Recaps

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.

Lu Chen negotiated with Lord God of Wealth over Heavenly Gold, then met with Li City God about his bid to become Netherworld Prefect. He promised to seek Great Emperor Fengdu’s approval in exchange for Li City God’s help in eradicating the Zhao family.

• Lu Chen agreed to prepare two hundred thousand Heavenly Gold for Lord God of Wealth, who offered to help him with requests to the gods.
• Zhao Wanliang argued with Li City God about his feud with Lu Chen, then vowed to kill Lu Chen after Li City God ascended to Netherworld Prefect.
• Li City God went to Lu Chen’s home and asked about Great Emperor Fengdu’s response to his bid for Netherworld Prefect.
• Lu Chen told Li City God that Great Emperor Fengdu wanted him to observe Li City God further and report again.
• Lu Chen promised to plead with Great Emperor Fengdu for Li City God, then asked him to help eradicate the Zhao family.

Lu Chen pressured Li City God to punish the Zhao family by accusing them of grave crimes and invoking Li's past actions and reputation. Li City God agreed to investigate and left, while Lu Chen considered how to defend himself against the god and thought of Zhong Kui as a possible solution.

• Lu Chen accused the Zhao family of abusing merchants, abducting women, and committing other crimes, and Li City God reluctantly agreed that their offenses deserved punishment.
• Lu Chen praised Li City God and asked him to help eliminate the Zhao family, leaving Li torn between refusing and acting against them.
• When Li City God cited the gods' limits on interfering in mortal affairs, Lu Chen reminded him that he had previously captured Qiu Qianluo; Li then agreed to investigate the Zhao family and report back.
• Li City God and Hu Sanniang used the City God Seal to open a rift and leave, and Lu Chen wondered whether Li would sacrifice the Zhao family or protect them.
• Lu Chen worried that Li City God could attack him without warning, then hit upon Demon-Subduing True Lord—Zhong Kui as a possible answer.

Lu Chen planned to pursue more temple missions while waiting for Li City God's response about the Zhong Kui Token. At the Zhao residence, Li City God told Zhao Wanliang that Lu Chen had demanded the Zhao family be destroyed, and the two devised a plan to turn Zhao Wanliang into Lu Chen's ally by exposing the Wu and Qin families' schemes.

• Lu Chen put away the expiring Zhong Kui Token and decided to wait for Li City God's word before choosing whether to summon Zhong Kui.
• Li City God confronted Zhao Wanliang, struck him, and revealed that Lu Chen had demanded the Zhao family be wiped out.
• Li City God warned Zhao Wanliang not to attack Lu Chen, whose influence and divine offices made retaliation disastrous.
• Zhao Wanliang proposed befriending Lu Chen and shifting their conflict toward the Wu and Qin families, whose schemes threatened Lu Chen's businesses and temple.
• Zhao Wanliang suggested using Hu Sanniang as a natural intermediary to reveal the Zhao family's offer and began planning his next move.

After Lu Chen became newly wealthy, news of his rise shocked his classmates’ families and spread throughout Jiangdu. He completed the purchase of the Ma Clan Shrine and went to the City Lord’s Manor to accept temple missions, where he learned that mystic realm missions were available only to newly wealthy families and above.

• Li Ruoyi’s parents showed her the newspaper announcing Lu Chen’s promotion, and she broke down over how far she had fallen behind him.
• Song Hao’s parents feared Lu Chen would retaliate, and Song Hao vowed to avoid him for the rest of his life.
• Lu Chen completed the transfer of the Ma Clan Shrine and received the certificate for the Lu Clan Temple.
• Lu Chen visited Yu Feng, confirmed that student rewards would still be doubled, and asked to accept temple missions.
• Yu Feng took Lu Chen to the Shrine Affairs Office, where Lu Chen browsed the divine summoning requirements and discovered the mystic realm mission category.

Lu Chen learned how secret realms worked and browsed missions, growing suspicious of a high-reward secret realm in Rongcheng that hundreds had failed to open. Sun Yourong revealed she planned to go there, and Lu Chen had not yet said whether he would join her.

• Yu Feng explained that secret realms could form inside people, described the Demon Kingdom in the Palm, and warned Lu Chen that choices mattered more than talent.
• Lu Chen filtered the mission list and examined several secret-realm missions, including a recently posted Rong City Treasure Secret Realm mission with 926 failed attempts.
• Sun Yourong arrived with two bodyguards and explained that she had been in a private box reserved for the Four Great Families.
• Sun Yourong said she planned to visit Rongcheng to investigate its famous unopened secret realm, and asked Lu Chen whether he was going too.

Lu Chen accepted a high-reward temple mission to Rongcheng and secured his school’s seal before his planned departure with Sun Yourong. Zhao Wanliang approached him to propose cooperation, but Lu Chen remained unconvinced and gave him one minute to make his case.

• Lu Chen chose the Rongcheng rare-treasure mission, paid its deposit, and arranged to leave with Sun Yourong the next morning.
• Zhao Wanliang secretly followed Lu Chen as he drove to Jiangcheng No. 3 High School to get the mission document stamped.
• Lu Chen visited his former school, where staff celebrated his new noble status, and obtained the required seal.
• Zhao Wanliang approached Lu Chen at the school gate and asked to talk, claiming he wanted to resolve their conflict.
• Zhao Wanliang revealed that Hu Sanniang had informed him about Li City God’s involvement and proposed that their families cooperate in Jiangdu’s incense business.
• Lu Chen rejected Zhao Wanliang’s offer as unconvincing and gave him one last minute to make it count.

Lu Chen postponed dealing with the Zhao family, secured two protective treasures from Zhong Kui, and traveled to Rongcheng with Sun Yourong for a secret realm mission. There, Sun Yourong’s friend Xin Yao warned that a terrifying existence—possibly an immortal—had taken an interest in the secret realm.

• Zhao Wanliang gave Lu Chen dossiers about the Wu and Qin families and offered to support the Lu family in exchange for a temporary truce.
• Lu Chen postponed the Zhao family matter, and Li City God accepted the delay while waiting for the prefectural position to be settled.
• Lu Chen summoned Zhong Kui, who gave him an Evil-Repelling Bell and an Eight-Faced Asura Fan to protect his homes and accepted a future favor instead of payment.
• Lu Chen and Sun Yourong traveled to Rongcheng with a convoy and met Sun Yourong’s friend Xin Yao at their hotel.
• Xin Yao warned Lu Chen and Sun Yourong that a terrifying existence had noticed the secret realm, and they realized she meant an immortal.

Xin Yao explained why she believed the Grass Temple Village secret realm was protected by an immortal, and she, Lu Chen, and Sun Yourong traveled there to investigate. Though Xin Yao expected the mission to be impossible, Lu Chen said that if immortals were responsible, it might be easy.

• Xin Yao described the strange fragrance and mass grave at Grass Temple Village, along with the ghosts and experts who were knocked unconscious but survived.
• Xin Yao argued that the secret realm's many failed explorations without any deaths suggested its defenses were meant to keep mortals out, leading Lu Chen and Sun Yourong to suspect an immortal was protecting it.
• Xin Yao revealed that no one had passed the first stage, and she agreed to stay in the area with Lu Chen and Sun Yourong before they headed to the village together.
• On the way, Xin Yao guessed the outer ghosts resembled Netherworld methods and said the defenses had appeared with unusual speed because the treasure mattered greatly to the deity.
• Lu Chen said the mission might be easy if immortals were behind it, shocking Xin Yao.

Lu Chen and his companions arrived at Grass Temple Village to investigate the secret realm, where a mass grave filled with vicious ghosts had stopped the other explorers. He entered the graveyard in his Yanluo form and ordered his underworld forces to attack the ghost horde.

• Lu Chen explained that the mission was to open the secret realm, not necessarily claim its rare treasure, and planned to investigate whether a deity was involved.
• Lu Chen, Xin Yao, and Sun Yourong reached the guarded village and made their way to the mass grave, where explorers had gathered.
• He Xun told Lu Chen that red-clothed vicious ghosts drove away anyone who entered, despite his worship of Great Emperor Huaguang.
• Lu Chen entered the mass grave and transformed into his Yanluo form, summoning Xie Qingyi, Fan Rusong, Ox-Head, Horse-Face, and a hundred yin soldiers.
• When the vicious ghosts surged toward him, Lu Chen ordered his underworld forces to crush them.

Lu Chen used the Plague Emperor Banner to defeat and absorb most of the red-clad ghost tide, gaining several hundred Plague Ghosts. As his forces advanced deeper into the Mass Grave, a powerful presence emerged from a black vortex.

• The Underworld Envoys and their guards charged into the ghost tide, but the numerous red-clad ghosts began to overwhelm their defensive line.
• Lu Chen unleashed the Plague Emperor Banner, whose Azure Miasma weakened the ghosts and strengthened his Yin Soldiers.
• Lu Chen used the banner to absorb the ghosts, gaining several hundred Plague Ghosts whose strength fell after they left the Ghost Domain.
• Lu Chen sent the new Plague Ghosts ahead as scouts while his guards escorted him deeper into the Mass Grave.
• Black smoke gathered into a vortex and exploded, releasing a terrifying presence far stronger than the red-clad ghosts.

Lu Chen escaped a sixth-rank Ghost King in the mass grave ghost domain and learned that the mission was tied to a powerful divine scheme. A Lord of the Land revealed that at least four Heavenly Court immortals had jointly laid the scheme, leaving Lu Chen stunned.

• A sixth-rank Ghost King destroyed many of Lu Chen's plague ghosts and struck him with a blade, but [No Death] protected him long enough to escape the ghost domain.
• Lu Chen told Xin Yao and Sun Yourong about the Ghost King, then left to seek a Land God shrine while they stayed behind.
• Lu Chen summoned a Lord of the Land and asked about the strange treasure and barrier in Grass Temple Village.
• The Lord of the Land confirmed that Heavenly Court immortals were behind the barrier and revealed that no fewer than four immortals had jointly laid the scheme.

Lu Chen learned that four immortals had sealed the secret realm and deduced their identities from the formations protecting its rare treasure. He decided to challenge them for the realm and persuaded the Lord of the Land to share what he knew in exchange for a future reward.

• The Lord of the Land showed Lu Chen how four divine lights suppressed the treasure and established a barrier around the mass graveyard.
• The Lord of the Land revealed that a Formless Sword-Aura Formation had killed a level-seven great demon, while a Ghost King guarded the graveyard.
• Lu Chen learned that the rare treasure might be the secret realm’s pivot and concluded that preserving the realm would require stripping the pivot from it.
• Lu Chen offered the Lord of the Land Heavenly Gold and Netherworld notes, then promised ten fifth-rank treasures if the Lord helped him.
• The Lord of the Land inferred that the four immortals included a mortal-world patrol deity, a sword wielder, a spirit commander, and a defensive formation expert.
• Lu Chen connected the clues and identified the four immortals as the Four Heavenly Kings.

Lu Chen learned that the Grass Temple Village secret realm might be connected to the Four Heavenly Kings and sought the Plague Emperor’s help. The Plague Emperor warned him that the Heavenly Court’s Military Department could not be handled like other divine factions because it raised its own military provisions.

• Lu Chen questioned the Lord of the Land, who confirmed that other Spirit Users had asked about the matter but that he had revealed nothing to them.
• Lu Chen considered asking Lord God of Wealth for help but decided to seek the Plague Emperor’s intervention instead.
• Lu Chen returned to the hotel with Sun Yourong and Xin Yao, crafted a Plague Emperor idol, and used the Idol Communion Technique to contact the Plague Emperor.
• Lu Chen explained the secret realm and asked for help dealing with the possible involvement of the Four Heavenly Kings, offering to surrender most of its treasures.
• The Plague Emperor cautioned that the Military Department’s power and relationships made ordinary pressure tactics ineffective, then explained that it could raise its own military provisions.

Lu Chen learned that the Four Heavenly Kings had set the secret realm’s formation, and the Plague Emperor agreed to help him challenge it through the Plague Department. The chapter ended with Lu Chen planning to rest before summoning the Five Plague Envoys and revealing his Plague Department office to Sun Yourong.

• The Plague Emperor warned Lu Chen that the Ministry of War raised some of its own funds and that offering Heavenly Gold could bring the Heavenly Court down on him.
• Lu Chen insisted he would keep seeking a way to claim the secret realm, so the Plague Emperor revealed that he had been testing Lu Chen’s resolve and promised the Five Plague Envoys’ aid.
• The Plague Emperor explained that the Five Plague Envoys might only weaken the Four Heavenly Kings’ formation, and told Lu Chen to prepare and rely on his own abilities as well.
• After the divine statue’s radiance faded, Lu Chen realized a clash between immortals was coming and noted that the statue could be used only one more time.
• Sun Yourong asked whether Lu Chen would continue against the Four Heavenly Kings, and Lu Chen told her the Plague Lord had agreed to help.
• Lu Chen revealed to Sun Yourong that he was the Plague-Wielding Young Lord and planned to summon his Plague Department senior brothers the next day.

Lu Chen returned to Grass Temple Village with Sun Yourong and Xin Yao as the Wang Family’s young master arrived to challenge the secret realm. After learning more about the Wang Family’s authority, Lu Chen agreed to watch the young master try first, though the growing crowd made keeping a low profile difficult.

• Lu Chen went back to Grass Temple Village with Sun Yourong and Xin Yao, and Xin Yao said she would return home after one more day.
• Sun Yourong and Xin Yao explained that the Wang Family governed Jiang Province’s temples and could influence other clans through missions and incense prices.
• The Wang Family’s young master arrived with more than a hundred fourth-rank guards and a powerful spirit beast drawing his carriage.
• The young master put the gathered clans at ease, joked about keeping quiet if he failed, and asked to be taken to the secret realm.
• He Xun volunteered to lead the young master there, and Lu Chen decided to watch his attempt before making his own move.