Which God Doesn't Love Merit? Just Like Which Mortal Doesn't Love Money? (Revised)

An hour later, at Southern Mountain Residential Compound, night had fallen.

Lu Chen carried two bulging bags of food into the compound.

Southern Mountain Residential Compound was a slum district in Jiangdu City.

The compound resembled the tube-block apartments of his previous life—dilapidated and ancient.

Yet even in a compound like this, rent was still frighteningly high!

For example, the rent for the two-bedroom, one-living-room apartment Lu Chen's family leased required all of Mother Lu's salary just to barely cover it.

That was also the core reason why Lu Chen's family had always been stretched so thin.

"Yo, Little Chen, you're back. Why did you buy so much stuff?"

"Hello, Auntie Zhang."

Lu Chen merely greeted his neighbor before walking off with a smile.

He dashed up to the third floor in one breath.

Looking at the familiar yet unfamiliar iron door before him,

Lu Chen suddenly felt uneasy. He took a deep breath before knocking.

The door soon opened, and a small head poked out from inside—thin and frail, yet still delicate.

The instant she saw Lu Chen, the little girl's eyes lit up.

"Big Brother, you're back!"

"Mm, I'm back. Open the door."

Lu Wan pushed the door open. Seeing the two stuffed bags in her brother's hands, she asked in surprise, "Big Brother, what are these?"

Father Lu and Mother Lu also turned to look over from inside.

"Why are you so late today? And why did you buy so much stuff?"

Lu Chen did not hurry to answer. He carried the bags to the table and opened them.

Slabs of pork belly, streaked evenly with fat and lean meat, instantly dealt the Lu Family a tremendous shock.

Father Lu swallowed hard. "You little brat, where did you get the money to buy this much meat? Could it be...?"

"You guessed right, Dad!"

The good thing about this world of deities was that even becoming rich overnight was perfectly reasonable.

Lu Chen no longer hid it from them. "Dad, Mom, I went to pray for blessings today, and it worked. I made fifteen thousand in one shot!"

"Really? Oh my!" Mother Lu excitedly threw her arms around Lu Chen. "My son is amazing!"

Though Father Lu was astonished, he scolded him with a smile. "You little brat, you made a bit of money and started spending like water. Why did you buy so much meat?"

Only seven or eight years old, Lu Wan swallowed and said, "Meat is good. Wanwan wants meat. It's been so long since I had any."

Lu Chen rubbed his sister's head. "Don't worry, Wanwan. From now on, our family will have meat every day!"

"Really, Big Brother?"

"Really!"

"That's wonderful! Our family will have meat every day from now on!"

The little girl happily ran all over the room.

Lu Chen took out a piece of meat. "Mom, let's have meat tonight. It's been too long."

"Alright. Mom will make it."

"I'll go help your mother."

At the sight of the meat, Father Lu could hardly pull himself away.

Lu Chen stuffed the remaining meat into the refrigerator, then took a cloth doll from his schoolbag and handed it to Lu Wan.

"Wanwan, this is for you."

The little girl's face flushed crimson with excitement as she hugged the doll tightly. "Thank you, Big Brother!"

Lu Chen patted his sister's head. "Go play."

Watching his sister race about in delight while clutching the doll, then looking at his parents busy in the kitchen,

a warm current suddenly surged through Lu Chen's heart.

In his previous life, he had been an orphan, adopted by the abbot of Clear Breeze Temple when he was young.

He had never experienced the feeling of having a home.

Now that he had crossed into another world, one of his dreams had finally come true.

So this is what home feels like. It's wonderful~

Before long, steaming braised pork was served on the table.

It was the family's first meat meal in a month, and every one of them ate with immense satisfaction and happiness.

After dinner, Lu Chen also told Father Lu and Mother Lu about what had happened at the God Temple today.

"What? That obscure god was actually this effective?!"

Father Lu and Mother Lu were both dumbfounded.

And he had successfully communicated with a deity and received its blessing with only one stick of incense.

If word of that got out, it would sound like a fantasy—utterly unbelievable.

Lu Chen neither confirmed nor denied it, taking five thousand from his pocket.

"Mom, take this money."

Originally, Lu Chen had wanted to give his mother ten thousand, but after thinking it over, he decided to keep more for himself in case of emergencies.

After all, expenses at the God Temple were indeed substantial.

He had struck true in one blow this time, but next time, that might not be the case.

Yet Mother Lu shook her head and pushed the money back. "Little Chen, your father and I know that we've never been able to give you much money. Keep this yourself. You need to raise your Divine Service Rating for your school entrance exam. Your father and I can't give you much help, but we don't want to hold you back either."

"That's right. Arrange this money yourself. Your mother and I may not be able to help much in other areas, but supporting you children is not a problem."

Seeing his parents support him so wholeheartedly, Lu Chen's eyes stung. He pushed the money back again. "Dad, Mom, take it without worry. Believe me—I'll definitely earn even more money, and I'll become stronger too. Starting today, our Lu Family is going to welcome better days!"

Seeing their son so confident,

Father Lu and Mother Lu burst out laughing. "You little brat, confidence is a good thing, but don't get carried away. You still need to keep your feet on the ground. Fine, we'll save this money for you first. If you need it, just ask your mother anytime."

Only after Father Lu and Mother Lu finally accepted the money

did Lu Chen smile and begin planning his next move...

Inside the cramped room,

Lu Chen lay on his bed and continued thinking. Lord Jun Cai said this wave of good fortune would last two days. Looks like I have to make a big score tomorrow!

Given my current situation, only by earning my first pot of gold can I lay a solid foundation for becoming stronger in the future.

Otherwise, without even incense money, how am I supposed to grow stronger?

But this good fortune only lasts two days. That's far too short.

It would be best if fortune stayed with me forever!

Lu Chen glanced around the small, stuffy room and silently clenched his fists.

"Money isn't everything, but in any world, you absolutely cannot survive without money!"

"I have to get on good terms with Lord Jun Cai and raise my Divine Service Rating!"

"The key is, how can I rapidly increase my Divine Service Rating?"

Lu Chen immediately searched through the information in his memories.

The first method was undoubtedly to keep spending money through worship.

But its drawback was that it consumed far too many resources.

Moreover, the further one progressed, the harder it became to raise one's Divine Service Rating.

It could be said that relying purely on spending money was a bottomless pit.

It was clearly unsuitable for Lu Chen.

The second method was to help the deity raise its fame and obtain more Incense Fire.

But this was difficult as well. Obscure gods were not very effective to begin with, and the public had already formed a fixed impression of them.

Who would knowingly keep throwing money in to offer Incense Fire to a god that did not work?

The objective conditions were simply too difficult.

It was not very suitable either.

The third method was to complete certain tasks for the deity, which could also greatly increase one's Divine Service Rating.

This was the simplest and most effective method.

But it had one prerequisite: one had to reach a certain Divine Service Rating before having a chance to receive a deity's task.

In other words, if Lu Chen wanted to receive a task from Lord God of Wealth, he had to first earn the other party's trust.

Converted into Divine Service Rating, that trust probably required twenty percent, perhaps even thirty percent, before he met the requirements.

And Lu Chen was currently only at five percent.

He was still a long way from twenty percent.

Clearly, that would not be easy either.

The fourth method was to invite a deity home and establish a temple.

Inviting a deity meant bringing one out of a God Temple and worshipping it at home.

Unlike his previous life, where a deity statue could be invited home for just a few hundred or even a few thousand,

in this world, it could not be done without at least a million.

And private invitations were forbidden. Not only would a privately invited deity be ineffective, it would also bring backlash—and it was a serious crime!

As for establishing a temple, as the name implied, it meant building a God Temple for the deity and erecting its golden body.

Both methods required enormous wealth to support them.

And as for establishing a temple, ordinary people should not even dream of it.

That was because it was a privilege reserved for great families of [New Nobility] and above.

"Damn, there are so many rules. If it really comes down to it... this poor Daoist can only use his trump card."

Yet Lu Chen, having "reviewed the information," was not flustered in the least. He was calm as could be.

Since the Deity-Invocation Spell worked,

then the Daoist Ritual Liturgy he was best at would most likely work too.

What was the essence of Incense Fire?

It was the power of wishes!

It was a foundation among the masses!

With those, people would pray and make requests.

The immortals could then avert disasters and resolve misfortune for others, forming good karmic fruit.

Thus, they could achieve Merit.

And Merit was precisely the foundation upon which those immortals who attained sainthood through Merit safeguarded their divine status and established their lives.

But if one were to ask which method could allow a deity to rapidly gain Merit,

then if conducting rituals ranked second,

no one would dare claim first!

The most powerful Daoist ritual—the Heaven-Encompassing Grand Rite—

was a feast of Merit for all the gods in heaven.

One Heaven-Encompassing Grand Rite could fill the bellies of all the gods in heaven while also blessing the mortal world with favorable weather, peace in the land, and safety for the people.

The reason was that both sides joined forces and worked hand in hand to create a grand Merit that would shake the age.

This showed just how powerful and immense the Merit generated by rituals could be!

Of course, Lu Chen could forget about a top-tier ritual like the Heaven-Encompassing Grand Rite.

But conducting some smaller rituals was still well within his capabilities.

Back when he was at Clear Breeze Temple, Lu Chen had participated in rituals large and small.

He had even personally presided over many of them.

He was thoroughly practiced at it.

Thinking of this, the corners of Lu Chen's lips rose slightly as he murmured, "Which god doesn't love Merit? Just like which mortal doesn't love money?"

Lu Chen had made up his mind. When he went to fulfill his vow, he would test it out with Lord God of Wealth.

He wanted to see whether conducting rituals could become the fulcrum that pried up his Divine Service Rating!

Meanwhile, outside the God Temple,

"Damn it, damn it! How could I be so stupid that I actually believed that idiot Lu Chen?"

Song Hao angrily punched the wall of the God Temple.

Not only had he queued for two hours,

he had also spent a full three thousand on Incense Fire.

That was all of his allowance for the month.

And what was the result? A meat bun thrown to a dog—gone without return.

Moreover, not only had he gained nothing, the seven or eight people who had rushed over in a swarm earlier had all gained nothing as well.

Only one lucky person had barely managed to raise their Divine Service Rating to one percent.

But what use was the Divine Service Rating of such an obscure, useless god?

The whole group was so furious that they cursed Lu Chen viciously.

But no matter how much he cursed, Song Hao did not feel satisfied.

After all, he had wasted three thousand for nothing.

Leaning against the wall, Song Hao said viciously, "Lu, just you wait. The Divine Service Rating competition is next Monday! You definitely don't know that my dad spent a huge sum to secure me a slot for 'Heavenly Official's Blessing.' Once I receive that blessing and officially become a first-rank Spirit Cultivator, crushing you will be as easy as crushing an ant. Then I'll settle both old and new grudges at once!"

With a bang, Song Hao punched the wall again!

But this time, his luck was poor. He struck something hard, and the pain instantly made him howl.

The hatred in his heart for Lu Chen immediately deepened by several more degrees!

The next morning.

After finishing breakfast, Lu Chen left home and went looking for a nearby lottery shop.

Since fortune was riding with him, and it was the kind of fortune that came from unexpected windfalls...

Lu Chen naturally had to choose the easiest way to get rich overnight.

Buying lottery tickets and scratch cards was clearly an excellent choice!

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