Nanshan Community.
By the time Lu Chen arrived, Zeng Rou had already set up most of the site.
“Set up” was perhaps an overstatement—it was simple enough: an eight-immortal table with the Kitchen God’s favorite sweets laid out, and the entire community swept clean inside and out.
After all, the truly essential items were all stored in Lu Chen’s Sumeru Ring.
Compared to the ritual in Longhu County, this [Consecration] ceremony was clearly much simpler.
The Longhu County affair had mobilized the vast merit of a hundred thousand people.
This time, all he needed to draw upon was the smoke and fire of everyday life.
And for the [Smoke and Fire Register], everyday smoke and fire was precisely its [spiritual essence].
As long as it absorbed enough smoke and fire, its power would naturally rekindle.
“Boss Lu, everything is prepared as you instructed.”
“Good.”
Lu Chen nodded. The wooden chest flew out of his Sumeru Ring and landed on the table.
Opening the chest, taking out the implements, arranging the talismans, laying out the scriptures—his movements flowed like water.
“Boss Lu, what… ritual is this? I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Zeng Rou came from the Rakshasa Cult and had witnessed plenty of spells and formations, yet she couldn’t recognize any of the objects before her.
“This is a secret art of mine. It’s a long story—I’ll explain another time.”
Zeng Rou nodded. She watched as Lu Chen put on a yellow robe and then donned a rather strange hat.
What surprised her was that this odd outfit, when worn by Lu Chen, didn’t look strange at all. Instead, it made him appear extraordinarily ethereal and unrestrained.
She was about to say something, but the words caught in her throat and she swallowed them back.
Better not disturb the cult leader…
Lu Chen glanced at the time.
Just over two hours remained until the auspicious hour.
So he waited.
The moment the auspicious hour arrived, he would open the altar.
…
“Son, what’s with the outfit today?”
Lu Jianming and his wife saw their son return from the third floor and hurried downstairs.
Neighbors also gathered around, faces full of confusion.
Lu Chen smiled. “Dad, Mom, uncles, aunties—today I’m going to perform a ritual in the community. When dinnertime comes, I’d like every household to cook a few extra dishes. The more smoke and fire, the better.”
“A ritual? What kind of ritual?”
“Just think of it as a divine art. Lord Yama taught me. Today happens to be the perfect occasion to use it.”
“I see.” Everyone nodded in understanding. It was another underworld method.
“So you’re going to make offerings to Lord Yama?”
“No, today I’m making offerings to the Kitchen God.”
Sure enough, everyone looked bewildered again.
Lu Chen smiled. “Neighbors, just trust me on this. If today goes well, I’ll make sure to get everyone some benefits!”
If everything went smoothly today, in the future, his Lu Family Shrine would need to reserve a place for the Kitchen God.
After all, this deity could monitor the mortal world and communicate directly with the Jade Emperor—a true “hotline to Heaven.”
With Him around, three parts of good could be spoken of as eight, and five parts of evil could be smoothed over.
How could he not firmly grasp such a divine position?
Though the Kitchen God couldn’t adapt to a shrine, and due to the rules of deity invocation, couldn’t temporarily enter every household—
Lu Chen believed there was no wall in this world that couldn’t be breached.
As long as there were rules, there were loopholes to exploit, bugs to crash!
And when that time came, the thousand households of Nanshan Community would be the perfect “testing ground.”
And this kind of testing was itself a benefit~
“Really!?”
Sure enough, the moment those words landed, the neighbors erupted in excitement.
Smiles spread across their faces.
Lu Chen patted his chest. “Would I lie? So uncles, aunties, grandpas, grandmas—just listen to me. Around six o’clock, go all out with cooking. Stir-fry like crazy. However much smoke and fire you can make, make it!”
“Done! That’s no problem at all!”
“For Little Chen, we’ll burn the bottoms right out of our woks today!”
Lu Jianming immediately said, “Then I’ll go door to door and let everyone know. When the time comes, everyone gets cooking.”
“I’ll go too!”
“Count me in!”
The neighbors were full of energy and scattered in all directions.
Lu Chen smiled and then turned to Zeng Rou. “Since there’s nothing to do right now, why don’t you fill me in on the factory’s progress these past two days?”
“Reporting to Boss Lu: the first batch of one billion hell notes has been completed and stored. The plague pill ingredients and equipment Elder Wang requested are also on their way…”
Zeng Rou began reporting in full detail.
…
Watching the scene unfold on the screen—the two chatting happily—
Inside the City God’s Hall.
City God Li frowned deeply.
“What secret art does this kid have? By all logic, the Kitchen God, as a household deity, should have dwindling incense offerings after entering a shrine. His power should have long since faded.
If He still had strength left, He should have activated the [Smoke and Fire Register] and let the kid inspect the situation by now…
Since He hasn’t, it means the Kitchen God lacks the power.”
“Could it be that he has some method to restore a god’s power?”
The moment this thought arose, City God Li drew a sharp breath.
—Using a mortal body to nourish gods and immortals in reverse?
That was far too terrifying.
It shouldn’t be that.
Then what could it be?
Even City God Li couldn’t fathom Lu Chen’s hidden cards at this moment.
But one thing He was certain of: even if the Kitchen God truly recovered His power and could activate the [Smoke and Fire Register], it still wouldn’t lead back to Him and Zhao Wanliang.
The Heavenly Court, the Underworld, and the City God system—there were many deities that monitored the mortal world.
Such as the Four Time Merits, the Kitchen God, and even Himself—all belonged to this category.
Precisely because of this, City God Li knew well how to evade such surveillance.
All it took was a secret art to shroud heavenly secrets, or a treasure to conceal fate.
Then one could remove oneself from Heaven and Earth’s surveillance.
As long as no great power deliberately intervened, ordinary deities simply couldn’t detect it.
Moreover, with billions of mortals in the world, even the gods couldn’t keep track of everyone.
This was called: [Darkness Beneath the Lamp]!
And He had always only contacted Zhao Wanliang through a single line.
He had only met Qiu Qianluo once.
And Ma Shilong didn’t even know He was the mastermind behind it all.
Therefore, even if He abandoned the pieces Qiu and Ma, nothing would trace back to Him.
This was the confidence behind His calm scheming.
As long as today, Ma Shilong—that filial son seeking ghost immortality for his father, and also the perfect scapegoat—”stepped forward” to settle the score,
Then whether it was the [Red-Clothed Fierce Ghost of the Rebirth Academy] He had specially concocted for Zhao Wanliang, or the [Five Hells Immortality] He kept as a backup—
All of it could officially come to an end.
Let Lu Chen conclude this investigation and report back with peace of mind.
After that, using His methods, He would manipulate the other party and help Himself ascend to the position of Prefectural City God!
At that point, as a Prefectural City God, transforming Zhao Wanliang into a ghost immortal would be mere child’s play.
Even beyond ghost immortality—even transforming someone into a City God would be a thought away.
No longer would He need to resort to desperate measures like [Fierce Ghost Puppets] or [Five Hells Immortality].
Every time City God Li thought of this, His heart surged with excitement, emotions difficult to contain.
Just as He was secretly pondering and dreaming—
“Bang!”
The hall doors were violently thrown open. The left and right judges stumbled in.
“Sir, something terrible has happened!”
Before the words even landed, a ghostly hand had already seized the judge by the throat, lifting him into the air.
City God Li’s face was cold as ice, killing intent radiating: “I have said—no one enters without my order!”
“S-sir… it’s… the S-Sovereign!”
City God Li’s pupils contracted sharply. The ghostly hand released.
“What did you say?”
The judge coughed violently. “We just received a decree from Judge Cui of the Underworld… The Sovereign’s avatar has personally arrived in Jiangdu. The City God Inspection has officially begun!”
Boom!!!
City God Li’s entire body trembled.
“The S-Sovereign… where is He now?!”
“I d-don’t know… only that He has arrived!”
Cold sweat instantly covered His forehead. Without a word, City God Li activated the City God Seal to encompass the entire city.
On the “map,” aside from the shrine and certain private residences where deities had been invoked—
At this moment, in the southern suburbs, a terrifying blood miasma erupted, spanning half the city.
“The Sovereign…”
City God Li’s face went pale.
—”Crack.”
Frost descended abruptly. The entire hall was instantly frozen by a vast, supreme, invisible force.
The next second.
A majestic dharma-form head appeared out of thin air, its dark-light pupils gazing down from above.
City God Li collapsed to his knees, shaking like a leaf.
“Th-this small god greets the Sovereign! I did not know the Sovereign was arriving! I deserve death!”
“You indeed deserve death! Who gave you permission to use the City God Seal to spy on this Sovereign?”
“Sovereign, forgive me! Sovereign, forgive me!!!”
City God Li kowtowed frantically, nearly cracking the stone tiles.
The dharma-form snorted coldly.
Frost spread, instantly encasing City God Li’s entire body, leaving only his head exposed.
“When this Sovereign finishes His business, I will come for you. Think carefully about what you should say when that time comes.”
“Your humble servant obeys the Sovereign’s decree!”
The dharma-form dissipated, and the ice receded.
City God Li collapsed on the ground, gasping for breath, as if he had just crawled back from the gates of hell.
…
Meanwhile.
Twenty minutes remained until the altar opening.
City South, Southern Suburbs Industrial Park.
Three men stood before the plaque of [Lu Family Group].
Two of them—one tall, one burly—flanked a remarkably handsome young man in the center.
A red glint flashed briefly in the young man’s eyes, then returned to normal.
He gazed at the plaque and wore a harmless, faint smile:
“Let’s go. Let’s take a look inside—see what these hell notes really are.”
“Yes, Sovereign!”
