"Oh? Daoist Master, why does your Daoist Temple even have spirit tablets?"
Sharp-eyed viewers in the livestream called out directly.
As soon as he said that, the other audience members turned their eyes as well.
"Hey, what's this? I've been surfing the internet for seven or eight years. Forget spirit tablets; as long as you have the money, you can even offer a Gatling Bodhisattva."
"At least Gatling is something tangible. Aren't spirit tablets used for incense offerings to the dead?"
"When I look at those characters, they seem a bit like Emperor Fengdu. Am I seeing things???"
"Whoa, it's not your eyes deceiving you. It's indeed Emperor Fengdu's tablet. Wow! What legit Daoist Temple worships spirits from the Underworld! No wonder it felt off; this makes sense now."
...
Facing the questions from the livestream viewers.
Ning An patiently explained,
"This is because my Life Chart has been weak since childhood. My master was afraid I wouldn't live long, so he found me a deity to be my foster father for protection. There's nothing wrong with that, right?"
The livestream viewers were still unconvinced, speaking with an air of superiority.
"Don't lie, streamer. It's true people with weak physiques seek foster care, but anyone decent would worship a legitimate god like the God of Wealth, not some Immortal from the Underworld!"
Ning An was amused and replied directly, "It's obvious you haven't been to college. Do you know how to write the word 'economics'?"
"The Temple of the God of Wealth is always bustling with people; incense is everywhere. If you try to take him as your foster father, will he even notice you?"
Uh!
The viewers were speechless at Ning An's words:
"Probably not..."
"Exactly, have you ever seen anyone worship King Yama or Emperor Fengdu for no reason?"
"No... No, who goes out of their way to worship King Yama?"
"There you go. If you never help them when they need it, why would they help you?"
Ning An nodded, picked up a teacup, took a sip, and continued cheerfully:
"I'm different! I make offerings without reason and present gifts on holidays to the deities. It's not only about sincerity; the Immortals must see it. This is all part of social propriety!"
"You guys are simply too bound by worldly conventions."
"Think about it; Emperor Fengdu is a great god, but the only incense he gets from the human world comes from me. Take a moment and ponder that."
When Ning An finished speaking, the livestream fell into an eerie silence.
"Wow, why does what the streamer says sound so strange, yet it seems extraordinarily accurate?"
"I think it's spot on! Enough talk, I'm going to reserve an image of the Ten Halls of Yama, I'm out of here."
...
After chatting a bit more, the stream ended.
Closing the room door tightly, Ning An sat by the window, nervously rubbing his hands. It was time for the exhilarating blind box opening phase.
"System, claim the rewards!"
The moment Ning An finished speaking, the system's voice came out.
[Ding! Congratulations to the host for completing two singular point resets!]
[Reward One: Successfully affiliate with the world's Emperor Fengdu, taking him as a foster father!]
[Note: Given that the host is the only foster son of this world's Emperor Fengdu, it's arranged for him to meet Emperor Fengdu in the Underworld in three days.]
[Reward Two: Nine incense sticks of righteousness, three incense sticks of spirits!]
[Note: These incenses can be combined with the Five Ghosts Transporting Technique to detect the virtues and vices of incense burners. The incense burner of virtue can avoid paying the price with three righteous incenses; for a wicked burner, the three righteous incenses will lead to spontaneous combustion of the spirit incense, with the consequence being limitless.]
Looking at the panel given in his mind,
For a moment, Ning An was a bit dazed.
Now he could confirm more clearly that this world was not as straightforward as it seemed.
What kind of wasteland world actually has an Underworld and Emperor Fengdu!
As for the two rewards from the system this time, Ning An could only say,
Absolutely flipping awesome!
Especially the second reward!
The long-slandered patron has the chance to finally turn the tables today!
Ning An grinned so wide that the corners of his mouth nearly split, his mind already envisioning the scene of incense burners flocking in.
After wiping away some drool, Ning An decisively clicked to claim the rewards on the panel.
[The system rewards have been distributed, please check and receive them, host.]
In that fleeting moment, a dense aroma of incense permeated the air.
Twelve incense sticks were neatly laid out on the table.
The nine righteous sticks were truly extraordinary, with dark purple adorned by golden patterns, like a divine dragon swirling with mist, hinting at the auspicious sign of purple qi coming from the east.
The three black incenses were eerily dark, cold and bone-chilling to hold, with no observable anomalies.
After carefully examining these twelve godly incenses, Ning An's grin grew even wider:
"Oh wow, these nine righteous incenses are so splendid looking they have to be the temple's treasure!"
As for the spirit incense, Ning An didn't hesitate to toss it into the firewood room to gather dust.
Limitless consequence!!!
Not even a small Daoist Temple like his, nor those bald monks would dare to use them!
The incense burner might offer one moment, but drop dead the next, going to heaven or the Underworld, what about preserving the patron saint's honorable name!
Meanwhile, all major platforms' trending searches were dominated by the keyword "Evil God Temple."
Various clips that were taken from livestreams sparked a wave of internet frenzy.
"My God, has this world gone mad? Has the world operation bug still not been solved?"
"Auntie tearfully seeks peace, not seeing ear infections in half a lifetime, sincerely prays for academic success, Germany's Ph.D., bravo!"
"I don't believe it; this must have been set up by some media company."
"The script is well-written, but as soon as a wish is made, it immediately comes true in a dubious way. Even if it's extended a bit, alas."
"People these days are truly extreme in attracting traffic; morality declines, humanity loses its roots."
The comment section was nearly one-sided.
After all, a few days ago, Granny Wang's matchmaking, which made huge waves, turned out to be scripted.
Even though the previously low-profile Changchun Temple gained more attention due to the "official background" of the 913 case, it still only broadened fame within a small realm.
Who would dare believe it online?
Still, the university students who watched the livestream from start to end weren't willing to back down.
They may seem foolishly clear-eyed, but no one should doubt the reality witnessed by their eyes!
A single incense time later, the comment section began to turn.
"No way, I was sleeping soundly when my rotten son woke me up asking to use my account, what's going on? Let me look... Whoa, who's trashing my son, damn, only I get to scold him, you #*¥..."
"Script? You come up with a script where last second you pray for world peace, and the next second your ear inflammation flares up."
"The full livestream content is online; if you don't believe me, go watch all of it now. Haven't seen it all? Then why argue with me here?"
"An enormous lump on your head just wasting this world's resources, huh? If not, make room quickly and find a place to bury yourself."
One group of viewers accused the opposing side of enlisting water army from Changchun Temple; the college students fought back with an ace.
"Just get someone to invite a murderer who has been eluding capture for a dozen years, preferably a notorious criminal like in the 913 case, and have him cooperate with you to act out such a script, then I have nothing more to say and will bear your family name on the spot!"
What?