Reincarnation

"My lord!" Xie Jin came to report, carrying Su Xia's head.

Fang Ming picked it up and gazed at Su Xia's once peerlessly beautiful face. Now it was deathly pale, with bloody tears streaming down it. He couldn't help saying, "I've heard that the Daoist Sect has Jade Maiden temples. They contemplate the beauty of celestial maidens until they become withered bones. This is meant to strengthen their disciples' Dao hearts and teach them that time is fleeting, and a beauty will end as a skeleton."

"But all of that is empty illusion. Only by seeing this scene in reality can I better understand what I pursue—and remain steadfast in my resolve!"

When he finished, he turned to one side. "Wouldn't you agree, Great Beauty Su Xia?"

Red Qi surged. A figure appeared beside Su Xia's corpse: a woman of peerless beauty, her body now free of bloodstains. It was Su Xia's soul. The yellow Qi above her head had vanished, leaving only a little red, barely holding on as it slowly dissipated.

Fang Ming nodded. He knew that when a person died, their Fortune plummeted. Even if Su Xia knew the arts of ghost cultivation, she would need time to put them into practice. At this moment, she didn't even have a tenth of her strength in the mortal world.

He waved his hand, and Divine Power surged. A round pearl appeared, sealing Su Xia's soul inside. Fang Ming formed a hand seal and cast several more divine arts, completely sealing the pearl. These were divine arts from Mu Qing's previous life. Inside, Su Xia's soul was like an insect trapped in amber; she couldn't even form a thought, much less send one out to call for help. With a single thought, he opened the Grotto-Heaven and sent the pearl inside. The power of its boundary would block everything, and even if there were some oversight, Fang Ming could suppress it as lord of the Grotto-Heaven. Now that he had made an enemy of the Supreme Dao, he might as well hold on to this woman's living soul and question her for information.

By then, Wang Zhong had searched Su Xia's corpse and found a small green jade seal. He knelt and presented it.

Fang Ming took a look. The seal was green all over, with four seal-script characters carved into its base. They seemed to read: "Open the Age, Bring Peace."

"Open. The. Age. Bring. Peace."

Fang Ming turned the four characters over in his mind and sighed. "This must have been a personal imperial seal of the founding emperor. How did it end up in the hands of the Supreme Dao? What a windfall for me!"

As soon as he finished speaking, something strange happened. A flash of green light passed over the small seal, and its whole surface dimmed. Its former lustrous, white-as-mutton-fat sheen vanished completely, replaced by a dull blue-gray. It looked utterly unremarkable, and the four seal-script characters on its base were no longer legible.

Before, one glance had been enough to tell that the seal was no ordinary object. Now, it looked so shoddy that anyone would have thought it worthless.

"Oh? A divine object hiding its brilliance?" Fang Ming wasn't particularly surprised. It was a treasure of Fortune, after all. How could it let Su Xia carry it all over the world without fear of losing it?

The Supreme Dao had kept the seal for many years, and who knew how many precautions they had taken? Its Fortune was linked to theirs, so they could divine its whereabouts. Fang Ming smiled, opened the Grotto-Heaven, and sent the seal inside. This was something he'd learned from Mu Qing's memories: divination was thwarted by three things—an opponent's profound magic power, interference from incense and Fortune, and being in a different world.

Fang Ming had all three in his favor. He was a soul from another world, protected by incense and Fortune, and he had cast every trace into the Grotto-Heaven, cutting off the trail at its source. The Supreme Dao could only grind their teeth in frustration...

Fang Ming smiled, but gave his orders aloud. "Go clean up the battlefield and finish off the wounded. Kill them all, and don't let a single wandering soul escape. The fire at the post station should be nearly out by now. Gather up the corpses and every trace of evidence, cast it all into the Grotto-Heaven, then set another fire and burn this place to the ground!"

This would erase the evidence. Neither the mortal world nor the underworld would find a single clue. This place also lay on the border between Jing and Wu, where affairs were chaotic and loyalties tangled. They could buy time. Once the realm fell into chaos, what would there be to fear?

After his subordinates had cleared the battlefield, Fang Ming ordered, "Come out of those bodies and kill them! Send their corpses and souls into the Grotto-Heaven. I'll send them to reincarnation myself!"

The farmers he had possessed were all strong young men from the surrounding area. Fang Ming had brought them here to keep the post station from receiving reinforcements or sending out a warning. Now he would kill them all to eliminate any loose ends. As for killing innocents? In the struggle to claim the throne, one did not shrink from bloodshed! Many more innocents than these would have to die in the future!

Xie Jin and the others were soldiers, so they acted without hesitation, swinging their blades down as blood sprayed everywhere. Sending the souls on to reincarnation was the small compensation Fang Ming had offered them.

After his men doused the last of the oil over the ruins and set them alight, Fang Ming looked at the sea of flames and let out a hearty laugh. He opened the Grotto-Heaven, packed away all the Yin Soldiers, and returned to Anchang County.

At the same time, deep in an unnamed mountain range, pavilions and towers stood amid a scene of immortal splendor.

In the central hall, five Daoists sat meditating in a circle.

An elderly Daoist suddenly opened his eyes, his expression changing as he said, "My heart is stirring. It seems calamity is upon us!"

Another elderly Daoist performed a divination and sprang to his feet. "This is bad! Our sect's Fortune has already been cut by two tenths!"

"Not a bit more or less—exactly two tenths. Something must have happened to a treasure of Fortune. Of our sect's three great treasures, two are here. It must be the Peace Seal Su Xia was carrying!" A female Daoist frowned as she spoke. Her voice was old, yet her face was as lovely as a peach blossom, so charming that she looked barely twenty.

"The Peace Seal? Let me divine it!" The young Daoist seated in the center seemed to hold the greatest authority. He formed a hand seal and calculated for a long while. Then his expression changed, and he spat out a mouthful of blood. "Impossible! I can't divine it at all. A supreme treasure can conceal its own fate, but the Peace Seal has been offered to our Dao for years, with its Fortune linked to ours. How could this happen? Could the other party have already refined it...?"

The others were horrified. They tried divining Su Xia as well, but saw only a blur. One of them said, "What are we to do?"

The young Daoist replied, "According to the latest information, Su Xia is near the border between Jing and Wu. Mengyun, Mengmie, go there at once on iron-beaked flying cranes. If necessary, you may call upon the government. You must get to the bottom of this!"

He watched the two True Persons accept the order and leave, then let out a sigh.

Su Xia was the Supreme Dao's Holy Maiden, sent to travel the realm on the sect's behalf. She represented the Supreme Dao, so ordinary people would hardly dare provoke her. She also held official status, enough to deter petty troublemakers.

In the eyes of the great powers across the realm, Su Xia herself was a minor figure. Only she and a few True Persons knew she carried a supreme treasure. Even if anyone coveted it, the Supreme Dao could divine what had happened. Who would dare risk an unending feud?

What should have been a foolproof plan had ended in disaster. The young Daoist couldn't help feeling even more awe toward the elusive Heavenly Dao. But a moment later, his gaze hardened. "This great struggle for the throne concerns the foundations of our immortal path. We will not abandon it! Even if we've suffered a setback, we still have other moves."

Fang Ming was in the Grotto-Heaven, turning the Peace Seal over in his hands.

After returning to the City God's Divine Domain and distributing the rewards, Fang Ming had decided to station this battalion inside the domain and not send them out again unless absolutely necessary. He would leave the other patrol and odd jobs to the new recruits, to prevent any leaks.

As for the four great Households, only their heads knew he had borrowed these things. They had no idea what he planned to do, and with ten thousand mu of fertile land to their names, they had no reason to betray him. Still, it would be better to erase this stretch of their memories!

Although the Peace Seal concealed its own supernatural nature, Fang Ming had already set his sights on it and had his own way of dealing with it.

This assassination had been a carefully prepared masterstroke, long in the making.

Soon after Su Xia left Anchang County, Fang Ming had sent people to gather information. Once they learned her route, he struck in one swift blow and left at once—swift as thunder, too fast for the ear to hear. As for why he killed her, there were three reasons.

First, the Supreme Dao wanted to harm Fang Ming, so naturally he struck first. As for someone like Qingxu, who feared the destiny of the age and dared not defy it, letting a tiger grow in his own house—Fang Ming thought he was no better than a fool.

Second, Fang Ming coveted the treasure of Fortune. He had heard of no others, and those he had heard about were kept within the mountain gates of great sects. The Peace Seal was the easiest to seize.

Third, he wanted revenge for the last time she had destroyed his divided spirit. Unlike the chūnibyō characters in his previous life's novels, Fang Ming wouldn't wipe out male enemies while going soft the moment he met a beautiful woman, offering her his other cheek after she slapped one, only to fall in love and stir up melodrama. It made him want to retch.

Now Fang Ming was using Heavenly Dao Merit to communicate with the Peace Seal. His other divine arts and Divine Power were too low in rank. Only Heavenly Dao Merit was also green, placing it on the same level as the seal.

As Heavenly Dao Merit brushed over the small seal, it stirred a faint green glow. Fang Ming was beginning to gain control of it.

The Peace Seal had left the Great Qian Empire and entered Fang Ming's Grotto-Heaven, cut off from outside influence. It was like water without a source; he could slowly wear it down until it acknowledged him as its master.

Once it did, it would have nothing to do with the Supreme Dao. It would conceal its fate on its own, and Fang Ming could take it out for his divided spirit to use.

"Hm? There's actually a trace of dragon energy hidden inside the seal. That suits me perfectly! Everything's been going my way lately. Could this be the influence of having Heaven's Mandate on my side?" Fang Ming made another discovery.

"Mm! So the Peace Seal wasn't given to Su Xia for self-defense. It was meant for her to assess potential rulers and invest in them! The Supreme Dao has quite a deep foundation. They've staked a supreme treasure from the very start; their ambitions are no small matter!" Fang Ming turned the thought over in his mind and guessed the truth.

Some time passed. Each day, Fang Ming honed the supreme treasure, trying to refine the Peace Seal as soon as possible.

One day, a sudden stirring seized Fang Ming's heart. He emerged from the Divine Domain and witnessed a strange sight.

The sky had grown dark, and a solar eclipse had appeared.

Using the last sliver of light, Fang Ming's Qi-Reading Divine Art saw—

A vast black sun falling from the sky, plunging straight to the earth and igniting in black flames. Judging by its direction, it seemed to have fallen in Shu.

"This is... the Mandate of Heaven answering. The Ghost King has been reincarnated!" Fang Ming murmured.

Heaven was impartial, treating all things like straw dogs. This meant that Heaven's compassion was vast, and it regarded all living beings equally.

The human way seemed mighty, but it was also part of the Heavenly Dao.

There were many creatures in this world pushed aside by humanity, as well as the darkness accumulated by the human way. These, too, existed within the Heavenly Dao, and they harbored resentment.

When a Ghost King cultivated to the peak, it could turn yin into yang and reincarnate. It was reborn bearing the Heavenly Dao's resentment; wherever it went, armies would clash and countless people would die, making room for other creatures to survive. It repaid resentment with resentment.

In the ancient world of his previous life, it would have been the likes of Huang Chao or Zhu Can.

It, too, had received the Mandate of Heaven and embodied the black virtue—that is, the virtue of water. If it succeeded in slaughtering most of the realm, it could claim the throne through the black virtue and become a Ghost Emperor.

Anyone who had opened their spiritual eye could see this celestial sign. It immediately sent waves of alarm throughout the realm.

In the northern reaches of the Great Qian Empire, on a vast grassland.

A barbarian tribe was holding a living sacrifice.

An elderly barbarian dressed as a great shaman stood at the front, praying. "Great Black Heaven! Please accept the offerings of my Blackwater Tribe and protect us..."

Where the shaman could not see, ghostly Qi gathered. Countless Ferocious Ghosts stood in ranks like an army, while Vengeful Ghosts served as hundred-man commanders, overseeing the Ferocious Ghosts.

At the center stood a camp tent. The one seated at the top looked like a barbarian, with dark golden Qi gathered above his head and a fearsome presence. He had the cultivation of a Ghost King.

"Fengdu, my friend, have you chosen this path?" the Ghost King murmured, gazing into the distance.

"Great Khan, the Ghost King of Fengdu has been reincarnated. Should we seize this chance to attack Shu?" a general below asked, black Qi swirling around him. He had the cultivation of an Evil Ghost.

"No need. Fengdu must have left himself a way out, and his wife is a Ghost King as well. The Fengdu Army under him is also fierce in battle. Why risk the lives of our sons and warriors? The Great Qian Empire is about to descend into chaos. We need only support the Blackwater Tribe in uniting the grasslands, then invade south and slaughter the southerners!" This was another path to proving oneself a Ghost Emperor. In the end, it led to the same destination as the Ghost King of Fengdu's path.

Below, the shaman had already offered many bound living people upon the altar.

The barbarian Ghost King laughed. "Warriors of the grasslands, feast to your heart's content!" The Ferocious Ghosts surged forward, and the captives on the altar became withered corpses. The shaman seemed used to this; his expression did not change.

Barbarian society was backward. They could not build cities to protect themselves through worship, so they had found another way.

The great tribes all offered sacrifices to Ferocious Ghosts. Some even worshiped Ghost Kings. Of course, Ferocious Ghosts were unwilling to be bound, so most tribes made offerings to them indiscriminately under names such as Great Heaven.

Ghost Kings were intelligent, so they would restrain the Ferocious Ghosts from harming their own tribespeople. They would also drive away outside Ferocious Ghosts, keeping the area safe.

In return, the tribes had to offer living people as sacrifices on schedule, a practice known as "blood sacrifice." Most of the victims were prisoners of war captured by the tribes.

Sometimes, when they ran short of living sacrifices, the tribes would join forces to invade the Great Qian Empire in the south, plundering goods and people to offer up. The devastation they caused was immense.