“No! Absolutely not!”
Lu Chen immediately raised his hand and refuted with righteous indignation: “My reverence for You, Stellar Lord, is like an unending river—ceaseless and boundless! How could I possibly have cursed You!”
“Oh? Then who was it that called me a ‘lousy excuse for a god’ a while back?”
Lu Chen: “…”
So he knew about all of it, huh?
Sure enough—there really are gods watching over us.
Lu Chen scratched his head and gave an awkward chuckle. “Stellar Lord, I can explain that! Besides, given the situation back then, Your disciple just lost control for a moment—surely You can understand, right? Ah, forget it, I’ll just kowtow to You.”
“Enough. Spare me the empty formalities. My divine power is too strong for me to stay long in the mortal realm, so let’s get straight to the point.”
“Thank You, Stellar Lord!”
“First, regarding Lady Zheng’s death—consider that my final test for you. However, you didn’t handle it perfectly.”
Lu Chen’s heart tightened.
He knew it!
He’d thought—the time hadn’t come yet, so why would the Stellar Lord go back on His word.
Turns out it really was the final trial.
As for not perfectly?
Here I am, just a mere second-rank spiritualist, and I charged all the way to Chenghuang Street to snatch someone back, nearly turning the entire street’s underworld troops and generals against their own side—and that’s not perfect?
Besides, that City God was personally slain by You, old-timer—I barely had anything to do with it…
Lu Chen’s thoughts raced, but he didn’t voice any objection.
“Now that the ‘Heaven stirs the killing mechanism’ matter is settled, I haven’t broken my word. But you—don’t forget the agreement between us.”
“Rest assured, Stellar Lord! I’ve already come to terms with Old Zheng.
As for our [Plague Ministry]’s reputation—after my non-stop, seven-day grind earlier, the word that plagues can be used as a dungeon-killing tool has spread far and wide across the land! We’ve made quite a name for ourselves!
I hear quite a few people are now asking around about where they can worship the Plague God and pray for Your blessing.”
“Oh? Is that really true?”
“Not a single false word—every bit of it is true!”
The Plague Emperor’s tone softened noticeably. “Well done. But as for my statue…”
“Don’t worry, Stellar Lord! As the saying goes—the world bustles, all for profit; the world rushes, all for gain. As long as there’s demand in the market, someone will step up to meet it. We just need to wait a little longer, and spring will surely come.”
“Good!” The Plague Emperor finally let out a hint of approval.
“Stellar Lord, then about my…” Lu Chen rubbed his hands together, staring eagerly at the statue.
“Swish!”
Before he could finish, a beam of divine light shot out from the statue and plunged straight into Lu Chen’s body.
Lu Chen felt a searing heat at his brow, as if something was growing there. He instinctively glanced at the reflective glass beside him and saw a mysterious rune had appeared between his eyebrows. It looked… pretty cool, actually.
“What is this?”
“This is the divine seal of an officer of my [Plague Ministry]. From this day forward, you are the ‘Plague Commanding Young Master’ of my [Plague Ministry], on equal footing with the Five-Direction Plague Envoys.”
“Plague Commanding Young Master?!”
Lu Chen’s pupils contracted.
That was a key position in the [Plague Ministry]!
“Stellar Lord, what powers does the Plague Commanding Young Master have?”
He pretended not to know.
“Once you hold this office, no plague in the mortal realm can harm you.”
“Complete immunity to plagues?!”
“Secondly, you may also moderately control plagues—you can actively disperse localized plagues to save others, or inflict minor epidemics on wrongdoers as punishment. However, regardless of whether they’re good or evil, you must not take their lives. If you misuse this power for evil, you can imagine the consequences yourself.”
“Ah, so I can’t use plague abilities to kill enemies in combat either?”
“Abilities are abilities; divine office is divine office. They’re not the same thing.”
“Got it! Crystal clear!”
In other words, from now on, he’d be a true Plague God on a small scale.
Able to control plagues in a given area.
This divine office talent was way too good!
“As for other benefits… You’re pretty good at leveraging opportunities, so I’m sure you’ll figure out how to use this flexibly without me spelling it out.”
Lu Chen grinned. “Rest assured, Stellar Lord! Your disciple will not disgrace this title!”
From now on, Lu Chen had another impressive title to throw around!
[Plague Ministry] Protector Deity—Plague Commanding Young Master!
“Swish!”
Another beam of divine light shot into Lu Chen’s brow.
“This is the ‘Plague Emperor Banner’ I refined. Though it’s not the one I personally wield, it’s still a supreme treasure in the mortal realm. Wave the banner and it can release a sky-darkening miasmic haze covering anywhere from ten to a thousand miles. Suspended within the toxic fog are billions of plague particles—anyone who inhales them will bleed from all seven orifices and die within three days.
Of course, you can also precisely control the concentration of the poison fog—mild enough to cause exhaustion, or potent enough to kill instantly. It’s entirely up to you.”
With a thought, a dark cyan flag drifted into Lu Chen’s palm.
“The Plague Emperor Banner! The name alone sounds badass! With this in hand, Your disciple will surely be invincible in battle!”
The Plague Emperor let out a light chuckle. “In this world, there is no such thing as true invincibility. Even I have tasted defeat. When you face an enemy, if they pull out a counter to your banner, all you can do is run. Especially fire-type magical artifacts—I advise you to tread carefully.”
—The Five-Fire Seven-Feather Fan?
Lu Chen remembered now. This Stellar Lord had apparently been fanned all the way up to the heavenly court by that primordial supreme treasure…
“Your disciple will remember!” Lu Chen nodded solemnly. “By the way, Stellar Lord—since it’s a ‘banner,’ can it also collect and subjugate souls for my use?”
“You’re sharp. Yes—if you slay an enemy, you can use this banner to refine them into a ‘Plague Servant’ under your command. Their life and death are yours to decide with a single thought. Even gods, immortals, or demons—as long as they’re within the Plague Emperor Banner’s capacity—can be refined. If a Plague Servant has a particularly remarkable origin, you can go a step further and refine them into one of the ‘Five-Direction Plague Ghosts’ to do your bidding.”
“Hiss—” Lu Chen drew in a sharp breath, unable to suppress a grin. “Stellar Lord, that’s… awfully wild of You—even gods and immortals! Ah! If only You’d given me this banner sooner!”
Lu Chen was stricken with regret.
Back during that seven-day demon-subduing mission, if he’d had this treasure in hand, he’d have been utterly unstoppable!
“Of course, this banner has countless wondrous uses. Beyond killing enemies, it can also protect you and conceal your presence. You can even summon a sliver of my primordial spirit to inhabit the banner and lend you a hand. But this can only be done once—after that, the banner will self-destruct. This is a last-resort life-saving measure I’m leaving for you. Remember: if there’s any other way, do not use this trump card lightly. Understood?”
“Understood!”
There was no doubt—this was his ultimate ace in the hole, left by the Stellar Lord.
Unless he was in a truly desperate situation, Lu Chen would never waste such a treasure so easily.
After all, this was a growth-type artifact—once it self-destructed, all that progress would be for nothing.
And the backlash from an artifact’s self-destruction would harm him as well.
Lu Chen was fully aware of the stakes.
“Kid, though I am a proper god of the [Plague Ministry] and a master of the Dharma-cultivation path, there are still a few things I’d like to remind you.”
“Please speak, Stellar Lord!”
“Relying on spells, divine abilities, and external treasures may bring you temporary satisfaction. But in the long run, you’ll always be at someone else’s mercy. It’s better to temper yourself and seek a broad, open path—that brings true freedom.”
“What do You mean, Stellar Lord…?”
“If you have the chance, try looking for divine abilities and techniques that temper the body and refine the soul. Taking your own body as your weapon is the best strategy for roaming the heavens and earth. People like us—no matter how strong our magic or how fierce our treasures—will always have a counter. Better to seek transcendence through the physical body—that’s more straightforward and satisfying.”
Lu Chen’s heart shook.
“Are You saying I should seek the path of attaining sagehood through the physical body?”
“You have some knowledge, I see. Since you already know of this path, that saves me some breath.”
“I beg You for guidance, Stellar Lord!”
“There are three who have achieved sagehood through the physical body in the celestial realm.”
The moment he heard that number, Lu Chen’s heart began to race.
“First: the Pure and Mysterious True Lord, Erlang Shen Yang Jian—his physical body sees through all falsehoods, is immune to all magic, and his combat prowess is unparalleled.”
“Second: the Great God of the Three Altars and Seas, Prince Nezha—born of the lotus, pure and undefiled, his body is overwhelmingly powerful and unafraid of any prohibitions.”
“Third…”
The Plague Emperor deliberately paused, and Lu Chen’s heart leapt to his throat, his eyes locked on the statue as if afraid to miss a single word.
“Is the one who once caused havoc in the Heavenly Court, wild and untamed, who after stealing and eating the Peaches of Immortality and the Golden Elixir, forged an indestructible diamond body—the Great Sage Equaling Heaven, Sun Wukong!”
“If you have the fortune to find any of these three immortals, then the great path of the physical body will be both far away and right before your eyes.”
The Plague Emperor’s voice slowly faded.
But Lu Chen’s blood was already boiling.
The legendary three “rebels” of the Heavenly Court!
A stone, two pounds of lotus root, three eyes with a dog!
Finally, he had more concrete information about them!
“May I ask, Stellar Lord, where should I go to find these immortals?”
“If you don’t enter the mountain, how can you see the gate?”
“You mean… I first need to cultivate my physical body before I’ve even set foot on the path?”
“The student is teachable.”
“But don’t our spiritualists’ magical powers all come from serving deities? Where would we find self-cultivation techniques or abilities?”
This time, the Plague Emperor was silent for a long while, as if weighing his words. After a moment, he finally spoke: “If you can’t cultivate it, that’s because your knowledge is still shallow… Tell you what—if you happen to find a method for cultivating the body and soul, I’ll guide you a bit then.
If you don’t have that fortune, there’s no use in me saying more.
In the end, the path you choose is yours to decide.
If you’re content to be lazy, serving deities is still a fine approach.
But the ceiling on that path is already set.
Becoming a great sage in the mortal realm is already the pinnacle.”
With that, the Plague Emperor said no more on the subject.
Yet within Lu Chen’s heart, a storm was already raging.
Compared to all the previous rewards, this seemingly casual piece of guidance had the greatest value of all!
He’d never imagined that to worship those three great deities, he’d first have to walk the path of physical-body sagehood.
Only by doing so could he step into their circle and open the door for deeper communication.
Otherwise, even if Lu Chen eventually deciphered the [Thousand Demons Contemplation], trying to connect with those three would be nothing more than a pipe dream.
Just like when he’d previously tried to serve the [Nine Heavens Responding Thunder General], he’d used the deity-summoning incantation but still suffered backlash, coughing up blood in the end.
Hiss—
Lu Chen’s mind churned in an instant. He took a deep breath and cupped his fists solemnly: “Your disciple is immensely grateful for Your guidance, Stellar Lord!”
“Alright. One last thing.”
“Swish!”
Another beam of divine light shot into Lu Chen’s brow.
“This is…?”
“A hundred and eight plague-pill formulas. Your idea last time about breaking the deadlock with plague pills was a good one—I approve. Among these formulas, some can cure all manner of strange plague toxins in the world, healing the sick and saving lives. A few others can also benefit spiritualists—including some aggressive plague pills that can temporarily break through cultivation levels. But these have severe side effects—they consume lifeblood and shorten one’s lifespan. Use them with caution.”
“Yes! Your disciple will remember!”
“So when do you plan to start production?”
“Well…”
Lu Chen scratched his head. “Your disciple would love to start right away. But I’m just one person—I don’t have nearly enough manpower! I’ll have to wait a few days. As soon as I have enough people, I’ll get to work immediately!”
“Manpower?” The Plague Emperor suddenly let out a soft laugh. “After taking so many goodies from me, now you’re making excuses. So tell me—how many people do you need?”
“Uh… Your disciple estimates at least seven to eight hundred people to really roll this project out.”
“I’ll give you three thousand.”
“WHAT?!” Lu Chen didn’t process it at first. “Three thousand? How? Heavenly soldiers and generals?”
“Ordinary mortals, of course.” The Plague Emperor paused, his voice carrying a hint of deeper meaning.
“Have you ever heard of the [Rakshasa Cult]?”
