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

Chapter 194 The Grand Ritual of Dragon and Tiger Opens! The Final Boss Appears!

A surge of passion immediately welled up in Lu Chen's heart.

"As long as we can subdue the Realm Hub, we can take over the entire secret realm!"

Without further hesitation, he immediately channeled his magical power, transforming it into an invisible suction force that rushed straight towards the crystalline cocoon-like boundary core.

However, the little thing didn't budge an inch.

He even completely ignored Lu Chen's probing.

"It wasn't that simple after all..."

Although Lu Chen had previously consulted some records related to the secret realm,
However, these secret realms are only open to families that are newly rich or above, and there is very little useful information about them online, let alone the methods to subdue the Realm Hub.

In addition, Yu Feng didn't reveal much.

As a result, although he has successfully broken in, he is completely clueless about how to subdue the Realm Hub.

In fact, most challengers in these secret realms are only there to collect rare and precious materials.

People like Lu Chen, who immediately set their sights on the Boundary Hub upon entering, are extremely rare.

After all, subduing this creature depends almost entirely on chance.

Unless one's personal strength is so great that it can overwhelm everything and subdue others by force with overwhelming power,

Otherwise, it will be of no use at all.

"What should I do?"

Lu Chen sat down cross-legged, pondering a solution.

The boundary pivot was seen constantly circling and flying up and down around the strange treasure.

It was as if she was deliberately teasing him.

Upon closer inspection, the lotus-shaped treasure revealed thirty-six stamens growing on its lotus platform.

Thirty-five flowers have already bloomed, with only one bud remaining.

Clearly, this extraordinary treasure is not yet fully mature, but it will be soon!
"My senior brother Yang Wenhui once revealed that once the treasure is fully mature, it will develop sentience and then escape on its own."

Lu Chen frowned deeply: "Time is running out... Let's try to capture this rare treasure first!"

It's a pity that it's not mature yet, but it's better than watching it escape.

With the spiritual power of such a rare treasure, if it really wanted to escape, he wouldn't be able to stop it at all.

Lu Chen raised his hand and unleashed a burst of magical power, slashing at the root of the "lotus".

But the moment the magic power touched the treasure, it collapsed with a roar, turning into specks of spiritual light and vanishing without a trace.

Not only was it cut off, but not even a trace was left.

"It seems that we must first take control of the Boundary Hub! Only by controlling the Boundary Hub can we securely possess this extraordinary treasure."

Lu Chen's gaze fell on the boundary hub again, his brain working at lightning speed.

"Since it is a small world, this boundary hub is the essence of the spiritual energy of this place. If we want to subdue it, we must first connect with the spiritual energy of this world. Only then might we have a chance of success."

As he muttered to himself, a sudden flash of inspiration struck him, and he realized that the method of subduing the secret realm was somewhat similar to creating a blessed land.

The Taoist tradition has long held the concept of ten major grotto-heavens, thirty-six minor grotto-heavens, and seventy-two blessed lands.

Such places are all treasure lands full of spiritual energy, suitable for establishing a Taoist temple and cultivating enlightenment.

Creating a blessed land and establishing temples and monasteries is by no means as simple as building a few houses.

To imbue temples and shrines with spirituality, two steps are required:
Firstly, they would set up an altar and perform a ritual to respectfully inform Heaven, pray for blessings, and seek the "foundation" for establishing a temple there.

To put it simply, it's about gaining the approval of the local deities.

This is the only way to avoid the trouble of "earth spirit collision".

Only after this step is completed can the construction of the temple begin, and then the temple will be "consecrated" to officially open the cave dwelling.

"Following this line of reasoning, could the process of acquiring a secret realm be similar?"

With this thought in mind, Lu Chen simply steeled his resolve:
"Never mind, let's give it a try first! We'll see if it works or not later."

This ritual is called the "Dragon and Tiger Opening Ceremony"!
This ritual was specifically designed to establish a blessed land and seek a foundation for building a temple.

Logically speaking, this ritual should be presided over by a Taoist priest of the rank of "High Master".

But Lu Chen wasn't worried about not being able to handle it.

Previously in Longhu County, he performed meritorious deeds for the Well Dragon King, and later consecrated the Kitchen God's "Fireworks Book".

Such a ceremonial procession is only something that high-ranking priests or above can handle, yet he was able to deal with it with ease.

This is enough to show that his potential in performing rituals has already been greatly elevated.

As for his later obsession with obtaining a title of nobility,
One reason was to gain the qualification to "add a register" to people's names, even if it was just a private register;
However, there aren't even any Taoists in this world.

Then why is there a distinction between "private registers" and "official registers"?
Once he succeeds in paving this way, he will be granted official rank!
Secondly, he also wanted to have the authority to preside over top-level religious ceremonies.

For example, "Luotian Grand Ritual".

After all, even if he could bestow titles upon thousands of people, if his own cultivation level did not reach that of "Hall Master of Affairs," which is what people call "Purple Robe," he would still be in a different situation.

Then all of that would be in vain.

Therefore, Lu Chen was confident that he should be able to handle the "Dragon and Tiger Grand Ceremony".

"Wow—"

A wooden box flew out of the storage ring.

Then came various ritual implements, incense sticks, candles, and a traditional Chinese eight-immortal table...

They were displayed one by one on the high platform. Lu Chen changed into his ceremonial robes, straightened his crown and turban, and held a peach wood sword in his hand.
Then they would set up an altar and perform the ritual.

The steps remain the same: clean the altar and light the furnace.

The only change is that the "invitation to the saint" step has been replaced with "worship of the dragon and tiger".

What are "Dragon and Tiger"?
The words "dragon and tiger" are frequently used in Taoist rituals.

Even a very famous lineage of practitioners is named "Longhu Mountain".

One theory is that Longhu Mountain got its name from the dragon and tiger that appeared when the elixir was completed.

But that's not actually the case. The terms "dragon and tiger" in Taoism do not specifically refer to dragons and tigers.

Rather, it is a symbol.

The dragon, also known as the celestial dragon, is a symbol of heaven.

The tiger, also known as the earth tiger, is a symbol of the land.

Therefore, in religious ceremonies, dragons and tigers often symbolize "heaven and earth".

Worshiping the dragon and tiger means worshipping heaven and earth.

Having clarified all the steps of the "Dragon and Tiger Opening Ceremony", Lu Chen no longer hesitated and immediately began to perform the ritual in sequence.

If this succeeds, that would be the best outcome;
If it doesn't work out, consider it as gaining experience.

As the instrument was activated

A moment later, the secret realm suddenly became turbulent, with earth-shattering sounds echoing from time to time...

……

Meanwhile, in the Heavenly Court, on the glazed ground of Mount Sumeru, in the Hall of the Four Heavenly Kings.

Lu Chen's figure was no longer visible in the Xuan Guang Mirror.

The secret realm is a small world unto itself, and even gods cannot easily peer into it; this is a restriction imposed by the Heavenly Dao.

The Heavenly King Guangmu withdrew his supernatural powers.

Seeing that the five plague messengers outside the palace were still firmly guarding the area, anger surged within him.

"Brother, these plague gods are so aggressive. Why don't we charge out and fight them to our hearts' content? Otherwise, the other immortals will laugh at us for being cowards!"

Upon hearing this, Vaishravana and Dhritarashtra also tensed up, their eyes flashing with murderous intent, as if they were echoing his words.

The King of Growth smiled calmly:
"It doesn't matter. Let them guard it if they want. Anyway, the key to victory or defeat is no longer on our side. When they realize they've gone to the wrong grave, we'll have our moment to laugh at them."

"Hahaha!"

Upon hearing this, a burst of laughter erupted in the Heavenly King Hall.

"Brother is absolutely right! We can use this opportunity to draw attention to the Marshal, lest the Plague King notice something amiss and personally disrupt our plans!"

The Heavenly King Vaishravana nodded in agreement.

The King of Growth turned his gaze to Him:
"By the way, second brother, your [Grand View Netherworld-Breaking Formation]... shouldn't have any flaws like third brother's, right?"

Dhritarashtra blushed.

Vaisravana struck his chest armor, making a clanging sound:
"Don't worry, brother! I've already submitted a copy of the key to this formation to the marshal! You've been very thoughtful, brother."

The Plague King could never have imagined that the final checkpoint of this secret realm would be guarded by the Marshal himself!
Once the treasure matures, the Marshal can descend in his avatar and personally retrieve it. Although this would make us appear incompetent, requiring the Marshal to take matters into his own hands.

But regardless, as long as the treasure falls safely into the marshal's hands, the mission will be accomplished.

Upon hearing this, the King of Growth slowly nodded:
"This treasure is of utmost importance to the Marshal, and cannot be allowed to be damaged in the slightest. No amount of caution is too much. Although things have not gone as expected, and you and I brothers will inevitably be punished, it is far better than making a serious mistake."

The other three Heavenly Kings looked solemn and nodded in agreement.

"By the way, how long will it take for the extraordinary treasure to mature?"

"Reporting to elder brother, there is still about half an hour left in the mortal realm."

"Dhritarashtra replied."

"Alright, then let's wait for the flowers to bloom."

The King of Growth smiled slightly and was the first to close his eyes and enter a meditative state.

The other three Heavenly Kings exchanged a smile and then also began to meditate.

……

Outside the Hall of the Four Heavenly Kings.

The Five Plague Envoys continued to use their divine sense to seal off the entire hall.

However, the Four Heavenly Kings remained secluded, and this unusual calm aroused suspicion among the plague messengers.

Zhu Tianlin's divine voice came:
"Brother, I feel something's not right... These Four Heavenly Kings are far too calm."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Xin frowned.

indeed!

It is indeed unusual for the Four Heavenly Kings to be so calm and composed, staying behind closed doors and refusing to fight.

It's more like... they're fearless?
He immediately replied:

"No problem. Let me inform the Star Lord and ask him to make a decision!"

Having said that, Zhou Xin flicked his finger, and a beam of divine light shot out, heading straight for the Nine Dragons Palace of the Plague Department...

　It's getting late, I'm sorry.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)