Chapter 40: City Guardian

  Wei Zhun asked again in detail, and He Song reported truthfully and explained clearly.

  Wei Zhun listened more and more horrified, silent for a long time, before finally exhaling slowly, waving his hand, He Song understood, bowed and retreated.

  "Qīng míng, what do you think of this matter!" Wei Zhun felt a great deal of pressure and involuntarily looked at Zhao Qīng míng, this aide had come up with many plans for him, helping him to scheme and solve numerous difficult problems.

  Zhao Kuangming gritted his teeth, stepped forward and bowed down, saying: "I was promoted by the lord, I rely on him as an arm, and after experiencing promotion, I finally have an official position. I swear to be loyal unto death and make plans for the lord!"

  "This matter involves ghosts and spirits, the four major families of Anchang have all defected, even... even He Song is somewhat suspicious. Although County Zun is a hundred-mile candidate, he is also deeply involved and cannot extricate himself!"

  "After a thorough investigation of its origins, it appears to have some connection with the land god, but since this deity does not require blood sacrifices and is harmless to the people, even bringing some benefits, it will not hinder major affairs."

  "I can only advise you one thing, if not for yourself, then consider it for your descendants and clan!"

  Since this world has ghosts, ancestral spirits, and Taoist priests, the common people have many taboos regarding mysterious supernatural powers. Among them, ghosts and spirits can exist for a long time, so one must consider whether it is worth causing trouble for a momentary impulse, which could lead to a hundred years of calamity and ultimately harm their descendants.

  Not to mention that this land god is powerful and has a county's worth of faith. And yet, he didn't provoke Wei Zhun, but instead took the initiative to show kindness.

  Wei Zhun's face turned red, as if he wanted to say something, but said nothing. Finally, he waved his hand and said: "I will carefully consider this matter, you may withdraw!"

  Zhao Kongming bowed and retreated, but as he was about to leave the door, he glanced at Wei Zhun again.

  Only to see that the usual spirited and dignified County Master now seemed somewhat hunched over, as if he had aged a great deal in an instant...

  The four of them haven't been in touch since the last dinner party.

  But there is a way, let the steward bring three thousand taels of white silver and send it to the county government.

  Before long, the steward returned and reported that the county magistrate had accepted the silver but said nothing and sent him away.

  The four big families were determined in their hearts, and at this time the officials still talked about official integrity and trustworthiness. If they didn't have a grasp on handling something, they generally wouldn't accept gifts of money, but Wei Zhun's meaning was very clear.

  As the county magistrate, I certainly cannot openly say that I agree to build a certain temple.

  It's good enough to maintain a tolerant attitude, which can save a lot of trouble and bring many benefits. This is also what the four families are seeking.

  Now that the county magistrate has agreed, the temple can start construction.

  The four big families of An Chang, in the county government also have someone to take care of things, and the county magistrate is also tacitly approved. The other officials are indeed clever people who have long since smelled out the situation and are handling this matter with care. The documents and contracts were quickly finalized, and before long, all official matters had been properly taken care of.

  Time has passed for more than a month without knowing it.

  At this time, in the south of the city, a large temple had already been built.

  In the past, passersby were curious, and later heard that it was a temple of the land god. This is what they are used to hearing. Many people still believe in the crowd, and they are delighted that the Temple of the Land God can be repaired in the city. Some even donate money and labor to support the construction of the temple.

  It's September 5th, an auspicious day, and the City God Temple is holding a grand opening ceremony today.

  The temple grounds were already packed with people, and officials had some reservations. One hadn't come, but many underlings had arrived, hiding in the crowd. The four masters of the An family were all present.

  As the host sang out in a long voice: "The time has come!"

  The four masters led the way into the temple, and as they entered, they saw that the temple occupied a vast area. Upon entering, it was a small square with a large incense burner in the middle, which seemed to be made of stone, exuding an air of ancient simplicity.

  Further in, it is the main hall of the land, with gold lacquer and red beams, majestic and magnificent. The glazed tiles on the roof are colorful, shining brightly under the sunlight, forming a magnificent view.

  In the center, there is a high platform with a statue of a young official on top. He wears an official uniform and has a majestic demeanor, his facial features are vividly lifelike, and he sits upright in a tiger skin armchair. The tiger skin is real, emitting a fierce aura of the king of beasts, but this aura, suppressed by the statue, washes away its ferocity and instead highlights the majesty of the land god.

  At this time, on the offering table in front of the statue, three animals had already been arranged, all emitting white heat, apparently having just been slaughtered and extremely fresh.

  The temple master hands a bundle of lit incense sticks to the four family heads. The four family heads tidy up, bow solemnly and respectfully offer incense.

  The others were also like this afterwards.

  For a moment, the main hall was filled with swirling incense smoke. The smoke was extremely thin and dispersed in the wind, leaving only a faint, lingering fragrance that lingered on the palate. This was top-grade incense, specially procured by the four major families from outside the county.

  This time repairing the temple, these four families also spent a lot of money and were very meticulous in handling things.

  "It seems these four families have made up their minds and are following me!"

  At this time, in the grand hall, since there were more than half of the followers in the county town, the protective city's aura and law had completely lost their effect on Fang Ming. Even under Fang Ming's command, they could move freely in and out, allowing Fang Ming to gather a lot of information. However, his subordinates' shallow magical powers made it impossible for them to enter two places: one was the county government office, and the other was the White Water Temple.

  Fang Ming was in the county town, openly recruiting followers and building temples.

  That white water surface was as calm as dead water, without a single ripple, and didn't make any moves to block him, yet it made Fang Ming feel like a storm was brewing, and he couldn't help but quicken his pace.

  Fang Ming sat at the top, seeing only the multitude worshiping together.

  A surge of white waves, interspersed with red dots, rushes in, directly entering the top of the head, the golden seal quickly fills up, the red primordial energy stirs, and the white silk transforms into crimson gas, continuously purifying the internal energy circulation, transforming the last bit of white into crimson.

  The incense and wishes that came with it were also absorbed and transformed by the divine talismans, becoming thin white threads that descended to nourish Fang Ming's body.

  When the white gas inside the golden seal had all turned red, the pure red primordial energy on his head suddenly shook violently. The golden seal exploded and quickly condensed again, only to become several times larger than before, and also clearer by a bit.

  The white gas quickly transformed into a surge of red gas that poured into the Golden Seal. Once all the white gas outside had been converted, the Golden Seal was now one-third full, and it was all red, complementing his innate aura perfectly.

  Only the golden seal is surrounded by a crimson aura, with vague images in the middle, from which can be seen peddlers and travelers, men plowing and women weaving, as well as people of all kinds, with expressions of joy and sorrow, parting and reunion, just like a miniature Anchang County.

  Affected by the aura operation, Fang Ming's divine power in his body also turned into red, and at the moment when the last few white threads disappeared, Fang Ming's divine body underwent a great change.

  Fang Ming's divine soul had completely dissipated the yin energy. At this time, it was even more clear inside and out, like crystal glass. The whole body was surrounded by a crimson aura, which transformed into a spherical shape, expanding outward, about the size of a house. From a distance, it looked like a huge fireball, standing upright on the ground, emitting red light, giving off a faintly scorching sensation.

  "This is... Divine Soul Transcendence!" Fang Ming muttered to himself, somewhat disbelieving.

  Originally, even if it's a land god, it belongs to yin. As for the lower ones, there's no need to mention them, haven't you seen that they're all called yin soldiers and yin generals?

  This time, after being promoted and advancing a major rank, Fang Ming's divine soul actually had a tendency to become yang, which means that in the end, the gods will be able to descend into the mortal world, no different from ordinary people, and even far surpass...

  Fang Ming can now descend into the world, appear in broad daylight, but people will only see a figure like a red agate casting, wrapped in scarlet fire clouds, and know at a glance that it is not an ordinary person. The same is true of evil spirits.

  Fang Ming also wanted to explore what was different about his promoted divine body. At this time, the divine seal in his body suddenly let out a long cry, filled with red gas, and even had a few cracks on its surface, which made Fang Ming's heart skip a beat.

  As the red gas continued to surge in, the crack grew larger and larger. Fang Ming's heart was filled with a sense of foreboding, but he could do nothing about it.

  Finally, the divine talisman exploded thoroughly in Fang Ming's terrified gaze. Fang Ming involuntarily closed his eyes and when he opened them again, he didn't find any injuries, but he knew something was different, so he carefully examined himself.

  The twinkling starlight, with all sorts of mysteries, reorganized quickly according to the rules that Fang Ming couldn't understand, consuming a large amount of Chi. Fortunately, Fang Ming's body had a rich spiritual energy, which was barely able to withstand it.

  Finally, the red gas dispersed completely, revealing a brand new divine seal: "Rank 7 Anchang County City God Position"

  Fang Ming was taken aback and couldn't help but stare blankly.

  Cheng Huang was originally a protective deity of cities and localities, but later people also revered Cheng Huang as the god in charge of the underworld's registry.

  "Tea Fragrance Room Collection" Volume 16 says: "Taiping Guangji quotes Baoyinglu as saying: 'Tang Dynasty's Hongzhou Magistrate Wang Jianyi often suddenly fell ill, and dreamed of a ghostly messenger who called himself Ding Ying, holding a warrant and saying he was sent by the City God to fetch him. Wang Jianyi followed the messenger and saw the City God."

  The divine mandate, left and right, brought the book to inspect, finished, said to Jian Yi: "Still can live for five years, and let go." This is the city god of Tang Dynasty, who has been in charge of the underworld register, as it is now passed down in the world.

  There is also the "Fengshan County Annals · Sacrificial System" which records: "The City God Temple has no special sacrifices, but in case of flood or drought, epidemic diseases, it must be prayed to; when showing respect and keeping vigil, it must be informed. Therefore, a temple was built for it, so that the god would have something to rely on."

  So Fangming's previous life was a city god, who protected the local area, managed local floods and droughts, epidemics, and the underworld registry.

  It's just unexpected that the original land deed would turn into a city deed.

  At this moment, the talisman's light flashed, and a large amount of information poured into Fang Ming's mind, making him dizzy. This time, the information was more than any previous time, making Fang Ming's head feel swollen. Fortunately, he had a divine body, so he didn't completely pass out.

  Fang Ming digested it slightly and found that it was a memory of a god from his past life.

  This god's name is Mu Qing, originally a county city guardian, but later demoted to be a land god due to being drunk and making mistakes.

  After a long time, in the modern era of the end of the law, faith was thin, and finally could not be supported. The divine soul dissipated, the statue collapsed, and coincidentally hit Fang Ming, passing on the divine position to Fang Ming under clever circumstances.

  As for crossing over, it can only be said that it was a coincidence within a coincidence.

  In this memory, it contains Mu Qing's lifelong memories and various insights and applications of the gods and the rules of heaven and earth. For Fang Ming, there is great value in reference, but also bad news.

  "It turns out that the true nature of this divine talisman is actually a mid-seventh rank, which is why I was able to advance all the way up without any hindrance."

  Fang Ming furrowed his brow and muttered to himself.

  "Now, the potential is exhausted. From now on, there will be no more good things like instant enlightenment and local promotion, not even the great divine power after promotion!"

  Before Fang Ming's promotion, there was only one condition, which was that the number of followers reached a certain amount.

  Later, it became two conditions: one is to have enough followers, and the other is to personally comprehend the heavenly rules of the divine way, planning talismans. Both are indispensable, and neither will automatically generate spiritual powers.

  Fang Ming pondered for a moment, then suddenly smiled and recited:

  "The strong pass is like iron, now I take a step forward from the beginning!"

  "The accumulation of wealth from past lives has all been transformed into the first bucket of gold, helping me to rise quickly. Now, I'll rely on myself to surpass everything from scratch!"

  "What's the point of having personal enlightenment? I'm worried that the rules of two worlds can't be absolutely compatible, now that I've come to understand the rules of this world, it's more suitable for the gods of this realm!"

  "All divine powers are created by gods, there is no great divine power, I can study and create it myself!"

  "This is the way I've walked out, it's the only road that truly belongs to me, and the path I've pioneered is the divine way of my life!"

  At this thought, I felt a great sense of relief in my heart and couldn't help but let out a long whoop.