“HOW DARING!!!!!”
The Water Virtue Star Lord’s expression immediately changed, and he was about to rise from his cloud terrace.
The God of Wealth reached out and stopped him, advising, “Brother Water Virtue, don’t be so angry. Why rush things?”
The Water Virtue Star Lord’s magnificent beard stood on end. After thinking for a moment, he sat back down, albeit reluctantly.
“Fine then. For Brother Wealth’s sake, I’ll settle accounts with him later! That scoundrel is absolutely lawless!”
The Water Virtue Star Lord let out a cold snort, which shook the cloud energy within the hall, causing it to churn.
The God of Wealth responded with a faint smile, then continued to gaze toward the Mystic Light Mirror.
Inside the Mystic Light Mirror—
Ao Guang suddenly shuddered violently.
“Big brother, what’s wrong?”
Ao Guang shrank his neck and looked up at the sky. Seeing nothing unusual in the nine heavens above, he shook his head. “It’s nothing.”
The four dragons once again looked down below the clouds.
At this moment, on the high platform—
With the [Incense Stove Lighting] complete, Lu Chen had arrived at the most critical part of [Opening the Altar]:
Borrowing an Auspicious Day and Hour to establish the [Ritual Seat], which is the [Divine Seat]!
If the timing isn’t right, no spell can succeed.
When the older generation goes out, they check the almanac—that’s exactly why.
Lu Chen took a deep breath, not daring to waste a single second of the auspicious time.
He swiftly raised his peachwood sword.
Various ritual talismans and charms on the table, pulled by his magical power, floated in mid-air.
He then began stepping through the Heavenly Guidelines again.
But this time, it wasn’t the “Seven Stars of the Northern Dipper”—instead, it was the “Heavenly River Guidelines,” specially meant to summon all water department deities of the three realms!
The moment he took this step, an extraordinary phenomenon appeared!
The four Dragon Kings of the Four Seas, ten thousand meters up in the clouds, suddenly found themselves enveloped in a brilliant glow.
“What’s going on?”
The four dragons felt an invisible, mighty force pressing upon them, as if commanding them to return to their posts!
And not just them.
In the Mystic Dou Palace, the four primary deities under the Water Virtue Star Lord—
Ji Water Leopard, Bi Water Yuan, Shen Water Ape, and Zhen Water Earthworm—
were all touched by the glow.
“How strange! Why do I feel these unusual fluctuations on my body?”
“Same here!”
The four water department deities looked at each other in dismay, all shocked.
Inside the main hall, the Water Virtue Star Lord himself was also adorned with a trace of brilliant color.
“What a remarkable young man. What kind of secret art is this, that it can even affect me?!”
The Water Virtue Star Lord was secretly astonished. Although this faint pull had no real effect on him whatsoever, it was still shocking enough to astound the world.
With a soft chuckle, he flicked his finger, and the brilliant glow vanished with a snap.
Back on the high platform, Lu Chen sensed several forces resisting him, but he remained calm—he had expected this all along.
This [Heavenly River Guidelines] was a group-targeting skill, meant to first lock onto all the [Water Department] deities.
Next, he needed to lock onto a specific target to prepare for establishing the [Ritual Seat].
He used one hand to form the “Well Dragon King Seal,” while his other hand wielded the peachwood sword, drawing a single candle flame toward it.
Then, that row of floating ritual talismans instantly burned to ashes.
Once the talismans ignited, the Four Dragon Kings and the water department deities immediately felt their bodies grow lighter.
“Big brother, this! This isn’t right!” The West Sea Dragon King grew more alarmed the more he watched. “That kid’s secret arts—every single one of them is so bizarre! Even us deities are being pulled by him!”
Ao Guang was now just as baffled. He couldn’t see through Lu Chen’s methods at all.
If things continued like this, and that Well Dragon King was actually summoned, maybe this kid really could pull off today’s rain-praying ritual!
At that thought, the reverse scale beneath Ao Guang’s neck immediately stood on end.
“Brothers, it seems we can no longer just sit by and watch! It’s time to act!”
As soon as he said this—
The North Sea Dragon King was the first to get excited.
“Big brother, I’m off then! This should have been done long ago!”
With that, the North Sea Dragon King opened his massive, blood-red maw, and the hundred-zhang-long black dragon prepared to dive down.
But Ao Guang immediately stopped him.
“Big brother, what’s wrong? Didn’t you say to act?”
“Fourth brother, don’t be reckless! When I said ‘act,’ did I mean this? Do you truly dare to disregard the Star Lord’s decree?”
“Well… of course not.”
“Then why are you charging in!” Ao Guang released his restraint. “This kid wants to borrow the incense offerings of these hundred thousand people of Dragon Tiger County. Clearly, that Well Dragon King hasn’t received any incense offerings in a hundred years. His magical power must have sharply declined, and he’s on his last legs. Forget spreading clouds and dispensing rain—he probably can’t even stay airborne for much longer.”
The South Sea Dragon King nodded. “That’s right, big brother is absolutely correct. So… how should we act?”
Ao Guang let out a cold laugh. “What’s so hard about that? The Star Lord only said we cannot interfere with today’s rain-praying event. Fine then—we won’t interfere!”
The North Sea Dragon King asked, “What do you mean by that? Little brother doesn’t understand.”
Ao Guang snorted. “We can not interfere and not show ourselves. But what if, while patrolling our territories, we happen to release just a hint of dragon might, and by accident, that Well Dragon King becomes too afraid to come out? Do you think the Star Lord can still blame us?”
The South Sea Dragon King was the quickest to react, suddenly understanding. “Big brother, you mean we just need to intimidate that Well Dragon King with our dragon might, so he doesn’t dare show his face, and then it’s done? If the Star Lord questions us afterward, we’ll have a perfectly justifiable reason!”
Ao Guang nodded. “Second brother, you’re the smart one.”
The North Sea Dragon King was confused. “But aren’t we supposed to wait for that Well Dragon King to walk right into our trap?”
The South Sea Dragon King snorted. “What’s the rush? As long as that creature is still within the borders of Dragon Tiger County, even if we have to dig three feet into the ground, we’ll find him. Besides, big brother’s ultimate goal has always been to—”
He was about to speak when Ao Guang coughed and promptly cut him off.
The South Sea Dragon King immediately fell silent, saying no more—clearly worried that the walls had ears, that the Heavenly Dao might be listening.
The four dragons understood one another without words, exchanging sinister smiles.
The North Sea Dragon King flattered, “As expected of big brother—truly a brilliant strategist!”
The West Sea Dragon King patted his chest. “Don’t worry, big brother. Later on, little brother will dig out that stinking well bug for you and bring you his head!”
Ao Guang said, “Good, then I’ll leave it to third brother.”
“Big brother, why be so polite with me? So, should we release our dragon might now?”
“Not yet…”
Ao Guang gazed coldly down at the Dragon Pool below.
“I can’t touch him for now, but today, if he fails, I’m sure these hundred thousand people of Dragon Tiger County won’t let him off easy either! Let’s first see what tricks he’s trying to pull. We’ll just strike like thunder at the critical moment, and that will be enough to make him fail.”
“Alright, we’ll follow big brother’s lead!”
The three Dragon Kings all thought this plan was excellent.
One stone, three birds!
…
“Hmph!”
Inside the Mystic Dou Palace, the Water Virtue Star Lord’s face was as dark as water.
“These four insolent dragons are asking to spend a few hundred years in the Heavenly River Prison.”
He looked at the God of Wealth beside him, whose expression had also soured, and asked, “Brother Wealth, do I need to intervene, to make sure nothing goes wrong?”
The God of Wealth pondered for a moment, then slowly shook his head. “Since a variable has already appeared, let’s… let nature take its course.”
“Fine! Then let’s continue to watch and see what happens!” The Water Virtue Star Lord stroked his beard and laughed.
The God of Wealth remained silent, his expression growing increasingly grave.
He had thought everything was foolproof, but who could have guessed that the Four Dragon Kings would still refuse to let it go!
The variable had finally arrived!
…
On the high platform above the Great Dragon Pool, Lu Chen had completely locked onto the Well Dragon King.
Now, the next step was to establish the [Ritual Seat], to build a heavenly and earthly altar for the deity to absorb merit!
Otherwise, even if the Well Dragon King showed up, it would be useless.
He pointed his sword toward the sky, his voice shaking the four directions:
“The Jade Pool opens to the east, the divine dragon holds water in its mouth…”
He chanted scriptures and incantations. The “Three Classics and Nine Scrolls” beside him finally rose up in response, burning into a towering inferno that shot straight into the sky!
But the next second—
A scene that caught everyone, every deity, and every dragon completely off guard occurred!
Inside that flame, countless golden scriptures rose from the ground and pierced straight through the clouds!
Then, the sky above the Great Dragon Pool began to churn. The clouds parted, forcibly torn open a crack by these golden characters!
A brilliant light descended instantly, as if a sword had opened the Heavenly Gate!
A beam of light fell down.
“Big brother, this is wrong!!!”
Seeing this, aside from Ao Guang, the other three dragons immediately widened their dragon eyes wide.
They could sense an incredibly terrifying, majestic energy within those golden characters.
At the same time, even inside the Mystic Dou Palace, the two lords changed their expressions.
“What exactly did he burn? Why is it being reinforced by merit and fortune?!”
Even the Water Virtue Star Lord’s face showed bewilderment and shock for the first time.
His massive divine body leaned forward involuntarily.
The God of Wealth’s gaze suddenly sharpened, and he instantly recognized the origin of these scriptures.
Wasn’t this almost exactly the same in nature as the merit that his younger brother had burned for him before?
Except this time, the quantity was at least several times greater than last time!
These meritorious characters gathered in the clouds!
Forming this beam of light that resembled an opening of the Heavenly Gate.
“Younger brother… what exactly are you trying to do?”
At this moment, even the God of Wealth couldn’t understand what Lu Chen was planning.
Meanwhile, inside the Great Dragon Pool, although the hundred thousand common people couldn’t see the golden scriptures imbued with merit, they could see the extraordinary phenomenon in the sky—the clouds above their heads parting in a spiral.
A bright beam of light suddenly shot down!
Wang Zhongmin, Chen Tiansheng, Sun Yourong, and the others were all dumbfounded.
“Is this… has the Heavenly Gate opened?”
Just then, Lu Chen’s voice rang out like thunder, shouting:
“Wang Zhongmin!”
His ritual robe fluttered without any wind, as if resonating with heaven and earth.
“Here!” Wang Zhongmin snapped back to his senses.
Lu Chen held his peachwood sword in reverse, dragging his fingertip across the blade, his gaze sharp as lightning:
“Why are you still hesitating? Hurry up to the altar and invite the sage—what are you waiting for?!”
