Chen Jingzong was a genuine master of military arts and a third-level expert, but had suffered severe injuries that caused him to drop to the second level.
This injury was very grave, and only by using the flesh of a dragon could there be hope of recovery.
Unfortunately, dragons are rare to find. There was only one in the entire Chu Feng and Nan Feng regions—Ao Nu, who was a river god and ranked at the fourth level!
Asking the Chen family’s uncle and nephew to deal with him? Haha…
Therefore, every time Chen Shuncheng saw his uncle lying ill in bed, he felt helpless and became increasingly depressed.
Now, seeing what Wu Ming had bestowed upon him, he was immediately thrilled.
“Thank you, my lord, for your generous gift! From now on, the Chen family will surely serve the governor loyally with our lives!”
What pleased Chen Jingzong most was not merely the hope of recovery, but those large dragon scales!
Military artifacts valued their materials greatly, and those capable of withstanding the aura of soldiers and battle were extremely rare. However, dragon scales were perfectly suited for this purpose.
“With these… the Dragon Scale Spear can be completed. Our Chen family gains a treasured heirloom, and even after death, I can face our ancestors with peace of mind…”
Both Chen Jingzong and Chen Shuncheng knelt down and kowtowed heavily, their heads making loud thuds on the floor.
“Enough, you may leave now!”
Wu Ming waved his hand.
Even though he knew he had already gained the unwavering loyalty of this uncle and nephew pair, what significance did they really hold?
Even if Chen Jingzong fully recovered, he was still merely a master of military arts, a foe that Wu Ming could crush with a single finger. He helped them this time simply because Chen was a rare and capable general.
As for the dragon scales and flesh… Ao Nu could only weep silently in despair…
…
After the Chen family’s uncle and nephew took their leave, Wu Zhi began scrutinizing Wu Ming from head to toe, as if trying to find a flower blooming on his face.
“Why, my dear wife, do you look at me like that?”
Wu Ming leisurely sipped his tea, smiling faintly as he asked.
“Have you… advanced to the rank of Earth Immortal?”
If Wu Zhi still didn’t understand this by now, she would truly deserve to feel ashamed.
“Of course!”
Wu Ming admitted openly. This was not a sensitive matter like the Main Divine Temple, so there was no need to hide it.
“An Earth Immortal!”
Wu Zhi repeated the words again, momentarily rendered speechless.
She naturally understood the weight these two words carried! A thousand years of life, possessing a blessed land, possessing great supernatural powers! He was practically a mythical figure!
And now, Wu Ming stood vividly before her, as if mythology had descended into reality!
“Why… haven’t you figured it out already after these past few nights?”
Seeing Wu Zhi’s stunned expression, Wu Ming teased her, immediately causing the governor’s face to flush red—an occurrence quite rare for her.
However, the two sides of attendants were all female guards of the Fire Phoenix Camp, known for their loyalty and discretion, so there was no danger of the secret spreading.
“My lord’s magnanimity is beyond my own!”
Wu Zhi sighed with a bitter smile, as if she had made a firm decision: “It seems I must also strive harder, so that I may truly be worthy of my husband!”
In truth, the partner of an Earth Immortal was often another Earth Immortal or at least a Heaven Master.
In terms of human governance, that would equate to the level of a province!
Clearly, Wu Zhi had already expressed her determination to seize Dingzhou!
And if Wu Ming were now a Celestial Immortal, then perhaps only an empress could be considered worthy of marrying him.
Wu Ming’s expression remained calm, not in the least doubting that day would come.
“You must first prepare for the Heaven Sacrifice ceremony… as for these matters, I won’t be involved. I wish you every success!”
Wu Ming smiled faintly, then leaned forward, his hand moving swiftly across the table as if writing something.
“What great work is my lord composing?”
Wu Zhi stepped forward, somewhat curious.
Ever since witnessing the miracle of Wu Ming silently writing ten thousand scrolls last time, she had developed a keen interest in his writings.
But this time, Wu Ming politely declined: “It’s merely some strange tales about Western demons and ghosts… nothing refined enough for public display. However, this matter is somewhat secret. If you wish to read it, please ensure it doesn’t leak outside!”
At this, his expression turned solemn.
Wu Zhi naturally recognized that Wu Ming was speaking very seriously, immediately bowing respectfully: “I understand!”
She immediately stood up and addressed the maids around her: “Did you hear that? If even a single word of my lord’s writings leaks out, you will all be punished collectively, with your entire clans executed!”
“Yes, my lady!”
All the Fire Phoenix Guards in the hall knelt down, trembling with fear.
…
“This Wu Zhi… she’s really developed her own aura now!”
Wu Ming watched Wu Zhi leave, a thoughtful smile on his face: “Taming a true dragon of an empire is indeed quite interesting…”
At this moment, he paused his brush, finally revealing the title of the manuscript in his hand—the “Great Zhou Western Records”!
Undoubtedly, this was a fictional manuscript, one that even in peaceful times might struggle to be considered refined or elegant. Naturally, Wu Ming did not write it for amusement or for any sort of remuneration, but rather for the Main Divine Temple!
He gently closed his eyes and communicated with the Main Divine Temple within his consciousness.
Through exploration over this period, Wu Ming had already confirmed the Main Divine Temple’s three primary functions.
“This Main Divine Temple… is actually an ultimate artifact aiding transcendence. Using it merely for combat would be a waste—a butcher’s knife used for embroidery, a great treasure misused… Its true functions should only be three!”
Wu Ming mused: “The first ability is the power to traverse all the ten thousand worlds and even different dimensions, known as ‘Great Lo’!”
Among the countless universes—great, middle, and small—how could one possibly traverse them at will, especially with the presence of Heaven Dao and Human Dao?
Yet the Main Divine Temple possessed this Great Lo ability, allowing free passage and even concealing the Reincarnators, preventing detection by the Heaven Dao and thus avoiding heavenly punishment.
“Of course… the strength of this concealment also depends on how much support the Main Divine Temple provides… Ordinary Reincarnators, as long as they don’t provoke too much outrage, can enjoy the treatment of natives, with great cultivators unable to divine their origins, and heavenly calamities unable to fall upon their heads…”
“The second ability is known as ‘Creation’! With the power of Creation, it can manifest all things in the world, both tangible and intangible, fully complete!”
Without this, where would the Reincarnators’ techniques and wondrous items come from?
“However, whether it’s Great Lo or Creation energy, they are not created from nothing. They must be based on the original power of the world to achieve anything…”
Thinking of the stagnant Original Power Pool, Wu Ming’s face darkened slightly.
He had been plotting the “Great Zhou Western Records” precisely for the third ability of the Main Divine Temple.
“The third ability of the Main Divine Temple is the power to create worlds!”
“Although it seems to derive from the Creation ability, it is not entirely the same, containing even greater power, hence its separate listing…”
This so-called creation of worlds truly meant opening voids, seizing chaos, and establishing small worlds similar to blessed lands or hidden paradises!
Moreover, as long as there was sufficient development, these worlds could continue to evolve, potentially becoming true small worlds, or even middle or great worlds!
“In the past, Main Divine Temple tasks were either sent to other worlds, such as the realms of gods and ghosts or stars, or directly extracted from historical moments for simulation… these created temporary task worlds can be named ‘Illusory Paradises’!”
Wu Ming smirked.
In his view, this Illusory Paradise was an existence between hidden paradises and small worlds.
The reason for listing it separately was naturally because of other benefits… such as… cost-effectiveness!
Compared to the consumption of world power required for traversing the ten thousand worlds or the Creation ability, this Illusory Paradise had much lower requirements.
Because it was illusory, more like a dream realm, if one did not insist on physical presence and only used soul projection, the amount of world power needed would be extremely minimal.
In fact, it could even be replaced by secondary forms of energy!
“This secondary energy, in layman’s terms, is mental energy, or, in other words, the power of belief and prayers…”
Precisely for this reason, Wu Ming had decided to write a novel and attempt to promote it.
As long as the readership was large enough, over time the accumulated mental energy might truly give rise to the Illusory Paradise of this novel’s world.
Furthermore, if it could continue to improve, one day transforming the world from illusion to reality might not be impossible!
“The entertainment industry in the Great Zhou world, especially in this area, is truly underdeveloped…”
At this thought, Wu Ming’s expression darkened slightly: “Besides, using someone else’s work to generate a world—how could that compare to creating my own? If my estimation is correct… once the world of *Great Zhou Western Records* is formed, by virtue of my dual roles as the original author and creator, I might directly gain immeasurable benefits! These would hold significant reference value for accumulating and exploring realms beyond the Celestial Immortal stage…”
In summary, this was an experiment Wu Ming was conducting.
Of course, he had no intention of personally handling the promotion. Instead, he planned to recruit several Reincarnators as his subordinate agents.
After all, once selected as Reincarnators, Wu Ming could directly control their lives and deaths through the Main Divine Temple, arbitrarily restraining them and ensuring no information leaked.
This would completely eliminate any potential hidden dangers.
(Note: The original Chinese phrase “隐患” can be translated as “hidden dangers,” “potential risks,” or “latent hazards.” The translation provided maintains the emphatic tone of the original sentence while ensuring natural English phrasing.)
“Among the thousand or so Reincarnator reserves, there are already great merchants and even so-called ‘masters of traditional arts’… I can simply issue orders through the Main Divine Temple for them to promote the work. If any resist, immediate execution and silence will follow!”
Needless to say, when it came to ensuring his own safety, Wu Ming had always been relentless.
…
In the sixth year of the Peaceful Reign, on the twenty-seventh day of the third month.
Due to a prolonged drought, Governor Wu Zhi, accompanied by civil and military officials, left the city to offer sacrifices to Heaven.
Historical records state: “…the governor ascended the altar to worship Heaven, and soon dark clouds gathered, bringing a timely rain. The people rejoiced and hailed her as a deity!”
This event immediately dispelled previous rumors and instead adorned Wu Zhi with an aura of “Heaven’s Mandate.”
Taking advantage of this favorable opportunity, previous policies, such as awarding land to soldiers and selecting officials through imperial examinations, were smoothly implemented.
After settling military and administrative affairs, Wu Zhi ordered the elimination of the elderly and weak from the army, converting them into garrison troops for land reclamation. Some were assigned to various counties and villages as landlords, while others were utilized for land cultivation. Simultaneously, officials were selected through imperial examinations to consolidate her foundation.
The Nanfeng Army was reorganized, handpicking the finest from the elite. After rigorous training, under Wu Zhi’s command, they finally set off in a mighty and imposing march toward Dingyuan Commandery!
At once, the entire province was shaken!
Wu Zhi, a woman, had risen to the position of Governor. Within just a month of quelling the rebellion, she finally extended her hand onto the world stage, stirring up a storm!
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