The author of the book "The Book of the Dead"

Chapter 196 The Fifth World, Ghost Immortal Avenue
In the fifth year of Hongwu, Tianjing was established in Jiankang.

The city is prosperous and gathers wealth from all directions.

In the Huaxia Hall, Emperor Hongwu summoned his ministers to discuss matters.

This matter has been debated for five years and has never ended.

"Your Majesty, the northern desert has been a great threat to our people for thousands of years. If we establish our capital in Tianjing, the northern border must be heavily guarded. If this continues for a long time, it will become too powerful to be eliminated, and there may be a rebellion in the Six Garrisons of the Northern Wei Dynasty."

"It would be better to establish a capital there and garrison there, and turn the border troops into imperial troops..."

"As for the maritime disasters along the coast, we can issue a maritime ban order to protect the country from worries."

A white-haired old scholar said.

"No, the desert is just rotten land. The south is the great cause of the dynasty's eternal continuation. Luzon, Baoxiang Kingdom, Siam, Java, and many other fertile lands are not as rich in products as the desert. Your vision has been limited by the barbarians."

"As for the barbarians in the desert and Liaodong, they have no advantage against the guns and cannons of the Han people. To prevent the barbarians from becoming too powerful, it is better to plow the court every year to solve the problem."

On the stage, the emperor, who was full of wild spirit, was thinking, and finally decided to keep the original strategy unchanged and turn to the south.

The barbarians were poor, and the more they fought against them, the poorer they became. If they moved southward, the conquered land could still be cultivated.

In the fifth year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty, Emperor Hongwu promulgated many policies and conferred the title of Great Heavenly Master of Shenxiao on Yin Zhiping. The status of Shenxiao Leifu remained unchanged, and it was still loyal to the emperor and in charge of all matters concerning gods and ghosts in the world.

The vast ocean is no longer a place where wandering ghosts and sparsely populated people live.

The Song and Yuan dynasties had been in chaos for decades, with the Han people traveling to Southeast Asia, the merchant caravans of local princes at the end of the Song Dynasty, the remnants of the Yuan navy, the Western foreigners, the Taoists who supported the opposing warlords of the Ming Dynasty, and so on.

Some fled in panic, some transferred their wealth, and some established countries overseas.

From Southeast Asia to the West, this is a world full of wealth and crisis.

In the fourteenth year of Hongwu (1252 AD), it was the th year since Liang Yue's death.

Nanyang.

A ship of twenty meters long and ten meters wide was drifting in the ocean. There were about a hundred people on board, and the mast and sail were painted with a yellow dragon pattern.

The flags are flying and the ship is brightly painted. This is a Ming Dynasty ship.

There were two young men standing at the bow. The strong man on the left wore a wide hat and a simple outfit of a Ming Dynasty naval officer. The young man on the right wore a golden crown and an extremely inconvenient wide robe. There was a jade pendant hanging from his waist with a thunder and fire Tai Chi diagram on it.

If there were anyone who could read here, they would understand that this was the symbol of the Jiangnan Lingbao Sect.

"Master Liang, are you satisfied with life on the ship?" Navy Captain Li Ming asked politely.

This ship was a treasure-hunting ship dispatched by the Jiangnan nobles and the Shangyu government. There were soldiers from the local government on board, so it was a semi-private and semi-official ship.

Generally, large ships will be equipped with a Taoist priest, who can not only calm people's hearts, but also cure diseases and exorcise evil spirits, but the money for incense is relatively expensive.

The guest invited this time was Liang Daoxuan, a descendant of the Liang family of Kuaiji and the ninth generation disciple of the Lingbao Sect.

Liang Daoxuan nodded slightly and said, "It's okay, I'm just a little uncomfortable."

As he spoke, Liang Daoxuan took out the star map, used his eyesight to the utmost, looked into the void, and determined the direction.

"Go another three hundred miles south and you will reach the South China Sea reefs."

"Is there really a fairy cave and elixir of immortality there?"

Captain Li Ming asked curiously.

"I'm not sure, let's wait and see." Liang Daoxuan pretended to be mysterious, but he was actually unsure.

People from the Liang family are not rare nowadays. There are billions of people in the world, and the Liang family accounts for three million. Liang Daoxuan is not even considered a branch. His relationship with the Penglai Liang family is just that they both have the surname Liang, otherwise he would not have taken the job overseas.

Anyway, as long as I get the money, nothing else matters.

The incident started when fishermen in the South China Sea discovered a reef with a stele on it, on which was engraved the words "Since ancient times, the Tang people have visited the South China Sea, the homeland of China, and carved stones to record it. The tenth year of Kaiyuan."

This is why they are here.

"If I get a magic elixir, according to the rules I should get 30% of it, and from then on I can build a foundation in a hundred days and reach the level of master." Liang Daoxuan couldn't help but fantasize.

As for the legendary elixir of life, I dare not even think about it.

Although they are called gods by the world, they are actually just strange people who know magic, which is far from being immortal.

Not to mention gods.

"The Jade Emperor has not yet sent his celestial talisman, and he is still selling black gold to roam the world."

Liang Daoxuan muttered to himself, with a bitter smile on his face.

Monks often use this sentence to comfort themselves, but who can achieve true immortality?

The great celestial master of the Shenxiao Leifu, and even the celestial masters of the Quanzhen Sect, Lingbao Sect, and Shushan Sect disappeared mysteriously in their later years. Their disciples were said to be among the immortals, but after a long time, some people would speculate that they were dead.

That is why the pursuit of immortality overseas is so popular.

Night falls and the bright moon hangs high.

It should have been a wonderful sight, but above the vast ocean, it was so clear that it was a little scary.

The dark sea is endless and the treasure ship is like a solitary boat. If you are not careful, the ship will be destroyed and everyone will die.

Liang Daoxuan tightened his coat around him; he missed the land a little.

There are reefs ahead.

There were two ships near the reef, with sails fluttering and strange insect patterns painted on them.

"Oh no! It's the Corpse Gu Army!!"

Liang Daoxuan suddenly became alert and hurriedly woke everyone up. At the same time, dense lights lit up on the sea, and more than ten small boats surrounded everyone from all sides.

The pirates on the ship had dark skin, unkempt hair, and bloodthirsty eyes.

"Quick, prepare the fire crows and muskets! Where are the cannons?"

Li Ming called out to everyone.

Boom boom boom...

Bright red flames streaked across the sky, and shells destroyed two ships.

The other pirates remained unmoved and continued to charge towards the crowd.

The Corpse Gu Army was a force established by some Black Miao wizards who fled to the Thousand Islands in Southeast Asia when the Song Dynasty conquered the Miao territory.

The Corpse Gu Army is a general term for more than a hundred forces of all sizes. The characteristics of these pirates are that they have taken poisonous insects and are fearless of death.

"Report! The boat is leaking!"

In front of the experienced pirates, these rookies who were going out to sea for the first time were quickly tricked.

The pirates boarded the ship and engaged in hand-to-hand combat with everyone.

Darkness, smoke, fire...

Liang Daoxuan held a steel knife and slashed his way through.

As a cultivator in the late stage of Qi Refining, he was also very skilled in martial arts. He quickly gathered everyone together and defeated the pirates.

Liang Daoxuan had disheveled hair and was covered in blood, with the blood stains almost blinding his eyes.

The pirates were killed so hard that they dared not approach.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh….

At this point, the pirates quickly distanced themselves.

There was a rustling sound of insects crawling all around, and a group of palm-sized dead turtles surrounded them.

These corpse-bugs feed on corpses and, under the command of someone with ulterior motives, quickly crawled towards the crowd.

Liang Daoxuan looked despairing. At this moment, nothing mattered anymore. He just wanted to live.

He took out his last trump card - a yellow talisman.

He put his right hand into a sword-like finger, pinched the yellow talisman, bit the tip of his tongue, and spat out a mouthful of blood.

His eyes were bloodshot and the strong wind was ruffling his hair.

"The sky is clear and the earth is peaceful... I am following the order of the King of Fusang East, and I will obey the order immediately! Command!"

Without building a foundation, one cannot cast spells on his own.

It can only be stimulated by force through essence and blood.

Wow!
The yellow paper spontaneously combusted and turned into three fireballs.

boom!
The fireball exploded! The magic fire burned most of the corpse-bugs.

"Abandon ship and jump into the water!"

As soon as I ran to the side of the boat, I saw a lone boat floating nearby. An old man with skin as dry as tree bark was holding a green lantern. His body was covered with centipedes, scorpions, and geckos. He sneered at everyone and said in a dry and hoarse voice:
"A disciple of the Lingbao Sect? You haven't even mastered the Eight Methods of Huainan, and you dare to venture out?"

"Surrender without killing!"

The remaining sixty-odd people on the ship were all captured. If nothing unexpected happens, they will take the poisonous insects and become the new Corpse Gu Army pirates.

Nanyang is so dangerous.

Corpse poison, witchcraft, curse, Taoism...fists are the most powerful and the strong are respected.

The army has no advantage here. The pirates can just run away. There is a vast ocean and islands as numerous as stars, and there are many places for them to hide.

The group arrived at the giant monument in the South China Sea.

The old wizard gave instructions to the crowd, saying:

"During the Kaiyuan period, the ships were not big. Without profound Taoism, it would be impossible for them to come here. This must be the place where the gods live in seclusion. Search! We must find it even if we turn the world upside down!"

……

Lihentian, the dark city was illuminated by white light.

There is a huge cocoon in the void, wrapping a rotten corpse.

As time passed, the rotten corpse gradually recovered and took on the appearance of a young man with skin as white as jade and a handsome face.

Soon, the cocoon turned into a butterfly, broke out of the ground, and flew in the air.

A soul appeared in the void.

The soul is like jade, clear and flawless, like the bright moon in the sky, or like lead and mercury liquid.

Wow!
The soul and the body become one.

Wow!
Liang Yue opened his eyes.

The fifth life, the Ghost Immortal Avenue!

(End of this chapter)