I changed the world.

Page 356

In the bedroom, Zhang Jing had a thought, and the wishing book in his hand slowly disappeared. He took a deep breath, and a metallic glint appeared in his eyes, which then disappeared.

By this time, he had confirmed a fact: his cultivation technique, "Fish-Dragon Transformation: The Book of Jiao," had just broken through its original limitations during the transformation, advancing from the first stage, "Chiwen," to the next stage, "Panchi."

Furthermore, the third stage, "Cloud Dragon," is not far off.

"Good fortune may be a harbinger of misfortune, and misfortune may be a harbinger of good fortune..." The ancients were right, and this thought crossed Zhang Jing's mind.

At this moment, a very penetrating bark came from the inner courtyard outside Zhang Jing's bedroom. It was indeed Xiaotian from the courtyard, who had smelled the blood in the air and started barking uneasily.

It wasn't until Zhang Jing reprimanded him that Xiaotian stopped barking.

Looking down at his blood-stained clothes and blankets, Zhang Jing frowned. He couldn't sleep any longer. He called for a maid to come in and wash them, while he took off his clothes and went into the bathroom to shower and wash the blood off his body.

After cleaning up, he decided to meditate for a few days to consolidate his current state and to recover from the significant impact on his body and mind that he had suffered during the breakthrough.

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承和三十七年 2016年4月4日4:23 丹鼎山赭碧峰黄家村

“Huang Youqing…Huang Youqing…come with me…”

“Huang Youqing…come with me…”

In a hazy, dazed state, Huang Youqing, the village chief of Huangjia Village, suddenly heard someone calling his name. He groggily got up and followed the direction of the voice...

After walking for an unknown amount of time, Huang Youqing suddenly came to his senses and was stunned to find himself standing in the middle of nowhere, with a dilapidated little temple in front of him. Wait, isn't this the earth god temple outside his village?

However, upon closer inspection, something seemed different. In his memory, that earth god temple was extremely dilapidated due to long-term neglect; calling it a run-down temple wouldn't be an exaggeration. This one, though old, looked much better than the earth god temple he remembered. At least the main gate was still there, and two white lanterns hung on either side of it…

But... Huang Youqing looked around again, and this seemed... indeed to be the earth god temple he remembered.

Then, somewhat belatedly, he realized that the important thing wasn't where he was now, but rather, why he had gotten here in the first place. He vaguely remembered going to bed early, right?

How did they suddenly end up in front of this earth god temple in the middle of nowhere?

Looking at the dim night around him, Huang Youqing couldn't help but feel a sense of dread...

...Could it be that we've encountered something unclean?

Before he could think any further, the gate of the local earth god temple suddenly creaked open, revealing an empty room behind it…

Seeing this scene, Huang Youqing became increasingly panicked, unsure whether he should go inside or hide far away...

“Huang Youqing…come in…” an old voice echoed in the earth god temple.

Huang Youqing swallowed hard. Everything before him was far too eerie. But... since he was already here, he was going to be killed no matter what, so he might as well go in and take a look...

As the village chief, Huang Youqing wasn't exactly a coward. However, the situation before him was far too eerie. In the middle of nowhere, he felt that if there were any unclean things out there, at his age of 65, he wouldn't have time to escape. He figured he might as well go in and take a look...

So, he mustered his courage and stepped through the gate...

It's so similar... so similar... Stepping through the gate, he immediately saw that the original furnishings in the temple were exactly the same as the dilapidated earth temple in his memory, only it didn't look so dilapidated.

An elderly man dressed in a yellow robe, leaning on a dragon-headed cane, stood before the offering table in the temple, looking at Huang Youqing with an indifferent expression.

The moment Huang Youqing saw the old man, a ridiculous thought suddenly arose in his mind. He subconsciously looked behind the altar, but the clay statue that should have been there was nowhere to be seen.

He looked at the old man again. The old man had white hair and a long beard, and was not tall. His yellow robe was embroidered with the character "寿" (longevity).

Volume Two: The Truth Hidden Behind History Books: Chapter 713 The Earth God's Dream

The thought in his mind grew stronger, and he couldn't help but bow respectfully: "Is it an old man calling me? I don't know how to address him?"

"I am the local earth god of this village."

"Ah!!!" Huang Youqing was startled upon hearing this. The absurd thought that had struck him earlier had actually come true. With his previous "strange" experience as a foundation, he had no doubts. His knees buckled, and he knelt down on the ground: "I never imagined that it was the Earth God who summoned me. I am truly sorry for my disrespect..."

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"Huff!!!" Huang Youqing sat up abruptly in bed, covered in sweat and panting heavily. His wife, who was still half asleep, rubbed her eyes and sat up: "Husband, what's wrong? Why don't you sleep a little longer?"

Huang Youqing did not answer his wife's question. Instead, he looked out the window not far away, where the sky was beginning to lighten.

Was that a dream, or reality?

He remembered that when he arrived at the local temple, he was scolded by the local earth god for neglecting the worship in Huangjia Village, which made the earth god quite dissatisfied.

It was only after he apologized and promised to organize the village to repair the temple and hold regular sacrifices that the local earth god calmed down.

However, the local earth god told him that the village didn't need to do anything about repairing the temple. The Heavenly Master Zhang from the Heavenly Master's Mansion had promised to help him rebuild the temple, and he would arrive in the next couple of days. Huangjia Village only needed to cooperate.

He readily agreed.

Looking back now, the conversation in the temple is still vivid in my mind, and the words still ring in my ears...

As Huang Youqing got older, he also became superstitious. What had just happened, though now seeming utterly absurd and likely to be laughed at if told, was something he simply couldn't bring himself to disbelieve…

"Why are you sweating so much?" The old wife sat up with a yawn, and frowned when she saw her husband covered in sweat. "Hurry up and wipe yourself off, don't catch a cold."

"Just now... I had a dream." Huang Youqing couldn't care less about anything else at this moment. He turned to his wife and hesitated before speaking.

"Did you have a nightmare?" his wife asked curiously, seeing his expression.

"But I dreamt that the local earth god at the earth temple outside the village summoned me..." Huang Youqing needed to confide in someone, so he told him everything he had seen in his dream.

"Oh my... it really is the local deity appearing in my dream..." His wife, also a peasant woman, put her hands together in apology upon hearing this, and then hesitantly asked, "Husband, what do you plan to do?"

"It's better to believe in divine intervention in dreams than not..." Huang Youqing pondered for a while before speaking. As the village chief, even in the mountains, his family wasn't considered poor. So he said, "Go cut a large piece of meat, kill a chicken, and buy a fish at the village entrance. We also have some incense and candles at home. We'll go to the local temple to offer them to the Earth God in a bit..."

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That morning, news spread throughout Huangjia Village that the village chief, Huang Youqing, had been appeared in a dream by the local earth god the previous night!

Therefore, early this morning, the village chief took the three small sacrificial animals to the land temple to make offerings, and then also sent some able-bodied men from the village to clean the land temple.

The villagers of Huangjia Village are all surnamed Huang and are descendants of the same clan. The village chief, Huang Youqing, is actually the patriarch of the Huang clan in this area and has prestige in the village. When he orders people to clean up the local earth god temple, the villagers dare not refuse. However, as a result, complaints naturally follow.

After all, this is the important season for spring tea picking. Being temporarily pulled away to clean up the local earth god temple is not something the villagers can see any immediate benefits for, so they are naturally unhappy.

Some young people, in particular, have started complaining that the village chief is senile, had a strange dream, and is now causing trouble for everyone.

However, this strange neighborly talk stopped around noon. The reason was simple: two high-ranking Taoist priests dressed in Taoist robes arrived in the village, reportedly from the Celestial Master's Mansion.

Huangjia Village is located in Danding Mountain. Most of the villagers grew up listening to the legendary stories of the Celestial Masters of all generations, and naturally have great respect for the Celestial Master's Mansion. This is especially true after hearing that one of the visitors is a direct disciple of the Celestial Master.

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“Master Guan, please…” In front of the Earth God Temple, Huang Youqing personally led Guan Zeqing, who had come here, and earnestly introduced him to the situation of the Earth God Temple.

Guan Zeqing had been to this place many times before. As someone in the know, he knew that this Zhebi Peak was extraordinary and that the local temple was truly efficacious.

Upon entering the Earth God Temple, he saw several young men busily cleaning. In addition, offerings of three kinds of animals were placed on the altar, and incense and candles were lit.

Overall, it's much better than the last time I came.

Although it was a dilapidated temple, Guan Zeqing did not show any disrespect. He first solemnly bowed before the statue of the Earth God, lit three incense sticks, and inserted them into the incense burner on the offering table. Only then did he say to Huang Youqing, who was standing to the side, "To be honest, village chief, I have come here on the behalf of my master to discuss the repair of this temple."

Upon hearing this, Huang Youqing exclaimed inwardly, "Just as I thought!"

He was secretly relieved that he hadn't neglected the matter, but his expression grew even more respectful: "So that the Master may know, it's quite miraculous. Yesterday, the local earth god appeared to me in a dream, telling me that the Celestial Master had promised to come to the village to rebuild the temple, saying that someone would come to handle the matter soon. I never expected the Master to arrive so quickly..."

Upon hearing this, Guan Zeping subconsciously exchanged a glance with the disciple beside him. This disciple had also been here before. Neither of them showed any surprise. Guan Zeping then smiled and said, "Since the village chief knows about this, then I will speak frankly."

"My master once visited this place after descending the mountain and had a pleasant conversation with the local earth god. Seeing that the temple was in disrepair, he promised to build a new temple for this land. We are here today primarily for this purpose. My master's intention is to expand the existing temple and make it more magnificent. However, since this temple was built by the village, I have come to discuss this matter with them..."

"What are you saying, Master? We mountain folk, which family doesn't rely on the Celestial Master for our livelihood? Besides, the Earth God has already given us instructions. If the Master takes a liking to the land near this Earth God temple, you may expand it..." Huang Youqing knew that the two masters had come mainly to discuss this land issue. After all, expanding the temple involved encroaching on land, and they had to negotiate with Huangjia Village first before they could resolve the matter.

Volume Two: The Truth Hidden Behind History Books: Chapter 714 The Celestial Master Wants to Build a Land Temple

However, from Huang Youqing's perspective, this wasn't a big problem. The land temple in Huangjia Village was actually quite a distance from the village; it would take at least fifteen minutes to walk there from the village entrance. There were no tea gardens nearby; it was essentially wasteland. If the government were to requisition it for something, the village would certainly come up with all sorts of reasons to make a profit. But instead, they were expanding the land temple, which the local people considered an act of accumulating good karma.

The land of Huangjia Village is said to be the ancestor of the Huang family. Not to mention, it is so efficacious. Huang Youqing has decided to handle things well and do a good job for the land god and the Celestial Master's Mansion.

After all, there are gods watching from above, and if I mishandle this matter, who knows what bad things might happen to me... I can't afford to offend the gods and spirits!

On the other hand, in this Dan Ding Mountain area, all kinds of businesses are inseparable from the Tianshi Mansion. Not to mention anything else, the tea merchants who come to Huangjia Village to buy tea every year are the business of the Tianshi Mansion. Therefore, for these mountain villages, even if the religious factors are excluded, the Tianshi Mansion is an entity that cannot be offended.

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By that evening, news that the Celestial Master's Mansion was coming to build the village's Earth God Temple had spread throughout the village. At the same time, news also spread that the village chief had received a dream from the Earth God the previous night. Now, with the Celestial Master's Mansion's endorsement, and especially since it was said that it was personally agreed upon by the Celestial Master Zhang and the village's Earth God, the matter took on a mythical air.

This directly resulted in the village's usually deserted local temple being filled with offerings that very evening. Every household in the village had gone to the temple to worship the local earth god. Even those who hadn't intended to go couldn't refuse, seeing everyone else doing so. Otherwise, if they didn't go, the earth god would hold a grudge...

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承和三十七年 2016年4月4日09:23 临州云山坊张宅

Sitting on the throne, Zhang Jing turned his gaze away from the mural. Zhang Tianshi's actions were not unexpected. The reconstruction of the Huangjia Village Land Temple had indeed begun. For the Celestial Master's Mansion, such an expense was nothing, and Zhang Tianshi would not go back on his word in this regard.

Zhang Jing withdrew his attention from the daily life of the land. The memories of his past lives that he had previously acquired had given him a wealth of knowledge and insights, including a great deal of previously unknown hidden knowledge. In particular, the knowledge about ancient times, compared to the superficial information he had gleaned from various Buddhist scriptures, was more comprehensive. Although some of the memories of his past lives engraved on the surface of the abyss were incomplete, they gave him a relatively complete understanding of how people in the ancient world lived.

For him, this was indeed an unexpected gain. He now understood that the human civilization that had taken a different path in ancient times did not possess a single planet located on Earth, but rather a civilization with Earth as its core and numerous colonies on other planets.

However, based on the information I recall, the final fate of those colonies due to the brutal war... was rather lamentable.

In his memory, he had never been a "big shot" in those generations; he was just an ordinary person most of the time. This also meant that he was still unaware of some core secrets. However, he didn't care about the wish book; on the contrary, he thought it was a good thing.

After all, regarding the unknown history, it is even more difficult to use the power of the "letter of vows" to change things.

Furthermore, he found no trace of "deification of deities" in his memory. Similar to his previous guess, in that era, sacrifice was more associated with "offering sacrifices," and the understanding of faith was not explored in depth, or at least that was how it was perceived by ordinary people.

Especially after the start of the war, any concept related to "sacrifice," "gods," or "cultists" was strictly controlled, to a degree that was even more stringent than the government's current control over some information on the internet.