Chapter 147: The God Who Governs Lifespans

Tsk, this kid has a pretty wild lifestyle. No, wait, I need to find the person the Celestial Sovereign wants first. He swirled his tentacles, reading Jun Wushang's memories.

Murong Mengli? The little girl is quite pretty. Could it be her? According to the divination, this kid's turning point in destiny happened after joining Bronze Coffin. But this Murong Mengli is a woman, and an ordinary person at that. She shouldn't be Pride.

He continued searching, eventually locking his target onto Su Mu.

Tsk, tsk. This Su Mu is not simple. To think he killed The Unrememberable. The Bronze Law he used is also something this poor Daoist has never seen before. That Silver Vertical Pupil seems related to an evil god. Even if he isn't Pride, he must be inextricably linked to him. I'll bring him before the Celestial Sovereign first; the Celestial Sovereign can discern the rest.

...

...

"Brother Su, my master wants to invite you to the Longevity Daoist Temple for a meal to thank you for saving me from The Unrememberable," Jun Wushang said, handing over an invitation.

Su Mu's eyes flickered. An invitation to a meal? He found it strange. A master treating a disciple's savior to show gratitude was normal enough, but the timing was odd.

A long time had passed since he killed The Unrememberable. If they were going to treat him, why wait until now?

He took the invitation and glanced over it. It contained nothing but polite pleasantries: This poor Daoist, Xuanqing, thanks Layman Su for saving my unworthy disciple. A banquet has been specially prepared at the Longevity Daoist Temple; please do me the honor of attending.

Right after he finished reading, the text on the invitation suddenly came alive. Like a swarm of crawling tadpoles, the characters squirmed and twisted until they formed three large black words.

Seven Deadly Sins!

Seeing this, the corners of Su Mu's mouth hooked into a slight smile. He raised his eyes to look at Jun Wushang, whose expression remained completely normal, and asked, "Is your master a Transcendent?"

Jun Wushang shook his head. "No, he's just a Daoist priest. He worships the Celestial Sovereign of Longevity and usually relies on a few Daoist spells to fool people."

"What kind of Daoist spells?"

"Just breathing fire, telling fortunes, doing a little spirit channeling, that sort of thing. He calls them Daoist spells, but if you ask me, they're just cheap parlor tricks. And even then, he refuses to teach them to me. He says my heart isn't sincere enough to receive the true legacy of the Celestial Sovereign of Longevity."

"It's been a long time since I saved you. Why did your master suddenly think to invite me for a meal now?"

Jun Wushang curled his lip in disdain. "What else could it be? He didn't have any money before. You have no idea how stingy my master is, Brother Su. He gave me a hundred bucks and told me to make four dishes and a soup every day for a week. I'm guessing he made a killing off a couple of suckers who came by recently, which is why he's suddenly being generous enough to invite you."

"A couple of suckers?" Su Mu's eyes narrowed. "What did they look like? Did you see them?"

Spit immediately flew from Jun Wushang's mouth as he began to describe them. "A man and a woman. The guy was in his forties with silver-gray hair. The woman looked to be in her twenties, with shoulder-length hair, a 36C chest, arms so long her wrists reached past her crotch, leather jacket, leather pants, leather boots, wheat-colored skin, and exquisite facial features..."

"Stop, I get it," Su Mu said, directly cutting off the lengthy description. He already knew who those two were. He had seen them before in Zhuang Qing's dream: the law enforcement captain, Mu Lingxi, and the Gold-tier powerhouse, Sikong Zhen.

"What did those two want with your master?"

"I'm not too sure. My master didn't let me watch. I figure it was probably fortune-telling, though. That's his best con. The only reason the Longevity Daoist Temple is still standing is basically because he goes around scam—er, telling fortunes."

Hearing this, Su Mu's interest was piqued. A Daoist priest sought out by a Gold-tier powerhouse for fortune-telling was definitely not ordinary. Moreover, the coincidence was too great: right after reading their fortunes, Daoist Priest Xuanqing sent an invitation bearing the words Seven Deadly Sins. The hidden implications were intriguing.

A series of clues connected in his mind, allowing him to roughly guess the cause and effect. A powerhouse like Sikong Zhen certainly wouldn't get his fortune told for no reason. It was highly likely he wanted to use Daoist Priest Xuanqing's divination skills to find the Seven Deadly Sins. Daoist Priest Xuanqing must have traced it back to Su Mu, which was why he sent Jun Wushang over to deliver the invitation.

But since the old priest had already figured it out, why hadn't he told Sikong Zhen?

He didn't believe Sikong Zhen would refrain from coming to arrest him if the man knew he was Pride. If a Gold-tier powerhouse lacked even that much confidence, he wouldn't be worthy of being called Gold.

So the only explanation was that Daoist Priest Xuanqing hadn't told him.

Interesting.

"Since your master is so graciously inviting me, it would be rude of me to decline."

Su Mu accepted Jun Wushang's invitation. He liked these kinds of unknown surprises.

That evening, led by Jun Wushang, Su Mu headed to the Longevity Daoist Temple. Located in the suburbs, the small temple genuinely possessed a somewhat otherworldly, idyllic charm.

An old Daoist priest with a white beard was already standing at the temple entrance to greet them. Seeing Su Mu arrive, his wrinkled face bunched into a wide smile.

"You must be Layman Su. This poor Daoist, Xuanqing, greets you."

Su Mu smiled and returned the greeting. "A pleasure to meet you, Daoist Priest Xuanqing."

"Please, come in." Daoist Priest Xuanqing welcomed Su Mu into the temple. Beside them, Jun Wushang trotted over and whispered in the old priest's ear, "What kind of food did you prepare? Don't just serve a smashed cucumber salad and a plate of peanuts. Brother Su is a department head at my company. Don't embarrass me!"

Daoist Priest Xuanqing glared at Jun Wushang. "Is your master really such a stingy person in your eyes?"

Jun Wushang met his gaze with a sidelong glance. "Yep!"

"You wicked disciple! We have a guest today, so I won't stoop to your level. Hurry up and scram to buy some wine. I forgot to get it."

Jun Wushang immediately flew into a rage. "What do you mean 'forgot'? You clearly just want me to spend my own money on it!"

"Cut the crap and go!"

After sending Jun Wushang away, Daoist Priest Xuanqing smilingly began to introduce the Longevity Daoist Temple to Su Mu.

"Daoist Priest Xuanqing, if I may ask, what kind of deity is the Celestial Sovereign of Longevity?"

"The Celestial Sovereign of Longevity is a True God who governs the lifespans of all living things. He is the most exalted deity, bar none!" When Daoist Priest Xuanqing mentioned the Celestial Sovereign of Longevity, it was as if he had become a completely different person. Devotion was written all over his old face.

For some reason, upon seeing his expression, the first person Su Mu thought of was Wan from the Primal Divine Cult. Looking closely, the expressions of the two men were absolutely identical.

"Oh? Then I wonder if this banquet was your idea, Daoist Priest, or the Celestial Sovereign of Longevity's?" Su Mu asked with a polite smile.

Daoist Priest Xuanqing frowned, then suddenly smoothed his brows and laughed aloud. "As expected of Pride, the Head of the Seven Deadly Sins. Your eyes are sharp indeed."

The smile on Su Mu's lips deepened. "Does that mean you think I am Pride, Daoist Priest?"

Daoist Priest Xuanqing nodded. "Before this, it was just a suspicion. But now that I have seen you, I am absolutely certain."

"Why?"

"This poor Daoist has read countless people in his life and has never been wrong."

"It is a pity that you are indeed wrong this time, Daoist Priest," Su Mu said mildly. He was telling the truth, because he wasn't Pride. There was no Pride in this world. Pride was nothing more than an illusion.