Chapter 507: Qi Ling, Guyu
The power of the seal is as heavy as the thickness of the earth, and its aura is as strong as the height of the sky. It is unshakable and has the power to forever suppress the mountains and seas. It contains mysteries that can consolidate the Ming Dynasty.

Zhang Mu was originally the son of a good family who had a tradition of farming and studying. Although this was true, in reality he was neither from a prominent family nor a famous family. He was not even qualified to call himself a child of a poor family.

It's hard to be an official without anyone above you. After ten years of hard study, he didn't even get any fame. Zhang Mu thought he would spend the rest of his life with a pile of old papers, writing some sour poems to praise or criticize current affairs, and that would be the end of his life.

Who would have thought that when such a huge chaos broke out and the world turned upside down, after having barely managed to survive the hands of the Mongols, they would run into the officers and soldiers of the Ming Dynasty. Zhang Mu knew very well that soldiers in troubled times were bandits, and the biggest bandits at that!
Unexpectedly, Zhang Mu was released after being captured after being asked a few questions. He heard that it was a census. When asked about his professional skills, Zhang Mu tried to report that he could read and write a little and knew a little arithmetic. As a result, someone came to invite him the next day and he became a clerk.

Because of his diligence over the past few months and the fact that there was no one else available, he was promoted on the front line and became a chief clerk at Jixia Pass. He also received an imperial edict written by the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, promoting him three levels in a row. High-ranking positions and generous salaries came to him.

He said that there was nothing wrong with his being a second-rank provincial governor and left councilor, but the imperial decree for his promotion was still on the way, along with the official seal and official cannon.

In Jixia where there was no chief official, he was the highest official. It was said that a clean magistrate could earn 100,000 silver coins after three years. If it were in the previous dynasty, which high-ranking official would not have mountains of gold and silver and many wives and concubines? But Zhang Mu did not dare to do that.

Not only did he not dare, he was also unwilling to do so. He was still young, full of passion and ambition. He wanted to study hard to make his mark, to make achievements, to speak well and to establish virtues, so that he could be on par with the sage and be carried by the people into the Confucian Temple.

"Oh, it's because my ideological awareness is too poor. I serve the people as an official and enforce the law impartially. There is no distinction between high and low, upper and lower, only different responsibilities."

Zhang Mu was alert. When he took over, he was taken to a secluded place and attended three days of classes under the pretext of ideological transformation. It was strange to say, as he considered himself to have some talent, but only above average, without the ability to remember everything he read. However, every word he learned in those three days was like a pearl, and he kept it in mind all the time, without forgetting a single word. He also demanded this of himself at all times and in all places.

When he took office, the Embroidered Uniform Guards brought him a secret letter and a jade token, explaining how to use the token. Once it was used, dragon energy would surround him and the country's fortune would be enhanced. In the place where he was in power, all kinds of wonderful magic were available.

"It's just a small fire. Watch me put it out with my magic!"

Zhang Mu shouted softly, and the jade token glowed brightly, with Qi flowing endlessly. He took this as an opportunity to shake the heaven and earth, and only then did all kinds of changes occur.

"The four seasons of the weather are at my disposal!"

"Call the wind!"

"Xingyun!"

"Here comes the rain!"

After three loud shouts, dragon energy surged in, followed by the evolution of heaven and earth. After one shout, a strong wind blew violently, after two shouts, dark clouds covered the sky, and after the third shout, heavy rain came.

The rain seemed to be no ordinary rain, but also seemed to be spiritual. Each drop was distinct and crystal clear. When it fell on the fire dragon outside the city, water vapor rose and the smoke disappeared, suppressing the fire for a moment.

Chixia Jun looked around and said with a smile: "It seems that someone in the city is trying to extinguish my true fire. Unfortunately, they are just some tricks that can control the wind and rain. How can they compare to my magical skills!" His magic power surged, smoke came out of his sleeves, and fire came out of his mouth. The fire dragon, which had been a little wilful, became excited again, and the raging fire became even more vigorous.

Zhang Mu was not in a hurry. He accepted the country's destiny and practiced the true method. However, this method was not like the way of spiritual practice. Instead, it was about cultivating life and energy, and with the dragon energy as the guide, he had a prosperous career and then planted a seed of Taoism.

With this Taoist foundation, one can control the clouds and rain to change the weather. The deeper one's Taoist practice, the more complete one's understanding of the weather of heaven and earth, such as wind, rain, thunder and clouds, and the greater one's power will be.

Zhang Mu thought of the "Index of Weather and Climate" that could kill people. It had more than ten thousand words and it took a lot of effort to read it through. It recorded the changes of the four seasons of heaven and earth, wind and rain, and seasonal climate. The more he read, the more he knew, and the deeper his Taoism became.

"This is the way a scholar should cultivate. You only need to be able to read and understand words, and read books and classics. What you can comprehend depends entirely on your own intelligence. Even a dull person can achieve something by reading from books. The books of sages are the essence of the great way."

He thought silently in his heart, and seeing the fire bursting more and more, he smiled slightly and said loudly: "There are four seasons in the sky, and the year begins again. Everything has a fixed number. The twenty-four solar terms are the Grain Rain Law!"

The strange magic power in the body flowed into the jade card, and an illusory scroll appeared behind Zhang Mu. The painting had a total of 24 scenes, including farmers cultivating the land and planting rice, spring rain, thunder and lightning, heavy snow, and thawing glaciers.

Zhang Mu shouted, and one of the twenty-four scenes began to shine. It was one of the twenty-four solar terms, Grain Rain. Then, continuous drizzle began to fall.

The rain fell on the yellow earth, the heat receded, the sky and the earth became clear, and even the scorched land where no grass grew began to have new sprouts breaking through the soil.

New crops are planted, and rain brings forth grains. This is Grain Rain. The continuous spring rain is the manifestation of the Grain Rain solar term. The drizzle falls obliquely, pouring on the fire circle of the fire dragon, and accompanied by the breeze, slowly wrapping it. Although the fire is fierce and strong, it cannot withstand the continuous drizzle and is consumed by it bit by bit.

The drizzle was connected into one piece, like a soft ribbon, but this softness around the bones disappeared into thin air. The rain ribbons were entangled and fluttered in the wind. The fire dragon's body size changed from a dragon to a snake, and then from a snake to the size of an earthworm. After being drenched by the rain, not even the remaining fire was left.

Zhang Mu looked at the jade token with some regret. If his seal of the Left Councillor came, it would be said that his virtue was not worthy of the position. But now, it was the seal that was not worthy of the position. If he had the seal in his hand, the official seal, the official position and the practice method would be combined into one, which would increase his power several times. He could put out the fire just by using the method of calling the wind and rain.

He had read "A Study of the Seals of Officials of the Ming Dynasty" and was quite familiar with the official seals of various ranks. Everyone had a seal, and even the Jinyiwei who came with him had one, which was issued together with the standard Feiyu uniform and Xiuchun sword. There was a small seal on the handle of the Xiuchun sword, with the eight words "Supervise all officials, and punish the people" engraved in relief. As for Zhang Mu's own seal, it was "Govern for the public, and serve the people".

He still remembered that on the first page of the seal test, there was a line of inscriptions in red ink, which read 'It is easy to abuse the common people, but difficult to deceive God'. Zhang Mu knew clearly that his cultivation and divine power were all given by the Ming Dynasty, the will of the country, his official position and official seal, plus his own ability, to make him complete. He borrowed the power of heaven and earth, and the fortune of the Ming Dynasty. Otherwise, how could he, a mere mortal who had only practiced for a few months, have such divine power.

Of course, if one day an imperial decree came down, ordering him to take off his official robes, hand over his official seals, and lose his official position, he would naturally become just like everyone else and wouldn't cause much trouble. That's why Zhang Mu is so honest now, not only because the Jinyiwei had shown him power several times, but also because he was reluctant to give up his strength.

"It is easy to abuse the people, but it is hard to deceive God. Isn't this God the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty?"

(End of this chapter)