Chapter 159: This Calming Talisman Really Works!
Liu Ye realized that the Heavenly Lord of Demon Subjugation had likely descended, and felt even more that he was luckier than others, having the chance to come into such close contact with this mysterious phenomenon.
This made him lower his head even more and become even more pious.
After hearing Aunt-grandmother’s words, Chen Han handed those completed Prayer for Blessings and Peace Talismans to her and instructed, “Aunt-grandmother, place these Calming Talismans on that altar.”
Aunt-grandmother took the talismans, looked at the altar he pointed to, then, seemingly thoughtful, walked over and placed the Prayer for Blessings and Peace Talismans she held onto that altar.
She was already very convinced by this young patriarch. He was the one chosen by the Heavenly Lord.
So his words must carry deeper meaning.
When Chen Han saw Aunt-grandmother place the Prayer for Blessings and Peace Talismans on that special altar, he instructed again, “Aunt-grandmother, now recite the Peace Chanting Spell three times, report and request the Heavenly Lord’s Blessing, and then perform a calming prayer ceremony for Mr. Liu and grant him one Calming Talisman.”
“Alright.” Knowing the patriarch had deeper intent, Aunt-grandmother sat cross-legged on the cushion before the offering table and began piously chanting the Prayer for Blessings and Peace Talisman.
Aunt-grandmother’s chanting scriptures skill was very solid, after all she had served in this Heavenly Lord of Demon Subjugation Hall for more than forty years.
When she finished reciting the Peace Chanting Spell three times, Chen Han received a game prompt at the same time:
【Congratulations, for today the Special Altar’s Prayer for Blessings and Peace Talismans’ Blessing is completed: 13/30!】
As he received the prompt, Chen Han also looked in surprise at the changes in the Prayer for Blessings and Peace Talismans on the special altar.
After Aunt-grandmother finished reciting the Peace Chanting Spell three times, the effect was triggered. The runes drawn on those Prayer for Blessings and Peace Talismans actually began to rapidly change from cinnabar red to purple.
Did this mean the Calming Talismans had been infused with divine power?
In the Daoist sect, purple represents divine power. Purple also symbolizes nobility and transcendence, so only high-level mages or people with profound dao cultivation may wear purple daoist robes.
It is just that, in the present Daoist sect, how many of those mages wearing purple robes truly have real power is not something ordinary people can know.
He went over, picked up one Calming Talisman, placed it into the warehouse, and checked the information:
【Prayer for Blessings and Peace Talisman: This is a special Prayer for Blessings and Peace Talisman. After receiving the blessing, wearing it will grant mind tranquility +1, sleep quality +1, mental calmness +
Note: The Daoist sect Calming Talisman is effective for one year, and the bestowed power gradually weakens over time. The period of effectiveness is also affected by the wearer’s virtue. If the wearer commits evil and becomes tainted with filthy karma and so on, it will also expire early!】
Clearly, this was the final attribute state of the Prayer for Blessings and Peace Talisman.
This simple piece of talisman paper had been granted divine power, so it became completely different.
Aunt-grandmother held the fly whisk and gently brushed the top of Liu Ye’s head, performing the calming prayer ceremony for him.
Liu Ye’s face was full of piety. Following instructions, he performed worship.
Finally, the calming prayer ceremony ended. Aunt-grandmother told Liu Ye to get up and wait a moment, then took out a small lucky bag from a drawer of the incense table beside the offering table.
Most talismans in the Daoist sect are made of paper, easily damaged, so they are specially placed in small yellow cloth bags, just large enough to hold one folded talisman.
This small cloth bag is also called a lucky bag. Of course, “lucky bag” does not refer only to this kind of small cloth bag; there are also specially used prayer lucky bags and incense lucky bags, and so on.
Moreover, talismans cannot be placed into lucky bags casually; they must be folded in a special way first.
Aunt-grandmother went to the altar where the Calming Talismans were placed. This time, when she saw those talismans again, she could hardly suppress her emotions. Since she had placed them there herself, she could naturally see the change in the color of the runes.
These talismans were different now.
She subconsciously picked up one talisman. The instant she held it in her hand, the fluctuation in her eyes grew stronger, and she became even more pious as she carefully folded the talisman.
Folding a talisman requires placing the written side facing up, with the talisman head facing down. Folding begins from the talisman head; then the lower left corner is folded diagonally toward the upper right to form a point, then the lower right corner is folded toward the upper left, forming a triangle…
Chen Han watched from the side. He also knew how to fold talismans, just not as skillfully.
Aunt-grandmother’s folding technique was also very good. In a short while, she finished folding one Prayer for Blessings and Peace Talisman, placed it into the small cloth bag, then walked over to Liu Ye and gave a bow. “Devotee, this is the Calming Talisman granted to you by the Heavenly Lord.”
Liu Ye hurriedly and respectfully went to receive the Calming Talisman.
Even though he already had his suspicions or firm beliefs in his heart, when he received the Calming Talisman, his eyes still widened slightly.
At that moment, he felt a sense of mental calmness and tranquility of mind.
Although it was not the same feeling as when listening to the chanting just before, this was continuous. As long as he wore it on him, he could continue to feel it, and he could even take it out of the Chen Clan and it would still work.
If he could remain in this marvelous state at all times, it would definitely be very comfortable and intoxicating.
This truly was the Heavenly Lord granting blessings in real time.
He, Liu Ye, was truly fortunate.
From now on, he would certainly be a loyal believer of the Heavenly Lord.
At this moment, Chen Han also reminded him, “Mr. Liu, this Calming Talisman is granted by the Heavenly Lord of Demon Subjugation and contains divine power. You must not allow your virtue to fall short and commit evil deeds. If karma taints it, the divine power will disperse, you will be committing sacrilege and be entangled in karma, and the consequences are unpredictable…”
Liu Ye, who had been rejoicing, shuddered subconsciously upon hearing this.
Yes, the Heavenly Lord’s Blessing had given this Calming Talisman such effects, but if he committed evil and the Heavenly Lord knew, then the divine power would disappear and the Calming Talisman would naturally lose its effect.
Sacrilege and karma entangling him made him swallow hard; just thinking about it was terrifying.
Once one confirmed the existence of such beings, and had even come into contact with them, the saying “three feet above your head there are deities” would be infinitely magnified.
Especially that “unpredictable” from the mouth of the Chen Family Head.
Though it was not explained in detail, the more vaguely he put it, the more terrifying it seemed.
Thinking of this, Liu Ye hurried to promise, “Chen Family Head, rest assured. I am already a believer of the Heavenly Lord. I will certainly follow the Heavenly Lord’s teachings, do good and not evil.”
Chen Jing had previously always been outside and did not understand many things in the clan. His greatest impression of this Heavenly Lord of Demon Subjugation Hall in the past was that during the new year or festivals, everyone who came back to the village would come here to worship.
But at that time, everyone treated it as a gathering activity, to add some liveliness, and did not think that the Heavenly Lord Hall would actually have such extraordinary functions.
In particular, this Mr. Liu was clearly not an ordinary person. Otherwise, the county leaders would not have accompanied him so attentively for the sake of his investment.
Now this person was so pious and humble in the Heavenly Lord Hall. This absolutely was not because he had been fooled, and he could not possibly be an idiot.
If someone thought a person like him was stupid, that person should consider their own worth; why is he a tycoon while they are not?
Outside, Chu Ping and Chen Kai had brought people to keep watching the situation in the Heavenly Lord of Demon Subjugation Hall. They were somewhat at a loss, glancing at each other.
In their eyes, it was just that elder of the Chen Clan performing some actions for Mr. Liu, and these actions were no different from what daoist priests of outside Daoist sects did when they performed prayer ceremonies.
There was no sense of mysterious phenomena at all. It all looked utterly ordinary, and even when Aunt-grandmother used the fly whisk to brush Mr. Liu’s head, there was nothing strange about it.
Chen Han naturally also saw the two outside.
After thinking for a moment, he said to Aunt-grandmother, “Aunt-grandmother, fold two more Calming Talismans and send them to the two gentlemen outside the hall. They have provided great help for our Chen Clan’s development.”
Aunt-grandmother glanced outside. She had always been on the hall side and did not know who those people were. But since the patriarch had instructed her, she would simply do it.
Soon, two more Calming Talismans were folded, placed into small lucky bags, and handed to the patriarch.
Smiling, Chen Han took the two Calming Talismans to the entrance of the hall and handed them to Chu Ping and Chen Kai. “Gentlemen, this is a Calming Talisman. It has the effects of mental calmness and mind tranquility and can help with sleep. To thank you both for your help to the Chen Clan, we gift these to you.”
Chu Ping and Chen Kai instinctively wanted to refuse, feeling it was not appropriate to accept such things. But when the Chen Family Head placed the Calming Talismans into their hands, each of them saw unconcealable shock in the other’s eyes.
The moment they touched the Calming Talismans, they felt a very strange state.
Their entire mental state seemed to become calm, and there was an indescribable tranquility in their hearts.
This was not a misperception.
It appeared abruptly the instant they touched the Calming Talismans.
Chu Ping tried putting the Calming Talisman in his hand into Chen Kai’s hand, and that feeling indeed vanished instantly.
Chen Kai seemed to understand his intention and did the same, placing both talismans into Chu Ping’s hand. The feeling was just as real, and it disappeared instantly.
So, the Calming Talismans were actually truly effective?
In the next moment, each of them kept one talisman and extinguished the thought of returning them.
Faced with such miraculous phenomena, anyone would find it hard to remain calm.
They looked at the Statue of the Heavenly Lord of Demon Subjugation inside the hall and could not help but feel a stronger sense of awe.
If, previously, those mystic sect places in the county had all felt vague and unreal to them, something they could not experience, now the Chen Clan’s Calming Talismans were held in their own hands, and they had personally felt the mysterious phenomena.
This was also the first time in their lives that they realized there truly were some mysterious things in this world.
The impact they were experiencing now was imaginable.
After the calming ceremony ended, Liu Ye naturally came out as well and respectfully saluted the Chen Family Head with a dao salute.
This was what he had just learned from that female elder of the Chen Clan.
He did not know if he did it correctly, but it was an expression of his piety.
Seeing the Calming Talismans in Chu Ping and Chen Kai’s hands, he was full of emotion. “You two leaders are truly fortunate. This is a treasure personally blessed by the Heavenly Lord.”
Chu Ping and Chen Kai looked at each other. Given their positions, such words were difficult to respond to.
Chen Kai tentatively asked, “Mr. Liu, what exactly happened to you in the hall just now?”
Liu Ye only chuckled and said, “Director Chen, it was just a simple calming ritual for psychological comfort. What could really happen? We must believe in science.”
“…” Hearing the words “believe in science” now, Chen Kai found them absurd.
Clearly, in other contexts these words were correct.
In those mystic sect places elsewhere, so many tourists went to play and watch people worship and pray. Who among them thought there was anything to it?
If he had not known about some of the Chen Clan’s mysteries in advance, if he were just another uninformed tourist, he might well have glanced over, thought it looked fake, and muttered, “In this day and age, people still get fooled by this?”
Or perhaps those mystic sect places were actually the same as the Chen Clan; those acts of worship and ceremonies looked ordinary, but inside there was something real, just that most people simply did not know?
After all, not everyone could be like them and receive the gift of a Calming Talisman, and so would never have the chance to know these mysterious phenomena.
Feeling that this topic was not appropriate to continue, Chu Ping quickly changed the subject. “Mr. Liu, since you have finished visiting the Chen Family Head, let us now go to our county. Allow us to fulfill our duty as hosts and treat you.”
They still had to hold on to this thigh. From the current situation, with the Chen Clan here, this man’s investment was basically guaranteed.
This was also a sure thing for their county. With his investment, they would definitely gain support in investment promotion.
The county would once again enjoy the benefits brought by the Chen Clan.
Liu Ye did not particularly care about this now, since he had already decided to invest.
Also, he understood their mindset. Regarding his investments, not to mention throwing money into a small county like Linhe County, it would be no problem to throw it into the city.
After Mr. Liu and the others left, another group of tourists entered the hall to offer incense, and Aunt-grandmother also went to provide guidance.
Because nowadays, mystic sect sites are open and casual about tourists worshiping and offering incense. They do not talk about rules, precautions, or taboos.
But here at the Chen Clan, Aunt-grandmother would still guide people to offer incense correctly. Strictly speaking, her dao heart and sense of responsibility were stronger than those of the daoist priests at many so-called holy lands.
After Aunt-grandmother finished, Chen Han also called her over.
“Patriarch, what are your instructions?” Aunt-grandmother asked.
Chen Han said, “Aunt-grandmother, you have noticed as well, that altar has been blessed. As long as the Calming Talismans are placed on it and the Peace Chanting Spell is recited three times, the talismans can be granted blessings. And every day it can bless thirty talismans.”
With Aunt-grandmother, he did not conceal anything and spoke directly.
He could see that her faith in the Heavenly Lord of Demon Subjugation was unmatched in the clan.
After all, she had served for more than forty years, so she could fully accept such mysterious matters when told directly.
Sure enough, when Aunt-grandmother heard this, her face was obviously filled with excitement, and she bowed in worship to the Statue of the Heavenly Lord of Demon Subjugation.
So, after she rose, Chen Han continued, “Aunt-grandmother, these thirty Calming Talismans are to be granted to true believers. How to bestow blessings and how to judge believers is for you to grasp. Just reserve a few each day.”
“In addition, recruit a few people from the clan to assist you in maintaining this side of the hall. You are to serve as the elder in charge of the Consecration Hall, with an offering of seven thousand per month for each person, and your offering raised to ten thousand. After the matter of the Calming Talismans spreads, I believe it will become busy here at the Heavenly Lord’s side.”
He entrusted this matter entirely to Aunt-grandmother. Despite her age, she had worked in the hall for over forty years and knew perfectly well how to host and distinguish believers. At least, without a dedicated function from the game system, he was certainly far less capable than she was.
As for recruiting clan members, not every clan member was suitable. They needed to possess pious hearts, familiarity with Daoist matters, and strong execution and practical abilities regarding various rituals.
Aunt-grandmother understood this as well. After all, forty years ago most of the Chen Clan were still farming in the village, and there were many kinds of rituals.
Just like many elderly people in the countryside who are very familiar with festivals, sacrifices, and customs, whenever such things arise in the village, people ask them to help organize.
Although the Chen Clan had a main family, these rituals were the collective responsibility of the entire clan, and some elders were of this type. Now they could be brought in by Aunt-grandmother to help maintain the hall.
Otherwise, once the matter of the Calming Talismans spread, not only tourists but also Daoist sect believers coming specifically for them would become numerous, and the hall would definitely become very busy.
“Patriarch, rest assured!” Aunt-grandmother agreed. The clan’s restoration to its former prosperity was what she most wished to see.
Chen Han then looked at Xiao Mi, who was attending beside them. She was now able to remain calm. After all, Chen Han’s cancer had already been greatly healed by the Heavenly Lord’s Blessing; what else could she not accept?
He folded one Prayer for Blessings and Peace Talisman himself, took a small cloth bag, placed the talisman inside, and handed it to Xiao Mi. “This is for you.”
Xiao Mi took the Calming Talisman and exclaimed in surprise, “You can feel the effect as soon as you touch it.”
“Yes.” Chen Han nodded.
After Chen Han left the hall with Xiao Mi, Aunt-grandmother suddenly remembered one thing: she had not yet asked about drawing these Calming Talismans.
However, she did not go out of her way to disturb the patriarch, and instead began to study the Calming Talismans herself.
Because she was very proficient in drawing talismans.
Over the past forty-plus years, the Chen Clan had used many talismans, all drawn by her, and she was very confident about this.
So after studying the Calming Talismans for a while, she understood them, and immediately fetched cinnabar, talisman paper, and other tools to prepare to draw these Calming Talismans.
She was also the most pious believer of the Heavenly Lord and believed that what the patriarch could do, she could also achieve…
