Cursed Mountains and Seas

Chapter 406 The Nine Deaths Resurrection Grass Brings Wealth and Prosperity to Sun Wang

"Are they really one of our own?!"

"The imperial court has finally launched its eighth voyage to the Western Ocean. With the Three Officials above us, we brothers have not waited in vain for these 130 years."

"Old Wang's mouth has somehow been blessed! The emperor really did send another envoy to spread his influence? And he really does have the surname Wang?"

Upon hearing Wang Cheng introduce himself, a huge cheer erupted in the cabin, with everyone from top to bottom overjoyed.

Even shouting and yelling couldn't vent the bitterness of "guarding a lonely city thousands of miles away" for so many years.

As the eight celestial craftsmanship ships of both sides drew closer to each other, the regional communication network signal built by the ship spirits continued to strengthen.

A golden light flashed from the runes on the compass, projecting the image of "Wang Fugui," which was the lucky boy sitting opposite Wang Xiaoqi in the cabin.

Holding the imperial edict of Emperor Shaozhi in his hand, the resonance between the two parties' "heavenly rules and earthly laws" proved that his identity as an imperial envoy was genuine and not something that even a first-rank deity could forge.

Inside the cabin of the Mirage Cloud Dragon Ship, the scene inside the Big Dipper Seven Star Ship was also projected.

Wang Cheng immediately recognized that, apart from a few middle-ranking officers and generals who had to be housed in puppets to maintain combat power after their deaths, the cabin was filled with the eight remaining living ghosts and gods.

Each of them manifested a demonic or divine form, indicating they were already in a state of combat readiness.

Even though the sky and sea outside the portholes seemed to be upside down, as if the world had come to an end, these veterans who had persevered for more than two centuries remained steadfast and indomitable.

The dazzling divine light emanating from his body, interwoven with the principles of law, almost stung the eyes of this fourth-rank official.

In particular, the three ghosts in the center radiated the strongest divine light, one being of the first rank and the other two of the second rank, standing out among the other five third-rank ghosts.

Among the demons who were all clad in armor and manifested the [Demon Name], one of them stood out the most, startling Wang Cheng.

"This person is actually wearing the crown robes of a vassal king. How can he be so ostentatious in public? Wait, looking at the details, it seems to be the royal robes of our Donghai Kingdom?"

The problem is, even if he's wearing it, this old man has absolutely no air of royalty.

Wearing the royal robes, he looked like an old fisherman who had spent his whole life exposed to the elements, giving off an inexplicable sense of comicality.

As the naturally wealthy Princess Suzhen of Jiashan once commented, it's unbelievable that the Wang family has cultivated such regal bearing in just two generations.

A person's magnanimity is something that either exists or it doesn't; otherwise, the phrase "a monkey wearing a crown" wouldn't exist.

It wasn't until Wang Cheng saw the name above the other man's head in the "Rare Goods for Sale" section that he confirmed the old man was indeed his fifth-generation ancestor.

"Uh"

Wang Cheng suddenly realized that it was too presumptuous of him to take the initiative to seek out this old ancestor, and he was starting to think about pretending that he did not know this old man.

Of course, that's not the point.

His gaze immediately swept over the heads of everyone in the cabin.

"found it."

Suddenly, his gaze settled on a fourth-rank [Corpse-driving Taoist] named Tan Song, whose position was only below the group of ghosts and gods. He was the vice-captain of the [Lonely City of Ten Thousand Miles] ship.

His face showed the same excitement as everyone else's, but the deepest obsession hidden in his heart was boiling intensely:
"Wait, isn't the Great Zhao Dynasty on the verge of collapse? How could a celestial ship have arrived in the Immortal Realm?" "You should have said earlier that there was still hope of escape!"

"What if people find out I'm colluding with that Nine-Headed Immortal? If I actually manage to get out in the end, wouldn't all my efforts as a villain have been for nothing?"

"I just want to live, why is it so hard to become an immortal?" "It's all your fault!" "I want to become an immortal, and nobody's getting away with it!"

Wang Cheng raised an eyebrow.

He immediately introduced himself, intending to replicate his previous actions when he extracted information about the Japanese pirates from the uncle and nephew of You Zhende, the governor of Minzhou.

First, they used rhetoric to seduce emotions and stir up obsessions, exposing the deepest secrets and trading needs hidden by the "rare commodity," leaving all corrupt traitors nowhere to hide.

Once you're sure you haven't contacted the wrong person.

Wang Cheng immediately flicked his finger, activating the national treasure, "Paper Talk," whose power descended upon the area through the gaps in the formation and the communication network. A ring of mirage energy surrounded it, dragging it into an illusion that replicated the scene inside the cabin.

There were many officials and spirits in the area, and they detected the mirage as soon as it appeared. However, seeing that it had no harmful power, the crowd stirred slightly before refraining from acting on it.

The first-rank deity in the middle frowned upon seeing this, and bowed to Wang Cheng with the etiquette due to equals in the Great Zhao officialdom:
"I am Zheng He, Your Excellency. What is the meaning of this, Chief Envoy Wang?"

Wang Cheng withdrew his gaze and politely returned the greeting to the renowned Eunuch Sanbao:
"Greetings, Commander-in-Chief. We merely obtained some intelligence from within the Feathered Immortal Sect beforehand and discovered that there was a traitor within the fleet."

That's why I had to resort to this desperate measure. Please forgive me, Commander-in-Chief and my colleagues.

"We can deal with this person after we've finished discussing important matters."

"You're saying Tan Song is the mole?!"

Upon hearing this word, everyone in the cabin paled and turned to look at their former colleague.

However, their first reaction was not doubt, but rather a look of unease on their faces, as if they had suffered a great loss in this matter before.

In the past 130 years, it has experienced at least one turbulent period where people believed that "it is better to believe it than not to believe it."

In addition, everyone present was an elderly and shrewd person whose combined lifespan, before and after death, exceeded 150 years. Not a single person jumped out like a hothead to accuse the young people of being unruly.

Instead, we wait and see what happens next.

"That's right, it's good that he's the only one here."

Wang Cheng learned from Tao Mo, a second-generation immortal, that not all members of the treasure ship had upheld their principles, and that some of the ship's crew had been corrupted by the immortal sects.

The first step after connecting the wires is to solve this problem.

Considering that although Tao Mo's mother was one of the few immortals guarding the Yin-Yang Reversal Array, she was only a third-rank immortal, the information he knew might not be accurate or comprehensive.

But once it's confirmed to exist, it will definitely not escape the eyes of those who seek to profit from rare commodities.

With the blessing of being a living ghost god or tiger god, even the third-rank ghost god ship captains who piloted the Heavenly Craft Treasure Ship could not escape his discerning eyes.

Fortunately, apart from Tan Song, the "corpse-driving Taoist priest," everyone else in the upper decks of the ship was fine.

It makes sense when you think about it. After all, there's a first-rank ghost god in the fleet. If the immortal ascension could really corrupt the crew members on a large scale without restraint, this fleet wouldn't have lasted this long.

If even one or two third-rank ghost god ship captains betray them and break the [Seven Stars Heavenly Array] at the crucial moment, they will immediately lose everything. Zheng He stared at the corpse-driving Taoist priest trapped in the illusion for a while.

Although his authority was not good at seeing through people's hearts, and he did not find any signs that the other party had taken the elixir, it would be simple to confirm it.

Such a significant event as the fleet establishing contact with the outside world would surely be reported by the mole; we just need to observe his reaction later.

Perhaps we can turn the tables and create a good opportunity for a solution to our predicament.

Putting this person aside for the time being, he looked at Wang Cheng and sighed softly:

"Envoy Wang, don't laugh at me."

In the past, the corruption of the immortals was all-pervasive and impossible to guard against. We lived in fear for half a century, but in recent years we have become more lax.

The most intense wave of corruption actually occurred when everyone was still alive but nearing the end of their lifespan, which was during the first thirty years of our imprisonment here.

As long as the Immortal of Ascension throws out a few elixirs of immortality, few can resist the desire for eternal life and ascension to immortality.

That was the most difficult time for the fleet; many of our old comrades died in the series of upheavals that followed. Alas.”

There aren't that many heroes in the world who would sacrifice their lives for righteousness; the majority of people are just ordinary people who are afraid of death.

A turmoil caused by selfish motives that nearly destroyed the fleet made it difficult for Zheng He to talk about.

Wang Cheng understood perfectly.

Under normal circumstances, the advantage of becoming an immortal lies in cultivating both body and spirit; one's understanding of the spirit alone is still inferior to that of ghosts and gods.

Once most of the people have died and their physical bodies have decayed, they transform into ghosts and spirits, making it significantly more difficult for the immortals to corrupt them.

According to the memories of the second-generation Tao Mo, only the Nine Nether Path, which worships the [Nine Netherworld Ghosts], can be compared with the Divine Path.

This is also the immortal sect under the control of Shi Jiu'er's father, the first-rank immortal [Nine-Headed Immortal].

It is said that the Nine-Headed Immortal promised the corpse-driving Taoist a mid-grade, ten-ingredient "Nine Deaths Resurrection Grass" and a feather-ascension immortal technique called "Ghost Gate Arhat Golden Body".

As long as the corpse remains intact, it is possible to cultivate into a Corpse Immortal!
The Taoist master Gongshu Chun equipped all the crew members with mechanical armor, mainly to guard against the Nine Netherworld Path.

Because of the need to perform his special skills, this Taoist priest who drove corpses was one of the few officials who kept his own corpse intact, making him one of the easiest targets for the immortal.

Now that Wang Cheng has appeared and decisively eliminated a potential threat, everyone's confidence has greatly increased.

At this moment, Wang Bangyan, who was standing nearby, finally found an opportunity to interject, looking at Wang Cheng with some doubt and saying:
"Envoy Wang, I am merely a naval naval commander with no reputation outside. Do you possibly know me?"

When he was boasting, although he said he hoped his descendants would become high-ranking officials, he also knew that once his descendants were enfeoffed as kings overseas, they would no longer be able to serve as officials in the Great Zhao Dynasty.

"Even if the surname is Wang, it's probably just a coincidence."

At this moment, Wang Cheng decisively released a trace of aura woven from ancestral temple incense and bloodline sacrifices.

Only Wang Bangyan, the fifth-generation ancestor who was enshrined in the ancestral temple, could sense it; others, even the first-rank deity Zheng He, were completely unaware.

Upon unexpectedly sensing this aura, the old man's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

"This is...you."

Wang Cheng, however, casually bowed to him.
"Greetings, Your Highness. I am a close friend of Wang Cheng, the Prince of Jinghai of the East Sea Kingdom. Even this [Mirage Cloud Dragon Ship] was temporarily borrowed from him."

Previously, the message was blocked by the curse, and the Eastern Sea Kingdom did not respond to the petition submitted to the ancestral temple.

Therefore, he asked me to convey his regards to you. If there's anything you need, I will pass it on and burn it for you.

Wang Bangyan also realized that Wang Cheng must have a plan to hide his identity, infiltrate the officialdom of Dazhao, and even sit in the high position of Xuanwei Zhengshi. He really had no choice but to show off to his old brothers on the spot.

But the sudden happiness still made the old man's legs feel a little unsteady, and he almost wanted to laugh out loud three times:
"Old Zheng, oh Old Zheng, I, Wang Bangyan's fifth-generation descendant, have finally become the Imperial Envoy and Commander-in-Chief of Xuanwei! Aha, aha, hahahahaha!"
"As expected, the seeds from my Wang family are of superior quality."

Having achieved a lifelong obsession, Wang Cheng not only felt triumphant but also personally experienced the exhilarating feeling of "I want it all" that adults experience.

Grandparents always show the most affection to their grandchildren.

The first generation is the son, the second generation is the grandson, the third generation is the great-grandson, the fourth generation is the great-great-grandson, and the fifth generation is the great-great-grandson.

Wang Cheng, this great-grandson, is the eldest son and only son of their family.

Only the people of Dazhao can truly appreciate the value of this. Even in the land of Confucius and Mencius, they are the kind of people who can sit in the main seat and eat and drink on the lap of their ancestor.

Wang Bangyan's old eyes were filled with such doting affection that they could hardly be melted; every time he looked at Wang Cheng, he was filled with joy.

"By the way, all the valuables I've accumulated over the years are on the ship. They're useless to me anyway. I'll find a chance to take them all back to my grandson later."

"The most important thing is for Cheng'er to marry so that the Wang family can have more descendants."

Then he silently looked at his old comrades, thinking to himself:
"I think you have no use for the furniture you have, so why don't I take it all?"

Without Wang Cheng even needing to say a word, the old man had already started automatically generating gold coins.

This is a treatment that even a mere Xuanwei envoy, or even a lifesaver who saves someone from dire straits, would never receive.

Wang Cheng smiled inwardly; this was exactly the effect he wanted.

You should know that when those local officials (or tomb raiders) went down to the cemetery, the fathers were always above the tomb while the sons went down.

The son might have taken something from up there and sealed his father in the tomb, but the father didn't. It was all because of the lessons learned through blood and tears.

His connection with his fifth-generation ancestor, Wang Bangyan, through the religious rites centered on the five ancestral temples of the feudal lords, will only deepen.

Most importantly, look at the old man when he's wearing royal robes, the way he seems to want to retrace the Western Route three times over, so that all the countries along the way can come and see for themselves.

I knew this kind of repressed, brooding person wouldn't do something as prestigious as being a traitor.

Gongshu Chun, unaware that his old friend was already eyeing his fortune, chimed in from the side:
"Enough of that nonsense, let's get down to business."

He had just finished explaining his plan to Wang Cheng when a challenge suddenly rang out from outside, making everyone's faces turn ashen:
"A full 130 years have passed, are you old brothers still going to struggle to the death?"
If I had been as astute and shrewd as I am now, I would have lived a long and prosperous life, with many descendants.

Today, the Nine-Headed Immortal Lord asked me to deliver a message to you: if you surrender, the immortal sect guarantees you wealth and honor, and all the elixirs you could possibly need!

(End of this chapter)