"We should go and see the condition of those temples. It seems the capital of the Great Ming needs to establish a church. I won't hide it from you, I think this is an opportunity."
"That depends on whether you have the ability to suppress the local beliefs here."
The escort team from Ying Tian Prefecture headed towards the Dong Yue Temple. At this time, the area around Dong Yue Temple was under strict security. Normally, no one could see the demolition situation inside the temple.
Because Emperor Wanli wanted to fish, he slowed down the demolition speed and hid informants near the statues that had not been completely destroyed.
However, in the innermost area where the statues were placed, a shadow suddenly appeared.
This shadow seemed to be in a different space from the surrounding Brocade Guards. It reached out and touched the remnants of the statues.
...
Far outside the Dong Yue Temple, in the marketplace, one could see a woman sitting on the ground weaving flower baskets near the corner of the Dong Yue Temple. She sat under the eaves, casting no shadow.
This woman was Nurhaci.
Kong Chang Fa, Twenty-second Transformation: Transform into a Woman, Divide Form into a Hundred.
The "Nurhaci" in front of the convoy was his twentieth transformation, "Shape-shifting Thousand Bodies," where he turned a sheep from the tribute items into his own likeness.
This sheep could speak human language and had the same thoughts as himself, serving as a puppet clone that could be commanded at will. The transformation used his own blood; this was not an illusion but a literal molding of a beast into a human.
Folk tales often spread rumors of the Dharma Sect's evil arts, the art of creating beasts, but they were unaware of the art of transforming beasts into humans, making them vivid and pleasing.
However, this transformation was not limited to commanding beasts. It was just that using humans was somewhat dangerous, as humans possessed strong wills and were difficult to deceive. Cattle, sheep, and other livestock, on the other hand, had weak consciousness and low intelligence, making them easy to control.
Kong Chang Fa was a method of transformation that could enter the void and create the netherworld, moving between reality and illusion, and traversing the realms of form and shadow. It had a total of twenty-five transformations, capable of averting misfortune and even escaping disasters.
He had only recently begun cultivating, and his transformation techniques could only achieve four types. However, the advantage was the blessing of the official rank of General of Dragon and Tiger, second rank, and under the majesty of the Great Ming, he could borrow the national prestige to strengthen his own divine power, thereby performing other types of transformations.
He could transform into fire, water, beasts, earth, dragons, women, livestock, ghosts, plants, mountains, and so on. Large-scale transformations were more difficult to execute, but small-scale transformations were effortless.
Once he left Shun Tian, he would not have this privilege.
"To see the statues of those true gods, one does not need to go there personally... My shadow, its sight, its touch, its knowledge, are all as if I had personally arrived there."
"I feel it. Is this the pure national prestige obtained by the true gods of the nation?"
Although the statues had been smashed, a part of the national prestige of the true gods of the nation still remained. After all, Emperor Wanli had been busy recently, and these deities had their forms borrowed, and it was not their own wrongdoing.
It was like the act of killing. This event occurred due to human actions, not the knife. The knife was merely an instrument of crime. Even without a knife, a club could also be used to kill someone. Was it because the club was too hard?
"Heh heh, it's beneficial to me. Although the remaining power is not much, it accumulates. My method is the profound art of the Three Thieves... stealing the opportunities of heaven and earth without incurring disaster or punishment."
Nurhaci had long discovered Emperor Wanli's subtle actions. Since the night he entered Shun Tian, many people had inexplicably appeared around him. Combined with his actions of observing national prestige during the day, Nurhaci could not help but understand that his ambitions and greed at that time had been discovered by Wanli.
However, he had not done anything particularly outrageous, which was why Emperor Wanli had sent more people to monitor him but had no reason to act against him.
In such a situation, if he brazenly went to these temples, he would certainly be caught.
"I suppose my words and actions at the time, inquiring about the temples and the situation within the Great Ming, were also known to the Brocade Guards. That's only natural; with my deliberate inquiries, I couldn't possibly escape the surveillance of the Brocade Guards."
"But do you think I would act at night? Only a fool would go out during curfew, wouldn't that increase suspicion?"
"In broad daylight, with many eyes watching, even if I stand right here, how would you recognize me? After all, I am a woman now."
Nurhaci was picking up trash in the Dong Yue Temple with great speed!
But soon, the Minister of Rites from Ying Tian Prefecture, Old Wang, and the Western missionary Matteo Ricci arrived in the vicinity and were blocked by the Northern Commandery Investigation Bureau. Old Wang was very angry and revealed his identity, but the Northern Commandery Investigation Bureau was even more arrogant, drawing their swords, which made Old Wang's face turn ashen.
"A demolished temple, could it possibly pose any danger!"
Old Wang said this, very displeased, but also helpless.
Nurhaci watched all of this:
"Westerners? That's a rare sight! And who is this official? Dressed like the Minister of Rites? He looks like the Minister of Rites from Ying Tian Prefecture?"
Nurhaci's heart stirred. The Minister of Rites of Ying Tian Prefecture was also a second-rank official.
"Since I have already stolen the true prestige of the nation, should I not also be able to steal the national prestige from these true officials?"
"And their national prestige should be able to enhance the divine beasts on my body?"
The evil thought arose and could not be reined in. His thoughts raced, and he felt that this action was highly promising.
Nurhaci even thought that even if the Minister of Rites of Ying Tian suddenly disappeared in Shun Tian Prefecture of the Great Ming, no one would suspect him, as "he" had already left the city and gone home.
Nurhaci completed the collection of national destiny and stared at the Minister of Rites from Ying Tian Prefecture.
Seeing that the Westerner seemed easy to talk to, Nurhaci beckoned and called out, not with a Northeast accent, of course...
Minister of Rites Old Wang did not want to approach the stall, but Matteo Ricci was very amiable, even wanting to develop the woman Nurhaci had transformed into a nun in Shun Tian Prefecture...
And at this moment, Old Wang's gaze met the eyes of the woman Nurhaci had transformed into, and soon, he seemed to have lost his soul.
This was the Shamanic entrancement technique, or soul-confusing technique, which could communicate with heaven and earth through the spirit, and even temporarily influence some people's judgment and behavior.
...
Ji Xiang looked at this long street, and many people were also hiding in the shadows of the eaves.
After all, it was the height of summer in July, and it was normal to avoid the heat.
However, if the inner scene divine tablet displayed censored text, it would be abnormal.
As he walked along, his eyes were constantly scanning, not only searching for Nurhaci's trace but also for something else: if Nurhaci had used any magical arts to conceal himself, it would definitely be detectable.
Thus, he found this place.
In Ji Xiang's inner scene divine tablet, a description appeared:
[Great Ming Woman Chai Zhen (Transformation Technique): A woman from the Liaodong region, her parents were farmers for generations. This woman's true body is already dead.]
[Kong Chang Fa (Transformation Technique): Circulates the three caves, eight scenes, and twenty-four gods of the human body. Divine power covers their body, and there will be twenty-five transformations. It is a mid-grade profound technique for escaping calamities, capable of evading ordinary manifestation methods.]
[The North Emperor Heavenly Canopy Ruler (Dividing Form Treasure) points once, and the true and false are immediately separated, revealing the original form.]
Ji Xiang raised the North Emperor Heavenly Canopy Ruler in his hand, slowly turned his body, and appeared beside Matteo Ricci and Old Wang, who had fallen under the soul-confusing technique. He spoke to the woman Nurhaci had transformed into, asking:
"I ask you, is this flower basket you've woven by hand?"