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

Chapter 53 What?! I avoided his sharp edge?! The ultimate trump card! It's here!

"Longhu County?"

Water Deity was taken aback, never expecting that the God of Wealth would suddenly mention this place.

The God of Wealth explained with a smile: "To be honest, brother, I recently took in a sworn brother in the mortal realm. Coincidentally, this sworn brother of mine has taken on the mission of praying for rain in Longhu County. After learning the inside story, he asked me to mediate between the two sides, hoping that you would speak up and ask the Dragon King of the East Sea to show leniency and spare Longhu County from the drought."

Water Deity Star Lord suddenly realized, but couldn't help frowning: "But Brother Juncai, I'm afraid this is inappropriate. As you know, the thirteenth prince of the East Sea Dragon King was killed within the territory of Longhu County. Now, to ask me to intercede and persuade the East Sea Dragon King to send rain there again is asking too much of a question. The hatred of killing one's son is irreconcilable. Back then, we went to great lengths to persuade the East Sea Dragon King not to go to war with the human race. Now, not sending rain to Longhu County is already the biggest concession the East Sea Dragon King has made."

He looked hesitant, and his words were full of reluctance.

The God of Wealth smiled calmly, having anticipated the attitude of the Water Deity Star Lord.

He calmly said, “Brother, this matter needs to be considered from two perspectives. First, it is true that the mortal spirit killed the Dragon King’s thirteenth son, but what does this have to do with the people of Longhu County? This place has suffered from drought for three years, and if we are to talk about punishment, it should be enough.”

Secondly, I'm asking my elder brother to mediate, not to force the Dragon King to send rain. My sworn brother believes that as long as the Dragon King of the East Sea doesn't interfere and hinder their efforts to bring rain, that will be sufficient.

"Summoning clouds and rain on their own?" Water Deity Star Lord chuckled and explained, "Brother Jun Cai, you may not know this, but Ao Guang has set up the Dragon King Formation in Longhu County, which can only be used by dragons."

My subordinates, the Rain Master and the River God, have recently received many prayers and offerings in hopes of alleviating the drought, but unfortunately, they are all willing but unable to help.

Jun Caishen waved his hand and laughed, "Brother, don't worry. My sworn brother will handle the rain-seeking matter. As long as you can restrain the Dragon King a little, that will be enough. After that, you don't need to worry about anything."

"So Easy?"

"So simple!"

After a moment's thought, the Water Deity Star Lord's eyes lit up with realization: "Could it be that your sworn brother has found a River Dragon King who has miraculously survived?"

The God of Wealth smiled but remained silent.

Water Deity's eyes narrowed, knowing that he was most likely right.

He rose after a moment of contemplation and began to pace back and forth before the temple with his hands behind his back.

After weighing his options carefully, he turned to Jun Caishen and nodded, saying, "Very well, since Brother Jun Caishen has spoken, how could I refuse? I have received much kindness from Brother Jun Caishen in the past, so I agree to this matter. I will send a protector to the East Sea Dragon Palace immediately. However..."

He paused, his words hesitant: "Whether the Dragon King will listen or not, I dare not make a certain promise. I hope Brother Juncai will understand."

Water Deity clasped his hands in greeting.

Jun Caishen smiled outwardly, but inwardly cursed him as an old fox.

It seems that I have no choice but to offer some benefits.

He stood up, flipped his hand, and a stack of heavenly gold appeared in his hand.

“Brother, you are mistaken. You are in charge of all the water affairs in the world and your divine power is unparalleled. That little Dragon King of the East Sea is insignificant and not worth mentioning. How dare I disobey your decree?”

As he spoke, the God of Wealth presented the heavenly gold with both hands.

"Brother Juncai, this..."

Upon seeing that the stack of celestial gold was likely worth tens of thousands of taels, the Water Deity's expression changed slightly, and his pupils contracted.

He thought to himself: Isn't this God of Wealth already down on his luck? How can he still produce so much gold in one go?
This is almost as much as his annual salary!
“Brother, I came in such a hurry today that I did not have time to prepare a gift. I am truly ashamed! This is just a small token of my appreciation. I hope you will accept it.”

"But……"

“Brother, there’s no need for ‘buts.’ You are busy with countless affairs every day, managing the water affairs of the world and overseeing the food, clothing, and daily necessities of the thousands of heavenly soldiers and generals under your command. You can keep this heavenly gold to reward your subordinates as encouragement, or to use it for palace operations. In short, it’s always good to keep it for self-defense.”

"How...can this be done?"

"How can this not be allowed?"

Jun Caishen smiled and stuffed the ten thousand taels of gold into the other party's hand.

The 100,000 taels that Lu Chen offered as tribute were originally intended for unforeseen circumstances.

Now that the festival has arrived, the God of Wealth is not stingy; when you ask the god for favors, you will naturally receive some benefits.

As for the wonderful uses of Tianjin, there are many.

As the officially recognized circulating currency of Heaven.

Everything that can be traded in the Heavenly Court can be exchanged for Heavenly Gold.

Even divine positions, official ranks, magical powers, and merits can be exchanged one by one in the Heavenly Treasury.

Previously, the God of Wealth relied on his monthly salary to exchange for some merit fruits, which barely kept him from losing his divine status.

Otherwise, with His incense offerings almost completely cut off, how could He have survived until today?

They died long ago and their spirits have vanished.

As for how Tianjin came to be.

Its essence is incense.

The various deities collect incense offerings from the mortal world and then exchange them at the [Incense Offering Bureau].

For every hundred offerings of incense, one can earn one or two days' worth of gold.

In other words, 10,000 two-day gold coins are equivalent to 1 million incense offerings.

Looking across the entire Heavenly Court, apart from a few deities like Zhao Gongming whose incense offerings are extremely popular, there are others.

Even for a water deity like the Water Virtue Star Lord, whose incense offerings are quite abundant, the amount is still considerable.

No wonder the Water Deity Star Lord stared intently.

After all, the bigger and more established a business is, the more money it needs to maintain it.

"Brother, my sworn brother is new to the job. If he fails on this mission, it will be a big blow to him. My authority is limited, so I'm entrusting everything to you, brother!"

Water Deity Star Lord gripped the heavy Heavenly Gold, took a deep breath, and his tone suddenly hardened: "Brother Juncai is so loyal and righteous, your sworn brother must also be a man of extraordinary talent! In that case, leave this matter to me! If the Dragon King of the East Sea dares to disobey my decree, I will immediately order his capture and imprisonment in the Heavenly River Prison for a few years!"

“In that case, I thank you for your kindness, brother!” Jun Caishen immediately clasped his hands in a gesture of respect.

"Brother Juncai, you're too kind." With that, the Water Deity called out towards the outside of the hall, "Ji Shui Bao!"

"Your subordinate is here!" A golden light flashed into the hall.

As one of the four subordinate gods under the Water Virtue Star Lord, the Water Leopard of the Twenty-Eight Mansions bows with clasped hands.

"Go to the Dragon Palace of the East Sea immediately and tell Ao Guang that rain will soon return to Longhu County. He must not interfere or seek revenge. Otherwise, he can go to the Heavenly River Prison."

Ji Shuibao glanced at Shui De Xingjun with surprise, then at Jun Caishen who was smiling beside him. Seemingly understanding, he immediately accepted the order: "Yes, Xingjun!"

Then it vanished in a flash of light.

"Brother Juncai, I have a bottle of thousand-year-old wine here, a gift from the Queen Mother of the West. Let's enjoy this happy occasion and have a good drink together, shall we?"

"I appreciate your kind offer, brother. However, I need to inform my sworn brother of this good news as soon as possible. How about we brothers drink until we drop another night?"

"Alright, business is more important, so let's drink another day!"

With the matter settled, the God of Wealth took his leave.

Watching His departing figure.

Water Deity weighed the heavy celestial gold in his hand and murmured, "Could it be that He also obtained some kind of fortuitous opportunity? If so, then the Ministry of Finance is probably going to be quite lively in the future."

Naturally, the Water Deity was willing to befriend the God of Wealth who controlled his purse.

In comparison, what is a mere Dragon King of the East Sea? He is not worth mentioning at all.

……

A short while later, at the Dragon Palace of the East Sea.

"Your Majesty, what did you say? That Longhu County will soon experience rain? Who? Who dares to bring rain?!"

The Dragon King of the East Sea, Ao Guang, was so startled that he suddenly stood up.

Ji Shuibao said calmly, "You don't need to worry about this matter. This is the Star Lord's will, just do as he says."

Ao Guang hurriedly stepped forward: "But Your Majesty, the Star Lord knows everything about the matter in Longhu County, why did you suddenly change your mind?"

As he spoke, Ao Guang conjured something in his palm and stuffed it into Ji Shuibao's arms.

Ji Shuibao glanced at it and sighed, "Never mind, this matter was initiated by the God of Wealth and entrusted to the Star Lord."

Ao Guang looked puzzled: "The God of Wealth? What does this have to do with him?"

Ji Shuibao: "I don't know the specifics. I only vaguely heard outside the palace that the God of Wealth has a sworn brother in the human world. He happened to encounter this matter in Longhu County, so he asked the God of Wealth to act as an intermediary and asked the Star Lord to restrain him."

Ao Guang was full of questions: "The sworn brother of the God of Wealth is a mortal boy? This, this..."

Ji Shuibao comforted him, "Brother Ao, let it go. Longhu County has suffered for several years, that's enough. As for that mortal boy, he must be rich and noble, with an extraordinary background. I advise you to avoid his sharp edge for now."

Ao Guang: "What! I avoid his sharp edge?! Me, the mighty Dragon King of the East Sea, avoid the sharp edge of a mere mortal?"

Ji Shuibao snorted coldly: "If you don't want to avoid me, then so be it. The next time we meet, it will probably be in Tianhe Prison. You'd better watch yourself."

Having said that, the water leopard transformed into golden light and left the Dragon Palace.

Ao Guang was furious.

"hold head high!!!!"

In an instant, a thunderous dragon roar resounded throughout the East China Sea.

On this day, the entire East China Sea was in turmoil, and all fishing boats, large and small, were filled with terror...

……

at the same time.

In Longhu County, it was already evening before we knew it.

"Thank you so much, brother!!"

Upon receiving the message and learning that the matter had been resolved, Lu Chen immediately bowed and clasped his hands in gratitude to the statue.

"Why be so polite with your elder brother? Now that the matter with the Dragon King of the East Sea is settled, my dear brother, you can go ahead and do your best. When the Dragon King of the Well releases the clouds and rain, I will personally intervene and transform it into a golden dragon under my command."

"Yes! I understand! On behalf of all the people of Longhu County, I thank you for your great kindness!"

After seeing off the God of Wealth, Lu Chen took a deep breath, his heart surging with emotion!

"The mission is almost complete!"

At that moment, the protests outside grew louder and louder.

Lu Chen, however, was delighted rather than worried, and couldn't help but exclaim excitedly, "There are more and more people! Great! The more the better!"

"Isn't it because the Dragon King of the Well's incense offerings have ceased and his magical power has greatly diminished?"

"Everything is ready now, all we need is this favorable wind!"

"Come on, it would be best if all the people of Longhu County came!"

Lu Chen has made a decision!

It's time for the gods of this world to experience the ultimate awe-inspiring power of a ritual!

　This chapter has undergone a long revision; I wasn't very satisfied with the previous version.

　　Update is late
　　
　
(End of this chapter)