As for possessing a mortal with a divine avatar and competing with the Hidden Dragon for the throne, Fang Ming had only to consider it for a moment before wanting to abandon the idea. The divine avatar was time-limited, and even if it weren't, the avatar's fortune and his true self's fortune weren't separate; they were one and the same. A struggle for the throne spared no bloodshed, and even the Hidden Dragon's fortune would be worn away by more than half. Fang Ming, whose fortune was only red, would fare even worse.
Yet the thought lingered like a shadow, taking root in his mind and refusing to fade.
Now, if he sent his divine avatar into reincarnation and turned it into a mortal, it could naturally contend with the Hidden Dragon. Of course, there were plenty of problems.
First, reincarnation depended entirely on luck. Carrying memories into a new life was like sneaking across a border, and might well bring Heaven's punishment.
And what if Fang Ming was reborn as a pig, dog, or other beast—or as a woman? What would be the point of competing for the throne then? He could kill himself and try again at once, of course, but first, there was no guarantee he'd be reborn in Wu Prefecture, and arranging to receive him would be a problem. Second, a soul that reincarnated over and over would inevitably lose its memories bit by bit.
The third, and most important, issue was that every rebirth took time. If he drew a bad lot and had to try again, he might miss his chance to contend for the throne altogether. That was entirely possible. After all, the Hidden Dragon's authority over the Heavenly Dao was so great that Fang Ming's luck would hardly be good when he opposed him. He might be reborn as a beast every single time!
Even if he was reborn male and made it to Wu, his mortal fortune would surely be no match for the Hidden Dragon's, under the influence of the latter's immense fortune. Then all sorts of disasters would befall him. Choking to death on food, drowning while drinking, or dying from a fall while walking were no jokes! Even if Fang Ming's true self watched over him at all times, mistakes could still happen. Besides, having already entered reincarnation, he had gone to great lengths to separate their fortunes. He would have to follow the rules and not cross the line. That way, even if his avatar failed in the struggle for the throne, at worst it would suffer calamities without end, its soul scattered to the winds. His true self would lose his divine rank and fall into a deep sleep, but at least there would still be a chance to start over!
These were all problems, but after thinking it over, Fang Ming felt the plan was still quite feasible.
First, there was the question of rebirth. He could ask the Heavenly Dao. The Heavenly Dao was impartial. If Fang Ming asked it to reincarnate him as the Hidden Dragon, there would be no chance—and he would bring down a great disaster upon himself, unless his authority surpassed the Hidden Dragon's. But if Fang Ming merely asked the Heavenly Dao to let his avatar retain its memories and be reborn male, then, at the cost of Heavenly Dao Merit, it might still be possible.
Of course, you got what you paid for. Once the Heavenly Dao successfully reincarnated him, it would wash its hands of the matter. He could die in a calamity the very next moment. Fang Ming would be helpless then, since he would only be a baby boy, utterly incapable of defending himself.
If he asked the Heavenly Dao to let his avatar grow up safely, that would be tantamount to asking it to abandon the Hidden Dragon outright. The Heavenly Dao Merit required would be at least a million, far beyond what Fang Ming could afford.
"I'm only missing this last piece. My true self can't personally go and protect him. After all, yin and yang are separated, and there are taboos to observe. I have to follow the rules and leave myself a safeguard." Fang Ming's thoughts raced, and suddenly his eyes lit up.
"The reincarnated body's fortune is weak compared to the Hidden Dragon's, so disaster will befall him. Even if I stake all my true self's fortune, it won't help."
"But if he has a fortune-granting treasure to protect him and stabilize his foundation, he can withstand the Hidden Dragon's overwhelming momentum and grow up safely. What's more, with such a treasure, my avatar would have the destiny of a lord. Even if he couldn't match the Hidden Dragon, he'd still be able to protect himself and become a figure of some importance."
Fang Ming's thoughts cleared, and he saw a way to break the deadlock. He couldn't help throwing back his head and laughing. Then he stood solemnly upright, gazing west with a thoughtful expression.
Several days later.
In the countryside, although ghosts wreaked havoc, people could still get by during the day, and farmers took the opportunity to work their fields. Anchang County was large enough to hold a hundred thousand people, but its population was sparse, with most people living in the city. Even the village fields were kept as close to the county seat as possible. The land elsewhere could still be cultivated, but fear of ghosts had left it abandoned.
"There are no Ferocious Ghosts left in Anchang now. In truth, tens of thousands of mu of good farmland could be reclaimed. That would let the county support many more people!" ...
The one who said this was Guo Sheng. He sighed as he spoke:
"It's a pity. Even though my lord has cleared the Ferocious Ghosts from the entire county and restored peace to the region, no one is willing to reclaim the fields and farm them. Otherwise, tens of thousands more people could at least make a living, and my lord would gain more worshippers and incense."
"That's only natural. My true self hasn't told the people that the Ferocious Ghosts have been wiped out. Those places are far from civilization and close to the deep mountains. If anything happens, there's nowhere to run. The people are afraid, so of course no one is willing to go reclaim the land. The fields may be good, but you need to be alive to enjoy them—especially when you'll have to work them afterward."
"But it won't be long now. My true self has already given the four great Lineages the news, and they're making arrangements. Once they get authorization from the authorities and buy the land, they can organize its reclamation!" Fang Ming walked ahead, speaking with a smile.
Naturally, the land was being sold at an extremely low price. Once the four great Lineages bought it, they could reclaim ten thousand mu of good farmland and greatly increase their strength. This was also Fang Ming's reward to them for supporting him in the mortal world. Besides, it would take too long for commoners to reclaim the land on their own. With a coordinated plan, they could get things done much faster.
"From now on, we'll have to devote ourselves to running this county..." Fang Ming sighed again.
Guo Sheng pressed his lips tightly together and fell silent.
Fang Ming and his party were on their way back. He had just attended a meeting with White Cloud Temple. Since he knew they were bluffing, he naturally didn't bring any Yin Soldiers, keeping his strength concealed and taking only Guo Sheng along.
The two sides had arranged to meet at a place outside the county.
Fang Ming had also met True Person Qingxu. As expected, pure qi swirled around him, golden-yellow qi gathered about him, and the fortune of the imperial court constantly replenished him. He was truly extraordinary.
After that came all sorts of probing. With Fang Ming concealing his strength, he was at a slight disadvantage. Of course, the other party hadn't gone all out either. Fang Ming estimated that if they had fought in earnest, he would still have been slightly inferior.
True Person Qingxu then showed an interest in recruiting him. Fang Ming knew the man had ulterior motives, so naturally he refused.
Qingxu didn't press him. He merely made a few agreements with Fang Ming.
One of them allowed Fang Ming to preach in Anchang County, but forbade him from leaving the county of his own accord.
Fang Ming was "furious," but True Person Qingxu suppressed him. In the end, he added a great many conditions and set the term at twenty years before Fang Ming reluctantly agreed.
Inside, however, he was coldly laughing.
Though the terms included plenty of concessions and a few loopholes, their essence was still restrictive. If Fang Ming wanted to spread his faith beyond the county in the future, he couldn't do it openly. How could he compete with the Ghost-Banishing Offices in the neighboring counties and the White Cloud branch temples? His faith would spread slowly, if at all.
Twenty years later, the Hidden Dragon would make his move. Fang Ming would be eager to act, with no time to consolidate his foundation. His roots would be shallow, and his faith wouldn't have taken hold in people's hearts. Even if it spread through the entire prefecture for a time, it would crumble at the first push, unable to withstand a storm. In those twenty years, he would regard Wenchang Prefecture as his territory and spare no expense or effort to bring peace to the region. What a fine scheme!
But he was in the midst of conserving his strength and keeping a low profile, and he also had a grand plan of his own. That was why he had pretended to agree.
Besides, comprehending the laws of the Divine Way of Heaven and Earth would take a long time. He could use that time to deepen his roots and build up his own power, expanding his capacity from a water jar to lakes and seas. Then, when the moment came to act and spread his faith, he could contain it even if it poured in like a mighty river, and rise rapidly.
Guo Sheng knew nothing of these plans, which was why he felt so indignant.
"All right, enough of that. Guo Sheng, have you carried out what I told you to do?"
Fang Ming gazed into the distance at the farmers working their fields and asked calmly:
"My lord, as you instructed, we've added an option to the selection process for our deceased worshippers and written it into the regulations. But... worshippers with more than a hundred incense offerings are extremely rare, and most are still alive. At present, there isn't a single one. This option is little more than a formality."
"Ah!" Fang Ming already knew about this.
He urgently needed Heavenly Dao Merit now. Even if he only asked to be reincarnated, a few wisps of green merit certainly wouldn't be enough. He had to make up the difference quickly. Unfortunately, sending souls into reincarnation cost far too much, and there weren't enough freshly dead souls to begin with.
"Pass on my order. Out of compassion for wandering souls, I'm lowering the fee to fifty incense offerings. Also, ask those under our care: if they're willing to be reincarnated, I can do it for them without charging anything."
This really was a sacrifice of blood. The hundred incense offerings Fang Ming had charged before were already a conscientious price; he was practically working for free and could only gain Heavenly Dao Merit. Now that he was charging just fifty, Fang Ming would have to make up the other fifty in Divine Power himself. If he weren't in such a desperate situation, in urgent need of merit, he would never do this. Afterward, he would have to raise the price again.
Guo Sheng solemnly accepted the order. When Fang Ming had first told him about this option, it had struck him like a thunderclap from a clear sky and made him understand even more clearly how powerful his lord was. But reincarnation was truly terrifying, depending entirely on luck. Those wandering souls under someone's care would certainly not risk being reborn as beasts and give up the stable lives they had now.
Fang Ming could of course lie, telling them they were sure to be reborn human. Plenty would then be willing to reincarnate. After their memories were erased, who would remember? But they were all his worshippers, and Fang Ming had always treated his own worshippers fairly, without deceiving them. This was also a way of minimizing karmic ties, so he wouldn't use that trick.
However, he could use it on the souls of those who had never believed.
Having made up his mind, Fang Ming said:
"Bring over the worshippers in my Divine Domain when they're close to fading away, too. I'll send them into reincarnation." These worshippers' souls were carefree for a time, but if they were allowed to fade away in full view of everyone, it might cause panic in the villages. Fang Ming had originally planned to calculate when each would fade, take those nearing the end to a separate place, and then leave them to meet their natural end. Now that he urgently needed merit, they could consider themselves lucky.
"Also, once we return, immediately order Xie Jin to capture every unbelieving wandering soul in the entire county!"
This meant losing a hundred wisps of White Divine Power on every soul. It was a terrible loss. But Fang Ming had been accumulating power for a long time and had plenty of it. He also urgently needed Heavenly Dao Merit, so he would take the loss.
He decided that if there weren't enough souls in the county, he would have to send Xie Jin outside the county to scour the land for wandering souls.
This policy would have to continue at least until he had accumulated enough Heavenly Dao Merit for reincarnation. Only then could he stop. He hoped his Divine Power would hold out!
When they arrived at the City God's Divine Domain, Guo Sheng immediately went off to pass on Fang Ming's orders.
The entire divine hierarchy sprang into action at once.
All sorts of newly dead souls were sent in, one after another, to the City God's Divine Domain.
They were sorted according to how close they were to fading away, and then placed in order.
Fang Ming then used his divine power to erase their memories and sent them into reincarnation as a group. For the sake of secrecy, he usually carried this out in his own Grotto-Heaven. After all, this Grotto-Heaven was attached to the Great Qian Empire's world, so it was still within the cycle of reincarnation.
That way, even if someone overheard a word or two, they would never learn the truth.
Before you continue