Huaze Village, inside the shrine.
"Cancel the worship requirement at this shrine—no more mandatory offerings every two days. You're a Golden Core boar demon. Eating grain is a waste. Change it to voluntary worship with no mandatory requirements."
"Also cancel all movement restrictions within the village. Allow women who marry outside to leave, and ensure marriage freedom."
"And tone down your imposing manner. Don't reveal your form during ordinary times or issue some ridiculous decrees."
At the desk, Cui Hao wrote freely with his brush while continuously giving instructions.
The boar demon stared in disbelief, feeling a surge of frustration welling up in its chest. After holding it in for a moment, it finally asked:
"E…Envoy, if I really do as you say, won't I just become a statue?"
"Nice thinking, but it won't be that easy." Cui Hao held his brush, looked up at the boar demon, and smiled.
"If you don't play harder than the other demons, why would anyone follow you? You can't expect people to appreciate a boar demon's face, can you?"
The boar demon was stunned, then asked quietly:
"What do you mean, Envoy?"
Cui Hao thought for a moment and decided to use his master's words:
"Naturally, massive subsidies. What other demons are unwilling to give, we give. What other demons are too proud to do, we do!"
"Come, look at the divine conduct guidelines I've drafted for you. Maintaining favorable weather is the most basic requirement. You also need to learn to give your people enough emotional value."
"Look at how turbid the wish-power you've been forcing has become. Even eating shit wouldn't be this bad. Do you really understand how incense divine power works?"
The boar demon, carrying a mix of confusion and unease, looked at the densely written regulations Cui Hao had drafted.
[Govern the people for lasting peace. Persuade through reason.]
The first sentence was still normal—at least it sounded like something a human would say.
But when the boar demon's gaze moved to the second line, the entire pig wasn't doing well anymore.
Cui Hao's brush strokes were bold, his calligraphy elegant:
[Care for the lower people. Serve them as you would a father.]
Serve them as a father?
I'm a Golden Core great demon, and I should serve mortals as my father?
The second line was already explosive. Would the next ones have me becoming a grandson?
The boar demon suppressed its already blown-apart mindset and kept reading. With each line, it felt darker and darker. The regulations below made it almost prefer to be one of the mortals under its rule.
Grandson was too conservative.
This was even more grandson than a grandson.
Ensuring favorable weather was truly just the most basic condition. From protecting peace down to the safety of chickens and dogs—everything had to be managed.
It even had to take the lead in expanding farmland, taking care of crop pests and everything else.
It also required a good attitude in service and warmth in speech.
The divination lots drawn had to be good. And not just good—they had to be accurate.
As for how to make them accurate, undoubtedly, it relied on this pig doing it with attitude and warmth.
The boar demon didn't dare read it all. Its face showed a pained and conflicted expression as it cupped its fists and spoke quietly:
"Envoy… this isn't being a god. This is clearly…"
Cui Hao's brows drew together, his tone calm:
"To pursue the Great Dao, there are always trade-offs. Do you think the Great Dao will just fall on you while you lie here waiting to die?"
"Feel the Great Dao in your bosom. Don't you know the difference between superior and inferior?"
"True wish-power, purely refined. Take one sip and you'll know the wish-power path can truly connect heaven and earth."
"Everything at the start requires you to lead by example. Later on, you can naturally find a few reliable people to implement it."
"Complaining before you even start—let's see if you still remember my kindness after you've tasted the benefits."
"Follow the regulations carefully and develop earnestly. Leave the other great demons to me. As for your cultivation, it's far too low and messy. After collecting the first batch of wish-power, it should be about right."
"I also think I know why you weren't recruited. It's probably because you're stupid and don't even realize it."
Hearing Cui Hao's naturally delivered empty promises and disdainful mockery, the boar demon looked again at the regulations Cui Hao had drafted.
No matter how unwilling and reluctant it felt inside, it didn't dare to show it.
When a terrifying force like this came to your door, a simple "I don't want to cooperate" wasn't going to send them away.
The boar demon looked at the grandson regulations line by line, steeled its heart, gritted its teeth, and said:
"Rest assured, Envoy. I will follow everything as instructed."
Cui Hao nodded in satisfaction:
"Don't think you're at a disadvantage. I'm here to accomplish great things. When people are attracted, those great demons causing trouble will be my responsibility."
The boar demon quickly nodded, then asked quietly:
"What are the great things you mentioned, Envoy?"
Cui Hao's gaze swept sideways, a cold smile on his face:
"Recently, quite a few evil cultivators have entered Yunmeng Marsh. What they're here for is what I'm here for. Those evil cultivators will be our enemies in the future."
"Our people can't openly gather intelligence here. If you're willing, keep an eye out."
"This land of Yunmeng Marsh isn't what we want. Once we get what we need, these insignificant things here—whoever gets them…"
Cui Hao didn't finish his sentence, only offering a smile that everyone could understand.
The boar demon's expression grew even more humble. It nodded repeatedly and reverently put away what Cui Hao had written.
Seeing this, Cui Hao waved his hand and casually glanced at the old woman, who still hadn't spoken and was looking down at the ground.
Without another word, Cui Hao turned and left.
The boar demon remained humble until Cui Hao had completely departed.
It looked again at the regulations in its hands, was silent for a moment, and then looked at the old woman:
"What do you think?"
Only then did the old woman dare to raise her eyes. After waiting a moment, she spoke:
"At this point, you have no reason not to do it. Whether it's right or wrong and whether to do it or not are not the same thing."
The boar demon nodded silently, accepting these words.
Cui Hao walked out of Huaze Village.
Perhaps because Cui Hao had arrived late, there was now a faint hint of dawn breaking, the clouds and mist tinted with light.
Cui Hao watched the sun rise, then exhaled heavily and pulled an urgent message jade token from his spatial ring.
What the boar demon said was true. Yunmeng Marsh had been virtually unchanged for nearly a thousand years. The fundamental reason was that demon cultivators with cultivation could easily crush lower-tier demons.
Within this gap in strength, above life and death, all the unnecessary involution that shouldn't exist simply wouldn't exist.
If this wasn't restricted, no matter how much was done, it would all be crushed by a single fist.
Cui Hao sank his mind into the jade token, inputting the information from here along with his thoughts and plans.
After finishing all of this.
A faint light flashed, and the urgent message jade token turned into droplets of fluorescent light, rapidly shooting away.
This urgent message jade token wasn't from Xu Jin. It was from his own master.
Cui Hao had once wondered: when everyone in the world held a completely different belief, was he truly right?
Until Cui Hao met his master.
It wasn't that his master was the same as him. It was that his master had said—right and wrong shouldn't be confined to how they're expressed, nor should they be defined by others. Follow your conscience.
Cui Hao took a deep breath. At this very moment.
The only person he could request reinforcements from, the only person he truly could ask, was his master.
Pressuring Yunmeng Pavilion—at least for this period of time, the great demons couldn't act recklessly.
After that, naturally, heaven and earth would be turned upside down.