Chapter 80

"Spicy strips definitely won't work!" - OK.

"Seeing Tai Sui's unguarded little movements, Chen Shicheng instantly realized what it needed most at the moment." - OK.

"He doesn't have enough flesh and blood for Tai Sui to devour, and calling a waiter to bring some up isn't realistic. This is blatantly telling the Cultural Tourism Bureau's Logistics Department that there's a problem here—come investigate me right away." - OK.

"However, lacking fresh meat isn't an issue—he still has over five tons of ashes. This material, left behind by ancient creatures, should at least have some effect. Chen Shicheng scooped out a bit of ash and poured it onto Tai Sui's round, plump 'head,' then watched eagerly, waiting for its reaction." - OK.

"At first, Tai Sui was a bit nervous, fearing that chili powder and cumin would be sprinkled on its head, which would then ignite and barbecue it. So it quickly extended two tentacles to try to knock the powder off its head." - OK.

"But upon contact, the tentacles seemed to sense something, pausing noticeably, and then the whole body gave a 'duang'—the ash on its head was instantly wrapped into its body." - OK.

"Puff puff." - OK.

"A clearly pleased sound came from within Tai Sui's body, its burns improved somewhat, and the charred areas stopped oozing blood." - OK.

"But that little bit of ash was clearly not enough; it was soon used up. Tai Sui hesitated, then its two tentacles kept waving toward Chen Shicheng, seemingly asking for more ash." - OK.

"\"Now that you've eaten my stuff, you're my Tai Sui—you'd better listen from now on, got it! \"" - OK.

"Chen Shicheng placed his hand on Tai Sui's head, rubbing its icy yet extremely soft body. Afterwards, ash continuously emerged from his hand, which Tai Sui kept swallowing into its body." - OK.

"However, ash is ultimately just residue; although it has some use, it still falls short compared to fresh flesh and blood." - OK.

"After a few minutes, Tai Sui had swallowed over a hundred catties of ash, yet its injuries had only improved slightly—the bleeding stopped, but the burnt areas hadn't healed at all." - OK.

"Chen Shicheng originally wanted to test Tai Sui with ash to see if he could tame this simple-minded plant, but the situation also gave him a headache; in the end, he straightforwardly unleashed a full-force Universal Rainfall upon it." - OK.

"The moment the vibrant Yin Wood Essence appeared, the already somewhat joyful Tai Sui, as if it had seen catnip for a kitten, immediately discarded the ash and turned to chase the green essence floating in the air." - OK.

"And as the Yin Wood Essence rained down in abundance, Tai Sui's wounds began to heal at a visible speed, the burnt parts peeling off bit by bit, restoring to a black, gelatinous substance." - OK.

"Unfortunately, the Yin Blood Tai Sui differs from ordinary plants; it grows by devouring fresh blood, and Universal Rainfall only heals its wounds—it doesn't cause it to grow as quickly as millet." - OK.

"This left Chen Shicheng's little schemes in vain, and he couldn't help feeling disappointed." - OK.

"However, he wasn't doing useless work; at this moment, Tai Sui was as high as a cat on catnip, lying on the ground as a puddle of liquid. After a few more times, it would likely become dependent on him—this counts as successful taming." - OK.

"After storing the still-savoring Tai Sui in his storage bag and hanging it at his waist, Chen Shicheng used the Eye of Bai Ze to examine the spicy strips in his pocket." - OK.

"Level?? Spicy Strip, Return to Ancestry Progress: 63%" - OK.

Also Lv. ？？ maybe level indicator, not a name.

"Return to Ancestry?" - OK.

"Chen Shicheng then realized that the spicy strips weren't upgrading due to encountering suitable food and mass consumption; instead, they were undergoing Return to Ancestry by drawing on a bit of innate qi from the newborn small spiders." - OK.

"After confirming this, he couldn't help but feel some anticipation." - OK.

"No wonder that despite eating so many things together with the spicy strips, there was no sign of Return to Ancestry; it seems special food is required, and in extremely large quantities." - OK.

"However, having just undergone Return to Ancestry, it already ate so many small spiders and spider eggs—what will its appetite be like when it wakes up? Moreover, don't forget he still has a Yin Blood Tai Sui in his hand that specializes in devouring corpses; together, these two little things will have a huge food demand. Just thinking about the future, with two hungry little creatures begging him for food, Chen Shicheng couldn't help but feel a chill." - OK.

"Knowing that raising children is no easy task, Chen Shicheng could no longer waste time; he immediately felt the urge to go out and hunt monsters." - OK.

"Knowing that raising children is no easy task, Chen Shicheng could no longer waste time; he immediately felt the urge to go out and hunt monsters." - OK.

"It's not just for leveling up; he also intends to prepare some rations for the children." - OK.

"But before that, he still needs to fulfill his promise to Hui Siye; after using Five Ghosts Transport multiple times, its incense power has already become very faint." - OK.

"Before, it hardly spoke at all; now it simply closes its eyes to nurture its spirit, barely moving. If this continues, Chen Shicheng truly fears it might drop dead from anger right before his eyes." - OK.

"\"Master Hui, hang in there! On the way back, I saw a shop selling funeral supplies in the gathering area—I'll go buy you some incense right now. \"" - OK.

"\"That's just fooling ghosts; even lighting up the shop won't replenish my incense power. \"" - OK.

"Upon hearing Chen Shicheng say he would fulfill his promise, Hui Siye finally reacted, but what it said left Chen Shicheng somewhat bewildered." - OK.

"\"What's the difference? Isn't it all just incense? \" \"The art of incense-making is profound and extensive, second only to alchemy. Never mind, I can't explain it clearly in a short while; I'll point you to the nearby Horse Immortal Family, where the reverence incense I need can be found. \"" - OK.

"Hui Siye didn't explain much, gave Chen Shicheng an address, then continued closing his eyes to nurture his spirit, reducing his own existence's consumption." - OK.

"Chen Shicheng naturally had no objections; after all, a promised deed must be carried out. After checking that the inn room had nothing missing, he directly checked out and headed toward the location Hui Siye had provided." - OK.

"On the way, he couldn't help but ask curiously, \"Master Hui, you're quite popular around here—wherever you go, there are Horse Immortal halls under your sect? \"\" - OK.

"\"What do you think? \"\" - OK.

"This remark seemed to hit Hui Siye's sweet spot; it immediately opened its eyes and said proudly, \"Do you know what kind of place this is? It's a mining area! Even those flirtatious foxes can't stretch their claws in here—only our rat clan is the most welcome. \"" - OK.

"\"To be honest, even that little temple we encountered was built many years ago by the miners themselves, voluntarily, for me. \"" - OK.

"I don't really care about Huangchi County Town or Lian Tie Zhen; this place is my main source of incense. Too bad, if not—" - OK.

"Hui Siye hadn't finished speaking, glanced at Chen Shicheng, and then began to secretly feel heartbroken." - OK.

"Over the years, even without carefully managing this place, it still helped many miners when breaking formations out of boredom." - OK.

"As long as it gives the order, countless miners, even if just digging, would surely make that great formation see the light of day again." - OK.

"Unfortunately, the entry requirements for that great formation are too strict; these miners are ordinary people—going in likely means death for one, which is why they've waited so long, finally waiting for a Chen Shicheng." - OK.

"As a result, this brat is a bastard who squeezes oil from stones, actually exploiting this dying rat—poor thing, all the incense power it painstakingly stored and the things used to weigh down coffins. Seeing Hui Siye suddenly low-spirited for unknown reasons, Chen Shicheng blinked, didn't bother him further, and set off with his head down." - OK.

"After ten or so minutes, in a place far outside the gathering area, a solitary farmhouse stood at the foot of the mountain, coming into his view." - OK.

"A bare dirt path connected the cottage to the main road, with weeds growing thickly all around and not a soul in sight—if it weren't for Hui Siye being certain this was the right place, Chen Shicheng would have thought he'd stumbled upon some supernatural event." - OK.

"After confirming repeatedly that this was the right place, Chen Shicheng stepped forward, stood at the doorway, and shouted loudly, \"Excuse me, is anyone there? \"\" - OK.

"\"Coming, coming—old lady's ears aren't bad, why are you shouting so loud? \"\" - OK.

"As soon as Chen Holy's words fell, an old, creaky voice sounded from the thatched hut, and soon an elderly woman whose demeanor was hardly different from that of the Horse Immortal of Lian Tie Zhen shuffled out." - OK.

"But the moment she saw Chen Holy, she seemed to notice something, staring at him in doubtful surprise for a while without speaking." - OK.

"\"Is there anything improper about me? \"\" - OK.

"Chen Holy looked at his own attire in a daze; everything seemed normal, even the sleeve of his left arm, which had been torn, was now neatly mended, handled so well that a non‑professional wouldn't notice anything odd." - OK.

"So what was the old lady looking at? \"With such a strong aura of incense on you, it seems you're a fellow practitioner. \"" - OK.

"The old lady suddenly struck a strange pose, her face stern, and said, \"Which hall's junior are you, to be so rude? Didn't your elders teach you manners? And visiting at this time—are you just here to laugh at me? \"\" - OK.

"\"What is all this even about? \"\" - OK.

"Chen Holy glanced at Hui Siye on his shoulder, who seemed to say 'not my business', realized the old lady must have misunderstood something, and hurriedly clasped his hands with a wry smile." - OK.

Granny, did you misunderstand something? I am just an ordinary Returnee, not a Horse Immortal. I came to bother you only because I wanted to buy some Reverence-God Incense.

Regarding Chen Shicheng's explanation, the old woman still harbored some doubts; after the great immortal being worshipped met an accidental demise, a person reeking of incense suddenly appeared, and no matter how you look at it, it doesn't seem like an accidental visit.

However, seeing his unfamiliar way of performing rites, and his self-description as a Returnee, the old woman hesitated a moment, then still chose to believe.

"Come in, you've come at the right time; normally this Reverence-God Incense is supposed to be offered to the Immortal Family, but now, alas."

The old woman, with a bitter expression, led Chen Shicheng into the thatched hut; then, stooping, she went into the inner room to look for the Reverence-God Incense that was no longer usable.

Chen Shicheng took the opportunity to glance around the furnishings; the furniture was quite complete, but it looked old and dilapidated.

In the center of the main hall stood a spirit tablet covered with red cloth; if I'm not mistaken, the name written on it should be that of Hui Siye.

(End of Chapter)