I changed the world.

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He planned to focus his efforts on completing the nationwide underworld system. If he succeeded, it would not only mean he truly possessed eyes and ears throughout the country, but also that the supernatural events emerging across the land would be greatly suppressed. It would also mean that faith would begin to accumulate steadily within his system of deification, laying the foundation for the future conferment of even more powerful deities.

Of course, although the plan was as described, there were differences in where to start for other provinces besides Jiangdong Province, which is why Zhang Jing needed Senbaolin's copy of the plan.

What Zhang Jing was most concerned about was the coverage and number of City God Temples and Earth God Temples in various places, as well as the population size, which would directly affect the speed at which these areas would collect faith after the imperial decree.

Some regions, though vast, are sparsely populated and have very few temples. Tibet is a good example. It is a large and sparsely populated area with a large number of ethnic minorities, most of whom practice Buddhism. Zhang Jing plans to deal with these areas last.

Zhang Jing carefully read the document. The territory of Da Zhao was much larger than that of his previous homeland. In addition to the two capitals and 33 provinces, there were also several colonies and overseas vassal states. The document contained a relatively detailed analysis of these regions.

With this document, Zhang Jing quickly determined the next region to be granted an imperial decree—Jian'an Province.

As a region that has been prosperous in maritime trade since ancient times, Jian'an Province, as a rear area during the invasion of the Lin Hu from the north during the reign of Emperor Huanzong, was not affected by the war as the provinces in the Central Plains. It even received many large clans that migrated south from the north to seek refuge. As a result, the traditional culture here has been relatively well preserved.

Furthermore, because Jian'an is located on the coast, the locals rely on the sea for their livelihood. Fishing and maritime trade have always been important industries in the area. As a result, due to the risks and uncertainties at sea being far greater than for inland residents who depend on agriculture, the density of various temples and monasteries in Jian'an is the highest in the country. In the past, many people had the impression that "the people of Jian'an are quite superstitious"...

The survey revealed that the distribution ratio of land temples and city god temples in Jian'an area is the highest in the country. Every village and town has its own land temple or city god temple, and all of them are very popular.

In Zhang Jing's view, this was an excellent region. After being granted the title, it could provide a stable faith for the entire system of imperial decrees in a short period of time and quickly stabilize the operation of the underworld in this region.

Speaking of which… Jian'an Province, isn't that my junior sister's hometown? This thought flashed through Zhang Jing's mind, but he didn't dwell on it, simply finding it quite a coincidence…

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Volume 2, Chapter 7: The Hidden Truth Behind the History Books: Chapter 7, Chapter 48 / Backlash

承和三十七年 2016年4月6日10:23 建安省晋安市淮山庄园

Inside Xu Hanzhang's villa, all the curtains were drawn. Outside, the sky was bright and clear, but inside, it was dim and indistinct, as if they were two different worlds.

In a large room on the second floor, a Taoist priest dressed in a blue robe, wearing a star crown, with a meticulously groomed beard and an otherworldly air, was frowning as he scrutinized everything in the room.

The walls were covered with strangely shaped talismans, the ground was stained with blood that had not been wiped off, and there was an indescribable, strange smell in the air.

In the room was an altar covered with a yellow cloth, on which were placed many Taoist flags, and a dozen oil lamps arranged in a complex shape.

At this point, most of the oil lamps had gone out, with only a few scattered ones providing some light, which only made the whole room appear even more dim and eerie.

Besides, there were no statues or tablets of any deities on the altar, but instead a withered, purplish-black, thin baby, placed in a glass niche with gold trim.

The tiny, thin baby's head had already slipped from its neck and fallen down, rolling onto the table.

If someone unaware of the situation were to wander in and see all this, they would likely be terrified; it's clearly a cult ritual site.

At this moment, the man dressed as a Taoist priest walked to the offering table, picked up the baby's severed head, examined it, and remained silent. If An Huiling's mother had been present, she would have recognized him as none other than the Buddhist monk Liyuan.

“Master, the night before last, I used the secret technique you taught me to send that ghost child to sneak into my cousin’s house, but… after that, I lost contact with the ghost child! I repeatedly activated the secret technique, but it was useless. Instead… instead, it made me look like this…” A hoarse voice came from beside Master Liyuan. The voice came from a man with a sallow complexion. This man was Xu Hanzhang. However, at this moment, he seemed to be seriously ill, as if all his energy had been drained.

"Teacher, why can't I contact my ghost child? Could it be... could it be..." Xu Hanzhang looked at the headless infant on the altar and clearly guessed what was going on, but he still couldn't believe it.

Master Liyuan was also somewhat surprised and uncertain at this moment. After checking several times, he finally frowned and said, "It has indeed dissipated..."

"There's no reason for this..." Master Liyuan muttered to himself, "Could it be that I encountered a heavenly lightning strike to purify myself?"

Then he thought back to the weather of the past few days and quickly dismissed the idea, as there had been no thunderstorms at all.

Could it be that they've encountered a master? Master Liyuan was somewhat hesitant, but he had already thoroughly investigated the An family's background during his time infiltrating them. What master could possibly be...?

Not to mention, in Master Liyuan's view, whether such a highly accomplished person even exists in this world is still debatable...

While Master Liyuan was still hesitating, Xu Hanzhang beside him grew increasingly anxious. Upon hearing that the ghost infant he had raised had indeed vanished, he exclaimed urgently, "Master, this...this...didn't you say before that this spell was unbreakable? How could this be...how could this be..."

"What's the rush!" Venerable Liyuan, annoyed by the noise, snapped, "Let me think..."

Xu Hanzhang, having come to this point, dared not say anything more and could only wait anxiously to the side.

Master Liyuan paced back and forth. His original surname was Yu, and his given name was Yu Huai. He was a Taoist priest who made a living in Southeast Asia. People like him were not uncommon in Dazhao. The ordination certificates of the Taoist sect in Dazhao were extremely difficult to obtain. Not only did one have to pass the relevant examinations, but one also needed a temple or monastery to vouch for them. However, even in those large temples, the number of Taoist priests was limited. It was a situation where one could only enter for every one who left.

Therefore, many people who nominally call themselves Taoist priests are actually unordained Taoist priests without proper ordination certificates.

Of course, there was still some room for maneuver. During the development of Southeast Asia, in order to strengthen the identity and cultural assimilation of the colonies, the government gave preferential treatment to Taoist priests who came to citizenship in Southeast Asia. Li Yuan became a Taoist priest in a small temple in Southeast Asia. After living in the temple for two years, he was lucky. The local authorities were preparing to demolish a heretical cult and invited Taoist priests to perform a water and land ritual to exorcise evil spirits.

This is also a recent government initiative. The Southeast Asian region has a complex religious landscape with various indigenous sects. These sects rise and fall rapidly, with many eventually disappearing into history, leaving behind only altars, mysterious idols, and architectural ruins.

Originally, the locals didn't pay any attention to these places. After all, they were superstitious and considered it bad luck to look at such places, so they didn't want to provoke them. At the same time, the Southeast Asian region is vast and has many jungles, and such relics are sometimes discovered during development.

Recently, with the government issuing a series of decrees to crack down on cults and cults, especially in Southeast Asia, some religious relics and altars have begun to be demolished. However, locals believe that demolishing such places may bring retribution, so they need to invite Taoist priests or monks to perform exorcisms.

During that exorcism, Yu Huai found a small gold baby statue in the ruins. It looked extremely ancient, and because it seemed to be made of gold, Yu Huai secretly hid it.

Because the statue was quite exquisite, he cherished it more and more after returning home and repeatedly caressing it. He then found a rope and wore it around his neck as a pendant. However, in the following days, he had a series of dreams in which he witnessed bloody and bizarre sacrificial rituals...

A week later, at the local hospital, he secretly bribed a nurse to buy a stillborn baby and performed the ritual according to the procedure in his dream. Unexpectedly, it actually succeeded!

In the Southeast Asia region, there has always been a rumor about "raising ghost children." This vaguely circulated rumor has never been seen by anyone. However, this time, Yu Huai believes that what he has obtained should be the real secret technique of "raising ghost children"!

He wanted to gain greater power, so afterwards, he secretly used this secret technique to kill people and collect the corpses to perform further rituals.

After that, he became dissatisfied with his current life. Born into a poor family, he couldn't endure hardship. He didn't become a Taoist priest out of any desire for the Taoist path, but because it was a way to make money without having to work hard. Now that he had power, he naturally wanted to achieve greater things.

So he left the temple where he had been staying and began to travel to various islands in Southeast Asia.

Volume Two: The Truth Hidden Behind History Books: Chapter 749 The Secret Technique of Raising Ghost Children

However, when he first gained power, he still felt awe. He didn't know if there were any other masters in the Taoist temples and monasteries besides himself. He thought that there should be... Therefore, he was extremely careful. He did not continue to kill people, but instead disguised himself as a Taoist master and performed exorcisms and feng shui consultations for people. Because he truly had supernatural powers, he gradually became famous.

Of course, simply looking at feng shui isn't a quick way to make money, so he secretly did two unspeakable things for others during that time. In the process, he truly understood what "making money quickly" meant.

After that, this "truly skilled" master was introduced to a "real big shot," namely Wei Feng, Mr. Wei.

At the same time, through his own observations, he gradually discovered that, not to mention Southeast Asia, even in Jian'an Province, those ancient and famous temples and monasteries, according to his secret observations, did not seem to have any truly capable people. They were basically just charlatans who deceived the world and stole fame.

This boosted his confidence even further, and he realized that his abilities seemed to be far rarer and more precious than he had originally imagined.

He was treated as an honored guest by Wei Feng, who was extremely generous and arranged everything for him, from food and clothing to lodging and transportation. It wasn't until recently that Wei Feng asked him to do something—to deal with the An family of Jin'an.

An An, the head of the well-known domestic and international internet giant Qianluo Group, is the de facto leader of the internet industry in China. An Zhengquan is the first person in China to be recognized as a leading figure in the domestic business community.

Even though such a prominent figure is still regarded as a "newly rich" by some established nobles and local powers, who believe he lacks sufficient foundation, it is actually quite difficult to take action against him using ordinary methods.

The saying goes, "A son of a wealthy family will not sit under a dangerous roof," and An Zhengquan clearly takes his security very seriously.

Even so, this only applies to ordinary people. In Yu Huai's view, directly cursing An Zhengquan to death would not be too difficult for him.

However, what Mr. Wei clearly wanted was not just An Zhengquan's death, but rather for him to secretly approach and deeply influence An Zhengquan's nephew, Xu Hanzhang. Then, they would find a way to let him approach the An family as a "master"...

As for other matters, Mr. Wei has other plans...

As for Yu Huai, he was unaware of the underlying entanglements, but in his view, it was nothing more than a scheme to seize property. He could even guess that this Mr. Wei had been plotting against the An family for a long time and might not be placing all his bets on him alone.

Of course, he didn't care about that. What he valued most was the generous reward that Mr. Wei had promised after the matter was accomplished.

In fact, his previous actions had gone quite smoothly. He first used the alias Master Liyuan and was arranged to become the junior disciple of Abbot Chen of the well-known Qinghe Palace in Jin'an. He didn't know how those people persuaded Abbot Chen, and he didn't have to do any of it. Afterward, through word of mouth, his reputation inexplicably spread in some small circles in Jin'an.

Meanwhile, through an intermediary, he met Xu Hanzhang. At this stage, the young master Xu was clearly not in a good mood. After several meetings, he revealed a little of his skills, letting Xu Hanzhang know that he possessed a "real secret technique".

After that, Xu Hanzhang's interest was successfully piqued, and he began to interact with him more and more frequently. As time went on, the two became more familiar with each other, and at Xu Hanzhang's repeated requests, he took him as his disciple and taught him the "secret technique of raising ghost children".

Of course, he held back during the teaching process. If necessary, he could even have taken Xu Hanzhang's ghost child away. Xu Hanzhang was unaware that the secret techniques he had painstakingly learned were secretly passed on.

During this process, he was introduced by Abbot Chen of Qinghe Palace to An Zhengquan's wife, An Xuqing. With just a little trickery, he gained her trust. Coincidentally, the An family built an ancestral temple at this time, so they invited him to preside over the "Yanfu Palace".

By this time, Mr. Wei had already deposited more than eight figures into one of his overseas accounts and promised that if everything went smoothly, his reward would not be less than nine figures once the matter was settled.

He'd never had so much money before! Especially not so easily!

During this process, he had secretly learned some things about the An family, this grand mansion. The An family's daughter, An Huiling, was originally sickly, suffering from a terminal illness, and it was said that her days were numbered. Therefore, the young master Xu Hanzhang had always been considered the most likely successor to the Qianluo Group. In fact, even Xu Hanzhang himself thought so.

However, for some reason, An Huiling's illness suddenly improved, which made the issue of Qianluo's successor somewhat delicate. Now that their daughter was fine, neither An Zhengquan nor An Xuqing had any reason to push away such a large family business.

However, this put Xu Hanzhang, who had been steadily securing his position as the heir apparent in Qianluo, in an awkward position. Those who had previously tried to curry favor or hint at his intentions now withdrew. Meanwhile, some of Xu's relatives were also caught in the crossfire, as whether Qianluo was under the surname An or Xu made a significant difference to them.

Seeing such a large piece of meat slip away on its own, countless people secretly cursed An Huiling for not dying sooner...

In short, influenced by various factors, Xu Hanzhang took that crucial step on his own, without even needing much guidance from Yu Huai, because he wanted to get rid of his "rival" cousin.

From Yu Huai's perspective, he naturally understood that his adopted disciple had long since fallen into someone else's trap. His wisest choice would have been to do nothing, thus maintaining his wealthy and prestigious status. Otherwise, once he took that step, although he didn't know what those behind the schemes intended to do, he knew it wouldn't end well.

But what does it matter to him? For him, getting the money is the most important thing!

Although the An family treated him well, and Madam An was quite lenient with him, this amount of money was simply not enough...

However, what was unexpected was that things were going smoothly, even according to the script, but then they got stuck at the most crucial step.

The ghost child that Xu Hanzhang trained was inexplicably broken!

What on earth is going on? Could it be that a master has broken the spell?!

Volume Two: The Truth Hidden Behind History Books: Chapter 750 The Destroyed Demon Child

What Yu Huai was certain of was that the ghost child must have been destroyed for some reason, which could be seen from the abnormal state of the infant's mummified corpse.

Yu Huai's secret technique requires the offering of infants who died before full term to cultivate ghost children. In addition, it requires many rituals and items for sacrificial assistance.

After the secret technique is successfully performed, the resulting ghost child has a special connection with the infant corpse originally used for worship. Under normal circumstances, this secret technique cannot be broken by ordinary people. If one truly wants to break it, the best way is to find the place where the ghost child's infant corpse was worshipped and destroy the corpse directly, thereby severing the connection between the ghost child and the caster.

However, this time, it was clearly the other way around; the demon child was directly destroyed! What kind of power was this?

Yu Huai only knew that he had tested it before, and that the Ghost Child was invisible and formless to ordinary people, making it impossible to defend against. Even firearms could not pose a threat to it. So, how did the other party manage to do it?!

Could it really be some kind of accident?

This is not entirely impossible. Perhaps, besides being struck by lightning, there are other possibilities?