Dimensional Codex System: I'm really not a cultist!

Chapter 1356: Chapter 1355: Northbound All the Way

Vaisravana has fallen in battle, his divine soul completely obliterated!

As soon as this news broke, all the realms erupted into an uproar! Whether deity, yokai, or ghost, all were left stunned by this revelation!

The death of Vaisravana might have been acceptable—after all, many deities perished back when the Martial King waged war against the tyrant—but the complete annihilation of his divine soul was something entirely different!

Moreover, shortly after this declaration, many noticed that every statue, painting, and scripture related to Vaisravana on Earth spontaneously combusted, reduced to ashes in the blink of an eye. It can be said that all traces of Vaisravana in the mortal realm have been obliterated!

No more of this deity, no more of this intent!

The celestial beings and yokai were shocked, both by the miserable demise of one of the Four Heavenly Kings under the Tathagata Buddha and by Fang Zheng’s ruthlessness. Meeting face to face, not only did he slay one of the Four Heavenly Kings, but he also obliterated the soul, rendering reincarnation impossible!?

The enmity of a father’s murder is no worse than this!!

Amidst all this chaos, Fang Zheng couldn’t care less. He proceeded methodically northward, attacking the Jin Army, occupying land, spreading the faith of Nuwa, while simultaneously conducting religious, political, and economic reforms.

Though the Jin Army was cruel, Fang Zheng admitted that there were some benefits to their presence. His reforms were almost entirely modeled after the present world, where all land was nationalized, redistributed for agricultural reform; farmers could cultivate crops, surrender what was due to the nation, and keep the rest for themselves.

In the realm of the Southern Song, such policies by Fang Zheng could never last due to the strong influence of the landlord class. Fang Zheng had no interest in entangling with those folks. However, in the north, the Han landlords were almost entirely wiped out with the arrival of the Jin Army, saving Fang Zheng a lot of trouble.

Otherwise, he would have had to personally overthrow the landlord class, truly a hassle.

For the northern populace, Fang Zheng’s arrival not only saved them from the dire straits under the Jin Army but also offered them an entirely new, refreshing experience. Fang Zheng’s policies thoroughly transformed the custom of tenant farming for landlords. Furthermore, the advent of the Zeppelin altered their way of life, and yokai gradually integrated into human society, using their mystical powers to live and fight alongside humans.

As they personally experienced the benefits, people gradually embraced Nuwa’s faith. In promoting it, Fang Zheng chose not to adopt the Western religious concept but instead utilized the prevalent ancestor worship of the Divine Territory. He preached that Nuwa was the ancestor of all beings in the Central Plains of the Divine Territory, molding humans from clay and granting life to all. She mended the heavens with stones and led people against the floods, then stayed in the mortal world to fight for humanity, only to be erased by malicious individuals, losing faith. Now, it’s time to return to the original source, to the great way!

Deeply versed in the manipulation of online discourse as a modern youth with strong ideals, Fang Zheng understood the importance of public opinion. However, he also knew that merely declaring Nuwa as the righteous deity while deeming the others evil demons wouldn’t work. The best strategy was to use public opinion to undermine the prestige of those deities in the mortal world.

Thus, under Fang Zheng’s covert operations, a slew of rumors quickly spread across the streets and alleys, featuring articles like ”The Dark Side of Buddhist Scriptures,” ”The Untold Stories of Becoming a Buddha,” and ”Is Building One’s Happiness on Others’ Suffering Truly Appropriate for a Buddha?” These were subtle criticisms and soft articles.

These were not rumors but rather reevaluations of the Buddhist tales from a different perspective.

Take, for instance, a story in the scriptures where a bodhisattva, as a mortal man, was devoted to Buddhism and avoided women. Yet, his parents arranged a marriage with an exceedingly beautiful and virtuous woman. They married and lived together for five years.

After five years, the bodhisattva suddenly repented, believing his lack of willpower led to temptation by women. Therefore, he abandoned his wife and fled. On the road, he encountered another woman resembling his wife, again succumbed to temptation, and cohabited for ten years. Then, he repented once more and fled again. Upon arriving at a third household, he found yet another similar-looking woman and proposed marriage. This time, the bodhisattva truly repented, conceived the thought of ”Four Impermanences,” and the illusion of his wife vanished, revealing all Buddhas who guided him to the Western Paradise to attain Buddhahood.

This was meant as a popular little Buddhist story, encouraging believers to remain devoted and not to be tempted by beauty.

However, Fang Zheng astutely questioned from a different angle—was this bodhisattva truly worthy of being one?

The reason is simple—he was married, with a wife who was kind and virtuous. Yet, the bodhisattva, driven by selfish thoughts, abandoned his wife, leaving home. Though he ultimately attained Buddhahood, what became of his abandoned wife? Everyone knows how pitiable life was for a wife abandoned by her husband in ancient times, especially since she did nothing wrong yet was unjustly abandoned without even a word from her husband, who achieved Buddhahood by abandoning her instead.

Is it not problematic that such irresponsible men can become Buddhas?

If everyone emulated the bodhisattva, thinking wives hindered their path to Buddhahood, abandoning their wives without notice, forcing them into widowhood; would there be any law and order in society?

The story remains unchanged, but Fang Zheng’s questioning from another perspective immediately altered its essence.

Then there’s the contemporary popular online tale where a young man, heartbroken, seeks a monk and Buddha. The monk pours tea, filling it so hot the young man dare not release the cup, a snippet widely circulated.

These anecdotes are witty and humorous, with a sharp perspective. More importantly, most ordinary people can understand them and even personally relate to the ideas and principles within, making them much easier to accept than those headache-inducing Buddhist scriptures. Both people and Yokai have a rebellious streak to some extent, so these kinds of anecdotes that mock the gods and buddhas in secret naturally suit their tastes.

Not to mention, Fang Zheng’s recent ”live broadcast” in secret already dealt a significant blow to the prestige of Buddhism. With these ”little tales” coming out, it further pushed Buddhism’s reputation among the masses to the edge. There are even people with too much time on their hands who specifically went to the temples to ask the monks if these stories made sense.

Poor monks who spend their days eating vegetarian and chanting scriptures, how could they have ever encountered these misleading ideas from the modern internet? One by one, they were left dumbfounded, not knowing how to respond. This made quite a few people even more convinced that these ”little tales” were the truth. Otherwise, why couldn’t those monks even refute them?

In this way, under Fang Zheng’s maneuvering, Buddhism was almost defeated across the entire Divine Territory. Many temples that were once flourishing began to quiet down. Fang Zheng even demolished all the deserted temples within his territory and rebuilt them into Nuwa’s Temples, which were much more popular among the common people.

After all, as opposed to temples that were useless and costly, the Nuwa’s Temples, incorporating the functions of various public facilities, naturally offered more help to the people.

Think about it, when you’re facing a famine, when you’re troubled by bandit invasions, when you need to send your kids to school, and you have to turn to Nuwa’s Temple for help, wouldn’t you gradually become a believer in Nuwa?

Compared to the intangible blessings of the afterlife, these tangible benefits are what’s most important!

This is precisely why the Order Sanctuary is so respected in the Main World!

If you’re not thinking about serving the people and just focus on feeding on them through vegetarian meals and scripture, you’re going to get what’s coming to you!

Meanwhile, Fang Zheng also led his army northward and finally arrived at Jin Dynasty’s capital, Shangjing.

At this moment, Fang Zheng’s military strength had risen to a new level. The mysterious existence that aided Fang Zheng provided him not only with that ”treasure,” but also countless Scrolls of Cultivation containing the principles of heaven and earth. Relying on this knowledge, Fang Zheng gathered quite a few Yokai along the way, including some Great Demons that had cultivated for thousands of years, and even a few jiao dragons!

However, the situation over at Shangjing was equally grim.

”This is quite the spectacle.”

Standing on the deck and looking at the distant Shangjing, Fang Zheng curled the corners of his mouth slightly. Before him, the sky above Jin Dynasty’s capital was filled with colorful auspicious clouds, within which countless figures could be vaguely seen wandering. Celestial music and the sound of chanting drifted with the wind, and the figures of Celestial Generals could be seen everywhere.

Compared to the previous small skirmishes, this time, both Buddhism and Taoism seemed to be exerting their full strength.

”Hmph, but we’re no pushovers either... MUSIC!”

Listening to the celestial music coming from the opposite side, Fang Zheng snorted coldly, then suddenly waved his hand. The next moment, Nie Xiaoqian and Aya promptly turned on the loudspeakers on the flying boat.

Following that, a song beloved by the masses began to play.

”You are my dear, little apple, just like the most beautiful cloud in the sky...”

”...........”

Hearing this song, Fang Zheng paused, turning to look at the two of them.

I asked you to play Ten Faces Ambush, and you give me a square dance song? What’s the deal? Playing ”East Wind Breaks” would have been better!

If someone were to look over, they would see that on the side of Shangjing, colorful auspicious clouds filled the sky, with Celestial Generals holding banners high, and a Full Sky of Gods and Buddhas presiding within, resonating with celestial music. Opposite them, dark clouds loomed, with countless metal flying boats forming an ironclad formation, various Yokai and jiao dragons mixed in, projecting an aura of good versus evil showdown’s final climax.

Of course, this is all if you ignore that resounding ”light up my life with fire fire fire fire fire...”