—BOOM!
This resonant, bell-like sound shook heaven and earth, carrying with it boundless pressure.
“Star Lord!?”
Holy crap!
The King of Hell could hardly believe his eyes. Startled, he instantly dropped his regal Yanluo form and revealed his true body.
It was a burly, bearded giant the size of a small mountain.
“Lord Yan, so that’s what you really look like! You’re like a Zhang Fei or something.” Lu Chen was seeing the Old King of Hell’s true appearance for the first time, and he found it utterly fascinating and fresh.
“Cut the nonsense, you brat! Hurry up and kneel to receive the decree!”
With that, he crashed to his knees, his massive body smashing two deep craters straight into the ground.
At the same time, the three thousand Yin soldiers and generals around them all dropped to their knees in unison.
Up on the clouds, the City God and the dozens of City Gods under his command had their faces change drastically. They hastily lowered their clouds and prostrated themselves on the ground.
“We subordinates bow before the Star Lord and the Plague Envoys!!”
Thousands of Yin gods shouted in unison, their voices shaking the heavens, each one trembling with fear.
No one had anticipated that this upheaval would actually alarm one of the Eight Ministry Orthodox Gods of the Heavenly Court—the Plague Emperor of the Azure Heaven!
Everyone knew that this was a being who could call the Emperor of Fengdu “brother.” Even the Emperor of Fengdu himself would address him respectfully as “Brother Plague-Emperor.”
“What’s going on, what is going on? Why would the Plague Emperor descend upon City God Street?”
At this moment, the City God was shocked, bewildered, and panicked all at once.
The turn of events had clearly gone far beyond his expectations, far beyond his imagination.
At this moment, the Five Directional Plague Envoys stood proudly atop the clouds, and the Eastern Plague Envoy, Zhou Xin, stepped forward:
“Where is Zheng Zhang-shi?”
His divine voice rang out clear and resounding, sweeping across all directions.
“Hurry and bring Zheng Zhang-shi out!” Lord Yan quickly signaled.
Xie Bi’an immediately summoned Zheng Zhang-shi from his sleeve.
A golden-white soul instantly became the center of attention for the entire gathering.
“Zheng Zhang-shi, receive the decree!”
“Me?” Zheng Zhang-shi clearly hadn’t processed the situation.
“Madam Zheng, kneel and receive the decree!” Lu Chen urged from behind.
Zheng Zhang-shi came to her senses in a daze and immediately knelt: “This humble subject receives the decree!”
Zhou Xin unrolled the divine edict, his voice like a great bell:
“By the mandate of Heaven, the Plague Emperor of the Azure Heaven decrees:
The mortal woman Zheng Zhang-shi, of virtuous and gentle nature, devout of heart, having accumulated nine lifetimes of good deeds, made manifest in the mortal realm—
It is hereby specially ordained that she be enfeoffed as the Hundred Flowers Empress of the Plague Ministry, overseeing the fragrant ceremonies of a hundred blossoms and bearing the duty of perpetuating incense and offerings.
Upon receiving this enfeoffment, you shall diligently fulfill your duties and widely spread the sacred grace of the Plague Ministry.
Fail not the Sage Lord’s expectations, nor neglect the responsibilities of your divine office.
With future diligence and advancement, upon the day of your meritorious achievement, further rewards shall be granted.
Thus decreed!”
What?!
Enfeoff Madam Zheng as the Hundred Flowers Empress?!
At that moment, every Yin god was shaken to the core.
Even Lu Chen was caught completely off guard.
Zhou Xin lightly flicked his sleeve, and myriad beams of resplendent light enveloped Madam Zheng. A delicate hundred-flowers mark gradually emerged on her brow.
“ROOOAR—!!”
The Venomous Dragon Pest-Beast threw back its head and roared, as if celebrating this coronation ceremony.
The next moment, the Five Directional Plague Envoys flickered and appeared before Madam Zheng.
“Please rise, Empress.” The five envoys spoke with gentle expressions.
“Thank you, Plague Lords.” Madam Zheng was moved to tears.
“We hope that in the future, Empress will devote herself to the [Plague Ministry]. The more prosperous the [Plague Ministry]’s incense offerings, the greater your merits shall be!”
“Yes… yes!” Madam Zheng had never imagined that, just when she was about to descend into the Underworld, the road would take a sharp turn and she would instead receive a divine post in the Heavenly Court’s [Plague Ministry].
“Godfather, back when you granted me my Netherworld divine post, it wasn’t nearly this grand of a spectacle.” Lu Chen poked the Old King of Hell and grumbled quietly.
“Shut up!” Lord Yan scoffed under his breath.
In his heart, he was thinking: Can you really compare me to the Plague Emperor?
Who is he, and who am I?
“Lord Yan.”
Zhou Xin turned to the King of Hell.
“Yes, Brother Zhou Xin, what are your instructions?” Lord Yan rose and gave a solemn fist-and-palm salute.
“Now that Madam Zheng has received a divine post in the Plague Ministry, according to the rules, she must first complete her allotted lifespan before entering reincarnation. Please report this to the Emperor of Fengdu, and the Star Lord will naturally inform the Supreme One as well.”
“I understand. Brother Zhou Xin, rest assured!”
After exchanging thanks, the five Plague Envoys’ gazes all fell upon Lu Chen at once.
Lu Chen’s heart tightened.
These five envoys had imposing features, and having all of them stare at him at once made him feel a little uneasy.
But even now, he still couldn’t figure it out: since the Plague Emperor had gone back on his promise first, why send people at this critical moment to enfeoff Madam Zheng and save her life?
What kind of move was this?
“Mr. Lu, you’ve worked hard.” Zhou Xin smiled and gave a slight bow. “The Star Lord asked us to convey His regards.”
Lu Chen quickly returned the gesture: “You flatter me, Plague Envoy. I wouldn’t dare. It’s just that there’s one thing this junior doesn’t quite understand…”
Before he could finish, Zhou Xin interrupted him: “Mr. Lu, don’t be anxious. The Star Lord instructed that after you have safely returned the Hundred Flowers Empress’s soul to its proper place, you should then call upon Him to discuss the matter. At that time, the Star Lord will personally explain the reasons.”
“Alright!”
Lu Chen was taken aback for a moment, then nodded gravely.
So there really was more to this?
Could Madam Zheng’s death have been the final test?
The moment this thought surfaced, a chill ran through Lu Chen’s heart.
The deadline was seven days.
Since the seven days weren’t up yet, a few twists and turns along the way… wouldn’t be out of the question.
It was like how the Tang Monk and his four disciples obtained the scriptures, only to be given blank texts because they hadn’t yet completed all eighty-one trials.
It was possible!
Extremely possible!
After all, the gods love testing people’s hearts.
Once everything was settled, the Five Directional Plague Envoys suddenly turned around in unison, their icy stares locking onto the City God, who was still trembling on his knees.
“City God…”
The divine voice rang out again, carrying a bone-chilling coldness.
The City God’s entire body trembled: “Lord Envoy…”
Zhou Xin’s face was frosty: “You cling to outdated rules, mindlessly preserving empty formalities while losing sight of your true purpose…”
With every word he spoke, the City God shook harder.
By the time he mentioned sealing off City God Street and harming mortals, the City God was shuddering like a leaf in a storm.
The Prefectural and County City Gods behind him were equally pale as death.
“Do you confess your crimes?!”
“Lord Envoy, I—”
Just as the City God was about to defend himself, a divine arrow of green miasma suddenly shot out from the decree, piercing straight through his body in an instant.
“AHHH—!!”
The City God let out a blood-curdling scream as his body was corroded by the green miasma, dissolving into a wisp of green smoke and vanishing in the blink of an eye.
—The slaying of a City God!
This thunderous act of execution.
Instantly made every Yin god, general, and soldier—already pale as paper—turn even whiter.
“So this is the Plague Ministry that strikes fear into the Three Realms? They just execute across departments without batting an eye?”
Lu Chen’s heart was also shaken.
The City God was a regional feudal official, not much inferior in rank to the King of Hell.
Yet the Plague Ministry killed him without mercy, without hesitation!
How ruthless!
The Plague Ministry was ruthless!
The Star Lord was even more ruthless!
And the Plague Emperor of the Azure Heaven was the most ruthless of all!
After all, last time, even the Water Virtue Star Lord, though under restraint, had allowed the Four Dragon Kings to exploit loopholes by using the excuse of immortals passing through.
If it had been the Plague Emperor instead, wouldn’t they have been skinned and their tendons pulled out?
“As expected of the Plague God…”
With the City God’s death, the City God Street he had conjured began to tremble violently, on the verge of collapse.
The Yin soldiers, generals, and wandering spirits within the street were all terrified.
Screams rose one after another.
“Lord Yan, please lend your support for a while.”
Zhou Xin said calmly.
“Easy enough!”
Lord Yan’s aura swelled tremendously, and a radiant black lotus rose from above his head, shooting straight toward the vault of heaven.
In the blink of an eye, the crumbling City God Street was restored to its original state.
“What’s that?” Lu Chen asked curiously.
“General, that’s the fruition of divine office!” Fan Rusong explained in a low voice.
“I see.” Lu Chen suddenly understood. This black lotus represented a god’s divine essence.
With the City God dead, this important position was now vacant.
Lu Chen instinctively glanced at the dozen or so Prefectural City Gods.
Sure enough, a few of them had poorly concealed looks of delight.
He especially noticed City God Li of Jiangdu.
That one was deep—his face showed neither joy nor sorrow.
Sensing Lu Chen’s gaze, City God Li also returned a friendly look and smiled with a cupped fist.
But Lu Chen shifted his gaze away without any expression.
“Mr. Lu, please send the Hundred Flowers Empress’s soul back to its proper place as soon as possible.” The five Plague Envoys instructed. “And remember to contact the Star Lord promptly afterward. Oh, and the Star Lord specifically added: do not use that crude method you used before.”
“Understood!” A surge of secret delight rose in Lu Chen’s heart.
There’s a benefit here!
There’s definitely a benefit in those words!
With their business complete, the five envoys mounted the Venomous Dragon Pest-Beast, tore through the void once more, and vanished.
City God Street returned to calm.
Except for the absence of one City God, it was as if nothing had ever happened.
“Lord Yan, we’ll be going now.”
“Go on, get out of here.”
Lu Chen solemnly clasped his hands toward the King of Hell, Xie Bi’an, and Fan Wujiu: “Let’s go!”
Fan Rusong tucked Madam Zheng’s soul back into his sleeve.
—”Farewell, General!”
The three thousand Yin soldiers and generals called out in unison.
“See you later, brothers! I’ll send out the benefits when I can!”
—”Loy—al—ty!!!”
Once again, the three thousand Yin soldiers were moved to tears.
Watching Lu Chen’s group leave City God Street, Xie Bi’an sidled up to the King of Hell: “Your Majesty, what do you make of today’s events?”
Lord Yan stood with his hands behind his back, staring up at the sky, and let out a long sigh. Through gritted teeth, he said: “From now on… we must never let him set foot in the Netherworld again!!”
Xie Bi’an and Fan Wujiu: “…”
Meanwhile, watching Lu Chen jump through the City God gate and disappear completely, City God Li of Jiangdu murmured to himself:
“I never imagined our Jiangdu would harbor such a figure…”
His divine eyes narrowed slightly.
