Chapter Fifteen Rumors Heard

  The great victory returned, and everyone's mood was naturally very good. Even Xie Jin, who had been a hunter, felt that the scenery of this deep mountain was extraordinary, with clear mountains and rivers, making people feel relaxed and happy.

  Fang Ming walked ahead in big strides, this time without using his divine power to conceal himself, and he also felt much more at ease. At this moment, he thought of something and asked those around him: "In the small county of An Chang, why was Peng Chun able to gather so many wandering souls?"

  The likes of wandering spirits, except for Guo Sheng, Mr. He's kind of extraordinary ghost, the others mostly died within seven days, in a county, it shouldn't have so many, let alone each village and town still having wandering spirits, Wang Liu Lang previously could still gather yin soldiers, this matter made Fang Ming somewhat perplexed.

  Guo Sheng stepped forward and said, "My lord, I do know a bit about this. Those nearly thousand wandering souls are not from Anchang County alone, but were gathered by Peng Chun from neighboring counties... for example, his subordinates are villagers from the neighboring county of Anping."

  Fang Ming understood that to create trouble, he had to pick the soft persimmon. Since the Anchang County's Ghostly Official Cao was not around, it was naturally chosen. As for other counties, first, they didn't have many people, and second, there were still ghostly officials monitoring them, so they couldn't be taken. However, some wandering spirits could be pulled in to increase their strength.

  He walked a few more steps, and saw Mr. He standing beside him, though he didn't say a word, his eyes were bright and his forehead was full, with an air of elegance in his movements, so he asked Mr. He: "May I ask your esteemed name? Where is your residence?"

  Mr. He sighed and said, "My name is He Yuqing. I am a native of the prefectural city, the master of the He family. More than ten days ago, I died of illness. However, there was no space in the ancestral temple, so I had to come out myself. Unexpectedly, I encountered bandits and was taken away with them. Fortunately, these two young people helped me, making my suffering much less." As he looked at the two young men following behind him, his eyes showed appreciation and affection.

  Fang Ming's heart was delighted, and he asked again: "How does Mr. look at the matter of Linjiang Prefecture?"

  He Yaqing sneered coldly and spat out the words from between her teeth: "You're just a bunch of useless trash, you won't even last ten days before being annihilated!"

  "Oh, Mr. He, what makes you say that?" Fang Ming was startled in his heart, but still remained calm and asked.

  He Yuqing stroked his beard and said, "Li Hei Bao is too arrogant, he's become an evil spirit, and immediately started slaughtering the city, trying to become the Ghost King. This has alarmed the province, and they've sent a large army to suppress him. Hmph, Li Hei Bao has indeed made a good calculation, if he really becomes the Ghost King, it wouldn't be a bad move, he could carve out his own territory and become unstoppable."

  "What a pity, one step short, heaven and earth apart. The province will not give him another chance to break the city, and besides, it's likely that he has already attracted the attention of Baiyun Temple, and his time is running out!"

  Fang Ming became interested and asked: "Baiyun Guan should be one of the Taoist sects, I wonder what its real strength is?"

  He Yuqing looked at Fang Ming with surprise: "Baiyun Temple is a major sect in Wuzhou, and it has also been granted imperial recognition. There are two true immortals in the temple, who have spread their teachings to various places. Many of the ghost-hunting officials in the prefectures and counties of Wuzhou are disciples of Baiyun Temple. How can you not know this? Are you intentionally trying to deceive me?"

  Fang Ming smiled awkwardly: "A rustic commoner, I don't know the great affairs of the state, and I'm afraid I've made a fool of myself in front of you, sir." He changed the subject: "I heard that Li Black Leopard seems to have some connection with the Ghost King of another state, saying they have agreed to form an alliance. What do you think about it, sir?"

  "Hmm?" He Yaqing furrowed her brow, then relaxed again: "The Ghost King, with his grand mansion and millions of ghostly soldiers, holds the power of life and death, and is a force to be reckoned with. Even if he doesn't take Li Heibao as a subordinate, but rather forms an alliance with him, he will still try to dominate and control him. But Li Heibao is a fierce and arrogant man, not one to submit to others. The two of them are bound to clash, and when they do, their alliance will be broken, each going their separate ways. It's nothing to worry about."

  Fang Ming clapped his hands and laughed loudly: "Your words, sir, have opened my eyes wide with wonder, you are indeed a renowned scholar!"

  He bowed again and said, "Sir, are you still unwilling to help me?"

  He Yuqing slightly shook her head and said: "If you're sincerely inviting someone, why didn't you first introduce yourself?"

  Fang Ming smiled mysteriously and said, "I didn't intentionally conceal my identity, but there's a bit of trouble that needs to be resolved first. Since you've spoken so, let's do it now. Once I resolve the trouble, everything will be clear."

  Order the troops to stop, Wang Liu Lang, Xie Jin although somewhat puzzled, but still restrained his subordinates, issued orders, and everyone found a clearing to rest temporarily.

  The yin soldiers lined up in military formation, while the other wandering souls that followed them gathered on the other side, forming two distinct groups, clearly separated.

  Fang Ming arrived at the You Hun Duo, looked around and said: "I came to eradicate Peng Chun for the sake of the people, but I have unintentionally harmed you, the wandering souls who were brought here. It was not my intention... Now that you have acknowledged me as your master, you should pay your respects with a grand ceremony!"

  The crowd of ghosts looked at each other in dismay, a few faces were somewhat unsightly, but still bowed and saluted, saying: "Greetings, Master!"

  Fang Ming gazed at the crowd of wandering souls above their heads, a cold smile spreading across his face.

  As early as when he received his first subordinate, he found that the aura of the subordinates was not obtained out of thin air, but was deducted from his own aura. The truly loyal subordinates naturally leaned towards him and were connected to his aura, supporting his own aura.

  At this time, with the wandering souls bowing down, most of their aura converged towards him, supporting his own aura. However, there were still a few whose aura showed signs of estrangement, and even wanted to attack his aura. Looking at their faces again, they all had an appearance of reverence.

  This was discovered in the Youling camp, but at that time, it couldn't be said. Fang Ming didn't want to reveal his trump card. Moreover, even if he had said something, no one would have believed him. If he had refused to surrender and even killed the rebels at that time, it would have chilled the hearts of the remaining Youling who were truly loyal, and they might have thought that Fang Ming was taking advantage of the situation to silence them, which could have led to another uprising. Although it wouldn't be impossible to suppress, it would damage his merits, so why bother?

  At this time, they were already far away from the refugee camp and didn't worry that they could turn the sky upside down.

  Fang Ming flashed a cold smile, but for the time being did not erupt. Instead, he spoke warmly: "Guo Sheng, you have just learned to be human, your thoughts are pure and filial. Today, I appoint you as my commanding officer!"

  As soon as the words fell, a white gas separated from Fang Ming's head and flowed into Guo Sheng's head. He had a pure red primordial spirit, which quickly digested it. The white gas condensed on his head and then burst out with a line of red gas, supporting Fang Ming's gas instead. Fang Ming looked up and saw that the red gas above his head seemed to have increased slightly, and he couldn't help but nod in agreement, knowing that this was the way of governance, using people, having talented individuals naturally support the lord's gas number, making the lord's gas flourish.

  Divine power surged out, enveloping Guo Sheng. Before long, a young man in official attire emerged, seemingly with a look of astonishment on his face. Fang Ming nodded slightly and diverted a thread of divine power to stabilize the scattered form of Guo Sheng's mother. Guo Sheng's mother had previously been on the verge of collapse, her life force dwindling, but now she was stabilized, her complexion radiant, and her vitality greatly improved.

  Kuo Sheng was overjoyed and bowed his thanks: "Thank you, Your Excellency! I will certainly die for Your Excellency!"

  Other wandering spirits saw this scene and couldn't help but make a big noise. Fang Ming smiled, previously not doing so was because he feared that with many mouths, the news would leak out. He had this divine power, grasping the vital points of the ghostly spirits, as long as they didn't want to eat people, most only had one way to survive - to do tasks under his command. If it were in a ravine, it wouldn't be immediately spread around, but now all were under his control, others also couldn't escape, not fearing the leakage of news.

  He gave a hint with his eyes, and Wang Liu Lang understood, leading Guo Sheng and his mother to rest on one side, quietly protecting them.

  Fang Ming made another arrangement, assigning the thirty or so wandering souls to different positions and settling them one by one. In the end, only a few people were left kneeling on the ground. Fang Ming coldly smiled without speaking, Xie Jin sensed something was off and pressed his hand on the hilt of his sword, and the atmosphere became subtly tense.

  Only a few people were seen kneeling on the ground, surprisingly, it was Zhang Tie and several others. They sniffed out that something was wrong and wanted to make a move, but unfortunately, their bodies couldn't move at this time. Zhang Tie smiled miserably: "I thought I hid very well, how did you find out?"

  Fang Ming smiled, but this was his secret, and he couldn't say it. Sometimes, those in power maintained a bit of mystery, which had its advantages when ruling over subordinates. So he said: "Are you bandits or wandering spirits?"

  Zhang Tie no longer hid, glaring at Fang Ming, almost using his gaze to chop him into pieces: "You scoundrel! You actually drove us away and made my family members die in the chaos of the army, what else is there to say?"

  "How bold!" Xie Jin drew out his long knife and gazed at Fang Ming.

  Fang Ming raised his head and gazed at the sky, without saying a word.

  After a long time, he waved his hand, Xie Jin understood, took the lead and acted. The long knife cut through, and Zhang Tie and several others were dismembered and turned into gray gas.

  "Alas!" He Yaqing gazed at the scene, let out a long sigh, and saw that the two young men behind him had turned pale with fear. She comforted them with warm words to calm their nerves.

  Fang Ming came back to his senses, walked up to Mr. He and said: "Now that we're all on the same side, I don't have anything good to hide, I am the Land God, in charge of the four villages of Qingxi Township. This time, seeing Peng Chun gather evil spirits with ulterior motives, I led my subordinates into the mountains to surround and annihilate them, but unexpectedly met you, sir. Are you willing to lend me a helping hand?"

  He Yuqing's face changed color, muttering to himself: "Land God, why haven't I heard of it..."

  He bowed again, "I'm sorry, I couldn't think of the origin of the land god's title for a moment. Would you please tell me?"

  Fang Ming smiled faintly and said, "Nothing much, I'm just a simple soul, always muddled and confused, forgetting most of my memories, only remembering that my name is Fang Ming. But somehow, I suddenly had some magical powers, and my mind gradually cleared up, thinking it was heaven's gift, so I took the title of Land God to protect this land and its people." This was a lie, a fabricated backstory by Fang Ming himself. Yet when he spoke these words, his eyes were clear, his tone sincere, and even he himself almost believed it.

  He Yuqing's face was strange, saying: "The noble encounter is truly unheard of, and it is greatly different from the ancestors of the aristocratic families!"

  "Oh! Sir, would you please tell me in detail?"

  He Yuqing thought for a moment and said: "In rural areas, there are few sacrifices to the spirits. If there are any, it should be just one, this master should be clear."

  Jian Fangming nodded and continued: "In the county, there are many wealthy families with a long history, their incense is strong, some have two or three children, others have five or six. If there are more, it's still the same, they can't support themselves. My family is also considered a prominent family in Wen Chang Prefecture, we have some reputation, our ancestral worship has never been interrupted, and we can only support five ancestors. The descendants are unfilial, how can they argue with their ancestors? So I had to come out and find my own opportunities."

  "While the great families and clans, famous throughout the world, in their ancestral temples, gradually gave birth to divine and strange things, they could open up a blessed land. Some were as small as a county, while others were as large as a prefecture. It was said that the products of these lands were abundant and never suffered from floods or droughts, making them seem like an immortal realm. As long as one's name was recorded in the family genealogy, after death they could go there and be preserved for eternity."

  "It's just that although our ancestors laid the foundation, with a majestic aura like mountains and seas, it still can't withstand the daily erosion. A blessed land also needs the support of vital energy to sustain itself. Therefore, for descendants to become officials generation after generation, they must be high-ranking officials above the third rank, directly receiving the nourishment of the people, obtaining the vital energy of millions of citizens, and carrying this energy with them after death to replenish the blessed land, only then can it be maintained. Even in chaotic times, there are cases where prominent families were exterminated, and later when a true person was invited to inspect the ancestral temple, they said that the blessed land had been completely destroyed, and the spirits could not be preserved. However, being able to enjoy such prosperity for so long, the young masters of these prominent families can be compared to us lone souls and wild ghosts, who are much more fortunate."

  "The imperial family's blessed land, is said to have half of the world's size, and can also accommodate hundreds of officials and troops. The spiritual and mysterious aspects are top-secret, I couldn't hear about it, only vaguely heard that after the death of a high-ranking official from a noble family, the court would take over, and gradually, a grudge would form between the two, with both sides vying for control of the vital energy." Fang Ming was shocked, this blessed land is actually an embryonic form of the underworld's dark land in his past life, it just needs to be supplemented by human luck and energy.

  However, the resistance between yin and yang is enormous. The blessed land allows entry but not exit, with restrictions even more severe than those of ancestral spirits in rural counties. Fang Ming sneered, this is like the ghosts of the underworld in past lives, who want to wander in the world of the living, although it's not a dream, but also requires going through countless hardships and sufferings.

  "So, the county's prestige, in the eyes of truly aristocratic families, is still a rustic turtle, unable to even protect its own clan members. The county's prestige, on the other hand, constantly envies and resents the aristocratic families above it, wishing to supplant them. And when the world's aristocratic families encounter chaotic times, they all rush towards the throne, truly a never-ending cycle of rise and fall."

  Fang Ming seemed to have an epiphany, realizing that this intelligence was a closely guarded secret of the various aristocratic families. If it weren't for coincidentally running into He Yuqing, the head of the noble family, he wouldn't have obtained such confidential information.