strictlysupreme Chapter 66 [The Scent of Food] Appears
Chapter 66 [The Scent of Food] Appears
Cuishui Village, small ancestral hall.
Two people stood beside the incense burner in front of the shrine.
One was the village chief of Cuishui Village, and the other was an old man who managed the small ancestral hall.
If Chi Le were here now, he would recognize at a glance that this old man was the one who pulled him into the village this morning.
"I say, village chief, it's time to go back. It's getting late, I need to head home."
The village chief of Cuishui Village is also getting on in years.
Because he worked under the scorching sun year-round, his skin was dark, and he looked like an honest, simple village farmer.
The incense burner in front of the small shrine was filled with the incense that the villagers had just offered to the dilapidated temple.
For an ordinary person, the thick smoke would have been unbearable long ago.
The dark-skinned man remained unmoved, simply standing still. Only after hearing the old man's words did he turn his head slightly in response.
"Old Tian, tell me honestly, is what that man surnamed Zheng said really credible?"
"Hey, why aren't you going back yet? Are you thinking about this?"
"Don't stand there anymore, it's all smoke and fire. You're a tough guy, young man."
Old Tian coughed a few times and walked a few steps away from the small shrine behind him.
The village chief remained standing by the incense burner and said.
"This so-called Fragrance Immortal has been getting an ever-growing appetite lately."
"Our little village is probably about to be unable to support this great deity."
Upon hearing this, Old Tian said.
Whether it's believable or not is not important.
Upon hearing what Old Tian said, the village chief understood the unspoken meaning behind his words.
Whether it's credible or not is unimportant.
The important question is, given their current situation, do they have any other options?
"The temple has been unable to provide us with any protective items for several years now. Besides believing that man surnamed Zheng, what else can we do?"
The old man, whom the villagers called Old Tian, spoke up, seemingly realizing that his words had been a bit harsh, and then comforted them.
"Giving more material possessions and offering incense a few more times in exchange for a life is a worthwhile deal."
"But... lately, this... Food Fairy's appetite is getting bigger and bigger. We'll eventually be unable to fill it up. What will we do then? Use people to fill it up?"
The village chief of Cuishui Village spoke carefully, and finally took a few steps away from the small ancestral hall, his face showing surprise and doubt.
"Besides, I've had a feeling lately that the Fragrance Fairy is about to emerge from here. Although it provides shelter for our village, I still have a bad feeling about it..."
Upon hearing this, the old man, who had moved far from the small shrine and was almost at the gate of the dilapidated temple, looked back.
The setting sun was indeed rather dim, casting its light on the small shrine, giving one the feeling of being in darkness, with a chilly wind blowing in.
The doorway of the small shrine was wide open, but the old man could not see the scene inside clearly at this moment.
"The man surnamed Zheng said that as long as we offer incense and make offerings normally within the next six months, there will be no problem."
"I also noticed that Shi Xiangxian's appetite has been getting bigger and bigger."
"But there's no other choice."
"Without the Fragrance Immortal, who can protect our 67 households and over 200 people in Cuishui Village through the night?"
"The Imperial Purification Bureau?"
"At most, they can only protect Heliu Town; the villages... there's simply no manpower to take care of them."
"Besides believing this man surnamed Zheng, diligently offering incense and offerings to the Incense God, and praying for protection, what else can we do?"
"Could it be that we're going to seek refuge with Changxi Village?"
At this point, the old man gave a wry smile.
"It's good that the Taoist temple can provide protective items, but there aren't enough slots available in that village, that town, or even that city."
"I reckon that the Taoist temple in Changxi Village can only protect about thirty households in the village at most."
"We have no choice but to continue."
The old man said, putting his hands behind his back as he walked towards his home.
"Let's go back, we have to go to the fields tomorrow morning."
……
Late at night, at Qingshan Temple.
"I slept for quite a long time, but I haven't had a good night's sleep in a long time."
Chi Le sat in a chair, stretched, and opened the Qingshan Temple panel.
【Qingshan Temple】
Rank: One
【建筑:大殿（耐久:10/10），山门（耐久:15/15），偏殿（耐久10/10）】
[Includes the following deities: Changxi Village Fude Zhengshen (Tier 1), Grass-Headed Deity: Guiding Souls and Ferrying Spirits (Tier 1)]
[Number of Divine Images that can be included: 2/2]
Number of people eligible for protection: 0/3
[Items: Spirit Lamp Oil x43, Ghost Core x12, Strange Peach Wood Branch x4, Fish Tail Carving x1]
[Mysterious Relic: Toad Molt (Tier 2)]
Incense offerings: 42
[Note: To upgrade the rank of Qingshan Temple, you need 100 incense sticks, 3 branches of exotic peach wood, 1 incense-gathering ghost, and 1 fish tail of a fish tail carving.]
Looking at the increasingly rich content on the panel, Chi Le smiled with satisfaction.
"Finally, we have some savings."
After reading it, a brand new prompt popped up in front of Chi Le.
[Would you like to consume 2 incense points and command the Grass God to guide the souls of the spirit soldiers?]
"As the saying goes, 'Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated.' We don't know what abilities this newly recruited 'grassroots god' has yet to acquire."
As Chi Le gave his thought, a man wearing a black robe, holding a banner in his left hand, with disheveled hair covering part of his face, stepped out of the mural.
He first bowed to Chi Le.
They then stood still, awaiting further instructions from Chi Le.
"Judging from their attire, they seem to be from ordinary families in this strange world. The most eye-catching thing is this banner."
Chi Le looked at the left hand of the Soul-Guiding Spirit Soldier.
The banner is about one meter high and the banner surface is not large. The front is embroidered with the words "Guiding the Soul" and the back is embroidered with the words "Crossing the Spirit".
"The front should be embroidered with the Human Emperor, and the back with the myriad souls..."
Suppress the wild thoughts in your mind.
Chi Le called out an old friend—the land of Changxi Village.
To test ability, there must be a reference point.
The decrees were issued to both immortals at the same time, and Chi Lejing sat quietly in her chair.
The moment the decree was received, the land deity of Changxi Village took the lead.
again and again!
The cane slammed to the ground, and thorns of earth emerged, forming an encirclement, as if to trap the soul-guiding spirit soldier within.
The Soul-Guiding Soldiers did not choose to break out of the encirclement before the earth spikes had fully closed.
Instead, he waved the black coil in his hand and muttered a strange incantation that Chi Le couldn't quite understand.
Just as the land deity of Changxi Village raised his hand, about to put down his cane, his movement suddenly froze.
The earth spikes that had been there earlier had closed up, surrounding the Soul-Guiding Spirit Soldiers.
The test will end once a few more soil spikes emerge and pierce them.
As long as the soil of Changxi Village once again sprouts thorns, it will be fine to put down that crutch.
But this turn just wouldn't stop, as if someone was controlling my mind.
Taking this opportunity, the spirit guides broke a few earth spikes as they approached the land of Changxi Village.
He waved the black scepter in his hand incessantly.
The spirit guide raised his fist and landed it on the forehead of the land deity of Changxi Village.
He won this ability test.
The spirit guide turned around, not even having a chance to clasp his hands in greeting to Chi Le.
A crisp click.
The spirit guide lowered his head; he had stepped on something.
Beneath him, the soil spikes that had been planted sometime earlier suddenly sprang up, tearing a gash in the hem of his clothes.
"The Earth God is still powerful, but he takes up too much land."
Chi Le nodded in approval after watching the whole process. Then, taking advantage of the fact that the land decree of Changxi Village had not yet expired, he quickly asked him to restore the ground that had been messed up by the test.
"The ability to guide souls and ferry spirits is quite good; it's a noble control-type ability."
"We'll encounter the [Fragrance-Eating Ghost] soon, which uses its soul-summoning abilities to control people, and the land deity of Changxi Village will unleash its power!"
Having figured out the abilities of the Soul-Guiding Spirit Soldiers, Chi Le arrived at the [Mountain Gate].
After setting the location of the "Mountain Gate" to Cuishui Village, Chi Le pushed open the door and went out.
"What... is going on?"
Looking at the chaotic scene outside the door, Chi Le wondered if his own "mountain gate" was located in the wrong place.
"It's you!"
The old man hiding inside the house exclaimed in surprise when he saw Chi Le.
"Didn't you go back to Changxi Village?"
"Forget it, you'd better come inside and hide. The Fragrance Immortal is eating people!"
Upon hearing the name, Chi Le paused for a moment.
"Food of Fragrance... Immortal?"
"Oh no, it saw you!"
The old man called out in a low voice.
Following the old man's gaze, Chi Le saw something at the end of the street.
A thick fog with a pair of huge claws, a solid body, surging and undulating, without a clear shape.
"【The Scent of Food】".
Chi Le looked at the evil spirit at the end of the street, who was holding a screaming villager in his hand and staring at him, and said in a deep voice.
Good news: the [Fragrance-Eating Ghost] does indeed exist in Cui Shui Village.
Bad news: [The Fragrance Ghost] is killing people.