Fang Ming

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Fang Ming (方明)
Alias(es)	Earth God of Qingyu Village; City God of Anchang County; City God of Wuzhou; Ancient God; third-rank Heavenly King 9 52 319
Species/Race	Transmigrated ghost who cultivates the Divine Way; later an Ancient God 1 319
Gender	Male
Affiliation	City God Temple / Divine Way; Wuzhou 41 319
Occupation/Role	Divine ruler, administrator of believers and Yin Soldiers, and protector of his domains
Status	Active; attained Ancient God status 319
First Appearance	Chapter 1: Transmigration

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Ninth-rank Earth God	4	Receives an Earth God divine position, a Golden Seal, and authority over Qingyu Village within a ten-mile radius.
Subordinate eighth-rank Land God	9	Gains Human Dao Merit through Qingshan Village’s sacrifice; his jurisdiction expands to Qingyu and Qingshan villages.
True eighth-rank Earth God	23	Promotes the Earth God statue, performs a divine miracle, and relocates his base to Qingxi Township’s Earth God Shrine Domain.
Seventh-rank Earth God	34	Uses Human Dao Merit to overcome the limits of his red-and-white natal qi; governs Qingxi, Anmin, and Changyuan townships, plus part of Anchang County town.
City God	41	Ascends from Earth God to City God, gains further inherent abilities, and manifests openly in daylight.
Sixth-rank City God	84	Converts part of his divine power to gold and completes the divine script of the sixth-rank City God position.
Fifth-rank divine position — Golden Body Accomplishment	186	Song Yu’s enfeoffment brings sufficient fortune to purify his divine power to gold; gains the Heaven Flipping Seal and Earth Piercing Seal.
Cyan divine power	245	A rapid expansion of City God faith across Wuzhou produces his first cyan divine power.
Fourth-rank State City God	299	Refines Wuzhou’s dragon qi; half of his divine power becomes cyan, and his City God Seal begins transforming toward a jade seal.
Ancient God / third-rank Heavenly King	319	His fortune and divine power become pure cyan; he merges the Divine Position Talisman into himself and gains a direct connection to Wuzhou.

Background

Fang Ming awakens in Qingyu Village after transmigrating and dying, initially existing as a fading ghost. With only days of existence remaining, he uses his remaining divine power to cultivate worship among the villagers and secure a temple and clay divine body. 1 3

After receiving the Earth God position, Fang Ming establishes himself through both protection and retribution. He destroys hostile ghosts, expands Qingyu Village’s faith through improved harvests, and begins building an underworld administration from recruited ghosts, clerks, and Yin Soldiers. 2 4 6 7

His early identity as an “Ancestral Spirit” who happened to gain divine abilities is a deliberate fabrication. He presents it to He Yuqing to conceal his transmigration and the origins of his Divine Way powers. 15

Appearance

Fang Ming originally appears as a delicate-featured youth: semi-transparent, surrounded by mist, and hovering slightly above the ground. 1

• Initially manifests in a Magistrate’s Official Robe as an Earth God. 3
• Upon gaining formal divine authority, wears a ninth-rank official robe and bears a Golden Seal. 4
• As a City God, can appear in daylight as a red glazed figure wreathed in fiery clouds. 40
• Golden Body Accomplishment makes his form nearly indistinguishable from a living mortal, apart from a faint golden radiance. 186
• After cultivating cyan divine power, he can fully suppress his divine aura and pass as an ordinary slender young man. 248

Personality

Fang Ming is pragmatic, calculating, and highly conscious of the relationship between power, faith, merit, and fortune. He deliberately limits Qingyu Village’s improved harvest to avoid attracting imperial attention, builds registers for incense offerings, and creates systems of reward, punishment, promotion, and delegated authority. 7 8 18 24

He treats believers and loyal subordinates with generosity, offering protection, divine power, food, wine, offices, and advancement. His rewards are calculated as well as benevolent: he understands that tangible benefits strengthen loyalty and stabilize his growing organization. 6 9 18

Fang Ming is equally capable of ruthlessness. He executes hostile ghosts, destroys sects that resist him, captures and interrogates enemies’ souls, and refuses surrender when he considers eradication strategically necessary. However, he can retreat when a fight is unfavorable, as shown when he withdraws from Fengdu after testing Madam Shi’s forces. 14 240 243 252 262

Abilities & Skills

Divine Authority and Territory

Fang Ming’s strength is tied to his divine position, believers, accumulated fortune, and the territory under his rule.

• Began with authority over Qingyu Village and a ten-mile Earth God domain. 4
• Expanded through village worship, the Anchang Four Great Families, and later province-wide City God faith. 8 32 245
• As an Ancient God, can appear anywhere within Wuzhou with a single thought. 319
• Draws immense power from Wuzhou’s fortune and dragon qi, making him exceptionally difficult to confront within his own territory. 262 299

Qi Observation Spiritual Power

Fang Ming can observe natal qi, fortune, merit, disaster aura, and the potential of individuals.

• Identifies talent through the color and quality of natal qi. 4 11 14
• Detects black disaster aura caused by unjustified killing and recognizes merit gained from eliminating fierce ghosts. 14
• Uses fortune-reading to select capable subordinates such as Xie Jin, Guo Sheng, He Mou, and Ning Ruo Chen. 11 14 256
• Cannot safely scrutinize powerful figures whose fortune or dragon qi can injure his eyes. 25 36 103

Dream Entering Spiritual Power

Fang Ming crosses the boundary between yin and yang by entering dreams.

• Sends dreams to mortals to establish faith, issue commands, and influence decisions. 1 3
• Can use advanced variations including Yellow Millet Dream and Daydream. 4
• His early daytime dream method depends on a target being mentally weak or deeply afraid of him. 3

Earth God Spiritual Powers

His original Earth God position grants several practical powers.

• Earth Evasion Technique — instantaneous movement within his original ten-mile divine domain. 4
• Fertile Land Divine Art — improves soil fertility; Fang Ming uses it to raise harvests and spread worship. 7
• Drive Away Sickness Technique — dispels diseased qi and treats minor livestock ailments, but cannot cure humans. 4
• Send Child Technique — increases the likelihood of conception at a high divine-power cost. 4

Divine Power Talismans

Fang Ming creates talismans that project divine abilities onto subordinates.

• Grants selected officials access to Earth God spiritual powers when supplied with divine power. 24
• Retains absolute authority over every talisman and can recall or self-destruct them at will. 24 35
• Talismans may be powered by a Yin Spirit’s own spiritual energy, but repeated use rapidly consumes the user and risks dissipation. 24
• Assignments include Earth Escape to He Dong, Fertilize Land to Guo Sheng, Disease Dispelling to Zheng Kuan, and Child Delivery to Wang Liulang. 24

Possession and Reincarnation

Fang Ming can split or project his consciousness into mortal bodies.

• Split Spirit Possession initially requires red divine power, lasts up to twelve hours, and costs additional divine power each hour. 25
• Uses possession to enter Anchang County through Li Qing and later Jianye through Yang Yun. 28 103
• His later golden-divine-power method allows his main essence to possess an entire mortal body rather than merely attaching a wisp of consciousness. 103
• Sends a separated spirit through reincarnation, creating Song Yu in the Song family of Wulong County. 52

Seal Arts and Offensive Divine Abilities

Fang Ming combines divine abilities with powerful seals and the accumulated force of his territories.

• Golden Seal / City God Seal — his principal divine authority treasure; it grows from an intangible seal into a material Golden Seal, then begins transforming into jade. 186 299 319
• Heaven Flipping Seal — offensive divine ability used with the City God Seal. 186 210
• Earth Piercing Seal — offensive divine ability used with the Taiping Seal; can disrupt yin energy and borrow a portion of Wuzhou’s worldly power. 186 210 262
• Words Manifest — verbal divine command capable of dispersing ambient elemental energy or turning plants into soldiers. Its range is limited by Fang Ming’s available divine power. 97
• Divine roar — annihilates souls through overwhelming force, though it heavily exhausts him. 299

Soul Arts

Fang Ming possesses extensive methods for handling ghosts and souls, aided by inherited memories from his previous life.

• Seals Su Xia’s soul within a bead and confines it inside his Grotto-Heaven. 50
• Uses soul-searching to forcibly extract memories from living souls. 252
• Soul-searching damages the target’s soul and can leave them mentally impaired or destroy their mind entirely. 252
• Extracts intelligence from captured cultivator souls after defeating the Supreme Dao’s True Persons. 300

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Golden Seal / City God Seal — divine authority treasure that becomes material at fifth rank and later evolves toward a jade seal. 186 299 319
• Taiping Seal — fortune supreme treasure subdued by Fang Ming; used alongside the Earth Piercing Seal. 52 210
• Military Saber — black saber wielded through his command of Yin Soldier Military Qi. 20
• Earth God idol — portable vessel used to carry divine power during possessions beyond his domain. 28
• Mystic Maiden Ornament — supreme treasure seized from Mengbu True Man. 300
• Bronze Bell, Cyan Small Banner, and Small Pagoda — supreme treasures seized from captured True Persons. 300
• Dragon Tiger Seal — magic treasure captured from Dragon Tiger Mountain. 243

Relationships

• Wang Liulang — Fang Ming’s first major Yin Soldier recruit and an early military subordinate. Fang Ming later rewards him with the ninth-rank Baishi Village Earth God position. 6 34
• Xie Jin — capable Yin Soldier commander recruited during the Peng Chun crisis; repeatedly proves his value in battle and receives expanded command. 11 18 38
• He Dong — former district clerk appointed as Fang Ming’s clerk, then promoted to Record Keeper Magistrate before being punished and demoted for leaking information. 7 24 32
• Guo Sheng — filial scholar recruited as a clerk; later promoted to Record Keeper Clerk because Fang Ming considers him talented and dependable. 14 15 32
• He Yuqing — ancestral spirit and knowledgeable adviser who explains the Way of Fortune and the political structure of the world. 15 24
• Zhou Si — Zhou Family ancestral spirit freed from the ancestral hall by Fang Ming and appointed Clerk of Records. 31 32
• Qingxu True Person — recurring adversary turned subordinate ally of convenience. Fang Ming defeats and intimidates him, then uses his knowledge of Wuzhou’s cultivation world. 48 106 193 240
• Su Xia — powerful cultivator whose attack severely damages Fang Ming; he later kills her mortal body and seals her soul. 38 50
• Song Yu — Fang Ming’s reincarnated separated spirit and mortal political counterpart, whose rise and enfeoffment greatly strengthen Fang Ming’s fortune. 52 186
• Shi Long Jie — Fang Ming’s clone and rival Ghost King; their shared secrets make them enemies, and Fang Ming ultimately eliminates him and Madam Shi. 263 309
• Ning Ruo Chen — Legalist scholar saved from Xie Diao; Fang Ming recognizes his Literary Aura and offers him a position in Wuzhou. 256 257

Story Role / Major Arcs

• Founding the Qingyu Village faith — Fang Ming secures an Earth God Temple, defeats local hostile ghosts, improves farmland, and establishes himself as Qingyu Village’s protector. 1 4 7
• Building a divine bureaucracy — He recruits Wang Liulang’s Yin Soldiers, appoints He Dong and Guo Sheng as clerks, and delegates divine powers through talismans. 6 7 15 24
• Expansion across Anchang County — He spreads Earth God worship through neighboring villages, subdues the Anchang Four Great Families, and develops from an Earth God into Anchang’s City God. 8 32 41
• Conflict with the Taoist Sects — Fang Ming clashes with Su Xia, Yuheng, Qingxu, and White Cloud Temple, eventually seizing the Taiping Seal and forcing Qingxu into submission. 38 50 98 193
• Reincarnation and mortal statecraft — He reincarnates a separated spirit as Song Yu to contend for dragon destiny while maintaining his divine identity. 48 52
• Wuzhou cultivation-world rectification — With Qingxu’s assistance, Fang Ming destroys rogue cultivator factions including the Green Wood Sect, Dragon Tiger Mountain, and the Great Banner Alliance. 240 243
• War against Fengdu and the Supreme Dao — He investigates Fengdu Ghost City, battles Shi Long Jie and Madam Shi, survives the Five Elements Five Virtues Great Array, and annihilates multiple True Persons. 261 266 297 300
• Ancient God ascension — After Wuzhou’s spiritual environment changes, Fang Ming advances beyond the City God ranks, merges with his Divine Position Talisman, and becomes an Ancient God bound to Wuzhou. 319