I changed the world.

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Seeing his father's constantly changing expression, Wei Chengguang added a final, decisive sentence: "I heard that some nobles are selling off stocks related to the deep space concept, so I feel that you should be careful about investing in this area, Dad..."

“Honey, if that’s the case, then you should take another look and not rush to buy it…” Wei Chengguang’s mother also chimed in.

At this point, Wei Hanwen was already wavering. After all, this was a large sum of money, representing years of hard-earned savings and valuable working capital for his business. His original idea was to make a quick buck, but if he lost it all due to a failed investment, his family couldn't afford it.

"Then I won't buy it for now, I'll look around some more..." He thought for a moment, and finally sighed.

Then, he looked at his son again: "Chengguang, you're an adult now. Besides studying hard at school, you should also make sure to make more friends. The fact that your classmate said these things to you this time shows that he considers you a friend. Friends like that are rare, so you should reciprocate. In the future, treat him to meals and such. Don't be stingy; our family isn't short of money..."

Afterwards, Wei Hanwen began to talk at length about the art of making friends with his son. Wei Chengguang could only nod and agree. After the meal, there was an unexpected gain. Apparently, his father felt that his son had also developed "effective social skills," so he decided to increase Wei Chengguang's allowance and told him not to be stingy at school, lest others look down on him.

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承和三十七年 2016年4月4日15:43 临州城隍山

Three huge red flags led the way, followed by a bronze gong carried by two people, and behind the gong was a large red drum, which was beaten as they walked.

Further behind was a large sedan chair carried by eight people. Inside the sedan chair was not a living person, but a huge portrait. The portrait depicted a deity wearing a red official robe, a black gauze crown, with a dignified face, a long black beard, and a golden halo behind him.

Following the eight-bearer sedan chair came a group of musicians carrying wind and percussion instruments, then various parasols and colorful flags, and finally a large crowd of people, young and old, with firecrackers constantly going off all around, making it look very lively.

Today is the Cold Food Festival. According to tradition, on this day, the City God Temple holds a procession ceremony for the City God. Although with the development of technology and the intermingling and collision of various beliefs, there are not many people who truly believe in the City God nowadays, this does not mean that people do not want to join in the fun. Every year at this time, many people follow the City God's procession to watch. Besides watching the excitement, some people also hope to get good luck.

Volume Two: The Truth Hidden Behind History Books: Chapter 720 Linzhou City God Temple

The City God's procession usually starts at eight o'clock in the morning from the City God Temple. At this time, prominent figures and even many officials from Linzhou will usually be present, because in traditional customs, inviting the City God out is an extremely auspicious event. People of high status are generally willing to come and share in the good fortune. Of course, they will not come empty-handed and will all make some offerings to the temple.

The procession then proceeded along the traditional route, circling the old city of Linzhou. Every few miles, the procession would stop to rest and allow the local people to offer their prayers. This meant that the entire procession would usually end around 3 or 4 p.m. before returning to the City God Temple.

At this moment, the City God's procession was coming to an end. The sedan chair bearers, all looking exhausted, were heading along the mountain path of City God Mountain towards the City God Temple at the summit.

At this moment, the City God Temple on the mountaintop was quite deserted, probably because all the tourists and temple workers had gone down the mountain to welcome the returning City God procession, leaving the mountainside rather deserted.

At that very moment, a young man dressed in a Taoist robe and wearing a jade crown was strolling toward the City God Temple.

This person was Zhang Jing. Since his transmigration, this was his first time visiting the City God Temple. In fact, in his memory, the original owner of this body had lived in Linzhou for several years, but had never been here before.

This subtle observation reveals a deeper truth, and to some extent, it also represents a shift in social culture...

Zhang Jing spent the entire morning meditating in the cave, needing to spend considerable time consolidating and digesting his previous gains.

It wasn't until the afternoon that he left the cave and arrived at the Linzhou City God Temple.

For him, there is still one important thing to do today.

The Linzhou City God Temple is quite large, standing over 20 meters tall and covering an area of ​​nearly 4000 square meters. The main building is a three-story wooden pavilion with dougong brackets and flying eaves, and the overall architecture reflects the style of the Qi and Qian periods.

Outside the City God Temple are many stone tablets, all inscribed by scholars and literati throughout the ages. Zhang Jing strolled along, admiring them like an ordinary tourist. When he arrived at the entrance of the City God Temple, he stopped in front of a black stone tablet inscribed with vigorous calligraphy: "Eight hundred miles of lakes and mountains, who knows when this painting was created? Ten thousand lights of homes all gather here in this pavilion."

Continuing forward, Zhang Jing arrived at the mountain gate, where two flagpoles stood opposite it. Flying on the flagpoles were two banners: one inscribed "Peace and Prosperity for the Nation" and the other "Favorable Weather for Crops."

On the thick wooden pillars on either side of the mountain gate are two couplets:

"In this mortal world, whether you do good or evil is entirely up to you."

Throughout history, who has the underworld spared?

After pausing to read, he entered the mountain gate. Behind the mountain gate was another main gate, above which hung a plaque that read "City God Temple," flanked by couplets:

"Having come here, I have no regrets."

Those who commit evil deeds will terrify us.

After entering the main gate, one arrives at the main hall of the City God Temple. At the center of the hall is enshrined a statue of the City God of Linzhou, seated high on a gilded throne. His official robes are painted gold, and his face is solemn. Above the statue's head is a plaque inscribed with the words: "His Majestic Power and Manifest Power."

On the two large vermilion pillars on either side are couplets in gold lettering:

Good and evil will eventually be rewarded.

"Heaven is watching from above."

Surrounding the statue of the City God are also enshrined officials such as civil and military judges, ox and horse generals, black and white impermanence, and day and night wandering gods.

Zhang Jing stopped in the main hall of the City God Temple and looked up at the plaque that read "Majestic and Manifested Spirit". Unlike his previous life, in this world of Da Zhao, every city has a City God Temple. Although many City God Temples have become tourist attractions, the sacrificial system still exists and has not completely fallen into disrepair.

Zhang Jing had previously verified relevant information. In the third year of the Jian Shi era, Emperor Taizu issued an edict, bestowing the title of "Capital City God" upon the City God of the capital, "Prefectural City God" upon the City God of the prefecture, and "County City God" upon the City God of the county, thus equating the City God with the official titles of the imperial court.

Following this, in the eighth year of the Jian Shi era, Emperor Taizu issued another edict, bestowing the title of "King" upon the City God of the capital, "Duke" upon the City Gods of various prefectures, "Marquis" upon the City Gods of various states, and "Earl" upon the City Gods of various counties.

Even after the modern reforms, when the national administrative divisions changed from prefectures, states, and counties to provinces, cities, and counties, the title of the City God system has been retained.

Linzhou is the capital of Jiangdong Province, which was the prefectural city in the past. Therefore, the city god was named "Duke of Mighty Spirit". This plaque with the inscription "Mighty Spirit and Illustrious" comes from this.

The increasingly clear sounds of drums and firecrackers were coming from outside the City God Temple, accompanied by a noisy commotion and children's laughter. Clearly, the procession was returning.

Zhang Jing's eyes flashed with fire. In his vision of the City God, besides the clay statue that ordinary people could see, there were countless threads that gathered from somewhere outside the temple, just like the Earth God statue he had seen that day. However, the number of threads on the City God statue in Linzhou was even greater than that of the Earth God temple that day.

Most of these threads were extremely thin, as if they would break at the slightest breeze. Zhang Jing knew that these threads represented faith. Clearly, the majority of believers in the City God were not particularly devout.

Fortunately, perhaps due to the City God's procession today, these silk threads were extremely dense, and although their quality was not high, their quantity appeared to be enormous...

Following these threads downwards, ever downwards, ever forwards towards a more fundamental level, towards the abyss...

It was a chaotic and desolate world, gloomy and dark, boundless and of unknown size.

From Zhang Jing's perspective at that moment, it wasn't a single world, but rather a collection of countless worlds filling the space within it...

Just like countless bubbles...

Every bubble is a world!

In some worlds, there are layers upon layers of white objects; upon closer inspection, they are all skeletons—countless skeletons, some human, some animal, countless remains scattered here…

In some worlds, there is a turbulent ocean like lava, where scorched, ghostly creatures wail and are burned, unable to escape...

In another world, there was a dark forest. The trees were bare, devoid of any sign of life, as if a wildfire had just raged. Branches stretched towards the sky like ghostly claws. Humanoid monsters roamed the forest. These monsters were hideous, their faces as thin as charcoal, their throats as small as needles, yet their bellies as large as drums. They searched the forest, stuffing anything edible into their mouths. However, the objects would instantly turn to flames upon entering their mouths, forcing them to spit them out…

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Volume Two: The Truth Hidden Behind History Books: Chapter 721 Understanding the "Underworld"

Every bizarre and fantastical region, without exception, exudes an aura of deathly silence, terror, and despair...

This is the afterlife, or more accurately, it's not the real afterlife, but rather something that exists dependent on civilization itself, a deep-seated concept in humanity's collective subconscious called the "underworld"...

Among these worlds, some seem to possess order, containing cities and architecture...

In some worlds, there are enormous cities that, upon closer inspection, resemble ruins. Within these cities walk pale-faced people, expressionless and silent...

In some worlds, there are enormous temples, where colossal gods sit, their faces sinister, holding a book in one hand and a pen in the other, drawing an X on the book… Some people kneel before them, weeping bitterly, only to be devoured by enormous monsters the next moment…

In some worlds, there are long bridges, and weeping figures walk on them. An old woman brews tea at one end of the bridge, serving it to everyone who approaches with a sinister smile...

These are all entities called "Yin Si" (the underworld). Clearly, although in folk beliefs, the City God is the superior of the land god, in the accumulated understanding over time, unlike the land god who is mostly perceived as "protecting the area" and having great "agricultural god" authority for "harvests," the City God, although also having the concept of "protecting the area," is still most people's primary understanding of him as "Yin Si."

This is probably also influenced by the edict issued by Emperor Taizu hundreds of years ago, which gradually formed a consensus among the people that the City God is mainly a "Yin Official" system corresponding to the "Yang Official".

The City God is a "Yin official" or "Yin deity".

Zhang Jing observed these worlds, some strange, some desperate, some terrifying, some desolate. At the same time, inexplicable calls began to appear in his mind, carrying an unparalleled peace, like a final destination...

At the same time, some inexplicable forces condensed into black chains, wrapping around Zhang Jing and trying to pull him into those worlds. In those worlds, certain beings looked at Zhang Jing with longing eyes.

But then, in the next instant, a bolt of lightning swept across the black chains that had been locked together, and those chains twisted and turned to ashes...

Zhang Jing watched all this indifferently. He knew that this was a distortion brought about by the concept of the "underworld" itself; "death" itself was trying to devour everything that approached it...

He focused his attention on the silk threads that had gathered from the City God Temple in Linzhou. This time, the countless silk threads did not converge into one world, but instead gathered at one point. Then, they dispersed and entered different worlds.

This is a difference in perception...

Zhang Jing silently observed all of this and came to this realization. Human beings have the strongest understanding of death, yet the differences in this understanding are also the most pronounced, even regarding the subconcept of "City God."

Zhang Jing quickly found the world where the silk threads were most densely gathered. It was a huge city that vaguely resembled Linzhou City, but it looked much older than the current Linzhou City, as if the current Linzhou City had been reverted to history.

The ancient city walls, the dark streets, and the thick fog all around made it seem as if the sun never shone. The sky was gloomy and dark, with neither sun nor moon.

On the city gate, Zhang Jing saw a weathered plaque with two characters written on it: "Linzhou".

The entire city resembled a faded black-and-white photograph, filled with an ancient and decaying atmosphere. Upon closer inspection, most of the buildings were damaged and riddled with cracks, some even collapsed. Some dazed people wandered through the streets and alleys, devoid of any vitality.

In the heart of the city stood a colossal palace, its style resembling the Linzhou City God Temple Zhang Jing had previously seen, only its area and volume were many times larger.

However, compared to the splendor of the Linzhou City God Temple, this palace was equally dilapidated. Although it was not yet in a state of collapse, the weathering and peeling everywhere, as well as the stench of decay emanating from it, could not escape Zhang Jing's observation.

A colossal deity sat atop the main hall of the palace, clad in official robes, his face grim...

In addition, around Him, and in other parts of the palace, there were enormous deities with faces that were either somber or terrifying.

At this very moment, inside the palace situated on the edge of the abyss, Zhang Jing's gaze pierced through layers of curtains, landing on a deity depicted in a mural...

Meanwhile, in the City God Temple of Linzhou, Zhang Jing stood in the main hall, and the Heavenly Punishment Sword behind him emerged from the void.

Outside the City God Temple in Linzhou, firecrackers were exploding, and the deafening sounds of gongs, drums, and music filled the surrounding space. A large number of tourists followed the City God's procession to the temple. Some were laughing, some were watching curiously, and others were taking pictures with their mobile phones...

Dense threads of faith converged into the abyss, and the chaotic world called "Yin Si" began to stir under the influence of some external force. Some bubble worlds began to break, and the broken parts began to merge into the world called "Linzhou Yin Si".

Meanwhile, the world called "Linzhou Underworld" began to expand, and the cities within it began to change. Those cities, which seemed to have been weathered and neglected for countless years, began to change. Although they were still gloomy and old, they no longer had that sense of decay and corruption...

Meanwhile, within the palace at the heart of the city, some chambers are undergoing changes, and some deities are beginning to appear, while others are being swallowed by darkness…

The enormous deity atop the main hall of the palace seemed to sense something and began to look around... However, at this moment, it could not move at all. Just like the land that Zhang Jing had seen before, it was now merely a fabricated deity, a collection of concepts in its subconscious mind, an illusory existence formed by its inherent cognition.