“What? What did you say?!”
The moment the words “Rakshasa Cult” left the Plague Emperor’s mouth, Lu Chen’s pupils contracted sharply, and his entire body trembled violently.
He instinctively pointed at the divine statue, stammering in disbelief: “Star Lord… are you saying that… that Primordial Gu Ancestor… is you?!”
Earlier, when Zheng Changguo and Yu Feng were talking, they had mentioned that the Rakshasa Cult worshipped a malevolent deity known as the “Primordial Gu Ancestor.”
And now, the Plague Emperor was bringing up the Rakshasa Cult again.
The implication was far too obvious!
However, the Plague Emperor let out a cold snort in response: “Boy, you underestimate me far too much. If I truly wished to gather followers in the mortal realm, would it be limited to just some paltry evil cult? When I act, I do not stir lightly. But when I do, it brings about monumental change—enough to overturn the human world.”
“Uh…”
Lu Chen actually believed that.
As one of the [Eight Chief Deities], with the Plague Emperor’s methods and divine might, if He truly wanted to play games, how could it be measured by something as trivial as an evil cult?
“Then… what exactly is the relationship between this Rakshasa Cult and the Plague Ministry?”
“Enough. Since you are already the ‘Plague Emissary’ of our Ministry, there’s no harm in telling you some things.” The Plague Emperor’s tone was calm and indifferent. “That ‘Primordial Gu Ancestor’ you speak of is merely a minor celestial general under the Western Plague Envoy of the [Plague Ministry]. Taking advantage of my inattention, he stole down to the mortal realm to stir up trouble and secretly established this evil cult.
After I learned of this, I have already punished him severely.
Now that the Rakshasa Cult is leaderless, it is only fitting that I place it under your control.
You need not worry. I have already ordered the Western Envoy to send word to the Rakshasa Cult. From now on, you shall be known as their ‘Holy Ancestor Descending to the Mortal Realm.’
The remnants of the Rakshasa Cult will pledge their allegiance to you.
As for how to win over their hearts, that depends on your own skill.”
In short, I have already prepared the manpower for you.
How you proceed from here is entirely up to you.
The Plague Emperor said all this lightly, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
But no matter how Lu Chen listened to it, he just couldn’t bring himself to believe it.
It wasn’t that he doubted the Primordial Gu Ancestor was just a minor soldier in the Plague Ministry.
It was that he didn’t believe the Plague Emperor was unaware of the Rakshasa Cult’s existence.
Why hadn’t He discovered it earlier, or later?
Why did He “just so happen” to discover it precisely when Lu Chen needed manpower the most?
This was far too much of a coincidence.
It was practically glaringly obvious—covering up one thing while revealing another.
Moreover, His method of turning a blind eye to his subordinates causing havoc in the mortal realm was also far too “hard to guess” and far too thought-provoking…
Lu Chen took a quiet breath, thinking to himself:
“If, down in the mortal realm, many of these demons, monsters, or other instances are all secretly connected to the Heavenly Court in countless ways…”
“Then who knows how many gods I’ll have to worship and how many immortal sects I’ll have to beg favors from in the future!”
Seeing through it but not saying a word, Lu Chen immediately clasped his fists and said, “I see! Disciple understands! So, where are these people now?”
“You don’t need to go looking for them; they will come to you. Just think about how you plan to settle them.”
“Yes, Disciple obeys!”
Seeing that the time was about right, the Plague Emperor gave one final instruction:
“If you ever encounter a problem you can’t solve, feel free to come find me. But if it’s merely a dispute among mortals, figure out a way to handle it yourself. We deities are bound by the Heavenly Court’s restrictions and cannot casually interfere in the karmic ties of the mortal world.
As for the long road ahead, you must also think carefully. The path you take—that choice is yours to make.”
“Yes, Disciple will bear that in mind.”
As His voice faded, the green miasma gradually dissipated, and everything in the living room returned to normal.
Lu Chen let out a long, relieved breath.
“BOOM!!!!”
Right at that moment!
The spiritual power within his body suddenly surged like roaring thunder, his meridians violently pulsing, and a tearing pain struck him sharply!
Fortunately, he had already experienced the bone-grinding, flesh-tearing agony of the “Carving the Idol to Connect with the Divine” ritual.
Compared to that, this pain actually left Lu Chen feeling somewhat numb.
He could only feel his flesh, skin, muscles, and bones being repeatedly washed and tempered by the surging spiritual power, a solid, robust sensation rising steadily within him.
“What is this?”
With a single thought, Lu Chen sank his consciousness into his sea of awareness.
Sure enough, the two spiritual lamps there were now blazing with brilliant silver light, dazzlingly bright!
“This is… the peak of the Second Rank? Complete?!”
No, that wasn’t right!
He suddenly realized that beside the two lamps, a third spiritual lamp had burst forth from the light!
Its base gradually solidified from emptiness, growing steadily more stable, until it finally took firm shape.
Three lamps shone together, like three stars in mutual glory, their spiritual energy circulating endlessly, giving rise to life without end.
Lu Chen’s spiritual light exploded outward, his aura climbing incessantly, leaping from the early Second Rank straight to the Third Rank Spiritualist!
“Holy crap… Other people have to offer worship hundreds or thousands of times just to break through, and here I am, performing one big act of worship, and I level up?!”
“As expected of a Star Lord-level great deity. Just the residual divine power feedback alone is enough to let me vault across an entire major realm!”
Feeling the power surging wildly within him, Lu Chen realized that this level of strength was on an entirely different plane from the Second Rank.
No wonder, last time, even wielding the power of the Four Dragon Gods, he still couldn’t defeat Spirit Water Master head-on.
The gap was truly far too obvious!
But then again, this kind of advancement system really was addictive for Spiritualists!
Just by worshipping gods, you could get stronger!
No wonder everyone did it!
Pushing aside his racing thoughts, Lu Chen began to sort through the gains from this divine invocation.
The rewards were simply explosive:
1: Breakthrough to Third Rank Spiritualist!
2: Acquisition of the Plague Emissary position!
3: Obtained the Plague Emperor’s Banner!
4: The secrets of one hundred and eight types of Plague Pills!
5: Guidance on the method of attaining sagehood through physical cultivation!
6: The Rakshasa Cult!
All this in the span of just over ten minutes.
The sheer volume of information was staggering, almost unbelievable.
“This really doesn’t disappoint my seven days and seven nights of non-stop effort, and my daring raid on the City God Street! Totally worth it!”
Unable to contain his excitement, Lu Chen immediately activated his [Supreme Pure Water] divine ability, forcing himself to calm down.
He took a deep breath, still feeling a sense of unreality: “Just ten days ago, I thought the Rakshasa Cult was some big bad boss, and that I might have a tough fight ahead of me… And now, ten days later, the entire Rakshasa Cult has become my own people. I’ve become the boss?!”
The more Lu Chen thought about it, the more ridiculous it seemed.
It truly lived up to that saying: Man proposes, God disposes.
After all, the Rakshasa Cult had originally been an SS-rank instance, with military merits worth twenty thousand points and a bounty as high as a hundred million!
Later, Yu Feng had mentioned that their stronghold was breached by the imperial Demon-Suppressing Army, dealing them a heavy blow and cutting their numbers by nearly half.
At the time, he hadn’t thought much of it. But now, looking back… what a loss!
So all those people they wiped out were my men!
However, Yu Feng had also mentioned that the Rakshasa Cult originally had four elders. The two most evil and powerful ones had been slain by the Demon-Suppressing Army.
The remaining two, who had relatively decent reputations, managed to survive.
One of them was even a female elder.
“Ah, forget it. Three thousand is three thousand. With these three thousand troops, I can finally hold up the facade of a ‘family’! With the manpower problem solved, I can run both the underworld currency and Plague Pill businesses simultaneously! This is going to be awesome!”
But after the excitement subsided,
Lu Chen suddenly realized two problems:
First, the Rakshasa Cult was still a wanted criminal organization by the imperial court. If he rashly took in these remnants of an evil cult, would that be proper?
More precisely, how was he supposed to wash away the stain of “evil cult” from them?
After all, he intended to walk the righteous path in the future. He couldn’t keep leading them to commit crimes.
Presumably, this was also what the Plague Emperor expected of him.
Second, if he successfully incorporated them, how would the rewards for this SS-rank instance be calculated?
Although the reward had been downgraded, with the bounty and military merits cut in half, he was still classified as “Special Grade,” entitling him to double benefits.
Calculating it that way, it would still be twenty thousand points!
By then, his total military merits would reach a terrifying—forty-eight thousand two hundred points!
“Holy crap, I’m one step away from becoming a nouveau riche…?!”
Lu Chen felt his head buzzing.
If that were really the case, just this one mission, “Heaven’s Wrath,” would net him thirty thousand military merits alone.
— Hiss!!
How terrifying!
No way!
He had to secure this reward!
He wanted the people!
And he wanted the military merits!
“If all else fails… I’ll ask Old Zheng to mediate on my behalf. That’s bound to help!”
Lu Chen decided in his heart to wait for the Rakshasa Cult members to come find him, and after incorporating them, he would plan his next move.
“I just wonder when these people will arrive. With a full three thousand people, food, clothing, and shelter will also be a considerable headache.”
He couldn’t help but laugh wryly: “Lose at sunrise, gain at sunset. I couldn’t bring those three thousand underworld soldiers and generals under my wing before, and now, just like that, I’ve acquired three thousand elite troops… And these are all hardened men who live on the edge of a knife. With a bunch of subordinates like this, from now on, in Jiangdu City, who would dare to mess with me?!”
At this moment, for the first time, the flames of ambition burned fiercely in Lu Chen’s heart!
— Jiangdu’s Nouveau Riche!
— The Lu Family Temple!
They seemed so far away, yet now, they appeared to be right within reach!
…
Time flew by. Two days later, in the City Lord’s Mansion.
Yu Feng was working in his office.
Suddenly, someone stumbled in through the door, in a panic.
“My lord, bad news! Something huge has happened!”
“What’s the matter? Why all the fuss?” Yu Feng frowned.
“According to our frontline intelligence, a large number of mysterious Spiritualists have appeared in the mountains outside Jiangdu City—several thousand of them!”
“What?!”
Yu Feng shot to his feet, his eyes wide open: “Who are they? Did you get a clear look?!”
“They were all disguised, but… in one of the photos, one of my men recognized a familiar face.”
“Who?”
“The Rakshasa Cult’s Protector—Wang Zhidong!”
