Chapter 12

Translator: Atlas Studios

Editor: Atlas Studios

“Wait a minute. This power of incense is different from a blessed magical artifact!”

Enjoying the catharsis brought to him by his blessed bracelet, Chen Hao acutely sensed its unusualness.

Because as he was undergoing the catharsis, he could visibly feel that the power of incense on the Buddha beads was weakening.

Chen Hao was perplexed. He hurriedly observed, then found that it was indeed different, making him feel speechless.

Because the Buddha beads had absorbed the power of incense, it was still dissipating, but the rate at which it was dissipating was much slower than compared to when it was within the Buddha statue. Moreover, the power of incense that dissipated from the Buddha beads he was wearing was partially absorbed into his own body, while most of it dissipated in the air.

Could he have had the wrong idea? Even if it absorbed this power of incense, in the end, the power of incense merely changed vessels. Weren’t his powers enhanced by even a bit?

After a long pause, Chen Hao sighed out loud.

Indeed, there wasn’t a shortcut to becoming stronger. He overthought things.

If he wanted to improve the grade of the magical artifacts, he still had to work hard in his missions and obtain Dao Attainments, then bless the artifacts himself. If it was an external power, it would at most merely be stored and wouldn’t increase his powers at all.

But this power of incense had excellent use. The energy that he expended after blessing the magical artifacts was replenished in an instant. It was quite a good mana bug1.

It seemed like the power of incense that he borrowed was able to replenish his energy instead.

Chen Hao’s eyes glinted unsteadily, thoughts churning wildly in his head.

After coming out of Spring Temple, Chen Hao returned to the downtown area and went into the street selling small goods once more and began sweeping goods.

This time, with the power of incense as his backing, Chen Hao spent several thousand yuan to purchase tens of items.

After getting back to his rented apartment, Chen Hao locked his door and excitedly began blessing the items he just purchased.

He blessed more than ten items in one go.

By the end of it, Chen Hao found out, to his surprise, that the power of incense on the blessed bracelet was depleted.

The blessed bracelet went back to its original appearance, and the warm power of incense disappeared completely.

Chen Hao was exasperated.

He had only finished blessing one-third of the items he purchased! How did it disappear just like this? The power of incense was way too weak!

Come to think of it, every time he regained his energy, a large part of the power of incense seemed to dissipate. This was too wasteful. Chen Hao felt heartache.

But he didn’t dare to continue blessing the artifacts anymore. Without the power of incense to replenish his energy, he didn’t wish to relive that experience of having his energy completely depleted.

Anyway, now that he found out about the mana bug effect of the power of incense, he could simply go back and do it again.

He had blessed more than ten magical artifacts and that should be sufficient for himself. Even if he was unlucky and ran into a ferocious ghost, even if he didn’t manage to defeat it, he could at least run away.

Simply relying on the power of incense wasn’t a viable solution, either. After all, there were different grades to a blessed magical artifact.

Dharmic Aura, Spirit Aura, Treasure Aura—these were the three different grades of magical artifacts.

The first level, Dharmic Aura. One could simply rely on his energy to bless the item with his aura. But the second level, Spirit Aura, without Dao Attainment, one couldn’t achieve it.

Hence, the power of incense could only serve as an emergency object during his newbie stage. He had to think of ways to help more ghosts and obtain Dao Attainment. That was the proper way.

After dispelling the idea of finding the power of incense, Chen Hao began sorting out the magical artifacts he blessed this time around.

There were thirteen items in total—one copper-coin sword, five jade Buddhas, five Guanyin statues, one God of Fortune wooden figurine, and one bronze Eight Trigram.

These thirteen items each had a different effect.

The copper-coin sword and bronze Eight Trigram were blessed with the powers to eliminate evil—they could cause harm to ghosts and suppress evil spirits. Chen Hao would be using this himself and wouldn’t possibly let someone else have it.

As for the jade Buddha and wooden figurine of the God of Fortune, these could be sold for money.

The jade Buddha and jade Guanyin had the same nature—protecting the body and fending off evil forces. At a close distance, it had a certain lethality towards ghosts and evil spirits. But the value of the God of Fortune wooden figurine was above that of the jade Buddha because, after the items were blessed, Chen Hao discovered that the God of Fortune wooden figurine had turned into a fengshui magical artifact, so it now had the effect of bringing in wealth and protecting the house.

If it was used in a fengshui setup, the effects of this God of Fortune wooden figurine would be even more obvious—it would certainly become a necessity for one running a business.

Of course, because it only had the effects of one layer of Dharmic Aura, the powers of these blessed magical artifacts weren’t that great. Also, they had a certain lifespan.

The God of Fortune wooden figurine was alright, for it was carved out of old wood and wouldn’t spoil easily. If properly maintained by using a proper fengshui setup, it might be in good condition for even longer.

However, as for the jade items, Chen Hao estimated the effects of each piece was at most two or three years. If the owner ran into a sudden situation, it would immediately erupt and then completely lose efficacy.

This made him helpless. Unless it was a Treasure Aura level magical artifact that could restore itself, even if the item was blessed, it wouldn’t keep its efficacy forever.

Dao Attainment, everything relied on Dao Attainment!

Sighing, Chen Hao called Zhou Gang and learned that the latter had gotten home, so he said he would be there soon.

After hanging up the phone, Chen Hao took out a sack and placed the bronze Eight Trigram, copper-coin sword, and amulet into it, then slung it over his shoulder.

Speaking of which, this cloth bag was really just right for Daoist priests, with its dull yellow color and Eight Trigram design. It was the kind usually saw in supernatural movies. Chen Hao had discovered this in the corner of a shop when he was shopping. The bag was covered with a layer of dust when he found it.

It was only after asking that he found out that, actually, this kind of bag was trendy for a period of time, but the fad quickly passed. He had brought in a huge batch of stock and ended up stuck with them. In the end, he really wasn’t able to sell them. Hence, he returned the stock. If Chen Hao hadn’t found it, the shop owner wouldn’t have realized he left out this one bag when he returned the rest.

As a future great master, how could he not have such an accessory—a Daoist cloth bag! Chen Hao bought it without any hesitation.

Half an hour later, he arrived at Zhou Gang’s house.

An apron-clad Yang Hui opened the door and, upon seeing it was Chen Hao, welcomed him in warmly.

“You’re here, pal. Come, come, quickly sit down. My wife knew you were coming, so she cooked her signature Sichuan Stewed Fish. Even I rarely get to taste it.” Zhou Gang, who was bringing out the food, chuckled and greeted Chen Hao seeing him enter.

Tongtong, who was playing by herself, ran over with a smile on her face and asked for a hug at the sight of him. Chen Hao lifted her into his arms and planted a forceful kiss on her face, beaming broadly. Then, Chen Hao looked towards the sumptuous dining table in the living room and said with a smile, “So many dishes, you shouldn’t have gone to such expense.”

“It’s just a casual meal, didn’t cost much money. Hurry up. Sit down and have a good drink with him. The soup’s still cooking in the kitchen, I’ll go and check on it.” Yang Hui laughed, then went into the kitchen.

Zhou Gang winked and said with a chuckle, “Brother, you’re really my lucky star. My wife doesn’t usually allow me to drink alcohol. Even if a happy occasion arises, she’ll only let me have half a cup. Ever since you came, I finally get to satisfy my craving for alcohol slightly.”

Chen Hao hurriedly said, “Brother Zhou, spare me. The last time I drank with you, I went back and slept for half a day. This time, I don’t dare to drink recklessly.”

Zhou Gang quickly said with a serious expression, “This won’t do. In China we have a drinking culture, it’s in our heritage to drink. If you’re a man, you can’t refuse to drink. This Maotai wine today, I got it from my superior. This wine is excellent. I guarantee it won’t go to your head.”

The helpless Chen Hao could only give up struggling. However, he pondered in his heart what blessed magical artifact could let him drink without getting drunk. When he had the chance, he must create one to protect himself.