Chapter Summaries

After Lu Chen captured Qiu Qianluo, he warned Yu Feng that another culprit remained and planned to uncover the truth by worshipping the Kitchen God. Zhao Wanliang then ordered Ma Shilong to surrender when the authorities came for him, while Lu Chen prepared a consecration ritual meant to reveal the mastermind.

• Lu Chen told Yu Feng that Qiu Qianluo was only one of two ghost immortals and suspected the other culprit was influential, gravely ill, or near death.
• Lu Chen explained that the Kitchen God would reveal what happened when Qiu Qianluo met Ma Shilong, and Yu Feng promised to keep onlookers away from the ritual altar.
• Zhao Wanliang told Ma Shilong that Qiu Qianluo's capture was planned and ordered him to surrender to Yu Feng's people the following evening.
• Ma Shilong questioned whether he and his father had chosen the right path after Zhao Wanliang threatened him and promised them ghost immortality.
• Two days later, Lu Chen explained the consecration ritual to the Kitchen God, gathered his ritual implements and robes, and set out for Southern Mountain Residential Compound.

Lu Chen prepared to restore the Kitchen God’s power with the hearthfire warmth of Southern Mountain Residential Compound, while Li City God planned to cover his tracks and advance his schemes. Li City God was confronted by the Supreme One, who had arrived in Jiangdu for a City God inspection, as the Supreme One then headed for Lu Corporation to investigate Netherworld Currency.

• Lu Chen set up an offering ritual and asked the residents of Southern Mountain Residential Compound to cook extra dishes to generate hearthfire warmth for the Kitchen God.
• Zeng Rou reported that Lu Chen’s first billion Netherworld Currency had been completed and that the materials and equipment for Elder Wang’s Plague Pill were on the way.
• Li City God planned to let Ma Shilong take the blame and then use his position to advance Zhao Wanliang and himself.
• A judge reported that the Supreme One had arrived in Jiangdu to inspect the City Gods, and Li City God used his City God Seal to locate a vast blood miasma in the southern outskirts.
• The Supreme One froze Li City God’s hall, reprimanded him for spying, and warned that he would return to deal with him.
• The Supreme One arrived at Lu Corporation with two men and set out to investigate Netherworld Currency.

Great Emperor Fengdu and the Northern Ghost Emperors confirmed that Lu Chen’s Great Silver carried the authentic seal of Netherworld currency and found a billion’s worth of it at the factory. Meanwhile, Lu Chen’s ritual to invite the Kitchen God sent a pillar of golden light across Jiangdu and manifested the Kitchen God’s Hearthfire Register, leaving the city’s experts and Great Emperor Fengdu astonished.

• Great Emperor Fengdu, Zhang Heng, and Yang Yun visited the Rakshasa Cult factory, where Wang Zhidong showed them its stored ghost money.
• Great Emperor Fengdu recognized the Great Silver’s banknote seal as genuine, learned that the warehouse held around one billion, and accepted the money as a resource for building the nineteenth level of hell.
• Lu Chen purified the altar at Southern Mountain Residential Compound and invited the Kitchen God, whose incense ignited without flame.
• Lu Chen’s ritual sent a blazing pillar of golden light into the sky, drawing the attention of people and powerful Spirit Wielders across Jiangdu.
• The Kitchen God’s Hearthfire Register manifested above the pillar as Li City God watched in disbelief and Great Emperor Fengdu praised Lu Chen’s intriguing abilities.

Lu Chen performed the Eye-Opening stage of the Hearthfire Register consecration, drawing hearthfire aura from homes across Southern Mountain Residential Compound. The ritual artifact consumed the supply faster than it could be replenished, and as the pillar of light began to collapse, Great Emperor Fengdu suggested Lu Chen might still succeed.

• Lu Chen mixed the earlier ritual’s ashes into water and used his peachwood sword and incantation to draw hearthfire aura from households into the Hearthfire Register.
• Great Emperor Fengdu, Ghost Emperor Yang Yun, and Zhang Heng recognized Lu Chen’s unusual method, while Zhao Jiutang worried that Lu Chen’s growing influence could threaten the Zhao family.
• Zhao Wanliang urged Zhao Jiutang to keep the Zhao family’s current approach toward Lu Chen rather than treat him specially.
• Yu Feng sealed off the area around the ritual with a wall of fire and ordered approaching spirit users to retreat.
• The Hearthfire Register devoured the gathered aura, but dwindling gas, exhausted cooking, and burnt cookware caused the supply to dry up and the ritual’s pillar of light to weaken.
• As onlookers feared the ritual would fail, Great Emperor Fengdu said Lu Chen’s success was not necessarily impossible.

Lu Chen completed the ritual to restore the Hearthfire Register with the Kitchen God's help, drawing hearthfire aura from across Jiangdu City. The renewed treasure recognized Lu Chen as its master, and the Kitchen God summoned him to fulfill his promise.

• Li City God and Great Emperor Fengdu watched anxiously as Lu Chen's ritual neared failure.
• Lu Chen sacrificed his essence blood to draw hearthfire aura from nearby homes, but the Hearthfire Register still lacked enough power.
• The Kitchen God manifested, replenished Lu Chen's spiritual power, and gathered hearthfire aura from kitchens throughout Jiangdu City.
• Lu Chen completed the Spirit Sealing ritual, and the Hearthfire Register absorbed the city's hearthfire aura and regained its radiance.
• The Kitchen God's dharma form faded, and Lu Chen discovered he could sense scenes and emotions from households across the city through the Hearthfire Register.
• The Kitchen God brought Lu Chen into his sea of consciousness, where the renewed Hearthfire Register circled him affectionately and the Kitchen God began to fulfill his promise.

Kitchen God used the [Hearthfire Register] to show Lu Chen how Qiu Qianluo created and controlled the red-robed ghost, then revealed Qiu meeting Ma Shilong. Lu Chen recognized Ma as the Ma Family head and realized Qiu might not be the one carrying out the corpse liberation for someone else.

• The [Hearthfire Register] gifted Lu Chen a page that could track up to ten people near cooking fires, and Kitchen God used its spiritual resonance to show him scenes from the past.
• Lu Chen watched Qiu Qianluo turn a fierce ghost into a red-robed ghost with Yin-Thunder Wood and order it to devour five hundred people.
• Kitchen God learned from Lu Chen that Qiu had been captured with the City God's help, then took him to another scene in an abandoned warehouse.
• Ma Shilong arrived to meet Qiu, and Lu Chen recognized him as the head of the North-City Ma Family.
• Ma asked whether Qiu could help his father become a Ghost Immortal, and Qiu claimed an eighty percent chance of success if Ma followed the plan.
• Lu Chen wondered whether Qiu was not the person carrying out the corpse liberation for someone else.

Lu Chen and the Kitchen God traced Qiu Qianluo’s conspiracy to the Zhao Residence, where they suspected Zhao Wanliang was the hidden young master. The Kitchen God identified a trace of Netherworld aura on the conspirators’ sound-transmission jade talismans, while the question of admissible evidence remained unresolved.

• Qiu Qianluo instructed Ma Shilong to find human yao matching the victims’ birth dates and use black jade in a ritual that would transfer their karmic burdens to Ma Shilong’s father before Ma Shilong killed him.
• After Ma Shilong left, Qiu Qianluo tried to contact the young master, but the Kitchen God found the jade talisman’s fate-concealing art blocked their view.
• Lu Chen reasoned that Qiu Qianluo and Ma Shilong must have met the young master before they began using the concealed talismans, so the Kitchen God followed Qiu Qianluo’s trail backward.
• The Kitchen God used the Hearthfire Register to trace a hidden aura to the Zhao Residence, strengthening Lu Chen’s suspicion that Zhao Wanliang was the mastermind.
• The Kitchen God questioned whether the Zhao Residence’s concealment and Lu Chen’s suspicions counted as evidence, then revealed that the sound-transmission jade talismans carried a trace of Netherworld aura.

Lu Chen uncovered evidence that Young Master Zhao and possibly Li City God were behind the plot, then sent Yu Feng to act on Ma Shilong’s hidden black jade. As Lu Chen waited for the battle to end, three unfamiliar men approached him, and their handsome leader asked what Lu Chen would call him if King Yama was his godfather.

• The Kitchen God explained that the [Hearthfire Register] had exposed Ma Shilong and Young Master Zhao, and Lu Chen suspected Li City God was helping Zhao in exchange for a chance to become Prefectural City God.
• Lu Chen told Yu Feng that Ma Shilong’s father had a piece of black jade in his mouth, and Yu Feng led his guards toward the northern city to begin the battle.
• Zeng Rou returned to the factory while Lu Chen waited to settle his assignment with Yu Feng after the fight.
• Three unfamiliar men appeared behind Lu Chen, and their handsome leader took his Daoist robe before asking what Lu Chen would call him if King Yama was his godfather.

Great Emperor Fengdu met Lu Chen, rewarded him for expanding the Netherworld’s influence, and offered him a divine office if he sold one trillion Netherworld currency. He also revealed that Li City God had been monitoring Lu Chen and gave him three months to influence the decision over the City God’s office.

• Great Emperor Fengdu froze Jiangdu City, revealed the identities of Ghost Emperor Zhang Heng and Ghost Emperor Yang Yun, and invited Lu Chen to speak with him.
• Great Emperor Fengdu gave Lu Chen tea that strengthened his three spirit lamps, then told him not to dwell on guilt over his past actions.
• Great Emperor Fengdu asked Lu Chen how long it would take to secure one-tenth of the mortal world’s incense offerings for the Netherworld, and Lu Chen estimated that the situation would become clear within a year.
• Great Emperor Fengdu promised to invest Lu Chen as the Netherworld God of Wealth if he brought one trillion Netherworld currency to the Netherworld, while warning him not to use deceitful methods.
• Great Emperor Fengdu revealed that Li City God had been monitoring Lu Chen and gave him three months before the City God’s office candidate was chosen; Lu Chen vowed to seize the opportunity.

After Great Emperor Fengdu exposed Li City God's scheme, Lu Chen realized he could use the next three months to act while Li City God remained unaware of his advantage. Ma Shilong was captured, and Li City God won Fengdu's promise to consider promoting him, while Fengdu deliberately left him in place to test Lu Chen.

• Great Emperor Fengdu warned Lu Chen against recklessly making Heavenly Gold, then departed to visit Li City God.
• Yu Feng captured Ma Shilong and recovered the black jade; he promised Lu Chen his reward and promotion report, and summoned him to a meeting the next day.
• Lu Chen returned home and prepared to tell Father Lu and Mother Lu about his achievements.
• Li City God pledged loyalty to Great Emperor Fengdu and was told his conduct and possible promotion would be considered.
• Zhang Heng questioned why Fengdu spared Li City God, and Fengdu explained that Li could help temper Lu Chen and reveal the extent of his abilities.

After the Ma family’s downfall, Jiangcheng’s families anticipated Lu Chen’s rise to New Nobility and the conflict it could trigger with the Zhao family. The Sun and Wu families considered whether to support him, while the Wu family questioned his limits and wondered if he might one day challenge the Zhao family through Temple-Breaking.

• The Sun family discussed Lu Chen’s rapid rise, and Sun Dechang offered to help him cover any shortfall in the funds needed to become New Nobility.
• Sun Qingcang warned that Lu Chen’s rise would bring his conflict with the Zhao family into the open, and Sun Dechang urged the family to help him because Temple-Breaking might eventually be necessary to become a Great Clan.
• Wu Jingzhi praised Lu Chen’s mysterious success with obscure deities, but Wu Zhong pointed out that Lu Chen had suffered a spiritual power backlash when worshipping the Thunder Ancestor.
• Wu Zhong and Wu Jingzhi discussed Lu Chen’s possible limits, his Netherworld Currency business, and whether the Wu family should assist him as they watched the Zhao family.
• Wu Zhong recalled that Jiangdu had not witnessed a genuine Temple-Breaking in sixty years, while he and Wu Jingzhi speculated that the Zhao family might have been involved in the Ma family’s strange downfall.

Zhao Wanliang and Li City God plotted to use Lu Chen to secure Li City God’s promotion, then deal with him afterward. As Lu Chen set out for the City Lord Assembly, he planned to expose their alliance by confronting the Zhao family.

• Zhao Jiutang warned Zhao Wanliang that Lu Chen’s rise could threaten the Zhao family, but Zhao Wanliang dismissed his fears and said he would attend the City Lord Assembly.
• Zhao Wanliang contacted Li City God, who revealed that Great Emperor Fengdu had visited Jiangdu and that his promotion was nearly secured; they agreed to avoid provoking Lu Chen until then.
• Zhao Wanliang and Li City God revealed their close alliance, and Zhao Wanliang called Li City God his grandfather, a member of the Zhao family.
• Lu Chen’s parents and neighbors celebrated his new noble status as he left Southern Mountain Residential Compound for the assembly with Wang Zhidong, Zeng Rou, and Hall of Benevolent Aid members.
• Zeng Rou warned Lu Chen that the Zhao family might try to intimidate him, but he said Yu Feng’s presence would deter them.
• Lu Chen decided to play along with Li City God’s scheme and make his first move by openly confronting the Zhao family.

At the City Lord's Mansion, Lu Chen confronted Zhao Wanliang and the Zhao family, refusing to submit to their intimidation. He left the gathering on the brink of an open clash between the Lu and Zhao families.

• Sun Qingcang introduced Lu Chen to the heads of Jiangdu City's major families at the City Lord's Mansion.
• Zhao Jiutang arrived with Zhao Wanliang, who insulted Qin Guangshan and challenged Lu Chen to introduce himself.
• Lu Chen traded barbs with Zhao Wanliang and refused to explain who he was.
• Lu Chen recognized Zhao Zhihong and used his spiritual pressure to force the Zhao family steward to his knees.
• Zhao Jiutang broke Lu Chen's pressure as the Lu and Zhao family forces gathered for a fight.
• Lu Chen told Zhao Jiutang and Zhao Wanliang that he was returning the treatment Zhao Zhihong had once given him, then invited them to make him lower his head.

Lu Chen confronted Zhao Wanliang outside the City Lord's Residence, and their clash was stopped by Yu Feng before it could escalate. At the meeting, Yu Feng announced that Lu Chen had obtained the qualification to advance to New Nobility, leaving the Zhao family disgruntled.

• Lu Chen threatened the Zhao family and clashed with Zhao Wanliang, using the Plague Emperor Banner to strengthen his Underworld Divine Lightning.
• Yu Feng intervened and ordered Lu Chen and Zhao Wanliang into the residence, where the patriarchs tried to smooth over their conflict.
• Lu Chen rejected the expected seating arrangement and took the central seat with Yu Feng's permission.
• Yu Feng announced Lu Chen's qualification to advance to New Nobility and presented him with the official document.
• Zhao Wanliang reluctantly applauded Lu Chen's advancement and privately fumed over their confrontation.

Yu Feng announced Ma Shilong and Qiu Qianluo’s crimes, stripped the Ma family of its noble title, and sentenced its direct line to prison. He offered Lu Chen the confiscated Ma Family Temple at a reduced price, then asked whether Lu Chen had learned anything else from the Kitchen God.

• Yu Feng praised Lu Chen’s promotion and credited him with helping solve the murders linked to Qiu Qianluo and Ma Shilong.
• Yu Feng stripped the Ma family of its rising-nobility title and sentenced three generations of its direct line, including Ma Shilong’s wife, children, and brothers, to prison.
• Yu Feng offered the Ma Family Temple for auction, and Lu Chen expressed interest while the other family heads stayed silent.
• Yu Feng gave Lu Chen a transfer agreement with a two-hundred-million internal reserve price, and Lu Chen confirmed he could prove ten billion in assets.
• Lu Chen offered Yu Feng two fifth-grade Volcanic Spirit Ginseng plants, which Yu Feng accepted.
• Yu Feng asked whether Lu Chen had obtained any other clues from the Kitchen God, and Lu Chen asked what Yu Feng had found.

Lu Chen left Yu Feng’s office after agreeing to keep quiet about his suspicions and avoid provoking the Zhao family. Outside the City Lord’s Residence, he confronted Zhao Wanliang for pestering Sun Yourong, then transformed into Yama and stopped him from leaving after Zhao revealed his Matchmaker God service rating.

• Yu Feng warned Lu Chen not to invent new evidence, clash with the Zhao family, or stir up trouble, and Lu Chen promised to be careful.
• Lu Chen reasoned that Li City God and Zhao Wanliang were useful to him and that Li City God’s surveillance made it important to keep pretending he knew nothing.
• Lu Chen found Zhao Wanliang pestering Sun Yourong outside the residence, while Zeng Rou and Wang Zhidong shielded her.
• Lu Chen told Zhao Wanliang that Sun Yourong did not consider him a friend, and Zhao Jiutang called for his son to return to the car.
• Zhao Wanliang boasted that his Divine Service Rating with the Matchmaker God had reached 31%, prompting Sun Yourong to summon her Xuanhua Battle-Axe.
• Lu Chen took hold of Zhao Wanliang’s shoulder, transformed into Yama, and declared that Zhao was not going anywhere until he explained himself.

Lu Chen confronted Zhao Jiutang and Zhao Wanliang outside the City Lord's Manor, where Yu Feng intervened and forced the Zhao family to retreat. Sun Yourong revealed that Zhao Wanliang planned to use the Matchmaker God’s red thread to bind her to him, and Lu Chen promised to stop him as they headed to the Ma Clan Shrine.

• Zhao Jiutang threatened Lu Chen, but Lu Chen ordered the Rakshasa Cult members to fight back if the Zhao family attacked.
• Yu Feng surrounded the manor entrance with walls of fire and drove Zhao Jiutang, Zhao Wanliang, and their guards away.
• Lu Chen asked Sun Yourong what Zhao Wanliang meant by his 33% Divine Service Rating with the Matchmaker God.
• Sun Yourong explained that Zhao Wanliang intended to pray for a marriage bond that would tie her to him against her will.
• Lu Chen promised to prevent Zhao Wanliang’s plan, and the group continued toward the Ma Clan Shrine.

Zhao Wanliang stopped Zhao Jiutang from moving against Lu Chen for now while Lu Chen inspected the sealed Ma Clan Shrine and planned to turn it into the Lu Clan Temple. Sun Yourong explained how shrine missions could bring the temple worshippers, military merit, and opportunities, leaving Lu Chen eager to hear more.

• Zhao Jiutang urged Zhao Wanliang to arrange Lu Chen's assassination, but Zhao Wanliang insisted it was not yet time and vowed to settle their scores later.
• Lu Chen used the City Lord's Token to enter the sealed Ma Clan Shrine with Sun Yourong, Zeng Rou, and Wang Zhidong.
• Lu Chen approved of the shrine and asked Zeng Rou to coordinate its designs and construction while he pursued military merit.
• Sun Yourong explained that shrine missions could be issued by worshippers and completed for rewards, military merit, and publicity for a shrine's deities.
• Sun Yourong described true Shrine Missions as opportunities tied to the temple's own reputation, and Lu Chen eagerly asked her to explain further.

Lu Chen learned how temple missions could build the Lu Clan Temple’s military merits and reputation, then received the Kitchen God’s promised Hearthfire Seed. The seed strengthened and purified his body, leaving him wondering if he had begun the path of Sainthood Through the Flesh.

• Sun Yourong explained that temple missions credited their rewards to the temple and bypassed certain rank restrictions, and told Lu Chen that the City Lord’s Mansion issued them.
• Sun Yourong said completing a deity’s personally assigned temple mission could make inviting that deity into the temple far easier, and Lu Chen thanked her for her guidance.
• Lu Chen and Sun Yourong completed the family’s asset verification, after which Lu Chen sent Zeng Rou and the others back to the company and returned to Cloudtop Manor.
• Lu Chen informed the Kitchen God that he planned to return the statue to the Wu family, and the Kitchen God invited him into the divine estate to receive his promised reward.
• The Kitchen God gave Lu Chen a Hearthfire Seed formed from His divine essence, and it split across Lu Chen’s three spirit lamps and tempered his body.
• Lu Chen felt his flesh, blood, sinews, and bones grow stronger and wondered whether he had achieved Sainthood Through the Flesh.

Lu Chen received the Hearthfire Seed from the Kitchen God and invited him to reside in the Lu Clan Temple. He then spoke with Lord God of Wealth, asking him to help Sun Yourong break her marriage bond with Zhao Wanliang, and left him coughing with an offer of more Heavenly Gold.

• The Kitchen God explained that the Hearthfire Seed could absorb spiritual fire and eventually help Lu Chen refine the Samadhi True Fire, and Lu Chen accepted the gift.
• Lu Chen told the Kitchen God about his divine connections and invited him to reside in the Lu Clan Temple, proposing a stove and firewood as an offering.
• After returning to his room, Lu Chen tested the Hearthfire Seed, then contacted Lord God of Wealth and said the Lu Clan Temple would be established within about a month.
• Lord God of Wealth said his incense fire had stabilized at roughly two hundred thousand sticks a day and promised to support Lu Chen in seeking Jiangdu's incense offerings.
• Lu Chen asked Lord God of Wealth to speak with the Matchmaker God so Sun Yourong could sever her marriage bond with Zhao Wanliang, and Lord God of Wealth agreed to visit.
• Lu Chen offered to provide another hundred thousand or even one or two million in Heavenly Gold, causing Lord God of Wealth to cough and urge him not to act rashly.