Just then, that voice from the deepest netherworld echoed through the skies, exploding right in her ears with a soul-freezing, boundless fury:
“You. Often peel off people’s skin?”
The red-spotted woman was so terrified on the spot that her soul nearly scattered.
Then she saw Lu Chen leaning his head forward, body turned sideways, watching her like a tiger sizing up its prey.
Boundless fear immediately flooded her heart.
“THUD!”
Thinking she had regained some ability to move, the red-spotted woman’s knees went weak. She fell to the ground right there and started kowtowing frantically.
“Please spare me, my lord! Please spare me!”
But then, her voice stopped again.
Her eyes locked onto the strange scroll in Lu Chen’s hand. Her voice came out raspy, like a grinding millstone, trembling with disbelief: “The Thousand Demon Visualization… my husband?!”
Thousand Demon Visualization?
Lu Chen instinctively looked down at the scroll.
The red-spotted woman immediately understood everything.
The grief of losing her husband crashed over her like a tidal wave, overwhelming her reason and even temporarily overpowering her fear.
Without a second thought, she grabbed her spiked mace and lunged at Lu Chen.
The four Netherworld messengers had been on guard for a long time. Seeing her sudden attack, they immediately raised their magical weapons.
“SHLICK!”
But someone was faster. A spray of blood burst from the red-spotted woman’s back.
Sun Yourong had already swung her axe down, burying it deep into the woman’s back.
The red-spotted woman’s hand froze in mid-air. Then her transformed, demonic body crashed heavily to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Lu Chen let out an “Oh, no!”
He released his Netherworld King form, leaned down, and checked the red-spotted woman’s breathing. She was dead.
“I wanted to ask her about that old scroll…”
Lu Chen scratched his head, but he wasn’t blaming Sun Yourong.
After all, if he wanted to, he could summon the souls of Spirit Water Superior and the red-spotted woman to question them anytime. There was no rush.
“You guys go back first.”
Lu Chen waved a hand behind him.
The four Netherworld messengers bowed with clasped fists: “Yes, General!”
Then they turned into four streams of black smoke, dissipating as they returned to the Netherworld.
Lu Chen looked up at Sun Yourong, whose expression was complicated and eyes full of confusion. He quickly asked, “Are you okay, Sister Sun?”
Sun Yourong snapped out of it and shook her head. “I’m fine. Just a small injury.”
She looked at the red-spotted woman’s corpse on the ground, her tone turning cold. “I didn’t expect that demon woman to be so strong. Raksha Art? Could she be connected to the Raksha Cult?”
“Raksha Cult? What’s that?”
“A heretical cult that operates across the country. They’re said to have tens of thousands of followers and countless experts. Just the known fourth-grade spiritualists alone number in the dozens. The four guardian elders of the cult are rumored to be even closer to fifth-grade.”
“Fifth-grade? That doesn’t sound too high…”
“That’s because you’re advancing too fast! How many days has it been since you went from unranked to early second-grade? Your progress in these past few days is something others might not achieve in a lifetime.”
Sun Yourong snorted softly, but she had to admit Lu Chen’s luck was astonishing.
Historically, there were indeed spiritualists who broke through multiple ranks in a single day by enshrining a deity.
But how many such people were there in all of history?
And right now, standing right in front of her, was one of them.
No wonder her father, Sun Qingcang, had sighed that day at the Zhao family temple, saying that in ten years he had seen countless heroes, but none as favored by heaven as Lu Chen!
Lu Chen thought about it and agreed.
Sun Yourong’s father was a fifth-grade spiritualist. That level of strength, in a city of millions like Jiangdu, was already enough to stand above everyone else.
Looking at it that way, fifth-grade experts were indeed extremely rare, each one a force to be reckoned with.
They weren’t something you could measure by simply adding two to a third-grade spiritualist.
“So the Raksha Cult is pretty powerful, then. With so many followers, does the government just ignore them and let them commit atrocities?”
“How could that be? The court has tried both to recruit them and to send troops to wipe them out many times. But these people are extremely cunning, good at hiding and moving around. Every time they’re defeated, they quickly resurface, and as their fame spreads, they only get bigger. Because of this, the court even issued an SS-rank extermination mission. If someone can destroy the Raksha Cult, they’ll be rewarded with gold, silver, treasure, high-ranking official positions, and generous salaries. Plus, military merit points as high as twenty thousand.”
“Twenty thousand?!” Lu Chen gasped. His mission to pray for rain in Longhu County paid two thousand in cash and four thousand military merit points.
By that ratio, an SS-rank mission would pay at least a hundred million, not to mention the official positions and salaries.
“No wonder it’s an SS-rank mission.” Lu Chen was secretly impressed.
It’s just that his current strength was still shallow, and the Raksha Cult had many experts and deep roots. Obviously, he wasn’t capable of taking on such a mission yet.
“Of course, I’m just guessing. Whether these two were actually cult members is still unknown.”
Sun Yourong took a deep breath, ending the topic, and then looked at Lu Chen, hesitating. “You… earlier…”
Lu Chen spread his hands. “You know me. I get along pretty well with the Netherworld King.”
Sun Yourong’s heart thumped loudly. Her face changed dramatically. “So… when they called you General… you really do hold a position in the Netherworld?”
Lu Chen smiled, neither confirming nor denying.
Sweat beaded on Sun Yourong’s forehead.
Even a powerful man like her father had never received even a half-fake title from the divine court.
Yet Lu Chen could command Netherworld messengers, which meant his position wasn’t just for show. He held real power.
How… how could this be?!
Sun Yourong felt her understanding being completely overturned again.
He was just a mere second-grade spiritualist, yet he had accomplished something that even fifth, sixth, or even seventh-grade spiritualists might not be able to do.
After a long silence, she gave Lu Chen a complicated look, her gaze mixed with shock and a hint of resentment, finally ending in a long sigh. “I finally understand why you could ask the Netherworld King to open the gates of the Netherworld and let the living mourn the dead.”
Lu Chen’s thoughts turned, and he smiled easily. “Sister Sun, considering how long we’ve worked together, how much you’ve helped me on this trip to Longhu County, and how you stepped in front of me twice just now… fine. I’ll tell you a secret.”
Sun Yourong felt her cheeks warm at his words. By the end, she was curious. “What secret?”
“Actually…” Lu Chen curled his lips slightly. “The Netherworld King is my adopted son!”
“WHAT DID YOU SAY?! The Netherworld King is your adopted son?!”
Lu Chen quickly waved his hands. “Slip of the tongue, slip of the tongue! I’m the Netherworld King’s adopted son!”
His tongue had just tied itself up for a moment.
But even so, Sun Yourong’s face was still shocked beyond measure.
She had thought Lu Chen was close to the Netherworld King, but not this close.
How… how did he even manage that?!
Lu Chen wasn’t surprised by Sun Yourong’s reaction.
He had revealed this little secret—which would soon become true—for a couple of reasons.
First, during this trip, Sun Yourong had genuinely earned his goodwill.
Second, the Sun family was one of Jiangdu’s top four families. If he was going to develop in Jiangdu, having such a connection was definitely not a bad thing.
Besides, from what he’d seen of Sun Qingcang’s character, the Sun family’s values were probably decent.
Showing some strength and background at the right time, even without becoming close friends, would at least make them see your value.
Although Lu Chen had been a Daoist priest in his past life, he had traveled with his master and seen the world, so he understood these principles.
Besides, quite a few people in his housing complex already knew about this. It would spread eventually anyway.
“Alright, it’s getting late. Time to go back.”
Seeing the sky darken, Lu Chen urged them to get moving.
“What about this woman’s body?”
“Simple.”
Lu Chen raised his hand and struck down with a [Netherworld Divine Lightning]. The red-spotted woman’s body vanished instantly, as if it had never existed.
“That’s some domineering black lightning.”
Sun Yourong was secretly amazed. If she were up against that black lightning, she probably wouldn’t come out on top.
Then the two of them returned to the car.
They drove in silence, each lost in their own thoughts, until they reached Jiangdu City.
Nanshan Housing Complex.
“Take care!”
Watching the car drive away, Lu Chen hitched his backpack higher on his shoulder and turned to walk into the complex.
“Oh, Xiao Chen, you’re back! Where’ve you been these past couple of days? We haven’t seen you around.”
As soon as he entered the complex, the elderly women cooling off downstairs swarmed him like he was a treasure.
“I went out for a few days.”
“No wonder.”
Lu Chen nodded and was about to leave.
Suddenly, Aunt Wang from the crowd grabbed his hand and wouldn’t let go.
One second her face was sunny and clear. The next, it was stormy with heavy rain.
“Xiao Lu, you’re just in time! Aunt Wang has a favor to ask you!”
Before she finished speaking, she lowered her body and knelt right in front of Lu Chen.
What the heck!!!
Lu Chen’s pupils shrank. He was speechless.
Quick as a flash, he helped her up and couldn’t help complaining, “Aunt Wang, if you have something to say, just say it nicely. What are you doing this for?!”
Aunt Wang wiped her tears and nodded repeatedly. “Sorry, Xiao Lu. Aunt Wang was just too anxious. Here’s what happened. Yesterday, I went to the Sun family temple again to worship the Netherworld King and see your Uncle Wang.
And then your Uncle Wang finally told me that he’s suffering down there. The yin wind in the Netherworld is making him cold. He can’t compete with the other ghosts, and he’s always hungry. As of yesterday, he hadn’t had a single bite of yin food in three days.”
At this point, Aunt Wang lost control of her emotions again, tears streaming down her face.
The other elderly women around her also looked sad and sighed.
Aunt Wang clutched Lu Chen’s hand tightly, her voice choked with sobs. “Xiao Lu, Aunt Wang is begging you. Could you please put in a good word with the Netherworld King, ask him to give your Uncle Wang a piece of clothing and a bite to eat, alright? Aunt Wang is begging you!!!”
