Hyperdimensional Player

Chapter 354 Making the Fake Real!

Xingwang Mansion. Imperial City.

Duncan held a secret letter in his hand. Upon opening it, he found detailed information about a certain Guankou god, whose current title was 'Guardian Spirit King'. In Sichuan and other regions, the people of Sichuan worship Guankou Erlang on a large scale, often dressed in full military attire and depicted as warriors.

Erlang Shen.

Duncan picked up his pen and wrote a line of small characters on it: "Qingyuan Miaodao Zhenjun".

Erlang Shen was incorporated into the national sacrificial system during the Song Dynasty. Emperor Zhenzong of Song bestowed upon him the title of Qingyuan Miaodao. Duncan did not intend to change it, but simply added the title of Erlang Shen of Guankou. Perhaps they could have some connection if they met in another world in the future.

After dealing with these matters, Duncan had a list of the various deities compiled, and then elevated the rank of Guan Sheng Di Jun (Lord Guan).

He wanted religious reform, so that the deities of Taoism could no longer be decided by Taoism itself.

The state recognizes who the true God is.

Otherwise, it would all be considered illicit worship.

Duncan could basically handle any deity below the City God with a single word, even casually banishing them to the mortal realm. However, deities above the City God level were not so easy to deal with. This was because many of these deities had existed for hundreds of years, and even if the government did not acknowledge their existence, they were still worshipped and offered incense by the common people.

However, Duncan had a solution: recruit him.

Or rather, anyone willing to submit to his gods could be considered for inclusion in the national sacrificial system. If they disobeyed, although it would be troublesome, Duncan was not incapable of severing their faith in the mortal world.

"Religious reformation is much more difficult in this world."

"Taoism, Buddhism, and shamanism all need to be cleaned up."

The first deities Duncan recruited were those promoted by the witchcraft religion, such as the Sea Goddess and Lady Linjiang. Besides these benevolent deities within the witchcraft religion, Duncan also dealt with all the local deities that retained characteristics of primitive witchcraft blood sacrifices once he had the time.

Those river gods who were to be sacrificed as boys and girls were all eliminated.

"Three thousand grass-root gods".

"There are too many ghosts and gods in the Sichuan and Chongqing area. I will appoint you as the Pure Source Wonderful Way True Lord. You will deal with those disobedient ghosts and gods for me."

"That makes perfect sense, doesn't it?"

Duncan casually handed the list to a eunuch standing nearby. Those on the list would become gods, while those not on the list would be relegated to local cults.

He glanced at another list, which read 'The Great Emperor Who Subdues Demons in the Three Realms, whose Divine Might Shakes the Heavens, Lord Guan Sheng Di Jun'.

This was a title bestowed during the Ming Dynasty.

Take your time.

The Demon-Subduing Emperor and the Demon-Slaying Heavenly Venerable are two options to choose from.

Suddenly, a strange woman in red appeared on the distant palace wall. Her figure was like a ghost. After landing lightly, she bowed and said, "Your Majesty."

Duncan looked up at Ji Shaojiang, his gaze falling on the beautiful woman in palace attire beside her, and said calmly, "Did you get the things back?"

The woman in red presented the jade seal in her hand and whispered, "This is fake."

"The real Imperial Seal should have been sent to Kaifeng."

As Duncan raised his hand, the Imperial Seal of the State flew into his palm. At first glance, the Imperial Seal of the State was almost indistinguishable from the real thing, but after closing his eyes and sensing it for a moment, Duncan realized that it contained no trace of destiny or spiritual energy.

The Imperial Seal of this world, also known as the He Shi Bi, is said to contain an extremely peculiar energy. For thousands of years, it has served as a symbol of "receiving the mandate of heaven" and has condensed a portion of the destiny of the Central Plains.

fake.

But this jade seal does indeed possess a certain aura; it is unknown whether it was used by Shi Jingtang or by the Liao emperor.

As a symbol of royal power, the imperial seal can easily degenerate into a rare and unusual object due to the waning of fortune.

"His Majesty."

"The Xuan Yin Sect also has people in the Central Plains; they can send people to seize the other Imperial Seal."

Yin Hua stared at Duncan in front of her and said with her head down, "That Imperial Seal should be delivered to Zhao Kuangyin. We can send someone to intercept it."

When they met again after parting ways in Dangshan, their social status was worlds apart.

In the past six months, Duncan has conquered the Great Ming Sect, killed several Blood Refining Elders, destroyed the Hehuan Sect, and subdued the Mo Sect. Now, nearly half of the Demonic Sect has submitted to him, and the Xuan Yin Sect must also choose sides at this time. This Imperial Seal was originally a gift they prepared to offer.

If you don't choose a side now, it will be too late.

Duncan glanced at the beautiful woman in palace attire in front of him. He and this woman were old acquaintances, but in the end, Duncan chose to travel with Lu Shanjun.

"Are you injured?" Duncan asked.

Yin Hua said in a low voice, "This little injury is nothing."

They're really stubborn.

The beautiful woman in palace attire in front of me had a mark indicating she was 'seriously injured,' yet she claimed the injury was nothing serious.

Duncan didn't bother to expose her, and said to the eunuch beside him, "Go and fetch a Nine-Turn Ginseng Pill."

After saying that, he gestured for Yin Hua to turn around, and placed a palm directly on her back. He poured his true essence into her body as if it were free, used the Longevity Technique to heal her injuries, and even used a secret method of transferring power to transfer nearly half a century's worth of cultivation to her.

"His Majesty."

Yin Hua slowly opened her eyes, her gaze seemingly filled with disbelief.

Transmitting skills.

Even in the legends of the martial arts world, this is an extremely rare occurrence, as everyone in the martial arts world values ​​their cultivation more than their own life.

Duncan remained calm. He had been imparting his power for nearly three decades, either helping people open their meridians or injecting true essence to aid them in breaking through realms. The Xuan Yin Sect elder before him was stuck at the threshold of the Dao Entry Realm. With Duncan's help, she might have a chance to break through to the Dao Entry Realm.

Others acquire their skills through arduous practice, but Duncan's skills were forged through sheer hard work and battles.

Whenever Duncan feels the repulsive force of the real world, he will voluntarily consume some of his power to avoid accidentally shattering the void.

He still needs to leave himself some room for maneuver.

With Duncan's current cultivation level, if one wanted to forcibly improve someone's strength, it would be entirely possible to help him open up his Ren and Du meridians. Entering the Dao realm is out of the question, but reaching the Innate realm is something that could be tried.

"Go down and recover first."

Duncan gazed at the beautiful woman in palace attire before him and said calmly, "Stay in the palace for now, and I'll find a way to help you break through to the Dao Realm another day."

The Xuan Yin Sect was of great use to him.

Because in a deduction of the law of cause and effect, the human body relied on the Xuan Yin Sect to cultivate the Yellow Emperor's secret method and directly ascended to heaven from the blessed land.

In the last few hundred years of this world, there has only been one person who has been able to ascend to heaven with his entire house, and that is the Celestial Master Xu Xun, who is rumored to have 'ascended to heaven with his entire house'.

When one person attains enlightenment, even their chickens and dogs can ascend to heaven.

Although Duncan is currently trapped in the Dao Realm, if he can attain Dao, even his chickens and dogs will rise to heaven.

Yin Hua respectfully took her leave.

After she left, Ji Shaojiang, who was standing to the side, said softly, "Your Majesty."

"Should I go there myself and retrieve the Imperial Seal?"

Duncan smiled faintly upon hearing this.

He held the fake jade seal in his hand, gazing at the distant scenes of human life, and slowly said, "Who told you this is fake?"

Is it true?
wrong.

This Imperial Seal of the State has no supernatural powers, so how could it possibly be the real He Shi Bi jade?

The eerie woman in the blood-red robes before him looked utterly bewildered.

"Come with me."

Duncan chuckled, holding the fake Imperial Seal, and walked directly towards the outskirts of the capital, calmly saying, "If I say it's real, then it's real." "However..."

"We must take advantage of the destiny of humankind!"

Duncan walked faster and faster.

Ji Shaojiang hesitated for a moment, but quickly followed after him.

At this time, Xingwang Mansion had restored order and stability. The city was lined with markets on both sides of the main street, all of which were densely populated commercial areas. Duncan changed into ordinary clothes outside the palace and also signaled Ji Shaojiang to change her clothes. Then the two strolled through the many markets, looking at the bustling vendors and laborers in front of them.

"What is Your Majesty trying to do?" Ji Shaojiang asked in surprise.

Renxiao City, the capital of Xingwangfu, was located in the eastern and northern suburbs. It served as a barrier for the palace and was also a residential area for officials and nobles. A large salt warehouse was located in the eastern part of the city.

The western part of the city is a commercial and residential area, with a foreign trade area. Merchants can choose their own location to set up shops and stalls as long as they pay a certain amount of commercial tax. As it is close to market day, merchants come and go in an endless stream, and the cries of vendors can be heard everywhere, which also attracts a large number of tourists.

For some reason, the ordinary people around them seemed completely unaware of the two of them, and even when they walked past them, they did not attract any attention.

--business.

Duncan stopped in a market alley, holding the fake Imperial Seal of the State in his hand. He channeled his inner energy into his fingertips and wrote the character 'Shang' in the air.

No business, no wealth.

As Duncan made his final stroke, a glimmer of light seemed to appear on the fake Imperial Seal in his hand. To Ji Shaojiang's astonishment, invisible auras, centered on the entire Xingwang Mansion, flowed into it, and even the surface of the seal itself shimmered with a brilliant light.

At first glance, the fake Imperial Seal of the State looked somewhat like the real one.

Duncan smiled faintly.

He walked along the market to the end of the street. In the east of the city was the Great Salt Warehouse. A few streets further ahead was the academy established by the Prince of Xing's Mansion. Although Duncan did not have much financial resources to popularize education, he could still popularize elementary education in the city by renovating the mansions he had confiscated.

"The sky and earth are dark and yellow, the universe is vast and boundless. The sun and moon wax and wane, the stars are spread out in a row.

Cold comes and heat goes, autumn harvests and winter stores. Leap years complete the year, musical scales harmonize the seasons.

Clouds rise and bring rain, dew condenses into frost. Gold is produced in the Li River, jade comes from Kunlun Mountain.

The sword is named Juque, the pearl is called Yeguang. The finest fruits are plums and apricots, the most prized vegetables are mustard and ginger.

…………

He relieved the people and punished the guilty, like Zhou Fa and Yin Tang. He sat in court to inquire about the Way, governing with folded hands and impartial rule.

............"

Ahead of the two was the sound of children reading aloud, mostly young children, no more than eight or nine years old. The teacher in front of the desks was an old man in his fifties, with worn clothes, a long beard, and a swaying head, leading a group of children in learning the Thousand Character Classic.

Duncan gazed at everything in the distance with satisfaction and said calmly, "To relieve the people and punish the guilty."

"That's how it should be."

--scholar.

His figure reached forward and grabbed, as if an invisible force was being grasped. The literary energy of the academy gathered, swirling like a rosy cloud, like a seven-colored stream of light. Centered on this, the entire Southern Han territory was filled with strands of literary and moral energy, and one could almost hear the sound of countless people reading aloud.

Without scholars, there is no prosperity.

The fake Imperial Seal in Duncan's hand seemed to be bathed in light, its jade color radiating a precious glow, unlike anything found in the mortal world.

Ji Shaojiang was shocked, already guessing what His Majesty was going to do.

The two headed south.

Duncan stopped by a riverbank. In the distance, a dense crowd, like a black swarm of ants, was busy carrying loads on their shoulders and in their hands. Thousands of people were working to repair the ditches and embankments. The waterways of Nanhan had not been cleaned for more than ten years, requiring a lot of manpower and resources.

Further away, several people were carrying waterwheels, with Mohist disciples beside them. Manpower alone was not enough; productivity was low in this era, and tools were necessary to improve efficiency.

--work.

Duncan poured his true energy into his brush once more, and the fake Imperial Seal of the State appeared with a dazzling light visible to the naked eye.

Without industry, there is no strength (wealth).

At this moment, in Ji Shaojiang's eyes, the fake Imperial Seal was almost identical to the real one. The energy that Duncan had injected into it had caused it to condense a dazzling light that was invisible to the naked eye.

"Let's go."

Duncan continued along the path.

I do not know how long it has been.

He stopped beside a field ridge, looked at the old man working in the field, and asked, "Old man, how's the harvest this year?"

The old farmer didn't notice the two people at first. He was startled awake when he heard the voice. He looked up and saw the two people, not knowing when they had appeared.

"Thanks to His Majesty's great blessings, this year is a year of plenty."

The old farmer's face lit up with joy at the mention of the harvest, his dark face creased with smiles, and his voice rose a few decibels as he held up two fingers and said, "This year's harvest has doubled."

Duncan smiled and said goodbye before leaving.

In the distance, he could see heavy ears of rice in the fields, a golden expanse as far as the eye could see. The farmer had not lied to him after all, and he was very satisfied with this explanation.

Reward.

On a whim, Duncan took the fake Imperial Seal of the State in his hand and wrote the last character, which was also the most significant one.

—Agriculture.

The strange phenomena that were triggered at this moment became even more astonishing.

Ji Shaojiang stood aside, as if she could see countless human emotions converging towards the fake Imperial Seal. The Emperor wrote the first three characters of "scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants" extremely quickly, but the last character, "farmers," seemed to carry the whispers of millions of living beings with each stroke. She could even see a bead of sweat on the Emperor's forehead.

Each stroke seems to carry a heavy burden, representing the hope of living.

Without agriculture, there is no stability (or livelihood).

this moment.

Ji Shaojiang seemed to see the patterns on the Imperial Seal of the State, which were engraved with the eight insect and bird seal characters "Received the Mandate of Heaven, May it last forever," change. She even had a slight hallucination, as if she saw a reflection of the sun, moon, stars, mountains and rivers, the common people, and all living beings in the world.

—Transforming the fake into the real!
Up.

With my cultivation, in harmony with the creation of heaven and earth, I will take a wisp of human warmth and protect the lights of every household so that they may be rekindled.

Offering sacrifice to Heaven!

Duncan's figure seemed to walk on air, holding the fake Imperial Seal of the State, offering it to the heavens as a sacrifice to obtain proof of being 'mandated by Heaven'.

I entered the path through a promise made to a child, hoping to restore peace to the world.

Thunder rolls from the sky.

Ji Shaojiang seemed to sense something, and at that moment, his whole body trembled.

—The True Imperial Seal of the State!

A wisp of human destiny converged in Duncan's palm. The heavens were shaken by the interaction between heaven and man, and an invisible primordial energy descended, directly imprinting itself into the Imperial Seal.

When the real is made to appear fake, the fake also appears real.

Whether it's real or fake, it doesn't really matter. The Imperial Seal of the State is more than just a piece of jade.

Click.

Meanwhile, in a Taoist temple in Kaifeng, Taoist Lingsu suddenly looked up in astonishment, hearing the rumbling thunder. He felt his hands burning hot, as if struck by lightning. When he looked down again, he didn't know when a crack had suddenly appeared on the surface of the Imperial Seal of the State that he was holding.

………………

(End of this chapter)