Ming Dynasty: I took Emperor Chengzu to cultivate immortality, which drove Emperor Jiajing mad.

Chapter 22 The Immortal's Journey East, Targeting the White Lotus Sect!

Zhu Zaiyi's words instantly brought the officials, who had just been immersed in the joy of victory, to a standstill.

Yes, who exactly is behind the Japanese pirates?

He could precisely plan an ambush that nearly wiped out the main force of the Ming Dynasty navy, provide the Japanese pirates with excellent cannons and warships, and even plant traitors at the level of general and deputy general.

This force is by no means simple.

"Your Highness, I believe this matter must be related to the remnants of Yan's faction!"

Xu Jie stepped forward and said in a deep voice,

"Although Yan Song and his son have been executed, their cronies are widespread throughout the court and the country, and their influence is deeply entrenched along the southeastern coast. This incident involving Japanese pirates is such a coincidence; they must be harboring resentment and colluding with foreign enemies in an attempt to retaliate!"

"What Grand Secretary Xu says makes sense," Minister of War Yang Bo echoed. "General Yu Dayou also mentioned in his report that the traitor Zhou Keji clamored for revenge for Grand Secretary Yan before taking action. These people are truly unrepentant!"

Zhu Di, listening from the side, sneered: "A bunch of clowns, daring to stir up trouble on my Ming territory? Issue my decree, ordering the Embroidered Uniform Guard to thoroughly investigate the officialdom in the southeast. Anyone connected with the Yan faction and the Japanese pirates, no matter who they are, shall be executed on the spot, and their families confiscated and exterminated!"

"Your Majesty, please calm your anger."

Zhu Zaiyi spoke calmly.

"The Embroidered Uniform Guard can only kill people, but they can't find out the root cause."

He raised his head and looked out of the hall, his gaze seemingly piercing through time and space.

"The Yan faction is merely a pawn pushed to the forefront. The real players are someone else."

"White Lotus Sect".

He uttered those three words softly.

From Yan Shifan's memory, he already knew that the Yan family was doing business with the Mongols in the north, and the intermediary was the White Lotus Sect.

This time, the rampant Japanese pirates in the south are likely partly due to the influence of this organization.

"The White Lotus Sect?" Upon hearing this, all the officials showed disdain.

"They're just a bunch of cultists who pretend to be gods and ghosts, bewitching the ignorant and foolish. Where do they get such power?" one of the imperial censors said dismissively.

In the eyes of these high-ranking officials, the White Lotus Sect was like a stubborn ailment in the countryside—annoying but not respectable thing, easily wiped out by sending an army.

"Foolish," Zhu Zairi commented bluntly. "What you think of as the White Lotus Sect is completely different from the real White Lotus Sect."

He couldn't be bothered to explain to these mortals what the "Alliance for Seizing Destiny" or the "Battle for Fate" meant.

He simply stood up and said to Zhu Di, "Your Majesty, I'll leave the affairs of the capital to you and the cabinet for now. I need to personally make a trip to the southeast."

"You want to go yourself?" Zhu Di frowned. "That place is too chaotic. Just let Qi Jiguang lead the troops. Why do you need to do it yourself?"

In his view, there was no need for his divine grandson to deal with a group of mortals.

"There are some things that Qi Jiguang couldn't handle," Zhu Zaiyi shook his head.

What he was looking for was the White Lotus Sect's holy maiden, and the possible cultivator hiding behind the Japanese pirates.

These are things that ordinary armies cannot handle.

"Very well." Zhu Di thought for a moment and understood. "You can go, but take more people with you. I'm worried about taking those three thousand Xuanjia Guards with you."

"No need," Zhu Zai Rui smiled. "Too many people will only get in the way."

Having said that, before anyone could react, he swayed and left a faint afterimage behind before disappearing from the Imperial Palace.

The officials rubbed their eyes, thinking they were seeing things.

Where are they? Where is His Highness the Regent?

Just like that... vanished into thin air?

What kind of magic is this? Is it shrinking the earth to an inch?

……

Meanwhile, thousands of miles away in Zhejiang, at the port of Dinghaiwei.

Yu Dayou, covered in wounds, stood on the dock, directing his soldiers to count the spoils of war and treat the wounded.

Although he won the battle, his navy suffered heavy losses, with more than half of its men killed or wounded, and almost everyone was injured.

"General, your wound..." A guard looked worriedly at the blood-soaked knife wound on his chest.

"I won't die." Yu Dayou waved his hand, his gaze fixed on the sea, his eyes filled with complex emotions.

Even now, that godlike voice still echoes in his mind.

Your Highness the Regent...

Who exactly is he?

Just as he was pondering, a ripple suddenly appeared in the space around him.

Immediately afterwards, a young man dressed in a gray robe appeared out of thin air in front of him.

"thump!"

The surrounding soldiers were so frightened that they dropped their weapons and stared in disbelief.

Yu Dayou was shocked. Looking at the handsome and extraordinary young man in front of him, a thought surged into his mind.

He knelt down on one knee with a thud, his voice trembling.

"This humble general, Yu Dayou, kowtows to Your Highness!"

Although he had never met Zhu Zaiyi, that aura, that transcendent feeling, was exactly the same as the voice he heard in his dream!

"Get up." Zhu Zai Rui helped him up, and a gentle spiritual energy flowed into his body. Yu Dayou felt the sharp pain in his chest disappear instantly, and his whole body felt warm and comfortable.

Amazing! Truly amazing!

Yu Dayou was overjoyed and no longer had any doubts about Zhu Zaiyi's identity.

"I have come here with three matters to discuss," Zhu Zai Rui said bluntly.

"First, has that traitor Zhou Keji been captured?"

"Your Highness, we've caught him! He's locked up in the water dungeon!"

"Secondly, among the Japanese pirates' prisoners, who was the highest-ranking?"

"It was the deputy leader of the Japanese pirates, a samurai named Todo Jiro, and... there was also a woman." Yu Dayou thought for a moment and added, "That woman was very strange. The Japanese pirates treated her with utmost respect, even more so than they did the deputy leader, calling her 'Holy Maiden'."

Saintess.

Zhu Zaiyi's eyes lit up.

found it.

"The third thing." Zhu Zai Rui's gaze turned to the sea outside the port, which had just experienced a bloody battle.

"Take me to see the Western cannons you've captured. And while you're at it, prepare one of your best ships for me."

"Where is Your Highness going?" Yu Dayou asked instinctively.

A cold smile curled at the corners of Zhu Zai Rui's lips.

"Let's go check out their stronghold."

"I want to know, what exactly is this so-called Holy Maiden of the White Lotus Sect?"

"And let the monkeys hiding on the island know too."

"There are some people you can't afford to mess with."

On the third day, a modified Fujian-style ship quietly sailed away from Dinghai Port and headed into the vast East China Sea.

There were only two people on the boat.

Zhu Zaiyi, and the White Lotus Sect "Holy Maiden" who was bound hand and foot and had a rag stuffed in her mouth.

On the third day, a modified Fujian-style ship quietly sailed away from Dinghai Port and headed into the vast East China Sea.

There were only two people on the boat.

Zhu Zaiyi, and the White Lotus Sect "Holy Maiden" who was bound hand and foot and had a rag stuffed in her mouth.