Hyperdimensional Player

Chapter 350 Establishing the Divine Path and Attaining the Imperial Throne

A hazy mist hung in the air.

Duncan suddenly sensed the anomaly in the space. When he opened his eyes, he was no longer in his palace, nor were the beautiful women Lu Qiongxian had prepared beside him. He was standing calmly on the sea, and as the sea mist rose, a magnificent palace reflected in the water appeared like a mirage.

"His Majesty."

"Your Majesty requests your presence."

At this moment, two petite figures appeared in the water. One had small coral-like horns on her forehead, and the other had a white seashell behind her. These two women seemed to be spirits in human form, with enchanting figures and beautiful faces. They wore gauze dresses that looked like they were woven from flowing water. Upon meeting, they bowed respectfully and said gracefully, "Please come with me, Your Majesty."

—Dragon Carp (Sprite) (Five-pointed silver-gray).

— Clam Girl (Spirit) (Four-star Silver Gray).

On the level of dimensional space, everything in front of us appeared as a mark in the upper right corner: a mirage.

Who invited me into their dream?
Ordinary gods, immortals, and ghosts don't have this ability. Since the two women in front of him addressed her as "Your Majesty," Duncan roughly knew who they were.

The seawater before him gradually split into steps. Duncan nodded calmly and followed the two women into the underwater palace. Unlike the yin dwellings of other city gods and land gods, everything before him seemed real and illusory. When he entered the underwater palace, it was as if he had entered a divine kingdom isolated from the world.

"His Majesty!"

"His Majesty!"

Along the way, there were many spirits from rivers and lakes, as well as some mortal-looking souls. Upon seeing Duncan, they all bowed down. The palace was built to be quite magnificent, like an island in the sea, with coral trees planted on all sides.

When Duncan activated his God's-eye view, he saw wisps of divine power shrouding the sky. The source of this divine power was the power of incense and prayers. Because he secretly pushed everything, the power of incense and prayers gathered here had become much greater than before. Even the other spirits in the underwater palace received a bit of the blessing and were able to share a little bit of it.

Sea Goddess.

Upon arriving at this underwater palace, Duncan realized that this deity was different from the sea goddess he remembered, because he sensed a trace of dragon and snake worship.

Moreover, many of the attendants around them, who appeared to be ordinary people, were dressed as Tanka people and moved as nimbly as fish-men underwater.

Fanatic.

Prayers of the divine kingdom.

These souls, not entering the Buddhist cycle of reincarnation, return to their ancestral lands after death, which is the Dragon and Snake belief. Now, under the promotion of witchcraft, it has evolved into the belief in the Sea Goddess.

To put it simply, after they die, they are under the jurisdiction of the Sea Goddess, not the Underworld.

The right to one's faith in one's soul.

People who believe in monotheism in the West and those who believe in the Norse pantheon certainly do not go to the same place after death.

The Tanka people practice sea burial, believing that their souls will naturally return to the sea after death.

"His Majesty."

"plz follow me."

As Duncan's figure approached the palace, several women with dark skin immediately stepped forward to greet him. Judging from their attire, they resembled sorceresses, or Eastern witches. Fine wine and delicacies had been prepared in the hall before him, and at the top was a hazy phantom, not a physical entity, but a conceptual aggregate.

Only after Duncan stepped inside did she materialize a human form, a beautiful young woman with delicate features, who gracefully bowed to Duncan and said, "I invite Your Majesty to visit late at night."

"Please forgive me, Your Majesty."

Duncan calmly waved his hand, took one of the seats of honor, and said indifferently, "What brings me here?"

bother you for something.

Although he has elevated the Sea Goddess's status recently, it's unlikely he would rashly invite her to the underwater Dragon Palace. Something must have happened.

At this moment, a group of dragon palace maids stepped forward and danced gracefully. A beautiful clam maiden poured wine for Duncan. The human form of the sea goddess sat on the other side of the main seat, glanced at him, and said softly, "The South China Sea has been quite turbulent lately."

"Many fishing boats were destroyed, and ordinary people became food for monsters."

Is there a monster?
Upon hearing this, Duncan frowned, raised his glass in a gesture of respect, and said, "If it were just an ordinary demon, Your Majesty wouldn't have needed to suddenly summon me here, would you?"

"What kind of powerful demon is it?"

Duncan recently reorganized the City God and Land God system, completing the system within the Southern Han territory. The City Gods and Land Gods were basically appointed by virtuous ancestors who had contributed to the people.

Such people are trustworthy to use, and they are not under the jurisdiction of the underworld.

The Buddhist sect had objections, so they sent Yama, the King of Hell, to find him personally.

Although this world has not completely severed the connection between heaven and earth, the divide between yin and yang is still very deep. Under normal circumstances, no matter how chaotic the mortal world becomes, these underworld systems will not easily intervene, because too many people have died in recent years, and they themselves are too busy to handle it.

The human form of the sea goddess pondered for a moment, then said softly, "That great demon is an old acquaintance of His Majesty."

oh?
I've seen it before?

Duncan's mind stirred, as if he had remembered something, and he said in a deep voice, "Dangshan, Jiaochi?"

The only one that could be considered a great demon and had any connection to him was that black dragon.

After destroying the Southern Han, Duncan elevated the status of the Sea Goddess, who then ruled over all the mountain spirits and water monsters in the region's rivers and lakes. There weren't many minor demons and monsters in this world to begin with, and after the Sea Goddess gathered them up and Fu Jianhan cleaned them up, even the water ghosts of the West River could no longer be seen.

As for the other wandering ghosts, the newly appointed city god, mountain god, and local earth god were all too busy to keep their feet on the ground, packing them all up and sending them to the gates of hell.

Nowadays, within the territory of the Southern Han Dynasty, even at midnight, one cannot see a single will-o'-the-wisp flickering in any mass grave.

However, people in the underworld all know that the Ghost King of the Southern Frontier region is surnamed Jiang. She is a fierce female ghost in red, and the city gods and local deities in various places have to obey her orders. She can even appoint some lower-ranking underworld gods.

The sea goddess's human form nodded slightly and said softly, "It is indeed that black dragon."

"It has transformed into a wicked dragon and is stirring up trouble in the depths of the South China Sea."

Duncan asked with a puzzled look, "The goddess is a true deity, and she has a divine position conferred by the mortal realm. Taking her down shouldn't be too difficult, right?"

The human form of the Sea Goddess said softly, "That black dragon used a secret method to steal a trace of dragon energy."

"This should be of some use to His Majesty."

"Whether to kill them or subdue them, we should ask His Majesty first."

After all, it was Duncan who elevated her to godhood, and the entire Guangdong and Guangxi region, including the coastal areas, became her sphere of worship. This can be seen as a way of returning the favor by handing over the black dragon to Duncan for disposal.

There are not many immortals in this world, and she can only remain in the mortal realm because her time as a deity is still short.

Upon hearing this, Duncan raised his glass, drank it all, and nodded, saying, "Alright then."

"I will handle it myself."

That day at the Dragon Pool in Dangshan, the black dragon managed to escape from the siege of a group of experts. Duncan knew that it would be reborn one day, but he never expected it to go to the South China Sea.

After the human form of the Sea Goddess raised her cup in farewell, she gradually disappeared, transforming once again into a divine phantom in this divine kingdom.

Duncan sat alone in the main hall until he lost interest before leaving.

The first light of dawn.

When he opened his eyes again, he was back in the imperial city of the Xingwang Mansion. Beside him lay a group of beautiful women, some plump and some thin. He got up, changed into casual clothes, gave Lu Qiongxian a few instructions, and then his figure soared into the sky, leaving the Xingwang Mansion directly.

The Sea Goddess said that the Ink Dragon had stolen a trace of dragon energy from the Central Plains, and he wanted to go and see what this dragon energy was.

Seaside area.

A tiger's roar came from afar, followed by the imposing figure of Lu Shanjun. His hair and beard were now completely white, and he carried a faint scent of incense. Duncan used him as the model to recast the military talisman. The White Tiger is the master of killing and warfare, and Lu Shanjun's changes in appearance were gradually replacing the White Tiger's position among the Four Symbols.

If we were to wage war in the west in the future, Lord Lushan would be the god of war guarding the western border.

"I thought you were so happy staying in the capital that you didn't want to leave again," Lu Shanjun said with delight.

It's been so long since we last met, and Lu Shanjun can actually use idioms correctly now.

Duncan smiled and said, "Beauty in the world is fleeting, just enjoy it, why be greedy?"

He won't even be on the throne for long in this life.

Who says the country can't be governed without an emperor?

Before long, a sword light appeared on the horizon, followed by a dashing figure. It was Fu Jianhan, who now had the reputation of being a sword immortal in the world. He rode the wind and looked incredibly elegant.

"Why haven't I seen anyone else?"

Fu Jianhan reeked of alcohol, like a sword immortal in wine, with a slightly puzzled expression.

Duncan said casually, "It's just the three of us traveling together."

The Jade-Faced Lady used his ability to forget emotions and enter the Dao to trap herself in a mental barrier. She dared not see him at all, fearing that her emotions would be disturbed. If she continued to be entangled like this, she might as well give up her cultivation and find a way to break through to the Dao realm.

As for Miss Sun, she had too many things to do; there were countless patients to treat in this era.

"The three of us are enough," said Lu Shanjun with boundless pride.

Back in the days of the Dragon Pool in Dangshan, Lu Shanjun had the highest cultivation level. Now, Fu Jianhan also has a six-star silver-gray mark, while Lu Shanjun, having condensed the White Tiger image, has already reached a six-star gold level, no less than a demigod in the West.

As for Duncan's own strength, it is difficult to predict, because he is stuck in the middle of the Dao Realm. If he were to fight someone, his cultivation would probably be a few points higher than Lu Shanjun's.

If one's cultivation level is insufficient, one can make up for it with sheer power. Duncan's hundreds of years of cultivation were unleashed, and his true essence could exhaust even a living immortal.

"go!"

The three used their own methods to cross the sea.

Because of Duncan's interference, it's estimated that the legend of the "Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea" won't appear in this world. There's no mention of the Eight Immortals in folklore at this time. Lu Zu is a genuine Taoist master, and as for the others, it's highly unlikely they'll have any legends. Duncan's figure soared through the air, while Lu Shanjun channeled his true energy into his feet, traversing the sea as if on flat ground, galloping across the waves. Fu Jianhan's figure merged with the sword light, but he wasn't flying on the sword; rather, he escaped along with the sword light, somewhat like a Taoist escape technique.

"That black dragon is quite resilient; even with all its scales destroyed, it still managed to cultivate supernatural powers."

Lu Shanjun now possesses a trace of divine power, meaning he cultivates both martial and divine arts, and will most likely follow the path of a demon-slaying and monster-subduing true lord in the future.

In this world, there are only three paths to ascend to immortality and shatter the void: the path of martial arts, the path of immortality, and the path of divinity.

The path of the gods should have the highest starting point and be the most difficult to cultivate.

Lu Shanjun takes over.

Duncan was testing the idea of ​​a divine cultivation system. Since the Daoist sect could elevate the Jade Emperor Daojun to the Jade Emperor Great Emperor, then a divine cultivation system should also be allowed in this world.

However, the final test results were mixed.

For example, when Duncan elevated the sea goddess from a 'woman' to a 'consort' and bestowed upon her the name of the sea goddess, there was absolutely no problem with it.

There is no problem in recasting the military tally based on Lu Shan Jun and adding the symbol of the White Tiger.

However, apart from these two, Duncan's attempts mostly ended in failure.

Take, for example, the City God of Hepu County. When Duncan conferred the title, he chose a person of great virtue, but his soul could not merge with the position of City God. It is unknown whether this was because there were no legends about him or because his own cultivation did not meet the threshold for promotion to City God.

There are many such examples; Duncan's recent attempt to crown the River God of Xijiang also failed.

Even if Duncan forcibly bestowed a title upon them, they wouldn't be able to accept it, let alone gather faith and incense, let alone merge with a status.

Thankless.

Duncan could succeed if he were willing to pay any price, but the effort and reward would be disproportionate.

"Lu Shanjun's success is probably related to his cultivation level."

"It might even be related to its legendary status."

"Others, because the common people did not know his name at all, could not accept this suddenly appearing deity."

Normal people wouldn't worship a deity they've never even heard of.

The divine way requires a name.

A bad reputation is fine, a good reputation is fine too.

In the past few months, Duncan hasn't been spending his days in the palace playing around with women; he's also been doing a lot of serious work.

Take Guangxi as an example.

Duncan appointed sixteen City Gods, but only half of them successfully merged into the divine positions and truly took over the local City God Temples.

Among those who were conferred titles, some were Taoist priests, some were officials, and some were ordinary people. Having virtue does not necessarily guarantee one's ascension to a divine position, nor does having cultivation. However, those who have great prestige among the common people often succeed in achieving this.

The cultivation of the divine path requires a great deal of legend.

The second test is good and evil.

In fact, good and evil are not important. It is not that good people can necessarily be made gods. Duncan arranged for some people with bad reputations to be appointed as military officers under the City God and to tour the city. They successfully merged their status on the spot.

They are roughly equivalent to the ghost messengers of the underworld.

The fusion happened on the same day, and the incense offerings were absorbed on the same day. The next day, a lot of wandering ghosts were captured to complete the task.

In a word.

The people accepted their infamy and believed that it could ward off evil spirits. Some of them were notorious for both their infamy and chivalry, and were local heroes in life. After their deaths, their incense offerings were even more abundant than those of the City God.

This is the person Duncan is focusing on.

His name is Lu Jun.

If he were to achieve the status of a deity through incense offerings in the future, Duncan would plan to promote him from a military officer to a city god. Once his rank is elevated, Duncan would have considered the advancement structure of the deity cultivation system complete.

Back in the dilapidated temple, when Ox-Head wanted to subdue that ghost general, he probably followed the same path: a military officer, an evil god, and known for his ferocity.

Once such a vengeful ghost is subdued, it becomes a formidable general in the underworld.

However, not much is known about what Duncan has been doing recently. All that is known is that His Majesty is quite fond of sacrifices, but the most important matters of the state are war and sacrifices. It is nothing more than spending some money and food, and is not considered a very important matter.

Duncan eradicated cults and brought all sacrificial systems under state control.

"Divided by prefectures and counties."

"To establish a city god system throughout the mortal realm, gradually replacing some of the functions of the underworld in the human world."

"It's like the local police station."

"This plan is feasible."

"But the incense offerings in a single county or region can't nurture any true deities; at most, they can only produce a Yin deity of about four stars."

So many divine positions in heaven are still empty.

If the divine cultivation system is feasible, then for at least the next thousand years, there will be no need to worry about a lack of upward mobility. As for the future, Duncan is only responsible for the overall situation. If he does a good job, there will be no problem. After all, times create heroes, and it is normal for someone to achieve great things when the time is right.

If you don't do a good job.

Duncan then unleashed a boundless calamity, clearing out even the gods and Buddhas of the heavens, thus making room for the newcomer.

Again.

Even if you're a god, if you don't do it, there are plenty of people who would.

The Thunder God can be surnamed Zhao, Li, or even Bao. As long as someone does the work of the Thunder God, it doesn't matter where he comes from or what his surname is.

The same principle applies to other divine positions.

Five Ghost Emperors, if you can do it, do it; if you can't, get out of here as soon as possible.

Therefore, Duncan didn't care about the earthly throne at all. Everything he planned was to establish the order of all beings in the Three Realms and Six Paths. Even the mortal world wasn't that important, because as long as people in the mortal world could have enough to eat, they could slowly develop.

The divine path was piloted first, and then the powerful cultivators of the immortal path were arranged to follow. However, most of them only wanted to enjoy a carefree life and not do any work, so arranging them was not difficult.

In the future, if he uses the system of establishing gods to cultivate the imperial throne, he can completely open up another half-plane for the immortal path, such as splitting space to create a Penglai fairyland.

Back to topic.

Once the City God system is established, any attempts to capture souls by Ox-Head and Horse-Face will have to be reported to the City God.

Duncan even planned to replace the underworld officials with the system of City Gods and military officers, who would directly escort people to the gates of hell and be responsible for their part of the journey in the mortal world.

This is tantamount to supporting local beliefs and weakening the influence of Buddhism after its introduction.

Many of those wandering ghosts and spirits are unable to even harm people and dare not approach people with vigorous blood and energy. At most, they turn into will-o'-the-wisps in the middle of the night. The underworld is too busy to handle them all, so the local city gods and earth gods are more reliable and can do small tasks without any problem. It is not difficult for appointed military officers to patrol and capture some wandering ghosts and spirits.

"Now that this matter is settled, we can give them the magical artifacts."

Duncan's figure gradually approached the South China Sea. He was thinking about how to get some magical artifacts for the City God's military officers, such as shackles and fetters for binding souls. Normal rituals were impossible, so he wanted to have the statues hold the corresponding weapons and offer them along with the incense. He wondered if he could get them some "beggar's version" magical artifacts.

All of this is still in the testing phase.

The emperor's old profession was to manage politics and religion.

Religious reform is imperative.

Duncan is very familiar with this, but adapting to Eastern rules and perfecting the entire system of incense and deities, bringing the entire underworld under his supervision, is not something that can be accomplished in a short time.

Although it can be entrusted to Li Fengji and others in the mortal realm.

But it's about the underworld.

He has to come in person.

Once he's finished with his current business, Duncan might have to go to the underworld himself to see what's really going on there.

Why are there so many lost souls wandering the human world?

They don't have that much power to harm people.

Many wandering ghosts cannot be reincarnated. After thirty to fifty years, they eventually vanish into thin air. Only a few can cultivate into vengeful ghosts. This is another lower branch of the immortal path, namely ghost cultivation. Very few can become ghost immortals.

Currently, the Guangdong and Guangxi regions are the pilot areas. If successful, this technology can be applied to the entire territory of the empire in the future.

This can be considered as opening up another path to advancement besides the path of ordinary people in life.

If the world's incense offerings flourish in the future, blessings can be incorporated into the system, directly granting meritorious individuals an extra lifespan in the afterlife. It doesn't need to be too long, thirty to fifty years would be enough, allowing them to enjoy some good days after death. However, this requires a large amount of space for burial sites, which is the means of opening up demi-planes.

That's not possible for now; if Duncan wants to do it, he'd have to take charge of the underworld.

All of this has only one purpose: to reshape the order of the Three Realms and Six Paths.

Today it is today.

Duncan still wasn't confident in severing the three corpses, so he had to find another way to prove his Dao.

………………

(End of this chapter)