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

Chapter 97 City God Assembly! This is absolutely terrifying!
"Could it be that..."

Lu Chen pointed to his lips.

Xie Qingyi lowered her head even further, her voice barely a whisper: "Mmm~"

Lu Chen gasped, especially when he caught a glimpse of the ox-headed and horse-faced figures behind him, who suddenly revealed a shy expression.

——Holy shit!
In an instant, a strong chill swept over his body, making his hair stand on end.

Fortunately, the yin energy brought by Fan Rusong and Xie Qingyi was sufficient.

A moment later, Lu Chen, who had absorbed the Yin energy of the two, felt a chill envelop him from the inside out, and his body temperature dropped sharply.

The person then entered a mysterious and indescribable state, feeling as if they were floating on air.

"General, that's enough!" Fan Rusong and Xie Qingyi's faces turned even redder.

"Set off!!"

Lu Chen waved his hand and leaped into the giant cypress tree.

The four great underworld messengers followed closely behind.

After a ripple-like wave passed by.

Lu Chen charged forward again.

The sudden sight before his eyes almost made his jaw drop.

"No...you call this place...'street'?"

What came into view was clearly a vast city!

Fan Rusong explained, "General, it's nominally called a 'street,' but it's actually a small ghost town. Any city god above the rank of prefectural city god has the power to create a ghost town on their own. The size of the ghost town is directly related to the depth of the city god's power."

"So, our Jiangdu City also has such a ghost town?"

"Yes, of course."

"Okay." Lu Chen found it intriguing and decided to take a look after returning to Jiangdu City.

Ghost town~
That sounds interesting!
At this moment, they were in a bustling commercial street.

The layout of the streets is quite similar to the commercial streets in period dramas, only with a more somber color scheme.

The long street was bustling with pedestrians, and the roadside was decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations, creating a festive atmosphere.

"Huh, could today be an auspicious day?"

Seeing the lanterns on both sides, Fan Rusong did some quick calculations and couldn't help but exclaim, "General, we've really stumbled upon a momentous occasion."

"What big day is it?"

"Today is the once-in-a-decade City God Assembly. The Prefectural City God Association has invited all the City Gods of the province to come together and celebrate this grand event."

"What?" Lu Chen was a little confused: "So, there are dozens of City Gods gathered in this ghost city right now?"

"Correct!"

"..."

Good heavens, one prefectural city god is already difficult enough to deal with, and now there are more than a dozen state city gods and dozens of county city gods to add to the mix.

Lu Chen gasped again.

Suddenly, those 5,000 military merits don't seem so appealing anymore!
Why is it that every time it's my turn, I get tasks with an actual difficulty level comparable to SSS?

"Alright, lead the way. We're already here, how will we know if we don't try!"

Shaking his head helplessly, Lu Chen pointed forward.

Fan Rusong and Xie Qingyi exchanged a glance, then tacitly took one of Lu Chen's arms, and soared into the air, flying towards the direction of the Soul-Capturing Division.

Within this City God's Ghost Realm, their power was fully unleashed, no longer bound by the rules of Heaven as in the mortal realm.

Looking down at the misty ghost city below, Lu Chen saw the streets teeming with the dead and couldn't help but wonder, "Why are there so many spirits on City God Street? Don't they all reincarnate?"

Fan Rusong explained, “Some of them are wandering ghosts who missed their chance to be reincarnated and can only wait for their lifespan in the underworld to end so they can naturally dissipate. To prevent them from causing trouble in the mortal world, the City God has taken them in here. Others are the offspring of these deceased souls in the underworld. These offspring are all born spirits, and if they have the right opportunity, they may be able to cultivate into ghost immortals. As for the others, they may be servants or slaves of the City God's subordinates, or they may be staying here for other reasons. In short, the composition of the group is complicated and it is difficult to say for sure in a short time.”

"I see." Lu Chen simply thought it was a novel sight to behold.

This is only the second time he has set foot in such an "extraordinary place" since the last time he visited the Dragon King's spring.

After flying for a short while.

Lu Chen could see a magnificent hall looming in the misty fog, standing tall in front of him.

As it drew closer.

Only then did I see clearly the plaque hanging in the main hall, which bore three large, elegant characters: "[Soul-Capturing Division]".

Of course, Lu Chen didn't recognize the characters.

It was Fan Rusong who said it.

Just then, Lu Chen heard a series of crackling sounds of chains coming from below.

Two lines were seen outside the main hall.

One of the rows had heavy shackles on their hands and feet, and the crackling sound came from there.

The other column, however, is much freer, without any constraints.

The difference can also be seen from the escorts: those wearing shackles are handled by several cold-faced Black Impermanence, who are clearly evil spirits;
Those not wearing shackles are led by the relatively peaceful-looking White Impermanence, who must have been virtuous people in their previous lives.

As expected, the line of evil spirits was very long, while the line of good people was sparse, with only a handful of people.

"Fly down and see if Madam Zheng is there!"

The group descended from the clouds and landed quietly.

"who!"

The guards on City God Street immediately became alert and quickly surrounded them.

But when they saw the configuration of the four underworld officials, they immediately became trembling with fear: "So it's Miss Fan, Miss Xie, and the two Lords of Rakshasa."

"Step back!" The ox-headed and horse-faced demons, who had been so respectful to Lu Chen, now exuded an aura of majesty befitting underworld gods when facing these little devils.

"Yes, yes, yes, please calm down, sir!" The little devils were relieved and quickly retreated.

"General, please!"

Lu Chen nodded, then darted to the front of the group of benevolent spirits and began searching eagerly.

"Where did this wandering spirit come from, daring to act so recklessly on City God Street!"

Just then, a sharp shout rang out, and a mourning staff, accompanied by a chilling wind, swept fiercely towards Lu Chen. Xie Qingyi reacted quickly, raising her hand to block the attack.

"Uncle Liu, it's me!"

"Hey! Miss!" Bai Wuchang, who was holding a mourning stick, was clearly taken aback when he saw Xie Qingyi and looked back.

"Miss Fan is here too! And so are the two Luo Sha brothers!"

The Black and White Impermanence, who were responsible for escorting the good and evil souls, also gathered around and greeted them politely.

After all, Xie Qingyi and Fan Rusong were the daughters of the two heads of the Underworld's Impermanence, and their status was extraordinary, so they naturally dared not neglect them.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, the gazes of the group of impermanent beings fell upon Lu Chen: "And this gentleman is...?"

Xie Qingyi solemnly introduced: "Do you all still remember the 'General of Might and Virtue' personally bestowed upon us by Lord Yama some time ago? That is this very person!"

The group of impermanent beings were startled and quickly clasped their hands and bowed, saying, "So it is the General's dignified presence! Forgive our poor eyesight!"

Lu Chen waved his hand; he wasn't in the mood for formalities. He quickly searched through the group, but his heart sank.

"Madam Zheng is not here!"

"Uncle Liu, have you ever captured the soul of a woman named Zhang Hui?" Xie Qingyi quickly asked.

"Miss, I just took over the shift, so I don't know. Where are the rest of you?" The White Impermanence, addressed as Uncle Liu, turned to his other Impermanence colleagues behind him.

"No, we just returned from capturing the soul, we haven't been here long."

Fan Rusong's expression changed drastically: "Oh no! They've probably already been taken to the Soul-Capturing Division! General, hurry!"

Without further hesitation, the group rushed into the main hall of the Soul-Binding Division.

After a series of twists and turns, they arrived at an inner hall.

A small plaque hangs in the hall, inscribed with the words "Judge on Duty".

A judge dressed in a blue robe was bent over his desk, reviewing documents.

Seven or eight deceased spirits knelt below the hall, awaiting their fate.

"Alright, you are permitted to enter the Underworld!"

With a wave of his hand, the judge sent out seven or eight black plaques, each landing precisely on the chests of the deceased, transforming into a pendant.

"go!"

Several Black and White Impermanence figures stood around, waving their mourning sticks.

The next moment, the ground suddenly collapsed, creating a hole. The dead, along with the spirits of Wuchang, fell into it and disappeared.

The ground immediately returned to its original state.

"Oh no!! They moved so fast?!" Xie Qingyi exclaimed in surprise.

Lu Chen's heart also tightened. Could it be... that they had already been registered and sent to the underworld?
"Next row!" the judge shouted without looking up.

Fan Rusong rushed to the table first: "Your Honor!"

"Oh, it's Miss Fan," the judge looked up, a smile spreading across his face. "What brings you here today?"

Fan Rusong smiled and said, "You flatter me, sir. I would like to inquire about a deceased soul. Did you take in a person named Zhang Hui just now?"

"Zhang Hui?" Upon hearing this, the judge flipped through the booklet on the table.

But strangely, He kept flipping through those pages.

Fan Rusong immediately understood, and without making a sound, took out a large silver coin and gently placed it on the table.

Upon seeing the money, the judge's eyes lit up, and his face beamed with smiles: "Miss Fan, you... how can I accept this?" His hands moved quickly as he took the money, saying, "Let me check... Hmm, there is such a name, but it hasn't been registered yet."

Upon hearing this, Lu Chen immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

Xie Qingyi found it strange: "We haven't arrived yet? That's impossible, we've already wasted a lot of time on the way."

"Where is Zhang Hui's soul now?" Fan Rusong pressed.

The judge chuckled and began turning the objects over and over again.

"Snapped!"

Another large silver note was slapped onto the table.

The judge's smile widened: "Zhang Hui wasn't even sent to our Soul-Capturing Division. She was directly invited to the City God's palace. Didn't you notice when you arrived? Today is the once-in-a-decade City God Assembly! Zhang Hui is a rare person who has been virtuous for nine lifetimes. After the City God learned of this, he personally requested that she come to the palace to meet him, saying that he wanted all the city gods of the prefectures and counties present to have a good 'appreciation' of her."

He paused, then lowered his voice and said, "You should know that a person who has been virtuous for nine lifetimes is a rare find. With every breath she takes, merit overflows."

This is definitely a treasure!
The City God naturally wanted to show it off.

Lu Chen: "Then we can just wait here and wait for them to come to us."

However, before he could finish speaking, Xie Qingyi beside him turned deathly pale.

"Oh no! We've planned everything perfectly, but we overlooked this one thing!"

"What's wrong?" Lu Chen asked.

His hand was grabbed by Fan Rusong, who rushed over, and he ran outside without saying a word.

He ran while transmitting his voice.

"General, this is terrible! If the City God sees Madam Zheng with his own eyes, there will truly be no way to save her!"

"why?"

"Because once the City God personally receives her, he will bestow a jade tablet upon her! In this way, her soul will no longer need to go through the procedures at the Soul Collection Office, but will be directly escorted to the Underworld by the left and right judges beside the City God! In other words, if we want to bring Madam Zheng's soul out, we must do so before the City God officially receives her!"

Lu Chen's pupils suddenly contracted: "But the City God already knows about her, what should we do?"

"We can't worry about that now! As long as the City God hasn't formally summoned her, there's still a sliver of hope! General, what do you think? Shall we give it a try?"

"Try! We must try! Do our best and leave the rest to fate!" Lu Chen said resolutely.

"it is good!"

The four underworld messengers, their minds in perfect harmony, immediately joined forces to create a thick cloud of black smoke, carrying Lu Chen and flying swiftly towards the City God Palace like an arrow released from a bow.

Behind them, the judge was still yelling, "Hey! Don't rush off! I haven't finished speaking yet! The one responsible for escorting Zhang Hui to the palace is your father... Hey? Why are you running so fast?!"

He shook his head, chuckling as he tucked the two silver notes into his sleeve: "This young lady from the underworld is really generous, so lavish..."

"Come on, next line!"

　The long chapters were posted together.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)