Strange Era: An exclusive talent every month.

Chen Ye sighed inwardly.

At a certain moment,

He did consider whether he could use food therapy to raise many human head balloons into adults.

But the reason these people have become mere "human balloons" is that they all have some problems with their character, to varying degrees.

It must be because they didn't complete their work on time and in the required quantity...

That's why they ended up like this!
If Chen Ye were to help them restore the items for free as a voluntary service, they might not be grateful, nor would they necessarily do a good job. Instead, it might even encourage their laziness.

Furthermore... resources in this world are scarce to begin with. Chen Ye relied on painting to deliver the deceased and achieve liberation. Only by making this industry successful could he have access to so many resources.

I must stick to my old profession of painting!
If it is necessary to use food to nourish and help these human-shaped balloons recover to adulthood...

The corresponding existence requires the payment of equivalent value.

otherwise……

Even if those people who can't even afford the chips manage to turn back, they still might not be able to complete their tasks properly, and they might even fly away again, thus wasting all the resources!

Chen Ye defines himself as follows: "I'm still in the early stages of starting a business. I want to make enough money for the first batch of capital before I see how I can influence the world."

Besides, Chen Ye himself also enjoys eating these barbecues.

After eating it.

at this time.

Chen Ye sensed a surge of powerful energy flowing through his entire body. The blood felt like molten lava, constantly circulating through the various parts of his body, spreading throughout his entire being, making him feel warm and extremely comfortable.

As this body appeared, a faint golden light gradually gathered above its head...

"Is this a sign that the aura of destiny has been gathered?"

Chen Ye's heart stirred, and he raised his head, using his [Eye of Destiny] to sense that there was a golden light shining above the body's head, symbolizing destiny!
He smiled slightly, gazing at the scroll in his hand, and said to Ito:

"You should continue doing this job. Don't you think it's meaningful?"

"That's absolutely right!" Ito, who hadn't spoken for quite some time, finally couldn't help but exclaim excitedly!

That's right!

Previously, Itoh had been observing Chen Ye's paintings.

After all, Chen Ye's painting skills were simply too amazing!

I feel like I can't learn it at all...

Every stroke seems perfectly natural!

therefore.

Ito almost forgot the tragic fact that he couldn't control his own body, and was completely immersed in observing Chen Ye's movements, trying to learn real painting skills.

Unfortunately, the extraordinary skill that Chen Ye possesses is an energy that this world does not have.

After eating barbecue...

Chen Ye can even control the power of destiny at will!

at this time.

He has already mastered the three forces of destiny in this world!

Three streams of divine destiny energy swirled continuously around the paintbrush in his hand as he painted.

The speed of drawing increased, but the quality did not decrease at all.

Boom boom boom! ! !
Just then, there was a knock on the door:

"It's me, Ah Hong. May I come in?"

Chen Ye's mind raced, and he immediately went to the door and looked through the peephole.

There was a child wearing a red bib, whose expression bore a striking resemblance to the human head balloon from before.

"I almost didn't recognize him as a kid!"

Chen Ye couldn't help but complain.

The difference between the human-shaped balloon and the real thing is just too big!
If it weren't for Chen Ye's unique research on the facial structure of the characters in "Painted Skin," he almost wouldn't have recognized that the little boy standing at the door, looking through the peephole, was Ah Hong.

"Oh dear, don't look at me like that, it's embarrassing." Ah Hong was very perceptive; even through a doorway, she could sense Chen Ye's gaze.

"Okay, come in..."

After confirming Ah Hong's identity, Chen Ye pushed the doorknob down, and the door opened with a creak.

"Are you sure no one is following you?" After closing the door, Chen Ye glanced around warily to make sure Tomie wasn't there.

"Your girlfriend has already caught the attention of our Chongxu Taoist Temple. Several masters have come and used a calming spell on her, which has probably sealed her movements. She can no longer freely knock on doors to ask for food."

After Ah Hong came in, she stretched her arms and then her eyes fell on the oven, looking a little hungry.

"Even though I've already eaten ten skewers... I still want more!"

"Do you have something to exchange?" Chen Ye asked bluntly.

Hmm, the people in the Taoist temple all have quite a few magical treasures on them!
If we don't take advantage of this opportunity to buy more, we might miss this chance and never have another shop like this again.

Ah Hong's face stiffened, and she said with a wry smile, "I don't have any suitable treasures on me right now. When I get back tonight, I'll tell my master and the others about your situation, and maybe they can get you a peach wood sword."

"What's the use of a peach wood sword?" Chen Ye began to imagine that if he wore this peach wood sword, wouldn't he become a Taoist priest?
"To seek good fortune and avoid misfortune, to drive away evil spirits..."

"If you have a high enough spirituality, you can also use it for rituals, to change your luck, ward off evil spirits, or do some unorthodox magic."

"Of course, there are many dangers and taboos associated with magic arts, so it's best not to use them indiscriminately... It's said to be related to the Dao, and if you don't do it properly, it can backfire on you... Sigh, I'm a living example of how using magic arts can ruin your life, so don't follow my example!" Ah Hong patiently instructed Zhenzhen.

It really shouldn't be used indiscriminately... Chen Ye was quite self-aware about this.

My current abilities are not stable enough.

After all, it's using Ito's body...

Even though eating has allowed him to unleash his original power, it doesn't mean Ito's body can be manipulated recklessly. Since he was born from this world, he must naturally abide by its rules.

“Okay, then bring a peach wood sword tomorrow, and I can trade you ten skewers of barbecue in return,” Chen Ye said.

"The value of a peach wood sword is much higher; ten skewers of roasted meat are not enough!" Ah Hong said anxiously, explaining the price. "The peach wood in our Taoist temple is all carefully handcrafted and needs to be consecrated on a chosen day before it can be used. The whole process requires several craftsmen, and the manpower and resources alone are more than enough for ten skewers; we need thirty or forty!"

As if afraid that Chen Ye would be unhappy with these words, Ah Hong patted Chen Ye's oven and said:

"Barbecuing is no problem for you. There's plenty of meat frozen in the fridge right now. If you find it too much trouble, I can barbecue for you!"

Chen Ye glanced at the several boxes of frozen meat he had just received and nodded: "That's fine then..."

After all, since so many people's heads were helped to pass on to the afterlife, quite a few business owners also gave away boxes of frozen meat.

To make barbecue, simply use the knife next to you to make a small cut, shape it, skewer it, and bake it in the oven for about ten minutes. After taking it out of the oven, brush it with honey, soy sauce, and other seasonings, and bake it for another fifteen minutes.

Brush with cumin before taking it out of the oven for extra flavor!

With all this equipment, you could totally open your own small barbecue restaurant!

"You probably can't finish all this food, can you?"

After performing a few more rituals to appease the spirits of wealthy people and obtaining insured frozen meat from them, Ah Hong couldn't help but look at Chen Ye and speak.

Actually, he was just craving something sweet. After all, Ah Hong, being from a Taoist temple, was skilled in performing rituals, and her energy expenditure was far beyond that of ordinary people.

Chen Ye thought for a moment and said, "Could you help me improve the feng shui of this house, or do some kind of ritual to see if it can improve my luck?"

Under the gaze of the [Eye of Fortune], Chen Ye noticed that Ah Hong now had a purple aura of good fortune, connecting the lines of light from the Glazed and Dark Yellow auras, linking to his own body.

This aura of good fortune already indicates that Ah Hong can definitely help me!
Chen Ye didn't mind that Ah Hong stayed in his room.

After all, the food and drink the other party wants are not free.

They are still people from the Taoist temple in this world.

Having acquired a great deal of knowledge, even casual conversations can greatly help Chen Ye understand the world.

"Indeed... the yin energy in your house is far too heavy!"

"If a house is filled with yin energy, it will affect a person's energy and spirit, including their eating and drinking habits and other aspects of their health."

"For example, those paintings we created before, let's discard them, they're too eerie!"

"But these new paintings you've created recently are actually suitable to be hung on the wall, because the spiritual energy within them is so peaceful that even evil spirits will gradually calm down when they encounter them..."

"And that couplet, I can help you hang it on the door. Make sure it's hung straight so it'll be effective!"

"And any leftover food, it's best to just leave it at the entrance. You don't need to take out the trash in this community; the property management will help... Even if they don't help, the people in our Taoist temple are willing to help you with these things now, after all, your existence is very important..."

Ah Hong began to patiently explain these contents to Chen Ye.

"That's indeed...that's how it is..."

Ito finally had a chance to speak: "When I used to live here, I never had an appetite, and I was also very lazy to take a bath... Sometimes after a busy day, I would just lie down and go to sleep without even taking a bath."

"That's because you've been exposed to far too many evil things... But there's nothing you can do about it, since you have to draw those kinds of things every day, it's inevitable that they're full of evil energy... But that's all in the past now, you're much more positive and righteous now!" Ah Hong's words actually made Ito feel a little guilty, because Ito knew that the truly positive and righteous one wasn't himself, but the other soul inside him.

However, through this incident, Ito gained a deeper understanding of his own situation.

He also knew that the soul residing in his body would eventually leave.

The power that this soul possesses is ultimately not its own.

After he leaves, life will still go on as usual. At that time, I will have to make some changes and not continue to be so decadent and depressed!

"If you don't eat well, you'll start having all sorts of wild thoughts, which will drain your mind and make you feel distracted."

"We Taoists in our temple place great importance on guarding the spirit!"

"In this world, if you want to live well, you must learn to guard the God. Only by guarding the God can you breathe real air."

As they were talking, Ah Hong had already hung up the couplet.

The calligraphy on this couplet glowed with a fluorescent light, shimmering gold, and emitted a unique fragrance, exuding a strong sense of righteousness.

Once the couplets were hung up, the whole house looked completely different!

Many places that used to look rather dark now have a much more harmonious color scheme.

Including the human head balloons that came seeking liberation...

In fact.

Many of the people arriving here were in a state of confusion, with instances of cutting in line and spitting occurring.

However, after the couplet was hung up, many of the people lingering nearby realized that they had to follow the rules.

Spitting, swearing, and muttering to oneself have all decreased.

"I didn't expect that just a couplet could have such a powerful effect?" Chen Ye glanced at the couplet with slight surprise.

"Of course! This couplet has been blessed. Even ordinary things become treasures after being blessed by the masters. Placing it in the right place at home can protect the residence!" Ah Hong spoke with pride, showing that he was quite proud of his identity as a member of the Taoist temple.

"Can I learn how to perform the consecration ceremony from your Taoist temple?" Chen Ye suddenly asked at that moment.

Consecration... Consecration also occurs in the world before its arrival, but this is generally only done in Buddhism and temples.

Although Chen Ye had some understanding of these things, this was, after all, in another virtual world, and the rules were definitely different.

But Chen Ye realized that Ah Hong's circle was already "extraordinary" in this world!

Once you step into the "extraordinary" realm, you come into contact with something more fundamental to this world!
Given this opportunity involving the inner circle, Chen Ye realized that if he wanted to thoroughly conquer a virtual realm, he needed to understand its rules.

“You… should be able to…” Ah Hong hesitated for a moment, then looked at Chen Ye and said seriously, “There is a particularly peaceful power in your paintings right now, and our consecration is about spiritual things… how to put it, the spirit must be particularly abundant, and it can also be guided towards an upward level.”

"I understand."

Chen Ye smiled confidently.

So there's a spiritual aspect to this world too!
That makes things much easier! (End of Chapter)