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

Chapter 249 The City God's Secret! Too Ruthless!!
boom! ! !
A deafening roar exploded in Lu Chen's heart, instantly causing him to feel utterly overwhelmed.

——Shonan!
—It's Shonan again!!

The Rakshasa religion originated in southern Hunan, and the traces of Master Lingshui were actually also in the vicinity of southern Hunan.

What exactly is this Xiangnan region?!

A chill crept up Lu Chen's spine.

Just then, Hu Sanniang's deep, cold voice pulled him back to reality: "Your Majesty must know about the 'Xiangnan Secret Technique'."

Lu Chen's gaze sharpened, and he coldly ordered, "Just keep going."

"Yes!" Hu Sanniang took a deep breath.

Now that things had come to this, He had reached a dead end with no possibility of turning back. The only way to fight for a chance of survival was to tell the whole truth. So He composed himself and slowly recounted the secrets of the past.

"When Zhao Wuyai, the patriarch of the Zhao family, was young, he was a close friend of Li Qingyuan, the City God. The two were both fond of playing chess and often played until dawn. At that time, I often served him by his side, bringing him tea and water."

"To be fair, Zhao Wuyai was indeed a remarkable hero in his early years."

Regardless of their character, abilities, or magnanimity, they are all outstanding individuals among the people of Jiangdu City, enjoying extremely high prestige.

Later, through sheer hard work and pioneering spirit, she single-handedly built the Zhao family into one of the four great families.

At that time, all the prominent figures in Jiangdu treated him with great respect.

Lu Chen nodded.

The old master of the Wu family and the old master of the Sun family had mentioned this matter before at a dinner table. When they talked about the old master of the Zhao family, their tone was full of sincere respect, which shows his prestige back then.

"and after?"

"The turning point began with the death of his only son, Zhao Jindu, and the subsequent suicide of his daughter-in-law."

Hu Sanniang's voice softened, as if she sighed: "Since then, Zhao Wuyai has gradually... undergone a drastic change in temperament."

"Wait a minute!" Lu Chen keenly noticed the suspicious point: "Only son? Doesn't the Zhao family patriarch have a second son, Zhao Jiutang?"

Hu Sanniang shook her head: "Zhao Jiutang is not Zhao Wuyai's biological son, but the posthumous son of his fellow disciple. He was adopted by Zhao Wuyai from a young age and treated as his own. However... Zhao Jiutang has never gotten involved in the deepest and darkest quagmire of the Zhao family. I don't know if it was because Zhao Wuyai intentionally excluded outsiders, or... he had a last bit of conscience and did not want this adopted son to be tainted by this irredeemable sin."

"I see. Please continue."

"Yes." Hu Sanniang nodded, her expression growing increasingly solemn: "About seven years ago, that shocking event occurred."

On that day, as usual, Li Chenghuang invited Zhao Wuyai to play chess, but in reality, he also wanted to comfort his old friend who was grieving the loss of his son.

After Zhao Jindu's death, Zhao Wuyai's temperament became increasingly gloomy and extreme. Li Chenghuang saw this and was very worried about it. Therefore, he often invited him to play chess to relieve his depression.

They even made an exception and gave him a City God's token, allowing him to freely enter and exit City God Street.

Little did they know that this act of kindness would sow the seeds of an immeasurable disaster.

Recalling the events of that day, a trace of lingering fear unconsciously crossed Hu Sanniang's face:
"That day, Zhao Wuyai came at the invitation, but for the first time ever, he brought three attendants with him."

At that time, I was secretly wondering why Old Master Zhao had been going in and out of Chenghuang Street for many years and always went alone. He had never brought anyone with him.
As for the rule that 'strangers are not allowed to enter' on City God Street... you are aware of it, sir."

Lu Chen nodded.

"However, everyone in Chenghuang Street knew about the friendship between Old Master Zhao and Li Chenghuang, so although they were surprised, they didn't think much of it and dared not stop him."

As for Li Chenghuang… “My old friend brought people here, which is against the rules, but it’s not appropriate to reprimand him to his face.”

Hu Sanniang's voice began to tremble slightly:
"However, who could have imagined... that the three were not followers at all, but fellow disciples of Zhao Wuyai from his early years when he roamed Hunan!"

They had laid a trap and made thorough preparations before their arrival, all for one thing…

She raised her eyes and uttered four chilling words:
"—Attack and kill the City God!"

Lu Chen's pupils contracted, but he remained silent, listening intently.

"At the time, I was out on business. When I returned to the City God Temple after finishing my business... I ran into..."

"What did you stumble upon?"

Hu Sanniang's face drained of color, as if she had returned to that nightmarish moment: "I saw... Zhao Wuyai biting Li Chenghuang's neck tightly, actually... sucking up His divine power! The hall was in a mess, the tables were broken, the candles were overturned, and two corpses were lying on the ground."

These were the two fellow disciples brought by Zhao Wuyai, who were presumably killed by Li Chenghuang in a desperate attack.

Only one person remained, using sorcery to restrain Li Chenghuang, preventing him from resisting.

"I was momentarily distracted and stumbled upon all of this. I was immediately captivated by that person and knocked unconscious with a single palm strike. And that person, the Lord, has also seen before."

Lu Chen's eyes sharpened: "Qiu Qianluo?"

"That's right, it's him!" Hu Sanniang gritted her teeth and said, "This person is Zhao Wuyai's junior brother. Of the three who attacked the City God, he was the only one who survived. Later, the sensational 'Corpse Dissection Case' in Jiangdu was caused by Zhao Wuyai specially summoning him back from Hunan, with the purpose of helping Zhao Wanliang become a Ghost Immortal!"

Lu Chen waved his hand: "Leaving aside the case of the corpse dissection and Zhao Wanliang for now, what I'm curious about is, since you stumbled upon his secret plot to assassinate Li Chenghuang, why did Zhao Wuyai spare your life?"

"Because Li Chenghuang usually keeps to himself and rarely goes out, all matters, big and small, in Chenghuang Street need to be reported and managed by me. Zhao Wuyai kept me around for two reasons: first, to cover up the situation and prevent others from noticing anything unusual; second, to make it easier for him to gradually replace Li Chenghuang's identity and smoothly take over everything in Chenghuang Street, so as to avoid sudden changes that might arouse suspicion."

As Hu Sanniang spoke, she suddenly knelt down on both knees and kowtowed to the three statues of "God of Wealth," "God of Plague," and "King Yama" enshrined in the central hall, swearing: "Your Majesty, the three immortals above, every word I have spoken is true, without the slightest falsehood. If I have lied, I am willing to be struck by lightning, my body and soul destroyed, never to be reborn!" Seeing that she had made such a solemn vow, Lu Chen's scrutiny lessened slightly, and he slowly raised his hand: "Get up, continue."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Hu Sanniang stood up as instructed, her expression calming down slightly.

"When I woke up again, Li Chenghuang's figure had already disappeared without a trace, replaced by Zhao Wuyai. He was surrounded by a dense divine light, and the majesty of a high-ranking official was faintly visible... At that moment, I knew that he must have used that extremely evil Xiangnan secret technique to steal Li Chenghuang's position as a righteous god in the underworld!"

"You can probably guess what happened next. He planted a restriction in my body that could obliterate my soul, and used it to blackmail me into submitting to him. In order to save my life, I had no choice but to endure the humiliation and become his accomplice."

"What restriction?" Lu Chen pressed.

"It is an extremely insidious soul restriction. If I disobey even slightly, he can shatter my soul and scatter my spirit in an instant."

"Oh?" A hint of amusement flashed in Lu Chen's eyes: "If that's the case, why do you still dare to betray him? Aren't you afraid that he'll discover something and kill you on the spot?"

"Your Majesty, please be aware! Although my cultivation is not high, I do know some tricks to protect myself. A few years ago, I wouldn't have dared to have any thoughts of rebellion even if you gave me a hundred lives. But in the past two years, I have been studying the intricacies of the restriction day and night, and I have finally found a flaw."

Even if Zhao Wuyai were to kill me, although I would be severely injured, I could barely preserve my soul.

That is why I dared to take the risk and tell the Emperor the whole story.

We humbly beg Your Majesty to slay this vile creature and restore order to Jiangdu City!

After saying that, she bowed deeply again.

"No rush, let's clarify things first." Lu Chen remained noncommittal: "So, Zhao Wuyai's sudden death six or seven years ago was actually a staged performance he orchestrated himself, just to escape and completely impersonate Li Chenghuang?"

Hu Sanniang nodded and then shook her head: "Not entirely. Zhao Wuyai was already quite old and nearing the end of his life back then, so hiding behind the scenes might have been part of his plan. But the most crucial reason for his 'sudden death' was still related to that evil magic itself."

She lowered her voice: "This technique requires one to 'die' to deceive the heavens first."

Only in this way can one temporarily maintain the status of an enlightened being.

Otherwise, though the position may be usurped, it will not be complete, and sooner or later the deception will be exposed.

“Deceiving the heavens and crossing the sea, substituting one thing for another…” Lu Chen’s eyes flashed with cold light: “Well done, what a brilliant tactic.”

Hu Sanniang changed the subject: "Your Majesty, you have met Zhao Wanliang many times, so you must have noticed his sickly, half-human, half-ghost appearance, right?"

Lu Chen raised an eyebrow: "Could Zhao Wanliang's appearance also be related to Zhao Wuyai's evil magic?"

"Your Majesty is wise! That secret art of Xiangnan is extremely evil and bizarre!"
It not only needs to devour the divine power and status of a deity, fake its own death to deceive the heavens, but also sacrifice the lifespan of its bloodline offspring in order to achieve complete success.

Therefore, Zhao Wanliang's appearance was a result of Zhao Wuyai forcibly sacrificing a large portion of his lifespan.

Lu Chen's pupils constricted sharply: "How many were sacrificed?"

Hu Sanniang: "As far as I know, Zhao Wanliang's lifespan was originally eighty-six years. Now he is only twenty-three years old, but Zhao Wuyai is already in a hurry to help him become a ghost immortal and escape the cycle of reincarnation. According to my estimation, he has sacrificed at least sixty years of his lifespan!"

--hiss!

At this moment, even Lu Chen couldn't help but gasp in astonishment, completely stunned.

Sixty years of his eighty-six-year lifespan were sacrificed?!
Tiger poison does not eat its seeds.

This Zhao Wuyai actually risked the life of his own grandson to gain a position!
Their cruelty is simply appalling.

Hu Sanniang continued, "Later, Zhao Wuyai, in his capacity as the City God, descended to the Underworld multiple times to peruse the Book of Life and Death..."

"Wait, go down to the underworld to look up the Book of Life and Death?" Lu Chen interrupted her. "Doesn't the City God himself have a Book of Life and Death? Why go down to the underworld?"

Hu Sanniang explained, "Your Majesty, you may not know this, but according to the rules of the underworld, the Book of Life and Death, the Book of Good and the Book of Evil held by the City God and the Black and White Impermanence are all sub-books of the General Book of Life and Death in the Underworld."

The subsidiary ledgers must be determined based on the master ledger and cannot be altered without authorization.

Zhao Wuyai went to the underworld to modify Zhao Wanliang's lifespan in the general register, making it match the time it would take for him to become a ghost immortal.

In this way, once Zhao Wanliang dies and becomes a ghost immortal, the date will coincide with the date recorded in the Book of Life and Death, and no one will be able to detect anything unusual.

Otherwise, given his natural lifespan of eighty-six years, dying in his twenties or thirties would clearly be a wrongful death.

The underworld will surely send Black and White Impermanence, Ox-Head and Horse-Face, and even the judges to investigate, at which point his conspiracy will be at risk of being exposed.

However, changing one's lifespan is not something that can be done overnight; it requires multiple efforts.

That's why he went down to the underworld many times.

Ultimately, it's all about making everything appear flawless.

Lu Chen nodded slightly.

As the saying goes, money can make the world go round.

Given Zhao Wuyai's methods, bribing officials in the underworld is not impossible.

"So, was the person he bribed Yama, the King of Hell, or Judge Cui?"

(End of this chapter)