Kid, Are You Sure You Didn't Worship the Wrong God? I'm King Yama!

But in an instant, King Yama snorted coldly. "Kid, tell me the truth. Otherwise, even if your lifespan has not yet run out, I will definitely make an entry for you in the Book of Life and Death."

Seeing that he had quite the impatient temper, Lu Chen did not beat around the bush. He roughly explained how Sun Qingcang had asked someone to bestow blessings and extend his father's life.

After hearing this, King Yama's voice became even stranger. "What did you say? You want me to bestow blessings and extend the life of a mortal whose lifespan is nearly exhausted? Kid, are you sure you didn't worship the wrong god? I am King Yama, not the Longevity Star! Even that old Longevity Star refused to bestow blessings, yet you want me to do it? Did a door crush your brain?"

Times were advancing. Clearly, King Yama's profanity was advancing too...

Lu Chen chuckled, seemingly having expected this reaction. He remained as steady as an old dog. "My lord, as the saying goes, saving one life is worth building a seven-story pagoda. Now, all Lord Yama has to do is lift your noble hand just a tiny bit, and won't that seven-story pagoda be yours?"

"Bullshit! What do you take the Book of Life and Death for? Do you think you can add years whenever you please? What merit? What seven-story pagoda? You want me to agree to such an immoral act that scorns the laws of Heaven? Utterly ridiculous! Are you tired of seeing me sit in this position for so long?"

As he spoke, the surrounding yin wind grew fiercer, and even the temperature in the air plummeted by several degrees.

Bone-piercing cold!

Clearly, King Yama was enraged.

"Kid, could you be a spy sent here by one of the other Yama Kings?"

There were ten Yama Kings in the Netherworld.

They were colleagues, but there was also plenty of competition between them.

Sometimes, the workplace was a life-or-death struggle.

It was not unreasonable for the Yama King to suspect this.

After all, when it came to serving in office, the yin gods of the Netherworld were completely different from the immortals in Heaven.

One careless move, and they would devour ghosts without spitting out the bones!

Lu Chen was speechless.

He had not expected King Yama to be not only hot-tempered, but so naturally suspicious as well.

How had he become another Yama King's spy?

This was simply alarmist nonsense!

Still, judging by this Yama King's manner, the one currently holding the post was probably not Bao Zheng, Justice Bao.

The divine offices of the Netherworld were actually very different from those in the Heavenly Court.

Put simply, one used a selection system, while the other was for life.

It was like a first-rank court official. Zhang San could hold the post, Li Si could hold it, and Wang Wu could hold it too.

Once the term ended, or the emperor ordered you to retire early, you had to step down.

The divine offices of the Heavenly Court, on the other hand, were different.

For example, Lord God of Wealth Chai Rong would remain the South Road Wealth God, one of the Five Road Wealth Gods, for as long as his divine status did not fall and he did not perish entirely.

Only after he was gone would that position become vacant for someone else to fill.

Thus, competition in the Netherworld's workplace was far fiercer than in the Heavenly Court.

Not only the Ten Yama Kings—even the Five Ghost Emperors, and even the Netherworld's CEO, Great Emperor Fengdu—used a selection system!

Once a term ended, they were replaced immediately.

Such terms were usually changed every three thousand years.

Many historical figures had served as King Yama.

For instance, Bao Zheng, the famous Northern Song minister, and Han Qinhu, the renowned Sui dynasty general.

Of course, this King Yama before him had such an odd temper and personality that Lu Chen could not tell who he was.

But that was unimportant.

What mattered was that he was King Yama.

Lu Chen cried injustice. "Your Majesty, you have wronged this disciple. I have only worshipped one Orthodox God of the Underworld Office—you. How could I possibly be another Yama King's spy?"

King Yama opened his scarlet eyes. "Then answer me this: if another Lord Yama did not tell you, how did you learn the secret art to commune with me?"

Lu Chen answered without hesitation. "Your Majesty, my ancestors were once prosperous as well. They left behind some secret arts for communing with deities, and Your Majesty was among them!"

King Yama eyed him suspiciously. "Do you dare swear to Heaven?"

Lu Chen immediately raised his right hand. "This disciple swears that all the secret arts I learned were privately passed down, and were absolutely not told to me by another Lord Yama. If I lie, may Heaven strike me down and Earth destroy me!"

Lu Chen neither blushed nor skipped a beat.

After all, privately passed down was not wrong. These Deity-Invocation Spells could only be learned by disciples of Clear Breeze Temple's inner court in his previous life. Were they not privately passed down?

And the latter half—that they had not been told to him by another Lord Yama—was even more solidly true.

Lu Chen had not lied in the slightest.

"Fine. I shall believe you for now. In that case, you are not one of those ill-intentioned evil cultivators. I did misunderstand you on that point. No!"

King Yama suddenly thought of something and immediately changed his tune. "Come to think of it, you are even more ill-intentioned than those evil cultivators! You actually dare ask me to violate the laws of Heaven and alter the Book of Life and Death. You are simply lawless!"

Lu Chen was starting to feel uncertain too.

"Could this generation's King Yama be some rule-abiding, dutifully honest ghost?"

That was not right. Other Yama Kings could do it, so why could he not?

Lu Chen swiftly constructed a character profile for the Yama King in his mind.

—Naturally irritable and suspicious.

—At the same time, he faced relatively intense workplace infighting.

These two traits supported and influenced each other.

It could be said that the current Yama King was somewhat like a man startled by the mere wind rustling through the grass.

If that was the case, then trying to forge a connection with him...

Was undoubtedly a multidimensional problem.

By comparison, Lord God of Wealth's situation had been much simpler.

It had been easy to resolve too.

Lord God of Wealth lacked Incense Fire and Merit to preserve his life, so Lu Chen simply gave him some Incense Fire and Merit.

But King Yama was another matter.

Money?

He might want it.

Merit?

He would definitely want it.

The problem was that Lu Chen had prepared neither of those things.

Give him an empty promise?

As if he would believe that...

"Wait, doesn't this Fortune-Bringing Gold Ingot trigger a passive ability with a one-hundred-percent win rate?"

From the looks of it, even thirty percent seemed difficult?

Lu Chen frowned and continued pondering how to cater to King Yama's preferences at this moment.

His peripheral vision swept over the shabby surroundings.

Suddenly, an excellent idea sprang into his mind!

"That's right, how did I forget that? Damn it!"

"Kid, why have you stopped talking? Have you also realized that you went too far?"

King Yama's voice came again.

Lu Chen took a deep breath and nodded. "I did go too far."

"Teachability is a virtue. You still have some..."

Before King Yama could finish, Lu Chen said, "But! I can trade something Lord Yama wants for it!"

"Oh?"

At those words, King Yama showed a trace of interest.

"You know what I want? Go on, let me hear it."

Lu Chen narrowed his eyes and cupped his hands. "Your Majesty, what if I have someone build you a grand Hall of Yama and fashion a fine golden body for you, so that you may be worshipped by mortals? Would Your Majesty be willing to lift your noble hand and grant this disciple's tiny request, a mere effortless gesture?"

"Fashion a golden body for me!?"

Sure enough, for a yin god who only had a memorial tablet and not even a divine statue...

Lu Chen's mention of a golden body and a luxurious palace struck King Yama with the force of a thousand tons!

"Kid, I see that this place is a God Temple. Could this God Temple belong to your family?"

King Yama's voice suddenly became somewhat softer and gentler.

Lu Chen shook his head. "No?"

King Yama asked, "Then does your family have a God Temple?"

Lu Chen shook his head again. "No."

King Yama flew into a rage. "You brat, how dare you amuse me? Bring me the book!"

"Hey, hey, hey! Your Majesty, don't rush! I haven't finished! My family may not have one, but the family of the person whose blessings and longevity I am seeking does! And their God Temple is one of the four great God Temples in our area, with tremendous resources! If Your Majesty agrees, I will speak to him. He will surely submit gladly and build a temple and fashion a golden body for Your Majesty!"

Building a temple and fashioning a golden body would cost, at most, around a hundred million.

Lu Chen believed Sun Qingcang would not even furrow his brow.

Sure enough, the yin wind around them suddenly weakened considerably.

The howls of ghosts and wolves also lessened by several degrees.

Clearly, King Yama had begun to indulge in wild fantasies and ponder the matter in secret.

After a moment, he let out a long sigh. "Very well. Considering your kind heart, it is not as though I cannot make an exception in this matter of seeking longevity..."