Chapter 1 The Inevitable

In life, only death and taxes are unavoidable. The Ming army, still stationed along the Korean coast, received new orders. Upon learning that Korea would provide funds and provisions to support the troops stationed there, many of the generals who had previously been subjected to the King's sarcastic remarks felt a great sense of relief and were in much better spirits. However, they were still unclear about how to actually use this "land use right." Some suggested that the higher-ups clearly intended to implement "military agricultural colonies" (tun tian).

However, along with the military agricultural colonies, they would also collect taxes from Korea. Although the land was in ruins and the people had little wealth, the emperor's orders clearly stated that collection would begin after the Korean people's livelihoods had recovered. This collection was essentially a fixed amount of support, with the subordinate country providing money and provisions to support the home country's army. Korea had previously used its domestic difficulties as an excuse to refuse wartime financial and logistical support, but now that the war was over, they would have to cough it all up.

"So, are we going to establish new garrison commands (wei suo) here?"

Someone's eyes lit up!

In the past, there had been precedents for establishing garrison commands or administrative offices in subordinate countries or in places beyond the reach of the central government, but they were few. The Old Port Pacification Commissioner's Office of the Song Dynasty was one such example. The Ming Dynasty's overseas administrative offices included Jambi in Sumatra, Indonesia, and a transit station in Malacca. However, as national policies vacillated between maritime prohibition and opening up, the Old Port Pacification Commissioner's Office in the Song region had become largely defunct, and without the Zheng He-era ocean-going behemoths, the Ming Dynasty no longer possessed the ability to engage in long-distance maritime activities in the ocean.

"It doesn't necessarily have to be a garrison command; it could be a Protectorate General's Office (du hu fu)."

A general joked, suggesting that the Protectorate General to Pacify the East (An Dong du hu fu) of the Tang Dynasty might be revived. The territory governed by the Protectorate General to Pacify the East included most of Korea.

"Could we also interpret the granting of land use rights in this way?"

Because some of the wording was vague and the instructions allowed for flexibility, it was clear that the imperial court was extending its reach overseas. This meant that the generals stationed in Korea had considerable decision-making power, and there seemed to be many loopholes that could be exploited openly. Recruiting Korean refugees to cultivate and farm in the areas garrisoned by the Ming army would greatly increase the efficiency of the military agricultural colonies and allow the Ming army to quickly recover its strength. At the same time, a large number of Korean refugees would gather there.

The generals in the military tent were in harmony, and the generals who had originally belonged to Korea were no longer present. Li Chen and the others had returned to Wangjing, unaware that they were originally going to be punished by the Korean king and his ministers, but this time, thanks to the Ming army's occupation of land, these military officers had escaped trumped-up charges.

"What about those generals; how should we deal with them?" Su Dan Novel Network

Someone brought up the matter again. Now that the surrendered generals had not left with Tokugawa Ieyasu, their inner demons had been revived. They were being held under concentrated control in the mountain city, and their food was running out. It was necessary to decide on their fate as soon as possible: should they be treated as surrendered generals and soldiers, or as prisoners of war?

"Now that Ieyasu has left, the Japanese army's supply lines have been completely cut off. Next, when they run out of their own rations, they will have to eat ours, eat Korea's. If we don't give them any, there will be over a hundred thousand people. If they riot, I'm afraid it will cause great damage to the mountains far away."

"Those who defected during the battle can be treated as surrendered generals and soldiers. I have already submitted a memorial to the Emperor, and the Divine Talisman (shen fu) should arrive soon, but no news has come yet." The Minister of War responded to the matter.

Chen, the Chief Naval Officer, interjected, "My lord, I think we can ignore this group of people."

"Ignore them?"

"In your memorial, did you explain that their inner demons were revived, causing them to defect?"

"Naturally, I reported everything truthfully, including the Immortal's contribution to turning them against the enemy."

The fact that shadow soldiers impersonated Japanese military officers and caused many people to defect during the battle was not a secret within the Ming army, but Japan remained in the dark. In particular, the existence of Kobayakawa Hideaki, for the Japanese army, the reason for this former commander-in-chief of the Western Army's betrayal remained a mystery. No one knew that this former commander-in-chief of the Western Army had long been replaced by a doppelganger.

"That's it then. Those people have already disappeared from the mountain city. The current mountain city is an empty city. We don't need to worry about the disposal of these hundred thousand people; someone has already taken care of it. That's why the imperial court hasn't responded to this matter." Chen shook his head. "The Divine Talisman of Transmitting Messages is a good thing. Someone took some from here before. Do you know who it was?"

"You say... what?"

The Minister of War's eyes widened. He almost broke his beard. Who was it? Of course he remembered. Besides Ya, who else could it be?

"This!"

...

Within the Great Floating Li Heaven Gate, gusts of primordial spirit winds echoed and roared. Those hundred thousand people had already had their inner demons revived. Now, abandoning their old bodies, they manifested as demons in the heavens. Once they entered the demonic path, they could never return to their original forms. Once the inner demon was triggered, if it was not eliminated in time, it would be completely replaced by their demonic hearts. A Heavenly Demon army composed of demonic primordial spirits!

However, one thing relegated this group of Heavenly Demons to a lower level. Although called a Heavenly Demon army, in reality, their very existence did not meet the requirements of a true "Heavenly Demon." At most, they were "demons" that could be driven by the Heavenly Demons, that is, Heavenly Demon subordinates.

Lost Path Demons: Those who have lost their way are Heavenly Demon subordinates, born from inner demons. They have form but no substance. They can bewilder people's minds and cause them to experience the "Bewilderment Calamity," that is, they harm others' Dao hearts and manifest various terrifying futures in the depths of their minds, such as withered bones, severed heads, turning into ashes, yellow dust, rotten wood, or a state of sinking, or suffering from severe injuries, causing people's spirits to gradually dissipate, giving rise to fear, loosening their aspirations, and thus cutting off their path forward, step by step moving towards the bewildered future manifested in the illusion.

Lost Path Demons, those who have lost their human path, are themselves people with complete Dao hearts who have no hope for the future. They transform from their own sorrow and hatred into demon heads, often used by the Eighty Thousand Heavenly Demons to test the Dao of the world, as the "Three Demonic Paths" below the Heavenly Demons.

Ya raised his hand and tested the demon soldiers. The flesh of these demon soldiers all entered the Bitter Sea, disappearing into the rolling yellow water, never to be seen again. The sorrows and pains they still retained in their flesh were also transformed into the power of the Bitter Sea, and their souls were refined into demonic primordial spirits, seized by the inner demons, and transformed into their current patrolling-the-heavens appearance.

"However, having form but no substance means having no physical body, being completely composed of primordial spirits. Moreover, because they are formless, without substance, they cannot manifest in the world in the way people imagine, that is, without a suitable carrier."

"Also, what are the Three Demonic Paths?"

Xiang, after watching the description in the Inner Vision Divine Tablet, fell into a state of confusion. Below the Eighty Thousand Jade Purity Heavenly Demons, there were still Three Demonic Paths? They did not belong to the Ten Demonic Systems, but only to the Heavenly Demons, and seemed to touch upon three long-standing cultivation paths, referred to as the Demonic Paths. But upon careful thought, ancient scriptures did indeed mention the Three Demonic Paths: Heavenly Demon Kings, all demons, demon people, demon women, spirits, monsters, goblins, all were demonic beings. In Buddhism, it seemed that these Three Demonic Paths were the three evil paths in the Six Paths of Reincarnation, namely the Hungry Ghost Path, the Animal Path, and the Hell Path. The Severe Sutra also referred to the Three Grades of the Demonic Path, which seemed to be related to the Three Demonic Paths, namely, the upper grade being the Demon King, the middle grade being the Demon People, and the lower grade being the Demon Women. In short, they seemed to be related, but this was already far removed from the Demonic Path of Taoism.

"Three Demonic Paths. Continuing to cultivate the Jade Purity Hidden Book will inevitably touch upon the remaining Two Demonic Paths. There is no need to be impatient."

These Lost Path Demons surrounded Ya, with over a hundred thousand of them covering an area of heaven. Waves of demonic sounds and demonic thoughts were omnipresent. Joy, anger, sorrow, thought, grief, fear, fright—the seven emotions filled the air. Under the surging energy of the Ancient Heavenly Demon Qi, they gradually became more and more refined and handsome.

This change, of course, also fell into Xiang's eyes, but it was different from what "ordinary people" could see. If other cultivators were present, they would be able to discover that these Lost Path Demons were gradually transforming from faint shadows of demonic souls into terrifying demonic forms, and after absorbing the remaining power of the Ancient Heavenly Demon Qi, they twisted and became handsome. But in the eyes of Xiang, this Jade Purity Heavenly Demon, who had even returned from Jade Purity Heavenly Demon to the Primordial, becoming an Ancient Heavenly Demon, the changes in the Lost Path Demons were not about becoming handsome, but about changing their images according to the thoughts in people's hearts. If people thought they were handsome, they would become handsome.

"It is not the deceptive magic commonly used by demonic beings, but the true sensing of thoughts in people's hearts and changing one's own existence. This is the true essence of the Inner Demon, the He Transforms at Will Demon!"

"This kind of change is already similar to the Path of Transformation! If one can even change one's own form and spirit, it means that one's form and spirit have no fixed form, manifesting in the human world at will. How would it cause people to fall into the Bewilderment Calamity?"

Xiang even wanted to try it out himself to experience what it was like. However, many Lost Path Demons did not dare to attack the Ancient Heavenly Demon. Moreover, even if Xiang forcibly summoned them, there was a close connection. This was the connection between the Demon Lord and his subordinates. In other words, the other party's changes would not bring any calamity to himself as the Demon Lord. Instead, they would hand over the human desires and thoughts they had seized after laying down the calamity to Xiang, this Heavenly Demon Lord.

Threads of desire appeared in his eyes, but the ends of the threads of desire were all empty, which meant that they had not yet found a corresponding person to enter the calamity. As for Xiang himself, if he wanted to create calamities for others, the Jade Purity Hidden Book would have to be cultivated several more chapters before he could do so. As he cultivated chapter by chapter, the path to promotion became increasingly difficult. This made Ya inevitably think that with the end of the Korean War, he had obtained all the benefits that could be obtained at his current level in Japan. Although the grand goal had not been completed, the unexpected surprises he had obtained were even greater. Next, he had to completely refine this power, and then take the initiative to search for weak evil cultivators in the world to eliminate them, thereby increasing his cultivation. The滔天的杀將 (tāo tiān de shā jiàng) was about to begin, time was tight, and he couldn't wait too long.

"Demons, protect the Dharma."

A yellow halo appeared in Xiang's palm, and a seven-leaf lotus flower appeared. The Lost Path Demons surrounded the Beginning Green Heaven, watching their Demon Lord issue orders, and then dispersed, but they did not dare to go too far. Besides the area where Xiang was located, which was full of demonic energy and suitable for their existence, the other Floating Li Heaven Domains each had different powers. Some Heaven Domains merely manifested a distant phantom, which greatly shocked the demons and even produced fearful emotions. That was a Thunder City, with lightning and thunder, very far away, where the Thunder Department Gods existed. The demons could not get close. On the other side, divine and demonic energy alternated, which was where the Five Heavens and Eight Emperors Demon Kings resided. It was closer to here, but among the demons, the head of the Demon King was a special existence that eliminated Demon Kings. The power of the Northern Emperor Elimination Demon King not only had no demonic energy, but instead had a pure force that frightened the demons and dared not look at it. There was also the Northern Pole Exorcism Courtyard, the heavens' Fire Department, the eternal constellations, the thirty-two Celestial Emperors. The areas where the God Tablets were located were not interconnected. No one knew how vast the Floating Li Heaven was.

Xiang took the Seven Treasures Yellow Lotus. His originally peaceful body suddenly felt as if it had entered boiling water! The long-lost sensation of vastness appeared, and for a moment, it felt as if his physical body was about to be torn apart. However, although Xiang's face was twisted with joy, his mind was not greatly affected. Although the incense body and the physical body were united, the primary and secondary were still distinct. Therefore, the physical body's joy would not be transmitted to the incense body, unless it was an attack targeting primordial spirits or souls. Otherwise, for Xiang, physical damage did not have much significance. Even if the physical body became a mass of mud, he could still jump up and beat people. However, after the transformation of the Jiajing Emperor's Divine Pill, the strength of this physical body could already be compared to that of an immortal. If one wanted to beat an immortal's body into a mass of mud, one would need at least the power of a flying immortal.