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

Chapter 169 Give this general—the power to overpower them!
Xin Yao: "Brother, you wouldn't be so bold as to actually try to steal a rare treasure from a deity, would you?!"

Lu Chen chuckled and said, "That's not true. What can you and I, mere mortals, use to compete for what the immortals have set their sights on?"

"So what do you mean by 'it's actually easier to handle'?"

Xinyao is also the kind of person who gets to the bottom of things.

Lu Chen reminded him, "Have you forgotten the ultimate goal of this mission?"

"Break through the defenses and open the secret realm, what's wrong?" Xin Yao blurted out, then suddenly realized, "You mean..."

Lu Chen nodded and said no more.

This mission never stated that obtaining the rare treasure was mandatory.

In other words, whether or not you obtain the treasure is not the key to this secret realm quest.

The key is to open the secret realm.

This secret realm must contain not only that rare treasure, but also many other rare and precious natural materials.

At worst, we can split the profits 30/70 with this deity.

—The treasure belongs to Him, the secret realm belongs to me.

Wouldn't that be the best of both worlds?
However, the most important thing right now is to confirm whether there is really a deity involved. If it is indeed a deity, then we need to figure out which kind of deity it is.

And so, it's time to compete on connections again.

Presumably, there are two Heavenly Gods of the third rank or above, namely the God of Wealth and the Great Emperor of Plague.

Ordinary deities shouldn't refuse to give you face, right?

Therefore, Lu Chen planned to check out the specific situation and get a better understanding of it after arriving.

Then, consult the local local earth god for more information.

In any case, the Earth God knew far more inside information than Xin Yao did.

Seeing that he seemed to be deep in thought, Sun Yourong thought for a moment and said, "When we get there, let's check the situation first, and then we'll split up and take action."

"Okay," Lu Chen replied.

Seeing the perfect understanding between the two, Xin Yao became even more curious.

What kind of tricks does this guy have that make it easier for him to talk about gods?

……

The vehicle continued to speed away.

The secret realm is located in Caomiao Village, which is an hour's drive from the city center.

All three are currently third-grade spirit practitioners and are unable to fly.

If one reaches the fourth rank, one can fly through the air, and the speed will be much faster.

After one hour.

"arrive!"

The car stopped at the entrance of the village.

Lu Chen noticed that the roadside was already lined with all kinds of luxury cars.

Clearly, the news of the discovery of the extraordinary treasure has brought unprecedented attention to this remote village.

The village entrance was heavily fortified, with layers upon layers of guards standing everywhere.

Lu Chen scanned the area with his spiritual sense and found that even those in charge of security checks were at least second- or third-rank spiritual practitioners.

Those whose auras are obscure and difficult to discern are probably at a higher level.

The entire village was surrounded by numerous magical artifacts and devices designed to isolate spiritual consciousness, making it impossible for people to discover the situation inside the village from the outside.

With such a high level of martial law, it's no wonder that not a single piece of news can get out.

But this is reasonable.

If this weren't the case, all the major families could simply send someone to observe from afar and they would be able to ascertain the truth. Who would be willing to pay a deposit then?

How did the imperial court generate revenue?
"This area is now under lockdown. Please present your mission documents before entering. All unauthorized personnel must wait outside!"

As soon as they got close, a constable stepped forward to stop them.

The three men handed over their documents one by one, and only after they were verified to be correct were they allowed to enter.

As for bodyguards, they weren't allowed in at all.

"Follow me!" Xin Yao's figure flickered, and she sped towards the location of the secret realm like a gentle breeze.

“Yaoyao worships the Wind God,” Sun Yourong explained softly.

"I see."

The two then followed.

It only took a short while to walk straight from the village entrance to the back mountain.

Xin Yao suddenly stopped and pointed: "It's right ahead!"

Lu Chen looked up and saw that the yin energy was surging not far away, as dark as fog, and a biting yin wind was faintly coming, mixed with the wails of various evil ghosts, disturbing people's minds.

By this time, a considerable number of people had gathered around the perimeter of the mass grave.

"Miss Xin? Didn't you say you were going back? Why did you turn back?"

As soon as the three arrived, someone noticed the commotion.

Several elegantly dressed young men and women turned around, and one of them immediately recognized Xinyao.

“I have two friends coming over, so I’ll stay for a couple more days,” Xinyao replied.

"And who are these two?" The young master turned his gaze to Lu Chen and Sun Yourong, especially lingering on Sun Yourong's face for a moment, a glint of light flashing in his eyes.

"This is Sun Yourong from the prominent Sun family of Jiangdu; this is Lu Chen from the rising Lu family of Jiangdu."

"So it's Miss Sun, I've heard so much about you. I am He Xun, the eldest son of the prominent He family of Qiancheng." He Xun bowed politely to Sun Yourong. When he turned to Lu Chen, he merely nodded indifferently. Lu Chen didn't seem to care.

According to common sense, it is already considered a gesture of goodwill for scions of prominent families to take the initiative to greet newly wealthy and powerful families.

As for Qiancheng?

That's a big city in a neighboring province.

It seems that the allure of this secret realm is indeed extraordinary.

Xinyao asked, "How is it going now? Any progress today?"

He Xun sighed: "Sigh, it's still the same old story, I don't know where to start. This first level, the mass grave, is full of red-clothed vengeful ghosts. I just mustered up my courage and tried to break through again, but I was blasted out again after only a few moments."

"Huh? Don't you worship Emperor Huaguang? How come you can't even get past the first level?" Xinyao asked in surprise.

"Ahem... It's not that I'm not skilled enough, or that I haven't mastered the craft." He Xun was quite frank.

Lu Chen then walked to the edge of the mass grave.

The yin energy in front of them was so thick it was almost tangible, obscuring their vision. They could only vaguely make out a few low mounds of earth and wandering ghostly figures.

"This mass grave is undoubtedly a ghost town."

Lu Chen thought to himself.

But even though it was the height of the afternoon sun, the place remained unaffected by the eerie atmosphere, which showed that it was unusual.

Lu Chen subconsciously reached out, wanting to touch the surging yin energy.

"Young man, don't move around! This place is full of fierce ghosts, be careful not to get hurt!" He Xun noticed his movements and quickly reminded him.

Lu Chen turned his head: "Brother He, are you saying that although this spot is not fatal, it can still hurt people, right?"

"That's right! Don't be fooled by the fact that it seems peaceful inside now. Once a living person steps in, the resentment will erupt immediately, and all the vengeful ghosts will swarm like locusts that have smelled blood. Even if supernatural powers are able to suppress ghosts, they can't withstand that kind of drain."

He Xun walked to his side, suddenly took off his hat, revealing a head full of lumps: "Look, I'm a living example."

Lu Chen: "..."

Emperor Huaguang was a renowned general of the Heavenly Court, serving as the Grand Marshal of the Fire Department, in charge of the Thunder Commandery, and the General Who Examines and Captures Life. He was powerful, possessed fierce supernatural abilities, and was upright yet violent in nature.

There's a saying among the people: "If I don't teach you a lesson, you won't know that the Horse King has three eyes."

This "Lord Ma" is none other than Emperor Huaguang.

Logically speaking, He should be one of the most feared nemesis of all ghosts and spirits in the world.

Unexpectedly, even His devotees suffered such a great loss here.

"Now you know how powerful these vengeful ghosts are, right?" He Xun put his hat back on, still shaken. "Fortunately, they only drove them away, not killed them. Otherwise, I don't know how many people would have died during this exploration of the secret realm."

"Thank you for the reminder, Brother He." Lu Chen clasped his hands in a fist salute. "But since I'm here, I should give it a try."

"Lu Chen, be careful," Sun Yourong whispered.

"Alright, everyone, please wait a moment while I go in and explore."

As soon as he finished speaking, Lu Chen stepped into the mass grave.

"Look, someone else has gone in!"

"The fluctuations in magical power seem to indicate that he is only at the third rank..."

"I bet he won't last a minute."

"One minute? Ten seconds at most, no more!"

The young men and women around them gathered around, chattering amongst themselves.

"Don't worry, no one will die."

Seeing Sun Yourong's tense expression, Xinyao comforted her.

Upon hearing this, Sun Yourong relaxed somewhat and nodded gently.

……

at the same time.

The moment Lu Chen stepped into the mass grave.

call!
The once desolate graveyard was suddenly filled with howling winds!

The wandering ghosts all stopped abruptly, their heads turning at bizarre angles, their scarlet eyes fixed on Lu Chen, their mouths smirking down to their ears!

Without hesitation, Lu Chen unleashed a burst of blood-red light from the Yama Token in his hand.

The next moment, he transformed into the form of Yama, the King of Hell.

—"Pitch black!!!"

Black energy surged into the sky from his body!

Xie Qingyi, Fan Rusong, Ox-Head and Horse-Face, along with a hundred Yin soldiers, appeared simultaneously, filling the surrounding area with a chilling aura.

Under the blessing of [Blackness].

With the four great underworld messengers and a hundred underworld soldiers, their momentum surged even further!
"General——!"

All the underworld messengers prostrated themselves on the ground to receive orders.

Upon seeing this scene, the group of ghosts in front of them were clearly taken aback, and some of the fierce ghosts had red light flashing in their eyes, revealing a hint of fear.

However, a sinister wind rose again, and all hesitation was instantly swallowed up by greed.

Countless vengeful ghosts howled and rushed towards Lu Chen like a tidal wave!
Lu Chen's face was ashen, and he simply pointed forward lightly.

"Give this general the run!"

"Yes, sir!!"

(End of this chapter)