“Oh my gosh! It looks like there are ghost fires over there!”
Sun Xingwen vaguely saw two clusters of greenish, eerie lights inside the cottage. Terrified, he immediately hid behind his sister, Sun Yourong.
“You useless thing! What ghost fires? There are no ghost fires here!”
Sun Qingcang scolded his disappointing son with a hint of anger.
“Let’s go.”
The group arrived in front the cottage.
Lu Chen pushed open the door. In the silent environment, a creepy, squeaking sound immediately echoed out.
A cloud of dust billowed up in his face, making everyone cough a few times.
“Geez, it’s been ages since anyone’s been here.”
Lu Chen fanned the air a bit.
Looking around, inside this room there was only an old, worn square table. And on that square table stood several memorial tablets of varying sizes.
There wasn’t even a basic shrine, let alone any statues of gods.
It was so simple and crude it felt suffocating.
Lu Chen walked up for a closer look.
The largest tablet, right in the very center, had three words written on it: King Yama.
To the left stood a small vertical tablet inscribed with Netherworld Judge.
To the right stood another small one inscribed with Black and White Impermanence.
“Head of the Sun family, does your Sun family temple also worship the Netherworld like this?”
Lu Chen pointed at the several tablets.
“Don’t you have any statues of the gods or anything?”
Sun Qingcang’s smile was a little awkward as he nodded and said, “All temples are arranged this way. But our Sun family temple isn’t as desolate as the Zhao family temple here. At least our little building is a bit sturdier, and we also regularly offer a stick of incense.”
Got it.
Even though theirs was a bit better, it was still pretty much the same.
“Ah, the mighty Netherworld, reduced to such a miserable state… there’s really no one else like it.”
Lu Chen thought to himself, then made a “please” gesture toward Sun Qingcang.
“Head of the Sun family, since there’s no problem, let’s… sign the contract.”
Sun Qingcang nodded, waved his hand, and a contract immediately appeared in his hand.
After all, who’s going to work for you without a signed contract? What if you don’t own up to it later?
“Regarding the payment, I won’t haggle with you, young friend Lu. We’ll follow Master Tan’s contract terms. If you truly succeed in extending the lifespan, the total of thirty million will be presented to you with both hands!”
That amount of money was nothing compared to the life of the Sun family’s elder.
Upon hearing this, Lu Chen’s blood started pumping with excitement.
Thirty million! If he pulled off this job, he’d leapfrog several social classes at once.
These big families were truly generous!
“Alright, agreed. I’ll do as you say, Head Sun.”
“Hold on!” Sun Xingwen suddenly spoke up. “If you succeed, no problem, we’ll pay you. But if you fail, what then?”
Lu Chen smiled. “Young Master Sun, I already said I’m just here to try. If you insist on me putting up something as collateral, then I won’t take this job. Besides, I doubt you made such a demand when you invited Master Tan.”
“Mind your own business! Go stand over there and shut up.”
Sun Qingcang scolded him, then was the first to sign his name on the contract.
Lu Chen then signed his name as well.
As the saying goes, a generous reward inspires daring deeds!
Right now, Lu Chen was absolutely itching to get started.
Suddenly, without any warning, the sound of clinking coins rang out by his ear.
“What is this?!…”
Lu Chen’s pupils contracted. He looked down at the Wealth-Attracting Ingot hanging around his neck. “The passive ability was triggered!?”
That meant this contract was one hundred percent guaranteed to succeed!
No way, really?!
So it seemed this Wealth-Attracting Ingot had a bit of a conceptual twist to it~
Lu Chen was already daydreaming about how to spend those thirty million.
“Head Sun, sorry to keep you waiting.”
Zhao Zhihong, who had gone to fetch the incense, finally returned.
Sun Qingcang took the incense, swept his spiritual sense over it, and finding no issues, nodded. “Thank you for your trouble, Supervisor Zhao. Young friend Lu, here you go. We’ll leave it to you now.”
Lu Chen took the incense, nodded, and said, “Head Sun, don’t worry. I’ll give it my all. Now, please wait outside.”
After Sun Qingcang and his group had stepped outside,
Lu Chen lit a stick of incense and began to silently chant the Spirit Invocation Spell.
But it wasn’t the Incense Offering Spirit Invocation Spell he had used before to invite the God of Wealth.
Instead, it was the Yama Heart Spell, specifically for summoning King Yama.
In Daoism, there are hundreds of different spells for summoning deities.
It’s not just general-purpose spells like the Incense Offering Spell for heavenly immortals.
Every single god has their own corresponding invocation spell.
The principle is pretty much the same as a phone number.
One god, one number!
“King Yama of the Ten Courts radiates divine light, Judge and Ghost Soldiers line both sides.
If any villain dares violate my law, the Eighteen Hells’ crimes are hard to hide.
…
Holding sway over Yin and Yang, good and evil, rewarding the virtuous and punishing the wicked without mercy.
This disciple wholeheartedly prays and bows, Lord Yama Emperor, descend and appear!
By divine fire’s swift command, as the decree!”
As he silently recited the Yama Heart Spell, the incense in Lu Chen’s hand began to burn brighter and brighter.
In a world invisible to others, a stream of spiritual energy rose into the air, twisted and turned, then transformed into a sharp sword that plunged straight into the ground and vanished without a trace!
…
The Netherworld, Yama’s Hall.
A chilling wind seeped up from the ground. The ghostly green soul-guiding lamps flickered on and off.
At the end of the dark road, the paint-peeling vermilion gate of the Netherworld slowly creaked open.
Inside the hall, a cold wind gusted.
Ox-Head and Horse-Face stood on either side. Ox-Head’s crimson eyes glowed like lanterns, chains wrapped around his horns. Horse-Face’s fangs jutted outward, the mourning staff in his hand radiating a sinister cold light.
Listening to the agonized howls of ghosts from outside, the eyes of these two famous underworld enforcers both gleamed with a scarlet light.
“Glug, glug, glug.”
Up on the king’s dais, the towering, mountain-like King Yama leaned back on his throne, his big potbelly sticking out. He held a wine gourd, two or three times the size of Ox-Head or Horse-Face, and kept chugging wine down his throat.
“Your Majesty, today’s many judgments have been completed. Please review them.”
Several judges carried over a heavy stack of documents – wider than four men and taller than one – and reported respectfully.
Upon hearing this, King Yama raised a finger and pointed. That huge stack of documents flew into his hand, only then shrinking to a “normal” size.
Yama drank his wine while scanning the documents with his gaze.
Before long, he signed his mark on the documents, signifying his review.
“Dismissed!”
With that, he flung the documents away.
Boom!
The documents, losing their magical guidance, crashed heavily onto the hall floor. The gust of chill wind they kicked up nearly sent the several judges flying.
King Yama let out a booming laugh.
But just then, a ray of golden light flew into the hall.
King Yama’s gaze sharpened. He reached out abruptly, snatched the golden light, and swallowed it in one gulp.
“This is… incense offering from the mortal world?!”
The Yama King was stunned for only a moment, then suddenly opened his mouth wide and burst into laughter.
“Excellent! These mortal heretical cultivators are truly insatiably greedy. They’ve set their sights on me now? Do they really think the Netherworld, one of the Three Realms, is some kind of evil, desolate place? How utterly audacious!”
“Your Majesty, please allow your subordinates to arrest them on your behalf!”
Ox-Head and Horse-Face volunteered immediately upon hearing this.
“No!” The Yama King waved his hand. “This scoundrel was able to deliver incense directly before my eyes. That means he has some skill. I’ll go and see for myself. It’s been a long time since I last visited the mortal world, anyway. And this incense… its flavor is quite delightful!”
No sooner had he spoken than the Yama King had vanished from his throne.
…
Inside the Zhao family temple, in the Netherworld cottage.
Seeing Lu Chen standing there completely motionless,
like a log without any reaction,
“Hey sis, do you think this guy is reliable? I’ve got a bad feeling about him.”
“Shut up!”
Sun Yourong glared at him, and Sun Xingwen immediately shrank his neck.
Zhao Zhihong watched from the sidelines, a slight smile curling his lips.
“This kid really thinks he’s someone important. He just happened to worship some obscure god and unexpectedly raised his divine favor level, and now he’s mistaking luck for skill?
And asking King Yama for extended life? What an absolute joke.
I can’t wait to see how he gets himself out of this mess!”
Whoosh~
Just then, a chilling gust of wind blew inside the cottage.
Aside from Sun Qingcang, almost everyone else shivered involuntarily.
“What’s going on? Where did this cold wind come from?”
They looked around left and right.
Sun Yourong felt like something above her head had suddenly gotten much darker.
She instinctively looked up.
If she hadn’t looked, she wouldn’t have known. But looking gave her a huge fright.
“Father, look!”
The others followed the direction of her pointing finger.
They were all completely stunned by the sight before them.
Above the cottage, black clouds pressed down on the area like a besieging army.
And within those black clouds, scarlet flames were churning.
“What the heck is that?!”
Sun Xingwen was so scared he nearly wet his pants.
Zhao Zhihong’s mouth also fell wide open in utter disbelief.
Such an extraordinary phenomenon!
Could it be that…
Sun Qingcang couldn’t hide his overwhelming joy. His gaze fixed once more on Lu Chen inside the cottage.
To his astonishment, Lu Chen was now surrounded by a thick, swirling black mist.
It was gradually enveloping him.
“Oh no!”
Sun Qingcang instinctively moved to enter the cottage,
but was sent flying back by an invisible force. He staggered back several steps before finally regaining his balance.
Then, Lu Chen’s voice suddenly sounded in his ear.
“Head Sun, don’t worry! I’m fine! Wait for my news!”
Inside the cottage, Lu Chen called out behind him, then calmly looked at the massive ghostly figure that had appeared above King Yama’s tablet.
He could hear the chilling wind all around, and a voice like a whetstone came from every direction.
“Kid, you’ve got some nerve, daring to summon me. Aren’t you afraid I’ll have your soul snatched away, boiled in a cauldron of oil, and tortured with axe blades on a mountain of knives?”
Lu Chen just smiled faintly, cupping his hands in a bow. “Lord Yama above, this disciple greets you. I’m still young, so I’m afraid I can’t make my way to the Netherworld just yet. As for being afraid of you, Lord? Why would I be? You, Lord, are a righteous god of the Three Realms. What does this disciple have to fear?”
The ghostly form of King Yama flickered. After a moment of silence, he suddenly chuckled. “You’re a crafty one, kid. But you do have some courage, unlike most mortals who tremble and stammer before me. Speak. Why did you summon me?”
As he finished speaking, the chill wind around them grew even stronger, as if thousands of mournful spirits were wailing.
Lu Chen’s smile only widened. He got straight to the point. “In reply to you, Lord, I have summoned you today because I wish to offer you a considerable amount of merit!”
“Merit? Offer to me?”
The Yama King’s voice suddenly sounded suspicious.
Clearly, he hadn’t expected such an answer…
