I changed the world.

Page 361

Or, to use a more vivid term—dimensional plane.

Zhang Jing knew clearly that this region, which he could directly perceive, could be called a plane because, in a true sense, it was located in a completely different realm from his "planet," and was an independent entity.

In other words, if one were to travel in a straight line from that region towards his location, it would be impossible to reach his planet; there is a conceptual barrier between them.

Just as the ancients could never reach the bright moon in the sky when they gazed at it.

However, they are actually within a unified system.

That vast region was immense, and beyond its surface, it contained numerous sub-layers, forming a multi-dimensional system. While there were conceptual barriers between them, these barriers weren't as clearly defined as those on the planet beneath Zhang Jing's feet.

This made Zhang Jing subconsciously think of the structures he had seen in some novels in his previous life, such as "endless abyss", "nine heavens" and "eighteen levels of hell". The "endless", "nine" and "eighteen" here are not real numbers, but rather describe their large number.

Most of that vast plane was shrouded in mist. However, outside this misty area, three other areas had already been revealed. These were one large and two small areas. The largest was the area of ​​the "Jiangdong Province Underworld," while the other two smaller areas were the areas of the "Zhaoyang Town Land God Temple" and the "Huangjia Village Land God Temple." These three areas were actually projections of the "Linzhou City God Temple," the "Zhaoyang Town Land God Temple," and the "Huangjia Village Land God Temple" onto the surface of the abyss.

When these elements are linked together, and even extend to the larger surrounding area, they form what is truly the "underworld"—the final resting place of the dead!

The concept of the "underworld" is shrouded in countless legends and stories within the traditional culture of Zhao Kingdom. Whether it's Taoism, Buddhism, or various religions of other ethnic groups around the world, they all offer vivid descriptions of the afterlife, thus giving rise to various folk cultures. A considerable portion of the religious traditions and folk cultures of various ethnic groups around the world are actually related to this.

However, before Zhang Jing began to confer titles upon the gods, those myths and legends existed only in the form of myths and legends. Even though some religions had a wide following and a considerable number of people believed in their final destination after death, Zhang Jing knew that in reality, there was no true "underworld" in this world.

According to the Buddhist text "Nine Abysses," in this world, a person's spirituality is composed of the soul and the spirit, with the soul governing the mind and the spirit governing the body.

After a person dies, the body ceases to exist, and the soul is the first to dissipate, merging into the universe.

In contrast, while the soul will eventually dissipate, it is a gradual process. Especially for those with strong mental fortitude, it can persist in the world for a few more days. At this time, the soul is in a state called "intermediate state," unaware of its own death, and cannot be seen by ordinary people, even ordinary cultivators. It will generally dissipate naturally after seven days.

Sometimes, certain cultivators or people with naturally strong spirits can sense these lingering souls at specific times. For example, early morning, when the yin energy is at its strongest, or on certain special days of the year.

Volume Two: The Truth Hidden Behind History Books: Chapter 724 Kingdom, Power, and Glory

If you notice them, the best approach is to leave them undisturbed and let them dissipate naturally over a few days. However, if you disturb them at this point, breaking their "intermediate state" and making the originally unknowing soul aware of its own death, then their strong attachment can easily draw energy from the void to descend, thus materializing them into an incomprehensible yin entity.

These evil creatures are highly aggressive, and they are intensely jealous of all living beings, so they must be eliminated.

Zhang Jing clearly remembers that the first supernatural "danger" he encountered in this world was awakening the "intermediate state" left behind by an old man after his death, causing him to become a ghost.

In fact, Zhang Jing found this reality to be extremely cruel and hopeless.

Before his previous life, as he grew older, especially in the quiet of the night, he would sometimes ponder questions about death and fear its inevitability. This led him to vaguely consider the impact of idealism and materialism as societal ideologies.

He doesn't believe that a true materialist worldview, once it becomes the mainstream ideology, can make the world a better place. The reason is simple: if the world were truly materialistic and there were no afterlife, those who hold power and capital would become even more unscrupulous, as the saying goes, "After I die, let the world be flooded."

If they knew that the world truly is a place where "the gods are watching from above" and "retribution may be delayed, but it will come eventually," then even if they were unwilling, even if they were pretending, they would have to maintain a certain level of restraint, because this would directly affect their fate after death.

The reason why the Confucian school in his previous life associated imperial power with the so-called "interaction between heaven and man" and advocated the so-called "five virtues and the cycle of fortune" was, to some extent, apart from those conspiracy theories, the biggest reason was actually to put some chains on the theoretically supreme power of "imperial power".

In a world lacking "reverence," the evil within human nature will be amplified to an extreme, and it will be terrifying.

Furthermore, as Zhang Jing spent more and more time in this world, especially after the arrival of the supernatural, he also noticed that all sorts of strange events began to appear around the world, and more than half of these events were actually related to "death".

Various awakened "yin entities," "vengeful spirits," "fierce ghosts," and "earthbound spirits"... Such incidents began to appear sporadically around the world. Zhang Jing knew that if there was no solution, the frequency of these incidents would increase over time...

Without a proper means to address such issues, Zhang Jing believes they will directly impact normal social order in the future. They might even give rise to more troublesome and malicious supernatural events…

The system of bestowing divine titles can perfectly solve this problem and further improve the worldview of the "mythological world" he has constructed.

In his memory, this was a solution that did not even exist in ancient times.

In Zhang Jing's perception, everything before him had formed a "sub-world" located on the surface of the abyss, existing as if it were an independent entity. This world was intricately connected to him, to the point that if he wished, he could observe everything in this world as if he were observing a globe.

This world currently has a two-layered structure, and Zhang Jing has a premonition that in the future, changes like today may continue to occur, and this world may even evolve into a multi-layered structure...

After watching for a while, Zhang Jing turned around, and the next moment, he returned to his throne in the palace. At this time, he had a general understanding of the world he was in, located on the surface of the abyss. He believed that, based on the plots of some novels in his previous life, it could be called a "kingdom" or a "divine kingdom".

Zhang Jing sat on the throne, pondering for a long time, when suddenly he silently recited a sentence: "For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are Yours, now and forever..."

This phrase is a prayer used in the Holy Revelation Church, the origin of which is unknown. Interestingly, Zhang Jing once saw a similar phrase in a Buddhist canon, but looking at it from his current perspective, it is not as simple as a meaningless prayer.

He described three key elements that constitute a true god: “kingdom,” “authority,” and “glory.”

Based on his current understanding, and to use an inaccurate description:

The so-called kingdom is not a real country, but a realm similar to that formed by the gods on the surface of the deep because of their authority.

So-called authority refers to the power and authority that a deity gains based on its control over a certain concept, and it is also a prerequisite for establishing a kingdom.

The so-called glory does not refer to the "honor" or "glory" in the common understanding, but rather to the most essential component of the divine, which carries authority and extends to the realm. In his opinion, glory here can be interpreted as "divinity."

As for how divinity comes about, based on his current understanding, there are some great beings in this world who are born with divinity. They are extraordinary from birth, and the ancient gods of this world were probably such beings.

Humans may seem weak, but based on the memories of his past lives that he had previously collected, he gained a hidden piece of knowledge after returning to his origin: the origin of humanity is not so simple.

Those earliest lives originated from the sowing of a great being, and inherently contained the seeds of divinity. In the scriptures of the Buddhist tradition in this world, it is described that everyone has the seed to become a Buddha, and this seed is also called self-nature, true nature, or true reality. Similar ideas also exist in the classics of the Xuanmen (Taoist) school.

Clearly, these religious scriptures contain some remnants from ancient times.

When these three are combined, they can last "forever".

If Zhang Jing's guess is correct, he has now basically gathered these three elements. However, his current "power" and "kingdom" are not his own, but rather originate from the Heavenly Punishment Sword. However, because he is the controller of the Heavenly Punishment Sword, he has gained control over it.

For his current level of cultivation, this is actually somewhat beyond the scope, but as his cultivation improves, he will soon be able to catch up.

However, he now has more plans; what he wants is not the path that is right in front of him...

Volume Two: The Truth Hidden Behind History Books: Chapter 725 The City God Returns to His Position!

After a moment of silence, he suddenly smiled and shook his head, turning his gaze back to the newly appeared deities on the murals outside the curtain.

Then, he reached into the air and a golden scale appeared in his hand. This golden scale was the same one Zhang Jing had obtained from the underground of the Baladil National Museum in Cidé, the capital of Grande, and he had now roughly figured out how to use it.

He focused his mind and looked at the scales in his hand. The scales floated up from his hand and rose into the air. Then, they began to tremble and gradually grew larger, soon expanding to several meters in size.

Then the scales began to emit light, which grew brighter and brighter until the entire palace was illuminated.

Immediately afterwards, the throne beneath him began to tremble slightly, and then the entire palace began to tremble faintly.

A moment later, light and shadow separated from the scales, and Zhang Jing waved his hand...

"Go..." A phantom image of a scale suddenly pierced through space and projected towards the real world...

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"The City God, alight from your sedan chair!!!"

"bye!!!!!"

"welcome!!!!!"

In the real world, outside the City God Temple, drawn-out shouts echoed as two Taoist priests carried the statue of the City God down from a sedan chair carried by eight men. Around them, many tourists who had followed the statue bowed in reverence; whether they believed or not, at this time, people across the country were eager to receive a lucky blessing.

"Phew..." Zhang Jing, standing in the center of the main hall of the City God Temple, let out a long breath. He could feel that this imperial decree had greatly depleted both the Heavenly Punishment Sword and himself. Fortunately, it was finally done!

Two men carrying a portrait of the City God entered through the main gate of the City God Temple. They then hung the portrait on a clay sculpture of the City God in the main hall, placing it alongside the actual City God sculpture.

"City God, return to your throne!!!"

Beside him, a Taoist priest spoke in a peculiar tone, drawing out his voice and speaking loudly.

At this time, a large number of tourists were craning their necks outside the City God Temple. Temple workers were blocking the main gate, and tourists were not allowed to enter before the City God returned to his place. However, when they heard the sound of the City God returning to his place, some tourists couldn't wait to squeeze in...

Just then, a strong wind suddenly arose around the City God Temple, and the two flags on the flagpole in front of the temple gate, bearing the inscriptions "Peace and Prosperity for the Nation" and "Favorable Weather for Crops," were blown fiercely.

As a result, a light mist began to spread around the temple, not only enveloping the area but also gathering into clouds in the sky above it.

What followed was a scene of clouds moving in all directions!

Large amounts of blue clouds gathered from all directions, and in just a short while, they formed a huge cloud cluster on the top of the City God Temple. These clouds directly blocked the originally sunny sky, and the sky suddenly darkened as the clouds became thick and dense.

"Look, look!!!"

"Mom—what's that?"

Wow! Look!!! Look!!!

"Look at the clouds in the sky!!! They're so strange!!!"

At this moment, tourists on the top of Chenghuang Mountain all turned their gazes to the sky, some even pointing and exclaiming in surprise. The tourists who had been crowding in front of the Chenghuang Temple gate stopped pushing and shoving. Hearing the exclamations behind them, many people dispersed and looked up at the sky.

"The City God has appeared!!"

Someone exclaimed, and suddenly the people around became even more excited. Some people took out their phones and pointed them at the sky to take pictures, while others put their hands together and muttered something.

Just then, amidst the fierce wind, a faint sound could be heard:

"City God, return to your throne!!!"

"City God, return to your throne!!!"

"City God—"

"————Back to your—place!!!"

The sound seemed like an echo of the chanting of that Taoist priest from before, but upon closer listening, it didn't quite sound like it...

The sound was faint, seemingly coming from afar, carried on the wind, yet also seemingly right beside me...

The voices, some high, some low, some old, some young, were not from a single person, but seemed to be the cries of countless people…

At first, one person heard it and thought it was someone nearby calling out. However, when he looked around, he found that no one was making a similar sound. In fact, many people were looking around with surprise and doubt, as if they were also looking for something.

However, the sounds still echoed in my ears, carried by the mountain wind and the thick, blue clouds billowing overhead, layer upon layer, as if countless people were calling out from afar...