“Yes!!!!”
Wang Zhongmin responded loudly, immediately taking a stick of prepared incense from his chest.
The moment the incense tip was lit, he quickly walked to the kneeling cushion in front of the high altar and dropped to both knees without the slightest hesitation.
Facing the deities of heaven and earth, his expression was solemn and devout.
Lu Chen swung his long sword, tracing a beautiful flourish, and flicked a few drops of clean water from the golden basin on the table, sprinkling them onto Wang Zhongmin’s sleeves.
The moment the water droplets soaked into the fabric, it was as if a gentle breeze had passed through, purifying Wang Zhongmin’s entire aura.
Then, Lu Chen picked up a talisman with the tip of his sword and announced loudly, “Wang Zhongmin, you are the parent official of this county, carrying its fortune and well-being. Today, state your request clearly, so that the Lord of the Spring Source Water Mansion may bear witness!”
Wang Zhongmin had already been trained by Lu Chen beforehand, so he knew the next steps very well.
First, he respectfully kowtowed three times to heaven and earth, each bow steady and solemn.
After completing the rituals, he raised his head and made his wish, his voice incredibly sincere and earnest: “I bow to all the deities of heaven! I respectfully invite the Lord of the Spring Source Water Mansion! I am the parent official of this county. This year, a great drought has cracked the fields and withered the seedlings, and the people are crying out for food. I am willing to exchange my own salary for sweet rain to fall everywhere, to save the people from disaster. I pray that the deities will take pity and manifest quickly!”
As soon as he finished speaking, the talisman on Lu Chen’s sword ignited on its own.
Carrying Wang Zhongmin’s plea upward to the heavens.
“Boom!!!!”
A sudden rumble echoed between heaven and earth!
The next second, the green smoke in Wang Zhongmin’s hand surged violently!
A beam of light burst forth from his body, shot straight up into the sky, and rushed toward the [Ritual Seat] between heaven and earth!
The moment the light entered the seat, it suddenly transformed into a five-colored divine radiance, shimmering with auspiciousness and magnificent splendor!
Above the sky, the spiral of clouds churned even more intensely, as if a vast, mighty force was brewing and accumulating within.
…
“Big brother! This—this is…!?”
Deep within the clouds, the Four Dragon Kings all lowered their heads, their dragon whiskers trembling without any wind, clearly awed by this sudden divine light.
Ao Guang’s front paw violently crushed the cloud beneath him, a suppressed growl rumbling in his throat.
The other three Dragon Kings had their scales standing on end, their dragon eyes filled with disbelief.
The five-colored radiance flowing within that light pillar—mortals might not know it, but they knew it all too well!
“Impossible!”
“This is absolutely impossible!”
…
High above the nine heavens, inside the Mystic Dou Palace.
The Water Virtue Star Lord and the God of Wealth, who had been calmly seated on their cloud platforms, could no longer remain still the moment the five-colored divine light appeared.
The Water Virtue Star Lord abruptly rose from his seat, instantly stirring up a storm of clouds and mists, causing a downpour of golden, shimmering rain to fall inside the entire palace.
This rain was not ordinary rain, but rather a manifestation of the Water Virtue Star Lord’s own nature, containing infinite divinity.
The Water Virtue Star Lord’s divine eyes blazed, and the glazed cup in his hand shattered instantly.
He stared intently at the scene in the Mystic Light Mirror, his divine voice echoing through every corner of the palace, almost beyond belief:
“This boy… how can he directly refine [Merit] from incense offerings!?”
Beside him, the God of Wealth was equally shaken to his core.
If the merit scriptures from before were still a mystery to him, then what he was seeing now—right here, at this very moment—
Simply burning [Incense Offerings] to directly refine [Merit], and such an overwhelming amount of merit at that!
This was utterly unheard of, unseen before.
One must understand that [Incense Offerings] are the cause, and [Merit] is the effect! There should be an insurmountable chasm between the two.
Yet now, this boundary had been broken, and the very laws of heaven and earth seemed to have undergone a subtle change at this moment!
…
At this moment, although the hundred thousand common people at the Great Dragon Pool could not see the five-colored auspicious light within the pillar like the deities could, they could clearly see that the spiral of clouds above was spinning faster and faster, and the radiance pouring down was growing stronger and stronger, as if all of heaven and earth were changing color!
“Holy crap! Holy crap!!!”
“Are the deities… really about to manifest?!”
“That’s insane! That’s freaking insane! This Daoist Lu is unbelievably powerful!!”
“I think it’s really going to happen this time! Rain might actually fall!”
In an instant, the shores of the Great Dragon Pool erupted in jubilation, exclamations rising one after another from the crowd.
Everyone was captivated by this heavenly phenomenon, the flames of hope in their eyes burning brighter than ever before.
They no longer had any doubt about the promise Lu Chen had made earlier. Some of the older folks, looking at Lu Chen at that moment, felt as if they were seeing a real deity, so excited they nearly fell to their knees.
Among the crowd, Ling Shui Shangren—no one knew when—had his feet planted on the Red-Spotted Woman’s shoulders, one hand pressing down on her head as he strained to look up at the sky. His pupils were shaking violently as he muttered to himself, “How is this possible… how is this kid actually doing this?”
Just then, another clear shout came from the high platform!
“Chen Tiansheng!!”
“Here!!”
Wang Zhongmin’s prayer was complete, and now it was Chen Tiansheng’s turn.
“As the head of the Chen clan of Dragon Tiger County, you are virtuous and respected, the heart of the people! Today, state your request clearly, so that the Lord of the Spring Source Water Mansion may bear witness!”
Chen Tiansheng, purified by the clean water, knelt solemnly on the cushion with the same reverence, bowing three times to the sky.
“I bow to all the deities of heaven! I respectfully invite the Lord of the Spring Source Water Mansion! I am the clan head of this county. This year, a great drought has cracked the fields and withered the seedlings, and the people are crying out for food. Today, I make this vow: I will build a temple and sculpt a golden statue for the Lord of the Spring Source Water Mansion, so that from this day forward, generation after generation, he shall receive the incense offerings of our Chen clan! As long as our descendants continue, the incense shall never cease! I pray that the Lord of the Spring Source Water Mansion will manifest quickly and send down sweet rain to save us from disaster!”
As soon as the vow was spoken, the green smoke in his hand surged once again!
Another beam of light shot up from his body into the sky, merging into the [Ritual Seat] and transforming into another surge of abundant merit!
…
“Big brother, we can’t wait any longer! This kid is far too bizarre!”
Among the clouds, the North Sea Dragon King’s hundred-zhang dragon body churned restlessly, stirring the sea of clouds into a frenzy.
“Burning incense instantly turns into merit… I’ve lived for ten thousand years and have never heard of such a thing!”
“No wonder he’s so confident… He’s not just after the incense offerings of these hundred thousand people. His real goal is to condense merit from their collective will!”
The South Sea Dragon King and the West Sea Dragon King were also churning restlessly in the clouds.
Only now did the Four Dragon Kings finally understand!
Earlier, they had been wondering which water department rain master would dare to come and spread clouds and rain.
When they found out it was the Well Dragon King, the four dragons had scoffed at Lu Chen’s audacity and ignorance.
A mere Well Dragon King—his incense offerings had long ceased, his whereabouts were unknown, and his remaining magical power was negligible. How could he possibly make rain?
It would be a miracle if he could even survive.
But they never imagined that the mystery would be unveiled at this very moment!
This bizarre ritual not only could harness the power of heaven and earth, but it also had such an incredibly defying heaven effect.
If that Well Dragon King, hiding somewhere unknown, were to receive the blessing of the abundant merit transformed from the sincere collective will of these hundred thousand people…
Even if he absorbed only a portion, his power would instantly skyrocket, enough to support a rainfall covering the entire county!
If that happened, wouldn’t Dragon Tiger County produce another river or lake dragon king?
How could the Four Dragon Kings allow that!
“Big brother! Make your move! We can’t delay any longer!”
“Yes, big brother! If we don’t act now, and that kid really seizes a hundred thousand merits’ worth of power, it’ll be too late!”
“That’s right! Strike first! This kid is way too bizarre! We must stop this ritual!”
Listening to his brothers’ urgent pleas,
Ao Guang hesitated no longer. The shock and anger in his chest transformed into a dragon’s roar that shook the entire universe!
“ROAR!!!”
The other three Dragon Kings, connected in thought, responded in unison!
“ROAR!!!”
The four Dragon Kings joined forces, and their vast, awe-inspiring dragon might crashed down like the collapse of the nine heavens themselves!
Inside the Great Dragon Pool.
After Chen Tiansheng’s prayer ended, it was supposed to be the common people of Dragon Tiger County’s turn to offer incense and invite the deity. This was the most critical part.
The merit transformed from the collective will of a hundred thousand people was sure to completely transform the Well Dragon King!
But just as Lu Chen was about to continue the invitation—
“ROAR!!!”
A shocking dragon’s roar erupted between heaven and earth, followed by three more!
Four in total!
An invisible pressure, like black clouds pressing down on a city, instantly swept across the entire Great Dragon Pool.
“Buzz, buzz, buzz—”
Under this rolling dragon might, the high platform began to tremble violently!
Lu Chen’s expression changed drastically. He snapped his head up toward the sky, unable to believe it.
The Four Dragon Kings…
When did they get here?!
There was no time to be shocked. His heart immediately sank, and he knew this was bad!
