The Secret of Samsara

"If you can comprehend it, you will attain the 'steadiness' that will preserve the foundation of our lineage, even if you fail to contend for the dragon," Qingxu said with a smile, immensely pleased. He was entrusting the sect's foundation to Yuheng, who became White Cloud Temple's sect leader disciple.

"This disciple will surely not fail Master's expectations!" Being appointed as the next sect leader, Yuheng was naturally dazed, as if lost in a fog. However, thanks to his solid foundation, he quickly recovered and bowed deeply, speaking.

"Very good!" Qingxu nodded and said, "I came this time primarily for the Hidden Dragon matter, passing through Wenchang, and to see you. Although news of the Earth God has been reported, it's not very clear. Please elaborate!"

"Yes! Master, the matter began when this disciple first arrived in Anchang..." Yuheng steadied himself and meticulously recounted everything about the Earth God.

After listening, Qingxu closed his eyes for a long time before opening them and murmuring, "Strange! I can't divine this deity's origins. According to you, this deity is one level below me. Even with the fortune and incense and fire of ten thousand people obscuring it, there shouldn't be no trace at all?"

"Master?" Yuheng asked with some concern.

"Heh heh... It's nothing! Even if this deity has some divine abilities, it's caught up in the great trend of the Hidden Dragon and is not in control of itself. It won't be a problem!" "This disciple is ignorant, please enlighten me, Master!"

"This deity appeared in Wunan, and is within Wenchang Prefecture. It possesses divine abilities. Regardless of its past, it is the will of heaven. Look, Wenchang is a neighboring prefecture to Linjiang. After Wu Qi stabilizes Linjiang Prefecture, he will have to deal with Wenchang Prefecture to develop. These two will inevitably clash and become entangled, giving the Hidden Dragon time and opportunity to grow."

"Won't these two collude?"

"You forgot Wu Qi's cooperation with Li Heibao. Since this Earth God protects the region, it is naturally irreconcilable with fierce ghosts and evil spirits. Moreover, what leader would want someone they can't control managing affairs that are closely related to their subjects? This is the root of trouble! It's the same reason why we Taoist Sects are viewed with suspicion!" This was a sharp observation, but it was the truth.

"Furthermore, this Earth God has a major flaw! This deity's divine powers largely rely on the populace. It gathers the fortune and incense and fire of ten thousand people, and its attacks carry the might of the masses. You are naturally no match for it. But just as it is strong, it is also weak. When the Hidden Dragon takes power, they should be advised to ban this deity's worship and kill all the temple keepers. Suppress it with royal law, and without believers and incense and fire, this deity's power will naturally be greatly reduced. Then, killing or imprisoning it will be as easy as lifting a hand!"

Qingxu, worthy of being a True Person, had keen insight. Based solely on the information received, he had identified Fang Ming's greatest weakness. Fang Ming's development so far was due to him secretly spreading his influence while Spiritual Bamboo was away and the county wasn't paying attention. Later, when spreading his faith, he relied on the power of the Four Great Families and never directly confronted the government, fearing precisely this. Wei Zhun was also intimidated by the momentum created by the Four Great Families and Fang Ming working together, and more importantly, he didn't want a mutual destruction. Otherwise, with just one order from the government, how many people would abandon their faith? This was a question Fang Ming didn't want to face.

Even if there were devout believers, this was ancient times. During times of great chaos, people massacred entire cities. Could they not kill a few people?

It could be said that as long as the government was willing to act, issue a decree prohibiting the City God faith, and then publicly execute all believers who refused to repent, Fang Ming could save one, but not ten thousand. At that point, he would become like water without a source. Apart from taking dozens of devout temple keepers and fleeing to the mountains to live in seclusion, waiting for the storm to pass before changing his name, there would be no other path for him.

"Master's plan is brilliant!" Yuheng's eyes lit up as he said, "But for now, we still need it to tie down Linjiang Prefecture. Should we just let it be?"

"Of course not! This deity's fortune is too strong currently; it needs to be suppressed!" Qingxu said, "According to you, this deity cannot leave its place of worship. Is that true?"

"This disciple does not know, but it is highly likely!" This was false information spread by Fang Ming, combined with his recent low-profile approach and not coveting neighboring counties, which had deceived Yuheng.

"Whether it's true or not, order the disciples in the neighboring counties of Anchang to prohibit worship of this deity in those counties. It would be best if it could be classified as a heretical shrine."

"This Earth God is quite divine. It seems it can benefit my Ghost Cultivator path. You should select a few outer disciples and have them join the City God's ranks to gather information. They are currently recruiting, so it should be relatively easy."

This was a strategy of using spies. As for using outer disciples, if it worked, great; if not, there was no significant loss. Of course, how to turn outer disciples into ghosts and have them defect was self-explanatory.

"Yuheng, go and send a post, inviting this City God to meet me!" Qingxu said this with a smile, but an aura of authority emanated from him unintentionally.

"This disciple obeys!" Yuheng knew this was meant to display strength and reach an understanding. Of course, if this deity was willing to submit, the sect wouldn't mind granting it a title like Protector, making it another piece on the chessboard of the Hidden Dragon's great trend.

"Hmm? It seems someone is plotting against me?" At the same time, Fang Ming sensed something. This was the instinct of a deity, coupled with Mu Qing's experience, resulting in a phenomenon similar to a cultivator's premonition.

For a cultivator, after a premonition, they would need to investigate the source carefully and avoid disaster. Fang Ming, with his Qi Observation Spiritual Power, didn't need to go through so much trouble. He could see clearly at a glance that White Cloud Temple was making a move again, and he knew that reinforcements had arrived.

"A True Person?" Fang Ming smiled slightly, with a hint of anticipation.

Although the black qi this time was dense, it didn't have the momentum of a true disciple. It felt like a thunderous start with little rain, likely just a probing attempt. With his current fortune, he could already face it without fear.

Ordinary Qi Observation techniques couldn't be this precise. Only Fang Ming's Qi Observation Spiritual Power could meticulously analyze and differentiate fortune, tracing its origins, which greatly benefited Fang Ming's actions.

Fang Ming was currently in an unknown region. The space here was vast, spanning over a hundred li in width and breadth. Beyond this was a hazy grayness, making it impossible to see clearly.

"Is this my Grotto-Heaven? It is indeed divine!" Fang Ming sighed.

This was the great divine ability "Open Grotto-Heaven" that Fang Ming obtained when he was promoted to Rank Seven last time. This ability could open up a Grotto-Heaven exclusive to Fang Ming. This Grotto-Heaven was almost a self-contained realm, though it still depended on the Great Gan world. However, in comparison, it was like the difference between an ant and an elephant.

This ability could only be used once and consumed a tremendous amount of energy. Fang Ming had only now accumulated enough divine power to open the Grotto-Heaven. This Grotto-Heaven was like a demi-plane, with the connection point to the Great Gan world being Fang Ming himself. It was like an upgraded Blessed Land, and somewhat similar to the Western divine kingdoms.

From now on, Fang Ming could open this Grotto-Heaven anywhere. However, due to the obstruction of the realm's power, there seemed to be limitations. Fang Ming had tried it; it could accommodate souls and items passing through, but not living beings.

Fang Ming came here naturally not to play. In fact, after several days of exploration, he had already gained considerable insights.

This Grotto-Heaven, in essence, had similarities with the Great Gan world, and to some extent, the rules of the Great Gan world could be deduced from it.

Since its creation, Fang Ming's Grotto-Heaven had been continuously absorbing a certain power from the surrounding black void, or perhaps it should be called "chaos," to maintain its operation and expand itself.

Of course, the extent of this expansion was very small. According to Fang Ming's observations and calculations, it expanded less than a few li outwards per year. To become a mature world like Great Gan would take at least hundreds of millions of years, and there would be no signs of life.

These observations were minor matters, but Fang Ming's subsequent experiments gave him a better understanding of the Heavenly Way of the Great Gan world.

Fang Ming had once brought a few souls that were about to dissipate here and found that they still annihilated as usual. However, this time, with the identity of the Grotto-Heaven Lord, he had a micro-level understanding of space. Fang Ming finally discovered that this only destroyed over 99.9% of the soul's volume. After the soul dissipated, a mysterious yet real entity, which Fang Ming named "true spirit," was absorbed into the void and disappeared.

Fang Ming conducted several more experiments, and the results were the same. Moreover, the soul energy after the soul's dissipation seemed to transform into a form of power and return to heaven and earth. This power seemed identical to the power that fueled the Grotto-Heaven's evolution.

"Is this the truth of soul dissipation? This 99.9% includes all the memories and soul power of the soul, leaving only a trace of the true spirit, which enters the void. Could it be..."

Fang Ming thought of a possibility and decided to test it.

Fang Ming's expression turned solemn. He recited a divine incantation and said, "Open!" It was the great divine ability "Open Samsara" he had obtained during his last promotion!

The divine power within his body was rapidly consumed. In the blink of an eye, dozens of strands of red divine power disappeared, but Fang Ming ignored it.

Before his eyes, a huge rift appeared in the void.

Looking through the rift, he saw a "black hole." No, it was more like the funnel vortex at the top of a tornado, but its area was hundreds of millions of times larger.

This black hole vortex roared and swirled, drawing a large amount of blackness towards the center, exhibiting a subtle suction force, as if it could devour everything. Yet, strangely, Fang Ming couldn't feel any suction force at all. Upon looking again, his eyes spun, and his divine body felt unstable.

Knowing it was bad, he quickly dispersed the divine ability. Just before the rift closed, Fang Ming finally saw scattered specks of true spirit, like fireflies, flashing in the black current and disappearing into Samsara.

"Is this the Samsara of this world?" In his past life, there were legends of the Six Paths, but that was only after Buddhism was introduced. Besides, this was two different worlds, so naturally, it would be different. In this world, there was only one great Samsara.

"It's just that the process is a bit complicated, isn't it?" Fang Ming had a general understanding of how Samsara worked but found it somewhat strange. It was like a factory in his past life, recycling and remaking products. Instead of directly modifying them, the products were completely destroyed, turned directly into raw materials, then the raw materials were separated to manufacture various components, and finally reassembled into products. A lot of energy was wasted, which was very unwise.

The problem, it seemed, lay in the soul's memory and Samsara.

However, washing away memories was a minor art; Fang Ming possessed divine abilities that could do so, so it wouldn't be this difficult.

The most significant issue was Samsara itself! This world was too young, and the power of Samsara too weak. It couldn't absorb a complete soul. Only by removing the excess parts of the soul, leaving only the pure true spirit, could it be absorbed into Samsara for reincarnation. Furthermore, this Samsara was imperfect, seemingly relying entirely on luck. Any sentient being could be reborn into it.

The more Fang Ming thought, the more accurate his guess felt, and he couldn't help but become excited. A plan was subtly taking shape in his mind.

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