Gods of the Nation: You worship the God of Longevity, I worship the King of Hell!

Chapter 172 Wielding the Sword! Controlling Spirits! Defensive Formation! So, shouldn't the remaining one...?

—Buzz!!!!
At this moment, even Lu Chen felt a chill run down his spine.

"What is the origin of the extraordinary treasure in this secret realm? How could it possibly attract four immortals to descend to the mortal realm and set up an array?!"

"This humble deity is not entirely clear either, so perhaps... Your Majesty should take a look for yourself."

The Earth God raised his cane and pointed it into the air: "This is the scene that I saw that day."

A scene slowly unfolds before their eyes.

Lu Chen immediately became fully focused.

The scene is presented from the perspective of the Earth God.

The opening scene features a loud, earth-shaking noise.

Earth God: "What was that noise?!"

In the next instant, He had already vanished into the outside world.

A beam of divine light shot into the sky, its momentum astonishing.

……

"This is what the extraordinary treasure looked like when it appeared in the world."

"Indeed, Your Majesty."

……

The scene continues—

The Earth God was utterly astonished: "A rare treasure! A rare treasure has appeared! Wait, what is that!?"

Just as the divine light pierced through the clouds, four beams of light of different colors and dazzling brilliance suddenly descended from the heavens, precisely covering the place where the extraordinary treasure was born. In an instant, they suppressed the towering pillar of light and made it disappear without a trace.

The Earth God hurriedly used his earth-遁 (earth-遁 is a technique used in Chinese fantasy novels) and instantly arrived at the location of the treasure.

Before them lay a mass grave, where countless vengeful ghosts roamed.

The local earth god exclaimed in surprise, "When did this kind of mass burial ground appear here? Could it be... a magic array barrier?! Let me go in and take a look!"

Before he finished speaking, he used earth-遁 (earth-遁 is a technique used in Chinese fantasy novels) again, attempting to sneak in from the side, but he crashed into an invisible solid wall and was bounced back.

"This...which powerful being from the Heavenly Court has set up this formation?!"

The Earth God's voice trembled, and he dared not linger, immediately turning back.

……

The scene ends here.

"Your Majesty, that's exactly what happened that day. Those four divine lights arrived extremely quickly. From the moment the extraordinary treasure appeared to the moment it was suppressed and the array was set up, it was only a minute. If you didn't look closely, you wouldn't be able to tell the existence of those four auras at all."

The local deity reported the truth.

Lu Chen stroked his chin: "Could it be a celestial being who simultaneously unleashed four suppressing divine powers?"

The Earth God shook his head: "Although I am old and senile, I am not so confused as to not be able to distinguish between the methods of the immortals. Those four divine lights clearly originated from four immortals, and could not possibly have been the work of one, two, or three people."

Lu Chen then asked, "Can the local earth god identify which deities are involved?"

"This..." The Earth God chuckled awkwardly, "I'm not afraid of being laughed at by Your Majesty, but I am a lowly and powerless god. I am just a small local earth god. How could I possibly know the origins of four immortals?"

Lu Chen gave him a deep look, then stopped pressing the matter and changed the subject: "So, according to you... that ghost circle is just the outermost layer of the formation?"

The Earth God nodded and then shook his head: "Your Majesty, you may not know this, but there is another layer of 'Invisible Sword Qi Array' outside the Ghost Circle! This array is harmless to mortals, but it has the power to kill ghosts and demons with a single blow."

A few nights ago, I witnessed a level seven demon coveting a rare treasure. Before it even reached the area of ​​vengeful spirits, it was instantly annihilated by a hundred-foot-long giant sword, its form and soul vanishing without a trace.

Lu Chen's pupils contracted: "A level seven demon... completely powerless to fight back?"

“Exactly.” The Earth God pondered, “It can only be said that the treasures in this secret realm are truly extraordinary, otherwise they wouldn’t have attracted such attention from the immortals.”

Lu Chen recalled the scenes from the mass grave.

He suspected at the time that the ghosts in the mass grave only "showed mercy" to mortals, but were ruthless to others.

Now, with the corroboration of the Earth God, this is even more certain.

It turns out that these four immortals were not only wary of mortals spying on them.

They were also on guard against malevolent demons and monsters.

However, demons and monsters are not treated like ordinary people; anyone who trespasses is killed on the spot!

They even prey on the underworld officials.

"Fortunately, I took Xiaoqing and Xiaoru back in time. Otherwise, even if the four Yin Messengers hadn't died from that attack by the sixth-rank Ghost King, they would definitely have been seriously injured."

Lu Chen still feels lingering fear when she thinks back on it.

But this way...

—Holy crap, what's going on here?

"With the invisible sword energy and the presence of a sixth-rank ghost king, these two challenges alone are enough to give mortals a hard time, not to mention the formations set up by two other immortals... It seems they are determined to obtain this treasure."

The Earth God sighed, “Indeed, with such a formidable force, it is imperative to take it. Therefore, although many prominent families in Grass Temple Village have come one after another to attempt it, none of them have succeeded. Judging from the current situation, let alone fifth or sixth-rank spiritual practitioners, even seventh, eighth, or ninth-rank spiritual practitioners would probably return empty-handed.”

Lu Chen felt a headache coming on: "Since the treasure has already appeared, they can just take it directly. Why wait until today and attract attention?"

The Earth God laughed and said, "My Lord, this is not hard to understand."

The little god guessed that perhaps the treasure was not yet mature.

Such rare and precious materials are most impressive and attract the most attention when they are in the process of being completed.

Moreover, this item only appeared in the world for a moment, yet it greatly benefited Caomiao Village.

If it weren't for the intervention of the four immortals who suppressed and intercepted the momentum, this place would surely have experienced an overwhelming stroke of good fortune.

Even a minor deity experienced a significant increase in divine power in that instant, demonstrating the high grade of this treasure.

Otherwise, why would these immortals break the rules and personally descend to the mortal realm to seize treasures?

Lu Chen nodded; that made sense.

It seems that they may indeed be waiting for the treasure to mature before harvesting it.

"What if... I wait until they've collected all the treasures before I try to seize the secret realm? Would that be feasible?"

The Earth God chuckled, "Perhaps Your Excellency doesn't fully understand the secret realm. Such extraordinary treasures are usually connected to the 'Boundary Hub.' If immortals take them, they either take the entire secret realm with them, or the secret realm collapses and disappears. There's hardly a third possibility." Upon hearing this, Lu Chen gave a half-smile, "If that's the case, these four immortals are far too greedy. They ate the meat and didn't even leave a drop of soup. This is, after all, a rare and precious treasure from the mortal realm."

The Earth God smiled but didn't reply.

Lu Chen pressed further, "Is it possible to preserve the secret realm only if the boundary pivot is first separated from the exotic treasure?"

The Earth God nodded: "If we can separate the boundary pivot, in my humble opinion, there is a 70-80% chance of preserving the secret realm."

If it can be preserved, the rare treasure that appears in the world will likely be accompanied by extraordinary natural resources, probably even sixth or seventh grade.

Even at the very least, there should be quite a few talents of the fifth rank.

But Your Majesty... do you really intend to seize the treasure from the immortals?

This... is by no means an easy task.

“Easy? This is practically impossible!” Lu Chen knew perfectly well, but then changed the subject, “However, I’ve always enjoyed a challenge. Now that it’s confirmed to be the work of the immortals, at least my life is safe when I try to pass the test.”

If that's the case, why not give it a try?!
I refuse to believe that there are truly rivers that cannot be crossed or mountains that cannot be climbed in this world!

"Your Majesty is mighty, I, your humble servant, am filled with admiration." The Earth God bowed and flattered at the opportune moment.

Unexpectedly, Lu Chen suddenly grabbed his arm: "Earth God, I won't beat around the bush. If you help me this time, I will definitely not treat you unfairly."

After saying that, he flipped his palm over, revealing a hundred taels of "heavenly gold" and ten thousand "hell money".

As the fire burned, the heavenly gold shone with dazzling golden light, and the ghost money flowed like silver and water.

"This is... Heavenly Gold? Underworld Money?!" The Earth God's eyes narrowed, clearly incredulous.

Although the young man before me holds divine positions in both the Underworld and the Heavenly Court.

However, these kinds of clergy positions are mostly honorary titles, and even if they hold power, they do not receive a salary.

After all, the priesthood itself is a gift.

But how could it not be astonishing that he possessed both the Heavenly Court and the Underworld's currencies at the same time?
Lu Chen chuckled and stuffed the money into the Earth God's hand: "I know that the Earth God belongs to the City God system, and is subject to both the decrees of Heaven and the jurisdiction of the Underworld. This is just a small token of my appreciation. If the Earth God is willing to lend a helping hand, I will definitely reward you handsomely afterwards, and I will never go back on my word."

“This…” The Earth God took a step back and bowed, saying, “Your Majesty, you misunderstand. It’s not that I’m hiding anything, but my knowledge is limited and I’m afraid I can’t be of much help.”

"It's alright. Just tell me what you know, and I'll handle the rest."

Lu Chen had long anticipated that the Land God must know more inside information, but he was unwilling to reveal it because he saw no benefit in it.

That's understandable; who would want to reveal heavenly secrets and offend the gods and immortals of Heaven for no reason?
Seeing that the other party was still hesitating, Lu Chen clasped his hands and bowed deeply: "Earth God, I beg you!!"

"My lord, please do not be so harsh on this humble god."

The Earth God, gazing at the golden and silver light in his hands, finally gritted his teeth and clasped his hands in a fist salute: "Very well, since Your Majesty is so sincere, I will no longer refuse. I am willing to speak frankly and without reservation, but after the matter is accomplished, I hope Your Majesty will bestow upon me ten Grade-Five Heavenly Treasures to aid my cultivation. If the matter is not accomplished, then I shall consider myself unworthy. I wonder if Your Majesty will grant my request?"

"Okay, it's a deal!"

If we can truly conquer the secret realm, what are ten grade-five rare and precious herbs?

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" The local earth god, having received such a generous gift, straightened his expression and finally spoke the truth: "Your Majesty, considering the various clues we have at hand, you might want to think about this carefully."

The extraordinary treasure was discovered by the four immortals almost immediately after its appearance. What does this mean?
This suggests that one of them must be a deity tasked with patrolling the mortal realm.

There are quite a few gods who patrol the mortal realm from heaven.

"Indeed, but such a swift reaction is no ordinary sign of the eight heavenly gods."

Lu Chen nodded thoughtfully: "Go on."

The Earth God nodded: "Your Majesty, please consider further. Of these four immortals, the two whose characteristics have already been revealed have extremely distinct methods:"
That invisible sword energy is specifically designed to slay demons and evil spirits, and that chaotic ghost realm is actually a 'spirit control' divine power.

As for the other two... that day, the little god tried to go around them, but was still blocked outside.

It should be noted that although minor deities have low divine power, they are still officially registered earth deities who hold official positions.

This place is under the jurisdiction of a minor deity, and should be able to enter anywhere, yet it was still blocked, which shows how strong the defense of this formation is.

Furthermore, Xiao Shen also discovered that the barriers set up by the four immortals were visible to the naked eye, but difficult to perceive with divine sense.

This shows that they were also guarding against the Heavenly Court noticing, thus the entire formation had the effect of 'covering the sky and sun and deceiving the heavens and the sea'.

This must have been a divine power wielded by that immortal being skilled in defense.

Upon hearing this, Lu Chen asked in surprise, "Since you have such supernatural powers, why not just hide yourself instead of setting up such an obvious ghost domain as the mass grave?"

The Earth God laughed and said, "Your Majesty, the immortals of the Heavenly Court are already quite restricted in interfering in the affairs of the mortal realm. Even the Heavenly Dao would not allow them to completely disappear without a trace."

Lu Chen nodded: "Okay, please continue."

The Earth God nodded: "After careful consideration, the answer is right before our eyes."

Firstly, it constantly patrols the mortal realm;
Secondly, one wields a sword, one controls spirits, and one conceals the secrets of heaven and sets up defensive formations.

The last one…

"I suppose he should be holding a pipa and commanding the central army..." Lu Chen suddenly interjected.

The Earth God chuckled, "General, your strategy is brilliant; I admire you."

Lu Chen automatically filters out flattery.

If he still couldn't figure out the backgrounds of these people by now, he would be too slow-witted.

"So that's where it all started..."

A clear outline suddenly pieced together in his mind—patrolling, wielding a sword, controlling spirits, defending against formations, plus the pipa playing in the center...

Lu Chen took a slow breath, raised his eyes to look up into the void, as if trying to pierce through the clouds and reach the four towering figures guarding the Heavenly Gate.

"What a fine example of... knowingly breaking the law and embezzling from within—"

"The Four Heavenly Kings!!!"

　This chapter took me a long time to write...

　　Second update, uh, I'll try my best!
　　The [Heavenly King Chapter] officially begins.

　　The protagonist will encounter the most stern yet loving father he has ever had.

　　This story is quite dramatic.

　　The way things unfold will likely surprise everyone, so stay tuned!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)