Maoshan Magic in Plain English: I Made Taoist Arts Go Viral on Livestream

To keep his dilapidated Taoist temple afloat, Maoshan streamer Lin Xuan is forced to explain folk customs and taboos. But every explanation comes true, and his viewers go from watching for laughs to begging him: “Reverend, please stop talking!” He modernizes Taoist arts: being possessed is “a bug,” comments are protective incantations, and opening an altar is “queuing up with the gods on their server.” Every like from a viewer becomes cultivation through his “Faith of the People” System. When every supernatural incident points to a nationwide “folk curse ritual,” Lin Xuan smiles at the cameras watched by billions. “Folks, get those comments ready. This time, we're going live with the nationwide beta test!”