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

Chapter 16 An Opportunity Has Arrived?!
The Zhao Family Temple comprises 28 temples of varying sizes.

There are three main halls.

There are twenty-five side halls.

The three main halls are: the Hall of the God of Wealth, the Hall of the God of Longevity, and the Hall of the God of Literature.

It is not difficult to see from its attributes that the Zhao Clan Temple is characterized by its focus on deities of literature and Taoism.

Although there are also martial arts deities like Lei Zu.

However, it was paired with a secondary side hall.

Although the decoration is equally solemn and magnificent.

However, compared to the three main halls...

Both its location and the level of decoration are clearly a step below.

It's not that the Zhao Clan Temple looks down on Lei Zu.

Rather, it is directly related to the temple's positioning.

The four major families of Jiangdu City.

The Zhao and Wang families, from the moment they opened their temples, followed the path of scholarship.

The Sun and Qian families follow the path of martial arts.

Although the Sun family temple also has its own Longevity Star Hall.

But by the same token, it was only a side hall that was assigned to it.

Although they differ by only one word, the effects are vastly different.

When worshipping the God of Longevity, the success rate is at least 20% to 30%, or even more, higher when done in the main hall of the Zhao family than in the side hall of the Sun family.

This is the fundamental reason why, despite being competitors, the Sun family invited someone to come directly to the Zhao family to worship the birthday god.

To put it bluntly, the Longevity Hall of the Zhao Family Temple is much more powerful than the Sun Family Temple!
Because of this probability, the Sun family also chose to worship at the Zhao Family Temple.

……

When Lu Chen arrived at the Longevity Hall.

The entire Longevity Hall was almost completely surrounded by people.

A large group of staff and security guards from the Sun family formed a human wall, set up a cordon, and kept all worshippers several meters away.

In the main hall.

The statue of the God of Longevity is majestic and extraordinary, with a kind and benevolent posture.

The entire hall was occupied only by members of the Sun family, Tan Kun, and Zhao Zhihong.

The immortal who grants longevity—Tan Kun—has already begun to offer sacrifices, holding a tall purple incense stick.

Purple fragrance!
The highest-ranking incense in the temple.

It's still so fragrant!

The price of one stick of incense is estimated to be at least 200,000 to 300,000.

That's incredibly extravagant!
……

"Hey, how many times do you think Master Tan will need to make offerings before he succeeds? Want to make a bet?"

Not content with just watching the spectacle, the surrounding worshippers started placing bets.

"With his skill level, theoretically he should succeed once in two attempts, but that's only theoretical. If he's lucky, he might succeed on his first try; if he's unlucky, it's normal for him to fail more than ten times. If I really want to gamble, I'll bet ten times!"

"You underestimate Master Tan too much. He's among the top three in the entire Jiang Province when it comes to praying for blessings and longevity. And of those top three, only he can get them to come. The other two are elders from powerful families who don't pray for outsiders at all. I think he'll succeed in two, no, three times at most!"

"A bet of five hundred?"

"Alright, let's bet!"

……

Listening to the conversations around him, Lu Chen thought to himself, "Tan Kun's own strength is only that of a second-grade spiritual practitioner, not even as good as the guards of an ordinary large family."

However, the treatment he received was something that even fifth-grade or sixth-grade spiritual practitioners might not have.

Just because the God of Longevity is a popular deity among popular deities.

To be able to establish a 47% service level with such a deity certainly gives them reason to be arrogant!

In terms of gold content alone.

Lu Chen did not deny that Tan Kun's 47% was much higher than his own 43%!

Something moved in my heart.

Lu Chen turned his head and looked at the two people betting beside him: "Hello, gentlemen, may I ask you two questions?"

"Hey, aren't you that handsome guy with 43% zodiac sign and a karmic connection with the God of Wealth? We didn't see you here. My apologies."

Upon seeing that it was Lu Chen, the other party was quite polite.

"What's the problem? Ask away."

"Thank you. I just wanted to ask, how much does Master Tan usually charge for praying for someone's well-being?"

"What, are you planning to become a bounty hunter in the future?"

"Uh... I really do have that idea." Lu Chen didn't hide it: "I see that you two are very knowledgeable, so I'd like to ask you for your advice."

These words pleased the two men, who immediately explained, "We don't know the exact price, but we heard that once, Master Tan charged seven million to help someone gain a year of lifespan."

"Seven million!"

"Seven million is nothing to rich people. Let alone seven million, when it comes to a real crisis, someone would be willing to pay seventy million."

That's true. The wealthy would love to have the means to buy their lives.

Lu Chen continued, "Then what is the maximum number of years of life he can grant someone?"

"At most, it can only be for a year at a time, and Master Tan has established a rule that a person can only ask twice. After all, life is something that can be begged for. Let alone two years, even if you live for two more months or two more days, you should be happy. Any more than that would be against the way of heaven."

"Are there no cases of failure?"

"Of course there is, about half and half, but that's already amazing. Don't forget, this is the birthday person!"

"Understood! Thank you both for clearing up my doubts!"

Lu Chen clasped his hands in thanks.

After learning about it, it seems that being a bounty hunter is indeed a lucrative profession.

However, Tan Kun, being one of the best in the industry, is only an exception and does not apply to all bounty hunters.

Which top-tier professionals have low incomes?
Lu Chen narrowed his eyes, thinking to himself, "If I were to worship a deity who can prolong life, maybe... I could tear a piece of flesh from Tan Kun's mouth."

He immediately pondered which deities were related to lifespan.

Apart from the most famous birthday celebrant.

Indeed, there are a few deities who have the ability to extend lifespan.

1: Magu, a female deity of longevity, was a maidservant under the Queen Mother of the West. She became a saint through great merit, but compared to the goddess of longevity, she is undoubtedly an obscure deity.

2: Yanshou Xingjun, one of the six officials of the Southern Dipper, is in charge of lifespan and official rank, and is responsible for extending life and preserving life. He is known as "Yanshou Shijun" in folklore.

3: The Antarctic Longevity Emperor, also known as the Antarctic Immortal, is the eldest disciple of the Primordial Heavenly Venerable, the senior brother of the second generation of the Chan Sect, one of the Six Emperors, and belongs to the same level as the Jade Emperor.

However, there has been ongoing debate within the Taoist community that the God of Longevity is actually an incarnation of the Antarctic Immortal.

However, some people believe that the prototype of the God of Longevity is the Old Man of Antarctica.

Then some people popped up saying that the Old Man of the South Pole was just an incarnation of the Old Man of the South Pole, and that the two were originally one.

In short, the debate continues.

A careful study of the Taoist pantheon reveals that it is incredibly chaotic.

There are serious signs of inbreeding.

Not only the God of Longevity and the Old Man of the South Pole are examples.

One of the incarnations of Yuanshi Tianzun is Jiutian Yingyuan Leisheng Puhua Tianzun, also known as Leizu, which is another example.

Another example is the "Great Emperor of the Eastern Pole Azure Flower," one of the incarnations of Taiyi Jiuku Tianzun.

The list goes on and on.

When Lu Chen was doing his research, he always felt that these big shots could easily slay an avatar and occupy a god's position.

This resulted in the Heavenly Court having hundreds of divine positions, but after cutting off these clones, there were actually only one or two hundred gods.

A large part of it is about one god playing multiple roles.

Of course, Lu Chen wasn't sure if the world was like that.

Anyway, he thought that bestowing blessings and longevity was a very profitable industry.

I might give it a try sometime!
...Inside the Hall of Longevity.

After a while.

Master Tan suddenly opened his eyes.

Seeing his slightly puzzled look.

Clearly, the first offering failed, unsurprisingly.

"Master, how is it?"

Sun Qingcang and the others immediately surrounded them.

Master Tan reached out his hand, his face calm: "Patriarch Sun, please don't be in a hurry. Let me warm up first; there's still plenty of time."

Sun Qingcang, of course, did not expect to hit the target with one blow, and immediately clasped his hands in thanks, saying, "Thank you for your hard work, Master."

Behind him, Sun Qingcang's wife, Song, hurriedly said, "Master, we are entrusting our old man to you. You must succeed."

"Yes, Master, I'm rooting for you! I believe you can do it!"

The speaker was Sun Qingcang's youngest son, Sun Xingwen, who had the air of a young master.

As for Sun Yourong, the eldest daughter of the Sun family, although she didn't say a word, her eyes were clearly full of concern about the matter, and she watched Tan Kun leave with encouragement.

"Rest assured, everyone. Now that I have accepted this task, I will do my best. Alright, I need to begin the second round of offerings. Please return now."

After saying that, Master Tan lit another stick of purple incense.

After the group left.

A flicker of panic crossed his eyes.

"Strange, every time I communicated with the God of Longevity before, there was always some response, whether it was successful or not, there was at least a fluctuation of magical power. Why is there not even a fluctuation of magical power today?"

The extremely unusual situation made Tan Kun feel vaguely uneasy.

He took a deep breath and held the incense stick up in front of him again.

"Heavenly spirits, earthly spirits, God of Longevity, please show your power!"

The worship ceremony resumed.

Beside him, Sun Qingcang frowned deeply, unable to sit still.

Zhao Zhihong offered words of comfort: "Mr. Sun, don't worry, I believe that Mr. Sun will surely be blessed by good fortune!"

Sun Qingcang nodded: "Then I'll take Manager Zhao's good wishes."

Seeing that the flattery had been effective, Zhao Zhihong said no more and stepped back.

However, unsurprisingly, the second attempt also failed.

Tan Kun's forehead was already covered in a few beads of sweat, and his heart began to race.

He reassured himself, "Don't panic! It's only just begun, everything will be alright!"

Without resting, he lit incense again!
however……

The third time, a failure!

Fourth attempt, failed!

Fifth attempt, failed!

……

Until an hour later.

After more than an hour of continuous worship, Tan Kun's forehead was covered in sweat, which was constantly dripping down.

He looked like he had been pulled out of the water.

He looked completely exhausted.

"How could this happen? How could this happen?"

Accompanied by a new round of failures.

Tan Kun could not hide his panic.

Eighteen times in total, and not once did it elicit the slightest reaction.

"Does the God of Longevity not want me to pray for the Sun family's well-being?"

His heart sank to the bottom.

The Sun family also fell to rock bottom.

It's one thing if it happens once or twice.

It doesn't matter if it happens three or four times.

After failing more than ten times in a row, Sun Qingcang's anxiety was amplified.

Tan Kun failed again.

Sun Qingcang couldn't help but run over again.

"Master Tan, how is it? Still no response?"

……

outside the temple.

The worshippers who saw the situation inside the hall also started discussing it.

"Damn it, what's going on? How many times have I tried? Why hasn't it worked yet?"

"Damn, that's almost twenty times already. We've burned through nearly two million in incense money. It looks like Master Tan is in grave danger today."

"If even a 47% success rate for serving the gods is not achieved, I really don't know if it's Master Tan's bad luck or the Sun family's bad luck."

"It seems that God is determined to take away the old master of the Sun family."

Listen to these words.

In the crowd, Lu Chen wiped the sweat from his forehead. Luckily, it wasn't a scorching sun today, otherwise, he would have been sweating through after standing for an hour.

He found it unbelievable as well.

"That shouldn't be the case. With 47% of the service to the gods, regardless of whether they can grant blessings, they should at least be able to communicate with the deities."

Why is there no reaction at all?

Could it be that... Tan Kun's defeat is inevitable?

As this thought arose.

Suddenly, Lu Chen felt a jolt in his heart and a sudden urge to act arose.

Another crazy idea was rapidly creeping into his mind...

……

Meanwhile, inside the hall

"I'm sorry, Patriarch Sun, I'm afraid I can't help you with today's mission."

As soon as these words came out.

The Sun family members' expressions changed drastically, and even Sun Yourong was clearly panicked.

Sun Qingcang took a step forward, grasped Tan Kun's hand, and said earnestly, "This won't do, Master Tan. In the entire Jiangdu City, and even Jiang Province, who doesn't know your name, Immortal Zengshou? If you give up, who else can I turn to?"

"Yes, Master Tan, you are the most powerful spirit messenger we can find. You absolutely cannot give up on us. What will we do if you do?"

Song burst into tears on the spot, whether out of anxiety or fear at Tan Kun's decision to give up, it's unclear.

"Master, don't worry, money is not a problem. As long as you can pray for my grandfather's longevity, we are willing to pay more!"

"Yes, my son is right. Master, as long as you succeed, my Sun family is willing to add another ten million, no, twenty million on top of the original amount!! You absolutely must not give up!"

Sun Qingcang raised two fingers and shouted loudly.

The sound was so loud that even the worshippers standing outside could hear it clearly.

"Holy crap, an extra 20 million! My god!"

"The Sun family truly lives up to its reputation as a powerful clan; they are indeed very arrogant."

"What's this? Twenty million for a year of Old Master Sun's lifespan is a perfect deal!"

A heated discussion broke out among the crowd.

Upon hearing Sun Qingcang's words, Lu Chen's expression suddenly changed, and he could no longer resist the thought in his heart.

"Could it be that my chance has truly come?!"

(End of this chapter)