"The Celestial Masters sect is currently the largest sect in the south. It has thousands of registered disciples and tens of thousands of Taoist priests who interact with it. As long as there is profit and opportunity, this force, once put to my use, can certainly create many opportunities," Zhang Lu said confidently.
Upon hearing this, Shi A suddenly spoke up: "By the way, why does the Celestial Masters sect also exist in this world?"
The Celestial Masters sect exists in the main world, and it also exists in this world. This is quite interesting. Could it be that the Zhang family visited this world tens of thousands of years ago?
Seeing Shi A's puzzled expression and Cai Yan's thoughtful look, Zhang Lu then glanced at Lin Yang. He found Lin Yang to be completely confident and in control.
Seeing this, Zhang Lu couldn't help but ask curiously, "Judging from Fei Peng's expression, it seems like he knows the inside story?"
Upon hearing this, Lin Yang smiled and said, "It just so happens that I know a little bit of information. Of course, if I'm wrong, please don't blame me, Master."
Then, turning his head to look at Cai Yan and the other person, he smiled and said, "Actually, it's not just the Celestial Masters sect. If you observe carefully, you'll find that the names of Qin, Qi, Chu, Han, Jin, Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing, as well as Yan and Zhao, have appeared in many other worlds."
"Just like the main world is currently in the Han Dynasty, but there are also Han Dynasties in many smaller worlds. In fact, the founding emperors of those Han Dynasties were also named Liu Bang. Of course, the subsequent history is completely different from ours."
"In addition, Lao Tzu, Confucius and others have also appeared in different worlds. The principle behind these things is actually the same. That is the seventh order, and they are all related to the seventh order."
"For the human race, to attain the seventh level of the Dao, they must spread their legend throughout all the heavens and myriad realms, to every place containing humans, at the moment of attainment. Therefore, the existence of the Celestial Masters Sect in this world is nothing more than the fact that Celestial Master Zhang has already attained the position of Taiyi Daojun." As he spoke, he glanced at Zhang Lu beside him.
This is truly a golden opportunity! As Zhang Daoling's grandson, Zhang Lu's future is incredibly bright!
Upon hearing this, Zhang Lu couldn't help but grin. The founder of the Celestial Masters sect in this world was also named Zhang Daoling, and the Zhang family was in charge within the sect.
Moreover, Zhang Daoling in this realm also had disciples and followers. Fortunately, none of his actual descendants remained. The group of people surnamed Zhang here today are descendants of his adopted sons. Otherwise, Zhang Lu would truly be in trouble.
"Furthermore, due to our foundation and resources, each of us is roughly equivalent to a Grandmaster. And a Grandmaster is already the highest combat power that has ever appeared. With six Grandmasters at once, the six of us alone can be considered an army of 60,000," Zhang Lu said confidently.
He hadn't been completely unprepared; at least in terms of skill, he was certainly second to none. If all else failed, he could always resort to assassination. In short, as long as he was willing to swallow his pride and pay the price, he could always succeed.
"Then, how many monks are there in the Buddhist sect? How many experts are there? What is the current state of the world? What are the specific circumstances of the feudal lords, including their spheres of influence and the number of their troops? Moreover, what are the specific circumstances of the powerful families and clans that rule this world? You must tell me all of these things."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Lu instantly perked up. Lin Yang's willingness to ask meant there was still a glimmer of hope. He then brought over a stack of pre-prepared documents, stacked high enough to reach several people.
However, none of us are ordinary people. Despite the large number of documents, after a cursory glance, it took us two hours to finally finish reading them.
“We need to discuss this, probably in about an hour,” Lin Yang suddenly said.
Upon hearing this, Zhang Lu smiled and said, "Of course, of course. I'll just wait outside. If anything happens, you can call me. If you don't understand anything, you can come and ask me."
Watching Zhang Lu's departing figure, Shi A spoke first. His words were fiery and impatient.
"Haha, four hundred and eighty temples in the Southern Dynasties, how many pavilions are shrouded in mist and rain! This is a line of poetry that has been passed down from another world."
"At first, I thought this was a poem deliberately fabricated to smear Buddhism. After all, there are quite a few eminent monks in the main world. Even if I don't like Buddhist teachings, people choose to be monks, so no one can say anything about that, right?"
"But now, I truly believe it. These monks have gone too far. Almost every temple keeps dozens to hundreds of monk soldiers. These monk soldiers don't abide by the rules and regulations; they eat meat and fight every day. They're not like monks at all!"
"Throughout the south, Buddhist temples are everywhere. Almost every county town has at least one Buddhist temple. Each temple hides at least several hundred households. It can be said that at least 20% of the world's profits are occupied by these monks!"
Upon hearing this, Lin Yang fell silent. How to put it? It can only be said that the imperial court in the Tang Dynasty was simply too weak.
The powerful families of this world are really nothing special. Even the so-called four great clans are no match for Buddhism.
With superior military strength, one can naturally build more temples, recruit more monks, and raise more warrior monks. Furthermore, one can purchase more land and issue loans at exorbitant interest rates.
This is the code of conduct for Buddhism in this world, and it is also the general trend of Buddhism. It cannot be changed by one or two people, nor by one or two good monks.
Upon hearing this, Lin Yang advised, "Actually, I don't care how much profit the Buddhist sect takes. In any case, the vast majority of profits in the world are either taken by the Buddhist sect or by powerful families and clans; they certainly don't go to ordinary people."
"But the Buddhist sect should never have made contact with the Hu people. If you carefully read the history of this world, you will find that these Buddhist sects, though called Buddhism, are in fact Hu religions!"
"They relied on the Hu people to successfully establish themselves in the Central Plains. The Buddha enshrined in their temples is also a Hu person (or an Indian). In this respect, they are quite different from Taoism."
"Moreover, they didn't just prosper because of the Hu people. This time, the emperor they chose will definitely be a Hu person, or someone with Hu blood. This is something no Han person would allow!" Lin Yang said firmly.
Upon hearing this, Cai Yan suddenly smiled and said, "Actually, eliminating Buddhism is quite simple. I just need to establish several Han Chinese Buddhas specifically to divide and attack different Buddhist temples. Ideally, each Buddhist temple should have one Buddha."
In fact, this strategy is even more ruthless. As long as Buddhism is no longer united, it doesn't matter whether Buddhism is destroyed or not.
In other words, when Buddhism ceases to be united and splits up like Taoism, the destruction of Buddhism is already complete.
By then, the Buddhist community will no longer be united, and its power will naturally be much weaker. At the same time, they still possess so much wealth—do they really think the imperial court is a benevolent institution?
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Chapter 73: The Temptation of Shattering the Void
"Master, how much are you willing to sacrifice for this great cause of rebellion? How much is the Zhang family willing to invest? What are your ultimate expectations? For example, what are your thoughts on the dynasty that will eventually be established?" Lin Yang asked, looking at the somewhat nervous Zhang Lu.
"Success is all that matters. As long as we can truly unify this world, everything else is negotiable. If it really doesn't work out, even a nominal unification is acceptable."
"My Zhang family is willing to give up even a fifth-tier Earth Immortal magic weapon for this. If things go really smoothly, we can even produce several fifth-tier Earth Immortal level one magic weapons," Zhang Lu said confidently.
Once we truly conquer this world, the next step will definitely be to establish a teleportation array to directly connect the main world with this place. After that, there will be many things we can do.
Moreover, in Zhang Lu's view, the foundation of this world is already sufficient. Now, it only needs one more opportunity to upgrade. At that time, its maximum capacity will increase from the third tier to the fourth tier.
A fourth-order world with complete laws is already incredibly valuable. In fact, it's even more valuable than the Zhang family's grotto-heaven!
Therefore, for the sake of this world, let alone a fifth-tier magic weapon, if we could really acquire it, even a sixth-tier Celestial Immortal level magic weapon would be worth considering.
After all, when the upper limit of this world reaches the fourth-order Human Immortal, it means that once one merges with the Dao and becomes the master of the world, one will automatically break through to the fifth order. This is equivalent to a strategic weapon like a nuclear bomb!
"Okay, then let me first share my thoughts. First, we need to... second... third... and finally..."
As Lin Yang spoke, Zhang Lu's tightly furrowed brows gradually relaxed. It must be said that although Lin Yang's plan was somewhat fanciful, it was at least much better than his previous situation where he hadn't prepared anything at all.
"Excellent! As expected of the Duke of Wu, you have grasped the essence of rebellion. No wonder you dared to go to Jiangdong alone to expand the Wu kingdom. This time, regardless of success or failure, I will consider you a friend," Zhang Lu said happily. After saying this, he left for the time being. Presumably, he was planning something else in private.