Chapter 58

Although it was regrettable that he couldn’t achieve Dao Attainment based on his own cultivation, at least he finally had Dao Attainment now. Plus, in the future, if he went on to do more missions, he would continue to obtain more Dao Attainment. There was nothing bad about this.

Chen Hao got his thinking sorted out, then happily started to study Dao Attainment.

This thing was way too novel for him—it was unbelievable like the internal energy in a wuxia novel[1].

Such as using Dao Attainment to bless magical artifacts—that allowed him to obtain true magical artifacts.

Such as using Dao Attainment to draw amulets—that would unleash the true powers of the amulets.

Such as using Dao Attainment to practice Dipper Steps—that allowed him to leap onto roofs and vault over walls.

Dao Attainment was the foundation of a cultivator. Without Dao Attainment, everything was futile.

The system imparted him with detailed information about all aspects of Dao Attainment. Now, Chen Hao had a sufficient understanding of the use of Dharmic power.

If Chen Hao went through all this information, he would possess the skills and capabilities of a genuine cultivator.

The excited Chen Hao couldn’t get to sleep, so he took out the magical artifact that he blessed earlier and began to experiment.

First, he used the magical artifacts he had with him.

Chen Hao first took out the peachwood bracelet and tested blessing it.

A blast of energy went from his lower abdomen to the bracelet. At that moment, the peachwood bracelet gave off an intense glow; even the beads on the bracelet appeared more translucent, resembling Chinese glass.

After that, Chen Hao received a notification.

[Peachwood bracelet, blessed magical artifact. Powers: protect the body, fend off evil forces, suppress evil, help in recuperation, and purify.]

Compared to before, there were now two additional abilities—suppress evil and purify.

As the name implied, suppressing evil meant that ordinary spirits and ghosts would be hurt when they came into contact with the bracelet. If the bracelet was used to trap the body of the spirit, the spirit would be destroyed.

Purifying was an even more magical power. So long as one brought the blessed bracelet everywhere he went, it would purify the air and viruses around him and cure many diseases.

Blessing would deplete two years of Dao Attainment.

Chen Hao’s eyes lit up initially, before furrowing his brows and letting out a sigh.

Indeed, there was no such thing as creating something out of nothing even though he was given the ability of blessing magical artifacts by the system.

This peachwood bracelet was just an ordinary object, and even though it could be blessed to become a magical artifact, it wouldn’t become an extraordinary item, and would still be a magical artifact of the Dharmic grade.

If he wished to create a spiritual artifact, he needed to be more selective about the objects he chose to bless. At least, those objects needed to have a spiritual nature about them, such as that Guan Yu figurine.

“Oh well, can’t force certain things. I’ll take my time. Sooner or later I’ll have everything.”

Chen Hao kept away these random thoughts and didn’t bless any more magical artifacts. Instead, he chose to sit cross-legged to recover his Dao Attainment.

He willed his Dharmic power to move from his lower abdomen and move along his meridians. It only took about fifteen minutes’ time to move one orbit.

He had recovered less than one-tenth of the two years’ Dao Attainment that he had depleted.

Chen Hao frowned lightly.

That meant he would take three hours to recover after blessing a magical artifact. This was too slow.

After all, blessing magical artifacts wasn’t the only thing in cultivation. There were also amulets and Dipper Steps, each requiring a lot of time to practice. If he couldn’t keep up the depletion of his Dharmic power, it would be a big drag on his cultivation overall.

Seems like he shouldn’t bless too many magical artifacts. Perhaps he should just prepare a few spares.

Thankfully, Chen Hao had made significant progress by now and no longer thought about relying on blessing magical artifacts to earn money. Else, if he solely relied on this means to earn money, the Pleasure Helping Spirit System would probably be destroyed or something.

Chen Hao took out another jade Guanyin and blessed it.

Spirit aura flickering, he received a notification.

[Jade Guanyin: Blessed magical artifact. Powers: protect the body, fend off evil forces, maintain health.]

[Blessing depleted two years of Dao Attainment.]

Chen Hao’s gaze flickered.

Although it depleted little Dao Attainment, the powers gained were relatively little too.

That meant that the effects of the blessing relied on the object itself—the better the object was, the greater the Dao Attainment depleted, and also, the better the effects of the blessing.

As he toyed with the seemingly warm jade Guanyin, Chen Hao felt curious.

This fake jade now appeared like genuine jade after the blessing. He wondered what it would end up like if he were to bless a genuine piece of jade.

If there was a chance, he had to experiment with it.

Subsequently, Chen Hao took out the copper-coin sword and bronze Eight Trigram and started blessing them.

The spirit aura flickered twice, and the two magical artifacts became more powerful.

[Copper-coin Sword: Blessed magical artifact. Powers: eliminate evil, give off warning.]

[Bronze Eight Trigram: Blessed magical artifact. Powers: suppress evil, eliminate evil, seal.]

[Blessing depleted four years of Dao Attainment.]

Those two magical artifacts now each had two new powers.

For the copper-coin sword, eliminating evil, give off warning; for the Bronze Eight Trigram, eliminating evil, seal.

It was alright for the copper-coin sword, for the results were as expected.

But there was something magical about the Bronze Eight Trigram—there was now a seal on it.

Chen Hao was surprised to see this seal, because this meant it was a sealed ability. Moreover, it wasn’t just limited to spirits, it also had a suppressing effect on demons and monsters.

Chen Hao glanced at the black cat. Hmm, this little fellow is a demon. Should I try out the effect?

The black cat was feeling bored and counting its claws, when suddenly it sensed malicious intent targeted at itself. Fur exploding, it instantly leaped up and sized up its surroundings with a dubious and confused look.

Who the f*ck is having designs on me?

Chen Hao was surprised.

I was merely thinking about it, and the cat sensed it? Has this fellow become so powerful? Darned cat. I spend so much money raising you, and you’re hiding so many things from me, your owner?

But Chen Hao ultimately gave up on the idea.

Who knew if that seal would cause other damage. If the black cat was injured by it, it would be no fun.

He then took out the God of Fortune figurine to bless it. Coincidentally, this time it depleted three years of his Dao Attainment, and his Dharmic power was completely depleted.

But the effects were not bad. Apart from bringing in wealth and protecting the house, it now had the additional powers of eliminating evil and accumulating energy. It was now a solid Feng Shui magical artifact.

What this good stuff lacked now, was a rich man who had an affinity with it.

After his experimentation, feeling highly satisfied with the result, Chen Hao kept away his magical artifacts and prepared to take a shower before sleeping.

In the few days that followed, Chen Hao trained hard in his cultivation, practicing the use of Dharmic power every day. He would deplete and recover it repeatedly. He would practice combining his Dharmic power and Dipper Steps, as well as combining Dharmic power with amulets.

Combined with Dharmic power, the result was extraordinary.

His application of the Dipper Steps was getting increasingly strange and unpredictable. Chen Hao had even done an extreme experimentation and discovered that he could move three meters in one step easily—it was not something a human could do! However, combining this with cultivation, it resulted in rapid depletion. With his ten years of Dao Attainment, under normal circumstances, he could only practice Dipper Steps for half an hour.

Though there was some difficulty in combining Dharmic power with amulets, so he had yet to succeed in finishing one amulet in one shot.

Today, Chen Hao depleted his Dharmic power once again and finished his cultivation for the day. He was planning to bathe and sleep when suddenly he received a call from Zhou Gang.

“Hao’zi, I might be in some trouble.” Fear was evident in Zhou Gang’s trembling voice.

The shocked Chen Hao anxiously asked, “What happened?”

Zhou Gang said, “That headless female ghost appeared again just now. This time, it appeared at my home, giving Tongtong a huge fright.”

Chen Hao froze, instantly feeling angry.

Atrocious. How dare you frighten Tongtong? Even if you died a wrongful death, you shouldn’t be harming the innocent. F*ck. You’re asking for it.

Chen Hao said immediately, “Wait for me, I’ll come right away.”

After hanging up the phone, Chen Hao packed up his stuff, then went out with the black cat.

Ten minutes later, a cab stopped in the community where Zhou Gang lived. Chen Hao paid the driver, before hurrying to Zhou Gang’s apartment.

On the way, Chen Hao sized up his surroundings.

Indeed, there was now dark energy in this community, and most of it was gathered at the story where Zhou Gang’s apartment was located.

Chen Hao’s face froze.

No wonder there was a difference between wandering ghosts and ferocious ghosts. This ferocious ghost that had died a wrongful death was unscrupulous and did as she pleased.

Humph, I’m no longer a pushover. How dare you bully my precious little girl? I’ll make sure you don’t even get to be a ghost.

[1] a genre of Chinese fiction concerning the adventures of martial artists in ancient China