Here I Come!

Lu Chen had already seen that Master Tan was at the end of his tether.

In this state, successfully praying for blessings was almost impossible.

If he truly failed,

then the Sun family would undoubtedly be driven into a dead end.

Just as that guy next to him had said before,

across all of Jiang Province, Tan Kun was already the best bounty spirit practitioner one could find for praying for blessings and extending one's lifespan.

If even he failed,

then who else could take on this task?

"An opportunity! This is absolutely a heaven-sent opportunity!"

"Lu Chen, it all depends on whether you dare to gamble!"

At that moment, Lu Chen's blood pumped along with his surging emotions.

He had originally only come to watch the show and pick up a few things along the way.

Who would have thought that, the longer he watched, the more things went wrong.

A lifespan-extending immortal with a Divine Service Rating of forty-seven percent had actually stumbled.

And judging from how abandoned he looked now, he was practically a homeless dog.

For a moment, Lu Chen could not help but sigh inwardly. The initiative was entirely in the hands of the deities. Spirit practitioners were no different from meat on the chopping block—or, more extremely, like pets kept in captivity.

If the master was pleased, they might toss you a couple of bites.

If not, they could not even be bothered to acknowledge you.

"My way of getting along with Brother is still far more perfect—mutual benefit, each supplying what the other lacks."

Lu Chen thought to himself.

"No rush. I'll wait a little longer. Even if I'm really going to gamble, I have to make sure Tan Kun is bound to fail before making a move!"

Lu Chen quietly drew a breath and continued watching the situation inside the hall.

Meanwhile, inside Longevity Star Hall.

After Sun Qingcang raised the offer by another twenty million,

a flicker of emotion appeared on Tan Kun's face. After pondering for a moment, he sighed. "For the sake of the Sun family head, then Tan... will give it another try!"

Excited smiles bloomed across the faces of the Sun family. "Thank you, Master! We trust that you will succeed at the first stroke!"

Tan Kun nodded. "Sun family head, please step back first."

"Alright!"

The Sun family retreated.

Tan Kun wiped the sweat from his forehead, moved about a little, then lit another tall incense stick.

He began chanting, "Heavenly spirits, earthly spirits..."

"Qingcang!"

Madam Song anxiously gripped her husband's arm.

Sun Qingcang patted his wife's hand and forced out a smile. "It's alright. Have faith in Master Tan."

But despite saying that, Sun Qingcang had no confidence at all.

A voice inside him told him that if it could truly succeed, then with Tan Kun's Divine Service Rating, he should have succeeded long ago.

"Dad, look!!"

Just then, a sharp cry came from behind him. The Sun family's second young master, Sun Xingwen, suddenly pointed ahead.

Everyone focused their eyes.

The tall incense in Tan Kun's hand was actually wreathed in brilliant radiance.

There were even obvious ripples of spiritual power in the surroundings.

"It worked?!"

The Sun family was overjoyed as one.

Outside the hall, countless worshippers who witnessed the scene

also erupted into cries of surprise.

"Holy shit, it worked! He got through!"

"Looks like the twenty-million reward really did the trick!"

"I told you Master Tan couldn't possibly lose. If a Divine Service Rating like his couldn't even establish communication, that would be ridiculous!"

"Exactly. Whether blessings are granted or not, communicating with the venerable Longevity Star is the bare minimum."

Seeing this, Lu Chen's heart immediately sank halfway.

"Looks like I still underestimated the power of a forty-seven percent Divine Service Rating."

Since Tan Kun had managed to establish communication, Lu Chen believed the other man's chance of successfully praying for blessings was at least seventy percent.

What a waste of excitement...

At this moment, Tan Kun inside the hall finally revealed an indescribably delighted expression.

"It finally worked. Such powerful spiritual fluctuations—the Lord of Longevity has blessed us. This will surely succeed!"

As the radiant colors within the hall grew increasingly brilliant,

at that moment, whether Tan Kun, the Sun family, or the worshippers,

all stretched their necks, unable to hide their joy and anticipation.

They waited quietly for the Longevity Star to descend.

And just when everyone believed that good fortune was close at hand and the great matter was about to succeed—

Suddenly!

Without any warning,

a spark abruptly appeared amid the radiant colors. The next second, like a single spark starting a prairie fire, the radiance filling the hall seemed like a clump of cotton, instantly ignited.

Tan Kun's eyes flew wide open.

The flames abruptly condensed into a fireball and smashed violently into Tan Kun's chest with a boom.

Pfft!

Tan Kun immediately spat blood, his entire body flying backward like a kite with its string cut.

It happened too quickly, too suddenly.

Before anyone could react, Tan Kun had already crashed heavily at the entrance of the great hall, coughing up several mouthfuls of blood.

His aura was utterly listless!

"Master!"

Sun Qingcang's eyes nearly split apart. In a flash, he appeared before Tan Kun.

The Sun family's faces all turned pale.

Outside the hall,

the worshippers fell silent. Only after a moment did they erupt like a dormant volcano, completely ignited.

"A backlash from the blessing prayer?!"

"Heavens! How, how is that possible!"

"He was actually backlashed! It's over! Old Master Sun is completely finished now!"

Yet when Tan Kun saw Sun Qingcang, he reacted as though he had seen a ghost.

He frantically scrambled backward.

"Don't come over! Don't come over!"

"Master, are you alright?"

"None of your business. I'm not taking this job anymore! Find someone else! I won't take it! I won't take it!!"

Tan Kun staggered to his feet, babbling incoherently, then ran outside like a madman.

Everyone could see that he looked as though he had been scorched by fire from head to toe. Where was the bearing of an expert from before? He was utterly bedraggled.

"Out of the way!"

Tan Kun shoved through the crowd and sprinted away, disappearing from Longevity Star Hall in no time.

"It's over. This time, it's completely over!"

Inside the hall, Sun Qingcang felt dizzy, nearly losing his footing.

"Dad!"

"Master!"

Fortunately, the Sun family behind him reacted quickly and caught him.

Only then did he avoid falling.

"Dad, pull yourself together."

Sun Yourong supported her father. At some point, a mist had also clouded her eyes.

Tan Kun's departure did not merely mean they could no longer find a better bounty spirit practitioner.

More importantly, the backlash from the earlier blessing prayer had already sent out the most despairing signal.

Her grandfather was destined never to receive the Longevity Star's blessing.

Zhao Zhihong hurriedly said, "Quick, help President Sun sit down."

Several people helped Sun Qingcang over to a chair.

The instant he sat down, Sun Qingcang slapped his thighs heavily, tears streaming uncontrollably down his face. "Father, your son is useless. Your son is useless!"

The Sun family's expressions were filled with grief at the sight, and they covered their faces as they began to sob.

It also moved many worshippers outside the hall.

It could only be said that before life and death, all living beings truly were equal.

"Hey, handsome, where are you going? You're leaving already?"

Just then, the worshipper from earlier saw Lu Chen suddenly turn and run off without looking back, and could not help being surprised.

The good show had only just begun. Why was he leaving?

Little did he know that Lu Chen was currently searching in all directions for the divine tablet.

"The Divine Point Formation Diagram shouldn't only be in the temple's main hall. There should be one in a main shrine like this too. Where is it?"

After scanning around, Lu Chen really did find one.

He quickly ran over and searched the Divine Point Formation Diagram for the two deities, Magu and the Director of Longevity.

As for the Great Emperor of the Southern Pole, Eternal Life, forget it.

A prefecture-level city like Jiangdu City could not possibly enshrine a deity on the level of the Six Imperial Sovereigns.

Not even Qianjiang City, the provincial capital of Jiang Province!

It likewise was not worthy of enshrining the Three Pure Ones and the Six Imperial Sovereigns!