Chapter 1 The Emperor's Concerns

The Wanli Emperor pondered, "What if they feign allegiance? It's not impossible, is it? Moreover, Tokugawa Ieyasu claims to be an inside man, his words suggesting he wants to use our nation's strength. I fear that if we accept, we'll fall into his trap, lending him troops and supplies, only to work for his benefit."

"Furthermore, I learned from the reports from the Korean battlefield that Tokugawa Ieyasu fought to the death while defending Ulsan Castle, only retreating after suffering serious injuries. Such a man, after returning to his country, was not only spared by the Japanese Kampaku, but might even be reused. What reason does he have to be our inside man?"

"As for the Kobayakawa family, I have heard of Kobayakawa Hideaki, but only because of the infamy of his betrayal. Perhaps the Kobayakawa family came here to be our inside man, to wash away their shame in Japan."

The three Grand Secretaries exchanged glances, disagreeing with the Wanli Emperor. When discussing issues, it was generally not done with four people, so a fifth person was needed to make a decision. The four turned to Zhang Tianshi, who thought for a moment and said:

"Tokugawa Ieyasu wanting to be an inside man might have something to do with my martial brother."

"Oh? He doesn't seem to have appeared in the battle reports from Ulsan. He seems to have been in a decisive battle with another Japanese Buddhist nun... The battle report said he killed someone called 'Yao Bikuni'. I don't know anything about this person," the Wanli Emperor asked doubtfully.

"It is precisely because he didn't appear that it is related," Zhang Tianshi smiled, stroking his beard. "As for Yao Bikuni, I do know about her. She is also a legendary Buddhist nun in Japan, her cultivation should be very high, but it seems that she was killed very easily by my martial brother."

"If that's the case, let's ask with a transmission talisman, but I'm afraid we won't be able to find him."

The Wanli Emperor frowned. Communication was too convenient with the transmission talisman, which also indirectly illustrated the danger of this item. Across the vast land, a talisman could transmit sound, without even needing any communication medium.

But there were also flaws, like now. They couldn't find Ji Xiang because Ji Xiang didn't have a transmission talisman. They could only notify the people around him. However, Korea also had thousands of miles of rivers and mountains, and there were dozens of Ming army strongholds. Where would Ji Xiang appear, and who should they contact? Who could know?

"We should be able to find him. The recall order issued by His Majesty before was transmitted to various parts of Korea. Those cultivators should already know about it and will set off to return soon. My grandson should be with him..."

Zhang Tianshi said that his little grandson should be staying with Ji Xiang. The last time the order was transmitted, his little grandson should have started looking for Ji Xiang. If Ji Xiang returned directly without greeting those people, then he should go back to Suncheon once, so there was no need to worry about not being able to find him.

The Wanli Emperor asked Tian Yi to make contact, and at the same time looked at Matteo Ricci:

"Bishop Ricci, this time, you will have to make a trip to receive Kobayakawa's family and others led by Father Valignano."

The Wanli Emperor thought for a while, and felt that it was better to agree to let this group of people enter the Ming Dynasty, but they had to be guarded by soldiers and horses in a short period of time. As for Valignano, he would be handed over to Matteo Ricci for handover. Once this person returned, he would be directly imprisoned in the church near the Dongyue Temple, and he would not be allowed to go anywhere.

Of course, what the Wanli Emperor said was "stay in the Catholic Church and wait for rewards."

It's just that no one knew when this waiting would end!

On the other side, Tian Yi had already communicated with Korea using the transmission talisman, and then whispered into the Wanli Emperor's ear. The Wanli Emperor looked happy after hearing this, nodded frequently, indicating that he knew, and then said:

"Go, summon Feng Menglong, Liu Mengyin, and Zhang Yaofang to come to see me."

Tian Yi left, and Matteo Ricci also hurriedly left after receiving the order. Someone was already waiting outside the door to act with him. Not long after, two scholars and an envoy arrived at the inner cabinet, first performing a great salute to the Wanli Emperor, and then the Wanli Emperor opened his mouth and said:

"The Korean war is over, and I am preparing to confer titles on a group of fallen generals as new gods. The three of you will write biographies for this group of people, or books of gods and monsters. The faster you write, the better. After you finish writing, send them to the printing factory for mass printing and distribution to Suncheon and nearby big cities, and send them to the folk through the post stations in various places."

"The details will be given to you in detail after the matter here is dealt with. You should go back and prepare first. First conceive some ideas in your mind."

The three of them all accepted the order, but their thoughts were different.

Zhang Yaofang's mind was the simplest. He just felt that he had been brought to Suncheon by that little immortal before, saying that he was looking for some pen pals. He didn't expect that one of them was actually the current emperor, which scared him a lot, but being able to become a book official by the emperor's side in one step seemed like a good way out.

Isn't it great to fail the imperial examination and just take the back door?

It's just that he hadn't had his own job for a long time. That Liu Mengyin wrote on behalf of the emperor, and that Feng Menglong spent every day in the scripture hall. Only he was idle, grinding ink or entertaining himself with the other two, looking like a promising follower. This time, he finally had a chance to show off his skills. Although he was also writing a book together, he could always work for the emperor, and he was one of those who were named, which was enough to make his face shine.

If you stuff some private goods into the book when you write it, wouldn't it be great if you get appreciated?

Zhang Yaofang was thinking about how to do a good job for the emperor and seek an official career for himself, thinking about making a name for himself, and at this moment, the already faint aura of righteousness on his body dissipated a little more.

This was seen by Zhang Tianshi.

After the three of them left, the Wanli Emperor smiled at Zhang Tianshi: "The Arctic True Person really got in touch. Not only was Tokugawa Ieyasu instigated by him, but he also revealed that Mōri Terumoto and Kuroda Nagamasa also had rebellious intentions, but the three of them didn't know each other. Tokugawa was alone, and the latter two were a faction. This is also good. If there is only one inside man, I am afraid that he will be led by the nose in the future."

"Not only that, but there is actually a divine art on Changbai Mountain that can create gods...!"

The Wanli Emperor took a few deep breaths: "Of course, the conditions are rather harsh. I am also preparing to experiment with this method first... Teaching the three of them to write books is just to use the aura of righteousness, combined with the wishes and incense of the people, to complete one of the steps in creating gods."

"This kind of ability seems to be similar to the ability of the *Golden Crow Jade Rabbit Collection*? Even better?"

After Zhang Tianshi heard this, he was first surprised by the existence of this kind of magic.

"There is actually such a method in the world... creating gods? This is not something that can be easily done. Changbai Mountain does not have a country, how can it create gods?"

The Wanli Emperor said that he would sell it first, and Zhang Tianshi did not ask further, but gave a conclusion on the merits of the *Golden Crow Jade Rabbit Collection* and the art of creating gods just now. He smiled and shook his head:

"Your Majesty is wrong, the ability of the *Golden Crow Jade Rabbit Collection* should be even more powerful than this method of creating gods!"

"No matter how many steps there are in this method of creating gods, judging from the fact that it requires the wishes of the people, it is by no means an easy thing. Although the gods are powerful, the *Golden Crow Jade Rabbit Collection* can continuously create demons with only messy wishes, that is to say, as long as people's hearts still exist, the demons in the book are immortal."

"And now, our understanding of the ability of the *Golden Crow Jade Rabbit Collection* is only based on the information obtained from the battlefield, and we speculate on this basis. Even my martial brother did not get this divine book. How could something that is desperately guarded by Japan be on the same level as the spells of Changbai Mountain?"

"That is, after all, the divine art of the Tang Dynasty."

The Wanli Emperor nodded thoughtfully, and then asked:

"Then what do you think of the three people just now?"

"I see that your expression seems to be different."

Zhang Tianshi shook his head again and said: "Zhang Yaofang is single-mindedly seeking fame, and his aura of righteousness has gradually declined. He is about to be the same as the three Grand Secretaries."

As soon as these words came out, the three Grand Secretaries immediately showed shame on their faces, but they did not know how the aura of righteousness appeared. They just shook their heads and sighed, puzzled: "Could it be that reading the books of sages cannot produce the aura of righteousness?"

"That's not the case. Decades ago, Tang Shunzhi and Wang Yangming were also reading the books of sages, and they also had the aura of righteousness. It can only be said that the three Grand Secretaries did not read them properly. They only remembered them in their eyes, but did not read them into their hearts."

Zhang Tianshi smiled jokingly, and then commented:

"As for the other two, although Feng Menglong and Liu Mengyin both agreed to His Majesty's request, the aura of righteousness on their bodies did not dissipate, and it is still strong. This reflects their thoughts and the Confucian realm they have reached."

"This Liu Mengyin is a Korean official. Although he is now by the side of the Ming Emperor, he is still in the Forbidden City because the shadow brought to him by the old man Lei Xuan's incident is quite heavy, so he is still seeking stability and does not seek any false fame."

"And Feng Menglong is even more different from this Liu Mengyin... After all, this guy has experienced more, and he is extremely interested in ghosts and gods, but he lacks interest in officialdom. He has found his own Confucianism. He will definitely have great achievements in the future."

"So, it is not that reading the books of sages cannot produce reason, and cannot produce the aura of righteousness. It is really that you have not walked out of your own Confucianism, and the word righteousness is probably not as simple as two words in a book that you can have by just looking at it."

At this time, the Wanli Emperor also shook his head: "Let's take a look at the results of the three of them writing books this time."

..........

In Korea, the great cultivators received the transfer order and set off on their way back to Beijing one after another, but Ji Xiang once again broke away from the large army because he had something to do.

Now in Korea, the demon god Dahuangluo is in charge. In case of an emergency, he can communicate through sacrifices. He is the god master, and he also has fragments of the Dharma Realm, which can sense the whereabouts of Dahuangluo and has a strong connection in the dark.

Ji Xiang lowered his cloud head and wandered on the land of Liaodong. After about two days, Ji Xiang's expression seemed extremely strange.

"What's going on? Not to mention the White Lotus Sect, there are not even some folk religions?"

Liaodong is a bitter and cold place, and the population is not large. The White Lotus Sect aims at those places with a large population for preaching. Of course, those places either have food or money, but Liaodong has neither money nor food. The power of the White Lotus Sect is not very large here, but there are also some folk religions here. They are also just a few small fries, but now these religions are gone.

It's like they evaporated out of thin air.

Ji Xiang came to a dilapidated temple. The words Golden Zen Great Religion were still hung on the temple gate. A strong smell of the White Lotus Sect came to his face, but the temple had been abandoned for a long time, and there was nothing left.

With a wave of his hand, a strong wind blew up, and piles of headless bones rolled out from under the broken walls.

Taking the heads but not needing the bodies, considering that the White Lotus Sect is not an army, but just a powerful cult organization, the one who can destroy them and **** away the heads of their followers must be an even more evil cult. It seems that the shamans of the Tartar grassland have the custom of using human heads to make instruments.

However, the heads of the White Lotus Sect followers... With the cultivation of this group of rabble, can they add a few more enchantments if they take their heads?

"Mountain God, Land God, come out and meet me."

Ji Xiang used the magical power of capturing gods. White smoke entered the ground, and not long after, a thin yellow weasel was captured. Ji Xiang was stunned for a moment:

"Oh? Master Huang?"

The yellow-skinned weasel raised its head, looking confused, and bowed to Ji Xiang, saying that it was not any master, that was too flattering.

The Land Temple also belongs to the folk gods. Only the Land Gods in specific places belong to the Celestial Gods. Just like the City God, the City God of Shuntian Prefecture has the title of Celestial God, and it is not on the same level as the City God in your local county.

The yellow-skinned weasel told Ji Xiang that the people in this place were killed about a year ago. At that time, the power of the Golden Zen Sect here was still quite vast. There was a cicada demon with five hundred years of cultivation to support them, but that cicada demon was later killed by a crazy, crazy person with a numb child. The one who did it was not the lunatic, but the child.

"He came from Changbai Mountain. The crazy person doesn't know his name. He only heard him call the child 'Shen Kui'."

"There was also a big incident in Changbai Mountain before. It is said that the Commander of the Jianzhou Guard was killed, and then the city he was guarding was breached by someone, and many of his descendants were killed. I looked like this lunatic."

The yellow-skinned Land God told everything he knew, and described the image of that person vividly. Ji Xiang's frown became deeper and deeper. He had never heard of the name Shen Kui.

Could it be an immortal descended from Lishanhe? Which heavenly palace sent him? What is the purpose?

Just to kill the White Lotus Sect? That's not right, is it?

Hearing Ji Xiang's question, the yellow-skinned weasel shook his head and said: "No, that Shen Kui only killed them, but did not cut off their heads."

"The head was cut off and taken away three months later, when it was about to rot, by a monk who came from outside Liaodong. That dress looked like a Tartar."

The yellow-skinned weasel said it in a proper manner, and Ji Xiang was surprised: "You recognize it clearly."

"That's natural. To be able to make a living outside Shanhaiguan, let alone people, even gods must have some insight. The one from Changbai Mountain is from the same family. When he sees me, he doesn't dare to attack and will detour. It goes without saying that people from inside the pass will not do anything in my place, but the Tartars are different. When they see a temple, they will demolish it, and when they see a statue, they will smash its head. You say they are all shamans, but Changbai Mountain and the Tartars are still different!"