Ming Dynasty: The Crocodile King of Han Prince Zhu Gaoxu's Family

Chapter 537 There are three ways to achieve immortality.
What the King of Luzon said can be said to reflect the sentiments of all the princes present!

After all, although they had three paths to immortality before them, they still had no hope of achieving immortality! Under these circumstances, they needed the only immortal they knew to step forward and teach them!

After silently giving his third brother, the King of Luzon, a big thumbs up in his heart, Emperor Longwu calmly began to speak.

"Within five hundred years, we should take the path of the Investiture of the Gods as the foundation, and self-enlightenment and the starry sky as the side branches, in order to seek immortality."

When will it be?
Alas, I don't know how long we'll have to wait...
All I can say is that if one day, when everything develops to the point where it can support the court and allow for the exploration of the stars, then we should focus on the stars, with the Investiture of the Gods and self-enlightenment as secondary means, in order to seek immortality.” After a brief silence, Emperor Longwu still gave his son and the princes the methods they could explore for immortality at this stage.

However, the suggestions given by Emperor Longwu were clearly not satisfactory to everyone!

After all, with Emperor Longwu as a living example of immortality, how could they willingly choose to die?!
"Uncle, is there really no other way?" At this moment, Zhu Qili, the King of Ryukyu, asked his uncle, Emperor Longwu, with a look of unwillingness.

The Ryukyu King's words truly reflected the sentiments of everyone present!
"Li'er, your uncle doesn't know if the other methods you mentioned exist, or even if they are available."

Now, all I can say is that I have never seen any other way to seek immortality and succeed!

"Not a single one!" Emperor Longwu shook his head slightly as he looked at his nephew, who had lost his father at a young age, with a serious expression.

Before his nephew could speak again, Emperor Longwu continued to speak.

"Li'er, you are also well-versed in history books."

Throughout history, only a handful of people have achieved lasting fame. Have we ever seen any other methods for seeking immortality?
Even a wise man like Confucius only lived to the age of seventy-two!

When Shakyamuni Buddha passed away, he was only eighty years old!

The person who may have lived the longest in the Records of the Grand Historian, Laozi, the pioneer of Taoism, may have only lived to be about 120 years old.

Is there any other way, or any other person, who is wiser or more capable than these sages?
Or rather, could the descendants of these wise men be any more capable than their ancestors? Emperor Longwu was well aware of his nephew, the King of Ryukyu's, ulterior motives. He simply wanted to find other unorthodox practitioners to search for the secret to immortality!

Emperor Ryūmu did not directly refute the Ryukyu king's words, but instead used the founders of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism as examples to explain the key issue.

Those so-called crooked paths and heresies are nothing more than unorthodox doctrines created on the basis of these three sages! How could these unworthy descendants who take the wrong path be more powerful than these sages?

The Ryukyu King was speechless for a moment in response to Emperor Longwu's words.

After all, what Emperor Longwu said is an undeniable fact! Even these sages themselves couldn't achieve immortality, so how much truth can be found in the claims of their descendants about immortality? It's definitely nothing more than a deceptive trick!

In an instant, the hearts of all the princes present sank to rock bottom once again!
Seeing his younger siblings and sons all looking dejected, Emperor Longwu spoke again to prevent them from going astray.

"I know that some of you may be thinking that, at worst, you can just take elixirs to seek immortality."

I do not object to this method.

I'll just remind you of one thing: aren't these methods also crooked and evil ways?
The First Emperor, born a dragon, unified the six kingdoms. In his later years, he took elixirs and died at the age of forty-nine. He was buried among a pile of salted fish and returned to Xianyang. Later, the Qin Dynasty was seized by Emperor Gaozu of Han, who was three years younger than the First Emperor! Emperor Wu of Han was a man of great talent and ambition, and repeatedly defeated the Xiongnu. In his later years, he took elixirs, which made him senile. He launched the witchcraft incident, which almost caused the Han Dynasty to collapse. He died at the age of seventy.

Emperor Taizong of Tang was known as the Heavenly Khan. In his later years, he took elixirs and died at the age of fifty-two.

Emperor Yongle, the Taizong Emperor, ascended the throne as a prince. He led five expeditions to the grasslands and sealed the wolf's lair. In his later years, he took elixirs and died at the age of sixty-five.

Which of these emperors, with their great talents and ambitions, wasn't a remarkable figure of their time?

They were fine in their early years, but in their later years, they all sought immortality and embarked on the path of consuming elixirs.

But look at them again, has any of them achieved immortality by consuming elixirs?
Or, did they achieve longevity by consuming elixirs?

Those emperors who consumed elixirs, they probably lived shorter lives than those who didn't! Emperor Longwu knew that by dragging all the leaders of the entire Dragon Kingdom and its vassal states down the path of pursuing immortality for the sake of the country and its vassal states' development, he was bound to invite a violent backlash!
Therefore, just in case, Emperor Longwu once again reiterated to the princes the undesirable consequences of consuming elixirs in pursuit of immortality. He cited numerous examples of emperors who died suddenly after ingesting such elixirs, serving as a warning to these emperors and princes who had been blinded by the allure of immortality.

Although Emperor Longwu knew that what he was about to say might not be of much use, he still had to speak. His aim was to guide everyone towards the path of national development at all costs!

This is the true path to immortality that Emperor Longwu specifically prepared for them, the princes and emperors!
Silence, deathly silence! At this moment, in the ancestral temple of the Dragon Kingdom, only the faint sound of breathing could be heard, rising and falling in the temple.

"Elder, get ready. Tomorrow, we're going to the Royal Harbor for a sea voyage." Noticing the deathly silence on the faces of the princes, Emperor Longwu didn't continue explaining his talk of immortality to them. Instead, he changed the subject and arranged the sea voyage for tomorrow.

"Your subject will arrange it immediately!"

"I don't know what Father Emperor is planning." Emperor Xixiang, who was feeling down because of his hopelessness about immortality, subconsciously agreed to Emperor Longwu's itinerary. However, the next moment, Emperor Xixiang noticed something was amiss. He looked at his father in surprise and asked why his father was going to the royal harbor.

When his son, Emperor Xixiang, asked him a question, Emperor Longwu did not answer. Instead, he stood up and silently went to the window, looking at the starry sky outside.

For a moment, perhaps due to an inexplicable illusion, Emperor Xixiang felt that his father, Emperor Longwu, standing by the window with his robes fluttering as if riding the wind, seemed as if he were about to fly away at any moment!
This discovery sent a chill down Emperor Xixiang's spine. He instinctively looked at his brothers and uncles, only to find a deep sense of shock in their eyes.

At this moment, Emperor Xixiang knew that his father was about to fly away, and it wasn't just his imagination! Perhaps, his father really was going to ascend to heaven?!
At that moment, Emperor Xixiang felt his heart tremble violently! He swallowed hard and looked again at his father, whose clothes were fluttering by the window.

"To be honest, given my current situation, I'm not sure what will happen!"

However, I have a feeling.

Perhaps it is time for me to leave.

"Perhaps this is the price Heaven has paid for discovering my immortality." The Dragon Emperor, with his back to the crowd, faced the vast starry sky and uttered these words meaningfully.

In truth, Emperor Longwu himself didn't know why he was in this situation. That feeling of impending awakening had grown increasingly intense lately!

(End of this chapter)