"That's right—a deadlock!"
"Then... what exactly is this deadlock? Could you tell this junior about it?" Lu Chen hurriedly pressed.
It wasn't a matter of divine power—then what could it be?
Something serious enough for a deity to use words like "deadlock."
The Kitchen God pondered briefly, then flipped his palm. At once, a palm-sized gray-skinned booklet with charred black edges appeared before Lu Chen.
It resembled a scroll bearing an official decree, except it was rolled up.
And unlike the divine radiance shining around the Kitchen God—
this scroll gave off no spiritual fluctuations at all. Dull and lifeless, it seemed like a dead object, utterly out of place beside the Kitchen God.
"This is this lord's natal magic treasure, named the [Hearthfire Register], also known as the [Human Affairs Record]. All the good and evil deeds within mortal households automatically become red flames for good and black flames for evil, inscribed upon this register. What you seek is simply to identify the true culprit. In the past, this lord needed only open this register and take a look to know."
The Kitchen God paused, bitterness in his voice. "But now... this Hearthfire Register can no longer be opened."
"Why? Could it also be related to entering the temple?" Lu Chen's mind raced.
"You are perceptive, young friend. That is precisely the case. The divine power of the [Hearthfire Register] draws its source from the hearthfires of countless homes."
"But what this divine temple gathers is incense, and incense is absolutely not the same thing as hearthfire."
"Ever since this lord moved into this temple, the Hearthfire Register has been cut off from its source of divine power. As days turned to years, it lost all spiritual resonance and could no longer be opened."
"That is also why, no