zhou Zhiyi's character background was set as an orthodox lineage disciple of the Lüshan Taoist tradition, with its real-life model drawn from the Lüshan Sect, which originated in the ancient land of Minyue.

This sect is an important branch of Southern Taoism, originally deriving from the Minyue shamanic system of the Jiangnan region during the Wei, Jin, and Southern and Northern Dynasties—that is, shamanistic folk beliefs. Later, as times evolved, it began to merge with Taoism. While retaining its shamanistic characteristics, it absorbed orthodox Taoist cultural content as well as talismans and rituals from other schools, gradually evolving into what became the Lüshan Sect, one of the most important sects in southern China.

Among these Taoist priests, they were divided into Red-Headed Masters and Black-Headed Masters.

Red-Heads primarily worshipped Lady Linshui and presided over rituals like exorcism and blessing—essentially driving out evil, suppressing malevolent forces, praying for blessings, eliminating disasters, and settling homes for good fortune. Black-Heads mainly worshipped Lord Fazhu and specialized in conducting requiem ceremonies for the dead—that is, guiding wandering souls, handling yin-influenced grounds, resolving karmic debts of the underworld, and soothing earthly yin evil energies.

Although nowadays, these abilities overlapped among everyone, and the distinctions were nowhere near as clear as in the past—some traditions had even become difficult to pass down, so those who entered this path had nearly become all-rounders, diligently learning all related skills—coincidentally, Zhou Zhiyi was the extremely lopsided type.

He was an orthodox disciple of the Black-Head sect. Even though he had studied many exorcism and blessing techniques under his master and had long accompanied him to observe many similar practical scenarios, he simply had no affinity for that path. He was only good at one thing—"conducting requiems."

Ahem, to put it more simply, that was "killing ghosts."

As his master put it: "This child has a special innate fate, naturally heavy with killing aura. His own yin evil energy is too strong, making him unsuitable for blessing, house-settling, luck-enhancing, or Feng Shui Li Qi techniques. He is only fit for guiding the deceased and pacifying souls, entering the Tao through yin matters."

Thus, for Zhou Zhiyi's education, his master tailored the teaching to his aptitude, not letting him dabble in the miscellaneous yang techniques but instead specializing in the Black-Head system, using yin-matter methods to match his own fate, amplifying strengths and avoiding weaknesses.

As a result, Zhou Zhiyi went all in on the path of a "lopsided warrior," becoming a bona fide pure Black-Head Taoist.

So, no wonder, this aspect of him actually had some similarities to Xiao He's own fate.

This was also the first sigh uttered by the masters from the Tianshi Association after examining Xiao He's Eight Characters and facial features.

If there truly existed a concept of metaphysical ghost exorcism in the world, there was no doubt that someone like Xiao He was a natural-born "ghost-slaying warrior."

But of course, with the passage of time, the Black-Head sect had nearly faded into obscurity.

After all, nowadays, Celestial Masters mostly practiced a combination of exorcism, blessing, and soul-guiding arts, essentially developing in a well-rounded state. As for a "lopsided" Taoist like Zhou Zhiyi—young and unreliable—he looked extremely sketchy in the eyes of employers. So, after descending the mountain, he faced setbacks everywhere, almost reaching the point where he couldn't afford to eat.

Yes, the protagonist of our "Dragon" script, when he reached into his pockets, found them even cleaner than his face. It was said to be a journey of training down the mountain, but when you rounded it up, he was essentially a "fresh graduate" who couldn't find a job—a miserable workhorse, bumping into walls everywhere in society.

Besides, which industry wasn't cutthroat these days?

Almost every industry was ridiculously competitive!

Even this meal ticket of being a Celestial Master wasn't just sought after by orthodox lineage disciples. It also included other sects and branches, as well as shameless scammers—

The worst were those scammers. Their silver tongues were truly impressive. They could spout anything off the top of their heads, mixing truth with lies, making employers obedient and compliant. Then, with a clear conscience, they tarnished the reputation of whatever sect they were impersonating, pocketing the fragrant money while doing disgusting things to others.

As for Zhou Zhiyi, who had real skills, he was squeezed out with no room for employment.

So, at his wit's end, Zhou Zhiyi encountered two companions who shared the same predicament.

All three of them, due to their respective issues, couldn't make a name for themselves in the metaphysical path. They were even close to being unable to afford food or support themselves.

Thus, after some deliberation, the three of them made a decision that went against the doctrines of the Taoist sect—