Da Zaojun

"Lord of the Realm, the cauldron is complete, and we also have the dragon and phoenix pendants and many other ritual objects. We only need to complete the [establishment ceremony] to establish a dynasty."

"All that's missing is an imperial edict."

"Imperial decree?"

What do you need that for?

"The country I wish to establish is one where all people are of one mind, not one where the country is ruled by a family."

Lin Fajing said, "A person can live without a heart, and a country cannot stand without a ruler."

"No matter what kind of state the ruler wants to establish, he must first become the ruler before he can announce it."

What are rituals?

"A war to establish a nation!"

"A national founding ceremony!"

"Or rather, war and sacrifice were carried out simultaneously."

How much territory do we need to conquer?

"At least during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, the territory of the Five Hegemons of the Spring and Autumn period or the Seven Warring States."

Song Wuji had no idea how large the territories of the Five Hegemons of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Seven Warring States were.

So they set a small goal: "Now that we are in Hongzhou Prefecture, within a radius of 500 li, we should establish laws and regulations."

"When one's ambition is as vast as a tiger's, and laws and regulations are established, a nation can be founded!"

The total length of the country's borders is 10,000 li, which is actually not that large.

Even taking the largest area and converting it into a circular area, it would still be less than two million square kilometers, roughly one-fifth of the land area of ​​later China.

Despite its small size, this territory, even if used as a feudal state, contains many hidden realms that can be transformed into blessed lands for development. Even though most of it consists of mountains, hills, lakes, and marshes, it is still a habitable land that can support more than a million people.

"A journey of ten thousand miles?" Lin Fajing calculated for a moment, then said, "That already qualifies as a great power."

"In fact, in the struggle for legitimacy, the title is more important than the territory."

"Now, Hongzhou Prefecture, Taichang County, and Jianxin County, along with other counties, although they have become ghost towns, are not impossible to restore. That would be a prefecture with seven counties."

"If we can capture two more prefectures, Jiujiang Xunyang Prefecture and Ganzhou Gannan Prefecture, with the three prefectures sandwiched between them, then the entire Ganpo region will be within our borders."

“Xunyang Prefecture and Gannan Prefecture can also serve as bridgeheads for outward expansion.”

“There are indeed remnants of humanity in these two places.” Song Wuji recalled his realization when casting the cauldron: “Xunyang is a place disturbed by water demons. It is where the nine rivers flow into the Yangtze River. Throughout history, it has been a strategic location fought over by military strategists.”

“Gannan Prefecture also connects with the lands of Guangdong and Fujian.”

“In these places, demons and monsters are rampant, even more so than here. At least Jiangnan West Road has a lineage of culture and Taoism to maintain it, but these places have always been invaded by the Baiyue barbarians. Countless demons and monsters occupy the shrines. This was the case when the Three Realms were not in chaos. Now that the Three Realms are in chaos, the demons and monsters are even more rampant.”

"In the north, humanity flourished. In the Central Plains, except for Mount Beiman, the land of Luoyang was transformed into a netherworld. All the kings, nobles and generals of past dynasties were resurrected in the form of ghosts and gods, seeking to establish a dynasty ruled by ghosts and gods."

"In the area surrounding Xuzhou, the power of humanity is most abundant. There are several people who have been granted royal mandates and protected by remnants of divine power, similar to my own."

"In the land of Yan and Zhao, there are many generous people who have protected the flame of humanity from being extinguished!"

"On the contrary, the land of literature and art, near the coast of the East China Sea, has fallen into humanism and has the appearance of a sea monster kingdom."

"In the land of abundance that is Sichuan, there is also a human spirit that perseveres. However, there are many demons in western Sichuan, and in the area near the plateau, there are demons and Buddhas who have established demon kingdoms and Buddhist kingdoms."

Song Wuji said, "Then let's wait until we occupy the lands of the Three Prefectures before establishing a kingdom, and then become a feudal lord!"

"Good!" Lin Fajing said, "Please make preparations as soon as possible, Lord of the Realm. My Iron Pillar Palace can provide full assistance, including developing the secret realms within the territory and eliminating demons." "In my temple, there is a Fifth-Rank True Person, that is me. I have already cultivated to the Yang God realm, but I cannot act casually and it is difficult for me to leave the human realm."

"There are four people who have cultivated and attained the rank of sixth-grade Grand Alchemist."

"Twelve people have cultivated and attained the rank of seventh-grade alchemist."

"Sixty-four people have attained the rank of eighth-grade Taoist priest or ninth-grade rank of Taoist nun through cultivation, and there are more than two hundred other children."

Song Wuji said, "Then let's establish the Daoist Register Office, similar to the Buddhist Register Office, but allow Daoists to become military Daoists and be incorporated into the human Daoist system. They can have the power to recommend, examine, and advise deities below the seventh rank."

Song Wuji still held the power to abolish the gods and the imperial edicts bestowed upon gods of the seventh rank and above.

Moreover, Song Wuji follows the "human official system," meaning that official positions are equivalent to divine positions. These eighth and ninth-rank officials, minor mountain gods and minor earth gods, are still subject to the supervision of the human realm.

"Thank you, Lord of the Realm."

Song Wuji then asked about something: "In the Phoenix Terrace Secret Realm, I saw Sun Quan, the ruler of Wu during the Three Kingdoms period. He had a divine position, ranked sixth rank, shot down a phoenix, and had an extraordinary destiny. He also had many generals and soldiers."

"I wish to seize his estate and take it over. How can I do this?"

“This kind of subjugation is not possible,” Lin Fajing said. “If it is an ordinary person, changing their nationality is sufficient and will not cause any deviation from history.”

"If generals and strategists can also use incense and faith to reshape their physical bodies, like General Li Guang."

"This person has the appearance of a human king. If he enters the mortal world, he will surely contend with the realm lords. Although this person has destiny, he is not a human king. I'm afraid that if he enters the mortal world, he will only be a demon god, a star god, or a celestial or earthly fiend, not a pure mortal realm lord."

"Then let's find a way to kill them."

Song Wuji said, "I think we should discuss the matter of establishing a nation from heaven first, and then try to acquire some treasures from the Heavenly Palace."

"Let's experiment with one or two small cycles first, and then we'll experiment with a large cycle once we find a suitable treasure from the Heavenly Palace."

"We can also eliminate the fake Maitreya at Youmin Temple in one fell swoop, refine the future talisman, and see if we can reshape the future destiny of the dead and bring them back to life."

"Even if it consumes a great deal of luck, we must accomplish this!"

With this in mind, Song Wuji moved the Human Dao Cauldron to the Tiger Fang Secret Realm and placed it into the Human Dao Qi Luck Spiritual Palace.

As soon as the cauldron landed, the primordial and ecliptic energies flew out, following the net of heaven and earth, encompassing the world and protecting the destiny of humanity.

At the same time, the dragon-shaped jade tablet and the phoenix pendant transformed into dragons and phoenixes, soaring in the human realm.

The Dragon Jade is a body composed of the three treasures of essence, energy, and spirit, which can strengthen the body of the people.

The phoenix pendant is a symbol of civilization for all trades, carrying the seeds of civilization and inspiring the spirit of the people.

Suddenly, a "pop" sound came from the bodies of the people.

It is because both the shackles of the body and the shackles of the mind have been broken.

These shackles are the ninth-grade life shackles.

In the past, to reach the ninth rank, one needed rituals to assist in the breakthrough. Now, however, one can break through the three treasures of essence, qi, and spirit without the aid of rituals, simply by cultivating the techniques.

The threshold has been raised to 5 points.

However, Song Wuji believed that when the shackles of the three treasures of essence, energy, and spirit were raised to 10 points, one could basically begin to "swallow up ten thousand miles like a tiger."

After placing the Human Cauldron, Song Wuji went to Old Dragon Mountain to find Master Xu Jia.

"Master! We can go to Youmin Temple now and deal with that fake Maitreya!"

(End of this chapter)