Terrifying Heavens: I Slay Demons by Painting Faces

The next day, Chen Hengyi stood up from his seated position.

He observed the fiery passion within his body.

"Strange, we've been repairing it all night, why isn't there any change?"

After returning home yesterday, Chen Hengyi began his cultivation, but the gains he made that night were as slow as a snail crawling.

To be more precise, his cultivation of the Fire of Play had been depleted after a whole night.

It even regressed!

In the Mr. Zombie world, although the speed wasn't particularly fast, Chen Hengyi could still feel the progress.

"Is it impossible to cultivate in the real world?"

Chen Hengyi had doubts and decided to try again.

If he can't cultivate in the real world, then he doesn't want to waste his time.

Glug glug~

Suddenly, Chen Hengyi's stomach emitted the sound of gongs and drums.

I'm hungry.

He stood up from under the bed and snapped his fingers casually: "Percussion band, play some music."

There was no response after he finished speaking.

Instead, Chen Hengyi suddenly sensed something unusual about the black book.

He opened it and saw new text appear on it.

The Four Ghosts Drum and Gong Band's probationary period has ended. Please pay their wages, or they will go on strike.

It was only then that Chen Hengyi remembered that the drum and gong troupe was paid three thousand yuan in wages.

But... why is it that wages need to be paid in advance?

And what the other party needs is ghost money.

After a while, Chen Hengyi rummaged through the storeroom and found the ghost money from the Heaven and Earth Bank, with a face value of ten trillion.

He went outside, lit the fire, and chanted, "For the Four Ghosts Drum and Gong Band, for the Four Ghosts Drum and Gong Band..."

A while later, the Black Book sent another message.

Please do not use counterfeit money.

Then, helpful tips were provided below.

[Ghost money is the currency used in the underworld, not paper money made from paper in the human world. It is formed from the power of human vows, merits, and high-level spiritual power, and is certified by the seal of the underworld to be considered genuine. Without the blessing of vows and without registration in the underworld, it is as worthless as waste paper.]

Chen Hengyi was taken aback, then his face darkened: "You dare say this is counterfeit money? We all use this!"

"How can you not keep up with the times?"

At this moment, Chen Hengyi suddenly remembered that in "Zombie Supreme", Uncle Nine was the head of an underground bank, and the joss paper he bribed the underworld officials only became effective after it was stamped.

So this is what they call underworld certification.

He simply didn't know how to find the ghost money for the time being...

He might need to deal with underworld officials in the future, and having ghost money would make things much easier.

He read the description of ghost money in the black book several times.

"Human vows, merits, and high-level magical powers?"

Magic power? Is the Fire Playing Method magic power?

Although Chen Hengyi himself was not a high-ranking cultivator, he did possess some minor magical power.

However, in the end, we still need a bank tycoon like Uncle Nine to stamp it.

As Chen Hengyi pondered this, he suddenly took out his wallet.

I shook it a little to wake the sleeping toad.

The toad, its eyes still half-closed, rolled over with its belly up and covered its eyes with its little claws, looking as if it were asleep.

But Chen Hengyi ignored him and said, "Wake up, come with me to make money!"

Upon hearing about making money, the little golden toad immediately jumped up and bounced back and forth on the wallet, very excited.

He muttered to himself, "Ghost money is money used by ghosts, so to find ghost money, you have to go to places with lots of ghosts... to pick up some ghost money that no ghosts want."

But do ghosts exist in the real world?

Chen Hengyi didn't know, because he had never seen it before.

If there are no ghosts in this real world, and cultivation is impossible... then it's probably a world devoid of spirits?

Suddenly, Chen Hengyi seemed to have thought of something.

I quickly finished breakfast and then took a shower.

Upon arriving at the opera box, a portrait of Emperor Huaguang was hanging on the altar beside it.

He set out fresh fruits, incense, candles, and a rooster.

Chen Hengyi lit a stick of incense and placed it in the incense burner.

A wisp of smoke rose.

He recalled Uncle Nine's earlier words of asking the ancestral master to appear.

He bowed slightly as a sign of respect, then spoke solemnly:

"With this incense burner, on this altar, between heaven and earth, through the three realms of Dharma, and heard from all corners of the world, may the distant mountains and waters, and the mighty spirits of the Six Ding and Six Jia, we humbly offer incense, flowers, candles, fruits, and pure offerings, and respectfully invite the Five Manifestations of Radiant Emperor and the Immovable Heavenly Venerable of Thunderous Sound to grace this altar!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Chen Hengyi wanted to continue, but no sound came out.

Wow~

The sound of turning pages could be heard.

In that instant, Chen Hengyi felt that sharp gaze again!

It was as if they had looked him up and down.

Chen Hengyi did not look up; out of the corner of his eye, he could only sense the golden-red light emanating from the scroll, as if a phantom had appeared.

The Great Emperor Huaguang has descended!

His heart was pounding, and his blood was rushing.

Alright, instead of searching for it yourself for ages, why not ask the Emperor?

However, the next moment...

Snapped!

A fiery whip struck him instantly.

In an instant, Chen Hengyi felt as if his back was being scorched by flames, the force penetrating his lungs and causing him excruciating pain throughout his body.

His body was immobilized, as if frozen in place, and he could only endure the whipping.

He was in so much pain he was stunned.

"There is no evil spirit or villain causing trouble, nor is it a natural disaster. This is a trivial matter for which we have set up an altar to invite the spirit. Considering this is your first offense, we will give you a small punishment as a warning."

The next second he felt that he had regained control of his body and could move again.

Chen Hengyi grimaced in pain, but he still endured it.

"The Grandmaster's punishment is justified; this disciple will certainly remember it from now on!"

"Hmm, what is it?"

"This disciple has discovered that my cultivation in this realm is not progressing but regressing. The spiritual energy that once flickered around me seems to have vanished. This realm is my homeland; could it be a spiritually barren place where cultivation is impossible?"

"This realm is corrupt and devoid of spirits, yet it holds an extremely high position, suspected to be the true realm, a place where immortals, gods, and Buddhas have vanished, making cultivation impossible. It was only through this painting that I was able to barely descend here."

Upon hearing Huaguang Emperor's words, Chen Hengyi's mind went blank.

It really is a place devoid of spirits, but what does the Realm of Truth mean?

He didn't quite understand.

Then the patriarch asked again, "If you have any doubts, speak quickly!"

Chen Hengyi knew that this was a rare opportunity, and he would not dare to call on Emperor Huaguang casually again, for fear of being whipped again.

So he quickly inquired about ghost money and the real world.

"Ghost money..."

The next instant.

Snapped!

Another fiery whip appeared and struck Chen Hengyi hard.

"Where the underworld manifests, there is naturally ghost money."

"Chen Hengyi, a disciple of the Pear Garden, although you are not a member of the Taoist sect, you have received my teachings and should therefore respect the rules. From now on, unless there is an urgent matter, you must not arbitrarily set up an altar to invite gods; otherwise, I will certainly act according to the rules!"

"Remember this!"

In an instant, Chen Hengyi felt the intense heat disappear.

When he looked up, the portrait of Emperor Huaguang returned to normal.

Chen Hengyi's face turned deathly pale, and his body convulsed.

That hurts.

"Your disciple will remember this! Respectfully bidding farewell to the Ancestral Master."

The next second, Chen Hengyi hurriedly ran away.

He ran to the bathroom and looked in the mirror. He saw two cross-shaped whip marks on his back. His clothes were torn and his skin was charred black.

"Holy crap..."

When he poured cold water on it, it even created a cloud of steam!

He possesses the "Qi Absorption and Rejuvenation" ability, which allows him to recover automatically, but that requires absorbing energy from the surrounding environment. The problem is that this real world is a place devoid of spiritual energy.

Then the small wisp of playful fire within Chen Hengyi's body was requisitioned.

The excruciating pain lasted for a long time, only gradually subsiding several hours later.

Chen Hengyi lay exhausted on the sofa, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

"We can't just casually invite ancestral masters anymore..."

Chen Hengyi then understood why he had to take the second lash.

Perhaps it's because those ghost money were utterly insignificant to someone like Emperor Huaguang.

And his behavior was just like that.

Chen Hengyi sent a signal from the distant desert, and people thought something had happened to him and rushed over to rescue him.

Then, after they arrived, Chen Hengyi was alive and well, but he just wanted to ask why there was no water in the desert? How do you make money off the dead?

If we don't hit you, who will we hit?

Why are you, a living person, making money off the dead?

Chen Hengyi even felt that if it weren't for the fact that it wasn't easy for the patriarch to come here, it would also require the expenditure of energy.

In any other world, he might have been hung up and beaten...

Thinking of this, Chen Hengyi quickly repeated, "The Ancestral Master is merciful!"

As for why Emperor Huaguang did not explain the Realm of Truth, perhaps he had his own considerations.

Even if Chen Hengyi found out, there was nothing he could do.

"Sigh, looks like I'll have to keep traveling through time!"