I run a Taoist temple in a bizarre world.

Chapter 106 Hunting the Shadow

Back at Qingshan Temple.

Chi Le pushed open the door to the main hall.

In the right side hall of the courtyard, there was an extra chair.

Chen Cheng brought a chair from his own room and placed it in the right side hall.

"Master, you're back again."

Chen Cheng sat alone in the right side hall, toying with a delicate ice flower that looked like it had been meticulously carved.

He greeted Chi Le as she walked out of the main hall.

Chi Le nodded, the wisps of mist swirling around his head as a response to Chen Cheng's greeting.

Chen Cheng moved his feet onto the chair, squatted down, stretched, and tilted his head back to look at Chi Le.

"Master, is it necessary to open the mountain gate tonight as well?"

In Chen Cheng's view, the misty head of the "upside-down" abbot swayed from side to side.

"How could this happen—"

Upon receiving Chi Le's response, Chen Cheng pouted, a look of disappointment on her face.

"We won't see those oddballs with their nice talk today either."

Since Chen Cheng took over as the temple keeper of Qingshan Temple, eerie fog has been shrouded in mist every night.

Those who return home during the day and are refreshed near the [Mountain Gate] are all welcomed and led to the temple by Chen Cheng, who then offers incense.

Once, Chen Cheng, who was bored, encountered two day travelers who came to Qingshan Temple.

One of them spoke with an accent that seemed to come from somewhere, and it had a comedic effect to it.

Plus, this guy is a chatterbox, and every sentence he says somehow manages to tickle Chen Cheng's funny bone.

She secretly listened to their conversation, suppressing her laughter all night.

It wasn't until dawn, when the two left Qingshan Temple, that Chen Cheng finally couldn't hold back his laughter any longer.

Even now, when Chen Cheng recalls it, the corners of his mouth still can't help but turn up in a smile.

Since that time, Chen Cheng would intentionally or unintentionally prick up his ears to listen to the conversations of the people who came to Qingshan Temple during the day.

Of course, the fact that people talk in a fun way during the day is one aspect.

Listening to their conversation, Chen Cheng also heard many strange things he had never heard of before.

This was extremely attractive to Chen Cheng.

Under Chi Le's arrangement.

She hadn't seen these fun day-returning people for two nights in a row.

It would be a lie to say that Chen Cheng wasn't disappointed.

But Chen Cheng was not dissatisfied with this.

The abbot has his own arrangements; at Qingshan Temple, everything revolves around the abbot.

This was not only due to the constraints imposed after becoming the temple keeper of Qingshan Temple, but also because she genuinely felt this way.

"If the [Mountain Gate] isn't open, what other plans does the Abbot have for tonight? If not, I'll go back to my room to rest. I've been practicing [Frost Flower Flying] all day, and even though staying in the [Right Side Hall] will help me recover quickly, lying down still feels more comfortable."

Chen Cheng spoke up, seeking Chi Le's opinion.

Chi Le thought for a moment and then asked in return.

How well do you master the "Frost Flowers Fly" skill?

Upon hearing this, Chen Cheng immediately jumped off the chair and changed his lazy sitting posture.

He then sat up straight, his back ramrod straight.

It's like a student who is suddenly checked by the teacher and asked how well they have completed their homework.

Chen Cheng replied with an upright and dignified expression, his eyes fixed straight ahead.

"Reporting to the Abbot, I feel alright!"

Chi Le stretched out his hand, raised it slightly as if to show Chen Cheng his strength.

Without delay, Chen Cheng flipped both hands simultaneously.

Two exquisite ice flowers appeared on the left and right palms respectively.

As soon as the ice flower appeared, Chen Cheng threw it onto the open ground inside the Taoist temple courtyard.

Snapped!

Before the ice flowers even touched the ground, they suddenly shattered into tiny ice crystals.

The tiny ice crystals floating in the air expanded instantly, transforming into two different ice balls before hitting the ground.

It looks like a water-filled balloon that has been punctured with a needle and is about to burst.

That wasn't all. The instant Chen Cheng threw out the two ice flowers, he used [Frost Flower Flight] again, condensing two more ice flowers in his hand.

As the first two ice flowers burst open and solidified into a large lump of ice, two new ice flowers appeared one after another.

This cycle repeated three times. Chen Cheng took a breath and said to Chi Le.

"Right now, I can only throw out six ice flowers in a row. Any more than that and I'll have to take a break."

"I've tried it. Without using the [Right Side Hall] to recover, with my current strength, I can only use it a maximum of ten times."

Frost flowers fluttered, condensing into ten ice flowers.

As Chi Le listened to Chen Cheng's explanation, he looked at the ice blocks formed by the bursting of ice flowers.

The range and damage are similar to last time, but the casting speed of [Frost Blossom] is slightly faster, and two can be used at once.

[It seems she has reached the limit before entering a higher rank. Simply repeating training is no longer meaningful for further improvement. She can only rely on the advancement ritual to reach the first rank.]

Having roughly grasped Chen Cheng's current strength, Chi Le said with satisfaction.

"Wait a minute, I might need you."

"Just like last time."

Chen Cheng frowned, puzzled for a moment, but quickly realized that the abbot was referring to that particular time.

The hunt for the "Fragrant Ghost" in Cuishui Village.

"Oh, I remember! When the [mountain gate] changes, I'll throw chunks of ice at the open [mountain gate]!"

"No problem, Abbot, I guarantee I'll complete the task!"

Chen Cheng immediately stood up from his chair, put his legs together, straightened his chest, and gave Chi Le a proper salute.

This made Chi Le feel like she was being saluted by a security guard at the gate.

"I learned all of this from there—"

Muttering to himself, Chi Le controlled the changes in the [Mountain Gate].

As the mist enveloping the mountain gate gradually dissipated, revealing a familiar scene through the open doorway, Chi Le began to move.

Chi Le arrived at the open space and stepped through the open mountain gate.

One step forward, and the world changes.

Under the cover of night, Chi Le once again arrived at the River God Temple in Heliu Town.

The River God Temple at this moment is basically the same as when I came here before.

There are two changes that can be described as striking.

One was the extra fresh fruit and dried dates on the long table.

These must be offerings made by the pilgrims who visited today.

The other two are incense burners in front of the statues of gods.

Inside, there were no longer just a few scattered, sparse sticks of incense.

Instead, the incense sticks were packed tightly together, leaving almost no empty space. The incense had burned down to the base, leaving only thin sticks.

If someone else comes and wants to light some incense sticks, he'd be completely at a loss for what to do in this situation.

The miraculous appearance of the river god today has indeed driven many people to come to the river god temple to offer incense.

He talked about his recent troubles, praying for peace and asking the river god to open his eyes.

After crossing the long table, Chi Le arrived in front of the river god statue.

A prompt appeared before my eyes.

[Should a shrine be built?]

[Note: The current construction conditions have been met.]

In Chi Le's view, the illusory projection of the [God] was fixed on a long table filled with offerings.

A shrine should not be placed in such a position.

Chi Yue made some adjustments.

Finally, the illusory projection of the shrine landed on the base of the river god statue.

The entire river god statue is perfectly encompassed within the niche's enclosure.

It looks like a simple wooden backing and top has been added to a river god statue that doesn't have any decorations.

Fortunately, the shrine has an environment-adaptive function.

They actively adapted to the overall style of the river god temple and the river god statue.

This ensures that the shrine that now appears will not seem too out of place in the river god temple.

This should reduce the confusion among the townspeople of Heliu Town who will come to the River God Temple tomorrow to offer incense to the River God statue.

When did a shrine appear on the river god statue?

Judging from its appearance, it must have been there long ago.

There are probably quite a few townspeople who share this kind of thinking.

However, even if they discovered a new shrine-like component on the river god statue, it was no big deal.

The visitors only care about burning incense; they don't really care about anything else.

[Successfully consumed 50 Incense Sticks and 30 Ghost Cores.]

[Architecture: The shrine has been completed in Heliu Town.]

The shrine accepts incense offerings from others, and the resulting incense offerings are added to the main incense offering pool of Qingshan Temple.

[Note: The area around the shrine is free of eerie mist and can serve as a makeshift shelter.]

[Note: The current Qingshan Temple is at the second level, and up to three shrines can exist simultaneously.]

[Note: Current number of shrines: 2/3]

The incense and ghost cores prepared in advance for building the shrine have all been used up.

The illusory images of the shrines surrounding the river god statue quickly solidified.

In no time, a shrine that completely enveloped the river god statue was completed.

Chi Le checked back and forth to confirm that the location of the shrine was as he had envisioned.

He immediately summoned the "Mountain Gate" and was about to step through the misty entrance.

call out!

Two unidentifiable objects, already blurring into afterimages, shot out from behind the door.

Fortunately, Chi Zhuan positioned the location where the [Mountain Gate] was summoned behind him, outside the Pishen Temple.

Furthermore, the doorway was not directly facing him.

That's how he avoided being hit directly by those two afterimages.

thump!

The afterimage that missed the bricks crashed into the nearby ripples, making two muffled splashes.

At the same time, there was a crisp sound of shattering, mixed with the sound of flowing water.

In the darkness and fog.

Two ice lumps, each about half a meter tall, appeared and floated on the surface of the cloak outside the cloak temple.

"Chen Cheng————"

Realizing who was behind the afterimage that appeared behind the mountain gate, Chi Zhuan immediately closed the mountain gate.

Before the mountain gate closed, two more afterimages appeared, exploding into two lumps of ice at the masked area.

The four ice blocks in a row not only made Chi Zhuan personally experience Chen Cheng's current strength.

It also brought him an unexpected bonus.

[Successfully defeated the low-ranking demon, Blackwater Carp, and obtained Blackwater Carp's whiskers.]

To Chi Zhuan's surprise, instead of hitting his ice block, he accidentally killed a demon.

It's hard to say whether to praise Chen Cheng, the instigator, for his good luck, or to say that this demon was just too unlucky.

Instead of opening the [Mountain Gate], Chi Zhuan summoned a door that led directly to the main hall of Qingshan Temple, a door that only he could pass through, and stepped out.

And in Qingshan Temple.

Chen Cheng was standing in front of the mountain gate.

Two slowly swirling ice flowers hung in her hands, her gaze fixed on the misty, closed gate of the mountain.

Although puzzled as to why the abbot closed the mountain gate after he had only thrown four ice flowers.

But she still held the ice flower in her hand, waiting for the [mountain gate] to open again.

Why the abbot closed the door was not something she should be concerned with.

What she really needed to consider was how to accurately and quickly throw the ice flower in her hand into the open [mountain gate].

In.

Back at the pond of Qingshan Temple, after seeing Chen Cheng so serious...

She let out a soft sigh.

Then he came up behind Chen Cheng.

He stretched out his open palm and pressed it against Chen Cheng's bag.

The sudden touch on his head startled Chen Cheng.

I instinctively wanted to throw the ice flower in my hand at the person touching my pocket.

But upon catching a glimpse of the swaying mist and realizing where she was, she stopped moving.

"Guanzhu!"

"When did Donburi get back?!"

The ice flower melted in Chen Cheng's hands, and the force from your bag was just right for her.

This made Chen Cheng open his eyes.

"Master—what are you doing?"

Rubbing Chen Cheng's bag with one hand did not immediately ease Chi Zhuan's mood.

So Chi Le simply pressed both hands down on Chen Cheng's head at the same time.

"Waaah—Master—"

Chen Cheng, still not understanding what had happened, lifted his bag slightly, looking at Chi Zhuan with bewildered eyes.

After ravaging it, Chi Zhuan withdrew his hand and returned to his previous calm.

The complicated feelings of almost being hit by the temple keeper's [Frost Flower Flying] ability by a twist of fate have eased somewhat.

"Having used your ability, go to the [Right Side Hall] to recover first. After opening the [Mountain Gate], you can use your ability again."

Upon hearing Chi Zhuan's words, Chen Cheng, who was straightening the stray hairs sticking up on his bag, subconsciously replied.

"No problem, Abbot!"

On his way to the right side hall, Chen Cheng touched the top of his head with his finger.

The abbot's actions just now may have messed up his hair.

But it doesn't feel too difficult to accept.

Unable to know Chen Cheng's inner thoughts, Chi Zhuan summoned the panel to check how many incense sticks were left at Qingshan Temple.

Current number of worshippers: 37

Just now, at the Pishen Temple in Liuzhen, fifty incense sticks were spent to build a shrine.

The current inventory of incense from pool bricks is not very healthy.

"It can summon [Water-Splitting and General-Slaying] three more times —"

The limited supply of incense made Chi Zhuan hesitate about whether to formally confront the dark figure outside the temple tonight.

"That's enough; we can't afford to delay any longer—"

The appearance of members of the Institute of Industrial Patrol outside the training camp made Chi Le feel a bit of pressure.

If I manage to hunt down the shadowy evil spirit tonight, I might just obtain the [Awakening Mist] that I can use.

This will grant him extraordinary abilities, allowing him to officially enter the ranks of the extraordinary and become a true day-returner.

If one's own strength is improved, even if the Imperial Academy returns to the training grounds again.

Not to mention interfering in the conflict between the Special Affairs Bureau and the Industrial Inspection Institute.

At least in the event of a potential conflict, the pool bricks would provide some resistance.

So that when faced with danger, they wouldn't have no choice but to return to Qingshan Temple.

"If all else fails, consider it a way to gauge the strength of the shadowy evil spirit!"

Having made up his mind, Chi Zhuan had an idea.

The mist swirling around the mountain gate moved swiftly.

On each rising cloud of mist, a place that symbolized the location once connected by the [Mountain Gate] flashed by.

Finally, the rapidly swirling mist above the mountain gate subsided.

squeak~

The mountain gate is open, and it is located at the outside of the gate.

It was that dark figure lurking near Qingshan Temple.

It seemed to have sensed something.

The dark figure looked towards [

[Mountain Gate]

Location.