I Hit It Off with My Young Friend at First Sight; Let Us Become Sworn Brothers of Different Surnames!

In the rear courtyard.

The Gold-Threaded Box gradually turned to ash amid the flames. Rolling heat winds carried the embers skyward, forming a tornado that spiraled straight into the heavens.

Lu Chen stood quietly to one side, waiting patiently.

If all went smoothly, Lord God of Wealth would surely receive this special "offering" of his very soon.

As long as this succeeded.

What lay before Lu Chen would be a broad road unlike any before it or after it.

Then, Jade Emperor, Queen Mother, and all that—

He would beat the Jade Emperor into submission!

All of you, move aside for this poor Daoist.

Meanwhile, within the divine statue was a small space of its own.

Lord God of Wealth stood suspended in the void. He had no idea what medicine Lu Chen was selling from his gourd, so he simply watched for now.

As the fire around the Gold-Threaded Box grew fiercer, more and more ashes were swept up.

Within the statue's space, the murky darkness all around suddenly erupted with tens of thousands of golden rays.

Lord God of Wealth's expression tightened as he looked around in astonishment.

"Is this... Incense Fire?!"

But upon closer inspection, he realized something was wrong.

Those boundless golden rays rapidly converged, first transforming into stacks upon stacks of banknotes that circled before him.

Lord God of Wealth looked at the glowing stacks of notes, and his divine eyes immediately narrowed. "No, this is... Heavenly Gold?!"

Just as the Netherworld had its underworld currency.

And the mortal world had its banknotes.

The Heavenly Court naturally had its own circulating currency as well.

"How could this kid possess Heavenly Gold? Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

Heavenly Gold only circulated within the Heavenly Court.

How could a mere mortal possess something belonging to immortals and gods?

Lord God of Wealth refused to believe it. Yet after confirming again and again that it was indeed Heavenly Gold.

A stormy sea immediately rose in his heart.

A mere mortal had actually offered him currency from the Heavenly Court?

How could that not shock him?!

What was even more terrifying was that the amount of Heavenly Gold reached a staggering ten thousand taels!

As a deity of the Heavenly Court's "financial department," his monthly salary amounted to only seven or eight hundred gold.

What Lu Chen had burned for him was equivalent to a year and a half of his wages!

For a moment, Lord God of Wealth felt dazed.

"Am I the Wealth God, or is he?"

Before Lord God of Wealth could calm himself, the golden light gathered again.

This time, what formed was not Heavenly Gold.

It was several sets of exquisitely crafted brocade robes.

One look was enough to tell they were worth a fortune.

He could even offer immortal robes?!

Lord God of Wealth was dumbfounded.

Only then did he abruptly recall what Lu Chen had said before: these gold, silver, and valuables were not those gold, silver, and valuables.

"Just who is this kid? How does he possess such methods?"

Lord God of Wealth was utterly horrified, hardly daring to believe it.

Even as a god, he had never heard of or seen such secret arts.

Where had a mere mortal learned them?

In an instant, countless thoughts flashed through Lord God of Wealth's mind as he swiftly weighed the pros and cons.

Yet his face suddenly turned livid.

"You brazen brat! You dare bribe me?!"

Prince Chai, who had been the ruler of a nation in life, had once worked diligently to govern his realm, severely punished corruption, and advocated integrity among officials.

Though he had no idea what method Lu Chen had used.

The fact of this bribe was set in stone and beyond dispute!

If he truly accepted this money and these valuables, how would he differ from those corrupt officials whose heads he had once ordered chopped off?

Pride filled Lord God of Wealth's heart. "No! Even if I starve to death and my divine rank falls, I will never accept food thrown in contempt and let this stench of copper sully me!"

He immediately prepared to punish Lu Chen severely and teach him a lesson.

But just then, all of a sudden!

The entire space within the divine statue blazed with boundless golden light!

That golden light transformed into golden lotuses.

They streamed endlessly into Lord God of Wealth's body.

"This is... Merit?!"

Feeling divine power surge within him.

At that moment, Lord God of Wealth stood frozen like a wooden chicken, completely dumbstruck.

Heavenly Gold!

Immortal robes!

Merit!!!

This small bundle of yellow paper actually contained a world of its own, so miraculous beyond measure!

"Phew~"

Empowered by immense Merit, Lord God of Wealth could not help but let out a howl.

An unprecedented sensation of comfort wound around his entire body.

Like sweet rain after a long drought!

Even his divine consciousness suddenly became several degrees more condensed and powerful.

"How is this possible? He can actually offer Merit directly! And the Merit contained in this small bundle of yellow paper is equivalent to the Incense Fire of ten thousand people!"

Lord God of Wealth was so shocked that he lost all composure.

For gods like him who had attained sainthood through Merit.

Merit was the foundation of their existence!

Without Merit, in time, gods of Merit would not only lose their magical power, but even their lifespan would one day run dry.

Only innate spirits could live as long as heaven and earth, undying and indestructible.

Though he did not know what method this kid had used to directly produce Merit.

This Merit was unquestionably real.

For a moment, Lord God of Wealth's expression became extraordinarily complicated.

Most of his original anger had unknowingly dissipated.

At this moment, before the divine statue.

Seeing that the offering had nearly finished burning.

Lu Chen's heartbeat quickened more and more.

"Why is there still no response? Could it be that Lord Jun Cai didn't receive my offering, and the plan failed?"

The golden glow lingering around the golden statue showed that He had not left.

Lu Chen decided not to wait any longer. He immediately cupped his hands and asked, "Lord Jun Cai, has this junior's humble token of respect reached you?"

There was still no response.

"Lord Jun Cai?"

Lu Chen called again softly.

"I am here!"

At last, that ethereal and sacred voice rang out.

Lu Chen let out a breath of relief.

Unexpectedly, Lord God of Wealth's voice turned cold. "Kid, what exactly is the background of your ancestors? Why do you possess so many miraculous secret arts? Tell me the truth."

Lu Chen's pupils abruptly contracted.

That meant... He had received the things?!

Wild joy surged through him.

It worked!

Oh, immeasurable Heavenly Venerable, it really worked.

Lu Chen tried his best to remain calm.

He had already heard the heavy suspicion in Lord God of Wealth's words, even a trace of wariness.

If he did not dispel it.

His good intentions might end up doing more harm than good.

Thus, Lu Chen spoke with utmost sincerity. "In reply to you, my lord, this junior truly does not know my ancestors' background. But this junior believes that if my ancestors had not possessed some ability, my Lu Clan would likely have long since vanished into the river of time and not remained until today."

"As for these methods this junior uses, I will not hide it from you, my lord. I learned them all from my ancestors' secret manual. At the time, this junior had only read a few pages when the scroll burned itself to ashes. All the knowledge within was poured into my mind like enlightenment from the crown of my head.

Could this also have been a secret art deliberately designed by my ancestors?"

To prevent Lord God of Wealth from asking him for that nonexistent ancestral secret manual, Lu Chen smoothly added this detail, saying that the scroll had already burned.

Otherwise, if the other side suddenly said, "Bring it here and let me see," he would be completely screwed.

"I will not hide it from you, my lord. This junior offered things to you partly out of a desire to take a shortcut, and partly to test whether these secret arts truly worked. Thirdly: repay a drop of kindness with a gushing spring. Without your blessing, my lord, this junior would still be starving."

As Lu Chen spoke, he even forcibly squeezed out a glimmer of tears.

He played the emotion of repaying a drop of kindness with a gushing spring to the absolute limit.

Inside the divine statue, Lord God of Wealth watched Lu Chen's performance and could not help twitching the corner of his mouth.

Could he not tell whether those tears were real or fake?

Still, the other party's answer at least managed to explain itself and sounded fairly sincere.

At the very least... it allowed Chai Rong to pass the hurdle in his own heart.

"So be it. It seems that meeting him is also part of this lord's karma."

Lord God of Wealth slowly said, "It seems that you, young friend, are also someone with a fortuitous encounter. Your ancestors were certainly not ordinary. For you to have fallen to this state, they must have suffered a great calamity."

Young friend?

He had gone from junior to young friend?

Good heavens, this was the rhythm of the Divine Service Rating soaring again!

Lu Chen hurriedly said, "Yes, yes, yes! Lord Jun Cai sees clearly!"

Lord God of Wealth let out a long sigh. "Since that is the case, in consideration of your filial devotion, this lord... shall not decline."

Lu Chen cupped his hands. "Please accept them without concern, my lord. If they can help you, this junior has a duty to do so. Oh, right, this junior saw another method recorded in that secret art. If used, it can equal one hundred thousand measures of Incense Fire!"

What!

Equal to one hundred thousand measures of Incense Fire?

He had such a heaven-defying secret art as well?

Within the God Temple space, Lord God of Wealth was deeply moved.

He was about to ask whether it was true, but swallowed the words when they reached his lips.

"Chai Rong, restrain yourself. You are a god, after all. How can you fail to withstand a mortal's temptation!"

But on second thought, that was one hundred thousand measures of Incense Fire!

Who could withstand that?

Even a thousand-pound jack could not hold up under it!

"My lord?"

Hearing the call, Lord God of Wealth abruptly came back to his senses. He cleared his throat, and a gently coaxing smile could not be concealed in his voice. "Young friend, we can discuss the matter of Merit later. This lord has suddenly thought of a proposal. Would you be willing to honor me with your presence?"

"You flatter me, my lord. Please speak!"

Lord God of Wealth laughed heartily. "I hit it off with you at first sight, young friend, and am exceedingly delighted. Why don't the two of us become sworn brothers? What do you think?"

Lu Chen replied loudly, "This junior is naturally willing!!"

The words had barely left his mouth.

Lu Chen sensed that something was wrong, and his body suddenly shook.

He stared wide-eyed at the divine statue.

"Wait! Become... become sworn brothers?!!"

"That's right!"