I changed the world.

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One is divinely ordained, the other by popular mandate. The former is the mainstream political system in this world, especially in monarchical countries, where the monarch's very existence possesses transcendent and sacred attributes. In the West, the right of kings is divinely ordained; in the East, the monarch is the Son of Heaven, the chosen one. Popular mandate, on the other hand, is only manifested in some republican countries and is not the mainstream of this world.

This is why, even though some scientists and sociologists have proposed materialism and there is a tendency to push it to become the mainstream ideology, from the perspective of the royal family, he must "respect the gods and spirits, but keep them at a distance."

Completely denying the existence of the supernatural undermines the emperor's political legitimacy. However, the established culture of the Great Zhao state also made it quite secular and pragmatic; if an emperor were overly devoted to religion, his ministers would consider him "foolish." After all, history has provided too many negative examples.

Chapter 428 Asking about Ghosts and Gods, Not the Common People

Therefore, some discussions that seem to be purely academic actually have profound political implications. Even the emperor's reluctance to directly summon Li Jingxin likely stemmed from this consideration…

With many thoughts racing through his mind, Li Jingxin understood that the emperor must have more to say.

Sure enough, the emperor paused for a moment, then continued, "However, I have always wished to stay away from matters of gods and ghosts, but alas, though the tree may wish to be still, the wind will not cease. As far as I know, not only in my Great Zhao, but also in many overseas countries, some strange and unusual things have recently occurred, some more significant than others..."

"I do not wish to inquire about matters of ghosts and spirits, but I cannot be the kind of ruler who burys his head in the sand."

"I'll show the abbot a video..." the emperor said, gesturing with his hand. A female official in the corner of the room took out a remote control and pressed a button.

A beam of light shone down from the ceiling, creating a three-dimensional projection on the open ground in front of the emperor and Li Jingxin.

This was a vast plaza, its surface seemingly paved with gold bricks, a magnificent and awe-inspiring sight. In the center stood a colossal safera tree, tens of meters tall, swaying in the wind and occasionally shedding its petals. Around the plaza were planted lotus flowers, bodhi trees, and other similar plants.

In the very center of the square, beneath the enormous sasaeng tree, sits a Bodhi seat. Upon the lotus throne sits a giant, adorned with a jeweled crown, his ears reaching his shoulders, a smiling face, and wearing a Dharma robe. His chest and abdomen are half-naked, and he wears rosary beads, a golden wheel, and other items around his neck. His hands form mudras, and he sits in the lotus position. Behind him, a halo of seven-colored light flickers intermittently.

At first glance, it looked like a scene from the Buddhist cult, where Buddha preaches.

At the same time, a voice-over narration begins:

"At 10:05 AM on February 19th, the Wuzhong City Police Department received a report from Zhongtai Amusement Park stating that two staff members responsible for the nighttime maintenance of the park's haunted house were missing..."

"At 22:21 on February 21, the emergency hotline in Wuzhong City received a call from Zhongtai Amusement Park. The caller was extremely terrified and incoherent, claiming to have seen a monster in the park. The call was then disconnected..."

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"At 13:25 on February 22, our side attempted to conduct reconnaissance of the park using technical means, including satellites and drones, but found nothing unusual. Subsequently, our armed personnel entered to conduct a systematic search..."

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As the voice-over quickly finished describing the event, the screen began to shake and then disappeared. The scene then shifted to a group of soldiers on the move. These soldiers all looked travel-worn but sharp-looking, and there was heavy equipment around them. Li Jingxin didn't understand military matters and couldn't identify the models of the equipment, but he could tell that this unit's combat capability was considerable.

Judging from the video's perspective, this footage was likely taken by one of the detectors carried by the team.

At this moment, the sound of conversation could be heard:

"What...what is that?!"

"Captain, the detection balls ahead are experiencing strong interference; five have gone out of control. Over."

"Withdraw the forward detection ball. Over."

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Next, a middle-aged man in a ceremonial robe, escorted by two soldiers, arrived at the square. However, to Li Jingxin, a professional, the style of the robe seemed rather incongruous—not quite Xuanmen (a branch of Taoism), nor did it resemble the style of the Floating Pagoda Sect; it was strangely awkward. The man appeared somewhat apprehensive, but still stepped forward, seemingly preparing to communicate with the "Floating Pagoda"...

"Master Chaba Aose, a famous religious figure in Wuzhong, is said to be the reincarnation of the Fifth Chari Dharma King. He has studied various schools of Buddhism, Tantra, and Taoism. He was invited to participate in the handling of this incident." A text similar to an annotation appeared below the middle-aged man.

Upon seeing this annotation, Li Jingxin, who was watching, couldn't help but frown slightly. With his experience, he could tell at a glance that this "master" was probably a fraud. Putting aside everything else, his attire alone revealed several irregularities.

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"Evil spirits and demons are playing tricks here!"

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"An object is approaching at 5 o'clock. Over."

Just as the report was announced, a tall and imposing figure emerged from the mist with a seemingly slow yet swift movement. This person wore a sleek grey robe, leather boots, and an iron crown. However, their face remained indistinct.

What is most impressive is that this person approached from afar, and in just a few leaps, he was already in front of them, standing high on a branch of a withered tree like a feather, his body seemingly weightless, swaying slightly with the branch.

From a distance of several dozen meters, he slowly swept his gaze across the group of soldiers and vehicles, his eyes seemingly flashing with fire.

"A pitiful creature, unaware of its own impending doom..."

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"Sirs, why are you looking at us like that..."

In the video, two seemingly normal ordinary people suddenly become two corpses covered in lividity and already decomposing, with one of them even missing half of his head. Yet, they still behave like living people...

“You…you…” The surrounding soldiers instinctively pointed their rifles at the two men.

"You are already dead..."

Upon hearing the word "death," the two "people" suddenly froze. Then, as if suddenly realizing something, wisps of black energy emanated from their bodies, and black tears of blood streamed from their dark eyes...

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"Forbidden!" At the same time, a deep incantation rang out, and the two vengeful spirits froze on the spot as if struck by lightning.

It was this forbidden technique that made Li Jingxin's gaze suddenly sharpen. He was absolutely certain that the person in the video was using the "Earthly Fiend Forbidden Technique." This forbidden technique was also one of the several spells that Zhang Taihe had taught him. This made him think of many things in an instant. Could it be that the person in the video was a "fellow disciple"?

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While Li Jingxin was deep in thought, the scene in the video continued.

The two ghosts were killed and turned to ashes, and then the "Moonlight Pagoda" in the distance let out a sigh of frustration.

"You've been seen through..."

Next, like a chain reaction, everything around began to change. The gold bricks scattered across the square quickly lost their luster and turned into a desolate land with exposed skeletons.

The once bright and beautiful square was now a desolate place filled with graves. The lotus throne beneath the giant's feet decayed and withered rapidly, and in a few breaths, it had transformed into a huge throne made of piled-up bones.

The giant that had just appeared to be a pagoda now resembled a demon stripped of its mask, revealing its true form.

It had a blue face and fangs, dark blue skin, and crimson hair. The prayer beads around its neck were made of skulls, and the colorful light that had just shone behind it had now turned into a towering black aura...

Unfortunately, the tea master's tea was stuffed directly into his mouth...

"Fire!"

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Finally, the fierce battle came to an end with a deafening roar...

Of course, the sound was obviously altered in front of the emperor; the only way to sense the harrowing atmosphere was through the soldiers' reactions in the video.

The sound spread in all directions like a shockwave, so much so that some soldiers who were firing immediately covered their ears and rolled to the ground as if hit by a bomb blast upon hearing the roar...

The roar was repeated twice more, filled with intense resentment, despair, and fear, subconsciously evoking images of a fallen elephant, a dying whale plunging into an abyss, and similar scenes...

Eventually, things calmed down...

At the same time, the monsters that had been roaring and charging at the soldiers suddenly collapsed to the ground as if their strength had been drained, rolling around before turning into ashes with a loud bang.

Monsters of all sizes fell from the sky, flapping their wings in vain, howling and trying to grab anything they could, but in the end it was all in vain, turning to ashes the moment they hit the ground.

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Even though this wasn't the first time Li Jingxin had seen such "internal videos," he still felt a deep respect for the predecessors who fought these demons in the darkness. A strange sense of pride also welled up within him.

I wonder how many sects like Kunlun are hidden in this land, but there is no doubt that my Xuanmen has always been protecting this land...

Just as Li Jingxin was secretly sighing, on the video, the gray fog on the battlefield was dissipating and fading at a speed visible to the naked eye, and the scene in the distance began to appear. About a hundred meters in front of the soldiers, a huge and strange humanoid figure, about the size of a several-story building, emerged from the chaotic vision.

From a distance, it looks like a giant that has merged with the ground, with its lower body completely blending into the earth...

However, as the camera zooms in, the details become even more horrifying.

From the topmost head to the bottom part that has merged with the earth, this entire giant is actually composed of twisted, intertwined, and pieced together corpses. Most of these corpses were already decayed, many even reduced to bones. However, under the influence of some unknown force, they intertwined like worms in water, tightly binding themselves into a single entity, forming this giant…

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What's even more eye-catching is a long sword that pierced through the giant's chest and abdomen. This sword, which shimmered with lightning and was several meters long, looked like it was made of condensed, incandescent white plasma.

The longsword pierced through the monster's chest and exited through its back, completely penetrating it.

A dozen meters ahead, a man dressed in a grey robe, leather boots, and wearing an iron crown was slowly bringing his hands together in a mudra. Wisps of lightning crackled and swirled around him, a truly wondrous sight…

The next moment, a thick pillar of lightning, formed by several intertwined bolts, pierced through the chaotic gray mist above and struck down. For a moment, everyone present saw only a white blur.

The giant, composed of corpses, emitted dazzling sparks from several parts of its body. This time, without even a roar, the giant collapsed straight down, like a crumbling building, its corpses beginning to crumble away...

As the corpses landed, they disintegrated into ashes, filling the air with dust that shot straight into the sky.