Believer Zhu Houzhao Performs the Ceremony to Heaven and Welcomes My God's Arrival!

Ming Dynasty, Xuanfu.

Inside the imperial residence, Zhu Houzhao abruptly sat up in bed and left the Chat Group.

His face was flushed with a sickly red, a sign of his extreme excitement.

"Guards! Guards!"

He shouted toward the door.

A pale-faced eunuch with no beard hurried in and knelt on the ground.

"Your Majesty, what are your orders?"

It was Zhang Yong, one of the Eight Tigers of the Directorate of Ceremonial.

"Zhang Yong!"

Zhu Houzhao pointed at an empty lot beside his bedchamber.

"Build a temple there for me at once!"

Zhang Yong froze and looked up. "Your Majesty, build a temple? But... building one inside the imperial residence probably wouldn't be proper."

"Enough nonsense!"

Zhu Houzhao kicked him.

"If I say it's proper, then it's proper! The temple will be called the 'God of Gods Temple'!"

"Use the fastest workers and the best craftsmen. I want it finished before nightfall!"

Zhang Yong had taken a kick, but didn't dare cry out in pain. He scrambled to his feet.

"Yes, yes, Your Majesty. This servant will obey. I'll see to it at once."

He couldn't help wondering what had gotten into His Majesty this time.

A few days ago, he'd become obsessed with building a leopard house. Now he wanted a temple beside his bedchamber—and had given it such a strange name.

But Zhang Yong had served Zhu Houzhao for years. He'd long since grown used to his master's flights of fancy.

As long as His Majesty was happy, that was all that mattered.

Zhang Yong scrambled out and immediately gathered a team.

At the emperor's command, the entire Xuanfu imperial residence sprang into action.

Countless craftsmen were urgently summoned, and the finest timber, stone, and glazed tiles were brought in to the small empty lot, one load after another.

Zhu Houzhao stood by the window, watching the bustling scene outside, his fists clenched tight.

"God of Gods..."

He murmured to himself.

"Please don't be a fraud."

"I've staked my life and fortune on you!"

"Zhu Wushi, your good days are over!"

Dragon Guard Manor, Xuanfu branch.

A spy knelt on the ground, reporting to Zhu Wushi on the activity inside the imperial residence.

"Building a temple? And calling it the 'God of Gods Temple'?"

Zhu Wushi held a teacup, his hand frozen in midair.

Then he laughed and gently set it down.

"I thought he was merely being childish and reckless. I never expected him to sink to such absurdity."

"Believing in ghosts and gods, and praying for some illusory power? He truly is beyond saving."

Zhu Wushi's voice brimmed with disdain and contempt.

In his eyes, his imperial nephew was already a complete lost cause.

That was all the better.

The more absurd the emperor, the more Zhu Wushi's own wisdom and might would stand out by comparison.

The people's hearts and the court officials' loyalty would naturally turn to him.

"Keep watching. There's no need to interfere."

Zhu Wushi waved his hand.

"My plans remain unchanged. First, eliminate Cao Zhengchun, that eunuch scoundrel, then clear the court of those who mislead the emperor."

He had already mapped out his path to the throne, advancing one step at a time.

As for his nephew building a temple beside his bedchamber, he was nothing more than an insignificant stepping-stone on the road to success.

Inside the Investiture of the Gods Space.

Shen Zhaochi's True Spirit sat cross-legged in the void, quietly waiting for the first temple to be completed.

He could sense a faint yet pure Power of Faith taking shape somewhere beyond the distant reaches of time and space.

Waiting was rather dull.

Shen Zhaochi sank his consciousness deeper into the Investiture of the Gods.

He discovered something strange.

The Investiture of the Gods Space wasn't completely sealed off.

At one of the space's boundaries, there was an extremely tiny connection point leading to a vast, boundless treasure vault.

The vault was filled with radiant clouds and auspicious colors. Countless natural treasures were piled as high as mountains, and spiritual energy was so dense it seemed almost tangible.

The treasure vault of the Jade Void Palace, Venerable Yuanshi's home!

Shen Zhaochi understood at once.

The Investiture of the Gods had originally belonged to Venerable Yuanshi, so it made sense that there would be such a hidden connection.

He tried extending a strand of spiritual consciousness through it.

The vault was protected by powerful restrictions, but they didn't seem to guard against the aura of the Investiture of the Gods, which shared its origin.

His spiritual consciousness reached in like a little hand and scooped around the vault.

A clod of earth, about the size of a fist and glowing yellow-brown, was "fished" out.

Nine Heavens Soil!

Shen Zhaochi was delighted.

This was the legendary divine soil that could grow without limit—the very stuff Nuwa had used to create humanity.

Even if you searched by book title and couldn't find it, you could try searching by author—maybe it had simply been renamed!

Though it was only a small piece, it was priceless.

"Old Man Yuanshi has quite the fortune."

He muttered.

"When I have more believers, I'll need to give out some rewards. I'll take them from you."

"You've got plenty to spare, anyway."

With an easy conscience, he put away the Nine Heavens Soil, intending to give it as a grand-opening gift to his first "regional representative."

Once he had finished, his thoughts couldn't help drifting toward another place.

The Three Immortals Island in the Eastern Sea.

He wondered how his three masters were doing.

"System, when can I leave the Investiture of the Gods and rebuild my body?"

[The host must first raise his cultivation to the Taiyi Golden Immortal realm, then gather an immense amount of Power of Incense and Faith to form a "Divine Incense Body."]

[The Divine Incense Body is beyond the Five Elements, free of karma, and impervious to all arts. It is the ideal vessel for a cultivator of the divine path to travel the Primordial Era.]

Taiyi Golden Immortal...

Shen Zhaochi clenched his fist.

It seemed he had to speed up his plans to develop his following and gather incense.

Above the Eastern Sea, at the Three Immortals Island.

The immortal paradise that had once been wreathed in celestial mists and filled with the songs of countless birds was now utterly silent.

Fairy Yunxiao sat at the edge of a precipice, gazing at the rolling sea of clouds. She hadn't moved for days.

Her aura was disordered, and a thick gloom had settled over the once-clear, immaculate Dao Heart.

"It's all my fault... It's all my fault..."

She murmured.

"If I hadn't forced him into seclusion, he wouldn't have tried to break through by force and died, his body and soul destroyed..."

"Zhaochi..."

A streak of golden light descended on the island, revealing Zhao Gongming.

Seeing his younger sister in such a state made his heart ache.

"Little sister, this isn't your fault."

"That child Zhaochi had his own fate. If you keep this up, he won't rest in peace, even from beyond the grave."

Yunxiao didn't respond, as if she hadn't heard him.

Qiong Xiao and Bi Xiao stood not far away, their eyes red, but they didn't dare approach.

Zhao Gongming sighed, a furious blaze burning in his chest with nowhere to go.

His nephew had been bright, sensible, and filial. How could he be gone just like that?

"Hmph!"

Zhao Gongming whipped his sleeve around.

"I hear those baldies from the Western Teachings have been hanging around the Eastern Sea lately. Perfect. I'm in a foul mood, so I'll go have a word with them!"

Before he had even finished speaking, he had already turned into a streak of light and sped angrily toward the west.

Ming Dynasty, Xuanfu.

Just three hours later.

After thousands of craftsmen worked around the clock without sparing any expense, a small but finely built temple rose from the open lot in the imperial residence.

The whole temple was made of the finest golden-thread nanmu, and its roof was covered with glazed tiles that shimmered gold in the setting sun.

The interior was empty, save for a prayer mat and a vacant altar.

Zhang Yong watched from the side, his heart pounding. This wasn't building a temple—it was burning through money.

Zhu Houzhao paid him no mind. He dismissed everyone and entered the temple alone.

He straightened his robes, walked up to the prayer mat, and knelt solemnly.

Closing his eyes, he began to recite the divine name with devotion.

"God of Gods..."

"God of Gods..."

"Your believer, Zhu Houzhao, awaits my God's arrival..."

Once, twice, three times.

When he reached the ninth recitation, a sudden transformation shook heaven and earth!

The clear sky darkened without warning.

The entire city of Xuanfu was thrown into panic.

Then a brilliant golden light tore through the darkened heavens and fell precisely upon the little temple!

An indescribable pressure came crashing down!

Throughout Xuanfu, from street peddlers to nobles and officials, every living creature was forced to its knees by an irresistible power. Their bodies trembled, and they couldn't even raise their heads.

Inside Dragon Guard Manor.

Zhu Wushi was about to eat. The instant that divine might descended, his internal energy surged of its own accord to resist, but it was like a mantis trying to stop a chariot.

With a thud, the knees of the arrogant, powerful warlord buckled, and he fell awkwardly to the floor.

The ivory chopsticks in his hand clattered to the ground.

He struggled to look up through the window toward the sky. It was as if lightning had struck him, and he stood frozen in place.

Within the golden light that pierced heaven and earth, a gigantic face slowly took shape.

Its features were too indistinct to make out, but even its vague outline radiated a supreme majesty that seemed to gaze down through the ages and rule over all creation.

Was this a god?

Zhu Wushi's heart nearly stopped beating.

But inside the temple, Zhu Houzhao felt no pressure at all. Instead, a warmth like a spring breeze filled him, along with a sense of closeness rising from the depths of his soul.

Trembling with excitement, he looked at the divine radiance gathering above the altar, glowing with a gentle golden light, and knew he had made the right bet!

He bowed low and struck his forehead against the ground.

"Your believer, Zhu Houzhao, performs the ceremony to Heaven and welcomes my God's arrival!"

His voice broke with tears, yet overflowed with a joy and hope unlike anything he had ever felt.