Wax oil had seeped from the wrinkles on its face, unmistakably the traces of being smoked by incense candles!
Wax oil still slid down its shriveled, pointed cheeks, piling up and hardening in several patches on the ground—proof that this eerie hag had been stealing food for quite some time!
"What unbelievable gall! You even dared steal from me!"
Generally speaking, low-level eerie monsters instinctively feared the divine might of the Door God Temple and would not dare approach;
Only eerie monsters of the "Aberrant Level" or higher, possessing greater intelligence, would observe and spy first;
It must have confirmed that the Door God Temple had been unattended for many days, then schemed to invade!
After all, incense divine power was the greatest nemesis of eerie monsters. They would certainly want to extinguish the incense within the temple.
And this Rat-faced Eerie Hag was truly strange. It had actually deceived the Door God Temple's defenses, infiltrated the temple, and freely fed on the incense.
Fortunately, the Door God was linked to the temple. After discovering the anomaly, he had taken the initiative to report it to Lin Chen.
Lin Chen grew frantic. No wonder Yuchi Gong had been anxious—he had seen something even more urgent than Yuchi Gong!
Incense was Lin Chen's lifeblood. To accumulate incense faith, he had sincerely offered worship every day, going around recommending it;
Who could have imagined that this Rat-faced Eerie Hag would steal it away!
There was a thief! An incense thief!
Moreover, the Door God Temple was the birthplace and origin of the Door God, bearing a certain fated connection;
The incense within the temple would inevitably share honor and disgrace with the Door God.
He absolutely could not stand by and do nothing!
Yuchi Gong sent a request to take the initiative and capture the eerie monster. Lin Chen naturally agreed, and even wanted to urge him to hurry!
But this was inside an instance. How was he supposed to capture the thief from afar?
Then Yuchi Gong's divinity linked with the statue within the temple, and his form dispersed in the real world;
The next second, he manifested directly from the temple's statue!
The Black Fiend God had descended into the temple once more!
Yuchi Gong had actually entered the Myriad Ghosts Night Parade Instance again by having his spirit descend through the statue!
Wouldn't that mean Qin Qiong and Yuchi Gong could repeatedly log into this instance through the Door God Temple?
There was no time to think about that now. Lin Chen first had to watch Yuchi Gong catch this fire-stealing rat hag!
The rat hag was quite shrewd as well. Seeing her master descend, she knew disaster was at hand and immediately turned and fled like a rat;
But the Guardian Home Blessing trait activated: inside a building that worshiped the Door God, Yuchi Gong would gain boosts to his speed and strength!
The Black Fiend God caught up to the rat hag in the blink of an eye and reached out to grab the thief-rat's tail.
Who could have expected the rat hag's tail to be covered in sesame oil, so slick that Yuchi Gong failed to get a firm grip;
The rat hag reacted extremely quickly too. She spat out a large amount of wax oil and flung it at Yuchi Gong, hoping to slow his movements.
Yuchi Gong immediately let out an angry roar. Tang Palace Martial Arts: Thunderous Roar activated, and the sound waves infused with divine power directly scattered the wax oil!
They also left the Rat-faced Eerie Hag stunned for a moment.
Then Tang Law: Trespassing Forbidden Ground activated:
"An enemy that enters a blessed building will be marked by the Door God and subjected to divine critical damage and fear."
The steel whip came crashing down, doubling the critical damage!
The rat monster was beaten until brain matter burst out and wax oil spilled from its mouth;
No matter how slippery it was, it ultimately met its end all the same!
On its home ground inside the temple, the Door God was invincible!
After the rat monster died, wisps of incense drifted from its nostrils and returned to the shrine;
Lin Chen also had Yuchi Gong take a Blank Card and seal the rat monster's corpse inside it.
After dealing with the rat monster, Yuchi Gong glared furiously outside the temple, frightening the other eerie monsters spying in secret into scattering in a panic.
Kill the chicken to scare the monkeys! Do not court disaster!
For the time being, the Door God Temple should be peaceful.
After Yuchi Gong returned to the real world, he presented the deep-green material card of the Rat-faced Eerie Hag;
He gave Lin Chen an arrogant yet tsundere look that said "I have not failed you," practically writing "Praise me quickly" across his face;
Lin Chen naturally did not begrudge him his praise. Upholding the "service-oriented card nurturing strategy," he praised Yuchi Gong to the heavens and back, providing him with ample emotional value.
After smoothing the fur of this "big black panther" Yuchi Gong, Lin Chen looked again at the material card dropped after the Rat-faced Eerie Hag's death;
It actually had an extraordinary name—
Aberrant Temple Rat - Oil-Stealing Immortal Aunt!
Lin Chen had brought Yuchi Gong along to beg for follows and votes!
After Yuchi Gong presented today's update, he showed the readers an arrogant yet tsundere look that said "I have not failed you," practically writing "Vote quickly" across his face.
This book was currently in a round of recommendations. If the data was poor, the subsequent traffic would be gone! Everyone, please follow it through to the latest chapter. If you had votes, please lend your support!
Thanks to Yuexia de Heiqi for 2 monthly votes, and to reader 20231123093007466 for 3 monthly votes!
Chapter 29: Turning Eerie Monsters to Good:
It turned out that this rat monster was a century-old temple rat that had gained sentience, taking on the appearance of a pious old female worshiper;
It had stolen lamp oil and incense from the temple since it was young. The righteous incense power within its body had long since worn away all its eerie energy, instead staining it with a trace of divine essence. It looked almost like a wild god wearing rat skin!
That was why the material could give it the elegant title of "Immortal Aunt," and why it could deceive the Door God Temple's defenses and be allowed inside.
This temple rat had no strengths whatsoever in battle. It was only good at cheating and playing tricks!
Keeping it by his side would not be of much use, and it would also occupy his mental energy quota;
Therefore, Lin Chen did not particularly want to turn it into his own card. He could either sell it for cash or burn it directly and offer it to the Door God Temple.
As if sensing Lin Chen's thoughts, the Aberrant Temple Rat - Oil-Stealing Immortal Aunt in his hand began trembling faintly, as if afraid and begging for mercy.
Hmm? Why was this material still alive?
The temple rat immediately shut both eyes again and pretended not to know anything.
This rat monster had actually faked its death!
Seeing that it could not keep hiding it, the temple rat inside the card immediately clawed at the frame, putting on a pitiful expression as if begging for mercy:
"I had no choice before, but now I want to become a good card spirit!"
Lin Chen was amused. This temple rat was actually brimming with spirituality! No wonder—it had consumed incense for so many years.
It was rare to see such a "harmless" eerie creature, and Lin Chen found himself somewhat unwilling to dispose of it:
"All right, then I'll keep you, little mouse. But how should I arrange things for you?"
That was it! He could make it the temple steward of the Door God Temple!
The Door God had to guard Lin Chen at close range and did not have time to watch over the Door God Temple constantly. The temple was in urgent need of a temple steward to manage it.
This temple rat had grown up and gained sentience inside the temple. It had inevitably been influenced by everything there and knew the temple's affairs better than anyone.
Its eerie energy had been worn down until it was faint. Instead, it harmonized with the temple's incense divinity, so it would not face much rejection upon taking the position of temple steward.
It had stolen incense in its past life, and now he would have it manage incense in this one. What a wondrous cycle of karmic retribution!
Besides, for a mere eerie creature to become a spirit beast beneath the Door God was hardly mistreating or disgracing it.
That was the plan!
Card creation was also extremely simple and did not require many materials;
He only needed to use a little Shrine Incense (White) from inside the Door God Temple, using the divine properties in the incense to neutralize the temple rat's faint eerie nature.
Card creation attribute formula: Divine + Eerie = Spirit (pure spirituality)
In addition, the sacrificial properties carried by the Shrine Incense would combine with the temple attribute of the temple rat, granting it the symbolic identity of a temple steward.
Card creation attribute formula: Sacrifice + Temple + Living Being = Temple Steward
That way, he could turn an eerie monster to good!
He would also use a Red Sandalwood Peach Wood Branch (White) to make it a whisk for sweeping and cleaning inside the temple.
Card creation combination formula: Shrine Incense + Aberrant Temple Rat - Oil-Stealing Immortal Aunt + Peach Wood Whisk = Spirit Rat Temple Steward
Only three materials participated in this card creation process, and the eerie nature was weak, so it was extremely simple.
In moments, Lin Chen finished outlining the final stroke.
A card with a deep-green border flipped ceaselessly in the air, brimming with spirituality:
Card Name: Door God Retainer - Spirit Rat Temple Steward Type: Spirit Beast/Retainer Quality: Excellent Grade · Deep-Green Border · Four Stars Traits: Door God Retainer The spirit rat is a spirit beast beneath the Door God. Its spirit contract is connected to the Door God, allowing it to borrow the Door God's might, while its own cultivation will improve as the Door God's cultivation advanced. Weigh Incense, Judge Wishes As a temple steward, the spirit rat can sense the rise and fall of the temple's incense. Based on worshipers' thoughts and the direction of the smoke, it can judge the weight of their prayers and the depth of their causes and effects. Continue Fire, Burn Incense As a temple steward, the spirit rat is skilled at tending the temple's incense and sweeping the grounds, keeping the temple's incense burning eternally, increasing the duration for which the incense can burn and reducing the loss of faith. Gather Spirits, Consume Incense As a temple steward spirit beast, the spirit rat can absorb the spiritual energy of Heaven and Earth as well as a small portion of the temple's incense to maintain its spiritual energy. Skills: Beneath the Door God · Borrow Power Through Manifestation The spirit rat borrows the Door God's might and summons an illusory image of the Door God to intimidate enemies. The illusion possesses thirty percent of the Door God's power. Sesame Oil Rat Play The spirit rat is cunning. It can use sesame oil to set up slippery-oil traps and use rat games to confuse and toy with enemies, causing them to enter a state of slipping, sluggishness, and confusion. Oiled Claws, Pouch Probing The spirit rat is slick, naturally skilled at stealing and difficult to catch. It can soak all four limbs and its tail in oil, then quietly approach and steal items from enemies.
Lin Chen summoned it, and a spirit rat with glossy, oil-slick fur stepped out amid the incense;
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