Lu Chen took a deep breath. “Alright, I understand! For now, the netherworld court will enshrine just you, Lord Yan. Do I need to arrange any subordinate deities for you?”
King Yan replied, “Strictly speaking, the underworld doesn’t really have subordinate deities in the way you’re thinking—just yin officials and ghostly attendants. Just set me up with a couple of judges on the left and right, plus Ox-Head and Horse-Face, and that’ll do. Saves you from using up your temple’s deity slots.”
With that, He let out a sigh of admiration: “You little brat, I have to say, you’ve done pretty well for yourself. Building a temple in such a short time—I’ll congratulate you in advance on your thriving incense. Remember, the more incense you have, the easier it’ll be for you to move about in the Three Realms. Got it?”
“I understand perfectly, senior!”
“Good. I’m off.”
With that, Lu Chen ended his conversation with King Yan.
He let the words sink in once more.
“Enshrine the divine offices first? And get a guardian deity to act as my mouthpiece? Looks like I’ll have to ask my big brother to help me scout out some obscure celestial god later.”
But that wasn’t the main point. What truly gave Lu Chen food for thought was this: according to King Yan, he could use his two divine offices as leverage points to maneuver within both Heaven and the underworld. At its core, though, it still meant rooting himself in the divine system through enshrining deities.
However, the Plague Emperor had previously advised him to pursue the path of attaining sagehood through his physical body—a path that emphasized transcendence and freedom. When Lu Chen first heard the Plague Emperor’s explanation, it hadn’t been entirely clear. But after King Yan’s guidance, the difference between the two paths suddenly became obvious.
“But… they don’t seem to conflict!” Lu Chen mused, smacking his lips. “There’s nothing wrong with walking multiple paths. I can just treat the physical-body sagehood path as the advanced version!”
The more he thought about it, the more reasonable it seemed.
Kids make choices.
Adults take everything!
With that settled, Lu Chen felt much lighter. He lit another stick of incense for the Plague Emperor.
The Star Lord was straightforward. He said that besides Himself, Lu Chen only needed to enshrine the Five Directional Plague Envoys. As for the statues’ appearances, Lu Chen could decide that himself. At the end, He only asked how the Raksha Cult’s integration was going. Lu Chen gave the same crisp reply: “All set.”
“Good. I didn’t misjudge you.” And with that, the Plague Emperor was gone.
After getting the full list, Lu Chen immediately called Chen Tiansheng to order the statues.
“What? You’re about to become a New Noble already, Xiao Chen?” Chen Tiansheng’s voice was full of disbelief.
“Just lucky, Uncle Chen, just lucky. I’ll leave the statues to you. Send me a price list, and I’ll transfer the money over.”
“The money for the statues is the least of your worries. You’ve got expenses everywhere right now. Pay me later when you’re more comfortable. But the court does have a divine offering tax that you’ll need to settle first.”
“How much, Uncle Chen?”
“Each statue ranges from five to ten million. I’d estimate the Plague Emperor alone will be at least ten million.”
“Ho-how much? Ten million in taxes? Ouch. Then how much does crafting a statue cost—say, just for the Plague Emperor?”
“With your requirements, market price would be around six million. But you’re no stranger—you’re our Longhu County’s greatest benefactor! How could I possibly profit off you? Here’s what I’ll do: fifty percent off, call it three million cost price.”
“This… doesn’t feel right, Uncle Chen. You should make something off it.”
“Why be so polite with me? Besides, if County Magistrate Wang found out I made money off you, he’d call me heartless. It’s settled.”
“Then… I’ll gratefully accept, Uncle Chen!”
“Don’t mention it! Speaking of which, ever since your seven-day demon-slaying feat, I’ve actually had some orders for Plague Ministry statues—mostly small ones, though. No large ones yet. Looks like the Plague Ministry still has a long way to go to regain its incense. But the fact that people are ordering statues at all is already a success!”
“Exactly! Getting orders is a success in itself!”
Hearing that the Plague Ministry was finally getting statues made lifted Lu Chen’s spirits.
But the crafting costs were steep. Not to mention the statue-making itself—just the taxes alone, even at the lowest tier of five million per statue, would come to three hundred million for sixty deities.
“No wonder the entry threshold for a New Noble is one billion! This temple isn’t just a money sink—it’s a gold-eating pit! No wonder the court allows private temple-building—it’s both a favor and an incentive, while they get to rake in a huge pile of cash on the side.”
After all, besides the offering tax, the court also taxed all other temple projects. It was safe to assume those taxes wouldn’t be light either.
“Are all temples really that profitable? Don’t they cannibalize each other’s followers?”
Lu Chen couldn’t help but wonder. He himself had always gone to the Zhao family’s temple to worship the Wenchang Emperor, since it was the largest and most efficacious temple in the north of the city. As for other New Nobles’ temples, he’d never set foot in a single one. If he was like that, others probably were too. So how were these New Noble temples supposed to make money?
Pushing aside the clutter in his mind, Lu Chen decided not to overthink it. They’d cross that bridge when they came to it. Stretching lazily, he got ready to take a shower and then write up a report to give to Zeng Rou tomorrow, so she could gradually familiarize herself with the underworld currency and plague elixir businesses. After the handover, he planned to find Yu Feng and crack that case wide open.
That case was worth twenty thousand points!
Failure was not an option!
———
In Heaven, at Lord Cai Shen’s temple.
Lord Cai Shen paced in the courtyard. Above him, thousands of incense rays poured down like a rain of arrows into His temple. Yet at this moment, He had no heart to admire the view. Instead, He turned to look in one direction, His brows furrowed tightly.
After a long pause, He let out a deep breath. His gaze grew resolute—as if He had finally made up His mind.
“Attend me!”
“My Lord!” Two attendants appeared, fists clasped in salute.
“Follow me to the Nine Dragons Palace.”
“The Nine Dragons Palace?” The two exchanged puzzled glances.
“What are you standing there for?”
“Yes, my Lord!”
Three streaks of rainbow light shot toward the Nine Dragons Palace—the seat of the Plague Ministry.
As they drew near, a crimson streak flew out from the palace. It was Zhu Tianlin, the Western Plague Envoy.
“I had no idea you were coming, Lord Cai Shen—forgive me for not welcoming you properly.”
“None of that, Daoist Zhu. Is the Plague Lord in?”
“Our Star Lord knew of your arrival and sent me to receive you.”
“Good. Lead the way!”
The four streaks of light entered the main hall.
As they materialized, the Plague Emperor’s divine eyes slowly opened from His cloud terrace. In the next instant, His figure appeared right before Lord Cai Shen, smiling warmly, “Your presence truly graces my humble abode.”
Lord Cai Shen bowed respectfully, “You flatter me, Plague Lord. I hope you’ll forgive my intrusion today.”
“Think nothing of it. My Nine Dragons Palace has had few celestial visitors in a long time—I couldn’t be more pleased.” The Plague Emperor’s gaze swept behind Lord Cai Shen, noticing that His attendants each carried a brocade box. “But why bring gifts, dear friend?”
Lord Cai Shen nodded slightly, and at His signal, the attendants opened the boxes. Instantly, golden light filled the hall. Zhu Tianlin couldn’t help but exclaim, “Heavenly Gold?”
Inside the boxes were stacks upon stacks of Heavenly Gold. A rough estimate put it at at least forty or fifty thousand pieces!
“What… is the meaning of this?” The Plague Emperor raised an eyebrow.
“You may not know this, Plague Lord, but this is actually what the Plague Ministry is owed,” Lord Cai Shen explained with a smile. “Over the years, my Ministry of Wealth has never fully settled our accounts with the Plague Ministry. Recently, when I reviewed the books, I discovered the arrears had grown to tens of thousands. I came today to apologize and make up the deficit. I hope you’ll forgive us.”
The Plague Emperor was genuinely taken aback for a moment.
The attendants handed the boxes to Zhu Tianlin, who looked at the Plague Emperor for instruction. The Plague Lord gave a slight nod.
“Thank you, Lord Cai Shen!” Zhu Tianlin said solemnly.
“It’s my duty—no need for thanks.” Lord Cai Shen waved a hand dismissively.
The Plague Emperor swept His sleeve. “All of you, withdraw. I wish to speak with Lord Cai Shen privately.”
Soon, only the two of them remained in the main hall.
“Brother Cai, please.”
“Plague Lord, after you.”
Both transformed into light and sat facing each other across a tea table. The Plague Emperor personally brewed a fragrant tea. As the aroma curled upward, He said with a gentle laugh, “I heard your incense offerings have been thriving lately, my friend. I wanted to congratulate you, but my position made it awkward to call on you. I hope you’ll forgive me for not visiting.”
Lord Cai Shen clasped His hands, “I’m honored. You, Star Lord, are a principal deity of the [Eight Ministries] with countless affairs to tend to. How could I presume to trouble you?”
The Plague Emperor laughed heartily, stroking His beard. “Since you’re being so forthright, I’ll take the liberty of calling you my junior brother. But surely you didn’t come all this way just to return some Heavenly Gold, did you?”
Lord Cai Shen looked into the other’s penetrating gaze. His heart skipped a beat.
Compared to the Water Virtue Star Lord, the Plague Emperor’s presence was undeniably more imposing. Of course, that had much to do with the Plague Ministry’s position in Heaven—alongside the Pox Ministry, it was arguably the most unpopular department in all the celestial realm. If it weren’t for Lu Chen, Lord Cai Shen truly wouldn’t have wanted to come here.
“Since you see through me, Star Lord, I won’t beat around the bush. I do have one matter to discuss with you.”
“Oh?” The Plague Emperor flicked His sleeve, and an invisible wave of divine power swept through the hall, shrouding all heavenly secrets so that no god could eavesdrop.
“Speak freely, my junior brother.” He made a welcoming gesture.
“The truth is, I’m here because of a certain person.”
“Who?”
“Lu Chen!”
The Plague Emperor’s gaze sharpened instantly, shadows churning deep within His eyes…
