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

It was out of curiosity that he came to wander, but unexpectedly, he obtained surprising information. For Fang Zheng, this counted as an unexpected gain.

Not only that, this was also an opportunity...

”Where is Daji?”

Standing on the cliff, Fang Zheng called out softly. Soon, a pure white fox with nine tails burst out from the forest not far behind him, then with a flash of its figure, transformed into a woman who gracefully saluted Fang Zheng.

”Your Majesty, what are your orders?”

This fox before him was, of course, not the one from The Investiture of the Gods. In fact, this was just a yokai who had followed Fang Zheng from the Carefree Palace after transforming. Fang Zheng had given them names. Naturally, since Fang Zheng named them, he didn’t care much for conventions, giving them any kind of name.

For instance, this Nine-Tailed Demon Fox also had a younger sister whom Fang Zheng named Tamamo-no-Mae... does it matter that much? As long as I find it easy to remember, isn’t that enough?

Why should I care about respecting history?

”How is the recent border situation?”

As the Emperor who held mastery over this land from life to death, Fang Zheng was truly unprecedented. After all, generally speaking, mortal realm rulers couldn’t connect with other worlds. However, Fang Zheng not only ruled the Human Realm but also took control of the Underworld and the Demon Realm, which is another reason this nation was so prosperous.

”The recent border situation... I’m sorry, I haven’t received any particularly significant news.”

The Imperial Court mainly dealt with the Mortal Realm’s border affairs, but in the non-realistic world, Fang Zheng assigned this task to the Demon Clan, because the City Gods and Earth Deities of the Underworld were local foxes who couldn’t leave their jurisdiction to roam, so the task had to be given to yokai who could wander the wilderness.

”I see...”

”Is there something wrong, Your Majesty?”

”Hmm, earlier I encountered a group of yokai fleeing to safety and got some interesting news from them...”

As he spoke, Fang Zheng relayed the words of the Celestial Maiden to Daji, and after listening, Daji’s expression slightly changed.

”Is this true?”

”The other party is well hidden, and they haven’t fully entered our country yet. Currently, they’ve only been brushed by the edge of a sweeping hurricane. Perhaps for this reason, others seem not to have noticed, and the local deities didn’t bother to report it to me.”

This was quite normal, not that they were hiding information on purpose, but Fang Zheng was, after all, dealing with numerous administrative tasks daily as the absolute Emperor. He had to govern all major affairs of the Mortal Realm, the Demon Realm, and the Underworld. Thus, an outside spreading religion that hadn’t caused any specific damage couldn’t be brought to bother him.

In fact, if it weren’t for Fang Zheng’s persistent adversarial Reputation towards Buddhism, he might not have noticed the trickery in it.

”But Your Majesty, it’s also possible those yokai are lying, right?”

”Of course, but it doesn’t matter, I have a backup plan... You first go investigate over there, send people to those countries to see the situation, and then...”

”And then?”

Upon hearing this, Daji’s eyes brightened.

”Are we going to start a war, Your Majesty?”

”I am a pacifist.”

Fang Zheng waved his hand with a smile.

”If people don’t offend me, I won’t offend them. You see, if they aren’t specifically coming after us, we won’t act recklessly, right?”

”Yes, after all, our Great Han is a peaceful and prosperous country.”

Daji replied with a grin, and the two exchanged glances. Indeed, Fang Zheng would not expand randomly, starting a war wasn’t his intention. But as Fang Zheng said, if someone comes after me, then my counterattack is justified defense.

Even if accidentally you get annexed... it’s just excessive defense.

If a mouse challenges an elephant and gets crushed, it’s naturally its own problem.

Of course, Fang Zheng didn’t unite the forces of the three realms for this reason, since, after all, humans and yokai are different, and each world has its own rules and orders. Even during an external war, unless yokai from the other side retaliate, Fang Zheng wouldn’t deploy yokai armies.

In this case, if the opponent comes through yokai, Fang Zheng will also use yokai to retaliate.

If they reach the Mortal Realm... they’re preparing to taste the power of the Industrial Revolution era’s army.

”Understood, I will immediately send someone to investigate.”

Just like the Great Han’s citizens, yokai here rarely leave. After all, the Great Han is vast and resourceful, providing enough space for most yokai, and as long as they follow the rules, yokai here can live easily. On the contrary, the wild, untamed world outside is as repelling to the Great Han’s yokai as it is to mortals. Those places are full of unknown spirits, and unlike the orderly Great Han, so yokai usually care little about matters outside the Great Han.

But now, since Fang Zheng has given the order, Daji naturally won’t ignore it.

”Yes, also inquire with the Mountain Gods there to see if there are any clues, and Daji...”

Saying this, Fang Zheng helplessly stared at the woman behind him, sighing.

”How many times have I told you not to use Ji Yanran’s appearance to play around, do you find it fun to tease me?”

”It is indeed very fun, Your Majesty.”

Faced with Fang Zheng’s words, Daji, with the appearance of Ji Yanran, smiled slightly and then turned her figure, transforming into a youthful and energetic girl.

”I thought this would make you happy.”

”What’s there to be happy about? It just feels weird.”

”Really? But why doesn’t Your Majesty let that person’s soul reincarnate into the world? If you did, you could meet again, wouldn’t you?”

”Hmm......”

Upon hearing Daji’s inquiry, Fang Zheng narrowed his eyes, staring at her.

”Have you been reading some spooky stuff again lately?”

”As expected, Your Majesty found out.”

Daji playfully stuck out her tongue.

”I recently bought a book called ’Eternal Love’, which tells the story of a man and woman’s love over three lifetimes. It’s truly touching. Mortals may have short lifespans, but that’s what makes it interesting......”

”A novel is a novel, reality is reality. Please don’t mix novels with reality.”

With the popularization of printing, novels naturally spread. Of course, love novels were always the most popular in any era... By the way, the novels in this world are quite advanced, with styles similar to online literature in later times. Whether it’s cultivators, demon beasts, or mortals, anyone can write the story they want.

Speaking of which, Fang Zheng suddenly stepped forward, reached out, and gently caressed Daji’s face.

”Besides... you always use someone else’s face. What if I forget what you look like? Such a cute little fox; if forgotten, it would be a pity...”

”Your, Your, Your Majesty...”

Feeling Fang Zheng’s gaze, Daji’s face was now completely red, but Fang Zheng gave her no chance to struggle; instead, he lowered his head and gave her a deep kiss, then whispered in her ear.

”Don’t be so naughty again in the future, understand?”

”Ah... Yes......”

Faced with Fang Zheng’s words, Daji frantically nodded, then turned around like a startled little rabbit and ran away. Watching her figure blur and transform back into the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox, disappearing, Fang Zheng laughed and wiped his mouth corner.

”Little girl, want to compete with me? You’re still millennia away.”

Fang Zheng thought things were stable after entrusting the matter to Daji. He casually strolled around before boarding a private train heading directly to the border region of the Southern Barbarians. However, upon arrival, Fang Zheng realized he had oversimplified the situation.

First, Fang Zheng disguised his identity and went to a county office—strictly speaking, this wasn’t a disguise. As the Emperor of Great Han, he could appoint himself 007 if he wanted, or Rambo, or even a royal secret agent, all top-quality and genuine, Emperor-exclusive......

Thus, Fang Zheng investigated the county office under a national security identity, but the response was that everything was peaceful here, nothing strange happened......

Considering the possibility of mortals deceiving superiors and hiding issues, Fang Zheng found the local City God after leaving the county office, but the City God also claimed everything was peaceful, no strange incidents had occurred, and no one had burnt incense and prayed for such......

When Daji came to join him, she found the same situation. She went to the mountain to ask the Mountain God, but he responded similarly, indicating no one had gone missing or sought help. Simply put—a single sentence—nothing strange happened.

”Your Majesty, could those yokai be fooling you? There’s nothing going on here.”

Returning without any findings left the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox quite displeased, while Fang Zheng thought for a moment and waved his hand.

”No, let’s assess the situation first. I believe the Celestial Maiden wouldn’t fool me so easily. There’s definitely an overlooked issue here... Have you sent out your external spies?”

”Sent them out, they’ll report back in a few days.”

To verify the authenticity of the information provided by the Celestial Maiden, Fang Zheng planned to investigate both domestically and the Southern Barbarians and Western Regions, to determine if spiritual energy had truly been exhausted and landscapes had been ravaged. These are natural laws, beyond falsification. As long as evidence is found, at least some authenticity can be proven.

The two sat in the tea shop, drinking tea and passing the time. Just then, several rural men arrived, sitting at a nearby tea table and ordering tea, then wiping their sweat. Watching these rough folks, Daji was visibly displeased; she tugged on Fang Zheng’s sleeve to signal leaving, yet the men began chatting.

”Wow, this weather sure is hot...”

”Yeah, yeah, I feel like I’m about to pass out...”

”Hey, speaking of which, remember Aunt Hann from the village? She fainted a while ago while working in the field, and I heard she’s still not recovered? Geez, at her age, she should enjoy home life, why torture herself outside.”

”Old folks are like that, can’t stay idle; it’s a burden on their eldest son. With Aunt Hann down, you can bet the medical bills are piling up again.”

”Haha, you’re wrong there.”

”What’s wrong?”

”Aunt Hann, I saw her yesterday, she’s in good spirits.”

”Impossible, she’s seventy, eighties, fell off the field pretty severely, I heard the doctor said her leg’s broken and can’t be fixed?!”

”Let me tell you......”

At this point, the middle farmer lowered his voice.

”I heard from Hann Family Eldest, he said he encountered Immortals hunting in the mountain!”

Upon hearing this, Fang Zheng immediately paused his steps.