Chapter 1022: The Jawa Kingdom
The Funan Kingdom lay by the sea, and across that same sea rested the Kingdom of Jawa. Like Fenglin, the Jawa Kingdom was an island nation, but it was far more fragmented. It was composed of nearly 20,000 islands and was home to a vast population.
Among these countless islands lay a strategic strait that became the vital link between Nanhai and the Western Ocean, known as the Silk Road of the seas. Countless merchant ships passed through it every year. Should anything go wrong, the losses would be incalculable.
Both the Daoist Order and the Great Xuan Court valued this region, so they established the Nanting Protectorate on both sides of the strait. The Nanhai Navy also patrolled its waters constantly, ensuring that the passage remained safe and unobstructed.
The Jawa Kingdom was also where the Heavenly Court set up its main altar. However, it was hidden somewhere within Jawa’s thousands of islands.
Moreover, this region served as a haven for countless pirates in Nanyang. Not all could match the Heavenly Court’s might, which dominated the seas. Many smaller pirate bands consisted of only a dozen men and a single ship. They lived as ordinary fishermen by day, which made them almost impossible to distinguish.
Though the Great Xuan Navy was unmatched in open battle, they could not win a game of hide-and-seek across 20,000 islands. To eliminate piracy entirely, the Great Xuan Court would need to extend its governance to every island county, which was an impossible feat. The Daoist Order and the Great Xuan Court could only secure the strait and coastal lands, leaving the pirates free to roam in other areas.
Given such unique circumstances, Qi Xuansu planned to visit the Jawa Kingdom, making it the second stop on his tour.
Curious about the pirates, Qi Xuansu ordered the flying ship to descend upon the sea and sail like a common ship. After all, a flying ship could double as a normal seafaring ship as well. It could even travel over land, though few ever tried this.
Beyond confronting the pirates, Qi Xuansu wished to witness the scenery at sea.
In the Central Plains, monsters had become a rarity. Under the Daoist Order’s relentless purges, such beings had either submitted, fled, or perished. Even the mighty flood dragons had been hunted nearly to extinction, let alone the weaker creatures. By contrast, there were still many demons and monsters in Fenglin.
It was much the same in Nanyang. However, most monsters in this region were sea-dwellers. They lived beneath the waves. Aside from occasionally harassing ships, they seldom troubled those on land.
But Godly Immortals and such creatures were always at odds. There was a native goddess of Nanyang who was said to have attained immortality during the early Jin Dynasty, even before the birth of the great Confucian Sages.