Gods of the Nation: You worship the God of Longevity, I worship the King of Hell!

Chapter 130 The Dead Immortal (Please read on!!!)
The words have not yet fallen.

Sun Dechang had already bowed down, saying, "My benefactor, please accept my deepest respect!"

The movement was so fast that it caught everyone off guard.

Lu Chen reacted quickly, grabbing his arm and saying, "Grandpa, you absolutely mustn't do that! It'll shorten your lifespan!"

“Grandpa!” Sun Yourong said with a slight reproach, her voice tinged with helplessness.

Sun Dechang laughed loudly, then suddenly opened his arms and gave Lu Chen a solid hug: "Little Chen! A thousand thanks are not enough to express my gratitude! But... thank you anyway!"

"Mr. Sun, you're too kind. I was just doing my duty to someone who entrusted me with this task."

"What a fine example of 'being entrusted with a task and fulfilling it faithfully'! I admire that spirit!"

Sun Dechang released Lu Chen, his face beaming: "But 'Grandpa Sun' sounds too formal. Since you and You Rong are good friends, why don't you call me Grandpa too?"

He flipped his palm and produced a thick, bright red envelope.

"This is a gift from Grandpa, you must accept it!"

Sun Yourong: "..."

Lu Chen: "..."

wipe!!

This...this is even involving forcibly acknowledging a grandson?!

“I…” Lu Chen subconsciously looked at Sun Yourong, his eyes pleading for help.

"Why are you looking at me like that? If you want to shout, just shout." Sun Yourong blushed.

"Xiao Chen, at my age, I should be worthy of being called Grandpa, shouldn't I?" Sun Dechang said with a smile.

“Grandpa Sun, it’s perfectly fine to address you like that, but please take this red envelope back.” Lu Chen politely declined.

"Alright, he's already called me grandpa, how can I not give him a gift? Keep it, let's get down to business!"

Without saying a word, Sun Dechang stuffed the red envelope into Lu Chen's hand, glanced at his granddaughter, and then stepped into the Wu Clan Temple in high spirits.

"Why are you staring at me like that? Just take it." Sun Yourong's cheeks flushed even redder, and she hurriedly followed her grandfather through the gate.

Lu Chen weighed the red envelope in his hand; it was surprisingly thick.

He secretly tore open a corner and peeked inside.

"Wow, they're all in denominations of up to 10,000! There must be at least a million in these red envelopes!"

--hiss!

I really enjoy dealing with big families!

Silently accept this "cheap" red envelope.

Lu Chen immediately followed.

The group went straight to the temple hall.

From afar, one side of the hall could be seen to have been cleared out, with several spiritualists, all of whom were at least at the second rank, forming a tight human wall.

In the center of the human wall, an elderly man with white hair and a youthful face, but relatively short in stature, was looking intently at the doorway.

"Hey, Old Sun?!"

"Hey, Lao Wu? What brings you here too?"

Upon seeing the old man, Sun Dechang immediately greeted him with a smile.

The old man walked over with a smile: "After you made that phone call with me, I became curious about who this young friend Lu Chen was and couldn't help but want to come and see him for myself. I didn't expect you to come too."

"Hey, you old codger, are you trying to steal my boyfriend while I'm not looking?"

"If you put it that way, I don't deny that I've had that thought."

The two chatted and laughed without any restraint, clearly indicating a close relationship.

Sun Dechang pointed behind him: "Come, let me introduce you. This is Lu Chen."

Xiao Chen, this is the old patriarch of the Wu family in the east of the city. Don't be fooled by his honest and simple appearance, he is full of cunning and wickedness.

The Wenchang Emperor he worshipped had a divine favorability rating of 51% ten years ago, a figure unmatched in the entire Jiangdu region.

Even in the entire Jiangxi province, it can consistently rank among the top three.

He was even more famous nationwide for his third-place ranking in the national college entrance examination.

Of the four great families of Jiangdu, only the Wu family rose to prominence single-handedly under this old man's leadership. Just imagine how shrewd he is.

"Old Sun, are you praising me or insulting me? You!" Old Wu pointed at Sun Dechang, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

Sun Yourong whispered to Lu Chen, "This Elder Wu is truly remarkable. The level of worship he has for the Wenchang Emperor is worlds apart from that of ordinary spiritual practitioners. Not only is the probability of inviting other literary deities into the temple 30% to 40% higher, but he may even have already received divine office! If we compare them all, the Wu Clan Temple is even stronger than the Zhao Clan Temple!"

Lu Chen nodded slightly, and suddenly the words that Yama had once said flashed through his mind: Whose backers are those powerful gods?
He cupped his hands respectfully and said, "Junior Lu Chen greets Elder Wu!"

"Young friend, there's no need for such formalities. I heard from Old Master Sun that you plan to make offerings to the Kitchen God?"

"Exactly!"

"Young friend, I don't mean to discourage you, but this matter is probably not that simple," Old Wu's tone suddenly turned serious.

"What's wrong?" Sun Dechang's expression turned serious upon hearing this.

Old Wu frowned slightly: "You may not know much about the Kitchen God. I only realized how extraordinary He is after I invited this household deity."

He paused, then continued, "Old Sun, when my Wu family became a prominent clan, we respectfully invited the Wenchang Emperor to descend to earth and pray for blessings. You should still remember that, right?"

"Nonsense, of course I remember. That day was unprecedented. It's only because your divine power is terrifying enough that other [great clans] could have such a grand display. At least it would have to be a [famous family] or even a [noble family] to have such a display."

What?
Can opening a tooth to build a temple invite deities to descend to earth and bring blessings?

Lu Chen was shocked. This... neither the God of Wealth, the King of Hell, nor the Plague Emperor had mentioned it.

He secretly noted down this crucial information.

"And then?" Sun Dechang pressed.

"Later, my Wu Family Temple expanded to 125 deities in one go. The Emperor was grateful for our sincerity and bestowed upon us a 'Record of Inviting Gods'. All the deities listed in the record can have their images made and communicate with the gods, and be invited to be worshipped in the temple."

"【Invitation to Gods Record】is equivalent to a package of deities. When my Sun family worshipped Wang Lingguan, Lord Lingguan also bestowed a similar list."

Sun Yourong acted as a translator, explaining things appropriately whenever Mr. Wu mentioned a key point, afraid that Lu Chen wouldn't understand.

Lu Chen nodded repeatedly. This was valuable knowledge for the future construction of the temple, and he could take this opportunity to learn it.

"As you all know, among the gods of literature, those who are not popular with worshippers are far more numerous than those of martial arts. Therefore, as the great god of literature, the emperor will naturally take better care of his subordinate celestial officials, and the Kitchen God is one of those listed in the Record of Inviting Gods."

Mr. Wu then changed the subject: "However, it wasn't until I invited Him to be enshrined in the temple that I discovered that, unlike other deities whose spiritual energy fluctuations could be clearly sensed, I couldn't feel any spiritual energy response from Him when I made offerings to the Kitchen God."

"I didn't believe in superstitions at the time."

“It was offered to the deity no less than three hundred times.”

"Not to mention a blessing in response, not even the slightest fluctuation of divine power occurred."

"Is that so? Old Wu, you worship Wenchang Dijun! Logically speaking, communicating with any deity of literature, even without bestowing blessings, should be far less difficult than communicating with other spiritual beings." Sun Dechang was also hearing this for the first time and looked surprised.

Old Wu nodded: "That's true in theory, but the reality is quite different. Later, I consulted the Emperor again, and he told me that the Kitchen God was originally a household deity, and his divinity is quite different from that of the orthodox deities of the Heavenly Court. He probably couldn't adapt to the solemn atmosphere of the temple. So it's normal that communication was difficult."

"So... does that mean we're worshipping a [Dead Immortal]?" Sun Yourong blurted out unconsciously, but realized her mistake as soon as she finished speaking. She quickly covered her mouth and patted it lightly twice to show that she had misspoke.

Old Wu shook his head: "Rongrong, it's absolutely impossible for him to be a dead immortal, otherwise he wouldn't be on the Emperor's [Record of Summoning Gods]. It can only be said that this Kitchen God has a unique temperament, which is extraordinary and even I find it difficult to fathom."

As he spoke, he turned his gaze to Lu Chen and said with a kind smile, "I have come here today for two reasons. First, I wanted to meet you, a young talent, and second, I wanted to tell you about this matter so that you would not misunderstand and think that the incense at my Wu Family Temple is not efficacious."

Lu Chen quickly clasped his hands in greeting: "Thank you for your trouble, Elder Wu, to inform me!"

"So... do you still plan to make offerings?" Sun Dechang asked Lu Chen.

Lu Chen's gaze was firm, and he nodded emphatically: "Supply! We're already here, how will we know the result if we don't try!"

"Alright! Then please go and buy the incense first, young friend. I will personally take you there." Old Wu gestured for him to proceed.

Lu Chen then walked to the incense window.

He has never formally worshipped the Kitchen God; according to custom, he can only buy ordinary incense sticks that cost 100 yuan each.

"Could you please offer me ten sticks of incense?"

After paying, Lu Chen held the incense stick in his hand.

Led by Mr. Wu, the group walked through the corridors and headed towards the backyard.

Passing by the three main halls of the Wu Family Temple, the three halls respectively enshrine the Wenchang Emperor, the Venus, and the Moon God.

The first two are so renowned that they need no further explanation.

This last one, the [Taiyin Xingjun], is also extraordinary.

She is the god who protects women.

She rules the Moon Palace and is known as the Moon Goddess.

The Chang'e that everyone knows is not actually the ruler of the Moon Palace, but merely a goddess of the Moon Palace.

This "Taiyin Xingjun" is the true immortal residing in the "Yuefu".

It governs souls, protects women, presides over appearances, and harmonizes marriages.

If a woman desires youthful beauty, this [Taiyin Xingjun] is the righteous deity for this purpose.

"No wonder the Wu family's incense is so prosperous... With such a goddess who perfectly meets their needs presiding over the temple, it's hard for the incense not to be thriving! The fact that she is 'forever young' alone is enough to attract countless female worshippers!"

Lu Chen thought to himself.

I couldn't help but look up at Old Wu walking ahead.

As expected of a great figure who can raise the Wenchang Emperor's divine favorability to 51%!

That's some serious micro-management skills!
"By the way, Sister Sun, have you ever come to the Wu Family Temple to worship the Goddess of the Moon?" Lu Chen leaned closer to Sun Yourong and asked in a low voice.

Sun Yourong rolled her eyes at him: "Do I need it now?"

Lu Chen: "It's all about being prepared. It's too late when you actually need it."

Sun Yourong spat lightly: "Get lost!"

Amidst laughter and conversation, the group arrived at the backyard.

Not surprisingly.

It was indeed a desolate scene.

Lu Chen had previously wondered why these temples, despite having invited deities, did not diligently worship them.

It wasn't until today, when I learned about the "Record of Invoking the Gods," that I finally understood.

It turns out that most of these deities were assigned through a "quota allocation".

—This is an adjunct offering.

No wonder they are not valued.

"Young friend, this is the statue of the Kitchen God."

Old Wu stopped in front of a slightly dilapidated shrine and pointed to the statue inside.

　Chapter Two is coming soon!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)