I run a Taoist temple in a bizarre world.

Chapter 64 A dilapidated temple, yet incense burns continuously.

Seeing the old man turn and leave, Chi Le did not linger.

He immediately started walking towards the temple he had previously observed, wanting to leave the place the old man had forcibly brought him to.

Chi Le was about to reach the corner when she glanced back.

Fortunately, Zhao Zhu had not yet left Old Li's house, where he sold medicinal herbs.

This avoided an unnecessary meeting.

Just after Chi Le turned the corner, Zhao Zhu, who had finished collecting medicinal herbs at Old Li's house, came out from there.

"The quality of the medicinal herbs this month is quite good, thank you, Lao Li."

"Open-minded people, open-minded goods. I'm not bragging, but these goods are in high demand even in Heliu Town."

"That's right, it's all thanks to your honest goods, Old Li, that I can sell them in Heliu Town for a good price and supplement my family's income..."

After a brief boasting session, the two said their goodbyes. Zhao Zhu then shouldered the medicinal herbs he had purchased and called on the others to set off together back to the village.

But then they saw a familiar figure disappear around the corner in the distance.

"I feel like I've seen this somewhere before..."

The road leading to the dilapidated temple in the village is relatively remote.

Chi Le was happy to be able to walk on such a less crowded path.

Without stopping, the closer Chi Le got to the temple, the more she realized something was wrong.

"It seems... the chilly feeling has lessened quite a bit."

Chi Le stopped, closed her eyes, and carefully felt the sensation.

"That's definitely less."

If the chill I felt on the road into the village could be rated 10 out of 10.

So, being on this secluded path near the temple, Chi Le could feel a chill of about 7 out of 10.

"Is it because I left the village... or because I moved closer to the 'abandoned' temple?"

Chi Le has no idea.

But this is ultimately a good thing, as it means that the closer you get to a dilapidated temple, the further you are from the eerie atmosphere.

With that in mind, Chi Le continued to approach the temple.

Cuishui Village is much larger than Changxi Village.

According to Chen Cheng, unlike Changxi Village, which has only about 30 households, Cuishui Village has as many as 60 or 70 households.

But within the entire Heliu Town, it only ranks second to last.

However, this took Chi Le some time to reach the location of the temple.

Looking up, the first impression of the temple as a whole is one of dilapidation.

The plaster on the walls peeled off, revealing the adobe bricks underneath.

The tiled roof had a large hole in it, though calling it a hole wouldn't be accurate.

It appears that about half of it has collapsed, with the thick crossbeams standing alone on top.

The two doors at the entrance, whose vermilion color had long since faded, now had one that tucked inwards and the other that opened outwards.

This allowed Chi Le to see the collapsed clay sculptures inside.

This scene was no less impressive than the Qingshan Temple that Chi Le had first seen.

Even more than that.

In contrast, there is a small shrine built next to the dilapidated temple.

The ancestral hall is really small, consisting of only one small tiled hall.

Chi Le could see the statue enshrined behind the open door.

It's a half-finished product that hasn't even been shaped yet, like a novice who desperately couldn't keep up with the deadline and submitted it in a frantic rush.

The statue is not a conventional seated or standing human figure.

It's more like a jumbled, elusive mess.

If I had to describe it, it's like a balloon filled with paint dust and gas.

The shape of the colored dust that exploded the moment it was punctured.

"What kind of deity is this?"

Upon seeing the small shrine housing the bizarre clay sculptures, Chi Le felt a chill run down his spine, and goosebumps rose on his arms.

Even stranger is...

A bronze incense burner stands in front of the small shrine.

It was quite far from the entrance of the small shrine, so the incense burner was placed in a slightly off-center spot near the entrance of the dilapidated temple.

If it weren't for the incense burner facing the small shrine.

Chi Le thought the incense burner with its wisps of smoke belonged to a dilapidated temple.

The incense burner was filled with a continuous stream of incense smoke, thick and whitish, which swirled and drifted into the air.

Even in dilapidated temples, there are incense burners used for offering incense.

The incense burner in the dilapidated temple was completely empty, without a single trace of incense.

The temple is dilapidated, and there is no incense burning anymore.

The quaint little shrine is always filled with the constant flow of incense smoke.

Absurd and bizarre.

These were the two thoughts that surfaced in Chi Le's mind after seeing this scene.

"What exactly is going on with this Green Water Village?"

The pervasive chill and gloom even before entering the village.

In all the time that Chi Le had been in contact with him, this represented eerie mist, demons and evil spirits, and the return of the daytime people.

However, Zhao Zhu, as a normal person, is able to conduct normal transactions and exchanges with the villagers of Cuishui Village.

Even the villagers in Cuishui Village that I saw did not seem to be acting strangely; they were busy with their crops and eating their daily lives as usual.

The most bizarre thing is the contrast between the temple and the shrine in front of us.

Chi Le's intuition told him that this place was the source of everything that was wrong in Cui Shui Village.

But strangely enough, Chi Le didn't feel any chilliness here.

Not a single strand!

"【Fragrance-Eating Ghost】, commonly found in abandoned temples and Taoist monasteries..."

Information about the [Fragrance Ghost] surfaced in my mind.

"If the [Fragrance-Eating Ghost] is active in this temple, it will surely leave some clues."

"But I can't feel even the slightest bit of coldness, which is very wrong."

After a brief moment of contemplation, Chi Le decided to temporarily abandon the search for the [Fragrance Ghost].

"Thinking about it is useless; the [Mountain Gate] has already noted down this location."

"Wait until tonight, when the eerie fog descends, then go through the [Mountain Gate] to see if there is any [Fragrance-Eating Ghost] here."

As she spoke, Chi Le looked at the two open doors of the dilapidated temple.

"Let's go and see if there are any divine beings worth collecting. Once that's done, this trip will be a complete success."

Having made up his mind, Chi Le walked toward the dilapidated temple.

Fortunately, at this time, most of the villagers in Cuishui Village were having lunch at home.

In addition, I've been rushing to finish this work lately, as I'm busy with farm work.

Even fewer people come to this place to offer incense.

Chi Le entered the dilapidated temple without any trouble.

Upon entering, a whiff of incense smoke mixed with dust was stirred up, and the aroma, evenly dispersed in the air, wafted over.

Chi Le had no choice but to cover his mouth and nose for the time being and look around at the layout of the temple.

His gaze swept back and forth.

"Um……"

Upon seeing the architectural style and decorative features of the temple before him, as well as the only remaining murals, Chi Le let out a soft sigh of doubt.

He had initially thought it was a Buddhist temple, similar to those in the modern world.

The statues enshrined inside are, without a doubt, Buddhist images.

Unexpectedly, judging from the style, it was more similar to the immortals and gods in his Qingshan Temple.

Chi Le glanced around but didn't find anything amiss.

The Qingshan Temple interface did not pop up.

This proves that there are no divine treasures in this dilapidated temple that he could collect.

"If there's no suitable place to record divine essence in Cuishui Village, are we going to have to go to Heliu Town?"

Chi Le's gaze swept across the small temple once more.

Finally, my gaze inexplicably fell on the statue that was now only half intact.

A moment later, the panel popped up.

[Discovered a collectible divine weapon - Grass-Headed God Soul-Guiding Spirit Weapon (Tier 1)]