The next day, around ten in the morning.
Lu Chen and Sun Yourong finished getting ready and left the hotel.
“Miss Sun, Mr. Lu, take care. We look forward to seeing you both again!”
At the entrance, the entire hotel’s several hundred employees stood in two neat rows to see them off.
It wasn’t until Lu Chen’s luxury car had driven far away that the hotel returned to normal, letting other vehicles and guests check in.
“So, did you sleep well last night?” Sun Yourong asked, looking at Lu Chen, who was still yawning beside her.
“Pretty well. How could a five-star hotel be uncomfortable? Thanks to you, Sister Sun, I got to enjoy an emperor’s treatment.”
“You’re such a smooth talker.” Sun Yourong gave a mock scolding laugh. She noticed Lu Chen’s backpack seemed a bit puffier than yesterday and couldn’t help asking, “What exactly do you have in that bag? It’s so bulging.”
“Just some props for the ceremony later,” Lu Chen explained casually.
He hadn’t rested at all after returning to the hotel last night.
Drawing talismans, preparing scriptures – he was so busy his feet never touched the ground.
Lu Chen had named this ritual: [The Dragon Invocation Jiao].
The term “Jiao” is a type of Taoist ritual ceremony.
“Ceremonies,” or “Dao Chang,” are divided into two categories: “Zhai” and “Jiao.”
“Zhai” leans more towards personal cultivation, while “Jiao” is used for worshipping deities.
You could also think of “Zhai” as the preparation before the “Jiao.”
Before a sacrifice, one must purify the body and mind through bathing, abstaining from meat and alcohol, and refraining from sexual activity to show reverence to the gods.
Therefore, from last night until now, Lu Chen hadn’t touched a single bit of meat or alcohol.
Before leaving this morning, he specifically bathed and changed clothes to show his body and mind were clean, striving for a perfect ritual.
As for “Jiao,” based on its nature, it can be divided into “Qing Jiao” (Pure Offering) and “You Jiao” (Dark Offering).
The former is for praying for blessings and dispelling disasters, the latter for transcending the souls of the dead.
By scale, it can also be divided into “Small Jiao” and “Large Jiao.”
This [Dragon Invocation Jiao], strictly speaking, was a lower-medium scale “Qing Jiao.”
After all, Lu Chen was just one person, so there wasn’t much room to make it grand.
But considering all his previous methods had produced extraordinary effects,
He had a feeling that the results of this formal altar opening might far exceed expectations.
And the [Three Scriptures, Nine Volumes] needed for the [Jiao Ritual] were:
The Three Scriptures: The Tao Te Ching, The Nan Hua Jing (Zhuangzi), The Wen Shi Jing (Scripture of Wenzi).
The Nine Volumes included: The Eight Divine Spells, Understanding the Truth, The Kinship of the Three, The Supreme Induction Chapter, and five other classic Taoist texts.
Of course, in just one night,
No matter how much blood Lu Chen drained from himself, he could never have copied all these classics.
What he prepared was the [Small Three Scriptures, Nine Volumes] – meaning he took a few chapters of true meaning from each classic, a common abridged version.
Although the effect would certainly be inferior to the proper [Three Scriptures, Nine Volumes],
Lu Chen believed it should still be sufficient.
In addition, he also prepared the [Memorial Tablets] for invoking the gods and various talismans for the rituals.
In short, from eight last night until two or three in the morning, Lu Chen finally finished all the preparations.
It was only because he was experienced and familiar with the process.
If it had been any other young Taoist, they couldn’t have gotten all this done in under a week.
“By the way, did you hear that thunder last night?” Sun Yourong suddenly asked.
“I did. It was pretty loud,” Lu Chen nodded, remembering the sudden, huge boom amidst his busy work last night.
But that was it, just that one sound.
“Dragon Tiger County hasn’t seen rain or thunder for three years. Why would thunder suddenly appear?”
Sun Yourong furrowed her brow, a hint of worry in her voice. “Lu Chen, I have a vague feeling of unease. I’m afraid things today might not go so smoothly…”
Lu Chen’s eyes sharpened. “Are you saying the East Sea Dragon King won’t let this go?”
Sun Yourong thought for a moment, then nodded slightly. “Although I don’t know exactly what you did… I do have a bad feeling about this.”
Lu Chen forced a lighthearted smile. “It’s fine. Even if He does come, I doubt He’ll dare to do anything.”
Sun Yourong looked at him in surprise. “Why? What… exactly did you do?”
But Lu Chen just smiled and didn’t say a word.
Unless the East Sea Dragon King wanted to end up in the Tianhe Great Prison.
Otherwise, what could He really do even if He showed up?
Of course, to be on the safe side, if the East Sea Dragon King did completely lose it,
Then Lu Chen… well, he’d just have to accept it.
At that point, he could only hope his brother’s words, “keeping him safe is more than enough,” would truly carry enough weight!
But right now, the arrow was on the string and had to be loosed.
Lu Chen had no choice but to gamble on this!
Riches are lost in danger, but they’re also found in danger!
If you’re afraid of everything, how can you ever achieve anything great?
Opportunities, after all, are always forged by forging ahead!
Their car drove all the way towards the Great Dragon Pool. Lu Chen looked at the endless stream of cars along the way, all flowing in the same direction.
“Looks like quite a lot of people are coming today!” Lu Chen squinted, his voice firm. “Bring it on! The more, the better!”
…
Half an hour later, at the Great Dragon Pool.
Looking into the distance, a high platform had been erected in the center of the dried lake bed, just as Lu Chen had requested.
“Uncle Chen! Uncle Wang!”
Lu Chen and Sun Yourong quickly walked up onto the high platform.
“Little Lu is here.”
Chen Tiansheng’s complexion was just as bad as yesterday, even worse perhaps.
It seemed making that statue yesterday had indeed drained him quite a bit.
“Here, everything you asked for is ready.”
Chen Tiansheng handed over a box.
Lu Chen opened it and saw all the needed items were there.
That Taoist robe in particular instantly brought back memories of the Qingfeng Temple.
“Thank you, Uncle Chen!”
“Don’t be so polite. We should be thanking you. By the way, Old Wang, how’s the headcount looking?” Chen Tiansheng turned to Wang Zhongmin with a smile.
“Currently, about thirty thousand county residents have arrived, but there are still a huge number of cars on the way. I estimate the final number might exceed a hundred thousand. Little Lu, you really picked the right spot. Anywhere else couldn’t hold this many people.”
“Great! The more, the better! I’ll get ready now. Noon is the auspicious time. As soon as it arrives, I’ll immediately open the altar and perform the ritual!”
“Okay! You handle things up on the platform. Leave the ground to us. Don’t you worry!”
Wang Zhongmin and Chen Tiansheng cupped their hands in salute, then descended the platform to arrange the follow-up tasks.
Lu Chen, meanwhile, placed the Three Scriptures, Nine Volumes, Memorial Tablets, ritual talismans, and other items in neat order on the platform.
Sun Yourong watched these strange and unfamiliar objects. Although she was full of curiosity, the timing wasn’t right, so she didn’t ask.
But she felt more and more that Lu Chen was shrouded in a thick, impenetrable fog.
“Could it be that this special ritual was also taught to him by Lord Jun, the God of Wealth?” she wondered silently.
As the time approached, more and more people gathered around the Great Dragon Pool. They formed a dark, pressing mass, like a surging tide.
Thanks to the hard work of the county staff, the scene was relatively orderly, with people steadily entering the pool area.
…
“Why are there so many people here?”
“Yeah, they just said it was for praying for rain, not any details.”
“Is it that spiritual person who can supposedly make rain?”
“Who cares? As long as they can bring rain, I’d crawl here if I had to!”
“I hope they don’t disappoint us this time. I’ve had just about enough!”
Various murmurs and discussions rose from the crowd from time to time.
“Move aside, everyone, move aside!”
Suddenly, a commotion broke out. Spirit Water Shangren, sitting on the red-spotted woman’s shoulders, plowed straight through the crowd.
Seeing how strange these two looked, the people around automatically made a path for them.
“Hmph!”
Staring at Lu Chen busying himself on the distant platform, Spirit Water Shangren let out a cold snort. “Kid, so it is you!”
“Husband, what’s he doing?” the red-spotted woman asked in her raspy voice.
“Who knows what this kid is up to. Let’s watch and see.” Spirit Water Shangren’s face was dark and gloomy.
He remembered the faint fluctuation of magical power Lu Chen had accidentally emitted during their clash yesterday.
He was just a mere first-rank spiritualist.
A nobody like that, and he dared to ruin his plans?
This guy already had death written all over him!
…
And while the Great Dragon Pool was buzzing with noise and activity,
Up in the sky, tens of thousands of meters above Dragon Tiger County,
The Four Sea Dragons churned and appeared among the clouds.
“So it’s you, this kid! And you still dare to make trouble at the Great Dragon Pool! The sheer audacity! You’ve gone too far!!!!”
The East Sea Dragon King, Ao Guang, stared intently at Lu Chen busying himself on the high platform. A tremendous killing intent blazed in his dragon eyes.
The other three Sea Dragon Kings were also furious, their dragon eyes burning with rage!
“But brother,” the South Sea Dragon King, Ao Ming, said after calming down, clearly puzzled, “this kid is utterly unremarkable. What kind of methods did he use to make Lord Jun, the God of Wealth, accept him as a sworn younger brother?”
“Look at the formation he’s set up… What exactly is he trying to do?”
The West Sea Dragon King, Ao Run, also chimed in with a reminder.
“Who cares what he’s doing! Let’s just see which god he can actually invite here to make it rain!”
The North Sea Dragon King, Ao Shun, ground his sharp teeth together, wishing he could swallow Lu Chen whole right then and there.
Hearing this, the other three dragons all nodded.
Ao Guang sneered contemptuously. “Fourth brother is right! I’d like to see which colleague in the Ministry of Water would dare to ignore my authority, Ao Guang, and come here to make it rain!”
Having said that, he felt something and looked up towards the Xuan Dou Palace in the Ninth Heaven.
Suddenly, it seemed as if a blazing gaze pierced through the clouds, stabbing straight at him!
Ao Guang’s dragon eyes narrowed. His neck shrank back, and he swiftly vanished into the clouds.
“Damn it! Is the Star Lord also observing this matter?!”
“The Star Lord?!”
The expressions of the three dragons grew stern, and they quickly dispersed into the cloud cover.
Only after a moment did they dare poke their heads out again.
South Sea Dragon King: “Brother, I don’t sense anything! Not at all.”
West Sea Dragon King: “Me neither.”
North Sea Dragon King: “Same for me.”
Ao Guang let out a long, relieved breath. Still shaken, he glanced towards the Xuan Dou Palace. “Looks like it was my imagination… Well, since the Star Lord doesn’t seem to have noticed, that’s good for us!”
The four dragons once again crouched in the clouds, looking down.
What they didn’t know was that, high up in the Ninth Heaven, inside the Xuan Dou Palace,
The Water Virtue Star Lord and Lord Jun, the God of Wealth, were sitting across from each other, drinking.
In the center of the palace hall, a radiant Mystic Light Mirror shone brilliantly.
It not only reflected the entire scene of all the people at the Great Dragon Pool, but the four dragons in the clouds were also clearly visible.
“Hmph! Ao Guang has some nerve!”
The Water Virtue Star Lord erupted in furious anger, his face dark as water.
He had explicitly ordered him not to cause trouble, yet he dared to openly defy the order and gather the other three dragon gods for a secret watch!
He was treating the Star Lord’s decree as if it were nothing!
“Water Virtue, no need to be angry. If they just stay back and watch, it should be fine.”
Lord Jun, the God of Wealth, took a light sip of his tea, his expression calm.
His gaze fell upon the mirror.
“Let’s see what methods my sworn younger brother intends to use!”
Lord Jun was also very curious about this high platform setup.
Clearly, his virtuous younger brother still had some unrevealed secrets.
“Jun, your sworn brother’s production is certainly something new!”
The Water Virtue Star Lord’s anger subsided slightly upon hearing this. He chuckled and nodded. “Alright then, let’s just sit here in the high hall and watch calmly to see how things unfold!”
Lord Jun, the God of Wealth, stroked his shimmering beard and nodded slightly…
