Novels like Folk Taoist Talismans
Books Chinese readers most often put in the same booklists as Folk Taoist Talismans, best match first.
- 1 Strange Folk Tales of Feng Shui 民间风水奇闻 A celestial coffin for burial, a forbidden spell to return to life, a corpse demon of the Southern Sea, an inn between yin and yang... From the moment I accidentally broke a feng shui master’s taboo, my life was doomed to be anything but peaceful. Second Grandpa says it’s karma, a trial I’m fated to face, and a mission I have no choice but to complete... 192Reads—Score—Shelves
- 2 Autobiography of a Folk Taoist Priest 民间道士自传 How should I describe the first half of my life as a folk Taoist priest? It’s a long story, and hard to tell. To sum it up, over the past few decades I have had a few drinks, smoked a few cigarettes, flirted with a few women, and felt a little melancholy. 1.1kReads8.7Score105Shelves
- 3 The Grudge-Bearing Spirit Cinema: The Life-or-Death Exam 怨灵电影院【生死考题】 [Light Horror + Exam Questions + Puzzles and Paths to Survival + Fresh New Infinite-Flow Scenarios] The Cursed Cinema is home to the accursed. Whenever a new movie premieres on the silver screen, a group of actors enters the door of death in search of the door to survival... It wasn't until Qi Yuan filmed his first horror movie that he realized acting according to the script was only the beginning, and the exam questions weren't the end. Only the final escape, solving the puzzles and finding the —Reads—Score—Shelves
- 4 Tales of Terror from the Ghost Contract 诡契惊魂录 Lin Shen lives an ordinary life until the inexplicable deaths of his parents drag him into endless darkness. His mother hangs herself from an ancient locust tree in Fengmen Village, while his father leaves behind a blood-written message saying, “Don’t touch the bronze mirror,” before setting himself on fire. After inheriting the ancestral Book of Yin Contracts, Lin Shen is forced to make pacts with vengeful ghosts. He gains the ability to communicate with spirits, but becomes trapped in a double —Reads—Score—Shelves
- 5 Keeper of the Hearth: I Receive the Immortals in Northeast China 守灶人，我在东北领仙 A Northeast Chinese folk-custom tale about inviting celestial spirits. The Hearth Guardians protect homes and drive out evil, delivering hard-hitting tales of spirit warriors. The last Hearth Guardian holds the line in Northeast China! He commands celestial spirit troops, subdues vicious ghosts across the land, handles the strange affairs of spirit mediums, and protects the peace and warmth of the human world. Let no evil draw near! You know about the spirit mediums of Northeast China, but if yo 3Reads7.3Score—Shelves
- 6 The Underworld Shop 阴间铺子 [No System + traditional story + male and female leads + supernatural tales] After losing my job, I took over this funeral parlor, but all sorts of supernatural incidents started happening at night. Burned-to-death ghosts, drowned ghosts... After the parlor, a yellow weasel spirit that had become an adult made a bone-chilling discovery... Challenges faced together with my childhood sweetheart from elementary school. 40Reads—Score—Shelves
- 7 Laid Off and Driving a Taxi, I Get Haunted by Evil Spirits 被裁后开出租，我被邪物缠上了 After being laid off, 28-year-old Wang Chao starts driving a taxi to make ends meet. Little does he know that a host of evil entities are about to latch onto him. A mysterious woman in white, a strange old lady in worn-out clothes, a gaunt cemetery caretaker, and an elusive fat man... One after another, these figures drag him into a vortex he cannot escape... 3Reads—Score—Shelves
- 8 Strange Tales of Folk Feng Shui 民间风水奇谭 In 2013, hundreds of thousands of fish died in Liaozhong Reservoir; ghosts roamed the streets of Tawan; a sinister market appeared in Wenguantun; and a Qing princess rode in a sedan chair outside Shenyang Imperial Palace. But could these all be the work of nature? I am a feng shui master. Over the past ten years, I've saved many people, and harmed some as well. I wrote this book to warn the world: “Feng shui can nurture people, but it can also kill.” But the law itself is neither good nor evil. 515Reads5.3Score102Shelves
- 9 Master of Folk Forbidden Arts 民间禁术大师 Forbidden arts are forbidden because they're too powerful, powerful enough to make even Heaven afraid. But I will break through the restraints and cultivate forbidden arts. I will become the greatest master of forbidden arts in the Three Realms. I will avenge my enemies, protect my loved ones, and roam wherever I please, from the heavens to the depths of the earth... 1.5kReads7.4Score216Shelves
- 10 Supernatural Revival: From the Start, I Bet on a Livestream from a Psychiatric Hospital 灵异复苏开局对赌直播精神病院 Haunted House Livestream: Three Million to Save a Life. The People of Longguo Never Bow Their Heads [Supernatural revival + No System + No saintly protagonist + Fresh plot + Escape + Exploration + Crime solving + Not dark] Chen Feng opens his eyes in a foot massage parlor to find himself three million in debt and his younger sister on the brink of death! A mysterious creditor offers him a deal: livestream three trips into deadly places, and the money and your life are yours. The first stop is 2Reads—Score—Shelves
- 11 The Laughing Underworld Chronicles 笑冥录 “If an almanac could turn you into a ghost right on schedule, but the price was wearing a dead person’s clothes once a day, would you use it?” Top-voted answer (by the poster “Lord Wuchang Has No More Years of Life Today”): “Thanks for the invite. I’m in the underworld, just got off the night shift.” 1Reads—Score—Shelves
- 12 The Book of Lu Ban 鲁班书 My whole family was cursed with a spell of loathing. My parents attacked each other for no reason, and my grandmother died trying to break up the fight. The next day, my parents were in a car accident. My grandfather told me our family was being targeted, and that we had to leave if we wanted to survive. I was forced to leave home and live under someone else’s roof. But he still wouldn’t leave me alone. All I could do was take up the Luban Book my grandfather left behind and fight my way to surv 2.1kReads8.0Score241Shelves
- 13 The Maoshan Sect Leader 茅山掌教 The Dao is the foundation of the Way; arts are how it is put to use. Hidden soul-binding talismans, a life of poverty and an early death for initiates, the three Maos’ upper, middle, and lower teachings, and secret arts that leave ghosts and gods in awe! The most mysterious final patriarch of Maoshan leads his disciple Zhang Shouyi across the land, exorcising demons, exploring dangerous places in search of treasures, resolving ancient grudges, and roaming both the realms of yin and yang as he li 1.1kReads6.7Score100Shelves
- 14 A Corrupted Heart 糜烂之心 Deep inside the Luocheng Police Department, a metal filing cabinet labeled “Bloodstained Files” holds dozens of long-unsolved, grisly cases. Each one once shocked the nation with its bizarre deaths, but limited forensic technology at the time meant they were ultimately filed away as “unsolved.” In 2025, advances in forensic science prompted the department to launch the “Bloodstained Files Resolution Project.” The first case to be reopened was the most controversial of them all: the “Terrifying P 42Reads—Score—Shelves
- 15 The Folk Ghost Hunter 民间捉鬼人 This novel tells the true story of an old man from our village. His name was Li Zhengyu, and he was an extraordinary practitioner of the occult. Born in a small village in the mountains of Lingnan, he became tainted by yin energy after being haunted by the ghosts of a mother and daughter, and repeatedly encountered supernatural beings. By chance, he met a master of Daoist arts and began his journey of cultivation, changing the course of his life. Evil Maoshan curses, poison and witchcraft, treas 1.3kReads9.0Score—Shelves
- 16 The Hilarious Illustrated Guide to the Tao Te Ching 道德经爆笑讲解版 The Dao De Jing, Explained in Hilarious Fashion 76Reads—Score—Shelves
- 17 The Man Buried Upside Down 倒着埋的人 The Man Buried Upside Down 7Reads—Score—Shelves
- 18 Tales of a Taoist Priest 道士往事 Join me as I uncover the Three Realms, the Heavenly Court, the Thirty-Three Heavens, blessed grotto-heavens, magic arts, golden pills, ancient times, Gu, Zhuyou healing, feng shui, fortune-telling, divination, investigating and reading cases... demons, devils, ghosts, monsters, imps, evil masters and fallen saints... as well as the modern-day Imperial Observatory! The Three Teachings trace their origins to the Dao, which stands above the empty titles of Confucianism and Buddhism. Golden scriptur 43Reads—Score—Shelves
- 19 Mysterious Curse 1 神秘诅咒1 [Supernatural Mystery + Urban Cultivation + Folk Taboos + A Passionate Coming-of-Age Story] Enter a sinister world concealed beneath the bustle of the modern city! I have no control over life or death. My name is Zhang Wen. I thought getting into college would let me escape that bleak village in the southwest. Then my grandfather died suddenly, with these words written in cinnabar on his palm: "Dig three feet down at the southeast corner of the wall." I unearthed a bloodstained notebook. Its fir 6Reads—Score—Shelves
- 20 My Sister Went on a Trip to Nanyang and Disappeared! 我妹妹去南洋旅游，就失踪了！ My Younger Sister Went on a Trip to Nanyang and Disappeared! 25Reads—Score—Shelves
- 21 Someone New Appeared in the Footage 录像里多出一个人 The test shoot’s discarded footage was four seconds longer. Everyone in the frame held the same poses they had at the end of filming. No one moved. I counted three times. There were six people every time. But only five people had been there that day. On the hard drive my mother left behind, there was an empty folder with a four-character name: Do Not Fast-Forward. In the recycle bin was a deleted video, four minutes and twenty-five seconds long, which couldn’t be recovered. Our production crew w 3Reads—Score—Shelves
- 22 Strange Tales, Volume 1 奇闻诡事录1 This is a collection of folk tales about the uncanny, strange accounts from across the land. Each chapter is a complete story, each tale a separate supernatural mystery, revealing the mysteries of yin and yang, folk taboos, and the obsessions of the dead. You never know when a casual remark might draw the attention of spirits lurking in the wilderness; when an old object you pick up might hold the memory of a tragic death; or when an everyday habit might already have crossed a forbidden boundary 20Reads—Score—Shelves
- 23 Republic-Era Notes on Summoning Evil 民国招邪笔记 Chinese-Style Horror + Episodic Mysteries + Ancestral Taboos + Republican-Era Suspense + Cursed Objects That Claim Lives Each supernatural case wraps up in three to five chapters. The pace is breakneck, with no dragging things out! Folk-horror elements: red wedding gowns, ancestral halls, midnight opera troupes... If you’re a scaredy-cat, read during the day. If you’re brave, listen to the audiobook at night for the full dose of terror. 78Reads—Score—Shelves
- 24 The Dream of the True Page Tao: A World Made Real from Illusions 真页道之梦化虚界 The supernatural returns, alongside alchemical arts, thunder magic, talismans, the 749 Bureau, and battles between Chinese and foreign practitioners. This is a secret chronicle of cultivation, ghost slaying, demon-smiting, and god-killing. Mysteries are gradually awakening. Where do ghosts, monsters, spirits, and demons come from? Immortals have attained the Dao, but the gods are hard to summon. The world is mired in desire. How can anyone cross over to safety? With the power of the Dream Realm, 227Reads8.0Score100Shelves
- 25 A Record of Strange Encounters 怪异见闻录 [Folk horror, Taoist exorcists, spirit mediums banishing evil, no romance, intelligent protagonist] My grandmother is a spirit medium. Just tonight, Uncle Bei from our village came to ask her to perform an exorcism. He said Auntie Liu from the village was actually a ghost? But Auntie Liu only came to my shop yesterday to buy paper money! And so began a series of strange encounters… that turned me from an ordinary person into someone with only three souls and six spirits left! 15Reads—Score—Shelves
- 26 My Master Gave Me a Car for Investigating the Supernatural 师父传我一辆看事儿车 A thousand-year-old van? Built by hand from scratch [Traditional horror]➕ [Even more immersive as an audiobook]➕ [Uncovering the truth about my origins] Greetings, dear readers! [Traditional supernatural horror, primal fear] The original experience of horror is the fear a person feels when experiencing it firsthand. [First person, highly atmospheric] Give me a chance to tell this story from my own point of view. [Uncovering the truth about my origins] Along the way, I met many people. “The gates 14Reads—Score—Shelves
- 27 After Prison, I Became the King of Feng Shui 出狱后，我成了风水之王 [One Female Lead + Plenty of Flirting + Mysterious Master + Empress of Zhao + Beautiful Gymnast + Policewoman + Beautiful Designer + Scheming Ex-Wife + Nine Chrysanthemum Sect + Battle over the Investiture of the Gods + Patriotic Hero] Five years ago, Yang Shaoyang went to prison to take the blame for his brother-in-law, who had been driving drunk. Five years later, Yang Shaoyang was released. But his scheming wife and brother-in-law not only failed to come greet him, they cruelly mocked 2kReads7.3Score150Shelves
- 28 The Dog Transformation Diaries: The Happy Working Lives of Pidan and Sanniu 变狗记：皮蛋与三妞的幸福打工记 The Dog Transformation: Pidan and Sanniu's Happy Working Life 2Reads—Score—Shelves
- 29 Heir to the Five Arts 五术传人 All the arts of divination under heaven fall into five branches. They are: Mountain, Medicine, Destiny, Divination, and Physiognomy. More specifically, they include magic, talismans and incantations, the Four Pillars of Destiny, Zi Wei Dou Shu, Qi Men Dun Jia, feng shui based on the principles of qi, face reading, bone reading, and more... Our Wei clan is the guiding principle behind all five arts. The five arts encompass everything and seize the workings of Heaven. Thus, only those blessed with 1.7kReads8.3Score171Shelves
- 30 The Great Scripture of the Mystic Truth 玄真大道经 Li Xuanxin was abandoned at birth on Mount Zhongnan, but fortunately, the reclusive Daoist master Qingxu took him in. He thought he could devote himself to cultivation in peace, far from worldly affairs. But then the funeral bells of Yongjia rang. The Five Barbarians’ cavalry trampled across the Central Plains, Luoyang fell, and bones lay exposed in the wilderness. Before ascending, his master left him a prophecy: “Heaven and Earth are sealed, and the laws are incomplete. To seek the Great Way, 2Reads—Score—Shelves
- 31 A Collection of Ancient Folk Tales of the Supernatural 古代民间灵异故事合集听来的故事 A hugely popular collection on Tomato Listen, featuring rule-based horror, infinite-loop survival, folk customs and taboos, deranged killers, deadly survival instances, feng shui, livestreaming, modern technology, and many other kinds of horror. Volume One: Classical ghost stories. A blend of modern and classical taboos: never look in the mirror at midnight, someone is under the bed... A wedding sedan, an old well, an ancestral shrine, a nighttime opera... Any ordinary thing can become a spirit; 4Reads—Score—Shelves
- 32 The Exorcist’s Journal 伏魔笔记实录 I was born in a mysterious village in Chaoshan, amid violent storms and the strange disappearance of my family. From childhood, I was different from other people: I could see ghosts that no one else could. This unusual ability left me misunderstood, but it also led me into Grandma's mysterious world. Under her influence, I became fascinated by yin-yang and the Eight Trigrams, feng shui, and the art of destiny. Little by little, I learned that mysterious forces unknown to the world were hidden al 4Reads—Score—Shelves
- 33 The Maoshan Daoist: Quest for the Tripod Across the Nine Provinces 茅山道士，九州寻鼎记 It is only natural for Maoshan to have Daoist priests, and it is easy enough to accept that ghosts and monsters exist in the world. But a Dragon Palace in Weishan Lake? Does that surprise you? Chen Gangdan, whose ancestors belonged to the imperial family, was blessed in misfortune as a child when he was taught Maoshan magic. But he unexpectedly discovered that his bloodline was deeply afflicted by a curse. The same curse had also befallen two other people. What secret do they share? How can the 9Reads—Score—Shelves
- 34 Xuanyuan’s Great War Against Chiyou 轩辕大战蚩尤 [No System, no harem, no clichés, not a wish-fulfillment story, not for beginners] The legacy of Daoist learning, the turbulent world of mountains and seas, and the ancient struggle for supremacy: this is an epic retelling of the legendary battles between the Chinese ancestors Huangdi, Yandi, and the Great Emperor Chiyou for control of Zhuolu. Based on the Classic of Mountains and Seas and grounded in the Hetu and Luoshu, this novel unravels the origins of yin and yang, the five elements, and th 84Reads—Score—Shelves
- 35 Maoshan Taoist Arts: The Way of Heaven 茅山道法之天道 In The Maoshan Daoist Arts: The Heavenly Way, Li Yunfei becomes a Maoshan disciple by a stroke of luck and embarks on a journey to vanquish demons and exorcise evil. Demons, devils, and ghosts across the Three Realms all tremble at the sound of his name... 133Reads—Score—Shelves
- 36 The Haunted Inn 恐怖旅店 A new graduate faces the toughest job market in years and, with no other options, applies for a night receptionist position at an inn. On my first day, I was told that the job had two requirements. First, I must not speak to the guests. Second, I must not leave the front desk. 512Reads8.0Score103Shelves
- 37 Qi Refining: From Beginner to Golden Core 练气：入门到结丹 In the beginning, the universe was a formless, chaotic void, without clarity or murkiness, yin or yang. Only the “Primordial Breath” existed. Silent and still, it responded when stirred. It had no visible form or discernible shape, yet it was the source of heaven, earth, and all things. Thus the opening of Liezi: The Book of Tianrui says: “That which has form is born from that which has no form. From what, then, could heaven and earth have arisen? It is said that there was the Great Change, the 153Reads—Score—Shelves
- 38 The Legend of Situ Shankong 司徒山空传 The rags-to-riches journey from teahouse server to grandmaster. The extraordinary life of an old Taoist from eastern Sichuan, spanning seventy years! 3.2kReads8.9Score960Shelves
- 39 I Became Shi Jian's Disciple: While Others Cultivate the Dao, I Cultivate Immortality 拜师石坚，别人修道我修仙 (Taoist cultivation + reborn transmigration + System + fantasy monsters and ghosts + no female lead + not a goody-goody) Li Shengyi is reborn and transmigrates to the Republican era. He becomes the direct disciple of Shi Jian, the Maoshan Sect’s senior disciple and the Lightning Dharma King. With magic in his left hand and the System at his fingertips, he cultivates immortality while others practice Taoism. He travels across famous mountains and rivers, upholds the justice he believes in, and fi 1.8kReads8.0Score104Shelves
- 40 The Ruyi Teahouse 如意茶馆 In a lively old town stands a century-old teahouse where residents and passing travelers come to rest. Who could have guessed the true meaning of the words “as you wish”? As you wish, as he wishes, or... as it wishes! 5Reads—Score—Shelves
- 41 I Blundered into a Horror World, Only to Find That All the Bosses Were Lamps 误入恐怖世界，没想到BOSS全是灯 I stumbled into a world of horror, only to find that every BOSS was a lamp. 10Reads—Score—Shelves
- 42 Ghosts in Pieces 散装见鬼 Do you believe there are ghosts in this world? I think that question is as impossible to answer as whether there are dragons in this world. The answer you hear most often is: Believe in them, and they exist. Don’t believe in them, and they don’t. But if you ask me, my answer is simple: Yes! Not because I believe, but because I can see them. Of course, I wasn’t able to see them from birth. It all goes back to the strange experience I had when I was six... 32Reads—Score—Shelves
- 43 The Yin and Yang of the Mist 迷雾阴阳 The Municipal Public Security Bureau's Special Cases Investigation Division, or Special Investigations Division for short, specializes in supernatural incidents that defy rational explanation. Shen Yanzhi, an officer in the division who is calm, rational, and skilled in talismans and spells, meets Lin Mo, a descendant of a family of yin-yang masters whose bloodline can suppress evil forces and whose gentle nature conceals a stubborn streak, while investigating a case. Together, they gradually un 29Reads—Score—Shelves
- 44 The Vengeful Ghost Great-Grandma Wants to Kill My Daughter, but My Pure Yang Infant Shatters a Century-Old Blood Pact 厉鬼太奶想杀我女，我纯阳婴镇碎百年血契 A Vengeful Ghost of a Great-Grandmother Wants to Kill My Daughter, but My Pure-Yang Baby Shatters a Century-Old Blood Pact 3Reads—Score—Shelves
- 45 After My Brother Was Crushed by a Tycoon Family, I Summoned the Ten Kings of Hell to Claim Their Lives 弟遭豪门碾杀，我引十殿阎罗索命 After his younger brother is crushed to death by a powerful family, he summons the Ten Kings of Hell to claim their lives 16Reads—Score—Shelves
- 46 Paralyzed by Terror: The Shadow That Smelled of Tobacco 鬼压床惊魂-那具带着烟草味的黑影 Terrifying Sleep Paralysis: The Shadow That Smelled of Tobacco 17Reads—Score—Shelves
- 47 The Tiger Skin: Three Years After My Mother Died, Someone Knocked at My Door in the Dead of Night 皮打虎：我娘死后三年，深夜来敲我家门 Leather Tiger: Three Years After My Mother Died, Someone Came Knocking at My Door Late at Night 2Reads—Score—Shelves
- 48 The Age of Declining Dharma: I Fought My Way from the White Mountains and Black Waters to Ascension 末法时代：我从白山黑水杀到飞升 In an age when spiritual energy has run dry and the era of cultivation is ending, I became the last cultivator in the world. My parents were stained with blood in Songhe Town, and my sister’s fate was unknown. At thirteen, I fled into the deepest part of Baishan, carrying a damaged Daoist scripture passed down through my family. 62Reads—Score—Shelves
- 49 The Corpse Leaps Over the Wall 尸跳墙 I’ve been blind since childhood, so I work as a massage therapist for the blind. Then one day, I met a terrifying woman who said she could restore my sight. The price was... 140Reads7.8Score—Shelves
- 50 He Was Eating Noodles at a Roadside Restaurant, When He Found a Human Eyeball in His Bowl! 他在路边餐馆吃面，竟然吃出了人眼珠子！ He was eating noodles at a roadside restaurant when he found a human eyeball in his bowl! 38Reads—Score—Shelves
