“Dragon Lord Kupanța King...using Dragon as his title...Lord of all Dragons? This title is so audacious, is this really something a Buddhist would say?"

Zhang Tianshi's tone was almost a warning, but the Wanli Emperor only cared about the person's title. After all, since the Han Dynasty, emperors had been associated with dragons. While some dynasties did not exclusively associate dragons with the emperor, over thousands of years, the emperor equaling the destiny of a true dragon had become a "setting" in the world.

Of course, the dragon was just a symbolic metaphor. Emperors didn't really want to be descendants of dragons; instead, they wanted to become a certain heavenly god, or create a heavenly god as their origin. The Song emperors were rumored to be heavenly kings descended from the sky, while the Ming emperors were said to be reincarnations of Zhenwu. Clearly, compared to the divine beast dragon, the higher-ranking heavenly god was more acceptable to the people.

"Kupanța is actually a type of ghost in Buddhism."

"Your Majesty, don't dwell too much on this title of Dragon Lord, or you'll be comparing yourself to Buddhist ghosts, which is beneath the dignity of the Son of Heaven."

Zhang Tianshi tried to correct the Wanli Emperor's thoughts and pull his mind out of the raging storm of ideas, returning it to the correct path.

Now was not the time to be concerned about what the other party was called. Even if he called you "grandpa"...

Never mind, the Jiajing Emperor was still running for his life in Li Shanhe; this current emperor's grandfather was not so easy to be.

"Buddhist ghost?"

The Wanli Emperor's thoughts finally stopped wandering, but he still asked:

"Buddha is Buddha, ghost is ghost, what is a Buddhist ghost?"

"I know immortals and Buddhas, but those are two separate titles. Is this so-called Buddhist ghost a single title?"

Zhang Tianshi: "Indeed, it is a single title."

"This person is extraordinary... It is said that when Bianliang City in the Song Dynasty was captured, he was partly responsible, and it was a form of revenge."

Zhang Tianshi spoke of past secrets. Of course, his knowledge of them was not detailed, but Longhu Mountain had weathered a thousand years of wind and rain, and many secrets were revealed during dynastic changes. Successive Tianshi occasionally encountered them and naturally observed and recorded them.

During the Northern Song Dynasty, Li Shanhe competed for the dynasty's Grand Dao, and the struggle was fierce. It began with the Shenxiao Dao Yuanmiao Dasheng briefly suppressing the other three forces, and then the Buddhist Dragon Lord made a curse, predicting that Bianliang would be destroyed by war within a year!

"And in this Buddhist-Daoist conflict, it seems that Buddhism failed and made a great curse, and Daoism won a short-term victory. However, the alchemists also had their own designs, intervening in it. The Six Lords of Luofeng took advantage of the situation and opened the city of Bianjing..."

"Opened Bianjing? Is it the matter of the Six Jia Heavenly Soldiers? Because the Song court didn't let them get any benefits, so they immediately chose the Jin Kingdom to the north?"

The Wanli Emperor stroked his beard, his brows furrowing into a frown. "This immortal daoist struggle is so casual, selling out the country and its ruler as they please. Who would still be willing to fight for this group in Li Shanhe?"

"This is too unrighteous and immoral."

Zhang Tianshi chuckled. "Righteousness and morality are Confucian values. Alchemists themselves are independent of the three teachings, originating in the Spring and Autumn period and flourishing in the Warring States period. How could they have any righteousness to speak of? It's not something they themselves need to abide by!"

It was impossible to talk about righteousness with alchemists; the only thing that could be exchanged with them was profit. They would help you if they saw a profit, but if you had no benefit for them or even affected them, they would eliminate you.

"But didn't you say that today's alchemists are all from the line of Dongfang Shuo? Dongfang Shuo was also a Han, didn't he know propriety and righteousness?"

The Wanli Emperor asked.

"If there were true propriety and righteousness, they wouldn't be manipulating the rights and wrongs, the storms and stresses, of the outer world from within Li Shanhe."

Zhang Tianshi replied.

The Wanli Emperor cursed, "Old but not dead is a thief... Oh, Tianshi, I'm not cursing you. Actually, you're quite young, not really an old thief, at most a little thief."

Seeing Zhang Tianshi's slightly changed expression, the Wanli Emperor immediately stated that he was not cursing him.

After all, compared to the immortals of Li Shanhe, you, Old Zhang, can't even be called Old Zhang, at most Little Zhang.

"...Wait, what about the other one?"

The Wanli Emperor suddenly remembered, wasn't it said that Daoism had won and Buddhism had lost, and the alchemists changed faces faster than flipping a book? What about the Confucian?

"In the South."

"Oh. I see!"

After receiving the Tianshi's simple reply, the Wanli Emperor suddenly understood.

So they had already prepared. Compared to the alchemists, this was much more benevolent.

"Then the Confucian can still be dealt with, at least they are selling out the current monarch, but still retain the dynasty's orthodoxy. Although they have retreated south, compared to what the alchemists have done, they are much more moral."

"At least they didn't immediately go to help the enemy."

Zhang Tianshi laughed. "A spear in the open is easy to dodge, but an arrow in the dark is hard to guard against! You, this emperor, are choosing four families to use for yourself, rejoicing when Daoism wins, becoming enraged when Buddhism fails, finding the alchemists cold and ruthless, and this Confucian is precisely the most dangerous of all. How can you say they can be dealt with?"

"The other three parties are all being chosen by the emperor, but only the Confucian is choosing the emperor."

The Wanli Emperor awoke as if from a dream, and shivered involuntarily at that moment.

A dog that bites doesn't bark, the smelliest farts are often silent, venomous snakes are silent before attacking, and the mountain winds are still before a hungry tiger pounces.

"Then now, can the alchemists still be trusted?"

"At least as long as Xu Fu is not dead, the alchemists can still be trusted, as long as we don't trust anyone else in the process."

Zhang Tianshi said, "I have consulted some secret texts of Longhu Mountain in the past and found that the orthodoxy of the outer world is not very important to the cultivators of the inner world, so even though I am of the Daoist school, the alchemists still talk and laugh with me, and we get along very well. That is why."

"Of course, the important forces of my Longhu Mountain are all in the outer world. The inner world only has the Tianshi Dao, not Longhu Mountain. This is also a huge difference."

"What kind of difference is that?"

The Wanli Emperor listened, puzzled.

Zhang Tianshi explained:

"The Tianshi does not enter the inner world."

"The successive Tianshi all complete their ascension in the outer world, exhausting their lives in the study of the immortal dao, and then ascending to heaven. Their vows and mana are all injected into the ancestral Tianshi's divine tablet. If they do not complete their ascension, then when their lifespan is about to end, they will also disperse their mana and vows, returning them to the ancestral Tianshi's divine seat."

"The Tianshi Dao is a sect of cultivation founded by the Tianshi, and where the Tianshi is located, that is Longhu Mountain!"

"Now that we are cooperating with the alchemists, we cannot be close to Buddhism, nor to Daoism, nor to Confucianism... that is, we must distance ourselves from the people of the three teachings."

Zhang Tianshi said this, while also thinking that there was nothing to be close to among the people of the three teachings these days. Even Maoshan, one of the three mountains, had been reduced to a tool department for the descending immortals of the Zhu Huo Heavenly Palace in the inner world. Not to mention Buddhism, even Changchun Temple near the imperial palace, and the emperor's old mother, were both incarnations of the Buddhist cultivators of the inner world. Most of the people of the three teachings in the outer world were going to become the incarnations, manifestations, or traces of the immortals of the inner world.

In comparison, the inheritance of the alchemists had almost died out in the outer world, which was reassuring. And these people hated Xu Fu to the bone, and he didn't know where such great hatred came from. Although they were three, four, or five generations apart, it was as if there was a disaster that would shake their foundations.

Could it be that Xu Fu's existence would make the foundation of the alchemist's way unstable? So they wanted to kill him to reclaim some kind of "power"?

This was Zhang Tianshi's speculation, but there was no basis for it. He also thought of Ji Xiang, secretly thinking, I wonder if this time the Korean War will end briefly, and when this senior brother returns to the country, can he get some special information from this channel?

How can others be allowed to sleep soundly beside one's bed? Xu Fu's existence was the greatest threat and deterrent to the Central Plains. This invasion of Korea was a strong proof of his wild ambitions. This old ghost from two thousand years ago, how can he, a current generation immortal, fight against him?

"The Buddhist ghost Kupanța King, its original meaning, is a ghost under the command of the Southern Growth Heavenly King. It is said that he can make all kinds of changes, deriving the harm of the five dusts, eating people's essence and blood, speeding like the wind, living in the forest and field, and controlling the ghosts of all lands, hence the title of King. The *Yuanjue Sutra* also calls this kind of ghost a mighty ghost king."

"Among them, the leader is called a ghost god, and in Buddhism, he is also a Dharma protector heavenly king, called 'Virudhaka'."

"The Buddhist ghost descends from the inner world, probably for the sake of the Heavenly Net King, but he is also colluding with the Southern Dharma Sect, and his true purpose is really difficult to say. Someone needs to go and investigate."

Zhang Tianshi said this, and the Wanli Emperor thought of Ji Xiang again, so he said, "Why not let the Arctic True Man go..."

"The Korean war has just ended, and he would cross the sea to the south? Your Majesty, immortals are not used like this."

Zhang Tianshi shook his head, thinking that you are using gods like military generals, patching up wherever there is a leak, just like Li Rusong, seeing that he was useful, he first went to fight the rebellion of the Ningxia Mongol tribes, and then went to Korea for several years, and when he was transferred back, he immediately took the post of General of Liaodong. Before his butt was even warm, the Tartars in the northwest invaded the border, and he went to the north to defend against the Tartars again. This person is not made of iron either, and doing this will cause trouble sooner or later.

Zhang Tianshi recalled Li Rusong.

Then he found that he couldn't remember what this person looked like.

The last time they met was the last time.

The current situation in Ming Dynasty is not too good either. In the north, southwest, and northeast, foreign forces are causing trouble, and demons are dancing wildly, putting a lot of pressure on the inside. At the same time, there are also various internal ghosts selling out interests. Fortunately, the people have been living decently these years, otherwise, if you get a big rebellion, then the country will really be destroyed.

"Your Majesty, within my Ming Dynasty, there are people with the power of true immortals, including me, no less than eight."

"But only I and the Arctic True Man can be dispatched by the imperial court. The others do not obey the imperial court's dispatch. Does Your Majesty have any good tricks to force them to obey?"

"Among them, one is even causing trouble in Qiantang, creating a demon mountain, attempting to artificially manipulate the ascension demon tribulation. He is also one of the ancient immortals who descended from the inner world. Does Your Majesty have any way to eliminate him?"

"Although the Jingtian Divine Sword is unparalleled in power, and its sword light can destroy immortal forms and extinguish magic shadows, Your Majesty yourself has no cultivation base. In front of a true immortal, wouldn't you be like a child holding gold in a busy city? Can there be any reason to be safe and sound?"

These words made the Wanli Emperor alert, and he couldn't help but frown deeply.

There are several gods within Ming Dynasty, Zhang Tianshi had said more than once, but not being able to mobilize them was meaningless, and instead they were a group of hidden dangers.

Why not offer them amnesty?

Go ahead and offer amnesty to birds!

People don't care about your amnesty!

Some of them have even established relationships with the Heavenly Heart level great immortals of the inner world, and the inner and outer worlds will be united in twenty years. At this time, following a bloated dynasty that has been established for more than two hundred years is not worth it.

It is better to follow the smashing of this dynasty in twenty years, and then absorb those national fortunes yourself. If you have great ambitions, you can also try to strive to enter that "True Realm of Heavenly Dao"!

"There is no...way. If they really cause trouble, it would be a great disaster, but if we want to remove them, I don't have any good methods."

"The instruments of immortals and gods have been lost in various generations. What remains now is not as much as that of the Wa country..."

In the Central Plains, thousands of years of constant large and small wars, what is lost and destroyed, is it just a little divine artifact or immortal scripture?

Without a supreme, recognized leader, without a place to store them, wielding immortal and divine instruments to fight, and then both dying... how many cultivators have turned into white bones over the rise and fall of sects for thousands of years?

"Is there really no way to restrain this Buddhist ghost? Am I just going to watch him stir up trouble in the South?"

"This world of Ming Dynasty, if it doesn't split in the hands of the Prince of Lu, is it going to split in the hands of this Buddhist ghost and the Dharma Sect?"

Zhang Tianshi said to the Wanli Emperor:

"Although there is no solution for the time being, there is a strategy of using tigers to devour wolves."

"Does Your Majesty know... Zhou Sheng?"

——————

"Oh? Let me go to the South to fight with Buddhism? That's not good!"

"Tianshi Sun, this is not reasonable, how can I, a mere acting official, be able to fight against the descending Buddhas of Buddhism! What's wrong with you, Changsheng Heavenly Palace? Who slandered you to ask me to do this kind of death-seeking thing?"

Waves of black air filled the air. At the entrance of a White Lotus Church, the people inside had been slaughtered. Zhou Sheng, with a child named Shen Kui, stood among the corpses, and these people of the White Lotus Church were all killed by Shen Kui. Zhou Sheng did not take action.

"The Prince of Lu is dead, and the White Lotus Church is now a group of insects without a leader... You say the Prince of Lu's 'Princely Fortune'? Who knows where he put it? I've been to the palace, but it's all sealed off. How would I dare to search it openly? I can only kill some White Lotus Church people to maintain my life. After all, this group of guys stayed with the Prince of Lu for a while, and they also沾染a bit of royal aura."

"It's not that easy for a snake to transform into a dragon. I can't go to the Forbidden City, and I don't dare to go to Fengyang for the time being, so I can only find those stray princes and nobles to kill, accumulating little by little, gathering the fur under the armpits to make a robe... Before, I also wanted to屠山to Wudang Mountain, but I didn't expect that there were hidden dragons and crouching tigers in the mountain... I sensed it when I got not far away, there are true immortals inside."

In a piece of black air, a white shadow appeared. This shadow was talking with Zhou Sheng.

"The Five Revolutions Immortal Pill was not given to him for nothing. This time the Buddhist ghost descends, it must be to split the soil of Ming Dynasty. He must be looking for a 'Dragon Son'. You go and kill him, and seize the luck of that Dragon Son."

"The Dharma Sect in the South can't stir up any trouble. The Buddhist ghost descends because someone has done a great job for him, and he himself has paid a great price. He doesn't have the battle power of a flying immortal, only the body of an immortal Buddha. Since I'm letting you go, naturally there is a way for you to slaughter him!"