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

Chapter 197 Lu Chen, Dead—

"Wow—"

The Seven-Jeweled Glazed Pagoda hovered above Lu Chen's head for a moment.

Boundless divine light poured down like a celestial river, enveloping everything in the secret realm.

Lu Chen felt his soul tremble, the world before his eyes was upside down, and the divine light touched his body the instant it touched him.

His consciousness, like a candle flickering in the wind, suddenly went out.

The next moment——

The entire secret realm was like a lump of clay being kneaded by an invisible giant hand, and Lu Chen, Jie Shu, and that strange treasure with flowing rosy light were all sucked into the pagoda.

The once spiritually rich and mysterious place was instantly transformed into a desolate void.

Even the air seemed to be quietly dissipating.

The Seven Treasures Pagoda flashed with light, then shrank to a size of about an inch and flew back into the palm of the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King.

But Li Tianwang's expression remained icy, and the anger between his brows had not dissipated.

However, this space has begun to collapse and annihilate, and even an existence like Him dares not linger.

With a flash of divine light, before the great formation could be completely shattered, the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King had already escaped the secret realm and returned directly to the Heavenly Court.

"boom--!!!"

The Grand View Breaking Nether Array then exploded with a deafening roar, its array patterns vanishing inch by inch without a trace.

…………

Outside the secret realm.

The clan heads, who were anxiously awaiting news, suddenly heard a deep, muffled roar, like the mournful cry of a giant beast, coming from the depths of the earth.

"what sound!?"

Lord Huang suddenly looked up.

Everyone looked in the direction of the sound, but their pupils all contracted sharply!

The once lush and vibrant towering tree was rapidly losing its green color, its branches and trunk quickly drying out and cracking.

In the blink of an eye, it went from being a sacred tree to a lifeless, withered piece of wood.

Om-! ! !
At that moment, everyone felt as if they had been struck by lightning, and their scalps tingled with fear!

Lord Huang could hardly believe his eyes, his voice trembling: "The secret realm... has collapsed?!"

Wang Yiming pointed at the withered tree, stammering, "This, how is this possible... It was perfectly fine just now..."

in the crowd.

Sun Yourong's legs went weak and she almost fell over.

Her pupils instantly became bloodshot, and her originally rosy cheeks turned deathly pale.

"No...no..."

She suddenly rushed to the dead tree, trembling as she grabbed a dried-up and blackened red fruit, and without thinking, stuffed it into her mouth.

The bitter, rotten taste exploded on the tip of my tongue, penetrating straight to my heart.

It made her heart sink to the bottom, almost to the point of despair.

"Lord Huang! What on earth happened?!" A family head's voice was strained. "How could the secret realm suddenly collapse?!"

"Could it be that something went wrong when they were collecting the boundary hub, resulting in both sides perishing?"

"Is the head of the Lu family really so resolute? Knowing it's impossible, he still insists on doing it?"

The heads of the families were in a state of heated discussion, as the scene before them was beyond their comprehension.

—The collapse of the secret realm? They had never heard of such a thing!

Lord Huang barely managed to calm himself down, wanting to say a few words of comfort, but his throat felt as if it were being choked.

After all, the undeniable facts are right in front of us.

The spirit tree that coexisted with the secret realm had withered, indicating that the collapse of the secret realm was inevitable.

He had seen similar situations before, though others hadn't.

He knew better than anyone what it would mean if the secret realm collapsed.

Lord Huang sighed deeply, his voice instantly becoming hoarse: "I never imagined that such a young and talented man as Patriarch Lu would perish here... It's truly a case of heaven being jealous of talent, heaven being jealous of talent!"
These words drew stares from everyone around.

No one could have imagined that a mission that was supposed to be "non-lethal," involving more than nine hundred people, would end with only one person losing their life.

He was actually the first person to successfully break through the formation!
The heads of the families immediately broke out in a cold sweat, feeling a strong sense of lingering fear.

Lord Huang's words were like a final death knell.

The last glimmer of light in Sun Yourong's eyes was completely extinguished.

Tears streamed down her face.

"Lu Chen————!!!"

A mournful wail tore through the mountains and fields, startling countless crows into flight!

Sun Yourong was so angry that she fainted on the spot.

"Rongrong!!!"

………………

Heavenly Court, Cloud Tower Palace.

The clones transformed into streams of light and returned to the original form.

On the throne in the cloud platform, the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King suddenly opened his eyes, and his boundless anger swept over him like a tidal wave. In an instant, the entire Cloud Tower Palace was filled with divine light, and even the beams and pillars inside the palace trembled slightly!

"Damn it... damn it all!!!"

Upon seeing this, the giant spirit standing beside His Highness trembled and quickly bowed, asking, "Marshal, could there be a change in circumstances? Could it be that the extraordinary treasure..."

The Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King stepped down from the cloud platform, holding the Seven Treasures Exquisite Pagoda in his palm, and said coldly, "The extraordinary treasure is already inside the pagoda."

The Giant Spirit God breathed a slight sigh of relief, but then asked in confusion, "Why is the Marshal..."

"Damn it!" The Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King clenched his fist, his knuckles turning white. "When I descended to the mortal realm, my original plan was to take the rare treasure and the boundary pivot, and simply expel that brat from the secret realm. But who would have thought—"

"What did I expect?!"

"Who would have thought that this boy would subdue the Realm Pivot before I did!"

The Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King gritted his teeth and said.

"What?!" The Giant Spirit God exclaimed in horror, "This...this is impossible, right? That kid is just a mortal, yet he has such an opportunity to be recognized as a master by the Realm Hub?"

"It wasn't a recognition of mastery. This kid used some kind of evil secret technique to forcibly bind and seize it."

"How bizarre!" The Giant Spirit God gasped. "Then... what should we do?" The Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King snorted coldly. "It's alright. It will just take a little longer. Originally, refining the rare treasure only took seven days, but now we need to refine the World Pivot first, and then refine the Fortune-Stabilizing and Soul-Suppressing Lotus. It will take about forty-nine days."

The Giant Spirit God's brow relaxed slightly: "Although many variables have arisen, fortunately there is no major problem. While the Marshal is in seclusion refining his skills, the affairs of the Ministry of War will be handled by your subordinates. However..."

Suddenly, something occurred to him, and his expression changed again: "Since that brat entered the tower with the Realm Pivot, wouldn't he be refined along with it? If that happens, the Plague Lord will find out sooner or later, and then..."

"Hmph!" The Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King flicked his sleeves: "So what if He noticed? Does He have any evidence to prove it was me? I used the [Grand View Netherworld-Breaking Array] to directly enter the secret realm. This method is so deceptive that even He would have no chance of detecting anything. Even if He finds some clues later and comes to question me—"

Li Tianwang's eyes flashed with golden light: "How could this commander be afraid of Him?!"

"The Marshal is right!" The Giant Spirit God bowed immediately. "The Marshal is in charge of the Heavenly Court's Ministry of War. In terms of power, cultivation, and the number of heavenly soldiers under his command, they are all superior to those of the Plague Department. If He dares to come, He will surely suffer!"

But after a pause, he whispered a reminder: "However, Marshal, refining mortals is no small matter. I'm worried..."

"Afraid of divine retribution?"

"My subordinates dare not!"

The Heavenly King Li Jing's eyes were cold and clear as frost: "I always act in accordance with the will of Heaven, so how could I do something that goes against the will of Heaven? Rest assured, I will not take his life. I will just make him stay in the tower for forty-nine days. Once I have completely refined the Soul-Suppressing Lotus, I will release him as a small punishment to set an example for Heaven's authority."

"One day in heaven is one year on earth... Forty-nine days is forty-nine years!" The Giant Spirit God nodded: "This child has repeatedly offended the wrath of heaven and has no sense of propriety. He deserves this punishment! Marshal's actions not only demonstrate the wrath of heaven but also conform to the way of heaven. It is truly brilliant!"

"Alright." The Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King waved his hand: "From today onwards, I will be in seclusion. If the Ministry of War has any important matters, you shall discuss and handle them with the other guardian deities."

"I will obey the decree!" The giant spirit clasped his hands in a fist salute, then hesitated, "If the Plague God truly comes to the palace..."

"It's alright." The Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King turned away with a flick of his sleeve, his tone disdainful: "This matter is something I am determined to do. If He dares to come, I can just stretch my muscles and bones. Speaking of which, it has been decades since I have stretched my muscles and bones."

Upon hearing this, the Giant Spirit God grinned: "Your subordinate understands! If the Plague Department dares to cause trouble, my Ministry of War will settle all old and new scores at once! In any case, it's common for immortals to fight each other. As long as it doesn't affect the mortal world and doesn't go too far, I'm sure the Great Celestial Venerable will turn a blind eye and not bother to interfere. Your subordinate doesn't believe that the Plague Lord would go to war with the Marshal for the sake of a mortal!"

"Enough talk, step back."

"Yes!"

The giant spirit bowed and withdrew from the Cloud Tower Palace.

With a flash of divine light, the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King returned to his throne on the cloud platform.

With a flick of his palm, the Seven Treasures Pagoda soared into the air, growing taller with the wind until it became a hundred-foot-tall giant pagoda, its seven layers of precious light flowing endlessly.

This tower has seven levels, each dangerous and mysterious.

The top level is the [Three Thousand Weak Waters Boundary].

Once you enter this level, you cannot cross it unless you possess a natural talent or supernatural ability that can counter it.

Otherwise, if one falls into it, all one's magical power will vanish like a mud ox sinking into the sea, becoming completely unusable.

Then came the separation of the soul and the sinking of the body to the bottom.

Below the Great Luo, no matter what kind of immortal god or ancient demon you are, you cannot escape the fate of drowning and annihilation.

Below the top level lies the [Samadhi True Fire Heaven].

This fire is formed from the essence of fire, and cannot be ignited by firewood or extinguished by ordinary water.

The fire is divided into three layers: the emperor's fire, the minister's fire, and the people's fire, layer upon layer, burning the sky and boiling the sea.

Even those with profound magical abilities and an indestructible golden body cannot escape the calamity of being burned to ashes upon entering this level, and will never be able to reincarnate.

As for the other five levels, they imprisoned countless demons, monster saints, and even gods who had committed heinous crimes.

It was with this innate spiritual treasure that Li Jing, the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King, suppressed all evil and quelled rebellions, which led to the Jade Emperor bestowing upon him the title of "Grand Marshal of the Heavenly Army, Demon-Subduing and Nation-Protecting Heavenly King," making him a powerful figure throughout the Three Realms.

At this moment, His divine eyes flashed like lightning as He gazed upon the three thousand realms of weak water within the tower.

The vast, calm waters conceal lurking dangers.

In the middle of the water was a patch of lush green grass, where a figure lay quietly, still unconscious.

It was Lu Chen.

"Boy, don't blame me. Blame yourself for being too greedy and daring to ruin my grand plan!"

The Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King snorted coldly, then called out, "Lan'er."

"Wow--"

Ripples spread across the surface of the Weak Water, and a blue-green dragon burst forth from the water.

The dragon's body is as translucent as glass, and its scales shimmer with a cool and dazzling luster under the dim light.

It leaped onto the grass and transformed into a young girl in green, who knelt respectfully in worship.

"Master."

"Take good care of him these days. Once I have refined the Lotus of Destiny, I will release him from the tower."

"Disciple, obey."

The Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King nodded slightly, then made a hand seal with his fingertips, sealing the body of the Seven Treasures Exquisite Pagoda.

His magical power surged suddenly.

Within the Weak Water Realm inside the tower, a crystal cocoon slowly rose from Lu Chen's body—it was the Realm Hub.

Even after being separated, the boundary pivot was still connected to Lu Chen by millions of tiny threads of light, entangled in cause and effect, making it difficult to completely sever.

The cocoon of light flashed and disappeared into the Weak Water Realm.

Outside the tower, the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King closed his eyes, his body surrounded by divine light, and began the refining process!
Within the Weak Water boundary.

The maiden, transformed from a crystal dragon, gazed at the unconscious Lu Chen and gently shook her head:

"You...you're just a mortal, how dare you contend with your master?"

After saying this, it let out a soft chant, transformed into a dragon again, and entered the water, restoring the Weak Water to its calm state.

Lu Chen lay quietly on the grass, breathing weakly, and it was unknown when he would wake up.

At the very moment that the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King took away the secret realm and returned to the Heavenly Court...
Little did they know that the first to sense the change was not the Plague Emperor.

Instead, it is the Kitchen God.

In the mortal realm, within the secret realm of his sea of ​​consciousness.

The Kitchen God, who was in deep meditation, suddenly opened his eyes, a hint of surprise flashing in his divine gaze.

The next second, the fireworks display automatically flew out.

It swirls and lingers around it.

He seemed extremely anxious.

The Kitchen God's expression changed drastically; for a moment, he could hardly believe it.

"Young Master Lu's stove fire... has disappeared!?"

　This chapter took a really, really long time to write.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)