City God

Wei Zhun asked for details again, and He Song reported truthfully, clarifying everything.

The more Wei Zhun listened, the more alarmed he became. After a long silence, he let out a sigh and waved his hand. He Song understood, bowed, and retreated.

"Kongming, what are your thoughts on this matter?" Wei Zhun felt immense pressure and unconsciously looked at Zhao Kongming, his aide who had offered advice and planned strategies for him many times, solving numerous difficult problems.

Zhao Kongming gritted his teeth, stepped forward, and bowed. "I was promoted by you, my lord, and relied on you as my support. After further promotions, I gained my official position. I swear to be loyal and strategize for you!"

"This matter involves ghost spirits, and the Anchang Four Great Families have already switched sides. Even He Song seems suspicious. Although the County Magistrate is a high-ranking official, he is also caught in this and cannot extricate himself!"

"Upon close examination of the roots, it all seems related to the Earth God. However, since this deity does not require blood sacrifice, is harmless to the people, and even offers some benefits, it is not a major issue."

"I can only advise you, my lord, to consider not just yourself, but also your descendants and clan!"

Since this world had ghosts, ancestral spirits, and Taoist priests, the common people naturally harbored many taboos regarding mysterious supernatural powers. Among these, ghost spirits could persist for a very long time. Therefore, one had to consider whether it was worth it to provoke trouble out of momentary pride, only to have it plague one's clan and descendants for a hundred years. Wei Zhun's face turned red, as if he wanted to say something but remained silent. Finally, he waved his hand and said, "I will consider this matter carefully. You may withdraw!"

Zhao Kongming bowed and retreated. However, just before leaving the room, he glanced back at Wei Zhun.

He felt that his usually spirited County Magistrate seemed hunched over, as if he had aged considerably in an instant...

The Four Great Families had not received any news since the last banquet.

However, they had their ways. The steward was sent to the County Yamen with three thousand taels of silver.

Shortly after, the steward reported back. The County Magistrate accepted the silver but said nothing and sent him away.

The heads of the Four Great Families felt reassured. Officials at this time still valued their reputation and credibility. If they were not confident in handling a matter, they generally would not accept gifts of money. Wei Zhun's implicit message was clear.

As the County Magistrate, he naturally could not openly agree to the construction of a certain ancestral shrine.

Maintaining an attitude of tacit approval was already quite good. It would save a lot of trouble and bring significant benefits. This was precisely what the Four Great Families sought.

Since the County Magistrate had agreed, the construction of the temple could begin.

The Anchang Four Great Families also had contacts within the County Yamen, and the County Magistrate's tacit approval meant that other clerks, being astute individuals, had already sensed the shift. They diligently processed the matter, and the documents and contracts were approved with remarkable speed. Soon, all the official procedures were settled. By this time, a grand temple had already been constructed in the southern part of the city.

Passersby were curious. Later, upon hearing that it was a temple for the Earth God, which was a common occurrence, many people, who were already believers, rejoiced at the prospect of an Earth God temple being built within the city. Some even contributed money and effort to support its construction.

The ninth day of the ninth lunar month arrived, a propitious day. The consecration ceremony for the city's Earth God Temple was scheduled for this day.

The area in front of the Earth God Temple was already crowded with people. The officials, still apprehensive, did not attend. However, many clerks were present, though they remained hidden within the crowd. The heads of the Anchang Four Great Families were all there.

As the master of ceremonies announced loudly, "The hour has arrived!"

The heads of the Four Great Families led the way into the temple. The temple occupied a vast area. Upon entering, there was a small plaza with a large incense burner in the center. It appeared to be made of stone, exuding an ancient and profound aura.

Further inside was the main hall of the Earth God. With its gold-lacquered vermilion beams, it was magnificent and grand. The glazed tiles of various colors on the roof shone brilliantly under the sunlight, creating a spectacular sight.

In the center stood a high platform, upon which rested a statue. It depicted a young official, clad in official robes, with a dignified posture. His features were lifelike and vivid, as he sat majestically on a tiger skin armchair. The tiger skin was genuine, emanating the aura of the king of beasts. This aura, suppressed by the statue, had shed its ferocity, instead enhancing the majesty of the Earth God.

On the offering table before the statue, three animal sacrifices were already laid out, emitting white steam. They appeared to have been freshly slaughtered, indicating their utmost freshness.

The Temple Keeper handed a bundle of lit incense sticks to the heads of the Four Great Families. They assumed solemn expressions, bowed respectfully, and offered the incense.

The rest of the attendees followed suit.

For a time, incense smoke swirled within the hall. The smoke was thin, dispersing with the wind, leaving only a faint, lingering fragrance that was delightful. These were high-quality incense sticks, which the Four Great Families had specifically sent people out of the county to procure.

The Four Great Families had also spared no expense in this temple construction, carrying out the task with great dedication.

"It seems the Four Great Families have truly decided to follow me!"

Fang Ming was currently in the main hall. Since he had gained more than half of the city's believers, the city protection fortune decree had become completely ineffective against him. Even his subordinates could move freely, gathering much information for him. However, his subordinates' magical abilities were still shallow, and there were two places they could not access: one was the County Yamen, and the other was White Water Temple.

Fang Ming had been making a grand display in the county town, both by recruiting believers and by constructing temples.

The White Water Temple, however, remained as still as stagnant water, showing no signs of activity. It did not make a move to obstruct him, yet this gave Fang Ming a feeling of impending storm, prompting him to accelerate his actions.

Fang Ming sat at the head of the table. As the multitude offered their worship, Streams of white energy, mixed with specks of red, surged forward, pouring directly into the fortune above his head. The Golden Seal quickly filled up. With a stir of his red natal qi, wisps of white qi transformed into red qi, continuously purifying the fortune within the seal, turning the last bit of white into red qi.

The accompanying Power of Incense and Offerings was also absorbed and converted by the Divine Position Talisman, descending as fine white threads to nourish Fang Ming's divine body.

Once all the white qi within the Golden Seal turned red, the pure red natal qi above his head gave a powerful tremor. The Golden Seal exploded and quickly reformed, though it was slightly larger and a bit clearer than before.

White qi rapidly transformed into red qi and flowed into the Golden Seal. After all the external white qi was converted, the Golden Seal was now one-third full, entirely red, complementing his natal qi perfectly.

The Golden Seal was enveloped in red qi. Within it, a faint image could be seen, depicting merchants and laborers, farmers and weavers, as well as various aspects of human life, joys and sorrows, as if it were a miniature Anchang County.

Affected by the fortune, the divine power within Fang Ming also turned completely red. The moment the last vestiges of white disappeared, Fang Ming's divine body underwent a significant transformation.

Fang Ming's soul had completely shed its yin energy. Now, it was transparent both inside and out, like glazed glass. His entire body was surrounded by red qi, which formed into a sphere and expanded outwards, reaching the size of a large room. Seen from afar, it resembled a colossal fireball standing upright on the ground, emitting red light, and strangely giving off a sense of heat.

"This is... Soul Yang Transformation!" Fang Ming murmured, disbelief coloring his voice.

Originally, even the Earth God belonged to the yin attribute. His subordinates were even more so; wasn't it obvious they were called Yin Soldiers and Yin Generals?

But with this promotion, after ascending a major rank, Fang Ming's soul actually showed a tendency towards yang transformation. This indicated that, in the end, deities could descend to the mortal realm, indistinguishable from living beings, and perhaps even far surpassing them...

Of course, Fang Ming could now descend to the mortal realm and manifest in daylight. However, people would only see a figure forged from red glazed glass, enveloped in red fiery clouds, making it obvious that he was no mortal. Fierce ghosts were the same.

Fang Ming wanted to further explore the differences in his promoted divine body. At this moment, the Divine Position Talisman within him suddenly let out a long cry, filled with red qi, and even showed a few cracks. Fang Ming's heart clenched.

As red qi continued to pour in, the cracks widened. Fang Ming's heart grew alarmed, but he was powerless.

Finally, the Divine Position Talisman completely exploded before Fang Ming's terrified gaze. Fang Ming couldn't help but close his eyes. When he opened them, he found no damage. Knowing something was amiss, he examined himself carefully.

Specks of starlight, carrying profound mysteries, rapidly reassembled according to rules Fang Ming couldn't understand, consuming a large amount of red qi. Fortunately, Fang Ming's divine power was abundant, allowing him to endure it.

Finally, the red qi completely dispersed, revealing a brand-new Divine Position Talisman: "Rank 7 Anchang County City God Divine Position."

Fang Ming stared, somewhat stunned.

City Gods were originally the guardian deities of cities and regions. Later, people also revered them as deities in charge of the underworld and the records of the deceased.

The Collected Essays from the Tea Fragrance Room, Volume Sixteen, states: "The Record of Retribution quoted in Taiping Guangji says: 'Wang Jianshi, the Prefect of Hongzhou during the Tang Dynasty, suddenly fell ill and dreamt of a ghost messenger who called himself Ding Ying, holding a talisman document and saying he was acting on the City God's orders to apprehend Wang Jianshi. Wang Jianshi immediately followed the messenger and saw the City God. The God ordered his attendants to bring forth the ledgers for examination. After reviewing them, he told Wang Jianshi, "You still have five years left to live. You may go now." This shows that during the Tang Dynasty, the City God was already in charge of the underworld, as is still believed today.'"

Furthermore, the Annals of Fengshan County, Records of Sacrifices states: "The City God Temple has no exclusive sacrifices, but people pray to it for deliverance from drought and flood, and for the cure of epidemics. They offer respect and observe fasts before it; thus, temples are established to give the deity a place to reside."

Therefore, the City God in Fang Ming's previous life was a deity who protected the region, governed local droughts and floods, epidemics, and presided over the underworld and its records.

He just hadn't expected that the original Earth God's divine seal would transform into a City God talisman.

Just then, the talisman flashed with light, and a large amount of information flooded into Fang Ming's mind, making him dizzy. This time, the information was more than any previous instance, causing his head to feel somewhat swollen. Fortunately, he was in the body of a Deity, or he would have fainted completely.

Fang Ming processed the information for a moment and discovered it was the memory of a Deity from his previous life.

This Deity was named Mu Qing. He had originally been a county City God, but later, due to getting drunk and causing trouble, he was demoted to an Earth God. After a long period, in the modern era of declining faith, he could no longer sustain himself. His soul dissipated, his statue collapsed, and it happened to fall on Fang Ming. By a twist of fate, the divine position was passed on to Fang Ming.

As for the transmigration, it could only be described as a coincidence within a coincidence.

This memory contained Mu Qing's entire life, as well as his insights and applications of Deity and world rules. For Fang Ming, it was of great value. However, there was also some bad news.

"So, the essence of this Divine Position Talisman is Rank 7. That's why I could keep advancing without any obstacles."

Fang Ming frowned and muttered to himself.

"Now, my potential is exhausted. From now on, there won't be any more convenient promotions just because incense and fire arrive. Even the great divine abilities after promotion are gone!"

Previously, Fang Ming's advancement had only one condition: the number of believers reaching a certain level.

From now on, there would be two conditions: first, having enough believers; second, personally comprehending the world's Divine Way rules and planning the talisman. Both were indispensable, and divine abilities would no longer be automatically derived.

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

"The rugged pass is truly like iron, but now I stride forward from the beginning!"

"The resources accumulated in my previous life have all transformed into my first pot of gold, helping me rise quickly. Now, I must surpass it all on my own!"

"What if I need to comprehend it myself? I was worried that the rules of the two worlds couldn't adapt perfectly. Now, comprehending the rules of this world is even more suitable for a Deity of this realm!"

"Divine abilities were created by Deities. If I don't have great divine abilities, I can research and create them myself!"

"This is the path that truly belongs to me, the Divine Way that I, Fang Ming, will forge!"

With this thought, his heart felt greatly relieved, and he couldn't help but let out a long roar.