Inheriting a Taoist temple, the story begins with Wu Zetian offering incense.

Chapter 34 Imperial Conferment of Land Titles! [Seeking Monthly Tickets]

Upon hearing the word "help," Wu Zetian was somewhat surprised:
"Immortal Master, I do not know any magic, how can I help you?"

The Book of Changes says:

"It's not about magic; it's about borrowing your imperial destiny."

He recounted the story of Zhao Wei's violent death, saying that the evil spirit in the water was probably hiding and wouldn't come out for a while, making it difficult to eradicate.

The simplest way would be to borrow Wu Zetian's imperial destiny and directly designate that riverbed as a blessed land.

Evil spirits thrive in dangerous places, gradually regaining their strength. But once a place is transformed into a blessed land, they become like rats thrown into molten steel, turning to ashes no matter how powerful they are.

Furthermore, the yin energy that gathers in the northwest corner along the river will gradually dissipate under the influence of the blessed land... This is a win-win situation.

Grandma Gongsun asked eagerly:
"Is this ceremony complicated? Should I perform a sword dance to add to the festivities?"

Zhou Yi took a sip of the congee with preserved egg and lean pork from the bowl:
"The Taoist scriptures say that this ritual is very simple and can be completed in no more than half an incense stick's time. I don't know the specifics, because this is the first time I've used it."

Wu Zetian was somewhat puzzled:
"If it's so simple, why haven't you used it?"

Zhou Yi put a piece of pickled cucumber into his mouth:

"The core of this ritual is the physiognomy of an emperor... Now we live in a peaceful era, not a chaotic one, so there are no people with the physiognomy of an emperor. Therefore, this ritual only exists in ancient books."

Without the destiny of an emperor, even the simplest ceremony is nothing more than a passive observation.

However, now that we have Wu Zetian, a female emperor whose existence has been historically verified, it's practically equivalent to solving the problems of acid-free paper and color-changing ink.

Granting a blessed land by imperial decree is as easy as Zhang Fei eating bean sprouts!
After breakfast, Wu Meiniang and Gongsun Da Niang cleaned up the kitchen. Zhou Yi went to Haotian Palace, offered incense to the statue of Wang Lingguan, and recited the "Lingguan Protective Incantation" once more.

After finishing all that, he returned to the courtyard and saw that Granny Gongsun had changed into a red robe and a red lotus crown on her head, looking every bit the young female Taoist priest.
"If I had known we were going to town to go shopping, I wouldn't have eaten so much porridge."

Wu Zetian also changed into a blue Taoist robe made by the Caoxian Hanfu Factory, and asked with a smile:

Are you worried you won't be able to find food in town?

"Yeah, it's a rare opportunity to go, it would be such a waste if we didn't eat enough."

Zhou Yi pushed out the motorcycle and asked about the important matter:
"Is there any follow-up to the story of offering auspicious omens?"

Gongsun Da Niang said solemnly:
"It will be soon. When I came here, the governor said that an imperial edict would be delivered by fast horse in the next two days, and I might have to go to Chang'an then... Daoist, is Chang'an very dangerous at this time?"

Zhou Yi nodded:

"Your sister Mei's grandson and her youngest daughter are vying for the throne. All the officials in Chang'an are watching and waiting, and they will help whoever comes to power... Theoretically speaking, it is indeed very dangerous, but it is unlikely that you will be involved."

Wu Zetian helped Gongsun Da Niang straighten her sleeves:
"When you get close to Chang'an, don't come this way. Leave yourself a chance to travel through time. If you feel it's dangerous, come to Hunyuan Palace immediately."

She had no feelings for her so-called youngest daughter and grandson Li Longji, but she was very fond of Gongsun Da Niang, this mischievous and cute little sister, and unconsciously began to give her instructions.

Gongsun Da Niang said with a smile:

"Don't worry, when I get close to Chang'an I will come and beg the Great Emperor of the Eastern Peak, he will surely protect me!"

While the two were chatting, Zhou Yi locked the door, got on his motorcycle, Wu Meiniang sat behind him, and Gongsun Da Niang squeezed on as well. The three of them rode the motorcycle down the mountain and arrived at Yunwu Town.

As soon as Aunt Gongsun arrived, she was drawn to Uncle Wu's stall:

"Ha, so the fried cakes you bought last time were from here... Strange, this thing seems to have a special connection with me. Let's settle this matter today."

Zhouyi: "..."

To be able to describe cravings in such an amazing way, you're truly a genius.

He parked his motorcycle to the side and said with a smile:

"Uncle Wu, give me two fried cakes and two sesame balls."

Uncle Wu had never seen Granny Gongsun before, and asked curiously:
"A newly arrived female Taoist priest?"

"Yes, she also came from afar. Her name is Pomegranate Fairy, and she's quite lively."

After buying fried cakes and sesame balls, Zhou Yi led the two foodies forward, buying and trying almost every food they came across.

When they passed by a lingerie store, Wu Meiniang pulled Gongsun Da Niang to buy several sets of lingerie, and kept saying that they were more comfortable than He Zi.

Around 10 o'clock, Zhou Yi left Gongsun Da Niang at a coffee shop in town for snacks and drinks. He then rode his motorcycle with Wu Meiniang to Huangniwa, intending to eliminate the threat completely.

Upon arriving, he found that there were even more people fishing, and many were still discussing the lightning strike in the northwest corner the day before. Because the northwest corner had just been struck by lightning, no one chose that spot, which saved Zhou Yi a lot of trouble in casting his spell.

Arriving at the ditch in the northwest corner, the reeds had turned to charcoal.

Wu Meiniang looked at the ditch and asked in confusion:

"Is the evil spirit inside?"

"Correct."

"What could it be? A vengeful spirit or an evil ghost?"

Zhou Yi shook his head and said nonchalantly:

"Whatever it is, we'll wipe it out today."

If a Buddhist monk were here, he would try his best to influence the person and then perform a ritual to help them pass on to the afterlife; a Confucian monk would investigate thoroughly to see if there was any injustice involved.

But Taoist practitioners would not do that. They believe in the principle that "anyone who blocks the path of the Taoist priest should die." They do not wallow in sorrow or regret, nor do they seek out any causes or consequences.

For example, right now, the evil spirit in the water is trying to kill the people of Yunwu Town. As a member of Yunwu Town, Zhou Yi decides to eliminate it without hesitation.

Whether Zhao Wei actually dug up the other party's grave or whether he was in the wrong first... that's not important at all.

Evil spirits should not exist in this world. Your nest has been dug up, and instead of leaving, you even tried to kill people. If we don't destroy you, who will we destroy?

Zhou Yi placed an incense burner by the water, lit a stick of incense, and symbolically placed a few offerings. After doing this, he had Wu Meiniang stand in the Qian position of the Bagua, and then took out a piece of yellow paper covered with talismans and dabbed it with a drop of Wu Meiniang's blood.

Next, Zhou Yi inserted the yellow paper into the Taiji sword and silently recited the incantation of the "Imperial Decree," decreeing a twenty-zhang radius area as a blessed land in the name of the Empress of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

The area is twenty zhang in radius, which is a circle with the incense burner as the center and a radius of twenty zhang. The area is slightly larger than a football field.

No sooner had the imperial decree been issued than a bubble the size of a water vat rose from the water, followed by a coffin that was rotten beyond recognition, which suddenly floated to the surface.

Zhou Yi used a compass to examine the water and found that all the yin energy had dissipated and all the evil energy had vanished. As for the evil spirits in the water, they had already turned to ashes.

"What's that noise? Has someone caught a fish?"

"Judging from the sound, it must weigh at least twenty pounds. Are there grass carp in Huangniwa?"

"Damn it, hearing that others have caught fish makes me feel worse than when I've caught none."

"..."

The fishermen in the vicinity were gossiping, but Zhou Yi, not wanting to get involved, packed up the incense burner and other items, then led Wu Meiniang away from Huangniwa and rode a motorcycle back to Yunwu Town.

At noon, the three of them didn't go back to the mountain. Instead, they ate casserole noodles in town. Aunt Gongsun really liked the place, especially since the elderly men and women at each stall would feed her, making the girl feel embarrassed by all the food.

After lunch, the three returned to the mountain. Granny Gongsun began to tally up the day's harvest, and Zhou Yi said:
"Stay here for a couple more days and meet my apprentice Li Bai. He is on the same timeline as you, also in May of the second year of the Xiantian era."

Wu Zetian immediately became interested upon hearing this:

"The same time and space?"

Zhou Yi shook his head and said:

"I'm not sure, we need to verify it."

After saying that, he went back to his room, took out a black notebook, turned to the first page, and looked at the page carefully.

Soon, the personal profiles were displayed line by line.

When the merit section appeared, Zhou Yi felt a surge of excitement:
[Merit: Five coins]

It actually increased my merit by a full two coins! That lightning strike was totally worth it!
There's an extra special note at the very bottom:
[Exterminate the century-old evil spirit, reverse the evil land, merit +2]

As expected, high investment yields high returns. The imperial decree not only eliminated the evil spirits but also dismantled the breeding ground for evil, thus rewarding the recipient with two coins of merit.

We're one step closer to our goal of accumulating one jin of merit!
After the initial excitement subsided, Zhou Yi opened Wu Zetian's page again and noticed that a new section had been added to the Empress's page:
Territory: 0.014 square kilometers (20 zhang in circumference)

Seriously? I just eliminated an evil spirit, and it actually helped the Great Zhou Dynasty expand its territory?

I wonder if taking this notebook to the Land and Resources Bureau to demand the return of that land will result in them sending me straight to a mental hospital...

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Today is May Fourth Youth Day. I wish everyone a happy holiday and I'm asking for your monthly votes, brothers!
(End of this chapter)