You Worship the Longevity Star, I Worship King Yama!

"Strange, why wasn't it here?"

Lu Chen searched through everything with painstaking care.

Not only did he inspect the main hall and side halls, he even went through every single name in the densely packed list in the rear courtyard.

Yet in the end, he still could not find Magu or the Director of Longevity.

"Could it be that Zhao Clan Temple doesn't have shrines for these two deities?"

Lu Chen's heart skipped a beat. This is bad. Theoretically, that possibility could not be ruled out.

Unwilling to accept it, he checked again, meticulously and seriously.

The result... damn it, they really were not there!

"It's over!"

Earlier, Lu Chen had thought Zhao Clan Temple was large enough and worshipped plenty of deities.

But now that he looked closely, all sorts of gods and immortals combined only came to eighty or ninety.

They did not even worship a quarter of the deities in the Heavenly Court.

And it had to fall apart at a time like this!?

Lu Chen was genuinely speechless.

How was he supposed to worship them without shrines?

And if he could not worship them, how was he supposed to take the mission?

If even a literary temple like Zhao Clan Temple did not have those two deities,

then martial temples like the Qian family's and Sun family's were even less likely to have them.

The Wang family, also a literary temple, might have them.

But why would the Sun family trust him enough to go to the trouble of accompanying him to Wang Clan Temple for worship?

What if Wang Clan Temple did not have those two deities either? Wouldn't that mean they were completely screwed?

Lu Chen knew perfectly well that only by solving this problem at Zhao Clan Temple would he have any chance of accepting the mission!

"What do I do? What do I do?"

Lu Chen anxiously scratched his head and tugged at his ears.

The opportunity had clearly been right in front of him, yet this sudden twist had caught him completely off guard.

Utterly frustrated, Lu Chen's gaze drifted unconsciously over the Divine Point Formation Diagram.

Just then!

Two lines of text abruptly leaped into his sight—

Above were four striking words: "Underworld."

Below was a smaller line: "Hall of Yama."

At the sight of those two lines, Lu Chen's brows immediately furrowed, and several words nearly sprang into his mind by instinct.

"Yama King... Book of Life and Death... Great Sage Who Settles Accounts... those monkeys and monkey descendants of Flower-Fruit Mountain..."

Each word seemed to trigger a chain reaction, naturally drawing forth the next.

Until the words "monkeys and monkey descendants of Flower-Fruit Mountain" surfaced—

Boom!

It was as though a thunderbolt had exploded in his mind.

"Of course! How could I have forgotten him?! The god who governs life and death in ancient legends!"

—Yama King.

Also known as King Yama, or Lord Yama!

One of the Ten Kings of Yama of the Underworld.

He wielded the Book of Life and Death, rewarded good and punished evil, judged yin and yang, and maintained the order of the Netherworld.

At the same time, he was the crucial hub connecting "the realms of life and death."

On one hand, he hooked souls and claimed lives, determining the length of human lifespans.

There was a saying among the people: "When King Yama wants you dead by the third watch, who would dare keep you alive until the fifth?" It showed just how mighty his judgment over life and death was.

On the other hand, King Yama also possessed the authority to return people to life and grant them additional years.

This had been recorded in all manner of ancient mythological texts.

With merely a stroke of King Yama's hook across the Book of Life and Death,

a departed soul could return to the mortal world and be reborn as a person.

In Journey to the West, Sun Wukong stormed the Netherworld and tore up the Book of Life and Death.

That allowed the monkeys and monkey descendants of Flower-Fruit Mountain to escape reincarnation from then on, their lifespans equal to Heaven itself.

If they were talking purely about extending one's lifespan, what deity could be fiercer than King Yama?

Even if the Longevity Star himself came, he would have to step aside.

After all, whether it was the Longevity Star, Magu, or the Director of Longevity,

their abilities were more like delivering charcoal in the snow or adding flowers to brocade—merely adding a few more bars to one's health meter.

Those blessed by them still could not escape birth, aging, illness, and death. In the end, they would become nothing more than a mound of yellow earth.

King Yama, on the other hand, was different.

If he truly wanted someone to live, he genuinely had the means to let them keep living forever.

The premise was that he was willing to do so.

And King Yama was undoubtedly an exceptionally cold stove!

Not only him—even the entire divine hierarchy of the Underworld was practically made up entirely of exceptionally cold stoves.

Great Emperor Fengdu was no exception.

After all, what decent person would worship King Yama for no reason?

Were they not afraid of bad luck?

People turned pale at the mere mention of him, terrified to avoid him at all costs.

Let alone make offerings to him.

In the entire Netherworld, only Empress Houtu, the highest-ranking leader, had barely decent Incense Fire.

After all, she was an ancient supreme being, one of the creator gods. Her status and standing could not be mentioned in the same breath as those Underworld deities.

In the blink of an eye, Lu Chen made his decision. "It's you, King Yama!"

He spun around and hurried back toward Longevity Star Hall.

At that moment, despair flooded the hall like a rising tide.

Sun Qingcang sat slumped in his chair, his face haggard as though every last bit of strength had been drained from him.

His wife, Song, covered her face with her sleeve, her sobs unceasing.

His son and daughter were equally filled with grief, helpless and at a loss.

Seeing that this could not go on, and that Longevity Star Hall still had business to do, Zhao Zhihong moved closer to Sun Qingcang and softly consoled him:

"President Sun, don't lose heart. The old master has not reached that stage yet. I think there may still be a turning point. If all else fails, try seeking out those two. With President Sun's connections and strength, there may still be a sliver of hope."

Sun Qingcang's lips moved, but in the end, he could only nod weakly. "Thank you for your concern, Manager Zhao. It's getting late, so we won't impose on your temple any longer. Yourong!"

Understanding at once, Sun Yourong took out a card from her bag and handed it to Zhao Zhihong. "Manager Zhao, thank you for your hard work. It's just a small token of appreciation. Please accept it."

Zhao Zhihong hurriedly declined. "You're too kind, Miss. Given the relationship between our two families, is this really necessary?"

Sun Qingcang forced himself to his feet and waved a hand. "Take it. Give my regards to the Zhao family head."

Sun Yourong directly pressed the card into Zhao Zhihong's hand.

Zhao Zhihong had no choice but to accept it, nodding repeatedly. "I'll certainly pass them along. Please rest assured, President Sun!"

"Let's go!"

Sun Qingcang waved his hand. His face was ashen as death as he walked at the front.

Outside the hall, the worshippers automatically made way for them.

Sun Qingcang watched the sun setting in the distance, the dying light red as blood, and a deeper sense of desolation rose in his heart.

"Father, your son did everything he could!"

He gritted his teeth, every step unbearably heavy.

"Please wait!!"

At that moment, a sharp cry suddenly rang out like a thunderclap, shaking the surroundings!

Everyone turned toward the sound.

At the end of the path parted by the crowd,

Lu Chen stood quietly in the distance, facing the Sun family from afar.

Sun Qingcang frowned, his face full of confusion.

Behind him, Zhao Zhihong froze on the spot. Why was it this kid? He had not left yet?

Before he could shout at him,

Lu Chen had already strode forward and called out loudly, "Head of the Sun family, if I have a way to pray for your father and extend his lifespan, are you willing to let me try?"

Boom!!!

The moment those words fell, it was like a massive boulder crashing into a deep pool, instantly stirring up a thousand waves!

The area outside Longevity Star Hall immediately erupted into an uproar.

"Isn't that... the lucky fellow who received a fated connection earlier?"

"Yeah! He worships the Wealth God. How did he suddenly learn how to extend lifespans too?"

Quite a few worshippers recognized Lu Chen, and discussions broke out all around.

The Sun family members' expressions changed drastically.

Sun Qingcang's expression shifted violently as he asked in disbelief, "What did you say? You can pray for blessings and offer longevity too?!"

"That's utter nonsense!"

But Zhao Zhihong beside him answered with a stern rebuke.

He stepped forward, pointed at Lu Chen, and angrily snapped, "You brat, what nonsense are you spouting here?! Take a look at where you are—who gave you the right to run wild here? Get the hell out of the way!"

Then he turned toward Sun Qingcang again. "President Sun, do not listen to his nonsense! This man has only worshipped two deities. One is Emperor Wenchang, and the other is some obscure Lord God of Wealth that you may never have even heard of. What could he possibly know about praying for blessings and extending lifespans?"

"Exactly."

Quite a few worshippers also echoed him.

Hearing this, the tiny spark of hope that had just ignited in Sun Qingcang's heart was instantly doused.

"You brat, you dare toy with us?!"

Behind him, the Sun family's second young master, Sun Xingwen, flew into a rage the instant he heard that.

At a moment like this, someone still dared to mess with them?

How many lives did he have?

Tired of living, were they?!