Meanwhile, outside the hut.
Sun Qingcang and his group were watching what was happening inside.
But the black mist inside was as thick as ink, forming a separate space of its own, making it impossible to see even a sliver of what was going on.
“Master, will he be okay? It’s been so long.”
Remembering how Tan Kun had been struck by backlash when he prayed earlier,
Madam Song couldn’t help but feel a bit worried.
“It’s fine. I trust that young friend Lu knows what he’s doing.”
For some reason, Sun Qingcang felt more confident than before.
Behind him, Sun Yourong furrowed her brows slightly.
She kept glancing at the churning crimson flames above her head.
This was also a prayer offering.
Wasn’t Lu Chen’s display a little too dramatic?
“Whoosh!”
Suddenly, the black mist inside the hut dispersed.
Lu Chen’s head popped out from within.
“Head of the Sun family!”
“Young friend Lu!” Sun Qingcang and the others straightened up with a start. “Are you… are you alright?”
Lu Chen smiled. “I’m fine, I’m fine. Don’t worry. By the way, what’s your father’s name?”
Sun Qingcang’s pupils shrank. Could it be… had he succeeded?
He quickly said, “Sun Dechang. De as in ‘virtue,’ Chang as in ‘prosperous.'”
Lu Chen: “Got it! Just wait a bit longer! There shouldn’t be any major problems!”
With that, Lu Chen pulled his head back inside.
The black mist sealed up again.
“Master! Father has a chance?!”
Madam Song was overcome with emotion.
Sun Qingcang couldn’t help but tremble all over, unable to hide the surprise at the corners of his mouth. “I told you young friend Lu would make it happen! He’ll definitely make it happen!”
Sun Yourong and Sun Xingwen also breathed a huge sigh of relief.
“Show some respect to Mr. Lu from now on, you hear me?”
“I got it, sis.” Sun Xingwen scratched his head. “I didn’t expect him to be this powerful! But it’s strange. He’s not even a spiritual practitioner, so why is his prayer ability so terrifying?”
“Don’t call him ‘this guy’! From now on, address him as Mr. Lu!”
Sun Qingcang smacked his son on the head. “You hear me?”
“Yes, yes, I hear you, Dad…” Sun Xingwen pouted.
Meanwhile, off to the side, Zhao Zhihong’s mind was already in turmoil, utterly shocked.
His mouth was hanging open wide enough to fit a bowl!
“He… he succeeded again?!”
…
Inside the hut.
“Your Majesty, the person seeking a longer life is named Sun Dechang.”
Upon hearing this, the King of Hell flipped his hand over, and a book appeared. It was pitch black but radiated a brilliant luster.
“The Book of Life and Death!”
This was also one of the rare primordial spiritual treasures in the world. It recorded the life and death information of all people and animals, controlling life and death with tremendous power.
Lu Chen couldn’t help but steal a few more glances. He really coveted this thing!
“If others can add to their lifespan, why can’t I? And my whole family too! Ideally, I’d have all our names erased from the Book of Life and Death.”
Lu Chen started scheming to himself about how to maximize his gains from the King of Hell.
“Sun Dechang… indeed, his lifespan is nearly up. He has less than six hours left to live.”
The King of Hell’s voice rang out.
“Please, Your Majesty, grant him your blessing.”
Lu Chen clasped his hands and bowed.
“Not so fast.”
But the King of Hell changed his tune again.
Lu Chen’s heart skipped a beat. “Your Majesty, this…”
The King said, “Didn’t you say you were going to invite me into your home? Then we’ll talk after you’ve done that.”
Lu Chen: “Huh?!”
The King asked, “What’s wrong? Are you unwilling?”
Lu Chen was at a loss with this sly old fox. He laughed bitterly and said, “Your Majesty, if you don’t grant him a longer life, I can’t explain it to the family. If I can’t explain it, I won’t get my reward. If I don’t get my reward, how can I invite you into my home? You don’t think you can invite a deity from a temple for free, do you? It’s expensive!”
The King thought about it and agreed. “Fine. Then I’ll grant him seven days of life first, so you have something to show them.”
Lu Chen: “Seven days? Your Majesty, that’s… that’s way too little.”
The King snapped, “Don’t bargain with me. There’s no such thing as a free lunch in this world. You want me to grant him several years of life without giving anything in return? Does that sound possible?”
Lu Chen scratched his head. Well… that did make some sense.
The King gave a cold laugh. “Don’t worry. I am a King of Hell, a high-ranking underworld deity, and I never go back on my word. As long as you sincerely work for me, I won’t treat you unfairly.”
Damn!
It seemed that simply inviting the deity home wasn’t enough.
So this sly old fox had already figured things out.
Lu Chen took a quiet breath and could only clasp his hands and say, “Please, Your Majesty, enlighten me.”
The King nodded with satisfaction. “You’re a sharp kid. Listen carefully. If you want me to continue granting extra life in the future, you must agree to a few conditions.
First: Building a temple and gilding my statue is absolutely necessary.
Second: Since you’re willing to work for me, to promote the underworld and attract worshippers, from today onward, for every worshipper you bring me, I will grant that person three days of extra life. If you can bring me a thousand worshippers, I will grant that person five full years of extra life all at once. What do you think?”
Lu Chen did the mental math, then frowned. “That doesn’t add up, Your Majesty. Three days per person times a thousand is three thousand days, which converts to about seven or eight years. So how come it’s only five years?”
The King roared, “You insolent brat! Do you really think the laws of heaven are just for show? Even heaven and earth have their fixed numbers and calamities, let alone mere mortals? Sun Dechang living to eighty-six years is already his blessing. For me to agree to let him live a few more years is already an extraordinary grace from heaven. How dare you push for more?”
Seeing the old King of Hell lose his temper, Lu Chen decided to quit while he was ahead.
When you’re out in the world, if you make a mistake, you admit it. If you get called out, you stand straight and take it.
After all, he was the one asking for a favor.
But on the other hand…
Was the King of Hell assigning him a task?
A thousand worshippers?
I knew it—this sly old fox’s goal is to infiltrate the mortal market!
He’s using me as his vanguard!
Oh well, it’s not like I can refuse. I’ll agree for now and figure things out later.
Come to think of it, this is one of the four main ways to increase my Divine Servant Rank!
Accepting tasks from the deity is one of them.
And it’s also one of the fastest ways to increase the rank.
I’ve heard that normally, you need at least 20% Divine Servant Rank to receive a task from a deity.
Does that mean I already have 20% with him?
Lu Chen didn’t dwell on it.
After all, someone as overpowered as him couldn’t be judged by normal standards.
“Alright, Your Majesty! I understand! I’ll do as you say!”
“Very well. Then go ahead and invite me into your home to be worshipped. Once that’s done, I’ll have further arrangements for you.”
As he spoke, the King of Hell’s massive ghostly figure gradually faded away, and the surrounding black mist dispersed, revealing the hut’s original appearance.
Lu Chen had just taken a deep breath when he heard the urgent voices of Sun Qingcang and his group behind him: “Young friend Lu (Mr. Lu)!”
Lu Chen turned to look at them.
“How did it go, young friend Lu? Did you succeed?”
“Yes, Mr. Lu, how many years of life did you manage to get?”
Seeing their eager faces, Lu Chen was about to speak when he noticed Zhao Zhihong sneaking a look from behind. He instinctively held his tongue.
Sun Qingcang followed his gaze and immediately understood. His expression cooled, and he said, “Manager Zhao, please excuse us for a moment. I need to discuss something with young friend Lu.”
Zhao Zhihong’s expression flickered, then he gave an awkward nod and took his leave.
Once he was gone,
Sun Qingcang pointed a finger, and a transparent barrier enveloped the group.
He then clasped his hands and said, “Young friend Lu, you can speak freely now.”
Lu Chen nodded. “There’s good news and bad news. Which do you want to hear first?”
Sun Qingcang and the others stiffened.
“Let’s hear the good news first.”
“The good news is that the old master isn’t going to die just yet.”
The Sun family members all showed joyful expressions. “And the bad news?”
“The bad news is that the old master can only live for seven more days.”
As soon as he said this, the Sun family’s smiles froze again.
“How can this be? Can’t you get even half a year of extra life?”
“See, Dad? I told you he was unreliable! Only seven days! What good is seven days? Listen here, kid, for only getting this few days, don’t think you’ll be getting that big reward!”
Sun Xingwen felt like he’d been played. But as soon as he finished speaking, a loud slap landed on his face.
Sun Qingcang barked, “Shut up! Apologize to Mr. Lu!”
“Dad!”
“Apologize!”
Sun Xingwen reluctantly clasped his hands. “I’m sorry, Mr. Lu.”
Lu Chen gave a slight nod.
Regardless of Sun Xingwen’s attitude, at least Sun Qingcang was reasonable.
“Young friend Lu, seven days is still far too short. Could you perhaps plead with the King of Hell a little more?” Sun Qingcang clasped his hands. “Don’t worry! Money is no object!”
Lu Chen had been waiting for that line.
He secretly activated his [Treasure-Identifying Clairvoyance] and discovered that the number above Sun Qingcang’s head was a staggering ten digits!
And the first digit was a five!
Whew~
As expected of one of the four great families of Jiangdu City!
Lu Chen’s eyes turned red with greed!
“Damn, with that kind of wealth, if I don’t take him for a ride, I’d be doing myself a disservice!”
